Silver City
Go out and rent the film SILVER CITY. I mean it. Right now. Go.
Yes, it happens to be a film written and directed by the brilliant John Sayles, auteur of such gems as LONE STAR, LIMBO, and MATEWAN, and my favorite indie director, but it is also the film that FARENHEIT 9/11 should have been.
Because, in following an investigator looking into goings on around the campaign of one Dickie Pilager (pronounced "pillager"), candidate for Governor and stand-in for Dubya, Sayles shows the error of electing someone like Dubya while not turning the right into some kind of caricature for evil. SILVER CITY is the film that could have convinced an uncertain electorate, while FARENHEIT 9/11 simply preached to the converted. SILVER CITY shows that guys like Dickie and Dubya aren't bad guys, they're just not very bright guys being sold a bill of goods by rich people who are smarter than them.
If only we lived in a world where SILVER CITY got a wide release and FARENHEIT 9/11 were consigned to the indie theaters. Of course, in that world, no one would need blogs...
posted by mooglar @ 12:17 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I have yet to see it, but I've wanted to do so for some time. Thanks for the recommendation. Now I have to convice my wife ...
Off the topic of politics, but on the topic of movie recommendations: I recommend the movie Primer, directed by Shane Carruth (2004). It is a difficult movie to watch, as it is relatively complicated to follow; however, multiple viewings should clarify things (it did for me). There are also a number of resources on the web that help put things together.
This was an interesting film for me because I was actually very annoyed with it after my first viewing. I felt it was needlessly cryptic when dealing with a complicated subject material (time travel), and offered no help to the audience in following it ... actually, the reverse. The dialog is terse and ephemeral with respect to the various themes -- it really seems to be designed to watch more than once.
The second time I saw the film, my opinion totally reversed. It is a very well-made movie. There is room enough in science fiction art for an experiment where someone tries to treat time travel in something more than a cursory way, I think. Anyway, I don't believe a lot of the details of the personal issues and relationships would have been as nuanced if Carruth had been more direct with the presentation of the film.
If you haven't seen it (you probably have), go out and rent it. Then watch it twice. 8^)
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