Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Donnie Darko: Director's Cut

So I was doing laundry and watching HBO, and this goofy teen movie comes on about this troubled teenager who is hallucinating and seeing a giant rabbit, and this kid believes in time travel. I thought, sounds stupid, another teen movie. But I watched it as I was sorting, ironing. then suddenly the movie got really twisted - it looked like the world was ending! His hallucinations proved to be real! And then he travelled through time and the movie ended and I thought: WHAT DID I JUST SEE??? Couple years later I see that Donnie Darko has been released again (original date 2001) and this Director's Cut version is playing at the Oaks Theater in Oakmont Pennsylvania (across the Allegheny from me: really cute town). The Oaks is an art deco theater, lovingly preserved. This time I went prepared for a real cult classic. I saw it again and was still confused about the meaning of the movie. I checked out some message boards. I also purchased the Donnie Darko book, and it contains the complete Roberta Sparrow "The Philosophy of Time Travel." Then I saw the movie yet again (third time). I finally got it - a movie about love, sacrifice, free will - wow! I saw it twice more for a total of five times. I will be showing it in my political film class, because it is set behind the backdrop of the Dukakis/Bush Presidential race. You got to see this film!

No comments: