Scary Bunny in “Donnie Darko”- Spoiler!

The cult classic “Donnie Darko” is smart, inventive, and provocative. Made on a shoestring budget, it stars Jake Gyllenhaal, as well as his sister Maggie who incidentally (or perhaps not) plays his sister in the film. If you’ve seen the film, you either love it or hate it. It’s a dark film, does not have a “happy ending”, and is rather strange. The director’s cut tries to explain things a bit better, but many think the movie is much better in its original version, as the ambiguity lends itself to the enjoyment of the film. It’s probably best to watch it twice before making a judgment, as the plot is rather complex.

Donnie is, more or less, a fairly normal kid struggling with borderline schizophrenia. His visions of a tall devilish bunny giving him apocalyptic warnings may be in his head, or may be real. This bunny did save him from a falling jet engine of mysterious origins as it crash lands in his bedroom. As the plot unfolds, the countdown to the end of the world gets closer and closer and the stakes get higher and higher. The destructive pranks that the devilish bunny tells him to complete only add to the mystery of what’s going on. Is this Donnie’s mental illness, or will the world really end on Halloween if he doesn’t break into his high school and flood it?

Donnie completes each task as he tries to live out his day to day life. Not knowing what’s going to happen, he hopes that his actions will help stop the world from ending. He’s probably motivated by the fact that he just got a girlfriend, Gretchen, and he doesn’t want to die a virgin. In any case, at the end of the film, he does all that is asked of him. As he completes his last task, time rewinds and Donnie finds himself in his room, moments before the fateful crash that the bunny had saved him from.

Donnie sacrifices himself, and the entire month of experiences that he had. Gretchen never met him. The world is safe, but at Donnie’s expense. When I saw the film for the first time, I wanted Donnie to run out of the room. I wanted him to live, to re-meet Gretchen and live his life. No such luck. It’s sad, but his death was necessary for the survival of the world. I just wish it could have been saved another way.

Who is “The Machinist”?

Trevor Reznik has a problem. He hasn’t slept in a year. So begins 2004’s “The Machinist”, a hallucinatory trip down crazyville. For his role as Reznik, Christian Bale lost 63 pound, and it shows! One might think that some CG or camera trick was employed to make him look so emaciated, but his gaunt cheeks and bony body were the real deal. Bale reportedly ate a can of tuna and an apple a day to lose the weight that he did. Behind the scenes film trivia aside, the film is a powerful depiction of a man searching for answers. It’s much more about why he can’t sleep, and we’re taken on a psychological roller coaster as Reznik pieces together his own story. Mysterious clues along the way help both he and the viewer to figure out what’s going on, and by the end he’s faced with a choice that determines not only his fate, but the fate of others.

The pieces of the puzzle are nebulous. There’s the disturbing coworker who drives a red Mustang, both of which may or may not exist. There’s a picture of two men fishing. There’s Reznik’s relationship with a Spanish waitress, as well as her son. There’s a game of hangman that keep showing up on the door of his fridge, changing as he plays the game. Throughout the film, there are times when Reznik is faced with a decision- go left down a dark pathway or go right toward the light. He consistently chooses the left. There’s an eerie carnival ride that mirrors his life a little too closely. All of these are clues to the answer of Reznik’s problem.

Reznik’s search for answers ultimately results in revealing a secret he had been hiding, even from himself. His long term insomnia has caused some serious memory loss, and our protagonist’s answer lies in remembering a forgotten event. Like Reznik, we too can have amnesia, although it’s usually self-induced. I’m sure part of the reason we busy ourselves with social networking, workaholism, or hobbies is so that we won’t think about our problems. For example, when I was going through a rough time in my life I asked my boss for a personal day off. He suggested that I immerse myself in my work instead, saying that it helped him feel better if he distracted himself when he was struggling with a personal issue. It’s this attitude and practice that causes us not to examine ourselves when life gets rough. What would it look like for us if we spent 5 minutes alone with ourselves? I’m sure all sorts of things would bubble to the surface, as it does in the finale of “The Machinist”. What does Reznik do when faced with the truth? You’ll have to watch to find out.

When Redemption Costs a “Blood Diamond”

“Blood Diamond” was billed as an adventurous thrill ride about a pricey “blood diamond”. The film has Leonardo DiCaprio (He’s been in every good movie for a long time.) and Djimon Hounsou (He's a slave in the movie Gladiator.), both outstanding actors. Many went to see a good action movie. Many came from the film with a better understanding of sacrificial love.

The intense violence portrayed in South Africa was barbaric, where people's hands were chopped off and child soldiers were conscripted to kill innocent villagers with fully automatic weapons. The horrible atrocities portrayed in the movie aren't just dramatizations; parts of Africa are very much like what is shown in the film. Something has to be done about human rights violations in those countries, but that's a different conversation.

In the movie, Solomon Vandy (played by Hounsou) is on a desperate mission to save his son Dia, who has been abducted and forced to serve as a child soldier in a guerrilla army. Dia has been brainwashed to follow his superiors and kill whoever and whenever at their command. This has been accomplished by telling Dia and his co-child soldiers that their parents hate them and that the army is there for them, to provide for them and make them men. Dia has completely rejected Solomon as a father, and has fully taken on the false identity given him by his commander. This does not deter Solomon, however, even when Dia points a gun at his own father. Solomon deeply loves his son, and will stop at nothing, even death, to let his son know this. Solomon’s speech to his son is deeply moving:

Solomom Vandy: "Dia, What are you doing? Dia! Look at me, look at me. What are you doing? You are Dia Vandy, of the proud Mende tribe. You are a good boy who loves soccer and school. Your mother loves you so much. She waits by the fire making plantains, and red palm oil stew with your sister N'Yanda and the new baby. The cows wait for you. And Babu, the wild dog who minds no one but you. I know they made you do bad things, but you are not a bad boy. I am your father who loves you. And you will come home with me and be my son again."

Solomon gives Dia his true identity back, and gives him assurance that he is part of the family and has a safe home where he belongs. Dia has a specific and special place in his family, and it’s a tragic loss if he isn’t a part of it. Dia has always been, and always will be Solomon’s son. Nothing changes that.

This is redemption at its core: We’ve done terrible things not based on our identity but based on lies, and we have a chance to leave those lies for the truth of love, acceptance, and forgiveness. However, to do so takes incredible sacrifice; a sacrifice that proves that we are loved and cherished despite the fact that we have shown hate to our Father.

A Fun “Night at the Museum”

An all star cast. A Jumanji-like world. A monkey slapping Ben Stiller. Sounds like a recipe for a huge flop. The enjoyable “Night at the Museum”, however, was not! How could a film be bad when Dick Van Dyke is in it? He was great to watch. Robin Williams also did a great performance (Relax! I'm wax!), but this really isn't about a love for outrageous characters in a family film.

Ben Stiller plays a dreamer who hasn't worked a real job most of his life. In order to spend time with his son, his ex-wife gives him an ultimatum to get a job. Grudgingly, Stiller signs up to be a security guard for the night shift at the Museum of Natural . . . whatever. A boring job, right? That's what he thinks, until the T-Rex skeleton wants to play fetch!

Some of us have pretty lofty goals, much like Stiller in the beginning of the movie. However, Stiller took a "lame" job, and that's where he found his purpose and adventure. This may be reaching here (and life doesn't always end up this way), but perhaps we miss life because our perspective is off. Maybe the adventure will come in the mundane, in the "lame" job we refuse to do because we want something "better."

Maybe it’s time to admit we’re wrong, get a “boring” job, and see how exciting life really can be!

Wanting Free in “Amistad”

Any epic that deals with slavery is bound to be heart wrenching, and “Amistad” is no exception. The film boasts a pretty impressive all star cast (including Djimon Housou in his first starring role), and is expertly directed by Steven Spielberg. The movie had some pretty incredible scenes, including an amazing presentation of the Gospel in picture format. Never underestimate the power of pictures to tell a story! Christianity was also used as the reason in defense of the Africans on trial, which is surprising since blockbusters tend to stay away from religious material that is unpopular in mainstream America.

Since the Africans did not know English, they had no idea what was being said about them. There was a translator, but his efforts to communicate between the Americans and the native Africans were hampered by cultural misunderstandings. However, the Africans did hear an English word enough times to understand its meaning: freedom. In a particularly moving courtroom scene, the Africans start chanting, “We want free! We want free! We want free!” Their passion for freedom at the hand of their captors was palatable.

In the film, it was apparent that the majority of whites at that time did not view Africans as equally human, and treated them savagely, having a violent disregard for their lives. The conditions on the slave ships were beyond appalling, and the movie most likely didn't truly depict what it was really like. It’s hard to imagine how someone could have the capability of being so evil as to drown women and children the way they did on slave ships. More appalling is that slavery and inhumane treatment still occurs today. Forced prostitution, child soldiers, and slavery are still modern blights in the world. Although slavery is currently illegal, and in mainstream society unacceptable, human trafficking still occurs. Why do people think that they can enslave others, whose unalienable right is freedom?

Amistad dealt with the issue of American slavery very well, and it was obvious that the point of the film was to shed light on part of America’s dubious past.