Noah

            A Film Review
   
 A transcendental gumball and a ripe berry are the props in the movie Noah that symbolize life itself.  A telling story of a man and his family that journey to a mountain and build a large ark to survive a deluge, Darren Aronofsky ventures into the depths of the tale and makes it his own.  First of all, I will warn you, this review may give away some parts of the movie.  Second, I will warn you, I have no experience reviewing films, so this may seem like a wandering ramble.  Third, I must warn you, my name is Noah, so I am a little biased on the side of the main character.  But in all honesty the movie mostly stays true to the biblical myth.  In all its color and beauty the movie told the three main aspects of the biblical tale: the struggle, the flood, and the rainbow. 

                Let's start with the struggle.  In many parts of the film actor's depicted man's confusion with what God is trying to say to them.  Just as the deluge was starting, the main bad guy, a king who generally symbolizes "Man", is shown standing on a rock yelling to the heavens something to the extent of "Why?! What are you trying to tell me??"  His entire army stood before him.  Noah also, despite hallucinations, didn't know what God wanted him to do.  A major plot line in the film was Noah's question of whether or not to kill his own grandchildren.  What the hell, Noah?  But, in his defense, he thought God wanted the world to no longer be inhabited by humans.  In both of these scenes, the struggle of man is depicted in the imagery of man questioning God.  Isn't that the struggle of man to begin with?  Does God even exist?  And if it does, what purpose is it giving "me," a human?  This is a major philosophical question and is put to life well in the film.

                This struggle of Man is depicted in the film, but the best parts were played by the two supporting actresses, Emma Watson and Jennifer Connelly.  The emotions expressed by these two characters were infinitely touching, and were clearly expressed because of this "Man's" struggle.  Emma Watson played an daughter found by Noah's family who ended up mothering twins with Noah's son.  Jennifer Connelly played Noah's wife.  Both of these actresses were completely innocent, and only supported Noah in his attempt to fulfill his purpose and do God's will.  Connelly's best scene was when she approached Noah to persuade him not to kill his granddaughters.  It was pretty much a compassionate rage based entirely in Love.  And, as Noah approached Emma Watson with a knife in hand, Watson's emotions were nothing but real.  As he lifted the knife, he stopped and decided that it was only Love that kept him from killing the babies.  This is probably the most disturbing part of the film, but after all it is a Darren Aronofsky film and to be humans come close and sometimes carry out pretty disturbing things sometimes.

                The struggle of the civilization (the descendants of Cain) is shown by the King.  And the struggle of the "Good Man" is depicted through Noah.  But in both men, good and bad, there seems to be a struggle that is innocent and is in their Nature.  Though we  all could see which man was "good" and which man was "bad", we could also see a suffering in both men which was brought on by God.  Both men were put on Earth by God and both men were given the ability to perceive the concept of God. What is good and what is bad?   Both adjectives dissolved and became one, and both the men simply were men.

                The image with the most meaning, for me, was when Noah looked up to the sky and a drop of rain fell underneath his eye.  Though this image was depicted in the preview, it was intensely symbolic and intensely philosophical.  What can I even say about that image?  The rain drop falls right where a tear would be.  This is the start of the flood. 

                Let's be honest, this was an apocalyptic film.  The film depicted an image of bodies piled up in the waters and the ark left to its own, unable to save them.   There really isn't much to say about a flood.  A flood is a flood, it kills people.

                But let's get to the point!!!  What contemporary issues did this film cover?  In my opinion, animal rights and LGBTQ rights.  If you want to know where it covered animal rights, just watch the beginning of the film.  And if you want to know where it covered LGBTQ rights, just watch the end of the film.  Noah is vegan in the film and says that power comes from the creator, not the consumption of animals.  And if you want to know why the film is about LGBTQ rights, just look at that rainbow!  In my opinion, that is why God sent the rainbow, to tell the humans not only that there would be not be another flood but to tell people that there would be LGBTQ people and that they are sacred just like the animals and the fellow humans.  A rainbow is simply a natural form of all the colors, stemming from light.  Light is the purest form of life, and the colors depict the diversity of creation.  All that LGBTQ means is the diversity of life, and what would our life be without the LGBTQ people?  So dull and boring.  A lot of people mindlessly defend their meat eating tendencies, but I hope this film, especially since it is mainstream and attracts a lot of Christian viewers, will bring some sensitivity into their lives and will influence them that it is spiritually uplifting to connect to the animals and think of them as beings with life along with us.  These are, to me, the two main contemporary issues that the film was covering.

                The main philosophical issue the movie covered was man's struggle.

                But overall, the movie is about family.  It is about family sticking together and making it through all the shit the God puts it through.  The human and animal family is so endearing and beautiful.  And in this movie, Noah's family goes through some shit, and they survive.  Noah is not just family with his close relatives (wife and kids), but is family with the animals.  That is what makes him "righteous".  It is a family that follows its natural path and makes God proud that endears.

Props to Darren Aronofsky.