journal features

movie review - Jaws

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Vancouver, 2002.04.02

This is a movie about three guys who go out to hunt down a shark that's been terrorizing the waters of their small resort town. Just kidding. It's a remarkable story of three characters from three different social strata, and the types of challenges those men face due to the distinct worlds in which they were born. The working-class shark fisherman, for instance, speaks coarsely, served in the navy, and was on a vessel that went down in the Pacific. The middle-class policeman suffers fools for a living, a humiliating and frantic experience where he carries the weight for scum like the truly resplendent shit-heel mayor. And the scion of a wealthy family, who is the only one of the three whose life seems to be under his control.

There's a scene that Heidi pointed out, in which the ex-navy sailor looks meaningfully at the life jackets. He knows his ship is going down, and he's vowed he'll never wear a life-jacket again. Because when that ship went down in the Pacific, he lost countless ship-mates to the sharks. It's no more than a couple of seconds and it's perfect. Plus the foreshadowing; perfection!

I dunno what it is about this movie. Is it the whole epic nature of the tale, in which three uncannily brave men from different parts of society face unknown hell to save the women and children? Is it the unflinching reality of the scenes where the shark just takes people during pleasant beach activities? Is it the drunken singing? Still love this one, despite the 27 years and the many viewings.

Strongly recommended. A favorite.

rand()m quote

One day you will take a fork in the road, and you're going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go. If you go one way, you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and get good assignments. Or you can go the other way and you can do something [...] for yourself. If you decide to do something, you may not get promoted and get good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won't have to compromise yourself. To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That's when you have to make a decision. To be or to do.

—John Boyd, US Air Force