In my film 100 class we finished watching the second half of the film Swiss Army Man (2016), directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. My overall takeaway of the film is that the ending did not seem right to me. To be fair, none of the film seemed right to me, as my reactions in my previous blog post regarding the first half of the movie carry into the second half and remain. In other words, if I were one of the audience members at the premiere of this movie, I would've walked out before the movie finished. For those who like or appreciate the movie, I am sorry, as I could not get over the uncomfortablility of all that this movie is. Although, there was one aspect I appreciated about the movie other than the Cinematography, as my thoughts led me to connect closely with Hank's emotions. From what I could take away from the movie, Hank learned how to fully embrace and accept himself for who he is through Manny. In the beginning of the film, he felt isolated, alone, and calling out for help only to recieve no replies. My current thoughts on myself are similar, not to the degree of insanity as Hank had fallen into, but I feel trapped within the limits of society. I touched on my feelings during my last blog, so I'm not going to go into detail and repeat myself. Instead, I suggest reading my previous blog, "Swiss Army Man Review (Part 1)" if you have not already. Anyways, being able to relate to Hank, even in a small way, connects me to his character and to one of possibly many overall themes of this movie. Yet, that's not all.
As I mentioned briefly in the paragraph above, the cinematography in this film is something I appreciate. The Daniels' did a good job with close-up shots during heartfelt moments of connection, and wide shots during moments of isolation. Something interesting I noticed was that most of the film seems to have a blue hue, which gives me dream like or imagination vibes. Yet, in the moments at which Hank feels the most connected to himself or a situation, the film is tinted orange. The contrast of blue versus orange could also sybolize feelings of sadness or depression contrasting with the few moments in which Hank felt happy. For example, the party scene in the movie, in which Hank and Manny felt so close that they almost kissed, contained orange tints and hues during and after. That scene also showcased Hank at his happiest moment. Furthermore, in terms of costume designs, Hank wore warm colors throughout the movie while his counterpart, Manny, wore cool colors. I believe this was purposeful to show how different the characters are from one another as Manny is open about all the aspects of being human that Manny was taught to find disgusting. I wonder if Manny's cool color pallette is purposefully related to his ending as he chooses to ride away in the water. Water is blue, which represents sadness. Furthermore, Hank being all alone on the island surrounded by water represents isolation. So Manny's open character but sad appearance are opposites as Manny was Hank's reflection of everything that made him feel alone, embarrassed, and depressed. Yet, that speculation only applies following the suspicion that what happens in the movie isn't real, and nor is Manny.
That is the path my brain wishes to go down, instead of constantly contemplating what it was I did just watch. I remember seeing the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once, dirrected by the Daniels', and loving it. The Daniels' seem to like tackling complicated issues, as in Everything Everywhere All At Once, they tackled the misunderstood bond between a mother and her daughter along with their family struggles. While in Swiss Army Man, they tackled self-worth and acceptance. I could see how the two movies are quite similar, as both also contained large amounts of absolute chaos. If only I could get over the more vulnerable aspects of Swiss Army Man, so I can look back at the movie and appreciate it the same as I appreciated Everything Everywhere All At Once.
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