Reviews

The average person gets hung up on the fact that "The Cell" presents some pretty twisted, evil images and doesn't probe any deeper into the film. But these beautiful images have substance. They are the images of the unconscious mind; specifically they are the images of a schizophrenic serial killer who's gone through more child abuse than most people can comprehend.

The wounds of our childhood do linger in our unconscious mind, and only in our dreams and in our unconscious and often destructive behavior do they come out. This is the point of the imagery, and in fact, one of the major points of the film. Another major theme is exploration of this question: if someone suffers tremendous child abuse as a kid, does s/he have the free will to not pass on these sins to the next generation? The answer is yes, if you believe Vince Vaughn when he says (roughly): "I believe that someone can suffer as much as Carl Stargher did and still never ever hurt another living being." The script is incredibly tight: there isn't a scene in the movie that isn't vital to understanding the film. As a result, the film grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let you go until the last. This, my friends, is the mark of a gifted screenwriter. The acting is better than average, and of course the cinematography is kickass. Next to "Bladerunner," "Schindler's List," and "The Shawshank Redemption," this is my favorite film of all time.

If anyone thinks this movie is good, watch the magnificent, original trilogy by Pagnol. The films are entitled, respectively, Marius, Fanny, and Cesar. After you've seen these films and you're still unconvinced that this version is a hack, rewatch this version of Fanny and look out for Fanny's line, "Panisse is dying" (which makes absolutely no sense as he was perfectly fine until Fanny says this).

I cannot believe how incredibly stupid most people are. Most people seem to think that Rashomon was designed to show the difference in people's perceptions of an event. WRONG! This was obviously not even intended. The point of Rashomon is to show how people CANNOT ADMIT THEIR MISTAKES. We will do anything to deny the truth from themselves because the truth is too painful for most to bear. Rashomon's genius is in presenting this theme; sadly, most people are unable to grasp it (or maybe they don't want to...)