What I personally think about Titanic, the movie by James Cameron

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Of course I liked the stupendous camera travellings, and of course I liked the morphing FX... but, that's just not important.

What a wonderful emotional movie! It is very hard for me to cry, but that's exactly what I did in this movie. This means: it must be very touching, and I am very thankful for such movies! But on the other side, as crying can be embarrassing (except when you are together with someone who allows you to be very emotional, like your boyfriend or girlfriend), I had to stop it, and the only way to handle my emotionality was to analyze WHY.

Why made me this movie cry? I have found out that it's the combination of two things: First, it's a real story. It's not just another Starship Troopers like fantastic plot! Second, the incredible tragedy of 2200 people facing an almost sure death within a few hours--an incredibly painful death in the freezing water. (And it was very real, this coldness: When we left the theater, it was FREEZING outside. I guess you can't understand this movie in a warm climate...) Only 700 of these 2200 will have the chance to survive--but who's to decide who will be the lucky ones? The only person who tries to do so in an ethical way (the second officer), fails and kills himself. Note that I do not mention the love story as important for making this movie so emotional. It's just another love story--another Romeo and Juliet thing. (Leonardo DiCaprio seems to like these sort of roles, I guess...) It's too simple for them, because the bad guy is REALLY bad! This is not a real dilemma! I'll never understand why a woman stays with a man after he has hit her once--that's just INEXCUSABLE!!

The scene, which made me crack completely, was when the musicians on the deck stopped playing and said, "Okay, I guess that's it! Seeya!" (or similar) Then, one of them turns around and realizes immediately that playing music is the only thing he can do right now--he will die anyway! And he starts playing again, a very sad tune. A few seconds later, the other musicians return and have to join him, because they also feel that their music will be the last thing that separates them from the incredibly cruel and nevertheless almost useless fight to survive. At this point I just cried... (I didn't know yet that these guys were actually Swiss musicians from Bern, that's where I come from.)

Another (more intellectual) thing that touched me was, is the principle "women and children first" still valid today? (What a dangerous and blasphemous question!) What are the ethical principles behind this saying? Did they change in the last 70 years? I guess a lot of people get upset if one asks such a question. Why? Sola, Cotton, Keith, and me, we didn't find the answer--it just was too cold...

Anyway, I guess it is a wonderful movie to watch with your girlfriend/boyfriend--if you are not afraid of crying...



Send me some comments! Stefan Marti Last updated Feb 15 1998.