Mother Talkers

Film Discussion?

by Erin

Thu Mar 27, 2008 at 10:03:48 AM PDT

I'm in the mood to discuss film.  I have three suggestions, but invite any others that are on your mind.

Ever since I saw Gone Baby, Gone about a month ago, I've been dying to discuss the moral dilemma the film presents, but I cannot find a good place to do it.  If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.  If not, I don't want to be the spoiler, at least not just yet.

Even after all these years, I think the most powerful film I've ever seen is Spike Lee's Bamboozled.  I felt sick for days.  I had always loved Spike Lee, and Bamboozled was no exception.  Even so, after that I was too afraid to see any of his films.  I will soon be ending this years-long strike, as When the Levees Broke is the next film on my netflix queue.  

Lastly, last night I watched Grizzly Man, which was so complex and fascinating.  Timothy Treadwell is not what I expected.  He seemed to transcend intelligent or stupid, sane or mentally ill.  I have no idea what to think of him, other than the fact that he was a charmer.

Has anyone seen these?  Are there other films you've had a hankering to analyze?

Tags: film, gone baby, gone, bamboozled, grizzly man (all tags)

Permalink | 9 comments

  • Grizzly man (0 / 0)

    that story is crazy.  And horrible.  Just reading about it in the Reader's Digest was horrible.  Although, if it was just Tim's story, it would be its own poetic thing.  As it said, in either the movie or the article, he wanted the bears to treat him like a bear, and they did: like a rival threatening their territory.  

    But his poor girfriend, ugh.  The other thing that stuck with me was the Native guy, ranger or museum worker, who was really mad at Treadwell for not treating the bears with real respect for their true nature.

    by lonespark on Thu Mar 27, 2008 at 10:44:16 AM PDT

    • The Native man (0 / 0)

      struck me, too.  Both from the almost spiritual aspect of respecting the boundaries between bear and human, and from the common sense aspect of, hey, don't teach bears to trust humans.  They shouldn't.

      It was hard to wrap my brain around Treadwell's desire to be a bear or an animal, or his desire for them to be human.  The scene brought it home for me was when the fox stole his hat and he tried, in his way, to reason with it.  "I can't believe this!  That hat is so valuable to this trip!  It's not okay for you to steal from me!"  Uh....it's a fox, not a pre-schooler.

      His girlfriend's situation was interesting.  I found it somewhat sexist that some would say, well, Treadwell made his choice, but he shouldn't have dragged "the girl" down with him.  She made her choice, too, and she may have been closer to sound mind than he was.  She, at least, had the sense to be afraid of bears.

      by Erin on Thu Mar 27, 2008 at 11:13:37 AM PDT

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      • She did make the choice (0 / 0)

        but, I just think, his behavior got her in trouble, and she might not have died if she hadn't tried to save him (if I'm remembering the events right).

        by lonespark on Thu Mar 27, 2008 at 02:01:48 PM PDT

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        • Maybe I've changed my mind? (0 / 0)

          I've read a little more about her and see that she was planning on leaving him at the end of the summer because she felt he was hell bent on destruction.  She wasn't going to accompany him to Alaska again.  

          by Erin on Thu Mar 27, 2008 at 09:55:24 PM PDT

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    • It's been so long since I saw (0 / 0)

      Grizzly Man, but it seems he was an alcoholic, too, kind of coping in a pretty unconventional way. Regular life wouldn't have worked for him, so grizzly bears it was. I always think of Woody from Cheers: The Grizzly Man almost got that part, right?

      I enjoyed that movie, but he certainly was a perplexing character.

      by tarantula on Thu Mar 27, 2008 at 04:51:12 PM PDT

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      • He's so intriguing (0 / 0)

        whatever you think of him.  I think what I'm trying to figure out is what he was searching for.  The bears didn't need him--the park was a federally protected reserve.  I don't how he convinced himself that they needed his physical presence.  But what did he want?  Not money, obviously, but fame and/or meaning?  It did seem like his own rehab for his alcoholism, too.

        by Erin on Thu Mar 27, 2008 at 10:01:09 PM PDT

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  • hey , Grizzly Man is on my list (0 / 0)

    Hey, a friend just recommended Grizzly Man to me after I saw "Into the Wild" which I loved...Once I rent it next week, i'll write back..i'd like to have a film discussion on this too. Thanks for starting it up!

    singlemominLA

    singlemominLA

    by singlemominLA on Thu Mar 27, 2008 at 08:12:42 PM PDT

    • Let me know when you've seen it (0 / 0)

      and maybe we can discuss it again.  I haven't seen "Into the Wild," but I also have "The Story of the Weeping Camel" sitting on my TV.  I'm a little afraid to watch it because I'm afraid that the story of a baby rejected by its mother will make me too sad.

      by Erin on Thu Mar 27, 2008 at 10:03:23 PM PDT

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    • Another good documentary is (0 / 0)

      Touching The Void. I read the book years ago and then the documentary came out more recently, featured at the 2004 Sundance Festival. It was well done.

      The true story is a crazy predicament: cut the rope or not? As it turns out, cutting the rope actually saved the author's life (Joe Simpson).

      by tarantula on Fri Mar 28, 2008 at 12:59:44 AM PDT

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