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The Righteous Gemstones (2019)
Too Violent
We watched the first season and the first two episodes in the second season, but had to stop. Not only was there too much violence, none of the characters are likable, and all of them are despicable. Why watch something that's so much like the world as it is now. The feeling of looking down upon these scam artists wears off after a while, leaving nothing but disgust. We prefer watching series where characters grow, and understand themselves more deeply, over time. Not through the point we watched and we decided it wasn't worth hoping for more. If someone reports that these despicable characters see the true light at some point, we'd love to know.
Mixte (2021)
A charming surprise
As others have mentioned, a few facets of this drama are anachronistic - some music, some language, some conflicts - but in doing so, it captured the struggle between adult expectations and love beneath the surface in a way that may help young people better understand the limitations of life in the 1960s.
It also shows the ugly side of homophobia and misogyny, and the ways the characters were doing their best in a world that was hard to navigate unless they followed a s path set out for them. As a result, they are easy to care and cheer for.
For a lighter story, it was filled with deep truths. I hope there is a second season.
The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Did you see the same movie
Now, this is why I like IMDb so much! Try it yourself. First, filter for "Loved It" and read 10 or so reviews. Then, filter for "Hated It" and read a few more. Wow, there's some dichotomy there ...
For me, this is a parody of run-amok ego and empty spiritual seeking, nothing more, nothing less. These characters are not _supposed_ to be likable or deep; they're so unaware of their surroundings that they're caught in a keystone-cop kind of existence. The saturated, zoom-lens styling is vintage 1960 ... but, wait, there's an MP3 player throughout ... so there are still people like this today? If you're part of that scene, or envious of it, you won't find it funny. Otherwise, the laughs are rooted in amazement. There's no conventional narrative because as a schematic about living a tunnel-vision life not even a real loss can register for three clueless Americans for more than a day. This is India as seen through their eyes. They learn a little something, but not much. Sad and funny at the same time.
This is a Rorschach ... my favorite kind of movie.
Into the Wild (2007)
Asks important questions
Can happiness be found only through the solitary pursuit of pure knowledge and truth? Or can it be discovered in the simple life of shared experience with others? In Sean Penn's Into the Wild, this appears to be an either/or question. By the time Christopher McCandless discovers he's taken the high solitary road all the way to a dead-end, it's too late; he's killed himself by eating poisonous berries in the Alaska bush. Was his journey a noble one or the indulgence of extended American adolescence? Was he an heroic figure or a romantic naif? In the film, moments of insight are delivered in stark, unmistakable contrast: McCandless' painful family secret is shown as core motivation; his effortless, yet detached wisdom on the road is appreciated by his companions but deemed by him to be less worthy than his high ideals; and the death of his final prey ends up being pointless, its carcass scavenged by a bald eagle. The film brings us right to the threshold of considering these questions with depth. Then it ends.
With Into the Wild, Penn has made some rather confident directorial choices. As bookends to the core journey, son and father gaze directly into the camera, reminding us that their stories are being told for an audience. Penn presents a three-tiered time line that, through the juxtaposition of stories, resonates with layered meaning. And, as McCandless' final mentor, Hal Holbrook's portrayal of earnest, vulnerable love is unparalleled.
At the same time, the repeated use of fast- and slow-motion scenes seems unnecessarily self-conscious, the voice-over is presented without reflective pause, and the music is underutilized; it is grafted on top of the film rather than integrated with syncopation or finesse. Quotes are sprinkled throughout, as if to say, "hey, this guy really read a lot!" So ... is this the doomed journey of a hero? the tragedy of a wasted life? the shaming of 1960s parental norms? a cautionary tale of cultural alienation? Echoes of Voltaire (Candide), Maugham (The Razor's Edge), Hesse (Narcissus and Goldmund) abound.
In the end, I hope that Penn (and Krakauer) are suggesting that the rejection of 20th-century American culture is not a destination, but simply a stopping point on a path to bring that insight back into loving lives with others, as teacher, as companion, as friend.
If he'd lived, where would Christopher McCandless be today? Would we care about his story?