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Contents © 2005
by Jim Holman.
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TALK ABOUT MOVIES
March 2005
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
Directed by Jared Hess. Starring Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez. 2004, 82 minutes, USA, English, Color. Available at Hollywood Video.
Matthew: Napoleon and Pedro both have a saintly innocence. Napoleon manifests it through his language — he uses "gosh" as a serious expletive.
Ernie: They're both outcasts — Napoleon because of who he is and Pedro because he's a Mexican in this lily-white place — but they approach the world without guile. It's not exactly virtue; it's more like childlike hope.
Matthew: And so grace can flourish. They've escaped the corruption of the world.
Ernie: And then they conquer their world, when, if they hadn't met each other, both of them might have ended up in disillusionmentville like Uncle Rico. Up until the election, Pedro has been giving hope to Napoleon's hopelessness.
Matthew: "Pick a girl and draw her a picture."
Ernie: Give her a little gift, have hope, and see what comes of it.
Matthew: It gets him hurt — Trisha ditches him at the dance.
Ernie: But sometimes, good things will happen. When Deb comes up to Napoleon at the end, he says, "I caught you a delicious bass." That's what Pedro has given him.
Matthew: Then he lays himself down for Pedro. In some way, he understands that they're outcasts. He can't believe Pedro's going to ask Summer to the dance.
Ernie: When for Pedro, it's, 'Why should I not ask the prettiest girl in school to the dance? I am unequal to no man.' He's just come from Juarez, where he's just like everybody else. Then, when he looks up from the water fountain and sees the signup for class president, you can see his innocence: 'Why shouldn't I try that?' But by the time the principal chews him out for building the piñata, he's running up against his differences, and his hope is starting to fade. By the time he's talking about santos in his speech, he's realizing that this isn't what works around here. That's when Napoleon realizes that Pedro is kind of a lamb led to the slaughter.
Matthew: So even though he knows what will probably come of it, he does his dance, so that Pedro will have a skit.
Ernie: He heaves that huge sigh before he goes out on stage.
Matthew: "Okay, time to be crucified."
Ernie: And then he runs off after it's over....