Epic, blockbuster, award winning, five stars etc etc etc. These are the words which are being associated with James Cameron's Avatar, mind you some of these words were associated before the film had actually been released in theaters.So what makes the film so special? why are people watching this film? what are the interpretations drawn from this film?
It's a story about an indigenous population of humanoids called Na'vi fighting against a large earth based corporation who are on Pandora for a metal called 'unobtainium' which apparently sells for 20 million USD per kilo. The Na'vi stand between unobtainium and the corporation. So the corporation has its own army who wants to take the resource by aggressive means. However a diplomatic solution is attempted through the Avatar program designed to have Na'vi bodies remotely operated by humans to gain trust and negotiate terms of their relocation. So, the negotiator, while negotiating with the Na'vi falls in love with their princess and fights against the corporation to kick them out of Pandora.
Now my intention was to give you a very simple description about the story, but tell me, all this while do you feel that this story seems all too familiar?
Does East India Company ring a bell ladies and gentleman? They had their own army, they came for our resources, we fought them, we were indigenous, we had our kings, queens and princess as well. This resource driven quest for power has been a strong feature of the westerners. No one in the western world has accepted this fact and probably never will but its ever present in their subconscious mind and Avatar is one of its interpretation.
Perhaps the most compelling quote from the film for me was when Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) says "they already killed their mother", he was referring to planet earth which we all know is going to be a hard fact very very soon.
Pandora is a dream world, so much nature on the screen in 3D made me feel so fresh. Those shades of green,blue and brown relaxes your mind gravely. I wonder if Mumbai was the same some 40-50 years ago. The graphics used is the best I have seen for quite sometime, notice the sweat on the characters face, notice the mud on their face as well kudos to the animators.
So Avatar is a must must must watch. It has deep connection to our history and also is a great entertainer. On a lighter note our Mangal Pandey may well be comparable to Jake Sully :-D but the fact remains Pandey is a real life character who died for our independence.
Cheers
Vin
