Evocation in the West

You can push play and listen to the score as you read

“There is no crisis in cinema. There are negative periods. There are times when some films are received well and others aren't. The past teaches us that some films were received badly, 
while others go sailing on.” 

-Vittorio De Sica

(1901-1974)

Brad Pitt as Jesse James

OPENING SCENE

"He was growing into middle age, and was living then in a bungalow on Woodland Avenue. He installed himself in a rocking chair and smoked a cigar down in the evenings as his wife wiped her pink hands on an apron and reported happily on their two children. "

To this day the legend of "Jesse James " lives. His crimes, his adventures, himself being an OUTLAW. We are always interested in the LEGEND and rearly the MAN. Who was he? what made him ?

Adaptated from Ron Hansen's 1983 novel ,The 2007 movie "THE ASSASINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD" Director Andrew Dominik made one of the best films in the last 20 years. As many movies it wasn´t popular at the box office, but to me it is A MODERN CLASSIC.

"Robert Ford, who's idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the reforming gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader."IMDB

If you haven´t seen it its one of those movies i say : 

BUY IT! Don´t wait.

If you love films, movie making, you will love this movie. It is a perfect film to me, For many reasons.

If you listen to the music, it is always evoking something in our minds. A memory or a time period. It can be persuasive and not invasive. This film is a period piece because the Old West is dying and with it, its legends. Imagine a time before tv, internet or radio. Imagine everything you "could" know or get recent information was from books, magazines, photographs, drawings, paintings, gossip or whatever your parents told you. That is why Jesse James became LEGEND. And was LARGER THAN LIFE.

It is filmaking at its best. Because it is a human story. I´ve watched it many many times. And as they say with good books, every time it tells me different things. The music for the film was composed by Australian musicians Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT. One of the most well-known sequences of the film is the scene of a train robbery at night time. Cinematographer Roger Deakins used various cinematographic techniques to give the train more of a presence when it was in pitch darkness. This film´s cinematography is a mixture of oil paintings and old photographs.

Casey Affleck as Robert Ford

In real life as WE GROW UP we are Robert Ford when we were children, we looked up , we wonder about everything. We sensed flavours, we needed help getting around, we were amazed by anything. We want to run and want to play all day. The character of Robert Ford idolizes Jesse James, the man, the legend. He wants to be him. Jesse is everything Ford isn´t. Jesse has courage Ford is very very shy. I think we are watching ourselves in different perspectives. We are sometimes afraid and other times we have full confidence. The movie shows this differences between characters. 

Notice how in this scene JAMES is focused and FORD is out of focus.

AS ADULTS, we have responsabilities we make decisions all day, we have in our hands our fate.

AREN´T we JESSE JAMES to others? 
Even in death Jesse James was displayed and people made money out of showing his corpse. People were afraid of him in life and death. Instead Robert Ford was famous for betraying Jesse. No one payed to see his corpse or stand on the rooms he grew up in. There is no Legend to ROBERT FORD.

THE MISTAKES WE MAKE makes us what we are. The person we have in front of us is not flawless.

How do we learn to be ourselves? By trying out things. Flavors, coffee or tea, meat or no meat. Traveling, being scared, having no resources, being stupid, being naive, speaking, expresing our opinions, 

How we connect with others. How we learn from others. It´s human behavior .

To me this film is about those moments as an adult about  Just a moment for  yourself. To see the sky, to stare at a sunset, to enjoy a meal, to be alone. To be WITH YOU. 

OUR ACTUAL SELVES

The privilege of growing up, growing old, being able to look back to our past, of having this chance of making choices.

Being young we wanted to be grown ups. Being adults we would love to be young again.

How we made strangers our life long friends. 

"The Asassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"  is NOT just a movie it becomes a mirror of ourselves. It is not an action movie, it is not an EASY FILM to watch.

ENDING SCENE

"The shotgun would ignite, and Ella Mae would scream, but Robert Ford would only lay on the floor and look at the ceiling, the light going out of his eyes before he could find the right words."

“Tell me to what you pay attention, and I will tell you who you are.” 

—W. H. AUDEN