Movies
The Dimming.
I don't read novels so when I first heard of "The Road" I wanted to see the flick because of the subject matter and the principles involved, in this case Viggo and Charlize, both fine actors.
People thinking they're going to experience an adventure, like I did, won't have their expectations met, but are going to find a richer something else entirely. This movie is about getting small and immediate. It's about survival after some unmentioned apocalypse, a devastation so complete that life is stripped to the absolute basics.
The world in this epic is a cold, dying place. It's about how the few people that are left deal with the situation for good and bad. In it's sparseness, it's austerity, the brilliance is in it's nuance. When talking about this effort people should refrain from getting into the details of events because really, there aren't that many and yakking about them won't do justice to the unfolding narrative. Apparently the film adaptation superbly realizes the book's intent and mood just like the Coen brothers' treatment of the author's other "No Country for Old Men".
I was very much blown away by the acting. You will never see a better performance by a young boy. Excellent cameos too. There aren't many splashy computer effects, or heroic theatrics, or a grand finale. The Road is about how different people face raw survival in different ways. The only other movie that comes to mind that gets close to dealing with this subject so successfully is the British "Threads", which concentrates on nuclear annihilation. You aren't even told what happened in this one, and to be honest, it doesn't even matter.
The Road can be seen online now from an upload of what apparently was an Oscar promo. Take your pick from here.
I don't read novels so when I first heard of "The Road" I wanted to see the flick because of the subject matter and the principles involved, in this case Viggo and Charlize, both fine actors.
People thinking they're going to experience an adventure, like I did, won't have their expectations met, but are going to find a richer something else entirely. This movie is about getting small and immediate. It's about survival after some unmentioned apocalypse, a devastation so complete that life is stripped to the absolute basics.
The world in this epic is a cold, dying place. It's about how the few people that are left deal with the situation for good and bad. In it's sparseness, it's austerity, the brilliance is in it's nuance. When talking about this effort people should refrain from getting into the details of events because really, there aren't that many and yakking about them won't do justice to the unfolding narrative. Apparently the film adaptation superbly realizes the book's intent and mood just like the Coen brothers' treatment of the author's other "No Country for Old Men".
I was very much blown away by the acting. You will never see a better performance by a young boy. Excellent cameos too. There aren't many splashy computer effects, or heroic theatrics, or a grand finale. The Road is about how different people face raw survival in different ways. The only other movie that comes to mind that gets close to dealing with this subject so successfully is the British "Threads", which concentrates on nuclear annihilation. You aren't even told what happened in this one, and to be honest, it doesn't even matter.
The Road can be seen online now from an upload of what apparently was an Oscar promo. Take your pick from here.
posted by nolocontendere at 4:48 PM
1 Comments:
I also eschewed novels for almost a decade. But then I realized that there are aspects of the human experience, and insight pertaining to it, which are conveyed much more powerfully, and with greater nuance, through the medium of a novel than an essay.
I strongly recommend that you give it a shot with McCarthy's 'The Road'.
About halfway through I heard that its popularity was due in large part to The Church of Oprah having selected it for the followers. This is hilarious.
While I'm at it -- 'District 9', the film. Utterly original.
~ km
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