Contour At The Movies

Overall Impression – A great and exciting action adventure movie that blew me away when I saw it for the first time in the 80’s, and it holds up even today.

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Who’s your main character? – Indiana Jones

What’s he trying to accomplish? – Professional: Find the Ark of the Covenant before the Germans do. Personal: Fix his relationship with Marion. Private: He doesn’t believe in ancient curses or superstitions…and this belief will be challenged at the very end of  the story.

Who’s trying to stop him? – Belloq and the German Soldiers.

What happens if he fails? — If Indy fails, the Ark will be in hands of Hitler which could give him and his army of German soldiers a great power and make them the strongest force on the planet (according to the biblical stories), also, a great artifact (the Ark) that belongs in a museum would be lost, and Marion, the woman he loves, would be harmed or killed.

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Orphan — Indy had a relationship with Marion in the past but broke up with her in a way that apparently wasn’t very gentle, something that is made clear when they meet again after many years. Marion is still angry with him and her first reaction when she sees him is whacking him in the face.

Wanderer — Indy is searching for the headpiece to the Staff of Ra, whose crystal will allow him to determine the exact location of the Ark. He flies to Nepal, goes to Egypt, and eventually discovers where the ark is buried.  

Warrior — Indy digs for the ark, right under the noses of the Germans soldiers and Belloq.  He finds the Ark, and then gets locked up in this same room by Belloq who takes the Ark from him. Indy escapes and has to get the Ark back from Belloq and his fellow Germans soldiers, who have also now taken Marion.

Martyr — Indy risks his own life and seems willing to blow up the Ark of the Covenant to save Marion.  

AND, IN THE END…

The wanderer and Warrior stages in this movie are easily to spot. It’s a different story with the Orphan and Martyr. How is he an orphan? He is an archaeologist, a teacher and has friends and as far I can see he’s not emotional very scrutinized. He is not being disrespected, living in a place he is not welcome, all typical Orphan stages. So how is he an orphan? It’s there though. I discovered it when I realized that he had a relation with Marion in the past and that it ended badly.

The Martyr stage is in my opinion the moment he wants to sacrifice the Ark to save Marion. But I still have the feeling that there is a martyr moment in the last scene as well where he tells Marion to close her eyes while the Ark is being opened and everybody around them is being killed by the power of God. It is a Martyr moment in that he must give up seeing the most amazing archeological event of all time in order to finally believe what he never dared believe before…that the ancient wisdom had truth and power behind it.  

–  André van Haren

Overall Impression – In my eyes, a beautiful movie that gets me every time I watch it. Especially those two scenes in which Samuel watches the ultra sound tape and when he asks Rebecca to marry him in the hospital. Or is it the music that does it?

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Who’s your main character? — Samuel

What’s he trying to accomplish? – Professional: Figure out how to be both good in a relationship and a good (potential) father.  Personal: Samuel doesn’t want to change his stable life and doesn’t want to get married and have children.  Private: Not be someone his child will hate when he or she grows up.

Who’s trying to stop him? – Rebecca

What happens if he fails? — Samuel will stuck in an unstable, child-like likfe and lose the one woman who really loves him…as well as his unborn child..

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Orphan –  Samuel is in a five-year relationship with Rebecca. She lets him know that she would like to get married and have children. He, however, says that he prefers having a stable life. They have everything they want: a good job, a good house and a nice sport car, why risk that? Samuel shows here that he is an emotional orphan.

Wanderer — Rebecca tells Samuel that she is pregnant. He is shocked. It becomes clear that they have to make changes in their life.  He he has to sell the sports car, something he doesn’t want to do.  Also, his cat will have to go, something else he doesn’t want to do.  Samuel tries to learn the rules of how to leave his old life behind.  When Samule forgets an ultrasound appointment, Rebecca leaves him. 

 Warrior –  Samuel watches the video recording of the ultrasound of the baby and finally gets it: he is in love with the baby and feels ready to be fully committed to change. Samuel tries to convince Rebecca that he is ready to be a father. She doesn’t want to believe him. He asks his friend to arrange a meeting with her in the park but then hears that Rebecca had to go to the hospital.

Martyr — In the hospital, Samuel tells her that he is sorry for his behavior and that he is a changed man. He tells her that he sold his sport car for a family car. He even says. “I don’t care about myself anymore, I only care about the baby.”

AND, IN THE END…

This is a movie about change. What Samuel really wants in the beginning of the movie is his current life. What he wants at the end of the movie is to be a father and having a family. He gets what he really needed and not what he wanted: he gives up his playful youthful life and becomes an adult.

This fits very well into the idea of “what is your main character WRONG about at the start of the movie.”  The rest of the movie sets about answering this question.  In NINE MONTHS, Samuel is wrong about thinking that he can be a child forever.  Sooner or later, everyone has to grow up.

–  André van Haren

Overall Impression – An impressive film, can’t get enough of it. One of the best movies of the famous composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, ever made… in my opinion.

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Who’s your main character? — Salieri

What’s he trying to accomplish? – Professional: Prove that he’s a superior musician to Mozart.  Personal: Destroy Mozart’s and prevent him from getting a job at the court. Private: Punish God by destroying His creation, Mozart.

Who’s trying to stop him? – God (according to Salieri)

What happens if he fails? — Salieri will be a frustrated composer who will always feel that he’s a mediocre failure.

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Orphan — Salieri is an unhappy child. He wants to be a great composer. His father, however, doesn’t allow him to study music and so, Salieri prays to God to make him a great composer.

Wanderer — Salieri’s wish is granted, according to himself. His father dies and Salieri travels to Vienna to study music. Some years later, he becomes the court composer of Emperor Joseph of Austria. Salieri is happy being a famous composer, until he meets Mozart.  He recognizes in Mozart real genius, and tries to figure out how channel and control Mozart without letting on to the rest of the court that Mozart’s music is superior to his own. 

 Warrior – Salieri is angry at God because He gave not him, but “a monkey”, the bigger musical gift.  It is as if God is laughing at him!  From now on, he and God are enemies. He decides to destroy God’s creation by first ordering a beautiful requiem from Mozart and then kill him. During Mozart’s funeral he then will perform this requiem under his own name so the whole world will know that he, Salieri, is the greatest composer that ever lived!

Martyr — As Mozart lies dying, Salieri helps him work on his Requiem, seemingly softening on and almost willing to give up his vengeance (the martyr moment), showing a real tenderness and appreciation to the man and his talent that he’s destroying.  Still, it’s not enough and Mozart dies.  Many years later, now an old man, Salieri tries to kill himself, asking Mozart for forgiveness. He adored Mozart, it was God he hated!

AND, IN THE END…

I have seen this movie so many times since it came out many years ago and never realized that it is in fact about Salieri and his struggle with God. It’s however great to see how Mozart does his tricks, like hearing a musical piece only once and then performing it even better than Salieri wrote it in the first place! And what about the scene in which he improvises on a given melody in the style of other composers; beautiful!

– André van Haren

Overall Impression – My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a great romantic comedy which I’ve enjoyed many times and still like to watch.  At the same time, I always get the feeling that something is missing.

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Who’s your main character? – Toula.

What’s she trying to accomplish? – Professional: Get married.  Personal: Get her family, particularly her father, to accept Ian, a non-Greek, into the family.  Private: Get away from the restaurant and have a fulfilling life.

Who’s trying to stop her? – Gus, her father.

What happens if she fails? — Toula will be unhappy. Not living with the man she loves and being stuck in the restaurant will make her life empty, without any meaning. In other words…figuratively DEAD!

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Orphan — Toula is a single 30-year-old woman, working in her family’s restaurant, the “Dancing Zorba’s”. She feels that she is missing out on life and is afraid that this might be it. Toula would like to study at the City College so she could get away from the restaurant, but dares only to secretly dream about this.

Wanderer — Meeting a high-school teacher, Ian Miller, makes her wish to study even stronger.  With her mother’s help they convince her father that taking computer classes would improve the restaurant business. Starting this course, she changes her appearance totally: contact lenses instead of glasses; wearing make-up and nice clothes. She takes a class in computers and tourism. Knowing that her aunt has a travel agency, she decides to take this class, hoping she can work there, this way escaping the restaurant. Together with her aunt and her mother, they manipulate the situation letting her father think that it was his brilliant idea of sending Toula to work at the aunt’s travel agency.

Warrior — At her new job, she meets Ian Miller again. They start a relationship in secret, behind her family’s back, because they would never approve her dating a non-Greek. However, her cousin Nikki tells her that the family knows: a neighbor saw them together. Ian asks Toula’s father permission to date her, but he refuses. They however stay together, become more intimate as time goes on. Ian proposes, and the father accepts their coming marriage, although not without complaint. To make it easier for the family, Ian (who is not religious anyway) converts to the Greek orthodox faith.

 Martyr — Trying to please the family, Ian converts to Greek orthodox. For his part, Gus gives in and accepts Ian.  It doesn’t appear that Toula sacrifices much, if anything.

 AND, IN THE END…

Is Toula giving up something in the end? Or is it Ian who asks the father if it’s OK to date her (taking her fight), converts to the Greek orthodox faith to please the father (changing his religion)? Ian even tries to learn their language. It seems to me that during the warrior part, it’s Iam who is the hero and not Toula. During the wedding, it’s the Millers who adapt themselves and start to enjoy the Greek partying lifestyle, and it is Gus who accepts the differences between the families by saying that even while we are different fruits (apple and orange), we are all still fruit.  Maybe this is why I feel something’s missing: Toula isn’t actively driving several of the key moments.

– André van Haren