V for Vendetta

At its most basic level I thoroughly enjoyed the move V for Vendetta simply for its swashbuckling style, its lyricism, visual effects, action sequences, its music (especially the stones song "street fighting man" at the trailer)! and I enjoyed V's use of poetry to convey his "eternal idea" of justice (an idea which cannot be destroyed) behind the Guy Fawkes mask. I particular enjoyed the ending scene where the citizens of London were all marching in unison wearing the Guy Fawkes masks which, to me, represented the "eternal idea" of justice. It made me want to stand up and cheer. The ending at least gave me a feeling of hope, which I particularly liked considering the fact that the Powers That Be want us to think there is no real hope because they have all the control. Remember the old TV series the Outer Limits? Before each show they would announce:

There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling the transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image; make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to the Outer Limits.
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Well, the end of the movie made me feel that I still could do something, or at least it gave me a feeling of hope that there might still might be a possibility here in the good ole' US of A. Some people might see the movie as violent but they miss the point that these scenes in the movie can be overlooked when you see that they could stand for metaphors relating to the disintegration of those twisted and psychotic govermental/media institutions that had brought about London's Orwellian futuristic totalitarian regime.

So, I guess, the violence in the movie was like an outer crust that would appeal to the mass audience but at the core of the movie there was the representation of a pure eternal idea that can be seen by those "who have eyes to see."

What went thru my mind at the end of the film is the idea of justice more so then
the idea of retribution. The concepts of time, and the nature of causality, retribution, judgment, and justice whirled thru my mind as I left the movie house. In the movie these ideas were kinda mixed so as to appeal to the larger viewing audience and it was up to the movie goer to sort it out according to their level of understanding.

I saw that at one level the future of a nation is causally predetermined and the origins of the future can be predetermined by the past so that the future will be no different then the past. If people don't wake up to what's really going on around them then their future will be determined for them. In the causally predetermined future people will be willing slaves and be under complete control of "the outer limits."

So the origins of future events for the casually predetermined nation is determined by
its past.

Then you have the "consequential future" of a nation, probably based more on the "law of consequences" established by group Karma possibly giving rise to retributive violence.

Then you have the "shaped future" of a nation that enter the nations time line at its birth and the future events of the nation is governed by astronomical patterns that determine its fate.

So the origins of future events for the consequential future (karma) and shaped futures (fate) of a nation are, I think, pretty much determined by what is done in the present.

Then you have the open and unexpected or creative future of a nation which, I think, is based on choice and an idea which determines its destiny. Its destiny comes from a future realm that is completly free and this gives a nation its true heritage based on brotherly love and freedom. In this case, the origins of future events come from the creative future and enter the nations time line at its conception giving the nation its possibilities to be free.

So, I think, the origins of a free nation come from the future and enter it at its point of
conception determining its destiny instead of entering its point of birth where the influences of karma and fate enter.

So, for me, the movie inspired me to the above realizations and if I can see a movie at more then one level then, for me, its "more then just a movie."
 
What I really appreciated about the movie (besides what everyone else mentioned already) was that it showed the 'waking up' of the Inspector (a cog in the machine of oppression of the masses), as well as the public. I found that it was so interesting (and so closely parallel to the US) that the public was increasingly scared of the passion and corresponding brutality of the leader, yet increasingly disbelieving of the propaganda (yes! it did look like CNN).

I LOVED the little girl with the coke-bottle glasses - she's my inner-child's hero~
:D

I went alone and was very glad that the theatre was pretty full.
 
My favorite scene is where the expector is talking to his partner and recounts what he experiences at the burned down concentration camp. His speech is excellent and sums up much of the philosophy present here.

I also dig the latin phrase on the mirror Evey is cleaning, i can't recall what it was or what it translated into but it was sexy.

I also think the idea of a group soul is very well presented and understandable if you have had exposure to the concept, in general the idea of connectedness is beautifully presented.
 
Cyre2067, this might tickle you a bit...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNDzLYpN_Q8
Not perfecly edited but still good ^_^
I would call it a Vendetta remix.
 
I made V for Vendetta the theme of my most recent blog post:

http://laura-knight-jadczyk.blogspot.com/2006/07/v-is-for-vendetta.html

WARNING!!! Major spoilage at the end of the post. If you haven't seen the movie and don't want to know how it ends, do NOT read the last dozen or so paragraphs!!!
 
I finally saw this movie. I'm sorry I waited so long. I wish everyone would watch it and realise it's more than a movie.
 
Just a quick note here for people who haven't seen the movie yet: It was released to DVD on August 1, so it can now be rented or possibly purchased.
 
SPOILERS!!!! REVEALING THE END OF THE STORY!!!!

After weeks-long search, i finally found the movie and watched it.

I still can't name that feeling it produced in me. Did you guys also feel it? That feeling was the best i got out of this movie. I don't even know how to describe it: like when you are scared and crounched on a dark cold corner and this feeling comes to straighten you up and shine warmth through you as you stand your height. No fear anymore just this feeling of self confidence? Pride? Determination? Hope? All four of us watching last night felt it. But none of us could give it a name.

"Wow, it makes you want to go out there and Do something" said my brother. He'd make a good revolutionist, his political involvement in the leftist party as a student and his admiration of Che and Ghandhi can be pointers. But it's been a year now that the making money society took hold of him. I even heard him make a racist comment the other day. I wonder how long "this" feeling will last in him, how long it will last in me.

Anyway, back to the movie. Apart from everything all others mentioned here, two more things stuck out for me:

1. When the inspector asks V (from memory) "Why did it take you so long?" and V replies, "I was waiting for you". A man with conscience to come along.

2. And that, like in Matrix and LOTR, the protagonists whose actions brought the change and the creation of the new humane world, they die/leave at the end. They don't stay to enjoy the fruits of their labors in the world that bears these fruits. It's like the C's say: when you learned all the lessons of this density you move to the next.

Excellent movie! Excellent soundtrack too!
 
the strongest feeling i had while watching the movie, was during the scene when the mass of people wearing V-masks shows up.
made me want to go out and buy a crate of these things and hand 'em out ;) (unfortunately it doesn't look like anyone is producing these masks*, which i find strange given our licensing-culture these days)

*i last checked about 1 month ago


and the quote that stayed with me was 'artists use lies to tell the truth - politicians use them to cover it up' - it was repeated 3 times during the course of the movie and i had the strong impression that the wachowskis were talking to the viewer directly.
 
Irini said:
I still can't name that feeling it produced in me. Did you guys also feel it? That feeling was the best i got out of this movie. I don't even know how to describe it: like when you are scared and crounched on a dark cold corner and this feeling comes to straighten you up and shine warmth through you as you stand your height. No fear anymore just this feeling of self confidence? Pride? Determination? Hope? All four of us watching last night felt it. But none of us could give it a name.
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Actually Irini, now that you mention it i did get a sort of rumble in my tummy. I didn't think about it at the time b/c most good movies leave an "impression" shortly after i finish the screening. One thing that i find interesting is that it produced the exact opposite feeling that i had at the end of A Scanner Darkly. V leaving you Optimistic and Elated whereas Scanner leaves you kinda down and a little morbid.
 
I recently had the opportunity to watch the 2002 remake of "The Count of Monte Cristo" again, and remembered V's reference to it, so thought that another viewing might be interesting. It didn't disappoint! Although the remake seems to deviate quite significantly from the plot of Alexandre Dumas' work (according to the Web, anyway - I haven't read the original novel), there were several themes developed in the movie that I thought were quite relevant. The chief antagonist and agent of betrayal, Ferdnand (played by Guy Pearce in the movie), is an excellent example of a psychopath. And Dantes' "sidekick" after his escape from the Chateau d'If plays a role somewhat analogous to the "quiet voice of conscience", having some wise counsel at times when Dantes' emotions are overtaking him.

As for the role of the "old priest" who gives Dantes' the knowledge and opportunity to escape from his prison, there is somewhat of an allusion to esoteric work... man in prison; eventual inner "bankruptcy", and the arrival of the bearer of "C" influences - providing knowledge and the potential for escape.

A very interesting movie, and one that has quite a few parallels with "V for Vendetta" itself. No doubt the Watchowskis' probably included this as a conscious self-referencing in the movie. Maybe. :)
 
Iconoclast said:
the strongest feeling i had while watching the movie, was during the scene when the mass of people wearing V-masks shows up.
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Yeap! Especially when they remove them. They are all One. They had to become in order to win their freedom. Now that evil is gone they can each be their unique self again. I cried nonstop for the last 15 minutes of the movie. You know... those tears that come not from evil ;)

Brent, here's your line: Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici. (V.V.V.V.V.)
By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.

Interesting to note that apart for ventetta, hubris held V, and twas love that brought him redemption.

Did you notice how many books were in his bedroom?
 
Too funny, I too watched this movie for the second time on Tuesday night - and it really is just fantastic. I cried at the end as well (again) - when the people came together - and noticed a much stronger tie between Cheney and Creedy this time - I think I made the casual connection the first time I saw it in the theatre, but this time it was so much more obvious. I love the little girl in coke bottle glasses.
 
Irini said:
Brent, here's your line: Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici. (V.V.V.V.V.)
By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.
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That's a powerful phrase. I will be graced indeed if I can ever say it, and mean it.

Irini said:
Interesting to note that apart for ventetta, hubris held V, and twas love that brought him redemption.
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Evey: "I don't want you to die."
V: "That's the most beautiful thing you could have ever given me."

Irini said:
Did you notice how many books were in his bedroom?
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Yep. I found that to be most interesting. :)
 
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