The New World       2005       Terrence Malick

I had believed for the longest time that The Last Emperor, Bertolucci's masterpiece from 1987, was quite possibly the most beautiful and lyrical film I had ever seen.  I have come to understand since then that although masterful, and beautiful in its own way, that film was cynical, or at best tainted with a kind of masochistic interest in destroying our perceptions of romanticism about the ancient world of ancestry and racial dominance.  His work also not so subtly raises the efficacy of the Red World of Communism at subduing the human desire to elevate the individual.

Well, now I have a new favorite film.  I can say without any reservation at all that The New World, Terrence Malick's own masterpiece of just a few years ago, 2005 release, is the most beautiful film I've ever seen, period.  It took me 4 viewings to really take it all in, it is so massive in scope.  When I say scope, however, do not be misled by the idea that somehow the simple story in history is what I'm referring to.  That can be told in a few short sentences to schoolchildren during a history lesson, and is all too true as well.   What I mean by scope is the reach of implications that lie under every wave of ocean footage, of flowing river eddy, in every dirt-buried fish scale, and look of the eyes of the natives as they stare into Lubezki's lens, taking their direction from Malick. 

The naturalism that embodies Malick's work is not that of Margaret Mead. It is sensitized by the Judeo-Christian view, yet also without pulling any punches at the harsh juxtaposition of the utterly confused, helpless, and deranged world of the white man as he struggles to come to grips in this new virgin territory.  The divine right of kings, privilege, society, order, industrialism, machinery, and superiority meet with the harsh reality of the untamed wild, Virginia. Without any words at all of sanctimonious histrionic claptrap woven into the script, Malick manages to challenge, without reservation, the calamity of the white man's invasion, religious justifications and all.  If you can view this film without a sense of loss, without a sense of questioning of your own life and place in this earth, then go rent a Disney flick at a Redbox.

But it is much more than that as well.  Interwoven is the complex web of desire, fulfillment, longing, romance if you will, and difficulty of the human love story, and how the working out of those relationships are laid siege to over and against the backdrop of forces and purposes allied against it.  There is a true love story going on here that has everything to do with fidelity and truth, and laying bare of the intentions of man, and how that mirrors the events themselves.  Masterful writing.  Absolutely masterful.  And here I was thinking that the basic children's story was enough in its naiveté.

I'd like to say more, but it's late and I'm really tired and must get this down while it's fresh.  No other film has touched this subject with the same kind of honesty and sensitivity, but mostly beauty and artistic perfection.  I own the BluRay copy, and will doubtless see it again a few more times, while attempting to share it with others.

More than 5 stars.

The Lovely Bones - 2009

Peter Jackson (CrazyHeart, Avatar)

Saoirse Ronan

Rachel Weisz

I will never be like that man.

Those are the words that came to my mind after viewing this.  Because that man and myself are about as far apart as the poles, and as far as east from west. 

God has blessed me with the gift of grace, and goodness, and a heart that loves that which is lovely, and I could no more hurt one of these little ones than I could take out my own heart and watch it beat.

The lovely bones stare back at us from this work, of all those that have cried from the grave against their murderers, and I’m sure they will suffer more than a little tumble over a cliff.

I don’t think there was one misplaced emotion in this film.  It is a recollection piece, of hope mostly, for those that have lost a child, or a young loved one, especially a lost young one that would never be recovered, and most without ever having the satisfaction of finding out who had done it in the end, the strange neighbor, the best friend of the family that moved away one day without warning, the butler, the janitor, the Senator, the lover…

The special effects only augmented the sense of this story, and did not overcrowd it.  The human element was preserved and not overshadowed by the visions of heaven.  You must really appreciate Peter Jackson for this.  They were in fact stupendous, well done, well placed.  And they were numerous, almost a third of the film or more.  But yet they never overshadowed the reality of the family that lay at the center of the tragedy, the stages of relational stress that the couple went through, the resentment, then the abandonment, the loss of love and innocence.  The stress and strain in relations was abrupt, appropriate, realistic, and finally, relieved in the center by the invited relative, Mother-In-Law-In-Charge.  Susan Sarandon was flawless as the bewitching, hapless, crisis caretaker Mother, who in the end also changes, it would seem to be much, much more stable, enduring, and responsible than you would guess.  Oh, and comedy relief, much needed in this tragedy.

It was all there, played out very nicely for us with cinematic bravado.  And it was also not preachy, or religiously offensive.  It leaves room in the end for belief and truth in the end, without excluding anyone, except the hardened atheist perhaps.   Hope seems to be a great hallmark of Peter’s films, the Lord of the Rings being a good example of the very same, the Grey Havens not only in Tolkein’s mind, but realized in the film version as well.  This is not just fluff, or aspirin for the wounded soul.  It’s a real hope built on the idea that love and relationships, especially between a father and a daughter, can reach back even from the grave and make things right again.

The power of the bond of human relations is upheld by this film, and I strongly recommend it for everyone who is old enough to deal with images and the characterization of the reality of death, and especially gruesome types of death and the threat of death at the hands of a villainous creature like the neighbor.  So I’d say 18 or older could understand this, if properly prepared.  It’s heart-wrenching stuff, and not for the emotionally immature however, or the innocent among us, for it presents themes which if seen much too early, could cause fear, instead of comfort, and maybe even fear of the normal neighbor.  I like the fact that we started with a normal neighbor as suspicious and we find out quickly that he was only a bit odd, but loved his daughter, who died of Leukemia.  This took some of the edge off right away, while still suspending the mystery.  I also love the fact that it was not “all about the bad man”.  It was about the love relationship between the parent, and the lost one, and the results of the family, and not just a sagging drama about the horrors of a serial killer.  Yes, the facts were all there, but they were bound up in the narration and discovery journey of the main character.  The plot of the killer and his heinous trail is only revealed as Susie Salmon is ready to receive it.

Great stuff, both the writing, and the cinema.

Safe House - 2012 Review Part B (please note letter of alphabet and see the previous review 1st before reading this one)

ok wait.....

The real scoop.  What I just published was true.  It's a taut thriller, sure, but with predictable re-runs of plot.  Great acting as usual, yes.  Tense scenes that you like to watch because they are...well...tense, and I'm an adrenaline junkie when it comes to tense films.

But honestly, the story hinges on a (person - don't want to spoil it for you here) inside the CIA that has stuff to hide.  Ok, been there, done that.  Went to great extent to hide the crud.  And Denzel went to a great extent too!...in his butt no less (no, it's not what you think).

So ok, this is really exciting to watch.  I almost said "fun" but that's "fun" as in thrill ride, not as in "happy".  This film joins the Borne Identity trilogy, but as a one-off, and no way for a sequel.  Nothing more to discover.  Bad guy dies.  End of trail.  Also, girl beautiful adds human interest and motive, depth, though only surface, to Reynolds' character.  Borne was kind of like that, until she died in that film.  After that, it was revenge.

The allusion to a Wiki-Leaks kind of ending is interesting, and up to date, sure, giving some indication that the producer is information "open-source".  So there is this pseudo-satisfaction kind of conclusion I suppose, but weak, considering the body count.  One of the main characters does get to "explain" that to us near the end, a justification for hiding the trail of tears (about 300 documents worth lots of supposed cash that I did not understand who was purchasing the entire time the plot was thickening).

Summary: lots of action, fast, blood, thrill...nolo contend-re on substance.  

Safe House - 2012 - Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farminga, Benden Gleeson, Sam Shepard

Messy.  Very messy.

Taut.  Tense.  Let's see....uh, same kind of tension as Borne Identity, only more sustained, and more bloodshed, and....well, more bloodshed actually.  Lots of close-up action and psychological tension, and cool Mr. Washington, as usual somehow cool even when he's dying.

Oh, and the CIA is bad, a brand new revelation that has NEVER been said in motion pictures before!  Wow!  I can't believe they were even able to make this picture without getting shut down by the government for treason or something!  I mean, please!  I can't believe that I've seen this!  Wow!  I was looking over my shoulder as I left the theatre because I thought for sure that black ops was going to go all gangsta on us outside the theatre and pull us in for Nterrogation and such.  Man.  I am still scared!  Ah!  If you rent this.....well....change your phone number and your IP address or something because you could get your internet cut off, and a bad credit report, and...and...who knows what else!