|
This week's Answer: Something
Missing This Way Doesn't Come I
did happen to see all the films you cited, Jessica, and I
appreciate your inquiry. I'll address it in terms of
screenwriting (since I'm not all that masterful when it
comes to other areas of film making such as makeup or
special effects or studio food catering -- although I know
a good jelly doughnut when I see one). If something
was missing in all of the screenplays of the films, which
were all remarkable in their own right, one could say that
they are missing that je nais sais quoi. (I
never quite understood that French saying because if
you're going to mention something as "I don't know
what," then why mention it in the first place?!
I think the French just like to appear mysterious and
deep. And French. They did the same thing with "deja vu,"
which means "already seen." There's a
movie by that name coming out. So does that mean
that, after you've viewed the picture, you can say you've
already seen "Already Seen"? Or maybe it
could be called "deja view," which could mean
"already viewed." Some loudmouth brags
about seeing some art film and you comeback with "Big
deal. I've already deja viewed that
movie." You're welcome to use it. You'll
be the life of the party.) What could be considered absent
in those aforementioned films mentioned before (or "deja
mentioned") is an adequate emotional catharsis, a
payoff, if you will. Thought-provoking, these
films? Without doubt. Emotionally
satisfying? That's an armadillo of another
color. (Are armadillos of different colors?
That provokes thought, too.) In all three films, I
never felt close enough to the protagonists to adequately identify with
them (and sometimes it wasn't absolutely clear who the
protagonists were -- which can interfere with identifying
with them).
Babel (which, before I knew
what the film was about, I thought was a documentary on
cell-phone usage at malls) and Venus were made up
of extraordinary scenes of intimacy and passion, but were
not fully developed stories. We watch the former
reveal the connections between people distant from each
other in various countries and the hardships they
experience that are related to the sale of a particular
weapon. That was basically the reason for the viewer
to view. To connect the dots. But the question
is "Is that enough of a reason?" Or
another way of putting it: "Don't you have
something else for us to do, teacher, other than just
connect the dots?" (What about coloring and
cutting and pasting -- and then tasting the paste?) In Venus,
we observe the last days of an elderly hedonistic,
well-known actor in London when he befriends a troubled,
rebellious and unwanted young lady. She does mature
in the story, becoming more charitable and accepting of
herself. But is that enough for the audience?
The main character, the actor, seems to go through no
definite personality changes and pretty much dies as he
lived, alone and seeking the next drink or woman. He
finds a young one, his "leading young lady," but
he changes very little when it comes to improvement of
character. And not all that much happens. It's
basically a "slice of London or a Londoner's
life." A very small slice. Happy
Feet is a fully-realized story, but there's no strong
emotional context. Maybe it's just not easy to bond
with singing, rapping, or tap dancing
penguins.
It's not so much that something is
missing in each of the films, but, rather, that maybe it's
the films who have missed their mark. Or they never
had one. Not to say that it's not an interesting
last image visual to pull away from a Tokyo high-rise
balcony where a pretty and naked young female is hugging
her father. Humans, that is. Not
penguins. Nobody wants to see a naked
penguin.
This isn't to say that the sequel, "Happy
Feet Goes To Japan" couldn't work Or
another title for it could be "Lost in
Refrigeration.".
|
