The Existential Flower

Progress - 10/300
Magnolia
Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

Alright, I've changed my mind about P.T. Anderson.  This film blew me away.  As a recommendation from a Mr. Gasser after having seen Punch Drunk Love and admitting my dislike for any of the previous films of his, but I completely retract my sentiment.  This guy has a lot to say about the human condition, and the meaning of it all.

So, you cannot talk about Magnolia without talking about it's big picture storyline.  What does it all mean?  I feel like this film completely takes a side in existentialism that indicates that things are not predetermined in life.  The characters from the very beginning don't end up where they are by coincidence.  They have made conscious decisions that have affected where they are in their lives.  At many points the characters are at forks in the road, and where they choose to go intertwines and causes this 2 and 3 degree separation of their paths.

I really liked Mr. Partridge's speech from his death bed on regret.  If life in fact is directed by decisions and is not some predetermined path that we will one way or another fall into, then we cannot not regret decisions.  Those decisions could have taken us somewhere else completely.  Maybe these words don't hit home with everyone, but with my big move next week coming up, it really did for me.  Making the decision to move to Austin is a game changer, and with anything like that in anyone's lives, you know at some point, you will look back and say, what if I hadn't...  Everyone has that.

And the frogs.  It turns out this raining frogs thing has in fact happened, believe it or not.  Probably not quite that extreme, but it's in the record books.  But the Exodus 8:2 references throughout the film seemed to be a nice touch of foreshadowing.  There were quite a few times when I'd see an 8 and a 2 and just think, what?  Until, of course, I saw the full reference in the crowd in the TV studio.  So, really, what does it all mean?  Something this epic happens in someone's life, now what?  It's a nice question to leave.

So, some amazing storytelling.  A great plot and the three dimensional characters that P.T. is known for. This was a great watch, and I feel like anyone with some time on their hands should see this film, and if you have before, pop it back in the DVD/BRD player and have yourself a second view.  I know I will.

Run Time 188 min + 1043 previously viewed = 1231 minutes