You would think that being on a different planet, removed from everything and everyone you know, would be a really strange experience that doesn't quite sink in... but it doesn't. On the contrary, it almost feels like business as usual most of the time. Underneath all the strange timekeeping that this planet persists with, the bizarre culture, the incomprehensible tangle of networks and traditions which keep ticking by... it just feels like life. Sure, now and again I think to myself 'am I really here?' but the overriding feeling is that I am now firmly part of the planet's system, and that society has comforting similarities no matter where you are in this vast universe of ours.
However, that said, this week there was a day where everyone ate stick-shaped chocolate biscuits simply because the date was 11/11. Oh I dunno, it's nice to have a bit of fun with traditions like that. Under no circumstances would 'Pocky Day' be celebrated on my home planet, so I guess I should be grateful! Looking back on the three months that I have experienced since I arrived (in the wrong place need I remind you), I suppose I have seen a whole load of things I never would have expected. Did you know, for instance, that in the schools for Japanese earthlings, the students always bow at the start and end of the lesson? When it first happened I was certainly taken aback, but here I am already treating it like routine. Another example is the presence of hundreds of vending machines that are absolutely everywhere imaginable. To start with, it was inconceivable, and felt unbelievably - wait for it - alien. Can't even think of a way to compare it to TX4 since the prevalence of these mechanical boxes is so unique. However here I am, walking past about fifty vending machines a day, and I don't even bat an eye. Kind of sad how novelty becomes normality before you know it...
Anyway, enough of that for this week, there is a mission to be getting on with!
[3/52 Forrest Gump]
This week I watched Forrest Gump, a 1994 film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, which can only be described as a drama comedy aventure... fantasy. Even though the events in the film all take place on earth, and aim to portray real, possible events (and often true events at that), this film seriously pushes the bar in terms of suspension of disbelief. Keep in mind that that doesn't make the film any less entertaining, or indeed any less good, or indeed any less relatable... but my word is this film preposterous at times. You may end up enjoying this film somewhat less if you are hoping for a realistic portrayal of, well, anything... but if you are open to the idea of an updated fairy tale then boy are you in for a treat.
Opening the movie, we see a white feather floating down from the sky, accompanied by a hauntingly beautiful score composed by Alan Silvestri, where it lands by the feet of our main character, Forrest Gump, waiting on a bench. He immediately introduces himself to a stranger, who is initially disinterested, but Forrest goes on to reminisce about his mother and his first pair of shoes. It is already somewhat obvious that Forrest is a bit of a strange but friendly character, and the scene is an efficient and effective introduction to the story. Then we cut to Forrest's childhood, where he narrates his experience of getting leg braces, as though still talking to the woman he just met - it's a nice technique for the audience to feel like we are being told this tale as though we are the stranger, since ultimately we know nothing about this character yet either. Moving on to his enrollment in school, we learn that Forrest's mother had to perform sexual favours in order to secure his education, which is quite a dark thing to throw on the audience so soon, but Forrest's narration keeps the tone somewhat light. Although this is a film with incredibly mature themes, we are experiencing the events from Forrest's innocent perspective, and while this is a source of some humour in the film, it also creates an interesting emotional contrast, where the viewer is allowed to pity Forrest without his character changing. Next we see Forrest's upbringing, where a visitor in their house, a young Elvis Presley, is inspired by the way Forrest dances in his leg braces, and goes on to make the dance famous as a result. Returning briefly to the present-day park bench, Forrest quickly summarises the rest of Elvis's life, which often happens in this film (Forrest encounters a famous person or event from the 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s, then briefly explains what happens to that person or event through voice-over). Even though this is a fun effect, and might evoke nostalgia or a feeling of intelligence in the audience for recognising the historically significant people or moments, it can sometimes be frustrating as a young alien (especially a non-American) to miss some of the references - almost as though the film assumes you remember... but I digress. Back in Forrest's childhood, on his first day of school, he meets Jenny, a sweet girl who instantly forms a strong bond with Forrest, and becomes his best friend. One particularly iconic scene shows Forrest being bullied and chased by other kids, and Jenny yelling "Run, Forrest, Run!" as he breaks out of his leg braces and runs amazingly fast (also featuring a fantastic slow-motion shot of the leg braces exploding mid-sprint which I have no idea how they filmed). Running becomes Forrest's new talent, and as we skip forwards in time to when he is in High School, his incredible speed attracts the attention of the Alabama College American Football Team, allowing him to go to college. Next we see that at his college there is a tense, racially motivated political standoff, and Forrest is digitally inserted into real stock footage of the event to make it look like he was there (another fun effect which is used several times throughout the movie). By this point, back in the present, the stranger's bus has arrived, and so she leaves, but another woman on the bench politely continues the conversation after overhearing some of it, and we carry on hearing about Forrest's past. Evidently, Jenny is starting to get in with the wrong crowd, but shows real affection for Forrest one rainy night after he saves her from being raped. Continued success in his American Football career leads to Forrest meeting the President of the United States, and also graduating from college. Almost immediately he is recruited for the US Army, where he meets 'Bubba', a kind man who has a keen interest in the shrimping business. Unfortunately, while Gump is fitting in well with the Army, Jenny is getting into trouble and has resorted to working in a strip club. Suicidal and unappreciated, Jenny contemplates jumping off a bridge, but Forrest appeals to her and tells her he loves her, and that he is going to Vietnam. Emotional, she leaves him in a tragic scene where she tells him he "doesn't know what love is". It's heartbreakingly sad. The next portion of the film takes place in Vietnam, where Forrest and Bubba meet their Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Dan. In this segment of the film, the Vietnam War is initially treated as a bit of a joke, features really upbeat music, and has a few visual gags... but then the tone suddenly shifts when Lieutenant Dan's platoon is ambushed, and multiple soldiers are killed instantly. The platoon retreats, but Forrest outruns them, and soon is on his own. Realising that Bubba, Dan and the rest of the platoon are still in danger, Forrest runs back and forth carrying the wounded soldiers to safety (Lieutenant Dan protests being carried away since he would rather die fighting) and although he eventually rescues Bubba from an incoming Napalm strike, Bubba dies from his wounds in Vietnam. Using absolutely staggering CGI, they are able to make it look as though Lieutenant Dan loses his legs, and Forrest and he both end up in a US Army hospital. Losing his will to live, Dan blames Forrest for saving his life, and feels like he has been cheated out of his destiny - meanwhile Forrest is awarded a Medal of Honor. Yet another unbelievable occurrence happens as Forrest miraculously learns how to play Table Tennis to an insanely high level as he is recovering in the army hospital... sure it makes for some fantastic scenes of Ping Pong, but this idea that Forrest can just be good at anything does feel a tad cartoonish after a while. Following his and Lieutenant Dan's discharge from the hospital, Forrest visits Washington DC, where he is mistakenly ushered onto a stage in front of thousands of people protesting the war in Vietnam. After making a speech which is interrupted by a technical fault, a voice from the crowd calls out to him, and lo and behold Jenny comes running to him, and they are reunited briefly. Now she has become involved with a black revolutionary group, the Black Panthers, and is in an abusive relationship with a fellow protester. Though Forrest makes it clear he still loves her, and even gives her his Medal of Honor, she leaves him yet again, and he joins the USA Ping Pong team. After visiting New York, Gump bumps into Lieutenant Dan, now an alcoholic and living off benefits, and they talk about the promise that Forrest made to Bubba in Vietnam - to invest in a shrimping boat and split the profits, to which Dan jokes that if Forrest becomes a shrimping boat captain, he'll be the first mate. Securing a boat with some Table Tennis sponsorship money (he names the boat 'Jenny' for good luck), Lieutenant Dan actually delivers on his promise to join Forrest, which gives him a sense of purpose in his life again, and after surviving a storm at sea, their business takes off (eventually to become the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company). Then Forrest's mother is diagnosed with cancer, so Forrest returns home, and after she passes away, Jenny comes to see Forrest, and they share a passionate night together. In the morning, Jenny leaves (again!), and as a result, a distressed Forrest ends up running and running across the USA for many years, stopping only to sleep. Collecting a whole band of followers and media attention over this time, one day he simply stops running because he's 'pretty tired', but when he gets home, there is a letter from Jenny asking him to meet her. At last the film circles back to why present-day Forrest is on the bench in the first place - he is on his way to meet Jenny after receiving the letter - and the stranger he is talking to explains that this whole time he didn't need to wait for a bus since the address is just around the corner. Now finally settled and healthy and happy, Jenny greets him warmly, and shows him newspaper clippings about him that she had been collecting, when suddenly... her son arrives home. During this time she reveals that the child is Forrest's, and he is delighted. Forrest and Jenny get married, and a recently engaged Lieutenant Dan shows up for the wedding, although tragically, Jenny dies of a virus some weeks later. Understandably devastated by the loss, Forrest talks to her gravestone, and wonders about what destiny is, and the last scene of the film shows Forrest sending his son off to school in an incredibly similar manner that his mother sent him off to school in the very beginning.
Now I really enjoyed this movie, despite the over-the-top nature of the events depicted in the film; it has so much charm and the characterisation is simply perfect - Gump is instantly likable and pure-hearted, Jenny's character epitomises tragedy, even the minor characters like the Doctor who gives Forrest the leg braces have distinct personalities, and they are captured on film impeccably. Not to mention the acting is phenomenal, the camerawork is an absolute joy to behold, the soundtrack is superb, the editing leaves nothing to be desired, and ultimately this is just a really moving feel-good film that has been realised perfectly.
Yeah so I would definitely recommend this one, maybe not quite as much as Terminator 2, but certainly a brilliant piece of cinema. The tiny little gripes about the movie such as the cartoonishness of the film in places, and the reliance of the film on the audience's knowledge of modern American history are just totally insignificant compared to the care and effort and love that went into making this film. Of course it belongs in the top 52 films on the planet Earth.
Okay well I suppose that's it from me for this week, so until next week's report, this is MuiXViuM signing off.
Now I really enjoyed this movie, despite the over-the-top nature of the events depicted in the film; it has so much charm and the characterisation is simply perfect - Gump is instantly likable and pure-hearted, Jenny's character epitomises tragedy, even the minor characters like the Doctor who gives Forrest the leg braces have distinct personalities, and they are captured on film impeccably. Not to mention the acting is phenomenal, the camerawork is an absolute joy to behold, the soundtrack is superb, the editing leaves nothing to be desired, and ultimately this is just a really moving feel-good film that has been realised perfectly.
Yeah so I would definitely recommend this one, maybe not quite as much as Terminator 2, but certainly a brilliant piece of cinema. The tiny little gripes about the movie such as the cartoonishness of the film in places, and the reliance of the film on the audience's knowledge of modern American history are just totally insignificant compared to the care and effort and love that went into making this film. Of course it belongs in the top 52 films on the planet Earth.
Okay well I suppose that's it from me for this week, so until next week's report, this is MuiXViuM signing off.
