Special effects and soul

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 2010)

2009 has been a year of soulless special effects films- Transformers 2, and GI Joe come to mind in particular. Military-centric and lacking in anything resembling a real character, it depressed me to find such emotionally cold film-making was making so much money.James Cameron is the remedy.
As a director, he has often very successfully managed to balance intriguing and exciting film premises with human elements that made you care for characters- he has an amazing way of making you invest in the people he created.
But Avatar, for me, represents a more mature James Cameron. In Aliens and True Lies Cameron, much like the Michael Bays of today, had a boyish fascination with weaponry and the technology of war. Now James Cameron, the man, expresses his disgust at these objects. This is NOT a worship of firepower- it is a damning indictment of it.
Avatar has a story that acts as analogy for many things- colonialism, America's supposed war on terror, labelling Palestine's resistance fighters as terrorists, the human desire for profit vs the human need for environmental preservation. It is very much a product of our time, and it is hugely passionate in its execution. In my mind Avatar represents Cameron's rage.
More that this, when we hear the horrified and angry screams of an invaded population, we hear our own frustration. The film had me in tears at some points, because of the clarity and resonance of its message.
The film is not all doom and gloom- it is inspiring also. It demonstrates there exist universal principles that transcend race or allegiance of country, it celebrates spirituality, and abhors the arrogance of men and their guns. There were moments when the film gave me goosebumps.
Please see this film if it feels like the world around you doesn't always show the humanity you feel it should, if you don't understand why people's lives are so expendable in the pursuit of oil, land or empty victory. It is a strangely validating experience to find so many of your feelings so poetically reflected. Thank you Mr Cameron.