Post by klep on Jan 1, 2018 10:49:10 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 1/1: Contagion
DISASTER WEEK!
An epidemic isn't quick like an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. It doesn't come all in one brief, savage burst. Instead it starts small, then spreads. And spreads. And spreads. Its destruction takes time, but it's as inexorable as a freight train.
In Contagion, Steven Soderbergh chronicles the life of an epidemic, from start to finish. We see lives and families destroyed, economies shattered, and society nearly come apart. In the end over 26 million are dead from this disaster, all caused by something we can't even see. Soderbergh conveys the threat masterfully, turning every touch into an understated but understood threat. Turning a doorknob, pressing a button, touching a screen - every little action carrying the menace of a virulent disease.
And as dangerous as the virus itself is, the fear is nearly as bad. If everyone kept calm and stuck firmly to medical advice, the damage the epidemic would cause would be nowhere near as bad. But that's not human nature. We can be irrational under threat, particularly when it's a threat we can't see. We lash out, act selfishly, and panic. We latch on to false cures, and neglect the needs of our neighbors. And in doing so, we spread more harm and misery and, yes, more disease.
This isn't a disaster that can be stopped by Just One Man. There's no singular hero here. No one is going to fly in on a helicopter and save the day. Matt Damon is in the film prominently, but there's no one coming to save him; he survives through dumb luck. An epidemic can only truly be stopped by a massive coordinated effort; through many smaller acts of heroism. Dr. Sussman (Elliot Gould) who violates CDC directives and risks his career and safety to grow the virus in a lab. Dr. Hextall (Jennifer Ehle) who deliberately infects herself to test her vaccine candidate. Dr. Mears (Kate Winslet) who contracts the disease and whose first thought is of the people she might have infected.
Soderbergh's take on epidemic response is decidedly institutionalist. His good guys all work for governmental organizations on either a national or international level. In another film Jude Law's blogger/journalist Alan Krumwiede would be the hero - finding the cure and getting it to the public from under the nose of some sinister corporation or secret government lab. But here he's another brazen opportunist, cruelly manipulating people into believing in a fake cure to line his own pockets.
Soderbergh walks us through in detail the meticulousness and scale of the operations that must take place. How do you quarantine a city? Where do you keep the sick? What do you do with the dead? How do you contain panic until you're ready to deal with it? Who gets vaccine first? Beyond just the sheer scale of operations required, there are ugly decisions to be made and sometimes it takes a cold bureaucracy to make them. Soderbergh doesn't shy from the costs, but the benefits are clear. The 1918 flu epidemic killed 1% of the world's population. 26 million out of 7 billion? The world of Contagion gets off easy.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 1/8: Grosse Pointe Blank
HOMECOMING WEEK!
The holidays are over and with it everyone is returning home - though maybe not quite for the reasons John Cusack is in our next Movie of the Week. Join us next Monday for our discussion of Grosse Pointe Blank and we'll see if we can figure out which is worse: being murdered, or attending your ten year high school reunion. Grosse Pointe Blank is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 12/28: Call Me By Your Name
This week's podcast concludes with the brilliant new Call Me By Your Name. We'll have a thread for discussion of this new film and near-certain Oscar contender on Wednesday. If you're very lucky, Call Me By Your Name may be in a theater near you.
DISASTER WEEK!
An epidemic isn't quick like an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. It doesn't come all in one brief, savage burst. Instead it starts small, then spreads. And spreads. And spreads. Its destruction takes time, but it's as inexorable as a freight train.
In Contagion, Steven Soderbergh chronicles the life of an epidemic, from start to finish. We see lives and families destroyed, economies shattered, and society nearly come apart. In the end over 26 million are dead from this disaster, all caused by something we can't even see. Soderbergh conveys the threat masterfully, turning every touch into an understated but understood threat. Turning a doorknob, pressing a button, touching a screen - every little action carrying the menace of a virulent disease.
And as dangerous as the virus itself is, the fear is nearly as bad. If everyone kept calm and stuck firmly to medical advice, the damage the epidemic would cause would be nowhere near as bad. But that's not human nature. We can be irrational under threat, particularly when it's a threat we can't see. We lash out, act selfishly, and panic. We latch on to false cures, and neglect the needs of our neighbors. And in doing so, we spread more harm and misery and, yes, more disease.
This isn't a disaster that can be stopped by Just One Man. There's no singular hero here. No one is going to fly in on a helicopter and save the day. Matt Damon is in the film prominently, but there's no one coming to save him; he survives through dumb luck. An epidemic can only truly be stopped by a massive coordinated effort; through many smaller acts of heroism. Dr. Sussman (Elliot Gould) who violates CDC directives and risks his career and safety to grow the virus in a lab. Dr. Hextall (Jennifer Ehle) who deliberately infects herself to test her vaccine candidate. Dr. Mears (Kate Winslet) who contracts the disease and whose first thought is of the people she might have infected.
Soderbergh's take on epidemic response is decidedly institutionalist. His good guys all work for governmental organizations on either a national or international level. In another film Jude Law's blogger/journalist Alan Krumwiede would be the hero - finding the cure and getting it to the public from under the nose of some sinister corporation or secret government lab. But here he's another brazen opportunist, cruelly manipulating people into believing in a fake cure to line his own pockets.
Soderbergh walks us through in detail the meticulousness and scale of the operations that must take place. How do you quarantine a city? Where do you keep the sick? What do you do with the dead? How do you contain panic until you're ready to deal with it? Who gets vaccine first? Beyond just the sheer scale of operations required, there are ugly decisions to be made and sometimes it takes a cold bureaucracy to make them. Soderbergh doesn't shy from the costs, but the benefits are clear. The 1918 flu epidemic killed 1% of the world's population. 26 million out of 7 billion? The world of Contagion gets off easy.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 1/8: Grosse Pointe Blank
HOMECOMING WEEK!
The holidays are over and with it everyone is returning home - though maybe not quite for the reasons John Cusack is in our next Movie of the Week. Join us next Monday for our discussion of Grosse Pointe Blank and we'll see if we can figure out which is worse: being murdered, or attending your ten year high school reunion. Grosse Pointe Blank is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 12/28: Call Me By Your Name
This week's podcast concludes with the brilliant new Call Me By Your Name. We'll have a thread for discussion of this new film and near-certain Oscar contender on Wednesday. If you're very lucky, Call Me By Your Name may be in a theater near you.