"Lincoln" and "Djanko Unchained"

It was Labor Day, and while there is no labor here in any traditional sense, writing, reading, and rithmitic keep a busy schedule.  My "to do" list is filled with requirements related to the house, the cars, the existing technology, the financial accounts for five people and the health needs of all of us, it's non-stop.  Labor Day was taken as a day off.

While immensely enjoying films here, seeing them in theaters is often overlooked, even with a cool arts theater in our little town.  It's the timing.  Seeing films in the darkness of the light of day is just not my style and K's early night time hours plus our dinnertime rituals make evening films difficult to see.  "Blue Jasmine" is now one of the films at our local theater, has been for three weeks, but we have yet to make time to see it, gorge on popcorn, and pay $4 for a bottle of water or an insipid but caffeine loaded Pepsi or Mountain Dew.  We hope to see it in the next day or two.

Yesterday, the timing of Netflix receipts worked perfectly.  "Lincoln" and "Djanko Unchained" were seen on yesterday's Labor Day, an indulgence.  "Lincoln" from this perspective, was on the whole a dismal film.  While historically accurate, it accentuated Lincoln's penchant for storytelling as if the director thought making this apparent was groundbreaking.  It was not to any well versed reader about the civil war.  We all know that Lincoln had a long battle with depression, but the film showed it while shedding no light on it.  The film missed any incongruities of  behavior that would have lightened the atmosphere, like "Dixie" being his favorite song, not for the words, just the tune that was played at events during his Presidency.  No light moment was allowed in this film and based on most historical accounts his relationship with his wife was treated gently.  After his death she refused to leave the White House for six months and eventually had to be removed, however gently by force.  To accentuate the positive, the entire sequence leading to the passage of the 13th amendment was gripping and incredibly well done, and not in any way dated given our own gridlock today.

That was the morning.  In the evening came "Django Unchained", directed by and Oscar winning screenplay written by the inimitable Quentin Tarantino.  Despite the dire subject, this film was pure entertainment from beginning to end.  The use of the music from Sergio Leone films put it all in perspective, all of the violence, near the end, if that clue was needed for anyone.  The cinematography was gorgeous in parts and the pace of the film was such that I actually stayed awake, a problem sometimes since 5:30am seems to be my wake up time no matter when I fall asleep.  It is well known that in the deep South, the slaves were treated with extreme cruelty compared to what was more common, still awful, in much of Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina.  This was on full display in the film, a reminder of a legacy that we would all like to think is behind us.  Apart from the violence and cruelty on display, and a necessary part of the story and the indulgence of Western movies, the film itself, from this point of view, was exceptional.

These were the highlights of a day with no labor.  No waits in lines of cars to lie on a towel in the dirt and get skin cancer anymore, despite some of the eye-catching natural beauty around.