Question:
The Movie "Mitchelville". Your interpretation?
I watched this movie a couple of days ago. I really, really liked it. But I'm not really sure I understood it -- or is that the point -- you're supposed to wonder which part of it was his dream (and in that sense, strangely enough, it made me think of American Psycho even though it was nothing like it)? It was beautiful and well acted and I loved everything about it. I recommend it highly. But it is really haunting me and I will be watching it again. I'd love to hear some insight others may have had.
Additional Details1 month ago
Thanks Graceful G. I can see a link to Mulholland Avenue, but I personally thought this was much, much better. I think you'll like it. It's been running on the premium channels lately (I think I watched it on IFC or Sundance).
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
I have not watched it but you aroused my curiosity and I found synopsis below. Sounds like horror of "Mulholland Avenue" genre. I'll try to get it.
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Gabriel Williamson, a 32-year-old successful and outwardly happy white Wall Street lawyer, hides his past behind a mythical personal history. Every night, he dreams of a place called Mitchellville, a town in South Carolina that has suffered a horrible wrong that Gabriel, in his dream, attempts to right. Now up for partner in his law firm, Gabriel is asked to undergo a routine psychiatric evaluation, during which he describes his dream about Mitchellville's history and in doing so reveals his own.
An underlying theme of Mitchellville is the myth of history ⭠it is the lie that we agree upon. Yet, ultimately, we never escape our true history. It is recorded in our music, our literature, our photographs. In short, our art.
Thus, our collective history is revealed in the photographs of the strong proud faces of landowners in the warehouse, the devastating photograph of the crying girl that Gabriel's boss Michael gives Gabriel's wife, and in Marian Anderson's beautiful rendition of Ava Maria. It is everywhere, following us around even if we do not see it, much like the man in Gabriel's dream.
A related point is that history is collective, not owned by a particular individual or group. Thus, when tragedy strikes Gabriel's family, he is taken in by an African-American family in his neighborhood. When he dreams, it is of the history of Mitchellville, not his own. And in the dream, when he talks to his true self, it is in the form of his teacher Ken.
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Edit, june 1: Great I've just fixed a date to watch the movie. Nicely put, I mean. . . family-wonderful husband and son in Louisiana. cheers!
ari alias graceful Goblin