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La tortue rouge (2016)
Profound Meaning That Everyone Misses
My wife and I sat down tonight to watch what turned out to be a most exceptional film - 'The Red Turtle'. This movie is intended for those who appreciate mankind's connection to nature, and considering the meaning of life. It is not a film intended for cynics or the sarcastic by any means, and therefore if you are one - do yourself a favour and avoid it. But for those who care for their heart, soul and humanity - this is a terrific movie to watch.
I should begin by saying that this is one of the finest films ever made in my opinion, animated or otherwise. What may come across as a nice family adventure for the 8 year old, is here in fact a profound philosophical treatise, whose true meaning evades most viewers. From this point on I would like to address some major spoilers, so PLEASE DO NOT READ ON unless you have already watched the film! It would be a great shame if you do. Go instead and watch this film, avoiding the trailers beforehand if possible (as they also spoil much of the plot).
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Continued with spoilers
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The real point of the film is that it concerns the meaning of life. Supposedly it is about a man and his family on an island. Truthfully, it is about what really counts in one's lifetime.
In my opinion, as sad as it is, the titular hero in fact imagined his loving family. We see many clues for this. The most relevant one is when the man imagines his tiny crabs friends to be musicians, but then realizes they are crabs, and shouts in frustration, realizing he is losing his mind. Throughout the film, the crabs remain crabs, but the wife and son are human for the most part. You can also notice that the manner in which the crabs play is very similar to how the father plays with his son. Eventually, this reality is at last reflected to us once more, in the final scene.
In the beginning of the film, the father frees the little baby green turtles from the sand, who then run to the ocean, like his son later does. However, one of them is later seen dead on the beach. That is the first turtle death the man encounters. Later in great frustration, the man seems to have killed the Red Turtle, whom he considers to have taken away his freedom from him - what he held most dear. Yet after the death of the Red Turtle, the man begins to ponder that maybe, to be alive is more important than to be free, and that the act of killing was worse than the prevention of freedom. This is symbolized as the Red Turtle, as the woman, pushes away her shell into the ocean, encouraging the man to give up his raft.
For these reasons, a man creates his family, but he ends up learning and receiving much more from them. He creates a wife and a son to make up for the unfortunate turtle deaths he had witnessed, and so that he could experience and convey love. By having a relationship with his loving wife, he is inspired to discover different ways to do things, and to invent 'culture'. With his wife and son, he also has play, and by teaching his son how to escape from the narrow cave, he gives meaning to his life by conveying education to another person. The tsunami allows him to experience loss and the overcoming of it, and the son leaving allows him to handle the notion of letting go even of what is most important - perhaps even deal with his own mortality, and certainly his fate being stranded on the island.
Thus, we receive all the answers to what is most sacred and crucial for a human being in life: To be alive, to love, to cultivate and create, to gain a different perspective by interacting with others, to play, to educate, to experience loss and overcome it, and to come to terms with one's own mortality and circumstances.
Interestingly, it can be said that this film reaches the same over-arching conclusion which is made in Chekhov's short story, 'The Bet'. In that fable also, via very different means, is proven that a life of 'imprisonment' can still be a far better alternative to dying, and therefore that life is always preferable to death (the latter, making that argument in the context of the Death Penalty).
All of this and more, is brilliantly told to us with barely any words spoken, and in 80 minutes. Few are any fables in human history, who were as successful in pulling off such an amazing intellectual and emotional feat. This one exceeds most in its capacity to do so, but alas - only those sharply attuned to the tale would notice.
10 / 10
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Was a great movie, until... (no spoilers)
This is all a great flick with pretty mature and dark themes, and decent humour for the most part. But half-way into the gig, it turns into 'Space Jam' - quite literally. VERY POOR script decisions meant to get this across to ages 12 and down, transformed a potentially 8/10 piece into a 5/10, within two minutes. I could not but cringe. Very disappointing.
Da yu hai tang (2016)
A Superb Film Which Few in the West Can Appreciate
Tonight I watched a most marvelous and exceptional Chinese animated film, called 'Dayu Haitang' ('Big Fish and Begonia'). Very few artistic creations I have ever encountered, capture the traditional culture and heritage of a nation as well as that movie did.
An eye-candy by any standard, the designs draw upon the real folks stories of the Chinese people, and the architecture of countryside minority groups such as the Hakka. The colors too, match Chinese customs and habits, throughout every single scene.
This grand achievement of cinematic excellence is inspired by lines from a classic text, the book of Zhuangzi, which is among the wisest and most profound documents to have ever been written. This film likewise, though it at times masquerades as a children's flick, is in fact a deep philosophical treatise, dealing with the existential questions of Daoism and the moral ones of Confucianism. This movie is all the better and far more touching for those who understand the intricacies of traditional Chinese social customs and family values.
I would have easily handed this piece the Oscars for directing, animation, script, editing, music and more. Alas, very few Westerners have been in contact with enough of the beauty of traditional Chinese culture, to appreciate the enormous complexity and magnificence of this presentation, and therefore it is unlikely to be recognized for its greatness. There had hardly ever been American animated production of this humanistic caliber, and even among the famed Japanese anime industry there are not many items to count which abide by such measure of distinction.
This visual journey is more than a good story - it is a statement about morality and society in the grand-scope of things, and it makes its arguments without pulling any emotional punches or attempting to belittle the audience's intelligence. This is exactly the type of film that our cynical nations need, in an age of false information and mass deception; for it speaks of what is important to the human heart and soul.
Do yourself a favour and avoid the images and trailers. Simply go and watch the film; and please, by all means - view it in Chinese, which is the language for which it was intended. Use subtitles if necessary. There is an end-credits scene - do not miss it.
The Way of the Warrior (1983)
A cornerstone in the history of martial arts, no less
The 1960s and 1970s were the "Bruce Lee" age for traditional martial arts. An age when these arts became incredibly popular worldwide, and in the process deteriorated greatly as they spread, oftentimes losing their historical context and what they used to stand for. The presentation of martial arts in the West, was usually amateurish at best, and at its worst was a real misrepresentation of the arts to the degree that people thought them to be something which they never were. The movies and media were thus to blame for both the successful widespread of the arts as a cultural phenomenon, and the demise of many of them.
Out of this chaos emerged this FANTASTIC documentary series in the early 1980s. It did not look like anything else that has ever been put on video for the English-speaking market. One could argue that as I am writing this (February 2011), no other documentary series on the subject of martial arts have managed to replicate the quality of this original production.
This series is truly exceptional. A remarkable piece of cinematic excellence. One could try criticizing in vein the various inaccuracies often spoken by the narrator, who was certainly no expert on the subject of martial arts. Still, the series was aimed at familiarizing the average Joe with this subject - and in that department the series just continually delivered the goods.
The series touches on the very essence of traditional martial arts from around the world, and in so doing documents history itself in the making. It catches martial traditions right in one of their most pivotal historical points - of transitioning into the new brave new world humanity had created towards the 21st century. It shall forever stand as a monument to the heart and soul of martial arts in this historical period. The heart of the series are the various teachers featured in it - each a unique and fully developed individual, and all very interesting to listen to. They teach the viewer no less than they do their students, and we are really fortunate to have them speak and demonstrate so openly in front of a camera.
One could only wish this series would have lasted 1000 hours and more. I find myself watching every episode in joy even when seeing it for the 30th time. I wish they would have made more like this one. Do find the time to watch this masterpiece - whoever you are, you won't be disappointed!!
Jonathan Bluestein, February 2012.