33 lines
3.6 KiB
Plaintext
33 lines
3.6 KiB
Plaintext
part one of " the strangest movies ever made " series at www . mediajunkies . com
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by scott watson
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[light spoilers , nothing you shouldn't read]
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existenz has been called " a gooey matrix " , and while this is a correct description in some ways , in others it is completely off .
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the only thing the two films have in common is the idea of a virtual reality that is indistinguishable from normal , " real " reality .
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a major difference is that " the matrix " has a base reality that is obviously the true reality , while existenz does the impossible and makes us accept the most bizarre reality ever as true .
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and oh what a reality it is .
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david cronenberg has shown us before that he knows how to create strange movies ( naked lunch , crash ) , but this one is one of the strangest .
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maybe it's because of how the mundane is mixed with the bizarre .
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technology is organic , but only some of it .
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cars are normal .
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gas stations are the same .
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cell phones are glowing bug like appendages .
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you jack into a virtual reality game using a quivering pink gooey animal like apparatus ( referred to simply as a " pod " ) .
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high technology has been replaced with organic creatures , and it provides a truly surreal setting for the characters .
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a famous game designer , allegra geller ( a fine looking jennifer jason leigh ) , flees a demonstration of her latest game , existenz , after an assassination attempt .
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she is on the run ( from who , i'm still not sure ) , and has to save her pod by playing her game with " someone friendly " .
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that someone friendly is her dubious companion and security guard , ted pikul ( jude law ) .
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unfortunately he is lacking a fundamental requirement for playing , a bioport .
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sort of a hole in your spine ( ok , exactly like a hole in your spine ) , a bioport allows you to plug the vaguely entrail-looking wires from the pod into you , allowing you to play the game .
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luckily a bioport can be installed easily ( they install them in malls ) , so off they go to get one .
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after a crazy series of events at the local country gas station , they are able to plug in and play existenz .
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the plot itself is a surreal melding of conspiracies , reality distortion , chinese restaurants , and multi appendaged amphibian things ( " it's a sign of the times " ) .
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but the plot , while cohesive in it's own creepy way is secondary to just trying to figure out what the hell is going on in this universe .
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cronenberg just slaps this weird organic-tech world into the viewers lap , and it's up to you to figure out how all these things work .
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and that's the true joy of this film , entering the vaguely nightmarish world in which existenz takes place .
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you learn a little bit piece by piece ( oh , they make pods out of those ) , and it's just enough to get you to accept the world that is presented to you .
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there are all kinds of twists and turns as the characters wander around , including a fantastic scene in a chinese restaurant that will leave you trying to assemble something out of your moo goo gai pan for months afterwards .
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also the bioports are occasionally used for things other than porting into existenz , the specifics of which i will leave for you to discover .
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there's lots of little things that set off the weird-o-meter , like the little tiny pods that you can buy in the video game store , the two headed amphibian creature , and why that guy at the gas station's name appears to be " gas " .
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it all adds up to a supremely far out trip , and given the choice i think i would rather live in the matrix's virtual world . . .
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oh wait , i already do .
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