One of the joys of science fiction has always been that it can tackle heavy handed issues without really going all preachy on you. It’s been a trademark of the genre for quite some time; you can push the limits on social issues by moving it into that realm. Usually it allows one to have a great film while also forcing you to think.
It’s why I was interested (at first) in Elysium, Neill Blomkamp’s big budget follow up to District 9. He had done such remarkable things with a fairly small budget of $30 million and wound up making a shocking hit of a film. District 9 also made a star of Sharlto Copley, who’s film debut has led to him carving a fairly substantial film career in a short amount of time. Blomkamp managed to take real life events from South Africa’s history with Apartheid and make them something special by using aliens, giving a nice head nod to anyone with knowledge about the region as well as making it accessible without it.
District 9 had been such a great combination of this social sentiment and genre that I was really hoping that when we started to get trailers for Elysium it’d be something similar. Unfortunately from what we’ve seen so far we’ve been given a sci-fi film with the type of heavy-handed undertones you’d expect from the stereotype of Hollywood politics.
Look, I’ve got no problem with entertainers like Matt Damon and story-tellers like Blomkamp using their outlets to express their feelings about the world. Sometimes the best art comes from the power of emotionality; Citizen Kane is at its heart a takedown of William Randolph Hearst to those who know its history. It is a great film about the rise (and fall … and fall and fall and fall) of a powerful man without the back story involving WRH either.
To me that’s the ultimate test of how we should view any genre, especially science fiction, when it comes to extrapolating grand social themes the best ones come with subtlety. So far, from the early reviews and the trailers, I can guess Elysium will probably be the noble poor man fighting for the unwashed masses while the rich people enjoy every lap of luxury and refuse to share.
It’s amusing coming from a megastar like Damon, who averages $10 million per picture and has armed bodyguards to keep the unwashed masses from touching him in public. It’s just when this film flops, and flops hard, don’t look at as yet another failing of sci-fi to find an audience.
A Movie A Week – The Challenge
This Week’s DVD – Man Bites Dog
How dark can you go before you go “sweet Jesus” and want to turn a film off, only to keep watching to just see how much darker it can get? About as dark as Man Bites Dog, a black comedy so dark you’ll want to take a shower when you’re done. And I’m not joking; both times I’ve watched this film I’ve felt dirty immediately thereafter.
It’s a simple premise. Benoit (Benoit Poelvoorde) is a serial killer being followed by a camera crew as part of a documentary about him. He likes killing people and they follow him as he kills people, talks about architecture and has a normal life of sorts. His girlfriend doesn’t seem to mind, as well, and he jokes about it the whole time to the camera crew. The film follows Benoit as he just lives (and kills) in a darkly funny manner.
Think of Man Bites Dog as a French version of Dexter, aiming for laughs as opposed to character building. Done as a student film on no budget, with the three principles behind the film (Poelvoorde, Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel) comprising the three major roles of the film. Filmed for a paltry sum, the film was shot in black & white (giving it a surreal effect) and looks shockingly professionally done. In an era where the found footage film had its time in the sun this film would be a significantly bigger deal now than 20 years ago.
Now it’s a cult film that’s a tough sell to get people to watch. This is a film that gets so dark that Benoit kills another serial killer, with his own film crew, and they’re debating on what to take because it’s film vs. tape. It’s compelling, probably one of the best films I’ve ever seen.
It’s on Hulu Plus and Criterion has a great edition of it on DVD. Check it out.
What Looks Good This Weekend, and I Don’t Mean the $2 Pints of Bass Ale and community college co-eds with low standards at the Alumni Club
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – Percy is back … this time he needs to get the Golden Fleece to save the day.
See it – The first was good, not great, but it has potential to be that under the radar franchise you can really enjoy but don’t expect super great things from. This has the potential to be that sneaky good film series that pops up when you’re least expecting it.
We’re the Millers – Jason Sudekis is running weed for Ed Helms and needs a fake family to get it over the border. Shenanigans ensue.
See it – This is a very tepid endorsement. So far it looks funny … but for some reason it could be awful as well. It looks very hit and miss.
Elysium – Matt Damon stands up for the poor to take down the rich people who live in space.
Skip it – I like the director but this looks like a “rich people are evil, ya-hoo” kind of film masquerading as science fiction. Usually it’s more subtle but this is modern Hollywood.
Planes – Set in the world of Cars, airplanes are alive too and such.
See it – It’s Pixar.
Scott “Kubryk” Sawitz brings his trademarked irreverence and offensive hilarity to Twitter in 140 characters or less. Follow him @ScottSawitz .
