2000s Drama - Official FF BMET (Poll)

[seminoles1]

5 hours ago, rob_shadows said:

Dammit I just realized I completely forgot to nominate the last samurai for this one... Oh well no one else did either so wouldn't have mattered.

A fine movie with an amazing score, but way too "White Savior" for me to end up nominating.

[Daniel]

9 minutes ago, seminoles1 said:

A fine movie with an amazing score, but way too "White Savior" for me to end up nominating.

Agreed.  If we're gonna nom a white savior movie, it should be Dances With Wolves.

[MacReady]

13 hours ago, THE DUKE said:

I like Memento, but at the end of day the gimmick is remembered a lot more than the story, which in the end I find to be just solid.

It's not a gimmick.  You can watch it in chronological order and it's just as good, if not better. 

Creates entire new ways to interpret the movie, too. 

For example, is it possible Leonard has considerably more agency than the original cut suggests?  Is he taking control and setting HIMSELF up to murder Teddy in a neverending quest for revenge? 

 

[The Orca]

22 hours ago, Pickle Rick said:

This decade was pretty stacked movie wise imo.  

I wanted all the movies I posted in the other thread to be nominated 

[animaltested]

@Daniel @seminoles1

I dont understand the "white savior" moniker that gets slapped on Last Samurai. Algren has ZERO impact on the sequence of events. The only impact he makes is helping Katsumoto's army better prepare for battle against a modern army. Something that literally happened throughout the time period. The entire film is about Katsumotos (The LAST Samurai) journey through the lens of Algren. The closest "savior" bit its that Algren saves Katsumotos life once. But that was call back to how Katsumoto 'saved" Algrens life. Romanticizing through the Western Gaze ; sure. White Savior? Eh big stretch. 

Edited June 24, 2020 by animaltested

[Daniel]

36 minutes ago, animaltested said:

@Daniel @seminoles1

I dont understand the "white savior" moniker that gets slapped on Last Samurai. Algren has ZERO impact on the sequence of events. The only impact he makes is helping Katsumoto's army better prepare for battle against a modern army. Something that literally happened throughout the time period. The entire film is about Katsumotos (The LAST Samurai) journey through the lens of Algren. The closest "savior" bit its that Algren saves Katsumotos life once. But that was call back to how Katsumoto 'saved" Algrens life. Romanticizing through the Western Gaze ; sure. White Savior? Eh big stretch. 

He's the only one who can modernize the army though, right?  Without him, they'll be helpless against a modern army.

And I think the moniker "Last Samurai" is meant to apply to Algren, not Katsumoto, because he "goes native" and all that.  It's not the most egregious version of the white savior trope (that's The Blind Side), but it's absolutely an example.

[animaltested]

56 minutes ago, Daniel said:

He's the only one who can modernize the army though, right?  Without him, they'll be helpless against a modern army.

And I think the moniker "Last Samurai" is meant to apply to Algren, not Katsumoto, because he "goes native" and all that.  It's not the most egregious version of the white savior trope (that's The Blind Side), but it's absolutely an example.

Nah, Last Samurai is referring to Katsumoto. The whole movie is a loose retelling of the Satsuma Rebellion, and of Saigo Takamori aka "the last true samurai" a titled bestowed upon him by the Meiji Government.

Eh, I dont think that was the narrative. Mostly because Katsumoto's army wipes the floor with the modern army without Algren in the only conflict shown before the finale. From the little I remember; Algren passing on his knowledge of the tactics the army would be using since his superior was the one in charge of training and what not.

Id argue is more Romaticization through the Western Gaze, since Algrens find peace among the "Old World" because of the fetishized ideals of the samurai that Western Culture loves. And its haphazard connection to the Algrens regrets about the US's oppression of Native Americans.

The movies biggest mistake was having Algren present the emperor with the Katsumoto's sword. It makes sense storywise, but is absurd historically. That was teetering towards white savior.

Edited June 24, 2020 by animaltested

[Daniel]

1 hour ago, animaltested said:

Nah, Last Samurai is referring to Katsumoto. The whole movie is a loose retelling of the Satsuma Rebellion, and of Saigo Takamori aka "the last true samurai" a titled bestowed upon him by the Meiji Government.

Eh, I dont think that was the narrative. Mostly because Katsumoto's army wipes the floor with the modern army without Algren in the only conflict shown before the finale. From the little I remember; Algren passing on his knowledge of the tactics the army would be using since his superior was the one in charge of training and what not.

Id argue is more Romaticization through the Western Gaze, since Algrens find peace among the "Old World" because of the fetishized ideals of the samurai that Western Culture loves. And its haphazard connection to the Algrens regrets about the US's oppression of Native Americans.

The movies biggest mistake was having Algren present the emperor with the Katsumoto's sword. It makes sense storywise, but is absurd historically. That was teetering towards white savior.

Eh, agree to disagree.

FWIW, on the subject of white savior movies, I think that two movies that do unfairly get called white savior movies are The Help and The Last King of Scotland.  Because while both maybe technically fit the trope, they both make part of the story the explicit point that racism is the only reason that the white people are needed at all, and it's the black people that are the proactive and move the plot to resolution, for the most part.

[thrILL!]

On 6/22/2020 at 7:47 PM, Malfatron said:

Upon rewatch, the narrative is perfectly executed. Its more impressive watching it now than whem it first came out

And much better writing and acting than Gladiator (which I’d rank last out of all of these noms tbh).
 

*EDIT*  I prolly would’ve voted for City of God  had it been up in the initial poll.  It’s the best film out of a stacked group of nominations imo.  

Edited June 24, 2020 by thrILL!
“Honesty doesn’t pay, sucker.”

[Daniel]

10 minutes ago, thrILL! said:

And much better writing and acting than Gladiator (which I’d rank last out of all of these noms tbh).
 

*EDIT*  I prolly would’ve voted for City of God  had it been up in the initial poll.  It’s the best film out of a stacked group of nominations imo.  

My man.  I call shenanigans on behalf of City of God!