Crimson White

It seems that conservatives learned an important lesson from their experience with Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11": If you make too much noise about a movie you don't like, more people will go see it.

"V for Vendetta" came and went without nearly as much controversy as "Fahrenheit," even though the film is evidently against religious conservatism.

One of the most striking things about "V for Vendetta" for me is that the dictatorship-like government that has Great Britain in a stranglehold in the film is easily identified as a very possible result of the Bush administration. Another important thing I noticed is that the title character, V, can only be described as a terrorist. These two ideas are the driving forces behind the ideas of the film, and really make the film one of the most thought provoking and powerful that I have seen in a long time.

The story of this film revolves around Evey, a girl in her early 20s working at a major British broadcasting company. She breaks the national curfew on her way somewhere and has a run-in with some police officers who attempt to take advantage of her. Enter V, who saves her and takes her to a rooftop to watch as he blows up the Old Bailey, which some might remember from the beginning of "A Tale of Two Cities" and concordantly recognize the significance of its destruction.

From there, Evey's and V's paths intertwine, and Evey becomes a fugitive along with V. Along the way, we get to see the inner workings of the "1984"-like government, which uses its extensive surveillance technology and strict laws to keep the people submissive.

The parallels to the present-day United States in the film are uncanny as we may be taking steps toward becoming the nation depicted in this celluloid "fantasy."

In the film, the government is able to steal away these rights of the people because a plague unleashed by dissidents ripped though the country, killing nearly 100,000 people. The leader of the government used that event as an excuse to limit citizens' rights and expand his and the government's power, intending to draw parallels to the War on Terror.

The graphic novel on which the film is based was written in the 1980s as a commentary on Margaret Thatcher's term as prime minister of England, yet it has been updated and altered for today and has lost none of the original meaning and impact.

The most intriguing aspect of the film involves the discussion of ideas versus violence in regards to causing change. V blows up several buildings to get his point across, but he also breaks into the nationwide broadcast company to send his manifesto, for lack of a better word, to the population.

By the film's end, we realize that the blown up buildings are not the main message but rather symbols that express to the oppressors that the people will take no more. As V says, "People should not be afraid of their governments - governments should be afraid of their people." To those who would say violence is never the answer, I ask, how many people did the American revolutionaries, who were terrorists in their time, kill to break away from England?

This movie is the epitome of a discussion movie - and a powerful one at that.

Rating:

**** (out of four)

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