MovieChat Forums > One Way to Valhalla (2009) Discussion > Zen and the Art of Auto Mechanics

Zen and the Art of Auto Mechanics

posted 12 years ago by hardwood53
2 replies | jump to latest

May have been a better title. It is certainly more descriptive of of what was shown.
It has been too long since I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Mechanics to offer any insight as to the similarities if any.
It is certainly suggested the protagonist reached the state of nirvana.
The Title and ending graphics as well as the occupation of the central and several other characters intimate vocation.
I was somewhat bewildered by the ending until the alternate title popped into my head. "Some things one must just accept" is heavily inferred.
One Way to Valhalla suggests the opposite direction to ultimate release. Valhalla, we know is about war and warriors must die in battle to enter. This to me suggests a War hero story, and may be why the movie is not rating well. People pick up this movie expecting the opposite of what they get.

Too many people use credit to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.

[–] DocCasualty 12 years ago

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"

"Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye." 2001: A Space Odyssey

[–] walking_bread 12 years ago

hardwood,
great analogy.
by the way, this film may get bashed for being an indy but all the leads are terrific actors and the story is compelling enough to deserve being seen.

If I had to pick on one thing that threw me, it was the transformation. The bicycle accident was a good setup to start his direction change, but he didn't verbally telegraph his change of heart in the least.
He went to work, but worked on a car on the street and got others to come into the auto bays to fix for free. He had to know that would piss off the owner/manager.
All he would have had to do was quit, as he seemed to have planned that anyways.
Maybe I missed something, but he ended up causing his wife much grief when she heard he got let go for his job.
Throwing the food out the window is curious. It's a residential area and if nearby animals didn't consume, it would stink up the place after dumping for several days.

Perhaps he was so overwhelmed by his internal transformation that the things I mentioned just didn't occur to him. He didn't seem to be able to respond to some probing and questioning from his wife and friends. So, maybe he was consumed with his own changes. That makes some sense. Any opinions?