Okay, so I watched these movies while computing. I don’t think I really like the divided attention aspect of it. I’d much prefer to snuggle up with a warm man than a warm laptop while watching these movies, but I digress.
I’m interleaving the AFI top 100 (and I’m starting at the top) with the rest of my netflix queue. So, I watched citizen kane. A child given up by his parents turns into a total playboy dilettante with too much power and no sense of self. Tragedy ensues. I expected something more upbeat, actually. It reminds me a bit of the movie election. There’s no one in the movie that one can really love. (Well, not with the degree of attention I was paying). But the lack of identity formed a theme with the second movie, which also contained unexpected content. It also reminds me a bit of Mad Men (I saw a few episodes with in SF. Citizen Kane was very well done. The main character seemed almost unbelievable in his faults, and the movie is clearly overdone in many regards, but I can still see why it made it on the top 100 list.
The second movie was The Namesake (not on the AFI top 100, to be clear). It’s about two generations of Indian immigrants. And it is a study in values contrasts. And in personal growth and change. I identified with the main character in his lack of sense of self, though not in some of how it comes out. I had much, much more trouble identifying with Mr. Kane. It’s not a movie that’s full of surprises, but it is full of very well done, touching moments and those moments of cultural insight. Like when the mother in the story explains why she picked the father. Her reasons are impersonal, one is simple and practical, and the other is whimsical, and nearly absurd. And then she says, basically, “were you expecting the American answer? That I loved you?” with a teasing, and slightly disdainful humor. While she may not have started off loving him, the character in the movie certainly grew to love him. It reminds me to re-examine the notion of finding “the perfect mate”. Especially in contrast to the equally plausible story offered by the son’s experience. The Namesake is decidedly more upbeat, though hardly unreservedly so. It’s hard to categorize as tragedy or comedy in the classic sense (definitely not comedy in the modern sense). It’s like life that way, and I think that says much in favor of the film.
Both good movies, both recommended. Neither light and fluffy fare. Both worth watching.