WISDOM OF THE SAGES
EPISODE XII: WINTER 2023
Hello People of the World;
Where did the winter go? I remember when the snows lasted from October to March in Chicago. And we cried about it like babies. Now, it rains once in a while – and what do we do? We cry about like frickin’ babies. What happened to all that Alpha bullsh*t they were spewing? How we are something speial because we had “real” snowstorms or some such. All that front goes away when it rains. And then we cry like frickin’ babies…
COVID is still with us as we turn another year. Remember that too.
As always: Stay safe. Stay home.
All right, let’s get going:
1:[ This virus really showed how equal we all really are: How we all want back the status quo, despite this virus showing us, the status quo doesn’t work….
2:[ MOVIE REVIEWS:
- Monster ‘怪物’ (2023)
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda
Gene Siskel Film Center
Told "Rashomon" style, a teacher is accused of harming a student and the mother demands action from the school. Yet, when we see the incidents told from the perspective of the mother, the teacher, and then, the final reveal of the child's perspective, it becomes a story of such deep heartbreak and emotions.
Minato was hit by a teacher in class and his mother wants action taken. But when the school does little expect to force the teacher to offer an apology and promise to do better, it begins to unravel an unexpected hidden truth.
Powerful, beautifully-told as only Kore-eda can do so. He is one of my most favorite directors right now. His ouvre is diverse - dark tales like "Broker", "Maborosi",and "Shoplifters" get the most attention, but his soft, made-family films "Like Father, Like Son", "I Wish" and especially "Out Little Sister" is where he shines the most I think. Even his ethereal fare like "Air Doll" and "After Life" (My most favorite movie of his) have a perfect balance of sweet, dark edges, and story that I have not seen since Kurosawa. Yes, he's that good in my mind.
This hit me and I as tearing up as I typically do with a Kore-eda film. I don't want to spoil what the unraveling of the story reveals, but encourage you to see this and let's chat about it.
HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION – BEST OF 2023
PS: You know he's gaining a great reputation because walking door knobs like Ethan Hawke want to work with him.
- The Marvels (2023)
Directed by Nia DaCosta
AMC Village Crossing 18
Honestly, I don't know why this is getting such bad reviews. Could it simply be that it's has women in it? It can't be that. Otherwise, it's a fun comic book movie, filled with the tropes of team-ups needing to learn to work together, a baddie that wants revenge in the form of "taking everything" from the hero, and not caring how many worlds are destroyed, and the added fun of Kamala Khan, probably, in my opinion, the best thing about the entire Marvel Comics Universe right now.
I walked out wanting to see it again. It's rare I want to watch a Marvel Movie twice. I think, only the Black Panther movies, were movies I saw twice intentionally. I saw the first Avengers movie twice but I think I went a second time to keep my friend Sharon company, as she wanted to see it.
Here the Marvels must team up to save Earth from Dar-Benn, a Kree revolutionary that wants to restore the Kree Empire after Captain Marvel returned to take back her identity and set in motion unforeseen consequences.
I really enjoyed it. The actors were having fun, the balance between humor and pathos was more in line with the typical Marvel movie and not as extreme as the GotG movies. I've never had a problem with Brie Larson, and Iman Vellani is always a delight and I am so happy she was cast as Kamala Khan, because she is such a comic book fan.
I thought I would add my cash to the box office and give this my support. This will make the Best of 2023. I have seen plenty of really good films this year and this might notch out old Indiana Jones from the list. But that is the future I think.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – BEST OF 2023
PS: in an oddly poignant juxtaposition, I saw Kore-eda's "Monster" just before this and found that the ideas of communication between males, and the communication between women oddly fascinating. The need to "express emotions" is suppressed in one and not the other. There was a lot of communication of emotions between the Marvels that felt genuine to me and was needed and balanced with the story. I keep thinking about the two movies in tandem. Pretty cool - EW3
- Godzilla Minus One (2023) ‘ゴジラ-1.0’
Directed by Takashi Yamazaki
AMC Village Crossing 18
With Bonnie
For my birthday, my Bonnie took me to see the newest Toho Godzilla production.
Now, folks "in the know" are saying this is the best one ever. I disagree.
But it is very good. It is basically a remake of "Gojira" the original 1953 film but from a perspective of the people who have gone through WWII and are living in the aftermath of a country in shambles.
Most people go for the kaiju versions of a man in a rubber suit slapping bellies with another man in rubber suit while crushing a quasi-scale model of Tokyo, while children with high-level government clearance run around trying to convince the grown ups that Godzilla is a friend. It's camp and I get it. No need for deeper thinking. I can respect that.
But the best of them attaches a frightening message: for "Gojira", the original and still the best one, it was the cost of the proliferation of atomic weaponry. "Gojira" was in response to the Bikini Atoll Incident which devastated the Daigo Fukuryū Maru, a fishing vessel that was irradiated after a test bomb was detonated there. The destruction left by Gojira, renamed Godzilla in the US-edit, was a reminder of the devastation of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
"Shin Gojira", the other best Gojira movie, (again in my opinion) was about how the machine of bureaucracy is a detriment in times of national crisis and was a reflection of the response to the Fukushima Disaster, a disaster we are still getting the effects of by the way, but we moved on in our news cycles.
"Godzilla Minus One" deals with things on a more personal level, rather than a national one as it follows a failed kamikaze pilot and his made-family after he survives a Gojira attack during the war. Here, the perspective is of the people left in the debris of the war, literally rebuilding their homes and cities, only to have the gigantic creature show up to destroy it all again. It addresses their fervent nationalism at the beginning and that begins to fade as the devastation reminds them all that survival is what matters most.
It also deals with PTSD and Survivor's guilt not only of the main character, but I think of Japan as well. Have they paid enough for their war crimes? Have their people and children done so generations after? There is this debate in pop culture circles about whether or not the Japanese film industry ever casts themselves as the villains in WWII. There are many Japanese films that do this, we just need to seek them out. Many question the fanatical nationalism during the war. But, we're more interested in anime and Godzilla movies coming out of Japan. With the rise of the K-Drama, that very much casts Japan as villains, and rightly so, there is this rising subtle racism against Japanese people rearing its ugly head again in the US.
Yes, this Godzilla movie made me think of all of this.
The main character got a bit tedious after a while with his schtick. The use of the baby as a prop was an issue for Bonnie and I understand that.
Otherwise, very good but not "The Best One Ever."
HIGH RECOMMENDATION
- The Boy and the Heron (君たちはどう生きるか 'How Do You Live?') 2023
Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
CMX Old Orchard Luxury
With Bonnie
Bonnie and I went to see the latest from Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki.
Mahito Maki moves to a rural town from Tokyo during the Pacific War. Mahito's father is a war munitions factory owner and has married his wife's sister after her death in a fire, which prompted the move.
Once on the estate, a gray heron pulls Mahito into a search for his mother. He is pulled into a realm beneath the world and all sorts of fantastical adventures happen.
Very good, but not the strongest one from Ghibli and Miyazaki. It has the advantage of its top-notch animation, and fantasy concepts, that here, feel strung together. The US release has an added advantage of the Gray Heron being voiced by an unrecognizable Robert Pattinson of "Twilight", "The Lighthouse", and "The Batman" fame, which filled the theater with the fans of those films.
Still a strong and wonderful film. Makes the cut and lands on my Best of 2023 List.
#5 EW3 BEST OF 2023
3:[ This Month’s Essay:
Thinking of my Mom again, an aside:
My mom got back into traditional dancing after my father passed. One of the many places I drove her was to powwows. She would enter senior division for fun and bingo money. She would dance a zig-zag pattern that I had not seen done before that time. At the Northern Arapaho Powwow, there was NEVER a single time that when they announced the senior division, that powwow emcees would mention that my mom was the very first Northern Arapaho Powwow Queen. Every time.
"Just want to take a moment to acknowledge the very first Northern Arapaho Powwow Queen." My mom would raise her fan sometimes, but hearing the drums around the arbor acknowledge her is bringing a tear to my eye remembering those moments.
Props to those emcees and drum groups. They never had to do it, Mom was humble in that sense, but we were glad she was acknowledged.
4:[ Observation: Have you noticed this trend of movies trying to make soulless corporations into scrappy underdogs fighting the system rather than the fair-labor crushing monsters they are? “Ferrari”, “Air”, Ford v Ferrari”, even “Gucci”. This is a terrible trend that must end.
5:[ We cannot go back to “Normal” all after this: thinking that fresh water is an infinite resource. I will never stop writing this here.
That is it for this month.
As always, I invite you to comment, correct, or contradict anything I write here. I am open to a critical debate. Thanks for taking the time to check out what I write here and I will see you in a month.
Until next time, remember “I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control everything really are.”
2023 Ernest M Whiteman III
