[AerostarMonk]

Brazil and Barton Fink

Two of the darkest comedies you'll ever see. Two movies where the heroes bring about their own downfall, whether by accident or simply by way of their own arrogance.

Sam Lowry, the protagonist of Brazil, is your regular cog in the machine. And for the most part he likes it. He has dreams of something more, but not to the point where he would actually act on them. That is until the one day that he does. And by doing so he messes up his life and the lives of others just by being his normal self. He gets caught in a web he wasn't even aware of. And from then on it only gets worse. By the end he's dug himself in so deep that his ultimate fate seems like a happy ending compared to the alternative.

All that aside Brazil is incredibly fun. Even if it is a bit too disturbing in its view of a bleak bureaucratic state in the midst of a "terrorist" uprising.

Barton Fink is a frustrating character. He's the kind of guy you want to feel for, but the more you think about it the more you realize that he deserves a lot of what he gets. Barton is a so-called writer for the common man. The problem is he's so wrappped up in himself he doesn't listen. He doesn't care what they want, or what anyone else wants. He thinks he's above everyone and that the world has to listen to what he has to say.

You start to understand that he's not a writer for the common man because he wants to be, he's only says that because he doesn't have the skill to be what most people would call a real writer. So instead he passes off his own experiences over and over again as if they're the voice of the common man, when in reality it's all he knows and he's unwilling to grow. So when he's finally told off, all though it's said in the harshest of ways you can't help but agree with what's being said.

Barton Fink was one of those movies that was okay when I watched it, but after thinking about it for a day it was one of the greatest movies I've ever seen. The thing is it's such a painful experience in a way that I can't watch it again and again unlike the lighter dark comedy in Brazil.

Anyway, these are two of Monk's recommendations. If you get a chance pick them up.