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Stu | all galleries >> Daily Bowl of Stu >> March 2005 > One of my favourites
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Dundee Stu

One of my favourites

4 March 2005

318
To me, this image is an ideal representation - both literal and metaphorical - for one of my favourite films of recent years. Can you guess what it might be? The protagonist's journey starts at the bottom left, where he is happy and is able to think about his life and death. It is at this stage in the film that he can see clearly what he must do and, most importantly, come to terms with it. As the image progresses towards the top right, it becomes ever more blurred, with the bright white gradually being replaced by ever darker shades of grey. Whilst still resigned to (and at peace with) his fate, the main character demonstrates his resolve and his courage time and again. The cynical superior, who is no coward himself, is full of admiration for his charge, and secretly wishes that he could find the same peace of mind. The story races along to its inevitable dark conclusion, where the grey turns to black ("You will all die too"), and the line is blurred so much that it is difficult to see what is right and what is wrong any more. At this point, the main character forces a reluctant enemy to seal the fate that he knew was his all along: "I don't want to kill you. Don't move." I love everything about the film: the story is gripping and touching, the characters - even the cameos - are fully fleshed out and utterly believable. This is one film that deserved all the awards it received - and more. If only Hollywood could make more like it. Now... that didn't sound too pretentious, did it?

FujiFilm FinePix S7000Z
1/1000s f/2.8 at 7.8mm iso200 full exif

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Guest 06-Mar-2005 19:47
I'm laughing at some of the guesses. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, oh my.
Guest 05-Mar-2005 23:07
boo too late to guess, wouldn't have thought of that film anyway, not seen it yet
Zak05-Mar-2005 21:05
HA! I got it right! :D
Jude Marion05-Mar-2005 17:37
Gorgeous ...
I just LOVE that bold swirl of RED!!!
John Finlayson05-Mar-2005 10:12
Quite profound !
Karen Leaf05-Mar-2005 03:57
Good ps work and movie, too!
Dominic Kite05-Mar-2005 00:34
Very interesting image Stu!
Guest 05-Mar-2005 00:12
Quite clearly 'Chitty chitty bang bang'.
Susanne04-Mar-2005 23:59
I do not know that movie, but I like how you represented the movie with this image. This makes sense now, at first I was ...okay a red line. Now I look at this red line with different eyes and understanding. Very nice.
Stu04-Mar-2005 23:35
That wasn't hard, was it! (I did say that it was a literal representation!) Thin Red Line it is.
Gayle P. Clement04-Mar-2005 22:52
It can only be the Thin Red Line. I like this composition a lot, Stu.
David Clunas04-Mar-2005 22:41
Nice shot Stu, and the film is . . .
Guest 04-Mar-2005 21:43
Got to go with The Thin Red Line as well.
Guest 04-Mar-2005 17:07
Thought it might have been Philadelphia at first, even though I've not seen the film myself. But now I'm not sure. I'll look forward to finding out.
northstar3704-Mar-2005 16:59
Forrest Gump?
Johan Toll04-Mar-2005 16:55
Great image! I am not sure about the film though. The only thing that keeps pop up in my mind is the Thin red line. :)
Bill Miller04-Mar-2005 15:47
I am not a film buff so no idea - but like the graphic picture !
Ian Clowes04-Mar-2005 15:16
Great image - no idea on the film.... feeling somewhere mid-upper-right at the moment :)
petesie04-Mar-2005 13:10
Intrigued, also, so I will come back when someone comes up with the answer, and I will go rent the DVD....intrigued, also by how you did this.
Guest 04-Mar-2005 12:10
You have me intrigued. I guessed there had to be something behind the image
Zak04-Mar-2005 12:07
The thin red line?? heheh (dunno)
Guest 04-Mar-2005 11:51
I can't guess either, just love this image that striking red line is so cool and the light fall off is ace
type04-Mar-2005 10:20
I wish I knew which film you meant. While I wait for some clever person to guess it correctly I'll admire this striking image, if that's alright.
laine8204-Mar-2005 10:02
Would this be based on an autobiography by James Jones, or is that too obvious...!!