Moonrise Kingdom

Five times, with five different people/sets of people.
Nothing but goodness...no diminishing returns with the repetition.
Each time I saw new things, and the new things just reinforced my (already strong) feelings.

How can I begin?


Visual goodness


Like all the really great movies, any framed still could grace any wall in your home and make it a more beautiful place.


The color palettes are perfect: More and more I noticed the colors. Primaries, but all complementary. Some patterns thrown in. I could mute the sound and this movie would still excite me.


The details make my heart ache:  The bird design on the tent, the pictures on the wall, the costumes for the play, the book covers, her outfit, his outfit, the way Social Services sits, the wallpaper, really everything in each room in Summer's End, Suzy's handwriting, the dog that looks like the dog from my first reader (Tip!), the list for the decoy papier mache Suzy. I know from Kevin and some of the credits that Wes Anderson designs/commissions all of these details himself. Knowing that it's intentional makes me pay even closer attention, and makes me love it all even more.


Everything is visually congruous:
I don't know how to write this. I am purposely not reading ANYTHING because I wanted all of these ideas to be what I truly felt just from watching and then talking with my friends.
Christine called it 'complete-ness' (see Idea Goodness, later) and it's the same visually: everything matches, everything goes.
One example:  The sunkissed and hazy quality of the film when they're jumping [maybe the lens is vaselined? Not sure} Well, it matches the french song they later dance to, it matches the day itself. I feel like I'm drying off in the sun when I watch it.
Another example: Each character kind of has their own aesthetic - how they dress, the exterior shot that lets you know we're at their house...think Captain Sharp.
Obviously I need to write about this more and edit this, I know this is all very dim...But I can just see that everything is visually congruent in this way.










Word- Goodness

The dialogue is perfect: Precious without being cloying.
Startlingly funny.And believable. The precociousness never goes into that Juno-territory where you don't believe they'd really talk like that.


Mean Kid: Well if we find him, I'm not going to be the one who forgot to bring a weapon.


Suzy -I've always wanted to be an orphan...they have the most interesting lives.
Sam - I love you, but you don't know what you're talking about.


Suzy: Was he a good dog?
Sam: Who's to say?


We could arguably continue, citing the entire script, in snippets alternating italics and bold. That's what I mean by perfect.



Theme Goodness 

The theme is perfect, too. There is the way that the purity of the kids is a perfect contrast to the effed-upness of the adults. Sue told me later how, in a way, the kids' situation redeems the adults...again - in a small way.


There is thematic 'completeness' /congruity, too. Even elements: Dan pointed out that Benjamin Britton, who wrote a Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (the soundtrack) is also who wrote the Noah's Flood play in which Sam sees Suzy for the first time. We know there is a purging flood at the end, too...I know there is more congruity, too. Naturally, I need to watch it a least 100 more times.


The theme that resonates with me is the "outsider" theme. If you know me at all, you know I'm drawn to the margin. The disenfranchised, the lost, the outsider -- these are the people I feel the most at home with.


Also, as I said, I have purposely avoided reading others' opinions about MK. Kevin said that people criticized Wes Anderson for being too idealistic in his solutions for people who are 'outsiders' -- saying that things never work out this way in real life.


I guess I feel like he does such a fantastic job at defining the problem, that I don't care if the solution is feasible. It's like watching Inglorious Basterds -- things didn't really turn out that way, but it would have been wonderful. (And the truth is, art does change things. So there is some truth in it.)






Sam: Why do you consider me your enemy?
Mean Kid: Because your girlfriend stabbed me in the back with lefty scissors!
Sam: She's my wife now.
Mean Kid: Congratulations.
Sam:I'm talking about before. Six weeks ago. Why didn't you like me then?
Mean Kid: Why should I? No one else does.


That explains the problem perfectly, but it's my blog, so I'll expound:
The whole "Outsider" thing actually starts when someone is free, for whatever reason.
Simultaneously, weak or unoriginal people herd together usually under the leadership of the smallest-minded, most unoriginal one.
The free ones, the ones who don't feel the need to join the herd are threatening to the leader, and thus the battle-dynamic is created. The small minded creates it, the free one is bewildered at first but then has to negotiate it.


So yeah, he does a fantastic job at defining the problem. And I think would be wonderful to stab all such ringleaders in the back with lefty scissors and thus free up some of the herd. (And truth is, challenging the evil norm does change things. So there is some truth in it.)






FINALLY,
the last part.
And which Sue is going to let me write about on her blog!!


Maybe because of AAG2012, maybe because I'm an NF temperament, maybe for other reasons, the aspect of the movie that made my heart clutch up in my chest and leaves me speechless a little, is what I will call:


Sam and Suzy and their Resounding Yes to Each Other

Sam:  This is our land!
Suzy:  YES IT IS!






I've been thinking about what I want. Online dating forces you to do this, with all their forms and MustHaves/CantStands and what have you.
One online suitor was even helping me figure it out.


I resist making the list. I saw a post recently on FB from a very nice young lady, saying how she wanted a man with 'the wisdom of Solomon, the courage of David, the kindness of Boaz, the _________ of _________" and how she wasn't going to settle for less. I recoiled inside, and thought, "The man that does end up with her has my sympathies."


I also know that I don't know what's good for me, not really. I've picked men because of their curly hair alone. I'm not even kidding. I trust my N (intuition) more than I trust my logic.


So even as I was watching this movie the first time, it was dawning on me...by the end, I knew:


This is what I want. Exactly.


They are so affirming to each other. Think of the letter exchange: She encourages him to keep remembering what his parents look like. He encourages her to get along with her family.


Think of their first meeting:  She conforms to his plan, he considers her in every step, they are so *courteous* to each other.


He shares something he's ashamed of:
Sam -I might pee the bed later...I didn't want to offend you.
and she affirms him
Suzy- Of course I wouldn't be...
And I bet he won't pee the bed much anymore.


She shares something that hurts her:
Sam: Is that book about you?
Suzy: I think so.


He doesn't understand, and laughs, and hurts her. She's mad, and right away, he apologizes. Better than apologizes.
Sam - I'm on your side.


There is a lot more to say on this, but I'm saving it for Sue!
I'll just close with that idea, though.
They are so *for* each other, and it's completely mutual. When they're journeying, their marriage, when they're about to jump at the end. 


That's what I mean by the "YES", and yes, I want that.