Saw this movie tonight...best film I've seen this year. There are a few plot problems which are never resolved, but the direction, performances, and story all add up to one of those rare filmgoing experiences where you are totally engaged, involved, and interested at all times. Now it's not the most comfortable movie...not gross or incredibly bloody, but just...uncomfortable. I don't want to give much away, but the being involved aspect is not always a pleasant one...but it is effective and very interesting. It stars a guy I've never seen before, and basically a whole bunch of people you won't know except the girl from Amelie, but man, get out and see it while you can. Seriously cool movie. Anyone else seen it? I do have specific comments, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone, so I'll wait till people who have seen it respond, and then I'll do the whole ***SPOLIER*** thing.
I saw it. Although, I didn't have the same reaction you did, but I still thought it was pretty good. The ending was great. As for the best movies I've seen all year, I'd have to say Better Luck Tomorrow or Whale Rider. I can already say there most likely won't be a better performance by an actress than the girl in Whale Rider. She was so good it got a little dusty in the theatre a couple times.
I'll likely see the movie tonight. Of course, I probably won't be on the BBS again till Tuesday, so I'll miss the conversation entirely.
I saw it and knew nothing about it. My wife and I and another couple went to the Angelika last Fri night and just picked out a movie. I guess we just thought it would be sort of sexy and European. This movie is a surprise and a sleeper. This movie, though not the most overtly political or intellectual, got me thinking more than most. A gem. I liked the ending, too.
I haven't seen it yet, but I'm going to. It opened in Austin today. As an aside, my wife and I don't see as many movies as we used to... having children 7 and 12 slows you down a bit, unless you're flush and can afford sitters all the time (which we don't do often enough) or have relatives close by (which we don't)... but we used to go 2 or 3 times a week (unless seeing live music got in the way) before the biological clock overwhelmed us and we happily succumbed. At any rate (sigh), we saw "The Photographer" on HBO late at night recently and were completely surprised and blown away. What made me think of it was Audrey Tautou being in "Dirty Pretty Things" and the cinimatography of "Amelie". The two compare very well in that respect, believe it or not. Anyone else see it and have that reaction? Or was it whatever we were consuming that night after the kids were asleep. Just curious. It's an independent film written and directed by Jeremy Stein three years ago and is the only movie he's made, according to IMDb. If you haven't seen it, rent the dvd from somewhere if it's available. Sorry for the digression.
******************SPOILER************************* **************************************************** glynch: Disagree about it not being political or intellectual. One thing I noticed early on, and actually began to count: Notice how many British people appear in this movei taking place in London? Exactly 2: the pharmacists in the hospital. Other than that every person who appears in the film, including the cops, are 'foreigners'. This point leads me to a further digression into what i saw as the theme of the film, the idea of the system. Note that the lead character's very first words are " London...Buckingham Palace..." etc. And then he says a very interesting thing: " I am not here for you in particular, but I am here to rescue those who have been let down by the system." That, to me, is the key to the entire film. It's all about how a system treats those on it's fringes. As we see in this film, they are exploited, bullied, manipulated and left to die. They sell themsleves, literally and figuratively, just to get inside the system. But what does belonging to the system mean? The lead character, ironically, is the individual who has been let down the most by the system. In Nigeria and in London, and presumably in NYC, he has been 'an angel', as described by the prostitute, not an accidental phrase in my opinion. He has tried to be a decent, honorable man...look at the means people use to try and manipulate him once they know him. No offers of money or sex etc. are used after the intial one is rejected: the Spaniard comes at him with guilt and morality. 'Save this girl.' ...''Lives are in your hand."...etc. And, as we see, this affects him deeply. Why? Because he is, in fact, an angel. Think about it...he is described as among those 'you never see." He flits through our existence without ever being recognized, he sleeps on rented couches and in morgues, he hangs out in graveyards, and he never sleeps. He is always an outsider, a pariah, and all this for standing up for what is right, and losing everything as a result. But this does not deter him; he continues to be moral, dedicated, and as we see, continues to help others almost without pausing to see if it is in his best interest. He helps the other cabbies, he rescues the Somalian operation victim, he saves the girl...all at great risk to himself. He even pursues the 'heart' when he is not someone who can speak up. The director intentionally surrounds him with other outsiders, to show us the sub culture surrounding us. And like angels, we do not see them: the prostitute describes herself as " not really here." The lead character is never noticed except by other outsiders; the pharmacists barely bat an eye, ask him to clean another floor, and them forget about him, and he uses this to take the medicine he needs to save a life. He rescues those let down by the system while himself being one of them. An angel in the spirit world, a messiah among the pariah, and in the end he finds redemption. It has shades of Kafka, shades of Miller, Milton, and others, but I feel that the commentary is quite intellectual and very political. It is about the system, the value of the system, and what the system does to the grit in the wheels, even for just trying to remain alive. Aside from the Spaniard, how many of the outsiders in this film seek anything more than that? And how are they rewarded for that quest? WHat is more political than an examination of the relationship between society and a certain class of people? I'll say more later, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I do think, however, that the message was quite the opposite of how you described it. Everybody has their own take, I guess.
See Whale Rider, Man on the Train and The Man Without a Past. I thought it was pretty good--not as good as I had hoped. The ending was pretty obvious and the plot was on auto-pilot for most of the film. Nowhere near as challenging and edgy as you would expect a film about underground organ donor programs to be. I guess I was expecting a cinematic equivalent of Things Fall Apart, so my disappointment was a foregone conclusion.
Nice analysis, MacBeth. I think it's spot on. Now can you please provide an analysis for Mulholland Drive and Donnie Darko? Thanks.
Muholland Drive is the biggest piece of drivel for pseudo-intellectuals trying to figure out the "true meaning" of a David Lynch slice and dice. It was a Made-for-TV Series that got axed and he just pasted all this BS together hoping it would be "intriguing". There is no meaning. It's just crap.
Wow, an ambitious and unique television idea got axed, who would have thought? I don't know if there's a true meaning to the movie or not, nor do I really care. I could bring up some possible themes that I got from the movie, but I don't want be giving off that pseudo-intellectual vibe. Although, I find it a bit presumptuous of you to say there was absolutely no point to the movie whatsoever. How do you know? Because it didn't make perfect sense to you? In my opinion, the best movies are the one's that don't blatantly try to stuff their themes down your throat. Also, I'm not really sure if it's <b>that</b> tough of a movie to comprehend, especially when you consider the first 2/3 of the movie is just a dream where pretty much anything can happen, and the last 1/3 are the actual events which later become scattered throughout the dream in one way or another. You're right though, the dream doesn't make sense. By the way, how many dreams have you had that make sense? Aside from the "point" of the movie or lack thereof, I thought it was very strong visually, as are most David Lynch films, and I thought Naomi Watts' performance was the best of that year.
Wow! This movie is so thought provoking in many levels. I highly reccomend it. I always seem to miss the allegorical meanings of stories like Mcbeth and folks with more hours in English Lit than me see but I saw: an examination of the exploitation of immigrants, the exploitation of women, the lack of understanding of Islam in the western world, the ethics of organ donation, how all of us compromise our ethics when required for our survival, the guilty pleasure of rightgeous retribution, and that's not even touching the muti-level love angle.... I'd say it's the best movie since Traffic, not that they are alike, it's just that they both have a theme of varied perspectives and ethical ambiguity. Nothin blows up, no girls get nekkid, there are no jokes; so if that's what you really really like in a movie, give it a pass.
Definitely go see this movie. I thought it was wonderfully moving. In regards to Man without a Past and Whale Rider, both of these movies had interesting points but were severely lacking at times. Dirty Pretty Things is very solid throughout.
I think the line "I am but a fledgling learning to fly" is the single most moving moment I've seen on film since childhood.
Disagree about it not being political or intellectual. One thing I noticed early on, and actually began to count: Notice how many British people appear in this movei taking place in London? Exactly 2: the pharmacists in the hospital. Other than that every person who appears in the film, including the cops, are 'foreigners'. Macbeth, I agree about 100%. I commented to my wife on the fact that there were practically no white Britishers in the movie. I only remembered the scruffy immigration ispectors. I said that the film was not "overtly" political or intellectual. By this I mean that it is staged as a thriller or mystery and doesn't straight forwardly present itself as political or intellectual. I agree with just about everything you said and can see how I didn't clearly say what I meant. I didn't get the symbolism of the angels and all, but it certainly made me think about the plight of immigrants. To me a powerful line was: " We are invisible. We are the people who drive your cars, clean you rooms and such your cocks". I also think that the movie works well as just an interesting medical detective movie staged in an exotic setting. This is sort of what I meant by not overtly political.
