I have just seen "Minority Report" and...

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...to my surprise, IÂ´ve found this one to be the most complex film Spielberg ever shot.
Not perfect, plenty of failures, and it seems that Spielberg has bitten on something bigger than he can chew, but...WHAT A FILM!
For the first time in his filmography, thereÂ´s evolution towards maturity in his main character, and he has been able to draw, and let evolve, a plot which is both denser, and much richer, than anything he had previously done: Anderton evolves from being an Eternal Child, emotionally stuck and denying reality to avoid facing the pain from the loss of his son, into something very close to a mature man. And this he does through extreme pain, at every level, even by losing his own physical and social identity, pushed in a ruthless way by powers beyond his control, and being forced to face his past actions, while being unable to control most of what happens to him.
Stylistically, Kubrick casts a strong light on much of this film: the images of Agatha in that pond, looking much like the final scenes in "2001"; the visually and acoustically joyous images of Anderton waving his hands in the same way as a skilled music conductor, while SchubertÂ´s "Unfinished Symphony" flows from the screen; and the eery oneiric ambient of his visit to the blind man who sells drugs to him, point to "Eyes Wide Shut"...
And he pays a tribute to "Blade Runner" (another Philip K.DickÂ´s based film), in the esthetics of those forbidden places he visits, and where he hides in...; and to "The Fugitive", and now and then, references to "Mission: Impossible" and even to "Matrix" (that impossible fight in the alley, with people flying up, and down the walls of those buildings)..., but thereÂ´s much more in this film than just an exercise on filming, and references to the origin of it all, Greek tragedy, and even mythology, are aplenty, as those three fates, the Precogs, being much like the three fates, or like MacbethÂ´s witches, and the kiss the old woman, Dr. Heinemann, puts on AndertonÂ´s lips, blessing and cursing him at the same time, in the same way Apollo did with Cassandra, who knew in advance what was going to happen, while nobody trusted her.
Water, that symbol of primal unconscious, is used wisely in this film: future seers are in a pool and, in the climax of a prediction, when images of a crime-to-be are being formed, Agatha goes under the water, as if she was drowning; and her mother, in one of the root knots of the film, died by drowning, too; and then, AndertonÂ´s misfortunes, what almost killed his soul and kept him emotionally dead for such a long time, started when he was under water in a pool, when he momentarily went out of conscience about his kid.
And then the film, happening fifty years in the future, shows some connection with whatÂ´s happening in the US today, with that PreCrime patrol looking like a wet dream dreamt by Mr. Ashcroft and his bunch: an ultraefficient way to prevent crime, and the ability to punish (not to redeem) people for crimes they havenÂ´t been allowed to commit (this man Spielberg canÂ´t be a honest Republican, can he?) while at the same time pointing to something happening deeper into the soul of too many people, both in the US of NA, and abroad: the tragedy of the Eternal Child, who fears the pains of growing up, and who, instead of becoming a mature, compassionate man, becomes a Senex, an avid old man, thirsty for power, greedy and able to eat up his own sons, the way Kronos (Saturn in Roman mythology) did. ThatÂ´s what Max von SydowÂ´s character is doing: he tries to eat his own spiritual son, to make sure his crime rests uncovered, and his plot for controlling other peopleÂ´s crimes goes ahead. Anderton is redeemed through suffering, and he learns to see the world through new eyes (literally). And his redemption comes through his recovery of his feminine side (both Agatha, and his wife, are aspect of his own Anima, which he had separated from, and which he finally integrates)
This film is, as I have said, very complex, and it has many bright moments. It is a pity that it is marred by too many failures, not only technical, but some conceptual ones, too. And it ends in a bland, Hollywoodish style. And it is a great pity, for this could well have been one of the great Sci-Fi films of all times.
All in all, I have enjoyed it immensely, even accepting its evident failures. And I heartedly hope that maybe it will mark an inflection point in SpielbergÂ´s career, towards maturity and complexity in the plots he weaves for the screen.
I have intentionally left a lot of points without covering, as IÂ´d like to see what other inmates think about it: it deserves being discussed in depth.
Regards
BF

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Topic - I have just seen "Minority Report" and... - orejones 11:48:20 11/13/02 (3)

Re: I have just seen "Minority Report" and... - fredgarvib 10:44:38 11/14/02 (0)

Re: I have just seen "Minority Report" and... - rufus 18:36:28 11/13/02 (0)

Minority Report - TA 14:02:32 11/13/02 (0)

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