❝Sometimes I tell the boy old stories of courage and justice, difficult as they are to remember. All I know is the child is my warrant, and if he is not the word of God, then God never spoke.❞
❝If I were God, I would have made the world just so and no different. And so I have you... I have you.❞
⊱ ─── . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ᯽ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁. ─── ⊰
The Road is one of the bleakest post-apocalyptic films I've ever seen, as well as one of the more realistic portrayals of a world and humankind gone to shit. When watching this kind of media, it's so easy to picture oneself as a strong survivor, able to take on whatever challenges come one's way, but in truth the majority of us will die, and another good percentage will end up either as food or cannon fodder.
Though I haven't read the novel, and so can't comment on the film's accuracy to its source material, the plot was endearing at times, and just sad and soul-destroying for the rest. At the very heart of it is love - a man trying to keep the memory of his wife alive through their son (I really liked the flashback sequences of her and him), the only thing left of her in the new world. If I'm honest, it was a little hard to watch the precious love between the father and son, because if there's anything I've learned from post-apocalyptic or dystopian media, it's that having loved ones is dangerous; every time Boy said 'Papa' my heart broke a little.
The cinematography served to really emphasise the desolation of a world ravaged by destruction. It used a desaturated, almost monochromatic colour palette that highlighted the lifelessness of the Earth, which contrasted the warmer lighting in the flashbacks with Woman. I loved that there were a lot of wide shots, framing Man and Boy against the vast and hostile nothingness of their landscape, and creating a sense of despair and isolation. The score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis also worked well with the fluctuating emotions of the film, and I found it to be hauntingly melancholy.
Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee were both phenomenal in their roles as Man and Boy respectively, and their bond on-screen was painfully beautiful; that final scene had tears running down my face continuously. The rest of the cast didn't have as much screen-time, but I really liked my queen Charlize Theron's performance in the flashbacks, and the way she showed her character's hopelessness and eventual resignation. I was really surprised to see Guy Pearce towards the end, but his presence was not at all unwelcome, as he did a great job as Veteran.
I don't think The Road is a film I can revisit any time soon, because my stomach is still churning from the disgust I felt watching certain scenes; if you're a fan of post-apocalyptic films, though, I highly recommend giving it a go.
❝Sometimes I tell the boy old stories of courage and justice, difficult as they are to remember. All I know is the child is my warrant, and if he is not the word of God, then God never spoke.❞
❝If I were God, I would have made the world just so and no different. And so I have you... I have you.❞
⊱ ─── . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ᯽ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁. ─── ⊰
The Road is one of the bleakest post-apocalyptic films I've ever seen, as well as one of the more realistic portrayals of a world and humankind gone to shit. When watching this kind of media, it's so easy to picture oneself as a strong survivor, able to take on whatever challenges come one's way, but in truth the majority of us will die, and another good percentage will end up either as food or cannon fodder.
Though I haven't read the novel, and so can't comment on the film's accuracy to its source material, the plot was endearing at times, and just sad and soul-destroying for the rest. At the very heart of it is love - a man trying to keep the memory of his wife alive through their son (I really liked the flashback sequences of her and him), the only thing left of her in the new world. If I'm honest, it was a little hard to watch the precious love between the father and son, because if there's anything I've learned from post-apocalyptic or dystopian media, it's that having loved ones is dangerous; every time Boy said 'Papa' my heart broke a little.
The cinematography served to really emphasise the desolation of a world ravaged by destruction. It used a desaturated, almost monochromatic colour palette that highlighted the lifelessness of the Earth, which contrasted the warmer lighting in the flashbacks with Woman. I loved that there were a lot of wide shots, framing Man and Boy against the vast and hostile nothingness of their landscape, and creating a sense of despair and isolation. The score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis also worked well with the fluctuating emotions of the film, and I found it to be hauntingly melancholy.
Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee were both phenomenal in their roles as Man and Boy respectively, and their bond on-screen was painfully beautiful; that final scene had tears running down my face continuously. The rest of the cast didn't have as much screen-time, but I really liked my queen Charlize Theron's performance in the flashbacks, and the way she showed her character's hopelessness and eventual resignation. I was really surprised to see Guy Pearce towards the end, but his presence was not at all unwelcome, as he did a great job as Veteran.
I don't think The Road is a film I can revisit any time soon, because my stomach is still churning from the disgust I felt watching certain scenes; if you're a fan of post-apocalyptic films, though, I highly recommend giving it a go.
