Violence begets violence

Warning: This posting contains a plot spoiler.

Yesterday, I saw the British film Harry Brown,
directed by Daniel Barber and starring Michael Caine. Gary Young wrote the screenplay.

Although critics have claimed this is one of Caine's finest roles, I found the film chilling and terrifying and have several issues with it.

That said, there is no doubt that it is brilliantly shot in the dingiest of colours and settings, which only adds weight to the sombre story. I loved the close-ups of:

- Michael's feet shot from behind under the bed as he laces up his highly-polished shoes, suggesting he is a respectable man who takes pride in his appearance (my mother always told me to check a man's shoes!)

- his breakfast toast, which he lavishly spreads with blackcurrant jam, implying a man who leads a normal, quiet if banal life.

The music which accompanies some of the more suspenseful scenes is spine-chilling. The dialogue throughout is brilliant.

However, the film is so terribly violent - yes, I know it's supposed to be - I had to look away several times or bury my head in my scarf, and it seems to glorify war, killing, and taking the law into one's own hands. Perhaps this was the writer's and director's intention - to question the validity of doing the latter.

The message seems to be that the police force is an incompetent, impotent organisation, which will falsely take the credit for cleaning up a violent neighbourhood, so it's okay to play vigilante. True: many good, innocent people, including dedicated police officers, die at the hands of drug-dealing/taking and gun-wielding youths who control the London housing estate where they live, which, in the end, becomes a peaceful, habitable neighbourhood.

However, I don't think that Caine's character - Harry Brown - should, or indeed, could have survived the whole ordeal. It was too happy clappy Hollywood for me. There is no doubt that he does not advocate violence for violence sake, he has served his country well in the Marine Commandoes, and acts out of the best intentions, the catalyst being when his long-time friend is killed by the local gang. The audience is also shown what a humanitarian he is when he rescues a young girl addicted to heroin, who is kept in a drug-induced state by her boyfriend pimp and dealer/addict for his sadistic and other's pleasure. One of Caine's lines which stood out for me was: 'In Ireland people were fighting for a cause. [Not sure which side he is referring to here - or maybe both.] To these people killing is just entertainment.'

I also have concerns that disenfranchised youth who might view the film think the youths in the film are role models.

Throughout the film I was reminded of Kristallnacht. On hearing of his family's expulsion by the Nazis from Poland (and I understood the rape of his mother), a youth living in Paris, goes to the German Embassy and in retaliation shoots a diplomat. This set off the incident of Kristallnacht , where the Nazi regime gave German youth licence to destroy, burn and loot Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues. While the young Pole's anguish and actions are understandable, his one violent act set off a series of much more violent and serious acts against his people.

Confirmation or coincidence?

I recently went to see the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which as most of you will know is the screen version of Stieg Larsson's novel by the same name. (As an aside, it is intriguing that the original Swedish title 'Men Who Hate Women' was not adopted for the English-speaking audience in either the print or film version. Is this a cultural 'thing'? I must say I don't think it would have attracted many English-speaking people to either read the book or view the movie.)

Nevertheless, the main point I want to make in this posting is that I wrote a scene (rather badly) for my novel, and nearly jumped out of my seat when there is my scene played out large as life on the screen. I'd like to add here and now, rather ashamedly, that I had not read any of Larsson's post-humously published novels, let alone seen this film before writing my scene. Again, is this one of those 'signs' that I am on the right track? (See previous posting.)

Another admission I'd like to make is that I seem to be developing a bad habit of seeing a film before reading the book upon which it is based - or is it that film producers are bringing out their wares earlier and earlier? What do you think?

Dorjee Sun

Do you know Djoree Sun?. Before I even heard him speak, when he delivered the key note address at the recent Asia Education Foundation National Summit in Sydney, which I was privileged to attend, his name alone spoke to me of an unusual person. When I googled his name I learnt it is of Tibetan origin and means 'thunderbolt'. And that is exactly what he is, although he has been variously described as 'international dreamer', 'a social entrepreneur', 'one of the nation's youngest achievers', 'a carbon-trading entrepreneur' and so on.

As soon as he began to speak I realised he was the instigator behind the documentary The Burning Season, which, among other issues, brought the plight of the orangutans to the world's attention.

His many achievements are too numerous to mention here, but listening to him speak confirmed my zeal, that, as writers, whether of screen, theatre, fiction, non-fiction, we can also focus our audiences' attention on 'things that need fixing', and that no subject matter is too hard or too dangerous to tackle.

“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
Albert Einstein

The boys are back

Was really going to post this as a review on my website but that still needs a bit more building - well, quite a lot actually.
Last night I went to see a preview of the film, which is the title of this post, at my lovely art deco cinema. It was directed by Australian Scott Hicks, famous, among others films, for 'Shine', and 'Snow falling on cedars', and who was present for a Q&A session after the film.
This film is a must see. It is based on the true life memoirs (can memoirs be anything else but true - yeah I guess so) of Simon Carr, a New Zealander, who was widowed in his 30s, when his second wife died of cancer leaving him with a young son to bring up. He also has a son by his first wife, who both live in England. Don't stop reading now guys - this film has everything: humour, emotion, sport, a bit of fisticuffs,(sorry no sex to speak of) but really is one for the boys as well as the girls. As Scott said he likes stories which draw on family and complex relationships, an undying source of material to which we all, as writers or filmmakers, have access. It also showcases the music of Icelandic band Sigur Ros, who normally refuse to allow their music to be reproduced in any context. However, Scott took the film to Iceland to show them, forewarned by his son that these were "the coolest people on the planet", so in other words don't stuff it up! The band loved the film and agreed to let Scott use their music. The screenplay was set in Australia and filmed in South Australia - Scott's home state, although he now spends most of his time in the US. It is an Australian and BBC co-production, and stars that gorgeous hunk of a British film star Clive Owen, with his just off posh London accent and plenty of close-ups of his deep eyes. The cinematography is a visual feast. One comment by Scott, which really resonated with me, was that he wanted to show emotion without sentimentality, which he certainly achieved. More than can be said for the screen version of the book 'The Time Traveller's Wife'. I was sooooo disappointed with this film - it was pure Hollywood, and although Australian Eric Bana, who played the lead, is good eye candy, there really is only so much of him in the nude a girl can take. What does Hollywood do to our talented actors? They become plasticised and their work becomes souless, cf Nicole Kidman. I remember Eric Bana in the Australian film Romulus my father,a far superior film to The Time Traveller's Wife, as is The Boys are Back.

Click to listen to interviews with Scott Hicks.

If you would like to read more reviews of movies and books, go to my website in a couple of days.

Can the blah on your blog lead to publication?

Have you seen the film 'Julie and Julia'? Yes, I know it's a bit of a chick flick, but it is based on a true story, which led me to pose the question, 'Can the blah on your blog lead to publication?'. In Julie Powell's case the answer is yes, but why was her blog so successful? I'd welcome your thoughts and views on this. For my part, I think it was because she was passionate about her subject matter - cooking. She also set herself a challenge - to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days (so you see the countdown gadget has a valid function). Her followers could empathise with the ups and downs of her day, her triumphs and disasters in the kitchen, as well as drool over the mouth watering recipes. Apparently some of the passages in her published book were taken verbatim from her blog as were some comments from her followers.

To find out more about the film, go to:
Julie and Julia
www.julieandjulia.com

To find out more about the book, go to:
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen
http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-031610969x-0