Now and then a serious film comes along in which the proceedings are so abhorrent that objectivity is challenged. I’m not talking about the over the top violence of certain foreign flicks created as strict entertainment, but those that explore the dark side of human nature in depth and in a realistic tone. I thought 8MM (1999) was a good film, although it focused on the sexually depraved. Most reviews were negative. It is the only work of Joel Schumacher I think is above average. Last night I watched Graceland (2012), a Filipino production, courtesy of Netflix. It is the story of the lengths desperate men will go to in order to achieve an end, a theme explored in 7 Boxes (2012), a Paraguayan production I recently viewed. The grimness of that film was allayed considerably by the likeability of the teenage leads and a quirky plot. Graceland is completely uncompromising, downbeat from start to finish, almost entirely ugly, yet I was absorbed, viewing its 90+ minutes without pause. Karma is another of its themes. I know almost nothing about life in the Philippines. I don’t think the director, Ron Morales, who also wrote the screenplay, is making a blanket statement about the country. An ex-co-worker has spent more than a month there and continuously posts pictures on his Facebook page which project beauty and happiness. Anyway, I think Graceland is good work despite its ugliness. I’m not sure I understood all the plot elements, as the subtitles were tiny and frequently lost in the background. I don’t understand how this occurs in this age of technical marvels. I don't understand what the title signifies. My guess is it refers to spirituality. 886 users have rated the film at IMDb, forging to a consensus of 6.7 of ten. I rate it 3.5 of five. This was Morales’ second film. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here. Anyone turned off by gritty, hardcore material should pass. There are many films more violent and more sexually explicit than this one, but few approach its grittiness.
I got a kick out of this week's episode of ABC's Motive, a crime show that reveals the killer in the first few minutes. The victim was a successful author of mysteries who stole the manuscript of the perpetrator and had published under her own name. Poetic justice, I suppose.
When Lev approached the floating book shop today I was sure he'd pass on my wares. As he was thumbing through the sex manual in Russian, a dude pulled up to the bus stop, opened his hatch, and gave me a large bag of books, half in Russian. Lev bought the manual and ten others. My thanks, gentlemen, and to the other kind folks who made purchases.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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