A COUNTRY - AND A MAN COMING OF AGE... WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF "THE BUTLER"

I was surprised as anyone when this film didn’t so much as get a nod for the Oscars®- and this was even before I had seen it. I mean obviously having a star-studded cast is absolutely no guarantee of a successful film but it’s such a wonderful “behind the scenes” story of one of the most important parts of American history that I was sure it would get a nomination at least if not an award or two. Oh well. The Academy works in mysterious ways sometimes. Having watched the film, my admiration for it has only grown. It is a great historical narrative, but at the same time a very sensitive story about how hard it can be to keep up with the changing times and how a person can truly grow at any age.

The Butler is the story of Cecil Gaines who served no less than eight presidents during his tenure there as butler. It was a fascinating time as Gaines had the opportunity to witness presidents making earth shattering, life changing decisions in “real time”. But on the other hand, at home, life is not so simple for an African – American family because racism is still rife and Cecil’s eldest son, Louis, is getting more and more involved in the ever-growing civil rights movements which worries his mother (Oprah Winfrey) and angers his father to the point of causing a serious rift in the family. Cecil is an old-fashioned fellow who can see that things could be a lot better but does not believe in violently bucking the system. He has faith in the system, if they give it a chance, no doubt it will work out for them in the end. The question is, what will it take for Cecil and Louis to reach middle ground?

I can see what one piece of criticism levelled at this film could legitimately be : that it has all been done before. The film touched me to the core of my soul in some bits, but you actually could argue that it is lacking that spark that extra piece of originality that “umph” factor… I mean so many films go over the trope of the older character that is set in his ways and learning from a younger character. The younger character also learns from the older, the two of them eventually meet at a harmonious middle ground. In this film it is no different. (SPOILER ALERT SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH) – Louis, Cecil’s son puts aside the Black Panthers type protesting and actually becomes a politician, changing the system from within. Cecil on the other hand, well into middle age, joins his first ever protest. There is something very “we have seen all this before” about the whole affair, especially if you’re a major Hollywood fan.

But then again, and I have mentioned this before, if you go to a film solely hoping to see something you have never seen before, you’re in for a long series of disappointments. At the end of the day, a “completely” original story is very, very hard to find these days and this should not, in my opinion, be the sole criteria of enjoyment for a film. There are some wonderful juxtapositions in this film that I found particularly touching. I mean, it may be because I work in events myself -  my job isn’t that far removed from that of a butler – so I find it easy to sympathize. One of my favourite such scenes occurs in the first half of the film when Louis joins one of his first protest movements : along with a group of African-American students and others who are anti-segregation they go and pointedly sit at the seats reserved exclusively for white customers and demand service. Reactions range from just cold stares and muttered comments to blows and open abuse but the group bravely stands its ground. At the very same time, Cecil is heading the staff at a VIP event at the White House. Louis is demanding service and risking his life to do so, while Cecil, his old dad, is providing the same service to the highest standard in the country. Juxtaposed, the two images made me choke. Not least because, as I just mentioned, I do what Cecil does. I have stood at the “top table” at Livery events and served guests in complete unison and that, I felt, made it all the more real for me. Not that you need to have worked in service to feel the emotion – it just gave it a bit of an extra edge for me.

And of course the film utilises another trope we know all too well – it is a coming of age film of sorts. It just comes with a reminder that “coming of age” can happen at any physical age. It is, in fact, much harder for the older generation to keep up with the times – not that I am calling anyone fuddy-duddys – simply because as time goes on you have more of an opportunity to make habits. And the more entrenched your habits become, the harder it is to imagine changing them. I am finding this in my own personal life at the relatively young age of 31, I cannot imagine how hard it must have been for someone of Cecil’s age. And even though segregation is now thankfully a thing of the past let us not forget how entrenched and wide spread it once was. Having been brought up on a cotton plantation, telling Cecil that equality was obtainable must have been akin to telling him the sky was green. That said, the film clearly tells us that change is not impossible – just possibly harder to achieve than we might think…

Of course I can’t help but point out Cecil is, in a way a “stock character” too. In films of a certain era or genre we see the typical character of the older African-American staff member who sides more with “the master” than whoever the protagonist might be, despite any amount of injustices. One of the most memorable recent examples being Stephen (played by Samuel L. Jackson) in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. If you look at it closely, Cecil is, in fact, exactly the same character. The only thing is of course Cecil is a) a real person, b) soft spoken and gentle so a tad easier to empathize with. In that sense, The Butler provides a very interesting psychological insight into change and our reaction to it as we grow older. Not to mention a fascinating chronicle of a very important part of American history.

So I can safely say The Butler will provide you with a LOT of food for thought. And if you think you have seen it all before – well look a little closer. Like all good art, if you dig a tiny bit, there is always a gem or two to be found.

THE STORY OF A KILLER NOT QUITE LIKE THE REST : "GHOST DOG - THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI"

GHOST DOG For the longest time, this film had the title of “only Jim Jarmush film I haven’t watched”. Then my flat mate – who also works in / with films – watched it. It instantly rocketed to his list of favorite films ever – and it was somewhere near the top as well. Ironically enough this happened when I told him that he should watch something by Jim Jarmush – because he is pretty much my favorite director ever – and he went to the library only to find this was the only one on the shelf at that time. It took him months of recommending it – and me being very disorganized – but I finally got round to the blessed thing last night. Please note that I was nursing the remains of a rather brutal hangover at the time, and yet, I loved it. I mean, I feel that, just because of the hangover, I should watch it again, just to make sure I don’t miss something, but I doubt it. Minimal and beautiful as ever, this is Jim Jarmusch at his best, yet again. Ghost Dog (Forrest Whitaker) is a professional killer. He is not, however, like any professional killer you will have seen before. For starters he is pretty much the best at his job. He can dissolve into the night like a real ghost, getting “the job” done quickly and quietly. He is just a bit eccentric however. First of all, he only communicates by carrier pigeon. He lives, in fact, on a roof with a flock of pigeons. He lives by the code of the samurai. Guided by an ancient samurai text, he is the last unlikely member of a very ancient clan. Hired killers have, as you can imagine, rather unsavory bosses sometimes. Ghost Dog is no exception. One of these bosses is a mafia family. A mafia family that doesn’t quite realize what a sensitive balance Ghost Dog’s world is in. And when, one fateful night the balance is broken, everyone even vaguely connected knows the full wrath of the code of the samurai. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this is, in fact, a samurai film set in modern (relatively) day USA. And the particular genius of this film is largely the fact that it takes many very unlikely looking couplings that actually go together so well that you don’t even stop to think how unlikely they are until later sometimes. I mean, Forrest Whitaker makes a very unlikely samurai if you stop to think about it. Yet the story goes so smoothly and Whitaker carries off the role so well that it you actually don’t stop to think about it. Or even if you do a bit at the beginning of the film you are carried away by the beauty of the film. And the film is beautiful. I call this film pure Jarmusch because someone else could take the same story and make a very gangsterish “bad boy” revenge movie of it. No. this movie, although there is one heck of a lot of bloodshed in it, is calm, beautiful in places and sprinkled liberally with Jarmush’s rather unique sense of humor, eerie parallels and wonderful cinematography. I mean, if you don’t like Jarmusch’s style you’ll probably hate it, don’t get me wrong… If you like it however… Oh you are in for a treat…

UNFORGETTABLE TALES FROM THE PAST : "PLATOON"

Now, as you know, I am on a mission to watch as many of the big classic movies as fast as possible. I am, generally speaking, quite “hungry” for movies, planning ahead what I will watch the next day, constantly failing to decide… But boy oh boy did I drag my feet when it came to watching Platoon… I had never watched it before like so many of the greats but I just knew it was going to hit me like a freight train… There is, however, no earthly point in putting off the inevitable so I went for it this morning. It did not disappoint in more ways than one : It was a brilliant movie AND it hit me like a freight train…
The year is 1968 and Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a college student. Or rather he was a college student. He “wasn’t learning anything” so he actually dropped out of college and volunteered to go and fight in Vietnam. He arrives at the base camp, as green as you please and stuffed to the gills with ideals. He is full of hope and thinks that by fighting the war and doing his bit he will become a man. The constant danger, sleepless nights filled with violence and the in-fighting in his own platoon split down the middle by two rival commanders will definitely make a man of him… The question is, however, what kind of man he will end up becoming…
One of the main reasons I gave this film a wide birth was the fact that I assumed, being a war film, that it would be all blood guts and gore. First of all, let me reassure you, it isn’t. I mean, it’s the Vietnam War for Christ’s sake, naturally there is blood and guts but they do not take such prominence on the screen. What the film is mainly interested in, and what is profoundly more frightening than any amount of blood and guts, is the changes that take place in the minds and spirits of the men themselves, from the foot soldiers right up the chain the lieutenant. The film questions mankind’s seemingly endless capacity to harm one another and be cruel, and violent. It also wonders whether or not this potential is actually latent within all of us… You may point out – and rightly too – that there have been a LOT of films who have tried to capture this change in their heroes and heroines and point out the cruelty and pointlessness of war. You would, however, be hard put to find a film that captures this waste of human life, be it the fallen on the battlefield or the survivors, so deeply scarred that they can never be the same again, so well. It may have something to do with the fact that it is partly based on director Oliver Stone’s actual experiences as well… Partly, it is the outstanding cast of the film, starring veterans such as Tom Berenger, Willem Defoe and Forrest Whitaker (and as a bonus a VERY young Johnny Depp!) In any case there is definitely a reason for this film to be awarded all the Oscars® and awards it got. In view of what is going on in the world these days, I am also rather sorry to add that the sentiment it portrays is still very, VERY relevant today. Watch it. It will give you a lot to think about. Oh, and have some tissues handy, unless you are actually made of stone you will be needing them…