Monday, September 15, 2008

i just want to be honest.

ive said time and time again that if i every make a film of any sort, i will do it with complete honesty and rawness. and every once in a while, ill come across a film with such TRUTH that even watching the trailer, i will start to tear up from the sheer validity of the movie. thats what movies SHOULD do, present an event, real or fake, and inform and enlighten viewers with sincerity. Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver was a complete fabricated story but it was told with truth. the truth about the mind of a lonely man. and true life events that are formed into films can be somewhat sugarcoated and conformed to the hollywood standards but filmmakers who can take on real events and can tell it without any tricks, i bow down to them.

i guess thats why Gus Van Sant tackled actual events for his death trilogy that told stories of the columbine shootings, kurt cobain's death, and two hikers who were stranded in the middle of nowhere with no water and food, because nothing is scarier than reality. its funny cause people watch movies to escape their own existence but filmmakers like Sant makes them face the truth on a close and personal level. and these three films especially--based on real events or formulated--caught my eye and made them water from the wholly realness and power of people's abilities to overcome impossible forces.

Changeling (Oct. 24) directed by Clint Eastwood

or go here...

Rachel Getting Married (Oct.3) directed by Jonathan Demme

or go here...

Battle in Seattle (Sept.26) directed by Stuart Townsend

or go here...

rachel getting married didnt make my eyes salivate but the other two did. my knees get weak when it comes to films about truth. stories with real emotions. stories about the capacity of the human strength. stories about perseverance. stories about the impossibilities of life.

it has been buzzing for a while that Anne Hathaway was getting an Oscar nod for her role in this film. her role as the recovering rehabee is actually more believable than when she tried to act like a druggie in Havoc. and i really do think that Angelina will possibly get another oscar win for Changeling. and battle in seattle hit close to home for me. i am a wannabe political activist and it was moving to see this true life event on the big screen.

i must admit that it was darren aronofsky's requiem for a dream that made me want to make films. no doubt about it. it was jarring and haunting to see ordinary people transform into ugly things. and no matter how much i didnt want to face it, that's life. that's reality. that's how people are and have always been and always will be. and these films show the possibilities and hope for humanity. and what i really want to focus on is the disintegration of it. and as cynical as that may sound, that is what im most interested and intrigued by. im just being honest. and no matter what i do or say, im going to be just that.