list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around 21 Grams on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/21_Grams/230102/default.aspx Title: 21 Grams
Year: 2003
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Plot: Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu makes his first English-language feature with the downbeat drama 21 Grams. Set in an unnamed U.S. urban center, the film uses a nonlinear structure to piece together the intertwined lives of three very different people. Paul (Sean Penn) is a math teacher with a heart problem and a troubled marriage to British wife Mary (Charlotte Gainsbourg). Christine (Naomi Watts) is a former drug addict who lives with her husband, Michael (Danny Huston), and her daughters. Jack (Benicio Del Toro) is a born-again Christian with a wife (Melissa Leo) who has stood by him since his days as a criminal. Following a tragic accident, the three main characters are thrown into each other's lives. 21 Grams was shown in competition at the 2003 Venice International Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 84
Number of Lists: 67
Number of blog posts: 2
Number of discussion threads: 7
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Tue, 12 May 2009 02:52:48 GMT21 Grams2003Alejandro González IñárrituMexican filmmaker <a href="/players/P___297411/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Alejandro González Iñárritu</a> makes his first English-language feature with the downbeat drama 21 Grams. Set in an unnamed U.S. urban center, the film uses a nonlinear structure to piece together the intertwined lives of three very different people. Paul (<a href="/players/P___106027/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Sean Penn</a>) is a math teacher with a heart problem and a troubled marriage to British wife Mary (<a href="/players/P____25539/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Charlotte Gainsbourg</a>). Christine (<a href="/players/P____75056/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Naomi Watts</a>) is a former drug addict who lives with her husband, Michael (<a href="/players/P____95258/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Danny Huston</a>), and her daughters. Jack (<a href="/players/P____18343/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Benicio Del Toro</a>) is a born-again Christian with a wife (<a href="/players/P____41835/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Melissa Leo</a>) who has stood by him since his days as a criminal. Following a tragic accident, the three main characters are thrown into each other's lives. 21 Grams was shown in competition at the 2003 Venice International Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide84Tag Target (>10)67273http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t85944p6bvr.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/21_Grams/230102/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/risselada/archive/2009/1/13/39458.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Risselada Blog
Post Date: 1/13/2009 12:44:28 PM
Body: I'm told that Üç maymun (Three Monkeys) is Turkey's official submission for consideration of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. I really have no idea how many films with this level of production are made in Turkey each year. And now that I think about it, I can't think of a single movie I have ever seen that has come out of Turkey. The only movie I can think of that I've seen that is even set substantially in Turkey is Midnight Express, and I believe that was an American produced film that wasn't especially fair in portraying the full Turkish culture for Americans. However there's actually not too much about Three Monkeys that sets it in any particular location. At least there was nothing culturally unusual or alien to me. I'm not saying that there SHOULD be, just an observation from someone who doesn't know too much about Turkey and hasn't seen too much of their artistic exports. What we have here is a film that is well executed in many ways, nice pacing, framing, cinematography, sound, and superb acting. And the dialogue and story are realistic and easy to follow. The film does well with the "show don't tell" rule of story telling. We pick up a lot of things about the feelings of the characters and specific events and background elements without anyone speaking about them explicitly. YET, despite all of this I found the movie to be sorely lacking. Even if everything that a movie is trying to do is done well, if what it's trying to do has no originality or holds no interest then what is the point? This is a tragic drama. People in conflict, anguish, humorless. All of the characters make foolish decisions as people often do. But when we don't see much of the characters apart from their foolish decisions or the ill consequences on them due to the foolish decisions of others, no scenes of them really enjoying themselves or with any real hope or interesting personality traits, then the tragedy is not too affecting. The one key element that the movie is suggesting has played a key role in their backgrounds and how they got to where they are now is the apparent loss of another son in family many years ago. I did find quite a bit of skill and restraint in the way this is revealed. It's virtually never mentioned by any of the characters. The movie lets you as the viewer piece together the history of what happened and how much it has affected everyone through very simple images. But I do not feel as though this element adds enough to make this story particularly worth watching. The insight is too miniscule. One other interesting aspect of this film that I recall is that there is absolutely no non-diegetic music (from what I remember, if there was it must have been quite subtle). The only music in the film is the ringtone from the mother's cell phone which has some extremely sad lyrics about love turning into hate and destruction. The fact that this is the only music ever heard makes the song even more blunt. And it also makes the use of sound in the film even more apparent. Sound stands out in this movie. With your attention brought to the sounds around you more than you would normally notice it, normal things can sound quite strange and startling. There is a tense scene (well pretty much all of them are tense actually) where a man who is rather upset stands up and walks off screen. We hear a very strange noise, and then when the picture cuts back to him we see he is standing in front of an electric fan. The film also makes excessive use of sound bridges where the sounds of the next scene start to play quite long before the image cuts over as well. Sometimes the sound is that of the ringtone so that it sounds at first like non-diegetic music until we realize what is happening. These uses of sound and few realistic indications of the dead son still affecting the lives of the main characters are the moments where the film starts to extend into the surreal but never in a way that really seems unrealistic than our own perceptions of things. I would certainly be willing to watch something else by these same filmmakers in the future if someone were to tell me that their next project was going to feature a little more humor. As it is, as the first Turkish film production I have seen my impression of the country is that it's a place pretty much devoid of life and hope. Of course I know that isn't true. And I realize the filmmakers are also hinting that there was once some joy before the death of the son in this family, but I'd rather take my tragedy with a little more profundity. (At least this movie didn't have any horribly pretentious voice-overs like that other mavens movie I reviewed not too long ago, Summer Palace). Some better straight up tragic dramas that I prefer, that I think you may like if you like this movie: 21 Grams, House of Sand and Fog, In the Bedroom Rating: 5/10
]]>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:44:28 GMTRisseladaRisselada Blog1/13/2009 12:44:28 PMI'm told that &Uuml;&ccedil; maymun (Three Monkeys) is Turkey's official submission for consideration of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. I really have no idea how many films with this level of production are made in Turkey each year. And now that I think about it, I can't think of a single movie I have ever seen that has come out of Turkey. The only movie I can think of that I've seen that is even set substantially in Turkey is Midnight Express, and I believe that was an American produced film that wasn't especially fair in portraying the full Turkish culture for Americans. However there's actually not too much about Three Monkeys that sets it in any particular location. At least there was nothing culturally unusual or alien to me. I'm not saying that there SHOULD be, just an observation from someone who doesn't know too much about Turkey and hasn't seen too much of their artistic exports. What we have here is a film that is well executed in many ways, nice pacing, framing, cinematography, sound, and superb acting. And the dialogue and story are realistic and easy to follow. The film does well with the "show don't tell" rule of story telling. We pick up a lot of things about the feelings of the characters and specific events and background elements without anyone speaking about them explicitly. YET, despite all of this I found the movie to be sorely lacking. Even if everything that a movie is trying to do is done well, if what it's trying to do has no originality or holds no interest then what is the point? This is a tragic drama. People in conflict, anguish, humorless. All of the characters make foolish decisions as people often do. But when we don't see much of the characters apart from their foolish decisions or the ill consequences on them due to the foolish decisions of others, no scenes of them really enjoying themselves or with any real hope or interesting personality traits, then the tragedy is not too affecting. The one key element that the movie is suggesting has played a key role in their backgrounds and how they got to where they are now is the apparent loss of another son in family many years ago. I did find quite a bit of skill and restraint in the way this is revealed. It's virtually never mentioned by any of the characters. The movie lets you as the viewer piece together the history of what happened and how much it has affected everyone through very simple images. But I do not feel as though this element adds enough to make this story particularly worth watching. The insight is too miniscule. One other interesting aspect of this film that I recall is that there is absolutely no non-diegetic music (from what I remember, if there was it must have been quite subtle). The only music in the film is the ringtone from the mother's cell phone which has some extremely sad lyrics about love turning into hate and destruction. The fact that this is the only music ever heard makes the song even more blunt. And it also makes the use of sound in the film even more apparent. Sound stands out in this movie. With your attention brought to the sounds around you more than you would normally notice it, normal things can sound quite strange and startling. There is a tense scene (well pretty much all of them are tense actually) where a man who is rather upset stands up and walks off screen. We hear a very strange noise, and then when the picture cuts back to him we see he is standing in front of an electric fan. The film also makes excessive use of sound bridges where the sounds of the next scene start to play quite long before the image cuts over as well. Sometimes the sound is that of the ringtone so that it sounds at first like non-diegetic music until we realize what is happening. These uses of sound and few realistic indications of the dead son still affecting the lives of the main characters are the moments where the film starts to extend into the surreal but never in a way that really seems unrealistic than our own perceptions of things. I would certainly be willing to watch something else by these same filmmakers in the future if someone were to tell me that their next project was going to feature a little more humor. As it is, as the first Turkish film production I have seen my impression of the country is that it's a place pretty much devoid of life and hope. Of course I know that isn't true. And I realize the filmmakers are also hinting that there was once some joy before the death of the son in this family, but I'd rather take my tragedy with a little more profundity. (At least this movie didn't have any horribly pretentious voice-overs like that other mavens movie I reviewed not too long ago, Summer Palace). Some better straight up tragic dramas that I prefer, that I think you may like if you like this movie: 21 Grams, House of Sand and Fog, In the Bedroom Rating: 5/10 http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Re_Weekly_Theme_for_October_6_Revenge/625/36420/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Weekly Theme
Post Date: 10/16/2008 7:13:45 PM
Body: Also 21 Grams and Taxi Driver for getting revenge on someone else's behalf.
]]>Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:13:45 GMTRisseladaWeekly Theme10/16/2008 7:13:45 PMAlso 21 Grams and Taxi Driver for getting revenge on someone else's behalf. http://www.spout.com/groups/Female_Hysteria/Re_The_idea_of_female_hysteria_in_films/27/27292/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: chrismorrell
Post To: Female Hysteria
Post Date: 4/14/2008 6:05:17 PM
Body: [quote user="patches"]There are several films that have portrayed women as these ranting, insane, unstable creatures. The characters lose control of their emotions and need to be slapped. The phrase "Get ahold of yourself!" might be uttered. And it's pretty incredible. Wikipedia writes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_hysteria[/quote] Black and White images of Barbara Stanwick ,Joan Crawford and Bette Davis ,screaming,with mascara running down ... The current top hysteria gal,must surely be Naomi Watts.(my all time fave).she does runny-nosed crying soo well..."Mulholland Drive" spoilt me for movie watching for ages,has anyone ever ,before or since given such a gut-wrenching total,turning inside out performance?.. "21 grams" gave her another grief- stricken sob of a workout. Even in her "bad" films,(like"Ring" and "Funny Games" )we know we are getting some masterly screaming etc... Thinking back...check out all that screaming at the start of "Kiss Me Deadly",courtesy of Cloris Leachman ,totally ace..ah,then what about Madeliene Khan in High Anxiety?..back to David Lynch,and wigg-out duties are taken up by Laura Dern in "inland Empire" parts of which i worry about seeing again... A definite Queen of the Hysterics is Carmen Maura (more recently found hiding from Penelope cruz in "Volver",along with the other Tomato cocktail drinkers in "Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown" ,but, dont you think everything sounds more hysterical when it needs subtitles.. cheers Chris M
]]>Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:05:17 GMTchrismorrellFemale Hysteria4/14/2008 6:05:17 PM[quote user="patches"]There are several films that have portrayed women as these ranting, insane, unstable creatures. The characters lose control of their emotions and need to be slapped. The phrase "Get ahold of yourself!" might be uttered. And it's pretty incredible. Wikipedia writes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_hysteria[/quote] Black and White images of Barbara Stanwick ,Joan Crawford and Bette Davis ,screaming,with mascara running down ... The current top hysteria gal,must surely be Naomi Watts.(my all time fave).she does runny-nosed crying soo well..."Mulholland Drive" spoilt me for movie watching for ages,has anyone ever ,before or since given such a gut-wrenching total,turning inside out performance?.. "21 grams" gave her another grief- stricken sob of a workout. Even in her "bad" films,(like"Ring" and "Funny Games" )we know we are getting some masterly screaming etc... Thinking back...check out all that screaming at the start of "Kiss Me Deadly",courtesy of Cloris Leachman ,totally ace..ah,then what about Madeliene Khan in High Anxiety?..back to David Lynch,and wigg-out duties are taken up by Laura Dern in "inland Empire" parts of which i worry about seeing again... A definite Queen of the Hysterics is Carmen Maura (more recently found hiding from Penelope cruz in "Volver",along with the other Tomato cocktail drinkers in "Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown" ,but, dont you think everything sounds more hysterical when it needs subtitles.. cheers Chris M http://www.spout.com/groups/PulpFiction1975/Re_Telling_A_Story_Backwards/66/13577/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: billymcbrie
Post To: PulpFiction1975
Post Date: 7/10/2007 6:43:59 AM
Body: "How long do you think it would take you to do the same thing for 21 Grams?" Toooooo long. I have a job now anyway ;)
]]>Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:43:59 GMTbillymcbriePulpFiction19757/10/2007 6:43:59 AM"How long do you think it would take you to do the same thing for 21 Grams?" Toooooo long. I have a job now anyway ;) http://www.spout.com/groups/PulpFiction1975/Re_Telling_A_Story_Backwards/66/13481/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: PulpFiction1975
Post Date: 7/9/2007 12:38:47 AM
Body: [quote user="billymcbrie"] Hi, new here. I did some film studies at uni, and did a whole essay on the messed up time structures in movies. I even plotted out every scene in Pulp Fiction and then straightened it out to show how the story actually progresses. Took me about four hours, lots of notes on the screenplay, and a gallon of tea. I'll see if I can track it down, and post it up. [/quote]How long do you think it would take you to do the same thing for 21 Grams?
]]>Mon, 09 Jul 2007 04:38:47 GMTRisseladaPulpFiction19757/9/2007 12:38:47 AM[quote user="billymcbrie"] Hi, new here. I did some film studies at uni, and did a whole essay on the messed up time structures in movies. I even plotted out every scene in Pulp Fiction and then straightened it out to show how the story actually progresses. Took me about four hours, lots of notes on the screenplay, and a gallon of tea. I'll see if I can track it down, and post it up. [/quote]How long do you think it would take you to do the same thing for 21 Grams? http://www.spout.com/groups/Totally_Over_rated/Re_2nd_revision/170/10690/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: Totally Over-rated
Post Date: 6/10/2007 9:12:58 PM
Body: I agree pretty much with what you said Blakngold. I cannot comment on Babel however because I haven't seen it yet. I did like that director's Amores Perros and 21 Grams very much though. I'll have to see if the characters in Babel seem as real to me as they did in those other movies.
]]>Mon, 11 Jun 2007 01:12:58 GMTRisseladaTotally Over-rated6/10/2007 9:12:58 PMI agree pretty much with what you said Blakngold. I cannot comment on Babel however because I haven&#39;t seen it yet. I did like that director&#39;s Amores Perros and 21 Grams very much though. I&#39;ll have to see if the characters in Babel seem as real to me as they did in those other movies. http://www.spout.com/blogs/fitzcarraldo/archive/2006/12/6/4046.aspx Post By: patches
Post To: fitzcarraldo Blog
Post Date: 12/7/2006 5:02:11 PM
Body: Did you see 21 Grams? 21Grams's detail page
]]>Thu, 07 Dec 2006 22:02:11 GMTpatchesfitzcarraldo Blog12/7/2006 5:02:11 PMDid you see 21 Grams? <a href='http://www.spout.com/films/21Grams/230102/default.aspx'>21Grams's detail page</a> http://www.spout.com/groups/PulpFiction1975/Re_Telling_A_Story_Backwards/66/3263/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: Risselada
Post To: PulpFiction1975
Post Date: 10/16/2006 1:36:19 PM
Body: The most extreme example of non-linear structure I've seen is probably 21 Grams. I consideration of how cut up and rearranged the timeline is, it's pretty amazing how well it flows and reveals different parts of the timeline in the most effective way. Another recent film that I have heard uses the non-linear story telling technique quite well is Irreversible. I hope to be able to see this pretty soon because it sounds amazing. [quote user="SkyPilot"]FRIENDLY CHALLENGE: Does anyone know what the first example of non-linear storytelling is, in film or in literature? I have no idea. (The mere inclusion of flashbacks doesn't count.) [/quote] I did a search on IMDB for keywords that might relate. There is one called "Nonlinear Timeline". The earliest movie that has this tag associated with it is actually Un chien andalou in 1929. But since this film doesn't really have a coherent narrative, I'm not sure if it's really applicable to call it storytelling in the same sense that I think we are referring to. The next earliest film to have this tag is The Big Clock in 1948 which I've actually heard is among the best film noirs ever made. Now I'm even more excited to see it. There's also a category called "Multiple Time Frames" which I'm not sure exactly what this means. But it may refer to the fact that we see different events or perspectives of events that all occur during the same time frame. This often necessitates a non-linear story telling technique, but I think it is an even more specific and complex technique that is surely used to magnificent effect in Pulp Fiction.
]]>Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:36:19 GMTRisseladaPulpFiction197510/16/2006 1:36:19 PMThe most extreme example of non-linear structure I've seen is probably 21 Grams. I consideration of how cut up and rearranged the timeline is, it's pretty amazing how well it flows and reveals different parts of the timeline in the most effective way. Another recent film that I have heard uses the non-linear story telling technique quite well is Irreversible. I hope to be able to see this pretty soon because it sounds amazing. [quote user="SkyPilot"]FRIENDLY CHALLENGE: Does anyone know what the first example of non-linear storytelling is, in film or in literature? I have no idea. (The mere inclusion of flashbacks doesn't count.) [/quote] I did a search on IMDB for keywords that might relate. There is one called "Nonlinear Timeline". The earliest movie that has this tag associated with it is actually Un chien andalou in 1929. But since this film doesn't really have a coherent narrative, I'm not sure if it's really applicable to call it storytelling in the same sense that I think we are referring to. The next earliest film to have this tag is The Big Clock in 1948 which I've actually heard is among the best film noirs ever made. Now I'm even more excited to see it. There's also a category called "Multiple Time Frames" which I'm not sure exactly what this means. But it may refer to the fact that we see different events or perspectives of events that all occur during the same time frame. This often necessitates a non-linear story telling technique, but I think it is an even more specific and complex technique that is surely used to magnificent effect in Pulp Fiction. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/love/MemberTagFilms.aspxlove
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