i'm just full of words today.
just finished watching white oleander and what an awesome film. i'm sure the book is ten times better, but i doubt i'll ever pick it up now that i've seen the movie.
if you haven't watched the film and are planning on it you might not want to read the rest.
i was waiting for some horrible foster home experience to be portrayed and i am surprised to note that it's because of her being so young and so seemingly naive. i didn't see the strength in her even after(and during)her first foster home placement. it was interesting to see how she imitated each foster mother, how she was looking for herself in all these women, including her mother. this is the theme which was easiest to see, obviously, but i think the most powerful. it meant the gradual pulling away from her mother, the gradual learning and the growing hatred towards her mother and herself. each of the mother figures, the foster mothers, rejected her in turn because of their conditions and circumstances, the saddest being claire's exit and the smartest, rena's wise words. it seemed that their rejections were selfish in nature(all of it was, except anne's - i think - which is the least touched on character, but the one whose memory stays with her the longest and her mother's final "rejection"), but each one taught her about being strong for herself in some way; right to the end with her mother letting her go.
this brings up thoughts of my own mother/daughter relationship with my mum, but mostly with my own two girls. what will i end up teaching them? how will i end up affecting them and how they feel about themselves? where will i end?