Are You Not Entertained?

A few of weeks back I went to see a film that Vue were re-showing for one night only, nine years since it was released. The film... Gladiator. There so many people in the cinema ready to watch a film you could easily get on DVD for the same price, but then again for such a good film, I'd expect nothing less. If I was obsessed enough to watch a film I already own, there definitely would be others, and I brought my brother and his friend to come along so I wouldn't seem like a lonely weirdo (everyone else I knew couldn't see the point), but I did bump into some old friends who were there for exactly the same reason. It was fun, experiencing something I enjoy with a load of strangers, most of us probably knowing (and lip-syncing :P) all the lines of the script, watching it on a big screen for the first time. I loved it, and I'm sure the couple behind me loved it too, judging by the tears the lady was wiping away by the end. This was a once-in-a-lifetime moment, and by the end, the cinema-goers went their separate ways, satisfied that they had re-lived a special moment in their lives once more and as if saying, "meh, I knew the ending anyway".

I may as well take the opporunity to talk about the film I consider to be my favourite hands down; it's got everything, and you just feel so attached to the characters because of the sense of injustice you feel that has befallen them, and of course, the real tearjerker at the end when he dies. I believe real heroes in films should die; you just got that much more respect for them (even though, yes, they are fictional). There are so many layers to the film, not just story-wise or how characters' relationships with one another develop, but with how deep each character goes; like with the 'villain', Commodus. It's explained that he's not a 2-dimensional villain but a 4-dimensional human being, and you can swap the roles of hero and villain in your head and almost relate to where he's coming from. On the high-quality picture in the cinema I noticed the backgrounds of alot of the scenes, like in the markets, and it looks like they've paid so much attention to detail! All in all, this is the film by which I judge all others. This is perfection in my eyes.

10/10

Captivating.