Sunday, November 20, 2016

Two Becomes One

Two great fucking movies I've watched lately, and feel are important to mention.

1) Look Who's Back

and

2) Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru

Both on Netflix. Amazing, incredible films. I am so fortunate to have had the curiosity that led me to adding both of those movies to my watch list.

So, a brief description of both is in order.

Look Who's Back is kind of a comedy/drama/fantasy about how in 2016, Adolph Hitler miraculously appears above the bunker that he originally was reported to have died within. He's alive, and walking about in modern society, with bystanders all thinking that he is a convincing and brilliant comedian acting in character. But, he is not acting. He's the real deal, and the brilliance of this somewhat hokey premise comes from taking it seriously enough to do over two hours of a character study / "what if?" that feels sincere and well thought out.

In the first part, I haven't laughed so hard in years at the screwball antics Adolph gets up to in our modern times. Such as signing up for email.

"What do you mean Adolph.Hitler@gmail.com is taken?!"

"I mean, somebody else already has your name. There's an Adolph.Hitler42 if you want that one."

"I am not Adolph Hitler 42!"

And it is so freakin hilarious to watch how straight the script plays him out. He's Adolph from beginning to end. No doubt about it.

It's recorded in Germany too.  And with real German being spoken, with some brilliant actors.

High-level brilliance. Something that Borat wishes to be, and almost was. Look Who's Back takes Borat and polishes that sucker up to near perfection.

9.7 out of 10. It really shattered my psyche towards the end.

Now, I Am Not Your Guru is what patched my psyche back together.

Anthony Robbins is incredible at what he does. Just a fantastic, tremendous human being. /Trump voice

I was in awe at how expertly he maneuvers and navigates around the dangerous terrain that lurks inside the mind of some very damaged people in the world. Those who have experienced horrific sexual abuse, and a raging sense of self-doubt and daddy issues and problems with reclaiming masculinity, etc. Robbins just gets in there and plunges himself deep into whoever he interacts with. He then completely changes their view of life and imbues it with meaning, and honor.

This is no small feat. Some of these people are psychotic, suicidal even; and Anthony just whips out his invisible little scalpel and goes to work, digging beyond the bone and into the spirit. Touching the very core of what lurks inside of all of us, that we are too afraid of revealing.

We are beings that wish to unconditionally love one another.

But we defeat ourselves in not surrendering ourselves wholly to this desire. We feel doubt and fear in doing so. We cannot love unconditionally, if there are people out there that do not deserve to be loved in such a way. People that may have abused us, physically, psychologically, sexually, spiritually.

We defeat ourselves in not being able to truly forgive, and to take back the power we have unconsciously given away to what our biggest fears have demanded of us. To have consented to such a damning bargain at such a terrible price, in order to protect the small flame of hope we nurture within the core of our beings.

Again, no need to get into any further detail, as this is good enough summary of what I took away from this documentary. People truly revealing themselves. People having epiphanies, right there on the spot; all brought about by someone who feels himself to be telling the truth. Either cooly or compassionately delivered, but the truth that each individual needs to hear about themselves.

Confirmation, is what Robbins brings to the table. A confirmation of our suspicions. A finger being pointed, and a means of fighting back.

He is the retired general that comes in to assesses a losing situation and offers his opinion.

He rarely offers suggestions too, it seems. His persuasiveness is so that he leads the lost (gulps) sheep to a path that they can use to find their way back home. He never gives advice. He only gives confrontation and confirmation of what we already know, but are too afraid to admit the truth of.

Fan-TASTIC. I'd rate this a 9.7/10 so far, and I'm not even finished watching. This is the kind of documentary you'll want to pause for brief periods at a time so you can walk around and digest the importance of whatever scene was being witnessed. And there are several worth being considered and thought about.

Yeah, it's on pause right now as I'm typing. Still 33 minutes remaining.

I'm so happy that stuff of this high-quality is being made. These small, relatively-inexpensive films hold more awe and wonder for me than anything Marvel has released at the box office. Or most any new movies these days. I've seen the wizard behind the curtain a long time ago, and I know how to tell if a movie is crafted with care and passion for the vision it attempts to execute on. And even though many of Hollywood's films are using unoriginal and uninspired ideas based on a formulaic template that they reuse and slightly alter upon, with each new release; they still lack the commitment towards authenticity and passion that everyone from the actors, to the sound guy and the extras all bring to the table.

In short, most of today's movies are made with the intention of appealing to the maximum amount of people, so as to realize the largest possible return on investment. Because of insecurity in really knowing which visionary would you want to hand the keys of the studio to; they instead play it safe, and design by committee. Ensuring that a diverse representation of characters are on screen, and that women are elevated to be heroes and racism/violence/lewd behavior are not tolerated. They pander, and when pandering is involved, often times it means that a pure vision was not executed. It automatically becomes an extension of left-wing propaganda that has invaded all of our lives without permission. It is perpetuating a set of ideals that many do not agree with, and it is in turn, alienating a great percentage of the population.

A good story, is a truthful story. A passionately told one, as well.

I better remember this.