WAITING FOR THE GIANTS
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| Not Rated
| | Copyright 2000 Shade Enterprises
| | Reviewed by Andrew Borntreger on 6 April 2003
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- Ray - He can read minds and influence people through suggestion. He also looks a bit like Samuel L. Jackson. Shot.
- Nate - Blind fellow who was used as a human guinea pig. Talks a lot.
- Annabelle - Pretty, but needs to get more sleep. Mute (in direct contrast to Nate).
- Senator Wax - The sponsor of a bill that would consign Giants to camps or reservations.
- Jessica - The Senator's daughter.
- Annabelle's Grandfather - Farmer dude who has been wearing the same white t-shirt and overalls for twenty years.
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"Waiting for the Giants" takes place in a world where some people display extraordinary powers. Nicknamed "Giants" by the rest of society, they are looked upon with fear and hate. It is the age old curse of man: a unique inanimate object is a prize possession, while a perceived "different" person should be hit over the head with a rock.
Fitting quotes by Martin Luther King and Thomas Jefferson open the film. In fact, every time I watch the news and see a report about Israelis and Palestinians clashing, I give silent thanks for Mr. King. We have problems. However, without his amazing guidance, I doubt would be where we are today. There are still some thick skulls that need more time to get the message, but time and patience will get us there eventually.
Anti-Giant paranoia claims the life of Ray's wife during the movie's opening scenes. Two searchers, apparently National Guardsmen, burst in and demand to know where Ray is (he is hiding in the closet). The indignant woman starts berating them. One of the jerks shoots her. Needless to say, her right to free speech was probably infringed upon. Bigots are bad, but bigots with assault rifles are downright dangerous. The hidden protagonist wisely decides to sneak down to his jeep and run away.
Now, most of the movie is going to involve (directly or indirectly) Ray driving his jeep. He picks up some companions along the way, who I will introduce shortly. There are just a lot of scenes centered around the jeep, like some sort of ninety-minute Jeep/Eagle advertisement. Another notable part of the movie is the soundtrack. It is better than you would expect for a true independent film and avoids one of the worst pitfalls. I am talking about drowning out the characters' lines. Several parts are dominated by a specific song (both with and without lyrics); it is just that nobody is talking during those sections.
Ray's first discovery on his trip is Nate. Experimented upon and left for dead on the side of the road, the blind gibbering mouther is confused by Ray's assistance. Then again, being poked and prodded for any length of time is likely to erode basic human trusts. It is only a few scenes later when the jeep almost runs over Annabelle. The exhausted woman is lying in the middle of the road. They bundle her into the back of the vehicle while her grandfather watches from a nearby woods.
Meeting Annabelle prompts a whole new conundrum: Nate immediately starts falling for her. The strong emotions prompt him to go soul-searching. And, by the way, Nate examining his inner self means that he talks even more than usual. Ray just about has a nervous breakdown from all the inane chatter. In sharp comparison to the road taken by Nate, Annabelle's disgusting old man resolutely sets himself to destroying what he does not understand.
Oh, and Annabelle seems to like capriciously messing with Nate in a friendly way. It is a classic example of the mute leading the blind.
The reason for Annabelle's social reticence is her grandfather. Orphaned at a very young age, she was sent to live with the dirty old man. What followed was obviously a long period of physical and sexual abuse. She had finally fled, after whacking him over the head with a chair, when Ray and Nate found her lying in the road. He hates Giants, I guess on account of being a redneck.
Chance smiles down upon the trio when they discover the automobile accident. Senator Wax was driving and his daughter was a passenger. The young girl is badly injured (probably not helped by the dazed Senator carrying her down the road). Annabelle proves that she is a Giant by healing Jessie. Then the three Giants flee, because the police are on the way. The jeep pulls over near an abandoned field, allowing for Ray to link their minds in a moderately confusing dream sequence. Annabelle and Nate falling in love naturally comes next, though Ray has to deal with grampa finally catching up to the group.
The movie suffers from an unclear purpose at times, but only has three main characters. The austere cast enforces a simple story line and prevents it from becoming a morasses. I think that Ray's characterization as a sort of martyr is my main complaint, since I really cannot see why he had to die. What we have is a story about why bashing someone over the head with a rock, just because they are different, is bad. |
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| Things I Learned From This Movie: | |
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- Never send a white supremacist militia team to bring in people for questioning.
- Blind people have radar.
- Fainting in the middle of the road is not advised.
- Blind people cannot be racist.
- Pain looks like a lens flare effect.
- The only reason a hick would own a DVD player is to watch stag films.
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- 11 mins - Nate's hair courtesy of hydrogen peroxide.
- 20 mins - The windshield should be splattered with bugs.
- 30 mins - Was he blinded by a bullet or what? (I would tend to believe Ray's version.)
- 47 mins - Putting gasoline into that is just asking for trouble. What if Nate tries to chug some Gatorade?
- 52 mins - There is no sanctuary! Hehehehe!
- 66 mins - He said to meet at the jeep, not have an intimate encounter in the mud pond. You are both going to get infections.
- 80 mins - You still did not answer the question.
- 82 mins - Did someone drop him off or is that a European vehicle?
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| | Audio clips in wav format | SOUNDS | Starving actors speak out | |
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| File | Dialog |  | waitgiants1.wav
| Nate: "Blind people cross the street every day, just like you do."
Ray: "Are you sure you're blind?"
Nate: "As a bat."
Ray: "Then how do you do that..."
Nate: "What?"
Ray: "...that navigating shit?"
| | waitgiants2.wav
| Nate: "I'll be your voice if you'll be my eyes. Deal? It's easy, you could just squeeze my hand or whack me on the head."
| | waitgiants3.wav
| Ray: "I told you, I don't read minds."
Nate: "I know, but this isn't reading. This is more like writing minds."
| | waitgiants4.wav
| Annabelle: "I don't have any power. I wish I did."
Ray: "Yes you do. Yes you do, Annabelle."
| | Theme Song | Listen to a clip from the soundtrack. | |
| | Click for a larger image | IMAGES | Scenes from the movie | |
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| | Watch a scene | VIDEO | MPEG video files | |
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 | waitgiants1.mpg
- 1.8m
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| Ray is trying to calm Senator Wax while Annabelle heals the injured girl. From what I can tell, Ray did not foresee this happening. On the other hand, parts of the movie make more sense if he did.
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| | Leave a comment | EXTRAS | Buy the movie | |
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