Analysis of The Man from Earth - Movie Review Example

Written Analysis of a Movie- The Man from Earth due: Introduction Facts The selected movie is The man from Earth. The writer of the film is Jerome Bixby and was directed by Richard Schenkman. Main stars in the film are David Lee Smith, who in the film goes by the name John Oldman. The conception of this movie dates back in the 1960s when Jerome Bixby started it, completing it in April 1998 (Martin 2010). The story line is based on John Oldman, a self-proclaimed caveman who claims to be 14,000-year-old and still living up to the present day. He also refers to himself as an old Cro-Magnon caveman. The setting of the film starts with, it is set in a small house which has a porch. The story is kept on going by conversation of characters throughout the film, driving the plot of the film. The whole movie revolves around Cro-Magnon, his professor and teacher friends at his farewell party who play with the viewers’ intellect. The film involves characters of different professionals, ranging from an anthropologist, a biologist, a psychologist and a religious expert, all who appear in the small house, from where their friend John is preparing to leave. John keeps on moving to new places to avoid being noticed by people that he doesn’t age, a secret he has kept to himself (Philosophical Films 2007). As the movie begins, Professor John Oldman packs his belongings in a truck in preparation for moving to a new home. It is at this point that his friends gather to give him a farewell party. The friends are John Oldman, Dan, an anthropologist, Harry a biologist, Edith who is devout Christian, Sandy who is a historian in love with John, Art an archaeologist, Linda Murphy who is an Art’s student and Will Gruber who is an old psychiatrist. It is at the party that his friends curiously question John about his reasons for leaving them to another place that soon (Philosophical Films, 2007). Issue/source of conflict As John tries to explain his reasons for leaving, his friends get the revelation that John was the person who had lived for 14,000 years. His friends initially think that John is giving them one of his science fiction stories. By describing his origin, he reveals to them his long journey in life, right from the time he was given an opportunity to ride with Christopher Columbus long back in the 15th century. From this recollection, his friends come to the realization that he had, in fact, survived for the said 14,000 years. His friends get the revelation that John was once Jacques Borne and his time to leave has come since some people had started noticing he was not aging. Doubting John’s mental condition, one of his friends by the name Art calls another friend, Dr.Will Gruber, who is a psychologist to come over and talk to their friend. Sandy’s confession of her love for John is only turned down when John declares to her that they can’t live together since he is an immortal one (22:48). Substantiating his statement, he further goes on to tell them that he was once a Sumerian for 2000 years, then a Babylonian until he finally became a subject of Gautama Buddha. When Dr.Gruber finally comes, he doesn’t buy John’s story of immortality and eve points a gun right on his face. Dr.Gruber is badly hit by John’s profession of immortality. Edith and Art are not spared either. Harry, Dan, Sandy and Linda on their part cannot hide their sympathies. Explanation Shocking his friends even further, John distances himself from any religion and says he doesn’t believe in an omnipotent God. Edith is very much offended by this statement since she is a strong believer of the bible. At one time, John narrates how he blocked the pain of crucifixion when he was Jesus. He brags that he learned the technique of blocking pain while in India. Dr.Gruber later comes back and apologizes to John. His friends are not yet convinced that John is in sound mind as he continues packing his belongings onto the truck. His friends suspect that he is probably high on drugs. Edith can no longer control her emotions when John continues with his tales of being Jesus, and she breaks down in tears. It is at this point that Dr.Gruber commands John to stop the tales. He threatens John that he will lock him up for observation. John apologizes to everyone in the room and tells them that all what he had told them was just a story. All of John’s friends leave, and he apologizes to Harry and Edith. Dan however seems to have believed John’s story. The movie ends tragically when Gruber succumbs to a heart attack, after hearing John mention his father who had left the family long time ago. John finally agrees to spend a part of his life with Sandy. Concepts Religion The main conflict arises when the characters start discussing religion. They start arguing questioning whether John really believes in Christ Jesus. To this he says that he doesn’t believe in an omnipotent God, something which Edith terms as a blasphemy (57:16). To make matters even worse, John claims that he was Jesus at one time and though he neither walked on water nor healed people. Confusion settles in the room, and all the characters seem lost, not knowing where the caveman’s story is heading. John defends his claims by discussing the bible and more so the story of Jesus (1:09:29). Leadership The setting is in a room with characters from various professions; an archeologist, a biologist, a psychiatrist and religious leader. Convincing such a group of people of something as bizarre as that of John is not easy. This finds John in a tight corner as they question him on his claims. They are doing this based on facts acquired from their wide knowledge base. John however stands out as smart and is able to navigate his way to the point of almost convincing his friends. It is when he takes his claims too far that Edith breaks down sobbing out of what she believes is blasphemy(1:11:45). Dr.Gruber intervenes and demonstrates his leadership skills by commanding John to stop the lies, the hoax. Dr. Gruber’s voice is so authoritative and drives John to yield to the command. It is at this point that he confesses that all what he had narrated was just a cooked up story (1:14:35). In a funny way, he admits fabricating the story from combining knowledge he had acquired from the books his friends had lent him earlier on. However, having maintained the story to that far shows some strong convincing powers of John which illustrates leadership skills as well. It was out of this trait that his friends had sat down all that time listening to his story. Team dynamics Team dynamics forms an imperative part in a setting such as an organization or even a group of friends. Team dynamics determines the success and the life of that particular cluster; as well as the reputation. In the case of the film, the man from earth, team dynamics is well illustrated by the characters in the film. They appear to relate so well with each other. When they hear their friend John is just about to leave, they are so concerned on what could be the reason for his leaving. They, therefore, gather up in his house to bid him farewell and establish why he has decided to leave them that soon. They understand John has been there just for a while, and now here he is packing for departure. Amazingly, he confesses that he doesn’t even know where he is going something which really puzzles his friends. He confesses that he has been moving after every short time in avoidance of people realizing that he doesn’t age. In his argument, Dr. Gruber says that it is not possible for man to be immortal. He puts it that John’s claim of immortality could only be referred to as reincarnation. From their various reactions on the conflict of immortality, they are able to arrive to a conclusion that John’s story can only be a lie, a hoax, which he is forced to confess by Dr.Gruber (1:12:00). Their collaboration as a team helps them to help their friend out of his misguided thoughts. As a way of showing his regrets, John apologizes to them all for having told them such a strange; false story (1:13:15) Lessons learned The film offers a number of lessons to the viewer, no wonder it is so engaging. An important lesson from the film is the realization that good friends should always stand for each other. The characters in the film really value their relationship. They care for others, and that is why they gather at their friend John’s house not only to help him move out but find out what are his reasons for leaving the place. It is when he starts describing his immortality that they start doubting his mental status and call the doctor, Dr. Gruber. The doctor as a good friend also comes and prompts John to repeat his story which he does without any hesitation. At one point, the doctor even draws out his gun not really to harm him but to test his immortality (44:00). The second lesson we learned from the film is the importance of being firm in what we believe in. In the film, John tries all ways to convince his friends that his story is true. He is unshaken in the story, maybe from his wide knowledge on immortality as acquired from the books; he boasts of holding ten degrees (34:10). Edith on her part stands her ground and protests on John’s claims of being Jesus. She sternly warns him to cut the crap. When he continues with the storyline, Edith can no longer stand it and breaks in tears (1:11:45). Unable to continue listening to john’s story, Dr.Gruber is able to confidently command John to recant his story. The third story we learn from the film is the power of the books. John is able to fabricate such a powerful story from reading many books. Edith is unmoved in her faith from the many years she has been reading the bible. Linda who is still a student also well versed with religious studies and thus able to question John’s argument. The scholars are able to find their way out of the problem from their wide knowledge. Applications From the above-discussed learned lessons, the film passes as one that is not just entertaining but inspirational. From the first lesson, it allows us always to respect and treasure our friends always. Keeping a check on each other is an admirable trait in good friends, something we will embrace. Second important lesson as learned from the movie is the importance of confidence in what we do or say. Borrowing from the movie, the creator of the fabricated story is the same one who withdraws it after being ordered by his friend the doctor to do so. Confidence here comes in as the winning factor (Ettington, 2010). Engaging ourselves in exploring various sources of information such as books and such a film is another important trait we found essential. Equipped with diverse knowledge, we can win many battles and solve mind-boggling conflicts (Ettington, 2010). Summary of team processes We managed to work as a team in analyzing the movie. We all sat down together, in a conducive room, under well-balanced sound and critically watched the film. We all had pens and notebooks, and we would pause to capture durations deemed crucial in the analysis of the film. We watched the film in two rounds, the first one being for familiarization with it and the second watching was to allow us do a critical analysis of the movie. We employed the technology of projecting it on a white wall for a clear view. We then brainstormed on the behavior of the different characters, where we had assigned each of the team members a character, something which allowed us to overcome the problem of getting overwhelmed by the characters. Comparing our notes we were able to come up with the deep analysis of the film as discussed. This kind of assignment of characters worked well in attaining our goal. However, we were unable to establish what exactly happened to John and his lover Sandy. We could only best guess that they married thereafter. References Πετρακος, Κωστας. "The.Man.From.Earth.2007." YouTube. YouTube, 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. . Martin K. Ettington. Physical Immortality: A History and How to Guide: Or How to Live 150 Years and Beyon. ECS Associates Inc, 2010 Philosophical Films. "The Man from Earth (Philosophical Films)." The Man from Earth (Philosophical Films). 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. . Read More