Jornal da Mostra
Nº 335 > 28ª Mostra > 17/05/2005
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Cannes 2005 - A space opera makes `Star Wars III` the best of a series of six
The saga is drawing to a close. Thirty-four years have elapsed since young George Lucas, in 1971, began to write what was to become the greatest success in the history of cinema and the greatest phenomenon in marketing for aggregate products. Whatever the reception for "Guerra nas Estrelas Episódio III: A Vingança de Sith/ Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith", the phenomenon of the series may be summarized quite simply in the fact that never has the cinema been able to gather together so many generations, one after the other, around one sole idea.When the first episode of the "Star Wars" series first came out - in fact, Episode IV, in May, 1977, the electronic industry was selling future digital equipment in the form of a `Betamax`. All in the universe of video is made to become obsolete and disposable in a very short space of time, and the partnership of "Star Wars" was topped in Cannes by a clever move from Sony, for the world première of "Episode III" - a flawless digital projection in the Lumière Great Auditorium (the huge projection hall was named after the French brothers who invented cinema in the form of exhibitions to the public). Time has worked in favor of the saga. And the power is indeed with George Lucas.
In his elaborate concept of a space opera, "Star Wars III" is enhanced with music by the renowned maestro and composer John Williams, who has worked with Lucas for 28 years, conducting the same London Symphony Orchestra as for the other five films in the series. "George Lucas", says Williams, "believes that sound may account for at least 50% of the experience felt by a spectator seeing the film." However, the experience of spectators in Episode 3 may go beyond the 50% - and beyond the imagination. The CD of the new film, launched in Europe one week before the film, includes a bonus, namely, a 70-minute DVD with the six legendary pieces of music by John Williams for the "Guerra nas Estrelas" saga.
The reader may well ask "And what about the film?". Difficult it is, indeed, to tell what percentage of the film must be reserved for its futuristic architecture, opera-like scenarios, space battles, costumes, duels with improved laser sabers, new creatures such as General Grievous, the robot leader of the separatist military, the senate in decô art, the unforgettable building of Darth Vader, as from this time, one of the great moments in the history of cinema. Poor old R2-D2 and C-3PO, the fascinating robots that played outstanding roles in former films in the series.
This time, there are so many novelties that are far more fascinating, that R2-D2 and C-3PO have inevitably been relegated to a posterior plane. There go another 50% of the credits for the film.
What credit, then, should be given to the principal character in the film with the long awaited revelation of how Anakin Skywalker falls into temptation with the forces of evil and assumes the personality of Darth Vader? What can be said of the battle between the titans Darth Sidious, Emperor Palpatine, and Obi-Wan Kenobi? What value should be attributed to the scenes of planet lava, with images of a battle superimposed on real scenes filmed on the Etna volcano in Italy? There`s no denying. This is really a film that rates 200% good.
Much has changed in the world since the release of the "Star Wars" series, in 1977. Poignant memories are in a calendar distributed to the press by the producers of the film here in Cannes. We are reminded of a sequence of events that are listed on the calendar: Elvis Presley died the same year, Sony launched "Walkman" in 1979, MTV originated in 1981, the first artificial heart transplant dates from 1982, Sally Ride was the first woman bound for outer space in 1983, the Challenger spaceship exploded on being launched in 1966; in 1988, George Bush was elected for the first time; the Berlin Wall and communism were brought to ruin in 1989, the first www (World Wide Web) browser was introduced in 1993, the sheep Dolly was cloned in 1996; in 2001, the United States suffered terrorist attacks; Brazil won the World Cup in 2002, the United States invaded Irak, and, in 2003, aviation celebrated its hundredth anniversary.
For good or for evil, the "Star Wars" saga is coming to an end with the message from any and all works of science fiction, namely, projecting into the future all that is good and evil that can be seen in humanity in the present days. Something the film did not count on and that does not appear on the time machine of the above-mentioned calendar, possibly because it is still very recent and that has accelerated since President Bush`s second election as President of the United States - the radicalizing of the antievolutionists in the U.S. To these radicals of faith who believe only in the science of the Bible, Darwin and his theories of evolution are a blasphemy to be abolished from American teaching. This retrograde and very frightening theme was broached in another film selected by the 58th Cannes Film Festival - "The King", by U.S. first-timer James Marsh, with Gael Garcia Bernal and William Hurt. Perhaps if George Lucas were to have started thinking up and writing "Guerra nas Estrelas" now, in 2005, instead of having begun in 1971, the antievolutionists might have managed to curb his space voyage of peace and war in the stars. His universe in expansion is a delightful invitation for expansion of the mind, a candid suggestion that we are not alone in the universe, that good must always triumph over evil, that egocentered humans seem pathetic in face of the immensity of the universe, and that we may not, after all, be God`s elect.
For further information:
www.festival-cannes.org
