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SKIN JOB 66
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK, back to the Zeds...

The first time Theo meets Kee, she wears a headset and if you listen carefully you can hear a track very similar to the one played by Jasper... Zed music !



Then I read the script and, surprise :



Must admit I never realized before that Kee was a Zed ! She is presented to Theo as a Fugee in the film, maybe to protect her true origins... or the connections between Zeds and Fishes ??? (that would explain why Patrick is here during the Zed ambush in the forest... It looks like Fishes use Zeds in some of their operations)

Having realized the true "nature" of Kee, I then tried to spot more references to Zed culture on her and finally found some interesting evidences on production photos... Look at those tattoos !

Shocked



Kee is presented like someone rather lost in the film but finally my opinion is that she was intended as someone rather wild to begin with... I guess they needed to turn her into someone more fragile than first intended to help the plot develop smoothly for a broad audience... (She must be protected by all means necessary)

We'll see how they succeeded to give this image of her in my next post... Stay tuned !

Fred
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joberg
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gad! I gotta see the movie again Confused I either paid no attention to that fact or I don't remember...well, back to the DVD player.

Thanks a lot Fred Evil or Very Mad ...nah, just kidding: it's always interesting to see your research
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SKIN JOB 66
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 3:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

joberg wrote:

Thanks a lot Fred Evil or Very Mad ...nah, just kidding: it's always interesting to see your research


Sorry JB !



Fred
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SKIN JOB 66
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 12:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK, more on Kee as promised...



In the scene where Theo, Kee & Miriam are about to board the bus that will take them to the Bexhill refugees camp, it becomes more and more obvious as the scene unfolds that Kee is in great danger…

Of course there's all these nazi looking immigration cops dressed in black all around the place, but there's something more subtle that make you realize that Kee is somehow directly threatened by this sinister environment :
You can clearly hear dogs barking all the time in the background during that scene… and then you realize that Kee is dressed like a modern version of the Red Riding Hood !
Look at her clothes ! She wears a cloak, a dress, she even carries a basket !

I suppose it was intentional from the start… again it's a very subtle effect / idea but it works very well !

Fred

PS : I also realized recently that the colors of Kee's costume are grey and rough on the outside (the grey cloak) to get unnoticed in the grey / harsh world she lives in I suppose, but the closer you get to her skin, the softer (wool, cotton) and the warmer (colors white, yellow) they are… I now have the image of a hidden flower about to blossom in my mind when I think about Kee, I guess that's what costume designer Jany Temime and her crew had in mind at a certain point…



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PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 2:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting concept for sure Fred...would be fun to see if there's any comment/behind-the-scene stuff on the DVD (costume designer) Wink
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SKIN JOB 66
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 4:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Unfortunately the DVD extras are rather disappointing... It's not that they're not interesting, it's just that there's not enough BTS material shown, and I don't even talk about crew interviews. (and you'd better forget about an audio commentary by Alfonso Cuaron)

Fred
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 7:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Too bad about the lack of info on the BTS Confused ...and looking back at the movie (yeah...I saw it again last night Laughing ) your observation is correct, I mean she's going into the wolve's den for sure!
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SKIN JOB 66
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks JB !



Graffitis similar to the tattooed stars worn by Kee can be spotted here and there on the backgrounds...

Are they Zed graffitis used to mark their territory ?
I don't know... but the first screencap shows Theo when he's about to meet Kee for the first time in the Multipla car under protection of the Fishes...

Let's not forget the script suggests that Zeds and fishes work together...

Fred



Oh, BTW, there's what I believe to be an homage to Eisenstein's Potemkin just before Theo & Julian embark the Multipla where Kee awaits... A bad omen or a metaphor put there to remind the audience their only child died years ago when he was very young ?
It's a very subtle effect but when you think about it for two minutes it makes sense to have it there at this moment as the story is about to truly unfold...


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Like the idea Fred (and the images of Potemkine...saw that scene when I was 8 years old and it really made an impression on my young mind at the time)...yeah, I think the mangled pram at the bottom of the stair is the image that convey the overall theme of the movie: no children anymore...
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SKIN JOB 66
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 2:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

joberg wrote:
yeah, I think the mangled pram at the bottom of the stair is the image that convey the overall theme of the movie: no children anymore...


You're right JB but I think it's even more subtle than that : The mangled pram is old fashioned, it looks like something out of the 60's (definitely not one of our modern McLaren push chairs), just like Theo & Julian. It means the old world as they knew it since they were born is definitely gone, crashed in a dead end... and they're about to meet the new one and eat the road with it : Kee's the key to the future.

Fred

PS : damn, I just realized as I typed this post that Kee = key (to the future of course) !

Shocked
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 5:00 pm    Post subject: CHILD OF BLADE RUNNER? Reply with quote

Some might say "CoM" is similar, inheriting traits from BR. True, perhaps. But while nothing is new, some things are just better. Some with time. Some with discovery. Some just ARE. It took decades for Blade Runner to "catch on", and most say that it takes repeated viewings to appreciate it. Such may well be the case here. I obviously overlooked it.

I've seen "Children" a couple of times, but after reading the thoughts presented here, I know I must view it again with fresh eyes.

Much of what I am reading here intrigues me. I would guess most of the audience left knowing nothing of the Zeds. And the subtle references and details are lost on most movie-goers. As with Fred's discovery now of Kee = key, there may well be other clues, intentional or imagined, that only repeated viewing could possibly reveal.

Sadly, mass appeal and film length results in the simplifying of plots and as Fred has exposed here too much can be lost to rewrites and edits. The meat becomes potatoes.

Thanks to "66" for opening my eyes. I look forward to repeated viewings.

(Thank goodness I don't have to ride a bus to do so, Fred. Smile ) - R13
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SKIN JOB 66
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 5:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you Dave for your kind comment, it means a lot to me !

Yes, please give CoM another try, you won't regret it... To tell you the truth it haunted me since the first time I saw it, I found it to be deeper than Blade Runner, even if it pays tribute to its ancestor here and there...

Look for example how Theo and Deckard are dressed (and please keep in mind they're both mi-40s alcoholics) :



There's the suit, the coat, these are obvious... But did you pay attention to the way the shirt is half put in the trousers in both cases ?



Fred
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Fred for the images and the sharing of ideas...yeah, the Zeds...we're way over GenX, GenY and here you have the last Gen...a lot of Punk Culture theme in there also: no future! We're the last and nobody/nothing is going to replace us: anarchy is the answer since tomorrow doesn't exist.

As for Theo's clothing, obviously someone has seen many films where this outfit is being used by various actors; it's seems fitting since CoM is very BR in many of its aspects Wink
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SKIN JOB 66
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 3:12 pm    Post subject: Re: CHILD OF BLADE RUNNER? Reply with quote

Replicant 13 wrote:

(Thank goodness I don't have to ride a bus to do so, Fred. Smile ) - R13


Talking about buses, I spotted something rather interesting when it comes to CoM / BR comparisons…

Look at the way Theo and Deckard are both introduced to the audience…

In BR, we first meet Deckard as he's standing in front of a row of TV screens. He looks bored as the Blimp carrying huge video billboards passes overhead and then he finally crosses the street and order some noodles.

In CoM, we first meet Theo as he enters a coffee shop. Double-deckers carrying huge video billboards pass in the street behind him. Theo briefly looks at the TV screen displayed in front of him as he orders his coffee. He looks bored.





In both cases, we're introduced to a bored main character but also to an important element of the cityscape we'll meet again in both films : BR's Blimp and CoM's Double-deckers.
Both vehicles carry video billboards.
Both vehicles will play a discreet yet symbolic part in both films because... On both vehicles you have video billboards showing smiling ladies and promoting "outer worlds" : In the case of BR it's the new lands of the OFF WORLD colonies and in CoM the hereafter (QIUETUS ads incite passer-bys to commit suicide).





Yep, I definitely think the Double-deckers are CoM's equivalent of the BR's Blimp !

Fred
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 8:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting ideas there Fred! Also, like in BR, there's a lot of garbage in the street, as you can see also, everything is decaying and not properly maintained (who cares, everybody is dying and there's bring the new )...and lots of bikes as a mean of transportation:-)
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow. What a nice romantic comedy. Just a perfectly mean machine. Another take of the BR future. Nice.

Tony
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