I just got back from the cineplex after watching the new movie "Civil War" and it's taken more than a few hours to get over the temporary case of PTSD that it gave me. There's lots of shooting, blood, dead bodies and loud explosions. The entire thing is seen from the perspective of a quartet of two reporters and two photojournalists who are traveling to Washington DC to cover the climax of an enigmatic modern-day American civil war. The pair of photographers are the real focus... one of them is experienced and renowned (Kirsten Dunst), while the other is an aspirational beginner (Cailee Spaeny) who seeks to learn her craft from the veteran.
We are reminded of the continuing importance of up-close and impartial news coverage of important events, even if reporters and photographers must put themselves at grave personal risk. I won't get into the plotline and character details here, but I was intrigued by the central role that the young photog's 35mm film camera plays. She snaps away with a standard-lens Nikon as her frames flash into view on the screen, capturing key moments of death and drama in grainy black and white, just as they might have been during Vietnam or WWII. We're even shown how she develops her film in a daylight tank and checks the reversed negatives on a smartphone viewer. Meanwhile, the older photographer uses a digital camera with a massive zoom, but her color shots are rarely shown.
Could it be that there's a subliminal 'film vs digital' message in there somewhere? Significantly, while the final credits roll, the climactic B&W shot of the movie slowly emerges from whiteness just as if it were developing in a darkroom print tray.
If you haven't seen the movie, check it out.
Spoiler alert ... Here's a link to a very perceptive YouTube review titled "What CIVIL WAR Is Really About" ...
We are reminded of the continuing importance of up-close and impartial news coverage of important events, even if reporters and photographers must put themselves at grave personal risk. I won't get into the plotline and character details here, but I was intrigued by the central role that the young photog's 35mm film camera plays. She snaps away with a standard-lens Nikon as her frames flash into view on the screen, capturing key moments of death and drama in grainy black and white, just as they might have been during Vietnam or WWII. We're even shown how she develops her film in a daylight tank and checks the reversed negatives on a smartphone viewer. Meanwhile, the older photographer uses a digital camera with a massive zoom, but her color shots are rarely shown.
Could it be that there's a subliminal 'film vs digital' message in there somewhere? Significantly, while the final credits roll, the climactic B&W shot of the movie slowly emerges from whiteness just as if it were developing in a darkroom print tray.
If you haven't seen the movie, check it out.
Spoiler alert ... Here's a link to a very perceptive YouTube review titled "What CIVIL WAR Is Really About" ...
