ninabourlet Pleasantville is probably one of my favourite films. It's an American fantasy movie released in 1998 that tells the story of two teenagers living in the nineties who accidentally enter a fifties black-and- white sitcom which takes place in a town called Pleasantville. In this « utopic » place, all the people are perfect and innocent, but the arrival of the two teenagers will completely disturb the life of the inhabitants.. While changes will be generated, colours will start to appear in this black-and-white world.One first interesting point is obviously the use of colours, which will appear little by little as the residents of Pleasantville will start to have some real feelings and emotions generated by the presence of the two intruders, what will make them an essential part of the plot. Moreover the way they will be brought out throughout the story is really interesting as well : from a red rose representing love to the burning bush, they are all symbols and metaphors. Although the humour seems to be a little bit lightweight at the beginning, a lot of deeper subjects will be progressively developed. Indeed, Pleasantville is not only a comedy, it's also a drama that covers different topics and abstract ideas, such as tolerance, liberty,justice v.s. totalitarianism,.. A lot of important concepts to think about.. One last thing that I like is that it is a film that can be considered as « humanist ». In other words, a lot of human values are highlighted in it, like tolerance, kindness, compassion, generosity, education,..Art is also celebrated thanks to the contrast between a completely grey world and the progressive apparition of colours in it, which makes you aware of the importance of colours.To sum up, I think Pleasantville is a wonderful experience to watch for its nice atmosphere, its way of representing humanity, and, above all, for the pleasure of the eyes, generated by the amazing play with colours.

GusF The first film directed by Gary Ross, this is an absolutely wonderful and thought-provoking parable on society. It concerns a pair of teenage twins who are transported into the universe of a 1950s sitcom "Pleasantville", a seemingly idyllic place where firemen only save cats from trees because there are no fires, everyone is terribly wholesome and sweet and the closest thing to dramatic conflict is a date being cancelled because of an unfortunate case of the measles. However, it soon becomes clear that there is a dark underbelly to this world as conformity is stressed above all else and people, women in particular, are expected to know their place.The first rate script by Ross, whose previous credits include classic films such as "Big" and "Dave", is a powerful statement on the problems which existed in 1950s America but are certainly not exclusive to that time or place. It nicely deconstructs the dippy world inhabited by characters of that era's sitcoms such as "Leave It to Beaver" or "Father Knows Best", which (almost) completely ignored the social issues of the time as well as the existence of people who weren't white and middle class. In 234 episodes of the former, only one black character appeared and she was a maid. The special effects were innovative for their time and never look less than brilliant. It was shot entirely in colour and decolourised where appropriate, in stark contrast to the events of the film itself. The black and white scenes look beautiful and really help to sell the idea that this is an initially black and white world as opposed to merely a partially black and white film.Tobey Maguire gives a great performance as David, a pretty nerdy high school boy who has encyclopedic knowledge of "Pleasantville". Prior to entering it, he loves the world of "Pleasantville" as nothing bad ever happens there and wishes that real life was like that. After he is transported there and assumes the identity of Bud Parker, he discovers that it is essentially a gilded cage where any form of individuality or artistic expression is discouraged. He becomes the champion of colour over black and white in Pleasantville and, in the process, learns to appreciate the real world. This is best illustrated when he returns to it at the end of the film and comforts his distraught mother, played very well in a great cameo by Jane Kaczmarek, instead of simply ignoring her as he did earlier.Reese Witherspoon is excellent as his twin sister Jennifer, a liberated girl of the 1990s who finds the sweaters and poodle skirts - and what they represent - to be more than a little oppressive. Rather than merely holding hands with Skip Martin, she introduces him and Pleasantville to sex, something which starts the ball rolling on the colour conversion. Over the course of the film, Jennifer grows significantly as a character and abandons her wild lifestyle in favour of her education. She takes the decision to remain in Pleasantville's universe to go to college but, considering that time seemingly moves at a different rate, she presumably won't be gone too long, comparatively speaking.The best performance in the film comes from Joan Allen as Betty Parker. She is introduced as the perfect 1950s sitcom wife and mother who is always impeccably dressed and has dinner on the table every night at six without fail. As the changes caused by David and Jennifer begin to ripple through Pleasantville, however, she realises that there is nothing more to her life than that. Like many real women in the 1950s, she wants something more. As such, she develops a sweet relationship with the soda shop owner Bill Johnson, who is played very effectively by Jeff Daniels. Bill is likewise faced with an existential crisis when it occurs to him that his sole function in life is to make hamburgers and serve sodas. Encouraged by David, he pursues his interest in art and paints a surrealist mural in full colour in defiance of the oppressive Chamber of Commerce. When Betty becomes "coloured," this is a great scene in which David helps her to use her make-up to "pass" as black and white, a wonderful allegory for the practice of light skinned African-Americans attempting to pass for white. The scene in which she is harassed by several black and white boys for being "coloured" is an even more effective allegory.J.T. Walsh, who sadly died before the film was released, was very well cast as the McCarthy-esque Pleasantville mayor Big Bob, who wants everything to remain the same. He claims that it is a "question of values," the excuse typically used by "traditionalists" who find themselves on the wrong side of progress and, eventually, history. In a very strong performance by William H. Macy, George Parker represents the more benign face of conformity who realises the error of his ways in the end. It also features great supporting performances by Marley Shelton as Margaret Henderson, Don Knotts as the mysterious TV repairman and Paul Walker as Skip Martin, who is not as nice as he first appears.Overall, this is an absolutely brilliant film which has some very interesting things to say about the danger of idealising the past. If the entire film had been a parody of the unreality of saccharine sweet sitcom conventions in the style of the "Brady Bunch" films, it would have still been a great film as the comic writing in these scenes is very sharp but, to his credit, Ross took it to the next level. This is one of my favourite films of the 1990s. Just sublime.

Python Hyena Pleasantville (1998): Dir: Gary Ross / Cast: Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, Jeff Daniels: Wonderful film about change in people, lifestyles and culture. It regards a TV show set in April 1958 where all seems perfect in the black and white world inhabited by the characters. Plot regards siblings zapped into their T.V. with a magic remote control given by a mysterious repairman. This is questionable since the power of the remote control seems contrived and never explained. Nonetheless they are in Pleasantville and Tobey Maguire plays along so not to upset the balance between reality and fantasy. Reese Witherspoon opts to educate the high school boys on sex. Things get complicated once colour enters the frame. Some people prefer tradition while others embrace change. Tremendous achievement by Gary Ross who exploits sitcom stereotypes but the true gem is the exquisite art direction that reveals the time and frame these characters live in day by day. Maguire and Witherspoon well cast in the leads with different attitudes towards the sudden ordeal and they are backed by a terrific supporting cast. William H. Macy and Joan Allen play off familiar sitcom parents. Jeff Daniels plays a guy who works at a malt shop and is having an affair with Joan. The film expresses our sense of change in values and lifestyles and our sense of self. Score: 8 / 10

ggitez Knowledge and liberalism are not same things. Your body is your business.Only your business and your life ; your private. If you love, show it only her or him and tell only one.If you love want their happiness , do good things and benefit. So many love, so many bodies, so many people whoseever whose loved by yours... Is it true ? You touch everybody and you say '' if i love i touch ''. I think if you really care your self-respect you never say yes to anybody touch you without promise. Old people were courteous,respectful, righteous... They created virtuous families and this families created strong society. Sorry.. so sorry for this word... But People call someone to '' bitch'' not liberal.