Letters from Iwo Jima

In my opinion, the best picture of the year.

 

I wish I could quit you…but I can’t, so I’m going to make a big deal about the Oscars…

How many of us sat, open jawed and befuddled as Jack Nicholson announced "Crash" as the upset Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards instead of heavy favorite "Brokeback Mountain"? I was so surprised that I actually did not hear it the first time; "Crash" simply would not process itself in my mind as Best Picture. "Brokeback Mountain" rose in the mind of moviegoers and critics as the controversial but sound film that would easily sweep the Oscars. I was subjected to weeks of Oscar propoganda, bombarded with images of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall in Entertainment Weekly, US News, the New York Times, and Entertainment Tonight. I was (and unfortunately still am) a drone, exposed and subjected to the Media's will and desires. I was programmed to know that "Brokeback Mountain" would win. When it didn't, I was shocked, disgusted, and angry.

That is, until I sat and thought about it for a moment.

Crash, many torrid liberal film critics proclaimed, was one of the worst movies of the year and was definitely not deserving of the Best Picture Oscar. A movie about a homosexual relationship would never be accepted as Best Picture. This just shows the narrow mindedness of Hollywood and its Conservative undertones.

Something tells me that these people were convinced that "Brokeback Mountain" had to win in order to accomplish a great victory for popular acceptance of homosexuality in America. Many of the attacks on "Crash" were groundless and simply out of political zeal. As Roger Ebert explained, "describing 'Crash' as 'the worst film of the year' is as extreme as saying John Kerry was a coward in Vietnam. It means you'll say anything to help your campaign." Critics, both in film and in politics, often blindly follow a rhetoric based on their ideology and not on empirical or self-evaluation.

Say what you will, but last time I checked, "Crash" is about racial misunderstandings and tolerance. And "Capote" is about an overtly homosexual writer during a period of extreme homophobia. Whoever says Hollywood is not tolerant or open-minded is yelling with their heads in the sand.

In fact, all five Best Picture nominees (Crash, Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Munich, and Goodnight and Goodluck) had some social implication about tolerance. For those liberal pundits who claim that neglecting "Brokeback Mountain" as a progressive portrayal of homosexuality in the mainstream media is an act of close-mindedness or politics needs to reassess their position. Screaming for the sake of making noise just gives everyone a headache.

"Brokeback Mountain" has already reached a greater audience than it ever could have in its short story form. And despite many theatres is rural Midwestern towns refusing to show the film, many people viewed the film and enjoyed it. It won Golden Globes for Best Picture and Director. This film received much praise, and rightfully so.

But before people get too infuriated by Hollywood's supposed political agenda, they should try sitting back and thinking about it for a moment, as I did on my couch while Paul Haggis thanked his beautiful wife for her inspiration. Why does everything have to be a political attack? A threat to our livelihood? Instead of being a malicious act, is it possible that, perhaps, "Crash" simply was a better movie? I think so.

By making a big deal about the supposed Oscar snub is simply taking away from "Crash", an excellent film about racial tolerance and misperceptions in Los Angeles. To me, this is the most important social issue facing our country, and "Crash" beautifully displays the dynamics of ignorance and assumption in the close interaction of different racial groups. Tolerance comes in many forms, as does success for films. "Brokeback Mountain" was by no means a failure, and will still remain one of the most important films of our time.

But if liberal extremist film critics are going to continue yelling about "Brokeback Mountain" deserving the Oscar for its progressive vision, I'm going to yell right back, exclaiming "Crash" does the same.

 

Savor the moment (and don’t drop your wallet)

What can I say about this movie, simply brilliant. Miles and Jack's adventure into wine country is the same journey that we simultaneously take into our own lives, examining our own self worth. What seems like a simple story on the outside of two middle aged men going on a road trip quickly expands into more: Miles, our protagonist, becomes more complex than the depressed oenophile we observe…he is at a crossroads in his life, crying out, hoping someone out there will listen. The performances are superb: Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church give the characters not only likability but a plausibility that makes you sit and think "that could be me and my best buddy". The movie is completely character driven, but its completely satisfying just watching Jack talk to Miles, about getting laid if nothing at all. The script is genius; one scene in particular in which Miles describes a certain type of wine and its delicate skin, tickles our metaphoric fancy. We soon discover that Miles, the same guy who wakes up every morning with a wine hangover, is discribing his own vulnerability in words that he knows best. If you cannot describe your own emotion, use what you know best to convey it.

However, I found Jack to be the most fascinating character. Jack originally struck me as someone who knew exactly what he wanted, a colorful contrast to Miles and his depressed, passionless life. However, we see in Jack later in the film that demonstrates a truth that I believe Sideways tries to addresses: the veil of confidence simply covers the true pain and vulnerability that every human takes. Jack, despite his wisecracks, desperate acts of womanizing, and drinking, is suffering the same problems as his friend Miles. Thats what makes their trip so special: however different they commiserate, they still commisterate over the same things.

Sideways is something I enjoyed watching, not only for the humor (it was hilarious), but also for the simple yet complex message it presented. This is a movie that does not try to hard to say what it has to say, for it is ultimately up to the viewer to take what it can from it. I know it changed me, cheered me up, and ultimately inspired me. Makes me want to pack up my bags, get my best buddy Pat in a car, and go up to Napa, in search of good wine, beautiful women, and answers to questions in my own life…