After the show
It wasn't until after seeing V For Vendetta that I read rfmcdpei 's review. I found myself reading about Voltaire's wolves before I knew it. His RSS feed can be very distracting, in a good way. I haven't read the book (though I have read Valerie's letter online), so I can't really compare, but I can offer a few comments on the film itself.
V For Vendetta is a film that isn't without flaws (in this case, meaning choices I would have made differently), but it is fairly effective and, at moments, incredibly affecting. Valerie's letter unexpectedly made me weep. There are a couple of shots that I felt unnecessary - the knife-throwing special effects, for one, but also gur pybfrhc bs Qrne Yrnqre'f qrnq, oybbqvrq urnq arne gur raq , but there are edits - one- or two-frame flashbacks and flashforwards - that generally work well. I especially like how certain people who are in the background in early shots later become incredibly important; as we learn their stories, McTeigue goes back and shows us those same shots, but now we see much more in the frame, much more in those faces.
As to its apologia for political violence from below, it certainly forces us to consider whether there is a time or place for such things. Do we respect the Maquis? The Warsaw uprising? Hamas? By what criteria do we judge? In which kinds of societies do bombings and assassinations of government officials become legitimate, ethical choices? Was Afghanistan under the Taliban such a society? Afghanistan now? Saudi Arabia? Iran? The United States?
But also, the use of terrorism in V For Vendetta is itself a metaphor for the vast existential space of human possibilities, in a world that can so often choke off even the sense that there's any possible alternative. Like its triumph-of-the-human-spirit predecessor, The Shawshank Redemption, V For Vendetta references The Count of Monte Cristo (the film this time, not the book). But Vendetta also underlines in red ink what I think is the basic appeal of this recurring story, which is that that potential for such single-minded dedication and integrity, in the face not just of overwhelming odds, but fear and self-doubt, resides in all of us, and when unleashed, can turn the tide. It doesn't have to be with guns or bombs; it only requires courage, conscience, and imagination. Otro mundo es posible. It's good to be reminded of that, at least.
ps. Definitely feeling a need to get a copy of Blood Sacrifice and the Nation now.
V For Vendetta is a film that isn't without flaws (in this case, meaning choices I would have made differently), but it is fairly effective and, at moments, incredibly affecting. Valerie's letter unexpectedly made me weep. There are a couple of shots that I felt unnecessary - the knife-throwing special effects, for one, but also gur pybfrhc bs Qrne Yrnqre'f qrnq, oybbqvrq urnq arne gur raq , but there are edits - one- or two-frame flashbacks and flashforwards - that generally work well. I especially like how certain people who are in the background in early shots later become incredibly important; as we learn their stories, McTeigue goes back and shows us those same shots, but now we see much more in the frame, much more in those faces.
As to its apologia for political violence from below, it certainly forces us to consider whether there is a time or place for such things. Do we respect the Maquis? The Warsaw uprising? Hamas? By what criteria do we judge? In which kinds of societies do bombings and assassinations of government officials become legitimate, ethical choices? Was Afghanistan under the Taliban such a society? Afghanistan now? Saudi Arabia? Iran? The United States?
But also, the use of terrorism in V For Vendetta is itself a metaphor for the vast existential space of human possibilities, in a world that can so often choke off even the sense that there's any possible alternative. Like its triumph-of-the-human-spirit predecessor, The Shawshank Redemption, V For Vendetta references The Count of Monte Cristo (the film this time, not the book). But Vendetta also underlines in red ink what I think is the basic appeal of this recurring story, which is that that potential for such single-minded dedication and integrity, in the face not just of overwhelming odds, but fear and self-doubt, resides in all of us, and when unleashed, can turn the tide. It doesn't have to be with guns or bombs; it only requires courage, conscience, and imagination. Otro mundo es posible. It's good to be reminded of that, at least.
ps. Definitely feeling a need to get a copy of Blood Sacrifice and the Nation now.