The ending clip
I wonder what the old man said when the camara wasn't rolling.
shareYeah, me too.
I bet the filmmaker thought that was cute. But it's annoying instead.
No two persons ever watch the same movie.share
"I bet the filmmaker thought that was cute. But it's annoying instead." What a ridiculous statement. Did you not catch that the man being interviewed was the father of the filmmaker?? Turning off the camera at that point was out of respect for the subject; the shot was edited into the movie because it revealed something about the character of the man. It's called good documentary filmmaking.
Either stop watching movies or start watching them. I'm tired of people trying to be critical when they don't know what they're talking about.
Whether you like it or not, thelightandsound, different people will have different perspectives of the same situation. I'm happy for you to come to the conclusion that "Turning off the camera at that point was out of respect for the subject; the shot was edited into the movie because it revealed something about the character of the man." I sure didn't.
By the way, mentioning my feelings of something in the movie is not being critical. It's merely sharing my opinions and impressions of what I saw. Even if my comment was meant to be critical, what is it to you? No one is allowed to state their perception about a movie unless they get your approval? Think again.
If it upsets you to read other points of view that don't match your own, then don't read other people's posts.
No two persons ever watch the same movie.share
Yeah, I also thought it was annoying. Whether it was meant as a post-modern statement or not, it really messes with the tone of the movie.
By the way, I thought the movie was excellent. Having a family connection in Mobile, I found it fascinating to watch. It captures the many layers of the city's society.
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I disagree with everybody. It's not a "post-modern statement", it doesn't "mess with the tone of the movie", and it's not about the character of this man in particular.
What it refers to is everything that's being left unsaid beneath Mobile's polite veneer. The ghosts of the city's racial past are all around, but nobody wants to acknowledge they even exist. Instead, they're called "tradition" or "culture" and people insist that this is simply the way things are done, without ever admitting that there is a reason they are done this way, and not a good one.
So maybe her grandfather talks about something horrible he once witnessed, or maybe he says that the tradition of segregated Mardi Gras is bunk and should be abandoned, but to say either thing out loud is anathema to a white culture that refuses to admit there is even a problem. So he naturally asks that she turn the camera off, so the veneer can be maintained.
I thought it was a perfect ending.
If you watch the director's cut on the DVD she states at the end that she thought it was appropriate to show that there was still a level of mystery under the surface of the movie.
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Blue Jay Sam, I think you're right. I'm gonna take another look at the movie.
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I'm looking forward to the book you're obviously going to publish that describes how one should watch and interpret movies only as you feel they should and have no thoughts or feelings of their own.
-Leo McDermott
Mobile, Alabama