Unintended Consequences
Some films are riveting despite their brutality. The Captain (2017) is another. Set during the waning days of WWII, it is an uncompromising look at the evil of which men are capable, none of it having to do with the holocaust, at least directly. It begins with a young deserter fleeing from a German patrol. He manages to elude them. As luck would have it, he comes upon an abandoned vehicle stuck in mud and finds a captain’s uniform in it. He dons it to save himself from those hunting him. Soon he is joined by a faithful noncom separated from his unit and eager to return to combat. Eventually, the faux officer is forced into situations he hadn’t anticipated and is executing deserters himself. Shot in appropriate black in white and film noir style, subtitled, it is as bleak a depiction of humanity as can be. Kudos to writer/director Robert Schwendtke and his pull-no-punches commitment to his creation. A blurb at IMDb describes his intent: “he wants viewers to reflect on what anyone of us could be capable of when put in a certain situation or a certain uniform.” If the movie is any indication, he believes just about everyone will behave monstrously, and those few who don’t would suffer dire consequences. Fortunately for most folks, they will never be put in such a situation. Supposedly, it’s a true story, although I’m sure wide poetic license was taken. Schwendtke has 13 titles listed under his name. Although I recognized several of the American made, I’ve never seen any. Maybe this is a turning point springboard to greatness. It’s always a crap-shoot to predict what art will stand the test of time, but I would not be surprised if The Captain is one day considered a masterpiece, despite its hardcore bent. 7300+ users at IMDb have rated it, forging to a consensus of 7.4 on a scale of ten. It runs just shy of two hours. It’s box office take was pathetic, not surprising given the content. Anyone squeamish about violence and despicable behavior should pass. Here’s a still of Max Hubacher as the protagonist:
Although I grudgingly favor the legalization of marijuana, I know there are unintended consequences. In an article at nypost.com, Kevin Sabet cites several (edited by yours truly): Taxpayers and communities have had to shoulder an estimated $4.50 in social costs for every $1 in revenue; no state that passed legalization has seen a drop in prison population; in Denver neighborhoods adjacent to a marijuana business saw more property crimes each year than those without one; former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper called pot revenue “a drop in the bucket.” Former California Gov. Jerry Brown agreed; traffic fatalities that involved drivers intoxicated with marijuana in Colorado rose by 86% between 2013 and 2017, with roughly one-fifth of all traffic fatalities involving a driver testing positive for marijuana by 2017; following commercialization in Colorado, calls to poison centers skyrocketed 80%, because high-potency THC is a dangerous drug. These arguments must be heard and it’s up to the proponents of legalization to refute them — if they can.
It’s rare that the floating book shop enjoys a hat trick in terms of sales of my own books. It happened on this glorious late Spring day. My thanks to Lucia, who bought both my story collections, Billionths of a Lifetime and A Hitch in Twilight, for friends; and to Bay 37th alum Lorraine, who purchased Present and Past. While she was visiting the bank I recalled that her former landlord’s sons at 141, Sal and Chucky, are both mentioned in the novel. Since she lived there only a couple of years in the mid ‘60’s, she did not remember them. My thanks also to B.S. Bob, whose connection with an agent showcasing his screenplays resulted in disappointment. He bought Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 and Wild Beauty: New and Selected Poems by Ntozake Shange for his granddaughter, who graduated high school a year early; and to the woman who selected a novel in Russian; and to the other who chose another and a large print hardcover that contains Sidney Sheldon’s The Other Side of Midnight and Rage of Angels. Business has been much better than usual lately. I hope it’s because the economy is providing folks with more disposable income, but it’s probably just dumb luck helped by stellar inventory.
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