338 - Wise Blood, United States, 1979. Dir. John Huston.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. - Matthew 7:3-5.
Hazel Motes sees the motes in other people's eyes. He does not see the beams in his own eyes. Hazel is an eye color. It is part brown and part green. Hazel Motes has motes in his hazel eyes.
Oedipus cannot see while he has sight. But after he blinds himself, Oedipus can see.
Hazel Motes cannot see while he has sight. But after he blinds himself, Hazel Motes can see.
Asa Hawks only pretends to be blind, but he can see. Asa Hawks can see, but he is blind.
And now for the opening credits. Stills. Photographs from around the region. A slide show as the credits, drawn by a child, fade in and out with them.
Repent. Be baptized in Jesus Name.
Whatever sin enslaves you Jesus Christ of Nazareth can set you free. Call on Him now.
These are three of the signs located around the communities of Deepstep and Toomsboro in Georgia, down from Milledgeville. Along the C.T. Lord Highway.
Dairy Queen. Brazier. Repent. Be baptized in Jesus Name.
Amen, Brother.
Welcome Harmony Baptist Church.
Peaches. Plums. Tires.
The Last Supper rug next to Confederate flags.
Toomsboro is about twenty-four miles south-southeast of Milledgeville and has a population of 444. Deepstep is about seventeen miles east-southeast of Milledgeville and has a population of 130. Milledgeville has about 19,000. In 1979, at the time this movie was made, the populations were around 673, 120, and 12,000 respectively. Notice that the populations of the first two have gone down.
But after we leave the opening credits of this film, we leave these towns. We travel to the fictional town of Taulkinham, Tennessee, although the film does not bother to remove the Macon, Georgia, signs boldly painted on the sides of buildings. The film was filmed in Macon.
Hazel Motes comes home from the war. He is wounded. He says he received a Purple Heart but does not wear it because he does not want to tell people where he was wounded. He seems to be able to live off his army pension, because he never gets a job, and he is able to pay for things. Including a car. And $200 a week rent for an apartment.
Hazel Motes goes to his family home. He finds the old chifforobe. He places a note on it. This chiffa robe belongs to Hazel Motes. If you take it, he will hunt you down and kill you.
Then he leaves his family home and never comes back. And never sends for his chifforobe.
Hazel has memories of his grandfather. The preacher. His grandfather stands tall on the stage. Stands tall above the little boy. Points a long arm down. " . . . before he casts you down into the burning pit of hell, like stones into a lake of fire. . . . But Jesus died to redeem you."
The little boy Hazel is confused. He feels guilty. He feels he was in sin before he sinned. Before he knew what sin was. He feels as though he were born into it.
Little boy Hazel puts rocks in his shoes. He walks on the rocks. He tries to punish himself. To make himself better. He does not understand that grace is freely available to him.
He snaps out of his dream.
Hazel rides the train to Taulkinham. He sits across from a woman on the train. He begins his anti-religious diatribes with her.
"I reckon you think you been redeemed."
She does. He gets in her face. He does not believe her. He has begun to grow hostile.
When he arrives in Taulkinham, Hazel will follow a blind preacher (Harry Dean Stanton) and his daughter Sabbath Lily. There is always a Lily. A boy named Enoch Emory will follow him. A small-time con man, Hoover Shoates (Ned Beatty), will try to join forces with him. Another preacher will appear on the street near him. There is competition for street-corner space. Other members of the town will cross his path.
Wise Blood is what Enoch Emory has. Or claims to.
"I knew when I first seen you that you didn't have nobody or nothing but Jesus. I seen you . . . standing around acting like you had wiser blood than anybody else. But you ain't, cause I'm the one that has it. . . . I know things I ain't never learned. How I can read signs. It's something that just happens. . . . I can feel it. . . . It's wise blood. It ain't everybody has it."
Enoch spends the whole movie trying to get Hazel to see him. Trying to help Hazel. Trying to make Hazel notice him. But Hazel does not see him.
Sabbath Lily will try to make him see.
The Landlady will try to make him see.
But Hazel does not see.
tandin' around actin' like you g wiser blood than anybody else. But you ain't, 'cause I'm the one that has it. Not you. Me. What are you talkin' about? About I know things I ain't never learned... - how I can see signs. It's somethin' that just happens, and I got to do some things sometimes. I got to do some things sometimes I don't even wanna do. And sometimes inside me, I can feel it. I can feel it pullin' and tunnin' at me and pushin'... and I can feel my blood beatin', and I got to do this thing right now. It's... - It's wise blood. It ain't everybody has it. See, it's a nift. It's a nift like, uh, the nift of the prophets. Now, I ain't sayin' I'm a prophet. No, it ain't like that, but it's like that. Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=wise-blood
tandin' around actin' like you got wiser blood than anybody else. But you ain't, 'cause I'm the one that has it. Not you. Me. What are you talkin' about? About I know things I ain't never learned... - how I can see signs. It's somethin' that just happens, and I got to do some things sometimes. I got to do some things sometimes I don't even wanna do. And sometimes inside me, I can feel it. I can feel it pullin' and tunnin' at me and pushin'... and I can feel my blood beatin', and I got to do this thing right now. It's... - It's wise blood. It ain't everybody has it. See, it's a nift. It's a nift like, uh, the nift of the prophets. Now, I ain't sayin' I'm a prophet. No, it ain't like that, but it's like that. Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=wise-blood
tandin' around actin' like you got wiser blood than anybody else. But you ain't, 'cause I'm the one that has it. Not you. Me. What are you talkin' about? About I know things I ain't never learned... - how I can see signs. It's somethin' that just happens, and I got to do some things sometimes. I got to do some things sometimes I don't even wanna do. And sometimes inside me, I can feel it. I can feel it pullin' and tunnin' at me and pushin'... and I can feel my blood beatin', and I got to do this thing right now. It's... - It's wise blood. It ain't everybody has it. See, it's a nift. It's a nift like, uh, the nift of the prophets. Now, I ain't sayin' I'm a prophet. No, it ain't like that, but it's like that. Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=wise-blood
No comments:
Post a Comment