The Passenger (1975)

 THE PASSENGER
IT'S OKAY TO WATCH I LIKE OLE JACK NICHOLSON IN JUST ABOUT ANY OF HIS MOVIES. April 28, 2008

 Clumsy plot, beautiful images
Other reviewers here have pointed out the essential ups and downs of this film. Like "Blow Up," this is another metaphysical thriller that uses the skeleton expectations of the action/adventure genre but slows down the tempo to focus on identity and alienation. The plot is improbable. How could the gunrunners not recognize that Jack Nicholson is not the gentleman they were expecting?

But the storyline is not the reason to watch this film. The way Antonioni films the world is a feast for the eyes. The North African landscape is especially stunning -- the desert, villages, and people. The film begins there and ends in a similarly dry and striking landscape, this time in southern Spain. At this final resting point Jack Nicholson delivers a monologue about how hopeless and dusty the world is. But it seems ineffective and slightly ridiculous after so many beautiful images.
April 22, 2008

 Why?
Yes, why do I like this film? You would think that it just drags along, but no, you really get into it. It `moves' along in a mysterious, captivating manner. I could just `feel' the heat and dust in the air during certain scenes. You have to view the last scene with Jack Nicholson's commentary as he explains how it was done. It broadened my appreciation for talented directors. Just for that scene alone it was worth the purchase price.

Yes, I like this film and will continue to view it. It has a story. It is what it is, and may not appeal to everyone, though. It's an examination of someone's life and representative of what some people will do to escape from that life no matter what that entails. In the end, though, this film makes you realize that far away hills are not always as green as you think. Or maybe they are. It's just a different kind of `green' that you were always looking for...and got. April 17, 2008

 The Great Escape
It's hard to judge this movie. It's meditative and windswept and transfers the feeling of traveling to remote places where you are an unknown amongst people you do not know. Its premise was more intriguing than the actual experience of watching the story unfold however, which is slow indeed. Being a traveler and amateur photography buff myself, I have great patience for looking at travel photos and find National Geographic magazine interesting, if not for the reading than at least for the photography of exotic places and the work of talented photographers. My girlfriend however doesn't have that same love of pictures and won't spend much time critcally analyzing what makes a picture good or bad..

So how to judge this movie becomes the issue for me. This is no high speed ride. It's fine cinematography with a few shots that are probably more famous than the movie (she in back of the car as the trees go by her is an incredibly beautiful visual image). The story again while conceptually interesting didn't go as deep for me as it seemed to for other reviewers. While forgivable, I didn't find the scenes where Jack interacts with the arms buyers extremely likely - he obviously looked like he didn't know what was going on and I didn't wholly buy their complete oblivion to this.. I liked the girl. She was a real work of art. Her presence in the movie made about as much sense as anything else, but I was glad she was there. It was a fun "what if" study. What if a man went to the extreme of getting rid of his whole history in this way? This idea is probably attractive to most people from time to time in their lives, so there's no question that the idea appeals. The next question is would such a thing be possible, and would it play out something like the way it is depicted in "The Passenger"? My gut reation to that is probably "no". But these are not the most important questions - like one of the interviewees says to Jack when he asks him loaded questions before an interview. The questions tell you more about the asker than the subject questioned. For me, the question is what makes this a good movie? Is it a good movie or a great movie? The answer will depend on the criterion that you bring.

If being intellectually or intuitionally intrigued is a condition for your idea of a great movie, then.. you will have to answer whether or not it does that for you. For me, there were moments. Definite moments. There was always this kind of vast isolation, and mild uneasiness wrapped up in a sense of possibility that didn't seem likely to produce. But the journey seemed a worthwhile one just for the sake of being what it was - an attempt to escape. Chances are, our watching these movies is nothing less than that same urge, on some level. Thus, the protagonists story has meaning and was worthwhile for me. Other things too, make it worthwhile. Antonioni's rendering of the story - the scenery and some of the scenes were worthwhile. One I liked - near the end, a little girl is casually blowing a bubble as Jack is walking by, and that pink bubble just gets bigger and bigger, but before it pops - the shot stops. The concept of the movie, the subdued loveliness of the actress very much a part of the Spanish landscape, the moments of sparse dialogue where brilliance occasionally flashes through - I tip my hat to all these things - but what keeps me from giving this movie 5 stars is that it didn't succeed in helping ME escape. And while the ending was fitting and somewhat ironic, it didn't blow me away content wise. And let me also say that while there are some good shots in this movie camerawise, there are also many that go on long enough to test your endurance. So much so, that I could go look outside my window for ten minutes and have a similar emotional reaction. Not usually what I go to the movies for. So, all things considered, the movie'll probably be even more interesting for viewers after they've seen it, should they care to think about it, rather than while they are undergoing the actual movie.


March 13, 2008

 Good Film
The great thing about this movie is the final shot. I won't give anything away but the shot is breathtaking. Nicholson's performance is very subdued, very similar to other performances of his back in the 70's. The film does have some flaws, but overall it's a very good movie. It's not quite as good as Antonioni's 'Blow Up' but it's definately worth a viewing. March 7, 2008

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