mud (2012). directed by jeff nichols.

nichols and his insights of the people in the deep south. kampung people of the big USA. the adults are defeated, the children are full of romance and idealistic. this coming of age story is almost perfect. 

shotgun stories (2007). directed by jeff nichols.

i know men like son (micheal shannon), boy (douglas ligon) and kid (barlow jacobs) in my own family. men who can't say what they feel, and when they finally say them, they do that with great violence, often unintentional. it used to annoy me when these men choose to be quiet than act on the issue plaguing our family the way i do - but then i begin to understand, that they are merely trying to contain their anger, doing their best to calm down and say not the wrong thing before taking any action. 

else we have men like son and his brothers. their broken family and harsh childhood make them cling for one another for support - the brothers don't speak much, but they look out for one another to make up for the lack of words being said. their mother is estranged, as son speaks of her as the hateful woman who brought them up to hate their father and his other family. their father is a reformed alcoholic who left them behind for a new wife and new sons, so you know it is disaster when son and his brothers turn up at his funeral, spitting and reminding the new family what a vile man their father used to be. you can sense their anger at being abandoned; their life languishing in a dead end town, uneducated, unloved, unable to escape. they have no one who cares but the three of them. son had shotgun marks on his back, it was from protecting one of his younger siblings. 

i don't know if many people appreciate this kind of story telling, because i must say this story touched me in places most movies hardly make an impact. i was looking for movies with micheal shannon after watching him in take shelter (2011), also directed by jeff nichols. i feel sorry for son and his brothers, and it is especially sorrowful to see bad blood from an older generation who hardly cares about them had son and his brothers wage a war against their step brothers. this movie is a character study excellently portrayed by shannon, ligon and jacobs; i like nichols' deliberate direction that lets the story unfold by implication. adam stone's cinematography shows a sleepy arkansas town that holds nothing for its residents, each day reminding them of the cruel realities that their life is wasting away and that there is no escaping it. the town is a prison, symbolic of the prison they live in their minds. 

for people like son and his brothers - while there is no easy way out, the most obvious has got to be to just let go. 

take shelter (2011). directed by jeff nichols.

this has got to be one of the better movies made this year, though not in the same category as drive (2011) which was more about style than theme. there's nothing wrong with that, movies can be whatever they want to be. a well done movie is not about theme or any particular topic - it's about good execution. take shelter (2011) goes beyond style alone - this movie confronts you with such layered story telling and subtleties that it doesn't need special effects to create tension and suspense. great acting from micheal shannon and jessica chastain, they have got to be my current two favourite actors and i see more good movies coming from them. i like the cinematography by adam stone that presents ohio as a quiet rural place, but not as peaceful as it seems to be. something dangerous is lurking underneath the summer wind blowing the trees. 

the story tackles many issues without confusing the audience, it fact it unites the various elements that by the time the movie ends, the story achieves perfect harmony. shannon is a young husband and father afflicted by visions of apocalyptic storms and mysterious people attacking him and his family. he begins to get very anxious about it as he regularly hallucinates and loses the ability to sleep - all this while trying to hold down a job, pay for his home and car mortgages and find treatment for his deaf daughter. you can feel why this guy is seeing things - while he could be genuinely on the verge of schizophrenia, he has many things on his plate that could make anyone unable to sleep. i like shannon's portrayal of the the ordinary man losing his mind - his anxiety is real and heartfelt as he tries to cope with seeing the unreal while trying to be a responsible father and husband, all at the same time. chastain as shannon's wife provides a good pairing of a couple in love and committed to each other, she is ethereal without being bland, strong without being overpowering, supportive without being dependent. she is the reason why shannon feels he has to get through his difficulties despite all odds. he is strong because of her. this story is about many things - financial worries in times of economic uncertainties and downsizing, the constant enviromental threat (which is a real risk in many countries, such as america and indonesia) and what it means to be committed in a marriage. 

it is about facing good times, as well as real or imagined bad times, together.  this film is must watch, alas it is not widely distributed in the US, i doubt it will be shown in other countries. that's a shame, really. i had to walk 2 miles in order to find a cinema in denver that showed the movies, and it was worth every step i took (disclaimer: i don't have a car here because i am attending a conference, and cabs are expensive. it was a good exercise, i was restless and needed to discard excess energy).