A sunny and rather warm day (to be in the middle of the winter), we decided to see Avatar at Cinéma Lux in La Châtre.
This is a film very talked about and we didn't expect any surprises concerning content or technical skill.
We were neither surprised nor taken aback but not disappointed either.
The most interesting aspects of this film is of course the timing.
When climate talks in Copenhagen has failed, Global Warming and climate change is on everyones lips, this is another contribution to this debate.
Mixing different parts of human history as the genocide of Indians/natives by the immigrants from Europe in North America during the 18th and 19th centuries, the story of the conquistadors raping, murdering and plundering the South American continent combined with the century long devastation of the rain forests in Borneo and other similar events in the tragic human curriculum vitae, the film urges us to consider and reconsider aspects of our way of life we sometimes try to forget.
This ambition is combined with the more or less justified fear of scientists creating hybrids in the form of the popular conception of Avatars, as far as I know only existing in cyber space - yet.
The artificially made Avatars in the film becomes a symbol for the human ambition to create some form of humanoids, artificially made, replacing or eradicating the defects of human beings, as in the case of the main character - Jake.
As an Avatar he is able to walk and run, using his body and mind (not least his mind) in quite a different way compared to his 'real life'(?), where he is 'suffering' from paralysis - both physically and - in our opinion - mentally.
The idea of a super human is of course obvious but on the same time the Na'vi's are not as technically advanced as humans. In this case not at all negative - as seldom in real life either.
It's also a symbol for the colonialist ambition to learn from natives, blending with them and trying to make them believe that this is a genuine interest, not - as most often - a way to rule over them and finally destroying their way of life and replacing it with 'progress'.
History displays all to many examples.
Interwoven into the story is of course a critic towards what president Dwight D. Eisenhower called, the Military-Industrial Complex.
The idea of the sunken Atlantis or Eden or whatever we want to call the Schlaraffenland man always have sought, is of course also obvious.
Another even more obvious ingredient is the naming of this planet: Pandora.
The story about Pandora opening the box she shouldn't open and letting all diseases and disasters lose, before she finally manage to keep the hope locked into the box, is in this film (as in many others) symbolizing the technical development and its negative consequences.
This extremely clear reference is directed towards American viewers (I'm sorry if I sound prejudice), as American directors seem to assume that an American audience otherwise wouldn't understand the symbolism in the film. Maybe they are right.
As I wrote initially: This was what we had expected from the story, no more no less.
The film was technically better than the trailer gave us the impression it would be.
We didn't see it in 3D but it was quite a joy for the eyes anyway.
The film didn't leave any traces even though Didier Godet - responsible for the cinema - told us that there where those who had seen this film several times, as they had found the images very beautiful and multifaceted, filled with details they had missed at the first screening.
May it be so.
We were neither surprised nor taken aback but not disappointed either.
The most interesting aspects of this film is of course the timing.
When climate talks in Copenhagen has failed, Global Warming and climate change is on everyones lips, this is another contribution to this debate.
Mixing different parts of human history as the genocide of Indians/natives by the immigrants from Europe in North America during the 18th and 19th centuries, the story of the conquistadors raping, murdering and plundering the South American continent combined with the century long devastation of the rain forests in Borneo and other similar events in the tragic human curriculum vitae, the film urges us to consider and reconsider aspects of our way of life we sometimes try to forget.
This ambition is combined with the more or less justified fear of scientists creating hybrids in the form of the popular conception of Avatars, as far as I know only existing in cyber space - yet.
The artificially made Avatars in the film becomes a symbol for the human ambition to create some form of humanoids, artificially made, replacing or eradicating the defects of human beings, as in the case of the main character - Jake.
As an Avatar he is able to walk and run, using his body and mind (not least his mind) in quite a different way compared to his 'real life'(?), where he is 'suffering' from paralysis - both physically and - in our opinion - mentally.
The idea of a super human is of course obvious but on the same time the Na'vi's are not as technically advanced as humans. In this case not at all negative - as seldom in real life either.
It's also a symbol for the colonialist ambition to learn from natives, blending with them and trying to make them believe that this is a genuine interest, not - as most often - a way to rule over them and finally destroying their way of life and replacing it with 'progress'.
History displays all to many examples.
Interwoven into the story is of course a critic towards what president Dwight D. Eisenhower called, the Military-Industrial Complex.
The idea of the sunken Atlantis or Eden or whatever we want to call the Schlaraffenland man always have sought, is of course also obvious.
Another even more obvious ingredient is the naming of this planet: Pandora.
The story about Pandora opening the box she shouldn't open and letting all diseases and disasters lose, before she finally manage to keep the hope locked into the box, is in this film (as in many others) symbolizing the technical development and its negative consequences.
This extremely clear reference is directed towards American viewers (I'm sorry if I sound prejudice), as American directors seem to assume that an American audience otherwise wouldn't understand the symbolism in the film. Maybe they are right.
As I wrote initially: This was what we had expected from the story, no more no less.
The film was technically better than the trailer gave us the impression it would be.
We didn't see it in 3D but it was quite a joy for the eyes anyway.
The film didn't leave any traces even though Didier Godet - responsible for the cinema - told us that there where those who had seen this film several times, as they had found the images very beautiful and multifaceted, filled with details they had missed at the first screening.
May it be so.
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