O' Tamaiti - Sima Urale

O' Tamaiti

O’Tamaiti a short film directed by Sima Urale. Is a story about a Samoan family who recently migrate to their new country. The story revolves around the young boy, Tino, who is also the first born son of the family. Due to his family's situation Tino had to step up and take responsibilities that a child his age should not be doing. Migrating is a really though challenge for this family, especially for Tino. As you can see, his parents work alternatively, they do not have enough time left to take care of their children, thus leaving the job to Tino and his younger sister. It is hard to say that their parents do not care about them. It might be because they are both struggling looking for in to sustain the family's needs. However, the sequence changes when the director showed a stereotypical claim of a drunkard husband at the near end of the film. This is to show that their father can become irresponsible. Tino had to sacrifice his childhood in order to support his parents. He became the second father, he does the groceries, he feeds his siblings and even puts the baby to sleep. The part that disappoints me is that after what Tino had done for the family, his parents still takes his works for granted and not even a single thank you or any sign of appreciation was given for him. Not only that, they also kept leaving a lot of accountability for Tino that they, the parent, should be dealing with. Moreover, the director also showed another stereotypical attitude of a Pacific Islander parents. This is when they fight and throw and break stuffs in front of the kids. As shown in the film; at the scene where Tinos’ father came home drunk and forgot to pay the bill, the parents did not even considered the children who are watching while they fight. As a proof the director excellently managed to use sound effects such as falling object and breaking glass for the viewers to feel and relate to what is happening.

Although, Tino’s life has been a struggle with his parents unfairly treating him, it all did not happen for nothing. Some of these circumstances taught him valuable lessons and can also guide him in his life/fatherhood. Firstly, at such a young age Tino have matured outstandingly, hoping that this would teach him the difference between right and wrong with his parents as an example for him. Secondly, he managed to take care of his brothers and sister becoming the man of the house. This shows that Tino learnt to love his relatives properly and could be a symbol of him taking care of his own family someday. Lastly, according to the film Tino did all of this without his parents being much of a help to him. This proves that Tino is responsible, independent, skill and a reliable person.

To conclude, Sima Urale showed how a person can overcome adversities through the life of Tino. Life is unfair therefore the choice is yours whether you’re going to give up or stand up and face your problems head on aiming for the glory of success