The Road on ShowTime

[Oh Shoot]

For those of us who didn't see it on the big screen or rent it, The Road starts its ShowTime run tonight at 10:00.

- OS

[Guest Revelator]

Man, whatever happened to that film? Came and went like that. I actually saw it New Year's Eve last year; not bad, not great, just very different, like the book. I wouldn't put it in the survival genre, although the dad was pretty resourceful. You know what I thought was a great survival movie? Apocalypto. That movie rocked.

[Oh Shoot]

... You know what I thought was a great survival movie? Apocalypto. That movie rocked.

Totally agree. Best thing Mel Gibson ever had a hand in.

I've seen it at least 5 times, wish I had caught it on the big screen.

- OS

[mav]

I watched The Road about a year ago. Didn't really care for it. I must have missed something in the movie since I didn't catch the meaning of showing someone with their thumb.

[Oh Shoot]

I watched The Road about a year ago. Didn't really care for it. I must have missed something in the movie since I didn't catch the meaning of showing someone with their thumb.

I guess you mean thumb missing?

In the book, the thief had thumb missing, had to do with having been kicked out of a commune for stealing, taking the thumb and banishment was the penalty.

But the book didn't mention Guy Pearce at the end as having one missing (I don't think).

I just watched the movie but may have missed it, did the thief in the movie have thumb missing?

Anyway, The Father in the movie didn't explain the missing thumbs at all, unless I totally missed it.

- OS

[Guest bkelm18]

Both were great movies I thought. Apocalypto is by far the best film to have Mel Gibson anywhere in the credits.

[Backon4]

Watched it last night. i thought it was good but the ending left me asking a lot of questions. Also what was "the event" that caused the nuclear winter? The significance of taking the thumb is that it makes it nearly impossible to grasp objects and perform fine movement tasks.

[Punisher84]

Watched it last night. i thought it was good but the ending left me asking a lot of questions. Also what was "the event" that caused the nuclear winter? The significance of taking the thumb is that it makes it nearly impossible to grasp objects and perform fine movement tasks.

The cause of the catastrophe is never mentioned in the book or film, but Cormac McCarthy said in an interview that it was what he thought the world would be like if a comet struck Earth. He said he wanted to leave it ambiguous because the book wasn't about the catastrophe, but about the people left to survive it. The ending I think is left to kind of keep you wondering about what comes next. I think it's supposed to leave you with some hope for the future.

It's always been my opinion that alot of people don't like the novel or film because it doesn't fit into their idea of a "cool apocalypse" where it's just kinda like the wild west as opposed to a day to day fight just to survive. I think if there ever was a MAJOR catastrophe The Road scenario is much more realistic to what it would be like. Is it a cheery film? No. Is it a good film? I say yes.

[Oh Shoot]

... I think it's supposed to leave you with some hope for the future....

Logically, I can't buy that. Nothing to grow, no animals to breed. Not enough humanity even left to breed.

The family that takes him in doesn't seem to have much of a handle on things, just one of the last ones around.

Though a book has more time to fill in nuances, in this case it really didn't.

I saw it as a rumination on what makes us human and the nature of love, and a comment on the temporal nature of all things.

One of the 1000 lb. gorillas of earth history is that there have been 3 or 4 mass extinctions in the past, so of course there will be another, and certainly long before our sun nukes us. Indeed, and as always, any time now.

- OS

[Punisher84]

Logically, I can't buy that. Nothing to grow, no animals to breed. Not enough humanity even left to breed.

The family that takes him in doesn't seem to have much of a handle on things, just one of the last ones around.

Though a book has more time to fill in nuances, in this case it really didn't.

I saw it as a rumination on what makes us human and the nature of love, and a comment on the temporal nature of all things.

One of the 1000 lb. gorillas of earth history is that there have been 3 or 4 mass extinctions in the past, so of course there will be another, and certainly long before our sun nukes us. Indeed, and as always, any time now.

- OS

The last sentence in the book says something about the forest and animals or something like that. I can't remember the exact passage and I don't have the book anymore (lent to a friend), but I remember it being something to lead you to believe that all was not lost.

I always looked at the book for what it was, it's just a tale of a father and a son. You really don't know anything else. I mean I imagine most of the world is shot to hell, but it really never says. Maybe our side of the globe more or less bought the farm, but things might not be as bad over on the other side. It kinda goes into the whole debate over what could really devastate the entire Earth, etc which I'm not about to open up to turn it into the inevitable religion V. science argument.

[Oh Shoot]

The last sentence in the book says something about the forest and animals or something like that. I can't remember the exact passage and I don't have the book anymore (lent to a friend), but I remember it being something to lead you to believe that all was not lost...

Best I remember it was a rehash of a memory that the father had earlier in the book, trout lying deep in a stream.

At any rate, seemed to me to just be a last look at the nature that once existed.

Note that in the movie, as the credits roll, there is audio underneath of the daily life that once existed.

Maybe our side of the globe more or less bought the farm, but things might not be as bad over on the other side. ..

Yeah, I'm not gonna do the religion/science thing either (although it's always fun!), but I can't imagine any scenario where the sun has not shone on one part of the planet for those maybe 7-10 years to be a local condition.

At any rate, it's a testament to both the book and the movie that the interpretation can be up for grabs and yet still speak so powerfully to most who read/saw it.

- OS

[Punisher84]

Best I remember it was a rehash of a memory that the father had earlier in the book, trout lying deep in a stream.

At any rate, seemed to me to just be a last look at the nature that once existed.

Note that in the movie, as the credits roll, there is audio underneath of the daily life that once existed.

Yeah, I'm not gonna do the religion/science thing either (although it's always fun!), but I can't imagine any scenario where the sun has not shone on one part of the planet for those maybe 7-10 years to be a local condition.

At any rate, it's a testament to both the book and the movie that the interpretation can be up for grabs and yet still speak so powerfully to most who read/saw it.

- OS

Agreed. It's probably the only book I have read that affected me so strongly.