Searching for Sarah

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=85 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="005dba33.gif"> <div> <A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us"><U><IMG SRC="006ef530.jpg" border=0 width="239" height="83" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> |    back to:  <A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us/nonlotr/id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us/nonlotr/id39."><U><B>Going Back for Sarah</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Decision at the Ark"><U>Decision at the Ark</U></A>   |   <B>Searching for Sarah</B>   |   <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Together Again"><U>Together Again</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Saying Goodbye"><U>Saying Good-bye</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Race Against Time"><U>Race Against Time</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Climbing for Three"><U>Climbing for Three</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shock and Collapse"><U>Shock and Collapse</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hope Survives"><U>"Hope Survives"</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=395 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="06492923.gif"> <bR> <div> <B>Searching for Sarah</B></div> <bR> <div> This set of scenes has some good acting moments--more than I expected, which is the reason these pages are here.  It also includes what just might be the most ridiculous scene in the movie, story-wise.  Which, for this movie, is quite a statement!  So it's humanly impossible to not have a little fun with it.  No disrespect meant to our intrepid hero and his fair lady who give it their all to save...  this movie.  (These pages do contain <I><B>spoilers </B></I>for the Leo & Sarah storyline.)</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0652b0e0.gif" border=0 width="555" height="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Leo has managed to hitchhike from Missouri to Virginia despite the fact that everyone else in the country is headed <I>west</I>.  Kind of like Gandalf's travels during the first part of the <I>FotR </I>movie, we'll try not to wonder how he got there so <I>fast</I>.  He evidently came into town by a back road, as he expects to find Sarah and her family at home. </div> <div>  <A NAME="moregbfs_top"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <IMG SRC="0521b570.jpg" border=0 width="795" height="343" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> When he realizes they aren't, he goes to the garage to get the motor bike. (Cleverly introduced in an otherwise useless scene earlier in the movie, so it wouldn't seem overly convenient.  <I>Writing 101:</I> Introduce a plot device before it's needed, so it won't seem overly convenient.  <I>Writing 102: </I> Introduce a plot device in a way that actually <I>adds to the story</I>, so it's not so obviously a plot device.) </div> <bR> <div> That earlier scene also showed that Leo knows where the key is.  But to give an added bit of tension, it's in a jar full of nuts and bolts, etc., which he has to dump out and search through.  In fact, he has to dump out a second jar.  </div> <bR> <div> Leo's frustration escalates.  He even gets a bit angry before he finds the key, which is unusual for Leo (that wasn't a joke--quite nicely done, actually).</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="04d1d560.jpg" border=0 width="797" height="342" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="04e20570.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="343" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="04f20530.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="339" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> These are here just for the light and shadow.  The cinematography in this movie, like the acting, does have its moments.  </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0501e580.jpg" border=0 width="798" height="344" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05120550.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="341" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Because he came in by a back road (as deduced earlier), Leo figures out they must have left by this particular freeway... right?  We get a fairly lengthy long shot of Leo motoring down the freeway, weaving among the gridlocked vehicles, looking and calling for Sarah.  The vast majority of this is basically an opportunity for product placement (okay, I'll accept a U-Haul in this mass of fleeing humanity, but a Pepsi delivery truck?), so I'm not posting pics from it.  We don't see much of Leo's face, anyway.</div> <bR> <div> The one time we get close enough to Leo to catch any real emotion is just after he sees a vehicle that looks like the one belonging to Sarah and her family, but looks inside to see a couple of strangers.  Maybe a brief moment of wondering if this search is hopeless, after all?</div> <bR> <div> The helmet makes him look a lot younger, probably because it tends to make his head appear rounder.  IMHO, the effect is enhanced by the shape of his mouth--thanks to the capped teeth.  Almost as if he's had collagen injections.  JMHO. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05319540.jpg" border=0 width="793" height="340" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05619520.jpg" border=0 width="793" height="338" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05519570.jpg" border=0 width="793" height="343" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05716550.jpg" border=0 width="790" height="341" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05819550.jpg" border=0 width="793" height="341" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> But determination returns...</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05919570.jpg" border=0 width="793" height="343" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05a17560.jpg" border=0 width="791" height="342" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> ...maybe a bit <I>too </I>obviously in this frame. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05b16570.jpg" border=0 width="790" height="343" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> I'm glad Sarah seems happy to see him.  Kinda wondered about that earlier in the film.  I guess it was when Leo was going off in the bus that she was supposed to realize she loved him, but it still seemed a bit iffy to me. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05cd3510.jpg" border=0 width="723" height="337" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05d17550.jpg" border=0 width="791" height="341" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05e19570.jpg" border=0 width="793" height="343" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Too bad she belongs to that dorky Astronomy Club. She might have made a good cheerleader...</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="05f19540.jpg" border=0 width="793" height="340" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06018560.jpg" border=0 width="792" height="342" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> There are several places during the film that the camera starts with Leo in a long shot and moves in.  This is one of them: when he hears Sarah calling him.  It shows that, as usual with Elijah, this isn't a static facial expression he uses to show one specific emotion, but one that develops naturally as Leo's mind registers what's happening.  Changes between one frame and the next that are so subtle you hardly notice them, but evident if you look at the first close-up and then the last.  </div> <bR> <div> Too bad that Budweiser truck has to hog the shot... uh, yeah, a Budweiser truck in the middle of a mass, panicked evacuation.  Well, people will be thirsty, right?  And some will want something stronger than Pepsi...  Special cinematography kudos for the camera being able to include <I>both </I>"Bud Light" <I>and </I>"Budweiser" in the same shot. Who says product placement is <I>easy</I>?! </div> <bR> <div> Anyway, back to the action: </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0671e560.jpg" border=0 width="798" height="342" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06820560.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="342" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06917550.jpg" border=0 width="791" height="341" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06a17530.jpg" border=0 width="791" height="339" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06b17560.jpg" border=0 width="791" height="342" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06c17530.jpg" border=0 width="791" height="339" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06d19510.jpg" border=0 width="793" height="337" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06e19560.jpg" border=0 width="793" height="342" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06f15520.jpg" border=0 width="789" height="338" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="07018540.jpg" border=0 width="792" height="340" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0661b540.jpg" border=0 width="795" height="340" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06316540.jpg" border=0 width="790" height="340" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 66 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="#moregbfs_top" TITLE="Searching for Sarah"><U><IMG SRC="00c7d3c0.jpg" border=0 width="125" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 68 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Together Again"><U><IMG SRC="00d7d3c0.jpg" border=0 width="125" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 68 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Decision at the Ark"><U><IMG SRC="0767d3c0.jpg" border=0 width="125" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>