Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/02/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The bewildered protagonists are portrayed as having purposeless roles in their "real" lives; unnecessary, unwanted, un-loved. This was pantomimed by the way they were also lost in the foreign culture they had been dropped into. Rather an "On the Road to Existentialism" film (complete with a shadow Bing and Bob). All more than a bit jarring when painted on a foreign background. While, in your mind, the protagonists may not have had any redeeming characteristics, they certainly had characteristics we are all familiar with if not posses ourselves. Perhaps we do not WANT to identify with the protagonists? Perhaps we reject them because we want to hide that part of ourselves? I am not arguing you should have liked the film but with your assertion it was not well realized. I think it was. John Collier On Feb 24, 2004, at 7:06 PM, Matthew Powell wrote: > I was frustrated by the extent to which Coppola tipped the balance in > favor of SJ/Murray - the actress, photographer, lounge singer were all > portrayed badly for no other crime than not being hip enough. And the > protagonists had no redeeming facets to their personalities - oh, the > horrors of being a bored, privileged white person in a ritzy Tokyo > hotel! Had Coppola been less transparent in the manipulation, and if > she had given me a reason to identify with her characters, I think it > would have worked. But if you dislike or don't care about Murray and > Johannsen, it's a loss. - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html