Movies that don’t need any introduction (here we go anyway)
Joel and Ethan Coen’s movie released 25 years ago last month. O brother, where are you? It has since become something of a cult classic.
praised by critics soundtrack— started a bluegrass revival — and its groundbreaking Approach to color editingEverything else is essentially Coen. Loveable freaks, strangely arresting camera shots, and sharp social commentary packed into razor-sharp comedic dialogue.
Set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, the film follows Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) and his two partners, Pete (John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson). A trio of escaped convicts, initially chained as prison workers, travel across the state in search of treasure that Everett supposedly hid under his family’s home. Of course, the danger is further increased by the fact that local authorities are planning to flood the valley in which the house is located.The clock is ticking.
Haunted by unfaithful lovers (and treacherous cousins), stalked by a particularly sinister state representative (also wearing smoked-out glasses), and in near-constant conflict with the law, local lawbreakers, KKK rallies, sirens and cyclops, and (perhaps worst of all) the local politician’s gubernatorial bid, the trio have jobs lined up for them in order to survive. A long journey home.
But their return is never really in doubt. foretold. A prophet (in the form of a blind man driving a manual railroad cart) tells them how the journey will go right from the jump.
Three people chained together in search of great wealth. You’ll find luck, but it’s not what you’re looking for. But first… we must first walk a long, difficult, and dangerous path. Hmm, hmm. You’ll see gratitude, and it’s nice to convey that. You’ll see a cow on the roof of the cotton shed, haha. And oh, there were so many surprises. I can’t tell you how long this road will be, but don’t be afraid of the obstacles that will come your way. Because fate guarantees your reward. Though the road be crooked, yea, though your hearts grow weary, yet follow them unto salvation.
Like all great prophecies, just being vaguely specific makes things interesting.
Speak, Memory!
Did this summary sound strangely familiar?
If you like movies, you’ve probably seen it before, so that was better. If you have a good taste in books (or grew up somewhere other than a desert island), this book should be familiar to you. That’s because this movie is based on Homer’s work. odysseyone of the foundational texts of civilization (and any literary class worthy of it). If you think about it, isn’t that familiar even to people who were born on a deserted island? After all, Odysseus visited many of them.
If it’s worth something, I haven’t done it I read the book (erm…poetry), but neither did the filmmaker. Ethan and Joel were based on that piece. comic book A version of Homer’s epic poem. But it still had a Homeric tone ringing throughout the movie, so it must have been a pretty good comic.
At the risk of insulting my readers, I’ll share just a few.
prologue
The film begins with Homer’s invocation of the Muses, a move that strikes my classically-educated butt as a strange combination of sentimental and ready to charge the Trojan army (which seems to be Odysseus’ near-constant state of mind in the poem, so I’m in good company).
Oh, muse!
sing within me and tell stories through me
That man who is skilled in all kinds of fighting methods,
A wanderer who has suffered for years…
I’m omitting the last line (a line I think is important), but I’d like to think it’s not out of ignorance but out of some kind of self-deprecating sensitivity. “talk! And tell the story again in our time.”
Of course, this is exactly what this movie is trying to do.
Tiresius
whole blind prophet What I just described is a similarity that’s hard to miss (apart from potentially offensive jokes). There are some interesting resonances between what OG Teiresias told Odysseus and what his railroad (riding?) handler told Everett.
Tiresius looks to the future and meaningfully says, “I think there is a man who will make it home alive, but that person is no longer you.”
of Good luck, it’s not what you’re looking for, but Parts of the film seem to explicitly agree with this. And the line that follows could essentially be a translation of the original: “But first…first you must travel—a long and difficult road, a road fraught with danger. You will see things, it is a wonderful thing to tell.”
There is one definitive thing do not have The original version is “Cow on the Roof of the Cotton Hut.” Seems like a strange addition. In the words of Jerry Seinfeld, “What’s the point?”
Well, bear with me, dear reader. I’ll get to that.
ulysses
And speaking of Everett, I think I should explain his name at the risk of further insulting my readers. George Clooney’s character is called everett Throughout the film, however, we see his full government name, Ulysses Everett McGill, each time he makes his typically verbose self-introductions to various supporting characters.
name ulysses It is the Roman version of Odysseus, as seen in both of Dante’s works. inferno and Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses.” Both cut out distinctly different characters than the Odie that Homer originally portrayed (but don’t get me started).
The Coens’ “Ulysses” I will worthy of his namesake, at least in every way that matters. Most importantly, he is a resourceful person. There are too many one-liners here to list. As this proves, Bearded man selling Etsy stickers on TikTok.
That is, we have Wanderer, skilled in all fighting styles.. While I’m here, let me just say that this is one of Clooney’s best roles. very The best. The wise-cracking, hair-gel-selling, needlessly talkative Old Hollywood leader is exactly what George used to be. born To play.
siren
in One of the best scenes in this moviethe three misfits are thrown off course by the song and beauty of three maidens bathing in a river. This causes Pete to disappear and Delmar assumes he is under a spell. When their paths eventually cross again, the latter is slack-jawed at his friend’s apparent resurrection.We thought you were super sensitive.”
Cyclops
This is probably my favorite of the film’s Homeric nods. If you are trying to transpose, odyssey What does Hades do with Cyclops in the American South during the Great Depression?
If you’re Joel and Ethan Coen, the answer is obvious. Turn him into a one-eyed Bible salesman who beats the crap out of boys at picnics.
penny and jets
First of all, I apologize for this title. There’s no room for excuses. That’s just the way I am.
But Ulysses’ wife, Penny (Holly Hunter), of course, penelope. And the group I named jets Becomes a suitor (although there is no logical or linguistic connection whatsoever).
That’s the only thing other than in movies one The Suitor (Vernon T. Waldrip). But he won Penny’s heart. He also nearly won the election for gubernatorial candidate Homer Stokes, for whom he is the campaign manager. and he genuine.
The Return
Like Odysseus of old, Everett can’t just go home and quote John Wick and expect to get his wife back. Instead, like the original Odysseus, he must prove himself.
But to Odysseus, proving seems like stringing a bow, and is actually go The John Wick mode of the suitors looks a little different for Everett.
There are still strings involved. And a bow. But it’s more like a wife realizing that her husband is actually the lead singer of Mississippi’s most popular old-time music radio station.
And we, the audience, seem to have realized that a popular movie has gifted us with perhaps the greatest bluegrass track of all time.
There is more in heaven and earth
The film already boasts impressive multitasking, being both a light-hearted comedy and a thoughtful reimagining of perhaps Western civilization’s most fundamental story. But the Coens didn’t stop there. They had to score a hat trick. Needless to say, Hat Trick’s third goal is a scathing critique of modern rationalism and a deep reflection on faith. Like most comedies, brother In short, it’s a great movie faith.
The most original aspect of the film lies in the Coens’ decision to script the cunning Ulysses as not only a witty intellect, but also an intellectual. rationalist. First, it creates countless opportunities for resourceful dialogue. Everett is what happens when you give Rene Descartes a Southern accent and a sense of humor and slip it snugly into a Bible belt buckle. Immediately after Pete and Delmar participate in a mass baptism ( spell bind sceneboth sonically and cinematically), they pick up hitchhiking guitarist Tommy Johnson. He says he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his skill with stringed instruments. Everett quipped, “Well, spiritually speaking, it’s a small world, isn’t it? Pete and Delmar were just baptized and saved. I think I’m the only one left unaffiliated!”
But beyond the comedic incongruity, Everett’s character allows the film to deeply (but by no means bluntly) grapple with the world’s very real issues. will be displayed to average For us humans, it is more than just matter and mathematics. The film opens up a discussion about disillusionment and re-enchantment that is perhaps more relevant today than it was a quarter-century ago when the film was released.
Throughout the film, Everett is intimidated by the uneducated and mentally incompetent people around him. But as the journey progresses and bizarre events befall the protagonists, viewers will discover that the veneer of pure rationalism is very thin. Apparently, Delmar isn’t the only one with a look of religious horror on his face as Pete’s beating heart lies beneath his shirt, seemingly shrunken by the siren’s magic.
This culminates in the film’s climactic scene.
Back at Everett’s farm. couldn’t find the treasure they were looking forHowever, in order to retrieve the wedding ring, they encounter a bespectacled police officer who has been following their footsteps the whole time. He provided nooses, graves, and even an unforgettable troupe of gravediggers.
“But we were forgiven! It was announced on the radio!” the three protest. The officer answered with haunting simplicity: “We don’t have a radio.”
Faced with the reality of his impending death, Everett earnestly prays for salvation. There are no atheists in the trenches.
And like clockwork, Deus Former-es of Makina. The flood waters flow down, and the just and the unjust are engulfed in a torrent of home furnishings and Dapper Dan pomade. Float the coffin safely Moby Dick Delmar tries to point out to Everett that his prayer goes something like this: worked.
But amidst the danger, Everett returned to rationalization. That valley is of coursea stampede by local officials is already planned. It was not God who saved them, but modern technology. Everett proudly concluded: “Yes, we are entering a genuine age of reason.” But then something hangs in the air that makes both the protagonist and the viewer wrinkle their brows in memory.
Another cow has just fallen. My memory spoke to me. Everything came true, just as the old prophet Teiresias had predicted.
Cohen’s comic masterpiece fits perfectly into Flannery O’Connor’s “Christ-Haunted American South.” it is pondering next to me hamlet“There is more in heaven and earth than is dreamed of in your philosophy, Horatio!”
While not all ambiguities are resolved, viewers are left with a world just a little more complex and a little more captivating than it was before they pressed play.
And maybe that’s what the movie is about.
Source: Christ and Pop Culture – christandpopculture.com
