October 20, 2009
Filed under Movies, featured
Where the Wild Things Are
Written by Chuck | Contact this author
I went to the Granada Theatre with my girlfriend to see the much hyped, much anticipated, Where The Wild Things Are, directed by Spike Jonze based on the novel of the same name by Maurice Sendak. The beloved children’s book, now movie starring Max Records as Max, premiered this week in La Grande.
It’s a simple story really. A boy, lost in the world of his family and alone, sets out one night by boat and discovers an island where the wild things are. He dubs himself their king and embarks on a journey of growth and discovery as he handles the many reigns that come with this particular territory. Joining him is the monster Carol, a brutish beast who loves large and hurts large, mirroring Max in a lot of his own mannerisms and charm. Together they conquer the island, until the weight of this responsibility begins to crush the shoulders of the young king and he must decide between keeping things as they are or growing.
The story is really interestingly crafted. I say that because it is duly focused on the needs of the images to carry the film and not so much the words. Much of what we are seeing is how a child’s imagination might work and I think that is what makes this such a gem of a film to watch. I remember being able to just throw my body to the rocks and know, just know that it would be fine. To be crushed in the head by dirt clods, ran over by frantic buddies and swarmed into a gigantic pile of beings that should crush you to smithereens… but doesn’t.
It’s youth. Unadulterated, unbound and set free. It’s the wild thing in all of us that needs to be let off it’s leash now and again when we’re pulling the choker too tightly with adult principles and predefined policies.
I really can’t wait to see it again.
Fish and Chips.
i disagree although this movie looked good i felt it was mainly written by a five year old for three year old. by the end i could not wait to vacate the theater and really wish i had waited for redbox
Thanks again. I completely disagree with your disagreement but thanks for the response.
Wow, that’s too bad Harley. But if you hated it that much, why wish for Redbox? Why not just wish you never watched it? I thought it was one of the best movies of the year.
I would agree with you, Jason. I think some of my favorite moments were when you could see Max connecting with Carol, the gears turning as it were, putting together their similar positions.
A reviewer on http://www.AintItCool.com, of which I only caught a glimpse of, had found the film boring because of its main theme being the painful loneliness of childhood. I felt this theme actually cements the film by finding a powerful chord that everyone feels at some point; the anger of being alone.
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Wow. The review that Knowles did of the movie was actually really well written (even if it was full of his trademarked anecdotes). It makes me feel a little bad for making that horrible model of him in The Sims.
How on earth anyone at Warner ever thought this film should be marketed as a kids film [which the studio has publicly said it is] is beyond me. Thats not a knock on the content or the film, but I watched every child in the theatre with me drift off to sleep only to be woken by the screams of James Gandolfini. It was kind of fun.
I think the film stands alone as a very unique and interesting acheivement and while it is certainly good, I cant help but feel that Spike Jonze has missed the tone of the book entirely. I always read Wild Things as a book celebrating the pure enjoyment of childhood playfullness and while this is present in the film, the moments where Tony Soprano starts manifesting himself in a monster and stomping around like he wants to beat down a red headed step child are just strangely out of place. And what was with little Seth Green looking goat kid always looking like he’s a second away from plugging in some My Chemical Romance and cutting his wrists, Jesus Christ, its a magical book of adventure not Muppet Social Problems. All bitching aside the films better moments continue to grow on me and I really enjoyed large parts of it. I also loved that they did not try and duplicate the book, I hate it when they make slavish adaptations of things instead of trying to find the spirit of the book. In many parts this film did that, in a few parts it missed the mark entirely, but it sure looked beautiful while doing it.
Sorry, Chuck, I talked alot. Loved your review it really is mostly “youth unbound and free”