Sunday 2 January 2011

The Last Airbender - Circles, Globes and Peace


The orbs of the Sun and the Moon are symbols of wholeness and of the purity (at the beginning) of all nature. They are all-seeing and always seen witnesses to the inherent goodness of a balanced natural order.

Circles and globes are a recurring visual motif in The Last Airbender.

When Aang, the latest incarnation of the Avatar, appears from beneath a sheet of ice, he is encased within a globe. He is found and freed by Katara.* Aang has come, with his unique ability to bend all four elements, to "bring balance" to a world imperilled by the Fire Nation's lust for power. This balance is symbolised by the ocean and moon (earth and sky) spirits who swim about their holy waters (as koi) in a circle, forming a yin/yang.




Captured by the Fire Nation  Aang is set a test to ascertain whether he is indeed the Avatar; a puddle of water poured messily onto a table-top. Aang shifts it into a smooth circle. Even unconsciously the Avatar restores symmetry. That is his inheritance from his previous lives (a golden statue of the last incarnation, Avatar Roku, holds a circular emblem in his hands) and that of his companions  - Katara is first seen bending water into a sphere, wearing her mother's round pendant around her neck.


Intermittently the camera itself will track in a circular motion. As Aang fights in an Earthbender village,the camera spins around him and his colleagues. This movement sharpens the sense both of being surrounded by threats and of being protected by an impregnable curve, much as Jesus drew a circle in the sand of the desert, a cocoon which no temptation could breach in The Last Temptation of Christ.

In a particularly gorgeous scene, an elegant prolonged take, Aang and Katara practise their moves as we slowly step around them. Encircled with blessings, they gather up the energies of their surroundings. Earlier Aang fights in a training circle, whose panels, which run along its edge, can be used to either keep out invaders, or isolate them within.


Globes and planets are evoked in many compositions that place Aang in the foreground, in extreme close-up, and Katara (also, on one occasion, Zuko and Iroh of the Fire Nation) in the background. Arranged in space in such a radical way, Aang's head resembles a Sun (or a planet) around which Katara's may revolve as a satellite. These are important people charged with earth-shattering powers and responsibilities, figures transcribed onto the map of space itself.

Lest we forget, the moon is itself a water-bender.


Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe owes her life to the Moon spirit. After it is killed by Commander Zhao ("We are the Gods!") she sacrifices herself to keep it alive (a suicide recalling one in Kenji Mizoguchi's Sansho the Bailiff). It is not just the people who need to be in balance with each other, but all of nature, as one organism, with itself. She walks into the sacred waters in which the Moon spirit lives, an amniotic fluid into and out of which flows all life. Her hair had turned white when she was a baby and now, life leaking out of her, it turns black. This is a typically elegant touch, one of numerous intelligent departures from the animated TV series from whose first season the film is adapted.


Preparing for the Fire Nation's assault, Aang effortlessly suspended shimmering globules of water hurled at him by his tutor. This hints at the gravity of his destiny, one whose impact will be felt as if the universe itself had been brought under his command. The scales of justice are entrusted to him (below), just one kid, his own illuminated manuscript (bottom).


Aang replaces fear with awe (by summoning a giant wall from the ocean) and, rather than exile and destruction, he offers the enemy hope and friendship. He wants to convert, to "change hearts", not eliminate.

He is however, in some ways, unknowable, even to his closest allies. Although in these background/foreground shots Katara's voice whispers as if from the deep recesses of Aang's mind, the two do not face each other. The distance, physical and emotional, is palpable, the chasm yawning. Neither is clearly seen and never are they both in focus. Only at the end, once the battle is won, does Aang shift to face Katara and meet her in the middle ground. They have reached understanding on an equal footing. They had always trusted and cared for one another but she was not able or capable to share the burden of his mission in full.



 The switched focus is a dialogue, the hug a silent and moving harmony.

By using circles and globes, the moon, the planets and the tides, The Last Airbender can say so much so economically, characteristic of the film's ability to convey broad brush ideas with finesse. It says an awful lot about their place in the universe, life, reconciliation, peace, love, about no-one being left behind and the strength they all hold in their hearts. Within the walls of the water tribe city, both water and fire people bow before Aang. "They want you to be their Avatar" says Katara. Their, not the. It is more than destiny and chance that could make him the Avatar (he has run away from his calling once before and already mourns the loss of a normal child's life) - it is will and the purity of a good heart.

The Last Airbender is an exciting and inspiring tale, one of the best films of the year.



*In the TV series on which the film is based he awakes in her arms, as if born of the belly of the earth to a human mother.

6 comments:

  1. Stephen:

    You never cease to amaze me. At one time I thought you were a very nice man, but a bit off the deep end. We sparred. We made up. And now I have come to see you as one of the most brilliant (and creative) writers out there. With the heavyweights. With conviction. And a touch of inspiration. The film you praise here has not been seen by Yours Truly, but it has been the subject of exceeding derision in the critical ranks. With vitrol. And some mean-spiritedness to boot! But I have seen M. Night take it on the chin other times and I dare say I have always (like you) been singing his praises. I thought THE HAPPENING and LADY IN THE LAKE weren't nearly as bad as many made claim to. And I was a big fan of THE VILLAGE, my favorite of his films.

    That suicide comparison to one in Mizoguchi interests me, but the entire arc of this well-argued defense is frankly inspiring.

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  2. Thank you very much indeed Sam.

    I've been a little dismayed by the critical reaction to the film. I don't mean that they don't see it the same way I do. The fact is that some critics attack films with such force it begins to look personal or prejudiced.

    Too many reviews of films turn so quickly from addressing the film to admiring themselves and how creative they can be in their dismantling of a film.

    I thought LADY IN THE WATER and THE VILLAGE very good films.

    I must say your tireless backing of so many bloggers' writing is fantastic.

    Happy New Year!

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  3. Well, the film has its strengths. That can’t be denied. As you’ve pointed out, M. Night has made a fine effort with visual forms and use of space, framing and motion; not nearly as deep, fully realized or as interwoven as the visual languages from Lucas and Spielberg, but there is a solid conveyance of theme through cognitive imagery. I, too, was rather impressed with Aang’s first show of resistance in the Earthbender’s village, circuited with a single panning shot that rendered the action in tapestry form. The locations, production design, cinematography and James Newton Howard’s score were all top notch. The visual effects also rose to the occasion, in my opinion; I simply don’t understand the many criticisms against them. Perhaps they were merely part of the slandering bandwagon. I also had no problem with the acting or the dialogue. It wasn’t peppy or playful like the cartoon series (which I’ve only Youtubed) but I appreciate M. Night’s choice to have his characters speak and behave in a manner that is borderline school play – a kind of universal means of expression, particularly aimed at younger audiences.

    Having said all of this, I still don’t think the film comes together as a whole. What are your thoughts on the narrative and pacing? For me they were the biggest weakness. Too much of the story is back-story and awkward exposition, the plot unfolds a bit too dryly and the film struggles in maintaining any degree of coherent logistics: where is where, who’s going were and from what point. The overall sense of the fantasy world feels fragmented at best. I dig the sights but am never fully immersed in the places or their inhabitants. Every scene feels weighted down with importance of getting its characters to the next scene. As a result, the movie is never really as fun as it should be. I still don’t think it awful by any means. Everyone is saying it’s the worst film of 2010. That’s bullshit. I predict that in years time it end up a fan fav’ in much the same way as THE DARK CRYSTAL or THE NEVERENDING STORY.

    While UNBREAKABLE is my preferred film from M. Night, the moment where Mark Walberg wakes up alone in the isolated country house to the moment where its resident, Mrs. Jones, smashes her head through the window is the most tense, bizarre and enjoyably disturbing sequence in the directors filmography.

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  4. "...not nearly as deep, fully realized or as interwoven as the visual languages from Lucas and Spielberg, but there is a solid conveyance of theme through cognitive imagery."

    Yes, I agree.

    "I simply don’t understand the many criticisms against them. Perhaps they were merely part of the slandering bandwagon."

    The criticism of the 3D and of the film as a whole plays into the narratives of technological gimmickry and the decline of M Night Shyamalan (who is ceaselessly attacked). I'm not saying critics are giving way to prejudice but is easy to go with the flow than try and see the best in something.

    "It wasn’t peppy or playful like the cartoon series (which I’ve only Youtubed)"

    No, that's right. I think the very act of condensing the series forces a lot of the digressions and silliness out. Once a danger is established there's little time to go penguin-sledding(!) It may also be the fact that the kind of crazy hijinks the kids got involved in the series wouldn't carry over so well into a more 'real' world, where you can't have outlandish facial expressions or throwaway violence.

    They could have smiled more, though. It makes a big difference. Between them the series and the film complement each other - one maybe too serious, the other too light.

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  5. "...but I appreciate M. Night’s choice to have his characters speak and behave in a manner that is borderline school play"

    Some would say in a similar way to the STAR WARS prequels. I don't think the acting was always completely convincing, but it was good enough. It felt very unaffected, which I liked.

    What I really appreciated was the fact that the children were just that - not precocious or sassy or self-satisfied.

    "Every scene feels weighted down with importance of getting its characters to the next scene. As a result, the movie is never really as fun as it should be."

    As far as the narrative goes, I could follow it well though I wasn't as excited by the story as I felt I should have been until the final half hour, which was very well paced I thought (and perhaps the most in keeping tonally with the series).

    What I liked MOST about the film was the affection it built in me for the characters. The story itself took time to grip me but I was always with the characters who were likeable as people and in terms of the actors' presence.

    What may have lightened the tone a little - and it does need a bit of lightening - may have been a hint at a romance between Aang and Katara. In the series the idea is introduced very neatly when she is told by a fortune-teller that she will marry a "powerful bender". Later her brother will call Aang a "powerful bender" and the seed is born in her head. She starts to look at him in a different way. Aang in the series is clearly smitten.

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  6. "While UNBREAKABLE is my preferred film from M. Night, the moment where Mark Walberg wakes up alone in the isolated country house to the moment where its resident, Mrs. Jones, smashes her head through the window is the most tense, bizarre and enjoyably disturbing sequence in the directors filmography."

    My favourite of his films is THE VILLAGE. It's awfully moving and the way it portrays the community's grief and their reaction to it rang true. It didn't rely on its twist either (I knew the twist before seeing the film and I enjoyed it a lot nonetheless).

    As for THE HAPPENING there were moments that stuck in my mind (like the one you mention) but generally I thought it a bit ludicrous (not in plot but in the reactions of the characters and the acting). It felt, to me, like a parody of itself.

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