Hmm. How to review Existenz?
Don't watch Existenz because it sucks. The End.
I could spend a half hour writing about the symbolism and sexuality in this boring as shit movie, but I'm going to write about Blade Runner instead. I saw it again last week and realized that I hadn't written anything about why I liked the film, just how much I liked the experience. I've always thought the whole discussion of whether or not Deckard is a replicant is one of the least interesting discussions one could have after seeing it. I prefer to think of Deckard as human, because then the film boils down to being about a man who learns how to be a person through his interaction with robots. I love how fragile he is, how vulnerable, how in every interaction with the replicants he is close to death. I think that's the main point of the film, that everyone is close to death. Whether it's 4 years or 100 everyone has a finite lifespan. And choosing how to spend the time we have is what makes us who we are.
What else do I like? I love lots of tiny throwaway visuals:
-The way the camera speeds up when Deckard pulls his gun on Leon and Leon slaps it away
-The scene where Deckard sips from a shotglass and blood runs into the glass [much harder to spot on DVD]
-The way Edward James Olmos hits Deckard with his cane to get his attention
Hopefully my next backlog DVD will be better.
that's the point of the movie that we both laughed at and jen was wondering what was so funny: the cane tapping.
ReplyDeleteI love the blood in the shot glass too.
You guys also laughed when Harrison had a really ugly shirt on. At least I think that was why.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to watch it a few more times, I think. But I did enjoy it, and it was remarkably similar to what I was expecting.
Next time, should I watch it with the voiceover or without?
I would avoid the voiceover version at all costs. The original ending is pretty awful.
ReplyDeletehttp://youtube.com/watch?v=4fCeH-WnJYM