Babylon

this is a movie that planted a seed in my head when i first watched it and i couldn’t stop thinking about it until i watched it again today.  it already helps that the score absolutely SLAPS, but just the name of the movie has stuck with me. there’s a story in The Bible about the city of babylon and how they were making so many advances that they decided that they would build a tower so high that they would be abke to touch the heavens. well, God didn’t like that the humans were trying to become like Him so He made it to where the people of babylon didn’t all speak the same language. which before God did that, they did. this is the explanation for different languages.  all that goes to say that damien chazelle PERFECTLY named this movie. hollywood was at its TOP. people loved silent films. they LOVED jack conrad, but then sound comes to play. jack conrad makes a movie with sound and it seems as though he doesn’t know how to communicate with the audience anymore. i use jack conrad as the example because it’s my favorite role in this movie and also my favorite brad pitt performance. you can tell he is having so much fun with playing a movie star, because he’s back in his old life. then his nest friend shoots himself and jack conrad doesn’t know how to deal woth it, he doesn’t have his right hand man with him. and the last scene that conrad is in just hits all the more on a rewatch. i know that i love a movie when scenes open and i go “oh, i love this one” over and over. but, my favorite scene by FAR has to be the sound scene with nellie and her college movie. it is just So funny to me. i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, tobey maguire KILLS it in this movie. yeah, his character might not be needed at the end of the day, but it gives you that last bolt of energy for the last 30 minutes. the final sequence is just, i don’t know how to describe it. manny feels such grief when he hears singing in the rain because he remembers all he had at the peak of his time. but then the montage happens and the camera goes back to manny with such a joyful smile on his face because he Knows how much he impacted film as a whole. and while yes he himself might not be remembered, the movies he made will always be played. and that was his goal all along, to be apart of something bigger.  this movie isn’t perfect, but i absolutely Love it.