5.2 ~ #7

"Amistad" (1997)

From Netflix: "Steven Spielberg directed this story about the 1839 revolt aboard Spanish slave ship La Amistad and the uprising's tragic aftermath. An African-born slave (Djimon Hounsou) leads a mutiny against his brutal captors. Because the ship is in American waters, a U.S. court must decide the slaves' fate. In an eloquent courtroom speech, ex-president John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) argues for the Africans' freedom."

To be completely honest, I've been avoided watching this movie. I am very passionate about civil rights and have very strong feelings watching anything having to do with slavery, the civil rights movement, etc. and I was told this is the kind of movie that stirs emotion and makes the most stoic person cry. Well, I have a confession...I am a crier. So I was not looking forward to watching this film at ALL.

It's remarkable to hear how the characters address the slaves that the movie revolves around..."savages", "beasts of burden", "creatures of prey"..they are compared to livestock and heirlooms in one scene. It is so shameful to think that this country was founded in order to escape persecution, and yet every new group of people that has come to this land for exactly that purpose has been met with just that...persecution. Disgusting. Slights like this, I believe, are the reason that though I was born here, I do not consider myself an American but a child of Cubans. I don't wish to identify myself with a country that treats it's immigrants in such a manner just because I had the serendipity to be born here. I appreciate very many things about the liberties I'm given in this country, but as a result I appreciate more the struggles of the people that had to fight to make it this way. And we still have a LONG way to go...

But I digress...

The acting in this film is phenomal...Matthew McConaughey plays probably his best role ever, Anthony Hopkins and Morgan Freeman...well, they never disappoint, do they? And Djimon Hounsou is so beautiful and haunting in his role...he really makes you feel his desperation and his strength without words, just through his eyes. Amazing.

Wow. Saying I cried watching this movie would be an understatement. Sobbed intermitently through the last hour and a half is more like it. There was a full 8 minutes about an hour and 15 minutes in where I couldn't breathe because the sobs were coming so hard...

I don't know if I would watch this movie again. It was very hard to watch and remarkably sad to imagine that people had to go through exactly this. That being said, it is a beautifully made and remarkably acted movie that everyone should watch at least once, if only to appreciate it cinematically, but ideally to take away the story with you and let it be a part of you...because the fact is that if you live in America, this story, regardless of whether you've heard it or seen it, IS a part of you.

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The other movie for this week, "Apocalypse Now", had a "short wait" indicator on Netflix, so I will be watching it and reporting on it as soon as it's available...

For week 6:
#8: "As Good As It Gets"
#9: "Babe"
DOTW: "High: The True Tale of American Marijuana"

5.1 ~ Documentary of the Week

"Modify" (2005)

From Netflix: "Introducing viewers to people who've explored branding, piercing, tattooing, tongue splitting and every body modification imaginable, this striking documentary plumbs the thoughts of artists and their human canvases to reveal how and why they've gone to such extremes to express themselves. The groundbreaking film also features an original soundtrack from more than 20 new musical artists."

The first thing I have to mention is that the quality of the movie on the Netflix streaming function is BEYOND crap. That is of course, no fault of the movie itself, but it did affect my experience of watching it.

Another note: this movie is NOT for the squeamish. It deals with several different forms of body modification, including a graphic and in-depth look at plastic surgery. If you don't like blood and guts, prepare to look away in some parts! it was gross enough that I let the movie run and just listened to it without watching it for about 4 minutes because I couldn't handle all the insides I was seeing...

And...there's LOTS of UP CLOSE GENITALS getting pierced. You have been warned.

That being said, I am way too squeamish for this movie. Watching this is a challenge...

I am all for freedom of expression, and I myself at my peak had three tattoos (well, I still have those) and had 12 piercings (I've only got 8 now), but I just can't handle WATCHING someone getting these things done. The tattooing is the least of it, that I'm fine with watching. Even the piercings for the most part aren't so difficult to watch. But when they start getting into the surgeries, the suspensions, and the skin implants, it becomes a but much for me. I don't know if it's because I imagine the pain of that act, or if it's just my natural "that's-not-natural" urge, but I can't help but shield my eyes or look away for most of this film.

In any case, it's remarkable to hear the stories of the people featured in the movie and to find out why they have done the things they have, and the motivation behind their modifications...I always like to hear stories behind people's tattoos, and everyone of mine has a story behind it. Piercings I usually have done just because I think they look good, but I also kinda like the attention. Everyone has their reasons, some spiritual, some for shock value, but always something unique because each of these people are unique. It also shows how damn near everyone in our society has had a body modification at some point, and yet they still are prejudiced against people that have had modifications that are perhaps a bit different than theirs.

Definitely worth watching, super interesting film...even if you end up looking away half the time like I did :)

4.3 ~ #6

"Amadeus" (1984)

From Netflix: "F. Murray Abraham earned a Best Actor Oscar for his imperious performance as Antonio Salieri, a mediocre composer whose churlish young rival, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce), wins immortality with his musical genius. Not happy to see his talent eclipsed, Salieri dons a disguise and deviously plots revenge, obsessed with muffling Mozart's maddening laughter. Milos Forman's masterful drama also won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director."

Longest movie yet, clocking in at 2 hrs, 40 min. Good thing it was interesting, otherwise that would have sucked. It was actually a very enjoyable movie.. I watched it with my little brother and my father, both of whom had seen it before (I told you I was doing this project for a reason LOL).

The story is told in flashbacks by a character by the name of Salieri, a colleague of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The character of Mozart is a braggart, arrogant, dirty-minded and selfish...an eternal child in the worst sense. He has a grating laugh and a sense of entitlement that is understandable from a child star, but irritating nonetheless. He is forward with his thoughts, salacious with his words, and thinks only of himself and his music. After watching this movie, I'd love to read a biography of him, just to see which of his traits were exaggerated, if any.

Salieri grows up wanting nothing more than to have the musical talent to praise God through music, and to be known by the people around him for his talent. He lives a chaste and humble life, so that God may reward him with the gift he craves. He is obsessed with Mozart's talent, and thinks God sings through his compositions. So when he meets Mozart and discovers he is a vulgar brat, he wonders why God would "choose such an obscene child to be his instrument". He takes this, among many other happenings, as personal slights against him from God himself, and decides he must do drastic things to have even half the glory of Mozart, whom he considers an enemy.

Mozart is admirable in that he lives as pure ID in a time where everyone else ran on pure superego. He just lives his passion and ignores any societal responsibility that interferes with his good time. Salieri seems to suffer from severe delusions of grandeur, as he seems to look at everything that happens in the world around him, from deaths to the failures of his colleagues, as something that God is doing directly as a favor to him or in order to spite him. This movie also shows the amazing things that people are capable of doing and thinking of when they allow themselves to truly be overcome by something.

Very good movie, overall :)

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For next week:

DOTW: "Modify"
#7: "Amistad"
#8: "Apocalypse Now"

Watch along! Discuss! Tell your friends! And thanks for reading! :)