EDIT ADD: Our car broke down on the way home tonight. We had to turn around and come back to San Diego…the poor Codallos family-we just ransack their house every time we’re here…anyways-nothing to worry about with the car-I just think that Pep Boys messed up the alignment the other day when they replaced our brakes and did some other work. Oh yeah-rented Cinderella Man, another movie off my list of 25…I tell ya! I’m a goal oriented person! I will achieve my goal!
——————————————
Make sure you take a look at the post below (25 movies to see b4 the Oscars–which are on March 5th–happy viewing!). Quick note before I move on: some of these movies which didn’t do so hot at the box office and were released earlier in 2005 (Walk the Line, Good Night, and Good Luck) are being re-released due to their success at the Golden Globes, and you should check them out.
OK- we saw MUNICH tonight, which I wanted to see for a while now. Not that I have a big love for history or for the particular event the movie is about, but because I deeply, DEEPLY, respect and love Steven Speilberg as a director and as an artist. Every one of his films is a must-see for me, whether it be AI (not a great success), Raiders of the Lost Ark (a classic), or something as heavy as Schindler’s List or Munich. There is something about the way he makes films that is magical. I mean, he will go down in history as one of film’s all-time greatest directors, and there is something that is intangible about his filmmaking. I can’t tell you what it is, or what technique he employs to do it–it is just done.
Somehow it’s just there. What it is, I don’t know…well, you get the point.
So how do I feel about the film Munich? Disturbed. Unsettled. Educated. Changed. Like I’ve been given a world-reality check. Like I’ve been slapped in the face with a part of our civilization I’ve been blind to before. I feel like our world is full of horrible things that I’ve escaped somehow due to my fortunate upbringing and perhaps simply by the location in which I was born and raised. The horrors I witnessed tonight on film are simply a tip of the iceberg of what goes on in our world today. Most of what I saw was fiction–all of the events depicted in Munich were 100% real, and 9 of the 11 men responsible for planning the hostage situation in Munich were also killed–but the actual events surrounding those events were fictionalized in the movie. And yet-I know that things like that went on–AND HERE’S THE CLINCHER–still go on today–35 years later.
Of course, it’s a controversial film. Many say Speilberg made it to give a message about violence and terrorism in our world today, taking the Munich events and relating them to what is happening in our culture right now. Let me tell you, it was a powerful message. Pulling in at a cool 2 hours and 44 minutes, there was plenty of time for talk and for those discussions between characters to relay the message. As subtle as it was, it was so clear. I’d love to recommend the movie, but I’m not sure I can do that for all of you. I don’t think I can accurately sum up how I am feeling right now about it, or that I will ever be able to put into words what is going through my head. I’m sure you will be able to read about it on Mike’s blog, or possibly Christy’s.
And a quick note about that ^. I really twisted Christy’s arm to go see this film. She has probably only seen one or two rated “R” movies ever. She’s not up for violence, murder, horror, terrorism, etc…She had it all planned-go see Munich with us at 7:10, and if she hated it or just couldn’t take it anymore, head off to see Last Holiday (Queen Latifah) at 8:05 instead. At 8:10 she leaned over and said, “OK, I’m going to see my movie now, ” and I pleaded with her to stay–and being the loving, incredible wife she is (not to mention that I promised her 10 back rubs if she stayed) she decided to stay. Well…she’s watching Fresh Prince of Bel-Air right now to try and recover emotionally…yes, she loves her some 80′s and 90′s black comedy shows…(Cosby, Fresh Prince, A Different World, etc…). It’s a quirk…but I commend her for sticking it out. I’m glad she did.
It truly was a brilliantly made film. We’ll see what the Academy thinks about it, come March 5th.
Seldom comes along a film that radically changes my world-view and causes me to think and examine my life in a way that I haven’t done before. This film was one of them.
Side note: hope SNL is better this week than last. Last week it was abominable.
