I went with friends last night to see V for Vendetta. I will write a review of it as soon as I can. But I felt compelled to acknowledge it this morning because I can't help thinking about it -- its vision of a totalitarian government, the ideas of government and freedom expressed by the protaganist "V," played compellingly by Hugo Weaving.
Each viewer who walks into this show carries with them the baggage of their life's experience and beliefs on how government should work.
Point to consider: Some people are going to perceive that this vision of a futuristic Britain is a slam on the current US government, even though it is fashioned more on Hitler's Germany. Furthermore, the vision of this film is really quite applicable to any country and/or political persuasion. (There's a term for its all-encompassing application but I can't think of it at the moment.) No matter whether you are American, British, German, French, Italian, Chinese, Iraqi, etc. and no matter if you are Republican or Democrat, this film speaks to the vulnerability to abuse and capriciousness of governments who obtain too much control and power.
V left me feeling overpowered at times, but mostly I was totally engrossed in the script and dialogue. In the same vein as the works 1984, Farenheit 451, The Handmaid's Tale, and We, V for Vendetta feels like one of the most important films to hit the big screen in a very long time.
****
Footnote: Some of the ideas V espouses to in the film remind me of some of the arguments Hamilton, Madison, and Jay put forth in The Federalist Papers, particularly the idea that the political motivation of man is self-interest and that as a collective governing body might betray the trust of its citizens and oppress them if an elaborate system of checks and balances (that were written into the U.S. Constitution) were not in place.
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