Thursday, April 23, 2020

What is and where is reality?

Texas welder and Vietnam War veteran Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin) stumbles across the proverbial "drug deal gone bad" in the West Texas desert. He grabs a suitcase containing two million cash and the chase begins in the 2007 film, "No Country for Old Men."

Ready / Set / Go

The Coen brothers -- Joel and Ethan -- many are aware are "products" of Minnesota -- the metropolitan suburb of St. Louis Park, to be more precise. They also are the "makers" of many (shall we say) unique films: "Fargo," staring Joel's wife, Frances McDormand, and "No Country for Old Men," to select just two.

I recently watched a video titled, "Ending Explained: No Country for Old Men," and have included it here. The purpose of this post, however, is not to specifically center on the brothers or on the film, but sort of on a state of mind in terms of what is real and what is not in the film. Here for examination is a conversation between "no country" Sheriff Ed Tom Bell and his wife, Loretta, in which Bell is telling her about two of his dreams:
Second one, it was like we was both back in older times.
And I was a-horseback, going through the mountains of a night.
Going through this pass in the mountains.
It was cold, and there was snow on the ground.
And he rode past me and kept on going......never said nothing going by, just rode on past.
He had his blanket wrapped around him and his head down.
When he rode past, I seen he was carrying fire in a horn......the way people used to do, and I......I could see the horn from the light inside of it......'bout the color of the moon.
And, in the dream, I knew that he was......going on ahead.
He was fixin' to make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark and cold.
And then I woke up.
The dream scene video also is included here, with Tommy Lee Jones portraying Ed Tom Bell and Tess Harper playing Loretta.
My immediate question was whether the dream is a creation of the imagination or one that actually occurred to the author of the novel, Charles "Cormac" McCarthy, or to one of his acquaintances. I have not read any of McCarthy’s works so really have no idea of the who, what, when, where, why and how of his books or his writing habits / styles / characteristics.
On the surface, the scene seems to illustrate a belief in an afterlife and to demonstrate great love and confidence on the part of Ed Tom Bell toward his father. I suppose it could be as simple as that, but in our complex world I generally am thinking nothing is plain and clear-cut .... rather, that anything and everything must be part of a puzzle and a mystery.
I have seen the film twice in its entirety and portions of it a few times. I have a copy of the film script, which is where I obtained the quote. I have a copy of the novel on order and, theoretically, will read it and possibly find a few answers to that scene and other questions I have about the story.
Actually, I cannot recall being aware of McCarthy before the appearance of the film based on his novel .... so much out there to read and never enough time. I can identify with him in the sense that he was raised and educated in Knoxville, Tennessee, and I have personal linkage to the city and to the university and have spent a number of weeks there. From the little I have read about him, he seems to be sort of weird .... hmmmm, like who is not ....
If this post seems somewhat dazed and confused, it probably is because I am pretty much thinking / wondering / speculating with my fingers on the keyboard .... in the meanwhile, any thoughts / comments / opinions?




16 comments:

Anita said...

Well I think this is a great Movie!

I have seen it many years ago but cant really remember it all so I did only watch half the videos..But the actor he plays very very good and good plot as well
I think I shall see it tonight and comeback again to write what I did get out of this Movie
You have right there are soo many books , movies to read and look at but there is no time for it all..I fall asleep after Reading one side but then I am really tired and no naps during the day
But when there is alot of sleepand freetime I can sit up to 3-4 in the morning enjoying a good movie..I thought of that Pope Movie on Netflix or but it seems a little slow..

It will be of interest what others think of this
Okey.Wish you a good day and stay safe and healthy in doors!

Jeg tror du er veldig søt mann som skriver til meg på norsk minner meg om Rølvaag som skriver heim..til Norge..

Kelly said...

I don't think I ever saw this movie, or if I did, I don't recall it (which is a distinct possibility). The only one of his books I ever read was The Road and I remember finding it terribly depressing.

Given that I never like abandoning books (I've only quit one in recent memory), I try to be much more selective in what I read. You're absolutely right. There are just too many to get through in a lifetime... and that's just the ones I really want to read! It leaves very little time for films, so I don't watch nearly as many as I use to.

Fram Actual said...

Anita writes: "Jeg tror du er veldig søt mann som skriver til meg på norsk minner meg om Rølvaag som skriver heim..til Norge.."

Fram replies: To begin, Frøken Anita, I think you would find a variety of opinions regarding how sweet an individual I am. It largely is based on how I am approached. I often say look at me and you will see a mirror image of yourself. If you are polite and well-mannered, you will find me that way, too. If you are belligerent and hostile, I can be that way, as well. For you, I think I would be one of the sweetest men among those you know.

Both my grandmothers grew up in households where Norwegian was spoken and they did not really learn English until they began school. (I suppose that is why I grew up loving lefse.) My father's middle name was Olaf, and everyone called him Ole. That my comments to you in Norwegian would remind you of Ole Rølvaag writing home to Norway took me totally by surprise. I need to think about that. There is much that I admire about Rølvaag, and I have traced his footsteps as best I could both in Minnesota and Dakota. If I had been alive when he walked the Earth, I would have tried hard to meet him.

As for the film, I would suggest you watch it with others present during daylight hours. It is very horrific at times and made me want to keep my back against a wall. Being a nurse, you probably see things which would be very unsettling to most people, but the randomness and the unexpectedness of cruelty and murder in this movie is what sends cold chills through your body -- it did mine, anyway.

Thank you, Anita, for coming and for writing a comment here. Seriously, I will think about your idea of my notes to you in relation to Rølvaag's letters home. Someone once wrote the Per Smevik book is like Rølvaag having a conversation with himself -- I do that frequently. Later, Norwegian girl ....

Fram Actual said...

I would wager a bit of cash you would remember this film had you seen it, Kelly. I think it could be described as a well-written / well-acted / reality-based horror movie for adults. There are no supernatural elements or any Übermensch, as there usually are in teeny-bop horror flicks .... only real-life death and destruction events portrayed for people at the wrong place at the wrong time at the hands of some who straddle the line between being stone-cold killers and insane. We have entered the "golden age" of movie special effects, I think.

If you choose to watch it, I would suggest you do so with others present during daylight hours. It is very horrific at times and made me want to keep my back to a wall while hoping no bullets would come through the wall.

I often do pick up a book and read a few pages before I make a "finish it" or "not finish it" decision. In my case, I think having to read stories and books which did not necessarily appeal to me as high school and college class assignments kept me in the game for reading beyond my interests for a long time. I no longer have that as a consideration, which means I am freer to spoil myself.

I also do that with music and with films. I try to listen to music and to watch at least segments of a movie or two most days. My reading also includes some poetry and an occasional stage play or original screen play, and I have been known to more than scan stuff from Bertrand Russell and Carl Jung and Jonathan Edwards and others in fields such as philosophy and religion. As I once mentioned, one thing leads to another and, often, it was teachers who were doing the leading.

Thank you, Kelly, for coming and for writing a comment here. I see you have a new post and I will be visiting it soon. Thinking of wagers, my curiosity drives me to ask whether or not your husband knew the date of the Marine Corps birthday .... take care and be safe ....

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post, I've never seen that movie before, but now you've sparked my interest to watch it.

I always dream when I'm asleep, there hasn't been a time that I haven't.

Kelly said...

From your description of the film, I think I will take a pass on it for now. I normally prefer my horror/terror in written form and even that is something I'm fairly selective about. Our internet options aren't the best in the world so we've always done Netflix via USPS and for awhile I would watch most anything my husband picked (and occasionally made my own requests). During that time I had a feature on my blog called "One sentence movie reviews". There were times one or both us us would give up on a film after about 15-20 minutes. Now that I don't do those entries anymore, I rarely even start the movies he gets. With books, I always hate to give up because there have been many times it all came together in the end and was worth the effort, or at least didn't feel like a waste of time.

No... he didn't remember the date, though he did remember having to learn it. It can be a challenge watching any kind of war/military movie with him because he can be quite the critic, from the way things are portrayed in battle, to how clean they are, to what flora is used in a jungle scene.

Fram Actual said...

With all the publicity this film and others associated with the Coen brothers have received over the years, it surprises me to learn how many people apparently have not seen it -- although, with as much as I read, I suppose I should amazed that I cannot recall hearing the name of the author of the originating novel, Cormac McCarthy, until the movie was made.

The only other novel and film I can recall which had such a "shock effect" on me was Norman Mailer's, "An American Dream." I have read the movie script for "no country," but not the book -- yet. We shall see how that goes. Nothing else written by Mailer had the same impact on me, and I have read him thoroughly.

As for dreams, I dream often, but I cannot say every time I sleep because I know I sometimes forget dreams when I awaken. I do know I have recurrence in dreams -- dreams identical in every detail, it would seem -- and I have had continuous dreams, sometimes far apart, but always picking up where another left off. I have talked to others about these things, including medical people, and observed "civilians" undergoing formal sleep depredation therapy .... fascinating stuff.

Thank you, Lon, for stopping by and for writing a comment and for becoming a "regular."

Fram Actual said...

Glad to see you here again, Kelly ....

I think the reason I can and do watch "no county" (or segments of it) from time to time is because of the stark realism of it. Like it or not, the story does portray elements of the world and people in it which really do exist and I want to make sure I do not forget. Much of my work has been in journalism and in corrections, and some of the things people do would be unbelievable if I did not know of them from personal experience.

The same for me in regard to "war movies." I generally cannot resist starting to watch one, but it is not unusual for me to start laughing at it at some point and shutting it down. Most movies I see are on cable television and, if I buy one, it usually is for reference. According to several sources, if you are interested and have not seen it, "Full Metal Jacket," is the most accurate portrayal of the Marine Corps of the Vietnam Era. It is pretty brutal, too.

Remind your husband that a critic is expected to point out the good as well as the bad ....

I think I will end this with a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: "The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!"

Her son, James, was with the Marine Raiders and became second-in-command of the 2nd Raider Battalion, Carlson's Raiders. He served with the 2nd Raiders in the Makin Island raid on August 17–18, 1942, where he and 22 others were awarded the Navy Cross.

Anita said...

Evil.Evil .Evil.Thats what the Movie is all about.The evil you try to do something about but can not.."The novel/film opens with a monologue delivered by Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, a WWII veteran and sheriff of Terrell County, in which he speaks about the evolving evil in America and his struggle to reconcile the changes he is witnessing in society. He decides to retire, a decision supported by his wife Loretta. The narrative ends with Bell’s resignation, a symbolic surrender to the overpowering forces of evil that will continue to reign in the world.
So the Movie as we know starts With a deadly game of cat and mouse, in which Moss uses his survival skills and military expertise to evade Chigurh and the Mexican drug dealers who have been sent out to recover their Money

The book goes deeper than the film.You will understand more.I did.

I think it is a very deep thinking film !
Everybody should see it

Iam wondering about another Movie you mentioned here" An American Dream"...think I have that Movie but never seen.(on dvd)Is it something about the youth?

Det er intressangt å lese dine breve..Ole..Din fars navn..Din historie. Fint..Du har nok arvet mye fra den nordiske ånden/kulturen

I will follow this tread because it is interesting what other think, belive or conclude With different aspects of books Movies and so on

Så min kjøre venn.Her i Norge er været bra.Jeg har hengt ut klær til tørk og baket en kake.Våren er god.

Vi snakkest neste gang!

Anita


Kaya said...

The movie "No Country for Old Men" is a great and a very powerful movie. When I finished to watch it I was in a shock.

Most movies I watched before wrap up with a good guy defeating a bad guy. A good guy is a winner and walks happily into the sunset leaving all of us to believe that the Evil can be defeated or punished.

That movie made me think that sadly the reality of our world is opposite. The bad guys aren't always defeated and the good guys are not always winners. The Evil lives and will continue to live.

Fram, thank you for writing about this movie. I would like to watch it again.

Stay safe and healthy!

Kelly said...

Oh, yes. Full Metal Jacket has been watched a number of times around here. He would agree it's a more accurate portrayal than most.

Interesting quote from Eleanor Roosevelt.

Fram Actual said...

Well, Anita, you know me. I think evil is real and is present in this world. I think it is beyond "good" and "bad" and more than fouled-up genes and is an actual entity present in most of us and, maybe, in all of us to one extent or another. I still have not read the "no country" novel, but hope to when it arrives. I have seen commentary about it and you are right: The usual bottom line is that the film is good and the book is better and more complex.

It has been a long time since I read the "American dream" novel and even longer since I saw the film, so I will not talk about it now other than to say it opens with the narrator, Stephen Rojack, a newly-elected congressman, detailing his double date with two beautiful young women and fellow congressman Jack Kennedy .... then the real action begins. It is a story of murder and explicit sex, with a cast including Mafia figures. All the events take place in a day. Evil is akin to a character in the story and, like "no country," the randomness of evil is ever-present. It could be fascinating if the Coen brothers would do a remake of the film.

It has been nice weather here today, as well, and for the first time this season I have been running around outdoors shirtless and in shorts. Feels good ....

Ta vare / vær trygg / vær lykkelig ....

Fram Actual said...

I am not surprised you would opt to watch "no country" a second time, Kaya. Anyone who would immigrate to the United States from Lithuania has to be a tough lady. And, yes, I think shocked would describe my reaction, too, by the time the film ended .... not shocked for the content because there was nothing in it I was not aware of, but shocked at the brutality shown on the screen.

The "good guys," for sure, do not always win and, in reality, defining who is good and who is bad is part of the dilemma. I do not think there usually is any clear-cut answer to that question and I also think it is beyond simple good and bad because evil is an actual functioning force in the world -- in my opinion. And, randomness always is a risk for which it is near-impossible to have a contingency plan. The best one can do is try to be prepared to react to anything at anytime ....

You too: Stay safe and healthy!

Fram Actual said...

Yes, dear, old Eleanor had a way with words ....

The way I see it, everyone who becomes a Marine has certain mindset factors in common, but there can be many differences, as well. There are some who eat, sleep and breathe Marine Corps. I am not among them. I was there mostly to learn, and to learn mostly about myself. I once had a drill instructor ask me if I was willing to die for my country. I replied "yes." He responded that I would be surprised at how many said "no" .... then added a few more sentences.

Now, a few decades later, I am not so sure I would answer as I did back then.

Have a good evening, Kelly, and take care and be safe ....

Germán Ibarra Zorrilla said...

Soy fiel seguidor de las películas de los hermanos Coen, me ha encantado este post. Fram gracias por compartir, un abrazo desde España.

Fram Actual said...

You and I both, Germán. I start laughing whenever I see the word Fargo and shudder a bit whenever I see the face of Javier Bardem. The work of the Coen brothers is very influential both in a public and a personal sense.

Thank you, Germán, for coming and for writing here. Take care and be safe ....

Something special ....