Mad City (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #95

There are a few things that amaze me about this 1997 film. Why did it fail at the box office? Why is almost unknown today, despite having two of the world's top actors? Why do the critics hate it so much? Why, why, why? It was made by the legendary Greek director Costa-Gavras. His films are always very special, with a unique style that sets him apart from other directors. His films all have a political message, while remaining entertaining. We don't have the feeling that he's lecturing the viewer, even though he probably is.

Sam Baily (John Travolta) is a man who's been fired from the Museum of Natural History in a fictional Californian city called Madeline. It shouldn't be confused with the small town with the same name. He visits the museum with a gun, hoping to persuade his ex-boss to give him his job back. His gun accidentally goes off, and he shoots his friend and former colleague Cliff, the museum's remaining security guard. In a panic he locks the doors.

Still in the museum is a group of schoolchildren with their teacher, as well as Max Brackett (Dustin Hoffman), a reporter for a local television station. It's become a hostage situation, even though Sam never wanted to hurt anybody, especially not children. From here on there are fascinating plots that run side by side. Max sees this as an opportunity to become famous by having an exclusive news story, so he coaches Sam on what to say to the police. He interviews Sam live on air, after previously giving him advice on what to say and what not to say. He tells Sam from the start that he has to give himself up, but not straight away. First Sam has to play the media to become popular before he walks out of the museum.

But there are conflicting forces. While Max's news reports make Sam out to be a normal, everyday man with the best intentions, Max's former boss phrases his news reports to make Sam out to be a malicious criminal. There's only one truth, but the media is twisting the story in opposite directions, depending on which news channel you tune into.

There's a scene in which Sam Baily is interviewed by Larry King, who appears in the film playing himself. He's a famous television host who died yesterday. I didn't pick this film deliberately because of him. I'd forgotten that he appears in it.

Larry King is an outsider, so he's not as personally involved with the story as Max, but he judges Sam very harshly. In the interview he says things that insult Sam. I wonder if he would have behaved like that in real life.

In the course of the film, Max slowly loses his selfish interest in coaching Sam. He begins to like him, and he genuinely wants the best for him. Sam isn't a bad man by any means. The children in the museum aren't afraid. He gives them chocolate and fizzy drinks from the vending machines. They're sad when they have to leave. In the scene where the first two children are released they're terrified of the reporters and attempt to run back into the museum. The media is more of an enemy than the man with a gun.

The film throws up interesting questions about the nature of truth. Is truth what happens or what you believe? The news media promises to report the truth, but they twist the truth, sometimes intentionally, but usually quite by accident. Philosophers have argued for hundreds of years about the nature of truth, and they're still far from reaching a consensus. When Pontius Pilate asked Jesus "What is truth?" he received no answer. As a result he decided that Jesus was innocent. Is truth something that is best not talked about, because every attempt drags it down into untruth?

My father used to say that for every truth there are hundreds of lies. My father was a simple, uneducated man, so I assumed this was a famous quote that he'd picked up somewhere, but it seems to have been his own wisdom.

People who know me know that I'm painstakingly honest. I never tell a lie under any circumstances, and even when I realise I've said something wrong unintentionally I panic and have to put it right. Honesty is a good quality, isn't it? However, I have a bad quality that stands alongside my honesty. It's not enough for me to be honest, I want everyone to know that I'm honest. That's pride. If I were a better man I'd just tell the truth and let people believe whatever they want about me, but I feel the need to stand up and defend myself when someone doubts my words.

Let me give you an example. I first watched this film in 2012. At the time my daughter Fiona was studying sometimes in Birmingham, sometimes in Stuttgart. After seeing "Mad City" I talked to Fiona about it in Facebook. She was fascinated, and she said she'd like to watch it. I put the DVD at the side of my computer. A few months later she returned to England. When she was at the computer (we shared my computer) I pointed at the DVD and said, "That's the film you wanted to watch". She replied, "I never said I wanted to watch it. You're lying!"

Wow! That hurt me. If a stranger calls me a liar it merely annoys me, but hearing those words from my own daughter hurt me immensely. So later, when I had the computer to myself, I scrolled back through the chat logs. It took me almost two hours. Then I went to Fiona and told her, "I can show you where you told me you wanted to see the film". Her reply was, "I don't want to see it". That hurt me even more. I had proof that I wasn't lying, but she didn't want to see it; she preferred to go on believing I was lying. I didn't discuss the subject again, even though I was hurt.

Fast forward to February 2020. I was now living in Germany, Fiona was still living in Birmingham. Fiona told me she was pregnant. I was overjoyed, but Fiona's mother, my ex-wife, was in a state of panic. She thought Fiona wouldn't be able to cope. She kept telling me that I should go to Birmingham to help Fiona before and after the birth. I said No, because I thought I would be in Fiona's way. My ex-wife said I should be close, so she found a cheap flat for me in Bloxwich. I refused again. A few days later I was talking to Fiona in Facebook, and I told her that her mother wanted me to spend more time in England. Her reply was, "My mother just said that she never said that, and I believe her, so I would appreciate if you could stop lying".

This was the second time she'd called me a liar. I didn't take it as passively as the first time. I told her that I wouldn't talk to her again until she apologised. The next day I asked my ex-wife about it. She told me that she couldn't remember what she'd said. Then she showed me some photos Fiona had sent her in Whatsapp. I spotted the conversation that Fiona had mentioned. My ex-wife had denied saying I should spend more time in England. I challenged her and asked her why she'd said it, and she was very vague. She just said she was probably busy and didn't think about what she was writing. I asked her to tell Fiona I'd told the truth, which she did the same day.

I waited for an apology from Fiona. None came. A month later Fiona came to visit us. I remained in my room and avoided her, waiting for her to come to me and apologise. It was the same as the first time. She knew that I wasn't lying, but she preferred to believe I was lying.

In November Fiona visited again with her baby on her arm, my new grandson Samuel. That melted my heart. I had to spend time with Samuel, so I talked to Fiona as well. We had pleasant conversations. Then she returned home. Since then I've reverted to the way it was before. I don't write to her on Facebook. I'm still waiting for the apology. I forgave (but didn't forget) the first time she called me a liar. If I forgive her the second time, there'll be a third time, and a fourth, and a fifth. She needs to learn to respect me as the most honest man she's ever known.

Am I stubborn? Yes. Am I stupid? Maybe. It's the way I am. I have good qualities and bad qualities. My worst quality is that I'm proud of my good qualities.

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