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Or she may even truly believe it happened, even if it didn't. Her brother Moses believed it, until he was old enough to question it; now he's firmly on Woody's side of this issue & has stated that Mia essentially implanted the whole story in their young & malleable minds, as far as he's concerned. Remember, they were just small children at the time, not unlike the McMartin School children, or many of the other 1980s Satanic sex abuse case that turned out to be generated by well-intentioned investigators … who believed the most horrific & fantastic stories themselves, even to the point of reality-defying absurdity.
Our only honest response to this particular story is that we just can't know what the truth of it is. But a preponderance of evidence does seem to support Woody. No other accusers have ever appeared, unusual in pedophile cases, where there's always more than one victim. And until or if some solid evidence does appear, I still have to go with innocent until proven guilty.
And if the story does turn out to have been implanted, then Mia's the abuser here, not Woody.
Innocent until proven guilty, remember?
In the immediate post-WWII period, the social & philosophical issues raised by both Alphaville & The Prisoner were explored by many creative people, not only in film but in novels, poetry, psychological-social critiques, popular songs (Dylan, Beatles, many others), etc. That had been building in Western culture since the beginnings of the Industrial Age, in fact. When both Alphaville & The Prisoner first appeared, all of that was in the air & formed much of the prevailing zeitgeist. It was mind-expanding to be young then & encountering all those ideas at once, everywhere!
It has a strong and clear narrative line, which it repeats at increasingly higher levels as it moves forward.
It was nominated in part precisely because it WAS very much of its time, approaching the civil rights movement and racism in an understated way, rather than as a polemic. As such, it's a wonderful time capsule of that period, not unlike Route 66 -- I could easily see Tod & Buz crossing paths with Homer Smith during their travels. I was a boy back then, and it really does capture the shifting mood of the country at the time.
Personally, I find it to be a charming, heartfelt little film that's still quite funny & moving. Just a matter of personal taste, of course; I can see how some have found it too sentimental, and that's an honest reaction, too. But there are some great lines in there, funny & poignant at once, e.g., at the big fiesta at the end, Smith is called a gringo by his Mexican work crew, and he laughs, "Gringo? I don't know if that's a step up or a step down from some other things I've been called!" When it addresses racism, it does so through that sort of humor, with the seriousness inside of the laugh.
I think the film works because in dealing with those larger issues, it focuses on that one person, someone we get to know & like as a man. And that in itself was an important statement at the time. Race does figure in the story, but the emphasis in the end is on the common humanity of all the characters. Everyone has grown a little more by the time the credits roll.
Ashton never struck me as a deliberate, vicious racist. He's simply responding as someone raised in his time and place, with attitudes that are more of a reflex. He says those things almost automatically. After all, when Smith bounces his "Hey, boy!" right back at him, he's startled, certainly not expecting it, even offended … but a died-in-the-wool racist would have told Smith to leave, in no uncertain terms. Ashton gives Smith a chance, and eventually comes to respect him, even offering him a permanent job as a foreman towards the end. He may have had some racist attitudes imprinted on him from youth, which he says more out of habit at this point, but he's honest enough & decent enough to realize that he's been wrong about Smith.
Exactly. The opening montage alone establishes his liberal views … not outright radical, but most definitely liberal. And the book-burning speech fits Amy Madigan's character quite well. I knew more than a few people like that in the 1960s.
They were both '60s kids, obviously on the countercultural side of things (mildly but sincerely). What made them attractive to one another was partly their basically natural, un-made-up & honest looks, but just as much (or even more so), their ideals, what was in their hearts & souls. What's considered hot & desirable currently, would have been seen as hopelessly artificial & superficial then, certainly by young people like them.
Also, real love is about far more than "hotness" -- when you've got real love, then your partner <b>is</b> the most beautiful (or handsome) person in the world.
To each his own, but I liked it when it came out, and I like it just as much now. Perhaps even more now, since my father died between then and now. The fantasy of being able to reunite with a much-loved, lost parent and finally say all the things you'd wanted to say, but somehow couldn't when you were younger, is a powerful and moving one for a lot of people. Myself included.
The monster in this movie is SHE herself, or at least HER immortality and the inevitable loss of basic humanity because of it. And the ,movie is all the better for it.
You make a good point. But never underestimate the stupidity of human leaders around the world, either.
More likely than it's been in some time, in fact, given the current state of the world. And I'm saying that from the perspective of someone who was in those duck-'n'-cover drills as a small child.
But sometimes what the father considers "the very best" isn't necessarily what the son wants or would consider "the very best" at that time in his life. The son might very well change that opinion over the years, of course! But one of the big reasons for the generation gap of that time is that so many fathers couldn't put themselves in their sons' shoes, or remember what it was like to be that young & overwhelmed by love & ideals & unfettered hope & dreams, however naïve that might seem (or be) in retrospect. Oliver's father wasn't malicious … but he had forgotten that some things have to be lived through & experienced, even if they end badly, and that the hard-won wisdom of older age can only be words to someone who hasn't lived it for himself yet.
Sadly true.
Agreed. The current trend seems to be reusing a thoroughly hackneyed storyline for the umpteenth time & trying to give it a little cachet by slapping a quality name on it, however loosely & poorly used.
I'm afraid that's the truth of it. And I'm glad I don't have children or grandchildren to be around when that happens.
All special effects will become dated with time, including the acclaimed ones of today. So to me, the real question to ask is whether the filmmakers did the best they could with what was available at the time. Do the effects work for the story?
Also, while more modern special effects may be technically superior, they're not always better,. Peter Jackson's CGI King Kong was simply a big "realistic" ape. Willis O'Brien's stop-motion King Kong is a distinct personality, and all the more so for being "unreal" which actually makes him more convincing). The effects on the original Twilight Zone are minimal at best, but those stories still hold up today.
And as previous posters have noted, Logan's Run isn't really an effects movie, it's an ideas movie. The effects support the story well enough, but they're not the focus. For me, the movie still works just fine in its essentials. And some scenes still have a real impact, such as the ruins of Washington, or the flashy creepiness of Carousel.
Besides, what CGI effect is going to be better than a barely clothed Jenny Agutter? :)
That dog had charisma AND style!
That must be it! :)
Accord to Dylan's brother Moses, who was also an Allen accuser as a small boy, but grew up to believe Allen & forge a relationship with him, their mother did her best to make the smallest, youngest children hate Allen.
Now, I obviously can't know the truth of the matter. But the preponderance of evidence that's come out does support Allen over Mia at this point.