troy

Troy is probably one of the best epic movies made. It inspired many epic movies at that time, that too many epic movies were made and people just got sick of watching sun-burnt dirty-looking muscled actors running around and pretending to kill each other. But undeniably, Troy still deserves recognition for how well it was made. However, I am not sure if the makers of the movie Troy deserve praise for the story.

For me, there was too much going on, and all of the things happening were given importance. Perhaps it was necessary, perhaps not. But the story opens with Paris, a Trojan prince, convincing Helen, queen of Sparta, to elope to Troy. When Menelaus, Helen’s husband, finds out, he asks his brother Agamemnon for help in getting her back. Agamemnon sees this as a chance to grab more power so he agrees and they decide to attack Troy with a huge army, including Achilles: a sensational fighter. Then sometime during one of the many battles, Hector, Paris’s older brother, kills Achilles’ cousin. Achilles challenges Hector that they fight to death. Hector lost and died and Achilles dragged his body around, for all to see. Hector’s father secretly speaks to Achilles and asks for his son’s body back. So while the Trojans gave the proper burial rites to their prince, the Greeks built a huge horse, and filled it with Greek soldiers. The Trojans merely took it as an offering, so they took the horse in through their impenetrable walls and out came the Greek soldiers. And while all of that was going on, Achilles was developing romantic feelings for Hector’s cousin.

For me, there was too much going on in the movie that people are no longer able to focus on one single thing. I think, people did not have time to reflect, nor process or internalize anything, nor concentrate on many core values (that could have been given focus on) because viewers were too preoccupied. The film (in terms of cinematography) was, undoubtedly, visually stunning. Aside form this; there was too much going on with the story. The film makers changed the view point; they might as well have zoomed in on a particular thread. When the movie ended, it was hard to tell what you were feelings. Not because your emotions were stirred, but because there was nothing there. Although there was some foreshadowing in the defeat of Hector with the fall of Troy, to me, it was, in many ways, a typical generic Hollywood great. The film succeeded in stimulating the senses, but failed miserably in stimulating the mind and moving the heart.

But I also think that it is always up to the viewer to make the most out of a particular movie. So if there is one thing I would like to focus on, it would be the dance of the strengths and weaknesses of the characters. I think that all of the characters were portrayed both ways: weak and strong. Take for example; Achilles’ love was his weakness. His character was insatiable, unhappy and it seemed he felt life was meaningless. When he fell in love with Hector’s cousin, he changed. He began to look forward to something else other than killing soldiers or being angry at people and distressing thru multiple partners. Something changed about him. In the end, he was actually fighting in his own admonition with love in his heart, not that he did not have any love prior to the woman. He loved his cousin. His cousin’s death actually fuelled his anger and motivated him to fight Hector. But it was when he loved Hector’s cousin that death began to have more meaning and substance or at least more impact. To me, love was what made Achilles human. Love was his weakness. Perhaps his love is comparable to his heel. Generally, a person does not pay too much attention or importance to his heel. But his heel is what makes him able and a competent fighter. Without it, his heel or his heart or his weakness, he is incomplete.

I know that there are more dramatic scenes or perhaps more interesting characters, but zooming in on the character Achilles, I learn about love. I begin to digest the idea that people need weaknesses to rise, to perform better and to be able to devote themselves to something. It is always through our weakest moments that we learn and feel the need to stand and head towards the light. By acknowledging the fact that we are weak in one area, we can focus on our strengths and/or improve our weakness.

I begin to see that people need love to be able to comprehend, to understand, to be able to give meaning and substance to whatever it is that they do. I do not mean passion or driving force to do something, but just meaning or substance. For example, we could be doing errands for people, but it means so much more when we love the people we are doing it for. Or sometimes when we like a particular subject or concept, we immediately absorb or grasp the subject at hand. Through the movie Troy, I saw how love indeed gives life meaning, although I did not see it immediately.

The Last King of Scotland

The movie is a mixture of fact and fiction, where some accounts are true but the character of the young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan, is fictional. The two characters met because Garrigan sought adventure in Uganda and at the time, Amin was taking over the government. Garrigan was drawn to Idi Amin for some reason. The two met at a road when Garrigan impressed Amin by his show of character. Soon, the two bonded, became friends and Garrigan enjoyed the lifestyle his closeness to Amin brought. Garrigan becomes an adviser, a personal physician, a friend and confidante, and the two went through life threatening experiences. They developed a deep co-dependent relationship and soon, Garrigan sees that Amin’s administration is repressive and that he is actually partly responsible. The breaking point for Garigan was when one of Amin’s Ugandan advisers was executed because he suspected that man of treason. Immediately, the Ugandan adviser was dead; assassinated. He felt the guilt and decided to leave Amin’s wing, but it became impossible, since his house was ransacked and British passport was replaced by a Ugandan one. Garrigan decided to go ask the British for help but since he has already aligned himself with Amin’s administration, they said they would help him if he assassinated Amin. Garrigan decides to assassinate Amin as a result of the trauma from the death of his lover, who happens to be Amin’s wife. When Garrigan was about to be killed, a Ugandan doctor helps him escape to a plane and asked him to tell the story of Amin’s atrocities to the rest of the world.

To me, the movie was gripping and powerful. The shots employed were suggestive. The music, the sights, the over all feel was good. Not to mention a packed story. The story was packed and with substance but not too heavy to digest, and the audience had enough time to absorb it all. This was of course easily achieved, because the acting was really good, exceptional. The eyes twitched, the noses flared, spit flew at the proper times, making everything seem raw. The close ups were quite helpful in communicating the character’s emotions. For me, hands down, it was beautifully made and technically superb.

However, the film was not only a visually captivating, but also intellectually and emotionally. Aside from raising people’s awareness regarding the tyranny or Idi Amin, the movie was quite successful in making us reflect as persons. Although the closeness, the level of trust and understanding between the two characters was enviable, it was intoxicating.

Intoxication for this matter is both good and bad. The characters, whether you look at Amin or Garrigan, developed a special relationship with the other; in the same way that a drunk, develops a special relationship with alcohol. For the drunkard, alcohol helps him feel better about things, gives him confidence and basically makes him feel good. The drunk begins to trust this relationship and gives a huge part of his being to it. And before he knows it, he is addicted. Alcohol has corrupted him. The way I see it, a similar thing happened to the characters, especially Garrigan. Garrigan liked Amin, idolized him and made him feel good. He began to develop very strong feelings or a solid relationship with Amin, and before he knows it, he has sunk so deep into Amin’s destructive regime. He was corrupted. He sensed it, but did nothing to stop it yet. Amin on the other hand, also felt good having Garrigan around so much, that his decisions and his moves were often made under the influence of Garrigan’s advice. And of course, like an addict, Amin could not let go of his friend; a mine of insight and loyalty with a personality matching his. They both lost a sense of who they are, since they were too invested in the relationship they had. The funny thing is, that they loved each other so much that what they loved became the most destructive thing to them.

Through the film, I saw how it is so easy to get attached to something, whether it’s a vice or a destructive relationship. And the bad part is, you don’t really realize that you’ve reached the endpoint until you’re there. Perhaps we should be more careful in giving or devoting chunks of ourselves to something or someone. And we should never forget who we are. Now, this is definitely one idea I would like to take away from this film.

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i made this paper for BA105.
it does not have the kind of tone i want for this blog,
but i wanted to start posting.. so, there! :)

hello!

this is the first post on this site.
yeay! :)

i wanted to start this blog so i would be forced to write about the movies i saw.
i want to practice writing,
see more movies,
and make this a hobby.

i hope you like what i say about the movies i saw.
please feel free to leave comments.
thanks much!
ciao!