Cinema Rediscovered
Five films that capture the zeitgeist of their times.
Our culture is saturated with incentives to buy things—especially in North America, the land of marketing perfected. Yet, as many of us realize, experiences are often more satisfying, sometimes by a long shot.
An abundance of psychology research has shown that money spent to do things tends to provide more enduring happiness than money spent to have stuff. Some researchers call it ‘in-the-moment’ happiness.
Further, four studies have demonstrated that the most important benefit happens before we make a purchase. Anticipation or waiting for experiences feels better than waiting for things.
I’ll even take it one step further—the experiences don’t need to be yours to bring you joy. Remember movie night as a child? In the summer, we had open air cinema—it was glorious. The stories were a boon for our imagination—to listen, to see, to dream.
But it’s not just the stories. Films are testimonials of culture—dialogues, costumes, scenes, music draw from human affairs.
Yes, even the imagined draws from contemporary culture in its imagining. Every part that contributes to the experience comes from experience. On our part, we watch and try on what happens, especially at the emotional level.
This is why we need cinema.
The title of this essay is a literal translation of the name of a long-standing international festival—Il Cinema Ritrovato.1 Italian piazzas were made for the irreplaceable experience of collective film-viewing.
In our (accelerated) culture we’ve forgotten some films too early. In the purely commercial climate we’re in today, others wouldn’t be made. Maybe because their message was too strong, and butted with ‘strong men.’2
Whatever the reason, the current cultural stage seems to have many empty seats. So I thought it would be fun to analyze the dialogue and scenes of five films that in some ways reflect the currents of the times.
I’ll start with an easy one to like.
Casino Royale (2006)
Because the original 1953 film starring Peter Sellers, David Niven, Orson Welles, and Ursula Andress was such a hot mess. The remake is less of a tribute to Ian Fleming’s very first novel. But, it’s brand new—and breathes new life into James Bond.
There’s the sensational opening Madagascar foot chase in which Sabastian Foucan practices parkour—the ability to run at walls and angles and bounce off them to climb or change direction—to wake us up from our suave slumber.
Then there are the locations. I watched the film dozens of times for them alone—the views of Montenegro!
The marathon high-stakes poker game in the casino is an apt contrast to the high-speed chase to bring everyone to the point of the story.
Costumes are chic, Judi Dench as M, Eva Green as Vesper Lynd, Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre, and of course a well-dressed Mr. Bond—Daniel Craig. (There’s definitely a commercial vein with watches and dinner jackets.)
Things were definitely different in 2006. The story feels real, like something that is happening right now. Camera angles and cameras types, no doubt. But also the screenplay by Neil Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis, which hit some high notes.
Not just the action, but the dialogue. Two specific scenes bring the ‘realness’ to the fore, both are dialogues that involve Bond/Craig and a woman—his boss, M/Dench, and his soon-to-be love interest Vesper/Green.
Also a departure from prior Bonds, there’s what’s being said and how it’s being said, and then there’s what is meant by it. The second scene reveals what’s merely hinted at in the first.
M finds James Bond in her apartment
M decides to put Bond in his place, when she discovers 007 in her apartment unannounced—”You’ve got a bloody cheek!” The chemistry is magic.
The topic is newspaper headlines.
M—Exactly: one bombmaker we are trying to find out how an entire network of terrorist groups is financed and you give us one bombmaker! Hardly the big picture, wouldn't you say? The man isn’t even a believer! He’s a gun for hire, and thanks to your over-developed trigger finger we have no idea who hired him or why!
M (again)—Bond, this may be too much for a blunt instrument to understand, but arrogance and self-awareness seldom go hand-in-hand.
BOND (amused)—So, I should be half monk, half hitman?
M—Any thug can kill. I need you to take your ego out of the equation and judge the situation dispassionately. I have to know I can trust you, and that you know who to trust. And since I don’t know that, I need you out of my sight. Go and stick your head in the sand somewhere and think about your future. (re : newspaper) Because the bastards want your head. And I’m seriously considering feeding you to them.
Vesper Lynd meets James Bond for a meal on the train to Montenegro
Vesper Lynd and James Bond have a ‘get-to-know-you’ conversation before and after dinner—“I’m the money,” “And every penny of it.” Watch the eye contact, the sarcasm in both their speeches, loads of chemistry.
The topic is the upcoming poker game.
VESPER—So there is a plan? Excellent. Somehow I got the impression we were risking ten million dollars and hundreds of people’s lives on a game of luck. What else can you surmise?
BOND—About you? (studies her, enjoying this) Well. Your beauty is a problem be taken seriously. . . .
VESPER—Which one can say of any attractive woman with two brain cells.
BOND—True, but this one overcompensates by wearing slightly masculine clothing and being more aggressive than her female colleagues, which gives her a somewhat prickly demeanor and, ironically, makes her less likely to be accepted and promoted by her male superiors, who mistake her insecurity for arrogance. I would normally have said only child, but by the way you ignored the quip about your name and your parents I would go with ... orphan?
Vesper pretends not to be both stung and impressed. Bond pretends not to gloat. She sizes him up.
VESPER—All right.
Then this trips off her tongue at light speed:
VESPER—By the cut of your suit you went to Oxford or wherever and actually think human beings dress like that. But you wear it with such disdain, that my guess is you didn’t come from money and all your school chums rubbed that in your face every day, which means you were at that school by the grace of someone else’s charity, hence the chip on your shoulder. And since your first thought about me ran to orphan, that’s what I’d say you are.
(sees a slight reaction)
Oo, you are. I like this poker thing. And that makes perfect sense, since MI6 looks for maladjusted young men who’d give little thought to sacrificing others in order to protect queen and country. You know, former SAS types with easy smiles and expensive watches
(re: his) Rolex?
BOND—Omega
VESPER—Beautiful. Now, having just met you I wouldn’t go as far as calling you a cold-hearted bastard…
BOND—Of course not.
VESPER—But it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine that you think of women as disposable pleasures rather than meaningful pursuits, so as charming as you are, I will be keeping my eye on our government’s money and off your perfectly formed ass.
BOND—You noticed.
VESPER—Even accountants have imaginations. How was your lamb?
BOND—Skewered. One sympathizes.
VESPER—Good evening, Mr. Bond.
BOND—Good evening, Miss Lynd.
And he watches her walk away, breathless and in wonder.
You might have noticed that Bond is on the back foot in both instances. In step with culture, he’s not, in fact, the lustful technical operator of prior films. He’s vulnerable, feels pain, and gets emotion (the shower scene at the casino.)
Uncharacteristically, he also falls in love, so he couldn’t care less whether his martini is shaken or stirred. Three notable u-turns in the story contribute to the sense of real.
After the poker game and celebratory dinner, Bond goes from winner to loser—the chase, the car crash, the rope (ouch!)
After the predicament’s resolution and convalescence, Bond goes from happy to miserable lover—the sandy beach, the boat ride into Venice, then the devastating end to the chase that brings down a Venetian Palazzo (wow!)
Bond’s conversation with M while he’s on the boat, where the lesson of ‘trust’ comes back to haunt him—Vesper is dead, and so is the man. All’s left is the spy (sigh!)
The film ends with Bond shooting Mr. White who tries to crawl to safety and learns he’s—Bond, James Bond. The more things change, the more they stay the same