Yesterday I watched another really good movie called Luca. I had heard of Turning Red because there were billboards everywhere, and I also saw a lot of publicity for Elemental, both of which, like Luca, are Pixar movies. However, I had not heard a lot about Luca. Like Elemental, this movie managed to make me tear up because the story is really sweet and heartfelt. It takes place in Portorosso, a seaside town on the Italian Riviera, and it's about a young sea monster named Luca, who is tending to his herd of fish and also trying to make his parents happy. That all changes when he finds a mysterious alarm clock in the water and starts to wonder who left it there. Luca lives with his parents and grandmother and they want to make sure that he is safe and doesn't go above water because it is dangerous for sea monsters. Another sea monster named Alberto convinces Luca to go above water with him, and when they do they turn into human beings so that no one knows they are really sea monsters. At first Luca is not sure because his parents told him to not go anywhere above water because it is dangerous, but Alberto, who is extremely overconfident, tells him it's fine and Luca ends up spending a lot of time in Alberto's treehouse. Alberto shares that one of his dreams is to get a Vespa, which is a very fancy and expensive motorbike. He invents a bicycle for them to ride but as they roll down the hills and roads the bicycle breaks and they fly off the bicycle into the sea. Luca is very nervous about riding the bicycle down a hill, but Alberto tells him to repeat this saying in his head every time he doubts himself, "Silenzio, Bruno!", so that he can silence the negative voices and self-doubt in his head.
He decides to have he and Luca go to the town of Portorosso and be amongst the human residents there, and they end up meeting a young girl named Guilia, who lives with her father, Massimo, who is a fisherman, and their cat, Machiavelli. However, they face stiff competition from Ercole Visconti, who is the town bully who rides a Vespa bike and makes fun of Guilia and her friends. Alberto tells Giulia that they want to train for the competition so they can get the Vespa, and Giulia reluctantly agrees. Alberto and Luca face a very sticky situation, and when Luca goes home late one evening after spending the day with Luca, his mom tells him to not go above water ever again. However, Luca breaks the rules and his mom and dad have to go above water to run around the town looking all over for him. Even though Alberto and Luca pass as human beings, if they get water on them, then they turn back into sea monsters, so they do their best to avoid getting into any pools or getting splashed by water. Also, Massimo is a fisherman and when Luca and Alberto arrive at Giulia's house, they find Massimo chopping fish heads and throwing them in a bucket, so this makes them extra on-edge about revealing that they are sea monsters. Giulia lets them stay with her in her tree house and Giulia trains Alberto to eat lots of pasta and the three of them train by riding their bicycle down and up hilly terrain. Ercole brags about how he is going to win the competition and makes fun of Giulia because she got sick last time during the competition, and it was humiliating for her. But Alberto doesn't back down and challenges Ercole to a bet on him, Giulia and Luca winning the competition.
Alberto and Luca find their friendship tested when Luca starts to become closer to Giulia. Giulia is an avid reader who goes to school, and Luca, who wants to know more about the world, asks her questions about her classes and asks to read her textbooks. They have very deep discussions about astronomy, and Luca decides he wants to go to school with Giulia but when he shares his dream with Alberto, Alberto gets angry at him and tells him that sea monsters aren't allowed to go to school with people and that he is risking his life by wanting to go to school. One day, Luca and Alberto get in a fight about this, and Giulia asks them why they aren't talking to each other, and Alberto decides to get in the water and show Giulia that he is really a sea monster. Giulia is scared and Luca, who is still in human form, decides to rat Alberto out when Ercole is looking for them, and Ercole throws spears at Alberto. Alberto leaves, feeling that Luca betrayed him. When they get home, Giulia also finds out that Luca is also a sea monster, and she tells him he needs to leave even though she doesn't want him to leave because she knows her dad would kill him for being a sea monster. Luca and Alberto did their best to hide the fact that they were sea monsters, but this was really challenging because they were on Massimo's boat and they were right on the water so they risked getting splashed and revealing they were sea monsters. However, Massimo gains trust in them because they help him catch a huge load of fish and so he trusts them to help him with catching fish frequently. This trust could easily be broken, though, if they accidentally gave away that they were sea monsters, so that's why Giulia has to turn him away. When Luca tries to apologize to Alberto for ratting him out, Alberto tells him to go away. Alberto feels like he can no longer trust anyone, and this is especially hard for him because his father left him and Alberto was counting the days when he would come back to him, but he hasn't come back. Luca, however, is determined to still compete in the bicycle race even though Alberto doesn't think they have a chance anymore now that people know they are sea monsters.
When Giulia is about to start the race, she finds Luca in a bulky underwater suit. She tells him that he can't compete in the race because she is worried he would turn into a sea monster when he gets in the water, but he is determined to do this. They eat a lot of pasta after swimming in the water, then they have to ride their bicycles up and down several roads through Portorosso. Luca's parents are still looking for him, and when they find him riding on his bicycle they try to get him back, but he is riding so fast that they cannot catch up with him. Unfortunately, it is a rainy day and there is no way that Luca can dodge the rain. At first he pauses because he doesn't want to become a sea monster, but he realizes he needs to finish the race in order to win, so he braves the rain and turns back into a sea monster. Everyone is scared and runs away from him, and Ercole tries to kill him with spears, but Giulia throws Ercole off of his bike and they end up making it to the finish line. Everyone at first backs away from Luca and Alberto because they are sea monsters, and Ercole is determined to have them disqualified, but the judge sees that Alberto, Giulia and Luca made it to the finish line, so they end up winning the race. Ercole is angry and tries to get his friends to gang up on Luca and his friends, but his friends decide to not do that, and instead the town celebrates Luca, Alberto and Giulia for winning. Luca ends up going to school with Giulia and Alberto ends up staying behind with Massimo to help him out because Massimo has become a father to him when his own dad left him. Luca's parents see that he has a bright future ahead of him and so they let him go to school and assure him that he can still visit them and that they will always love him no matter if he is a sea monster or a human.
This movie has a really good message about not giving up when accomplishing your dreams and not letting fear prevent you from going for what you want. Luca doesn't know how to ride a bicycle or walk like a human being at first, and learning how to do these things is frustrating at times, but when he finally learns how to do them, he gains confidence in himself. Learning something new takes patience and perseverance, and it's not something that one can accomplish overnight. Alberto's confidence inspired Luca to believe in himself, and when Alberto didn't think he could enter the race or get the Vespa, Luca helped him regain his confidence again and decides not to give up. That was really encouraging because a lot of times when I encounter failure, rejection or disappointment, I tend to feel resigned and think, Maybe I should give up. But keeping at it one day at a time has kept me from becoming burned out or giving up too quickly, and over time I have learned that success takes a lot of perseverance and effort rather than just talent or luck. I remember having an orchestra audition several years ago, and I was extremely nervous about auditioning even after practicing for hours and hours. The day of the competition I wanted to give up because I was so burned out and was doubting myself, but I chanted about it and even when I was crying and scared, I did my best when playing my cello for the judges. I was happy to get on the list of substitute cellists, but I think looking back, it was about so much more than just getting the section cello position. In order to even enter the competition, I had to win over this voice in my head that was telling me I wasn't good enough to audition, to not even bother trying. This journey I have been on in my creative work is teaching me that winning always begins with winning over my negativity, which often manifests as self-doubt. I also read this really good chapter in The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace by Daisaku Ikeda, and in one of the chapters he talks about appreciating one's uniqueness, and he shares in the chapter that no one has perfect confidence at the beginning and that we should appreciate ourselves for who we are and not worry too much about how we measure up to others. I tend to forget this a lot, but it is something I need to remind myself any time I face a challenge or don't think I can accomplish a goal I am working towards. I have also found that when I win over my doubts and insecurities, I can encourage others who may be dealing with similar challenges.
The animation in Luca was absolutely beautiful, and I definitely found myself crying a little towards the end. And the music was very fun to listen to. Watching this movie made me want to travel to Italy one day, and seeing all the pasta dishes that the characters were eating in the movie made me very hungry haha. 🙂
Luca. 2021. 1 hr 35 min. Directed by Enrico Casarosa. Rated PG for rude humor, language, some thematic elements and brief violence.
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