From: mleeper@optonline.net   
      
   Martin Gardner once wrote a book about what he called the "Aha!-   
   experience."  That is the instant in problem solving when all the   
   pieces of the puzzle fit together and everything makes sense.   
   MISSION IMPOSSIBLE was an entire TV series designed to create   
   "Aha!" experiences.  In each episode the main characters knew   
   exactly what they were doing, but until the end the viewer was   
   confused.  Then at the end everything fit together.   
      
   Don't look for that sort of scripting in the current Tom Cruise   
   "Mission Impossible" series or at least look for it in the current   
   "Ocean's 11" series, which seems to leave the viewer guessing until   
   the end of the story.   
      
   The Coen Brothers' BLOOD SIMPLE is sort of the dual of TV's MISSION   
   IMPOSSIBLE.  It is a film about the "Huh?" experience.  Through   
   most of the convoluted plot, it is the viewer who knows what is   
   going on and the characters keep finding out that they only   
   *thought* they knew what was happening.  With the exception of the   
   moments when the plot twists, it is really easy to keep track of   
   what is happening.  Yet, like RASHOMON, each character has a   
   different understanding of who is doing what to whom.  The plot can   
   just be described as slow chaos punctuated with moments of   
   delicious confusion from the characters.   
      
   This is a film of very high production values which looks as if it   
   was printed on cheap film stock.  Somehow the film stock gives it a   
   gritty feel of authenticity that a slick production would lack.   
   There are some incredible camera shots in this film and it is   
   amazing that they do not feel contrived.  It is like reading Victor   
   Hugo: the first time you read a paragraph, you are amazed at how   
   well-written it is, and only secondarily you realize that it really   
   did advance the plot.  Scenes in this film are amazing in the same   
   way.   
      
   One scene toward the end of the film is particularly haunting.  We   
   are in a dark room and someone is shooting holes in the wall from a   
   well-lit room.  The effect is one of columns of light sprouting out   
   of a dark wall.  The scene fits naturally into the plot, but still   
   is an unforgettable image.  The effect was used again in SILVERADO.   
      
   In some way I still do not understand, the cameraman is   
   unobtrusively able to make the viewer notice props that will be   
   important later.  A prop will become important in the plot and the   
   viewer finds himself thinking, "Yes, I noticed that prop five   
   minutes ago, but it was in a corner of the screen and I thought   
   noticing it was my idea."   
      
   I rate this a low +3 on the -4 to +4 scale.   
      
   Film Credits:   
      
      
   What others are saying:   
      
      
   --   
   Mark R. Leeper   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)