Movie "The Road"

Post » Sat Feb 05, 2011 10:06 am

I found both "The Road" and "Book of Eli" interesting for various reasons:

In "The Road":

  • Sources of food (especially given it has been about a decade? since the apocalyptic event) were very scarce since all vegetation seemed dead and most, if not all non-perishables have been scavenged over the years
  • Sources of water, however is abundant, through precipitation
  • Sources of fuel appeared to be non-existent, no drivable vehicles were seen
  • Cannibalism is rampant, the stronger and better equipped seem to prey upon the weak
  • No signs of "civilization" such as towns or villages


In "The Book of Eli":

  • Sources of food AND water are scarce, though the antagonist used his "pre-apocalypse" knowledge of underground water sources to gain power over the people of his town
  • There are some signs of civilization, such as the "Ghost Town" that was revived by the antagonist and the setup in Alcatraz albeit they were few and far between
  • There was no form of currency like caps, it was a straight barter system, determining mostly what was valuable at that moment
  • There are some working vehicles and enough fuel to run them, again controlled by the antagonist
  • Cannibalism exists, but is shunned by those who are more "civilized" and practicing cannibalism seems to lead to some type of disorder where you cannot keep your hands steady

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Carlos Vazquez
 
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Post » Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:21 pm

Ok, seen Eli now. It was not bad, but it was one of those flicks that needed at least half an hour of more length (unlike The Road, which was just the right length for it's story). Most of the character were left vague and the story somehow wasn't "thorough" enough but too fastpaced. It felt kinda like I couldn't get a grip of the setting before it already ended and was left with "That's it?" feeling after the end. Anyways, not too bad overall.

The Road, however, was almost spot on with its intentional feeling of emptiness and despair, and its somewhat artmovie feel.
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Umpyre Records
 
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Post » Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:08 am

Eh, The Road didn't live up to expectations for me. I like the moving away from strictly action and making post-apocalyptic it's own little genre, but The Road didn't really have a plot in my opinion. Yes, it's a movie about a father and son struggling through a post-apocalyptic world, but there was no real conflict and resolution, and no real character development. All we really get are flashbacks of the father with his wife, and some very emotional scenes
Spoiler
like the father's death


But all in all the kid doesn't experience much change, and nothing is solved at the end of the movie. It just seemed like a movie designed to try to depress you and possibly make you think. It did both very well, but a movie and a story (I don't know how the book is; I have yet to read it) need to have some sort of conflict and resolution.

The Road did well enough to show that the post-apocalypse can be more than just a battleground, but it failed at bringing a substantial story.



Like all great literary works (which this is adapted from. Cormac McCarthy also wrote No Country for Old Men), this is not a simple pay off film. The conflict and resolution comes from the emotional metephor of the world in which they live. The world is symbolic of the emptiness within them. The Man begins to lose his humanity (slowly becoming feral) as he lives in practical isolation with his son. The "payoff" is the amazement that you get from them remaining human for so long.

Social situations being key to human survival, you see the animal of humanity reveal itself in both good and bad situations. You have to pay attention deeper to realize the characters development. The Man becomes happier to face his own death in the belief that his son would likely follow him to the other side. The son doesnt die, however, but rather finds his own humanity by becoming part of a family. They both begin the story on oppostie spectrums. The Man is human and the son is feral. As the father protects his son, his humanity "flows" into him and they swtich places. The son becomes more human, and the father more feral. Its a metaphor of old age...of how your parents take care of you when you are an infant, and how many times you must take care of them in old age when they revert to an infant state.
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Sammykins
 
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Post » Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:54 am

My favorite Fallout style movies are easily Mad Max. Closest thing to Fallout I've seen yet.

I also like Book Of Eli, but Mad Max is just more Alfred Hitchcock car chase kinda thing for me :shrug:
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des lynam
 
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