2015/04/09

Day twenty-eight: I-Origins (April, 6)

There is a new rule at my house this year: if you are visiting or staying with me, probably you'll have to watch a movie. That happened at day twenty-eight: while having tea with two of my nieces, also good friends, I told them that they had the choice of staying at the table, talking to each other, or they could accompany me and watch that day's film.


They chose the last one, and so we had a nice time seeing I-Origins together. Directed by Mike Cahill, from the outstanding day one's movie Another Earth, I had big expectations - an element, as I've said before, that is a bad partner to a movie.

I-Origins got my attention, I thought it was smart and moving, but it didn't rock my world as did Another Earth. I've read a comment on imdb.com by which the movie is "superly awesome" and  that "I origins gives you one of the best way possible to explain the interconnection of the complex yet simple world we live in...". 

I'm not sure, but maybe because it is already a strong belief of mine for my whole life, the "connecting element" was not a surprise for me. There are other movies that amazed me more in that respect - Trois Couleurs: Rouge, 1994, was one of them. 

What got me was the main character's struggle with his beliefs. In the academic world, we see as rationalization is still considered a "secure" way to guarantee control over errant ideas or the ambivalen world. So, it is doomed from the start, for nothing can make the world the image of our desire for certainty and order. That's why, for me, the best thinkers and researchers are the one that assume contradiction and ambivalency as a method of study (The one I love most is German Philosopher Walter Benjamin).

A teacher once told me that all the over-controlling ideas presented by some researchers are a way to fundamentaly avoid death. And for me the couldn't have said better. That is also the main subject in Cahill's movie.

I-Origins was interesting and even sweet in its attemps to debate this ongoing strugle for humanity. Cahill tells his story with a good writing, amazingly beautiful images, as always, and moving and heartbreaking performances.

At the end, a discussion got hold of our little audience, with the adition of Mari's boyfriend, who had already seen it. According to him, our debate was all a mimimimimimmimimi nonsense. Maybe. But it was also the portrait of a way by which a movie touch us and lead to a lot of thinking, discussion, reflexion about life, human affairs, the shoulds and shouldn'ts in life... all of that without a necessary right or wrong conclusion, unlike the scientific attemps to explain life and humanity. 


I-Origins. Direct and writen by Mike Cahill. With: Michael Pitt, Steven Yeun,
Brit Marling. US, 2014, 106 min., Dolby, Color (DVD). 

PS: There is an interesting comment at imdb.com's message board. One that made me really smile. The trivia is also cool, writen for someone that got stuck in the movie's ideas

No comments:

Post a Comment