I went to see "EO" at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. To get there, I had to navigate loop traffic at 2:00 pm on a Saturday afternoon, right when the theater matinees were starting. I was stuck in gridlock trying to wait for space in a parking garage, and I finally decided to keep driving a few blocks away from the theater and park somewhere else.
Walking from the garage to the theater, I passed a line about three blocks long of people waiting to get into a winter market where they could be mashed into a crowd of people waiting to buy cheap crap at exorbitant prices, because the people running it know that tourists will spend any amount of money and subject themselves to any amount of inconvenience to do convince themselves that they enjoy holiday "festivities" like that.
Next, I sat through a movie which was all about the absurdity, and often cruelty, of humans as witnessed from the perspective of a donkey. It made me feel terrible about people in general. Even when we're not being awful, we spend our time doing stupid and pointless things, following rules that mankind has imposed on the world rather than trying to live with the world as it wants to be.
When I got back to my car, I was stunned to find that the garage I parked in charged me $57 for two hours of parking. I was so angry I actually exclaimed out loud, and then kicked myself for not using SpotHero like I had originally intended. Then it was more gridlock as I drove out of downtown and on to Lakeshore Drive. My afternoon out pursuing one of my favorite hobbies had been nothing but an aggravating headache from beginning to end because of the crush of humanity I had to wrestle through to do it. And as I sat waiting for someone to let me in, I began thinking about how the world I was at that moment experiencing looked a lot like the world shown in "EO," and it was utterly depressing.
So is this movie well made? I guess so, in that it made me feel what I think it wanted me to feel. Did I enjoy this movie? No I didn't, though I'm guessing the filmmakers weren't trying to make a movie people would enjoy. Would I ever want to watch this again? Guess.
Grade: B.
Walking from the garage to the theater, I passed a line about three blocks long of people waiting to get into a winter market where they could be mashed into a crowd of people waiting to buy cheap crap at exorbitant prices, because the people running it know that tourists will spend any amount of money and subject themselves to any amount of inconvenience to do convince themselves that they enjoy holiday "festivities" like that.
Next, I sat through a movie which was all about the absurdity, and often cruelty, of humans as witnessed from the perspective of a donkey. It made me feel terrible about people in general. Even when we're not being awful, we spend our time doing stupid and pointless things, following rules that mankind has imposed on the world rather than trying to live with the world as it wants to be.
When I got back to my car, I was stunned to find that the garage I parked in charged me $57 for two hours of parking. I was so angry I actually exclaimed out loud, and then kicked myself for not using SpotHero like I had originally intended. Then it was more gridlock as I drove out of downtown and on to Lakeshore Drive. My afternoon out pursuing one of my favorite hobbies had been nothing but an aggravating headache from beginning to end because of the crush of humanity I had to wrestle through to do it. And as I sat waiting for someone to let me in, I began thinking about how the world I was at that moment experiencing looked a lot like the world shown in "EO," and it was utterly depressing.
So is this movie well made? I guess so, in that it made me feel what I think it wanted me to feel. Did I enjoy this movie? No I didn't, though I'm guessing the filmmakers weren't trying to make a movie people would enjoy. Would I ever want to watch this again? Guess.
Grade: B.