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Mister Joy
Reviews
Naked (1993)
"Don't get me wrong. I love the Iliad."
If you're wondering about possible mythological subtexts for this film, consider Morpheus & Thanatos. That really is all I want to say. I am pointing out potential major symbolism in the film, that others may not only find interesting and valuable, but may actually enjoy educating themselves as to who these figures are and rewatching the film to see how this context plays out in the course of the film, rather than having me spell it out for them. However, IMDb is now requiring a minimum of 10 lines of text to post any comment, which doesn't go very far towards encouraging concision, economy of style, or the readability of the whole page of user comments when everyone is required to blather on just to get a post in. This requirement of verbosity leaves me as confused as the speech of this film's main character, Johnny, aka Morpheus.
American Beauty (1999)
Afterschool special
This movie cuts to the chase to deliver its message. All of the characters are cartoons cut from broad cloth, so the question of cliche or believability is moot. I think that's intentional, and I think it's okay. It saves us all a lot of time--when Yosemite Sam walks into the saloon, you don't have to spend five minutes of dialogue to establish his motivation. He's Yosemite Sam. If you thought this flick was obvious, unrealistic, and pedantic, you're right. On the other hand, they didn't make this movie for you. I agree with the populist intent of the film and admire the facile way the filmmakers got past the distaste for Message that the American moviegoers typically display. It's an afterschool special for people in their forties.
Bliss (1985)
"Australian Beauty"
When I saw the first trailer for American Beauty a couple of years ago, I said, "Hmm. Looks like an American version of 'Bliss'." Which it was, only not as good and not as brave.
"Harry Joy was a man who liked to tell stories," says the narrator, and this film is full of stories: Histories told through incident, Realities literally warped by perception, Fantasies anchored in Truth, etc. "In New York, there are towers of glass, and the Devil himself drives a big Cadillac Limousine right down Fifth Avenue."
Surreal and enervating, informed by Dante's Inferno and with an ending you never saw coming, this has been one of my very favorite films for sixteen years. It's where I got the name "Mister Joy" ("No, you are NOT Harry Joy, you are MISter Joy.").
Too bad Lester Burnham didn't see it when he was a younger man.
Mumford (1999)
A Great work of Humanist Cinema
Before this film was over, I knew it was one of my all-time favorites, similar in its celebration of Humanism to the Australian "Bliss" and the French "Delicatessen".
The screenplay is simply one of the finest ever, its subtleties masking very grand themes in this "small" story. The actors so completely inhabit their characters you'll believe you're just visiting in Mumford.
Film History!
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Masterpiece of charlatanism
Evoking eighteenth century Europe masterfully, Barry Lyndon is told in layers of lies, tall tales about embellishments on rumors of past sins. This charlatan's tale is peopled with dissemblers and opportunists whose constant misrepresentation provides the motion of the plot. The visual world they inhabit, on the other hand, is so rich and vivid in detail, it seems proof of what we see. The secret to getting others to believe you is in the accumulation of extraneous details. In this gorgeous world, nothing is as it seems and beauty is often a mask for misery.