It took me a long, long time to watch The Manchurian Candidate. It was one of 5 that DVD Sam loaned me, and I had watched the really terrible "I've wasted 90 minutes of my life" Bulletproof Monk. That was rather off-putting for further movie watching. I was assured that The Manchurian Candidate was a good movie, so it was the next in the collection that I watched. Tried to watch. It didn't help that the first attempt was when I was outrageously tired. I got maybe halfway, ish, and missed lots of things. It was many weeks before I had the mental energy, and the time, to sit down and watch it properly. The second time, I loved it! Having Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber and Meryl Streep made it even better - such great actors. And so well-cast. I could not imagine anyone other that Meryl in her role, she was made for it.
This is a story of power, and manipulation, and trust, and getting what you want. No matter what. You often get a story of a parent doing what they can to promote their child. But when you add, in my opinion, obscene amounts of money, as well as influence in the powerful circles of the most powerful country in the world, this changes things. It changes things from promoting your kid to get the lead role in the school play, to promoting your kid to be the leader of the free world. And when big things are at stake, emotions can run high as morals disappear. How far would you go to have your child in the White House?
In some ways, this movie was a bit of an eye-opener. You know there are some people who believe in all those conspiracy theories? I'm not one of them. I am far more inclined to believe what I see and hear. Which is great for people who are wishing to manipulate my mind. And it made me wonder, is there a line dividing 'brainwashing' from 'for the greater good'?... Or does that depend on who is manipulating the media? How much can we actually believe? Of course, the political process in Australia is rather different from that of the U.S. but I still wonder how much goes on to manipulate what we as society see. (Which reminds me of the Paulo Coehlo novel, The Winner Stands Alone - a really good read, and another eye-opener).
And after all this manipulation, the ending is such a train crash. One of those you can vaguely predict, and then you can't look away when it is inevitable, then just have to keep watching to see all the gory mess. Feeling just a little bit horrified at the same time as feeling delight at the undoing of all the best-laid plans and trickery.
The other side of this story is war and science research. War has long been the catalyst for scientific discovery and engineering, some of it useful and productive, some of it a little scarier and morally questionable (for the armchair moralists, that is). The question here - the justification for the research - is whether we can 'free people from the terrible burden of an emotionally compromised past'. And if we can, should we? Now, I haven't been in a war. I haven't been at the frontline, or had family or a loved one serving my country and risking their life, or had someone I love return from a war horribly scarred physically or emotionally. I do have this firm belief, though, that we shouldn't try to erase our past. Our past is what shapes us, and our experiences are the only thing that really make us able to sympathise and empathise with others. All those painful episodes of my past and the problems of my current life are things that have and will help me be a better person. More understanding, more forgiving. At times, more fragile, but in the long run - I hope - stronger. So (back to the movie) hypnotising soldiers to believe the good story instead of the horrible reality (don't want to give out any spoilers here) is not, I believe, the right answer. Especially not making heroes out of pawns. And - according to the movie, anyway - the human body and brain cannot be taught to forget that much. No matter how much you try to suppress the bad stuff, it will return at some point whether you want it to or not. Better out that in, as they say.
Showing posts with label denzel washington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label denzel washington. Show all posts
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Monday, 12 March 2012
Movie #10 - Crimson Tide
After last night's run (further than I've ever run along that path, btw), my brother fed me dinner and we watched, with his flatmate, Crimson Tide. If you recognise the origin of my sub-heading, you might have worked out that I'm a big fan of NCIS. You can imagine my delight, then, when Leon and SECNAV show up (in different roles, obviously), and not as the top dogs. Gene, Viggo, and especially Denzel, are another 3 favourite actors I can always watch.
This was yet another movie that foreshadows world events. So much so that I was wondering to myself today if maybe certain world leaders (or their speech writers, I guess), had this movie in mind... Set in 1995, its events are similar to those of 2001 onwards. Admittedly, there is a different enemy (Russia instead of a Middle Eastern country). And I associate the Middle East and its US wars with desert, not submarines and water. But we had the 'launch capability in an hour' threat, as well as the 'we need to make a preemptive strike' speech. Ring any bells?
I found it an interesting snapshot into military reality. There were things I hadn't considered, like how to exercise on a sub, and how to have a party (or, perhaps, that there still is that need to party). More importantly, the significance of every job, no matter how seemingly inconsequential. It looks like one of the characters (whose name I can't even remember) is rather low in the pecking order, has a mundane task regarding electricity. But when the sub loses contact with command, they really need that radio working again, and the whole outcome of the mission (and the movie) relies on that one lowly sailor doing his job.
More than that, though, was the importance of following orders, the chain of command, and protocol. There are reasons for everything and even though you might not like something, orders are orders. But occasionally morals don't sit with what those orders are, and whether or not to obey something that goes against your moral compass is a dilemma I'm glad I don't have to face. If you disobey, you can be court-martialled, and chaos is a potential threat. Obey, though, and you have to live with your conscience and the repercussions of your actions.
One of the great lines of the movie, spoken by Gene to Denzel fairly early on, is "We're here to preserve democracy, not to practice it". Which is essentially the crux of the movie. These very didactic power pyramids, where there is no room for discussion or debate, are sent out to bring (or force) democracy to other nations, so that these other nations can have the freedom to discuss and debate, to choose and choose again, and behave the way we see best. Like fighting for peace.
With 3 musicians watching, there was bound to be some discussion about the soundtrack. "Hans Zimmer soundtrack, anyone?" was followed by "... Ooh, that's embarrassing. John Williams". "Are we sure...?" A quick check on IMDb proved the first instinct to be correct, but there was a lot of Williams in this. In my teenage years I loved Georgian music (especially that really deep bass sound), so the Russian Orthodox vibe to a lot of this was both fitting and nostalgic. It really fit the scene so well, all that rich, deep sound to match the diving submarine off the Russian coast. In the mutinous scenes, though, was something akin to a Mozart Requiem mash-up. The same pitch order as the Lachrymosa, but with the attack and strength of the Dies Irae. Very cool.
This was yet another movie that foreshadows world events. So much so that I was wondering to myself today if maybe certain world leaders (or their speech writers, I guess), had this movie in mind... Set in 1995, its events are similar to those of 2001 onwards. Admittedly, there is a different enemy (Russia instead of a Middle Eastern country). And I associate the Middle East and its US wars with desert, not submarines and water. But we had the 'launch capability in an hour' threat, as well as the 'we need to make a preemptive strike' speech. Ring any bells?
I found it an interesting snapshot into military reality. There were things I hadn't considered, like how to exercise on a sub, and how to have a party (or, perhaps, that there still is that need to party). More importantly, the significance of every job, no matter how seemingly inconsequential. It looks like one of the characters (whose name I can't even remember) is rather low in the pecking order, has a mundane task regarding electricity. But when the sub loses contact with command, they really need that radio working again, and the whole outcome of the mission (and the movie) relies on that one lowly sailor doing his job.
More than that, though, was the importance of following orders, the chain of command, and protocol. There are reasons for everything and even though you might not like something, orders are orders. But occasionally morals don't sit with what those orders are, and whether or not to obey something that goes against your moral compass is a dilemma I'm glad I don't have to face. If you disobey, you can be court-martialled, and chaos is a potential threat. Obey, though, and you have to live with your conscience and the repercussions of your actions.
One of the great lines of the movie, spoken by Gene to Denzel fairly early on, is "We're here to preserve democracy, not to practice it". Which is essentially the crux of the movie. These very didactic power pyramids, where there is no room for discussion or debate, are sent out to bring (or force) democracy to other nations, so that these other nations can have the freedom to discuss and debate, to choose and choose again, and behave the way we see best. Like fighting for peace.
With 3 musicians watching, there was bound to be some discussion about the soundtrack. "Hans Zimmer soundtrack, anyone?" was followed by "... Ooh, that's embarrassing. John Williams". "Are we sure...?" A quick check on IMDb proved the first instinct to be correct, but there was a lot of Williams in this. In my teenage years I loved Georgian music (especially that really deep bass sound), so the Russian Orthodox vibe to a lot of this was both fitting and nostalgic. It really fit the scene so well, all that rich, deep sound to match the diving submarine off the Russian coast. In the mutinous scenes, though, was something akin to a Mozart Requiem mash-up. The same pitch order as the Lachrymosa, but with the attack and strength of the Dies Irae. Very cool.
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