"No Country" Ending

I was not at all disappointed by the somewhat abrupt ending of No Country for Old Men. I felt that it was a highly appropriate ending when considering the overall theme of the film. Had there been a traditional final showdown between good and evil (aka Sheriff Bell and Aton Chigurh) it would have negated the deeper meaning of the film, causing it to blend right back into the thousands of dumbed down, mindless entertainment films we see on a day to day basis. Luckily, the Coen brothers took a chance and forced the audience to think for a change. 

And I'll admit, the first time I saw this movie I did not understand the ending at all. But after a second viewing, I not only enjoyed more, but I gained a firmer grasp on what the Coens were attempting to say with the ending. Granted, this is my interpretation of it. There could be several other ways to look at this scene. But this is how I see it...

So in the first dream, Sheriff Bell says that he met his father in town and he gave him some money. Then Bell mutters "I think I lost it." This last line is significant because it ridicules the idea that money is worth dying for. Bell makes money sound worthless and arbitrary. Which is what the entire plot has been based around up to this point (It could be considered the McGuffin). 

The second dream is a little more complicated, so I won't recap everything in it, but my analysis of it is this: The landscape that Bell is describing with his father in it is Heaven. But it's described as a cold and barren place. His father is wandering around with his head down and caring fire with him to keep him warm. I believe this is refuting the idea that the afterlife will make everything "ok". Bell experiences the dream-like hopefulness of Heaven, but then he "wakes up" and snaps back into reality. That's why the screen goes black in a heart-beat after Bell utters these words. It reveals the extremely sudden and anticlimactic reality of death and what occurs after the sudden blackness.

I realize this analysis of the ending is very bleak and harsh, but hey, it's the perfect ending to a very bleak and harsh film.

Making Sense of the Ending to Nashville

After watching the final scene of Nashville, I couldn't help but wonder, "what in the world just happened." Not because of the sudden shooting, but because of the following reaction in the crowd. I don't know how their society works, but in ours we tend to set aside a kind of grace period where we grieve for a murder victim. I consider grieving a form of respect for the deceased person and a way of expressing how much they will be missed. But oddly, this didn't occur in Nashville. Almost immediately after the shooting, the poor woman's corpse was quickly dragged off stage and the entertainment continued like nothing happened. Now, I understand that the crowd's quick turn around was supposed to represent the idea that "no one can bring down America." And yes, a similar patriotic reaction happened after 9/11, but not immediately. The entire world mourned for the thousands killed in 9/11 for months before the patriotic feelings kicked in. I realize that this tragedy was of a slightly smaller scale, but murder is murder no matter how many people are involved. I sure wouldn't want my life-less corpse tossed aside after being murdered so the crowd could sing some more country music. But hey, that's just me.

Gran Torino

Going into this film, I didn't expect very much. Mostly because Clint Eastwood was the main actor and let's face it, he's old. Really old. But the movie recieved good reviews so I decided to give Eastwood a chance to redeem himself.

              

I was not impressed with the first 30 minutes of the film.  Nothing significant happened plot wise that would catch the audiences attention. Clint Eastwood (Walt Kowalski) just mumbled racist comments under his breath and complained about "kids these days". I'll admit, the first couple mumbles were funny. But after the 8th, then 12th, then 20th racist comment I began to think that Eastwood attempted to base an entire movie off of a racist old man. Yes, it's a funny concept. But you can't write an entire movie around this alone. My Grandfather was also comically racist every once and a while, but if he mumbled as many racist comments in his lifetime as Clint Eastwood's character did over the course of this film, I would be concerned. I'm not saying I was offended by them in any way. I've heard my fair share of racist comments. I just felt that it got old after a while.

Luckily, about 45 minutes in, the plot began to pick up. Despite Walt's "strong opinions" of other races, he befriends a teenage asian girl (Sue) who happens to be his neighbor. Eventually, she introduces him to her brother (Thao) who is trying to avoid being forced to enter a neighborhood gang. As the film progresses, Walt becomes Thao's mentor and he teaches him how to be a man. I'll stop here so I don't accidently give anything away.

Overall this is a decent plot. I feel like it's somewhat cliche with the whole "grandpa teaching the son to be a man" thing (that is essentially the plot to the movie "Second Hand Lion") but it is still entertaining no matter what circumstance. I also feel like the ending was pretty predictable too. It really disappoints me when I figure out the ending 30 minuted before it actually happens because then there is no element of surprise at the end, which is the best part of a movie.

I know I've only said negative things about this film, but overall I would say it is worth seeing. It may contain some recycled plot lines, but hey, what movie today doesn't do that? 

I would like to know what you guys thought of the movie. If you liked it, please explain why and if you disagree with any of my comments don't hesitate to prove me wrong. I'm up for some discussion.