3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not): News of the World

2020, Paul Greengrass (Jason Bourne) -- Netflix

Apparently, I am again in the valley of hiatus, not only from writing about movies, but also watching new movies. I have an unfinished, feeling uninspired, post about all the easy-watch movie rewatches I have done over the past 4 or so months, but its going to sit in drafts for a while. Finding the time, around video games (my latest distraction, after a replay of Sunset Overdrive, is Horizon Forbidden West), and rewatching of older shows (the entirety of Death in Paradise, The Mandalorian and Luther) in anticipation of new seasons and spin-offs, has kept me saddled to the sofa in short bursts. But I am in no mood to write about TV right now.

This western found some time during my morning ritual of sitting, slowly sipping my morning coffee. It takes me a while to get going, and whether I am heading to the office, or WFH, I sit and absorb caffeine and usually watch morning news shows. But their format has been grating on me of late, and after getting the weather down, I have been flicking through my lists of "why haven't I watched this yet?" The other day I settled on this, a low-key western with a solid director and a solid, aging actor. 

Greengrass is mostly known for his part in the Jason Bourne movies, but not so much that I could say he has a signature. If I can say anything for his style is that he focuses on his lead, and gives their character room to breathe. In this movie, Tom Hanks (Castaway) is back as Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, an ex-Confederate soldier who wanders Texas reading the news to those willing to give up a dime. Its not so much about being able to read or not, but having the time or energy to read a bunch of newspapers from other places, and learn a bit more about the rest of the world. Kidd gives that moment to weary rural folk, along with a bit of showmanship as he relates his stories. He struck me as someone who understood there were so many perspectives in the world, and that the people from both sides (The North and The South) could be helped by hearing that they were all ... just people with stories.

He finds himself tasked with taking a young girl (Helena Zengel, Die Tochter) back home to her family, after he finds the man previously tasked with it lynched on the side of the road. She was taken six years prior by Kiowa raiders so she pretty much identifies as "Indian". He doesn't want the job, cannot afford the time it will take, but when pressed, does it anyway. So, road story, as Westerns often are. Grand visages, dusty empty spaces and dangers everywhere. And a young girl who is taken away from the only family she remembers, being taken back to a family she doesn't know, by a man she can barely communicate with.

When I watched movies like this, especially when in the deep throes of watching and rewatching movies made mostly for their spectacle, I wonder about the how's and why's. Its a quiet movie, not even focused on incredible performances. Everything is low key, subtle and understated. Its solid story telling and acting, but nothing of note. And yet, strangely satisfying. Sometimes we just need a quiet story about people Doing The Right Thing. I like being reminded that the movie watching, and making experiences, covers many spectrums, and it was why I used to be so enthused about the medium.