2023 in a postpandemic apocalypse world, postexponential streaming growth, post anything. Besides the passion of watching a film in a dark room, in a mix of collective and personal experience, what else drives us to the cinema? The battle to regain the exhibition market, which has suffered serious setbacks in recent years, wins this week a heavyweight contender that begins to close the cinema year: “Avatar O Caminho da Água”. It’s the spectacular film that justifies the uncomfortable 3D glasses, going to the cinema and, of course, the price of admission.
It’s the cinema of experience, breathtaking, immersive (pardon the pun on the aquatic universe of this sequence). James Cameron has spent eight years since the release of Avatar in 2009 working on the script for the sequels (Avatar 3, 4 and 5 are planned) and waiting for technology to advance so he could transform Pandora’s universe can conquer the bottom of the sea. In terms of “technical awards” (Oscars are coming) the result is impeccable and the expected time was only good for such a daring project. In terms of plot and script, there are a few points where, perhaps due to the somewhat baroque nature of the stories narrated by Cameron, there wasn’t enough time to change the course of the prose.
Cameron is a director passionate about his stories and the universes he creates. From “Titanic” (1998) to “The Abyss” (1989), including “Terminator” (1984) and “True Lies” (1994), he doesn’t skimp on tone, he’s not minimalist, he explores the narrative and the classic Journey of the hero and/or heroine and often weighs heavily in dialogues that border on cliches. So if you are a fan of his cinema and have seen “Avatar”, you will know which universe you are immersed in when you watch “Avatar 2”.
Little Tuk discovers the ocean in “Avatar The Way of Water”
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In his favor, that passion may seem overdone, but it never sounds wrong or just a script and/or marketing ploy. Not only is Cameron passionate and justifiably fascinated with the marine ecosystem, he is also a researcher and diver. It is part of the “Avatar Alliance Foundation” (whose main activities are global warming awareness, energy exploitation, deforestation, rights of indigenous peoples, and protection of the oceans and animal life on the planet).
In 2017, the filmmaker produced the short film What would the Ocean Say? (What Would the Ocean Say?), narrated by Zoe Saldaña and premiered during the Ocean Conference at the UN. In 2021 he coproduced the series O Segredo das Baleias, filmed in regions around the world, which portrays whales of different species and the challenges they face in a world that is increasingly destroying the oceans. The narration is not accidentally written by Sigourney Weaver. Not to mention he’s a National Geographic recognized explorer.
Such is his connection to the sea that in creating the marine universe of Avatar 2 he worked hard to ensure that it was as authentic as possible. The Canadian filmmaker (educated in physics, by the way) made sure that all the leading actors took scuba diving lessons and learned to hold their breath underwater for more than five or six minutes. Kate Blanchett and Sigourney Weaver beat Cameron’s own mark and the Titanic star hit the mark of 7 minutes and 14 seconds without breathing (as he said in an interview with the IMDB website).
James Cameron directs Avatar 2 crew and cast underwater scenes
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All of this is intended to give us an idea of just how genuine and deep the emotional and scholarly engagement with the overarching theme of this new film is. His marine research work has taken him to one of the most extreme points on earth. In 2012, while covering the London premiere of Titanic 3D at the Royal Albert Hall, this columnist discovered in an interview with the filmmaker that he had just returned from a mission to the Mariana Trench (the lowest point on Earth) organized by National Geographic. At the time, he said the voyage was not only part of his work for the benefit of the environment and the oceans, but also brought him closer to the universe he hoped to portray in future projects.
One might dislike the plot tone of Jack Sullivan’s hero father (Sam Worthington), who keeps repeating the truism that “a father protects” (hence this new film’s great Gordian knot), but it’s impossible not to respect Cameron, ye Project, your services and the whole team. “Avatar 2” is a visual delight, a lysergic journey through the universe of fluorescent oceans, a simple and honest dialogue with the public about how much we squander our “mother earth” in favor of greed, a pollutioncausing way of life, death , destruction, fear and that makes us sick.
James Cameron filming “Avatar 2”: The director is a true explorer of the seas and has already dived into the Mariana Trench, the lowest point on earth
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The experience, or what we may call sensory cinema, of experiencing the atmosphere of Pandora remains the highlight of Avatar. Characters are archetypal in the first part and this logic continues in this sequel, with the introduction of children and young people gaining prominence. If in the first film Jake is a soldier who on a mission to Pandora (actually one of the moons of the great planet Polyphemus) falls in love not only with the native Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), but with all of his Na’vi people, more precisely the Toruk Makto nation and their deep connection with nature. From a typical colonizer in the service of those who see the original peoples only as a hindrance to the exploitation of Pandora’s natural resources, he becomes the defender and leader of the Na’vi, driving the humans out.
In the new storyline, a few years have passed, Jake (already 100% Na’vi) has become the great leader. Toruk Makto and Neytiri have three four children: teenagers Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) and Lo’ak (UK). Dalton), alongside little Took (Trinity JoLi Bliss) and adopted daughter Kiri (who was mysteriously born to scientist Grace Augustine, Sigourney Weaver, who also plays the girl). Humans, of course, are invading the planet again, on a mission not only to extract resources, but also to transform Pandora into humanity’s new home while Earth dies.
New fights, old enemies and the classic question about the son who is reflected in the father but not yet confirmed by him. In order to protect themselves and everyone else, the family has to flee to the reefs where the Metkayina Indians are staying. They live by the sea and have fins and other adaptations that make them almost aquatic creatures. Kate Winslet and Cliff Curtis play Ronal and Tonowari, the leaders of the Sea People and their children who are tasked with teaching Jake and Neytiri everything, including how to hold their breath.
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), the Metkayina couple who welcome the Sully family
Image: Disclosure / Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
With a storyline lasting more than three hours, it might seem like an exaggeration, but it’s the sequences in which young people discover the ocean together with new friends that are most enchanting and flowing in “Avatar 2”. The impending war, the settlement with human enemies, the family conflicts naturally drive the plot forward. However, the heart of “Avatar 2” is most authentic in the sequences in which the “outcast” (or misfit) Lo’ak encounters and bonds with a sea creature (think “The Secret of Whales”), purest and most captivating.
All of this is wrapped not in an informative and alarming documentary (which would be very crude given the current agenda), but in an adventure “for the whole family” that is a real outing, an experience missing only smell and touch (maybe even taste) to complete the almost real experience.
If so, with entertainment, adventure and a classic family story and the new generations who are the future, Cameron manages to raise awareness for the world public, period for “Avatar”! Cinema is the merging of several arts, and Avatar is cinema that fills the eyes, the screens, and hopefully the theaters. Obviously, occupying more than 70% of the screens in Brazil is not a very sustainable tactic for the whole diverse ecosystem of cinema. As with other blockbusters like ‘Doctor Strange In The Mad Universe’ and ‘Fantastic Beasts’, the other films opening this week are overshadowed by the ‘event film’ of the time. The debate about the screen quota, the formation of an audience not only for Brazilian cinema, but also for independent North American cinema, Europe and the like, is necessary and healthy.
Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) and Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), new and young characters, children of Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), address the issue of being “seen” and validated by parents
Image: Disclosure / Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
However, if Cameron’s new feature film also serves cinema that goes beyond the Harry Potter hero films and universes, and even encourages going to the cinema, one more point for him. In a year when Tom Cruise and “Top Gun Maverick” (another one that also left a lot to be desired with its surprising script) were the salvation for this cinema outside of those two genres, “Avatar” ends the season by crowning the good old adventure cinema.
It’s worth remembering that “Avatar” and “Titanic” are the only two originals that weren’t adapted from books or comics with the highest grossings of all time. Incidentally, “Avatar” grossed almost 3 billion dollars and is still the highestgrossing in history, also due to new releases. The ability to create a narrative universe must be acknowledged, and that Cameron’s saga and passion at least continue, inspiring young moviegoers to discover other cinematic universes beyond the blockbuster (which have their deserved and guaranteed place). Now he’s waiting for the box office of “O Caminho da Água” and the sequel, which further expands the universe and is expected to be released at the end of 2024.