Star Wars

There was a moment when I saw the filmmaker in George Lucas. It was a small thing that he screws up a minute later (when Anakin decides to pledge loyalty to the Sith), a moment when Anakin looks out over a digitally created city, a cut back to Padua looking out over the same city, nearly silent. It was one of the few quiet moments of the film, and for a second, I found it almost beautiful, the digital imagery of two people longing for one another (despite the horrific dialog and lack of chemistry when they occupy the same space). I could understand what Lucas meant to communicate, through the images he created...I saw the promising young filmmaker, still in him, able to utilize images to convey feelings he must be incapable of expressing in any other way. It was a little glimmer of hope, the same hope Luke sees in Vader throughout the first series of films. Because Lucas, despite the implication that he is Luke Skywalker (Coppola is Han Solo), is clearly Darth Vader, a promising young filmmaker, easily seduced to the dark side, ie the business of it all.

I just finished The Whole Equation, a must read for all filmmakers with an interest in the history of their profession. In it, David Thomson sums up Star Wars better than I ever could:

I have nothing to say about Star Wars. To the extent that I have written about movies, it has been because I felt there was enough of art (or the attempt at it) in some films to justify the effort - to justify the excitement I had felt in the dark. But there is nothing to be said about Star Wars because there is not enough in it: the fullest response is "Wow!" or pressing the repeat button. It is, for good and ill, sensational. And I like sensations, like hot water on my back or salt on my tounge. But in recent times there are too many occasions when new films do not deserve the space or the paper it would take, let alone the effort. They defy critical response or verbal enquiry. They are beyond examination.

So much wisdom is in this writing, because to think about Star Wars critically is to miss the point. It isn't meant to be criticized, it is meant to be experienced, like a ride. The first scene is exactly that. The audience is cruising through space, on ride and the only question is whether you enjoy the ride or not, or whether you will take it again.

There are other aspects as well that could be touched upon. Star Wars in so many ways isn't even a movie to our generation. It is a part of the cultural fabric, something we have all experienced more in terms of discussion, allusions, games, toys, reference, than an actual film.

There is also the almost pathetic attempt to make a political statement with the film, "Either you are with me, or you are my enemy," Darth Vadar/Anakin says to Obi Wan as he has turned to the dark side. "Only a Sith speaks in absolutes." Ughhhhh. I could shit better writing than that. But how does Lucas reconcile the entire idea of the dark side? Isn't that an absolute? I'm confused.

Anyhow, enough.

UPDATE: Like I said, part of the cultural fabric. Funny stuff.