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Wed 1 Jan, 2003 01:45 pm
Most films simply tell a story and more rarely, a moral lesson. Some films provide a vehicle for unspoken things, on metaphor, on mythology.
For America, sports provide the metaphors most accessible.
Two films of this fashion I especially appreciate are The Natural, and The Legend of Bagger Vance. The former takes one of the great American pastimes (and myths itself) and couples it with the myth of fall and redemption. The story itself is a classic, acting is superb, the direction by Barry Levinson excellent, score by Randy Newman compelling, and the photography which is at times clear and sharp and at others misty and ethereal dovetails precisely with the character of the scenes.
The story in Bagger Vance is the old one, of duty, of fate, and of full and active participation in life that was told from the Bhagavad Gita, of Arjuna and Krishna 2,800 years ago
Bagger Vance is as rare a film in which all of the aforementioned factors come alive (and a slightly better score, I think, by Rachael Portman). Yet, directed by the star of The Natural, Robert Redford, ?'Bagger Vance' has a beautifully lyrical aspect to it. And it might well be that the important scenes are held on the lush greenery of a golf course that help this. Yet, it is the story itself, one that shares The Natural's" themes of adversity and redemption, with the additional focus on using one's skills to their fullest is the duty of life, and that bliss is in the moment when time stand still, that makes it a piece of cinema marking it above the former film. That the mythology of northern India from nearly 30 centuries ago resonates so well even today is an extraordinary achievement of the story writer and filmmaker and is what makes Bagger Vance stand out.
Roy Hobbs gets a new bat. (The Natural)
Bobby Jones in the Field (Legend of Bagger Vance)
I'm gonna come back to this; it looks fascinating. :-D
The first film that pops into my in which myth is played out on many levels is The Matrix.
Myth Meets The Internet
There aren't enough of these films and they are difficult to handle without straying off track. "Field of Dreams" is fantasy/myth and I would think "Bagger Vance" is out of a similar mold but with a more complex mythological base. Cocteau's "Orphee" is obviously based on myth, but myth as it would effect reality.
Paul Schrader "Mishima" is heavy on methaphor with the dramitization of the title character's writings woven into what was happening in his real life. Wish more directors were brave enough to incorporate more myth and metaphor into their films. It's visual poetry and doesn't do well with audiences.
Star Wars the mythology of the hero and of course the Force. And the father sone competition Oedipus perhaps.
What was the name of the Robin Williams film which used the myth of the Fisher King? I liked it and everyone else hated it.
And "O Brother Where Art Thou" - which used the Odyssy - I have not seen that one yet - but I understand it worked brilliantly..
I know there are many more- i just cannot think of them!
The name of the Robin Williams film is "The Fisher King".
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0800108051/102-6745714-4714539?vi=glance
I highly recommend "O Brother..." - one of my favorites.
I also recently rented "Scotland, PA". A modern version of Shakespeare's Macbeth. It got a lukewarm reception, but I enjoyed it. And how can you beat Christopher Walken?
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ScotlandPA-1112164/
Jean Cocteau's movies rely heavily on myth..."Beauty And The Beast", an enchanting fairy tale, and "Orpheus," a striking Surrealist version of the ancient myth of the poet. Other examples are Kurosawa's "Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior" and "The Hidden Fortress", which retell Japanese folktales, as does the masterpiece "Ugetsu" by Kenji Mizoguchi. BTW "The Hidden Fortress" is the acknowledged inspiration for "Star Wars."
dlowan, I LOVE The Fisher King! I bought the video tape years ago - the original English version, of course. Haven't seen it in ages because we don't have a VCR anymore :-(
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