Oh Brother where art thou? The Sirens

First and foremost I cannot begin to describe just how much I love this movie! I have been very exited for weeks about discussing Oh Brother where art thou? I have loved this movie since I was a child, having read the Odyssey and just worshiping Greek Mythology, this incredible adaptation blew my mind! Plus my mom has been in love with George Clooney for years, so her love for this film was passed on to me.

Having to choose a specific scene to discuss in this movie was a no-brainer for me; my favorite scene has always been and will always be the sirens. As a child I wanted to be them, to be able to capture a person with your voice alone and lull them to danger willingly has always intrigued me. Sirens are one of my particular favorite “monsters” in Greek mythology because, differently than other monsters, they are not scary of ugly, in fact they are beautiful, and beguiling, they have power and are dangerous, all in their sweet voices.

In this scene we see a beautiful composition, to perfectly convey emotions and tone. We are seeing the sirens slow and seductive approach most likely still from Pete’s point of view, the girls are perfectly centered in the frame which creates symmetry which is more pleasing to the eye, thus we are drawn even more to them. They themselves are posed symmetrically in a triangle and layered to create depth, with Pete’s siren at the front, Everett’s Siren to the right and Delmar’s last and to the left, they create the foreground. To each side of them we see their discarded undergarments, perfectly placed layered as well as the girls are layered, with a floating piece in the river being closest to the camera, the next on the rock, and lastly the two on the tree branch. The river itself flanks them on both sides, curving in a U to draw your eye around the frame, the U emphasizes the triangle positioning of the sirens, thus even though your eye wonders around, there is a trail to lead you back to them. Their soft pastel clothing which almost melt with their bodies, makes them seem more “natural” like wood nymphs, as if they were part of the river, dreams come to life for these men. Their colors are emphasized by the bright green of the foliage that frames them, and the dark brown of the river, really brings them out. Their stance is seductive, they walk to the pace of their song, slow and lazy, determined to get what they want. They are visions coming to life, beautiful dangerous creatures with purpose, and their expressions showing the men what they want to see; seductive they feel mythical, as though they truly are sirens of the river.

My Own Private Idaho. Sad but worthy of praise

My Own Private Idaho is a film that I personally find, beautiful and heart breaking. Even though it is clearly a film with a strong theme of homosexuality, I do not see it as solely that. I actually feel that this movie deals more with the heartbreak and loneliness of someone trying to find a place to belong to, a place to feel at home, to feel warmth.

To me a big theme in this movie is family, and also the strained relationships within families. Scott has a father, a father who may not be the best person in the world, but is trying to give his son a choice to do good, and even though Scott could have anything he wants in this world, he chooses to instead live on the streets and sell his body for money. He outwardly defies his father, and valiantly parades his tirades in front of him, to show that he is rebelling. While Mike is so desperate to find his mother, even though his mother clearly is of low stature, and also not the best mother in the world, or even one who cares about her children. Mike yearns for her, and this causes him so much grief that it actually triggers his narcolepsy plenty of times. The strain of wanting a home, and love tends to send him into an episode at random moments. Mike wants love and warmth, he even goes as far to confess his love to Scott in the campfire scene, I found this scene to be so true and moving, River’s performance is outstanding, especially in this scene. You can really taste his raw emotions, how much he needs affection, true affection, and human warmth that is freely given and needs nothing in return. He wants to love and be loved, and he yearns for a family. He does not seem to resent or even question as to why his brother is also his father, he accepts that, that is his reality, and is willing to just leave it as is, as long as he can find his mom. The sad reality, is that his quest to find his mother, someone to love him, takes him to Italy, where inadvertently he looses the only person who understood, his closest friend who took care of him and watched over him. At the end of the film we are left in a kind of confusing and sad state, we see Mike back in the same road, where he falls under ones of his narcolepsy spells, where he gets robbed and then picked up by a random car, this would have never happened if Scott was still with him, so at the end Mike never find his mother and looses his best friend and unrequited love.

 I think this movie is one of those, that needs to be watched at least twice, because at first the more blatant scenes take away from the underlying beauty of this film. So the second time you already know what to expect, and thus can concentrate on everything else that is beautiful about this film. All and all it stays with you, the sad beauty of it, it lingers.