PILOJ is the acronymn for "Proscription In Lieu Of Justice". Proscription means banishment. And, here, in "V For Vendetta", where govt killing is to be avenged, and where justice is impossible, V's penalty for banishment is death.
Until justice is done... We are, of course, in the twisty-turny world of justifying vigilante killings. When a govt does not protect citizens from murder, when a govt is instead responsible for the murder of its citizens; when a govt does not protect citizen rights, when a govt instead violates its citizen rights; when a govt's representatives act as though they live above the law and do not obey the Constitution, then justice must be considered to be impossible. And, the vigilante may properly contend, if those conditions hold, then that govt's claim to the consent of its citizens is forfeit, and that govt is illegitimate until justice is done.
When authorities have made justice impossible, when they've wired down a society's pressure cooker's safety valve--stopping all possibility of change--and then have cranked up the heat by continually disobeying the Constitution, there's only one result to be sanely expected.
Americans are there, doing that. Stories such as "V For Vendetta" give us a basis for discussion, a point of departure for speculation.
Vigilante killings, in some pure sense, are wrongful murders. You cannot take the law into your own hands when you live under the rule of law. If you do, then you must expect to pay the piper.
However--no matter how genuine the rule of law seems to be at the time--every era has many persons who think they live above the law, as well as many persons who live outside the law. Such persons can always arrange circumstances in which their killings--their wrongful taking of lives--makes justice impossible for ordinary citizens to obtain. It's the way of the world and has been since the earliest codifications of law. Well--with the sole exception of Switzerland, the only nation in which democracy is directly in the hands of the people at all jurisdictional levels.
If we, as ordinary citizens, with no ability to make justice happen under our govt, banish a wrong-doer and his/her helpers from our society, we can choose any penalty for the banishment that we choose. If the person is clearly guilty of robbery, not murder, we may penalize him/her by taking wealth--money and property. If the person is clearly guilty of wrongfully taking lives, then killing that person and his/her helper(s) is arguably justifiable.
And so, into the twisty-turny world of vigilante killings.
The fictional man called "V" lives under a totalitarian govt that has proven itself to him to be guilty of many murders. It's a fascist govt very similar to Hitler's Germany, the infamous 3rd Reich. Under such govts, ordinary people cannot make justice happen.
After his near-thing escape from a research center--in which a lethal virus and its cure were developed, killing dozens--V watches as the politician-killers take many tens of thousands of lives with their own cureable virus. He then prepares himself for about twenty years, and then jumps up his campaign to topple the totalitarian govt.
He blows things up and kills as needed to keep himself free. Under the cloak of state-controlled news media, he kills men and women whom he knows are directly guilty of wrongful death. He also kills their helpers, for example, policemen. Ultimately, he cuts down the criminal govt's topmost leaders.
Killing helpers is a bit of a stretch legally, but those who aid others in wrongful killing are themselves part of the "felony murder" conspiracy. So V's killing of the regime's policemen--as with Robin Hood's killing of "the Sheriff's men" in the late 12th Century--is arguably the killing of those guilty of conspiratorial felony murder and therefore arguably justifiable.
You don't step very far away from Robin Hood in any dealings with vigilante justice. The History Channel's priceless documentary, "The Real Robin Hood", should be on the viewing list for anyone chewing on vigilante justice. Sure, it's probably a grautuitous hype for the Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe movie, "Robin Hood". But it's the outlaw's backstory, no matter how far in the future the outlaw runs with his vigilante justice. Surprisingly, Crowe's touchstone of Robin Hood's taking rights and liberties from the rich and giving those to the poor so that justice can be done is "spot on", as the Brits say, for today's needs.
In any event, the key here is that V's killings are punishment for murders done by a govt that protects itself and its cronnies and under which justice is impossible. V's unsurprising intention is to take that liberty-set from the rich and powerful and then to give it to the poor and ordinary citizens. Hello, justice. Hello, Crowe and Scott. Hello, Robin Hood.
That govt's self-protectiveness and illegal caring for its rich and powerful cronnies is, in fact, very similar to the US govt since the Reagan administrations in the 1980s. (See especially, "Inside Job", the 2011 Oscar-winning Best Documentary of the Year, which covers the causes of the 2008 financial meltdown.) The similarity of govts is what makes the movie, "V For Vendetta", an important topic of discussion and point of departure for ordinary Americans.
The movie is done in a "filmatic graphic novel" syle, according to the filmmakers themselves. I didn't notice any filmatic nod to the graphic novel until V's final fight, you know, when he brings his daggers to a gunfight. Then the filmatic comic book effects fairly jump off the screen at you. The spun and hurled daggers are given the same visual after-images that you expect to see on a comic book's pages. Yes, it's CGI to die for.
The film's story is based on a ten-issue comic book series and given the "graphic novel" upgrade tag. It's writers, and certainly the adaptive filmmakers, want it to be seen as something more than comic book logic.
I'm not sure that the story makes it to that next level. The story has many twists and turns that smack of disjointed, disconnected comic book logic. Still, the story seems more engaging than something out of the straight, superhero, comic book genre.
Some of the film's core features are things that our today's revolutionaries need to digest. Given the belief of enough people, V says, a symbol--say the blowing up of a building--can change the world. When V's bomb blows up the buildings of Parliament at the end--punctuated by a great sprong from the airborne Big Ben clock--the implication is that he's successfully involved enough people to bring down the V-decaptivated govt.
Revolutionaries, make a note. Rule one is seeing democracy done. It's doers must be seen by its other doers--directly and beyond the reach of the sniveling superrich or their parasitic politicians. All the great democracy movements share this seeing. In the end, V-the-filmatic-graphic-novel shows the needed seeing of democracy done.
--spib, 23 Dec 2011
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Enjoy the Extras on 2-disc Special Edition - INCREDIBLE Movie!
This is a review for "V For Vendetta - Two-Disc Special Edition", to give some information on the extras included with the movie.This is one of my family's favorite movies. It's exciting and it's stirring. Comic book but complex. Superbly filmed and acted, but then it had an amazing graphic novel to follow. Here's comments from participants in the DVD extras on this 2-disc Special Edition that echo my feelings about "V for Vendetta":Kevin Phipps, supervising art director: "You don't really know where you are, in terms of time. It's almost as if creativity has stopped." (extra #1)Daniel McTeigue, director: "I think it's a political thriller, first and foremost. It is in the superhero genre, but it's also a play on that convention." (Special Feature)John Hurt, who plays Adam Sutler: "The themes are serious. I'm not sure the treatment is as serious as that. But on the other hand, if it was as serious as that, I'm not sure that it would reach the amount of people that it's intended to reach." (Special Feature)Stephen Fry, who plays Dietrich: "This is a movie about a terrorist. The hero is a terrorist. It's a very good ethical point, because as we all know, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." (Special Feature)Indeed, though I root for "V", he is not perfect. He wants the populace to stir themselves, stand up for themselves, and take their government back. But not until after he's had his vengeance.DISC NUMBER ONE:1. The movie. Spoken languages available are the original English and dubbed French. Subtitles available in English, French and Spanish.2. Special Feature, 31 minutes: "Freedom Forever! Making V for Vendetta". This feature and extras 1, 2, and 3 were made at the same time. That is, when someone, such as the director, appears in more than one, you can tell that they were filmed at the same time. The extras compliment each other, rather than repeat each other. Interspersed with the interviews are film clips and production clips, too.Participants include James McTeigue, director, who says, "I was the assistant director on the Matrix films. To live in the Matrix world is to know the graphic novel world."DISC NUMBER TWO EXTRAS:1. "Designing the Near Future", 9 minutes. Interesting stuff. The V mask was cast in fiberglass from a clay mold. It took the sculptor several tries. Most of the film was made at the Babelsberg Studio in Berlin. But there were crucial outdoor scenes that had to be filmed in England, such as at the end, where the mass of V's converge on Trafalgar Square on the 5th of November. It took 5 months to set up the 3 nights of filming; about 30 agencies/organizations had to give approval and/or co-ordinate.2. "Remember Remember: Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot", 14 minutes. The history of the original gunpowder plot and how it's grown into an annual celebration in England. One interesting comment is by Sinead Cusack, who plays Delia Surridge. She was born in Dalkey, Ireland, and they have a different view of Guy Fawkes there.3. "England Prevails: V for Vendetta and The New Wave in Comics", 24 minutes. This is about the comic book, or graphic novel. The camera-shy Alan Moore does not appear, but David Lloyd, who created the graphics for Moore's narrative, appears in several of the extras.Karen Berger, executive editor of Vertigo, DC's edgier more adult-oriented company says: "V for Vendetta is in a class of its own. It's a brilliant piece of work. It's a commentary on society. At the time it was written, there was absolutely nothing being done like that."The original comic book was published in black & white in England. Twenty-six issues were created before the publisher folded. Unfortunately, this was before V's story was finished! Both Alan Moore and David Lloyd were subsequently hired by DC comics, who saw the genius, and published a complete version of "V" in color.4. Cat Power Montage. This is like a song video. Clips of the movie are shown while Cat Powers sings "I Found a Reason", from The Covers Album (2000)5. Soundtrack album info6. Theatrical trailerHappy Reader
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2011
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2012
This is one of my family's favorite movies. It's exciting and it's stirring. Comic book but complex. Superbly filmed and acted, but then it had an amazing graphic novel to follow. Here's comments from participants in the DVD extras on this 2-disc Special Edition that echo my feelings about "V for Vendetta":
Kevin Phipps, supervising art director: "You don't really know where you are, in terms of time. It's almost as if creativity has stopped." (extra #1)
Daniel McTeigue, director: "I think it's a political thriller, first and foremost. It is in the superhero genre, but it's also a play on that convention." (Special Feature)
John Hurt, who plays Adam Sutler: "The themes are serious. I'm not sure the treatment is as serious as that. But on the other hand, if it was as serious as that, I'm not sure that it would reach the amount of people that it's intended to reach." (Special Feature)
Stephen Fry, who plays Dietrich: "This is a movie about a terrorist. The hero is a terrorist. It's a very good ethical point, because as we all know, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." (Special Feature)
Indeed, though I root for "V", he is not perfect. He wants the populace to stir themselves, stand up for themselves, and take their government back. But not until after he's had his vengeance.
DISC NUMBER ONE:
1. The movie. Spoken languages available are the original English and dubbed French. Subtitles available in English, French and Spanish.
2. Special Feature, 31 minutes: "Freedom Forever! Making V for Vendetta". This feature and extras 1, 2, and 3 were made at the same time. That is, when someone, such as the director, appears in more than one, you can tell that they were filmed at the same time. The extras compliment each other, rather than repeat each other. Interspersed with the interviews are film clips and production clips, too.
Participants include James McTeigue, director, who says, "I was the assistant director on the Matrix films. To live in the Matrix world is to know the graphic novel world."
DISC NUMBER TWO EXTRAS:
1. "Designing the Near Future", 9 minutes. Interesting stuff. The V mask was cast in fiberglass from a clay mold. It took the sculptor several tries. Most of the film was made at the Babelsberg Studio in Berlin. But there were crucial outdoor scenes that had to be filmed in England, such as at the end, where the mass of V's converge on Trafalgar Square on the 5th of November. It took 5 months to set up the 3 nights of filming; about 30 agencies/organizations had to give approval and/or co-ordinate.
2. "Remember Remember: Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot", 14 minutes. The history of the original gunpowder plot and how it's grown into an annual celebration in England. One interesting comment is by Sinead Cusack, who plays Delia Surridge. She was born in Dalkey, Ireland, and they have a different view of Guy Fawkes there.
3. "England Prevails: V for Vendetta and The New Wave in Comics", 24 minutes. This is about the comic book, or graphic novel. The camera-shy Alan Moore does not appear, but David Lloyd, who created the graphics for Moore's narrative, appears in several of the extras.
Karen Berger, executive editor of Vertigo, DC's edgier more adult-oriented company says: "V for Vendetta is in a class of its own. It's a brilliant piece of work. It's a commentary on society. At the time it was written, there was absolutely nothing being done like that."
The original comic book was published in black & white in England. Twenty-six issues were created before the publisher folded. Unfortunately, this was before V's story was finished! Both Alan Moore and David Lloyd were subsequently hired by DC comics, who saw the genius, and published a complete version of "V" in color.
4. Cat Power Montage. This is like a song video. Clips of the movie are shown while Cat Powers sings "I Found a Reason", from The Covers Album (2000)
5. Soundtrack album info
6. Theatrical trailer
Happy Reader
Enjoy the Extras on 2-disc Special Edition - INCREDIBLE Movie!
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2012
This is a review for "V For Vendetta - Two-Disc Special Edition", to give some information on the extras included with the movie.Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2012
This is one of my family's favorite movies. It's exciting and it's stirring. Comic book but complex. Superbly filmed and acted, but then it had an amazing graphic novel to follow. Here's comments from participants in the DVD extras on this 2-disc Special Edition that echo my feelings about "V for Vendetta":
Kevin Phipps, supervising art director: "You don't really know where you are, in terms of time. It's almost as if creativity has stopped." (extra #1)
Daniel McTeigue, director: "I think it's a political thriller, first and foremost. It is in the superhero genre, but it's also a play on that convention." (Special Feature)
John Hurt, who plays Adam Sutler: "The themes are serious. I'm not sure the treatment is as serious as that. But on the other hand, if it was as serious as that, I'm not sure that it would reach the amount of people that it's intended to reach." (Special Feature)
Stephen Fry, who plays Dietrich: "This is a movie about a terrorist. The hero is a terrorist. It's a very good ethical point, because as we all know, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." (Special Feature)
Indeed, though I root for "V", he is not perfect. He wants the populace to stir themselves, stand up for themselves, and take their government back. But not until after he's had his vengeance.
DISC NUMBER ONE:
1. The movie. Spoken languages available are the original English and dubbed French. Subtitles available in English, French and Spanish.
2. Special Feature, 31 minutes: "Freedom Forever! Making V for Vendetta". This feature and extras 1, 2, and 3 were made at the same time. That is, when someone, such as the director, appears in more than one, you can tell that they were filmed at the same time. The extras compliment each other, rather than repeat each other. Interspersed with the interviews are film clips and production clips, too.
Participants include James McTeigue, director, who says, "I was the assistant director on the Matrix films. To live in the Matrix world is to know the graphic novel world."
DISC NUMBER TWO EXTRAS:
1. "Designing the Near Future", 9 minutes. Interesting stuff. The V mask was cast in fiberglass from a clay mold. It took the sculptor several tries. Most of the film was made at the Babelsberg Studio in Berlin. But there were crucial outdoor scenes that had to be filmed in England, such as at the end, where the mass of V's converge on Trafalgar Square on the 5th of November. It took 5 months to set up the 3 nights of filming; about 30 agencies/organizations had to give approval and/or co-ordinate.
2. "Remember Remember: Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot", 14 minutes. The history of the original gunpowder plot and how it's grown into an annual celebration in England. One interesting comment is by Sinead Cusack, who plays Delia Surridge. She was born in Dalkey, Ireland, and they have a different view of Guy Fawkes there.
3. "England Prevails: V for Vendetta and The New Wave in Comics", 24 minutes. This is about the comic book, or graphic novel. The camera-shy Alan Moore does not appear, but David Lloyd, who created the graphics for Moore's narrative, appears in several of the extras.
Karen Berger, executive editor of Vertigo, DC's edgier more adult-oriented company says: "V for Vendetta is in a class of its own. It's a brilliant piece of work. It's a commentary on society. At the time it was written, there was absolutely nothing being done like that."
The original comic book was published in black & white in England. Twenty-six issues were created before the publisher folded. Unfortunately, this was before V's story was finished! Both Alan Moore and David Lloyd were subsequently hired by DC comics, who saw the genius, and published a complete version of "V" in color.
4. Cat Power Montage. This is like a song video. Clips of the movie are shown while Cat Powers sings "I Found a Reason", from The Covers Album (2000)
5. Soundtrack album info
6. Theatrical trailer
Happy Reader
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V PER VENDETTA...MA ANCHE PER VINCENTE !
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La storia è ambientata in Inghilterra, in un vicino futuro antiutopico, in cui regna sovrana una dittatura oppressiva e bellica, capitanata dall’Alto Cancelliere Adam Sutler (John Hurt). Il Regno Unito in passato è stato preda di conflitti, guerriglie civili e attentati biologici devastanti che ne hanno reciso ogni stabilità. Proprio a causa di queste turbolenze civili, nel 2015, il partito denominato Fuoco Norreno è riuscito ad ottenere un consenso spaventosamente ampio e a governare l’Inghilterra adoperando politiche edificate sulla paura, raggirando l’opinione pubblica grazie ad una totale egemonia dell’informazione, donando al popolo sicurezza e pace al caro prezzo della privazione di ogni libertà e consapevolezza.
In questo scenario plumbeo e senza via d’uscita s’inseriscono due personaggi affini ma estranei fino al loro incontro, Evey e V. Evey è una ragazza rimasta orfana in tenerà età che odia con tutta se stessa il governo, mentre V è un uomo misterioso che si cela dietro la maschera di Guy Fawkes, l’ultima vera speranza per l’Inghilterra per risorgere ed evadere dal suo stato di prigionia.
Evey incontra V mentre è in strada, nonostante il coprifuoco obbligato dal governo. Nel suo tragitto Evey urta tre Castigatori, la polizia segreta, che tenta di farle del male ma V le viene in soccorso, riuscendo a salvarla dalle loro grinfie. Una volta assieme, V coinvolge Evey nel suo piano di far esplodere l’Old Bailey, al fine di distruggere il simbolo della legalità e della giustizia inglese. In seguito V le confiderà ciò che ha ancora intenzione di fare: ovvero vendicarsi contro i suoi aguzzini, che in passato lo avevano imprigionato e torturato nel campo di concentramento di Larkhill e di liberare il Regno Unito da ogni sorta di oppressione. Per fare ciò, a distanza di un anno, esattamente il 5 novembre, V ha in progetto di realizzare l’atto più reazionario e anarchico immaginabile, ciò che Guy Fawkes nel 1605 non riuscì a concretizzare: far saltare in aria il palazzo del Parlamento inglese.
V per Vendetta è un film che traccia due percorsi di vita e li interseca perfettamente, lasciando che essi percorrano strade diverse e che si congiungano nello stesso desiderio, più o meno espresso, di ribellarsi contro una dittatura insostenibile. I protagonisti sono due personaggi pervasi da una trasparenza registica commovente e la narrazione ha un sottotesto potente e percepibile: la rivendicazione di un’idea. È determinante concentrarsi su questo particolare per capire ciò che imperversa nella pellicola. In V per Vendetta si può vedere nel ricamo narrativo, fondato sull’odio e sulla rivalsa, tutta la trama viscerale che nasce lontano, un intreccio che ricalca il vero volto del film: un’idea di libertà mortificata, a brandelli.
Siamo in Inghilterra. Londra è la cornice bruciata che circonda le vite di un popolo preso in ostaggio dal suo governo, un governo dispotico, ingannevole e punitivo. Ogni personaggio, ogni individuo è un teatro dimesso, una riproduzione delle volontà del dittatore ripetuta all’infinito. Non c’è via di scampo: o appartieni al loro regime, al loro credo, all’ideologia anglo-nazista, altrimenti sei un sovversivo indesiderato e da eliminare, nessuno è escluso.
La politica inglese scava nelle debolezze e nelle paure del popolo, indugiando nelle sue mancanze. È obiettivamente più semplice tenere sotto scacco un popolo impaurito che un popolo consapevole. Un popolo spaventato cerca solo qualcuno che lo protegga, contrariamente un popolo consapevole sa come difendersi e mettere tutto in discussione.
V per Vendetta è anche e soprattutto la storia di un uomo, la storia di un uomo senza volto, un uomo che abbraccia la sua vendetta non potendo sfuggire al suo odio, un uomo che incarna dentro sé la figura di un eroe, di un anarchico, incarna l’essenza stessa di un’ideologia, forte, prorompente, liberatrice, a volte mortale. Dentro di lui c’è tanto, troppo, racchiude dentro sè le identità perdute del popolo, che riacquistano la propria individualità proprio mentre indossano la sua stessa maschera. Il popolo vince quando sa scegliere, quando prende una posizione non imposta, non ricondotta, non raggirata, con l’idea e la consapevolezza di chi sa che strada imboccare.
V per Vendetta è un film esplosivo, incasellato in un ritmo dialogico incalzante, un film che unisce gli effetti speciali ad un’estetica appagante, con le interpretazioni memorabili di Natalie Portman e Hugo Weaving, performance notevole quest’ultima, limitata all’uso della voce e della gestualità per poter veicolare e rendere il proprio personaggio. Immancabili i riferimenti letterali, a partire da 1984, a Riccardo III, Il Conte di Montecristo, Faust, Amleto. Un film che riesce sempre ad impartire generose lezioni sulla libertà individuale, sul pericolo delle dittature, una pellicola meravigliosamente colma di un romanticismo lieve, che sprona a liberarsi dalla paura e ad abbracciare un sentimento diverso; ed è esattamente ciò che abita V, ovvero uno spirito propulsivo, un ardore instancabile che ha spinto un’intera nazione a riconquistarsi il diritto di avere un pensiero autarchico. V per Vendetta è una pellicola senza tempo, impreziosita da una dialettica lirica ed indelebile, un racconto epico e appassionato che ci riguarda tutti.
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Not watchable in Europe
Reviewed in the Netherlands on September 19, 2023