Note: I wrote this before I made my WALL-E video review. Most of you who have seen it may notice some of the overlap. I've posted this for those who feel I should elaborate further on why I think this film is the best of the last decade. I hope this is helpful.
Ever since I first saw 2001: A Space Odyssey, films that dwell on man and his place in the universe, are of great importance to me. I've always admired films that dealt with the human condition, but Stanley Kubrick's science fiction masterpiece, made me realize how insignificant human matters are in the face of creation. Dr. Manhattan describes it best in WATCHMEN, "... the existence of life is a highly overrated phenomenon."
Yet here we are, trying to survive in a speck of a solar system, with only a few who are aware of our inconsequence. It's those people who ask, will we continue to move on, and become more conscious of reality's workings? Will our creations, which are now beginning to achieve the first semblances or representations of human logic, further us or outlive us? These are questions that fascinate me most.
The noughties were a decade that seemed to focus on our decline. War, terrorism, environmental degradation, oppressive governance, and economic decline seemed to define the first 10 years of the 21st century, hardly close to what we were thinking of when the word 'future' was mentioned a few decades ago. This regression in human progress, has resulted in the focus of human regression in film. Vengeance was a major theme. Comedies which focused on male arrested development flourished, while those that dealt with women were further pushed into the background. And every so often a documentary would come out showing the consequences of man's dismissiveness towards his environment.
There were of course exceptions to the rule, but none more exceptional than WALL-E; a film marketed as a cute children's film, but with ambitions that couldn't have been more ground-breaking. It has a generosity and spirit that is rarely found among its contemporaries. It is futuristic, but relies on a classical style of filmmaking. Its prime characters are completely artificial, yet they achieve an emotional purity that New York Times film critic A.O. Scott perfectly describes as "Chaplinesque." It criticizes our mass consumerism, without telegraphing emotions, being cynical, or lecturing. And it stares fearlessly into the abyss of our near extinction, but leaves us feeling awash in powerful emotions of sweetness, warmth, and most importantly hope. It is one of the great cinematic achievements.
One of the film's obvious assets is its incredible use of special effects. The lighting, texture, and depth evident in the film's first few scenes of an abandoned city are breathtaking and strikingly realistic, thanks to famed cinematographers Roger Deakins (favorite of the Coen Brothers) and Dennis Muren (a collaborator of George Lucas, James Cameron, and Steven Spielberg). The level of detail is overwhelming but its display is restrained and disciplined. Different story locales aren't just shiny colorful new places as other animated films would practice. Each setting has a distinctive feel.
Notice the depth of the deserted empty streets, colored in different shades of yellow and brown, only to show the distinctiveness of a plant Wall-e discovers for the first time. The shipyard where Wall-e and Eve introduce each other, which feels inhospitable, rusty and radioactive. Wall-e's home which has an affectionate Christmas-like decorative feel. The light, breezy atmosphere within the Axiom which seems to be perpetually clean, but not clinical. With this level of technical mastery, one could even argue that WALL-E was the best CGI film of its kind before AVATAR came along.
For a film set in the future, the film is a loving celebration of things past. It uses film clips from the 1969 musical "Hello Dolly!" Though considered a passable film by most, WALL-E uses it to touching effect. Through Dolly's songs and images, Wall-e realizes his solitary existence, and learns a very innocent notion of love. The film also uses Louis Armstrong's rendition of La Vie en Rose and an 80s pop-themed score to lovingly lens Wall-e's attempts to woo Eve.
In terms of style, pretty much the entire portion of the film where WALL-E is on screen could be treated as a silent film. Its filmmakers were required to watch Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin clips (and a little bit of Harry Lloyd) everyday for almost a year during film production. One can credit this mastery of body language to those films of old, but it's another thing entirely to translate narrative and human emotions to what are technically mechanical and electronic objects.
How would you make a trash compactor cute, nervous, or startled? Let alone curious, plucky, innocent and hopelessly in love? How would you make a shiny Apple-like egg-shaped robot seem excitable, irritable, brave, and sweetly amused? Wall-e and Eve have no lower limbs, no elbows, no mouths, no eyebrows to communicate what the story needs to say, and yet the film expresses their traits and feelings, effortlessly. Pixar seems to be saying you only need the eyes, maybe just one if you count MONSTERS, INC.
And when it comes to the embodiment of human qualities, their portrayal here achieves a basic yet powerful emotional integrity. How strangely wonderful that two machines, one a rust-bucket with tank treads for feet and binoculars for eyes, the other as shiny slick as an iPod, would convey such unique personalities, such unforced, unaffected nobility, and feel so perfect for each other. I can't tell you how amazed I was when I was praying for Eve to revive Wall-e after a seemingly hopeless situation. And even more amazed by how I was moved to tears when the final love song was played, seeing both of them finally hold hands. Despite WALL-E's obvious themes of ecological destruction and mass consumerism, its distinguishing human characteristics allow it to be one of the sweetest love stories of the past few years.
What I found even more poignant was Wall-e's apparent fascination with the remnants of humanity's creations. He collects different objects and devices, puzzled by their functions and purpose. Whether or not he is aware that he himself is a product of human ingenuity, it is touching nonetheless to know that he values what we have created, since we ourselves have lost sight of what we have achieved, how far we've come, and what potentials we still have unrealized.
The film also has moments of stylistic brilliance worth mentioning. It's opening sequence of the vast majesty of space, played alongside Michael's Crawford's "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" inspires a sense of discovery and wonder. And yet when panning to the bleak and filthy desolation of Earth filled with skyscrapers of trash and smoggy mists, the film seems to say, "What a waste we've made, and what a waste we have been." Its moments were Wall-e touches the rings of Saturn, or his "flight dance" with Eve outside the Axiom, provides that rare combination of beauty and emotional satisfaction. The film's musical score, composed by the always excellent Thomas Newman, is alive, distinctive and expressive, providing a sense of futuristic naivete and wonderment. And the film's end credits, with an inspiring Peter Gabriel, are exquisite, presenting man's future history, working to restore what he destroyed with the help of his sentient creations, all told through Paleolithic, Impressionist, and Video game art styles. It's final image of Wall-e and Eve looking at a shoe-grown tree, speaks on so many levels as to what man can do.
How Andrew Stanton, director of FINDING NEMO (probably the first great CGI animated film of the 21st century) brought all of this together, is nothing short of a miracle. His work here is one of the great feats of film direction.
WALL-E is by no means a perfect movie. At times it becomes too cute and indulgent. But it earns the right to do so, because of how it tells its story, and by how much it cares for its characters. And besides, once you've seen its indulgences, what indulgences they are! I've heard of complaints of scientific accuracy and boredom in the film's first hour. Of the former I can say that some liberties have to be taken at the expense of realism to tell a more effective story (sometimes it works and sometimes not). As for the latter, that worries me. Since the advent of sound in film, many filmmakers tend to rely too much on dialogue for exposition. If audiences do not know how what his happening or cannot hold attention in a movie because nothing is being told to them, then we are losing part of our humanity.
Humanity. You see that word a lot in this review. Even though the film doesn't involve people per se, it has nothing else on its mind. There are other great films that show what we are losing, such as A.I., AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, CHILDREN OF MEN. But WALL-E, perhaps because of animation's very nature of being able to filter through the very basics of human characteristics and emotion, manages to enhance the significance of our very end. Imagine that. Two human creations, through their own awareness, use the best of human traits, such as bravery, love, and commitment, to save us from ourselves.
When Stanley Kubrick gave his story A.I. for Steven Spielberg to direct. Perhaps he felt there was hope for us yet. Maybe he didn't know how to portray it in a humane sensibility the way Spielberg skillfully does. What I felt Kubrick was implying in that film was that humans won't make it, but our creations will carry the best of humanity forward, somehow being a more perfect blend of intellect and emotion.
A.I. and WALL-E both involve robots living in a world where man has left the Earth. The former was about the end of man and what comes next. WALL-E is more hopeful saying, we'll be here, and we'll see what comes next.
With that I leave the film's final lyrics. Though they sing about love, because of Wall-E's and Eve's exploits, they turn into something else, as WALL-E ends with final images of a devastated Earth finally growing vegetation, with a returned human race, and the great unknown that lies ahead.
And that is all, that love's about
And we'll recall, when time runs out
That it only, took a moment
To be loved, a whole life long
Mr. Mirasol, this is probably one of the best "Wall-E" reviews I have ever read (and I've read a lot). I can't express how good this blog post is. In two words : simply perfect.
I tried to watch your video review of "Wall-E" but somehow the link doesn't work. Actually it does but all I get is the page itself with an error on the actual video.
I loved the references to "2001: A Space Odyssey" and as you said the fact that life is overrated. The fact that you linked this with one of my favorite movies of all time, "A.I." made it an even better post. Both are two of the greatest scifi masterpieces since the grandfather of all scifi movies, "2001:A Space Odyssey".
Best Regards,
Wael Khairy
Thank you Wael for being so kind. I'm honored to have such compliments coming from a critic such as yourself. :)
Also glad to see how we both agree on our philosophical beliefs on the films you mentioned.
What an eloquent piece, Michael. It evoked everything I felt while watching Wall-E, and provided so much insight further into its context. I can't imagine a better, more thorough review on this film. It is a story of hope and love, above all else, and through the simple grace of two little man-made creations, it showcases the humanity that we so often overlook in our technology-filled existence.
Just lovely.
Thanks Grace. It's nice to hear that coming from you.
You're most welcome my friend. Philosophical scifi movies are usually the ones that turn out to be great..."Dark City" being an obvious one. Scifi does not need to mean aliens and space battles, I prefer (like you) movies that make me think about existence and what it means to be human.
I second Wael's comments and will add that when I saw this movie for the first time, on a large screen TV, I thought, "I wish I had seen this in the theater," as it really needs a huge screen to be the most effective.
Having said that, this movie also makes a good case for Blu-Ray. And now that I've read this review, man, I want to see it again!
And then Pixar comes out with Up, which also has a great silent montage in it. My hope is that children will watch these films and rediscover film techniques (like the use of silence) that are not employed as often as they should be nowadays, and reject garbage like Transformers II, which I will have to take at everyone's word as garbage, since I don't want to tread within five feet of that film.