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Banter and Chit-Chat! / Re: The greatest movies of all time?
« on: October 23, 2013, 07:25:00 PM »
I've had to accept that my taste in almost any form of media simply doesn't mesh with most other people's, but I've got my favorites and I'll happily defend them. Up until earlier this year, my favorite movie was Sling Blade, a movie about a man with a learning disability who's served his time in an asylum for a childhood crime and is cast out into the world to try to establish a new life while surrounded by a situation that reminds him of his past. I think my deep connection to the movie comes from the fact that when I first watched it, my home life was highly reminiscent of the situation in the movie, but even aside from that, it's got enough humor to be entertaining and raises a number of very significant moral questions.
However, I saw a movie called Ghosts With Shit Jobs at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in April and fell in love with it. Obviously, it's an art movie with a low budget and volunteer actors, so the quality isn't great, but the film uses that to its advantage in interesting ways - it's a documentary set in 2040 or so, after China has bought out the Internet and become the world's economic superpower. The documentary follows four groups of Canadian citizens (the "ghosts" in the title is a racist term in Chinese for white people) as they perform the jobs that no self-respecting Chinese person will do. The thing that really draws me into this movie is the level of detail - every object or person you see has a purpose and is part of the futuristic world. I've seen it about five times now, and I notice something new about it every time. It's a bit gritty, it's a bit unpleasant, and it builds to a surprising and amazing climax that goes well beyond the boundary of its own format, and it can be a little scary because of how much it fails to be a completely impossible picture of the future. I know it won't be for everyone, but you can check out the first twenty minutes for free at http://ghostswithshitjobs.com/, and it's available on region-free DVD and several streaming services. I'm shilling, but it fits the movie (trust me) and I think it deserves more exposure. If nothing else, you have to love the title.
However, I saw a movie called Ghosts With Shit Jobs at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in April and fell in love with it. Obviously, it's an art movie with a low budget and volunteer actors, so the quality isn't great, but the film uses that to its advantage in interesting ways - it's a documentary set in 2040 or so, after China has bought out the Internet and become the world's economic superpower. The documentary follows four groups of Canadian citizens (the "ghosts" in the title is a racist term in Chinese for white people) as they perform the jobs that no self-respecting Chinese person will do. The thing that really draws me into this movie is the level of detail - every object or person you see has a purpose and is part of the futuristic world. I've seen it about five times now, and I notice something new about it every time. It's a bit gritty, it's a bit unpleasant, and it builds to a surprising and amazing climax that goes well beyond the boundary of its own format, and it can be a little scary because of how much it fails to be a completely impossible picture of the future. I know it won't be for everyone, but you can check out the first twenty minutes for free at http://ghostswithshitjobs.com/, and it's available on region-free DVD and several streaming services. I'm shilling, but it fits the movie (trust me) and I think it deserves more exposure. If nothing else, you have to love the title.