One Hour Photo¶
475 words on Films
Leif, 
Claus and me saw One Hour Photo in the cinema tonight. Just from the specs you wouldn't expect much here - a Hollywood film, i.e. some combination of special effects, a high body count and kitsch and Robin Williams who - at least in my memory - is known for kids films and cheap comedy stuff. But it was none of the above.
Robin Williams is 'Sy', working at the photo counter of a huge supermarket for over a decade. He is obsessed with photos, taking a good look at all of those he develops. He's particularly attached to one family and keeps copies of all their photos, sort-of stalking them in that way. Then two bad things happen: He gets fired and - looking at some other customers photos - realises that the husband is cheating on his wife...
But 
the film seems much more than the story alone. It's very carefully filmed and edited. It seems all about colour. You've got the supermarket with its bland colours and work uniforms - no dark colours just occasional bright colourful spots there. On the other hand there's the perfect life of that family. Warm colours all over. The colours are strong as well. The photography of the people and their home looks like they've just jumped out of a copy of Wallpaper.
That difference in colours stresses the difference of their lives - and today's society (uh, this sounds like pretentious crap!) as well. There are the Haves and the Have-Nots, the Eloi and the Morlocks it all still works today. But no matter whether it's the real world, the Time Machine, Fight Club our your One Hour Photo counter - always keep in mind that it's the Morlocks who care for your children, do your work and develop your snapshots.
And 
while modern corporate culture may try to surpress it, it remains a fact that the Morlocks are human as well and they tend to hate or grow attached to the people they work for. It turns out, either way, you're gutted.
Other random thoughts:
- Have you ever seen a supermarket where they're actually good at developing photos?
- Some of the photos shown in the film were really nice, they had matching colours as well
- Taking photos of 'insignificant' things is a good thing
- It's hard to find something on Google if there something new with same name: I tried to find a good link for H.G. Wells Time Machine but all references pointed to that bad new film version of the book.
- From certain angles, Michael Vartan looks disturbingly like Tom Cruise
We are all afraid of so many things.
We're afraid of loneliness and sickness and of dying.
Of being poor or unhappy or being ugly.
But most of all, we are afraid of being forgotten.
