1032 – The Last Samurai (2003)

timespace coordinates: 1876 – 1877 California > JapanThe Last Samurai is a 2003 American period action drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz. The film stars Tom Cruise, who also co-produced, with Timothy Spall, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Koyuki, and Shin Koyamada in supporting roles.

SONY DSC

Tom Cruise portrays a United States Captain of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, whose personal and emotional conflicts bring him into contact with samurai warriors in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in 19th Century Japan.

1877 — In 1877, nine years after the Meiji Restoratin, a major rebellion in Kyushu concentrated the opposition of conservative elements to the westernization of Japan. The traditional forces, including for example samurai infuriated at no longer being allowed to carry swords, were defeated by the new conscript army. Thousands were executed. Here the brave new officers in their western-style uniforms accept the surrender of un-uniformed rebels. — Image by © Asian Art & Archaeology, Inc./CORBIS

The film’s plot was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigō Takamori, and the westernization of Japan by foreign powers, though in the film the United States is portrayed as the primary force behind the push for westernization. To a lesser extent it is also influenced by the stories of Jules Brunet, a French army captain who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War and Frederick Townsend Ward, an American mercenary who helped Westernize the Chinese army by forming the Ever Victorious Army. (wiki)

imdb   /  Criticism and debate

1025 – Jeanne d’Arc (1999)

timespace coordinates: France 1429 – 1431 (Hundred Years’ War)

Percival, about the Maid of Orleans:
The girl is of appealing beauty and manly bearing; she speaks little and shows remarkable sagacity; when she speaks she has a pleasing, delicately feminine voice. :{…} her tears often overflow; she loves a happy face, endures unheard of toil, and is so assiduous in the manipulation and bearing of weapons that she remains uninterruptedly for six days — day and night — in full armour.

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d’Arc) is a 1999 French epic historical drama film directed by Luc Besson. The film stars Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman. The screenplay was written by Besson and Andrew Birkin.

http://www.kommunicera.umea.se/hemma/mathias/

The Messenger portrays the story of St. Joan of Arc, the French war heroine and religious martyr of the 15th century. The story begins with young Joan as she witnesses the atrocities of the English against her family, and she is portrayed as having visions that inspire her to lead the French in battle against the occupying English forces. Her success in routing the English allows Charles VII to take the throne. Eventually Joan is captured by the English, tried and executed for heresy.

Luc Besson stated that he was not interested in narrating the history of Joan of Arc; rather, he wanted to pull a message out of history that is relevant for today. (read more: Themes)

Historical accuracy

imdb

---

“Regardless of what Joan of Arc said about the appearance of the higher beings in her visions, the occultist who is able to investigate these things knows that it was always the genius of the French nation who stood behind them.” (rs)

1024 – The Golden Compass (2007)

timespace coordinates:  parallel universe – Victorian Jordan College in Oxford >  retrofuturistic London > experimental station Bolvanga – far North

The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film based on Northern Lights, the first novel in Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials. Written and directed by Chris Weitz, it stars Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, and Ian McKellen.

The film depicts the adventures of Lyra Belacqua, an orphan living in a parallel universe where a dogmatic ruling power called the Magisterium opposes free inquiry. Children in that universe are being kidnapped by an unknown group called the Gobblers who are supported by the Magisterium. Lyra joins a tribe of sea-farers on a trip to the far North, the land of the armoured polar bears, in search of the missing children.

Before its release, the film received criticism from secularist organisations and fans of the His Dark Materials trilogy for the dilution of elements of the story which were critical of religion, as well as from some religious organisations for the source material’s anti-religious themes. The studio ordered significant changes late in post-production, which Weitz later called a “terrible” experience. Although the film’s visual effects won both a BAFTA and an Academy Award, critical reception was mixed and revenue lower than anticipated.  The film trilogy has not been continued, prompting actor Sam Elliott to blame censorship and the Catholic Church. (wiki)

Video game  The game was released prior to the film and features a slightly different sequence of events towards the end of the story, as well as additional footage at the end of the game not seen in the film. (playthrough)

---

Controversies   /  Cancelled sequels 

imdb   /   His Dark Materials (TV Series 2019– )

---

1754 – La Belle Sauvage (2017 novel)

1793 – The Secret Commonwealth (The Book of Dust #2 – 2019)

---

1021 – Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985)

timespace coordinates: distant future – subterranean Mine-World / planet Trinia

Starchaser: The Legend of Orin is a 1985 animated science fantasy film directed and produced by Steven Hahn, and written by Jeffrey Scott. It was originally released in 3D by Atlantic Releasing. Starchaser: The Legend of Orin was one of the first animated movies to mix traditional and computer animation, as well as one of the first to be released in 3D.

imdb

1011 – The House That Jack Built (2018)

timespace coordinates:  1970s and 1980s  Washington.

!extreme violence!

The House That Jack Built is a 2018 psychological horror art film written and directed by Lars von Trier, starring Matt Dillon in the title role of Jack. The story follows Jack, a serial killer, over the course of 12 years in the 1970s and 1980s in the U.S. state of Washington. The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, marking von Trier’s return to the festival after more than six years. (wiki)

The shot of Jack and Verge standing in a boat strongly resembles the painting “La Barque de Dante” by Eugène Delacroix, which was in itself influenced by “The Raft of the Medusa” (Le Radeau de La Méduse) by Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault. (read more: trivia)

von Trier described the film as celebrating “the idea that life is evil and soulless”.

imdb   /   rottentomatoes

1005 – Mysterious Skin (2004)

timespace coordinates: summer of 1981 > Christmas Eve 1991 Hutchinson, Kansas / New York City

Mysterious Skin is a 2004 Dutch-American drama film directed by American filmmaker Gregg Araki, who also wrote the screenplay based on Scott Heim‘s 1995 novel of the same name.

Mysterious Skin tells the story of two pre-adolescent boys who are sexually abused by their baseball coach, and how it affects their lives in different ways into their young adulthood. One boy becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous male prostitute, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction. (wiki)

The film score was composed by Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie.

imdb

---

1002 – Lo imposible (2012)

timespace coordinates: 2004 Khao Lak, Thailand

The Impossible (Spanish: Lo Imposible) is a 2012 disaster drama film directed by J. A. Bayona and written by Sergio G. Sánchez. It is based on the experience of María Belón and her family in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The cast includes Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and Tom Holland.

response from victims   /   imdb