The Company of Huh?
I finally got round to watching "The Company Of Wolves"...
...and actually I can't see what O. and M. are fussing about.
*shrugs*
I mean, they told us they watched it when they were kids and were sooooooo impressed, but frankly, I think it's rather silly. And I even got most of the symbols. (Though I found it even sillier when I looked up the ones I didn't get.)
And what is this movie that leaves you with a feeling of "What the huh"?
You might say it is a grown-up version (or growing-up version, considering the symbolism) of Little Red Riding Hood, about a little girl dreaming of being Mary Sue in former times with her granny telling her stories about werewolves. But then, haha! It turns out that it's not about werewolves as such at all, but about the Beast that lurks in every man! And hurts the women! Which we find out as the guys start to fancy the heroine and try to do mean things to her that she doesn't want (i.e. kissing. Teh gasp!). But of course the heroine is quite able to defend herself (it's Mary Sue, after all).
Soooo... I admit that some people might think this is a great allegory on growing up and such.
Only it's not. Or maybe I was too busy noticing this over the anti-men attitude and silly dialogue (although the latter may indeed be due to crappy synchronisation, but I wasn't ready to watch it all over again in English).
And if the reason Markus and Ortrun liked the movie so much is indeed that they recognised the grand allegory and thought it fantastic, I'm amazed at how little I know them.
Or maybe it's just me who is so cold and heartless and arrogant. But I didn't like it.
Does anyone think that scene in the Granny's house was romantic?
Hello, little girl. Yes, that's a werewolf. Yes, he wants to molest you (double meaning intended by movie-makers). YES, indeed, you're the one with the gun. What the...?
Growing-up symbolism is all very well, but please decide in the beginning if you want to tell a) a story or b) an allegory. And please settle on the latter, because the story reminded me of the stuff I used to write at the age of thirteen.
The effects were cool though. Yeah.
Although that tongue-thing was only cool once.
*shrugs*
I was going to copy the epilogue here to warn you all, as the movie does, what MEAN CREATURES!!!!eleventone!!!1one men are, but it turns out the translation was far more feminist than the original version. Which gives the movie back a couple of points I took off for being anti-male.
The original version goes like this:
Little girls, this seems to say:
Never stop upon your way;
Never trust a stranger friend
No one knows how it will end.
As you're pretty, so be wise
Wolves may lurk in every guise
Now, as then, 'tis simple truth:
Sweetest tongue hides sharpest tooth.
The German version goes like this:
Und die Moral von der Geschicht: . . . . . . . . . (and the moral of this tale)
Mädchen weich vom Wege nicht! . . . . . . . . . (girl, do not stray from your path)
Bleib allein und halt nicht an. . . . . . . . . . (stay alone an do not stop)
Traue keinem fremden Mann. . . . . . . . . . (trust no stranger man)
Geh nie bis zum bitteren Ende. . . . . . . . . . (never go to the bitter end)
Gib Dich nicht in fremde Hände. . . . . . . . . . (do not entrust yourself to stranger hands)
Deine Schönheit zieht sie an . . . . . . . . . (your beauty atracts them)
Und ein Wolf ist jeder Mann. . . . . . . . . . (and every man is a wolf)
Merk Dir eines: In der Nacht . . . . . . . . . (always remember: in the night)
Ist schon mancher Wolf erwacht. . . . . . . . . . (many a wolf has yet awoken)
Weine um sie keine Träne, . . . . . . . . . (shed not a single tear for them)
Wölfe haben scharfe Zähne. . . . . . . . . . (wolves do have sharp teeth)
I like the German version better for its lyricism, but it's far harder on the men.
It's okay in the English version, it only "warns" you not to trust every stranger (how educational *grin*). The German version warns you not to trust any man.
Yes, that's right, dear heroine, that means you! And when a weird gentleman tries to take the stuff you're bringing your Granny from you and invites you to a picnic when you refuse, you say no again! For heaven's sake, you're the one with the knife! So he's go a rifle? Well, he's right in front of you, you can stab him before he can even pull the gun from his shoulder! (Yes, that's cruel, but it's practical.) Gosh. And I thought I was incapable of standing up to someone. *facepalm*
Conclusion?
Well, if you care for a profound movie full of growing-up symbolism (yes, I admit, some of the symbolism was indeed quite cool; I just didn't like the subject, sorry), you do have a chance of enjoying this. I won't put my hand into the fire for the actors - as I said, I can't estimate the synchro quality.
I think the big problem is that the movie is actually intended to show (in a cool symbolic way) how the heroine grows up - only this is completely going under in the face of the "Men are all evil beasts!!!11one1!!elventy!!!" plot. Although I believe the latter was unintended. There is the scene where the heroine's mother tells her "If there's a beast in men, it meets its match in women too." Only for the rest of the movie, men are teh Evil. And so it looks like a weird educational movie on Do Not Trust Strangers. (Just listen to Granny! If you should spy on a naked man in the wood, run as if the Devil himself were after you! :P)
But dear Granny, next time someone tells me to run, I'll run like the wolf-girl. ("And she ran..." (girl sidles along the wall) "...and ran..." (girl sneaks along the street) "...and ran..." yeah sure.)
And next time someone kisses me, I'll say "What big teeth you have!" *grins*
So... I'm not saying "don't watch it". If you want to, do so. I'm not recommending it, that's all.
...and actually I can't see what O. and M. are fussing about.
*shrugs*
I mean, they told us they watched it when they were kids and were sooooooo impressed, but frankly, I think it's rather silly. And I even got most of the symbols. (Though I found it even sillier when I looked up the ones I didn't get.)
And what is this movie that leaves you with a feeling of "What the huh"?
You might say it is a grown-up version (or growing-up version, considering the symbolism) of Little Red Riding Hood, about a little girl dreaming of being Mary Sue in former times with her granny telling her stories about werewolves. But then, haha! It turns out that it's not about werewolves as such at all, but about the Beast that lurks in every man! And hurts the women! Which we find out as the guys start to fancy the heroine and try to do mean things to her that she doesn't want (i.e. kissing. Teh gasp!). But of course the heroine is quite able to defend herself (it's Mary Sue, after all).
Soooo... I admit that some people might think this is a great allegory on growing up and such.
Only it's not. Or maybe I was too busy noticing this over the anti-men attitude and silly dialogue (although the latter may indeed be due to crappy synchronisation, but I wasn't ready to watch it all over again in English).
And if the reason Markus and Ortrun liked the movie so much is indeed that they recognised the grand allegory and thought it fantastic, I'm amazed at how little I know them.
Or maybe it's just me who is so cold and heartless and arrogant. But I didn't like it.
Does anyone think that scene in the Granny's house was romantic?
Hello, little girl. Yes, that's a werewolf. Yes, he wants to molest you (double meaning intended by movie-makers). YES, indeed, you're the one with the gun. What the...?
Growing-up symbolism is all very well, but please decide in the beginning if you want to tell a) a story or b) an allegory. And please settle on the latter, because the story reminded me of the stuff I used to write at the age of thirteen.
The effects were cool though. Yeah.
Although that tongue-thing was only cool once.
*shrugs*
I was going to copy the epilogue here to warn you all, as the movie does, what MEAN CREATURES!!!!eleventone!!!1one men are, but it turns out the translation was far more feminist than the original version. Which gives the movie back a couple of points I took off for being anti-male.
The original version goes like this:
Little girls, this seems to say:
Never stop upon your way;
Never trust a stranger friend
No one knows how it will end.
As you're pretty, so be wise
Wolves may lurk in every guise
Now, as then, 'tis simple truth:
Sweetest tongue hides sharpest tooth.
The German version goes like this:
Und die Moral von der Geschicht: . . . . . . . . . (and the moral of this tale)
Mädchen weich vom Wege nicht! . . . . . . . . . (girl, do not stray from your path)
Bleib allein und halt nicht an. . . . . . . . . . (stay alone an do not stop)
Traue keinem fremden Mann. . . . . . . . . . (trust no stranger man)
Geh nie bis zum bitteren Ende. . . . . . . . . . (never go to the bitter end)
Gib Dich nicht in fremde Hände. . . . . . . . . . (do not entrust yourself to stranger hands)
Deine Schönheit zieht sie an . . . . . . . . . (your beauty atracts them)
Und ein Wolf ist jeder Mann. . . . . . . . . . (and every man is a wolf)
Merk Dir eines: In der Nacht . . . . . . . . . (always remember: in the night)
Ist schon mancher Wolf erwacht. . . . . . . . . . (many a wolf has yet awoken)
Weine um sie keine Träne, . . . . . . . . . (shed not a single tear for them)
Wölfe haben scharfe Zähne. . . . . . . . . . (wolves do have sharp teeth)
I like the German version better for its lyricism, but it's far harder on the men.
It's okay in the English version, it only "warns" you not to trust every stranger (how educational *grin*). The German version warns you not to trust any man.
Yes, that's right, dear heroine, that means you! And when a weird gentleman tries to take the stuff you're bringing your Granny from you and invites you to a picnic when you refuse, you say no again! For heaven's sake, you're the one with the knife! So he's go a rifle? Well, he's right in front of you, you can stab him before he can even pull the gun from his shoulder! (Yes, that's cruel, but it's practical.) Gosh. And I thought I was incapable of standing up to someone. *facepalm*
Conclusion?
Well, if you care for a profound movie full of growing-up symbolism (yes, I admit, some of the symbolism was indeed quite cool; I just didn't like the subject, sorry), you do have a chance of enjoying this. I won't put my hand into the fire for the actors - as I said, I can't estimate the synchro quality.
I think the big problem is that the movie is actually intended to show (in a cool symbolic way) how the heroine grows up - only this is completely going under in the face of the "Men are all evil beasts!!!11one1!!elventy!!!" plot. Although I believe the latter was unintended. There is the scene where the heroine's mother tells her "If there's a beast in men, it meets its match in women too." Only for the rest of the movie, men are teh Evil. And so it looks like a weird educational movie on Do Not Trust Strangers. (Just listen to Granny! If you should spy on a naked man in the wood, run as if the Devil himself were after you! :P)
But dear Granny, next time someone tells me to run, I'll run like the wolf-girl. ("And she ran..." (girl sidles along the wall) "...and ran..." (girl sneaks along the street) "...and ran..." yeah sure.)
And next time someone kisses me, I'll say "What big teeth you have!" *grins*
So... I'm not saying "don't watch it". If you want to, do so. I'm not recommending it, that's all.