Sunday, January 01, 2006
King Kong
Nothing much has changed from Chennai. I still go to the movies by myself!
Yet, I'd prefer that anyday to watching a film 'alone', however big the home telly is.
Anyway, not since the Indiana Jones films, especially since Raiders... have I enjoyed an adventure story this much. Even though I am only a moderately mad fan of the Lord of the Rings films, Peter Jackson's filmmaking expertise took my fancy in one scene where Gollum has a heated argument with himself.
Getting back to Kong; while I don't find a constantly roving camera, mood music and quick cuts to be terribly creative cinematically, once Jackson has you sucked into the narrative with exceptional use of the medium (I have to admit, last admired in Spider-Man), these minor aberrations become as insignificant as the far-fetched fantasies of lost tribes and dinosaurs. Much the same reasons for the success of the Spielberg films.
Even the violent sense of humour is a-la Spielberg, but Jackson's film goes beyond that. He does not begin the film with the hero dramatically extricating himself from the jaws of death, but instead chooses little vignettes of poverty and social gloom: very gently told without much melodrama, that you begin to wonder if this film is a glorious escapist adventure at all. This Jackson reiterates with a gruesome death of a nice character every few minutes or so.
The remarks by one kid leaving the packed cinema at the end of it summarised it well: "It was too dark man... it was too dark!"
King Kong lost its nice sense of humour halfway through and ended up taking itself too seriously. I would not fault this as this only appears to be the deliberate intention of the filmmakers. I can only admire the way they were able to suck the audience so well into the film that they could even afford to dispense with a glorious Spielberg ending for what comes in the guise of an Indiana Jones film.
Comments to King Kong
And Chennai would gladly welcome you back, as it awaits for a director with "talent" like you.
posted by 
Ari
Wishing you a happy new year. Are you back in chennai.
posted by 
hey anand...
I am in chennai on the 12th...and there till 23rd. Lets meet! Maybe we can catch up with some movie!!
MaheshC.
posted by mash
Post a Comment
