Avatar is a movie that has rocked the world and certainly mine. It's revolutionary in every aspect of its making. James Cameron takes the most acceptable form of transgression of our modernity, the right to ravish lands for resources, and turns it into an epic story of the perspectives and lives of the victimized Alien, the expendable Other. He takes a crippled marine to experience the unique unison with a man-made alien avatar that gives him infinite access to physical freedoms that can only be real in dreams. The Avatar is supposed to mingle with alien masses of planet Pandora, convince them to let go of their sacred lands which is lying on top of a huge natural resource the human military forces relentlessly seek. The movie takes us to Pandora's divine haven and its magnificent inhabitants and creatures, their beliefs and rituals and gradually have us witness the change that overtakes that soldier who becomes the leader, the chosen one that brings victory to the oppressed. A story that can not be broken into a few lines, for each and every detail carries a message that must be analyzed in depth.
For the first time a western movie explicitly points a finger against warfare, against imperial assault, and transgressions which are justified in the name of survival, wealth and upper interests. And for the first time, the point of view of the natives are treated with respect and is represented without sarcastic overtones.
Cameron utilizes every tool in this movie and particularly an unsurpassed CGI simulation system for the actors to convey feelings, movement and actual real life reactions so that the Avatar experience is not only an idea in the movie but also an actual experience enjoyed by the actors. The massive production is reflected in the superb quality of 3D massive Avatars and the minute details of their design to perfection.
The repeated words the natives use to bound, " I see you" is amazing for the layers of meanings, they reflect. It represents their spiritual insight, their unified vision, their common values and respect for the choices and the decisions of its individuals; certain they are always motivated by the best interest of the community. When Neytiri saves and brings Jake Sully's avatar to her tribe every one respects her decision. When Jake becomes one of her people he repeats the words to reveal his inner transformation.
One of the most expressive moments of the movie is when Jake seeks to be taught the ways of the tribe and he is told "you can't fill a cup that's already full." and Jake replies "believe me, I'm an empty cup." Unlike the brainwashed soldiers, Jake didn't receive the training or the preconceived misconceptions that mobilize the arsenal behind him. In fact, he lost his freedom and the life of his twin brother in the name of such invasions. Jake is made the perfect receptor, the perfect open minded character that is meant to see. Being a mindless follower ripped him and left him empty. These qualities become the essence of his eminent leadership that's prophesied from the minute Neytiri aims her arrow to kill him and he is saved by the peaceful passage of a holy seed.
God as one with nature is evident in the celestial beauty of Pandora, cleverly named after the mythical box of evils that once opened it unleashes evil, and in the invisible energy that lurks at its every corner binding all as one. When Jake prays for support, he summons the divine forces that bring them to victory in a moment of desperation and once everyone has done what's right within their capacity. Jake laments the loss of green to a state of destruction that he refuses to let happen to his newly known world and genuinely attempts to stop it from happening again.
The amazing ending, the moment Neitiri saves Jake again this time as a human is awesome! and the communal ritual that seals Jake's final rebirth or resurrection by dying to his old crippled form, is an epic visual spectacle to a puzzled audience that doesn't wish to see Jake hooked up to the simulator or departed from his love and new home. The movie is a milestone in the history of cinema and I say in the shamefull history of mankind.I clap with every molecule in my being!
1 comment:
I just hope some of the people who see the movie absorb some of its meaning.
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