This film, from a
six-part series by British author, David Mitchell, dates from 1849 with slave
traders to post-apocalyptic 2031.
All of the actors in
the movie play a different character in each era. The actors in this film are Tom Hanks, Halle
Berry, Jim Broadbent , better known from two of the Narnia movies, Hugo Weaver,
who has played Mr. Smith in The Matrix trilogy and Elrond in The Lord of the
Ring trilogy, Donna Bae, a famous Korean actress, and Keith David, who is known
for the parts he played in such films as Platoon, Bird, Armageddon, Pitch Black
and Something about Mary.
There are many
subtexts for the film but the ones that stood out was the old human condition
of not learning from our mistakes and repeating them through the ages and our eternal
human hope for the future. Also, can you
find the single action by a seemingly unimportant character, which started a
great revolution of change?
There are so many
nuances that some will be missed the first time this film is viewed. So you must view it again .
The acting was
magnificent and spellbinding through all the ages. While the makeup was astounding and sometimes,
unbelievable, changing some of our favorite actors so that we do not recognize
them. The scenery is both familiar and
different; with the familiarity making the audience feel comfortable yet the
difference makes the audience enthralled with those differences.
Most of the
characters make the audience feel they are a part of the story and
in one scene, the entire audience actually cheered and applauded in unison and
on leaving each felt a part of each other.
It has been a while
since we have had a film which makes the audience feel that they are part of
the same story about their world but does not preach to the audience.
Although the
beginning is complex and needs to be viewed again to get all the nuances and
changes, the audience was entranced and no noises were heard, even though the
movie is 2 hours, 44 minutes.
This film will be
analyzed, critiqued, and studied, so that it can either be viewed as a saga, epic,
science fiction drama, or flop. I vote for an epic saga.
Also, there are a few
lines which will live on, like, “from womb to tomb, we belong to each other,”
“death is but a door, for when one closes another one opens,” and “What if no
one believes this truth? Someone already does.”
With such a great
array of actors, it is no wonder that this film is a keeper. Not only will you feel the need to see it
again, striving to see what you have missed, but you will want to own it when it is released. This is one of those films, the young of our
society should see while in school to talk about the repercussions of the
actions of the characters, the connections of the past and future, and the
history of the times.
I feel that if I
leave a film and still want to ask questions or read the book, then it has done
its job of entertaining and illuminating my mind.
At a Glance:
See if you can find
not only the zingers (sayings which refer to another film or event of our era)
but other lines which will survive the film and become a part of history. Also, don’t forget to watch the characters as
you will not believe what makeup can do, or maybe you can. I was shocked when I looked up the movie and
found out who played which parts.
If you go to see this
film, please feel free to write us, http://commuter.linnbenton.edu/, and let us know what you think of this
film.
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