Two great movies which are almost the same movie. Dry spells between good movies seem to grow longer and longer. Of course the fads that I excuse probably become less and less as the evils I won’t excuse probably grow. But I’m not sure it’s me, I think it’s Christianity losing it’s grip on us. But then there’s Passengers and Palm Springs
Both movies employ a conceit in which two people are basically alone in a world full of other people. There is a third character in each which appears briefly as a sort of sounding board/comic relief. Like most good art, spoilers aren’t a thing. In Passengers two people are alone on a ship full of thousands of people, all hibernating. While in Palm they are stuck in a sort of Groundhog’s Day. In both cases the men were first into the pool and a sort of guide for the female. The men had to come to terms with the reality of aloneness in a harsh world, and then admit that it was not good for man to be alone. And then they set about getting a woman.
In Passengers it is a sort of Snow White image, while in Palm it is a playful accident. The main conflict seems to center around whether or not Snow White wants to be woken up. I find movies that have large disparities on rotten tomatoes between the audience and the critics, very interesting. Passengers is one of these. And I think the reason is that it holds to typical male and female roles while Palm takes the populist road and tries to be egalitarian. I overlook the egalitarianism because Palm is very funny, like actually funny. In Passengers I overlook that they never had a child, though they bear other fruit. Our culture is still pretending that men and women are the same which is really annoying. But I don’t really care if Snow White wanted to be woken up. Men are supposed to disrupt a young lady’s course in life. It’s always better when that happens, just ask the audience. And that’s it, deep down we all know how it’s supposed to work. Chris Pratt actually lays down his life for his woman and for others. And Jennifer Lawerence takes care of him. He has a mission, and she gives him more of a mission, while following. In both movies, the situation forces the man to realize that just trying to survive is no way to live. Man must have a woman to build for and to jump into the void with.
Despite the growing alphabet we are told is tolerance, a man and wife are two become one who face the world alone in a fundamental way. Whether on a space ship full of sleeping colonists and robots or in a day that only repeats for you. No matter the circumstances, there is always conflict, human failings, trials, and romance. A man wakes up a woman from her slumber, which wasn’t all that great to begin with and battles with her and for her to the death. On a space ship or in a repeating world, there is no way out. This used to be how we viewed marriage and it worked. Two people forced to work it out and share the same bed, become better people and raised healthy kids. Today there are so many easy ways out. But taking the easy way out has it’s consequences in increasing suicide and troubled children. We need the old ways back. Who saves who, husband or wife? Who cares? God save us all. And for the little glimpses of goodness still on the silver screen.
