No Country for Old Men
I went to the movies to see No Country for Old Men the other day. Very violent, tough movie, but I have not seen a screen villain as vividly rendered and lingeringly unpleasant as Javier Bardem is in this picture since Henry Silva played the angel-dust-snorting hit man in Sharky's Machine with Burt Reynolds. Bardem is not to be believed, he is so intense and eerie.
Thanksgiving was...peaceful. In all of my adult life, I have rarely seen Americans so in need of a vacation, a break, a place to go that is safe and comfortable. I have rarely seen Americans rush toward the Thanksgiving weekend with such need and commitment. This country is coming apart. And people are in a lot of pain about that. Eight years of these lunatics raping everything they see has been exhausting. Americans are exhausted. Our system is breaking down, slowly, and people are, when they get honest about it, frightened about what that means, short and long term. Iraq is a mess and they botched that so badly. Now, some say Iran is next. How can that be?
The American military is staffed by brave, highly trained, competent people. But it's run by idiots. Idiots who are going to kill a lot of innocent people and get some of us killed along the way.
Go see No Country for Old Men. It's a metaphor for Iraq and the post 9/11 world.
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Mr Baldwin raises salient points. No longer hiding behind flags (should I say ideological flagellation?), the fascists are revealed. I would say the film is not a metaphor, but a mirror, Mr Baldwin. I was caught up in their story telling, and, despite some 'loose ends' of plotting never resolved (as in the novel), came away feeling the Coen brothers have come close to giving us a cinematic version of Joyce's 24 hours of be-ing. There is no difference between iranianazis and washingtonianazis.
Stephan1947/Chofetz Chayim ben-Avraham
The comments about Thanksgiving this year were incredibly accurate. I had this same feeling that a holiday was needed by all. I am glad that you have put this feeling into words. It is like trying to wake up from a bad dream. Please let it end soon!
No Alec, Idiots will not destroy this country. GREED WILL! Our leadership has sold out it's values long ago for their personal fortune. Bush and his merry band of corporatists have an agenda that does not serve any country or it's people's interests.
The MSM, big business, and the WH are in bed together. We do not matter.
Yes.... I am disgusted with what America has turned into and what it has lost.
I've been looking forward to "No Country for Old Men" and can't wait to catch it this weekend.
The Coen Brothers' films are all masterful - Miller's Crossing, The Man Who Wasn't There and yes, even The Big Lebowski (Jeff Bridges is sorely underrated in my estimation). They don't have many contenders these days when it comes to structure, style, dialogue, lighting and darkness.
Whether it's war or life, their commom man and/or woman is thrown into an extreme situation and left to his/her own devices. It's what happens every day, all over world whether or not we read, know or hear about it.
I read the book No country for old men and can't
understand why they made it into a movie.
( yes for money of course)
I I agree with the remainder of Mr Baldwin's rremarks but don't see how they relate to the mmovie ??
Alec, your review is straight on! As usual!
I saw an advance screening and was struck by the similarities to many current world-stage dramas.
The callous disregard for human life of the villain smacked of the janjaweed and Darfur.
The mixed morals of all the characters reminded me of modern-day Pakistan.
Truly captured the essence of how dominant human beings operate out of realm of common human decency, like thoughtless little pigs.
I agree. But where is the leader with the courage to say what needs to be said and the government that does what needs to be done. I do not think they can or will be found in either major party.
A good movie because of a great script. It proves that without writers we will not get to see good movies or TV
shows for quite a while. I think the movie people remembered the ending of " The Sopranos " when they did the final cut of this movie. I can see Javier Bardem in
a comedy. He could pull it off. All we need is a writer.
Alec I pretty much agree with what you say in your post--except one thing---this country is coming off the rails pretty damn fast--not slowly as you said---for a long time I figured our undoing was going to be a long term thing--but after seven years of this crew up there in Washington--the pace of our demise is coming pretty damn fast--a lot faster than I had ever thought possible.
Alec; so right about No Country for Old Men - We have entered purgatory- before inferno - do we have one last chance- look what we have done to New Orleans:
“You see,” said Delcambre. “I will tell you why we are here. We must hurry, and with these we do not need spend much time. They smile; they do not even acknowledge their sin.”
“Then shouldn’t they go straight to hell?” asked Pinch.
“Well, theoretically,” said Delcambre. “But that is not my decision.”
I kneeled next to a man with a gray suit; his face was pasty, like he had just had a heart attack. His eyes were bloodshot, wireless framed glasses falling from his face, his smiling lips, blue. “What does money taste like?” I asked him. “Is it as horrible as the breath of a dead child?”
“It wasn’t me,” he croaked. “We followed the rules. The army made me do it. They said that it was ordained.”
I stood up and by God I remember how much I wanted to kick the bastard. I remembered him. Politicians. I wanted to kick his sorry ass.
“Leave him to his fate,” said Delcambre. He raised his hands as though he were about to give a benediction and then he said: “Here is one from Dante as you avaricious ones move to your well-deserved ends: . . . .my house is now your captive: It traffics in the flesh of its own children.” Then he turned to Pinch and me and nodded. “Another clue.”
“But the big question is,” said Pinch, “whose house?”
“All of them,” I said.
The Beatitudes, The New Orleans Trilogy, Lyn LeJeune
They wear me out. Trying to catch the incompetence of the current administration reminds me of my dog trying to catch a crafty squirrel skittering across the yard.
Ohg.
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I don't consider myself a very deep thinker but I came away with the same analogy after seeing "No Country for Old Men"....I'
Why is it an actor (albeit the best one we got and a decent human being to boot)is just about the only plain-speaking commentator we have on the scene.Let'
This weekend we relaxed for the first time in ages. My family members were all home except the one branch that lives in Europe and we just enjoyed each others company. These are depressing times with a government run by traitors and a media that is willing to turn away rather than face the facts that this country is really no better than any third world country on the planet. For that moment we were safe in our home. Now it's Monday again and we are faced with the reality of our situation.
Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" was mesmerizing as he has been in just about every other movie he's graced. His range is phenomenal; see, for example, "The Sea Inside" ("Mar Adentro"). Alec's metaphor of "No Country...
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Posted November 23, 2007 | 02:40 PM (EST)