Thursday, September 21, 2006

Five Fingers

After the madness of 9/11 there was a change in everything American. For one, the politicos in that nation stopped throwing stones at glass windows. Or rather, these days when they do, they throw papers but tell the world that they are still throwing stones.

The world of film also changed and this gave rise to monsters like Michael Moorer, who rode on the discontentment of the people and fed them his brand of craziness. Of course there were also successes for the Bush Clan because there was no way sane Americans were going to support Al Gore in the face of such aggression. This has been said and re-said in film for all these years.

Crash, the winner at the last Oscars was a sad tale because the issues raised are not going to go away soon but more painful is the knowledge that because of all these racial tensions in the world, the fear of everything Arabic and Moslem, America will continue to be threatened. Crash says it all very clearly.

As does Five Fingers. I had seen the DVD at PG Videos before but I just kept on leaving it every time I went over. This one time I decided to take it home and see for myself what the hype is all about and boy, was I impressed.

Ryan Phillipe is not really the shinning star in this movie. It is not anyone else. It is as though the film was written for just one character: Laurence Fishburn’s.

The way he comes through as a notorious terrorist, a merciless butcher who does not have any qualms about decapitating a person is very convincing. The use of the stereotypical Islamisms that the west has come to tag to terror is bold, as this is really deep-water territory. Just before he shoots a guy, he says “bismillah,” almost soothingly and blasts away.

Ryan Phillipe’s role is almost robotic. If not for the violent twist at the end of the story, one would have justifiably yawned and turned over to sleep. He is an example of the many Europeans who think it is romantic to join the terrorists and bring down the USA but that’s an old story. He is not really bringing anything new.

Apparently, the Americans have thought about this bulungi and they have started luring such Europeans with terrorist tendencies into safe houses where they extract info from them while the poor fools are under the impression that they are in some Islamic country. They feel they can at least trust these people since they believe in the same cause.

The realism of cutting off the fingers of the collaborator is chilling. Just when you think they can’t go through with it, they steel themselves (Fishburn and Gina Tores plus a very quiet said Taghmaoui) and cut off yet another finger. Phillipe comes off as some really brave sod when even after he loses the first finger, he with holds the info they want.

The film is also a study in what the US is ready to do to get out of the cross hairs. They believe they are under attack and they don’t know where the snipers are at. The easiest way to go about it is also the dirtiest perhaps but they are not chickening out of doing what’s right.

Its not the greatest movie in the world but Fishburne is being lined up for a best Actor Oscar i know. he trully deserves it. Go, Tuskegee Airman.

Its not going to get any Oscars, I can bet, because of the heavy political message. You see it is not like Syrianna at all. But I loved it. I last got this rush when I watched that adaptation of the Japanese movie, The Grudge. Never been scared by a movie like the way I was.

4 Comments:

Blogger ish said...

u jst barely made it!

you dindn't go across that 'u've now told me too much so i won't be bothered to watch the movie' line that film critics sometimes cross.

1:30 AM  
Blogger JSP said...

See no evil

Good blogging up in here.

I have got to see this movie yet, Syrianna, I hear the review was good. And what is his name, the doctor from ER, George Cloney, I heard that he was terrific.

Tell me abooout it next time I blogged by your side.

Sami

2:37 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Micheal Moore a monster? Am I missing something here?

7:53 AM  
Blogger Minty said...

The movie sounds engaging. Are the jihadists onto it yet? A fatwa is very easy to institute.

10:35 AM  

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