Posted by MutantMandias Dude, my advice to you is not to have kids if you can't accept a little crying after you shoot the guy in the face who is holding a knife to your son's throat, splattering the guys head all over your son's face, and then spend the next 8 hours lying in mud hoping not to get killed. That just comes with the territory.

As if that was the first time things like that would have happened... the film didn't start with them walking out of their front door and we can assume that his life has never been normal.

Like I said, it's a story about a man and a boy. The boy yearns for black and white, for a way to make sense of things. The man strives to do whatever he needed to to survive, AND give the boy what he needed.

Alright, but wouldn't it have been more interesting if they NEEDED to eat human flesh? Sure, the boy can yearn for black and white, but there needed to be more gray areas in the arena of the story. Maybe the family they meet eats people... maybe there's a soccer scene with a human skull. I just feel that there needed to be a little more blur than the out of focus shots of the map. Damn anywhere USA.

Meh. To me, there is nothing about Christianity or morality or free will in it. Being a "good guy" is about truly staying alive.

Alright, but consider that cannibalism might not be a moral choice to begin with (for the purposes of my argument against the film I'm putting it in the films own context of it being "bad"). Was Alive a story about the morality of cannibalism or a triumph of the human will to live? Under that code it would have been permissible for the father to feed the son human flesh, but conflict (the driving force of film) would have arisen when it met the son's good guy/ bad guy mentality.

Could have been a great film but it was squandered.

Posted by earthworm As if that was the first time things like that would have happened... the film didn't start with them walking out of their front door and we can assume that his life has never been normal.

Dude, I would probably spend a lot of time crying myself. That's the whole being alive thing I was talking about. The vast majority of the people in the story are alive and have survived, but they have all given up being alive. Being alive is not worth certain costs.

Posted by earthworm Alright, but consider that cannibalism might not be a moral choice to begin with (for the purposes of my argument against the film I'm putting it in the films own context of it being "bad"). Was Alive a story about the morality of cannibalism or a triumph of the human will to live? Under that code it would have been permissible for the father to feed the son human flesh, but conflict (the driving force of film) would have arisen when it met the son's good guy/ bad guy mentality.

Maybe you're not impressing me with your arguments simply because I don't think there is anything immoral about eating people. But, you know what, if I was in that situation, and my son had the conviction that eating people was bad, then I would probably try to keep that commitment to him.

Posted by earthworm Could have been a great film but it was squandered.

Yeah, the book was good. The movie was never going to be its own thing. Watch Mad Max.

Posted by MutantMandias Maybe you're not impressing me with your arguments simply because I don't think there is anything immoral about eating people. But, you know what, if I was in that situation, and my son had the conviction that eating people was bad, then I would probably try to keep that commitment to him.

I don't hold that its wrong to eat people, but I'm making the argument on the films own terms. The bad guys eat people = eating people is bad (in the films terms) Ok. simple. All I'm saying is that I wish that this was questioned and that question would have made it a more interesting and realistic film.

Dude, I would probably spend a lot of time crying myself. That's the whole being alive thing I was talking about. The vast majority of the people in the story are alive and have survived, but they have all given up being alive. Being alive is not worth certain costs.

Again, this is on the films own terms. The whole world is a certain way. That is the arena of the film. The kid was only in the arena after it shifted from our familiar world, but that seems to have carry no weight with his character. That goes against it's own frame work and the kid is still annoying as fuck.

Yeah, the book was good. The movie was never going to be its own thing. Watch Mad Max.

Watch Delicatessen: the kids are much less annoying and the cannibalism and suicide scenes are funny and smart.

Posted by earthworm Watch Delicatessen: the kids are much less annoying and the cannibalism and suicide scenes are funny and smart.

I saw Delicatessen when you were still shitting in your pants. I liked it.

Of course, if you want to get REAL, try Eating Raoul (1982).


I also enjoyed Parents (1989).

Posted by MutantMandias I saw Delicatessen when you were still shitting in your pants. I liked it.

You watched it yesterday too?

Nicely done, sir.

Posted by MutantMandias Dude, I would probably spend a lot of time crying myself. That's the whole being alive thing I was talking about. The vast majority of the people in the story are alive and have survived, but they have all given up being alive. Being alive is not worth certain costs.

Most cultures do view cannibalism as immoral, or at least "wrong" except in extreme cases of survival, and even then only as necessary. I think all of us (I hope so, anyway) would only resort to cannibalism as a last resort, and I think the movie reflects it. I just hope we never resort to cannibalism, because I'm well-marbled.

Posted by splumer I just hope we never resort to cannibalism, because I'm well-marbled.

Only fat people are well marbled.

Posted by dirt Only fat people are well marbled.

Posted by earthworm http://hphotos-snc...85200_918443_n.jpg

I stand corrected.

Posted by dirt Only fat people are well marbled.

Ding ding! Tell him what he's won, Johnny!

I'm not fat, but I could stand to lose a few.

Posted by splumer Ding ding! Tell him what he's won, Johnny! I'm not fat, but I could stand to lose a few.

Just keep in mind that there were no judgments there. It was a foodie joke.

Posted by dirt Just keep in mind that there were no judgments there. It was a foodie joke.

But enough about The Road...

finally watched it tonight and i'd give it an 8/10.

i read in this thread that someone said it wasn't bleak enough....umm what? the only time there was colour in this movie was either fresh blood, or the Del Monte labels when they came upon that bomb shelter. everything was grey, dirty, polluted, desolate, and destroyed. it was plenty bleak.

the performances were excellent i thought...Viggo in my opinion deserved a nomination, and the boy did a great job as well. whiny....ok yes he cried at times and had problems with some of his dad's decisions, but this is a child barely surviving in a world where there is no food, little shelter and definitely no semblance of what normal childhood entails that we've all taken for granted. oh no he whined and cried after having a mean man's blood splatter on his face from his dad shooting him.....the fuck? i think crying after something like that is pretty understandable.

i will say that this film will probably resonate more with those who have children, and especially fathers. i have a son very close to the age of the boy in the movie, and i can't fathom having to deal with the situation that Viggo did. teaching your son how to commit suicide is something i hope i will NEVER have to do.