Seeing a message in movies
THE letter “In support of ban on movie” (The Star, Feb 13) reminds me of English filmmaker and screenwriter Bernard Rose, who gained a reputation for making movies about historical personalities not to report history but to drive home a message.
In his 1994 film Immortal Beloved, which is loosely based on the life of German music composer Ludwig van Beethoven, the message is to inform viewers of the sheer agony a person with a disability endures.
Towards the end of the movie, Beethoven (played by outstanding British actor Gary Oldman) is seen directing the orchestra while they execute his latest composition. At the end of the concert, Beethoven turns towards the audience who gives him a standing ovation. He smiles although he cannot hear them. An echo-like sound penetrating his ears perfectly impresses on the viewer the consternation, loneliness and hopelessness Beethoven feels despite his great success.
None of the events in the movie may have actually happened, and yet I think that if the caregiver of a disabled person were to watch it, he/she would gain a new insight into what living with an incurable disability means and would then do a better job of taking care of their charges.
Another work of fiction from Rose is the 2013 drama The Devil’s Violinist, which is very loosely based on the life of Italian violin virtuoso and composer Niccolo’ Paganini. The screenwriter takes such ample “poetic licence” with Paganini’s life story that even the most liberal film censorship board would have a problem passing this movie for general viewing. But again, the story line is intended to drive home a message, and it is highly successful in doing so.
Paganini was notably a womaniser and gambler. There is one scene in the movie when, at the gambling table after having lost all his money, he offers his violin as a surety for the next bet. That’s certainly a very strong portrayal of what addiction can do to a person.
I’m not saying the movie would rehabilitate gamblers and womanisers but it is certainly food for thought to anyone who engages in such activities without restraint.
There are many other movies that are entirely fictional but still have the power to inspire the viewer. In the 2006 romantic comedy Failure to Launch, starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker, an elderly couple hire a relationship expert to help their grown-up son Tripp move out of their house so that they can completely enjoy their privacy.
As the story moves along, we learn that Tripp’s father likes to walk naked around the house. He knows this might be wrong but he can’t help himself. Thus, the father’s desire to have his son move out of the family home is also related to his personal need for space and freedom.
The father does not want his son to see behaviour which is unusual, to say the least, so he wants his private space to indulge in being who he is.
I recently watched another movie with a message, the 1989 French-American drama Valmont starring Colin Firth and Annette Bening.
Based on an 18th Century French novel, the events in this movie are entirely fictional but it contains a powerful message. Every scene, no matter how outrageous, has the purpose of delivering the message to the audience effectively.
The protagonist (Valmont) knows his behaviour is not the best yet he cannot resist the compulsion to act it out. But in the end, he proves to be an honourable character who, despite his many love interests, is still capable of true love and wishes for nothing more than to be given an opportunity to be faithful.
The woman whom he truly loves does not accept him back after he betrayed her, and refuses to accept his apologies or to believe that men can ever change.
Indeed, throughout the movie Valmont keeps repeating the line “can men change”? His former lover does not believe they can and that’s why she does not want him back.
On our part, we do try hard to get rid of those aspects of our behaviour we do not like but for some unknown reasons, we still indulge in them.
The mark of a good story, book, movie or any other piece of art is that you always see a part of yourself in it. In so doing, you sense that you are not alone in your “disability” or “vice” or “solitude” and so there is hope.
Your problem may be so unique, strange or unbelievable that you dare not confide to anyone about it. So, if you happen to read a book or watch a movie where the characters are more or less in your situation, you may no longer feel so constrained.
I have not seen Padmaavat and have never heard of Sultan Alauddin Khilji. But from the writer’s explanation, I would say Bollywood tried to make a movie that was not only reminiscent of historical facts but also commercially viable.
It takes an open mind, general knowledge, a desire to learn, and a certain degree of maturity to accept artistic representation. If the film censors are constantly up to protecting viewers from exposure to contentious materials, one wonders how maturity of thought and acceptance of different points of views and interpretations, which are necessary for peaceful coexistence, will ever be achieved by the general population. MARISA DEMORI Putrajaya