Last Film You Saw

Bill Walker said:

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World​


Russell Crowe in the Napoleonic wars.
good film.
Click to expand...
I've seen it a few times. Loved it every single time, until the last. It all fell completely fucking flat for some reason. Even the weevil scene grated on me. I put it down to just having read a touch the real captains of that time, the likely inspiration for Jack Aubrey and Hornblower. Even the best of them, were really compromised people, if you look at their entire career. All corrupt, playing politics (the most Aubrey like of the lot stood as an MP, got done for corruption). The dangers politics posed, and rampant entitlement and corruption, meant he ended up changing sides to join a foreign state, you could say he did that rather than face justice or continue to fight for England. Dad loved the Aubrey novels and wouldn't have put him in the same class as Hornblower - for me, the distinction is a bit fuzzier. He's definitely an idealised portrait of the real thing. OK, he plays violin and his mate is a biologist, but that sort of looks like A level window dressing for people who like a bit of culture. It is just fancier picture of who we'd like them to be. The real thing, it's a sadder story. It did seem relevant to how politics has been of recent years. I don't know who was an idealist, to what extent. Who really wanted to fight for good. Perhaps politics made mincemeat out of their commitment to their country. Perhaps they went into it greedily and cynically in the first place. The opportunity was definitely there. I dunno. It seems like a much bigger story, about the reality of being "someone" in England / Britain actually. Maybe I should read the books to see if that comes through.
 
Summerbuzz said:
I've seen it a few times. Loved it every single time, until the last. It all fell completely fucking flat for some reason. Even the weevil scene grated on me. I put it down to just having read a touch the real captains of that time, the likely inspiration for Jack Aubrey and Hornblower. Even the best of them, were really compromised people, if you look at their entire career. All corrupt, playing politics (the most Aubrey like of the lot stood as an MP, got done for corruption). The dangers politics posed, and rampant entitlement and corruption, meant he ended up changing sides to join a foreign state, you could say he did that rather than face justice or continue to fight for England. Dad loved the Aubrey novels and wouldn't have put him in the same class as Hornblower - for me, the distinction is a bit fuzzier. He's definitely an idealised portrait of the real thing. OK, he plays violin and his mate is a biologist, but that sort of looks like A level window dressing for people who like a bit of culture. It is just fancier picture of who we'd like them to be. The real thing, it's a sadder story. It did seem relevant to how politics has been of recent years. I don't know who was an idealist, to what extent. Who really wanted to fight for good. Perhaps politics made mincemeat out of their commitment to their country. Perhaps they went into it greedily and cynically in the first place. The opportunity was definitely there. I dunno. It seems like a much bigger story, about the reality of being "someone" in England / Britain actually. Maybe I should read the books to see if that comes through.
Click to expand...

Ah, you've come across Thomas, Lord Cochrane! Genuinely mental career. Has a museum in Valparaiso, HQ of the Chile navy, for helping free Chile from the Spanish.

Mind you, I thought that he was invited by a friend to go and do it because the Royal Navy wouldn't make him an admiral. Didn't fight against the British though.
 
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