Coluna Claquete – January, 17th 2014
Movies of the Week: “Delivery Man” and “Rush”
What would you do if you discover that you are father of 533 children? This is the theme of “Delivery Man”, a movie that is sold as a comedy, though it delas with an extremely delicate and importante subject, about what is the true role of fatherhood.
This movie is actually a remake of canadian production “Starbuck”, 2011, both directed by Ken Scott. It is curious a remake so soon, but as the original film is spoken in Quebecois (Canadian French), it is natural Hollyood to want a spoken English version for the American market, not used to reading subtitles. Believe it, or not, there is a third version, french, with the title “Fonzy”.
Both versions are identical, centered on the character David Wozniak (Vince Vaughn, in the American version, Patrick Huard in the original) a man that in his youth earned money donating sperm to a bank of fertilization.
Twenty years later, David is still the same attitude towards life, which causes him big problems with the current girlfriend, Emma (Cobie Smulders), a serious police officer, who discovers to be pregnant, but does not consider David the ideal father.
At the same time, David is informed that he is the subject of a lawsuit against the fertilizationbank for which donated, and that was used to generate no less than 533 children! The problem is that 142 of these young people wanted to know the identity of his biological father.
At first startled by the impact of the news, David is curious about his “children” and decides to meet them, without identifying himself. The surprises are many, such as an ex-addicted girl, the waiter who aspires to be an actor, the kid with cerebral palsy, and many others. Gradually, he realizes the beauty of being a parente, while struggling with financial problems, family quarrels, and difficulties with his girlfriend.
Despite the script uneventful and predictable ending, the film presents an interesting provocation: what is being a father? In our tropical paradise to be biological father implies legal liability, so this story would never happen here. But knowing the fact that a human being is a part of you should always be exciting, unless the person is a great selfish.
But, and the one that fosters? In the film it is not clear the relationship with the foster parents, but the search for the origin awakens a pride in the protagonist for his “offspring” and the desire to be a father in all senses. In reverse of the natural process, the children educate and mature their father.
The two versions are very similar, although Vince Vaughn is one actor of “a single character”. For those who want to know the French spoken in Canada is a good chance, although I only understood a dozen lines, even having studied during four years the language of Victor Hugo and Jules Verne.
Another movie that charmed me this weekend was “Rush”, which deals with the rivalry between Formula 1 drivers James Hunt and Nikki Lauda in the 1976 championship, one of the most remarkable in the whole history of the sport.
The film shows a bit of the background of the two pilots, when they were still novices in basic competitions. James Hunt, played by “Thor” Chris Hemsworth, has always walked around with speed, drink and women, not necessarily in that order, while the austrian Nikki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) invested seriously in his career with great technique and planning.
With different means, both riders succeed in penetrate the select world of Formula 1, in an age where risks were part of the thrill of the sport, accidents were frequent, and at least two pilots died each year.
The 1976 championship was fiercely competitive, with Hunt and Lauda taking turns in first place, with advantage to the austrian, until he suffered a serious accident at the Nurburgring in Germany, where his car caught fire and he was trapped in for several minutes, almost losing his life and suffering many burns.
With great determination, Lauda returned to the championship 42 days after the accident, which fueled more attention from the world of motoring, a dispute that would only be decided in the final minutes of the last race of the season.
Although the movie focuses of the two pilots, that season of Formula 1 had big names in action, as Clay Regazzoni, Mario Andretti, Jacques Laffite, and four brazilian racers: Emerson Fittipaldi, Ingo Hoffmann, Alex Dias Ribeiro and José Carlos Pace. Fittipaldi, in a way, contributed to the permanence of James Hunt in Formula 1, since he got the job of the brazilian at McLaren, when Emerson went to Copersucar.
Another interesting point of the film is the question of the safety of drivers, of less importance at that time, and, after 1976, it was reformulated with requirements of safety conditions for circuits and more rigid restrictions regarding the cars.
One can not deny a certain sympathy in the way Lauda is shown in the film, with his way of good guy, doing everything by the right way, while Hunt is shown – in a very faithful portrait, with a bon vivant lifestyle. But as Lauda witness, despite the rivalry, Hunt was whom he respected most in the Formula 1 environment. It is hardly remembered his act of heroism in the accident in the Italian Grand Prix in 1978, when died Ronnie Peterson, and Hunt helped pull the swedish racer from his car still on fire.
Technically, “Rush” brings a perfect recreation of the time, with good performances (though Hemsworth always seems to be Thor lost on Earth), and a so well done script, that even in the case of facts well known, accompanied by most people, yet manages to keep the viewer’s attention until the final minutes.