Great comments from two readers: (click here for the beginning of the discussion)
#1
"Eiffel falls back on a 'deus ex machina' (which is considered a very cheap and poor way to resolve the tensions of her novel.)
I was very amused by this, since it effectively kills her brilliant novel. Something had to die, and the author chose to take it on the chin by killing her masterpiece. It is a cute turn, since 'Stranger than Fiction' is a tasty little treat, (like a fine cookie.)
The film is fun and eminently charming. I walked out feeling like my emotions had a lovely ride. Thompson plays Eiffel perfectly. She has the sense of the angst-ridden writer down, (and pushes the stereotype just to the edge of credibility.) Sacrifice, awakening, and heroism are the touchstones of this film. (If you don't enjoy this one, you should check your pulse.)"
#2
"I found a deeply Christian ethic in this film, exemplified by Crick's ultimate acceptance of his fate for the greater good; and in what he does to save the young boy's life near the film's end. There's even a line, uttered by Thompson's character, I think, about how the kind of person who knows they are going to die and does it willingly because it is the right think to do is the kind of person you want to keep alive.
Could there be some meditation in this story on the idea of predestination vs. freewill? I think so. In any case, Stranger Than Fiction is a terrific, thought-provoking and uplifting film. Would that Hollywood would give us more of this and less of their usual fare: uninspired, obnoxious, cookie-cutter genre movies."
All of this goes to show that I am clearly not smart enough nor perceptive enough to be writing much about movies!
Some more on "Stranger than Fiction"
Thursday November 16, 2006
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Thank-you for highlighting my comments on "Stranger than Fiction". I would like to draw your attention to something that left me with that deep sinking feeling in my gut.
Yesterday I saw an Associated Press story about the way in which the villagers of Glod, Romania were shamelessly used in the making of the film "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Here is the link to the story: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/ROMANIA_BORAT_BACKLASH?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=customwire.htm
The village of Glod (meaning mud), Romania is a very real and terribly impoverished place. The film's makers appear to have misled the villagers into believing that the film was a documentary, paid them next to nothing, and then created a "mock-umentary" out of their suffering. I laughed when I saw Borat without this knowledge. I nearly vomited on my morning paper when I read the AP article the next day. It would be as if I saw a homeless person and offered her $3.00 to sit outside her cardboard shelter in the woods, filmed her making an idiot of herself, (at my direction), under the premise that I was making a documentary on homelessness, and then I turned around and made $$$$$$$ showing it to you for your entertainment.
How would you feel? I know what I want to do. I want to send a constructive message to the people of Glod. I want to say, I didn't know how you had been used, and I would like to extend both an apology for taking pleasure in your suffering and an offering of what I paid to see this film to show you that I am deeply sorry for how you were exploited. Now if only there were an online trust -fund run through a reputable place like Beliefnet which gets many thousands of visits per day. Then those of us that feel shamed could say and do something that better reflects upon our cultural values, which includes that making fun out of the suffering of others for money is not on. Then perhaps we could teach our real "Cultural Learnings of America for Making Benefit Glorious Village of Glod."
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