The End of Violence (1997)

Why so much hype?

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is not a mainstream movie, but that does not mean that it is bad. The End of Violence is a very good movie which has quite a lot within its frame work. It is somewhat slow and when watching it for the first time it seems that there are scenes in the movie that could have been left out, they did not seem to add to the overall plot of the movie, and that tends to put me off. These scenes though, namely the poetry reading scenes, do indeed add to the plot in a very subtle way and are very important in the development of the characters, two of whom are minor characters in the movie. Even then, the poetry that is read out depicts the major theme of the movie, and that is the enemy that is within, not the enemy without, and the realisation of the characters that the enemy is not out there, but in amongst us.When watching the movie we must constantly remember the title because that helps us understand what the movie is about. It works in two levels though, in a social level and in a psychological level. The social level of the movie is about a new security system which can monitor all the city of Los Angeles. A man can sit in one room and see almost anywhere in Los Angeles. He watches crimes happen and he watches criminals get caught. The problem with this is that congress does not know about the system and if they found out about it then big problems would happen. They must keep it secret at all costs: it will end violence but at the cost of people's privacy. This seems to reflect Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four where big brother knows everything.The psychological aspect of the movie deals with a film producer name Micheal Max. Everybody knows and loves this guy, but he is not loved by all as he is abducted by a couple of hit men and was about to be executed. Micheal Max has an obsession with violence, he says that when he was a kid he was scared of the movies and then he became a film producer. This suggests that he desires to master violence by controlling it in the forms of movies. Though he tries to master violence, he cannot master his life. His relationship with his wife is falling apart as he just does not spend anytime with her. She begins by just wanting to leave and ends by taking everything.The plot of the movie comes out when he receives an email from somebody containing confidential FBI information. Then he is abducted and one assumes that it is because of the FBI document. This is someway true, but the killers are nothing more than idiots. The film does not reveal who attempted to kill him, or why, but this document remains somewhat important, though we are never told what it is. This movie never really wants us to be sure. It lets us make up our minds about things but does not tell us if we are wrong or not. What we are really doing is watching Micheal Max come to understand and conquer his fear of violence.There are three main male characters, Doc, a forensic scientist who is investigating Mike Max's disappearance, Mike Max, and Ray, the operator of the surveillance system. The characters have little contact in the movie but are connected. There are three women that are directly connected with each of these characters, and two of these women interact with one of the other males characters. Max's wife, the first one, speaks with Doc, but her role is that she drifts further away from Max. The actress is loved by Mike as a friend, but her role is that she builds a relationship with Doc. Then there is Sue, the Mexican cleaner, who works under Ray. They fall in love, but at the end of the movie she exits with Mike Max, after both have given up violence. The casting of the three male characters was done in a way that they all were similar in appearance. These characters were linked in this way and also in a way that they were trying to bring an end to violence. Mike Max has been discussed, Ray is trying to bring an end through the surveillance system, while Doc is a police officer trying to uncover the truth. It is interesting that the police are not interested in the truth, they have their theory and are not at all interested in the truth.There is a lot more in this movie, but to bring it up would mean watching it again and studying it closer. This movie is very good for those who like movies which make you think. The ending isn't conclusive and you don't realise it is there until you get there. It comes as a bit of a shock because there seems to be a lot of things unresolved, but when you look back over the movie you realise that they have been resolved, but not in the way you expect it to be. The movie tells you numerous times that it is not a typical Hollywood ending, such as Mike Max's comment, "I hate those conspiracy movies where the beautiful woman gets killed." This is not a typical Hollywood movie and thus does not have a satisfying ending for those who want one.

...or as I like to think of it, THE END OF VIOLENCE is the greatest scifi crime thriller that never was.As always with Wim Wenders, the plot is fantastic. But, as always with Wim Wenders, the movie isn't about the plot, and those who expect to be carried by the plot will be disappointed. In the same way WINGS OF DESIRE had a great plot about angels but was not a fantasy; in the same way UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD had a great plot about a high tech dream machine but was not about technology; in the same way LISBON STORY had a riveting plot about a missing person but was not a mystery, here we have the same Wendersian formula which he pulls off flawlessly.The plot, if you're curious, is about a futuristic "God machine" that can eliminate people with the push of a button. Designed ostensibly for crime prevention & surveillance (the old "to protect & serve" - where have we heard that before?), it gets out of control and takes murder & corruption to the next level of clinical perfection. Caught up in the game is Mike Max, a movie producer struggling with his own intense xenophobia and paranoia, which, like a disease, he himself spreads to society through his films.That's all I'll say about the plot because (a) I don't want to ruin anything, and (b) like I said, the plot is secondary. What's really important, as you watch this movie, is to pay attention to the thought-provoking dialogue, the philosophical allusions and the overall metaphor of the situation. If you can tune into that stuff, then you're set for a great experience.I'll give you just one example of the philosophy. There's a scene early on where they talk about the "observer effect" (you might recognize it as the paradox of "Schrödinger's cat" which you can look up on wikipedia). This is the fundamental theme of the film: the idea that, even by "impartially observing", we change the situation or in some cases destroy it. As one of the characters says, it's like "flipping on the light to observe the darkness." What a poetic & appropriate analogy.This movie is choc full of that kind of stuff, and you may miss it if you're expecting car chases and gunfire. No, instead you get the ultimate anti-violence violence film, and I gotta give Wenders a standing ovation on being the first director I've seen pull it off. A lot of movies in the past have carried a message of anti-violence; yet the films sink to the thrill of showing violence themselves and often glorifying it (the biggest example would be Norm Jewison's classic ROLLERBALL), and this becomes confusing if not outright hypocritical. But in this case, we get a chilling depiction of the epidemic of violence without showing any blood & guts to excite our savage instincts. It remains an intellectual film, not visceral. Don't get me wrong; this movie is plenty suspenseful, and on more than one occasion it'll have your heart flopping like an electrified noodle. But it's all done by way of the mind. To me, that's what makes this depiction of violence all the more effective & frightening: the way it's so clean & neat like in a video game. And without any fuss, someone's head could just go pop.This is the best film I've seen in a while. I'm only taking off a few points because I wished it was twice as long & had more monologues, like some of the older Wenders films. But I have to say this film sticks to its objective and delivers a perfect product.

"Whim" should have seen Coppola's "The Conversation" one more time before venturing into the Hollywood film world and his fascination with gas driven leaf blowers. He makes so many assumptions and is captivated by the Latino culture which only serves to add to the affectation of any intent he may have had in his loathing of violence. He fell in love with one of his own quotes about "Sax and Violins" a few years back and then tried to build a conspiratorial plot with absolutely no clarity or direction (as in where did he want to go) and in the process assembles a kind of Altman, Lynch cast of actors who do nothing but take up space without being memorable. The waste of art direction he employs in the Edward Hopper set and the never ending monotony of the scene played there is like a foreigner enjoying his first trip to Universal City in its naiveté....he eats up Hollywood and its seduction like a giant pretzel which is what this film resembles in shape.Andie MacDowell must never, ever, ever reveal her body again.She is pear shaped and must know it.

Oh my gaaaawwd, what a stinker! Rented this. On paper it looks good - good cast, director, intriguing sounding premise. Started watching, and waited for the film to develop.And waitedAnd waitedAnd then the credits rolled, with nobody having said or done anything of any import whatsoever. I have seen plenty of poor films, but everybody involved in this one should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. I'm surprised none of the actors torched the celluloid before it could reach a screen.