Yesterday I saw "Mute", the latest film by Duncan Jones. I liked it; it touched in my thoughts strings that played at the time pain and hope, but above all solitude.
I saw and heard something that made me rethink and obviously reflect on things that I thought - of myself - definitely buried. I do not know him personally; I do not know how he lived, or what he really lived in his soul before in his body, which certainly never lacked anything.
I imagined a child in the shadows, apart from the notoriety - or because of the notoriety - of his father and mother: David Robert Jones (David Bowie), and Mary Angela Barnett. I should not be surprised by the courageous director he has become, or why in his films he describes in great detail the psychophysical pain, abandonment and extreme loneliness experienced by his characters (the clone in "Moon", the man broken into "Source Code" and now, in this Mute).
The loss and lack of certainties of the children that can feel left alone due to the selfishness, the incapacity, the necessity of the business, or the simple convenience of their parents (who can think of acting for the sake of their children) is worse of the pain - even if excruciating - of those who remain orphans. The awareness of never having been "number one" in the list of preferences of one's parents - who may think that there is so much time for... that one can postpone it ... - is a scar that time cannot heal.
Nevertheless, life is a wheel. I imagine young Duncan grown up and become a man, an affectionate husband and then a tender dad. The resilience, the ability to transform any kind of adversity into positive energy, is undoubtedly the most prestigious gift you can count on. The gift that - I imagine - has developed beautifully in his life because of (irony of fate) the naive behavior of his parents.
I see in my mind the photos of young Duncan, no longer adolescent with his father, both smiling, while the end credits of the film flow with this dedication:
"In memory of those who became parents.
David Jones 8 Jan 1947 - 10 Jan 2016 & Marion Skene 28 Oct 1950 - 16 Jan 2017 ".
Marion Skene is the nanny, the woman who raised him, who was her parent.
You moved me Duncan. Therefore, I am willing to forgive you also the blatant atmosphere at the “Blade Runner” of your “Mute” that, must be recognized, has an original cut of images that strikes, and accentuates the already profound intensity of his characters. The starring actor Alexander Skarsgård, without saying a word until almost the end of the movie, was the film and its meanings.
In the soundtrack the notes of "Moss Garden", from the album "Heroes". Bravo Duncan!