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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most intriguing films of all time, June 4, 2004
This review is from: Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I disagree with some of the reviews posted on Jonah in that the themes of the film are outdated and that the characters are not as well-develped as they should be. I believe that the film is DEFINITELY NOT outdated because it revolves around people and the ideas, thoughts, and wisdom that human beings can give to their fellow man and woman. Sure, the politics are not the same in Europe anymore, but did you honestly believe that the political climate of Europe in 1976 would still be relevant in 2004, 28 years after the film was made? I believe that Jonah captures the changing political climate in Europe in the mid-1970's quite elegantly;I sure have never seen anything like it before or since. I also think that the characters need not be developed further, because Tanner intended for each of them to be archetypes for the changing socio-economic climate in Europe, and in the world. If you study each character in this manner, then they are perfect the way that they are. Bottom line: find this movie where ever you can. Rent it from a nearby library, (I doubt that Blockbuster carries it)or buy it from eBay, or here on Amazon. It takes a great deal of concentration, but every second is incredibly rewarding to the attentive movie viewer. I have never ever seen a film with dialogue this captivating, and I wish that I were alive in 1976 (I am currently 19)so that I could have seen the film when it was first released. I only wish that it could finally be released on DVD. I have searched the internet over many times for a copy of the film on DVD. I even recently purchased a DVD-R player, and due to the copyright guard on the VHS copy that I rent frequently from my neighborhood library, I was unable to make the digital transfer. Regardless, the VHS will suffice for the time being, and once again, (I cannot stress this enough)find a friend who is into art house films or investigate at a library and watch this film. You will be surprised.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
On "Jonah", February 15, 2000
This review is from: Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Jonah Who Will be 25 in the Year 2000 may or may not be among the best films ever made, but it is surely one of the most interesting. Not only is watching this film an eminently worthwhile activity; it is also worthwhile to consider WHY watching it is worthwhile. For one thing, it is hard to seize on any one idea as the film's theme. It is about freedom. But it is also about the nature of time and memory, about historical change, old age, education, mysticism, situation ethics, revolution, and the relative merits of animals and humans, just to name the most apparent. Jonah tells the story of eight characters in search of a polis. All have names beginning in "Ma." ("Marx?" "Mao?" The names remind us that this film comes from a time when such questions were relevant.) The eight characters spin off a profusion of ideas, explicitly in their conversation and implicitly in their actions. Ideas reverberate throughout the film, as the characters work and hope for a better system (the hope symbolized by infant Jonah). But their efforts to achieve a better system raise the question as to what this new system will be like. Here the film is less than optimistic. The happy union of collective achievement and individual fulfilment is never achieved; it remains only an ideal -- an ideal that demands reflection and criticism. If we are ever to achieve the good society, we have to think well, an activity for which the characters of JONAH provide good models.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
On "Jonah", February 15, 2000
This review is from: Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Jonah Who Will be 25 in the Year 2000 may or may not be among the best films ever made, but it is surely one of the most interesting. Not only is watching this film an eminently worthwhile activity; it is also worthwhile to consider WHY watching it is worthwhile. For one thing, it is hard to seize on any one idea as the film's theme. It is about freedom. But it is also about the nature of time and memory, about historical change, old age, education, mysticism, situation ethics, revolution, and the relative merits of animals and humans, just to name the most apparent. Jonah tells the story of eight characters in search of a polis. All have names beginning in "Ma." ("Marx?" "Mao?" The names remind us that this film comes from a time when such questions were relevant.) The eight characters spin off a profusion of ideas, explicitly in their conversation and implicitly in their actions. Ideas reverberate throughout the film, as the characters work and hope for a better system (the hope symbolized by infant Jonah). But their efforts to achieve a better system raise the question as to what this new system will be like. Here the film is less than optimistic. The happy union of collective achievement and individual fulfilment is never achieved; it remains only an ideal -- an ideal that demands reflection and criticism. If we are ever to achieve the good society, we have to think well, an activity for which the characters of JONAH provide good models. Incidentally, JONAH was the model for RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN which was followed in turn by THE BIG CHILL and another film whose name I can't remember. Quality varied inversely with distance from the original.
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