Birdman (2014)

Birdman: Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance (2014)

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu

Cast: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, Edward Norton

I enjoy Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu films because of the level of realism they have, they have immediacy to them that attracts me to them, they feel like real life and not like many of today's color filtered, fake looking films. If you don’t believe me go rent Amores Perros (2000), a film that tells five stories that are all connected by one catastrophic car accident, an idea that Paul Haggis borrowed heavily from for his film Crash (2004). Amores Perros is shot in this hyper realistic documentary style that just blows me away every time I see it, actually all of Iñarritu’s films are shot this way which is what I like about them. So anyways, I always look forward to Iñarritu’s films, because he is one of those few directors with a pitch perfect record, he hardly ever makes a disappointing film. The only time I wasn’t blown away by one of his films was with Babel (2006), and even that film has its merits. Iñarritu’s the kind of director that even when he makes a “bad” film, it’s still good. When I heard about Birdman I was immediately attracted to it because of its premise, I thought it was a novel idea, but I have to admit I was more than a bit curious as to what Iñarritu was going to say with this film. What would it be about? 

Birdman is all about Riggan, an aging actor trying to gain the respect of an audience that has forgotten all about him. You see, at one point in his life Riggan was the biggest star on the planet when he starred in a series of comic book films called Birdman; a series of films about a super hero with wings, which by the way is a pretty cool looking character. Point is Riggan stopped making Birdman movies and is now fading away from the spotlight. His plan to regain the audiences approval and attention is putting on a play called ‘What we talk about when we talk about love’.  When the movie begins, the play is days away from premiering in a theater in New York City and he is all kinds of nervous looking for a new actor to take the lead role. Will he get to premiere his play successfully? Does he still have what it takes? Will the audience accept him once again?

Various elements make Birdman one of the best films of 2014, but let’s start with its obvious technical prowess. Here’s a film shot in a way that makes it look like its one long continuous shot, and though this might fly undetected by the common moviegoer, those with a more keen sense of observation will realize just how difficult it is to make a film this way. The big problem is that when an actor messes up a line, you have to start filming the shot all over again. Also, shooting a film with long continuous shots proves difficult in the editing room, because through editing you can establish certain beats in the rhyme of the visuals and the storytelling, you can even add comedy through editing, but if it’s all one continuous shot, things become just a little more demanding. Performances and shots have to be incredibly well choreographed and timed in order for this technique to work well, so this is why I applaud Iñarritu for achieving this technique so well.  Alfonso Cuaron also used this technique effectively in Gravity (2013). And it’s not that they don’t ever cut, they do, but the cuts are placed in a way that you hardly notice them, and they are very few. Entire sequences will go on and on and on without cutting, it’s quite amusing for those interested in filmmaking. It certainly makes things more demanding for everyone involved. Some shots are amazing, keep your eyes peeled for them, there’s quite a few of them.

Iñarritu directs a scene

Another area in which this film excels is in its themes, you see this is one of those films that’s about film. It’s not unlike Hugo (2011), The Big Picture (1989) or Shadow of the Vampire (2000), which are films that explore the nature of filmmaking both from the filmmakers view point and from the actors view point. On Birdman filmmaking is explored from the point of view of the actors, it’s all about the never changing fact that “Hollywood takes you in, chews you up and then spits you out”. There’s a reason why that saying hasn’t faded away and it’s because it still remains true. Hollywood caters to the young, the beautiful, the ‘now’, what’s in and what’s hot is what matters. You get old, suddenly you’re not getting as many roles as you used to. The movie addresses this idea that in Hollywood, unless you become a raging icon to the masses, you are more than likely going to fade away, quietly into the night. And sometimes that “fading away” ain’t a pretty sight because it’s hard for actors to let go of the fame and the spotlight. The film focuses on that frustrating moment when the actor simply doesn’t like the fact that he or she is no longer “popular”. What makes things even more interesting is the fact that Michael Keaton used to play a comic book character himself, same as the character in Birdman. It’s no wonder Keaton’s performance rings so true, I’m sure a lot of his own frustrations were channeled into his performance, because while Keaton has never stopped working, he isn’t as popular as he was when he made Batman (1989) or Bettlejuice (1988). There’s this amazing moment when Riggan is locked out of the theater by mistake and he’s in his underwear, the scene comments on how acting is a very vulnerable profession, you expose your soul to others through your performance, so I loved the metaphor there, an actor desperately baring his naked soul to his audience, humanity, the masses. You can expect a real heartfelt performance from Keaton. Could the critical success of Birdman spell a comeback for Keaton? It certainly feels like it, from what I hear, he’s gonna be reuniting with Tim Burton for Beetlejuice 2 next! It will be interesting to see how they make that one work after so many years have passed.   

The film also speaks about how aging actors have to adjust to the changing of the times, and the way things are marketed nowadays. For example, there’s a moment when a video of Riggan becomes popular on You Tube and is ‘trending’ and his daughter shows him how many people have viewed it and tells him “this is power”, a fact that Riggan is completely clueless about. The film also talks about how a lot of Hollywood films are aimed at a young audience and that what the masses love is action, blood, explosions and special effects. Which is true, just ask Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich. The masses don’t want “philosophical bullshit” and the filmmakers behind Birdman are obviously frustrated by this.  I agree with them to a certain extent, because while I enjoy big fx spectacles, I also love brainy, artistic films. In my book there’s space for both types of films; the escapist summer movies as well as the more philosophical, story driven films. But of course, what the masses like, which is to say what the grand majority likes is brainless action and effects like the next Transformers movie, this in turn speaks volumes about the kind of people that make up the majority, which in turns is a sad state of affairs. When we get down to it, I think what the filmmakers behind Birdman are really frustrated with is the level of education of the majority, in other words, if we’re to read between the lines, there’s a genuine frustration with how many brainless zombies exist in the world. So yes my friends, we have an amazing film here, certainly deserving of being called one f the best of the year and one that I’m sure will garner Michael Keaton an Oscar nod, and quite possibly an Oscar win, here’s hoping.

Rating: 5 out of 5 

Mulholland Drive Film Analysis

Some of David Lynch’s films use a more traditional storytelling method than others; sure Lynch is primarily known for his surrealism, but on that rare occasion, some of his films run on a linear fashion. Take for example The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986) and The Straight Story (1999), three of Lynch’s films that don’t get too dreamlike or surreal, they don’t jump time or go into trippy dream sequences, nope, these three films run on a more or less linear fashion; they tell their tale in a way that is digestible for anyone willing to take a crack at them. But then there’s the dark, dark side of Lynch. I’m talking about that group of films in Lynch’s fantastic filmography that dive wholeheartedly into the surreal, the non-linear and the open for interpretation; these are films that usually end up meaning something different to everyone. Lost Highway (1997) is a good example of this, and so is the film I’ll be analyzing today, Mulholland Dr. (2001).

Now here’s a film that I instantly wanted to see again the first time I saw it. I mean, literally, I saw it and immediately popped it back in and pushed play. I watched it twice, back to back! I was enthralled, amazed and transfixed by this film. It spooked me, it had this alluring aura to it that I devoured and became addicted to. Mulholland Dr. quickly turned into one of my favorite Lynch films, and it quite arguably is Lynch’s best film. Don’t know how many of you out there agree, but Mulholland Dr. to me was the apex of Lynch’s career, the pinnacle of his work, he took everything he knew about filmmaking up to that point put it in a blender and hit puree!  I don’t believe he’s done a film as good as this one again. 

When it was released, Mulholland Dr. got awards all over the place! Lynch was nominated for best director that year at the Academy Awards, he won the Best Director Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and Mulholland Dr. was named ‘Best Picture’ by the New York Film Critics Circle, amongst other awards. The film certainly got a reaction from audiences, more so than any other Lynch film, there was something special about this movie and audiences and critics picked up on it immediately. Now here’s the deal with Mulholland Dr, there are a myriad of interpretations of the film out there, but I got my personal one and seriously, it is solid! Air tight! So if you’ve never seen this movie, don’t read this article because I’m going to go into a deep analysis of the film, this is my take on one of Lynch’s most mysterious and alluring films, it’s like a puzzle you have to put together little by little. I’ve seen the movie many times and my take on it makes sense the more and more I watch it. What I’m going to do is actually deconstruct the film (which is told in a non-linear fashion) and retell it linearly, while trying to explain what the film means to me. Just remember, this is just my take on it, maybe you have your own take it on it too, which of course I urge you to share on the comments section! if you haven’t experienced Mulholland Dr. yet, what are you waiting for?

CHAPTER I

CAMILLA AND DIANE; TWO ACTRESSES TRYING TO MAKE IT

The whole story starts out with these two actresses waiting for their “big break” on a film project, their names are Camilla Rhodes and Diane Selwyn. In order to make ends meet, Diane works at the local ‘Winkies Diner’. To complicate things just a little bit more, they are in a relationship. Apparently, for Camilla the relationship is more sexual, while for Diane, being with Camilla is an obsession.

 CHAPTER 2

CAMILLA BECOMES FAMOUS, DIANE WALKS IN HER SHADOW

One thing leads to another and Camilla gets a big break on a film called The Sylvia North Story! Camilla actually gets a major role on the film! Unfortunately, while Camilla get’s to be a star, Diane gets NOTHING! Fortunately, Camilla uses her fame to get Diane bit parts in some of her films. For example, Camilla landed a role in a film from a young director called Adam Kesher whom Camilla ends up falling in love with while rehearsing a kissing scene. This romance that develops between Camilla and Adam Kesher obviously makes Diane insanely jealous because Diane is obsessed with Camilla; we can see the jealousy in Diane’s eyes when Camilla and Adam rehearse the kissing scene.

CHAPTER 3

ADAM BATTLES WITH PRODUCERS OVER WHO IS GOING TO STAR IN HIS MOVIE

Adam is trying to cast the right actress for a part in his film and he’s got a girl in mind, unfortunately, his producers don’t agree. They want another actress! This of course is this young director’s worst nightmare! Now this meeting is the most uncomfortable meeting ever, everyone is on the edge! The producer is portrayed as a man that’s so hard to please that no one can get him an adequate cup of coffee! He tastes a cup of espresso they bring him and he spits it out on a napkin! This of course is Lynch venting out his frustrations with movie producers and the business side of filmmaking. Producers often times clash with a directors artistic vision, especially with directors like Lynch who value art over commerce. Many of Adam’s problems probably mirror in one way or another Lynch’s own frustrations with the business side of filmmaking; starting with the hard to please producers. Adam hates this meeting because they are forcing him to choose an actress he doesn’t want, so he storms out of the meeting and vents out his frustrations by smashing the window of one of the producers limos!

CHAPTER 4

ADAM FINDS HIS WIFE CHEATING ON HIM, GETS A CALL FROM ‘THE COWBOY’

After the meeting with the producers, Adam goes home only to find his wife in bed with the pool man. To avenge this, he takes all her expensive jewelry and smothers it with pink paint, she tries to stop him, so he starts to fight with her at which point the pool man punches Adam in the face and kicks him out of his own home, Adam takes the hint and leaves. He then goes to stay at a cheap hotel in town, to hide away. Here he discovers that the studio has cut off his credit line and he is practically broke! He then receives a phone call to meet up with a character called “The Cowboy”. Just who is this cowboy? And what does he want with Adam?

 CHAPTER 5

 DIANE AND CAMILLA BREAK UP 

Even though Camilla is romantically entangled with Adam Kesher, she still lives with Diane, and they still share intimacy. But Camilla wants to put an end to it, so one day, right in the middle of having sex with Diane, Camilla tells Diane “we can’t keep doing this”, meaning, let’s break up. Diane doesn’t like what she hears and replies “don’t say that, don’t ever say that” with an obsessive look on her face. Diane ends up kicking Camilla from their apartment. Camilla begs Diane not to make things harder than they are but Diane says she’s not going to make it easy, because it’s not easy for her either. Obviously, Diane’s attraction towards Camilla was obsessive. How so? Well, once Camilla has moved out Diane crumbles, she looks a mess, she’s obviously depressed. While walking through her apartment, she imagines that Camilla is talking to her. She speaks to the wind saying things like “Camilla, you’re back!” but there’s no one there. She’s alone. Camilla’s attraction was physical and not romantic, while Diane’s was obsessive.

CHAPTER 6

ADAM MEETS THE COWBOY

So Adam goes up to this corral up on a mountain to meet The Cowboy. Now this is a really mysterious character in the film: he knows everything and seems to have everything under control. Now if you ask me, The Cowboy is GOD, yup, not just symbolically, but literally. Why do I come to this conclusion? Well, according to the bible God knows everything, and this cowboy guy, well; he seems to know it all. He is one step ahead of Adam and the whole mess going on with Diane and Camilla. There are more symbolisms that let us see he is god. Adam must go to the top of the mountain to meet him, kind of like how Moses had to go to the top of the mountain to meet God and get the Ten Commandments, which is essentially what The Cowboy does with Adam, he gives him a commandment. When the Cowboy arrives, a light bulb on the corral mysteriously turns on, when he leaves, the light bulb mysteriously turns off, as if he’s presence emitted some kind of mystical energy, a common motif in Lynch’s films. The Cowboy tells Adam that he is the one in charge; that he’s the one “driving this buggy” and that Adam better do as he’s told. He tells Adam to choose the girl that his producers have chosen for him. Why does The Cowboy want Adam to choose this new girl? More on that later!

CHAPTER 7

CAMILLA AND ADAM GET BRUTALLY CRUEL WITH DIANE

So Camilla and Diane have an ugly break up, but apparently they are still in speaking terms because Camilla invites Diane to a dinner party at Adams home. On the dinner table, a conversation reveals to us just how Camilla and Diane met and how Diane has been living on the shadow of Camilla’s success. Diane also tells us a bit about how she won a Jitterbug Contest and that this is why she ended up trying to be an actress. We saw the Jitterbug Contest way back at the beginning of the movie, when we see all those dancers doing ‘The Jitterbug’ during the very first scenes of the film. While at this dinner table, we hear Adam talking about his ex-wife; he says that the judge decided that Adam would get the pool and that “she got the pool man”; which means they are now divorced and Adam got to keep the house. Things take a turn towards the brutally cruel when we see the blonde actress who The Cowboy told Adam to choose for the film kissing Camilla right in front of Diane’s face! This move is particularly cruel on Camilla’s part when we consider that she knows just how badly Diane took their break up. But the cruelty towards Diane does not stop there. Right on this very dinner table Camilla and Adam announce that they are going to get married!

CHAPTER 8

DIANE DECIDES TO KILL CAMILLA

After the particularly cruel night, Diane can’t take the loneliness and rejection. Being without Camilla proves to be just a bit too much for her. How do we know? Well, Diane masturbates as she cries, but masturbating just isn’t the same as being with Camilla. So, when Diane just can’t take it no more, she decides that she wants to kill Camilla, so she hires a hit man to do the job. Diane meets the hit man at the Winkies where she works at. She gives him a picture of Camilla, so that he knows who he’s got to kill. After she hands the hit man the money for the job, the hit man hands her a blue key. Now just what is this blue key she’s just received and why has she received it? What does it open?

CHAPTER 9

 THE BLUE BOX, THE BLUE KEY, DIANE COMMITS SUICIDE

 Here’s where we gotta stop and explain just what the blue box and key are. This is an important question in this film because when the blue key is used and the blue box is opened, people disappear!  They go somewhere; but where? Now If ‘The Cowboy’ is God, then there’s gotta be a Devil in this movie, and that Devil is this ugly bum/monster in the alley behind the Winkies, it is he who owns the Blue Box and Keys, so it is my belief that this blue box is essentially a door way to hell. In the film, you get a Blue Key only when you’ve done a heinous thing, like making arrangements to kill someone. When Diane receives The Blue Key from the hit man, we see The Bum Behind the Winkies (Satan) dropping the blue box and releasing these two evil looking old people that I see as demons from hell, I mean, one look at these old dudes and you’ll agree with me, they are demonic looking! It seems to me they’ve come to get Diane for the sins she’s committed! What was Diane’s sin? Attempting to get Camilla killed by paying the hit man! So we see the old demons chasing Diane to her bed room, once there, Diane grabs a gun from her night table and shoots herself in the head!

CHAPTER 10

THE COWBOY RESURRECTS DIANE

So Diane has committed a sin, sure, she has to pay for it, so this is why demons from hell came for her. But what if God considers the events that led to her death unjust? The all knowing, omnipresent Cowboy (Omnipresence being another trait that God possesses) apparently decides that Diane has had a rough life, that the events that led to her suicide where unjust, so he decides to give her a break. So this is essentially a battle between God and Satan for Diane and Camilla’s soul! God things she deserves a break while the Devil wants her to pay for what she’s done. This is the reason why after Diane dies, the Cowboy walks into her room and tells her “time to wake up”, who else can wake people from the dead but God? This type of action lets us see that The Cowboy is indeed a character that is supernatural in nature and why I conclude that he is God. In the film, he is like a watcher, he is always lurking somewhere in the background, observing what is going on. During the cruel dinner scene, he was there seeing the events unfold, if you pay attention, you’ll see him walking in the background. So it is my belief that The Cowboy saw what was done to Diane, saw how these cruel acts made her commit suicide so he decided to give Diane a second chance; so now Diane is going to live again. Will her life be better this time around?  

   

CHAPTER 11

DIANE’S SHINNY NEW LIFE

So Diane does get to come back to life, only this time, things are happier, scratch that, things are perfect! On this second chance at life Diane’s new name is Betty Elms. She’s just arrived at Los Angeles, the name of the city itself an allusion to the fact that this is really Diane, coming back from the afterlife. If you pay attention, when she’s coming down the escalator at the airport, Lynch focuses on the words “City of Angels” and on the walls, we see little designs of clouds, as if she was coming down from heaven.  This time, the two demonic old people that had come out of the Blue Box and tortured her till she killed herself seem angelically nice. Betty says she just met them on the plane, and we kind of get the idea that they function as guardian angels to Betty.  This time around Betty/Diane is still an aspiring actress, but things are different. Her attitude has changed! She’s all positive about her prospects as an actress and we gotta remember, one of the things the Cowboy told Adam was that our attitude in life determines the kind of life we will live. So anyhow, Betty’s aunt Ruth is letting her stay in her house so that she can go to a big audition. Everything seems perfect this time around, even the way Lynch shot the scenes, everything’s colorful and brightly lit as opposed to Diane’s previous life which was all dark, grey and depressive. Could this new life be The Cowboys way of giving Diane a chance at living a better life, a happier life? Maybe he figures she suffered enough and deserves a shot at happiness? Apparently so because when Dianne goes to an audition for a film it goes splendidly well! The producer and director love her! Apparently she’s going to get the part!

CHAPETER 12

BETTY ALMOST MEETS ADAM KESHER…AGAIN!

After her splendid audition, a casting director decides to take Betty to meet a hot young film director whom she considers better. This young filmmaker as fate would have it ends up being none other than Adam Kesher! Here’s where we understand why The Cowboy (God) wanted Adam Kesher to choose another girl! If Adam hadn’t chosen somebody else, Betty would have auditioned for Kesher’s film and she would have ended up meeting Kesher and Camilla again! Kesher might have recognized her from when he knew her as Diane, Camilla’s obsessive girlfriend! But Betty is not Diane anymore, she’s Betty! Had Kesher not chose another actress, Betty would have ended up right back with Camilla and Kesher, the two people who psychologically tortured her and made her commit suicide! To avoid all this, The Cowboy made sure that Kesher chose somebody else. Still, for a brief second Adam and Betty do see each other from afar, but apparently, Kesher can’t recognize her. Thankfully, Betty remembers she has to meet Rita and so she leaves before she can actually meet Kesher. Phew!  Crisis averted!  

CHAPTER 13

CAMILLA AVOIDS HER OWN DEATH, LOOSES MEMORY

Diane is dead, and she’s come back as innocent and happy Betty, but we gotta remember that Diane paid a hit man to kill Camilla and said hit man is still out to kill Camilla! And so, as Camilla rides a Limo, she doesn’t know it, but she’s about to get shot by the drivers, who are the hit men. These are the hit men that Diane paid for in her previous life! Anyways, suddenly, a freak car accident sets her free from being murdered! The hit men die in the accident and Camilla manages to escape, but there’s a catch, the concussion that Camilla receives makes her forget who she was! So now Camilla doesn’t know she’s Camilla, she doesn’t know Adam or Diane, she can’t remember a thing! So she begins to wander aimlessly through city of Los Angeles, not knowing who she is or where to go to.  

CHAPTER 14

CAMILLA RE-ENCOUNTERS DIANNE IN THE FORM OF BETTY

Eventually Camilla, in her disorientation, finds an empty apartment and decides to hide in it. She doesn’t know it yet, but this is the same apartment that Betty/Diane is staying in! Yup, as fate would have it, Camilla aimlessly wonders right back into Diane’s second chance at life! These two women who had been lovers in a previous life have now re-encountered each other, the only problem is that neither one of them recognizes each other. Camilla can’t remember who Diane is because she’s lost her memory and Diane can’t remember Camilla because she can’t remember anything from her previous life! So they both treat each other like perfect strangers! Camilla can’t remember her name so she gives Betty the first name she sees on a movie poster which is Rita. So on this second go, Camilla is now known as Rita and Diane is now Betty. Betty ends up pitying Rita and wanting to help her, perhaps because the attraction and feelings she had for Camilla in her previous life are still there somehow. To me it always seemed like their love, their attraction for each other was so strong that even now, on this second life their souls end up converging. “Perhaps we’ll meet again in another life” is a common phrase; I think we could apply it here. 

CHAPTER 15

BETTY AND RITA BECOME DETECTIVES

Rita came into Betty’s apartment with a purse that had two things:  a Blue Key and a large amount of money. What was the money for? Perhaps Camilla was going to get someone killed as well? At any rate, Camilla must have done a seriously evil deed in order to receive the dreaded blue key. So anyhow, Betty wants to help Rita remember who she is, so she calls the cops trying to figure out what happened at the scene of the accident. Rita suddenly remembers a name ‘Diane Selwyn’! Betty doesn’t realize it, but Rita is talking about Betty’s past self! Rita/Camilla is starting to remember who Diane was! Then Betty decides to look up Diane Selwyn in the yellow pages, they find out there’s only one Diane Selwyn, they call her but get a recorded message; when Camilla hears the message she recognizes the voice and says “I know that voice!” Of course, she recognizes it because Diane use to be her lover and roommate! Next they decide to go see where this Diane Selwyn lives. When they get there, they walk into the empty apartment and start exploring it until a hideous smell leads them to the bedroom where they discover Diane Selwyn, dead on her bed! In other words: Betty discovers the body she used to inhabit in her previous life! With her brains blown out! The body decayed! The horror! She doesn’t recognize herself though because the body is so decayed.

CHAPTER 16

BETTY AND RITA GET IT ON...AGAIN!

Rita is horrified after having discovered the dead body; she decides she wants to cut all ties with who she was, so she puts on a blonde wig. Now Betty and Rita look like two blond twins or something. So anyways, one thing leads to another and Rita and Betty end up naked on the same bed, their previous passions resurface and voila! They end up making out. Funny how Betty asks Rita “have you done this before?” and Rita replies “I don’t know”, in reality, they’d both been lovers before, they just can’t remember! In the midst of the passion Betty tells Rita she loves her, but Rita doesn’t say the same, which kind of mirrors their previous relationship which was only physical, at least from Rita’s side. On a personal note, this is one of the most erotic love scenes ever filmed! So after their make out session, while they are both sound asleep, suddenly Rita starts saying “Silencio!” which means ‘silence’ in Spanish, then she says “No hay banda” which means “There is no band!”.  When you first see the film, this is a really spooky moment because it’s like, suddenly Rita can speak Spanish? What else don’t we know about Rita? So right there and then, at 2 in the a.m., Rita begs Betty to come with her somewhere. That somewhere is a place called “Club Silencio”, a place that apparently Rita frequented.

CHAPTER 17

CLUB SILENCIO

Now here’s a scene in which many of the films themes are accentuated. Club Silencio is a theater in which we see performers doing illusions on stage. First we see an illusionist come up on stage and tell us that “there is no band”. We hear a trumpet, we hear a trombone, but it’s all recorded, nothing is real, the overall message is that everything is an illusion. The phrase “life is but a dream” or “life is an illusion” applies here. To me the Illusionist is the same character as the bum behind the Winkies, he is Satan coming to claim these girls souls. Both have done horrible deeds, and both must pay for what they have done, I mean, just the guys face let’s you know he is evil. When the illusionist stares at Betty, we hear thunder and blue light and Betty starts shaking uncontrollably. To me what’s happening here is that the illusionist is placing the Blue Box (which is essentially a doorway to Hell) on Betty’s purse. He recognizes these two souls as souls who have eluded him when they should have gone to hell to pay for their sins. When the blue light fades and the smoke disappears, the Illusionist is also gone from the stage. Suddenly, Betty realizes that the Blue Box is in her purse. After that we here Rebecca del Rio sing a Spanish version of Roy Orbison’s ‘Crying’ a song that applies perfectly to Diane’s unrequited love for Camilla. Read these lines from the song and you’ll see what I mean:

“When you said “so long” left me standing there all alone, alone and crying”

”I thought that I was over you, But it’s true, oh so true, I love you even more, than I did before”

”But darling what can I do? For you don’t love me, and I’ll always be crying over you”

After Rita and Betty give a good cry together they both know what they have to do with the Blue Key that they’d found in Rita’s purse! They have to use it on the Blue Box that magically appeared in Betty’s purse! Again, this sudden appearance of the Blue Box in Betty’s purse alludes to supernatural events happening which is why I go with the God/Satan angle with this movie.  It’s really the angle that makes the most sense.

CHAPTER  18

FINALLY RITA AND BETTY USE THE BLUE KEY ON THE BLUE BOX

After Club Silencio, Betty and Rita go back to Aunt Ruth’s apartment, look for the Blue Key and put it in the Blue Box; we see the camera zooming into the box, as Betty and Rita are sucked into it, then they disappear! We know what’s happened; they’ve both been sucked into hell! Then, Lynch ends the film with this mysterious old lady with blue hair looking at the camera. She looks at us from high above in a theater balcony of Club Silencio and whispers the words “Silencio”, then the movie fades to black and we’re left wondering what the hell we just saw. Of course, if you ask me I say that old lady with the blue hair is also God, the cowboy in another form, same as the devil took the form of the magician. God looks at us from high above amusing himself with the theater of life, because as the saying goes “all life is a stage”

Tank Girl (1995)

Title: Tank Girl (1995)

Director: Rachel Talalay

Cast: Lori Petty, Naomi Watts, Malcolm McDowell,  James Wong, Ice-T, Iggy Pop

Review:

It’s been a while since I last saw Tank Girl. I remember, the first time I saw it; I didn’t fall in love with it for some reason, I guess I was too young to really ‘get it’. But this film proves to me once again that sometimes the way you look at a film changes with time. As time goes by, you live through certain experiences and learn certain things that affect the way you see a film. As it is, Tank Girl is a very subversive film, it’s all about rebellion and going against the proverbial system; which of course is one of my favorite themes in film. If you want to read a bit more about subversive cinema, check out this article I wrote called Totalitarian Futures (BigBrother is Watching You!), on that one I mention a series of films that depict  abusive governments and the rebels that oppose them. And if you want to read about rebellious characters, then check this one out: Viva La Revolution III: 20 Fictional Characters that Beat theSystem; after seeing Tank Girl, I figure she should have been on that list! She’s an extremely rebellious character!

Tank Girl takes place in the year 2033, on a post apocalyptic version of earth that was destroyed by a meteor that wiped out almost all of humanity. 11 years have passed since this happened, and now a new form of government has arisen, one that controls all the water and all the power and even has it’s own army. This new government system is appropriately called “Water and Power” or WP for short. The leader of this organization is a dictator called Kesslee played by the one and only Malcolm McDowell. He wants to own all the water in the land so he can control everyone. He’s made siphoning water illegal. But the rebels don’t care about legal or illegal, they only care about surviving.  In Tank Girl’s own words “as long as they don’t find out, who cares? “ So of course, they steal as much water as they can. Problem comes when the powers that be find out the rebels have been stealing water. They blow up the rebels hide out, kill as many of them as they can and take Tank Girl as prisoner. Will she survive living under the oppressive power of the system?

Wow, so to me this is a hidden gem. Yeah it’s got a couple of flaws here and there, but damn it I love it anyways. What did I enjoy about Tank Girl? Lot’s of things, but first off there’s Lori Petty as Tank Girl who in my opinion was a fun character, she loves her liberty, she curses like a sailor and she does not care for rules and regulations. Living under rules and regulations is a complete bore for her; she prefers being the master of her own destiny. She’s kind of like Spiderman in the sense that she has a little joke or sarcastic remark every five minutes. ‘The man’ might be stepping on her face but she’s quick with a sly remark, just so she can piss them off.  Some might find her annoying? I thought she was fun to watch, kept me laughing all the way. For those of you not in the know, Tank Girl is based on a comic book created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin, the comic has been in publication in one form or another since 1988. I personally really dig the art work on those comics, Tank Girl a.k.a. ‘Rebecca Buck’ has a very distinctive look, one that I believe this film did a swell job of bringing to life. Lori Petty looks and acts the way Tank Girl should; so this is something that the film got absolutely right. Lori Petty is Tank Girl. Loved that scene where she first gets into her tank! The tank was pretty awesome looking as well by the way.

When MGM bought the rights to the property, Tank Girl’s journey to the silver screen began. Various directors were associated with the films adaptation, amongst them Steven Spielberg and James Cameron! Ultimately, it was female director Rachel Talalay who ended sitting in the directors’ chair. She’s the director responsible for Freddy’s Dead: The  Final Nightmare (1991) one of the most profitable films in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. I think she made a good film with Tank Girl, the look and the dynamism of the character works, the over all look of the film is interesting, and the message the film is trying to convey is commendable. I loved the rebellious elements of the film, Tank Girl has a lot of Orwell’s 1984 in it. There’s a scene where Tank Girl get’s caught by the government and tortured which reminded me a whole lot of Orwell’s famous novel. I guess what the filmmakers where trying to achieve with Tank Girl was a version of 1984 in which the good guys actually win. When you read Orwell’s 1984, it can be a grueling and overpowering experience. I mean, when you read that novel you feel as if ‘the system’ has taken it’s shit stained boot and shoved it real hard in your face. Real hard. In fact, as you read, you feel as if they've shoved the whole damn boot down your throat! It’s one of my favorite novels, it managed to squeeze a tear or two out of me, honestly, it’s that good! Well, Tank Girl is along the same lines as 1984, playing with the same themes, having the government really getting in the good guys faces, messing with their lives, trying to get them to ‘play the game’ so to speak, only in Tank Girl, the good guys aren’t that easy to squash. Tank Girl is a very resourceful and lively bug; she doesn’t take shit from anybody!

I enjoyed how the film is so very much like reading a comic book, I loved the fact that the film opens up with a credit sequence that showcases art work from the original comics. The art work from the comics is fantastic, very sketchy in nature, very detailed. The filmmakers also included animated sequences through out the whole film;  which by the way reminds me that this film was a bit of a chore to make; it had many production woes. One of them being that at the end of the day, the studio interfered immensely with the look and feel of the film, this being such a subversive film in nature, of course they wanted to tone down many of the more controversial attributes of the film. The mutant Kangaroo’s that appear in the film for example. One of the more ‘controversial’ things about the film is that the mutant kangaroo’s or ‘Ripper’s’ as they are called in the film are a horny bunch of individuals who are always hitting on Tank Girl and Jet Girl. Ultimately, Tank Girl ends up falling for one of the Ripper’s and you can catch a glimpse of that in the finished film, but originally they had filmed scenes with Tank Girl and the one of the Kangaroo’s making out in bed! Ultimately, the studio interfered and cut that stuff out. They also cut out more scenes, you kind of get the feeling when you watch Tank Girl that it wasn’t completely finished, the ending feels a bit rushed, leaving many questions unanswered. Hell, the last five minutes of the film were completely animated! So yeah, it feels like in the end, the film was incomplete, almost as if it was taken away from the filmmakers unfinished.

Personally, I dug the animated sequences in the film, but don’t ask Jamie Hewlett (one of Tank Girl’s creators) about them, to Hewlett making the film was a “horrible experience”. According to Hewlett, the many animated sequences in the film are there because the filmmakers supposedly forgot to film about ten major sequences! So they had to add these sequences through the use of animation so the film wouldn’t feel incomplete; but honestly? I loved those animated sequences; they go very well with the films pulpy comic book origins! Plus, the animated sequences were very well achieved, they have these awesome angles, I really dug them. And so what if they were placed their to fill in for unfilmed shots? They turned out pretty cool in my book.  The animation gives the film a unique feel that aligns perfectly with the kind of punk attitude that a film like Tank Girl has. Another thing I dug about Tank Girl was how many old school filmmaking techniques they employed to make it. Rachel Talalay used every trick in the book: matte paintings, make up effects and the use of excellent looking miniatures! It reminded me of why I love practical effects as opposed to computer generated ones.

  

And yet another positive thing I can say about Tank Girl is that Stan Winston created the Ripper’s! Reportedly he liked this project so much that he did the mutant kangaroos for half the price he normally charged! What else? Oh yeah, Ice-T plays one of the mutant Kangaroo’s! Also, Naomi Watt’s plays ‘Jet Girl’, a girl that plays the polar opposite of Tank Girl. Tank Girl is the wild one who doesn’t follow the rules while ‘Jet Girl’ works for the system. She plays by the rules; she thinks that the more you follow the rules, the less the system will mess with you. Thankfully, Rebecca helps her see things differently, she helps her find the ways of liberty or death! Of daring to live life on the edge! Tank Girl teachers Jet Girl to dare! It was interesting to see Naomi Watt’s in one of her earliest film roles. Malcolm McDowell as the villain was interesting just because he’s Malcolm McDowell, but his character uses this cool glove that has these blades that come out of it, cool gadget. He also has a holographic face? You’ll see what I mean. And another cool thing about the movie: James Wong is in it as a crazy inventor who works for Water and Power! He’s the guy who invents the glove thingy; any film with Lou Pan in it goes up a couple of notches for me in the cool-o-meter. Hell, even Iggy Pop cameos! 

Jet Girl in her Jet

The film even has this really awesome 90’s soundtrack! Ultimately, hearing this soundtrack filled with all that alternative music got me quite nostalgic for that era. Yeah, it reminded me of when I was a teenager, listening to all those cool bands that I still listen too by the way! The soundtrack is sprinkled with Bjork, Devo, Hole, Bush, Portishead, Joan Jett, Belly, Ice-T and Veruca Salt! I know I’m going to be hunting down this soundtrack as soon as I can; it’s one of the memorable ones. So as you can see, even though Tank Girl was a very troubled production, I still think that Rachel Talalay and crew got away with a fairly decent movie. Too bad it died a quick death at the box office. Too bad the studio didn’t back it up as much as it should have. You feel like the film is bursting with ideas and that they didn’t all make it to the screen. But hell, if even with all these troubles you managed to make a decent looking picture then you are too be commended Mrs. Talalay! Tank Girl in my opinion is a hidden gem of apocalyptic cinema worth revisiting. Highly recommend it.

Rating: 4 out of 5