Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

Title: Joe Versus The Volcano (1990)

Writer/ Director: John Patrick Shanley

Cast: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Dan Hedaya, Ossie Davis

Review:

What are you afraid of in life and why aren’t you facing it? That’s what Joe Versus The Volcano is all about. There’s a moment in the film where Joe is analyzing what it is that scares him in life, and he immediately identifies it. He knows exactly what it is, and now he knows how to deal with it. I believe this is something we can all do. Some might be living dreadful unhappy lives out there, but if they took the time to analyze their fears, they would immediately identify what it is they have to do to make their lives better. We all know what we would like our lives to be like, but how many of us actually do what has to be done in order to make it better? There comes a moment in everyone’s life when we question of ourselves, our purpose here, and what we want to achieve with what little time we have on this rock. The trick is to identify the fear and attempt to conquer it. And that’s what I enjoyed the most about this wonderful lost gem known as Joe Versus The Volcano.

The film starts out with Joe Banks, a working class hero who is living the most dreadful life. He works in the advertising department of a rectal probe factory. I know right? The office in which Joe works in is the most lifeless place you can imagine, with the paint falling off the walls, zombie co-workers, and lights that suck the life right out of you. Joe doesn’t feel good, ever. He feels “blotchy” and “puffy” according to his self diagnosis. The doctor tells him that he has a “brain cloud” and that he has about six months left to live, and that his advice to him is to live what little life he has left in the best way that he can. The knowledge of his mortality triggers in Joe an appreciation for life which makes him do everything he always wanted to do. Like quitting his dead end life sucking job, which he does. On his first day as a “free man” a mysterious man named Mr. Graynamore comes to visit Joe and makes him a very interesting proposal: since Joe is already dying, Mr. Graynamore proposes to Joe that he take a trip to an unknown island to visit the Waponi Tribe. The Waponi’s worship a volcano called ‘The Great Woo’, and their volcano god needs to be appeased! Someone has to sacrifice themselves and jump into the volcano! Problem is, none of the Waponis want to die! So Mr. Graynamore offers Joe the opportunity to jump into the volcano for them. Joe thinks about it, but then Graynamore says that the trip would include all expenses paid! Then, all he would have to do is jump into the volcano, after he’s had his fun!

You know how there are some films out there that when you watch them you instantly feel a connection to them? Films where you identify with every word and situation that the film addresses? Well, that is the case with me and Joe Versus The Volcano. This is a very existential film, it constantly asks the big questions in life: why are we here? What are we supposed to do with our lives? Do you believe in God? And if you guys know me, I’m all about that type of thing, the constant questioning of this crazy trip we call life. There is this one scene that really gets to me, where Joe and his girl are drifting through the ocean without food, or water or any hope of survival in sight, and suddenly, the moon comes out looking bigger then life and Joe is entranced by it, and then he says while in awe of the moon: “Dear God, whose name I do not know, thank you for my life. I forgot how big..thank you for my life!” Wow! That scene is so profound for me because I’ve had that type of ‘spiritual experience’ where you just look at nature, at the stars, the sun, whatever it maybe and you are just in awe of everything, of life and how beautiful everything is. I love how that moment captured that kind of feeling. Consequently, the scene also sums up how I feel about the idea of God. I don’t know if theres a god out there, or what its name may be, but nature, the planet and the universe (all things I can see and know they exist) are the only true awe inspiring things in this world.

I also connected with this film because of Joe and how he works in a 9-5 job in a soul sucking office every day. There is a scene in the film in which Joe is walking to work, and suddenly he joins up with all his co-workers who are on their way to the big factory ahead. They all walk in unison looking bored, uninspired and lifeless. The scene was obviously inspired by Charlie Chaplins Modern Times (1936), another fine film that explores the intricacies of being a working class hero, a worker bee. I don’t hate my job or anything, but I understand how that kind of a job scenario could get to feel redundant and boring. I used to work in a job where I felt exactly the way that Joe feels in those scenes, where he feels like the lights in the office are sucking his life away, where you feel that every second that passes is a second less of life that you could be living in some better way. The questions that these scenes bring up are: Why are you putting up with a job that is obviously not making you happy? Where you are not doing what you love? Why aren’t you out there searching for a way to be happier? The main theme of the film is fear and the need to live our lives to the fullest. We should not be afraid to make those decisions that need to be made in order to progress in life and be a better, happier person.

The film is filled with symbolisms and visual metaphors. For example, when Joe is on his way to work, he walks down this crooked road (symbolizing how crooked the road of life can be) and this is a visual theme that keeps popping up every now and then in the film, the crooked road, which is actually shaped like a lightning bolt. Kind of the same way ‘the yellow brick road’ in The Wizard of Oz represents the road we take in life. More symbolisms can be seen through the film, for example, when we first meet Joe, we see that he is working in an office that’s devoid of life or color. In fact, in one scene, Joe tries placing a colorful lamp on top of his desk and his boss tells him: “This is not your room Joe! This is an office! Take it away!” Joe tries to lighten up his life, but the job and its requirements just won’t let him. After Joe quits, and Joe starts living life more passionately, the films changes hues and suddenly everything is that much more colorful and beautiful, by the ending of the film, Joe is full of life, love, color and passion.

Finally, theres the jumping into the volcano scene. And heres where “this movie is all symbolic and metaphorical” really kicks in because what the film is really trying to say is we all have to take chances in life, we all have to take risks; same way that Joe and Dee Dee jump into the volcano. Once again, in these last scenes the film tells us that one of the most important things in life is to live without fear, face our fears, take that chance, because that’s what lifes all about, taking chances. Who knows what will happen? But at least you tried! The film also speaks about the unpredictability of life, how any random thing can happen to us, that we can be in our worst moment in life, but even then, we need to appreciate it, and live the moment, and hang in there until life throws us its next unpredictable event.

This film comes to us from director John Patrick Shanley, the guy behind films like the ultra romantic Moonstruck (1987), one of the few romantic comedies that I truly like. He also made Doubt (2008), so the existential, the questioning part of the film makes sense as well. Strange that this film can be described as an Existential Romantic Comedy, but that’s exactly what it is! Sadly, Joe Versus the Volcano was a box office bomb. I guess it was too symbolic and existential for audiences, and so, even though it had Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan working together, the film didn’t make its money back. I know what you’re thinking; Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in a romantic comedy, and it didn’t make its money back? But you have to remember, this was their first time together on screen. It was only after Joe Versus the Volcano that they would go on to make those romantic comedies they are so known for: Sleepless In Seattle (1993) and You’ve Got Mail (1998). Speaking of the romantic angle, there’s a scene in which Joe is quitting his job and cleaning up his desk. He takes three books he had in his desk: The Odyssey, Robinson Crusoe and finally, Romeo and Juliet. Three books that sum up what this film is about. The big Odyssey Joe is about to take, the journey of self discovery that Crusoe goes through and finally Rome and Juliet, representing the big romance that Joe ends up having with Dee Dee, played by Meg Ryan. By the way, Meg Ryan plays all three women that Joe encounters through out the film, each performance very distinctive; each representing a different kind of woman. But together, they all make up the feminine in Joes life, kudos to Ryan for showing such range as an actress. This turned out to be a pretty lengthy review, sorry about that but this is a film I hold very close to my heart. If your feeling like seeing something funny, romantic, existential and symbolic all rolled up into one, do yourself a favor and check out this film, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Angels and Demons (2009)

Title: Angels and Demons (2009)

Director: Ron Howard

Cast: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard

Review:

The Da Vinci Code was a controversial film upon its release in 2006 because it asked the question: Did Jesus get laid? And did he have kids? Wow, big freaking deal. I went to watch this movie expecting to see a shocking and sacrilegious piece of filmmaking, because of all the controversy and hype around it. What I saw was a film afraid to say what it had to say. Its main character was a non believer, a man of no faith at all,  yet it always seemed to me like the film was afraid to show this. The film in my opinion was not as controversial as it was made out to be. To top things of, it was a bit boring. And it just felt like Indiana Jones, but without the fun. Still, the controversy helped the film and it made kajillions of dollars worldwide. So fast forward a couple of years later and here comes its inevitable sequel, Angels and Demons. Again, lots f controversy surrounding this one. What’s all the controversy about this time around?

Illuminati terrorist want to blow up the crib of Catholicism - The Vatican - with anti-matter! You see, apparently, members of an ancient secret anti-religion group called “The Illuminati” have stolen anti-matter from a top secret science lab. They intend to blow up The Vatican right smack in the middle of conclave, which is Christian code for “lets choose a new Pope!” The terrorists have also kidnapped the four favorite cardinals who are running for Pope, and are slowly killing them one by one. Will the Illuminati succeed in eradicating the birthplace of Catholicism, along with all its popes and cardinals from the face of the earth? Or will Robert Langdon use all his knowledge on religion to help them find the hidden anti-matter and stop the Illuminati from killing the cardinals?

I for one found this movie to be way more entertaining then The Da Vinci Code. It’s a bit edgier with its themes. It dares to say more then the previews film did, but again, it does so with the utmost respect cause you know, we don’t want to insult all those raging Catholics out there who think their religion is the one and only true one amongst all the thousands of religions and sects in the world. So again, the film walks on egg shells when it asks Robert Langdon question like the ever popular “do you believe in God?” This was fine by me, because though the film was very respectful with what it was saying, it said what it wanted to say anyways. Like addressing many of the downright evil things that the Catholic Church has done across the ages, like for example killing off anyone who thought different then they did, like they did in the inquisition. Galileo Galilei (one of the most popular examples of the ignorance of the Catholic Church) who was always saying the earth moved around the sun as opposed to what the church taught, that it was the sun that moved around the earth and the earth remained still. We all now know who was wrong there. Eventually, empirical science proved Catholics wrong. And so, the Church realizing it had made a huge mistake said “I’m sorry, we were all wrong back in the day”, but that was done just the other day, on October 31 1992, hundreds of years after they made Galileo’s life a living hell, simply for thinking differently. The film addresses these issues and mentions them clearly, which I loved. When the film begins, it feels as though the church’s sins are coming back to bite them in the ass, in a huge freaking way!

I enjoyed how the film depicts the whole process of choosing a new Pope. This is a process that I have always found interesting. Thousands of Catholics waiting in front of the Vatican for God to choose his next representative here on earth. I always ask myself, do this people actually believe this man is going to be chosen by God? Don’t they read history books? Choosing the next pope has always been a process that’s been filled with betrayals, murders, poisonings and this film addresses these same types of situations with its storyline. Across the ages, Popes have killed other popes and bribed voters just so they could take over the papacy. Just check out the story behind Pope Alexander VI! He even has incest in his resume! And he is not alone. What baffles me is how Catholics call the pope the hand of god on earth. If this is the representative of God on earth, then we have one messed up God! So Angels and Demons plays around with these themes, but it doesn’t do it out of “maliciousness” as it has been accused of by more then one reviewer. The film is fiction, yes. But its based on fact. Often times, these Popes are seen as holy by the ignorant masses, ignorant to the things that really go on behind closed doors. What I hate is how hard the Church always tries to hide the fact that these awful things happened within the Vatican walls. I also liked how Ron Howard chose to augment the feeling of chaos going on out in the streets. People screaming, complaining, boycotting, marching, singing...the confusion brought on by religion and politics is very well depicted on this film!

Angels and Demons is a good adaptation of Dan Brown’s book. I read the book and everything I read was in there, almost exactly how I had envisioned it, which was kind of strange! Its one of those films where you go “wow, that’s exactly how I imagined it in my mind!” Of course, it did cut a few things here and there to quicken the pace of things. But hey, it’s understandable, and the changes were minor. The part I missed the most that was left out of the film is the part where Robert Langdon visits the scientific lab where the anti-matter is created. The labs are still on the film, but they used them only as a means to open the film with something quick and interesting, the creation of the anti-matter and then we move on to other matters. On the book, Langdon actually visits these laboratories and all hell breaks loose as he is there. Filmmakers decided to cut this out and just cut to him going to the Vatican immediately. But for the most part, the movie is the book.

The Catholic Church thought that The Da Vinci Code was an offensive film, so they did not allow Ron Howard and crew to shoot Angels and Demons in any of their churches, and much less, inside of The Vatican itself. So Ron Howard’s production crew had to recreate many of the locations from pictures they took of the locations they wanted. Some of the locations were recreated by building sets; others were recreated with the help of computer animation, which was excellent in my book.

Again, I thought the film was very daring with its themes. The evil within the church, the dangers of fanatism. How the church distorts things, from how they really happened, to what they want you to think happened. How being raised in a religion from birth can actually turn you into a dangerous and even psychotic individual. These are all fantastic themes! The film plays with themes of religion vs. science and religion vs. non believers, it also addresses the fact that the history of the Catholic church is not as squeaky clean or as holy as it wants to be. In fact it’s filled with many dark passages which continue to be written to this day. This film was very entertaining, and thought provoking. Catholics opted to label this film as “harmless entertainment not to be taken seriously” that its followers can see it, but that they should let others know that its “a fable, based on malicious myths”. They decided to take this stand with the film, because they thought that if they decided to boycott film completely, it would only make people want to see it even more, which is what happened with The Da Vinci Code. Angels and Demons went on to become a huge hit, the fourth biggest money maker of the year, so I guess their little ploy didn’t work very well.

This was a fast paced, enjoyable flick that surpasses The Da Vinci Code in every way. It has an incredible climax that has to be seen to be believed! I not only loved it because of its themes, but also because it was highly entertaining, it was well acted, and it speaks certain truths that more people should know about, this isn’t just a film to be dismissed as some simple curiosity, it speaks about a very real truth that not many people want to face. Popes are only human, and as such have the same capacity for evil as you or I. They are not holy men with a special direct line to God. They are just humans, thirsting and coveting that desired seat of power as much as the next guy.

Rating: 5 out of 5