Being There (Deluxe Edition)

I can see why some people don't like this movie. If the themes don't resonate with you, it's not really strong enough as a story; and, of course, if your comedic horizons end at 'Jackass', you'll find it awfully slow. Personally, I think it's a great movie and Peter Sellers should have won the Oscar for it- the Academy gave the award to Dustin Hoffman for one of his more pedestrian performances, presumably because he had been nominated and lost 3 times previously. I won't repeat the plotline, it's been dealt with extensively already. One of the strengths of the movie is that it means different things to different people. Here's what it means to me. I see Chance the gardener, aka Chauncey Gardner, as representing life. The film shows how other people perceive him and, sure enough, he is what each person perceives him to be. He's wise, he's philosophical, he's a great lover, he's down to earth, he's politically astute, he's underhanded, he's ambitious...... in reality, he's none of these things. He's a blank canvas on which others paint their pictures- and what they see is different in every case. Only one person sees him as he is, and sensibly keeps quiet about it. The message is that life is how it appears to you- and most people see what they want to see. Chance is also an individual experiencing life, and in this capacity life becomes what you make of it. Chance, in his state of innocence, doesn't have any preconceptions about his limitations. He simply does what he wants to do or is asked to do. When he's asked questions, he answers in the only way he knows how without wondering what others will think of his answers. When he wants something, he asks for it. Nothing intimidates or scares him. When he's asked to appear on a talk show or to advise the President, he isn't afraid that he will make a fool of himself. In the final, consummate act of innocence, he walks out on the water, simply because he doesn't know he can't. Chance shows what life could be if we were unbounded by convention or fear, things that constrain most of us and limit what we achieve. The film's messages are brilliantly realized by Hal Ashby, and make this movie one of the few (A Room With A View would be another) which outshine the book from which they are derived. He draws a wonderful performance from Sellers, who is completely convincing as the man/child, and excellent performances from the great supporting cast. If you want belly laughs, the only scene in this movie you'll enjoy is the one with Shirley MacLaine pleasing herself. If you want thoughtful, subtle comedy with a message, try Being There. And don't forget to watch the final credits.

Peter Sellers plays Chance the long time gardener for a wealthy gentlemen who dies early in the film. Chance's life revolves around television and gardening. He has a TV close by wherever he is, even while working. His ability to communicate with others is limited to parroting what he hears and sees on TV. Put out on the street (literally) when the owner dies with nothing but a suitcase full of the owner's custom made suits (perfect fit except about 3 inches short in the legs) he tries to find what life has next. A minor accident lands him in the home of a wealthy and dying industrialist who has a powerful influence on the presidency. (the film is set in D.C.) who assumes that his cryptic speech and tailor made clothes represent an eccentric genius. (The real genius is Seller's acting in the film) His 'words of wisdom' (often the most recent words he has seen on TV) take on a life of their own when coming from the mouth of this 'genius'. Read Roger Ebert's review for a more in depth discussion of the various levels of interpretation one might read into the film. While not everyone (action oriented viewers) will appreciate this film, it is a terrific satire on our culture and the way people react with pre-conceived perceptions of the way people dress and talk. While set in D.C., a great deal of the movie is filmed at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, an unbelievable landmark. People have discussed the meaning of the last scene, where Chance (appears to) walks on water across the pond, since the film was released. Great discussion potential, terrific acting and a fun (although somewhat quirky) movie.

This is a very well-done movie of a very funny, very disturbing, very chilling book by a very disturbed author. Peter Sellers plays Chance, who, while still young enough to have no earlier memories, ended up in the house of a very rich, powerful man in Washington, D.C. where nobody paid him much attention and, like Topsy, he just growed. The movie opens with him watching a TV as some other somber, well-dressed people come in and explain that they are lawyers and that he must pack his belongings and leave. Wearing his benefactor's clothes (the 1920's wardrobe of "a man of parts," now come round to be fashionable again) he steps through the gate in the estate's garden wall and steps into the Hieronymus Bosch hell of late 20th Century Washington, D.C. His first experience is with an encounter with some street punks who try to shake him down. He has seen this before on the only place he has seen anything: TV. He resorts to the only keepsake he was allowed to bring out of the old man's house: the TV remote control. He doesn't like the gang confronting him so he knows how to make them go away. He points the remote at them and presses a button. There are computer programs which start out "knowing" nothing. They learn by watching you. They learn the goal and the rules of Tic-Tac-Toe by watching what their opponent does. Thus does Chance learn. He ends up a guest at the house of a Washington heavy-weight and, like the computer program, copies the actions of the people around him without having the slightest idea of what he is doing or saying. The last scene has a troop of Washington insiders planning to run him for President.

街中に雨後の筍のようにレンタルビデオ屋さんが乱立し出した頃、本作をレンタルしたのが初めてでした。 屋敷から外に出たことのない庭師が主人逝去に伴い屋敷を出されてからのお話。浮世離れした庭師をピーター・セラーズが好演！

Was macht den Menschen erfolgreich? Man muss so reden, dass andere das Gesagte verstehen wollen, ohne es verstehen zu können. Peter Sellers redet in Gleichnissen aus dem Garten, wie Jesus es auch getan hat. Wirtschaftsmächtige meinen nun, darin die höchsten Weisheiten der Ökonomie erblicken zu können, und erheben ihn, den Schlichten im Gemüt, zu ihrem Guru. Er ist eben einfach nur da und bedeutet ihnen alles. Sehr unterhaltsam.

Seeing this film for the first time, 25 years on from its original release, two things really hit home. Firstly it's very good - the acting and direction are excellent, it's funny, it's a clever story, and it makes you think. All pretty good credentials for any film. Secondly - and here's where its true brilliance lies - its underlying message hasn't dated at all and, if anything, is more relevant and effective than it was when it was made. And the message itself? Superficially, it's an exploration of how, in a world dominated by the fleeting demands of mass media, someone with absolutely no knowledge at all can become a megastar and, once established as such, can demand respect and gain power far beyond their capabilities. And, beneath that... well, that's where the fun starts. Is it an exploration of the shallowness of western society? Is it a study of people's weaknesses & needs? Is it a religious allegory? Is it, in terms of most of the characters, a huge tragedy? Is it all or none of these? The ending, which generates much debate about its "meaning" - is he walking on water in a messianic way or is he simply so stupid that he doesn't realise he's walking, by accident, on a submerged jetty? - is quite brilliant as are the final "over the titles" cuts of Sellers being unable to deliver his deadpan lines without laughing at them, leaving you with the uncomfortable feeling that the "joke" might be on you in trying to read too much into what's on offer here. In the end, of course, it's what you want it to be and that's the whole point of the story - we make people, situations and films themselves into what we want them to be not what they necessarily are. Subtle, enigmatic and, above all, highly entertaining.

普通に面白かったです。

Ein älterer Film (1979), der je älter, wie Wein, desto besser wird. Einer der letzten Filmen von Peter Sellers (Pink Panther) und Melvin Douglas. Satyrisch, humorvoll und gleichzeitig ernst, handelt er sich um was man sieht und was man sehen will. Es zeigt wie manchmal was kinderleicht ist viel zu compliziert sein kann, für Menschen zu verstehen, zumal für diejenigen die sich für ausgebildet und kultiviert halten, weil sie reich sind und die politische Macht haben; allegorisch zu unserer Zeit.