Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
vs.
The Fisher King
Paradise Lost
Unlike the previous pairing I drew, this time around, I was really excited about watching both these films. The Thin Blue Line is one of my favorite documentaries and having watched Berlinger & Sinofsky's earlier film, My Brother's Keeper, I was pretty pumped at the prospect of watching this one (Disclaimer: I haven't gotten around to watching Part 2 of this documentary which came out much later.. I wanted to evaluate this part on its own merits). The West memphis 3 murder trial was back in the news towards the later half of 2007 and I was somewhat familiar with the subject matter as a result. However, that didn't at all take away from my enjoyment of the film. The 150-odd minutes really went by very quickly and I could have easily watched the two parts back to back. The filmmakers seem to have had amazing access to all the key players involved in the case from both sides. From strategy meetings to conversations between family members, I really felt like an invisible observer of the proceedings who could be at several places at once. My only gripe with the film , if at all, is the fact that i felt like the residents of this west memphis town were painted in really broad strokes and were being viewed with some condescension by the filmmakers. For instance, every resident in this town seems to have bad teeth and believe that wearing black and listening to rock music is equivalent to worshipping Satan. While I understand the blood thirst the residents must have felt at the time, I wondered why we didn't get to see anyone who questioned the lack of DNA evidence against the accused or the evidence against the stepfather. However, these are really things that occurred to me *after* watching the film .
The Fisher King
I absolutely loved this film when i watched it years ago and I wondered if it would stand up to the test time. In a way, I was hesitant to rewatch it afraid that the magic wouldn't work this time around and that i would lose the love I hold for this movie. Wrong. What can I say about a movie thats tragic, comic, whimsical, funny and strange - all at the same time. It's not a perfect film and I'm sure one can pick holes in it if one wants to (Robin Williams is too hairy for one thing :p). However, its such a fun cinematic experience that I tend to overlook all its flaws. Everybody seems perfectly cast and the movie still looks amazing.. manhattan even looks dark and medieval whenever Parry is going through one of his visions.
Verdict:
Just for the demonic fire-breathing red knight and especially for the scene where the subway station transforms into a ballroom and then switches right back to being a busy subway station, I have to move The Fisher King forward.