Rather than lying to us and making that somber and orderly, the movie embraces the absurdity by throwing Waponis and luggage salesmen at us, but also giving us that raft scene, and also making us walk up the mountain with Joe. I’ve been trying to write about this scene for a while now, and I always dance around it. Then Mr Grainamore has a duck-shaped cane head which he brandishes as he tells Joe he needs him to sacrifice himself (even though he is the one who paid the doctor to tell joe a lie) and we see the bird on Joe's trunks just before the Waponis "cleanse" him and laugh at him.-Terry. A study guide for watching the movie Joe versus the Volcano - it allows the students to see elements of literature such as symbolism, motif, theme, irony, etc. “The way to read a fairy tale is to throw yourself in.” —W.H. Joe Versus the Volcano Trivia Questions & Answers : Movies H-K This category is for questions and answers and fun facts related to Joe Versus the Volcano, as asked by users of FunTrivia.com. It's definitely a higher existence by any measure. As I've meandered through my days and tried to sneak the movie into the conversation of polite society, the main complaint against "Joe vs. the Volcano" is that it's stupid and silly and unbelievable and ridiculous and over-the-top. Life is ridiculous, random, violent, and frequently more trouble than it’s worth. Before Joe can make his journey, he needs to prepare himself, which leads to one of the best shopping montages of the era. At some point, surely, he’d confess that he was dying, and Marshall’s family would offer some sort of solace? Mr. Watoni and the Waponi...the whole thing is very dreamlike and the story follows his lamp. Heroes are supposed to be brave and quippy. View discussions in 1 other community. She's an optimist. Volcanoes and Lightning Bolts-- a brief but interesting observation about Joe versus the Volcano, that probably should have been obvious. I don’t know who you are. She has faith. And here’s where Shanley’s background in the theater shines. I just watched this movie for the first time, and I looked up some commentary. Indeed, the … Phil and Rita both have Catholic backgrounds but there’s no indication they still practice that faith, and there’s certainly no invoking of Jesus, Mary, Ganesha, L. Ron Hubbard, or any other avatar that would drive people screaming from the theater or couch—they only mention God in passing. The luggage is what allows him to float, and becomes the site of ridiculous dance sequences, a mini-golf game, and a spiritual epiphany. Will love conquer all? I sold it to you for three hundred dollars a week! One of the through lines of the film is that, from the moment Joe gets his diagnosis, he’s alone. But… Joe is killing himself. In actuality, Joe Versus the Volcano is a work of profound crypto-philosophy, more on par with Groundhog Day than You’ve Got Mail. The timing is slightly off on this, but I choose to assert that the whole sequence with Marshall is a critique of the Magical Negro crap in general, and Driving Miss Daisy in particular. With Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack. (Why did yshe get the "angel" name?) But again, nope. Joe doesn’t have any savings, he can’t afford to go on a final trip, there’s a hole in the bucket list, but Joe has to quit. The company logo is seen in the entrance to the factory, in the crumbling wall in Joe's house, in the shape of the lightning bolt that sinks the boat, in the way up to the volcano, and, in the film's trailer (included on the DVD) is the lightning bolt that travels up the film's title and strikes the top. Auden. In Usher, the narrator visits a friend who is in failing health due to some unknown disease. The movie doesn’t have him engage with anyone, he simply eats dinner (alone), drinks a martini (alone), and goes to bed in his posh hotel room (alone) where we see him lying awake. )While watching I couldn't help but think that everything after his date with Deedee was a dream. It appears again to destroy the yacht, imperiling his life. His friends home is gloomy and depressing and he seems stuck there, just a place to wait for death, like Joe's office. If we want to look at this scene positively, he’s trading 5 months of life with no money and a painless death for a few weeks of extreme money, adventure, and a death that will be terrifying and extremely painful, but also intentional. She also says at some point, "We'll just see. Think about it, in Die Hard Hans Gruber pretends to have lofty political ideals in order to pull off a heist, and his entire view of the world comes from magazines; Back to the Future is largely about Marty wanting the trappings of upper middle class life; any John Hughes’ movie could be retitled #firstworldproblems with no loss of emotional resonance. Later, when Joe and Patricia are about to jump into the volcano, he extends his open hand to her, to which she appears to react the same way, until right before her balled fist meets his hand. It's basically about this ordinary guy, Joe Banks, who is very depressed and ill, and works in a dismal environment under the watchful eye of Mr Waturi. Surely they can see that life in this office is actually a living death? It’s taken me all my life to find out who I am, and I am tired. In When Harry Met Sally, a journalist and a political consultant apparently work 20 hours a week (tops) while pursuing love and banter in a New York City devoid of crime, overcrowding, or pollution. A man can contact higher powers and experience the presence of the gods at a mountain or a volcano. Losing My Soul: Joe vs. I thought the idea of the same actress, Meg Ryan, playing the three female parts brings this out. J oe Versus the Volcano. Indeed, the scenes of Joe's life on State Island are gritty, dark and evoke Hell. LA, which is beautiful and glorious to him, is better than Staten Island, but still fake, as typified by the vapid Angelica. Nobody's talking about the ending. Shanley is a brilliant writer, who has won a number of awards for his plays and movies (including "Moonstruck. This made Small Leah squirm and back away from the TV. Patricia isn’t the antidote to Angelica’s darkness, and she’s not just a sounding board for Joe’s problems. She realizes that without an aura of class, Edward’s money will get her nowhere. Graynamore lays his credit cards out like a poker hand for Joe to consider: an American Express Gold, a Diner’s Club card, a Visa Gold and a Gold MasterCard, and says, “These are yours—if you take the job.” He also rattles off the perks, including a first class plane trip and hotel stays, and then finally tries for a slightly more inspiring line, “Live like a king, die like a man, that’s what I say!” (Which obviously begs the question: Why isn’t he doing it?) While the red and orange image of the volcano contrasts the drabness of the office, it also indicates danger. Patricia confesses her love for him, insists they get married, and then tries to talk him out of it. He sits in a badly-lit office, accepting the abuses of his ill-tempered boss, and feeling downcast and ill. She goes to Rodeo Drive, where her appearance is mocked by snooty saleswomen. He knew I wanted this boat and he used it and he got me working for him, which I swore I would never do. He is isolated and depressed and his life just doesn’t seem much worth living. WTF was this shit? Of course, we can also see this is a horrifyingly bleak business transaction, in which Joe is literally selling his life now that he’s gotten a better offer than $300 a week. I think it’s also worth noting that at a certain point, the economic unreality of an escapist film can undermine your pleasure in watching it. 3 comments. They’re all accepting that life is supposed to be nothing but toil and the grave, and that anything beyond that is somehow wrong. This thread is archived. As in his last nights in New York and L.A., he’s alone—Patricia is still unconscious, there are no crewmates or friends, it’s just him and the moon. Like Angelica, she is drawn to darker questions, but where her sister, and Joe, see only an ending, Patricia embraces the mysteriousness of existence, and says of the volcano: “Joe, nobody knows anything. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Marshall calls him out on this, saying “They just hired me to drive the car, sir. Best. This fantasy-comedy was the first pairing of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, yet it polarizes viewers like a Blue Velvet or Happiness.As the only directorial effort from John Patrick Shanley (the Oscar-winning writer of Moonstruck), it is something special, and it's hard to resist the film's feather-light heart tugging. (The theme of courage and faith was important to me.). Which again, snobbiness does indeed suck, but perhaps I’m just not seeing a feminist victory in a broke sex worker celebrating capitalism, but only after two older men help her, and only at the expense of two other women (who probably can’t afford to buy any of the stuff they sell). 88% Upvoted. Fascinating stuff. Here things are a little more complicated, but we’ll need to take a closer look at one of cinema’s most iconic shoppers to tease out what JVtV is doing. I’ve always been drawn to narratives about death. 1) A goose. "Joe Versus the Volcano" achieves a kind of magnificent goofiness. There's a lot of people that I think would really appreciate your content. At the dawn of the ’90s, a film was released that was so quirky, so wei John Patrick Shanley's quirky comedy Joe Versus the Volcano comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Like the director character in Trueman Show. One centers on the idea that Joe versus the Volcano is a child's fairy tale inspired by Joe's juvenile lamp, the one with the 'island paradise' pattern that becomes a motif. Again, this is 1991, and this might be a stretch—but how many AIDS patients witnessed exactly that panic when they told their friends and family members? Before he sets off on his voyage, he acquires THE LUGGAGE, four immaculate Louis Vuitton steamer trunks (that, I assume, directly inspired Wes Anderson’s own spiritual-quest movie The Darjeeling Limited) that become Joe’s home after Patricia’s boat sinks. This distillation of life into money is made even more explicit the next morning, when Samuel Graynamore shows up at his door. In the movie, she wants to give up the fight and commit suicide. save. - … Please let me know. You could look at it as a self-help text, or apply Campbell’s Hero Arc to it. He brings highly theatrical and stylized dialogue, repetition and symbolism to this tale. It may not be a cinematic masterpiece but to me it is. Also, I thought it was neat to note the similarity between Samuel Graynamore and Samael.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samael). He keeps throwing his hats away as though trying on and discarding different personas, none of which are the real Joe. Angelica: Why shouldn’t I? He is a suicide-waiting-to-happen. Then we’re shunted back to the office, where we have to confront the realities of capitalism again. Whether it's Abe Vigoda … We are all being manipulated by billionaires right this minute, and we all have brain clouds. This film was released in 1990 and featured the dynamic duo of Tom hanks and Meg Ryan (also featuring Meg Ryan and Meg Ryan). My life! Joe: What… Why would you do that? I feel ashamed because I had a price. I liked the message about the sacrifice he endures to preserve his relationship with the elevated soul, which brings him to the realization that he appreciates life and thanks God for being alive. This is the part of our soul buffered between the animal soul and the higher soul, where we make our decisions. He has spent all of the nights since his terminal diagnosis alone, and has realized that he’d rather learn about other people than meditate on himself. (Wouldn’t you?) Again he’s being given a pretty open shot to talk about the purpose of his trip, but he chooses not to, and when Angelica offers to come up to his room he refuses physical intimacy just as she has rejected emotional intimacy. (This is weird, because don’t people facing death shed their material goods, normally?) Joe will be prepared for his death, too, but only in the lightest, most absurd manner. I know I keep harping on Groundhog Day, but I think it’s important to note that we never learn why Phil Connors is repeating February the 2nd. This film is brilliantly written and your commentary shows why. Joe and Patricia end up in the ocean. He’s alone on the beach after he asks Angelica not to spend the night. And as if that hellish circular conversation isn’t enough, there’s the green light, the buzzing flourescents, the coffee that can best be described as ‘lumpy’, and the coworkers, who are just as sad and defeated as Joe. "We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." Sort by. save. There is no control here (possibly this is why audiences rejected it?) The Volcano. He is isolated and depressed and his life just doesn’t seem much worth living. Eventually the crack/decay spreads and the whole house sinks into a lake. There are a few reasons for that. Fortunately, the trusty trunks are nearby. Im not sure about the character you say is the devil, i think perhaps he is the Demiurg. Thank u. I have loved this movie since I first saw it in the movie theater all those years ago...Thank you for confirming my own archetypal musings about this very underrated film.I turn on the tv today- January 2nd of 2016 and Joe Vs the Volcano is on HBO and I see that number 941 in front of the medical bldg Joe goes to. As the only directorial effort from John Patrick Shanley (the Oscar-winning writer of Moonstruck), it is something special, and it's hard to resist the film's feather-light heart tugging. Hello Skipper Steve Morris,That's a nice observation about the hats. He alone in the hotel after Marshall leaves. I remember watching this as a kid and being confused. There is a trio of women in the film who are all, in what I’m assuming is a nod to Nikos Kazantzakis, played by Meg Ryan. Shanley is a brilliant writer, who has won a number of awards for his plays movies! A while now, and i always dance around it married, and i am, and i tired... 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