Saturday, January 15, 2011

Remember Me Discussion - Outside the Film

After the short hiatus,I'm going to try something a little different with the Remember Me discussion group. Questions will deal with the film outside of the actual movie. Let me know what you think!



Do you think that the negative reaction to the ending of the film would have been lessened if the 9/11 aspect would have been alluded to in the marketing? Or,do you think that knowing beforehand would have lessened the impact of the film?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I never saw this as negative on the film, a huge horrible surprise ending, yes, tragic, yes. Probably so many stories concluded that day, some fulfilled others very distraught, all painful!
Definitely knowing ahead of time would have made the story all about 911. I happen to think it's the perfect modern day story filled with angst, friendship, family, love, strength, forgiveness and death! So many things I felt and could allude to, you can feel his pain at different turns. And in the end he has a solemn happiness a surrender if you will. You think/know it will just keep getting better for him. Then the tragedy, it reminds us of, do it today!(not tomorrow) That's why the ending is so profound, it could have been any of us.
The film is perfect for me. I didn't think critics shied away from controversy or worry what the public thinks? It's the sleeper ready to awaken. thanks, Kim

WhyIstheRumAlwaysGone said...

It's a good question... but I'm almost certain of one thing: if I had known beforehand that it was a film about 9/11, I'm not sure I would have gone and seen it... Plus, we have already allued to it, if the marketing had revelade this, it would have taken a lot from the film, whose goal is to make you live the few months which led to the 9/11 tragedy exactly as everyone lived it: when it hapened, it came out from the blue, it was totally unexpected, and this how people lived the event. No one had seen it coming. Knowing in advance that it's going to be about 9/11 would not have worked for this film, in my opinion.

jessegirl said...

ITA with both of you. Now I'd known something, very vague, someone referenced it somewhere, but this was long before the film came out. So I forgot. Then, even with the clues, the stories of the characters distracted me from this until near the end--the elevator I think--and I was shocked, taken unaware.And if I'd known beforehand, the whole experience would have been different, like you've both said.

However, and here's the kicker, multiple viewings never minimized the impact for me. So, while the first time one should be a blank slate. But, and I know you've watched it numerous times too, Rum, the power seems to get stronger with repeat viewings.

In the final analysis, it is like a stealth bomber. It quietly, subtly,sneaks up on you, under the radar, and then it shatters you. The extraordinary tenderness which distinguishes its delivery makes the impact of the climax that much more explosive, internally. Everything is shattered, blown apart, and so you watch again so that you can see it, in rewind, put back together again. And then disintegrate again. And made whole again. Devastate again. Heal again. Extraordinary.

WhyIstheRumAlwaysGone said...

What an extraordinarty comment jessegirl, you've expressed it so well, I think I'm going to repost that on my blog!! It's perfect. Yes, the first "innocent" viewing is like a blank slate, but the impact does not lessen in the next viewings - I mourned and grieved every time, with the added pain of knowing what was coming - every time.
I've found out I can't watch the DVD till the end. I stop it when he says good bye to Ally on the last morning. I just can't watch the rest.

LTavares2011 said...

When I saw The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan, I had read some reviews about the film and was more or less prepared for an impactive ending but the movie was so good that I ended up embarking on the story and was shocked the same way when I realized that Bruce Willis`character was dead.
I read the script of Remember Me before seeing the film, and it was shocking reading and realizing Tyler looking through the window, seeing the airplane flying low and it was the window of one of the WTC towers. I cried. I felt worse because I was personally involved with this character, at that moment he was someone I loved.
I watched the film later, of course the impact was less but I embarked the story, and I cried so much again. I think it was the effect Coulter wanted to cause on people who would watch the film: the impact of the unpredictability of life. It is like a punch in your stomach. You are never prepared to take one.
Nobody was prepared to die or see someone you love die. Nobody was prepared to 9/11 or any other tragedy of huge proportions and it is understandable most people do not want to see a film that relives this fact and it is understandable, too, that many people think it was an idea of questionable taste to use 9/11 in the film.
It was a risk that Coulter and the producers decided to take. Remember Me is a notable film and good films are forever. Have to give it time.

Anonymous said...

Not too much to add here except yes it is a good film and good films last forever! Yes good films last forever...in the end everyone will early or later in their life experience grief and not be prepared. This film will dramatize their own life and make them feel their tragedy or loss! And they will like it cause they sense a bonding with Remember Me. thanks/kim

heidi6572 said...

I think it comes down to the quality of the film itself the creates the impact. We could have had a 9/11 film that wasn't nearly as powerful; it depends on the combined talents of those who choose to make it. I believe it would have still been controversial to a certain extent even if the 9/11 story was included in the marketing. It's an amazing movie that unfortunately was overshadowed by the large amount of negative criticism.

bebe said...

i haven´t heard about the link to 9/11, so i haven´t expected it. being aware that somebody just HAS to die in the movie, i put it all together in my head during the great scene of Tyler looking out of the office when zooming out. my answer to wheteher it should be alluded to the marketing is definitely NO because it would´ve lost all of its tender and sad climax when all the relatives step by step were finding out what happened.. It was a great idea, however not to be boasted with.

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