The Way Way Back (2013)

I was in the mood for a movie marathon since I am broke and I feel like relaxing. So after watching the depressing The Place Beyond the Pines, I want to watch something light for a change. The Way Way Back is a comedy about an awkward teenage boy named Duncan whose mom and stepfather seem to have a low regard for him. They went on a vacation at the beach together with the stepdad Trent’s daughter Steph. Bored and seemingly out of place, Duncan explores the town and discovers Water Wizz, a local water park run by friendly and colorful people headed by Owen. There, Duncan gradually gains the respect of everyone for doing an awesome job as a part-time employee. The water park served as a contrast to Duncan’s temporary beach home where his mother is busy with the neighhbors and pays him little attention whereas his stepfather engages in an extramarital affair with a married woman named Joan. Duncan discovers the affair but initially says nothing until one night at a party when he explodes.

The beach vacation was ruined and the family had to go back, leaving Duncan sad. While they were loading up on gas, he sneaked out of the car and ran to Water Wizz. There, he said goodbye to Owen and to all the people who have helped him coped with his little self-esteem. He and Owen did the Devil Peak’s ride, the first person to have done so, as witnessed by the water park’s visitors. Duncan’s family were able to see the feat and Duncan’s mother looked proud of her son for once.

Thoughts in my head:

This is a cliche but it is true that the people who care about you and who can be your tribe may not share the same blood as you. Sometimes it takes the admiration of other people for your family to appreciate you. The same goes with how we Filipinos take pride in having fellow Filipinos take the world by storm, yet cannot even support those with potential back at home. It is like, we only acknowledge the genius of fellow Filipinos when foreigners acknowledge them first (unless you belong to the elite class with socialites for parents who can do all the work for you). It’s so weird because in the country I am currently in now, people are pushing me to do great things because of my many skills. Back home, I am just taken for granted. Sad.

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

So one lazy Sunday afternoon I found myself watching a movie I found in my external hard drive. It was good to have brought with with me so I can have something to do while I’m broke out here so far away from home.

The first part of the movie got me shedding tears. That scene where Luke Glanton pleaded with a girl with whom he had a son got me thinking about a special someone who I am supposed to forget and not talk to at present. Luke (Ryan Gosling) was a bike stunt rider who’s fairly popular in a traveling circus. After a show, he drove a woman, who seemed to had been waiting for him, to her house but was told that she already had someone. He came back to her house the next day to be greeted by Romina’s (Eva Mendes) mother who was carrying a baby boy in her arms. She told him it was his. Disappointed to have been left in the dark, he confronted Romina about the baby and pleaded to her to come with him, that he wanted to raise his child and thhat he could raise his child. All he received was a bitter reply saying he had always done what he did without any thought of others, that Romina thought that what they had was just a one-night stand because he left without any word and never even bothered to call. (The world is full of fuckboys!!!) Then came the heartbreaking part--- seeing your baby in the arms of another man who stands as his father during the baptism at church. A remorseful Luke was seen crying at the back as he bore witness to this. (Inside my head, Michael Learns to Rock’s “25 Minutes” was playing… Oh well, it’s only when a person is gone when we truly know how important they are.)

Then came an offer to rob a bank. Seeing that he could make loads of money in an instant, Luke became obsessed about it. On his last conquest, he was chased down by a police and eventually got shot and fell out of the window, dying in the process. The policeman who shot him, Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper), was proclaimed a hero. Soon after, the two men’s lives are seen to be in parallel with each other. Both had a baby boy and both just wanted the best for their own family. Young and idealistic but ambitious, Avery got privy in a corruption scandal involving fellow policemen which he eventually exposed and was soonafter proclaimed a hero yet again. At this point, he followed the desire of his father to engage in politics.

Some fifteen years later, Luke and Avery’s sons met in the same school where the latter’s son AJ was a problematic boy who seemed to not get sufficient attention and affection from his father. This stands in contrast to Jason whose stepfather treated him as his own. The two got high together and Jason was prodded to steal drugs for a party that AJ was hosting at his house. (These 17 year olds drinking and partying and doing drugs that lead to a lot of kissing and maybe sex just leave me speechless. I never liked parties of the sort and have always shied away from anything that involves alcohol.) Jason confronted AJ about their fathers’ history and ended up in a hospital after becoming the latter’s punching bag. In revenge, Jason acquired a gun and got inside the Cross residence, causing minor injuries to AJ and forcing Avery to drive to a place in the woods. There, Jason got Avery’s wallet, jacket, and car keys, drove off leaving Avery on his knees crying for forgiveness.

The ending shows Jason buying a motorcycle from an old man, probably to go off for a personal adventure. Romina was seen to have opened an envelop containing the crumpled picture of her, Luke, and baby Jason at a ice cream shop. It seems that Jason is set out to be a great motorcycle rider, too, having been told by Luke’s friend and partner-in-crime that he was the best rider ever.

What I think about the movie:

American culture is just full of shit. On the global arena America portrays itself as a powerful nation but on the domestic side, many are actually unemployed and despite the constitution being based on the French ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, America is very very far from it. How does a person attain liberty if he is not economically free? If he is not able to find a decent job to support his family? On the other hand, shall we blame it to the education system which seems to be devoid of morality and the source of too much brainwashing that America is great and that a person can be whatever he wants even if it means stepping on others? And not to mention that police bullshit, getting involved in corruption instead of being the institution to fight against it. When law enforcement is corrupt, the legitimacy is questioned. Anarchy will soon ensue. This is what people in power often forget. They are too preoccupied with fame and fortune and glory to even think about using that power to create positive change in the society. They get close to the media, buy off journalists to portray themselves as servants of the nation when in fact they are only serving themselves. It’s a fucked up system.

And the Philippines is sadly patterned after this kind of shit.