patrick-319 Reviews

The Man Who Copied (2003)

One of the most upbeat and inventive foreign films of the year!

[10/10 · 27 February 2006]

The Man Who Copied tells the story of a young adult attempting to break himself free from the life that society and fate has drawn for him. Andre, the protagonist, is a 19 year old Brazilian, toiling as a "photocopy operator," while pursuing his hobby – comic illustration, and a love he is not sure he can realize. The film is filled with quaint analogies of "art imitating life" and vice versa, and portrays the exterior world and the personalities that inhabit it as illustrated avatars, behind which lurk unexpected and surprising motives, dreams, and desires. It IS very similar to the film "Amelie" in this aspect. The film is a painting depicting the many shades of truth, and shows the absurdity of preconception and expectation. It is bright, uplifting, and full of exciting plot twists that will keep the viewer glued to the screen until the very end (although it starts a bit slowly).

The director uses cinematic technique to portray a fragmented world—that of Andre's existence, (as well as that of contemporary Brazil, as a whole) and attempts to scrutinize the minutiae of daily life in order to distill its essence and produce a vision of WHY we go about mundane and mechanical daily tasks, and how easily one can get caught up in a web of deception and false pretense. The photography is excellent, combining the brightness and color of South America with cutting edge editing and camera technique.

The film is also a subtle social commentary on the state of modern Brazil, illustrating the drastic economic disparity between the wealthy social elite and the pedestrian worker, yet stressing the fact that one can cross over to the other side with greater ease as technology and years advance. "The Man Who Copied" documents a class of people who live a short, but dramatically visible step above those portrayed in "City Of God," and really succeeds in drawing us into the mindset and dreams of the characters. This is a "coming of age" story, not just for its central characters, but for Brazil itself.

If you enjoy this film, I strongly suggest that you check out "City Of God," "Nine Queens," and "Amelie." All of them are foreign films (two from South America) and all share some unique common thread with this film. Highly Recommended!

Deliverance (1972)

Awesome Existential Action/Adventure Classic!!!!

[10/10 · 10 February 2006]

This movie is one of the best movies I've seen. The acting is absolutely stellar -- the chemistry between Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox is incredible as four guys from wildly differing backgrounds, united by a common thread of humanity. The four city-slickers head out together for a white water canoe trip down a river in the hill country of northern Georgia. The film is packed to the brim with action, adventure, and the essence of survival. Adding to the intensity is that fact that almost all of the movie was shot on location, at an almost inaccessible river deep in the south. Director John Boorman had to use jeeps to truck in the equipment and the 4 lead actors were actually transported by canoe! Voight also performs a rock climbing feat that will leave you in awe (according to the "making of" documentary on the DVD, Voight declined to use a stuntman). The white-water cinematography and choreography is breathtaking, especially considering that this was shot in the early 1970s.

At first, from a quick glance, Deliverance appears to be a straightforward adventure story; however, the film goes down a deeply philosophical route as the four men race their vehicles into the back-country and then their canoes down the wilds of the river. The film explores our relationship with nature, conceptualization of morality, and the existentialism inherent in life. The backwoods hillbillies the four adventurers interact with in various ways paint an amazingly complex portrait which ties together the destruction of nature, man's "evolution" from his natural roots to the resigned life of "city dweller," and the tensions and prejudice inherent in humanity. This is done perfectly, without drawing on stereotypical "black vs. white" or "yankee vs. southerner" comparisons--all the characters in this film are southerners, although each character (major and minor), for all intensive purposes, transcends categorization.

The "Dueling Banjo" scene, in which guitar-slinging Ronny Cox battles a banjo-playing hillbilly kid (the actor, Billy Redden, was actually a resident of the backwoods region where this was shot) sharply complements the men's fight against the river, and the river's fight to remain wild. This film simultaneously explores the theme of duality from the confines of: (1) the individual's mind, (2) Reynolds' group of comrades, (3) all humanity as a whole, and (4) something much greater. The banjo music in this scene is awesome!!! If you enjoy the song "Dueling Banjos", I strongly suggest that you pick up the Deliverance soundtrack, which also includes 17 additional songs played by amazing banjo musician Eric Weissberg (I believe only "Deuling Banjos" and maybe one or two other songs were actually used in the film).

There are some disturbing scenes in this film, so it is not for the overly squeamish but, if you think you can handle the river, I encourage you to take this powerful, action-packed journey into the philosophical backwater of humanity!