tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post550022005749854025..comments2024-01-09T04:01:00.672+00:00Comments on Breakfast In The Ruins: Wow, I Actually Saw a New Film:Some Thoughts on ‘Django Unchained’.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14951955227326548340noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post-58167241432345716572013-08-29T11:23:07.831+01:002013-08-29T11:23:07.831+01:00Cheers Mike - much appreciated.Cheers Mike - much appreciated.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14951955227326548340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post-39363366422602808102013-08-29T03:27:41.224+01:002013-08-29T03:27:41.224+01:00Ben -
Bit late for a comment, maybe, but I just s...Ben -<br /><br />Bit late for a comment, maybe, but I just stumbled upon your post and I wanted to congratulate you on some great writing and a keen analysis.<br /><br />I look forward to reading more!<br /><br />- MikeMichaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17556959964457058891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post-77113448379344538402013-04-13T13:30:23.979+01:002013-04-13T13:30:23.979+01:00Hi Ray -
I'm glad you enjoyed my post, and th...Hi Ray -<br /><br />I'm glad you enjoyed my post, and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the film. <br /><br />What you say makes a lot of sense, particularly with regard to Schultz - it didn't occur to me to look at things that way, but that's a really good interpretation.<br /><br />I think the tone of my writing above is probably harsher on QT than I meant it to be - I wrote it as a kind of "straight back from the cinema" rant, and my feelings on the film have mellowed a bit subsequently. <br /><br />As someone who doesn't watch many modern Hollywood films, the focus on individual exceptionalism kind of bugged me, but in its own way it's an even older & more storied tradition than the collectivism of Italian films (even in its specifically racial, American aspect - perhaps the Django character harks back more to 'Black Caesar' and 'Shaft' than anything else..), so I kind of appreciate that too.<br /><br />Anyway, it's certainly to Tarantino's credit that character motivations & meanings remain so ambiguous in 'Django..' - not something you could often say for his previous films...Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14951955227326548340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3369610344911858466.post-80494150136545711232013-04-13T02:03:22.154+01:002013-04-13T02:03:22.154+01:00Not to dredge up a dead topic, but I can't bel...Not to dredge up a dead topic, but I can't believe this didn't generate any comments. Very well written critique, but I don't believe you give QT enough credit. You hit the nail on the head with your analysis of collectivism in spaghetti westerns (and, really, in a lot of socialistic Italian cinema such as the films of Lina Wertmüller).<br /><br />I believe the subtext of "Django..", however, to be about individualism, about being bold enough to defy the status quo. This is not a western about the outsider being lured back into the fold, the retired gunslinger coaxed into rejoining the fight against evil. This is about one man riding off into the sunset OUT of a world that doesn't properly value him.<br /><br />In many ways, this is an expression of QT's own ego, his "too cool for school" avant-garde elitism. As a film blogger, I'm okay with that, I understand it. Rather than a "Spartacus" retread where the slaves rise up, the end of the film emphasizes the fact that these exceptional individuals are rare. Most everyone else is willing to either put on the bag or the shackles as expected.<br /><br />And that's why Schultz goes out like he does. Much like the Wild Bunch, it's knowing suicide. In this case, it's not a failure to deal with growing old in changing times. Schultz teaches Django all the rules so he can break them in ways Schultz didn't have the courage to, and he can't abide his own cowardice.<br /><br />That's my take on it, anyway. Congratulations on an insightful and entertaining blog. I'll definitely be back to read more.RayRayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08201525652257830908noreply@blogger.com