I love Soderbergh. He can do wrong, but he does more consistently interesting work in Hollywood than any other working director. What he made of this third installment of a nothing movie is impressive. The saturated colors, verging on Technicolor, really worked. I was expecting to admire the pretty faces (Clooney, Pitt, Damon) but I found myself more enchanted by Pitt against an almost midnight blue sky walking to a private jet. Or Damon expressing his frustration via cell phone while walking on a London street so tinged with blue that his hair almost looked black. And the building with the casino/hotel they target--is that building real? It was amazing. I could have looked at the arial shots all day.
None of that is to say that the action was bad (it was good) or the plot was confusing (for a caper film, it was straightforward). My first reaction: it was sufficiently entertaining. For a pleasant escape, it hit the spot.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The Searchers
A classic John Ford (director), John Wayne (lead actor) Western. Did you know that I love Westerns? The Searchers is so good because the story is simple but the motivations are complex. The plot is straightforward, but there is a lot more showing than telling. I also love the scenery. While a lot of the film is shot on sound stages with painted backdrops there are also many breathtaking shots of the southwestern scenery. It's movies like this (or perhaps this movie in particular) that shaped my ideas about what to expect in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. I've been disappointed to never quite see anything like it in real life.
The story is a about a man, Ethan, and a younger man, Martin, the adopted son of Ethan's brother, who search for Ethan's niece, Debby, who was kidnapped in an Indian raid. The rest of the family was killed. The two men search for years for Debby and their quest is bitter, hopeless and relentless. The world they travel is harsh and unkind. They return to their community every couple of years to a usually warm welcome. They could make a home but Ethan won't give up the search and Martin feels the need to watch him. Why? Martin doesn't trust Ethan, who has a violent temper. Martin is afraid that Ethan would sacrifice Debby's life to seek vengeance on the Indians who took her.
The fascinating part of the movie is the undercurrent (it's not that under, really) of racism towards the Indians. In Ethan's eyes, becoming "one of them" might be worse than being killed. His relationship with Martin is ambivalent, too, because Martin is either 1/4 (according to Ethan) or 1/8 (according to Martin) Indian. Ethan loves and hates Martin. Some say Ethan is John Wayne's best role, better than his Oscar winning performance in True Grit. I think I agree.
The story is a about a man, Ethan, and a younger man, Martin, the adopted son of Ethan's brother, who search for Ethan's niece, Debby, who was kidnapped in an Indian raid. The rest of the family was killed. The two men search for years for Debby and their quest is bitter, hopeless and relentless. The world they travel is harsh and unkind. They return to their community every couple of years to a usually warm welcome. They could make a home but Ethan won't give up the search and Martin feels the need to watch him. Why? Martin doesn't trust Ethan, who has a violent temper. Martin is afraid that Ethan would sacrifice Debby's life to seek vengeance on the Indians who took her.
The fascinating part of the movie is the undercurrent (it's not that under, really) of racism towards the Indians. In Ethan's eyes, becoming "one of them" might be worse than being killed. His relationship with Martin is ambivalent, too, because Martin is either 1/4 (according to Ethan) or 1/8 (according to Martin) Indian. Ethan loves and hates Martin. Some say Ethan is John Wayne's best role, better than his Oscar winning performance in True Grit. I think I agree.
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