beauty is all around us ..!

Rating: 9/10 (6 March 2012)

"Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, i feel like i cant take it---and my heart is just going to cave in" says Ricky Fitz (Wes Bently) after he has shown his next door neighbor/ girlfriend his tapes of a plastic bag---blowing in the wind. We need to understand that phrase if we want to get any-where near --understanding American Beauty. We also have to know Ricky has been in a mental hospital, and he is a marijuhana dealer. I have read a few reviews about this movie--and I know we all have our own views. I don't think it is about relationships, or individuals. The "look closer" message is the key. Its a bit like Mulholland Drive --not really complex. If we all looked closer perhaps we would all see the beauty in things like dancing plastic bags. Or (as Ricky does near the end of the movie).....he sees beauty in blood pouring out of Lester Burhams head (Kevin Spacey). We can talk about the neurotic Carolyn , the mis-shaped daughter , the lost in space friend , the violent father---and on and on and on. This is fundamentally a beautiful movie. We are asked to "find all that beauty in the world" We are asked to --LOOK CLOSER. This was Sam Mendes first movie. It is a visual feast---a great piece of highly original material, and a truly entertaining motion picture. After Stephen Spielberg saw it for the first time...he cried...he told Sam Mendes he had made a great movie. Analyzing it is not important------enjoy it.