Notes on a Scandal

Obsession. It can make us miss the joy that is available to us because we focus so much on what we do not have. In Notes on a Scandal, obsessions shape the lives of two women.

Sheba is a new teacher. She has spent the last several years caring for her family and feels the need to find something new in her life. It's not that there is anything wrong with what she has, she just wants more.

Barbara has been teaching a long time. She is burnt out and cynical -- at least that is the first impression we get of her. As we get to know her more in the film we discover someone much darker. She is alone in the world, except for the fantasies that she develops.

Sheba falls into a sexual relationship with one of her students. The student seems to be the main initiator of this relationship, but that in no way absolves Sheba from responsibility for it. In fact, Sheba cannot bring herself to put an end to what is inevitably a disastrous liaison. She is obsessed with the sexual vitality she experiences with the boy.

Barbara discovers the affair and uses it as blackmail to have a relationship with Sheba. There is no overt sexual component to this, but we sense a bit of repressed sexual desire on Barbara's part. As she writes in her journal about Sheba, there is a kind of yearning that she seems to think is reciprocated, when in fact, it is all in her somewhat demented mind.

These obsessions create turmoil in Sheba's life and family. She is both the focus of obsession and the origin of obsession. The cross currents of these obsessions are bound to lead to destruction not only of those involved but all those around them.

There are differences between the obsessions. Sheba is certainly wrong to become involved with a student. Hers is not a predatory obsession, but a failure to maintain proper boundaries. Hers is a serious breach of responsibility, and there is a price to be paid for that breach.

Barbara, however, is pathological in her obsession. She writes in her journal about this blossoming friendship in glowing terms and even puts gold stars in to mark special days. When we hear the things she writes and compare them to the events we see on screen, we are aware that her reality is not the same as the one we are experiencing. Barbara, we discover, is a predator. She believes that there is love between herself and those on whom she centers her attention. Her obsession carries a different destructive force, a force that brings the brunt of the pain on others rather than to herself.

This film is carried by two very strong performances by Judy Dench as Barbara and Cate Blanchett as Sheba. Dench is especially noteworthy in playing this malevolent woman with a depth beyond almost any woman's role this year. Both performances take us into the world of their obsessions -- worlds that lose all perspective of what is true and valuable.

That is the problem with obsessions; they blind us to the good that we have for that which we long for. In the story that plays out in Notes on a Scandal, these obsessions never bring the joy that is hoped for. Rather they bring far more pain than those who obsess ever imagine.

December viewings (and year end summary)

12/1/06		28 Up
12/2/06		Volver
12/4/06		Absolute Wilson
12/5/06		The Lady Vanishes
12/8/06		What's Eating Gilbert Grape
12/12/06		Entertaining Angels
12/14/06		My Country, My Country
12/16/06		Little Children
12/17/06		Casino Royale
12/19/06		Turtles Can Fly
12/20/06		The Spitfire Grill
12/20/06		Miss Potter
12/23/06		Blood Diamond
12/25/06		Children of Men
12/25/06		Curse of the Golden Flower
12/26/06		Letters from Iwo Jima
12/27/06		Notes on a Scandal
12/27/06		The Secret Life of Words
12/28/06		The Good Shepherd
12/29/06		Dreamgirls
12/30/06		Pan's Labyrinth
12/30/06		The Painted Veil
12/30/06		Someday Flowers Bloom
12/30/06		Paris, 1951
12/30/06		The Zit
12/30/06		My Life Disoriented
12/31/06		The Pursuit of Happyness

Totals for the year:
titles seen -- 232
shorts -- 31
feature films -- 201
screenings -- 14
regular theater viewings (including one festival film) -- 62

It's been a decent year. As I work of my top films list for the year I have plenty of worthy choices to pick from. The only thing really holding it back is there just aren't that many that give it that something extra to knock your socks off.

My grade for the year: a solid B+

The mission gears back up

We had a big day planned for Dec. 30, and there were a few changes to plans, but it wasn't without its moments.

First we planned on late breakfast at one of the good breakfast places we know about on 17th St. in Costa Mesa. But getting started at 10:00 we knew that if there was much of a wait, we might be getting behind. But on the way, a CHP officer decided Jane needed to be reminded that the speed limit is 65 mph. At least now we know that the speedometer is fairly accurate - it read the same as what the cop said we were going.

That took a bit of time, so we decided to go directly to the shopping center across from UCI where our first movie was playing and eat at Britta's Cafe, an upscale eatery that we rarely get to, and have never been to for breakfast. Jane loved her Monte Cristo (almost made her forget about the ticket) and my zucchini, shallot and goat cheese omelet was excellent.

Then we went for a brief stroll through the Saturday morning farmers' market and picked up a few veggies and headed for movie one of the day, Pan's Labyrinth, a blend of real world and fantasy world (but is it really fantasy?) Exceptional effects, and a very good story to go with it.

There's a Trader Joe's there too, so after the movie we went to pick up a few things, but they were out of the heavy cream that isn't ultrapastorized that Jane had to have. So before our next movie (since we had some time to kill) we found another TJ's and found it there.

The next film (this one showing by South Coast Plaza) was The Painted Veil. It got something of a lukewarm review in the paper, but since it has great scenery and is Edward Norton, Jane didn't really care what the review said. It is worth mentioning, though, that when we were getting ready to see Pan's Labyrinth, Jane issued a preemptive complaint, hoping that the story has enough of a satisfactory ending not to make it a downer. My response was, "What, a story about a loveless marriage in the middle of a cholera epidemic won't be a downer?" She seemed to think that since they end up finding love for each other, it'll come out ok. (Spoiler - divert your eyes if you don't want to know) The guy gets cholera and dies. Yeah, real happy ending.

Then we went to Buena Park for papusas at Nancy's Papuseria. These are a Salvadoran treat - a thick handmade corn tortilla stuffed with filling. Really tasty. We also had a cheese empanada and a carnitas taco. Everything excellent -- and cheap.

Then we came home, watched the funniest commercials for the year (we taped it earlier in the week) and some shorts that we taped of PBS.

The count so far: 10 movies from the list (plus a DVD and some shorts), 1 film eliminated because of bad reviews, 3 museums, 1 play, 1 speeding ticket.

And we aren't done yet.

The mission concludes here

The mission limps along

Another fairly slow day for the mission, but not without entertainment.

There were errands to take care of in the morning. With all the work of the mission, we hadn't worked out for a while, so Jane went off to water aerobics and from there to give blood. While all that was going on, I took the cat to the vet for her last kitten shot. She really doesn't like being in the carrier or riding in the car. It's amazing how far she can reach through the grating when she's desperate. But all went well. She's up to 4.4 pounds. She's growing to be very long and skinny.

After lunch we went to the local multiplex and were having a hard time deciding between Dreamgirls and The Pursuit of Happyness. By the time we got to the front of the line, it was time for Dreamgirls so we did that one. Pleasant enough, but I don't see all the Oscar hype. I can see a couple acting nominations, but I can surely think of five films that need to be nominated ahead of this one.

Then while I went to the Y to work out, Jane cooked (always a good thing). Then we sat down to watch the Netflix dvd (Zelary, I know you haven't heard of it.) that had been gathering dust during our travels to Hollywood and Pasadena. The red wine from dinner was making Jane's head nod, which means she was missing the wonderful scenery of the film (she really likes good scenery), so we paused so I could scoop up a some ice cream and the eating would give her a new awakening. While I was scooping she called to me and said there was some chocolate sauce on the second shelf of the fridge. I looked around that shelf and finally found a small Tupperware container. I heated it to thin it, but it didn't thin very well, so I glopped it on and brought her the ice cream. Now, Jane usually makes pretty good stuff, but this was the worst chocolate sauce I've ever had. She noticed it wasn't very good either. Then she asked about it and I told her what I found (which was right where she told me it would be.) It turns out that gravy on ice cream isn't as good a match as chicken and waffles. So then Jane got up and found the real chocolate sauce and we began scooping anew. That woke her up enough to enjoy the rest of Zelary.

Lest you think we're falling down on the mission, we have a big day planned today. Stay tuned.

The mission continues here.

Miss Potter

For more than a century, children have been enthralled by the stories of Peter Rabbit, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, Jemima Puddle-Duck and the other creations of Beatrix Potter. In Miss Potter, Chris Noonan has put together a delightful film that shows us the woman behind these stories.

The story begins just as Beatrix is finding a publisher for her first book. Nobody really thinks her little children's book will sell, but they humor her and assign the book to a younger brother in the company, expecting him to fail and move on to other interests. But Norman Warne doesn't know he's supposed to fail. He works with Beatrix to get things just as she wants it, and the book is an immediate success.

Beatrix and Norman soon fall in love, but her parents object because he is a tradesman and beneath them in class. Beatrix's parents have inherited enough money that they don't have to work and spend the days being social climbers. It had been their hope to arrange a suitable marriage for Beatrix with someone from a family that would aid in their social climb. A publisher just won't do -- even if he has plenty of money.

All the while, her books keep selling. When Beatrix asks about her royalties, she discovers that she is now a wealthy woman. In time she buys a house in the Lake District and begins her life of independence.

Maybe I enjoyed the film because I see so many films that deal with much darker subjects. This film is like a sorbet served between courses to cleanse the palate. But I wouldn't want to give the impression that the film is of no artistic or spiritual nutritional value.

Noonan, who formerly directed Babe, has put together all the elements to make this movie such a pleasant experience. The score fits it like a glove. The scenery is a joy to behold. The Edwardian London sets are charming. The cast works together well. It's a nice story. The package is put together just right for this kind of film -- a film for families, especially if the tales of Beatrix Potter's imagination are dear.

Even the times when Noonan brings in a bit of the cuteness of Babe, it adds to the film as a whole. When I saw a trailer of the film that included her drawings coming to life and the conversations she would have with these "friends", I thought it was just a bit too cute. But those scenes really serve to set up a much more serious section of the film as she goes through a time of grief and the drawings show how that grief is devouring her.

But the film also has tastes of things to discuss about life. There is a hint of a proto-feminism when Beatrix and Norman's sister Millie consider life without being married and what that means to a woman at that time. Millie always wears a man's shirt and tie as a sign of her independence.

The film also looks at the importance of conservation of natural resources. The Lake District still is a picturesque place in England in large part because of Beatrix Potter bought farms to preserve the beauty of the area. Even in her day it was feared that the land would be subdivided and houses built, taking away the character of the Lake District. She gave to the British people 4000 acres in a land trust to be preserved for all time.

The film may not hold the interest of younger children and may appeal a bit more to girls than to boys, but what a nice break it is from the action films that seem to fill the multiplex. It is a gratifying trip to another time and discovering a life that in more ways than one has added joy and beauty to the world.

The mission still continues

Reaching the midpoint of the mission gives you a chance to assess how it's going. We've been busy, so on Dec. 28, it was toned down a little. After a morning at home doing chores and working on my Letters from Iwo Jima review, we packed some sandwiches to smuggle into the theater and went to The Good Shepherd at our local theater. Then home again to finish off the review, and play with pets for a while.

Then we pick up some friends from a trip to NoHo for dinner and a play. We ate at The Eclectic Wine Bar and Grill then went a few blocks up the street to see The Marvelous Wonderettes, a distaff Forever Plaid set at a small high school prom in 1958. Really great fun. It's performed in a very intimate theater space that truly adds to the experience.

Pretty easy day, but all good.

Let's see that makes 7 films, still 3 museums, and a play.

The mission continues here.

Letters From Iwo Jima

When I was young, war movies made it very clear who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. The Americans were always the good guys. The enemy (be it German or Japanese) was always vicious, godless and bordering on the inhuman. In more recent years, we have had films that treat all combatants as people caught up in events beyond their control. Perhaps this is seen most clearly in last year's Joyeux Noel.

Earlier this year, Clint Eastwood released his film Flags of Our Fathers about the famous image of the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi. That story focused on the American Marines and sailors in that battle. Now he has released Letters From Iwo Jima, the story of the same battle, only this time from the Japanese perspective.

The two films are often spoken of as companion pieces -- two films telling the same story from different points of view. I prefer to see them as two films that coincidentally have the same director, a writer that worked on both films with others, the same setting and were filmed back to back that really need to be looked at separately. Although they have so much in common, each stands on its own and if seen together the whole isn't more than the sum of the pieces. Letters is also by far the superior of the two films.

The Japanese soldiers defending this small island were doomed from the start. Most of them knew this. They were outnumbered, didn't have air support, didn't have enough weapons or ammunition. The reasonable course might have been to surrender. But because this island was part of Japan, they were defending their homeland. Even if defeat is inevitable, fighting for the island provides a bit more time for preparations on the main island to defend against the American invasion. I was reminded as I watched of America's memory of the Alamo. They defend this little piece of volcanic rock out of a sense of honor.

That sense of honor plays out in many ways, some unhealthy. It is honor that leads the general to lead a final all out attack that is a suicide mission. It is honor that leads some soldiers who have failed to hold Suribachi to commit suicide by hand grenade. It is honor that leads a colonel to have his medic use some of the dwindling medical supplies to treat a wounded American soldier, even though his wounds are too serious for him to survive. The colonel also, under the guise of interrogating the prisoner, speaks with him in a way that calms him and gives him a sense of peace before death.

Much of the film focuses on choices that have to be made during war. In the heat of battle, there isn't room to think or make choices, but often along the edges of war, those choices are possible. How should an enemy prisoner be treated? We see both American and Japanese soldiers treating them well and badly. Should commanders save their soldiers when defeat is inevitable, or continue to fight to their certain death?

Choices always must be made in war situations. We know that there have been bad mistakes made in places like Abu Ghraib and Haditha in Iraq. We may hear less of the choices that have been made that have brought a bit of peace to those in the conflict zone -- choices made everyday.

There is a scene in flashback as the commanding general remembers his time in America where he was hosted by American cavalry officers. He made many friends among the American soldiers. At a farewell dinner, one of the officer's wives asks him about if Japan and America fought in a war if he could kill these friends. He skillfully avoids an answer, but we know that soldiers do what they must. As he drives away he speaks of these people as his friends. But we know that his future will put him in a position of fighting against and killing these who have befriended him.

From time to time through the story we hear in voice over the letters soldiers write home to families -- letters that never were mailed because of the island's isolation. It is these letters that reflect the ways these Japanese soldiers were so like American soldiers. The letters we hear are from the lowest private and the commanding general. They have very different perspectives, but both write with tenderness about their situation and of their love for their family. At one point the two talk a bit about family. The general says that the irony of their situation is that he fights to the death for his family, but thinking about his family makes it hard to do his duty.

But the most touching letter read is not one of these letters home to Japan, but a letter from Oklahoma carried by the wounded soldier cared for by the Japanese colonel. After the soldier dies he reads this letter from the soldier's mother to the Japanese soldiers with him. She tells her son to "do what is right because it is right." This touches the other soldiers because they recognize that this is what they have been told as well.

The opening and closing shots of the film are of present day Iwo Jima, showing a peaceful beach looking toward Mount Suribachi. The beginning of the film shows artifacts of war -- ruined bunkers, rusted tanks. We are reminded by these shots that this island, where so much blood was shed by both American and Japanese soldiers, has scars of the war fought there, but those scars do not last forever. The island is renewing itself with new life.

Our mission continues

Dec. 27 started with us making progress on the movie list the easy way. After reading a review of one of the films, it fell off the list. Later we saw a trailer for the film that confirmed that decision.

Then the trip to Pasadena commenced. It's strange, Pasadena is just about the same distance for us to travel as going to Irvine, but we go to Irvine for movies all the time, and view a trip to Pasadena as a special excursion.

We started by having lunch at Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles. I know, if you haven't been to Roscoe's you're shaking your head, but it has great fried chicken, wonderful waffles and what Jane says are the best greens anywhere. And chicken and waffles go together quite well.

After lunch we headed over to the Pasadena Museum of California Art, which had a photography exhibit that interested us. The photos were good, but the real prize at PMCA was the exhibit of watercolors -- absolutely wonderful. There was also a small collection of H. D. Puthuff's plein air paintings.

By the time we finished here, the rain had come (we thought it was done for the day, but it fooled us.) En route to the next venue, we finally made our way to Colorado Boulevard where things are being made ready for the Rose Parade. Bleachers are going up wherever they can fit in a few rows. It interesting to see how they fit them in around buildings. Still raining when we parked and made our way to the next two events.

The next stop was Vroman's bookstore, which is next door to the Laemmle Playhouse theater. Any time we see a movie here, it means a trip to Vromans. This trip was a bit of an anomaly for us, because we didn't buy anything. Christmas filled our bookshelves for a while, so we just looked this time.

Then it was time to get down to business. There are movies to be watched. So Notes on a Scandal got our attention. They can still nominate other actresses for awards, but just give them all to Judy Dench now.

Time for another trip down Colorado, but going the opposite direction as the Parade will be traveling, to the Norton Simon Museum where there was a companion photo exhibit to the one at PMCA. We also went through the impressionist section visiting all our old friends. The Norton Simon is certainly the place to go if you are a Degas fan. Because of the rain, the garden was closed, so we didn't get to visit some of our favorite sculptures.

Still more movies to get to, but it's suppertime now, so we head over to One Colorado and have dinner at Il Fornaio. After dinner we go around to corner to Laemmle's One Colorado theater to see the next movie of the mission: The Secret Life of Words. First a bit about the theater: this is a subterranean multiplex. You take escalators down under the shopping and restaurants of One Colorado to see your movie. The various theaters are relatively small. Ours sat 200.

The film was just the kind of indie film we love to see. It was almost as good as Sweet Land, which we fell in love with several weeks ago. The unfortunate part of this experience is that it has no following. There were only five of us in this theater for this gem of a film.

Then home to feed hungry pets and crawl into bed to rest up for today's activities, which will be a bit less full. I need to get started on some reviews. Still the mission goes on.

So far: 6 movies, 3 museums.

The mission continues here.

Our Mission

Since I had a week of vacation that I hadn't gotten around to taking, my wife and I are on a mission -- to put a major dent in the end of the year movies that may or may not be nominated for awards. We put together a list of 15 films that we want to see. That will be a challenge to fit in between Christmas and New Years. I doubt we'll finish the task in the week, but it will give us a good start anyway.

We got a head start on Saturday the 23rd by seeing Blood Diamond. It wasn't high on the list, but since it was local, it seemed like an easy one to start with.

On Christmas we started in earnest. Since we are empty-nesters, we have the day free of family obligations. We traveled to Orange County to take in a pair of films: Children of Men and Curse of the Golden Flower. Part of the challenge of such a mission is not only fitting in as many movies as possible, but also keeping variety in the viewing. You need to balance between darkness and light.

Christmas is a big day for theaters. The theaters were pretty full for both showings. If you decide to hit a movie next Christmas, be sure to plan to get to the theater early if you want to get your favorite seat.

But as busy as the theaters are, all the things around it are closed. There is nowhere to eat or even pick up a latte between films. Take a book and hope the theater has enough light to read. Or take a walk -- you've been sitting a lot.

On Boxing Day we went big time and went to Hollywood to see Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima. It was playing at Arclight at Sunset and Vine. Wonderful venue. Comfortable seats. Very good sight lines, even from the side aisle where we were sitting. Assigned seating, so if you want an aisle (or center) seat, you can get it. The downside: It is pricey. Cost of a ticket (even mid-week matinee) is $2-3 higher than we pay at our local theaters.

After Iwo we drove down to Farmer's Market for dinner. There is a wonderful Mexican food stand (Loteria) in the middle of Farmers Market. I had a chicken mole burrito. Really good stuff.

Then we went to LACMA to see an excellent exhibit on Magritte and Contemporary Art. We made quick excursions into a couple other exhibits before heading home. We probably could have hit another movie if we'd skipped the museum, but this too helps to keep the mind fresh. All movies all the time would just be overwhelming.

Tomorrow: a trip to Pasadena for another movie and some more museums

The mission continues here.

Children of Men

On Christmas Day I went to a movie about an inexplicable, miraculous pregnancy and the child who birth brings hope to a fallen and dying world. No, I didn't go to The Nativity Story; I saw Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men.

Children of Men is an apocalyptic dystopia film set a bit in the future in a world in which all humanity has become infertile. For nearly two decades there have been no births. Society has broken down from the despair that follows the realization that, because no one is being born, humanity is doomed and the end is literally within our lifetime. Britain (the setting of the story) claims to be the only remaining bastion of civilization, but what we see is not civil at all. Assisted suicide kits are distributed by the government and advertised on every billboard. There is racism and oppression in every corner. Immigrants bear the brunt of all the frustration of this dying world. They are rounded up and caged, eventually taken to "refugee centers" that look like a combination of the Warsaw ghetto, Auschwitz, Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo.

It is in this world of death that Theo is recruited by a band of revolutionaries to get traveling papers for Kee, a young refugee woman. He can only get joint papers, so he must escort her to wherever she is to be taken. He has no idea why she is important, but he needs the money. When he meets her, he discovers that she is pregnant -- the first pregnancy anywhere in the world in eighteen years. Soon he is on the run with her, trying to protect her from all who want the child for their own purposes. It is obvious that this child represents the hope of the world -- governments and rebels alike want to claim that hope for their cause. His goal is to deliver Kee to The Human Project, a scientific group rumored to exist that is seeking a way to restart humanity.

Seeing it on Christmas certainly made me aware of the many ways the film wants to mirror the coming of Christ. An unmarried woman pregnant with a miracle child, an arduous journey, a birth in squalor, a image of adoration, a breaking in of peace, and even an equivalent of the flight to Egypt all mirror stories of Jesus' birth. For those who miss these subtleties, every time someone sees Kee's swollen belly they exclaim, "Jesus Christ!" All who know about the pregnancy see this child as a kind of messiah, but they want to interpret that messiah in light of their own goals.

This film has the basic worldview found in apocalyptic literature, such as the biblical books of Daniel and Revelation. Apocalypses see the world as near destruction and unable to find its way back. But apocalyptic literature is really not about destruction, it is about the revealing of hope. Children of Men is, in the end, a story about hope in the midst of worldwide decay.

What makes the film work so well as apocalypse is that it shows touches of much of the unrest and turmoil of the present time. We see religious extremism, xenophobia, prejudice, terrorism, brutality under the guise of "homeland security," and a culture of death. This is not just the result of a childless world. When we see the many refugees and the way they are treated, it seems as real as the nightly news from Iraq, but also harkens back to the Holocaust. Many of the refugees speak with eastern European accents; one of the key characters in the refugee camp seems to be Roma. The culture of death that is so prevalent in the film is really the extension of where the world has been headed for many years. (Ah, that apocalyptic worldview!)

It is easy to wonder, in light of so much that is wrong with the world (and everything that is wrong in the film's future society is already present in ours), if there is any future for humanity. The film posits a time when there literally is no future. It is the future itself, represented in a pregnancy, that provides hope.

Although it is possible to read a divine hand into the story, this is a very humanistic apocalypse. We never learn why or how the time of infertility came about, but the depravity that grew from that hopelessness is certainly the outgrowth of the dark side within us all. We also never learn how Kee's pregnancy came about. But it really doesn't matter. It is the mere fact that she is pregnant and that life will go on that brings all the hope that the world needs to begin anew. The struggle still goes on, but the promise of a future brings it all to a pause, if only momentarily. Our hope, like our trouble, is ultimately found in ourselves.

But as I watched it on Christmas, it was good to remember the One who is my hope -- the One in whom my future and present find their meaning.

Apocalypto: over the top carnage

Mel Gibson makes it clear what we are supposed to find in Apocalypto by beginning the film with a quotation from historian Will Durant: A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within. The film is designed to show us the self-destruction of the once great Mayan society. We should then also be able to see the parallels between the decline of that society and what could be our own decline.

Without the Durant quotation, I'm not sure I'd see the film in that way. Come to think of it, I don't think I see it that way even with the quotation.

The story focuses on an agrarian Mayan village and the life of the people there. They are mostly hunter-gatherers. Their village is pleasant. The people are in many ways an extended family. They are a community in every sense of the word. Their lives are tied together in both times of joy and times of pain. Although their life is primitive, we see them as very like us with developed senses of humor, love and spirituality.

The film's conflict starts when invaders from the Mayan city come, destroying the village and taking the survivors as captives on a perilous journey to the great city where all manner of depravity is to be found. In the city there is opulence surrounded by terrible poverty. There is cruelty. There is corruption. After one of the villagers escapes, there is a vast chase as several of the invaders pursue him through the jungle as he tries to get home to rescue his family from their hiding place.

The film's strife is indeed an intercultural battle since all those involved are Mayas. But it really seems more a battle between the noble savage of the agrarian people and the evils of civilization. We are encouraged to identify with the villagers. They are the ones we've been allowed to get to know in a more intimate way. We have seen clearly how like us they are. We don't get a chance to understand the invaders or the city dwellers. They come across as purely evil and sadistic.

Perhaps part of what is missing from our understanding of this broad culture is about four thousand years of backstory. The Mayan civilization grew over millennia to reach a high level of sophistication, but we never see any of that. We see only the civilization after it has fallen into this level of corruption and depravity. Nothing in this film points to a better time in Mayan history. We see the fallen state, but have no idea from whence they fell. We don't see that the civilization "has destroyed itself from within."

Some viewers, of course, don't care what the director wants to say; they just want a thrilling movie. Those people might well be attracted to Apocalypto. The scenes of fighting, human sacrifice, and the pursuit through the jungle all fit into the adventure film mold. The chase through the jungle is exciting and stimulating.

But it needs to be mentioned that this is a very violent film. It is filled with grisly and graphic carnage. Gibson's previous films, Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ, also have high levels of violence. This one may be the most violent and gory of his films. The violence is far more than many, if not most, viewers will deem excessive.

Often violence is necessary in a film. The Godfather, Saving Private Ryan, Flags of our Fathers, and Hotel Rwanda all have significant violence that is intrinsic to the story. This story also requires violence to tell the story. But while violence must be shown in the film, here it is shown far more prominently and graphically than is needed. The film becomes not so much about the story as it does about how much carnage an audience can stand. When the violence takes precedence over the story, a film is badly off track. And even though this story may need violence, it is hardly worth the cruelty that viewers are assaulted with.

Volver

Volver opens in a cemetery as many women are busy cleaning the graves of loved ones. This puts us on notice that the film revolves around the interaction between life and death. In this part of La Mancha, people expect for the dead to come back from time to time and visit with those left behind. ("Volver" means to come back.) Pedro Almodovar leads us from that idea into a wonderfully done comedy noir.

The story centers on three generations of women: Raimunda and her sister Sole, Raimunda's daughter Paula, and Raimunda's and Paula's mother, Irene, whose grave they have been caring for. After, Raimunda's and Sole's Aunt Paula dies, they hear stories that Irene had been appearing to Aunt Paula and caring for her in her old age. After her funeral, Irene appears in Sole's car and stays with her in her apartment.

In the mean time, Raimunda is busy covering up a murder and running an abandoned restaurant (where she has stashed the body in a freezer.) She is on the verge of moving on with her life, but there are still some unresolved issues.

The film is almost exclusively populated by women. There are a few temporary male roles, but all of the key action is the interaction of women, not only within the family, but a whole network of women of the community. That does not make this a women's movie. It does add a level of understanding. In women we see the source of life. As these women cope with the various incarnations of death in the film, we see that even death can be life giving. Indeed, we see the dead caring for the dying, and in the process bringing life to death.

Between the subject matter, and the score by Alberto Iglesias, there is a certain Hitchcockian feel to Volver. Although this is comedy, it has a dark side because death is always close at hand in some way -- the graveyard, the apparition of Irene, the body in the freezer, a terminal illness. It shows very clearly that death is indeed a part of life.

In online production notes Almodovar says: "I have the impression, and I hope it's not a passing feeling, that I have managed to slot in a piece whose misalignment has caused me a lot of pain and anxiety throughout my life; I would even say that in recent years it had damaged my existence, dramatizing it too much. The piece I am talking about is 'death', not just mine and that of my loved ones but the merciless disappearance of all that is alive. I have never accepted or understood it."

Later he adds: "I never accepted death, I've never understood it. For the first time, I think I can look at it without fear, although I continue to neither understand nor accept it. I'm starting to get the idea that it exists."

Death can certainly be a source of pain. I've been to too many funerals not to accept death, but I doubt I understand it any better than Almodovar. Yet for all his disclaimers about not accepting or understanding it, he has given us a beautiful look at the way life and death are intermingled and give meaning to each other. The opening scene in the graveyard is about the joy of life. When death occurs, it ends up bringing new life to the characters.

Death is an intensely spiritual topic -- perhaps the ultimate spiritual topic. It needs to be seen more than an end of life. In many ways it helps to give meaning to life. Volver is one of the most entertaining and interesting approaches to death (and by extension, life) that has made it to film in recent years.

The Nativity Story

How should one judge a film: by what it is or what it is not? Usually the answer is obvious -- you judge a film for itself. But when the film is based in the bible, I think that throws a different light on the question. How close to the biblical story must a film be? To what extent should the message of the film be the same as the message of the scripture on which it is based? That is the quandary I find myself dealing with to review The Nativity Story.

Here is what the film is.

It tells the story of the birth of Jesus in much the same way as Christmas pageants through the ages have told the story. It uses as its primary source the stories found in Matthew and Luke. Although the two stories are quite different, they also have significant similarities so that we know they tell about the same thing, albeit in very different ways. Of course, if you look at those stories, you will see that there isn't near enough material there to fill a feature length film. In my bible, the Matthew account is about one page long; the Luke account is about two and a half pages. Obviously, the filmmakers had to add material.

Their choice for that was to give us a fictionalized story of Joseph and Mary -- what their life was like in Nazareth, how they came to be betrothed, the struggle around Mary's surprise pregnancy, the difficult trip to Bethlehem. We also see side stories with Herod and his fear of losing his throne and with the Magi and their journey. All of this is fictionalized, but done so, for the most part, trying to reflect as best they can life in Palestine at that time.

The story, as it is told in the film, is a devotional story that lets us see a story we have heard many times. The additional material (which makes up most of the film) makes the story interesting and engaging. The relationship between Joseph and Mary develops pleasantly allowing Mary's anxiety over the match (arranged by her parents) to shift to respect and admiration for Joseph's goodness. The plight of an unwed mother in that society gives rise to rejection by many of those around, yet Mary and Joseph persevere

Here is what the film is not.

Although the film does include most of the biblical narratives, it should be noted that the proclamation those narratives seek to make is muted in the film. Matthew and Luke each tell the story as they do for a particular purpose. By combining them, as most Christmas pageants do, the stories lose their distinctive messages. For example, the story as told by Luke carries a great deal of political meaning. Luke's portrayal of Jesus birth needs to be seen in direct competition with that of Augustus and, by extension, the other Emperors. There is a bite in Luke's narrative that is not found in the film.

Matthew's account is designed to allow him to quote Hebrew prophets and allude to earlier stories of Israelite heroes. In the film, there are no prophetic voices telling of Bethlehem or virgin births. No one notes the resemblance of the slaughter of the innocents and Moses' birth story -- and that God's son would come out of Egypt.

These two versions of the birth of Jesus are very rich stories that speak at many different levels. They are not just a story of a distinctive birth. They also have magnificent political and theological messages that are the real reason why Matthew and Luke included these stories in their Gospels. Those deeper levels of understanding the stories are buried by the narrative the film supplies to make the story more interesting. (Does the Gospel account really need to be more interesting?)

So to judge the film for what it is, I'll say that it is a well done version of a Christmas pageant. It will serve well as a film to watch in church or with family to remind ourselves that the real focus of Christians is about more than Santa Claus or angels getting their wings. It will give us a chance to remember the story once more.

To judge the film for what it is not, it fails to give us the most important messages that the biblical stories seek to share. It is not really the story as the bible tells it. It will give us a taste of the story (and a pleasant taste), but it will not feed us the delicious banquet of God's good news.

11/06 viewing record

11/1/06		Janie (short)
11/1/06		Doppelganger (short)
11/1/06		Anattara (short)
11/1/06		Chasing Daylight (short)
11/1/06		Running with Scissors
11/3/06		Prime
11/4/06		Babel
11/6/06		Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
11/8/06		Borat:Cultural Learnings of America...
11/8/06		Seven Beauties
11/10/06		Wordplay
11/11/06		The Queen
11/11/06		The Nativity Story
11/15/06		Deja Vu
11/18/06		Sweet Land favorite of the month
11/18/06		Marie Antoinette
11/18/06		Les Destinees
11/21/06		Gosford Park
11/25/06		Flags of Our Fathers
11/29/06		Miracle on 34th Street
11/29/06		In Search of the Puppeteer (short)
11/29/06		How Henri Came to Stay(short)
11/29/06		Flor de Naranja (short)
11/29/06		Intercorp Part One (short)
11/29/06		Lion (short)
11/30/06		Apocalypto