Star Wars, Part 1

With the release of ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ this week, this year also marks the 40^th anniversary of the very first ‘Star Wars’ (1977) film. Through all my articles I have mentioned about ‘Star Wars’ in many occasions, and it should not be surprising because it is such a landmark film that has changed the way we look at films ever since, and its influence on subsequent films and pop culture is very evident. This time, it will be great for me to experience the Force with you. I feel that the greatest way to do this is to see the many connections this great film has with the other great works in cinema, and where ‘Star Wars’ stands in the cinematic universe.

Star Wars could be seen as a sublimation of the many great work that has influenced George Lucas when he was young. When he said he was inspired by the Flash Gordon series and other pop culture, he was also particularly influenced by Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and The Hidden Fortress. For the latter film, the 2 underdogs that helped Princess Yuki and the general was certainly the inspirations for C3PO and R2D2, and Princess Leia was influenced by the Japanese princess. In terms of the theme and visual aspect, the film was also influenced by John Ford's The Searchers, David Lean' s Lawrence of Arabia, Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey, and other films. Of course, the most important aspect was from the imaginative mind of George Lucas, his dream of constructing an epic space opera, and to deliver a sense of universal humanism to the audience through his many interesting characters.

The theme of Star Wars address a Kurosawan theme that has become very iconic the master apprentice relationships, and the passing on if knowledge and wisdom. The idea of Jedi Knight was very much inspired by Samurai culture, and the Jedi's code of morality was analogous to Bushido itself. The Force of the Jedi is the order, the Tao of the warriors from space. Generations of Jedi pass on their knowledge and skills to the younger apprentice (the Padawans), yet at the same time, they passed their wisdom and a moral outlook to them. Of course, the conflict of the story itself came at a point when this idealistic outlook went wrong . The idea of samurai clan itself, as I have said before in Harakiri, was that a loyalty to the clan was to be expected, and a sense of community was also the norm. The Jedi Knights followed this modus operandi, if they were willing to commit to this moral existence and stuck to the code of ethics demanded by the Jedi council. Yet, a sense of individualism could often raise issues, especially when it led to the direction of the Dark Force. Thus, for the Jedi Knights, they are likely experiencing a ‘giri versus ninjo’ conflict – the contradiction between instinct and duty. When Obi-Wan knew that Anakin Skywalker has turned to the dark force, did he have the duty to eliminate Anakin, or were there still any compassion to this young man? When Luke Skywalker finally confirmed that Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker) was really his dad (yes that is a pretty hard fact to swallow), as a Jedi, did Luke have the responsibility to wipe this ultimate evil out for good, or, if Luke saw it a chance to reconcile with his long lost father, he might be lured to the dark side. We, like the characters in the ‘Star Wars’, have to face these many dark aspects throughout our lives. I feel that Lucas was trying to say that everyone would have a dark side and so possessed their dark secrets, yet the big question was to balance out and control this inherent contradiction, and directed oneself to the constructive and righteous directions in one’s life.

Even more, the idea of Jedi reminds me of an older trilogy – Hiroshi Inagaki’s ‘Musashi Miyamoto’. The young Musashi Miyamoto, portrayed by Toshiro Mifune, was quite similar to the immature Jedis. Musashi had courage, he had the basic sword-fighting skills and some battle experience, yet he was a rowdy and mean man, who was urged on success and winning fights. He was driven by an animalistic sense of instinct, and was seen as something of a wild beast. Only when he understood the Tao of swordsmanship, and grasped the philosophy behind these ideas, he became in control of himself, and he became a refined and respectable swordsman. The code of rectitude would guide his direction in life, and this was very similar to all the Star War films. One can argue that the three series of trilogy were all about such a process, though there was a twist in Episode 1 to 3: this was the opposite direction, about how a young man with potential has become the icon of evil itself.

If the above paragraphs appear as a guide book of how to be a great guy or someone admirable, then I guess the following section is about the other way around – how to be the most despicable horny little devil in any possible world. Darth Vader, our Mr. Evil in the film, has been compared numerous times to Michael Corleone, the head of the crime family in The Godfather, brilliantly delivered by Al Pacino. To be honest, Darth Vader and Michael have competed for the top place so many times in any lists of All Time Bad Movie Characters List. One should not be too surprised that these two characters are most related than one may imagine. Francis Ford Coppola, director for ‘The Godfather’, has been a mentor for George Lucas, and they have collaborated on a number of films before and after ‘Star Wars’. Thus, Lucas may have drawn influence from the saga of the Corleone crime family, and if one looks into the plot, there are quite a number of parallels between the sci-fi classic and the crime epic.

The first aspect is, both Darth Vader and Michael Corleone seemed to follow a very similar life trajectory. For ‘The Godfather’, though anyone will absolutely bow down to Marlon Brando’s stunning portrayal of Vito Corleone, can also appreciate that the whole trilogy can be considered as the life story of Michael Corleone, his rise and fall, and his achievements and regrets. If we are brave enough to take this further, then the first six episodes as a whole is the life story of Anakin Skywalker-Darth Vader, as he can be considered the only major character where a narrative emphasis has been placed for all the six films.

Both men have very similar personalities, and in a sense it shaped the fate that they would encounter. Both Anakin and Michael are very confident and egotistical individuals, and they have shown tremendous intelligence and potential when at a young age. Their mentors – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master Yoda, or Don Vito Corleone – all have the strong beliefs they would become powerful individuals, that could self-actualize themselves and have a good control of their destinies. Yet, both Anakin and Michael have been tempted by evil, and they could not conquer their dark sides. Their obsessions for success and power have out-matched their good and positive nature. Their over-confidence urged them to do whatever they wanted, no matter what sort of cost or destruction it would eventually lead to for their families or universe.

When they were consumed by their evil sides, they were already going too far, and the consequences started to bite back on them. Michael was so obsessed with stabilizing his power and eliminating his opponents and the traitors in the family that he eventually assassinated his younger brother, Fredo, and it has led to tremendous regret for the rest of his life. His wife, Kay, chose to distance from him and eventually made him the most lonesome existence. When Anakin Skywalker has become Darth Vader, no matter how evil he has transformed into, there are still emotional demands he has to address to. While I would in no way consider Vader and Michael’s actions as justified or moral, I start to get more sympathetic about their situations. I believe that Coppola and Lucas devised these characters not because they merely wanted to break all-time records of unleashing the ultimate a-holes, but they wanted us to think about why these characters existed, and how they could reach such a nasty situation. When Michael has killed Fredo and sat alone in the room and contemplated, his facial expressions of regret was genuine – he could never imagine he would do that. At the shocking revelation of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ – I understand from the older generations it was a genuine shock for them back in 1980, some sort of a turning point for them when they looked at the story – I feel that Darth Vader at that very moment was genuine, not being a hypocrite like the opportunist known as Palpatine.  ‘I am your father’ from ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ was as desperate as a plea as ‘Let’s go home, Debbie’, said by Ethan Edwards in ‘The Searchers’. It was a cry from the dark literally, a need for love and compassion. Darth Vader has been portrayed as rather distant and cold in Episode 4, which I think was deliberate to illustrate such a turning point, and behind the black mask was just someone consumed by regret as much as evil. Thus for both Anakin and Michael, they had a common need to balance out their responsibilities for whom they cared and addressed to their demands of his darker side, yet they unfortunately failed to make wise choices.

Both men would eventually ask for redemption. Darth Vader sacrificed himself for his son, and his unmasking symbolized there were still some goodness in him no matter how evil he has once become. Michael Corleone eventually lost his daughter, someone he really cared, as if karma has come to punish him for what he has done. After all, both their stories had a tragic and fatalistic element – because while they might have enough freedom to avoid themselves from falling into the trap, they became the monsters because they could not appreciate or escape the clutches of their darkest horizons. Things, after all, are often beyond our control, yet we still have to possess the wisdom and perseverance to make choices we will not come back to regret. Then, you will have the Force with you, whichever universe you are in!!

(1/2)

by Ed Law

15/12/2017

Film Analysis

Star Wars : The Force Awakens

A few days ago, I have finally gone to watch ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (IMAX version), which is the 7^th episode of the space opera saga. While ‘Star Wars’ may not be my favorite science-fiction film of all time, I have already cited it as an exemplary candidate of a great film. If Steven Spielberg has stated that George Lucas has put the butter back to the popcorn through the first Star Wars movie, then I would compliment by saying that Lucas has also put substance into the film, as well. ‘Star Wars’ is the ultimate example to show us that an entertaining blockbuster does not necessarily have to be a brainless flick. Inspired by ‘The Searchers’, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘The Godfather’ and many of the Kurosawa films, the ‘Star Wars’ saga is a cautionary tale about ambition, redemption, family relationships and what it takes to be good and honorable. It is great to see that J. J. Abrams, who has taken over the project, has the Force with him and has delivered a decent episode of this modern classic. Of course, I will definitely recommend anyone to watch the previous 6 episodes, as they are all great and have stood the test of time. ‘Star Wars’ is such a deep film that deserves a mention in the film blog, and this time I will only focus on ‘The Force Awakens’.

‘The Force Awakens’ has served an important mission as it is the episode that introduces the cinematic phenomenon known as ‘Star Wars’ to the young people of our era. It is gratifying that Mr. Abrams has been able to capture the spirit of the old ‘Star Wars’, without submitting to fast tracks such as random punch lines and cheesy one-liners, which has almost flooded the popcorn flicks nowadays (and they are not that funny to be honest). Although, I have to admit that I had a rush of euphoria when I saw the old Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill showing up – they are the ones I watched when I was young – we need to pass the baton to the young, right? Yet, I do encourage the young ones nowadays to look beyond the CGIs and the hideous monsters that seem to pour out endlessly from the film stock, and really give some thoughts about the moral behind the story. If the Jedi Master is to pass the knowledge to the young apprentice, it is not merely the light saber skills – it is the philosophy and the ideas behind that which is essential.

To me, every trilogy of the Star Wars series is about family business. There are scores to be settled in the family – Darth Vader / Luke Skywalker, Anakin / Obi-Wan, and now Han Solo / Kylo Ren. I believe Lucas’ original genius is to create this tension between father and son, and the desperation for both parties to get a bit closer. For course, this reminds me of John Ford’s ‘The Searchers’, which is about a not-so-perfect male character, Ethan Edwards, who has to redeem himself for his past mistakes and prejudices. Certainly, the two films are different, yet in the ‘Star Wars’ movies, many of the male characters have fallen into a state of redemption, as they believe they are the culprit  of ‘screwing some good things up’. They believe that they are responsible for ruining the potential of some gifted individuals (e.g. Anakin, Ren and the Jedi Order), and lead these young guys to the Dark Side and chaos. Thus, they are often consumed with guilt and regret, and in some case they attempt to turn away from the problem – which is the case for Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episode 4 and now Luke Skywalker, and again remains me of the drifter Edwards in ‘The Searchers’. The great thing about the characterization of ‘Star Wars’ is that not only there are heroic and courageous characters, there are also complex and realistic characters, as exemplified by Darth Vader and the many males with regret.

Since ‘The Force Awakens’ is a new round of trilogy, the new and young characters in the film are all starting to face challenges – both good and evil sides – and preparing to face something big. The young stars are able to deliver their mindset in the film, which I believe this can lead to a better identification with the young audience, and hopefully inspire them with a life lesson through entertainment. All the young characters – Rey, Finn, Poe, and Ren – have started to show some intelligence in their trade. Rey can catch up with the experienced Han Solo’s technical knowledge; Finn and Poe are already quite skillful at combat and pilot techniques, and Ren, the bad guy, shows extraordinary mastery at light saber, force field, and um – mental torture techniques, too. Yet, the key issue for all young characters is that they are not quite ready yet. These characters in the film have shown, with much emphasis, that they are not mature, autonomous and original enough yet. They are all consumed with fear and confusion, in a number of ways. Certainly, for the good ‘trio’, they know that they are about to do something real big, and it is totally overwhelming for them that they want to give up and run away, as they cannot really take it. For Ren, his mind is so confused as he is just not so sure whether he should go one step further to the Dark Side, though, tragically at the end, he has committed to do so by carrying out an unforgivable crime. And, when fighting Rey, Ren even states, ‘you need a teacher’ and claims he can be the one. These scenarios remind me of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, when Darth Vader praised Luke Skywalker of his light saber skill, but stated clearly to the young man, ‘You are not a Jedi yet’. Even more, this reminds me of an older trilogy, which I would recommend to anyone interested in Samurai films – Hiroshi Inagaki’s ‘Musashi Miyamoto’. I have before talked about Inagaki’s ‘Samurai Banners’, and ‘Musashi Miyamoto’ series is another of his classic. The reason is because the young Musashi Miyamoto, portrayed by Toshiro Mifune, was quite similar to the young characters in ‘The Force Awakens’. Musashi had courage, he had the basic sword-fighting skills and some battle experience, yet he was a rowdy and mean man, who was urged on success. In a sense, he was compared to a beast. Only when he understood the Tao of swordsmanship, and grasped the philosophy behind these ideas, he became in control of himself, and he became a refined and respectable swordsman. In ‘The Force Awakens’, the young guys have shown the first signs of genius, yet they still have a long way to go. They have to be committed and show their courage to the insurmountable clutches of The First Other, and more importantly they have to learn to be in control of their skills and not resort to brute forces and single-mindedness, which they will develop in the following episodes.

As I have mentioned, a great aspect of the ‘Star Wars’ enterprise is the complexity of the primary antagonist. From Darth Vader to Anakin Skywalker to Kylo Ren, these are all evil and yet egotistical characters that are also decorated with a sense of tragedy, regret and the need to feel love and respected. This reminds us more of Michael Corleone in ‘The Godfather’ trilogy, and his need to balance out his responsibility for whom he cares and his darker side. And, Kylo Ren has certainly illustrated a character trait of any egotistical individuals. It is nice to see that when Rey taunted him by saying that, ‘You will never be as great as Darth Vader’, that almost provided guilty pleasure for the audience, as we all shared contempt for these arrogant snobs. Indeed, the best way to destroy these ‘above-the-law’ wannabes is to project the issue to a higher level, to tell them the blunt truth – you are just not the chosen one. Think of Daniel Day-Lewis’ character in ‘There will be Blood’ – when he told Paul Dano’s character ‘you are not the chosen me, as you might assume, I am!’ How much hard feelings these can exert to these fake snobs! True, we all don’t deny the existence of genius, but you are just NOT the one. Identifying these arrogant and self-fulfilling personalities is certainly the first step to push human wisdom forward, and that does not necessarily require the use of a light saber!    

Yet, I feel there is a more subtle aspect of these black-masked antagonists, as Lucas and Abrams have certainly incorporated subtle wisdom in terms of human interactions and ‘office’ politics in many of the ‘Star Wars’ film. I suppose these are more relevant for younger audience as they cannot easily acquire these experiences at such a young age. One common character trait among these ‘Darth’ lords is that they are all egotistical, and all the same time brilliant enough to be seen as a ‘golden child’. Too often, the boss can find some special connections with one or two of the brighter workers in a team, and it may not be the good thing as those individuals will have a boost in self-confidence and start to stand too firm on their views. The spacecraft represents a term-working environment – and this is what the ‘good guys’ in all the ‘Star Wars’ film have always demonstrated. They almost work as a team, and have a decent division of labor in the group, each member focuses in the area they are good at. It is rather interesting to see, for the First Order (i.e. the Dark Side), the evil lord has 2 deputies, Kylo Ren and the other guy. The other guy seems to be more a team-player and he encourages his team to do something similar. In a sense, Ren is perceived as a maverick genius and a bit of a loner, as with the case of Darth Vader in previous episodes. He cannot fit into the team nicely, and always has second thoughts and personal reasons to do it his own way. It is rather tragic because, say this is not an evil empire, in real life when such a character screws up things, it will often end badly for him. To this end, I have to say Adam Driver has done really brilliant work to portray Ren, as he can capture the confusion and chaotic nature of the character so nicely. I hope this young actor will deliver more great work in the future! Of course, we are not supposed to be the next Darth Vader, yet Abrams have subliminally provided a cautionary tale regarding human relationships to the young audience. Except you are so sure you will work alone in your remaining life, you have to be a team-player, at least following the way those on the ‘Millennium Falcon’ are doing.

So that’s my view, yet I have a minor compliant. While I had immense pleasure when watching the dog-fights and more dynamic scenes using my 3D-spectacles, I found less pleasure when watching the Widescreen shots such as those desert scenes, clearly inspired by David Lean’s and John Ford’s classics. In those cases, I had to take my spectacles off. I enjoy both IMAX and widescreen compositions, yet in some cases they do not complement each other well enough. I suppose this is an issue future IMAX films will have to work on fast.

All in all, I believe Mr. Abrams has done a great job and passed on the ‘Star Wars’ legacy to our young Padawan audience. Finally, may the Force be with you!

by Ed Law

13/2/2016

Film Analysis