ET 25: Chinatown: the Ending

The ending of Chinatown is quite simply a chaotic mess of feelings. There isn't time to breathe, to understand what is going on, to explain. Everything happens too soon and too quickly, and ends tragically for everyone.

The whole ending is shot wonderfully. First off, the cinematography. The whole scene was shot on eye-level. Such an angle decidedly makes the viewer feel involved- it makes the viewer feel like he/she is standing there, on scene. We're caught up in the hectic mess of people on all sides accusing each other and screaming, and although we know the truth and are on Gittes' side, we're still quite drawn to the charming way Noah Cross calmly demands that his daughter is not sane- and for a short moment we start to doubt whether Evelyn was lying again, as she had been doing all throughout the film. Suddenly the truth seems clouded again and Gittes himself is uncertain. The music is important too- or more specifically the lack of music. The viewer becomes fully focused on the scene, there is no room for distractions- not even in the form of the absolutely stunning soundtrack for the film. And after all the babble and confusion that happens, Evelyn drives away with the person she wants to protect, and we think that it's all going to end well for her as her car vanishes into the distance and the gunshots miss her.

But of course it's a not very noir-like to have a happy ending, is it?

The sound of the car-horn deafens everything else. At first the viewer is confused, as the gunshots and the car-horn seem to meld together to make one sound, but after a while this great sense of unwitting fear and despair grip you from the inside as you recognize the sound for what it is. Soon after the car-horn melds with Katherine's terrified, almost inhuman scream as well, and without even seeing what happens, the audience knows it. It's the noir ending we thought we would be safe from.

We see Evelyn's blown-out eye and then everything that had escalated so quickly seems to come to an instant halt. There is only Katherine's screaming in the background and everybody is quite simply shocked. Noah Cross comes and whisks Katherine away, covering her eyes and telling her to "not look", acting like the caring grandfather he presents to society. We, the viewers, however, know what is going on- what is going to happen. Katherine will experience the same fate as her mother/sister Evelyn. Gittes had unwittingly made the same mistake he made the last time in Chinatown, when he had promised to be involved "as little as possible". This mistake was repeated. The murder of Evelyn will be forgotten as another incident that happened in Chinatown. It will be a repeat of everything again. Gittes wasn't able to save Evelyn and Katherine, nor was he able to bring Noah Cross to justice for the heinous crimes he had committed, just like the last time he was in Chinatown. It's a repeat of his tragedy.

The film revolves around Chinatown, quite like its title suggests, although Chinatown only shows up in the last minutes of this film. I would say that although it isn't shown, Chinatown is prevalent throughout the movie- or more specifically the events that had happened in Chinatown and how it had affected Gittes. Gittes, from the very beginning, was greatly affected by what happened. We see that he never could let go the past, and that his present was always dogged by his past. His actions, decisions, promises were all made with some consideration towards Chinatown. Chinatown could very well be a mental state in which he can't jump out of. He is stuck in that place, and he bitterly resents it. We are brought to Chinatown at the end and I feel that it perfectly expresses the repetition of the tragic events that had forever shadowed him, and will continue to do so.

The more significant Chinese character in the film is Khan, Evelyn's butler. He says little and is rather a minor character, but he is important nonetheless. He knows of Evelyn's secret and Katherine. He takes care of them both and protects them. He's loyal and simple of his goal: to protect his master the best that he can. I think it strikes a different idea of the chinese we imagine in Gitte's Chinatown... Such a world full of deceit must be filled with hateful, resentful, lying Chinese, but Khan is far from anything like that.

Robert Towne's ending was to inject some hope into an otherwise totally dark film. Honestly I don't think it would strike quite as hard as Polanski's terribly gritty outlook if it was made possible. In Towne's version, Katherine manages to escape, although Evelyn is killed. Noah Cross expressed exaggerated sadness over his dead daughter, and Gittes starts yelling at everyone in anger. In Polanski's version, Cross takes Katherine away, Evelyn still dies, and Gittes is devastated.

If the film was shot Towne's way, Chinatown wouldn't be one of the best noir films ever made. Firstly, there is hope. Evelyn's heroic death was for the saving of her sister/daughter Katherine- the sole reason of her deceitful life- and the hope that she would be free from the evil clutches of the evil Noah Cross. Noah himself would throw himself over Evelyn's dead body and cry- and is he really a man who would do that? All throughout the movie we've seen him portrayed as a cruel, evil man who thinks the rest of humanity are nothing and are worthless to him unless they can be exploited. This man had raped his daughter and impregnated her and hadn't really cared about finding her again until Hollis' murder and only then because Gittes was on the case. In fact he wanted to put all the blame on her! Is this really the same man that would cry passionately over the loss of his daughter? Secondly, Evelyn's death would have a whole other meaning. Her death wouldn't have been in vain, as she had allowed her daughter to escape. Instead she would have died a heroic death. And that doesn't quite make such an impact as seeing all her struggles were futile. All the lies and painful steps she took to ensure Katherine's safety were in vain, since in the end she is taken by Cross again. It would definitely not have the same helplessness of the situation if Katherine manages to escape. By doing so, however, we are forced to acknowledged the grittiness and hopelessness of Chinatown. Thirdly, Gitte's reaction to her death is drastically different. In Towne's version he is yelling at everyone else: he is putting the blame on other people, instead of himself. In Polanski's version, however, he internalizes the blame. He thinks he is the sole blame for Evelyn's tragedy and we can see that he shuts down: he is silent and expressionless, he is completely crushed. He thought he could change the present, if not the past, or that maybe helping Evelyn escape would redeem himself and he could properly let go of Chinatown. That is not the case. He cannot change what had happened, he cannot even help. Chinatown is still hard and unforgiving, like how he is hard and unforgiving to himself. Chinatown is not kind. Chinatown does not forgive nor forget, even though advice is given to him to "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."

Sources:

http://home.roadrunner.com/~jhartzog/chinatownscriptfilm.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/oct/22/best-film-ever-chinatown-season

http://www.thrillingdetective.com/gittes.html

ET 23: Spirited Away as Anime

There is a lot of misconception of anime from the general public, many of it negative. Anime itself is a little too large to be called a sub-genre, in fact I'd group anime in a genre all by itself as it contains subgenres of anime. I wouldn't dare to say that anime is all good, because I've seen really bad ones, but there are gems in all categories. Spirited Away is one example.

Studio Ghibli is pretty much the Disney of anime. Most of the anime movies created by them have been heaped with praise, which they deserve. And rightly so. What sets Spirited Away from the sea of other anime films is the principle of Studio Ghibli. The studio is adamant in defining its visual style, the long and old tradition of hand-drawn animation. The director, Hayao Mizaki, is also very particular about backgrounds and scenery: and truthfully, all this attention to detail is the best showcase of quality. Generally, "lazy animation" is boring, a lack of facial expression unless expression are needed, otherwise it's the same image being used again and again. However Studio Ghibli films are never boring. There are always things moving, there is no slight pause in the actions, there are no empty spaces in the background. The animation becomes much livelier and coupled with gorgeous imagery, truly Spirited Away is the epitome of anime.

In terms of subject matter, Spirited Away may at first seem like a typical anime plot- girl meets boy in a strange world, they fall in love after many adventures together, etc etc- but when you watch the movie it's not. It's not typical at all. Firstly, the characters make the difference. Generally in anime the character is a high school girl with the typical anime look- big eyes and a slender body. Chihiro is not. She's not particularly pretty, she's a little too thin, she's not perfect. She's an average Japanese child, she's someone we would meet on the streets and forget. Her parents are typical parents as well. Her father looks fatherly and her mother looks motherly. There is nothing special that sets her apart, unlike other animes in which the main character has special powers or looks or statuses. Characters in the spirit world are as unique in a well-grounded way. It isn't easy to forget any of the characters that appear in the movie, as unimportant as they may be. Also the romance between Chihiro and Haku is subtle. It's not cheesy love-at-first-sight romance, neither is it possessive love. It's the right balance of trust and friendship that blossomed into love. They didn't have to tell each other how much they cared for each other, they could do it all by actions alone. That, for me, can go further than any amount of words would. It also encompasses a coming of age theme, as shown by how Chihiro grows up from the beginning of the movie until the end. Her parents aren't forgotten as pigs as well, as she spends a good half of the film worrying over her parents, quite unlike how typical animes portray familial bonds.

The film is also distinctly Japanese, full of Japanese culture and references. However such cultural touches are not lost to the non-Japanese viewer, as many other anime does. We see traditional Japanese spirits and gods, the traditional Japanese bathhouse, among others, and don't feel isolated from the world. Instead we are quite absorbed into the bathhouse quite like Chihiro is, and this is also mainly due to the great attention to detail and background.

There are definitely many sub-genres within anime, like romance or horror or psychological thriller. Since animes are animated, it can hardly be fair to compare them to picture film genres, but there are quite many which do a great job. I think anime can still be developed a lot, but not like film, where we can play with camera angles and lighting and whatnot.

It is my opinion that the main reason why so many young people like anime is because, like with movie stars, we project onto the anime characters. Many of us can't do the same with movie stars because we're not pretty or rich, but anime characters are typically high schoolers, from a relatively average family that most of us can relate to. We see them being thrown into a world they're not used to and then fighting for themselves or their friends (a major theme for most anime is friendship and comradeship), strong-willed and stubbornly clinging to their values. They don't back down or give in to their enemies, they trust their friends whole-heartedly with not a shadow of doubt and everybody are nice people. I think many people want to be like that, which is why the genre appeals to so many people.

Anime aren't cartoons. Anime can be comical, but they're usually not as child-orientated as cartoons. Neither is anime purely entertainment, a number of them are works of art or absolutely genius creations.   There is always a main theme to the stories of anime and they tell of the values that we have overlooked- trust, friendship, love and moral values. Indeed I think anime is very humane in this aspect.

There are many must-see anime and anime films indeed, but suggestions would be Grave of Fireflies, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Ano Hano (The Flower We Saw That Day), just to name a few. It's a genre to be explored (though tread with caution, for every gem that comes along are at least seven pieces of dirty coal) and without negative bias.


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Ghibli