15 April 2012

Review: Warren Ellis - Captured Ghosts


Captured Ghosts – Patrick Meany (dir.)Respect Films, Sequart 2011, $15.00


Captured Ghosts is a magnificent film. It’s beautifully shot, and brimming with ideas. It’s more of an excuse to listen to Warren Ellis talk for ninety minutes than anything else, but that’s not a bad thing. Ellis is known for his blunt honesty, and here he doesn’t disappoint.

It’s easy to see the pessimism in Ellis’ work, especially knowing he came out of Thatcher’s Britain. His work is often a reaction to growing up poor and oppressed. He was told that this was the world he got, but refused to accept that. He refused to accept a pessimistic view of the world.  His best work contains a vision of what the world should be, and what it can be.  It’s not so much a vision of a better future as it is of a better today. Be it the orgasm of ideas and weirdness that is Planetary, or the drug fueled ultraviolet nihilism that is Transmetropolitan. Hope is everywhere in his books, and you don’t even have to look very hard.                

Even through all the nastiness, and violence, the filth, and shit, and the bad noise; there is a sense that we will get through the horrible mess we’re in. Even if we don’t, fuck it, at least we’ll have a good laugh. That is what Ellis’ work is about at its core. Looking at something evil, laughing at it, and presenting it with a better idea.

Even if you’re not a fan of Ellis’ work, you should see this film, and it’ll probably convert you. At its core is the realization that the man is a revolutionary thinker, one we should grateful to have. Every single idea he has put forth in his creator-owned work is one that’s plausible. Of course, there’s plenty of shit we hope doesn’t come true, but if Ellis has thought of something there’s probably some crazy bastard out there trying to build it. He’s already spawned one cult and at least one movement.

Captured Ghosts uses interview footage of Ellis and his contemporaries, including Matt Fraction and Grant Morrison, to present the man as a sort of a prophet. We’ll call him Internet Jesus.  It would be nice to have a comprehensive analysis of his work, but it’s even better watching him smoke and drink and curse. Ellis as a person seems to be every bit as interesting as we would hope from readings his books and internet rantings. See this film. Buy this film. When you’re done, make a friend watch it, by gunpoint if you have to. Ellis would probably approve.

-- Jeffrey Whitelaw

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Stumbleupon Favorites More