Armageddon Time par Pnelo

Armageddon time
Sometimes I have doubts about the USA's ability to produce artistic movies, and James Gray is one of the moviemakers who clear those doubts . In his last film, Armaggedon time, he explores a subject he uses to deal with; family interactions in the 80s, growing up and the assimilation. As we expect it to be autobiographic, the nostalgic part is very light, much lighter than the political and social side thus making it a progressive movie. All the actors are very good and well directed.
The subtle (and the greatest) aspect of the movie is the path taken by Paul from his childhood to maturity. At first, the movie glows with the innocence of a naive childhood... Paul is a dreamy and artistic mind- not that bright. Although not presented as brilliant, this child will always surprise by his unconventional behavior. Interestingly, it all starts in the classroom where he met his first friend whose path is a dark mirror of our hero... As the two faces of the moon, one being illuminated while the other one is sentenced to darkness. The greatest ability of this movie is the art of filming everyday scenes and making them poetic: children making fun of an authority, a mother putting her son to sleep, a father waking him up, a family banquet or a punishment. Growing is ambivalent and contradictory, it's like suffocating and reaching freedom in the same time. The strangulation of everyone else's expectations entangles but also fertilizes the soil. The dream germinates from a seed, its vigor is undefectible and the roots can absorb the nutrients even in the most stuffy and dense substrate.
This is how Gray's cinematography grows and I'm waiting for the next one ????.