BENNETT INVENTORY : That Moment

The Last of the Mohicans -- Promentory

What is "Cinema"? Not since Godard became so publicly existential about it over half a century ago has this been up for such a large-scale debate. Obviously it describes the medium itself in the most basic terms, and it's also the physical building that shows movies, but as of late it's become an idiom of abstraction. The subject of the debate is trying to secure an objective definition of a subjective experience. Ludicrous. But, that in and of itself is the definition: if a film genuinely moves you, makes you feel something, sounds like it's talking to you, that's Cinema. And then the only real question is, "How'd they do that?" 

There's also an established phrase called Cinéma Pur ("Pure Cinema") that refers solely to the visual and auditory elements of Film, free of any Theatre-based components like plot and dialogue. Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans is on my short list of mainstream narrative movies that accomplishes this technique in the most effective way - specifically during the film's climax. Action Movies typically do pull this off to some extent but the most recognizable use of Pure Cinema in story-driven films can be found in Melodramas. The thing about Mohicans (like most of Michael Mann's films) is that it's very much both of these genres, and the two figuratively and literally meet up in one of the most captivating sequences in any movie I've seen. 

The context of the scene has its own emotional impact: it's a daring chase sequence in which major characters meet their end, and on the page I'm sure that holds enough weight to sell a story. But stories are for books - this is about the movies, and what we hear and see on the screen in these final moments is a masterpiece of sound and vision. Consider the scenery on its own: filmed mostly in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, it's worth it just to admire the skill and ambition of the cast and crew getting situated on the edge of a cliff and performing feats of cinematic wizardry in real time. And one of the most impressive parts of this is that the scenery almost feels incidental; between the score (titled "Promentory" by Trevor Jones) and the choreographed action and the compositions and the editing, it's just a mesmerizing ballet of music and movement. There's no dialogue to minimize the impact, it's just 9 minutes of sensory overload that nearly brings me to my feet in excitement every time. That's Cinema. 

- Paul