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Post by Brick on Mar 28, 2008 21:32:48 GMT -5
No Country for Old Men won tons of awards for the acting and cinematography. The story is one that only an atheist could appreciate, because it is a story devoid of hope. In fact, it is anti-hope. The lesson in this movie is simply that life happens. Nothing has any more significance any more than the toss of a coin. Good things happen, bad things happen. Cormac McCarthy, author of the book the screenplay is based on, chose to only show the bad in this piece. But none of it has any meaning. Faith is meaningless because all is chance. To a Christian, this is nigh unto blasphemy. It is a denial of the goodness of God. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen." Suppose you were given a check for a million dollars. Even though you don't have a million dollars, you have pretty strong and believable evidence that you WILL soon possess it. That is faith. The belief that the thing hoped for will become a reality. And that changes the way we act, our spirit. Ever watch those people on game shows that win something huge? Remember the joy and excitement that they have with the knowledge that they are about to receive this fantastic thing? It is faith. It is belief that it will be realized. NCFOM is a denial of all that. Goodness is just the right side of a coin toss is the lesson from McCarthy in that movie.
The thing that has always turned me off of every other Coen brothers film is their lack of realism, or irony. The actors have to act like they are acting, rather than to seem as if you are secretly watching real events unfold. While their ironic urges were mostly suppressed in NCFOM, the homicidal maniac's crazy hair it the one telling touch, perhaps a trademark, that they threw into the story to water down the realism.
It was a well made movie of Cormac McCarthy's screenplay, but not one that tells a story that I want to hear repeated.
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Brenda
Senior Member
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Post by Brenda on Mar 28, 2008 22:53:07 GMT -5
I thought the acting was good-- but too voilent for me-- and I hated the ending-- just kind of ended-- Dont know why it won Best picture-- but with Hollywood maybe that is not a surprise
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Post by no name on Mar 29, 2008 0:13:47 GMT -5
Alright, Brick - I love how you analyzed this stinky movie. I didn't look that deeply into it, but I agree with your comments. Ultimately, my disappointment with the movie boiled down to the very odd final 20-30 minutes. Brenda - I know what you mean about Hollywood and its strange "Best Picture" awards. Every once in a decade or so, they might get it right. Most of the time, the nominations and the awards are very out of touch . . . . to them, it's not out of touch I'm sure - but with the normal person, they definitely are. ;D Basically, because of the crappy final parts of this film, I hated the whole thing and regretted that I'd even wasted my time watching it. Especially since I was expecting something SO great . . . in the end I felt betrayed and it really ticked me off. I'm still angry about it.
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juju
Senior Member
Posts: 263
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Post by juju on Apr 1, 2008 9:28:28 GMT -5
No Country for Old Men won tons of awards for the acting and cinematography. The story is one that only an atheist could appreciate, because it is a story devoid of hope. In fact, it is anti-hope. The lesson in this movie is simply that life happens. Nothing has any more significance any more than the toss of a coin. Good things happen, bad things happen. Cormac McCarthy, author of the book the screenplay is based on, chose to only show the bad in this piece. But none of it has any meaning. Faith is meaningless because all is chance. To a Christian, this is nigh unto blasphemy. It is a denial of the goodness of God. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen." Suppose you were given a check for a million dollars. Even though you don't have a million dollars, you have pretty strong and believable evidence that you WILL soon possess it. That is faith. The belief that the thing hoped for will become a reality. And that changes the way we act, our spirit. Ever watch those people on game shows that win something huge? Remember the joy and excitement that they have with the knowledge that they are about to receive this fantastic thing? It is faith. It is belief that it will be realized. NCFOM is a denial of all that. Goodness is just the right side of a coin toss is the lesson from McCarthy in that movie. The thing that has always turned me off of every other Coen brothers film is their lack of realism, or irony. The actors have to act like they are acting, rather than to seem as if you are secretly watching real events unfold. While their ironic urges were mostly suppressed in NCFOM, the homicidal maniac's crazy hair it the one telling touch, perhaps a trademark, that they threw into the story to water down the realism. It was a well made movie of Cormac McCarthy's screenplay, but not one that tells a story that I want to hear repeated. Brick, what I hear you say here is that atheists are devoid of hope. ... (don't know where to go with this, other than your comment there triggered something in me...) With nothing else to say at this point, I WILL say this .....: I have seen alot of christians devoid of hope. I realize I am making this about your comment, and not about the movie (which I saw......and didn't like) But am into honesty these days.....so thats my truth! ju
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Post by Brick on Apr 2, 2008 19:46:51 GMT -5
Brick, what I hear you say here is that atheists are devoid of hope. ... (don't know where to go with this, other than your comment there triggered something in me...) With nothing else to say at this point, I WILL say this .....: I have seen alot of christians devoid of hope. Did I really say that? I didn't really say that atheists are devoid of hope, but perhaps a better way to frame it is that the message in this movie wouldn't really resonate with someone who believes in a benevolent God. Of course atheists can have hope, but if a Christian loses hope, are they really a Christian?
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