Directed by the guy who directed the Manhunt & Red Dead Redemption video games, Air stars Norman Reedus (who is also an exec producer) and Djimon Honsou as two men protecting the last survivors of an nuclear winter. The film uses an interesting device where it seems to confirm racist stereotypes only to subvert them in the end. But beyond this progressive twist there is a disturbing message of elitism. What makes our hero the hero is that he is protecting "the best of humanity" unquestionably as opposed to the antagonist's disdain for the 1% and resentment that they let the rest of the world die. There is a sacrificial act to save the future of mankind that is excused because of the sacrificial animal's selfishness, nihilism and pessimism. But this character doesn't express the very real concerns in the reality of this situation: Is murder, betrayal, sabotage all excused for the interests of the majority? What does it say that humanity must commit evil to preserve itself?
I can't tell if I like this film's message or not. Its a murky mix of philosophical ideas that might confound a college class and thats more than I can say for most films. For its ambition and aesthetic design, its a recommended film. But be warned there are some very conflicted arguments put forth. Its part clever portrait of the death of white supremacy but also a problematic NeoLiberal hope of a more colorblind and romantic bourgeoisie utopia. Half-hearted, half-educated media like this is what led to the unpopularity of the current democratic party. Its dead on in its attack of the Rightwing but it doesn't provide any real confidant answers to its own ideologies' weaknesses.
I was thoroughly absorbed by A Most Wanted Man's detailed and highly realistic plot and the wonderfully designed direction by Anton Corbijn (who I mostly associate with his amazing music videos for Depeche Mode), but I was distracted by the very off-putting casting of American actors as Europeans. Its not for any political reason, I simply thought their accents were weak. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman is the worst offender, coming off more like a caricature performance than a person (something I think applies to his entire career). But thats not enough to put off the film. It does a ho-hum job trying to humanize and sympathize with Islamic jihadists but it could've done more. It relies more on its tight plot of spy intrigue than any original observation about modern politics or humanism. I assume the John Le Carre novel that inspired it is much more interesting, but this is a good film simply because its a realistic departure from the usual cartoon spy films.
I had never seen Se7en before and, considering it was released in 1995, it lived up to its reputation and exceeded my expectation. Because its a David Fincher film, I expected a more cute "buddy cop" deconstruction with lots of sadism. Actually, maybe because this is a younger, less established Fincher, its much more cerebral, restrained and focused on its themes and characters than any dressing or gimmicks. This is before Fincher pursued his "Millennial Hitchcock" aesthetic but it has the Hitch influences. Its very formal, very pitch black in humor and builds to a tense climax. Fincher never throws out the emotional intelligence of his scripts but Se7en has him very much in sync with the dark themes and worldview, probably because this was his rebound from Alien3. Not perfect, but a great film from a period where Hollywood films were garbage and it plays like a masterpiece compared to today's shit and most poorly aged "Classic Hollywood".
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