English

Gbangbolor 2

Gbangbolor 1

Branice H. Gbangbolor

Mary Bodelson

English 1121-56

10/13/2022

Film Review Second Drift

“Gods’ Country 2022”- A Movie Review Comment by MG: Make sure to include a creative title.

God’s Country is a movie directed by Julian Higgins. The top casts are Thandiwe Newton as Sandra, Joris Jarsky as Nathan, and Jefferson White as Samuel. The film is set in the distant mountains of the American West, in Western Montana. This classic aims at reviewing the film by investigating its key components such as the use of drama and scary encounters, before making criticisms and comments. Western Montana is an untamed region abounding in magnificence and barrenness. However, God’s Country 2022 focuses more on barrenness and the unyielding and freezing aspects of the terrain. The movie is a desolate portrayal of huge, steep terrain and lonely inhabitants. As the film approaches a hauntingly exciting last scene, I wonder what compromises will be necessary to end the injustice and institutional discrimination that has shaped America. W Comment by MG: I am not sure I follow this? Perhaps for the attention grabber, just focus on offering general information about the film. Comment by MG: You need a clear thesis here that names the film and states clearly your opinion of the film.

The film covers a university lecturer, Sandra, grieving her mom’s passing away while striving to keep the world distant. Sandra discovers two men on a hunting spree intruding on her land. The lecturer is dragged into an intensifying struggle of wills. Sandra and the hunters get into a brawl. Sandra is unwilling to give up her land for hunting. On the other hand, the hunters find her property remarkable for jumping off during hunting. Comment by MG: This works well as a summary.

Grief is well documented and presented in the film. Daniel (1) says, “Newton, braids every thread of generational trauma into a lived-in symbol of defiance and anger.” Everyone processes grief after losing a loved one differently. Anger and resistance are common emotions that could come with grief. These emotions can be subjected to other people. The movie starts with the theme of grief, where Sandra is seen cremating her mother. Sandra clearly does not believe in taking time to heal and recover; she buried the cremated remains while attempting to hide her pain and resume her job. The movie blends the theme of education where Sandra is well-liked by her students; she instructs public speaking and presentation at the community college in western Montana. Anxiety is a common phenomenon in the film. According to Daniels (1), “It is easy to dislike bullies too easily. They’re cliché.” I agree that it is easy to dislike the bullies, “God’s Country 2022” maintains an anxious tone throughout the movie, for example, when Sandra discovers a truck beside her home. It may have appeared to be a mere event at the time, particularly considering how nonchalantly her coworker Arthur handled the situation and the bullies. However, a black lady living alone in a town with most white people can only understandably become paranoid; this is certainly relevant when the scene’s context is considered. Aggression, violence, and racism are common themes in the film. Feldberg (1) says, “The subject of micro-aggressions and blatant instances of racism and sexism, this is a portrait of a woman who’s reached her limit and feels there is no way to stand up for herself but in a manner, she abhors.” The movie examines patterns of male aggressiveness and violence. After Sandra notices the hunter’s red pickup, she leaves an admonition for the intruders to leave. Nevertheless, the hunters come back the following day. Sandra discovers the scrawled letter alongside a bloody dead bird carcass. When questioned, the two hunters, Nathan and Samuel, decline to read Sandra’s message but clarify that her land offers the most excellent launching pads for shooting in the wooded area, therefore, they would not leave. Comment by MG: What is this? Comment by MG: Branice, I am not sure I follow what is being reviewed here, and it is hard to grasp where your voice is among all of the quotes you offer. This needs to be your review, and then you offer just 1 or 2 quotes from the critics to help in developing/supporting your ideas. You need to make sure your critical portion paragraphs have ONE focus/aspect being reviewed.

Both Sandra and the hunters are adamant. The following day, Sandra discovers an arrow thrown into her house after towing the hunter’s pickup. The menacing struggle may at any time become violent, creating the mythological image of violence. In a dramatic scene, the serving sheriff, Jeremy Bobb, steps in to settle the dispute between Sandra and the hunters, which turns out disastrous. The disastrous outcomes of the dispute resolution endeavor highlight numerous resident’s hostility against police patrols. This scene points out a failing system Sandra cannot rely on. The film explores several imagery literacies. As the movie starts, it maintains a state of polarized serenity (Dargis 2). The blatant visuals of a cigarette faintly burning in the snow and a run-down home in the middle of nowhere are elemental poundage and creative writing. The pictures lure me to consider the movie’s core political battle as more introspective than a conflict over jurisdiction. The comprehensive images are positioned to highlight Sandra’s fragility and solitude inside against the several structural features- houses, chapels, and scenery that overshadow her. Sandra lives alone with her dog as company. Comment by MG: You need a stronger organizational structure in the Critical Portion Paragraphs where you offer a clear topic sentence that addresses one aspect of the film and clearly states your opinion. Then the paragraph should offer a clear support point (one area of that aspect that worked well), then provide an example to help show what you mean and explain that example in terms of what viewers will get from it, and then you transition to the next support point… Make sure you offer a Wrap Up Sentence at the end of the critical portion paragraphs that reminds the reader of the aspect you reviewed and your opinion of it. Comment by MG: I am not sure I follow what you are reviewing here? Where do the ideas from Dargis start? Comment by MG: ? I am not sure I follow?

In the film, Sandra and Nathan are given the opportunity to explore a bond that has been subtly tying them together their entire lives, thanks to the image of the hallowed land. Sandra asks Nathan “are you just what happened to you? (Peary 1) Imagery also is used to pose questions distinctly in the movie’s opening scenes. They add to the subject of injustice and institutional discrimination. The scene occurs in a dimly lit lecture hall and shows images of the American invasion. These images include an animal skin shelf, two white men towering over a Comment by MG: Branice, perhaps looking at the sample film reviews could help you in focusing your paragraphs and talking about clear aspects of the film, like acting, soundtrack, message...

Native American tribe member, and a Black woman with a bruised eye. Country 2022” outperforms the human mind’s complex sociopolitical issues and subtle facets. Comment by MG: ?

The film creates a tense atmosphere as I watch and support the protagonist, beginning with a subtly unsettling backdrop and concluding at the height of turbulence. The choice to focus on a lone middle-aged black lady starring a gender and race-swapped adaptation considerably expands the breadth of the story. It also stimulates its social undertone. The film is equally skilled at capturing the cumulative weight of Sandra’s encounters (Garbarino, et al. 23). She is trying to adapt to this countryside, undeveloped region. God’s Country 2022” shows Sandra’s reluctance to accommodate the natives. Sandra initially meets Nathan, who finally expresses reluctant appreciation for her fortitude, though I eventually discover that his background has contaminated this adoration. Later, Sandra meets the lean dreadful Samuel, who has a wolflike appetite. Sandra approaches and tries to question his character, but his grim expression of Samuel sends her away. Comment by MG: What is this? Comment by MG: The conclusion should not offer any new information and should just remind the reader of the aspects you reviewed and what your opinion of those are.

Works Cited

Daniels, Robert. Review: In God’s Country, Thandiwe Newton Strikes Back Against Broken

Systems. Los Angeles Times, 16 Sept. 2022, www.latimes.com/entertainment-

arts/movies/story/2022-09-16/gods-country-review-Thandiwe-newton. Accessed

18 Oct. 2022. Comment by MG: This is not cited correctly. You need to cite this as a film review. That can be found on page 159 of your handbook.

Dargis, Manohla. God’s Country’ Review: A Solitary Woman Isn’t Left Alone for Long.The

New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos, 15 Sept. 2022,

www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/movies/gods-country-review.html. Accessed 18 Oct. 2022. Comment by MG: This is not cited correctly. You need to cite this as a film review. That can be found on page 159 of your handbook.

Feldberg, Isaac. God’s Country Movie Review & Film Summary (2022). Movie Reviews and Ratings by Film Critic Roger Ebert | Roger Ebert, 16 Sept. 2022, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/gods-country-movie-review-2022. Accessed 18 Oct. 2022. Comment by MG: This is not cited correctly. You need to cite this as a film review. That can be found on page 159 of your handbook.

Garbarino, James, et al. Growing Up with Fear. Handbook of Political Violence and Comment by MG: This should not be included in your essay. You should only have 3 outside film reviews and not journal articles.

Children, 2020, pp. 70-95.

Peary, Gerald. Film Review: God’s Country -- Who is to Blame? The Arts Fuse,

6 Oct. 2022, artsfuse.org/262468/film-review-gods-country-who-is-to-blame/. Accessed

18 Oct. 2022. Comment by MG: Is this another review? Remember that you should only include THREE in your paper and on your works cited page.