Avatar (2009)

So it finally came, the film i had been anticipating all year finally came. When i had first heard that director James Cameron was making a film and it would involve aliens and be a science fiction, fantasy, action endeavour, my eyes lit up. With my favourite film of all time being Aliens (also directed by Cameron) I couldn’t help but reduce myself down to giddy school girl status. And the ribbons and pleated skirts were fun for awhile but then as we inched closer to the release date, well, I got the jitters. What if this movie turns out to be better than Aliens? What if I have to tell everyone I have a new favourite film of all time in the year of it’s inception, oh how bad the mocking sting of such things. Thankfully that didn’t happen and my inner chestburster can incubate for another day. That is not to say that Avatar was a bad film, but it did lack a couple things which kept it from getting there. On the whole it’s a Faberge egg of a film, a beautifully gilded and encrusted shell of a film that yields very little yolk, but then again i may just love Faberge eggs above all things; I’d go to war with my neighbouring kingdom to have more (who wouldn’t?). What I’m trying to say is that this film is pretty but it lacks soul, which is a problem in a film that deals with such spiritual manners

Avatar is about a young army soldier named Jake who receives news of the death of his twin brother and is gifted with the option of finishing his brothers’ work on a distant planet called Pandora. It just so happens that his brother was a vastly intelligent scientist who was working on a unique project that placed him and several others inside makeshift bodies resembling the alien inhabitants, these are called Avatars. His intention become split down the middle when he is bribed by a colonel who suggests subterfuge as a way of advancing the armies tactical analysis of the native population, and his duty to the science team of which he is viewed merely as a grunt. With the colonel offering to repair jakes paraplegic state, Jake is easily swayed into betraying the science team, but something all together unexpected happens. Once Jake coalesces into his Avatar, he is able to walk, and regained freedom leads him far off into the acidic jungles of Pandora where he is discovered by a young native woman called Neytiri. Neytiri is a brave warrior and at first views Jake a nothing but a human in disguise, come to further pillage her planet for it’s resources so they can survive. When she sees how the forest responds to Jake, she changes her tune and he is permitted entrance into her clan (of which her father is leader) beneath a gigantic tree which is also the largest source of unobtanium, the very resource the humans intend to harvest. All this is much to the colonels delight, but as Jake spend more and more time with Neytiri and her people and their ways, he begins to fall in love with them and her. Nature takes it’s course and now Jake finds himself between a rock and a hard place. Does he follow his heart and join ranks with the alien Na’vi’s or will he remain duty bound in the hopes he will one day walk again. With a resulting war between races knocking on the doorsteps of the great tree, Jake must follow his heart but at what cost, will he and the Na’vi prevail or will it all be for not? You’ll have to see it too find out.

On the whole i really enjoyed Avatar, it wasn’t a vastly profound film, but it was an intensely beautiful one. This film really uses special effects in a big way, not only employing Weta, one of the best special effects houses out there, but creating a new style of camera that allows for 3-d filmmaking through stereoscopic imagery (take your glasses off and you’ll see two slightly overlapped images, that stereoscope), technology is very much at the forefront of this film, so much so that quantifiable realism and substance take a back seat, but the investment in the new technology pays off as it results in a film with an amazing look that uses 3-d in such a brilliant way, this is no “coming at cha” instead, characters are literally leaping off the boarders of the screen and the world they inhabit and sweeping up the viewer; it’s really one of the best pieces of escapist filmmaking I’ve seen. In fact the film seems partly dedicated to that idea, the attempt to get the viewer to experience the setting in a first hand way, it does this seamlessly. Clearly a film of high technical value, it shines in several areas, art direction, cinematography, make-up, editing, sound and score; all these things are on par or better. James Cameron is once again in top form as a director capturing some of the best action sequences I’ve seen in a long time, wonderful choreography and planning throughout the film. However it’s the things that I didn’t mention that bring the film down from the masterpiece it was projected to be.

Unfortunately for all the films miraculous ability to pull its viewer into its vibrant and dangerous world it really has nothing to make the viewer want to stay. The script is uninspired, relying heavily on ideas and dialogue reminiscent of other films, the acting is spotty with only a few approaching par. It’s kind of ironic that a film that presents such new ways of experiencing a film, still ends up feeling standard, in ways that can negate the impact of the technology; but it’s not as if the film has nothing to show for it. Pretty much every frame of this film is a thing of beauty, the developement of this world and these characters transfers wonderfully from the drawing board to the finished product, and there are extremely captivating moments in the film that are awe inspiring and the transcendent way the film pulls it’s viewer in is completely admirable, I don’t think I’ve felt this out of body since The Matrix, it’s a world I hope to revisit. And here’s hoping the film hold up in traditional 2-d because no film is worth running out to buy one of those new fangled 3-d capable televisions unless this is where were heading as far as motion pictures go. I do also want to note that this film does have something to say, it’s just that it doesn’t do so in any impacting way, and it is lost amid the beauty and action of the story; but basically there are parallels and contrasts between this films tree hugger sentimentality and our realities lack of such ideals. It wants to tell us to be kind to our planet and learn to respect it for all it’s majesty, even if it’s ten below and you wish it was summer, the earth can’t be changed in such ways as our planet is an entity bigger, and more complex than our over populated desires, and we simply have to protect our world and cherish it much like the Na’vi do theirs if we are to continue residing on it. I think this is lost on a lot of people partly do to the film’s failure as a script but also because that is a reality we don’t really want to accept, we know it means sacrifice and in this fast paced world, were to used to having it all at our fingertips. This film makes a great point, but it falls on deaf ears and seems weak to many. Perhaps if sh_it hits the fan for our planet we might be wishing we took more notice of these concepts; kick ourselves for drowning all those pagans who celebrated mother earth; but now I’m getting heavy. That said, I think the underlying moral of the tale is apt and awesome, but the surface level feels borrowed and formulaic.

So on the whole I avidly recommend this film for it’s beauty and epic nature; i also salute it for pushing the forefronts of technology a touch further and trying something new, because I’ve already seen this guy tackle and perfect the science fiction and action genres, it’s great to see Cameron continue to add new facets and challenges to something he’s already adept at, for me it’s always the ability to break from predetermined convention that makes a great director, and it’s great to see him doing just that, even if he fails on some levels. If you are a fan of science fiction and fantasy, this is a film you’ll enjoy, if not you will still be captivated by the beauty of the filmmaking enough to negate your biases. Yes the film could’ve been structured better but even so, Avatar is a clear standout in a sea of conventional filmmaking and deserves to be championed for that reason alone. I had a heck of a time escaping into this world, and I’m sure you will too. Highly Recommended.

The White Ribbon

The White Ribbon was a film I didn’t quite understand the first time I saw it. Not that the film is confusing in anyway, but i went in thinking this film was a mystery, and in ways it is, but on a rewatch I discovered it was so much more. The White Ribbon is a very provoking, well thought out look into the pathos of the German population pre world war one, with a major emphasis on those who would go on to form one of the most brutal, and strange parties in history, the Nazi party. The results achieved in this film do wonders in allowing us to understand how and why people could ever bring themselves to join ranks with Hitler, a particularly important film for anyone who has interest in World War II.

The White Ribbon is the story of a town, Eichwald, located in a rural area of Germany, just before the outbreak of World War I. In this town a series of mysterious and violent instances occur, with very little evidence left behind. The story is bookended with narration from the school teacher who is reflecting on this event with admittance of grey areas do to age. This school teacher is our central character, but his recollection is also further fleshed out and we look into the windows and hearts of several other families who all have possible motivations for being the culprit behind these strange instances. Of the families that are followed, there is a baron and his wife and child, who provides work for sixty percent of the town, a father who barely makes ends meet for his vast unruly family, A doctor with a terrible secret, and a pastor who rules his family with a devout iron fist. Several other people filter in and out of the tale, and a love interest for the School teacher allows moments of character development, all the while the person or persons responsible for the crime lurk somewhere in the shadows. But as i have already stated, this film is more than a whodunit, it’s far deeper than that.

I really liked this film, not just because of what it says, but the way in which it was presented. Director Michael Haneke knows above most things, how to play his audience. His films have always been laced with contrition toward the film goer, however this time he turns that anger on itself with insinuations about the mental state of the very population that bore him. He does this with the finest tuned hand imaginable that these things may even go unnoticed as you get caught up in the mysterious elements of the tale. None the less it’s there and it’s very well played and insightful. Haneke makes parallels between religion, faith, family values and ignorance that make for seemingly accurate analogies for why people might have gone on to attempt extermination of its Jewish population. Anyone with only a passing knowledge on that period of history will have their views expanded; just as anyone looking a good film will be equally / doubly rewarded.

With the scripts wonderful premises aside, there is some wonderful acting for a large cast that are all brilliantly cast. Christian Friedel who plays the teacher, gives a great performance that feels very realistic, but the film is about more than his view of the tragedy. Many of the children in the film give performance that seem as seasoned as the adult roles. The adults are wonderfully complex characters, and a lot of other themes are explored around them as their ideals contrast the generation they vehemently try to raise. A film loaded with beauty and import. Also the cinematography is really wonderful despite originally being filmed in color, the town and townsfolk really come alive, and the film really aims for a high technical value and achieves all of it. There are lots of wonderful bits and pieces that help to propel the slow moving events and make every scene a crucial part; either in thought or in action.

On the whole I think The White Ribbon is a 2009 film you can’t afford to miss. Not only is it brilliantly rendered its a story that has a lot to say, and does both in superb fashion. It’s not surprising to see this film nominated outside the foreign film category, it could’ve feasibly achieved more, the costumes and art direction are also apt. So if you haven’t seen this film yet, what’s holding you back? Don’t let Haneke’s hatred of mainstream audiences scare you away, this time he’s turned the mirror on himself and presents a taste of his own medicine that couldn’t be more bittersweet, or more apt. Recommended