Posted on 11/24/2017 3:56:19 PM PST by spintreebob
Compare Coco to Roman J Israel.
Pixar is back - the bold, creative Coco ... manages to tell a family-friendly story centered entirely around death, one that reflects on the legacy we leave behind.
Coco proves to be a pleasant surprise - an emotional, philosophical story of life and death, that despite the gorgeous visuals, doesn’t sugar-coat anything.
Right away, both the importance and the potential danger of respecting one’s heritage is highlighted, and proves to be a poignant theme. Our young protagonist Miguel yearns to play the guitar, but his artistic urges are severely repressed by his family, who hold a bitter grudge against all musicians, passed down through the generations.
The titular Coco is Miguel’s great-grandmother, a beautifully rendered, impossibly ancient creature clinging on to her last days of life, and the scattered remains of her memories. Her father abandoned her to pursue a musical career, and to this day, the family has not forgotten the betrayal.
On Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, Miguel seizes an opportunity to steal a guitar from a deceased ancestor, and is instantly plunged into the afterlife, where he must receive a blessing from said ancestor to return home, and follow his musical passion.
As Miguel traverses the afterlife, he realizes the importance of leaving a legacy behind, for to be forgotten by the living imposes another death sentence, and nobody knows if there is a second afterlife beyond the first.
It’s pretty heavy stuff.
Then there is Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” Denzel Washington gets transformed — and what a treat it is to see this great actor, after almost 40 years in movies, give a performance that feels both utterly unexpected and completely true.
https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/roman-j-israel-esq-denzel-washington-gives-an-utterly-unexpected-performance/
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Coco is a great grandmother who doesn't even know which musician she slept with is the father of her kids. The musicians chose career over caring for the babies they produced.
Denzel Washington is so dedicated to what he believes is a righteous crusade that he intentionally avoids having a family so he can focus solely on what he believes in. I have seen dedicated conservatives and religious people who make the same sacrifice and face the same temptations as Denzel Washington.
Which Hollywood direction is our culture going?
ML/NJ
I just know the Harvey Weinstein fallout is indicative of the changing guard of Hollywood. Nothing overnight, not necessarily sweeping...but there will be more room for new voices and new leaders in the industry to share stories from different points of view. Call it the Trump culture effect.
I hope The Simpsons does a number on it. They’re great at skewering that which needs a good skewering.
Not that many people statistically have witnessed a brutal murder first hand. Yet if you were to ask them to imagine such a scene, they would only have to recall some image in their mind planted there by Hollywood.
Our government has more influence over our culture than any other group.
Hollywood stock is declining and not just in ticket sales.
Horrorwood is DC’s unofficial propaganda ministry.
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