helpless...

Got this film because of Christopher Walken a long time ago, turned out he's almost not in it. Had a glimpse and was disgusted by the violence, put it off until one boring afternoon, happened to watch the part of the car washing, got interesting, then bit by bit, finally went through it all. This non-lineal viewing left me total lost as to the time sequence of the story, took sometime to piece all the clues together, the film seems to be famous for this fancy structure, I think it's very clever and quite entertaining, but not really necessary. There's a theory says that if you make something harder to get, the satisfaction of getting it will be greater, sometimes I think all those fancy techniques exist just for their own sakes, after all, we are the product of evolution and we like things getting ever more fancier.

I am no good doing any analysing especially with those formidable jargons nowadays everyone seems to be able to use, but after being excellently entertained by this film I felt strangely unsatisfied, what is it all about? There're some interesting people, some weird story, some funny talk, some seemingly meaningful event, but without any agenda and seems so aimless, or maybe that is it all, just tell the story for its own sake?

Here's a review quoted on wiki:

In Britain, 詹姆士 Wood, writing in The Guardian, set the tone for much subsequent criticism: "Tarantino represents the final triumph of postmodernism, which is to empty the artwork of all content, thus avoiding its capacity to do anything except helplessly represent our agonies.... Only in this age could a writer as talented as Tarantino produce artworks so vacuous, so entirely stripped of any politics, metaphysics, or moral interest."

The film grossed 107.9 million (US) and 212.9 million (worldwide) at a budget of 8.5 million, John Travolta got the leading role because Michael Madsen backed down, Samuel L. 傑克森 nearly lost the role over Paul Calderon, Uma Thurman launched her stardom from this, Tim Roth later of course became the famous tv mind reader, director Quentin Tarantino played the coffee maker 吉米, very cute.

My favorite parts are the ketchup joke, the car washing, and the last diner scene. Favorite line is "Personality goes a long way". Favorite songs are Lonesome Town and Surf Rider, also Flowers on the Wall.

Flowers on the Wall (The Statler Brothers, 1966)

(chorus)

Countin' flowers on the wall that don't bother me at all
Playin' solitare till dawn with a deck of fifty one
Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo
Now don't tell me I've nothing to do