Preamble
Well, this is just getting ridiculous. The amount of time between posts now is the equivalent of a yearly allowance of well timed holiday. Despite work becoming crazy busy, (especially in the last 2-3 months), my motivation for writing has been at an all time low. I think that’s due to how much importance I have put into external gigs that the blog suffers for it. But some semblance of passion is starting to return (even if it’s a lot more slowly then I would like).
However, Star Wars has always been a reassuring bridge for me get back onto the proverbial horse or think of something to shake the blog up. And it feels fitting to return to The Phantom Menace via a review of it. But I’ve almost buried to lead here with an extra waffle sized edition of the preamble. So, I would like to wish each and every one of you a Happy Star Wars day. May the 4th be with you and your celebration of a Galaxy Far Far Away. Are you planning to check out The Phantom Menace in cinemas again? Let me know in the comments below.
Review
Ever since its release in 1999, The Phantom Menace has been a pariah within the Star Wars franchise. It’s a film that launched the perpetual “ruined my childhood” complaint, a million Red Letter Media-styled takedowns, complete with similar if not outright exact copies of criticisms, and general disenchantment. However, it’s always been a childhood touchstone in my eyes (my first experience of Star Wars on the silver screen at 8 years old, a few years after watching the Special Editions of the Original Trilogy on VHS). And it was also the stepping stone for my love of movies, via a school assignment about summer holidays. The sugar-high retellings of Darth Maul’s face paint at Legoland, terrible 12-inch action figure accidents and general excitement about the film itself were no doubt as formative as annoying to everyone around me. But above all, it’s always been one of those rare films where I can regress and still feel the same emotions I had as a young kid.
There have been permutations, of course. I’ve seen the original cinema release, a 3D re-release and most recently, a 25th Anniversary screening at my local cinema. And that’s not even to mention the countless home media viewings that have varied from a bootleg I saw in India to the official DVD and Blu-Ray releases.
The biggest takeaway from my latest screening of the film is that even in the post-Disney era, The Phantom Menace represents Star Wars at its most broad and innocent. It’s a kid’s film that does not talk down to its target audience but instead respects their perspective, insight and way of looking at the world.
The Phantom Menace depicts the first fateful encounter that will pull Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) from his slave-like existence on Tatooine to a young promising Jedi who will eventually be trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). This meeting is played against the conflict between a small planet in the Galactic Republic, Naboo, who must contend with a new invading force- The Trade Federation who seek complete occupation of the planet.
The Phantom Menace is a curious melding of broad biblical motifs and thematic concerns that writer/director George Lucas is trying to impart throughout his screenplay. For one, there’s lip service to the idea of symbiosis whereby vastly different beings work together for mutual advantage. This theme is like a pinball in the sense of hitting many different characters who differ in their approaches to the world. The most notable is the relationship between Obi-Wan and his mentor- Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). Jinn approaches the world through an open pragmaticism that manifests in being in tune with the present moment and all the possibilities that can arise out of it. This is in contrast to Obi-Wan who looks at the world in black and white terms that leads to a cynicism and sometimes sharp dismal of a current predicament or people within it. As he caustically says at the end of the second act- “Why do I sense, we’ve picked up another pathetic lifeform.” Along with the motif of mirror images and things coming in two (portrayed in visual terms as well as behaviour etc, this theme of symbiosis is at its best).
It falls most where Lucas’s heartfelt idea of the thesis is most at play, namely the inherent distrust between the Gungans and the people of Naboo. It’s meant to play to the rafters in portraying how a primitive and regal culture comes together to defend their home. However, the reason why each faction is inherently suspicious of each other is sketchily developed. Along with the inherent tell versus-show ratio of the suffering of the denizens of Naboo (throughout the film) and biological/mystical implications of symbiosis- Lucas’s screenplay at times feels stretched to breaking point.
This is contrasted with quite a light touch to the world-building and fleetness to information conveyed in the first act. Lucas’s trademark “faster more intense” mantra is welcome in quickly introducing the factions, the strength of the Jedi and the sheer threat that underpins the drama. This is combined with an impressive sense of scale to the world-building. From a dizzying sense of vertigo in the Senate scenes to the top-down shots of some of the Jedi Council moments that visually illustrate their current arrogant and aloof nature, Phantom Menace matches the Original Trilogy with its sheer imagination.
At the same time, Lucas is quite playful with his world, which varies from a 3-stooges-inspired Pit Droid argument to Greg Proops’s vocal performance as an alien who provides motor-mouthed commentary to the pod race sequence.
Act 2 aka the sequences on Tatooine represent the film at its most biblically broad with allusions to John the Baptist and the Virgin Birth. However, the emotional truth of these scenes results in how Lucas sees kids in his life (via Qui-Gon and Anakin’s mother, Shmi). There’s an inherent respect and care for Anakin’s perspective that’s afforded by the adult figures in the story. It’s welcome and refreshing. Also, by drawing upon Biblical myth (particularly the Virgin Birth, Lucas draws parallels with how parents see their kids as malicious creations who can meaningfully imprint upon the world. Qui-Gon takes on Shmi’s reverence for Anakin by eventually coming to believe he is a mythical figure who can bring balance to the force.
Showing how Shmi’s love and hopes for Anakin transform into Qui-Gon’s belief in the boy is a meaningful metaphor for parenting and changing one’s character. Through your love and caring for them, your perspective and worldview can change. And that emotional truth resonated with me most during this screening of the film. Aside from being a stand-alone aspect of this film, this idea would have ripple effects on the rest of the Prequel Trilogy. This is apparent with Obi-Wan being a reluctant father figure to Anakin in Episode 2 and an older brotherly figure in 3 by taking on Qui-Gon’s belief in Anakin as the Chosen One etc.
The Prequel Trilogy being hinged on the hopes for a nine-year-old’s capacity for greatness feels fitting with the mythic structure that underpins the franchise. In a sense, the hopes and ideals of a parent that comes from a myth and how people try to imprint and shape that story (via parenting and mentorship) is a core aspect of the series. Just like Obi-Wan carefully tries to steer Luke (via a fabricated story of his father/Darth Vader), so does Qui-Gon try to impart wisdom to a young Anakin, who has unrealized power and potential.
As for the rest of the proceedings, I appreciate how subtle the performances are in The Phantom Menace, namely Liam Neeson, who has grace notes of embarrassment and warmth in the film’s second act. But Pernilla August steals the show with a naturalistic depiction of maternal love that’s both warm and heartbreaking. And despite being the most infamous aspect of the film, I very much enjoy Ahmed Best’s physicality in his portrayal of Jar Jar Binks. It’s earnest, goofy and tailored made for the film’s primary demographic.
John Williams’s score is a welcome return in providing literal magic-esque sounding notes that feel at home with how a kid sees the world of Jedi and Star Wars. I could continue writing about Episode I. For one, the much-lauded “Duel of the Fates”, while being stylistically impressive lacks the emotional choreography that would come to define some of my favourite lightsaber sequences in subsequent instalments. It’s a film that despite being flawed still retains what made Star Wars so inspiring for an entire generation of young impressionable moviegoers. I sometimes bemoan the films that I wish I had grown up with. But I’m glad I grew up with The Phantom Menace.