There are some movies that become part of the family tradition over the years. When my parents were alive, one of those movies was Raising Arizona, a Coen Brothers movie with Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter that is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. We watched it periodically just to remind ourselves how crazy life can be.
In our immediate family, one of those movies is Powder, released in 1995, and starring Mary Steenburgen, Sean Patrick Flanery and Lance Henriksen. The plot is pretty simple. From IMDB: “A young, bald, albino boy with unique powers shakes up the rural community he lives in.” But that pithy summary tells you absolutely nothing about the human complexities in the story, the raw emotion you feel throughout the film, and the visionary qualities that are universal to the human condition, particular now.
We watched it again tonight, and were astonished that Powder never garnished any movie awards. Sean Patrick Flannery, who plays Powder, is simply amazing in this movie. He subsequently played VP Greg Stilson in the TV show The Dead Zone, was the young Indiana Jones, and is scheduled for a whole bunch of films in 2011 and 2012. While we were watching, Megan paused the movie to tell us about the writer/director, Victor Salva, who was convicted of child molestation. When the film was released, the boy he molested boycotted the film, which undoubtedly contributed to its “less than stellar box office.” (IMDB)
Yet, when we watched this film, we were struck by the evolved message. In one particularly moving scene, Powder is with a young woman at a park (Melissa Lahlitah Crider and asks to hold her hand. This woman was in his science class the day Jeff Goldblum (the teacher) did an electricity experiment and the electrical current shot out of the contraption Goldblum used to illustrate his scientific point – and into Powder, eventually levitating him.
In the park, he’s trying to describe to the woman how most people, within themselves, feel isolated and alone and separate from everything and everyone, but that’s not really how it is. Everything and everyone is connected, he says, and then touches his fingers to hers. And suddenly, she gets it. She understands. He is showing her Indra’s Net. They are completely tuned into each other and to everyone and everything that is connected to them.
In another moving scene, Lance Henricksen, who plays the sheriff, suddenly realizes what Powder is and asks him to come to his home, where his wife is dying. The doctors don’t understand why his wife is still alive and Powder becomes a conduit that enables Henricksen to communicate with his wife. He learns his wife can’t pass on until she is certain that Henricksen and his estranged son reconcile. At this point in the film, Megan bursts out, “My God, Powder is pure energy, that’s what this movie is about.”
And by the end of the movie, it’s obvious that she’s right. As Goldblum puts it at one point, You’re what humanity might be in a thousand years.
If you haven’t seen this movie, by all means treat yourself to it. There’s profundity here, and even though it was made 16 years ago, the message may be even more pertinent today.
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An interesting synchro. While Megan paused the movie to comment about Powder as pure energy, out white cat, Powder, jumped onto the couch for some human loving and Rob exclaimed, “Synchro. Let’s write it up.”
Here’s the trailer:
https://youtu.be/YJexgdk6tw4
Well its great that I can load this page again. Whatever you guys did, it worked! As for the director being a child molester, it doesn’t necessarily detract from his work. We tend to define people by their best and/or worst deeds, but human beings are far more complex than that. There are few amongst us who would be able to cast that first proverbial stone, being without sin (not that I’m an advocate of the concept of ‘sin’).
You’re right. His work is brilliant. Glad you were able to load the site, Marcus!
I saw this movie years ago,but it never really grabbed me.
Maybe I’ll have to give it another viewing?
A movie that I’m hoping to catch on Wednesday night is this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=wzD0U841LRM
“Melancholia”.
It has a lot of my favourite synchronistic actors and actresses starring in it,and it looks promising.
I’m also hoping to catch “Midnight in Paris”,which has finally hit the cinema screens in Australia.
Midnight in Paris is Allen’s best movie. I’ll have to check out melancholia! Thanks for the link.
We LOVED this movie and I think you’re right – this would be an excellent time to watch it again.
One for me to watch, have never seen this – thanks.
You’ll enjoy it!
Such a powerful movie. The ending always brings me to tears.
same here, vicki.
oh, wow! i’d forgotten about this extraordinary film! so grateful to be reminded of it – of its power and beauty – weird thing is that in this scene where he recites page 216 of moby dick to mary steenburgen, i was literally moved to tears – not sure what that was all about – now i have to hit amazon to grab a copy and rewatch from years and years ago – can’t believe you mentioned raising arizona – if only i had a nickle for every time i’ve watched that one – i can do entire scenes from memory! and then, for us, [me and my grandchildren who are now grown], there was early 90s WHAT ABOUT BOB!!! bill murray [shrink’s patient] and richard dreyfuss [a shrink] – and julie hagarty as RD’s wife – then, there are the children of dreyfuss and hagarty – they are both fantastic – storyline in one line is that of a high profile psychiatrist who is way more dysfunctional than his unbelievably dysfunctional patient – wonderful film – oh, and i can do more dialogue from it than from arizona – to this day, whenever we’re together for a “FAM” [phrase coined by the patient for the dr’s “family”] dinner, someone will start the dialogue from the extraordinary dinner scene in the movie! sorry to digress so from this profoundly amazing film that i can’t wait to see again – love the thing with your own powder!
That passage from Moby Dick- incredible!