Movies I've Seen That Left An Impression
By DanielJW 24 Comments
This blog post was inspired by the film "Everything is Illuminated" which I'll talk about some more below. All of the movies you'll find here have had an emotional impact on me, beyond what the average movie does. Almost every movie ever made can put me in some kind of mood, almost every movie ever made can jerk around my emotions a bit. But these movies, I thought stood out.
These movies caused me to reflect on myself. These were movies that made me rethink what I thought I'd already known, and reassess who I am. Because of these movies, I feel like I've become a better person, a more understanding person, a more loving person. It's difficult for me to word well, but these are films that really got to me.
There may be spoilers in the following.
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Moulin Rouge! (2001) - Baz Luhrmann
Those of you who saw this movie know it's crazy. A lot of the cinematographic choices made are insane, and outside of what we'd consider normal. Past the flashy camera work, the bright colour palette, the narcoleptic Argentinian, the midget playwright, and the absinthe hallucinations, you'll find the movie slow in to a measured and passionate love story.
The movie really made me rethink what love was. A big theme here is whether love is something that is real, or something we have for protection. Should someone marry for the security and money the other can offer, or should they marry for who the person is. Even when the world is offered to Satine by the Duke, she goes for Christian. It's a message that's been done over and over, but was executed perfectly through the acting, music, and writing. The feeling of love and loss has never hit me as hard as it had in the closing scene of this film. I fully recommend it, even if you don't consider yourself one for love stories.
Everything is Illuminated (2005) - Liev Schreiber
The film adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's novel, Everything is Illuminated is the story of a Jewish American come to Ukraine to find a piece of his Grandfather's past. Played by Elijah Wood, Jonathan collects pieces of the life of his ancestors. Whether it be false teeth or a bag of dirt, he takes them and mounts them on a wall with a photo of the relative to which it belongs.
I really began to think about history after this movie. Alex comments in voice over at the end that we wear histories "inside out". What we experienced, and what our ancestors taught us, is who are on a daily basis. Everyone and everything we come across can leave some kind of imprint on this. People who are with you for a long time can affect who you are. It made me begin to think who'd left their mark on my "inside out" history. The people who made me who I am today, and the people before them who made them who they are. It's a topic that you could dig in to for hours, looking through photo albums and talking to your parents. This movie explored the nostalgic sadness of this idea very well.
Requiem for a Dream (2000) - Darren Aronofsky
Another cinematographic masterpiece, Requiem for a Dream covers the life of four drug addicts. Harry, his girlfriend Marion, his friend Tyrone, and his mother, Sara. Harry, Tyrone, and Marion are heroin addicts. Selling Sara's things for another fix. Sara, a widow who spends her time at home watching television, receives a phone call informing her that she'll be on a game show. Because of this, she begins to lose weight through diet pills so she'll fit in to her husband's favourite dress. By doing so she becomes overwhelmingly addicted to the pills.
The movie conveys bad emotions across the board. Pain, disgust, and sorrow are the staples of this story, and they damn well get them across. I felt physically ill throughout the film, and sad for days after. Close ups of injections, people drawing needles full of drugs, liquids flowing through veins, and pupils dilating create the montage for drug use. It's a grimy, and dirty sequence that'll give you shivers whenever someone shoots up. It's the kind of worst case scenario movie that pushes you to stay away from that fate. It made me think of the kind of things that people with drug problems have to deal with, and all the people that have it worse off that I do. It's certainly a sobering movie, and if nothing else should give you a kick in the pants to better yourself.
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That's it for this blog. It was a rather serious one, so perhaps next time I'll post one in the vein of movies that impressed me, or movies that made me laugh. I've been considering writing something about "Despicable Me" for a while now. Something fun could certainly come from that. Regardless, I'd like to thank you for reading, those that did. I hope you'll check out some of these movies if you haven't seen them. It's certainly worth it.
-Dan
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