"V For Very Interesting"
Wow. The Oriental Wife and I just got back from our first non-kid movie in at least five months. My parents are in town, so we enlisted them in babysiting duty and hit the cineplex for the first time since moving back Stateside.
Here's how the evening went down. Being the thoughtful, loving husband I am, I graciously allowed to choose which movie to see. She wanted to check out the new Spike Lee heist film, "Inside Man", but it ended up being sold out. So I subtly suggested my preferred choice, "V for Vendetta".
Having heard a lot of hullaballoo about the movie's political message, I was fully prepared to just deal with it as a pure action film, the latest Wachowski eye candy. What I was't prepared for was for the movie to actually be extremely well done. It was gripping in some parts, moving in others, and yes, even subtle in certain respects.
To be sure, it does have its eye-rolling moments. Examples include the constant references to "the former USA", the montage of the US, British and Nazi flags, and the gushing over the "poetry" and "imagery" of the Koran. These are about as subtle as a brick to the skull. But step back from these details and what you are left with is a pretty effective indictment of fascist methodology.
Oddly enough, the best empiracal evidence of this was the reaction of the Oriental Wife, who absolutely loved the movie. Here's a crucial bit of detail: my wife is a Chinese citizen. She doesn't have to imagine what it would be like to live under a dictatorship, she grew up under one. When the movie finished, she gushed, "Every Chinese needs to see this movie!"
Tom Wolfe said fascism is forever descending on the United States, but somehow it always lands in Europe. Well, in a similar vein, the people who made this movie may have had the United States in their sights, but they could end up hitting countries like China instead.
Consider: "V" is playing on thousands of screens in the United States. How many screens do you think it will play on in China? North Korea? Cuba? The movie will be a passing hit with Berkeley students who already buy the (unnecessary for the movie's purpose) background premise that the West is slipping towards fascism, but I suspect it may actually prove to be more enduring once it hits the black market in other parts of the world where people actually already *are* chafing for more freedom.
Incidentally, the dumbest line from the movie is one that is already becoming one of it's most popular: "People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people." This is dumb because tyranny, dictatorship and fascism is exactly what you get when a government is afraid of its people.
My favorite line? Well, I'd have to see the movie again and try to catch its various literary references, but this is a pretty good start: "Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. There is an idea ... and ideas are bulletproof."
Hmm. I could keep ranting but realize this is already pretty long. My remaining thoughts in a nutshell: Woah, the scenes of blowing stuff up and dispatching jackbooted thugs with knives were totally cool; hey, Natalie Portman can act, she's not just another of The Mayor's serving wenches (I teared up in the scene where she finally gets out of prison); Hugo Weaving rocks, even just using his voice; use of the mask was interesting because it made you focus on the dialogue; they also made creative use of lighting and camera angles to imbue the unchanging mask with hints of different expressions; I think I'm gonna get the original graphic novel.
UPDATE: I guess what I'm trying to say is that I disagree with the film's message that the U.S. or Britain is actually in danger of succumbing to creeping fascism. But that's okay, because it has successfully crafted a broader warning against fascism in general, and its message can be applied towards real live tyrannies that are oppressing real live people today.
Here's how the evening went down. Being the thoughtful, loving husband I am, I graciously allowed to choose which movie to see. She wanted to check out the new Spike Lee heist film, "Inside Man", but it ended up being sold out. So I subtly suggested my preferred choice, "V for Vendetta".
Having heard a lot of hullaballoo about the movie's political message, I was fully prepared to just deal with it as a pure action film, the latest Wachowski eye candy. What I was't prepared for was for the movie to actually be extremely well done. It was gripping in some parts, moving in others, and yes, even subtle in certain respects.
To be sure, it does have its eye-rolling moments. Examples include the constant references to "the former USA", the montage of the US, British and Nazi flags, and the gushing over the "poetry" and "imagery" of the Koran. These are about as subtle as a brick to the skull. But step back from these details and what you are left with is a pretty effective indictment of fascist methodology.
Oddly enough, the best empiracal evidence of this was the reaction of the Oriental Wife, who absolutely loved the movie. Here's a crucial bit of detail: my wife is a Chinese citizen. She doesn't have to imagine what it would be like to live under a dictatorship, she grew up under one. When the movie finished, she gushed, "Every Chinese needs to see this movie!"
Tom Wolfe said fascism is forever descending on the United States, but somehow it always lands in Europe. Well, in a similar vein, the people who made this movie may have had the United States in their sights, but they could end up hitting countries like China instead.
Consider: "V" is playing on thousands of screens in the United States. How many screens do you think it will play on in China? North Korea? Cuba? The movie will be a passing hit with Berkeley students who already buy the (unnecessary for the movie's purpose) background premise that the West is slipping towards fascism, but I suspect it may actually prove to be more enduring once it hits the black market in other parts of the world where people actually already *are* chafing for more freedom.
Incidentally, the dumbest line from the movie is one that is already becoming one of it's most popular: "People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people." This is dumb because tyranny, dictatorship and fascism is exactly what you get when a government is afraid of its people.
My favorite line? Well, I'd have to see the movie again and try to catch its various literary references, but this is a pretty good start: "Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. There is an idea ... and ideas are bulletproof."
Hmm. I could keep ranting but realize this is already pretty long. My remaining thoughts in a nutshell: Woah, the scenes of blowing stuff up and dispatching jackbooted thugs with knives were totally cool; hey, Natalie Portman can act, she's not just another of The Mayor's serving wenches (I teared up in the scene where she finally gets out of prison); Hugo Weaving rocks, even just using his voice; use of the mask was interesting because it made you focus on the dialogue; they also made creative use of lighting and camera angles to imbue the unchanging mask with hints of different expressions; I think I'm gonna get the original graphic novel.
UPDATE: I guess what I'm trying to say is that I disagree with the film's message that the U.S. or Britain is actually in danger of succumbing to creeping fascism. But that's okay, because it has successfully crafted a broader warning against fascism in general, and its message can be applied towards real live tyrannies that are oppressing real live people today.
<< Home