Fargo vs. In Bruges

Mr. Bennett made an interesting comment today about the similarities between In Bruges and Fargo. They are two very similar films, but I think if you compare them, it is pretty obvious which film is superior.

Both films are meditations on the darkness of life and it's other bleak prospects. In Bruges features many terrible things, such as the murder of a young boy in a church, or the shooting of a friend. Fargo has the same type of morally objectionable elements, such as theft, murder, and kidnapping. But the way these elements are put on the screen is very different.

In Bruges uses contrast. They put all of these terrible things in a city that is beautiful beyond measure. Things in it can make you question your own existence profoundly. How could murder exist in such a perfect city? How can your own friend shoot you in the back? Through the use of contrast, In Bruges paints a dark picture in the middle of a beautiful one.

Fargo, on the other hand, uses a technique I could less than affectionately call exhaustion. It constantly shows a bleak, snowy, and barren landscape. It has irritating characters that cannot get over the middle-class hump, and are otherwise unable to pronounce most words correctly. Like Mr. Bennett said, at the end of the movie, you are overcome with that bleak feeling that it tries so hard to portray. It's inherent in almost every single scene, until you cannot help but feel what the directors want you to feel. This effect is akin to bashing the audience over the head with 98 minutes of snowy torture.

When you think about the things in life that catch your eye the most, what is almost always included? Comparison and contrast! Whether its a weight-loss commercial, a new TV, video game system, whatever! The contrast shown in In Bruges makes it so much more effective.

In Bruges possesses a subtelty that cannot be matched in Fargo, and it is also superior in the message that it tries to give to the audience(in my opinion). In Bruges ponders questions of heaven and hell, and the consequences of our actions on this earth. Fargo didn't seem to have that much of an underlying message, at least I didn't feel it did. In Bruges also has funnier comedic moments, which is important since both films are considered to be black comedies.

I challenge any who don't believe me to go see both movies and then decide which is better!!!