No Country For Old Men

When considering a film's appeal there are two general categories that apply, either the film is mainstream and meant to appeal to a more general audience; or it can be seen as an  independent or "art-house" film.  I like to categorize what I watch as either a movie (if it's mainstream) or a film (if its more independent).  But rarely does a movie/film come along that operates on both levels, either you have to sacrifice the general entertainment value of the film or the substance, but rarely can you have both.  This film is one of those exceptions.

I have unashamedly seen this movie three times in the theatre and I would have no problem going again.  The first time I saw this film I knew I had just seen a movie, I mean...film, that would be close to #1 in my top ten favorite films of all time, and it was because not only did this film have entertainment value, but it worked on a philosophical level that I felt was accessible to the casual viewer.  I also appreciated the questions that this film raised in my mind from the first time I saw it to now when I am finally writing about it.

The story follows a man named Lewellen Moss who stumbles across a drug deal gone wrong, and ends up on the run with 2 million dollars.  Lewellen is faced with a moral dilemma involving one of the dying men he stumbled across at the site of the drug deal, and because of his choice he finds himself on the run, not only from drug dealers but from a sociopathic killer named Antoine Sugar.  Another narrative thread runs through this movie and it follows the investigation of the local sheriff played by Tommy Lee Jones.  His character is perhaps the most important in terms of interpreting the events of the film as the audience sees much of the story played out through his eyes.

Tommy Lee Jones' character keeps discussing his feeling of alienation from a society that has become defined by an increasing number of senseless violent acts, and explores this alienation in a series of voiceovers that take place throughout the film.  These voiceovers do not move the plot forward as much as they serve as narrative signposts that help the viewer to navigate their way through this film.  The true purpose of the film is found in the Tommy Lee Jones voiceovers, without these this movie would be no more than a standard drug-deal-gone-wrong-on-the-run-from-a-sociopath-killer movie...and we've already seen too many of those.  It is important if you desire to understand the meaning behind this film to focus on the voiceovers.  Tommy Lee Jones sets up one of the themes of this movie in the first five minutes when he recounts the story of a young man he sent to the electric chair for the murder and who claimed that if he was let out he would murder again and that he was not afraid of the idea of hell or a final judgment.  The sheriff then asks, "What do you do in the face of such evil?"

That is the underlying question to be asked of this film.  What is the sense in what you are watching?  And what is our response to it as an audience member?  To me the film portrays what the world would look like if there was no reality of a final judgment.  Without a final judgment than there is no protection from men like Sugar.  If we only have to fear men to deliver our judgment than there is nothing that can stop the evil of someone who has lost their fear God and man.  If one lives by a solely humanistic ideal than there is no sense to be made in the violence or wickedness of this world, there is no one man can rely on to make things right in the end, and that is a disheartening thing.

The redemptive aspect of this film comes in a dream that Tommy Lee Jones has and recounts to his wife.  He talks about finding himself in a night of utter darkness and as he is standing there his father rides past him with a horn of oil that has a fire.  And his father rides past him out into the night and up ahead begins to prepare a camp for him.  And then he woke up.  When I first heard this I immediately thought of Jesus and thought that that is truly the only hope we have.  In the face of wickedness and senseless violence I know that Jesus has gone before me, he has suffered through the violence of this world and now he has gone before me and is preparing a place for me.  (John 14:2)  Although the reality is that this hope is only found in those who can claim Christ as a Savior, without Him though, there is no hope for justice or ultimate meaning. 

P.S.  On a side note I would like to say that the aesthetics of this film are spectacular.  The cinematography, direction, acting are all superb.  The cinematographer of this film is named Roger Deakins.  Please click on his name and if you have a love of cinematography start working your way through his filmography...he truly is amazing.

What It's Worth:  If you are feeling up to it (it is violent and stark) rent this tonight.

Here is a link to the trailer.

Le Notti di Cabiria

This blog is being posted me, Elise Krepcho.  I'll be posting my own movie reviews on here periodically as I couldn't just sit and watch Keith have all the fun!  So here we go, my first movie review:

Last night, Keith and I watched Le Nottie di Cabiria or Nights of Cabiria by Blizzard's suggestion.  It was directed by Fedrico Fellini and stars the very talented Guiletta Musina who is also Fellini's wife.  Before watching this masterpiece, it was suggested that we not read much about it (which I hardly ever do- but which Keith usually does), I was glad that I didn't because if I had, I feel like I would have been able to guess the outcome.  The movie itself gives the viewer an unseen portrait of the less-romantic Italian night life.  We get glimpses of the seedy Roman underground which apparently is full of screaming, yelling, fighting and jealousy.

Nights of Cabiria is about a Roman prostitute and her struggle to find true love and decency in her world.  Despite choosing a career of prostitution and living a life that denotes this type of lifestyle, Cabiria has her own little house- in the ghetto- which she owns by the end of the picture, a bank account which holds over $40,000 lire and a boyfriend whom she claims loves her.  It is not until the money is stolen and she almost drowns that Cabiria realizes that she wants to change.  She wanders the streets at night and during the day looking for someone or something that will change her life.  She meets a famous movie star who sweeps her up in his convertible, takes her dancing to a classy night club and then back to his house only to lock her in the bathroom when his angry ex girlfriend shows up for a surprise visit.  She also meets a man who carries around a sack of everyday necessities visiting the extremely poor who live in caves.  Among these,  Cabiria finds an old Madamme friend named "Bomba" who was robbed of her treasures including her famous beauty and charm.  Fellini must have used this scene as a remind of the fate that lies in Cabiria's future if her life does not change.

The signature Felliniesque scene happens when Cabiria and a group of her friends/prostitutes take their crippled uncle (who used to sell Cocaine and Pimp out women) on a pilgrimage to see "La Moadonna del Divino Amore" the Madonna of Divine Love, in hopes that he will be healed.  During this pilgrimage, the prostitutes are seen side by side with nuns, priests, cripples as well as the rich and the general public- as if Fellini were saying that we all need some sort of miracle-all are equal when it comes to the needs of our hearts and spirituality.  While there, Cabiria asks the Madonna to help her change and then asks her to make her change, knowing she couldn't do it by her own merit- she wanted a new life, something to get her out of the rut she was in.

Musina's range of emotion is exquisitely portrayed throughout the whole of the film, at times she can be so very Charlie Chaplain and at other times, the picture of grace.  During one scene, her prideful, rude, untrusting exterior is penetrated by a magician who, under the power of hypnosis, causes Cabiria to express her true devotion to an imaginary lover.   It is after this moving scene -which was performed on a stage- that an accountant in the crowd woos Cabiria into trusting and eventually loving him.

I have never felt for a character the way I felt for Cabiria.  I would be entertained by her, angry at her and empathetic toward her all within a single scene.  I wanted her to get out of her life, I saw what she had to offer, even if at times it was obnoxious and cold.  She is a character who I feel exists in each woman.  Women, as anti-feminist as this may sound, need the love of a man.  Cabiria's career choice itself is proof of her need of affection and love in some regard, even if it only gained her monetary success, which she forsook in the end in hopes for a chance at true love.  

For What it's Worth rating:  GO GET IT! it's on DVD now.

Here is a link to the trailer.

A "Young At Heart" "War Dance"

I asked my wife what genre of movie is difficult to get motivated to watch even though you know that you'll probably like the film.  One of the genres she listed was Documentary, so it is fitting that the first two movies reviewed are documentaries and that she was the spearheading force behind me watching both of them.

The first movie we watched was at our favorite theatre in Dallas, we went with our friend (Justin) to see "Young At Heart".  Here is a link to the trailer.

"Young At Heart" is a documentary about a group of senior citizens whose average age is 80+ and who make up a choir called "Young At Heart".  What makes this choir special, besides their average age, is that their song list includes tracks by The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, James Brown, The Ramones, and other various modern rock and R & B groups. 

There is something good about watching a movie and realizing about halfway through that you have an enormous big dumb grin on your face and quickly wiping it off your face only to discover five minutes later that the big dumb grin has returned.  That was my experience throughout much of this movie.

After the movie was over and I had just finished wiping the last vestiges of that big dumb grin off my face Elise, Justin, and I got to talking about the film.  Justin brought up the point that the movie seemed a bit exploitive.  Many of the shots are perhaps a little too close for comfort and you can feel the hand of the director trying to show just how cute and funny many of these people can be, but he does it at the expense of sitting back a bit and allowing the scenes and characters to play out with some distance and space.  The good thing about this is that the people in the film are genuine, funny and interesting enough to overcome the (few) filmmaking flaws that are present in the film.  For example, I would wish that the director had some distance from the choir when he was filming the final concert, but it is a truly moving scene when the choir covers  "Fix You" by Coldplay, no matter how intrusive the camera gets.  It is one of the most genuine and moving film experiences I've had in a while.

For What It's Worth Grade: Look for this on DVD soon, and it is definitely worth an immediate rental.

And speaking of moving experiences this is a good time to transition to the second documentary Elise and I watched "War Dance".  You can watch the trailer here.

This is a film where instead of catching myself grinning I would catch myself not breathing.  I would do a sort of silent gasp at some of the stories the kids were telling and I would just hold my breath until it was over.  As I read through the reviews on rottentomatoes I found that the same critique Justin had of Young At Heart was being cited by many of the critics who negatively reviewed this film.  They charged this film as being manipulative and emotionally exploitive, but in this film I did not feel manipulated.  I felt that the filmmaking was in service of the subjects.  There is a scene where a mother and daughter mourn at the grave of their father and husband, that is unsettling for the viewer and I honestly am still not sure how I feel about the ethics involved in capturing such a moment on film and projecting it to millions, but I can say it was extremely moving, and I still have not forgotten that scene.

The one area of this film that I wish it explored more was the faith that is evidenced in many of the children's lives.  There are scenes of children praying and we hear portions of prayers, but the filmmakers never explore how faith plays into the lives of these children, or who they are praying too.  The religion of the tribe and the individual families is never explored.  Apart from that this movie does a good job of showing the world that these children are forced to inhabit and does help raise awareness of the reality of those who are suffering, especially children.  If you are looking for a film that lets you in on the suffering in Africa that we hear so much about these days, this is a great film to watch.

What It's Worth:  An immediate rental, it is out now on DVD.

A "For What It's Worth" (Introduction)

The purpose of this blog is two fold.  First, I have been wanting to do a movie blog for a while because I love film and  that's it for my first point.  Second, I have been trying to find a way to help my film retention.  I watch so many films and I find myself struggling to recall the plots of films I have seen just a week ago.  So I am hoping that this blog will provide a place for me to go to and have a reference for many of the films that I have seen and thought were worth remembering.

I hope to keep these posts short, focused and to the point.  I hope to focus on a plot synopsis (without giving away and crucial plot points), a content summary, and some initial thoughts on the filmmaking and impressions of the film.  The only thing I haven't worked out yet is a rating system.  I have nothing against a "star rating" but everyone is doing those.  So I am asking the family members and close friends who read (or at least pretend to read...Billy) these blogs to help me out by suggesting a fresh new take on a movie rating system.  Right now all I have is a end of a first date theme system.  "I'll call you, don't call me." would be the worst; "I can see us being really good friends" would be bad (or would it be the worst?); "We should do this again sometime" is a good;  and "I can't believe I'm calling you on my way home" is the best.

Or a monthly system in which an animal is chosen to represent all movies watched in that month and the review will tell you what to do with the animal.  So if we chose a "Goldfish" to represent all the movies that I review for May, and I reviewed "Baby Mama" I might tell you to "not wait till it's dead, just flush it straight down the toilet".  So send in your suggestions and the winner will get a headshot of me with a signed personalized motivational cliche written in a speech bubble above my mouth.  That's the end of my introduction, for what it's worth.