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Post by essien on Jul 23, 2019 11:23:38 GMT -5
Discussion points - what do you make of the representation of women in this film?
- did you find TJL an honorable man because he cared so much about burying his friend?
- did the broken storytelling make it harder to follow? Do you think this was a good approach for storytelling?
- how the general attitude towards non-Americans changed much since this film was released 14 years ago?
- is it okay to bury a body without a proper burial?
- do you think TJL should have shot the blind guy? - The female characters felt pretty secondary to me, and only really there to move the plot along and shape the experience of the male characters. - In his own way, yes. I think it's a pretty common Western trope for the main character to have a simple, rigid set of values. - Not gonna lie, I had to read the Wikipedia synopsis to figure out what was going on in the first half. There weren't enough cues to indicate the time jumps. - Can't speak for Americans but it felt pretty poignant to be watching this during a time when immigrants are being demonised and dehumanised by the President. - I don't really have a view on this. I think it comes down to individual religious beliefs (or lack thereof). I'm more than happy for my body to be harvested for organs and then cremated. - Absolutely not and I think the old guy was a prick for asking. "I don't want to commit a sin because I'm scared of god but I'm happy for you to do it and take the rap." Selfish bastard. My main take on the film is that it was good but could've been a lot better. I'm not sure what it was derivative from but I felt like I'd seen something very similar before. I put a lot of stock in aesthetics and I was surprised that it looked so rough. There were even a few indoor scenes where the light coming in from the windows was totally over exposed. That really bugged me haha. I give it a generous 3.5/5. |
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Post by tao on Jul 23, 2019 15:15:46 GMT -5
Idk if y'all felt the same way, but the first third was a mess structurally. I think it would have really benefitted from being organized chronologically. I agree with this. I've seen this twice now and I completely forgot about the story-telling structure. I stuck this in one of my talking points as well as I liked it less on a rewatch than I did first time. I don't think anyone benefits from watching this 14 years after it's been released either as there's been a hell of a lot of good movies out since then. I remember this feeling more unique when I caught it back in 2005. Well, you're not wrong in the sense that it is a unique film, even more so that it's a "modern" western. It's the fact that the story is layered and nuanced in such a way that it's somewhat hard to figure out who's "good" and "bad", and that there aren't any easy, re:definable answers to all that's being presented. I will say that this is the most emotionally nuanced Tommy Lee Jones performance I've seen yet, and it was fun seeing him speaking in (Mexican) Spanish. |
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Post by v9733xa on Jul 23, 2019 17:19:06 GMT -5
I liked this a lot, if it wasn't clear from my review. Arriaga is an amazing storyteller and I will watch any movie that has his script in it. Discussion points - what do you make of the representation of women in this film? - did you find TJL an honorable man because he cared so much about burying his friend? - did the broken storytelling make it harder to follow? Do you think this was a good approach for storytelling? - how the general attitude towards non-Americans changed much since this film was released 14 years ago? - is it okay to bury a body without a proper burial? - do you think TJL should have shot the blind guy? Yeah, to be fair one of the criticisms of Arriaga's screenplays is that women seem to get second (or third) billing, and that's clear here. But that ones that are here have meaningful yet brief moments. He seemed a little more stubborn than honorable, but those aren't mutually exclusive. I love the broken storytelling, as I said in my review. I'm sad others didn't like it. Again, you all need to read As I Lay Dying and you can appreciate this film a lot more perhaps. Ha, yeah i couldn't help but view the movie through the lens of the migration crisis. Admittedly it's a different situation now: back in the 2000s it really was single men coming over to work, yet now you have entire families fleeing violence in Guatemala and Honduras to claim asylum. My atheism is showing here, but hell yes it's okay to bury a body without a "proper" burial. I don't want one. Just throw me in the ground where i can fertilize something. Or feed me to starving dogs. This is the best question of all and i've thought about it a lot. It's almost like euthanasia, in a way. Should he be put out of his misery? He seems like he'll starve, or at least be severely malnutritioned. I don't know. It would be more ethical to get him help, but that's easier said than done. |
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Post by Ghosty on Jul 24, 2019 12:05:02 GMT -5
Discussion points - what do you make of the representation of women in this film?
- did you find TJL an honorable man because he cared so much about burying his friend?
- did the broken storytelling make it harder to follow? Do you think this was a good approach for storytelling?
- how the general attitude towards non-Americans changed much since this film was released 14 years ago?
- is it okay to bury a body without a proper burial?
- do you think TJL should have shot the blind guy? - Agreed with the others, pretty secondary and only really there to facilitate the plot as far as the male characters are concerned. - I'm not sure "honorable" is the word that came to mind for me. "Stubborn" is probably more apt. It seemed pretty apparent to me that TLJ's character didn't have much to live for as far as personal connections were concerned, so he kind of came across as desperate to latch onto that personal connection with Melquiades. - I was not really a fan of it here. I think the approach has its merits and can be used well, but the first half of this one was tough to follow. - Off the top of my head, I'm not entirely sure how the general perception of immigrants from Mexico and Central/South America has changed overall since 2005, but having a president with such a xenophobic and crass opinion of immigrants definitely colors that perception. I found it fitting to watch at a time when the administration is in hot water over the treatment of migrants at the border and ICE facilities, though. - Sure. Depends on your faith. As far as I'm concerned, you could literally throw my body in the trash when I die. Won't bother me. - No, but I also don't think he was selfish in asking as some of the others have commented. I think his perception of his faith that someone shooting him would be a merciful act and therefore redeemable in the eyes of God, whereas suicide would be an act of cowardice. Overall I thought this was a good pick, and definitely a nice break from the overall theme of the past several choices. While I thought the uneven storytelling in the first half was at least slightly detrimental, I enjoyed it more as it progressed. A compelling story carried by strong performances from the two leads. 7.5/10 overall for me. |
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