#68 - Born Free

"BOOOOOOOOORN FREE. As free as the wind blows. As free as the grass grows....okay, I dont know the next line, but who out there really does? If any of you do, and you actually respond to this with the next line, I will delete it. I won't be a part of that kind of activity. I the song won an Oscar. Hell, it's on the freakin picture. And it's nothing like High Hopes was in A Hole in the Head, but with the way the song comes in at the end of this movie and with the type of song it is, its just too much for me to not make fun of. Its the music that we have been hearing throughout the movie and it just swells in and the lyrics swell in with it. It's so dramatical and upliftingish I can barely stand it. So here's a short list of Oscar winning songs: 1. High Hopes 2. Born Free 3. It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp. I think that pretty well sums up the 80ish years of Best Song winners, don't you?

I'm about as ambivalent about this movie as I was towards Ring of Bright Water(check the archives moron). It's one of those things that I watch and I know its good, I know it's well made, I know it's exactly what those two lovebirds wanted to make, and I can even see it's as popular as it is, or was, but I'm ultimately left with a feeling of "eh". It's alright. That's it. Just alright.

I think the reason I feel the way I feel about this movie is because is pretty much the same freakin thing as Ring of Bright Water. Oh sure, animals, characters, continents, and basic plot points are different, but the overall approach and goal by the lovebird film makers is essentially the same. An inimate connection between a human and an animal. Exotic or remote locales. People learning more about themselves through their relationships these animals. Got it? I'm not slamming these things, I'm not even criticizing them. I'm just not blown away by what I saw. I do realize that I saw these two movies out of order, but that just makes me understand why Ring of Bright Water isn't as popular. I get the feeling that most moviegoers felt the way I feel, only in reverse and without as much ambivalence. Here's a question? Have I overused the word ambivalent and its derivatives yet?

Here's something I picked up on while watching this movie. I was sitting there, watching the flick, and I realized that the acting isn't exactly spectactular. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't the greatest. And the writing wasn't exactly the greatest either, yet this was a popular movie. How does that work? Then it hit me as I realized that interesting dialogue and extremely dramatic acting wasn't the point of the film. The point was the animals and the relationship that develops. And that is clearly the point that Travers and McKenna were going for. They made exactly what they wanted to make and they did it in exactly the right way to convey their message. I have to give them all the credit in the world for that, even if I am "eh" about it all.