This week I watched two films, Cold Souls in the theater, and King of Kong in my home. They couldn't be more different--Cold Souls is a comedy-drama about an actor putting his soul in storage, King of Kong is a documentary about the rivalry between two video gamers--but they made me ask the same question: what is it that makes me, me.
Paul Giamatti, the character, as played by Paul Giamatti, the actor, is tired of suffering. (Who isn't?) This explains why he has his soul removed. Sounds reasonable. Without a soul, he finds he no longer suffers, but he's also bored and boring, he no longer experiences high or lows, and worse, he can't act. Or he can't act well. He has nothing to draw on when he's rehearsing for Uncle Vanya because he is, of course, soulless--his art, his essence, is gone. When given the opportunity to see the visual representation of his soul, Giamatti refuses until he finally has it re-installed. The entire film subtly builds to this moment, and I'm not sure the moment works flawlessly, but I give director Sophie Barthes credit for trying. Some of the images she chose to represent his soul (it might not be just his soul, but also the remnants of someone else's soul we're seeing, but no matter) seem like they came out of a Bonnie Tyler video, but others, the simple ones, are very moving. And the close up of Giamatti's face after he's witnessed and embraced what makes him, him, including the suffering, is the stuff director's dreams are made of.
It's easy to laugh at the gamers in King of Kong. Except for one charming elderly woman, they're nerdy men obsessed with achieving the highest scores in their video game of choice. But really, they are no different than anyone else with an obsession. They want to be the best at what they do, and that means there are struggles before them, mountains to climb, rivers to cross, and people to conquer. These gamers have lofty goals, and I can respect that. (I was never much of a gamer myself, though I did sink a lot of quarters into "Asteroids" and "Berzerk.") Director Seth Gordon wisely focuses on the rivalry between subdued and humble underdog Steve Wiebe and the brash and arrogant champion Billy Mitchell, and in doing so he has constructed a film so archetypical it could knock out Rocky in the first round. It's hard to imagine anyone NOT rooting for Wiebe: his struggle is what defines him, not only to be the best at Donkey Kong, but to prove to himself that he's not second best, that he is, in fact, the best Steve Wiebe there is. He does this, but that proof doesn't come to him via Donkey Kong, not really. It's a powerful moment, seeing him embrace who he is.
After watching King of Kong I wanted to call all my friends and talk to them about it. When I left the theater after seeing Cold Souls I thought, Good, but not great. But it's gotten under my skin and I keep thinking about it. I guess that makes it better than good. Curious, but that's how it is with the human soul, sometimes something touches it immediately and sometimes it needs to open itself up slowly.I'll take more films that work on me either way.
