9/2/2023 0 Comments Lina city of emberKenan’s palpable affection for his central creation is so strong that once we’re gasping fresh air, we want to dive back in, get to know Ember’s intriguing denizens better and properly explore its claustrophobic hinterland. You hope for an underground odyssey all you get is Ember… and out! The bad guys, headed up by Bill Murray’s disingenuous, pot-bellied mayor, never deliver up the threat. Mysteries remain unsolved (what’s with the outsize creepy-crawlies?) exciting action sequences are seemingly promised (a conflict with baddies on an impossibly high ladder!?) but fail to materialise. Here, though, Kenan reveals where there’s room for improvement: story-wise, the film only feels about two-thirds there. The moral isn’t hard to spot, especially when its adult population are portrayed as apathetic, corrupt, disillusioned or blindly grasping to ill-founded faith it’s up to inspired young heroes Lina and Doon to solve the puzzle left by Ember’s mythical Builders and escape their crumbling home. We’re introduced to this subterranean mini-metropolis’ decrepit charms via an astonishing aerial shot which wheels down from hundreds of dangling, flickering lamps to reveal humanity’s last hope, whose doom is contained within its very own DNA (or rather, town planning).Ĭity Of Ember is full of such sprightly visual thrills, and is packed with delightful incidental details that reveal a society making-do with dwindling resources. Ember is a decaying, dank urban jumble of crumbling redbricks, rusting lampposts and bleeding pipes, the kind of fantasy-sci-fi-retro world realised by Terry Gilliam in Brazil or Jeunet and Caro in The City Of Lost Children. However, her little sister, Poppy, has chewed up quite a bit of the document and left holes in it, leaving Lina struggling to. The young protagonists, Lina Mayfleet and Doon. In The City Of Ember, Lina has discovered an important document. Kenan has talked about his titular conurbation as the main character, and it’s clearly the one he loves most. The story is about Ember, a post-apocalyptic underground city threatened by aging infrastructure and corruption. On one level - and it’s a very important one - City Of Ember, based on Jeanne Duprau’s novel, is a triumph. So now we come to his second film: gone is the mo-cap, but the ’80s kids’ adventure vibe remains. With its ’80s kids’ adventure vibe and whirling, mo-cap style, Kenan marked himself out as a tyro who could tune in to a smart script and turn it in to an fairground-style entertainment, chills, spills and all. Yet despite the dire situation, Lina remains optimistic, telling Doon: "Whatever happens to us now, it's better than what's going to happen there.Gil Kenan’s Monster House was a beacon, flashing out across a darkness in which lurked faceless, franchise-spawned blockbusters, its sadly underappreciated luminance announcing: here is a new talent. With her bravery and willingness to help others, Lina is a good friend to have, especially now that Ember seems in trouble. A strange box in her grandmother's closet may hold answers, but first Lina has to figure out what it means. Doon thinks the answer lies in fixing the generator, but Lina's not so sure, since that would only fix the shortage of electricity, not food. Although Ember was created by the Builders as a refuge from the war aboveground, these days, it's seeming more apocalyptic than anything above could be. Lina might be employed, but she's still 12 and still too young to think of her male friends in any light other than a platonic one.Ĭhallenge. By delivering their letters, Lina helps others, making her feel happy and connected to the city. Part of the reason Lina loves her job so much, besides the physical joy of running, is that it lets her meet new people. running, talking with her friends, and helping others. Luckily, though, Lina was able to trade her assigned job with Doon Harrow, an introspective classmate who'd rather explore Ember's Pipeworks than run around all day. With her love of running and new people, it's the perfect job for Lina – and it's one she almost didn't get it. Lina loves her grandmother, but she adores Poppy, "so much that it was like an ache under her ribs.” Lina's parents are dead and her grandmother's fading memory means she's in no fit state to take care of Poppy, so Lina ends up being, at 12, essentially the adult of the family. with her grandmother and younger sister, Poppy. Ember's held up well over the years, but supplies are running low and the lights are starting to flicker. Lina lives in Ember, an underground city powered by a massive generator.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |