Friday, March 13, 2009

The Wild Bunch

It was a really long film and I didn’t like it much at the beginning but it kind of grew on me. Close to the end of the movie, I was quite attached to the Wild Bunch and their emotions. However, it was also because of this attachment that I was frustrated, shocked and disappointed to see them leaving Angel there with the Mexicans. I had a mix feeling towards the situation. One side of me knew that it wouldn’t make sense for the whole gang to go down, while the other side of me thought “how could they have just abandoned their ‘comrade’?” However, I think they redeemed themselves at the end by taking on the suicidal mission of rescuing Angel. I was touched when the four of them marched towards their suicidal mission (at this point I already forgot they were the bad guys and I really shouldn’t be touched by their violent actions). Although overall, the movie was a bit too violent for my liking, I thought it was quite realistic and at times necessary for the message and the image that it tries to portray and deliver. I had a mix feeling about the ending of the film. I was especially bothered to see Angel being tortured like that.

To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to how they treated the women. The women were so neglected I thought the director purposely portrayed it in such a way to emphasize that the movie was about men and the historical background. The readings really helped me appreciate the movie more. If I hadn’t read the articles, I probably wouldn’t have thought as highly of the film. I like the analogies that it draws – character analogies, historical event analogies, etc.

I also really like the long pause of silence when they shot the Mexican leader. I thought it created powerful tension. I even held my breath for a bit when it happened.

1 comment: