Man, I hope Hollywood takes note. Check out the latest Box Office News. While we’ve been playing with our Transformers and our G.I. Joe* and our remakes of 70s TV shows, the rest of the world has been trying to figure out how to make a better breed of film. Yeah, we’ve heard it all before, but this time, it’s not just the intellectual snobs like me, or just the critics. Actual Real Audiences have been going to see District 9 and Ponyo. These are weird films, strange entertainment to be sure. Not Hollywood fluff, and not at all predictable.
I’m so glad to see a better grade of film available to audiences, which demand a bit more of the audience. They demand you pay attention to the plot. They demand you are patient while strange ideas morph and evolve and become the theme of the film. They are different, and that is demanding to an audience that has become complacent and rather infantile. And I’m glad that, judging from the box office numbers, the mature, patient, attentive audience I always suspected was out there waiting for a better breed of film is out there. Thank God, intelligent film seekers – you are not alone.
Now if only Hollywood can get a clue and begin making actual chance-taking films again, we might have that long-promised Film Rennaissance. How bout it? It’d be a shame if the rest of the world passes us by on this one.
*OK. G.I.Joe is still bringing in the cash, but I don’t think anyone involved is going to put that film on the top of their resume. I mean, come on… really?
I rate Alex Proyas films highly- accessable yet different.
District 9 was an experience. My wife even loved it. It was a smarter breed of film, conscious of convention (the Hero’s journey; genre convention, etc) and yet able to break the rules for greater impact. Characters played true-to-form, and the pace, effects, and acting all delivered bullseyes.
It was a roller-coaster ride which was unpredictable for most of the time, but which delivered satisfying conclusions to plot points, and character choices.
The hero: part under-dog; part anti-hero. Is someone who is fallible, and at times you feel as though you could hate him, but overall, the actor chosen managed to engage my pathos and hook me into the world of this movie.
It is one of those rare films which shall stand as an example of when the ingredients and the mix strike balance and all is well with the universe.
Excellent review! Well said.