the last story was a little weird, but i think it's because the Coen's simply exist on a higher plane than the rest of us
the last story is a
southern gothic ruminating on the relevancy (or even presence) of morality in an increasingly unknowable landscape. Are answers found in morality, the wild, are we just animals with a smidgen of self-awareness, or as the french armchair philosopher / poker player says, we're all looking for what we need and take it out of people any way we can. The Bounty Hunters of course represent the banality of evil and chance, bringing full circle the cycles of chaos seen through previous chapters. In a sense, they reminded me of a particular goofy-haired villain.
Loved the mystery of the driver too, a figure straight out of Poe.
This is pretty great btw, miles above True Grit. Then, I tend to enjoy "fucking around" Coens more than "masterpiece" Coens.
the last story was a little weird, but i think it's because the Coen's simply exist on a higher plane than the rest of us
the last story is a
southern gothic ruminating on the relevancy (or even presence) of morality in an increasingly unknowable landscape. Are answers found in morality, the wild, are we just animals with a smidgen of self-awareness, or as the french armchair philosopher / poker player says, we're all looking for what we need and take it out of people any way we can. The Bounty Hunters of course represent the banality of evil and chance, bringing full circle the cycles of chaos seen through previous chapters. In a sense, they reminded me of a particular goofy-haired villain.
Loved the mystery of the driver too, a figure straight out of Poe.
This is pretty great btw, miles above True Grit. Then, I tend to enjoy "fucking around" Coens more than "masterpiece" Coens.
-Vader
Would you say you’ve become more of a fan/appreciate the Coens more in recent years. If I recall correctly you very high on ILD as well.
Watched this yesterday, and the more I think about it the more I love it. Each character were so fascinating I could easily have watched them all for multiple seasons if it was a TV show.
Although I also had some issues understanding the last one. But Vaders explanation makes sense I guess.
And dammit, they need to give Delbonnel an Oscar soon. I think this is the best shot film I've seen all year.
^Same here. I immediately liked it after watching, but further thinking about it is... sort of elevating the whole thing even more for me lol? Reading what others thought is also a plus.
I like how all of the stories thematically can serve as commentary on human nature (morality, evil, etc.), but death as well (which may be a more simplistic and obvious “analysis” or just a mere observation), as in:
each segment can represent various facets of death, or death’s ‘indifference’ towards us, so to speak.
Which is why I think the last chapter ties the whole thing together superb. Also, something I saw a few people comment on, regarding “The Mortal Remains”:
is it dumb to think the bounty hunters were also meant to be a bit meta, and potentially represent the filmmakers themselves? They even tell us they aim to distract people with stories, stories people just “can’t get enough of”. Also saying something along the lines of “looking people straight into their eyes, while they’re trying to make sense of it” looking straight into the camera. Not to take away from any other explanations of the segment, just found this to be a bit funny if true.
Kinda would’ve wanted an actual Buster Scruggs film lol. Somebody compared it to Looney Tunes and I can’t get that comparison out of my head. Scruggs is totally like a psycho Bugs Bunny.
Liked this a lot. Franco’s story was pointless though.
it's not, it's as important as any of the others (weakest though)
-Vader
What am I missing beyond the surface?
idk how familiar you are with the coens themes and all but the division between happenstance and divine intervention / fate is basically their sex
you see this through all their work, is a very major theme in Scruggs, and Franco's story emphasizes this the most specifically. Franco's continually changing set of circumstances are Russian Dolls of upended status quos, where people gain the upper hand as trivially as they lose it