Avatar at the Cinema

One of my first adventures with this kind of cinema was undoubtedly Jurassic Park. I remember that at the time hundreds of children, led by teachers, made their way across the city to the Forum. True pilgrimages. At the cinema, as one of the pupils from one of the primary schools, I sat in the second row. I remember screaming with the other children when some dinosaur suddenly appeared on the screen, wanting to kill one of the human heroes of the story. One of the best films I have ever seen! The best, because I was impressed by it for a long time! The best, because it evoked so many emotions in me! The best, because the whole cinema, full of delighted pupils and teachers, experienced it with me. The best, because it was the beginning of the 1990s, and the hunger for luxury goods—chewing gum, colourful clothes, Hollywood films—was enormous. At school, of course, we had to write a review of the film we had seen. Almost every one ended with the sentence: “I liked the film,” except for a review by one of my classmates, who reworked parts of a review from “Bravo.” Unfortunately, that particular review did not appeal to the teacher: the profound metaphor about scientists mixing dinosaur DNA in a pot was taken literally and treated as a factual error! Oh, if only the reviewers from “Bravo” had known that they were oracles for primary-school pupils and could negatively affect their grades!

And then it turned out that I had outgrown blockbusters.

Nevertheless, I decided to go to the cinema to see Avatar. Cameron did not earn any money from me with Titanic (I am not fond of stories about unhappy love), so I decided to support him this time. Why? People said that the film had an efficient, though simple, screenplay, but that visually it was truly exceptional. I therefore thought that its visual qualities were worth making a small concession to my own tastes and going to the cinema. I went to a screening in 3D, mindful of the impressions made on me by films at the Berlin Imaxx. I was a little disappointed. Although the director had waited for years for the technology of making three-dimensional films to become good enough to realise his idea, the film uses it in a rather limited way. Of course, the impression of three-dimensionality is undeniable; nevertheless, there are not many surprising effects of the kind known from films prepared specifically for this technology.

Visually, the film—regardless of whether it is seen in 3D or in the traditional format—still delights. It is not without reason that I mentioned Jurassic Park at the beginning: in both cases, the directors created elements of the depicted world based on things that do not exist in the real world. And it turns out that the worlds they present can look truly convincing. Dinosaurs? Spielberg asks. Here you are—they look alive! But what are dinosaurs compared with what Cameron has conjured before our eyes? In films, aliens are usually disgusting monsters. The worlds they inhabit can be just as repulsive to us as the physiognomy of their inhabitants. Cameron, however, makes both the inhabitants and their planet simply beautiful! Beautiful like the films about nature by David Attenborough! It is simply a world we often dream of ourselves—a world in which harmony between a thinking being and the nature surrounding it is possible and determines that being’s happiness. The filmmakers’ extraordinary imagination created captivating images—ingenious scenes of taming animals, moss that glows at night when touched by feet, and breathtaking views.

As for the film’s content itself, I must be somewhat more critical here. Indeed, the story is rather predictable and simple, but nevertheless not crude. It is probably already familiar to everyone, including people who have not seen the film, but for the sake of order I, too, will briefly summarise it: a young war veteran, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), arrives on the moon Pandora. He is to take the place in the research of his deceased twin brother, a scientist, for whom an avatar was created—a body closely resembling Pandora’s inhabitants. Avatars make it possible to conduct in-depth research on the moon. They collect various samples, reach the Na’vi tribe living near the scientific base, and learn their language. The scientists, especially the female character played by Sigourney Weaver, hope that their research may reveal how to bring back to life the Earth degraded by humans. It soon becomes clear, however, that the researchers’ goals are not the main reason for the humans’ presence on the planet. After all, no one would finance such an undertaking if it were not profitable—and it is: Pandora contains an extraordinary mineral, even small quantities of which are enough to produce enormous amounts of energy. It is not difficult to guess that a conflict will arise between the scientists and the soldiers representing a powerful consortium, and that the moon faces enormous danger from greedy humans. It is also not difficult to guess that the main character, a soldier through and through, will undergo an inner transformation under the influence of his love for an inhabitant of Pandora and thanks to the respect the Na’vi have for the world in which they live. We will also quickly realise that the inhabitants of the moon will have to engage in an unequal struggle with the humans.

Although the screenplay readily draws on tried-and-tested patterns, we should not feel bored by it—the material filling that pattern, and making it possible for us somehow to distinguish Hollywood films from one another, is genuinely interesting. Along with Jake Sully, we gradually discover the world of the Na’vi, and it conceals many wonderful secrets.

I cannot agree with the opinion expressed by Danuta Maślicka in her column that Avatar is a film that teaches nothing. Indeed, it is not a film for children, hence the age restriction: children aged 12 and over may see it. As for emotion, however, most viewers experience it, and the film teaches that violence is one of the worst ideas for solving any problem. This lesson is expressed rather simply, but after all, it is a zero-level film that does not require great intellectual preparation from the viewer. Besides, voices immediately emerged in America claiming that Avatar was a criticism of the American presence in Iraq. Cameron accepts such interpretations. They are rather naïve, since it is not difficult to deny that the similarities between Iraq and Pandora are quite loose—the inhabitants of both lands do not speak English, are almost defenceless against America, and… well, I do not know what else to add—but they underline that viewers perceive the film as an apotheosis of pacifism.

Interestingly, however, Danuta Maślicka’s opinion is close to those expressed in “L’Osservatore Romano”: So much astonishing technology, which enchants, but few genuine emotions, human emotions, in a world of aliens, even though it is extraordinarily conceived and presented. Let us remember, however, that this is popular cinema. Commercial success is the most important thing here. And that is difficult when a film is too complicated.

Katarzyna Boćkowska