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THE FOXCATCHER
Every now and then, once in a while, you get this superb film that is going to get forgotten almost
immediately, regardless of how good it maid be, just because of consumerist overproduction and big
budget projects that are most definitely going to overshadow anything even remotely independent
or low profile
Such is the faith of the underdog, the unexpectedly good B movie, and much of it is left behind
because of lack of interest on the high street, and a lot of it is purely a marketing problem.
However, today, when a dumb movie that is going to get a remarkably well box office success due to
expert marketing and advertising it does not deserve even to an extent, a lot of the low cost small
production films get almost instantly forgotten, and history will definitely not do them a favour
We live in a consumer society where impulses are almost immediately satisfied by product mass
production, until the next urge becomes a centre and focus of interests, until that one is satisfied
and the next one comes along
One such movie this year in Cannes was the Fox catcher, a serious real life story drama of
antiheroes, good guys gone bad and vice versa, that was dedicated to a real and authentic event,
where reality had broken out of the stereotypes to deliver a mind-blowing and bewildering tragedy
of contradictions, executed to near perfection by the superlative acting of the two main actors who
had probably performed their lifetime roles
Fox catcher is a contemporary story of Little America, divided and segregated by its class society and
extremely uneven distribution of wealth, resources and assets, where the gap between rich and
poor increases each generation by consistent hereditary inherited privileges, passed on from a
father to son.
Decadence it seems, is not an isolated phenomenon only targeting the poor, socially deprived and
under privileged.
Life has always delivered great challenges to everyone, regardless of class distinction and social
background and no one seems immune to the eternal Temptation to Sin and disobey the Lord.
The last maid be said in a bit of a religious vocabulary, however, today as ever, in the civilised world
they are norms of behaviour, by which one must obey the Law in order to live righteously.
The moral norms are almost identically the same and the criteria has borrowed much from one
other, so, Submission to God, or Law Obedience, both seem to have the intent to deliver the same
Respect to Law and Order or being a Pious Believer who has surrendered to God, is both aimed to
the same effect of providing a Framework for a more civilised way of life.
Otherwise, it would be the Good Old Wild West all over, and Anarchy and Disorder would prevail, at
cost of building a civilised society.
Therefore, no one should be above or immune to the Law, as it will only encourage a primitive social
model of government, where tribal chiefs and warlords would become Masters of the Hour.
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Civilisation would once again slide back into the Dark Ages of Idol warship, polytheist rituals of child
sacrifice and pagan customs of tribal cults, each one only responsible before his or her own Clan.
This is why Crime and Punishment must work and the Appearance of the Law must be maintained at
all cost.
Regardless, in this cosmopolitan melting pot, the land of the brave, the home of the free, where
anyone could be an American should one decides to integrate and assimilate into the mainstream
society, interaction between different segments of this kaleidoscope of a cultural mix of different
peoples and identities is always possible.
Just because America is extremely class divided and segregated that does not mean that peoples of
different social background do not mix and interact socially in the larger mainstream society.
One the contrary, that is exactly what makes American society the most vibrant and free democratic
state in the world today, and due to this freedom to interact and bond socially, the United Sates are
unusually less prejudiced and less conservative and superstitious than the Old European
democracies from the mother continent.
Anywhere else such class interaction between rich and poor would be considered almost impossible.
Back in the old World, nobility snobbery, medieval values of status and role in society make old
fashioned and remote as well as laid back social norms still impossible to penetrate or infiltrate.
Much of the old ways still dominate the social fabric and define societies across Europe, most
notably in England, where no modern constitution has been introduced to replace the Magna Karta,
that age old certificate defining class divide and outlining the relationship between nobles and
Plebes based on values from the Dark Ages.
But in reality, real life tells its own drama, its own stories of fight between good and bad, and once
again confirms the age old eternal conflict where no one ever seems to prevail.
Fox catcher is a film that would once again challenge everyones faith in God, faith and religion,
given the fact that in real life justice never seems to get served properly, but that is exactly what
gives this real story an element of provocation and makes the audience ask questions
Film is an interactive medium for social bonding and communication between the audiences and the
film makers, and if were not challenged to think and ask questions, what is the level of social
interaction between the authors and the public?
Since the beginning of the film, one asks himself, have the characters deliberately swapped roles,
would this be one such social experiment, where reality and destiny have on purpose mixed up the
destinies of two extremely opposed characters, and what final message would one such story
deliver?
However, this is not a deliberately aimed story, this is a story developed on destiny and chance, and
exposes the vulnerability and social deprivation that exists among each one of us, regardless of
social status and background, happiness is not an instant mix one could buy off the supermarket
shelf, and challenges in life are great even for the rich and more privileged
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Decadence exists everywhere, and the human soul is very fragile, and most importantly of all, there
is no return to the past, once the trigger is pulled, once a man dies, there is no resurrection, at least
not until Judgement Day
In the end the only thing that ensures continuity in the whole story is the appearance of the Law,
which in this film could easily be seen as a metaphor for Gods Last Revelation on Earth, where each
one of us is instantly judged and resurrected.
In reality it seems, there will not be an Armageddon, rather a custom tailored delivery of justice by
society depending on the ill of the committed Sin, where by a sentence is delivered and executed in
this life, to make the individual repent and pay for its sins in the interest of the members of the
public and repay society in real life currency
Today, the prison system seems as an attempt to deliver a form of real time Purgatory, where by the
Sinner will pay for the committed crimes regardless weather he repents or not.
The religious and spiritual are left aside in a secular world, and society thru its institutions becomes
the Judge, Jury and The Executioner, delivering an instant tailor fit punishment to match ones Sin.
For those who believe in the Afterlife and Reincarnation, there should be another Judgement when
the Dead will be resurrected at the End of Days.
Ultimately, that is the difference between religious warship and Justice and Law enforcement, where
by in religion, all our Sins are postponed for Judgement in the next life, reality delivers a much more
interactive and proactive instant Judgement, where by each Sin is measured and an adequate
sentence is delivered to make the individual pay for its Sins and repent in this life
Odd but very real, both Law and Religion are equally influenced and inspired by each other, the only
difference it seems is in actual fact that one deals with the same issues in real time, and the other
deals with our next incarnation in the next realm of existence
Unusual but true, much of the borrowed credibility of the whole film is given to the opening
sentence edited in the beginning of the movie that says: Based on a true story.
Had this been omitted from the film, it would have been almost impossible to provide a meaningful
reason to justify telling of a story of few larger than life characters, who seem to have all lost
themselves; perhaps each wanting what the other one has, denying the value of what they have
themselves
This could be almost an immediate challenge to Love thy neighbour, but is it really human nature
to always want what we dont or perhaps what others have?
Having said this, should we seize our strive for perfection, would God make any sense at all?
But, if we think were perfect the way we are, God becomes almost instantly obsolete, as well
supress our natural aim to always improve ourselves In the image of God.
That moment, one identifies with the breaking of the First Commandment and commits an
unforgiving Sin of personifying himself, identifying with the Creator.
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If Man becomes God, than God is Human by Nature, giving attributes of a Man to the Creator.
As far as Cannes Film festival is concerned, I have an enormous amount of respect for the fact that
the Organizers and Jury members have always favoured authorship as well as character driven
stories and performances, and have made a substantial contribution to making world cinema
popular, and allowed some third world filmmakers to get the attention they deserve.
The commercial world of film making being wiped out and dominated by American big budget
production, it is good to have institutions that recognise the Films not only as commercial Medium,
but one of Contemporary Art where authorship and dedicated performance could contribute to
Cinema just as much.
With the world becoming increasingly one global village with the advent of instant email and
Internet, it is good to bring Cinema as a contemporary medium back to speed and level with other
such institutions of social media and make it global just as much American film at the moment is.
Recently with the contribution of regional film festivals, World cinema has taken a great leap
forward and is finally getting the attention it deserves, where independent film makers and low
budget production houses could finally get a chance to introduce themselves to a global audience
and make Film Making the world phenomenon it should be, not just Hollywood dominated American
based big money industry.
What is good for Fox catcher about this is that much broader global audience is approaching film
with greater interest than ever, and the medium is branching out, spreading its wings far and wide
to allow more and more non-commercial filmmakers become a part of the world of cinema.
Film is inevitably destined to grow much bigger than any other social medium, giving access to small,
low budget and independent film makers the opportunity to present their movies to a global
audience of Cinema enthusiasts.
In the end, the question of Salvation remains once again unanswered, immediately rejecting the
Christian idea of going to heaven thru baptism and repenting for our Sins, or perhaps the Islamic
concept of universal Salvation thru Submission and Surrender, Fox catcher makes us think once
again, how do we rich Paradise, and what must we do to live forever?
How does society punish a cold blooded killer of an innocent father of two?
How does a killer get his own Salvation?
How does God compensate an innocent victim of a cruel murder and his family?
We can only find out about this on Judgement Day