a

te i

Page 8 -- Over The Edge -- February 3, 1997

IS THE MOVIE “FARGO” FAR OUT OR WHAT?

By Mark Clements

Recently, a news conference
was held for Tonya Flynt,
daughter of the infamous
Hustler publisher, Larry Flynt,
to express her outrage on the
film “The People vs. Larry
Flynt.” She states: “I am here
to tell you that the portrayal of
my father, Larry Flynt, in
Oliver Stone’s and Milos
Forman’s movie is a pack of
lies.” This kind of lambasting
spectacle towards Oliver Stone
is nothing new to him. A while
ago, Richard Nixon’s daughter
also denounced Oliver Stone’s
portrayal of her father in his
movie, “Nixon.” The main
problem with movies based on
the live of real people

essentially stems from the

impossible task for movies to
give an accurate narration to
the morass of historical events.
In short, Oliver Stone type
movies, or any movies based
on past lives of real people, do
not represent historical facts,
but only represent the
director’s unproven opinion.
However, because Oliver
Stone’s film versions of
noteworthy events. are
extremely impressionable and
possess and everlasting quality
to them, it is inevitable that
Stone’s particular point of
view will be looked upon as the
gospel truth by many
reviewers.

Hence, when | experienced
Joel and Ethan Coen’s
(directors known for their
clever and uncanny ability)
unrelenting movie “Fargo”, in
which the Coen Brothers
infallibly declare that their
movie is based on events that
“exactly” happen, it left me
wondering what “Fargo” was
really about. The movie
“Fargo” is either one of two
things; a movie based on actual
events, or a satirical farce on
the unsavouriness of drama
based on historical details. If
the Coen Brothers are true

artistic craftsmen, something I
firmly believe, then the only
honorable interpretation of
“Fargo 1s: the latter.
Interestingly, the midwestern
town title “Fargo” not only
suggests the line: How far will
this farce go?, but also the
word “farrago,” which
according to the Oxford
Dictionary, is a hodgepodge of
events. If this movie is a
lampoon . towards
unimaginative directors who
need real events to create
movies and towards the
gullibility of all (including
myself) who lazily believe in
all what they are told, the
“Fargo” is a great achievement.
Therefore, by looking at some

updated video review books, or
by asking someone who has
seen the movie if the events in
“Fargo” are true, you will
quickly discover that myths are
stronger than facts. Moreover,
if “Fargo is a huge lie, then it
would be a great symbolic
representation of the film’s
protagonists, an unscrupulous
car salesman, main problem.
At one point in the show, a
distraught customer hilariously
blurts to him, “You’re nothing
but a goddamn liar.”

If ‘Fargo” is a fictional
fabrication, then what must be
asked, is where did the Coen
brothers get this story from?
Suspiciously, many of

“Fargo’s” thematic concepts

are very similar to E.M.
Forster’s masterpiece novel, A
Passage To India. It is not too
far-fetched to claim “Fargo” as
a modern day version of
Forster’s novel and here the
Coen brothers do a reputable
job. For example, the car
salesman’s small immoral
character flaws that echo far-
away and well beyond his
control, are similar to Forster’s
character Dr. Aziz, whose
immoral mannerisms, such as
lying, causes nothing less than
an international crisis. Where
Forster’s “Marabar Caves”
represent the fingers and fists
of humanity’s potential
wickedness, the Coen brothers
use a “Marlboro Man,” so
lethally cold-blooded it makes
Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born

Killers” look boring in
comparison. The harrowing
events ‘created by the
“Marlboro Man” and his
“funny looking” partner (who
loses half of his face when he
is shot), overshadows the most
important point of the whole
show; the “connection” or the
meeting of people through
feelings of sympathy and
understanding, despite the
difference of age, race and
gender (Forster). Similarly, the
important “connection”
significance of people in
Passage to India is also easy to
overlook. “Fargo” and Passage
To India are important art
forms to experience and both
must be viewed carefully to
to appreciate their value. But
of course, this is only one
person’s opinion.