Good Night, and Good Luck is a film about a very fearful time in American history. It takes place during the Cold War and the Red Scare. You might remember those from history class. It was a time when Senator McCarthy was given a free hand in accusing whomever he pleased of being a communist. Sounds kind of crazy, right? In a way I think that kind of fear and aggression can be translated into how people of Middle Eastern/Arab descent, as well as anybody looking “ethnic”, can be labeled as terrorists and be detained until proven they are not. Sounds kind of crazy, right?
I heard a lot of people describe this movie as slow and boring. To borrow a superb line from Office Space, “Ooh, uh, yeah. I’m going to have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you there.“ I really liked it. I found it very interesting, especially since it was based off of actual events.
This was both written and directed by George Clooney. Even though Clooney has done a lot of producing, this is the first movie he has written and the second one he’s directed. I think he did a fine job. In our Michael Clayton review, we talked about being somewhat disappointed in Clooney’s recent work. This would be one of those movies that stands out for me. I highly suggest this one and hope you’ve already seen it.
Rating: 
The Lives of Others is a German film about a Stasi spy who is assigned to monitoring a famous playwright and his lead actress girlfriend. Without giving away too much, the film shows how all of these characters and the decisions they make end up changing each others lives in very dramatic ways.
Something about how this film was advertised made me think it would be all about voyeurism and full of awkward sex scenes. (It doesn’t help that the DVD cover, of all things, features the couple in an intimate moment–a picture which, as far as I can remember, wasn’t even included in the film itself.) I decided it was something I could do without. But after it won the Oscar for best foreign film and received rave reviews from all sorts of trusted sources, I finally decided to give it a try. And I was glad I did.
It was thankfully nothing close to what I expected. Instead, it was a compelling story with surprising twists and turns, intelligently written and excellently performed. With conspiracies and coverups, it could almost be classified as a psychological thriller.
The film gives a unique and interesting portrait of life under communism. As the plot slowly unfolds, it becomes a story about courage, standing up for one’s beliefs, and inspiring others towards change. In the end, it forces you to ask yourself: “Am I living a life that inspires others?”
The Lives of Others was excellent.
Rating:
If you’re into documentaries I’d throw this out as a must see. The whole movie is Robert McNamara talking about when he was Secretary of Defense, things that happened in WWII and Vietnam, getting along with presidents, etc. The movie is setup as Mr. McNamara talking about some lessons he’s learned over his 85 years of existence. I can’t really say much else other than it was awesome. Here’s the lessons he presents us:
- The human race will not eliminate war in this century, but we can reduce the brutality of war - the level of killing - by adhering to the principles of a “Just War,” in particular to the principle of “proportionality.”
- The indefinite combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will lead to the destruction of nations.
- We are the most powerful nation in the world - economically, politically and militarily - and we are likely to remain so for decades ahead. But we are no omniscient. If we cannot persuade other nations with similar interests and similar values of the merits of our proposed use of that power, we should not proceed unilaterally except in the unlikely requirement to defend directly the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii.
- Moral principals are often ambiguous guides to foreign policy and defense policy, but surely we can agree that we should establish as a major goal of U.S. foreign policy and, indeed, of foreign policies across the globe: the avoidance in this century of the carnage - 160 million dead - caused by conflict in the 20th century.
- We, the richest nation in the world, have failed in our responsibility to our own poor and to the disadvantaged across the world to help them advance their welfare in the most fundamental terms of nutrition, literacy, health and employment.
- Corporate executives must recognize there is no contradiction between a soft heart and a hard head. Of course, they have responsibilities to stockholders, but they also have responsibilities to their employees, their customers and to society as a whole.
- President Kennedy believed a primary responsibility of a president - indeed “the” primary responsibility of a president - is to keep the nation out of war, if at all possible.
- War is a blunt instrument by which to settle disputes between or within nations, and economic sanctions are rarely effective. Therefore, we should build a system of jurisprudence based on the International Court - that the U.S. has refused to support - which would hold individuals responsible for crimes against humanity.
- If we are to deal effectively with terrorists across the globe, we must develop a sense of empathy - I don’t mean “sympathy,” but rather “understanding” - to counter their attacks on us and the Western World.
- One of the greatest dangers we face today is the risk that terrorists will obtain access to weapons of mass destruction as a result of the breakdown of the Non-Proliferation Regime. We in the U.S. are contributing to that breakdown.
If you want to see the best film out of Germany since “Run Lola Run,” check out “Good Bye Lenin!” and you won’t be disappointed. It’s one of those movies where from the very beginning, you just want to know what will become of it. It’s also one of those movies where you smile so much throughout it, you’d think you were going to take the characters home with you or something.
I had no idea what this movie was about and this was a good thing. So I won’t tell you anything about it either (plot-wise). I will say though it’s a film with many layers, and when each is examined, it amounts to the kind of movie that restores your faith in the coming film years. Funny? Yes. Entertaining? Yes. Enjoyable? Yes. Touching? Yes. What’s not to love about it? However I think for me, what stood out as the most memorable or unique aspect of the story in the film was watching an ordinary son care so much about his mother. The way he loves her and does everything in the world to keep her happy might very well be–dare i use the word inspiring– to a generation who often looks down on guys with such an admirable character trait. If you don’t have movie plans for Friday night…you have some now. It’s going on my list of DVD’s to buy (however, maybe that’s not saying much…considering my growing DVD collection). Ah well. Loved it! Good Night Movie-lovers!
Recent Comments