2 movies
My netflix movie was The Ninth Configuration-written and directed by William Peter Blatty, who considers it the true sequel to The Exorcist (at least according to the IMDB).
If The Excorcist is about demons and evil, then this movie is about faith, belief and the power of redemption. Maybe. It's a difficult movie to understand and it makes you work for the understanding of it. It takes place shortly after the end of the Vietnam War-at a remote castle in the Northwest, where insane soldiers are sent to recuperate. The arrival of the new supervisor of the hospital (asylum?) is Colonel Kane, played by Stacy Keach. The Colonel is preternaturally calm in the face of all the madness around him-and there is a lot of madness going on around him. He allows the inmates to do whatever they please, in an effort to help them work through their problems. Does he really help work through their problems? It's hard to say, as all they is act out all day and it seems as if nothing really changes. But he does spend a lot of time arguing with Billy Cutshaw, an astronaut who had a breakdown on the launch pad and scrubbed the launch. He's had a nervous breakdown, and he tells the Colonel he believes in the Devil and evil because of all the evil in the world-but he cannot believe in God or goodness in spite of the good in the world. He asks the Colonel to name one person who has given up his own life for one other person and disputes the examples the Colonel gives him, although he does tell him that if there is life after death, could he please send him a sign? The whole situation comes to ahead when Cutshaw escapes form the asylum and heads for a bar in the nearest town and proceeds to get drunk, sitting at a table by himself. Unfortunately, the local biker gang recognizes him and starts to torment him. I will say this, I couldn't figure out if the leader of the biker gang was meant to be gay or not. He's a nasty piece of work, but with his big curly hair, scarf tied to the side of his neck and a LOT of eyeliner...it was hard to tell if he was gay or just a leftover from the 70's (this movie is from 1980). The Colonel comes in to rescue poor Cutshaw and ends up taking a beating himself, in order to get the gang to let them go. After enough torment by the gang and a sexual assault on Cutshaw (a particularly vicious scene, just for the sheer meanness of it) Kane loses it entirely. There had been debate in the asylum as to whether he was "Killer" Kane, renowned in Vietnam for being heartless killer and there is no doubt in this scene that they are the same person. Kane dispatches just about everyone in the bar, except for the college-age waitress (you have to wonder what she's doing working there, with her white shirt, striped sweater and fluffy blond hair. Could she not get in to a school in California?). Anyway, everyone else is toast, but Kane himself is in pretty bad shape by the time the police arrive. Kane takes the blame everything although the police are suspicious-but they let everyone go back to the hospital.
I don't really want to give away the ending, but let's just say that Kane proves, in his own way, that there is goodness in the world and gives hope to Cutshaw. There is also a nice twist to the story of Kane but I don't want to give that away either. I liked this movie-I could see why Blatty said it was the true sequel to The Exorcist, with its mediation on good and evil-if there is evil, there has to be good, right? Or not? Who is to say which is which? This isn't an easy movie, but it is worthwhile.
The other movie I saw The Darjeeling Limited. In it's own way, it has similarities to The Ninth Configuration. Both movies are about process and finding yourself-if you want movies that are strong on plot, you should look elsewhere. Darjeeling is the story of three brothers on a trip through India-ostensibly to see their mother who is living in a convent there (it's debatable as to whether she will actually see them or not). Will the brothers make through the trip without killing each other? Will they make through India without getting kicked out of the country or off the train? This movies is truly about the journey and not the plot and that's what I liked about it. No comment on the performances-they were all uniformly good-I was surprised (pleasantly) that Owen could give a performance that was outside is his usal character-it was nice to see that he's not always a stoner/loser/loveable idiot.
If The Excorcist is about demons and evil, then this movie is about faith, belief and the power of redemption. Maybe. It's a difficult movie to understand and it makes you work for the understanding of it. It takes place shortly after the end of the Vietnam War-at a remote castle in the Northwest, where insane soldiers are sent to recuperate. The arrival of the new supervisor of the hospital (asylum?) is Colonel Kane, played by Stacy Keach. The Colonel is preternaturally calm in the face of all the madness around him-and there is a lot of madness going on around him. He allows the inmates to do whatever they please, in an effort to help them work through their problems. Does he really help work through their problems? It's hard to say, as all they is act out all day and it seems as if nothing really changes. But he does spend a lot of time arguing with Billy Cutshaw, an astronaut who had a breakdown on the launch pad and scrubbed the launch. He's had a nervous breakdown, and he tells the Colonel he believes in the Devil and evil because of all the evil in the world-but he cannot believe in God or goodness in spite of the good in the world. He asks the Colonel to name one person who has given up his own life for one other person and disputes the examples the Colonel gives him, although he does tell him that if there is life after death, could he please send him a sign? The whole situation comes to ahead when Cutshaw escapes form the asylum and heads for a bar in the nearest town and proceeds to get drunk, sitting at a table by himself. Unfortunately, the local biker gang recognizes him and starts to torment him. I will say this, I couldn't figure out if the leader of the biker gang was meant to be gay or not. He's a nasty piece of work, but with his big curly hair, scarf tied to the side of his neck and a LOT of eyeliner...it was hard to tell if he was gay or just a leftover from the 70's (this movie is from 1980). The Colonel comes in to rescue poor Cutshaw and ends up taking a beating himself, in order to get the gang to let them go. After enough torment by the gang and a sexual assault on Cutshaw (a particularly vicious scene, just for the sheer meanness of it) Kane loses it entirely. There had been debate in the asylum as to whether he was "Killer" Kane, renowned in Vietnam for being heartless killer and there is no doubt in this scene that they are the same person. Kane dispatches just about everyone in the bar, except for the college-age waitress (you have to wonder what she's doing working there, with her white shirt, striped sweater and fluffy blond hair. Could she not get in to a school in California?). Anyway, everyone else is toast, but Kane himself is in pretty bad shape by the time the police arrive. Kane takes the blame everything although the police are suspicious-but they let everyone go back to the hospital.
I don't really want to give away the ending, but let's just say that Kane proves, in his own way, that there is goodness in the world and gives hope to Cutshaw. There is also a nice twist to the story of Kane but I don't want to give that away either. I liked this movie-I could see why Blatty said it was the true sequel to The Exorcist, with its mediation on good and evil-if there is evil, there has to be good, right? Or not? Who is to say which is which? This isn't an easy movie, but it is worthwhile.
The other movie I saw The Darjeeling Limited. In it's own way, it has similarities to The Ninth Configuration. Both movies are about process and finding yourself-if you want movies that are strong on plot, you should look elsewhere. Darjeeling is the story of three brothers on a trip through India-ostensibly to see their mother who is living in a convent there (it's debatable as to whether she will actually see them or not). Will the brothers make through the trip without killing each other? Will they make through India without getting kicked out of the country or off the train? This movies is truly about the journey and not the plot and that's what I liked about it. No comment on the performances-they were all uniformly good-I was surprised (pleasantly) that Owen could give a performance that was outside is his usal character-it was nice to see that he's not always a stoner/loser/loveable idiot.
posted by SHbookworm at 8:54 AM
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