Wall-E (2008)
Every now and then you come across a film that is truly magical. It’s often difficult to define what that magic is, but you know you’ve been deeply moved by the genuine emotions and vivid imaginations. Wall-E is one such film.
I’m quite sure whatever praise I sing for this film will still do it injustice, such is the power of any beauty which goes beyond the ordinary and cannot be easily decomposed and analyzed. That said, I’ll be boring and try to comment on a few points which especially struck me.
For one thing, this is one of those rare films which perfectly blends science fiction and romance. Indeed, I can hardly give a better example where these two genres have co-existed so well in one film (A.I. might be an example where a sci-fi tackles the issue of love). Wall-E is able to do so because its premise is so simple – love between two robots who discover the concept for the first time. Wall-E and EVE’s relationship bears nothing of the typical strains of human love, such as jealousy and lust, but it touches upon the most profound extremes of life – that of love and death. Indeed, through its simplicity it perfectly illustrates the eternal struggle man has had with those two topics, and our sincere belief that the deepest love goes beyond life and death.
At the same time, the science fiction – and the social message it carries – stands among the greatest of the genre. Wall-E pays homage to classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey in ways more than one (a computer hauntingly resembles HAL 9000, and in one pivotal scene Also sprach Zarathustra is used as the score), and its depiction of Earth turned into one giant garbage dump and abandoned by man is strikingly thought-provoking. And the myriad details, from man’s biological devolution (thanks to technology) to consumerism in the future, all provide additional material for the audience to ponder and digest.
Wall-E once again goes to show that the best films can perfectly blend art and entertainment and is suitable for audiences of all ages and culture. Disney is aggressively promoting Wall-E for an Oscar in Best Picture – I sincerely hope they can achieve this feat since this film is certainly deserving of that distinction.
10/10