Special doubt: Steven Spielberg made a Testament movie about aliens
For the first time since "Close Encounters of the Third Degree" and "Alien," Steven Spielberg returns to the topic of dialogue with extraterrestrial civilizations as the only way to save humanity. His new film "The Day of Exposure" has been released worldwide, where the biblical parallels are quite obvious, and Emily Blunt speaks Russian, Korean and alien languages in the frame, reads minds and performs other miracles. Despite all the imperfections of the scenario, "The Day of Exposure" is perceived precisely as a statement, an appeal to the Earth from the podium and a call to come to his senses. Izvestia tells us how this message turned out. Warning: spoilers!
"Day of Exposure" has plot issues
The beginning of the film "The Day of Exposure" is like a remake of the Snowden story. An IT specialist with the highest level of access steals important government archives in order to publish them, and the security services are looking for him. He needs to hide, he has a lot of cell phones and Sim cards, he covers his tracks — and it seems to us that Josh O'Connor's character Kellner will be the main character of the story. However, it soon turns out that this is not the case, moreover, there is a feeling that O'Connor was underestimated by Spielberg and, as a result, underloaded with the work of an outstanding artist. Just look at his latest paintings: "The History of Sound", "Mastermind", "The Pretenders", "Chimera". There, O'Connor delivers the highest level of play.
But here, the real main role is given to Emily Blunt. Margaret is a loser who dreams of becoming the host of an evening program one day, but has to change jobs over and over again, and so far the pinnacle of her career is a hip—wagging weather presenter who no one takes seriously. But one day, a bird flies into her window (it's called the red cardinal, this is an important detail), and after that, Margaret receives a gift. Now she can speak all languages. In the original, you can appreciate how Blunt pronounces almost without an accent in Russian, although the actress herself later said that she had the hardest time with Korean. Margaret also instantly learns everything about anyone she meets, not only his biography, but also what is happening to his loved ones right now. She can take on the appearance of other people, create illusions, and suppress someone else's will.
The entire intense plot of the film is based on the fact that Margaret must urgently find Kellner along with his files and make sure that humanity learns the truth: we are not alone in the universe. Since the United States is very reluctant to disclose this state secret, the two (yes, you got it right!) We'll have to hide. There will be some bright action scenes with trains and cars, they look very impressive on the big screen, Spielberg is in excellent directorial form.
On the other hand, it is in the plot of the film that his main weaknesses lie. Let's say Spielberg came out of a situation with dignity when the special services destroy everything in their path, hunting for a hero, but no one in the country seems to notice this. To make this plausible here, Spielberg and the original screenwriter, David Koepp, are forcing the world to be on the verge of destruction. Already at the start, we are informed that the nuclear warheads of the United States and Russia are already in the air, and at the push of a button, either side will begin the same thing. The people are in a panic, and this even explains why the whole nation suddenly began to urgently watch the evening newscasts on TV.
But the very idea that the main characters need prime-time television in order to tell people the truth as effectively as possible looks comical nowadays. At least after the story of Snowden, from which the plot is based.
Therefore, all the efforts of the characters do not look entirely convincing. Kellner, with his intelligence, could easily have found some effective way to merge data from flash drives onto the Internet and enlist the support of major media outlets as an additional trump card. But then the script would have to be rewritten, and apparently no one knew how. It works against the movie. But the authors found a new way to use the image of the head of state. Usually in such blockbusters, the president makes the main decisions, but here Donald Trump is not aware of the alien dossiers. And they explain it very wittily.: "Presidents become ordinary citizens in eight years, so you can't tell them everything and trust them with important state secrets."
It's really strange that Hollywood didn't think of this before. However, another thing is also strange: why then do the presidents trust the rest of the state secrets, since there is a risk of leakage later? There is no answer to this question either, although Spielberg hints that in this case the secret is still completely unique.
Why "The Day of Exposure" is Spielberg's testament
Of course, it's not for nothing that the "Day of Exposure" is riddled with conversations on religious topics and biblical symbols. Because that's what Steven Spielberg obviously shot this movie for, finding the form of a genre film for his thoughts. The characters change after meeting a bird, which, of course, hints at the Holy Spirit, often depicted as a dove. Like the apostles, Margaret, after the "descent of the Holy Spirit," receives the gift of speaking in all languages and performing miracles, and also realizes the need to preach.
Kellner's girlfriend is most worried that if people are told about aliens, the churches will empty, because it turns out that there is a higher truth than what they are used to. Spielberg, however, introduces a nun into the plot, who, based on the biblical text, argues that Christianity does not deny extraterrestrial civilizations. And that faith should not be confused with prejudice and obscurantism, which are presented as the letter of the law.
Through the mouths of the characters, Spielberg here reflects that perhaps people need a new prophet or messiah who would help them out of a total crisis. Here it is given quite specifically, and it is not only in the nuclear threat, but also in the feeling of fear, uncertainty, eternal lies to ourselves and others, on which we catch everyone, even a minor character. What are the aliens offering? To begin with, increase the level of empathy, look into each other's eyes, understand someone else's pain, and live it together. And this first step will make the following possible. Which ones are next? Well, watch the movie, it's going to be about that too.
Steven Spielberg turns 80 this year. At that age, of course, you don't just want to tell stories, but to tell people something really important. "The Day of Exposure" is inevitably perceived as a testament — and as an appeal to the ideals that Spielberg broadcast half a century ago in "Close Encounters" and "The Alien." Against this background, scenario inconsistencies cease to be of fundamental importance. When you watch a movie, you find yourself listening to hear it. After all, the truth is really close, Agent Mulder was right. But involuntarily, since Spielberg is working with biblical allusions here, one remembers Abraham's bitter words: "If they don't listen to Moses and the prophets, then even if someone had risen from the dead, they wouldn't believe." As much as I hate to admit it, this also applies to aliens.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
