#32 We just watched this on Netflix streaming:The Year of Living Dangerously

The Film: The Year of Living Dangerously

You want to talk weird? Let’s talk weird. Weird is when you sit down to watch a Peter Weir film you’ve never heard of and see a dwarfish, asian, Linda Hunt who is supposed to be a man. Does no one else see this problem? This movie was really good except for this huge issue. Let me explain…

This movie stars Mel Gibson as Guy Hamilton who is a journalist writing on events in Jakarta, Indonesia during the rise of communism in Southeast Asia. Awesome. The atmosphere is great. It looks like a sweeping political adventure. But then, Linda Hunt shows up as the Asian character Billy. I’m like, “Oh, she probably has the hots for Guy and wants to help him out.”

Nope. Hunt’s a guy. A guy!? How is that possible? It was really distracting to me.

But once I just accepted that it was a woman playing a man, I just tried my best to ignore it. Once I did, the movie became really good. Sigourney Weaver plays Jill Bryant, an assistant at the British Embassy. Her and Gibson’s characters start a romance as communism and war become a reality. So cool.

Why to watch it: It is a good example of the best genre.

I don’t know what to call this genre exactly, but it is my favorite. Epic-romance is what people usually say, but I don’t think that tells the whole story. The genre is a love story wrapped up in a conflict. Maybe it is war, a break-up, a bad life, even something like ennui. It also has to be in a foreign country or culture. Also, love triangles sometimes happen.

English Patient, Gone with the Wind, Australia, Casablanca, Reds, Lust, Caution, and Cold Mountain are all included in this genre. But more, I love movies where two people from different worlds meet in an unlikely situation such as In the Mood for Love, Witness, Lost in Translation, or even Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Pay attention to this: Peter Weir coming into his own.

Peter Weir has been stagnant since his epic Master and Commander film. His last movie was pretty bad and I don’t see him coming up with a new movie anytime soon. But when he made The Year of Living Dangerously he really came into his own. The way he immerses the audience in Indonesia is terrific. He also captures an expatriate culture I’ve literally experienced first hand. Men who think they own the locals and can do whatever they want. It appears they could…

Moreover, my only gripe with the movie’s content, which makes it only very good and not great, is that the romance doesn’t have time to form into anything significant.

Sure, they get their bang on and share a cute moment in a rainstorm. I just don’t think that’s enough to let us empathize with the couple. I think what the movie lacked in its romance was more perspective of what was happening with Weaver’s character. There needed to be more moments where we get to know her. Anyway, this has gone on too long…see it or don’t, but it is pretty good.

B/5

-Collin.