Blog 2. The Road. (USA, 2010, Director: John Hillcoat)
Here is the information for The Road from IMDB.
As Clark said in class, The Road is based on a 2006 novel by Cormac McCarthy that won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The film was made on a $25 million budget and shot in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Oregon in the winter on 2008 (hence the browns and grays that are the color palate of the movie, helped no doubt by CGI). Commercially it was not a great success, barely making back its initial costs with a box office of $27.6 million. Not exactly a date movie, is it?
1. Your reaction so far to the movie? Like? Dislike? What has stayed with you these hours later, what scene or moment—and why?
2. How would you compare or contrast this post apocalyptic vision to the one in Mad Max: Fury Road? Forget the explosions, the cars: think of how John Hillcoat's image of the world after some cataclysm reflects or doesn't reflect the one presented by George Miller. Do they appear the same—and if so, how? Is this one different? And if so, how? Be specific in your referencing the movies: think of images, scenes, moments that support your argument.
3. Almost immediately the film raises the question: is it worth living through the end of the world? The Man clearly wants to—and can't understand why his wife doesn't want to go on. His wife—The Woman—finds no reason to live in it—and if she had her way, she would have not had The Boy. So whose position do you feel most sympathetic to, if not completely supportive: and why?
Write about 200 words to answer the questions above.
Here's the trailer for the movie. See you all tomorrow.
As Clark said in class, The Road is based on a 2006 novel by Cormac McCarthy that won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The film was made on a $25 million budget and shot in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Oregon in the winter on 2008 (hence the browns and grays that are the color palate of the movie, helped no doubt by CGI). Commercially it was not a great success, barely making back its initial costs with a box office of $27.6 million. Not exactly a date movie, is it?
1. Your reaction so far to the movie? Like? Dislike? What has stayed with you these hours later, what scene or moment—and why?
2. How would you compare or contrast this post apocalyptic vision to the one in Mad Max: Fury Road? Forget the explosions, the cars: think of how John Hillcoat's image of the world after some cataclysm reflects or doesn't reflect the one presented by George Miller. Do they appear the same—and if so, how? Is this one different? And if so, how? Be specific in your referencing the movies: think of images, scenes, moments that support your argument.
3. Almost immediately the film raises the question: is it worth living through the end of the world? The Man clearly wants to—and can't understand why his wife doesn't want to go on. His wife—The Woman—finds no reason to live in it—and if she had her way, she would have not had The Boy. So whose position do you feel most sympathetic to, if not completely supportive: and why?
Write about 200 words to answer the questions above.
Here's the trailer for the movie. See you all tomorrow.
This movie scarred me on a deep level. It makes me question everything I've ever believed about the meaning of life, relations with my family, and what happens after death. The best movies have the ability to completely rip apart your beliefs so that it's up to you to piece them back together. The most traumatizing scenes for me were when the father held up his pistol to his son's head or demonstrated how to commit suicide. The young boy is so familiar with death, and he sees dead bodies every day. I find it beautiful that he still manages to feel love and occasionally smile and laugh while the entire world around him is so dark.
ReplyDeleteVisually, the post-apocalyptic world in Mad Max was much more vibrant and fast paced. An intense feeling of urgency lingered throughout the film, and the car scenes seemed to represent a sort of race towards change or a better life. In The Road, things almost occur in slow motion. The father and the son are being chased-- and they have a specific destination-- but they don't have hope of getting there alive. The 2 (and then 1) bullets they have left loom in the father's mind as weapons of self-destruction instead of self-defense. Also, Mad Max shows no images of what civilization looked like before the apocalypse. In The Road, we have a sense of the Father's past life that we can relate to our current lives, with houses, gas stations, and school buses, as opposed to the abstract "green place" in Mad Max.
I do not feel sympathetic towards the woman because she leaves her child behind. Granted, I have no idea how lonely and depressing it must be during an apocalypse. But I feel like as a mother, she should have had the motherly instinct to want to care for her child until her last breath. The father takes on the responsibility of caring for the child on his own, and he does whatever he can to keep him safe. And on top of preserving his child's physical wellbeing, he strives to maintain his child's morals by promising that they will never eat another human-- even if they are starving. The child easily defines good and bad people, and staying on the "good" side is what keeps him alive. I'm not sure if the father would want to keep living if it weren't for his son.
“The Road” is a terrifying movie telling the events of a post-apocalyptic world in which humanity has fallen and its remainders have turned into violent cannibals. This movie is terrifying also because it involves a family. The mother is gone, but a husband and his young son are still alive, struggling to exist. They are constantly on the run from cannibals, which is a scary subject to deal with because it is very personal. We are all human, and the idea of one of our own attacking and eating us is particularly chilling. I would say this is a well-made movie, so I like it, but I feel that I have missed half of it from covering my eyes to keep from witnessing the gore. The scene that has stayed with me is of all the soon-to-be-meals remains of humans that were kept in the basement of the cannibal gang’s house.
ReplyDelete“Mad Max: Fury Road” and “The Road” are completely different movies. Both movies are extreme, but in very different ways. In “Mad Max,” there is still cause for hope. Most still have the hope of joining other people and together, overcoming Immortan Joe. In “The Road,” however, there is no hope left. Hope will lead you to joining other humans in hope of survival, which will most likely lead to your imminent death.
Would I want to live in that hell of a world? No! I do not know which side I would choose. I kind of agree with The Woman because there is no purpose for being in a horrifying world without a reason to hope. The Man would say to “carry the fire,” but for what? To possibly be able to get past all the cannibals in one piece and live a life of starvation and fear? For him, his world is not without hope. He hopes to survive and to be able to protect his son. In this (difficult) case, I support the dad, but if I was in that situation, I am not so sure.
This movie is definitely how I imagine the world is gonna end when I zone out and imagine myself trying to survive in natural disasters. This terrifies me and I'm pretty sure it plagues my subconscious because I can only remember having nightmares about stuff like this :) can't wait to fall asleep tonight!!!! Anyways.... the first thing that came to my mind as far as similar imagery was the zombie thing. The mindless people who lived to die in Mad Max were really similar to the people in this film who only live to survive and nothing else, literally causing them to eat people like zombies. The world is very different than in Mad Max because the society is currently deconstructed with no sense of hiarchy, but The character's motivations are both similar. They both have a drive for a new societal beginning, though in this film I don't think the main character realizes it yet. Both Max and the lead in this film are very troubled by people in their past. As far as who I feel most sympathetic to in this film, I'm really not sure. It seems selfish that the mother wouldn't stay with her son, but she wanted them to all die together, not to mention she didn't even want to have a son in the first place. I think she did have an obligation to stay with her family, but honestly, judging by her state of being before her suicide I don't think she was really in a good position to help and she probably would have died quickly in some horrendous way anywho. I feel sympathy to the father because he has to be so strong on his own and teach his son about things no kid should have to learn. He is also putting his son into a lifetime of fear and suffering. I thought it was interesting that the son was so frightened and emotional despite the fact that this was the world he was born into. He wasn't surprised by the natural disasters, but he was still shocked by the actions of people, which says a lot about his nature and about his dad for teaching him ethics (the conversation about if they would starve instead of eat people). Overall I think I have to watch the entire film to really get insightful about it I have no clue where this is going.
ReplyDeleteOh boy. This movie is something. It seems to be pretty well made. I like the immersive feel brought about by the color palette and the visuals. The image of the people in the basement is buried in my head. This movie has a different perspective of an apocalypse. In mad max we see a new strange society that has rose from the ashes but in the rode we see the ashes of a society we are very familiar with. Because of this it's even more bleak feeling. If mad max people were cannibals it would be less disturbing because their society is farther removed from our own. And by showing things from before it feels even more close to a possible reality. I liked how we had the match shots of the boy's hair being washed but they show them out of chronological order so it seems like the absurd world they live in now as normal. Logically I agree with the mother. The quality of life they experience is so low and the chance of long term success seems so slim that I wouldn't want to live or bring new life to existence. But I could see the will to live being a force that overpowers that logical way of viewing the situation.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings regarding this movie as a whole. I enjoy the bond that is shared between the father and son during their difficult times. I think that the father's quotes describing his son are very heartfelt and sweet. I think that it was set up quite well, the way that they showed flashbacks to how they began scavenging and how the wife died. I also believe that these flashbacks were necessary to the character development of the father. The father has been portrayed in a good manner and the tidbit about them being the good guys to give his son hope was a good point.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if in The Walk the characters seem much more desperate compared to those in Mad Max: Fury Road. In Mad Max, we see that those who lived in the apocalyptic world depended on the monarch for water and most likely food. They all had the same needs in common so they all stayed together. In The Walk, it was much more of an every man for himself, looking all over for a food and water source. These desperate times called for desperate measures. It was quite common for cannibalism to take place, while there was little in Mad Max.
When taking sides on the issue of suicide during these rough times, I would support The Man's idea of trying to survive as long as I could. I can see the reason that The Woman had for committing suicide to avoid the entire pain of it. If the situation was that the cannibals would shoot me and then eat me, I think I would be much more comfortable with that than the methods that the residents of the shack in the woods used.
1 To be honest, I'm not sure if I like this movie or not. I had the misfortune of empathizing with the boy and father, which meant I always felt on edge. The cannibalism is a little disturbing, particularly the scene in the basement of the big house. The ribs and spines of the starved people in the basement were visible, and lots of them had gory dismemberments and injuries. The most disturbing part however was that we knew they were going to be eaten, and we could hear the hacking and screaming when they were murdered. Even still, I think the portrayal of this world resembles a plausible outcome of the apocalypse, were it to actually happen.
ReplyDelete2 This movie is not nearly as chaotic as Mad Max action wise, but the most dramatic difference between the two movies is the difference in portrayal of the post apocalyptic worlds. In Mad Max, everyone was dependent on a society. Immortan Joe's Citadel for example, was massive and very elaborate, and even if not shared, resources were abundant. However, in The Road, it was every man for himself, because trusting people would most likely get you killed. The world seemed dreary and not worth living in, as shown by myriad suicides, including that of the mother.
3 I am most sympathetic with the mother's position; however, I support the father's endeavors more. If I were in that situation, I most likely would have ended up committing suicide after becoming insanely paranoid, because I would rather go to wherever there is after death than experience the horrors of that world, where literally everyone wants to kill you and eat you. Despite this, I think the father's disposition is more noble and honorable, because he is willing to go through hell to protect his son, when his wife just abandoned him without even saying goodbye. I am more supportive of the father, yet I might have behaved like the mother.
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ReplyDelete1. So far, I have both enjoyed and not enjoyed parts of The Road. I have enjoyed watching the love between The Man and The Boy. Even though they are living in this post-apolyptic world, their love for each other is what pushes them to survive. The Man wants him and The Boy to shoot themself, but The Boy's fear to leave his father through death convinces The Man that they don't have to. When The Boy is almost kidnapped in the woods, The Man is willing to use one of their two bullets to protect his son. When The Boy brings this up later, The Man tells him that he will do anything to protect him. Also, when The Man and The Boy go into the house and have to hide in the bathroom, The Man tries to shoot his son. They only have one bullet left, so this means that The Boy would be able to die, but The Man would have to fight the canibulls. The Man loves The Boy so much that he wants him to be able to die, so that he does not have to be eaten. The Boy's love for his father is also seen, as he does not want to be shot. He is aware that this would leave his father by himself, so he resists The Man's efforts to shoot him. These scenes are so vivid to me because they show the love between this father and son. Parts of this movie I have not enjoyed. Something that I did not like was that The Man did not listen to his son. The Boy saw the shoes in the house, and tried to not go into the basement, but his father did not listen to him. I understand why The Man did not listen to his son, as he was trying to lead them to safety, but I believe that if he stopped and listened to what his son had to say, they would not have come so close to being found.
2. The post-apolyptic world produced by John Hillcoat is a little different from the one produced by George Miller. I believe the post-apolyptic world in Mad Max: Fury Road is older than the world in The Road. In Mad Max, the only physical landform is miles of deserts and a few mountains, but in The Road, the landscape is similar to our present world. There are still buildings and cars and both man-made and natural landforms, and though they are weathered, there are signs of previous societies before the apocalypse that are not present in Mad Max. Also, there is more of the natural world in The Road. The Man, in a voiceover, says that it is only a matter of time before every tree has fallen, but the trees present and the rivers and streams that are still flowing are not seen in Mad Max. Also, it seems that one event started the apocalypse in The Road, as The Man wakes up and starts filling up the bath to have a water supply. The Woman does not understand why he is doing this, which presents the idea that the apocalypse has just started. However, in Mad Max, the world is many years post-apocalypse, so we do not have any idea about how the world started to end.
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Delete3. I understand the beliefs of both The Man and The Woman. The Woman believes that it would be too hard to try and leave their house. However, she is aware that they cannot survive another winter where they have been living. She feels that the easiest thing to do would be to die. However, The Man wants them to live, and believes that they can survive if they have to. The Woman tells The Man that they only have three bullets left, so they should shoot themselves while they still can. The Woman grabs the pistol from her husband, and he responds by telling her that her idea is crazy. To me, what is terribly sad is that she gives him the gun, because she understands how much he wants them all to live, but she ends up committing suicide anyways. Before she dies, The Woman tells her husband to bring their son down south. He listens to her, and they do travel southward. This hope that he can bring The Boy somewhere where he can survive is what pushes The Man to continue to live. When The Man is tired of living and tries to convince The Boy that they should commit suicide, it is The Boy who stops his father. The Boy does not want to have to leave his father, and reminds him that they are carrying the fire. These moments inspire The Man to continue to try and bring them to safety. I am sympathetic to The Woman, because I believe that she really felt that it would have been too hard to continue living. However, I was upset that she left her husband and son. A really depressing scene was the one where The Boy and The Man are in the vehicle on the bridge, and both are remembering The Woman. The Man tells The Boy to stop wishing that he was with his mother, because that would mean that he would be dead. He then has dreams about their past, when The Woman was still alive. You can tell how much he misses The Woman, though, because he throws her picture from the bridge. We don't see his push his ring all the way over the ledge, so it may be that he did not have the courage to completely get rid of the last thing that ties him to his wife. This moment really shows how much The Woman's family misses her, and I'm upset that she left them. I sympathize with The Man too, though, because he was not going to stop trying to save The Boy. I believe that The Woman was aware of this. Before she dies, she told her husband to protect their son, because she could tell he would have the hope and love to do so. He only wants them to shoot themselves after he feels that he has tried his hardest to bring them to safety.
In all honesty, I'm bored with this movie. Is it interesting? Not in my opinion. It takes place in one of the typical post-apocalyptic settings and doesn't add anything of interest to it. There's no twist to it. So far I don't like this movie. However that isn't to say there weren't moments in which it caught my attention. The scene of the people being kept in the basement, was attention seeking though I wasn't all that affected by it. It's to be expected that cannibalism would exist in a post-apocalyptic setting so it only seems right that some people would have fell victim. However it is still a disturbing scene because the idea of cannibalism is so outrageous. One scene that I find interesting is when The Man is talking to The Boy and reviewing with him the proper way to commit suicide by shooting himself in the brain through his mouth. This conversation lets the watchers know that such a topic has come up before. Another scene that was interesting to me was when The Woman and The Man were talking across the table. The Woman wanted their family to commit suicide so they don't have to live in the dying world but The Man wanted to survive. All in all this movie is not intriguing to me overall and has shown me nothing worthy of my approval.
ReplyDeleteOne major thing to notice when comparing Mad Max: Fury Road and The Road is that the effect the apocalypse had on the environment is a bit different. Mad Max: Fury Road is in more of a desert setting and we see the apocalypse has pretty much dried everything up. Contrastly in The Road, the apocalypse has sent the dying world into a sort of eternal winter, although it is possible that it is just winter time in the movie. Another interesting dynamic between the two is the way suicide is viewed in both movies. In Mad Max: Fury Road, suicide is viewed by the warboys as honorable if it is in the name of their ruler. They are excited to sacrifice their lives in order to reach Valhalla. In The Road, the thought of suicide is present, but not dominant. It would be used as a means to escape, in a sense saying "I give up, I can't do this anymore." Mad Max: Fury Road is definitely more hardcore and thrilling whereas The Road is more solemn and meaningful.
In this instance, I would completely side with The Woman. She was being thoughtful when she said she didn't want to have The Boy. It made perfect sense that she didn't want to bring him into such and awful already dying world. For what purpose would someone want to bring a life into such a hopeless situation? The Boy would have to suffer to survive in this world and she knew that. The Woman wanted them to commit suicide together so they would not have to deal with the hardships that came with surviving in this post-apocalyptic setting. They would still be a family if they did it together which mattered to her. Unfortunately The Man opposed the idea and The Woman couldn't take it anymore and made the decision to end her life and her suffering.
1-2. While I truly believe "The Road" is an incredibly illuminating film, "like" might be too strong of a word just because of the excess of depression. That being said, I do appreciate how the film highlights the true nature of humanity. Away from the constraints of civilization, viewers are forced to realize the discrepancies between the view of human nature with which society indoctrinates us and the true behavior of human beings. The movie destroys -- utterly -- societal falsehoods, and we are left with nothing but humans with hearts of darkness. Much like Conrad reveals that the modern, civilized, human is not any different from their primal ancestors, Hillcoat's visions of cannibalism and survival at any cost reveal that humans are simply one impulse; survival. Furthermore, Hillcoat takes his vision of human nature to its natural conclusion and demolishes the biggest falsehood of all: if humans are just darwinistic machines programmed to survive, does life even matter? What is the point of living if there is no meaning to living? I think this point relates to your second question. I think the major difference between "The Road" and "Mad Max: Fury Road" is the contrast between Miller's unquestioning acceptance of societal falsehoods and Hillcoat's dismissal of them. Even while Miler systematically indicted capitalism, environmental exploitation, and patriarchy the point of "Mad Max" was to use a post-apocalyptic society to interrogate modern society, not to question the existence of it at all. That humans should have a society and that humans should live are two fundamental assumptions made by modern humans that are never attacked by Miller. Thus, at the end of "Mad Max," a viewers thoughts turn not to whether or not civilization, or even life itself, as a whole is worth anything, the viewer questions how society could be constructed. Yet "The Road" cuts to the core of humanity by going to the real debate; should we even go through with life when it is nothing but suffering? There is no happiness without unhappiness; we are all doomed to suffer. Ultimately, "The Road" is the most thought provoking in that it goes against millions of years of genetically encoded desire to remain alive. There is something so intimidating about confronting suicide; it goes against human nature maybe even more than capitalism or patriarchy. "Mad Max" is full of hope for humans -- life will eventually be worth something if we keep going. "The Road," not so much.
ReplyDelete3. I really don't know. I'm so sorry, I wish I had an answer. But I don't, and I think that is part of the point of the film. I feel like I've been grappling with this question all year; my thoughts are immediately drawn back to my two final papers. On the one hand, if I believe my first final paper, even when confronted with extreme adversity, I feel like people, if they just focus on the simple and practical things they can do to make their existence more comfortable, can persevere. Yet my second final paper would rebut this -- you have to know when to surrender. In the end, the ultimate question is finding where that line is. For me, I would try to survive -- I'm belligerent. While logically I can see the benefits of committing suicide, I don't think I could ever convince myself. That being said, I think I support The Woman's position in this case; hope seems like an impossibility. There is literally no way I could see them being happy. Maybe if they made it to the coast, but to me that seems like the Green Place. Ultimately, I think a comparison of Mad Max and The Road is helpful here.
To me, revelation of Mad Max is that you have to fix what's broken -- the Green Place is myth. At the film's conclusion, Max, Furiosa, the Vulvani and the Breeders fix their world -- somewhat. But when considering The Road, I can't help but feeling that the world is so broken it is beyond fixing. A scene that was particularly striking to me was when The Man was sitting in his childhood home; besides a couple of coke cans the world is so far removed from that paradise -- it's impossible to return to. That's why I think the Woman is right. There's just so much wrong with the world it might be better to just leave -- instead of a damnation to a life of suffering.
ReplyDeleteI’ll be completely honest, this movie just makes me sad. There’s no hope for anyone, not the man, not the boy, and no hope for anyone else. The world can only get worse from where it is in the movie, and there really isn’t a point to living except to survive. One scene that really stuck with me and will most likely give me nightmares was the scene with the old house with the basement full of people, almost like crazed zombies. This scene showed how far society has fallen and the lengths these people will go to to survive.
ReplyDeleteThe obvious difference in both movies is the presence of civilization, of a society. In Mad Max there was a society, there were roles for people, there was a social hierarchy. Yes it was very convoluted and gruesome, but it was society. However, in The Road, there is nothing resembling a functioning society. The largest level of organization that we see is the gangs that roam around eating anything they find, as we saw in the scene where the man (Viggo Mortensen) had to shoot the other man holding the boy, and when they enter the house and find the awful basement. All the people want to do in this movie is survive, and survive by any means necessary.
Honestly, I feel most sympathetic towards the woman. Yes she killed herself and left her husband and son alone in this cruel world, but there truly isn’t any hope left for her in this world, and humans depend on hope. Humans need hope to survive. Thinking about her position, if I was in the same situation, I most likely would have done what she did.
I’m not a huge fan of this movie so far - it’s well made, and accurately depicts what I would probably consider the “worst-case scenario” apocalypse (where nature itself is dying and human society is coming to a quiet and violent end) but - why? What is all this grimness trying to teach us? Normally, I’d say that depictions of violence and hopelessness are supposed to teach us how to cope with those realities - but it seems that everyone is just going to die anyway. There’s no future to save, and almost no present to appreciate. If anything, it might be saying that being the “good guy” matters - even at the end of the world, not eating people is still the right thing to do.
ReplyDeleteBoth films are grim realities with self-serving survivors, but The Road doesn’t show potential for growth the way that Mad Max does. Nux (?) switched sides, and Max risked his own survival in order to help Furiosa and her gang survive and take control, but no one here seems interested in growth as a person. In The Road, survival is the name of the game, but it is survival without purpose - even Immortan Joe wanted to continue a lineage, but there’s almost no chance of another generation surviving in the world of The Road, so, where would survival get these people? Are they functioning by reason or by instinct? However, the man nearly shoots his son in the head at multiple points - so, survival at any cost, but only half the time? Mad Max had society and rules, and it had enough people and resources that change was possible - it was crazy, but it had structure. The Road has so few people and so few resources that it’s difficult to do anything at all, let alone change the course of a society, so I'd say that the world of The Road is significantly more hopeless than that of Mad Max.
I want to support the man, but I can’t understand his reasoning beyond blind instinct. I can’t see any real benefit to living in this world. Surviving to what end? To spend several more years suffering before you find a grave? Maybe the boy has a better appreciation for it since it’s all he knows - maybe the occasional rainbow and coca cola makes up for the constant starvation and threat of cannibals - but coming from a world filled with resources and opportunities and non-cannibals, I don’t know if I’d be able to cope with the mental shift it would take to live that kind of life. However, I don’t support the mother’s decision either, mostly because she left her husband and child alone. Regardless of what one wants to do, I think everyone has a responsibility to keep the people around them safe, and she gave up and left them to fend for themselves. It’s understandable in such a completely hopeless situation (“other families are doing it”) but I just can’t support it. Overall, I'm sympathetic to both, but I can’t support either, and I’m not sure where that leaves me.
I honestly don't know what it think of this movie thus far--it is hard to watch as weighs on my conscience. It is suspenseful but also predictable. I though the simplistic names of the characters provided an interesting dynamic. In so many cultures, names have substance as they help to define who someone is. The lack of names helped shift the attention to the characters as individual humans who are just trying to survive rather than humans with an elaborate back story. I was also struck by the carelessness exhibited by the father when he and his son visited his childhood home. His suggestion and permission for his son to wait outside called for trouble; his son became an easy target which totally contradicts the father's previous actions in the movie. It became obvious that the father would kill to protect his son, but his choice to let his son sit outside screams carelessness on every level--it's almost as if the father entered into a state of oblivion. While his actions are understandable as he is loss in the world of nostalgia, in the blink of an eye, his son could be taken from him.
ReplyDelete The post apocalyptic worlds of The Road and Mad Max draw similar parallels but have their own distinctive personalities. Both are defined by destruction and reflect a loss of control both politically and environmentally. This is evident in the loss of the Green World in Mad Max, and the barren landscapes apparent in The Road. In a certain sense though, the world presented in Mad Max is definitely more complex and seems to have sustained itself. This is evident in the facets of the society (the hierarchal nature, the emphasis of machinery, the power of Joe); everyone has definite roles, something that doesn't develop over night. The environment presented in the Road though, seems to be new. This is showcased by the lack of an organized government and the tensions between the gangs and the refugees; these individuals live in a cutthroat environment that emphasizes survival and nothing else.
This is a difficult question, as the situation this family is in isn't black and white; there are too many factors for me to make a definitive statement. On one hand, I understand the mom's decision; she understands that sometimes hope and a belief that circumstances will improve can be blinding and causes individuals to be irrational; she was pragmatic. But at the same time though, I think her choice was somewhat selfish; she didn't fight for her son or her husband and in essence she gave up. she let the fear of death and her loss of hope consume her. On the flip side though, I respect the father's decision as I believe it was one made with an undying hope of something better, and that in itself is admirable. But like his wife, this comes at a cost. Through his yearning for survival, he is exposing his son to horrific deeds that no child should see.
I have mixed feelings about the movie as a whole. I like seeing the flash backs, and seeing how this situation evolved, and I love the contrast between brighter colors and gray. I am not so much a fan of heartfelt films such as this one because it is a little slow at some points and to me there isn't much of a climax but because of that it maybe gives a more realistic feel. I do however like how you see all the hard moments but still see the love between father and son. Having seen this movie before, I knew what scenes would bother me and that particularly being the one with the basement full of people for food because hearing about the cannibalism is one thing but seeing how this takes place is another.
ReplyDeleteThe main difference that stood out to be between there movies is the fact that "Mad Max" shows what it would be like if there was a group in power and a society in power. And "The Road" shows what I have always thought of in this situation being an everyman for himself scenario. I also saw that in "Mad Max" it was more of a struggle for power rather than in "The Road" it seemed like a struggle for survival.
I understand that what the husband did what honorable and he kept trying, but I see where the mother is coming from and why she did what she did. Honestly if I was in the same situation I would do what she did even though it seemed a little selfish. The child has been through a lot. I see that the dad has hope, but he also is forcing his kid to see all of these awful things so much that he has become accustomed to it.
1) I can't say I like this movie; it's pretty stale. The only real question this movie is asking is if suicide is worth or not. It's a deep question that deserves the conversation, but it can't be literally all the movie is about. A post apocalyptic world gives the movie so much to work with, but it's refusing to look at any other issue but suicide. Sure, they mention cannibalism, but no real commentary is made on the matter. Neither one our characters, even in their desperate situation, entertain the idea of cannibalism for a second. It's a missed opportunity to comment on what humans are willing to do when their lives are on the line. Of course the basement scene has stayed with me. It's kind of a hard picture to get rid of. Disturbing on so many levels…
ReplyDelete2) The two movies are different is almost every way. They're setting aren't even close: in one movie the world is a giant desert while in the other vegetation still exists (this is one thing I didn't understand. There is absolutely no way all the crops are dead. There are still thick, luscious forest with plenty of vegetation. The earth looks no different. You're telling me nobody is growing anything?). In mad max, large societies were eventually restored, while the people in The Road have been condense to small groups at the most. There are no large scale power structures or hierarchies in The Road; it's pretty much just every man for himself. The only real common threads between these two movies is that it's after the apocalypse and the main characters are fighting to survive.
3) I'm most sympathetic towards the man. How could I not be? My instinct, like every other animal, is to survive. I do realize that I haven't actually been in the situation that the woman had to fight through, so it's easy fir me to say I would be able to survive. But saying and doing are two completely different things. If actually put in this movie, I may want to kill myself, too. I can see both sides. I will say that I don't support the man wanting the woman to stay alive, and I definitely do not support his decision to have the child. Why would you do that? There's no reason to bring a child into this kind of world. It was an extremely selfish thing to do.