V for Visionary!
I know it is dangerous to introduce the subject of politics into even the most close-knit group of friends... But since it is under cover of a film, I feel that it is acceptable. ;)
Granted, I have not yet read the graphic novel, so I can only say what I thought of the film as it is, and not compare it to the book. I'm sure a lot of things have been left out for the sake of the flow of the movie. But I must say... I loved it!
First of all, I really liked the many facets of the characters - a movie which shows humans as they really are, with good and bad sides and everything in between, will always fascinate me more than the typical good versus evil theme.
I also liked how not everything was told outright, how some things had to be figured out for oneself, and how some subjects, for example V's past, is kept a secret, for the viewer to imagine.
The film is full of references to events in history (and, no less important, to our time), for instance it is very easy for the viewer to simply accept V as the archetypal hero, as we are used to in movies. But this image of him as a hero gets crushed most mercilessly when we discover that it is V himself who tortured Evey. The feeling I got from the scene where Evey is freed from prison reminded me of the wake up call that many left wing activists got in the late seventies. For a movement that preaches non-violence to discover the horrors that some of the former idols of the left wing committed, was quite terrible, and we got a little taste of what they must have felt in this scene. It is strange to us that the hero can step so completely out of the character that we have built up. This is of course not the most clear of the references, but the visual links to various dictatorships are far too obvious to discuss.
But the most important theme of the film which can clearly be linked to what happens on our planet today, is of course the subject of freedom/control. We ask ourselves; What is freedom? For Chancellor Sutler (and an alarming number of people across the globe today) freedom will no doubt mean freedom from making your own choices. In his ideal society everything is controlled, therefore there won't be any crime, hunger or pain, except those that are controlled be the government. For V, spurred by revenge, freedom is something that must be achieved no matter what the cost, though it at first it seems that he only hurts the bad guys, typically hero style. But we discover that he has far less scruples than we had at first assigned to him (But damn, he is hot! You've got to love a man who commands the English language so masterfully). His purpose is to call forth in people the freedom (and duty) to make your own decisions.
I only have two negative points about the film. The violence of the final fight scene was a little redundant. And the death scene following this would have been so much better if the whole subject of falling in love had not been approached. Some things are much more powerful if they are not said out loud, and I felt that the bond between V and Evey was no mere infatuation, it was something completely different from love as it is normally treated in movies.
Though I can at times enjoy movies the purpose of which is only to entertain, the films that make you reflect and ponder are to me far superior. V for Vendetta was indeed such a movie. I believe that not two people would get the same ideas out of it, but no matter what your result is, it is a film that will not leave you alone, if you are just a tiny bit interested in the world around you. To some it will be a work of science fiction, to others scarily close to how our society could turn out, if we don't stand up for ourselves.
The world of the film had a creepy familiarity to it. I (most unfortunately) found too many similarities with our world of today. Or what it could become, if we don't watch out.
But though the film mostly has a dark and negative theme, it is also a film about hope. The hope that people will stand up for themselves, that they will want more than just seeing to their own needs, that there is still a will to think for yourself and fight for yours and everyone else's rights (non-violently of course!).
I certainly left the theatre with a tiny spark of hope for mankind.
We walked home through the inner city, empty as only a monday night can make it, discussing the themes of the film like the proper little intellectuals that we're supposed to be... The dusk permeated Copenhagen, and the sky was a strange and beautiful colour between a dark greyish blue and lilac. As we crossed the cobbled square between the main building of the university and the cathedral, the little bells of a nearby church started playing a pretty, sad tune. There, under the victorian style lamps, the light of which is kept in muted tones like they have been for a hundred years, I remembered why I love this city. Oh, I often wish I was somewhere else, but the strange mixture of being carefree and melancholy that is Copenhagen will always draw me back.
Granted, I have not yet read the graphic novel, so I can only say what I thought of the film as it is, and not compare it to the book. I'm sure a lot of things have been left out for the sake of the flow of the movie. But I must say... I loved it!
First of all, I really liked the many facets of the characters - a movie which shows humans as they really are, with good and bad sides and everything in between, will always fascinate me more than the typical good versus evil theme.
I also liked how not everything was told outright, how some things had to be figured out for oneself, and how some subjects, for example V's past, is kept a secret, for the viewer to imagine.
The film is full of references to events in history (and, no less important, to our time), for instance it is very easy for the viewer to simply accept V as the archetypal hero, as we are used to in movies. But this image of him as a hero gets crushed most mercilessly when we discover that it is V himself who tortured Evey. The feeling I got from the scene where Evey is freed from prison reminded me of the wake up call that many left wing activists got in the late seventies. For a movement that preaches non-violence to discover the horrors that some of the former idols of the left wing committed, was quite terrible, and we got a little taste of what they must have felt in this scene. It is strange to us that the hero can step so completely out of the character that we have built up. This is of course not the most clear of the references, but the visual links to various dictatorships are far too obvious to discuss.
But the most important theme of the film which can clearly be linked to what happens on our planet today, is of course the subject of freedom/control. We ask ourselves; What is freedom? For Chancellor Sutler (and an alarming number of people across the globe today) freedom will no doubt mean freedom from making your own choices. In his ideal society everything is controlled, therefore there won't be any crime, hunger or pain, except those that are controlled be the government. For V, spurred by revenge, freedom is something that must be achieved no matter what the cost, though it at first it seems that he only hurts the bad guys, typically hero style. But we discover that he has far less scruples than we had at first assigned to him (But damn, he is hot! You've got to love a man who commands the English language so masterfully). His purpose is to call forth in people the freedom (and duty) to make your own decisions.
I only have two negative points about the film. The violence of the final fight scene was a little redundant. And the death scene following this would have been so much better if the whole subject of falling in love had not been approached. Some things are much more powerful if they are not said out loud, and I felt that the bond between V and Evey was no mere infatuation, it was something completely different from love as it is normally treated in movies.
Though I can at times enjoy movies the purpose of which is only to entertain, the films that make you reflect and ponder are to me far superior. V for Vendetta was indeed such a movie. I believe that not two people would get the same ideas out of it, but no matter what your result is, it is a film that will not leave you alone, if you are just a tiny bit interested in the world around you. To some it will be a work of science fiction, to others scarily close to how our society could turn out, if we don't stand up for ourselves.
The world of the film had a creepy familiarity to it. I (most unfortunately) found too many similarities with our world of today. Or what it could become, if we don't watch out.
But though the film mostly has a dark and negative theme, it is also a film about hope. The hope that people will stand up for themselves, that they will want more than just seeing to their own needs, that there is still a will to think for yourself and fight for yours and everyone else's rights (non-violently of course!).
I certainly left the theatre with a tiny spark of hope for mankind.
We walked home through the inner city, empty as only a monday night can make it, discussing the themes of the film like the proper little intellectuals that we're supposed to be... The dusk permeated Copenhagen, and the sky was a strange and beautiful colour between a dark greyish blue and lilac. As we crossed the cobbled square between the main building of the university and the cathedral, the little bells of a nearby church started playing a pretty, sad tune. There, under the victorian style lamps, the light of which is kept in muted tones like they have been for a hundred years, I remembered why I love this city. Oh, I often wish I was somewhere else, but the strange mixture of being carefree and melancholy that is Copenhagen will always draw me back.