Planet of the Apes,
based on the novel by Pierre Boulle
The first film in this ever longer series could well be the
best
That happens often or even most of the time, for the effort
to cash in on a successful work is not at the level of the first try.
Taylor is the hero of this motion picture and he is
portrayed by Charlton Heston.
This was an actor that had quite a few excellent roles, but
in real life, his positions were often not admirable for the undersigned.
At the start of the film, a space ship lands on an unknown
planet.
The screenplay is based on the book by Pierre Boulle, the
author of another memorable book that inspired one of the best films ever:
-
The Bridge
on the River Kwai
The humans on the spacecraft are all well, with the
exception of the only woman member of the crew.
The latter we learn during the film that was destined to be
the new Eve.
On whichever planet they would land, the men of the team and
the woman would procreate...
But she is dead on arrival, on account of a hole that was
punctured in her equipment.
When one of the team mates reproaches Taylor:
You do not seem sad
Well, mourning comes too late now...she has been dead for
about one year...answers the hero
They talk about their ages and the time that passed on Earth
during their space travel.
Given the speed, the discovery of Einstein, they say...
-
You
are...what was it? Two years older...
-
But two
thousand years have passed on Earth
And we are astonished to find later what happened on our
planet in the meantime...
Well, I say astonishing, but is it really?
If we consider the climate change, the reckless treatment that
the "thinking" species has been giving to its only home, it should
not be all that unexpected.
After their ship sank, the three remaining members of the
crew travel through inhospitable terrain.
They reach a group of human-like creatures that are however
very primitive.
They do not speak and their IQ levels do not rise much
higher than those of dogs.
If we look at the way they voted for an orangutan and keep
supporting him in a place near the location of this story, we could say that
these IQ levels are frequently encountered today.
Dominating the landscape we find...
-
Simians!
-
And not
just that, but they hold in supreme contempt the human, idiot race
There will be some explanation in the final chapters of the
movie, but I will not introduce any spoilers.
Humans are captured and treated with violence.
They are even tortured and one of the members of the
spacecraft crew suffers a lobotomy that renders him in a vegetative state.
Taylor on the other hand manages some spectacular escapes
and becomes something of a celebrity.
He is befriended by Zia, a professor that studies humans and
later by her fiancé, Doctor Cornelius.
These are scientists with many Signature Strengths:
Curiosity, Love of Learning, Appreciation of beauty and
excellence, Bravery, Hope, Gratitude, Wisdom and many more.
Alas, the Simian authorities are very determined to make
Taylor another vegetable.
One of them knows a terrible secret and he makes every
effort to prevent catastrophes from happening again.
They have a Religion that resembles the Christian tradition,
only human aspects are replaced with Simian heroes and rules.
I will end by saying that there may be some hope, but the facts
revealed towards the ending are horrendous...actually, without saying more, the
value of this film rests a lot in the powerful message delivered with The End!
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