The other film that filled the void of wonderfully thought out films was Armageddon Time. Something about these end of year films is really heartbreaking. It seems the mission of filmmakers is to see how hard they can make me cry and I love it. Film and television has always made me feel things very deeply, that's why it's the industry I want to work in. Armageddon Time is heartfelt, wonderful, painful and raw.
At its core the movie is about oppression, privilege, friendship and self-identity. Paul and his family, who are Jewish, are doing their best to navigate a world that still hasn’t accepted them, a world that would turn them away if they knew their ethnic background. Paul bonds with someone the worlds thinks of even less, Johnny. The young Jewish boy and the young Black boy learn some very difficult lessons about how the world works, and how it views their friendship. As a third party that very little of this story was directly applicable to what I found hard to watch was a family that overcame oppression actively participating in the oppression of someone else. The only character that seemed to learn the lesson of privilege was Anthony Hopkins' character.
Speaking of Anthony Hopkins' character, the very sweet, kind grandfather of Paul. He was really the glue of the film, he had such an incredible relationship with his grandson, he seemed to be able to temper Paul’s parents and he imparted very important life lessons to his grandson. When he got sick I was in fact bawling like a baby in the theater, holding my breath, thinking of my own grandfather laying in his hospital bed at that very moment. His death seemed to be the catalyst for everyone. Paul’s mom becomes withdrawn and very unable to deal with really anything. Paul is over existing in his house, he wants to run away from everything and be an artist.
The part that was the most relatable was Paul’s family’s reaction to him wanting to be an artist. His grandfather of course supported him, even buying him a nice paint set. But the rest of the family insists that he goes to school for something useful, reducing his interest in art to a hobby, or worse a distraction from his schoolwork. Though one could see where their coming from, from an empathetic standpoint; they’ve been through collective trauma, they want a better life for the younger generation blah blah blah, as an artist myself who wants nothing more than for other people to see the stories that I want to tell, having your head in the clouds is hard. It's even harder when there's no one on earth that believes in what you want to do.
I think what I loved structurally about this film is that it wasn’t strict, yes there was a clear three act structure but it really felt like two young boys trying to navigate the world around them and the filmmakers made sure that the audience could take that journey with them.
The ending was slightly ambiguous and very melancholy if not outright upsetting. It was realistic and it was raw, but it was very sad. That is the only thing that kills it's rating, not because movies can’t be sad but because I would have to be in a very specific mood to rewatch this film and therefore it kills it's rewatchability. Leaving its grand total at 8/10. The acting, and other fundamental elements were phenomenal and it was a true character study on living through biases through the eyes of a child and I don’t think race stories have been told quite like that before.
About the Creator
Alexandrea Callaghan
Certified nerd, super geek and very proud fangirl.
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