As a woman who comes from a family with past sex abuses, not to mention was a victim herself as a child, many are shocked to discover that I do not shy away from movies in which there are scenes or the plot centers around sex abuse.
I find myself intrigued by such stories, searching perhaps to understand the minds of the perpetrator(s) and the victim's and how they deal or don't deal with the abuse.
A week ago I learned, via Twitter, that one of Albuquerque's independent bookstores was having a drawing for free passes to see "The Girl Who Played with Fire." So I followed Bookworks' entry rules and a couple day
s later I learned that I had won two free passes! I thought for sure that I could find someone in town to see the movie with, after all this was the second installment in Stieg Larsson's intense trilogy....ok, to be honest I'd been meaning for quite some time to see the first movie, "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" but hadn't gotten around to it. But it's A FREE MOVIE PASS, surely someone will be more than eager to join me. FREE!!! *sigh* I went alone after trying for a week to talk people into going with me. But not before I was able to watch "....Dragon Tattoo" thru NetFlix which I'm glad I took the advice of friends cause I would of been a little bit confused.
Some of the responses I got I understood, such as the concerns about the sexual violence. On some level I understand more so those who won't or can't see movies with such themes than I do my semi-mental masochistic interest in such topics. It's as if I need to push myself in order to not feel like a victim and for me it has worked. I learned and accepted many years ago that I am a product of my past and to hide from it or deny it wasn't going to do anyone any good. Not to say I still don't occasionally find my predilections a bit unnerving.
Larsson's novels, of which the movies are based on, delve into some incredibly horrid events in the life of Lisbeth (excellently played by Noomi Rapace!) and in order to tell her story we, the audience, need on some level to experience some of the horror. We need to understand how those events continue to shape who she is now as an adult and only by not shying away from the subject and thus the imagery of sex abuse can we do so. When Mikael finds the video of Lisbeth's rape we are subjected for just a few short seconds to the moment we witness in "...Dragon Tattoo" all over again but only until Mikael shuts the video off in horror and pushes himself away from the computer, hand to mouth and tears in his eyes. We are forced to share his pain.
What I am just now realising about these two movies, (I've yet to see the final installment "Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest") is that they do an excellent job of providing a balance of crap and joy. Yes the topic is dark but we still see people in love, we still see people fighting for the weak and there is hope, redemption, victory. All of this is intermixed, as maybe a way to help us come back up for air before we're plunged back into the soiled muck.
I can't wait to see the final movie because in one short week I've fallen in love with Lisbeth and Mikael. Oh and guess I'll be adding the books to my reading list as well.
Friday, August 06, 2010
The Girl Who Played with Fire
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2 responses:
I am glad to hear that the second movie deals with that rape maturely. In the first movie the whole relationship with the man that raped her was hard to watch (she had no choice from the beginning). But how she got him back could have verged on petty revenge, but I think she rose above it and used the situation to her advantage. Some would argue she did the same, but you have to give her credit for coming back and facing him head on.
There is someone I know, who hates characters like her, because of their past. Even my friend finally let their attitude drop when at the end of the first film she sums up the murder perfectly. She had the same background, but did not use her past to excuse her actions.
Hi Mari and thanks for stopping by!
Yeah, the first movie I found a lot harsher in terms of the sexual violence and more explicit too. I was actually surprised but happy to see in the 2nd movie that she returns to Sweden, you can see in her her need to reach out to those who care about her and yet the fear is still there as well.
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