This has spoilers, so if you want to
know before you go, read on.
An
incredible film.
The
Phantom Menace is so effortless, so simple in its telling that it begs
belittlement. It is a story-book and fantasy, innuendo, rumor and tall-tale
realized, with creatures of every stripe and station littering the landscape
like popcorn at a duck-feeding. It's gonna make a million dollars!*
As the
first episode of what is envisioned as at least a holy sextet, The Phantom
Menace takes its time establishing the characters, their status, and
environment. It cannot be everything people seem to need it to be, but it is
more than even I hoped. And any critic looking to make a name for him/her/self
by portraying this as anything but a wonderful experience is lying to you, or
themselves. There is nothing wrong with this film.
As a producer of 3-d animation, I know that back-breaking work went into every
frame of the film. And the hundreds of animation and compositing credits at the
end tell the rest of the story. With an expert's eye, I found very few seams -
and there are thousands of places that I know there should be. From the
Planet-wide City of Coruscant (def: flashing;glittering) to the plains of
Naboo, it is simply beautiful, and all believable.
It has
contrasting moods - sometimes slow and lumbering, sometimes deft and fleet
footed. It is a dream come true. It does everything it needs to, the way it
needs to be done, and still gives more.
But the heart of this piece is
inexorable tragedy. A stifling sadness that, for all of the heroic glory and
bravado, threads itself maddeningly through every scene.
Anakin
Skywalker is the central focus of Phantom Menace, and we have known for almost
20 years what his end will be. Now we see his beginning, born into poverty,
sold into slavery, trapped in a world of fear and pain, but surprisingly
hopeful, full of energy, and brimming with the Force.
Yet as we
watch his beginnings we know he becomes the servant of the Emperor, becomes
what we now know he as a child hates. His fate was almost all I could think
about while watching the film. And seeing how Lucas handles the kid, a prodigy,
bright, alert, creative, and so hopeful, I think about it all the more. Had
Anakin been angry, spiteful or devious, it might be seen how he would fall to
the dark side of the force.
We could
accept the ascendancy of a petty, ruthless brat to the empire of evil. But
there is no chip on Anakin's shoulder, and he is heroic and selfless through
and through. Only Yoda sees the storm clouds gathering, and perceives the
potential threat. As tall as he stands within the Jedi Council, he stands
alone, and his wishes are ignored.
In my
religious upbringing, I was taught that children are innocents. My faith in
that is often reinforced through chance encounters of young people surviving
despite powerful odds against it. I see glimpses of their natural honesty and
hope through the interstices of their protective coloration.
In our
feature documentary on Gutter
Punks (homeless teens), I saw in my interviews where parents, society,
religion, and strangers had failed, used and abused them. The path from
homelessness to drugs, petty crime and oblivion was determined by the onslaught
of lonely streets. Many of those kids found pets, which is revealing of their
need for companionship and human warmth, and the gentleness of spirit that
makes it possible to relate to another being. Despite their predicament, they
strive to act humanely, to hold onto sanity and love for life
Of
course, at some point, every one of those homeless kids has to choose how they
will end up. They either seek real help or, complexly, at some point too late
for them, give in or give up.
And it
makes me wonder about Columbine, where two kids in a decent suburb with upscale
parents decide to avenge themselves inhumanely on their persecution fantasies.
Society had not failed them, in that they had material things and educational
opportunity. At what point did they turn and choose to abandon their souls? Or
were those souls ripped out of their adolescent psyches by desperation and
circumstances we will never understand?
At some point it was too late for them.
Anakin
had no material wealth as a slave, no freedom, no independence. But he had an
optimism, and a dignity, nurtured by a loving mother. He made imaginary friends
into real ones with little more than baling wire and a screwdriver. He built a
pod-racer with his own two hands, and dreamed of freedom in the stars, and
grieved over leaving his mother for his destiny.
It will be interesting to see what fortunes turn Anakin from budding Jedi
Knight to Darth Vader. We already know at some point it will be too late for
him. And I am sure it will be sadder still to watch.
God help
us learn something from it.
