"VIOLENCE ALL AROUND US: TAKE YOUR PICK"

   These last two weeks were not good times to watch TV news. Violence - centered events captured the audience's focus and effort, seemingly twenty - four hours a day: the bizarre attack on Paul Pelosi; the mass shooting in a California Asian  community; the horrendous beating of Tyre Nichols. All of these examples used live video to amplify and verify the violence.

     Cut to the current Oscar nominations, where other instances of assault were represented in two notable "Best Picture" selections: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT AND WOMEN TALKING. Of course, the savagery is different. The anti-war " All Quiet" is primarily physical violence seen through the lens of graphic depiction.  Conversely, "Women Talking" shows hardly any brutality, per se. Yet it many ways, it is just as harrowing, this time communicated through the female victims' speech. 

     The use of dialogue in director/ screenwriter Sarah Polley's movie is important, because such a technique belies the adage defining cinema: "If you can show it, don't say it." In fact, the work's literary aspects remind us of a theatrical production.  A play.   

     But no matter. The film's subject is violence and how it provokes the women to  leave their rural compound  after years of being attacked and abused by the men. This maltreatment is not just rape  (an obvious assumption ) but also other assaults to their safety, health, and freedom ( ie. to get an education ).  Thus, this collective decision is the one issue which makes sense. Their reasoning is that the violence will lead them to kill the men, and they will become murderers. Therefore, pacifism is good, violence is bad.

     Such a theme is certainly salient and played out in potent ways by the female protagonists. Unfortunately, the anti-violence idea is bogged down somewhat with other "anti-concerns," allowing our attention to wander. Examples: the movie seems to question some Christian religious principles and also traditional education. This last regard isn't logical, however, because  the women are quite smart even though they are without any formal schooling. ( For instance,  they comprehend  words which are not used in a "everyday" context by August, their male mentor. )

    There still remains many compelling elements about "Women Talking," like  the play of logic against emotion. True, no ferocity is shown, but we all know that violence,  while merely suggestive, packs a powerful wallop, nonetheless.

     On the other hand, " All Quiet" conveys a more graphic, Hollywood view of savagery. There is nothing suggestive about it. Bodies are blown up, soldiers bleed out, buildings are bombed. Psychological abuse and loss are nearly as brutal as the graphic kind.

     Now for a provocative question. Which kind of assault is more violent? On fictional film or TV news? Take your pick.