Shane vs. 'Unforgiven'

As we were watching the film, I was constantly reminded me of a book I read long ago, Shane. This novel was about when a weary gunfighter decides to settle down with a homestead family, but when a smoldering act occurs - it causes him to return to his prior ways.

There are so many connections between "Unforgiven" and Shane. The images depicting the forever lonely cowboy, the brawl that makes him return to his old ways ...
It's amazing how both these works even provide the viewer/reader with the same mood and overall vibe of the ol' West!

And even though they both appeal to differet audeinces, the connection established between the reader/viewer and the work is completely the same.

I loved both peices and if you liked "Unforgiven"; I DEFINETLY suggest you to read Shane, the fight scene in the end is definetly worth it.

Unforgiven.

I really appreciate how Clint Eastwood portrayed the main character through that one word; throught the title. Unforgiven. In the beginning, I couldn't understand why the title of the movie was unforgiven; where the word had originated from. But then, soon after the climax passed I came to understand why Munnay was unforgiven. Not only by society, but by himself.

I also noticed how the movie seems to be seperated into two parts; one in which the viewer comes to terms with William Munnay's good character and starts to symphatize with him and then the second part. In which, the viewer sees the dark side of alcohol overpower this man and bring him back to where he was long ago. That turning point in the movie is a very crucial one. When the viewer stops understanding the Munnay and starts resenting him.

Lastly, I really enjoyed Eastwood's sort of reflective filiming. In better words, I like how the beginning (a sunset with a lonely man) goes back to exactly that. As if he is still unforgiven. There are also parts of the film, which juxtapose the new Munnay with the old Munnay; once again in a 'reflective' state.

End of the Seventh Seal

So this is a bit delayed, but nonetheless, the end of "The Seventh Seal" was a bit of a letdown for me, not to say it wasn't good; it just left a question in my mind.

The main character, had the same questioning of fate that I constantly do, so I was hoping that by the end he would find an answer but he didn't which scared me; seeing as that leaves me without an answer as well!

On top of that, the "dance of death" at the end really put a depressing, gloomy mood on the whole plot line which I don't necessarily is a bad thing but it overpowers the good points of the plot; like the "strawberries and milk".

Overall, it was a good film but it left a question in my head and didn't really help me find an answer for my own, which is something I have a very sort of ambiguous opinion towards.

The Seventh Seal

This new film we've been watching is something that I don't watch quite often. I'm not typically a fan of foreign films with subtitles. But, I've come to realize that I really enjoy watching this chess match with the devil.

So far, the most mesmerizing part of the movie was when the people of "death" walked past the whole community. It was such an erie and remarkable event. It was frightenting how they were there one minute and gone the next.

On top of that, my favorite lines of the movie so far would be when one of the characters states that "No matter where you go, your back is always behind you."

and then later on in the scene someone says

"Death is always behind you."

Which was a sort of an eerie premonition on what was to come in the plot line.

I really loved how the directors integrated that into the dialogues.

And so far, I feel like this movie isn't simply a play on words but a play on actions; which is beautifully crafted.

Runaway Train

So, we finished watching the film "Runaway Train" this Friday and it made a huge impression on me. I was sitting in the car and I couldn't stop thinking about it. To be honest, there are few films that I adore that don't evolve some sort of aspect of romance but this one was beautiful without it.

The film, as a whole, was very simple on the superficial level (which I think Andrey Konchalovskiy did purposefully), yet with many secret innuendos and underlying themes. I really loved that about the film because it left the viewer to decide how to perceive everyone. Konchalovskiy didn't specifically try to change the viewer's opinions of any of the characters more than necessary to develop the plot-line.

However, the ending of the film is what resonated with me. The minute the climax occurred, every single action of the character had the utmost significance. There were so many valuable quotes located in those last 30 minutes. That last part is the reason I can't stop thinking about the film. I think it was beautiful when Manny stood up on top of the runaway train, it was beautiful because he was, for once, free. He stood there, as if flying through the air and just the background music and scenery struck me. This movie showed me that all us humans are the same. We can show that we are educated, and that we are "high-class" but in reality we are no different than the "scum" in prison. We are all human. And that's truly a beautiful concept.