This is peak film essay. This is what I want to read, when I read about the art of film. It’s so well written - honest, lucid, and your passion for it is clear. I too watched The Shining very young and it remained one of my favorites. I recently watched it again and loved and appreciated it even more. You painted such a mesmerizing picture of your Barry Lyndon experience; I am going to have to watch it now! Thank you for this! 💖
Great essay. Barry Lyndon is my favorite Kubrick film. But I don't know if I would frame Forrest Gump as a picaresque story. Forrest Gump is quite a nice and sympathetic character while trying to make sense of the world that's a bit crazy. He stays the same while the world (and peoples) change around him. So, in a sense, Gump doesn't have an arc. Just like Goku in Dragon Ball Z, I guess.
Picaresque protagonist tend to be tragic, they try to make it in a corrupt society only by their wits, but they end up being corrupted by it. I don't think Kubrick idea was supposed to be neutral about how to feel about Barry's fate. I've always felt sorry for Barry, especially when he lost his son. He was led by his older cousin actions to exile, lost all his fathers figures, lost his fortune and lost the only unique good thing in his entire life. But I guess it makes sense. The main theme song is a ballroom dance, if you think about it, so he dances around in a saloon, changing partness, and at the end he comes back on the spot where he was supposed to be at the beggining of the song. Welcome to the 18th cenrtury estate society.
Oh no, now we're bringing Dragon Ball Z into the mix! Totally appreciate your points...to be honest I've always been somewhat baffled by "picaresque" as a category -- for instance, I love Don Quixote & Huck Finn, but could never finish Tristam Shandy or Confederacy of Dunces. Maybe I like "failed" picaresques? Or "pseudo" picaresques?
Or maybe I should just stop using a word I obviously don't grasp. LOL.
I'll have to watch this movie, had no idea it was the same director from eyes wide shut! The imagery of the scenes and the time period are right up my alley. Thanks for sharing.
I've seen The Shining as a kid and I recently watched it again as an adult. Then I watched the sequel, Doctor Sleep and read the books of both. I'm not only comparing the differences in books versus movies but original versus sequel. I'm usually not much into historical pieces but your take on it encourages me to give it a chance.
Thank you for your thoughts on this! It encourages me to share my thoughts on movies as well. Now I want to watch this one! I also love The Shining and I have never been brave enough to watch A Clockwork Orange.
Forest Gump is such an interesting juxtaposition to see right there in the theater! The details for how that works could be a whole book! Or a class!
Loved reading this, Rider! Wish I could have been there in the theater. I'm down for a 2001 screening - (I still haven't finished it either!)
Really nicely put. Full Metal Jacket, shining and Clockwork just have me from frame 1
This is peak film essay. This is what I want to read, when I read about the art of film. It’s so well written - honest, lucid, and your passion for it is clear. I too watched The Shining very young and it remained one of my favorites. I recently watched it again and loved and appreciated it even more. You painted such a mesmerizing picture of your Barry Lyndon experience; I am going to have to watch it now! Thank you for this! 💖
Great essay. Barry Lyndon is my favorite Kubrick film. But I don't know if I would frame Forrest Gump as a picaresque story. Forrest Gump is quite a nice and sympathetic character while trying to make sense of the world that's a bit crazy. He stays the same while the world (and peoples) change around him. So, in a sense, Gump doesn't have an arc. Just like Goku in Dragon Ball Z, I guess.
Picaresque protagonist tend to be tragic, they try to make it in a corrupt society only by their wits, but they end up being corrupted by it. I don't think Kubrick idea was supposed to be neutral about how to feel about Barry's fate. I've always felt sorry for Barry, especially when he lost his son. He was led by his older cousin actions to exile, lost all his fathers figures, lost his fortune and lost the only unique good thing in his entire life. But I guess it makes sense. The main theme song is a ballroom dance, if you think about it, so he dances around in a saloon, changing partness, and at the end he comes back on the spot where he was supposed to be at the beggining of the song. Welcome to the 18th cenrtury estate society.
Oh no, now we're bringing Dragon Ball Z into the mix! Totally appreciate your points...to be honest I've always been somewhat baffled by "picaresque" as a category -- for instance, I love Don Quixote & Huck Finn, but could never finish Tristam Shandy or Confederacy of Dunces. Maybe I like "failed" picaresques? Or "pseudo" picaresques?
Or maybe I should just stop using a word I obviously don't grasp. LOL.
I'll have to watch this movie, had no idea it was the same director from eyes wide shut! The imagery of the scenes and the time period are right up my alley. Thanks for sharing.
Oh, I've learned a new word. I did not know what picaresque meant. Fascinating thank you for this evening's research rabbit hole.
I've seen The Shining as a kid and I recently watched it again as an adult. Then I watched the sequel, Doctor Sleep and read the books of both. I'm not only comparing the differences in books versus movies but original versus sequel. I'm usually not much into historical pieces but your take on it encourages me to give it a chance.
Thank you for your thoughts on this! It encourages me to share my thoughts on movies as well. Now I want to watch this one! I also love The Shining and I have never been brave enough to watch A Clockwork Orange.
You've seen Eyes Wide Shut so many times, but never 2001? Rider, no 😭
j/k. 2001 is a masterpiece though, so please do give it another shot. :) I haven't seen this one yet, gonna add it to my (ever growing) to-do list.