Transporting moviegoers into another world

Film review: Avatar

MANILA, Philippines - I do not know if I will ever see the time when I would enjoy a Transformer movie. Such excessive use of sight and sound truly detracts from the main purpose of motion pictures. Like a book, a film should tell a story and I like watching that unfold. I like to hear and maybe later remember some of the dialogue. I enjoy the way a filmmaker can make silence or still images speak volumes. I was watching Martin Scorcese’s The Age Of Innocence a few nights ago and it was just remarkable how much actor Daniel Day Lewis was able to convey with simply a slight tilt of his head.

On the other hand though, film is a medium that marries art and technology. And because it is entertainment, it is also an effective showcase of whatever new-fangled invention has arrived to heat up the screen. So nowadays, our idea of modern filmmaking runs the gamut of Michael Bay of Transformers on one side and Scorcese on the other. Of course, the technologically savvy side also boasts of the likes of George Lucas (Star Wars) and Peter Jackson (Lord Of The Rings) and then in between there is James Cameron (Terminator, Aliens and Titanic).

Cameron is big. He is the kind of director who needs no stars because his name is more than enough to bring on the crowds. He has this ability to create crowd-pleasing pictures that combine the stunning use of new technology with sensitive story telling. His Titanic, which became the most successful film of all time, is such a marvel. Movie-goers hardly wondered about what Cameron used to create the terrifying onslaught of freezing cold sea water into the doomed luxury liner. This was because they were so engrossed in the love story of Jack and Rose. And that is proof of how seamlessly Cameron is able to combine art and technology.

I am sure that those who have seen Avatar had the same experience, but in a bigger way. This is Cameron’s first film since Titanic 12 years ago and to say that it is technologically groundbreaking is an understatement. Great movies sweep audiences up with the action. Avatar does more than that. It transports movie-goers into another world. This is the moon Pandora, with its flora, fauna and everything else all generated by computer technology. The feeling is like having your body breathe in strange air as your feet touch new ground. A film can do this? Yes, Avatar can. And as the cliché goes, movies will never be the same again.

Avatar is set in 2154 on an Earth on the verge of extinction. The key to its survival is a mineral called Unobtainium, which can be found in Pandora. So just like what supposedly superior races have done since time immemorial, the Earthlings decide to invade Pandora to exploit the natives to guarantee its supply of Unobtainium. Pandora is inhabited by the Na’vi, a peaceful race of ecologically concerned giants. They are right to feel bad about the intrusion and this resistance is what sets off the battle that can lead to the destruction of both sides.

As Cameron tells it, humans cannot exist in Pandora and that is why the avatar was created. These look like Na’vis but have minds controlled by the earthlings. The avatar is what goes into Pandora while the body remains in a trance in the space ship. Jake Sully played by Sam Worthington is a paraplegic with an avatar. With this he gets the chance to be normal again although looking like a blue-skinned 10-foot Na’vi. Normal people get attracted to other people and fall in love. In Jake’s case, he falls in love through his avatar with Neytiri, the Na’vi beauty played by Zoe Aldana, who saves his life. And just like what happened when Captain John Smith found Pocahontas, Jake wakens into the reality of what they are doing to the Na’vi. He switches sides and goes into battle against the humans.

That plot turn is nothing new. So are a lot of other things about Avatar. The inter-racial romance, the exploitation of the natives, the reference to current events are common enough. But Cameron tells his tale with a film of monumental proportions and that makes the difference. Avatar is a film for the ages. It is the sort of movie that breeds cult followers because one cannot help but watch it again and perhaps another again and to talk about it again and again and still never fully enjoy the experience.

Cameron remains the king of the world. Avatar is visually and aurally breathtaking, I will not be surprised if he would be able to include taste and smell to sight and sound in his next picture 12 years from now.