Movies: Issue #1

The Namesake (2006)

Bad dialogue and acting wreck what could have been an interesting movie about the lives of Indian-American immigrants, their offspring, and the connections tying them to their homeland. The movie performs the easy task of making us want to visit India, but even then its portrayal of the country itself is shallow and never dives beneath the surface. Bollywood stars Irfan Kahn and Tabu perform dutifully as the family's parents, but the younger cast turns in often groan-inducing performances, no thanks to the hokey script. A mess.

3.9 out of 10

Spirited Away (2002)

A truly magical film. Spirited Away creates an vibrant and fascinating world that is a joy to spend time in, populated with totally original characters and depicted in inspired, swooningly beautiful animation. An oasis of imagination, and a masterpiece.

9.2 out of 10

L'Avventura (1960)

Pretentious "masterpiece" of Italian cinema. When you combine beautiful cinematography with bored, upper-class characters doing nothing interesting, you end up with an agonizing, joyless viewing experience like L'Avventura. Blah.

3.6 out of 10

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Wes Anderson's most under-appreciated film. Bill Murray and the rest of a wonderful ensemble embark on a voyage like no other, with characters that are a pleasure to be with and a zany, conversational sensibility pervading the whole movie. Garnished with a smashing art design, groovy music, and oodles of wit and heart, The Life Aquatic is sublime.

9.0 out of 10

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Good gravy, what a classic. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is beautifully filmed, written and acted, and emerges as one of the most magestic, captivating movies to come around in a long time. Brad Pitt exudes menace and intrigue as James, and Casey Affleck steals the show, literally embodying the Coward. Writer/director Andrew Dominik uses the two-hour forty-minute running time to its fullest; the entire movie glides slowly, inexorably along toward the eponymous event, and when it finally happens, the dramatic impact is awesome. This is assured, epic filmmaking - epic without effects-laden battle sequences and legions of soldiers, but rather with two characters who by the end of the movie have become so iconic, so important, their inevitable clash is more terrible than that of any army.

8.8 out of 10

No Country For Old Men (2007)

From the fantastic Coen brothers comes this grim, expressionistic piece set in the sparse, yawning landscape of West Texas. Javier Bardem rivets as Anton Chigurh, a ruthless killer in the absolute, and a supremely unsettling presence. When he is on screen, evil has a face. Tommy Lee Jones appears in a haunting, low-key performance conveyed as much by his words as the deep grooves of time etched in his visage. The Coens have painted a bleak, nihilistic picture full of portent and dread.

8.2 out 10

Stage Beauty (2004)

Claire Danes and Billy Crudup star in a period drama set in the 1600's and centering around the legalization of women playing women on the English stage, and the subsequent effect on Danes, an aspiring actress, and Crudup, an acclaimed actor who was trained to play women his entire life. It's a promising premise, and Danes turns in an admirable performance, as does Crudup, in a dizzying, genre-bending achievement. However, Stage Beauty never forges a genuine emotional connection between its characters and audience, and as a result remains only a mildly affecting exercise in wit and conceit.

5.7 out of 10

The Painted Veil (2006)

A poignant tale of love lost and regained between a husband and wife set against the backdrop of a cholera outbreak in 1920's China. Edward Norton continues to prove that he is one of the great actors of his generation, and Naomi Watts is stunning and graceful as the unfaithful but vulnerable wife trying to reconnect with the man she has alienated. Featuring elegant cinematography and an involving, touching love story, The Painted Veil overcomes its weak-ish ending to prove itself a moving, romantic period piece.

8.0 out of 10

Thoughts on Into the Wild

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter.

Sean Penn's 2007 adaptation of Jon Krakauer's nonfiction book Into the Wild was released in September and wow, I can't remember the last time I was as moved by a film. The true story of Christopher McCandless pierced me, not because of the skill and craft with which it was made, but because I identified with McCandless more than any other character I have ever encountered, fact or fiction.

I understand why he left his family and hitchhiked across the country, eventually into the freezing Alaskan wilderness. I understand his desire to get away from empty normalcy, to experience the ferocity and truth of an unbound world, the independence and "ultimate freedom" afforded by a solitary existence. I understand the disgust with sameness, consumerism, and ordinary life - being in love with the romantic idea of a footloose, rambling life. For a long time I have been discontent with my present placement on the globe, desiring travel and adventure. I'm always dreaming of getting away from the place I'm currently at, escaping to somewhere better, unknown...

The part about Into the Wild which hit me hardest and hurt the most was seeing how his desire to keep moving and not lay down roots caused pain to those around him. McCandless's drive to continue traveling, to break away from ordinary life, meant that every time he left a place, he tore out the hearts of the people there who loved him so much. His family were left with the heartbreak and torment of knowing that their son was out there somewhere in the world by himself, and he hadn't cared enough to tell them where he was going or even write to them. McCandless realized at the end of his life that his quest for isolation and truth had rendered him just that - isolated and left with the truth that "happiness isn't real unless it's shared."

Into the Wild is a finely-crafted film, a potent ode to a transcendent human yearning, and a beautiful elegy for a courageous young man whose story deserves to be told. It has helped to put a new lense over how I view my own life - consummation by wanderlust and constant focus on "getting away" means forgoing the essential human treasures of friends, family, companionship, and love. Questing for independence, we deny that which we really require - interdependence.