How many references to one film can you fit into another? It turns out a hell of a lot! So many nods to it I actually found it funny. Did anyone else notice the ton of references to the Coen Brothers film in Mystery Road?? I really enjoyed this film nevertheless! Recommended.
shareI would compare it more to 'The Proposition'.
But yeah do see some Coenesque motifs.
I love Old Country, but haven't seen it for a while.
If you're referring to dirty cops, drugs and small towns... There are a lot of films like that. Not trying to start an argument, just after a couple of the references? Cheers.
I'm not talking about the plot or genre aspects....it's been a month since I posted this and watched the film so I'll see what I can remember....it's particular stuff like the scene of Detective Jay Swan perched with the rifle on the cliff edge over the prairie is EXACTLY like the NCFOM scene where Brolin finds the dead drug dealers....also his clothes are VERY similar- the cowboy hat is EXACTLY the same in both films (google it) his rifle looks EXACTLY the same etc...he's basically a carbon copy look-alike of Josh Brolin's character...the decrepit motels in both films....the focus on the key hole in one scene harkens to the focus on key holes blown open by the cattle gun in NCFOM...there's a glass of milk in one scene which harkens to the glass of milk Tommy Lee Jones drinks from in NCFOM....the scene at the end when Det Jay Swan opens the door to the vehicle with the guy shot in the seat is similar to the one with Brolin where the guy asks for "agua"...generally the style/scenes/settings of this film,particularly those which I"ve detailed above are too numerous to be merely coincidental..
This is all I can think of right now but I'm sure there's more I've forgotten.....I've seen NCFOM probably 5 times and I've read the book,that's why these similarities were so glaringly obvious to me.
I would love to get confirmation on this from the director but alas I don't know him personally and am unlikely ever to meet him unless he visits Ireland at some stage in his career.
Did anyone else notice the ton of references to the Coen Brothers film in Mystery Road??Sorry, like the previous poster above I didn't really notice any either. I think Mystery Road is quite different. I'm sure Ivan Sen aimed for a Coen feel, but I thought the films themselves were very different and I didn't think MR directly referenced NCFOM much at all.
See my reply to previous post,thanks.
shareSo many nods to it I actually found it funny.All I can say after reading the novel and seeing NCFOM a number of times myself, is that I've seen many other films that directly reference other films in a much stronger manner, than Mystery Road does with NCFOM.
Your example is more direct than what I'm saying here...it's not like De Palma copying off Hitchcock or paying "homage"...I've explained SPECIFIC things in the film that match up...The films have different plots and are only outwardly the same in that crimes take place in each film...the story is nothing to do with what I'm talking about..
EDIT:
OH! LOOK WHAT I JUST FOUND WITH A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH,
"The film No Country For Old Men was definitely an influence. It was probably the only major or conscious influence. I’ve always been a fan of the western."- Ivan Sen
http://cinemaaustralia.com.au/2013/10/12/interview-ivan-sen/
THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT !
You were saying?..
So Ivan Sen says it was an influence. Big deal! I'd already said,
I'm sure Ivan Sen aimed for a Coen feel.
How many references to one film can you fit into another? It turns out a hell of a lot! So many nods to it I actually found it funny. Did anyone else notice the ton of references to the Coen Brothers film in Mystery Road??
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Thats what I thought. Kid is seeing things that aint there.
So now 'an influence' becomes, apparently in your self-centered, self-congratulatory world, direct copying.
Grow the hell up. And watch a few more films before you pretend to now what you're seeing.
LOL !
shareSarcasm or hit a nerve? I can't tell.
But apparently the Coens have achieved godhood, NCFOM is a bible.
Neither...the Coens are Godly as far as I'm concerned....what's your point of view exactly?... :-)
shareI was asking if you hit a nerve with Cinesimonj or if he was being sarcastic -- he was a little over the top.
The Coens may be deities, but some of these posters are fundamentalists. Having spent my childhood in Minnesota, the Coens rule. Even their not-exactly-correct accents nailed it. I need to study their style/approach more -- just haven't had time yet.
Cool Cool....oh I think I hit a nerve there for sure...film buffs are a strange species :)
You should find that time buddy...yeah those accents are something else..how does the real Minnesota compare?..have you watched the tv series Fargo?...I was surprised at just how good it turned out to be as I didn't have high hopes for it..
Fargo's accents were totally spot-on charactures, they intentionally stressed aspects of the real accent just one step too far. Minnesotans really talk like that, but one degree less. I once described Fargo's accents as 'Minnesotan spoken by Martians who are desperately trying to avoid detection'. That they spent that level of effort on skewering a range of our distinctive regional accents as only one small detail in a massively involved and wrenching film . . . nothing dashed on, as occurs in most films. Their insightful portrayal/betrayal of the unique characters of Minnesotans--what a give-back to their/my state! Of, course, those who never left Minnesota are more than baffled by everything in the film. Watching the first time, I knew non-leavers were saying "What does this all mean? Why are they showing us like this?!" Yes, the Coens got in some significant malice, though very well-intentioned. I have asked Minnesotans if they like Fargo. They get into their middle-ground stare and say nothing. Which says everything in Minnesota.
Fargo always will be one of my favorite films. But to see it as a non-Minnesotan would be a whole 'nother film. As good, but from a different angle.
Which Coen films would you recommend I study? And are there any books/articles on their work that you thought were particularly insightful? I really do need to understand how they do their work.
Thank you for the insightful reply...I liked the two points about the Martians and the middle ground stare of Minnesotans...very telling and funny information..
Personally my favorite Coens film is O Brother Where Art Thou?..I would wholeheartedly recommend it....you really can't go wrong with any of their films but not all are masterpieces even tho quite a few could be called as such...each having comedy on various levels...tho Intolerable Cruelty and Burn After Reading are the 2 you could say are not masterpieces..
I have read a book on The Big Lebowski but it wasn't academic or analytical too much..I don't think I want to get too deep into that side of the Coens as I fear it would take away from the pure ignorant joy I get from their films...if that makes much sense to you....
I loved O Brother, and wondered what could possibly have motivated them to do Intolerable. And I want to stay away from the academic/literary/philosophical discussions -- like you, I only want to know what they do and what I/viewers experience. Even though I am an academic. :-)
I'm sure the bile spewers will stay at it for some time. You've given them a new lease on life. Thanks for the good chat.
I've seen many other films that directly reference other films in a much stronger manner, than Mystery Road does with NCFOM.
The OP started a thread, presumably to get some responses to his statement.
I responded that I didn't agree with the totality of his statement, though agreed that Sen was looking for a Coen feel. We traded some posts and parted in an amicable fashion, as anyone with half a brain, can see from the above posts.
What's so "defensive" about that.
Who said anything about the OP attacking the film. Certainly not me.
You need to read threads carefully before posting and just not see what you want to see, if you want your comments to be taken with any degree of seriousness.🐭
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Trying to point out 'defensiveness' to an egocentric thinker is asking him to give up everything. It's either he wins, or 'we' win . . . no discussion. He even believes he drove off the OP, who thinks kindly of him for his abject defeat! And here you are trying to induce rationality . . . . :-)
Such is their thinking, and so goes their lives . . .
Yes, the OP has a valid and interesting point . . . which helps me appreciate the film even more. Civility too!
The scene that nailed it for me was when he sat down on the couch and could see his reflection in the TV. (Although, if you look closely you could see it was a crew member moving around.)
The influence is obvious, TB... not sure why the hostility from the others.
Oh, was that in NCFOM? Will have to re-watch it. If I can bear to ... it's pretty beautifully darned depressing.
I think the OP has valid points, and in a way there is just a general similarity in the country itself, vast, arid, gnarly trees ... well, I don't remember if there were a lot of gnarly trees in NCFOM, but surely both terrains seem rather inhospitable but the sorts of places some not very nice stuff can go down and in which sheriffs/policemen/detectives can move about having to watch their backs from all sides lol
Thats what I thought. Kid is seeing things that aint there.Exactly my sentiments!🐭 share
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I think you have a point. Don't think anyone can make a movie without bringing in stuff they have seen elsewhere and admired. Even just the terrain as mentioned in a reply to another one of your commenters invites a comparison to NCFOM. Maybe that's one of the things that made Sven reference the Coens.
As stated elsewhere in this thread, there are only so many plots that have been made. Was it Shakespeare who said there are only seven plots?
Hope the director does get to Ireland. Maybe he'll have a better chance than those from Hollywood as, theoretically, he would be part of the British Empire.