More Movies!

If the reader will dig a while, he will find an early post about The Dark Knight, more or less.  I waited to see it until nearly a year and a half after the movie was released.  One can imagine how many times I heard the incredulous exclamation "YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET????!!!"


I must enjoy that sort of attention, because I only just last night saw Inception for the first time.  My last roommate, not one for spending money, saw it thrice in theaters.  Somehow, I insisted that I was either too busy or too poor each time.  I admit that I enjoy going against the grain of popularity "just because."  Maybe that's pride, but it is kind of fun.


Anyway, rather than write at length about my deep (obviously brilliant) insights into Inception, I present to you an essay I once wrote for a friend about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  When I was in Germany, one of my friends found that he appreciated my taste in and critical eye for movies.  When we returned to our homes, he gave me an assignment via Facebook.  Though I haven't kept his requirements, they were something like "500 words of critical analysis on such topics as cinematography, score, story and character development."  Anyway, as I think of writing about Inception, this brief essay is what comes to mind.



After I inserted the disc, the first bit of video I saw was a compilation of brief clips from various Focus movies with a voice-over that went on about Focus’ endeavor to create superior films.  I have seen a few of these so-called “superior films,” and I haven’t cared for them at all.  In fact, I usually feel a bit of disdain towards such artsy works for their self-absorbed arrogance that seems to say that their intentional technical faux pas (such as foregoing tripod usage) make them superior to mainstream movies.  Perhaps my own worldview has changed recently, and perhaps the movies have actually gotten better.  Either way, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind enchanted me.

Though clearly a fantasy film of sorts, Sunshine was remarkably believable.  Having been in one dating relationship that went awry, I can identify with the desire for memory erasure.  Of course, isn’t that desire the very thing that makes super-hero movies successful?  Who wouldn’t love to be able to fly, change his appearance, see through walls, or produce indestructible claws from his fists?  This desire for greater power is nearly ubiquitous, but that’s not to say it’s healthy.

I know of only one story that deals with this issue in a theologically correct way.  Of course, J.R.R. Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic, so it follows that his world of The Lord of the Rings would bear some resemblance to the world as God designed it.  Without going into the details of Tolkien’s mythology, one of the greater beings in the world created an assortment of Rings of Power, specialized for the races to whom they were given.  Of course, like any good tyrant, he reserved the most powerful one for himself, using it to control the others.  When the ring was separated from him, it was clear that anyone who took it would become detestably powerful as its original master was, though unnaturally so.  The creatures’ lust for power blinded them to the truth that once they attained the ring, it would only betray them to their doom.

Perhaps this is a stretch, but it bears keeping in mind that we ought not to desire certain powers with which God did not see fit to entrust us.  The normal humans in X-Men did well to fear the mutants; no human should be trusted with the power to walk through walls or to read others’ thoughts, nor with the power to erase memories.  The story is fascinating, entertaining, and thought-provoking, but it ought to be kept to that.

But, since I’m on the topic of entertainment value, I’ll continue.  The visual effects were stunning and mind-bending, taunting me to analyze my own dreams.  As I succumbed to this taunt, I realized that I’ve experienced visual, spatial, and general sensory distortion in most of my dreams, and even a bit of time misperception.  Each of these was well-dramatized in Sunshine, for which I give its creators the highest praise.  Even the musical score complimented the convoluted and dark emotions of fear, love, and confusion.

Though I can’t recommend this movie to all of my friends or for every occasion, I’ll gladly purchase it and devote two hours to it with anyone willing to do some critical philosophizing.