Hacker Cinema
The Beach
2000 · Film · 119 min
Directed by Danny Boyle
Twenty-something Richard travels to Thailand and finds himself in possession of a strange map. Rumours state that it leads to a solitary beach paradise, a tropical bliss - excited and intrigued, he sets out to find it.
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15 comments on Hacker News
I don't think the approach was stolen. It is fine for artists to take styles and ideas from other works and put them in their own. My point is that I found the film to be generally an affront to the suffering of people in actual, ongoing wars. It trivialized those experiences using them as a costume so american audiences could giggle in delight at the cinema without having to worry about the trappings of an actual war. And it did so all to tell a narrative that was somewhat against war-time journalism, painting their efforts as self absorbed and self serving. Like look at the way they film the death of the Kirsten Dunst, in this hero pose with camera in hand searching for the perfect picture. Contrast that to the actual life and death of someone like Viktoriia Rushchyna who was tortured and had organs removed or Shireen Abu Akleh who was allegedly shot in the head by a sniper while wearing a press vest. I simply found the film disgusting and if people disagree with me that is fine.
Of course any film about war (or perhaps any topic) could be controversial to someone. The WW2 epics starring John Wayne or Sergei Eisenstein's Alexandr Nevsky are both examples where the directors twisted every detail and used every opportunity to present a political message that the viewer may or may not agree with. My view on this is that the director of Civil War, Alex Garland, makes statements with the film that I disagree with. He seems to not see the humanity in people, at least, in my opinion. The movie never doubles down on anything, there is no deeper examination of the characters in the film, they just are until they aren't anymore. This is similar to his 2018 film Annihilation, which is essentially a retelling of J.G. Ballard's The Crystal World, and all of those characters in some way lack a humanity (although I think this works much better in this film as you discover that each character goes into the zone to find something about themselves that is missing and what defines them as human to themselves). And similar to The Beach, the novel he wrote that was turned into the movie The Beach, starring Leonardo Dicaprio about vapid westerners partying in thailand, or 28 days later, the zombie movie he wrote directed by Danny Boyle. Garland seems to see life as cheap and meaningless across the books and movies he has created. He cares more about the visual trappings of the setting he creates than the humans who live there. In the case of Civil War, I find it offensive as it uses the visual style of documentary films about ongoing wars as a costume and set dressing for his movie. And this movie comes from a culture (American) that started a war in Iraq and has done basically no introspection as to how those decisions completely changed their society into what it is today. This also influences the Civil War film. The president is blamed exclusively for all bad things across america. The entire movie is about how everything is the president's fault but lets interview him to see why.
Glad to know about this since I had never had the opportunity to go into a cyber cafe. I recall the first time I saw one, it was in the ending scene of the film The Beach (2000), and it looks very, very similar to the green one in Rotterdam.
Like many others in this thread, I've enjoyed a ton of Orbital. My introduction was when 99x in Atlanta played "The Box" a few times and I picked up a copy of In Sides. Also, like many, I spent many a late night learning to code with some Orbital album as my soundtrack.
So many great tracks listed here and I'll add another: one of my personal favorites is their collaboration with Angelo Badalamenti "Beached" from the 2000 film The Beach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBRgfm0osig
Those who can should try living in different parts of the world. It really broadens your appreciation for life and other cultures. Of course, how you feel during and after the period depends greatly on where you are and whom you meet along the way.
I'm always amazed at how many people from my home country (US) I talk to who say, "oh I can't afford to go there". For less than $1500, usually, you can go to the opposite side of the world. And quite often, the living expense is lower than where you came from.
The biggest challenge most people have is that they have a lot of financial and physical anchors - stuff, a house+mortgage, car(s), etc. But I can say from my experience living both types of life that a life of a small amount of stuff and near total freedom to roam is fantastic.
It's a big world, and it's a shame to go through life without really experiencing much of it.
Naturally there is an adjustment period in a new region, but if approached with an open mind an a bit of patience, it can surprise you and become your favorite place to be (and way of life to live).
All that said, it's important to realize that what we may see in movies is typically very carefully framed. Bali is great, but depending on where you are you might experience peace and tranquility or crazy frat party atmosphere. And "The Beach" in Thailand is idyllic - if you are shooting a movie and you can get the place to yourself. Otherwise you need to travel around to find the nice (also beautiful) quiet beaches. Any movie you've seen about Amsterdam may be true, but it too has quite varying character depending on where you go, whom you're with, and what you're seeking.
Korea, Japan, and Taiwan are high on my list to try next.
Edit: Movies, unsorted, from the top of my mind:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Limits_of_Control https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Origins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_East_(2013_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter%27s_Bone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contagion_(2011_film) , seen before Covid, deemed to be realistic, and therefore better than stuff like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andromeda_Strain with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warning_Sign_(film) somewhere in between. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_IV_(1974_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizards_(film) The remakes of the Planet of the Apes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_Days_Later , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_Weeks_Later a little less so, though it had some great scenes of flying into London City Airport and the modern parts around that. Bladerunner in the original versions, the remake not so much. 2001: A Space Odyssey, the intro and first parts, spaceflight to the moon and such, the rest not. Too boring. I liked the sequel 2010: Odyssey Two better, actually. Avatar. Part one only. All of this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(franchise) with the exception of the crossover stuff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elysium_(film) for the almost cyberpunkish fuckedupness of it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_Untold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beach_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Bergeron_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WALL-E https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_(2005_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/THX_1138 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropia_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollerball_(1975_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_Dealer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southland_Tales https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Live https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendence_(2014_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Puppet_Masters_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Survivalist_(2015_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova_(2000_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_(2007_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hidden_(1987_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Zero_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capricorn_One https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangar_18_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_One_(2001_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timecop Ron Silverman Badass! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_(2014_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_Blonde https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_Night_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_(1997_American_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truman_Show https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombiana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowing_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_Zone_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_(1998_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adjustment_Bureau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrival_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifeforce_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fourth_Protocol_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_(2013_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_(2009_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Final_Countdown_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paycheck_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypher_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigger_Point https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echelon_Conspiracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anderson_Tapes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Parallax_View https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Seduction
TV-Series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivors_(1975_TV_series) and the remake linked from there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Train_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho_(2006_TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strain_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayward_Pines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silo_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_All_Mankind_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_(American_TV_series) and its prequel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_(TV_series)
WESTWORLD!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_100_(TV_series) Praimfaya! Yeehaa! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpart_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ark_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_Carbon_(TV_series) All of Black Mirror! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Experiments_Lain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travelers_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falling_Skies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devs_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Peripheral_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expanse_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incorporated_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raised_by_Wolves_(American_TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_the_Loop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutschland_83 and sequels. ÄXZÄLLÄNNT! JAWOLLJA! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humans_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Night_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Worlds_(2019_TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Nova_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gods_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozark_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_High_Castle_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascension_(miniseries) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person_of_Interest_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Event https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_One https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_(American_TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Dome_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_(2009_TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caprica
This all began about 2006 with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlestar_Galactica_(2004_TV_series) after having abstained from possessing a TV, or watching that by other means (with some exceptions for news and documentaries) since 1996, and mostly no cinema either.
That stuff rehooked me in a binge-watching session. Shit happens :-)
Do yoo vanna häff fries wiff thät?
/nerdsnipe off
I often get a similar phenomenon, for better or worse. I kind of have this rule: read the book first if there's a movie/show about it, then watch the movie/show, then read the book again. This helps me avoid "the book is better" (sometimes -- it's a rare case where the audiovisual format excels, but it happens).
First reading I get my imagination and expectations. Watching the movie/show lets me know how others interpreted it.
If it was a well made, casted, and acted depiction, then the 2nd reading often will conjure images of specific scenes, actors, soundtracks, etc. even if it wasn't quite what I imagined initially. If it was a poor adaptation, rereading the book reminds me that my imagination was better.
To date I can only think of two movies that captured their respective novels nearly identically to my imagination (within reason, given content and technological limitations):
- Phillip K Dick / Richard Linklater - A Scanner Darkly - Michael Crichton / Barry Levinson - Sphere - Ted Chiang / Denis Villanueve - Story of Your Life (Arrival) - Bret Easton Ellis / Roger Avery - The Rules of Attraction - Alex Garland / Danny Boyle - The Beach
I often wonder if the influence of the authors of these books upon the production of the movies was a factor, but I've seen plenty movies where the original author had lots of input/approval and the result was a mess. Dunno.
it depends on your age, I don't think you can really change your world view based on movie if you are in 30s or older, but you can be definitely influenced if you are teenager and into 20s
taking this into consideration I would recommend these parts of the movies, you can find them all on YouTube without watching whole movie:
Se7en - final John Doe monologue about innocence of his victims in back seat
Collateral - Vincent monologue on back seat about not doing anything with your life
Fight club - pretty much all movie, very influential, should be mandatory for teenagers
American beauty - less extreme version of fight club for older men that you can rebuild your life even in higher age
the big Lebowski - if you care about your clothing maybe it can help you to watch Lebowski
the beach - encouraged me to travel more, although wanted already before
> I speculate, but have no data,
I read a while back that Leonardo's movie The Beach kick started the Thai tourism.
My mother stopped by Maya bay yesterday on her boat, and had this to say:
——
I was there yesterday, and was devastated to see that the new rules re beach/boat access are being broken. Several longtails/speedboats had tied to the buoyed demarcation line... which has been moved closer to the beach btw, and were inside the exclusion zone. Also, tour boats that were on mooring balls were belching filthy diesel exhaust fumes, leaving an oily film floating on the water. Add to that the plastic debris floating around, and it’s as disappointing as it has been for the 8 years I’ve known it. 2 boats actually landed on the beach, with the passengers walking around on the sand/in the water. Where were the rangers? Their boat was there, but not a ranger to be seen. They’re usually very quick to appear, to ask for the National Park payment. I’m happy to pay, although I have questioned before why the rubbish is in overflowing sacks on the small adjoining beach on Maya Bay. I think this is just a PR stunt, not a real effort. Come on Phuket/Krabi, you could do so much better.
——
So, the ground truth seems to be that this is little more than a PR effort. For my part, I’ve seen the rangers just burning and/or just heaping up trash a few meters inland from the beach on multiple “pristine” islands.
There's a huge irony in seeing a Hollywood movie about a deserted, tourist free beach. Then booking a package holiday to it, expecting the same, and dropping your crap on the beach anyway. Still, everywhere will be the same soon at this rate. Ruined.
I'm glad I experienced a few locations before they became commercialised and before I stopped flying.
There should be a two-pronged effort to tackle over-tourism.
1. For ultra-popular attractions (Venice, Maya Bay...), keep jacking up the prices until the tourist flow trickles down to what can be sustained at those places. In case that sounds elitist, have supplemental measures like first-come first-served permits (like the ones at Half Dome, Yosemite) or procedural barriers which only the most committed ones would jump through.
2. Popularize hitherto unknown destinations. I am sure there are tons of gems in "the middle of nowhere". Spread the tourism everywhere around the globe, which will be appreciated by regions looking for economic boosts. Maybe, there are even known techniques like opening up non-stop flights from hotspot tourist sources (Beijing? Shanghai? Delhi?) or filming popular movies at such locations (like The Beach from TFA).
I have traveled this way since 1983, and I can remember showing up in Indonesia with my two kids, who were less than 10 at the time, without a room at 11 PM and walking around throughout the night until we found a great place to stay. I had just bought them their backpacks that year. Years on I lived with my newborn baby, my third child, in a rice-farming village in East Java for a year, and after a few months, I felt I was back in Brooklyn by identifying with the similarities of the situation and personalities of my neighbors. Travel changes your perspective both in immediate, new ways, and in long, introspective stretches. I recommend it if there is an itch you feel you need to scratch. I have never regretted any of it. I had already traveled a lot of SE Asia when I saw The Beach, and I liked it, especially the contrast between the new arrival and the has-beens of backpacking. The Jungle (2017) is another film worth watching based upon the true story of Yossi Ghinsberg and his ordeal in the Amazon rainforest in Bolivia back in the 1980s.
Inefficient, mostly not new either because in the past you'd have one person with that responsibility: the one who has experience with ledger. Now everyone's a notary. How it'd happen with centralized/specialization is another person would cut wood, yet another would hunt fish, and everyone would do their part (you can see this in effect in the movie The Beach [1] though the group is larger than 4 like in this example; also in Cast Away its just that there's only 1 person there who has to do everything by himself which makes it a redundant example). Everyone specializes in something because that is more efficient when HR are scarce. Because the group is small its easy to keep track who's doing what; instead of pet peeves like ledger.
So in short either you're so bored that you don't have anything better to do, or you're busy with surviving. If you're bored and you happen to have pen and paper I can recommend something different: PnP RPG. Such relies on something you'll always have with you even when you're alone (see Cast Away [2] as well): your imagination.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163978/
[2] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162222/
In europe we're doing AirBnB. It makes more sense when there's more than one of you, since hostels charge by the person, AirBnB ends up being cheaper. But the backpacker scene is not hard to find... you find it in every airport, train station, and of course hostels. Landing in Schipol, I felt like I'd stepped into the movie The Beach.
If you're planning to spend several months in europe, and you're in a good financial position, likely you can find a local romantic interest who is up for a once in a lifetime trip like that... a lot of concerns can be covered by covering the return ticket if things aren't working out. Someone taking you around europe is attractive to anyone, and the person who is capable of making such an offer is going to be more attractive themselves....
Then again, there's the fact that, at least for me, its a lot easier to meet women in other countries than in the USA. You start off more exotic and less threatening by nature of the fact that you're a traveller.
PS-- I didn't actually do the "hostel thing". Where I said "when I did this.." I was actually talking about traveling with the backpacker crowd, but when I was single I wasn't going to europe and hostels weren't so prevalent and I was doing it via camping, renting RVs and in the states I had a little pickup camper.
PPS-- Where in the states you wouldn't just talk to random strangers, say, go up to them and say "are you heading to houston?" or whatever... when in europe it isn't uncommon to do this with other americans. It is almost as if, by virtue of being americans (or even travelers, actually) you just have an immediate rapport. It is kinda hard to describe. But people are always sharing information about places and everyone wants to know where you've been, and tell you about where they've been... so people can find interesting places to go.
I was thinking of the movie "The Beach" when I wrote that. As I remember, hollywood execs decided the idyllic location (a remote Thai beach) wasn't idyllic enough, and bulldozed large sections of it to improve it