Vanishing Point is the film about pretty much everything I wish I could do in a car. Drive really really fast. As discussed in class...going really really fast is fun, and that's the reason some people might want to do it. There were references to things like Vietnam, and Kowalski's rough past, which formulated an idea of Kowalski as being a hero. Super Soul also contributes to this idea, and really builds him up to being more than he is...which is basically just an 'Average Joe', with some realy really sick road skills in a really sick Dodge Challenger. The plot of the film is that Kowalski makes a bet with his drug dealer that he can deliver a car in less time than he actually is required to deliver it in. However, flashbacks to when Kowalski was a cop, a soldier, a racer, and in love (with the blonde hippie archetypal woman), which definitely give us some background on who Kowalski is, but it doesn't glorify him to the point of heroism. For me, the best part of the film was the driving. It's intense, nobody gets hurt, and the car is pure American muscle.
Yes, Kowalski really is just an ordinary joe, not a hero at all.
ReplyDeleteSo what's this movie ultimately about, do you think? What leads him to make the decision that he does?
Kowalski loves driving, and is quite good at it. When he destroys the car at the end, it's because he knows there is no way to escape from the law (it becomes clear that there is no getting away fairly early in the film), so he chooses the only other option, suicide. He also loves drugs. Without freedom and drugs, what else does he have to make him happy? Dishonorable discharge from the police force, mediocre ex-racer, he doesn't have a lot to live for except for thrill. I think that's why he chose death instead of prolonging the inevitable arrest that would have been made. Besides, he'd made his point to the world...even if it wasn't his intention to make a point...and the point is that Kowalski can't be stopped, unless stopped by himself. And that's exactly what he does in the end.
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