Magic realism or fantasy in one form or another has been a factor in most
John Sayles films. The most obvious example was "Brother From Another
Planet." It would be possible to bypass its role in "Men with Guns", but I
think that would be a mistake. The device of the mother telling the story
to her daughter that appears throughout the film and is wrapped up at the
end reminds us periodically that something out of the ordinary is
happening in this story.
It seemed fairly clear that each of the characters is more or less an
archetype. That said, they also have some very human and at times amusing
interactions. The doctor's relationship with the American tourists is the
best example of this. Their interactions reveal that the tourists -- for
all their gauchery -- actually know more about what is really happening in
the country than the highly insulated doctor. Other events make it fairly
clear that the doctor is truly an alien in his own country.
It also seemed to be a nice twist at the end to realise that the doctor
was not the central character but merely a device to save and bring the
central character to his destiny.
There is a lot of ambiguity in the film - like life - so there's lots of
room to discuss / argue its meaning and merits.
Ellen
Ellen J. Dannin
California Western School of Law
225 Cedar Street
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: 619-525-1449
Fax: 619-696-9999
