I don't know how I got on this kick, but evidently I'm on it now and can't get off. I'm questing for the perfect movie, one that will challenge me, reaffirm my love for humanity, make me think about things a little differently, make me laugh and then cry and then laugh some more, and that will be, of course, completely off the beaten path of Hollywood films.
Where, oh where, can this movie be?
I watched There Will Be Blood the other night with my hubby, thinking we'd spend a cultured evening watching a somewhat avant-garde character sketch and come away feeling, you know, artsy. My little big brother Matt raves about this film, and I've come to appreciate his taste in cinema; it was he, after all, who turned me on to Serenity, Gattaca, and Stardust, mostly against my will but with no regrets. So I figured that if he said that Daniel Day-Lewis was masterful in this performance, than this must be a film worth watching. Maybe even the film.
That said, at the risk of insulting my sibling's sensibilities, I hated this film. I hated the creepy, disjointed soundtrack that never, ever, ever matched the action and left me constantly on edge, thinking that some horrible creature of the damned would soon be dredged up from the oily depths of the earth. I hated Daniel Day-Lewis' character, an ambiguous man whose wildly spinning moral compass left not only everyone in the movie but also everyone in the audience (this audience, anyway) feeling confused, perplexed, alienated, and more than a little freaked out. I hated the plot, if indeed there was one beyond a strange man getting stranger. I hated the title, which caused me to continually half-expect Clint Eastwood to appear on the scene with a couple of six-shooters and a bad mood. I hated the other characters, a bunch of truly weird charismatic Christian freako hypocrites with a demented take on everything from family to power to, well, everything. Mostly, though, I hated wasting a perfectly good Friday night waiting on a movie to redeem itself, only to come to the twisted, bitter end and realize that it was a completely non-redemptive film. On purpose. This film was like a French western in the style of Quinten Tarantino with elements of Stanley Kubrick thrown in for effect.
If there's something in this film that I'm missing, like dynamic character development, subtle plot twists, irony, some sense of transcendent conflict, even tragedy, please, please clue me in.
In the meantime, I guess I'll just keep looking for the perfect film.
--Teri.
5 comments:
Teri, We liked "The Fall." It is beautiful, incredibly imaginative and probably all of your walking children could see it. It's set in 1920s India and created entirely without the use of computerized special effects.
Ginny
Actually, it's set in 1920s Los Angeles, filmed in 19 countries, but most of the action occurs in India. I hope you can see it. I doubt it is "the" movie, but it won't waste your Friday evening.
Gin
So far, I've gotten 2 recommendations of Indian (or at least Indian-themed) movies...this must be a sign. Bollywood must be kicking Hollywood's over-budgeted booty all over the screen. :D
--Teri.
Teri- seems worthwhile to consider why you seek this "perfect" film. I'm consistently amazed by our culture's desire for entertainment. How is your search more than wish-fulfillment and vicarious living?
p.s. A film that will perhaps not fulfill your wishes but challenge and discuss the difficulty that makes life rich: Magnolia. Here's a clue: look for numbers and scripture references. The film's ending will not make sense without a bit of text from Exodus and some thoughtful watching-partner.
My Dear Friend Mark,
As always, you manage to come back into my life with a perfectly hard-hitting question. :)
I think my movie thing isn't so much an entertainment thing; I have a deep distaste for entertainment for entertainment's sake, and I've given a lot of thought to the meaning of the word 'amuse' ('a' meaning not, 'muse' meaning to think).
No, I think I need this perfect movie in order to find some reflection of the stuff banging around inside my soul mirrored in what is supposed to be one of the great art forms of our times. Serious music these days is a serious turn-off for me, post-modern art just bewilders me for the most part, sculpture no longer seeks to elevate the mind or to appeal to the masses, and so I think I'm looking to cinema to be reaching some developmental stage of expression that I can identify with. I want to think that there are artists in the world with a transcendent vision of a world in which virtue still has a chance of triumphing over desperation.
So maybe this is nothing more than wish-fulfilment and vicarious living, but until I find a worthwhile film, I'll not be getting much of either! :)
--Teri.
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