Western Trilogy

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Well, with the new year coming - I will enjoy reflecting on the past year, in various ways. Overall, of course, it has been our most difficult year in memory - and there may not be another more difficult (in regards to frustration) in the future. One of the many entities to keep us afloat (especially for me, personally) was/is film. Our living situation(s) did not provide for much of an atmosphere to experience good film, thoroughly, as it were - and neither did we have access to good theaters down south. So, we did not get to experience some of the heavier independent films of the year, such as "Once", "Into the Wild", or "I'm Not There" - so there are not many films that I have seen that I would recommend, but...

I did have a unique, unplanned, unofficial "trilogy" film experience with three unrelated western films, as released this past summer and fall.




definitely the weakest of the three films - though the simplistic idea of a father being a model human being with genuine integrity for his son (no matter the cost), really challenged and inspired me, as a father. The film itself moves at a fast pace (to fast), making it easy for anybody to watch.





definitely my favorite of the three, and arguably the best film of the year. slow moving film (like Wendell Berry, Terence Malick slow) - allowing us to be uncomfortable with our extremely fast moving society (although, most would interpret this to be boredom) - with fascinating, gigantic shots of wheat fields, sky and clouds, etc. I came away really craving the old, slow, more sustainable way of life. Casey Affleck absolutely nailed his role - a phenomenal performance.





this film is a fine portrayal of everything good about the Coen Brothers - much like "Fargo". Certainly the most disturbing of the three - much slower than "3:10 to Yuma", yet still much faster than "Jesse James" - and I was most intrigued with Tommy Lee Jones character. Javier Bardem (an actor from Spain, who has done mostly Spanish films) is one of the greatest actors of all time. So much so, that I didn't even know he was in the film, until I saw the credits at the end. He is well known for adapting his physical appearance for most of his roles, to which I have not seen with any other actor or actress. Anyways, of the three films - I feel that this is the one that needs to be seen again - with plenty of undercurrent to absorb the second time around.


If you have time this week - i recommend that you embrace one of these films.

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