The Arsonist

I am not a movie person. I don't go to a lot of movies, and I don't make movies. I am an agricultural person. But I know a good thing when I see one. I was on a Mormon mission in Dijon, France, so I am familiar with a lot of art. I think this movie was a piece of art. I cannot agree with the ending, and I don't know why it had to be so, although I do admit that it was quite dramatic. I surprised myself by liking the musical pastiche in the middle of Vincent going through his narcoleptic sequence. Vincent, Sean, John, even Diana, were serious people, although John is an example of what is wrong with academic America (not true of Brigham Young University, I note) who think they don't have to pay attention to anybody. I wonder what affect this movie would have upon a young person watching it. I cannot recommend this film, no matter how well made it is or how artistic or how good the acting. Maybe as an anti-example of what type of life to avoid.

If you come away from this film scratching your head, then you have a choice. You can decide that thinking makes your head hurt and dismiss it, or you can let yourself reflect on it a while, maybe even go back and take a second look. This will not be an unpleasant task, because while the Arsonist is complex, she is also light on her feet. The film is well acted, beautifully shot, contains a cool music sequence and is very funny. When you look a little deeper, you will find that it has a great deal to say about the way people are defined and treated in our culture. Beneath the Arsonist's cool exterior lies real heat, which you will feel, provided you are not sleeping on the job.

I think that The Arsonist is a gutsy film because it challenges the audience to see deeper into the human condition. It is stylish because of the use of music and image sequences to portray a person disintegrating into amorality. It shows Vincent changing from an alienated professor to a personally engaged but dangerous and amoral psychologist. The actors are superb and the photography is brilliant and creative. My favorite shot is at the beginning in the classroom when Vincent opens the shade and the light on Diana's face changes to a glaring brightness. The definitive moment in the film is when the camera closes in on John's face when he ignores John's problem and instead tells him of some personal theory he's working on about auto-eroticism. It is this moment which finalizes Vincent's view that he is alienated from the world. I wonder - how could he be redeemed? He can't do it himself. He needs to somehow reconnect with Diana and learn for himself that his feelings have changed. Well, of course, he gives Janine matches, so there will be a fire and Diana could save him, maybe.

I hope someday to make a film myself, and I hope I will be as good at it as Myles Sorensen is. It is amazing how you can put a whole story with a plot and subplots and characters in just a few minutes. I think Alla Korot is so beautiful and intelligent. And caring (for a crazy person). When she asked Vincent "Are you all right?" it just seemed so caring. I remember seeing her on a soap opera when I lived in New York. I never thought that people could be so contradictory, that's what's amazing. Myles should teach film-making at USC, he's so good. I've seen several USC films and they are all very professional, and this is no exceptional, but Myles's film seems to take more courage than the others.I couldn't believe the fire, it was so real.

I enjoyed this movie very much. I especially liked the music scene in the middle of it. I thought the actors were great, especially Vincent and Janine. The ending bothered me a little because he gave her matches and she's a pyromaniac, but I did understand the changes that occurred in the film that made him that way. The beginning was very funny when they were in the cafeteria and in the classroom. I thought the actor was terrific at the parts where he went to sleep so quickly. The fire scene was so real, I wonder how Janine, the actress, could stand it with so many flames behind her. Myles has a great sense of humor and it shows in this movie. I hope he goes on to a great career and maybe someday I will get to see this movie in the theaters.