I finally got to watch Zach Braff's Garden State after waiting quite a while for it from Netflix. Popular movie I suppose. I loved it. I think Braff made a true movie that speaks to what's real for these people in a way that makes it possible to feel empathetic without feeling contriving and forced. The story is about coming home, awakening, feeling alive and falling in love. It was sweet and funny in the right (absurd) ways. The experience just felt understated and entrancing. A gem, really, for a first time director.

It's rare, these days, for an American movie to pull you in with subtlty and restraint. I'm talking about the movies that are smart and understated. Movies that tell stories that feel true and that allow the characters and actors to tell the story. Movies that resonate long after the credits roll. These are the ones I've been appreciating lately. Good, and probably underappreciated movies like All the Real Girls and Tully. There are also some brilliant darker movies that still stick with me as well. Dirty Pretty Things and Maria Full of Grace are examples that stand out. Realize that as a Dad to a homeschooled 4 year old there are lots of good movies I miss.

Another thing that this movie made me think about was how artists are influenced by other artists. I love catching movie references. In the closing sequence, the part where Large starts up the escalator and Frou Frou starts to play, I wonder if Braff is paying homage to Fellini? The image of him leaving his friends and father behind in that brief sequence is brilliant and so recalls for me that wonderful culminating moment in I Vitelloni. I can't believe I was even able to recall what movie that remind me of, but if this is who influences ZB, wow. He's in great company. In any case, the reference seems somehow apt for a film about leaving home, and by home I mean Sam, the one who makes him feel safe and at home. The circumstances and outcome are quite a bit different, however.

There's something wonderful about directors giving respect to those who came before them. At one point Braf even gives a nod to Orson Welles! Once in a while I catch these references and it somehow alters my understanding of them as artists, although you might argue that it shouldn't. It just gives me some clue of what may have possibly informed their art. (It also makes me feel somehow movie literate.) But, what do I know? He may not be referencing that film at all. Perhaps it was just a coincidence. If not, I wonder what else I missed in this film. Maybe watching the movie with the commentary on will give some clues, but the directors hardly ever mention these things in the commentary.

Anyway, it's a fun game we film lovers play. It may seem like some sort of elite thing. An insiders game. But when you love movies, you get a buzz out of catching those moments and being part of the dialog. For beginners, the game might be most easily accessible if you try to catch film references in The Simpsons. In senior seminar in Cinema Studies, I gave a presentation on this very topic using the Simpsons as my example. We were reading Roland Barthes and discussing textuality a lot, and I was trying to make some point about intertextuality and the cute games the writers/directors of The Simpsons play to utilize the language and imagery of film to tell their stories. It was a fun idea, but I didn't really make any weighty point about it.

Maybe the point for me is that all texts DO exist in the message received by the viewer as much as in the script and direction of the creators. This view allows me to be a participant in the artistic experience rather than a passive object to be filled with or bombarded by some message. Sadly, a lot of films do make me feel this way and it can be insulting. But Garden State wasn't that kind of movie.

I'm always looking for good movies like the ones above to watch when I can. As a busy parent, it's kind of important to be selective in what I watch because there is so little time. If I had my way, I would be able to get by on 4 hours sleep so I couild watch more movies, good and bad. This post is making me think of blog ideas that I'd like to see out there. Off to search Google for movie blogs.