I have seen 짝패 (The City of Violence), and appreciated that it was 'old-school' like Tony Jaa's movies, not relying on wire-work. Nonetheless, while it was a decent action movie, I was somewhat unsatisfied. But the same could be said about Donnie Yen's recent movies, so it's not the quality of the action. Perhaps it is just a general dissatisfaction with movies that do not have enough story. Or the brand of heroism that is being depicted. There is a place for simple good-vs-evil stories, where evil can be fought through the use of force. Despite what certain pacifists may think, there is nothing wrong with admiring that sort of courage in Christians, even if the highest form of courage is that which is needed to face martyrdom.
But just like superhero movies, action movies rarely inspire us to be courageous and to seek ways to serve our community. This is partly due to the limitations of film, and also because 'American' culture (except perhaps in the South) does not really celebrate such service, even if people pay lip service to those who serve. I do think our war in Iraq (and probably Afghanistan too) was a mistake. Do action or superhero movies make us consider the costs that our soldiers and their families have to take upon themselves? No. I have read that the gap between those involved with the military and the rest of the American public is growing. It will probably continue to grow. The opportunities (other than law enforcement) for Americans to acquire courage and serve as a warrior are otherwise limited. Our mass culture only serves to foster that gap. I am not saying that there should be more positive portrayals of the military on TV and in the movies. But movies can be such a debased source of vicarious living. Knowing that one is a sheep and acknowledging it is much better than being a sheep and pretending that one is a sheepdog. Even the barbarians may turn out to be wimps, unless the barbarian is a bully (in which case he is probably still a wimp since he'll back down in the face of strength) or a male disposed to violence.
Twitch has a review of the American DVD of The City of Violence.
Six Stills From John Hillcoat’s THE ROAD
What is it about apocalyptic movies that fascinate me? The death and destruction? But what aspect of it? Watching evils befall a people? Or waiting for some life-affirming message to come through? Many would probably not watch such a movie if it did not say something about the meaning of life, something like love is greater than death, or give a 'glimmer of hope' that no matter what happens, people can do something to transcend the suffering of evil.
Is this one of the roving bands of cannibals? I only skimmed through the novel, but I imagined their appearance to be a bit different. Not so... human. I think I've been influenced too much by horror movies.
Alas, such a movie is not likely to provoke Americans to consider the possibilities of collapse. (That the apocalypse is brought about by the use of nuclear weapons contributes to our feeling of complacency--after all, how likely is that to happen? And if it doesn't happen, how could things possibly get bad?)
No comments:
Post a Comment