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Sintel (2010)
Aimed for Pathos, Missed, and Landed in the Middle of Pathetic
***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS***
Though the film is technically brilliant, particularly considering it was made entirely with free software, the ending simply did not work for me, emotionally. The ending is so senselessly, needlessly tragic, that it reduces the main character's entire life to a complete waste of time. More, the final few moments reveals this literally has been her entire life. She sees her reflection, and realizes she is no longer the teenage street-kid who went out on the quest. She is visibly aged with gray hair, scarred, gaunt and utterly beaten. This is exactly why the tragedy happens. The story doesn't cover a few months. She spent her entire life on this quest. And, because she spent her entire life on this quest, because she was a true hero and didn't quit, she failed. To me, they were aiming for pathos, missed, and just ended up with pathetic.
This is not to say that you can't write a story where the hero fails or dies. Many good stories have been written with downer endings. Romeo and Juliet has a totally downer ending - both the hero and the heroine die. But, there was a REASON they died. The original moral of the story is that vendettas are stupid, hateful and wrong, and lead only to tragedy. Their deaths serve that purpose. More, the story was one that was very well known in Shakespeare's day before anyone even went to the theater, and before the show begins, the chorus basically warns us these are "star-crossed lovers" - I.E. it's going to end badly for them, the fates are against them. Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" also has a downer ending. But there's a reason for it, too. The entire point of the novel is to show that a society that focuses only on self-gratification and relies on the government to insure their happiness can only lead to the destruction of the individual and mindless subservience to the state. Hemmingway's "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" is another one that ends tragically. But, there's a reason for that, too. When Francis dies, we are left with the question of whether it was murder or accident, and the overall story forms a statement on a particular economic caste of American culture as it existed at that time, quietly asking important questions about what it is to be a man.
In short, death and failure does not mean the story sucks if that death and failure serves the overall moral, theme or general point of the story.
However, with "Sintel", the only moral we can gain out of this story is "Don't be loyal, don't try to rescue friends, and don't try to succeed. You'll only spend your entire life trying, get right to the end, then fail spectacularly and have wasted your entire life."
H.R. Pufnstuf (1969)
You had to see this as a kid to 'get' it.
For any adult born after 1970, this series (and the movie that was made from it) will make little sense, if any. Wild, raucous colors, dancing, singing, and an island where everything - yes, EVERYTHING - is alive.
Little Jimmy, coaxed to Living Island by the evil machinations of Witchy-Poo (the heavy of the series) finds himself in possession of a magic, talking flute, and trapped on an island of talking hats and dragons and witches, all of which he can barely comprehend. To an adult of today, the show simply makes little sense...
Ah, but if you saw it as a child, as I did, the show makes perfect sense. First, it's *FUN*. That, indeed, was one of the main points of the show - having fun. Yet, each show attempted to impart (as is typical for children's programming) a moral message. In general, the most common message of the entire series was "Perseverance". Keep trying, because though you may fail, if you keep trying, you may succeed in the end. Other lessons imparted by the show include 'Don't steal', 'Don't Lie', and 'Don't be Mean (despite how much fun it may be, you end up hurting others, and that isn't nice).'
Adults today look at the show, searching for depth, perhaps hidden meanings. Well, there *AREN'T* any - what you see is what you get. Cling and Clang have no "Hidden Meanings" - they are simply Cling and Clang. The talking flute is just a talking flute, and Jimmy is just a boy who wants to go home.
Alas, the networks decided to cancel the show. In an era where even the most critically acclaimed shows often died due to a slip of a point or two in the Nielsens, H.R. Pufnstuf was not the smash hit the network demanded. Adults of the time simply shook their heads as their children laughed and clapped and sang along with the simple songs, for parents of the time understood the show about as well as they understood the dark side of the moon.
Yet, I understood it as a child, as did all my friends of that time. Yes, we sang along with the theme song (which I can still sing today, word for word - it was mercifully short), laughed at the antics of the Living Islanders, booed the evil Witchy-Poo, and deeply felt for Little Jimmy, who sometimes wept for his heartfelt desire to go home. As a child, however, I often found I was jealous, even angry with little Jimmy. Living Island was, in the end, a fantasy paradise (despite Witchy-Poo), and for each moment Jimmy sighed and wished he could go home, I sighed and wished I could be there, on Living Island, instead of in the world of 1969, with it's turmoil and strife that were far beyond the comprehension of a little boy.
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Swords and Sorcery Epic
Though differing from the "Official" origin-story of Robert E. Howard's legendary character, the movie still manages to capture the quintessential elements which are definably "Conan". The film is an epic, sweeping work of panoramic vistas and powerful background music by Basil Poledouris.
Look for James Earl Jones' performance as the villain, Thulsa Doom - part evil sorcerer, part "Old Man of the Mountain" (of the ancient 'Hasheshin' legends). Look also for Sandahl Bergman's performance as Valeria, a woman who is more than a match for the somber, taciturn performance Arnold Schwarzenegger gives the role of the powerful barbarian.
Soylent Green (1973)
Hard Boiled Detective investigates a murder in a Dark Future.
The film is, first and foremost, a murder mystery. From the moment it begins, Heston's character gathers clues in classic style, investigating the murder of an executive of the Soylent corporation. Heston eventually concludes the man was killed because he knew something - something terrible - but what?
The answer to this mystery reveals the dark secret of the film (one which, by now, everyone knows, but this in no way spoils one's enjoyment of it), and brings the film to it's dramatic, powerful climax.