Schindler's List made me angry. The more emotionally manipulative and anvilicious it got, the angrier I got.

The weird thing is, this is how I felt the first time I saw it. But the second time, I got all involved the the story of the two men, Schindler and whstever the hec the name of Ralph Fiennes character was, and it was after I read the book upon which it was based. And I found their story and their essential sameness interesting (see above), but I am not sure how much of that was the influance of reading the book.

I...admired (like is SO not the word) Schindler's List up until Schindler's breakdown at the end (and the coda), when it felt like it was trying too hard. The red coated girl didn't ping me the same way, but that's probably because she gave me flashbacks to DON'T LOOK NOW, which I'm pretty sure was NOT Spielberg's intention.

I'm the same way with SPR (much as MM said above). But as far as Spielberg goes, EMPIRE OF THE SUN blows them both away.

But as far as Spielberg goes, EMPIRE OF THE SUN blows them both away.

Speaking of which, I just read Ballard's follow-up memoir The Kindness of Women and it's fantastic. Heartbreaking too. But if you're familiar with his work you get to meet the real life characters that inspired Crash and you see the slow development of his thematic interests. My favorite section might have been when he was in the RAF in Saskatoon. Beautifully written. His stint in medical school and his love note for his cadaver is also a gorgeous piece of writing.

Schindler's breakdown at the end

This is the scene that made me cry the second time I watched it.

Does THE PIANIST count?

That was a brutal movie. I feel like it wasn't manipulative on purpose; it was just so unflinchingly objective about the whole thing that it hurt.

On an unrelated note:

One thing I've been noticing more and more lately is books...honest to God published books...using the phrase "should of" rather than "should've".

It's making me fucking NUTS!!

Is this common now? Is this acceptable now? WTFF?!?!?!

Is this common now? Is this acceptable now? WTFF?!?!?!

Publishing has changed and books often don't get edited. Just copyedited. And then not always by a very good copyeditor. So, it's due mostly to cost cutting, I think.

I see a lot of people "pouring over" some deep thought. Always makes me wince. Except for when it's funny.

I've never seen The Pianist, but I've read that Roman Polanski is reportedly one of the inspirations for the young protagonist of Kosinski's The Painted Bird. I can only assume that he would have a pretty fucked-up take on the Holocaust.

The amount of history my parents prepped me with just laid the foundation for me collapsing when presented with a half-decently told tale of racial cruelty in the deep south, the middle passage, and then by extension up through any genocide. I don't know if Amistad was a good movie. It doesn't matter that I've seen more graphic. Sitting in the theatre watching Djimon's character swim towards the sun made it all hit all over again.

I feel like it wasn't manipulative on purpose; it was just so unflinchingly objective about the whole thing that it hurt.

"Unflichingly objective" is a pretty good description of Polanski's best work. With The Pianist, he also had some personal connection with the subject, which I'm sure added to that trait.