Two films diverged in the woods
And I recommend taking the one less travelled
Films
are a funny thing. The
movie that makes a big impact today may be gone from your mind tomorrow, while a quieter story can creep up on you weeks or even months later, as you start to recall scenes or dialogue that resonate with your own experiences.
DVDs not only preserve these movies, they remind us of what made them special in the first place. Take yesterday’s release of two very different films:
and of Heaven
Kingdom Me and You and Everyone We Know. Directed by Ridley Scott, Kingdom of Heaven is an epic story that takes place during the crusades and stars Orlando Bloom as a blacksmithturnedtrying to keep the peace in 12th- century Jerusalem.
Me and You is the feature film debut of actor/ writer/ director Miranda July and resists 25-wordsorless synopses. It is, roughly, the story of Richard ( John Hawkes), a taciturn shoe salesman whose wife has just left him, who meets Christine (July), a taxi driver for seniors and an artist whose quirkiness knows no bounds. Richard’s co- worker is being taunted by two sexed-up teenage girls; so is the elder of his two sons, 14-year-old Peter. Peter’s six-year-old brother, Robby, meanwhile, is carrying on sexually explicit conversations in an Internet chat room, mostly by cutting and pasting.
What makes Me and You such an astonishing film is the way July presents seemingly unscripted episodes from real life. In one scene, her character and Richard discuss what it would mean if the block-long walk they happen to be sharing were the equivalent of a life-long relationship, with the next street corner being death. They scarcely know one another, and the combination of uneasy flirtation and a longing to connect is magical. What the other characters in the film are going through amounts to variations on this theme — what are these things called sex and love, and could they possibly be related? It’s as truthful and funny as Woody Allen and Diane Keaton discussing photography in Annie Hall while subtitles spell out their emotional turmoil.
Kingdom of Heaven
is an astounding piece of moviemaking from a man who has recreated worlds from the distant past ( 2000’ s best picture winner, Gladiator) and terrifying future ( 1979’ s Alien and 1982’ s Blade Runner). The two-DVD set has a plethora of features, including a History Channel program comparing the movie with actual history, a 90minute making-of documentary and “ The Pilgrim’s Guide,” which tosses historical notes and production details atop the movie as it screens. It’s a wealth of material, necessary if you want to even begin to understand the story.
Me and You and Everyone We Know has little in the way of extra material, merely some deleted scenes. This is not because the film is any simpler or more straightforward than Scott’s opus — quite the opposite. July’s emotionally rich film is not the type of movie that can be unpacked with a making- of or even a director’s commentary. It’s a story that reveals itself slowly and keeps surprising you.
You might be happy with renting Kingdom of Heaven but Me and You
is one you’ll want to keep.