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MovieMeditation's
Reviews
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2014
Noah
directed by Darren Aronofsky
-
one word
Injustice.
one sentence
Darren Aronofsky dares to tell his own version of sacred source material and gets withheld by the studio and wrecked by the audience, with a film that fumbles to stay faithful to either one or the other and ends up with something in between, which has enough ideas to keep things interesting and enough entertainment to make things elevated, yet neither as a product of Aronofsky nor the studio does it really work as a whole, despite still being a more fascinating blockbuster though a less successful Aronofsky feature.
one paragraph
‘Noah’ is directed by the autonomous and artful director, Darren Aronofsky, who has stepped onto sacred territory with his atheistic footprint of which is neither of Christian descent or belief. It is an experimental film, inspired by biblical stories though not exactly based upon them. Aronofsky tells the story the way he wants to and one can choose to either see this as really brave or really stupid. Usually, movies based on pre-existing source material holds a lot of liberations, yet somehow when it comes to a biblical tale, people want it to be as faithful as possible. I admire Aronofsky for taking the essentials of the tale and tamper around with it in a way that sets it apart from all else. Unfortunately, the studio clearly intervened here and 'Noah' does certainly feel exactly like a big budget blockbuster made by a visionary art-director, which is also why even the fragmented mind of Aronofsky is still more interesting than your usual dose of deafening, monotone, mass productions out there. Overall I find the hate for this movie to be unfair.
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additional paragraph(s) for the avid follower
There is a lot to like here, despite how it might not add up to a complete work, and I find a lot of fascinating things in the story and the way that it is told. I like earthy, deserted setting where the movie takes place; really setting the film apart from other biblical tales. You get a feeling of a world without hope, a world that is lost and has gone mad and lost everything in the process. There is nothing left; it is a bare-boned life and struggle for survival. It is almost like a medieval movie with a biblical twist. Also, the imagery going on is beautiful. The stark constrasts of the color-free world set to the dreamy nightmares and foreshadowings and the flashbacks of a better world and the beginning of life itself. The timelapse sequences are some of the most impressive and inventive things I have seen in a while and the sense of dread and death is truly captivating.
I also like how the story basically turns into Noah being a twisted maniac - this is not some biblical story about a great man and his great doings - this is actually a MAN who is struggling to live up to his tasks from God and goes more and more mad with every new day and every new task that comes down upon him. The acting is also superb all around and overall the production value isn't at fault here... It is a beautiful looking and sounding movie.
Rock monsters... Yes, we had to go there. I don't hate them with a passion, but sure, I wish they weren't there if I had to choose. The idea of falling angels being doomed to an awful, eternal life on earth is cool and all, but the execution and place in the story is written to make sense, not the other way around. They do have a purpose in the story, but the execution is weird and they feel pretty misplaced. But again, I don't hate them. There is some clichés in the story, especially towards the end, but overall I find this to be a fascinating disaster of a movie... in more than one sense of the word. It's a fun spectacle, a miscalculated movie from the mind of a very talented director. I saw it in 3D, with a great sound system, and the movie is quite the experience. And again, I'd rather watch this than another conventional blockbuster. I do believe there has been some injustice to this film. It isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be.
Question
What movies can you think of where the director failed to deliver his vision?
How many liberations can you take with a movie based on pre-existing material?
Is the bible and religion in general just more sacred ground?
_______________________
Rewatch
MovieMeditation's
Reviews
_______________________
2014
Noah
directed by Darren Aronofsky
-
one word
Injustice.
one sentence
Darren Aronofsky dares to tell his own version of sacred source material and gets withheld by the studio and wrecked by the audience, with a film that fumbles to stay faithful to either one or the other and ends up with something in between, which has enough ideas to keep things interesting and enough entertainment to make things elevated, yet neither as a product of Aronofsky nor the studio does it really work as a whole, despite still being a more fascinating blockbuster though a less successful Aronofsky feature.
one paragraph
‘Noah’ is directed by the autonomous and artful director, Darren Aronofsky, who has stepped onto sacred territory with his atheistic footprint of which is neither of Christian descent or belief. It is an experimental film, inspired by biblical stories though not exactly based upon them. Aronofsky tells the story the way he wants to and one can choose to either see this as really brave or really stupid. Usually, movies based on pre-existing source material holds a lot of liberations, yet somehow when it comes to a biblical tale, people want it to be as faithful as possible. I admire Aronofsky for taking the essentials of the tale and tamper around with it in a way that sets it apart from all else. Unfortunately, the studio clearly intervened here and 'Noah' does certainly feel exactly like a big budget blockbuster made by a visionary art-director, which is also why even the fragmented mind of Aronofsky is still more interesting than your usual dose of deafening, monotone, mass productions out there. Overall I find the hate for this movie to be unfair.
_______________________
additional paragraph(s) for the avid follower
There is a lot to like here, despite how it might not add up to a complete work, and I find a lot of fascinating things in the story and the way that it is told. I like earthy, deserted setting where the movie takes place; really setting the film apart from other biblical tales. You get a feeling of a world without hope, a world that is lost and has gone mad and lost everything in the process. There is nothing left; it is a bare-boned life and struggle for survival. It is almost like a medieval movie with a biblical twist. Also, the imagery going on is beautiful. The stark constrasts of the color-free world set to the dreamy nightmares and foreshadowings and the flashbacks of a better world and the beginning of life itself. The timelapse sequences are some of the most impressive and inventive things I have seen in a while and the sense of dread and death is truly captivating.
I also like how the story basically turns into Noah being a twisted maniac - this is not some biblical story about a great man and his great doings - this is actually a MAN who is struggling to live up to his tasks from God and goes more and more mad with every new day and every new task that comes down upon him. The acting is also superb all around and overall the production value isn't at fault here... It is a beautiful looking and sounding movie.
Rock monsters... Yes, we had to go there. I don't hate them with a passion, but sure, I wish they weren't there if I had to choose. The idea of falling angels being doomed to an awful, eternal life on earth is cool and all, but the execution and place in the story is written to make sense, not the other way around. They do have a purpose in the story, but the execution is weird and they feel pretty misplaced. But again, I don't hate them. There is some clichés in the story, especially towards the end, but overall I find this to be a fascinating disaster of a movie... in more than one sense of the word. It's a fun spectacle, a miscalculated movie from the mind of a very talented director. I saw it in 3D, with a great sound system, and the movie is quite the experience. And again, I'd rather watch this than another conventional blockbuster. I do believe there has been some injustice to this film. It isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be.
Question
What movies can you think of where the director failed to deliver his vision?
How many liberations can you take with a movie based on pre-existing material?
Is the bible and religion in general just more sacred ground?
_______________________
Rewatch