Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Inner Journey (2)

This is what "watching movies back to back" actually means...

This is the second and final part of the post. After having studied the characters' flaws, in the first part, it is time to see how these flaws get healed, as the story progresses. We will study the father-son subplot, which is the main vehicle for this healing process, and the ways it blends in with the main plot. Plus, we will pin down the film's thematic statement, which is the lesson the characters have learnt, after all this inner process.

PLOT & SUBPLOT

The film's main plot is the story of Indiana Jones going out to find his father, who disappeared while searching for the Holy Grail. Somewhere along the way, some Nazis join in, and Indy has to stop them from obtaining the Grail or "the armies of darkness will march all over the face of the earth," as Henry says -and we take his word for it, in order to follow the story.

The film's main subplot is the parallel story of the relationship between father and son, with all its conflict. This story (which Blake Snyder calls the B-Story) gives the characters the opportunity to deal with their flaws (see first part of this post) and heal the wounds of the past.

Indy and Henry: the B-Story

This film has some very inspired moments when plot and B-Story intersect.

First of all, the whole subplot premise of Indy dealing with his dad (at this age) is very satisfactorily justified by the specific main plot: Indy learns that his father has disappeared and goes out to find him. Even though they don't get along well, now, they are forced into a situation where they have to solve their differences and collaborate, in order to save themselves.

The same applies to several of the scenes shared by the two of them. One can trace beats of plot and beats of B-story, within each scene.

Here are some examples:

The zeppelin scene

Indy: "Do you remember the last time we had a quied drink? I had a milkshake."

This scene, in the zeppelin, is a typical B-story moment, traditionally known as the "Sex at Sixty" moment: placed around the film's midpoint (60 minutes, more or less), comes a breather from the main action, where the duo can get a little more intimate.

Since the specific subplot is not a romantic one, there is, of course, no sexual intimacy. Indy does attempt emotional bonding with his father, though. This B-story moment doesn't last long, though, since Henry nudges Indy to get back to the main plot: "We have work to do..."

You have zhe diary in your pocket

A team of SS soldiers hold Indy and Henry at gunpoint, demanding Henry's diary. This plot point and its dramatic tension have to do with the main plot and the quest for the Grail.

Subplot complications arise when this tension stirs up the chronic conflict of Indy and Henry's relationship: Henry reprimands his son for not keeping the diary safely hidden away -showing again the same disapproval that has haunted Indy since childhood.

Henry: "I should have mailed it to the Marx Brothers..." The disapproval that grinds Indy's gears since childhood.

Scratching the same unresolved issue, Indy gets enraged. His daddy issue proves to be more important than the threat of the SS soldiers (who, by the way, watch the father-son conflict, amazed).

Indy's anger (and zeal to prove himself to his father) resolves the main conflict: he grabs a machine gun and shoots out the SS men.

An excellent example of a plot and subplot intersection!

There is even a punchline; Henry, not believing his eyes, continues preaching to his son, over the dead bodies: "Look what you did!"

Don't call me "Junior!"

She's one of them

The SS officer holds Elsa as hostage, demanding the diary. Again, dramatic tension having to do with the main plot.

Then, Henry introduces a twist, advising Indy to ignore the threat, as Elsa, too, is a nazi.

Indy doesn't believe it. He decides to ignore his dad and act on his own impulse.

When Elsa proves Henry right (being a nazi), she tells Indy: "You should have listened to your father," a classic phrase told to a little boy who has messed something up, which hits Indy where it hurts.

A NOTE ON ELSA

Although audiences are used to romantic subplots in action movies, the love story between Indy and Elsa is not the primary subplot (or B-story).

Elsa serves several functions in the story, including the love interest, the shapeshifter, and -most importantly- the catalyst.

Shadowy Elsa: femme fatale, shapeshifter, and a catalyst.

She is a catalyst for the plot, helping or betraying Indy, depending on the situation, but she is also a catalyst for the B-story, complicating the father-son conflict: Indy sleeps with her and later finds out that his father has also done the same. Indy's awe towards his father gets even more intense -and awkward.

INNER JOURNEY'S RESOLUTION

The B story concists of a series of scenes, where father and son clash. After several moments of lesser or greater conflict between the two, it seems that they will never get over their issues.

As the movie progresses, though, come three moments where Indy and Henry almost lose each other. Let's see them, one by one:

The tank - At first, Henry almost loses his son, when the tank falls over the cliff. "I've lost him. And I haven't told him anything. Five minutes would have been enough."

Screenwriting textbook: an "all is lost" moment, just before the break into Act III. Indy's death gives Henry an opportunity for introspection.

What could he have said in five minutes? How much he loved him? Or some parental advice? Who knows? When Indy climbs back the cliff, reconciliation lasts only a few seconds, before dad orders his son to get back to his feet and to the quest.

Donovan's bullet - Later, Indiana almost loses his father, when Henry gets shot.

Donovan's bullet gives Indy a serious reason to get the Grail: his father's life.

YI can almost reach it - Finally, Henry almost loses Indiana, again, when the latter makes a last effort to retrieve the Grail from the crack in the floor.

Indy's last effort to win his father's approval: he must get him his trophy.

This last moment is the most critical. It is the moment when Henry chooses his son over the Grail, showing that he has learnt his lesson. He calls his son "Indiana," instead of Junior, asking him to let go of the Grail. He doesn't need this obsession; neither does Indiana need to win his father's approval.

With this, Indiana takes the satisfaction he has been after for decades; he immediately lets go of his efforts to impress his father and becomes an adult, again.

During the aftermath scene, at the very end, Henry summarises the lesson learnt: the Grail had been an obsessive trophy for him, just as it was for Elsa. After this adventure (and after almost losing his son), though, Henry has realised the its true meaning: a symbol of illumination; knowing of what is truly important in life.

Indy, too, has grown. When his father calls him "Junior," again, Indy gets his ultimate lesson: the knowledge that some things -like his father's habits- just don't change. He has still gotten in touch with his father, during this adventure. "Yes, sir!" he smiles, riding with Henry into the sunset.

THEME

Every film's theme is a summary of the lesson learnt (or not learnt) by the characters. Just like the moral of a bedtime story, the theme is what the audience takes home, after the credits, along with the choice to apply it to their own lives or not.

Thus, we can figure out the theme of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, by summarising what Henry and Indy have learnt.

Is it a lesson about parent-child relationships? Does it have to do with obsessions versus things that truly matter? Perhaps, people that truly matter? How obsessions stand in the way of our getting in touch with these people?

At the end of the film, Henry speaks about "illumination," as he has learned to put his son before his obsessions. His lesson can be stated as:

"Our obsession for trophies stands in the way of our connecting with now and what truly matters."

His choice acts as a catalyst to Indy's problem, too, who finally sees that his father loves him. Immediately, Indy abandons his struggle to impress him.

Indiana's lesson can be summarised as:

"Our obsession for our parents' approval stands in the way of our growth as adults."

Now, if we consider that Henry's approval was a special Holy Grail to Indiana, we can combine the lessons of both Henry and Indy into the one thematic statement of Henry's lesson, on trophies.

A trophy can be anything: a Grail, a car, a promotion, or the approval of others.

AFTERWORD: A NOTE ON KASIM

Kasim is the character who carries the film's theme.

He tells Indy: "Ask yourself: why do you seek the cup of Christ? Is it for His glory or yours?"

In other words, why are you doing what you are doing? Are you after after your inner truth or simply another trophy?

Unconsciously, Indy gives a true answer: "I didn't come for the cup of Christ. I came to find my father."

It is up to him, however, to make his own message clear to himself: is he after saving his father or after proving that the son is worthy enough to save the father?

 

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Inner Journey (1)

This is an analysis of the characters' arc in the third Indiana Jones film.

The article will span in two parts. In this, first part, we will analyse the character flaws of Indiana and Henry Jones, as well as the armour that Indiana has developped, to keep his flaw hidden.

In the second part, next week, we will go deeper into the father-son subplot and how it interweaves with the main plot, as well as discover and state the film's theme.

 

BACKSTORY WOUNDS & CHARACTER FLAWS

Henry Jones has a flaw: he is obsessed with the Holy Grail, an obsession that excludes any meaningful communication with his son, Indiana. The search for the Holy Grail has taken such mythic a size in his mind, that he is unable to experience the upbringing of his son and be a father to him.

Indiana Jones's wound is a chronic one: because of Henry's obsession, he was always ignored by his father.

We see this in the film's first sequence, when Indy risks his life to save the Cross of Coronado from antiquity smugglers. When he takes the cross home, his father completely ignores him, absorbed into his studies.

Indy: "What you taught me was that I was less important to you than people who'd been dead for five hundred years in another country and I learned it so well that we've hardly spoken for twenty years."

As the story unfolds, we understand that, even more than his father's attention, Indiana begs for his approval. Henry's indifference has left him with a serious flaw: even as an adult, he makes great effort to impress his strict father.

A remarkable element of irony is the heredity the two Jones share in regard to obsessions of archeological interest. They both seek trophies, perhaps forgetting their deeper meaning. The fact that, in his forties, Indy is still chasing the Cross of Coronado, is an indicator of how deeply rooted this tendency is. Henry, on the other hand, has devoted his whole life to the search of the Grail.

Note: We don't know what wound has caused Henry's obsession. We can only speculate as to whether his own father had played some part to it.

 

ARMOUR

In order to cover up his flaw, Indy wears the armour of his own adulthood. Of course all these issues belong to the past; he is not a child anymore. His father can't tell him what to do. He is a scientist and an academic. And an adventurer. And he flirts and sleeps with women. He is a grown man!

When introduced to Elsa, Indy flirts with her, without expecting what's coming...

This armour doesn't take much to get slammed, though. Firstly, every time he gets close to his father, Indy turns into "Henry Jones Junior," a boy living under the shadow and struggling to win the approval of a self-absorbed father figure.

Secondly, we never know whether his choice of profession is another way of proving himself to his father.

Finally, in regard to the ladies, Indy will soon find out that he and his dad share more than the passion for archeology, making their relationship even more awkward.

 

INDY'S STRENGTH

There is one element of Indy's personality that does actually help him (and Henry) in their quest: his being an adventurer. This makes him very different to his father, who is a bookworm (and hates rats). Without Indy's adventurous personality, Henry would have never gotten to see the Grail.

--

The second and final part of this analysis is here.

 

Couple Films: Rediscovering Love During Conjugal Hero Quest

Date Night: A couple with a problem.

Two horrors and a comedy from the past decade teach us the same lesson: bored couples need an adventure to find their lost special something.

Films like Open Water, Vacancy, and Date Night may not have marriage problems as the main conflict, but star couples in problematic marriages. As the films progress, their protagonists get mixed up in live-threatening plots. In order to survive, they cooperate and eventually resolve their marriage crisis.

 

Case Studies

In 2010 comedy Date Night, worn out by marriage and parenthood, a couple decides to have a special night out. When they take somebody else’s reservation in a VIP restaurant, the mob mistakes them for the thieves of an important flash drive.

In 2007 horror Vacancy, after their car breaks down in a country road, a couple checks in a stinking motel. Once settled, they discover that they are captives of a snuff movie circuit.

In 2003 horror Open Water, a couple on a snorkeling holiday gets left behind and drifts into shark-infested waters.

 

Elements in Common

Each of the three films begins showing a couple in crisis. No matter what the main plot is, the question is the same: Can they find love again? How will their romantic subplot be resolved?

Open Water: busy couple leaving for holidays; they are about to reconsider what is important in life...

Open Water: laptop in bed.

Then, something happens, that puts their lives in danger. Sharks, snuff-filmmakers, or the mob turn their marriage problems into secondary priority.

No matter what the main plot is, the question is the same: Can they find love again?

At the end of the film, the couple realises that they still love each other. The resolution of the romantic subplot brings forth the films’ common theme: Those tired of the conjugal life’s banality, by going through the adventure, learn to appreciate what they have always had.

 

Scenes in Common

The couples go through the same inner journey, from crisis to reunion. The three films feature common scenes as essential turning points of their love stories.

Date Night: mouth guard against intimacy.

First, there is always a scene of sexual dysfunction in the story’s setup. It appears that sex life is the first thing that suffers in a flawed relationship. In Date Night, he asks her to "fool around" in bed, but when she clumsily removes her mouth guard, he loses his appetite. In Open Water and Vacancy, it is the wife who is not in the mood.

Open Water: the wife's refusal of the call. The nudity that comes before this scene will be one of the examples analysed in future post "On Nudity," on this blog. Behold!

A major quarrel is also crucial, during which they bring forth untold things and blame each other for their misfortune. In Vacancy, they quarrel throughout the whole first act, while in Date Night, the quarrel breaks out at the film's midpoint.

Very often, a temporary separation makes them realise how much they need each other. In Open Water, they panic as they wake up to find that they have drifted apart. The moment of separation, however short, can also make them rediscover each other’s hidden virtues. In Date Night, when she comes out of a dressing room disguised as a stripper, he remembers how sexy she can be.

Date NIght: The wife as the husband's fantasy.

Finally, moments of forgiveness drive their inner journey towards resolution. In Date Night, right after their big quarrel, they decide that they want to stay together. It is the first promise that they will make the relationship work. In Open Water, shortly after a huge argument, they say they love each other and share some candy found in her diving suit pocket. We can’t know for sure that they have learnt their lesson, but we can assume that this is the moment that they feel the closest to each other.

"And they lived happily ever after" is not necessary for their love story to be resolved positively. At their last moments, they come as close to each other as ever.

 

The Heroine's Journey

The two horror films share another common point. Both of them start with the husband being stronger and more positive than his wife. He pep talks and plans their survival, while she fears and resists. (She is also the one who turns down the sex proposal.) As the film progresses, though, the wife outgrows her husband and drives the story to the end. Therefore, it is the wife who has the bigger character’s arc. When the husband-mentor fails, she gathers the strength, transforms into a heroine, and finishes the adventure.

Vacancy: the wife takes over as the film's Act III unfolds.

Date Night, on the other hand, has a more balanced approach to its heroes. Not only their weaknesses are comparable, but also their hidden skills surprise each other all the time. Nevertheless, the wife’s journey is still stated as more difficult: "Everything you're doing, I'm doing in heels!" she shouts at him as they climb up a fire escape.

 

The Couple’s Adventure

Almost losing something in order to appreciate it may sound like a banal theme. The protagonists learn their lesson, and the film ends before the audience finds out the endurance of the lesson learnt.

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Can any villain be truly more devastating than the mundanity of habit, in a long-term relationship?

One may ask, what happens to couples who only have their persistence and patience to continue through every day’s mundanity, without sharks, without killers, without adventures to rock the boat? This may well be the most difficult adventure, asking for real every-day heroes.

 

Chinatown Plot Diagram

The following spaghetti incident is the result of me figuring out what actually happens in Chinatown -including all evidences' plants and payoffs.

Its basic structure resembles Blake Snyder's Board (first row is Act One, second and third are Act Two, and fourth is Act Three), while sequences are marked with letters A, B, etc., according to Frank Daniel's teachings.

In the yellow box, there is an index with the colour coding, in regard to the several characters and their subplots.

Enjoy!

(Diagram created with Grafio app.)

Movie Plots: Doing the Twist

The Usual Suspects' twist at the end: a delight or an insult to the audience?

In a film’s plot, a twist is the revelation of new information, which surprises the audience and makes them reconsider what they know about the story so far. If carefully prepared and executed, a twist can be a moment of great delight.

Plot Twist Placement

One common misunderstanding is that a twist only happens at the very end of a film. In fact, twists appear anywhere in a story.

Both sister and daughter? That's too twisted, even for Jake Gittes.

When Faye Dunaway shouts “She's my sister and my daughter,” several scenes before Chinatown’s finale, she causes a major twist, which becomes the catalyst for the story’s resolution.

Bill Murray’s realisation that he lives the same day for a second time is the film's inciting incident; a twist that happens not far from the beginning of Groundhog Day, setting the story’s major conflict and giving him the whole film to resolve it.

Friday the 13th franchise: Jason keeps coming back to life; a twist that everyone expects.

Supernatural slasher films, like of the series Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street, start and finish with the dead killer coming back to life, to continue his murder spree. This is a twist of which the purpose is not to surprise, but to fulfill the audience’s expectations for these films’ genre conventions.

It is obvious that, depending on their placement, twists have different functions in story structure. Nevertheless, the twist at the end is the one with the biggest effect, determining the audience's utter satisfaction or disappointment.

Problems With the Twist at the End

Problematic twists usually appear near the end of films, because it is the most difficult part for the screenwriter to pull off. A twist near the beginning, however absurd, can still be promising and lead to a strong story, as long as the issues that it brings are resolved later. Such, for example, is the case of Groundhog Day.

As a story progresses towards the end, though, the audience knows the characters inside out and expects a satisfying resolution, according to what has happened so far. Anything else feels artificial or random.

Examples of Problematic Twists at the End

The policeman is as amazed -and as fooled- as the audience.

Although many may argue with this opinion, the end of The Usual Suspects is an example of a very problematic twist. However impressive it may be, it comes from nowhere, without any setup that could justify it as meaningful. Moreover, it expresses a hubristic stance that the screenwriter is superior to the audience he has amazed, because he can exploit their suspension of disbelief. He creates and cancels plot as he likes, taking the audience for a ride just as his devilish villain Keyser Söze swindles the policeman. Not only is the twist unsatisfactory, but it also pushes the boundaries of storytelling morals, as the writer gains the impressions, but loses our trust.

How can you be saved, after you have danced with the devil? By introducing an "It was all a dream" twist.

In The Devil’s Advocate, the final twist shows that the whole film has been only a flash-forward and the protagonist has a second chance to make the right decisions. A problematic resolution that causes the audience's empathy for the protagonist to disappear. We, real people, seldom have second chances in life and, unless one is a psychic, even less common are flash-forwards. If the ending of The Devil's Advocate left you a bit dissatisfied, maybe this is the reason.

In Wild Things, there is a series of final twists that form a sequence of false endings. The result is that the story has no real conclusion -and who cares?- as the false endings undermine the power of the real one. The audience’s empathy for the characters and concern for the outcome is gone. (False endings are explicitly ridiculed in Robert Moore's 1976 comedy Murder by Death.)

The Sixth Sense’s Success

The Sixth Sense has a frequently discussed and utterly satisfying twist, the success of which lies on the following elements:

• Its setup and payoff process is a masterpiece, executed without leaving the audience feeling cheated. If we watch the film for a second time, we are satisfied to see that the screenwriter pulls off such a storytelling stunt in an honest and respectful to the audience way.
• It is meaningful: it finally explains Bruce Willis's ruined marriage - he has lost his wife because he is, actually, dead.
• It is ironic: a little boy who can see the dead learns to accept his powers with the help of a dead man.
• Although the twist is meaningful, the story doesn’t rely on it to have meaning. The story's main tension is resolved before the twist: dead or not, Willis helps the kid accept his supernatural powers.

A Twist Steals the Show

A successful twist can offer great delight to the movie-goers. There is, however, the question of whether a good story is helped by an overwhelming twist. It is very likely that The Sixth Sense’s masterpiece twist helped the film’s box office numbers; several people may have watched this $40m-budget film at least twice, contributing to the film's worldwide gross of almost $673m. It may be a little unfair, though, that most people hardly remember anything other than the final twist at the end of a very touching story.