I saw this film as part of a
Popcorn Taxi Q & A screening, with the usual collection of (largely Caucasian) people that show up to these sorts of movie Q & As. It's hard to explain if you've never been to one, but there are basically various different styles of thick black-rimmed spectacles, unusual haircuts, black skivvies, and (if you're really lucky) berets. There were no berets in sight last night, but I'm sure I saw everything else.
It's quite funny. The daggiest person I spotted was Andrew Lesnie (the cinematographer from
Lord of the Rings and
King Kong - watch your extra features on the DVD if you want to know what he looks like). He looked like he'd just come off location shooting on the South Island. And the director of
Jindabyne himself, Ray Lawrence, when he came out for the Q & A at the end of the film was sitting there talking with David Stratton (wearing a suit) and Ray was kind of hidden in a huge parka.
Actually, I think he was a bit nervous about the whole thing, because he kept drinking from a thermos of calming tea (well, that's what he told us it was) and took a fair amount of time to come out with an answer to any questions he was asked. And even when he did come up with an answer, it could sometimes take him five minutes to slowly and hesitantly answer the question. That is, if he even answered your particular question, and didn't talk about something else instead.
Now, on to the film.
Jindabyne is about four men who go fishing for a long weekend. The first day, when they arrive at their remote creek, they find the body of a dead Aboriginal girl in the water. It's too late to do anything that night, so they tie her up and leave her in the water.
However, the next day, when they wake up, rather than go and get help, they decide to go fishing instead. So they fish all day, and it's not until the
next day that they leave.
Which is when all hell breaks loose. The town thinks they're disgraceful for being so callous, their wives/girlfriends are shocked, and the local Aboriginal community thinks they're racist. So for the rest of the film, all manner of issues are touched on - racial relations, respect for the dead, marital relationships, post-natal depression, forgiveness, making up for other people's mistakes. You name it. It's all there.
All of this is fantastically well-acted, especially the two non-Australia leads, Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney (thus leaving us with the rather multi-cultural scenario of an Irish man and his American wife living in a small Australian town).
The only problem which I found with the whole thing is the rather low-key ending, which still left a few plot points unresolved. Maybe I'm probably too used to American films, which usually wrap everything up nicely. But all I know is, if it was me that did what these guys did, I'd have to sit down and do some serious talking about it to sort everything out. But there is no great "sorting out". The resolution of some of the plot points is worked out in a low-key way that felt a bit unsatisfying.
But, maybe when I'm as old as Ray Lawrence, I might find that there are some things in life that don't resolve themselves neatly. Evil does exist in this world, often unpunished. Men and women carry past hurts around with them, and they don't heal. Apologies can be offered, but not necessarily accepted. On that basis, 4 out of 5.
For the long weekend, Rach and I decided to hire out some movies. One of her picks was
When A Man Loves A Woman. Now
there is an exercise in clever marketing - a film that
kind of looks like something else but turns out to be quite different.
If you have a look at the front cover, it looks like a soppy romance. The kind of film that no self-respecting guy would go see. (I mean, let's face it - we know it's going to have the song in there, and who wants to sit through that?) So, obviously, the goal is to attract chicks. So thus a front cover that makes it look like a romance, a back cover that talks about a man and his wife and how they're going through some problems, but how the power of love conquers all (or some such sentiment).
Then there's the movie, which is somewhat different: Andy Garcia is married to Meg Ryan, who very quickly shows us that she is an alcoholic. So the first hour of the film is all about her problem and how she gets sent away to detox.
That's a bit more intense than anybody was expecting - but that's okay, there's only chicks there and they've all got the tissues out. Then we head into the excruciatingly slow second hour. She's back - she's off the alcohol - and all of a sudden,
he can't cope.
The film finally ends at about the 120 minute mark. Again, it's one of those American dramas that handles its subject in an above average manner, with above average acting from its leads, but never seems to rise to the level of outstanding. So 3 out of 5, and I'm possibly being generous.
I remember when this came out in the 80s (well, actually, I don't specifically remember when it came out) - but I remember in the 80s that this film was frowned on in Christian circles, and I doubt it was looked on fondly by schoolteachers or parents of teenagers.
This movie (which I doubt I have to tell you much about), tells the story of young Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick), who fakes being sick so that he can have a day off. He engineers to get his girlfriend, Sloane, out of school and his best friend, Cameron (who was home sick anyway because he hates life). The three of them steal Cameron's Dad's car, and then head off for a memorable day in Chicago.
Complications arise because Ed Rooney, the dean of students at Ferris' school (played by the ever-amusing
cafedave lookalike, Jeffrey Jones), realises that he's being scammed and decides to take matters into his own hands. His attempts to catch Ferris out go from bad to worse.
Also in the mix is Ferris' sister Joan (played by
Dirty Dancing's Jennifer Grey), who is just annoyed that her brother can get away with everything and she can't. So she also is out to blow the whistle.
I think there's a degree to which if you
are a parent of teenagers, you might want to caution your children about not following everything they see on movies . . . but I think the fact that this film is still so immensely popular years later, tells us that it is about a little more than just delinquent students.
Without doubt, the reason for this film's success, is that it points the finger (in perhaps a rather subtle way) at the sheer boredom of a life lived without purpose. Whether it be the empty business dealings that Ferris' Mum and Dad engage in, the mind-numbing pointlessness of the classes that Ferris is skipping, or the references to college that everyone is expected to go to but no one really wants to - the point is clear: we do a lot of things in life that really don't have much meaning.
Now, the film's solution to this is that we should all take a day off now and again and enjoy life. So, as a result, some of the most memorable scenes are ones where Ferris gets an entire crowd of people dancing during a parade, or the lovingly photographed artworks in the art gallery. Then there is the evocation of friendships, and how important they are. "These are the important things," this film says.
Obviously, I'm going to come from a slightly different point of view, and suggest that meaning is found in obeying God's will, and getting in step with His plan for the world. But if we leave God out of the picture, and try to find a meaning in work or school just for its own sake, I'm inclined to agree that life would soon become as pointless as this film presents it. 3 1/2 out of 5.
