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[lenalenouilleisblogging]

2024 feminist movie retrospective ~ day 3

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO WOMEEEEEN 🔥🔥

*cough* Sorry. Uuuuuuuh. Well. Do I need to introduce this movie? It's fucking Furiosa. This is radblr here, I assume we've all had at least one wet dream about Imperator Furiosa 🫡 raise your hands. No? Just me? That was a bit by the way. I'm kidding. I swear I am... Let's talk about Furiosa : A Mad Max Saga ! Spoilers will be in red. Graphic descriptions of violence and sexual slavery ahead.

Watched : May 24th at my city's independent theater. The showing was pretty empty.

One thing you gotta know about me, I'm a fangirl by nature. But I'm not a forgiving fan. I'm not the kind to just be happy that an IP I like is getting some new content and be happy with anything I'm given. I'm a really demanding fan. If an IP I like is getting new content, I'm gonna need it to be up to the task. And as a long time George Miller fan and an absolute Mad Max Fanatic, I expected a LOT out of Furiosa.

I think this movie can be enjoyed even with no prior knowledge of the MM series. Personally, I'm glad I watched these films in the order that they came out and I would recommend you do the same, but if for whatever reason the rest of the series doesn't interest you and you just wanna see Furiosa, go for it, there's no big story thread that will confuse you.

Mad Max is a series of dark adventure movies set in a post-apocalyptic world, an unknown number of years after our time. In the first movie released in 79, the economy and the state seem to have collapsed but there is still a semblance of an organised modern society amongst the violence. From the second movie onward, it all goes to absolute hell. The first film had a very limited budget and you can tell the team was working with what they had and were still finding their footing. It was a very different type of film but it was already a massive success, a very original concept, and still to this day probably my favourite entry in the series in terms of narrative.

Emboldened by the massive success of MM1, George Miller and his team got more freedom, more money, and started dreaming big. Every film from MM2 onwards became more and more balls to the walls insane. It all reached a climax with Fury Road in 2015, the most expensive and ambitious film in the series.

Since MM2, the franchise has had a strong visual and thematic identity with a lot of easily recognisable elements. A fashion heavy on leather and chains that seems BDSM inspired, a strong narrative presence of children and parental themes, a cast full to the brim with actors/extras who are visibly disabled/have congenital physical quirks, and a strong environmental message. The world of Mad Max is a seemingly endless desert where fuel has become the most sought after ressource and engines/vehicles are deified. It's big, it's empty, it's dry, and it's distinctly... well, distinctly australian.

Furiosa : A Mad Max Saga is the fifth movie in the series and as the name implies, the first one to not have Max as the protagonist. It is the origin story of a character who was introduced in Fury Road.

The story follows the titular Furiosa as she gets kidnapped at a young age from her home, the "Green Place of Many Mothers" by a biker gang from the desert who seeks to take over the Green Place for resources. As Furiosa is taken deeper and deeper into the Wasteland, she is caught in the crossfire between two feuding warlords, Immortan Joe (who will then become the main antagonist in Fury Road) and Dementus. The story takes place over many years, showing us what happened to Furiosa to make her the ruthless Imperator we know her as.

To start, a few notes on this film's relationship to the previous one : I think it's pretty flimsy. An origin story is supposed to give us additional information about an interesting character, and while the movie does add new elements, i just don't think it's enough. Just so we're clear : i think Furiosa is AMAZINGLY developed in this film. She's an incredible character. I just wish the film gave us more new elements. The Green Place is a major plot point in MMFR, but here it appears on screen for less than 5min. And more importantly, we never get a definitive answer as to what happened to it?! It's frustrating because as much as i love this movie's story, i think it's a bit of a false advertisement. MMFR tells us all about this heavenly place Furiosa is from, and halfway through it's revealed to have died/been destroyed. That was a hugely dramatic moment for Furiosa in FR!! We're then told we're gonna get an origin story for her, which opens with a scene in the Green Place, then the film leaves it behind to focus on the same areas we know from FR, and we're left with the same questions than 9 years ago! Showing it in a few shots doesn't matter in the end, we have gained ZERO new information about it. And most of what we "learn" about the main character in this film, apart from elements related to newly introduced characters (Dementus, Jack), is stuff that we could have guessed ourselves. It showed us events yes, but too few elements of characterisation to make this a satisfactory origin story.

There's also an issue with the movie's status as a prequel, but that's a common problem that isn't exclusive to Furiosa. To put it simply, it lacks stakes. We know Furiosa survives because we've seen her older. We know the Green Place dies off anyway. And more importantly, we already know when the conflict begins that Immortan Joe will be victorious, the whole point of FR was that he was top dog. It was a strange decision to focus so much on a conflict between Immortan Joe and ANOTHER warlord, as if we don't all remember the previous movie. Honestly, a film that follows Furiosa's mother in the Green Place, in conflict with Dementus, then ENDS with the mom dying and Furiosa being taken would have been a better choice i think! It would have been less marketable probably, but more compelling. No one would have been confused as to what happened to Furiosa between the Green Place and Fury Road. It's pretty easy to fill in the blanks with the info we got before this film. Anyway, that's enough complaining. Again, just so we're clear, i don't think this film is badly written. In fact it's the opposite! The film tells its story very well, i just personally, as a fan, wish it had told a different story.

(edit : oh yeah I forgot, there IS one massive plot hole in the film. The arm thing. Uuuuh what happened there. How... What... But hey this is Mad Max, it's told like a legend/tale. So we'll just say that detail was lost in time lol)

Holy shit, writing in bright red for 20min hurt my eyes so bad lol why did i do that.

Apart from storytelling decisions (as seen in the spoiler section above) the only other criticisms i have are : one, absolutely TERRIBLE looking CGI fire, and two, an over-abundance of fade to blacks in the editing. But that's just about my personal tastes, these always feel like they make movies seem slower to me, but it might be just me. Apart from that, well, i loved everything, so let's talk about the rest.

The movie is incredibly atmospheric. The music by Junkie XL (who had already delivered a banging ost for Fury Road) is perfect, and is incorporated into the action so naturally. It's intense, it's poetic, it all works so well. Miller's movies always have great sound in general, this one is no exception. The universe is well developed and feels lived in, as usual with the franchise. There's something interesting to look at in every shot, there's so much attention to detail everywhere. The acting is PHENOMENAL all around. I've been a huge fan of Anya Taylor Joy since Split, and she didn't disappoint here. But the biggest stand-out by far is Alyla Browne as kid Furiosa. Good child performances are far from common in blockbusters, but she's undoubtedly the star of the show here. I hope she has an amazing career ahead of her. Chris Hemsworth as Dementus was a surprise, i've almost exclusively seen this guy in Marvel slop, but he gets to shine here and he's fucking great?? I think it's the first time i hear him use his real australian accent in a role and it works great with the character. His physical comedy and line delivery are always on point, he was by far the most entertaining character. That's no surprise, Mad Max ALWAYS shines with its insane villains.

The movie's incredibly well shot and makes plenty of daring and interesting stylistic choices. It's stunning to look at. The CGI is significantly more visible than it was in FR and i'm... not sure why... The budget is after all very close to the one of the previous film, and the production was to my knowledge not rushed. On one hand the film is 30min longer but on the other hand it's also much less action packed. It might be a choice..? George Miller and his team have always handed the effects very well. The CGI in Fury Road was SO good that still to this day some people believe that the film only had technical effects with no digital help. It was invisible.

Here the effects work the same way (they enhance impressive real-life stunt work) but they are distinctly more plastic looking, and the vibe is very different. For a lot of spectators this was a problem, which i understand. For a lot of people, CGI exists to enhance visuals in a way technical effects can't, and is successful only when it is absolutely unnoticeable. That's not my opinion. As long as it's well thought out, well designed, well animated, and entertaining, i love fake ass looking films :D

(i've seen someone complain about a time-remapping issue in the CGI but even when i rewatched specific scenes i didn't notice anything, so it's probably a nitpick only animation professionals will care about.)

It's not just the visuals and the effects that feel like it was made specifically for me. The whole vibe is exactly my thing, i can't lie... There's an impressive action set-piece midway through the film that lasts almost 15 minutes, and it's... a lot. There's a lot happening at once, it's purposefully very busy to the point of being overwhelming, and some spectators found it to be too much. But fuck, i can't relate. Inject that shit straight into my bloodstream all day every day. It's insane, it's silly, but i'm a James Cameron/Whachowski fan, i don't care i love that shit. (i only like the Wachowski as artists, not as people...💀💀)

As silly as the action sometimes get, the film is actually very serious overall. It's clearly less campy and more focused than Fury Road was. As disappointing as i found some narrative choices to be, i have to admit that the story IS the film's biggest strength.

It clearly follows directly from the last movie in terms of style. But in terms of substance, i think it's closer to the original trilogy. (and i actually think this is why the movie flopped. Fury Road was already too expensive and i think it barely made its money back. But since then the movie has gotten quite the cult following, and a lot of these people were disappointed by Furiosa because it wasn't Fury Road 2. It's not a fast-paced never-ending chase, yes there's action, but it's mostly a serious, slow, silent, character driven film. And i'm really happy about that. I didn't want this saga to turn into 2hour stunt showcases. Yes i love FR, but i'm glad it turned out to be the exception in the series and not the new norm.)

As I said earlier, the best part of this film is its story. It has a great tone, it fits well in the series, the ending is frankly amazing. Some people found it anticlimactic and... Uh?? I don't get it. It was beautiful and coherent with everything we saw before. If you're like me and you're always a bit frustrated because movie antagonists rarely get the comeuppance they deserve, because the hero is like "no, I'm better than that 🙂‍↔️" then rest assured I LOVED that ending. Furiosa you're so sick and twisted. I am in love with you. WHO SAID THAT

Even tho the film is a prequel, the story takes plenty of unexpected turns and expands on the universe in a way that will please all fans of the series I think. And it's also, say it with me now : a great feminist tale.

I won't insult your intelligence by explaining why it's significant that the only safe haven in this deadly desert is named "the Green Place of Many Mothers". As I said at the beginning of this review (approximately 150 years ago), children and parenthood have always held a special place in this franchise. And since Fury Road, it's more specifically motherhood and women that take center stage. The actions of the two antagonists of this film cannot be removed from their maleness. Dementus is a creep, Immortan Joe is a monster. He holds all the power and resources of his community and collects women like livestock.

In the world of MM, People have started being infected by unknown influences and the population is mutating. Growing more and more unhealthy, less and less fertile. Those with no congenital disabilities and malformations are called full-lifes. Immortan Joe keeps a harem of women, locked up in his palace. All wearing chastity cages. Their prison is pretty, inviting, clean, the illusion of a better life. Forced to be raped by their master, they must give him a full-life male baby. Three strikes (as in, failed or disappointing pregnancies) and they're out. But they're not "out" like all the random men trying to survive on the outside. They become milkers. Supposedly kept pregnant as long as they're able to, to make more child soldiers for Immortan Joe.

When kid Furiosa is traded/sold to Immortan Joe, she becomes a future wife. She lives with the other full-life women, terrified of the master's oldest son who is a bit too interested in her. She decides to shave her head and run away from the prison to instead work as a mechanic. (Yeah it's one of these stories where no one can recognize sexual dimorphism and as long as you shave your head and don't speak you pass as male)

We see her slowly learn the ropes and work up the ranks, until she is the Imperator we all know. When her identity is discovered (before she is an imperator) Immortan Joe doesn't suggest making her a wife again. For two reasons : one, she is so talented at what she does that it is more useful to let her keep her current job, and two, by doing what she has done, she has effectively ruined her womanhood in the eyes of men, which makes her unworthy of breeding with. The wives become very important characters and a crucial plot point in Fury Road, and it's abundantly clear that Furiosa is not treated by men the way they are, even tho she too is a full-life female. To them she is better and lesser at the same time. She becomes a strong, powerful woman; and it terrifies them.

Furiosa is a great film about an even greater character. And I'm not just saying that because I love seeing myself be represented on screen (bald women 🩷). If you like Mad Max, I hope we can agree that this franchise needs more varied POVs like this. Not that I dislike Max, he's my special boy. It's just nice to see different corners of this world. If you don't know Mad Max, I hope this introduces you to it and you end up loving it as much as I do :)

Final rating : FURIOSAAAAAAA/10

This film gets the official Léna seal of approval! It's one of the best of 2024! Here's a link to the trailer.

[miniartistme]

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