My Childhood Memories, Starring Nicholas Cage
Two nights ago, I saw one of the most astounding movies I have ever seen. The movie both amazed and impressed me, not because of the acting (although it was quite good), not because of the action (there were a few scenes, but nothing that hasn't been seen before), but because of the story. Why the story, you ask? Is it because it was so beautifully brilliant, so full of twists and turns and surprises that it kept me in suspense until the very end, when the last secrets were revealed? No, the movie resonated with me so deeply not because the events it showed were unknown, but because I knew them quite well. The movie was "Lord of War".
For those of you who haven't seen or heard anything about this movie, It's not about Bush, okay? For those of you who have heard of it, I know what you're thinking: "Isn't that movie about an arms dealer or something?" Well, the answer is that it is indeed. However, at least half of the movie either concerns or takes place on my home turf: West Africa. More exactly, the movie deals with West Africa's many civil wars in the past twenty years. While this is completely uncharted territory to the average western moviegoer, to me this is the local news during my entire childhood. Liberia, Sierra Leone, Liberia again... the movie takes an unflinching look at all of them.
From the macabre opening scene, showing a city street covered in shell casings in a city gutted by fighting, to the brilliant title sequence, which follows the life of a case of assault rifle bullets, to the revelatory final words... the movie is beautiful. True, there is too much sex and swearing in the movie for my tastes (way too much, actually), but I was willing to overlook it due to one fact, if for nothing else: the movie is real. This isn't a happy movie, like that wannabe "Shara", where the good guys triumph over the bad, and (of course) America saves the world. This shows the state of African Civil wars like they really are: brutal, bloody, savage, and unforgettable. It shows children with machete-amputated limbs, victims of senseless violence that wasn't important enough for the great powers to take notice of. It shows armies of men who are little better than wild animals, not because they are black, much less because they are Africans, but because they are put in a position where they are both allowed and encouraged to enact atrocities. Watching this movie reminded me very clearly of all the times I would listen to the reports on BBC's "Focus on Africa" (one of the few sources for unbiased news on the region) and think: "There, but for the grace of God, go we... trodding down a bloody path of savagery."
Anyway, I need to log off now and get some sleep, but if any of you guys wants to understand, even if only in a very limited sense, part of why I view the world in a vastly different manner, and why I hold some of my political beliefs (as well as wanting to see a very good movie) go watch "Lord of War". It's worth the money for a world history lesson you should never forget.
For those of you who haven't seen or heard anything about this movie, It's not about Bush, okay? For those of you who have heard of it, I know what you're thinking: "Isn't that movie about an arms dealer or something?" Well, the answer is that it is indeed. However, at least half of the movie either concerns or takes place on my home turf: West Africa. More exactly, the movie deals with West Africa's many civil wars in the past twenty years. While this is completely uncharted territory to the average western moviegoer, to me this is the local news during my entire childhood. Liberia, Sierra Leone, Liberia again... the movie takes an unflinching look at all of them.
From the macabre opening scene, showing a city street covered in shell casings in a city gutted by fighting, to the brilliant title sequence, which follows the life of a case of assault rifle bullets, to the revelatory final words... the movie is beautiful. True, there is too much sex and swearing in the movie for my tastes (way too much, actually), but I was willing to overlook it due to one fact, if for nothing else: the movie is real. This isn't a happy movie, like that wannabe "Shara", where the good guys triumph over the bad, and (of course) America saves the world. This shows the state of African Civil wars like they really are: brutal, bloody, savage, and unforgettable. It shows children with machete-amputated limbs, victims of senseless violence that wasn't important enough for the great powers to take notice of. It shows armies of men who are little better than wild animals, not because they are black, much less because they are Africans, but because they are put in a position where they are both allowed and encouraged to enact atrocities. Watching this movie reminded me very clearly of all the times I would listen to the reports on BBC's "Focus on Africa" (one of the few sources for unbiased news on the region) and think: "There, but for the grace of God, go we... trodding down a bloody path of savagery."
Anyway, I need to log off now and get some sleep, but if any of you guys wants to understand, even if only in a very limited sense, part of why I view the world in a vastly different manner, and why I hold some of my political beliefs (as well as wanting to see a very good movie) go watch "Lord of War". It's worth the money for a world history lesson you should never forget.