Polanski's latest film, "The ghost writer", is interesting for several reasons. He was interested in two aspects that I will develop here. It is creating an atmosphere very successful but also a look at conspiracy theories, which can only delight the people who know the world of the Internet and some forums. The main character will be confronted with a situation that seems to be a conspiracy organized by the CIA, he will eventually join itself to these theories, which shows how he ended up being investigated in the second part of film. Some scenes offer a striking resemblance with many scaffolding of assumptions which currently haunt the canvas (a reference to some authors of some websites is almost voluntary).
Early in the film, this character is a "negro" (in the literary sense) for success, who is hired to write the memoirs of former British prime minister Adam Lang ( played by Pierce Brosnan), following the death of his predecessor, who had already started work and wrote a manuscript that the hero must rework for publication. He finds himself in a big house cut off by a huge protected park in the middle of a group around the person of Pierce Brosnan. There his wife, Ruth, his secretary (Which is perhaps also his mistress). This atmosphere is very calm, very quiet, connected to the world only through the media, ranging from making the film in another direction. Adam Lang is accused of complicity in torture, having acted in concert with the U.S. to extradite British citizens suspected of terrorism. All this small world continues its life in the luxurious residence, the hero begins to gain the confidence of all, even without his knowledge to work for the release of Adam Lang. His work is in perfect appearance.
Gradually, by chance, the writer comes across clues that lead him to ask questions about the death of his predecessor, officially committed suicide or accidentally drowned. The situation in the house disintegrates gradually, as Adam Lang from an airplane in order to justify his actions and he finds himself almost alone, with only Ruth Lang, wife and servants and bodyguards. Reinforcing his suspicions, he took advantage of the situation from the island and is featured on the continent. There will cross a professor of geopolitics, Paul Emmet, to escape the thugs unknown intentions unresolved, will meet a former political opponent of Lang and attend on the assassination of former Prime Minister by a former soldier whose son died in Iraq. Finally, he thinks he has proof that Ruth Lang was recruited by Paul Emmett in the 1970s on behalf of the CIA, but the writer is crushed by a car, which signals the end of the film.
I, first, found the scenery of the film, it is the island of Sylt in northern Germany, on the border between Germany and Denmark West side. There are beaches that are those which have was filmed scenes of the film. I give some links to photos of the island (which is also easy on Google Earth).
Shades Real are still very different, much more raw. In reviewing the scenes of arrival of the "negro" in the island, I noticed that the waves are scanned around the ferry and not real. I think Polanski's completely rework the images of the island to the graphics palette. He got something that balances the heavy colors, saturated, intense landscapes of the "South" with purity and vividness of those in the "North", but I think with the help with graphics filters. There was thus obtained shades that look like a lot to those of New England, where there is supposed to unfold the plot, but it was impossible to turn the U.S. or England because of his problems with American justice. The result resembles the beaches found in the Boston area (one example among others)
I am also interested in the bottom of the film and its plot enjoying a second vision. I got my own idea, which may also be criticized. Polanski does not see my sense of wide-ranging conspiracy for several reasons. Firstly, the outcome where "the writer," if we can use that word, is crushed, is a stage referring to two previous film. When he leaves the editor after being hired at the beginning of the film, he fails to get run over by a car in the same place where he died at the end. It also lacks getting knocked down on the island when he comes to cycling, his attention when crossing roads seems quite low. The presence of these two scenes in my opinion is anything but accidental. The "hero", this term it goes wrong, a man is simply not very attentive when crossing and there was no conspiracy in that.
There is no formal evidence whether a plot, the film ends without tangible evidence, or that Polanski had wanted to keep the mystery, whether he intended to say that there is no mystery at all. There is no real evidence of a plot, because if one tries to dig, you realize that it does not and there is a lack of evidence or, worse, inconsistencies and elements that go against this interpretation. Basically, everything rests on the words of one islander who says that the location of the body is suspect, and more on Google searches of the hero in a hotel room. All that you know what? That there has been collusion between the old CIA, the wife of Prime Minister and professor of international relations, but without knowing anything else. Who said their role was important, they are always linked to the CIA? Nothing.
None of the protagonists of the film seems to have the character necessary and omnipotent fantasy in conspiracy theories. One may wonder whether the prime minister's wife and / or international relations professor does not know everything, but it seemed to me implausible. The wife of former Prime Minister played Pierce Brosnan actions that seem more driven by complex motives (the desire to exist in relation to her husband, a taste for the role of one who thinks backstage in the shadows) by a hypothetical belonging to the CIA. If it were really true, there are scenes of the film are incredible (as does sleep with the hero).
The film's characters seem also not to want to play these roles honcho, or if they wanted, they would be unable to bear it. Far from being relentless machine, the characters in "The Ghost Writer" are human, too human. We see the Prime Minister played by Pierce Brosnan have impulsive reactions, as well as his wife. These feelings are sometimes also just inspired by the feeling of being trapped, of being overtaken by events. Brosnan when he understands risk of lawsuits, he experiences the true feeling is much more than the loss of control than omnipotence. As for the hero, while his home is marked by chance, a form of inconsistency, for which Polanski plays with pleasure in its staging. The discovery of a mysterious message, the neighbors who are suspicious on the death of his predecessor, using records from a GPS, is the result of any contingencies which are given coherence, not something obvious.
Full details are not consistent with the idea of a concerted, methodical and relentless. When the hero finds the path with the teacher in the course of the last GPS path of his predecessor, because of efficient assassins have erased the traces. It would have been easily eliminated if any organization had really given the sentence. Worse yet, we do not know if this negro has really died or if he met the teacher has just found his house deserted. The GPS says nothing about that. In this movie, it seems that the university professor and the Prime Minister's wife had worked for the CIA in the 1970s, but Polanski and this is its ability says nothing about the implications of this and the following events for 30 years. It is implausible that their activities have continued in this manner over such a long time, but most likely they have taken their time since independence. A bit like Western politicians who probably been paid during the Cold War or were activists and switched to something else then. A final example is the ordinary character of the secrets that employees are aware of the villa (two shots that show they are aware of sleeping around going on), something that looks more like servants to serve a aristocrat time of "Dangerous Liaisons" as members of a methodical and highly secretive. Basically, no conspiracy, but instead of people known about all the actions, values and motives.
What else does he assumptions then? The wife and the teacher would have worked well for the CIA, but in roles unrelated to their current activities, probably in the respective roles of informant and reel, but not as conscious agents of a plot to Pierce Brosnan wearing a teleological process calculated in detail for decades. Perhaps the previous negro was killed, but said that the characters in the film actually know something? The clues left by Polanski rather suggest that they have a vision as fragmentary and events could happen without their knowledge, even if they want omniscient or are perceived as such. Full of events that the hero wants to gather systematic manner have many explanations that can be (there are many examples). Polanski mixture also sometimes voluntarily and delicious and the use of fiction to reality. When a character in the film explains that the British Prime Minister is from the CIA and that his Atlanticism proves we immediately adopt the perspective of the citizen, not the audience for a bit we would be trying to explain that learnedly Anglo-American relations are the product of a legacy, including history, far more complex than infiltration by the CIA.
If nobody can control the whole situation, this does not mean that there is so far no ambitions of domination or personal motives at work. Rather it is the real ingredients to work in a movie where there are more people who use the organizations than the reverse. More exactly, organizations, memberships to clubs are steps, aspects of people's lives but their person is very far from it short, they are service and even tend to disappear in favor of one who uses it. This is where the duo of the teacher and the wife of Prime Minister but also simply the main character, which will be integrated in important circles without his person or his behavior does not change much. It is simply there to take a step in his life, his career, and on this point as on others, he does not realize that it is not fundamentally different from those he perceives as working in a mysterious way.
The personal motives are themselves kings. There are those of the professor of international relations and the wife of the Prime Minister. They probably want to affirm the strength and usefulness of their people look confirmed the academic, who refer to themselves the image of influential people and have a capacity of hindsight analysis on events and especially wishing that their angle of approach is recognized as useful and relevant, which is not necessarily the case. The two are also shared hopes of enhancing their eyes a vision of intellectual and cynical of their real influence. For Pierce Brosnan, there are also clear guidelines. It seems driven by the idea to give a different stature than the image that dominates large communicating. When he chooses to take his support for torture, he wants to write his memoirs or respond to accusations, we feel the person who wants to show he is a true leader and not a single state actor. His rare public appearances in the film show anyone who wants to display his "stature".
The myth of the all-powerful organizations is present in this film, and even an object of staging. Polanski may want we say that the powerful play of all power, total control much more than they actually practicing. A good example is the luxurious residence that runs much of the film. It looks like a fortress, by the difficulty of returning to the little openings, doors, side bunkers despite its refined architecture (the building and its interiors parallelepiped gray, dark, do a lot for this print ). It's the same for personal care or various thugs, they have the full range of potentially threatening and sinister security guard (costume, headset, leather jacket or gloves depending on circumstances), but during the movie, there is no murder really proved just the "hero" who takes one or two punches. In reality, all this is staged as anything, it's a game with the signs of power and omnipotence, with effects mainly psychological. Polanski appears on this track about Kubrick in "Eyes Wide Shut" (shots appear to be discrete and successful tributes).
Finally, if you follow my interpretation, Polanski's vision on business shady political and plots is roughly the same as that of many well intentioned people who frequent the net and are frightened of certain deviations. As the film begins, the hero says he voted for the Prime Minister by "craze" without interest or know anything about politics, maybe it's all here for Polanski: it is only persons elected by voters and not much else.
One thing surprised me in the end, it's very nature means little inspiration and criticism I've seen on the Internet, but it should not be surprising. I would have liked to find additional ideas or contradict the idea that I was doing the movie, but I saw nothing, there may be there a little deeper into the clipboard, including the film magazines. In any case, I recommend this film in a cinema or on DVD, any sane person, having attended from near and far points of discussion on the net. There are ways of doing, thinking, which will sound like so many memories gather out and maybe even a smile at times.
Wald.
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