The soundtrack for this week’s Film Forum is provided by The Arcade Fire’s new abum Neon Bible. How do you get the soundtrack to play while you read the column? Easy. Buy Neon Bible from iTunes and start playing it. The column will be much more exciting to read if you do. Trust me.
DO MOVIE CRITICS MATTER?
Do movie critics matter?
Absolutely not, says Brian Robbins, director of the hit comedy Norbit.
Standing on top of the mountains of cash that Norbit has made at the box office, Robbins expresses his amazement that only 9% of the critics at Rotten Tomates recommend his film to moviegoers. He declares, “The only films that get good reviews are the ones that nobody sees. I just don’t think you can make movies for critics.”
Robbins’ profound statement has huge implications. If quality can be determined by box office success, imagine what this means for the food industry. McDonalds serves billions of customers … so, by Robbins’ philosophy, McDonalds must be the best food in the world. Restaurants that get good reviews don’t draw nearly as many customers as McDonalds, so clearly, nobody should bother preparing fine cuisine.
TIME TO REVISE MY NETFLIX QUEUE
Speaking of movies that nobody sees….
One of my favorite cinephiles, Darren Hughes of Long Pauses, has revised his all-time favorite films list. Whenever I spend time reading Hughes’ perspectives on film, I end up revisingmy list of “must-see” movies.
300
At church on Sunday, I had six different people ask me, “What did you think of 300?”
And on top of that, some parents asked me if the movie would be safe for their kids. “I have some teenage boys who are very excited about it,” one woman said. “And they tell me that it’s worth seeing because it’s about history.”
Well, first of all, parents, note the obvious: 300 is rated R because it contains elaborate displays of graphic bloodshed and sex. So that would give me pause before taking a bunch of teenagers right there. If I was a parent, I’d probably test the movie myself first before allowing my kids to go.
Now, we all know that trailers can be misleading. It may be that 300 is a subtle, nuanced work of art, rich with complex characters, revealing and thoughtful depictions of evil, and inspiring portrayals of virtue. It may be that 300 brings history to life with compelling insight.
All I can do here is pass along what I’m reading in the reviews and hearing from trusted friends who have seen the film and shared their impressions with me. And if they are correct, 300 has as much to do with studying history as Looney Toons has to do with studying wildlife.
But they could be wrong. I’m not going to judge a film I haven’t seen.
While reviewers are divided over whether the film is worth seeing, they almost unanimously agree that the storytelling is shallow and insignificant, and that the film exists primarily to show off dazzling digital effects and thrill audiences with a spectacle of gratuitous violence.
Again, that’s what most trustworthy critics are saying. Those aren’t my words… they’re theirs.
I don’t plan to see the movie. To say it’s “not my cup of tea” would be an understatement. The previews for 300 insulted my intelligence enough … I don’t want to pay ten bucks to be insulted for two full hours. I didn’t like Braveheart — I thought that its many drawn-out scenes dazzling us with violence overpowered any thoughtful consideration of virtue. I staggered out of the theater disspirited and exhausted. Gladiator served up more of the same (although there were moments when the film teased me with some interesting ideas). So I just don’t think that 300 is going to be my cup of… my bucket of blood.
Claiming to give us a movie about “freedom,” filmmakers are oh so glad to serve up hours and hours of gory imagery. Thus, audiences are immersed in entertainment that celebrates the tragic cost of freedom, while they come away with little or no appreciation for what freedom is, or the good that is purchased with such sacrifice. Is 300 one of those films? I can’t say. I can only refer you to some of the responses that have seemed fairly persuasive.
Peter Suderman (ALARM!) says, “The movie is basically Gladiator’s brain-damaged, steroidal, coked-up younger sibling — and not in a good way either. Yes, the digitally painted sets and heavily processed photography look fantastic, but that doesn’t save the movie from ending up as little more than a blunt, witless exercise in dumb-as-rocks juvenile wish-fulfillment. This might have been fun, at least, except for the fact that its biggest sin is that it’s boring. Honestly, how could such glorious depravity be so utterly yawn inducing?”
Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) says, “Most of the film is shot in sepia tones, striking at first, but soon becoming tiresome. Leonidas and his impossibly buffed soldiers facing off against digitalized weapons, strange creatures, and seemingly thousands of enemy troops, though the pervasive battlefield violence is somewhat tempered by the often genuinely artful cinematography.”
Via GreenCine Daily, I found these two perspectives: Matt Singer (IFC News): “[E]ven though 300‘s visual style moves beyond simply looking good into a stylishness and pictorial beauty rarely equaled in genre pictures, its dumbness overwhelms its prettiness. If battle footage can be beautiful, some of it in 300 certainly is, but, oh how stupid everything surrounding it is.” And Nathan Lee (The Village Voice): “Long ago there reigned a clan of Speedo-wearing militaristic psychopaths called the Spartans. … At once homophobic and homoerotic, 300 is finally, and hilariously, just hysterical.”
Kenneth Turan (LA Times) says, “At least in the short run, 300 is something to see, but unless you love violence as much as a Spartan, Quentin Tarantino or a video-game-playing teenage boy, you will not be endlessly fascinated.”
Jeff Walls (Past the Popcorn) finds all of this big screen dismemberment and sex “exhilarating.” “Filmed using the same technique as Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and the previously released adaptation of Miller’s Sin City, the film’s visuals are hyper-real. It’s a technique that works wonderfully for the film. Had the battle scenes been filmed more realistically, like those in Gladiator or Braveheart, the action itself would have had to be based more in reality, and it would not have been nearly as exhilarating.”
Lawrence Toppman (Charlotte Observer) is similarly impressed. “300 is a huge step forward in visually sophisticated storytelling.” Okay, so it’s visually sophisticated. But shouldn’t we care about what purpose all of this sophistication serves?
Christian Hamaker (Crosswalk) does not share Toppman’s enthusiasm. “300 spends most of its running time showing is not the origins of freedom, nor the bravery of fighting men, but a ‘grotesque spectacle’ demonstrating how we pursue our basic instincts: survival, sex and a thirst for brutal, bloody entertainment. … Visually compelling but saddled with a flat script, [the movie] is a loud, furious view of early warfare – a shell of a great tale that, for a brief time, covers its weaknesses with striking images. But the bottom falls out early, leading to a punishing sit for those who aren’t interested primarily in seeing the myriad methods of death for ancient warriors.”
Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) testifies: “I watched as scores of moviegoers (mostly men) walked to their cars laughing and pounding each other on the back. You’d have thought we’d all just seen Top Gun for the first time. Such is the influence of the latest big-screen Frank Miller adaptation, a hyper-violent, hyper-masculine ode to honor and duty by way of blood, blood and more blood. Did I mention the blood?”
Some are finding political commentary in the film, such as “David Kahane” of The New Republic.
Meanwhile, there’s already some buzz about what Zack Snyder might do to “sucker punch” audiences next time.
The Ultimate Gift
The Ultimate Gift is the latest Christian movie to win a wide release. Once again, mainstream critics and Christian film critics are challenged to give the film a fair review without coming across as propagandists or belief-bashers.
Last time Christianity Today’s film critics made some critical remarks about the flaws in a certain Christian movie, they got in all kinds of trouble. But they’re sticking to their commitment to excellence. And so, here’s Carolyn Arends (CT Movies), with her thoughts on The Ultimate Gift:
“The Ultimate Gift … aims to be just the sort of movie Christians pine for. Lovingly crafted to engage the viewer in an exploration of what truly matters in life, to gently invite a contemplation of faith as a source of meaning, and to inspire hope in even the most tragic circumstances, this film has its heart absolutely in the right place. If only it were a bit more entertaining. Like sensible woolen socks in a ribbon-wrapped package, The Ultimate Gift may be good for you, but it’s a little hard to get excited about.”
She has a lot more to say about where it falls short, and where it works.
David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) is more impressed than Arends. “Though it has a made-for-TV movie feel to it, [Gift] avoids excessive sentimentality as it imparts positive messages about gratitude, forgiveness, family and altruism that overcome its uneven script and some average performances…. The film is one of the better titles to be released under the admirable Fox Faith banner, delivering reasonably well on its promise to provide ‘quality, inspirational and spiritual entertainment.'”
Jeff Shannon (The Seattle Times), who was one of the few mainstream critics to applaud The Last Sin Eater, qualifies that rave in his review of The Ultimate Gift: “A month ago, I wrote a lenient review of … The Last Sin Eater, if only because spiritually substantial movies strike me as a welcomed alternative to worthless garbage like Norbit. … The Ultimate Gift is equally praiseworthy for resolving a spiritual crisis with honorable values.”
But then Shannon admits that this Gift is “blandly appealing and timidly reluctant to offend … an average Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie, just ‘Jesus’s enough to make it palatable to non-Christians … comforting, predictable and safe, and impossible to watch without being constantly aware of how it could be improved.”
Shannon says that if the film wanted to offer a powerful Christian message, it should have made the main character’s ordeal “truly threatening and genuinely transformative, but that doesn’t happen in a movie that can’t convincingly challenge the faith it supports.”
Annabelle Robertson (Crosswalk) sums it up: “The Ultimate Gift has a great message which might well be used as an evangelism tool. Those who enjoy Hallmark-style fare will certainly appreciate it. It’s also appropriate for anyone looking to instigate talk about the deeper issues of life.”
Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) says, “Movies that deliberately try to deliver a narrowly focused message or moral often fail. Their stories sometimes feel clunky and self-serving. The acting can be sketchy. And they can choose to wield a 10-pound sledge, when they really only need a 2-pound hammer. The Ultimate Gift doesn’t always avoid these pitfalls, but it does manage to choose the right mallet.”
Jeff Walls (Past the Popcorn) writes, “The Ultimate Gift, with it’s in-your-face life lessons and relatively modest production values—not to mention a child dying of leukemia—felt more like an after school special than a theatrical feature film. Nevertheless, I enjoyed every bit of it.”
Jeannette Catsoulis (The New York Times) did not enjoy every bit of it. “Reeking of self-righteousness and moral reprimand, The Ultimate Gift is a hairball of good-for-you filmmaking.”
But Mark Olsen (Los Angeles Times) shows more mercy. “The film’s values are fairly well encoded into the story, such that it feels less like a sermon and more like a film with a good, if somewhat sappy, heart.”
You’ll find more mainstream responses to the film here.
The Namesake
Mira Nair made a fantastic, memorable, inspiring film called Monsoon Wedding.
Then she made a visually sumptuous but ultimately disappointing adaptation of Vanity Fair (during which I was engaged only by the supporting performance of Romola Garai).
Now, she’s directed The Namesake, and critics are celebrating her again.
Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) says it “holds your interest right up to its emotionally devastating two-hankie conclusion. … Nair’s uplifting and beautiful film encapsulates all the important elements of our humanity so deftly that watching it almost offers the palpable essence of life itself.”
Mainstream critics are moved by Nair’s “delicate” adaptation. GreenCine Daily has collected links to several thoughtful reviews. In The New Republic, Louis Wittig writes, “The Namesake is an exquisite novel of a movie — uncluttered and emotionally comprehensive, lush with behavioral detail….”
Beyond the Gates
Beyond the Gates revisits the horrors of the Rwandan genocide, an event that many moviegoers did not notice until they saw Terry George’s powerful Hotel Rwanda a few years ago. Michael Caton-Jones’s movie, which was released outside of America last year under the title Shooting Dogs, stars John Hurt as a Catholic priest. Through this character’s eyes, the nightmare is cast in a light that reveals the spiritual conflict in the midst of the bloodshed.
Stephen Holden (New York Times) writes that the film addresses “the question of religious and spiritual faith in the face of genocide. What is true faith, and how much horror does it take to erode it? Can a reasonable person still believe in God amid the slaughter of 800,000 people? Does reason have anything to do with it?”
Nick Schager (Slant) begins his review like this: “Not a definitive cinematic statement on the Rwandan genocide but certainly a far preferable dramatic treatment of the atrocity than Hotel Rwanda, Beyond the Gates tackles its true story … with the type of blunt realism absent from Terry George’s celebrated 2004 Don Cheadle vehicle. Director Michael Caton-Jones shoots with a rough-around-the-edges griminess that brings urgency to his tale….”
Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films) compares it to Hotel Rwanda and says Beyond the Gates is “a rawer, more pitiless film offering less reassurance and more outrage at the diffidence of the Western world in the face of the Rwandan genocide.” He concludes that it is “most worth seeing for its uncompromising portrait of an episode more representative of the Rwandan genocide than the events depicted in Hotel Rwanda. At the same time, Beyond the Gates offers little insight into the Hutu or Tutsi experience, little depth to match the courage of its convictions.”
Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) says it “towers above most current films, with even the more worthy ones seeming like fluff in comparison. It’s a gripping film about one of recent history’s most regrettable episodes: the international community’s failure to come to the aid of the thousands of men, women and children who lost their lives during the Rwandan genocide. … Hurt — in real life, a clergyman’s son and monk’s brother — gives a wonderfully committed and believable performance, and Dancy … convincingly conveys the growing horror and disillusionment of his character.”
Denny Wayman (Cinema in Focus) offers a post-viewing discussion guide for the film.
Mainstream critics are offering a wide variety of responses.
Here’s a piece that ran in The Guardian about co-writer and producer David Belton, and his experience in making the film. And here’s another about some of the trouble that the filmmakers stirred up during production.
The Host
Park Hee-bong (played by Byun Hee-bong) is too old for this @#$%.
He has just enough energy to run a snack bar and take care of his two sons, his daughter, and his granddaughter.
But when a mutant creature, the most dangerous piece of sushi you’ve ever seen, rises from the Han River to wreak Godzilla-scale havoc, Hee-bong must lead his family in a dangerous rescue mission to rescue his daughter.
Sounds like a formulaic monster movie… but it isn’t.
Bob Smithouser (Plugged In) says, “Like all good science fiction The Host is about more than meets the eye: Government smoke-screens. Confronting demons of our own making. What being a family really means. Despite dragging a bit before the final, bittersweet act, The Host‘s ebb and flow of intense chases, lighter moments and pathos is effective … and moving.”
I could share a few of the most memorable mainstream reviews with you, but my word… GreenCine Daily has already done a better job than I could. (Although Anthony Lane’s relentless sense of humor makes his review worthy of special mention.)
Days of Glory
I’ll let Greg Wright tell you about this Days of Glory, since he’s singing the movie’s praises from the rooftops.
“What veteran French director Rachid Bouchareb offers straight up is high-quality visual, aural, and narrative believability,” raves Greg Wright (Past the Popcorn). “It’s arresting…. Where Days of Glory sets itself apart, though—and, my gosh! with what power!—is in its performances. You may never have heard of any of these actors before, but you’ll wish you’d been watching them for years. Each of them has a résumé as long as your arm, and each has the chops, charisma, and screen presence to hold you spellbound.”
He doesn’t stop there. Get this! “If you only drag yourself out to see one foreign-language film every decade, make it this one.”
I think that qualifies as a ‘thumbs way, way, way up.’
Mainstream reviews are available here.
The Tailenders
Doug Cummings (Filmjourney.org), who has become one of the most adventurous explorers in the moviegoing world, has discovered The Tailenders. He writes:
Adele Horne’s examination of Global Recordings Network (GRN), an evangelical Christian organization devoted to spreading the gospel to the “tailenders” of world evangelism — people in the remotest regions of the world — is a provocative and beautifully constructed examination of how messages are carried, translated, and received. It is not a critical exposé of GRN, but a thoughtful montage of cultural, sociological, and economic questions raised by their activities.
Here’s a summary description of the film.
This sounds fascinating. It’s not often that we see a fair and thoughtful consideration of missionary work on film. I’d love to see this shown on a Christian university campus to provoke discussion about what it means to “spread the Gospel.” Or perhaps… to discuss what not to do.
More reviews of recent releases
The Lives of Others: John Podheretz raves and raves about The Lives of Others.
And America quickly decides to remake it. Hmmm. I wonder if it’ll qualify for Best Picture at an upcoming Oscar ceremony, now that Americans are making it.
The Departed: Cineaste has an essay on Gangs of New York and The Departed, and how Scorsese is dealing with race issues in those films.
Amazing Grace: Here’s a site I haven’t linked before: The World Socialist Web Site. Why? Well, it’s all part of my attempt to share all kinds of perspectives on Michael Apted’s Amazing Grace. Here’s what the WSWS says: “The creators of Amazing Grace have performed a service in calling attention to a significant historical period and one of its most worthy representatives. With clean, tight images and deep commitment, the film brings to life a figure who was a friend of US President James Madison and hailed as an inspiration by Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.”
And Mark Steyn is writing about Wilberforce this week… the man, not the movie.
Taste of Cherry: David Lowery on Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry. (Caution: He gets a bit spoilerish about the film’s last big surprise.)
Zodiac: Brett McCracken (Relevant) examines his own response to David Fincher’s film, wondering why it troubled him so much, and why crime thrillers are so entertaining. “All of that creepy stuff aside, the thing that most disturbed me in this film was not the Zodiac himself, but what his persona represented as a cultural artifact—for the media, for the investigators, for the everyday citizen.”
Matt Soller Zeitz offers a lengthy, thorough examination at The House Next Door. The discussion and debate that follows is also interesting.
Black Snake Moan: Louis Wittig (National Review) says, “Of course pulp is bad. It turns everything it touches — sex and violence usually — into a tawdry cartoon, colored with sensation and high emotion, devoid of thought or respect. That debasing power works both ways though. It lowers things we ought to elevate. And, in its own campy way, it can also cut things we respect too much back down to size.”
Into Great Silence: Michael Potemra (National Review) says, “I am thrilled to report that it is even better than the advance buzz led me to expect. … It’s hard to capture even mundane truths in images; that’s why the typical nonfiction movie tends to get mired in talkiness. In Gröning’s film, however, the images manage to communicate powerful truths about God, man, and the life of prayer. … See this film. The next time you are having a crisis of purpose, or just feeling beaten down by circumstances, call it to mind: This — or something very much like it—is true.”
ALSO WORTH READING
Doug Cummings (FilmJourney) is delighted by a DVD extra on The Criterion Collection’s new edition of Robert Bresson’s Mouchette:
One of the best DVD extras I’ve seen recently is … Theodor Kotulla’s 30-minute Au hasard Bresson, but maybe that’s because it’s a real documentary (that won a German Lola) and not a “featurette.” It offers a rare glimpse into the production of Mouchette, and the working methods of then-65-years-old Robert Bresson, once one of cinema’s greatest but most reclusive filmmakers, who was often prone (like Hitchcock) to rely on favorite, enigmatic phrases in interviews and insist that his work speak for itself. … Kotulla’s film captures Bresson in creative mid-stride and allows his words and actions to speak for themselves.
Fantastic. As Bresson’s Au Hasard Balthazar keeps working its way up my list of all-time favorite films, I’ve got to see this.
THANK YOU so much for your statement about “300.”
Everyone says to me, “Phillip, you MUST be going to see 300 because you’re a film major and its going to be awesome movie!”
I end up giving them a talk along the lines of what you said in the first part of the Film Forum and they just stare at me like I’m stupid.
Oh well. I’d rather have art than entertainment a la gratuitous bloodshed and sex.
I reviewed “300” for my college newspaper this week (nothing else opened at our theater this weekend), and I agree with the negative reviews. It’s a piece of violence-porn (think I first came across that phrase in an Overstreet review), that glorifies war over peace and pride over humility. Plus, there are only so many ways to garrote someone with a sword before it becomes monotonous, and “300” exhausts the possibilities less than halfway into the movie.
I saw 300 on Sunday, for free and I’m so glad I didn’t pay a dime to see that film.
Here’s what I wrote on Flixster.com it: 300 is “like Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V on steroids. It’s visually stunning but be prepared to be bathed in blood and the seven deadly sins.”
-Karen
Jeffrey Overstreet said:
“300 has as much to do with studying history as Looney Toons has to do with studying wildlife.”
This is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO funny! Can I put it in my sig at A&F???
You can listen Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible for free (for a limited time) at 3voor12.
http://3voor12.vpro.nl/speler/luisterpaal/33521290
I came here to see your thoughts on ‘300’ and am disappointed that you won’t be seeing it.
I thought it was fantastic. (But most definitely not for children. Several of the sexual scenes I even had to turn away.)
The violence is obviously within the context of the story, and because of the style it seemed to me, more cartoon-like than real. (Again, definitely not for kids.)
This is a fantastic story about standing up against tyranny, fighting for freedom, and self sacrifice.
Honor, duty, glory. All things we need more of in this world.
Heh… what everyone has said concerning 300.
I was fortunate enough to see The Namesake and The Host up in Toronto last year, and I can’t recommend them enough, though for totally different reasons.
My hope is that everyone who thought 300 was full of rousing action scenes and thrilling battles will go see The Host, and see the real thing.
Odd that you couldn’t find any decent reviews of 300. Victor Davis Hanson, the noted classicist, gave the movie a fine review, as have others.
And to the above commenter, while peace is always preferable to war, the sacrifice of the Spartans at Thermopylae should always be praised.
“300” is 90% blood and gore, 5% romance/sex, and 5% storyline. Great cinematogrphy, though.
I thought the Conservatives would be loving “300” after the government of Iran personally condemned the film (but not for the violence and sex, rather the portrayal of their ancestors, the Persian people). I guess not.
I don’t think the critics matter when it comes to the box office. People will go to see whatever they think is interesting. If the marketing for a film hits them, people will go see it.
I don’t understand how this portrayal of the story is of no value simply because it’s full of lots of violence. Is the glorification of fighting always wrong, even if the fighting is FOR what’s right?
I’ve heard a bunch of critics complain how the movie shows Leonidas and the Spartans kill thousands of Persians. But the fact is that this actually happened. Why not make a violent movie about a group of 300 men who really did sacrifice themselves against impossible odds for the freedom of their country? Doesn’t this inspire something in the heart of every man who wonders if he’s capable of doing the same?
Julia, conservatives have enjoyed it thus far. See Victor Davis Hanson.
Jeremy – You would think, right? I left the theater inspired and a bit teary eyed, as I wondered if I have the courage to stand up against evil in this way, even if it means my death.
I have no idea why people have begun the ‘conservative vs. liberal’. It’s a movie about a real historical event. Of course it’s stylized and ‘Hollywood-ized’, but the basics are there.
I don’t know why ‘conservative’ or ‘liberal’ should even come into play as far as liking it or even going to see it in the first place.
Like so many other things, once something is labeled that way, the other side will pan it without even seeing for themselves what it’s all about. If pass on this because they don’t care for violence, that’s one thing.
But if it’s going to be labeled a conservative movie and that’s the only reason, then I wish people would be honest and say that. But then don’t comment on the content, quality or message without having seen it.
I admit I’ve been shocked by the reaction here. I thought on a Christian site that went further than the usual ‘it’s bloody so it has no redeeming value!’ discussion things would be different. I really thought people would be discussing the themes of sacrifice and honor and protecting your family and country, fighting against evil, etc. It’s been very disappointing to see that many folks aren’t even giving it a chance. (And then condemning it without having a clue what it’s all about!) Very disappointing indeed.
National Review now has an article by David Kahane on the movie 300 –
“So that noise you hear this morning is the wind created by hundreds of writers from Playa del Rey to Santa Barbara, sticking their fingers in the air to see if the wind’s suddenly shifted, wondering if they can shelve their metrosexual Syriana and Babel knockoffs and conjure up some good old-fashioned “men of the West” material.
Because the dirty little secret is, we used to write these movies all the time. Impossible odds. Quixotic causes. Death before surrender. Real all-American stuff, in which our heroes stood up for God and country and defending Princess Leia and getting back home to see their wives and children, with their shields or on them.”
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZjM0NDEyZjM1M2JlNjE0ZGMwNDEwMzk5MzlkZjJmYjA=
If you read my review, you’ll quickly find that I’m in the camp that found the movie underwhelming and disappointing.
IMO, the reason for this is that the movie wanted to have its cake and eat it too. On the one hand, it wanted to be an over-the-top, hyper-realistic, highly stylized action flick. And to that end, it drenched the screen in lush visuals, buckets of blood, and over-the-top choreographed violence the likes of which haven’t been seen since the glory days of Hong Kong cinema.
On the other hand, it also decided to be this over-the-top, epic saga of glory, honor, and sacrifice. And to that end, it through in all of those rousing speeches by Leonidas.
Of course, these two aims are not mutually exclusive. The LOTR films pulled off the combination in a wonderful manner. But in 300‘s case, I found the combination simply worked, as the two parts often worked against eachother.
To be perfectly honest, I probably would’ve enjoyed the film a lot more had it not taken itself nearly as seriously — or at least hadn’t had the appearance of taking itself so seriously. If the movie had just been an action-packed, adrenalized, action/adventure flick, I probably could’ve enjoyed simply for what it was. (Though there’s still the issue with the overly stylized visuals, which effectively robbed the film of any visceral impact for me.)
But all of the talk about honor and sacrifice just rang false, because I knew this was merely padding out the time until the next Persian assault came down the road and the next wave of dismemberings took place.
At the risk of sounding too nitpicky, the talk about honor and sacrifice also rang a bit false because, after all, the Spartans’ culture (or at least their military) is based on infanticide and what could only be construed as child abuse and brainwashing — something that the film’s narrator explains early on, and even with a touch of pride. As such, all of this talk about honor felt somewhat deluded, deformed, and even jingoistic to me.
If the film had dealt more squarely with that discrepancy between the Spartans’ noble ideals and the barbarism on which their culture is founded, that might have given the film a bit more substance and ambiguity. I suppose you could argue that the film did just that with the subplot involving Ephialtes. But again, that particular subplot felt a little rushed to me, pushed aside to make room for the next wave of Persian cannon fodder.
D’oh! I just noticed a few errors in my previous comment.
First, it should read “And to that end, it threw in all of those rousing speeches by Leonidas.”
Second, it should read “But in 300‘s case, I found the combination simply didn’t work, as the two parts often worked against eachother.”
Apologies for any confusion this might’ve caused in what I was trying to say.
i thought the biggest problem with 300 wasn’t the violence (you have to expect that going into the theater – if you’re surprised, that’s your fault), but the message.
the message was straight out of mein kampf. it was hyper macho, derogatory to the handicapped, the homosexual and minorities. the struggle of a few for the survival of the west from the forces of the darkness from the east is just creepy. all of this pro-western imagery is really intense; it paints the spartans as saints, when in reality (the reality presented by the movie) they were oppressive and brutish.
Yes, yes, thank you for posting this!
In addition to the articles in Slate and the Time, there’s also one in TIME that was infuriating in its insensitivity and narrow-mindedness. The author writes, “[Here’s a] suggestion for an edgier romantic comedy. Two unsuited people get together, girl gets pregnant, has abortion, then decides she likes the guy, and they set about raising a family of kids they really want.” (http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1630498-3,00.html)
Maybe that hasn’t been done because . . . it’s not funny! Even women who choose to have abortions, however misguided that decision may be, do not do so lightly. The comment about “kids they really want” is also insulting to children who were “oopses,” who maybe weren’t “wanted,” but who nevertheless are loved by their parents.
It’s amazing when people are so blinded by ideology that they overlook common sense.
Yep, usually the ones who claim to have an “open mind” rarely do. They fail to mention that they are quite open as long as you stay in the realm of what they want to believe.
As Steve Taylor once sang “You’re so open minded that your brain leaked out!”
I have often thought this exact same thing. Why would anyone be angry that someone decided to give a child life, even if you think they should have the right to choose otherwise.
Another new film that has an excellent, and surprising, pro-life moment is Katherine Dieckmann’s Diggers.