Franka Potente in Blow (2001)
Clips
Pics
Review
The backdrop of this film is the life of George Jung. According to legend, he almost single-handedly created the cocaine market in the United States in the 70's.
If you think it's going to be a drug movie, or an anti-drug movie, you're wrong. In the entire film, there is virtually no portrayal of the consequences of drug use, and there is not much time devoted to the consequences of drug dealing. The film is not really judgmental about his career choice. To me, the real point of the film was the parallel between the lives of George Jung and his father.
George's dad (Ray Liotta, playing a nice guy beautifully, as I knew he could), was a man with values. He was devoid of personal greed, he always forgave his shrewish wife and doted on his son (Johnny Depp, excellent as always).
Ol' dad never cheated anyone, was loyal to his friends and family, and was constantly being taken advantage of by baser, greedier people. He had a naïveté which led to a lifetime of financial difficulties, because in the real cutthroat world, his integrity was considered a fatal weakness by his unscrupulous friends.
He built up a solid little business with several trucks and several employees, but he lost it all. When he hit bottom, he told his son that it wasn't that important, that money wasn't what counted. His wife saw his failure another way, and berated him constantly in front of their boy.
George, the cocaine kingpin, grew up in a different world, but ended up with a life almost identical to his dad's, just on a different scale. George, too, was honest in his dealings, was never greedy, never broke a promise, shared his good times with the people he cared for, rewarded anyone who did something nice for him. Like his dad, he was considered a naive babe in the woods by a string of less principled hard guys who gradually took more and more of his pie.
Just like his dad, he built a nice little empire, then lost almost everything. When he hit rock bottom, there was a scene precisely parallel to one with his parents, in which George's wife berated him in front of their child for his lack of earning power. When George went down, he insisted that the feds get his ungrateful wife and daughter to safety, just as his own father had always taken back his ungrateful mother when she stormed out of the house and disappeared.
Of course, after a family dinner with George's parents, George and his first love resolve never to end up like the older couple. Sadly and ironically, George loses the girl (Lola Rennt's Franka Potente, speaking almost perfectly unaccented English) to cancer, then ends up reliving his father's life on a grander scale.
Another evocative element of the movie was the transition of the market from marijuana to cocaine, which necessitated that George deal with gun-toting Colombians instead of peaceful hippies and small farmers. George looked back on the hippie marijuana days as the idyllic part of his life, filled with songfests on the beach, laid-back friends, and good vibes.
I guess you probably know that most of us who lived through the 60's and 70's see it the same way. Marijuana represented our youth, sweet times, mellow vibes peace and love and music. Cocaine represented everything that went wrong after the movement died: greed, violence, edginess, material possessions, egocentrism. Watching George's transition in the film brought back a lot of forgotten memories for me.
George was ultimately betrayed by everyone he ever trusted, but you should not be deceived into thinking this was some sort of behavior endemic to the cocaine business. It's just that in that particular business, the stakes are higher than in just about any other business, and that factor magnifies the greed.
Furthermore, the business is illegal, so it attracts an element of people comfortable outside the law, and that magnifies the danger. But aside from the nature of his product, George was just another failed small-time entrepreneur like his dad. But like his dad, he know that wasn't important
He knew that his real failure was with his own daughter. George's dad was a success, because he did manage to transmit a certain set of values to his son, and the two of them developed a genuine bond and respect. George was not able to break through to this level of contact with his own child. George's daughter never did make peace with her dad, and has to this date never visited him in prison.
He still has another 14 years of incarceration before he is set free.
Based on this description, this film is a C+ or B-. I liked it, but I suppose many people will not really take to this story of a drug smuggler with his own ethics. On the other hand, the DVD is an A. If the story appeals to you, the DVD treatment couldn't be much better. In addition to the deleted material and featurettes, this biopic features commentary by the director and the real-life subject of the biography.
Nudity Report: There is considerable incidental nudity from background players and extras, but none from the principals. Penelope Cruz does have some sexy scenes.
Critics Vote: General consensus: about three stars. Ebert 2.5/4, Berardinelli 3.5/4, Apollo 69/100.
IMDB Summary: 7.1 out of 10
Box Office: It grossed a very solid $52 million dollars, compared to a budget of $30 million
DVD Info: Widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1; Full-length director commentary. accompanied by George Jung; Four featurettes including interviews with the real George Jung; Deleted scenes and outtakes; Trailers, tv ads, and a music video.
Written by: Scoopy …scoopy.net