Pheonix: Rising from the Rubble

Wow, what a powerful film. A Neo noir that delivers a satisfying drama and load of suspense! It’s like Vertigo meets the BBC and I loved every bit of it. 

Phoenix is an appropriate title because it’s more than the name of the Restruant in the film, it’s also a metaphor for rising from death and ashes to new life/strength. There’s a shot early in the film where Nelly looks at a shattered mirror and we see her reflection (perhaps an allusion to noir films like Citizen Kane). It represents how her life was shattered through the horrors of war and she lost everything, including her identity. It makes the audience ask: Who is she now? Who will she become? But as the Phoenix rises from the ashes, so Nelly rises from the rubble. 

Her husband Johnny wants to shape her to be his wife. He tries to make her live and behave like his wife. There's a key scenewhen he brings out a beautiful red dress and Nelly says, "no one comes back from the camps like this" and Johnny says "this is what people want," People want the old Nelly to come back. They want her to come back as her old self. Like nothing ever happened. They want to reinact things, and make things go back to the way they were. 

It's interesting that the name "Phoenix" as the restaurant title is red colored. I think it's no coincidence that Nelly ends up wearing red later in the film. It's a direct statement that she is the Phoenix, she's died, but she's no risen to new life.

New life, Conversion, Identity, Resurrection, are all themes that decorate the celebration of the Christian Life. Broken people, damaged people really can have hope of new life when they find life in Christ. This film is a beautiful example of what new life can do.

As she sings at the end it takes her a bit to find her voice, but as she does she sings beautifully. And as she embraces her new life the movie delivers one of the most satisfying endings I've seen in a very long time. 

Glad I finally watched this. It was incredible.