You Don't Want This: Lessons From Alex Garland's Civil War
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- Опубликовано: 1 май 2024
- Breaking down A24's dystopian war epic from writer/director Alex Garland
written, edited, and performed by Austin Archer
with original theme music by Austin Archer
www.austin-archer.com
www.austinarchermusic.bandcamp.com
www.patreon.com/austinarcher 
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Listening to you talking about films is cathartic. I was so affected by this movie and it was frustrating hearing shallow criticism of what people thought it was going to be instead of experiencing what it was. I like how you comment that Garland felt like he 'restrained' himself and i agree. He makes incredible films and they always leave me haunted. This one was no different.
its was mid and incoherent I can see how it could be so so good with just a few changes but it is simply lacking possibly one of his worst films in my opinion.
I wonder if avoiding the politics in the film is a commentary around the idea that who the 'good guy' and 'bad guy' is in a war is often not decided until long after the conflict is over.
History gets to pick the “Winner”…
Well Ghanks Khan won, history is pretty much against the butcher?
When the war is in your back yard, even if it doesn't take you or the ones you love, it takes your home. It's gone forever.
I watched a few minutes of this video, decided I wanted to watch the movie itself and bought a ticket to see it today... I cried the last 20 minutes of the film and it's the most impactful piece of media I've seen in a long time...
Excellent, Austin. You are getting really good at engaging a film on a personal level, without the usual critic-chatter that just tends to be surface. Thank you and I look forward to future explorations. So glad I discovered your work years ago (2?)…
What a fun world 2020 has become.
On a personal note, 2016 was the last year things seemed normal. From 2017 onwards it's just been one big shitshow with 2020 being the highlight.
As a person who has spent my whole life intentionally looking AWAY from horrible images, I appreciate this video a lot. I will read about terrible things but I really don't wanna see it. Having someone filter the horror into words is helpful because I now know what the movie is about and I don't have to see a guy getting burned to death in a tire before noping out of the theater.
Most thoughtful & interesting review of this film I've heard so far. Thx Austin. 🖖
This just sold me on watching the movie 👍 incredible as always good sir 😊
As super well-considered and thoughtful review. Much better than those folks who just do a bland recap.
I'm scared of this film. Thanks for talking about it.
Have you seen it yet?
@@josebro352 Not yet. I'm trying to balance the impact of it, so I will wait to see it on a smaller screen. I'm pretty sensitive, so I know I will react to it physically. I'm hoping less physical input allows me to watch the film and appreciate it without getting bowled over by my physical response to it.
I was worried about seeing this movie, and not sure I wanted to. Now I’m still worried about seeing it, but I want to. Not sure what that means, really, but thank you for the thoughtful criticism. Loved it.
I’d like to hear what you think about (garland’s stand in) lee mentally breaking during the final battle.
I was stunned by this film, however this is one of the most interesting takes on the role of observer and the observed. I feel Garland gives us enough information and context for us to make informed judgements: being "apolitical" and not taking sides allows the viewer to make their own insights without having to pick sides.
Don't forget Nick Berg.
You should really review films more!
Damn
I’m gonna saw this video but first I wanna say that i’m italian, the americans movies in this years are pretty.. delusional to me. Not all of them but like 70% of them in these years for me, yeasterday i saw civil war (I love A24 and the director has Made ex machina, a film that I love so I was intrested). It was really a breathe of fresh air, it has some small issues but overall I would really like to see more films like this all over the world
Sai se arriverà anche al cinema? Non ne ho visto il trailer in giro e dalle mie parti non ho manco trovato la locandina sui cartelloni che pubblicizzano i film in sala. Oppure è disponibile solo su piattaforme streaming?? Grazie mille in anticipo!
@@micol7490 Sisi è già al cinema da metà aprile in Italia, io sto a Parma e sono andato a vederlo avant’ieri
@@giovannibarra4417 da me forse non è ancora arrivato allora, oppure non lo portano proprio... Il guaio è che ho un multisala vicino e praticamente promuove solo grosse produzioni e film legati ai multiversi Marvel e DC. Cercherò comunque di recuperarlo. Grazie per la risposta
@@micol7490 figurati, ti consiglierei di farti un piccolo viaggio se puoi, vai in un cinema vicino a dove stai, ti prendi un pomeriggio magari, merita davvero una visione in sala, altrimenti aspetti lo streaming nei prossimi mesi
when we're not under direct threat or consequence, we're all sickos looking for a quick kick.
I saw just the trailer for this movie before Dune 2 and it almost caused a panic attack for me in the theater. I don’t think I can watch this movie.
Same here. Very cautionary…
It's funny, I thought the trailer was more haunting and disturbing than the actual movie, no lie. Austin's review valiantly makes the case for it, but I felt like, in spite of how technically well-made and how well-acted it is, it misses the mark and ultimately just doesn't have much to say. It doesn't even really feel like America? It kinda could be any country, and feels alien in a way that the trailer didn't.
@@RyanMichero honestly I feel that was kind of the point. You see this country that has recognizable landmarks, but nothing else is the same. People say that are fighting for America in the film, but America seems to no longer really exist.
This is why I don't watch the videos of police against bipoc (or any) people. There are people whose job it is to look, and me doing so isn't going to help me or anyone else. It just demoralizes me and then I feel hopeless.
Desensitization can lead to burn out and turn you into a doomer. If you get to that point, you need to leave the activism space and recover, because you can do more harm than good. Take the uni protests. If you're there and someone says, "okay now we should all write to our congressperson" and you shut them down, you need to take a break. You might believe nothing ever changes that way, but you're killing the hope and motivation of others towards a cause you care about. Voting/politics may be the least effective, but it's not *in*effective. It still matters. The cause you care about needs a diversity of tactics, and you pouring water on the passion newer people bring is counterproductive. Better to "yes, AND..." with those new, motivated people.
Later thoughts after rewatching your video: i guess i take the "i don't want to be shown, i want to know myself" to my obsession with the day-to-day of government, local and up, but I think that's better for furthering my advocacy than looking at the videos of violence and suffering. I read the bills and the court documents and watch the press briefings because I want to know ALL the context that news doesn't have the time to cover and summarize for the general public (often using headlines or sound bites that distort or over dramatize). It helps me form more coherent opinions and be better at discussing them with others.
Token Engagement
I entered the movie theater expecting a war movie that is like The Purge. I left the theater having watched a movie about War Journalism and appreciated A24/Garland movies more.
I've watched a lot of reviews of "Civil War" since I saw it in IMAX, the best way to get the full PTSD effect. Yours is one of the most original & insightful I've seen yet. I also blogged about the film, which to me has a magic mirror effect: it reflects what people project into it. (I'd be concerned for anyone who found it boring!) Garland gave us a movie no one asked for. I regard it as flawed, yet I still recommend it -- that's rare. I wrote a screenplay about a reporter covering the Spanish Civil War titled, "The First Casualty," which took a more realistic view of the way truth is weaponized in wartime. Garland meant to reach the widest audience with his sketchy political context, but as von Clausewitz said, "War is the continuation of politics by other means."
"I saw it in IMAX, the best way to get the full PTSD effect" 🤡
I do think people like Kyle Rittenhouse fantasize about events like this happening though
No one ever does, but sometimes it’s all that’s left.
Think you might be giving a bit too much credit to idiots who film concerts, but other than that
Who watches the watcher's watcher watching the watchees?
Super gross to see Andy Ngo’s name in the credits of a blockbuster movie. That alone was enough to sour me on Civil War tbh
Would a government organization be superior to a Non-Government Organization (NGO)? Or would you prefer a government official like Steve Mnuchin in the credits?
@@bryanrhodes369 Google Andy Ngo and then try again
Welcome to the State of Misery
if the problem people knew what "political violence" really meant for them and theirs, they would stop their bad faith cynical efforts to seize power no matter the damage to our society. They would engage in real discussion where they honestly try to understand the arguments being screamed into their faces for the 9000000th time. But they don't. I do know, but I also don't want to just live in a world with fascism firmly in control. I'd rather have the pain and chaos that comes from fighting over the pain and chaos that comes from quietly tolerating fascist criminality and violence for the rest of all of our lives.
edit for after I finished watching the whole thing
Yeah, I definitely do want it. I think we're fighting out the consequences of 500 years of brutal murder and oppression, and theft. I think its perfectly normal to try to avoid conflict and rationalize it but we're not going to get out of this by avoiding the fight. We dont even have the time thanks to climate change. We actually contribute to the status quo when we avoid looking, denying ourselves the opportunity to judge for ourselves what is right and wrong, and what we will tolerate. I won't tolerate gas chambers and concentration camps, and riot police stomping on our rights and our bodies, breaking our laws and our bones. I won't just watch, and take pictures. I will resist by any means necessary and all of you should too. When you're sharing these images, its because you want others to see this and think "we have to stop this." Not because you got the perfect angle on this man burning alive. But what is the point of sharing if you dont even care if it stops, and the audience doesn't look because its unhealthy to know what the real world is like? If you don't understand your responsibility to look, or to document and share, then there is no point in documenting it, and these people can just be brutally murdered in private with absolutely no consequences. The real world is a fucking nightmare because we avoid confronting it. its wealthy colonial privilege to prioritize your own comfort over the lives and deaths of millions of others.
This comment is kind of all over the place because I want to succinctly explain that my reaction to the uncertainty and discomfort of all the people feeling sick, and turning off the news and ignoring it and cooing gently at their pets in their nice comfortable homes is... disgust. I am disgusted by their reaction. If you don't feel the urgency to address our problems and conflicts, I'm seeing you as a major part of the problem. Basically I'm asking "what kind of American are you?"
Is your channel botted or something? How do you get so few views for your number of subscribers...?
Sorry not trying to be an a-hole or accuse/imply anything shady -- it's just confusing given the quantity and quality of your content and your numbers as they stand 🤔
Your guess is as good as mine. I don’t understand it. I think I make quality content and post regularly and the YT algorithm is just really spotty about pushing my stuff.
@@yourpal_austin sorry to hear that, wish I had advice to give you...hopefully one of em hits the trending page soon and more people can finally discover this goldmine of content! 🤞
Couldn’t help but finding myself disagreeing with almost all of your points and take aways from the movie. But it was interesting hearing a wildly different perspective.
Commenting before watching but I saw "Clvil War" yesterday and loved it but more importantly, among the previews were "Sing Sing" which your year-end review made me want to see, and "Horizon"! I said out loud "Austin's film!" To know one in particular