user-520 Reviews

In My Country (2004)

I am a South African white Afrikaner

[5/10 · 26 August 2007]

I have been procrastinating allot this weekend watching movies, first I saw Disturbia - best teen horror movie to come out of Hollywood in a long time, then I accidentally saw Catch a Fire - I thought it was about something else and I decided to watch Country of My Skull as well. It actually turned out quite well, since I have an assignment due in 2 weeks about affirmative action in Social Psychology and these movies both just sensitized me again to that part of my heritage. For the ignorant however, our society is quite different from what is depicted in Hollywood dramas. There is still allot to be overcome, but we have achieved probably more than any other society have ever in terms of social trust - that's a difficult argument, but figure it out for yourself.

Catch a fire was much better than this movie though, Juliette Binoche's role as a conscientious Afrikaans women isn't very accurate, and her emotional outbursts are to histrionic, almost psychotic. Both my parents were like that, and the dynamics of South African society gives far greater lea way than a foreigner would expect. It isn't necessary to act all guilty like for crimes you didn't commit and governance philosophies you didn't support to achieve acceptance among those affected by it. South African blacks are actually quite chilled out in general, if you simply show respect they act indiscriminately regarding the apartheid era. Maybe I'm just to young to really know.

Between Tim Robbens, Juliette Binoche, the guy who was Stander and Leonardo Dicaprio; Tim and Leo's performances of white Southern Africans has been by far the best.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Aspiring objectivist empiricist made empathetic to subjective existence by this work of art.

[10/10 · 18 August 2007]

I guess not many people will ever read this, but I just feel obliged to praise this work of art. I am an aspiring Neuropsychology student and obviously an extreme positivist. Man IS A MACHINE. Yet, The Shawshank Redemption DEFINES what BEING A HUMAN is! That is the reason why it is the best film ever made. It inspires hope, meaning, aspiration... whatever you would like to call it.

I wouldn't say that it inspired me to be less scientific in my view of life, it's just that it made me feel better about life. I am still very much in the physiological pure hard scientific corner of psychology. What I guess I'm trying to say is that this movie MUST put things into a rather mature perspective, even to the most rebellious and unreasonable nihilist on the face of this planet.

This movie is simplistic, the story isn't intricate, it is subtle and very very very easy to follow. Yet, it resides in that category of movies that include the likes of Schindler's list, Pulp Fiction and Forest Gump; it actually sits on the throne there. The essence of this movie is bigger than the discovery of Special Relativity, in that it gives an answer to the question that you are faced with when hearing the short line of sweet dialog: "I guess it comes down to a simple choice really: get busy liven or get busy die'n". "What is the meaning of life?"