Post by Casablanca on Sept 2, 2009 0:57:00 GMT -5
"Bridges of Paradise" (Indy)
There is a novel by a man named Richard Porton titled “Film and the Anarchist Imagination”, that deals with films which have bravely shown violence and crumbling society without apology. I wouldn’t say that “Bridges of Paradise”, ironically enough coming across as an apology for “The Fighting Irish”, would fit into the category this book dissects, because through it’s anarchic dissection of violence and the effects it has on a man, it does so express regret, most notably in it’s quiet and nice final scene. It’s a film that attempts to reach levels of humanity; but forgets it’s self-set trappings, and only succeeds to a degree. It is a sheer “step up” from the terrible “Fighting Irish”, but still manages to only occasionally reach the heights of, say, “Shattered Illusion”; becoming a balance of the “eh, alright” and the “quite good”. the action and the drama; the cynic hard-assed Rick; and the…well, I suppose there isn’t much to balance this, is there?
Rick, himself, speaking of, is a fine character who doesn’t seem to walk through life, but instead limps; always taking the pessimistic side of things, and never making friends where it counts, or taking mercy where possible. He is by all definition, an anti-hero; with the sharp tongue and potty mouth to prove it. He is also a pretty well conceived character; one who actually can say something witty once in a few pages, and who can actually progress the plot, when he isn’t busy whipping out his pistol, which is to say, sporadically. He has few moments of depth; which, while they seem to be a tad out of place, at moments; still is well worth the effort, and certainly contributes to a budding characterization process which occurs throughout the film; breaks; and then, in the last few pages, lunges forward to make up for lost time. In short, he can be captured perfectly throughout an exchange in the film where he quotes an author: it is presumed by another that this author is “Hemingway”. It is not, as Rick points out, but it is “Ian Fleming”. “Hemingway” is far from Rick’s style; “Fleming” is much more in tone.
One point I would like to stress is that this is not an action film. It has action moments, themes, and clichés; but it is “not” on the same level as Indy’s other films, and that, almost automatically, seems to push it, quality-wise, past his previous films, albeit not reaching the high levels “Point” proves he is capable of. It stays from destructible, haphazard action, and instead gives everything motive and story element; which may very well be responsible for a relatively shorter run length, and a more concise script. It steers clear of sub-plots, and gives us a character who is, essentially, in every single scene. We see the events from his eyes; and through that you can determine the degree you will enjoy this film; are you a “Hemingway” fan, or a “Fleming” fan? It’s a true determinator, since this film is biased in the very most common way- we don’t see that Rick has deep feelings until he see’s it himself. We’re no ominous viewers, here.
The technical writing is actually pretty impressive, considering what this director has given us. There is a nice opening scene with controlled and “settled down” speaking between foreign characters. There is the switch between free-form wit and sarcasm and “from the soul” searching. There is also a few monologues, lengthy ones, which could have been a complete disaster, despite coming off as honest and interesting, plot-wise. Of course, curse words litter the area, and also, given the type of character we have, it is a hit and miss; for every good line, you get a few lesser- but in the end, it is a quite good action film, if you want to grade it from that scale, or, on the other hand, a good drama.
As for the story, it is simple. It is similar to many another film of the same type; and with a few plot details switched, could be “Ricochet Fight 3”. It is not the film, though the execution here which pushes it past the usual “poor” quality of the type, and veering into the well done. It’s not a film for those who want explosions aplenty, nor for those who want a soul bared out for the pleasure of analyzing. It gleefully mixes gunfights with character; “blood” and “psyche” intermixing, both to a shockingly shallow degree.
Overall, it’s nothing to write home about, nor is it a film that will ever, in time to come, be recalled as anything but a fine movie. Some of it is average, some of it is pretty good; and when it boils down to it; it will probably get lukewarm reception. I enjoyed it though, and took happiness in spending time with its main character. I also found it’s story simple and effortless to follow; and for the reader who has everything, the user with time to spare, why not relax to a bit of straightforwardness, and then, afterward, send the film, as Ramon planned to do, “packed up and leaving”; time will not treasure it.
