“Here’s to Great Suffering and Happy Endings” in What Ways Does the Old Man Who Read Love Stories Explore Suffering and Happiness?

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In Rolf de Heer’s ‘The Old Man Who Read Love Stories’, protagonist Antonio Bolivar suffers in the harsh unforgiving environment to the Amazonian jungle. However, Antonio is also able to discover great happiness through love and beauty present in the jungle. Antonio dwells between the natural ways of the jungle, reminiscing his time with the native shuar and the white settlement of El Idilio, which embodies the flawed humanity, suffering and barbarity in the film. Through Antonio, de Heer considers the presence of western civilisation in the Amazonian jungle as Antnio straddles between two very different worlds, experiencing isolation and dislocation from the two world he inhabits, struggling to find true happiness in either. From the opening scene in the film, love and beauty is evident to be a central theme. Antonio’s need for passion compelled his love for reading, which is a substitute for his lack of real world experiences. Antonio is able to find true pleasure through reading as “the words are beautiful” and the love stories are a means for him to connect with the unfamiliar world around him. Antonio’s relationship with his dead wife Delores lacked the passion and intensity he desired, which is juxtaposed to Antonio’s later relationship with Josefina. Antonio and Josefina’s relationship thrives though their shared passion for reading love stories, although the love shared by Antonio and Josefina also provides Antonio with the ability to see the world much clearly, which is represented throughout he mofit of the looking glass, given to Antonio prior to the hunt. which highlight the way the stories help him to gain insight on the nature life and love. The mutual blossoming affection provides a source of hope and happiness for Antonio, that there is love and synchronicity present in the jungle. de Heer draws on the comparison between Josefina and the Jaguar as

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