(If you know nothing about
this movie or the book it's based off of watch the trailer at this link here and
then read my article)
All of you who are familiar
with the story should already know that this movie gives a very powerful
and deep theme to chew over:
The main theme being its
fresh point of view of the Fall of Adam and
Eve or the Pandora's box element of the beginning of the world. While many think
that the fall was an unnecessary and painfully unfortunate event, the
story makes us think over what it would be like to not know the
difference between good and evil. Before the Fall, Adam and Eve did not
have the ability to choose between good and evil because, just like the
characters of this movie, they didn't know the difference. Now the
question is: is that a good way to live? Is it better to be denied the
opportunity to choose between good and evil so that we never "choose
wrong" and can go about normal lives (if you can call it that)? Or
is such a life "a life of shadows" like those who know the
difference call it in the movie. It's a really deep question, but anyone
who believes in some sort of a great Fall/Pandora's box element to the beginning of the world will probably be amazed at this portrayal of how
beautiful a life of choice and understanding can be.
The second thing it portrays
is a very accurate depiction (in my opinion) of the nature of violence
and suffering. There is NOTHING glamorized about such in this movie. In
fact it quickly brings the viewer to FEEL the pain others go through and
also disgust for violence of any form. If you wish to take a step back
from the typical numb-hearted violence of many a modern
movie, and instead take a second to feel and remember sympathy and
concern for others, then here is a piece of gold.
The third and last main
piece of goodness I find in this movie is it's example of pure love, and
it comes in the form of love between parental figures and those who look
up to them. Teenage Jonas (the main character) and his interactions with
an infant named Gabriel are especially endearing. There is no romantic
interest, no personal pleasure sought for, or anything else of the sort
in their relationship. Yet, it is ridiculously heartwarming to see the
two of them together.
THE BAD
I'm not sure if I saw one
ounce of anything questionable in this movie. For most of my second run
through of the film I kept wondering why it was rated PG-13. It seriously
took me two watch throughs before I figured it out. It's that clean. But
then I came to see that the rating came from some of the disturbing scenes that Jonas, the main
character, sees as he is shown the past. As I said
earlier, the movie does a great job at helping you FEEL the pain of war
and suffering, but it does so by bringing you into it.
Otherwise there are some questions this movie raises (if you read
between the lines) that I'm not quite sure if I like: Such as its portrayal of
breaking rules: one asks the question, "how can [something] be right if it's
against the rules?" Can breaking the law be the right thing? This
movie argues yes, in defense of the life of a loved ones, but the impact
of such a choice in this world has the potential to change the lives of the
whole world and only a few people are even involved in the decision. Is
that selfish or not?
Or about love and lust:
which one is which? What IS love anyway? Is it that warm, nice feeling
you get when you're with that one person or is it something else? The
movie leaves that a little open to the viewer but brings you to take a
peek at both.
The final question that I'm
not sure about is in regards to what should and should not be hidden from
the world. Memories of the past are suppressed almost to the point of extinction in
this world were people don't know what a book, or perhaps even the
internet, is. The innately evil
things of the world, such as selfishness and suffering, are hidden from
the world, which of course would be nice, but in so doing they also
eliminate the innately good things such as love and the arts and family bonds in an attempt to
prevent the world from getting the option to choose right or wrong for
"when people are given choice, they choose wrong".
THE COMPOSITION
I thought the movie made
really good use of editing to maintain the appropriate rhythms and feels
for the events that were going on. The scenes seemed to fit together
very naturally and I don't expect you will find yourself being
distracted by cinematic amateurism. Also Jonas and Fiona (played by Brenton Thwaites (Prince Phillip in Maleficent) and Odeya
Rush (probably her first lead role) did a great job in helping us to
feel the emotions of the characters. Their portrayal of rediscovering
what emotions are and how to deal with them was remarkably believable.
However, the cinematography
and acting felt melodramatic to me at times during the more climatic scenes. Cinematically it happened a
lot whenever there was a shot that involved specially effects or CGI,
probably just a budgeting thing. As mentioned earlier there
were several profound lines but at times in the delivery, (I felt this
more with Jeff Bridges' lines for some reason) they came off more
dramatically then cinematically, like he started to act like he's in a
play instead of a movie. Or (and this is what I felt more so) that
he/others were breaking the fourth wall and directing their comments
toward us in the real world who are eavesdropping into their life rather
than the person they were actually talking to.
CONCLUSION
All in all, I liked it and
can't wait to watch it for the third time. There's a lot to enjoy and even
more to think about. I'm going to give this one the green light in regards
to its sheer goodness and a 3.5 out of 5 stars in regards to its
composition. If you have anything you
noticed about the movie that was good or bad cinematically or in message
I'd love to hear it and your defense of your position. Just post below! Also if you know of any
movies that are uplifting and well put together I'd love to go and watch them
and let you know what I think.
Anywho, see you next week
Light-Finders!
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