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The Old Ways (2020)
Don't wish to be better. Just be.
Great premise, such an interesting topic, very good acting, fantastic buildup, so much promise for so much more - but the last 20 minutes destroy the movie. Beyond redemption.
It goes from fascinating to so blatantly smug that it just feels insulting.
The girl who was torn from her roots and raised in capitalist America, carrying generational trauma, becoming the furthest thing from what her people preach, leading to her addiction because of the swelling emptiness she feels inside - is suddenly miraculously cured and, in a flash, can do exactly what Luz basically dedicated decades to learning. And now she's redeemed and is out to heal everyone afflicted by the "corrupt" way of life that she herself led.
I can see how many would argue that it drives home social commentary, rediscovering ones culture leads to empowerment in the current paradigm of appropriation and whitewashing - but the way the ending is handled essentially backfires and becomes a form of cultural appropriation in itself.
It would've only been right for Miranda to inherit the Bruja title and have Christina become an apprentice, if there was a point to be made with all of the above considered.
Absolutely tone-deaf. Not at all what the film initially set out to be, or atleast poised itself as.
Possibly one of the most disappointing endings I've experienced.
Masked and Anonymous (2003)
An Eclectic Masterpiece, Judgement Down to the Individual
I've heard a spectrum of descriptions when it comes to this film, even to the extent of it being labelled masturbatory - however if I could, I'd give it an 11.
Bob Dylan and Larry Charles, two phenomenal storytellers in their own right, soak their self- contained dystopia in the kind of metaphor that would leave Wes Anderson and Tarantino stumped.
Coen brothers favourites Jeff Bridges and John Goodman, Pre-AHS Jessica Lange and Angela Bassett, Penelope Cruz and Mickey Rourke with award-worthy performances, Val Kilmer and Giovanni Ribisi with the monologues of the decade. All that and the man himself, winding his way through his visual lyric, singing songs and just trying to make sense of it all.
It's a weird one that triggers all sorts of reactions, and certainly raises a lot of questions - whether reflective of our own world views, or simply "why are we watching this at 2am?" Personally, I'd call this the cinematic equivalent of "Waiting for Godot"; a perfect reflection of the irrationality of 20th century dogma.
By no means casual viewing, but a great one for moments of existential crises.