Films/DVD Asylum

My problem with the remake.

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TAFKA Steve

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In Reply to: "Scent of a Woman" - the REAL thing posted by Victor Khomenko on July 29, 2000 at 05:40:25:

I never saw the original, but the remake bothered me at the end because it celebrated the lie that protected a friend/partner rather than telling the truth. I don't have personal experience with the red or blue lines of military and police protocol, and I am not a politician, but did anyone else get the impression that the morality of the ending was just plain wrong? HOO-WAH!

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Re: My problem with the remake. TG 22:48:27 07/30/00 (1)
No, the morality didn't bother me, as young Charles did not have to lie to protect his "friends", he merely withheld evidence in a climate of corruption, oppression, expectation and guilt
Rather like the Senate committee hearings on un-American activities in the 50s.
If there was a moral, it was more along the lines that holding onto one's own principles with integrity is occasionally a better servant of "truth" than simple co-operation with established social justice. That truth is not always a simple matter of following the rules blindly, nor of just backing up your mates if you know they are wrong.
Now, the thing which REALLY bothered me was the chocolate-box, Norman Rockwell ending to the film. Up until the last 10 minutes or so (where Charlie is "on trial") the story is over the top, but the strength of the characters still carries it off. However the saccherine, "happy" ending really spoils the mood of things for me. I would much have preferred to see the ending unresolved, with Charlie & the colonel parting company at the school gates as compatriots, Charlie strengthened & resolved to face the music with courage, and the colonel's previously unresolved need for human contact finally reconciled.
Just my 2c
TG
- Maybe. TAFKA Steve 04:48:20 07/31/00 (0)
  Yeah, Al Pacino gets to deliver his "You're out of order!" speech in court again. But it misses the point that people carried out this act of gross vandalism (not a suspicion of unAmerican activities or beliefs) and if it were in Singapore, a public caning would be deserved. The problem in the U.S. is that there doesn't seem to be any more public shame. If there were, Jerry Springer's show wouldn't exist.
  In the words of Leonard Cohen:
  "Things are gonna slide, slide in all directions.
  Won't be nothing, nothing you can measure anymore.
  The blizzard of the world is getting colder,
  and it's overturned the order of the soul.
  When they said: 'Repent, Repent, Repent!',
  I don't know what they meant."
Remind me how it ends (nt) Victor Khomenko 18:55:09 07/30/00 (2)
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- My memory of the details is vague. TAFKA Steve 16:10:37 07/31/00 (1)
  The boy returns to his prep school with Col. Frank and has to face the headmaster's inquisition attended by the entire student body. The purpose: to reveal the students responsible for vandalism. The boy knows their identity, but refuses to reveal what he knows. Col. Frank then stands up and gives his big speech to the headmaster, supporting the boy's decision. Roughly: "You're out of order. The system is out of order. What the hell are you teaching these kids by doing this?" The students erupt into cheers and applause, Coda!
  - Yeah, I remember THAT..... Victor Khomenko 18:24:21 07/31/00 (0)
    I think you will like the original - take a look. It ends on a corny note too, but with much more style.

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