K-19: The Widowmaker
Year: 2002
Grade: C-
Country: USA
Director: Bigelow
Review“chernobyl under the sea” as melanie put it. indeed it does have flashes of disney triteness. the problem with all submarine films is that they all must be compared to “das boot” which is undoubtedly the greatest submarine film of all-time. in no way does k-19 compare; there are moments when it attempts to emulate das boot – the beginning when they are loading supplies onto the sub is one such moment. in short this film fails both as a submarine film and as a film. it too often states the obvious rather than allowing the audience to make its own conclusions (“you made yourself a hero” harrison ford proclaims after one of the many lifeless side characters puts his life on the line for the crew). kathryn bigelow (the director) and keanu reeves should heed the same advice – sometimes less is more. oh well. with this cast you’d think the acting would be a lot better, i think bigelow is just a bad director.
“[About her 1995 film, “Strange Days”] “If you hold a mirror up to society, and you don’t like what you see, you can’t fault the mirror. It’s a mirror. I think that on the eve of the millennium, a point in time only four years from now, the clock is ticking, the same social issues and racial tensions still exist, the environment still needs reexamination so you don’t forget it when the lights come up. “Strange Days” is provocative. Without revealing too much, I would say that it feels like we are driving toward a highly chaotic, explosive, volatile, Armageddon-like ending. Obviously, the riot footage came out of the LA riots. I mean, I was there. I experienced that. I was part of the cleanup afterwards, so I was very aware of the environment. I mean, it really affected me. It was etched indelibly on my psyche. So obviously some of the imagery came from that. I don’t like violence. I am very interested, however, in truth. And violence is a fact of our lives, a part of the social context in which we live. But other elements of the movie are love and hope and redemption. Our main character throws up after seeing this hideous experience. The toughest decision was not wanting to shy away from anything, trying to keep the truth of the moment, of the social environment. It’s not that I condone violence. I don’t. It’s an indictment. I would say the film is cautionary, a wake-up call, and that I think is always valuable.””
thank goodness we have her to provide THE mirror to society. how brazen of her to think that she can perfectly portray reality in an objective way. it’s funny that in the same quote she unknowingly acknowledges how tainted her point of view really is – “Obviously, the riot footage came out of the LA riots. I mean, I was there. I experienced that. I was part of the cleanup afterwards, so I was very aware of the environment. I mean, it really affected me. It was etched indelibly on my psyche.” i may have found the first director whose movies i will try to completely avoid in the future.
Watched in theater