It's been a while since I watched an old movie, so it was time to pop in one of my favorites, Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Some things have a way of being timeless because they embody genius that will never be equaled. Let's put Monet's Water Lillies, Coppola's The Godfather, and Yankovic's Amish Paradise in that category. Then there are other things that are timeless because they get the first word on a topic that is destined to be rehashed and repeated. Let's put Shakespeare's Rome and Juliet, Pachobel's Cannon in G, and Miyamoto's Super Mario Brothers in that category. Huston's Treasure of the Sierra Madre fits squarely into this second category.
What's it about?
Gold! Oh, and in case you're plagued by literal-mindedness and an AP English syllabus, "gold" is metonymous for greed. But it's also literal. Alright, so it's not exactly Faulkner, but easy-to-understand and thought-provoking can go hand-in-hand.
If I was a native...
I think at this divisive time in our country, it's nice to remember that at one time, apparently, out-of-work Americans tried to make a better life by seeking employment South of the Border. I guess anything's possible. Are you listening, Governor Brewer?
"You know, if I was a native, I'd get me a can of shoe polish and I'd be in business. They'd never let a gringo. You can sit on a bench 'til you're three-quarters starved... you can beg from another gringo... you can even commit burglary. You try shinin' shoes in the street, peddlin' lemonade out of a bucket, and your hash is settled."
I'd take only what I set out to get
Why do athletes hold out for a few million more? Why don't CEOs just retire young? Why the hell didn't I just sign a lease at the first livable apartment that was within my predetermined budget, instead of looking for two weeks and almost thinking I'd found something three times?
Because when you're actually in a situation where doing a little better is a possibility, everything changes.
"You start out to tell yourself you'll be satisfied with twenty-five thousand handsome smackers worth of it, 'so help me Lord and cross my heart.' Fine resolution. After months of sweatin' yourself dizzy and growing short on provisions and findin' nothin', you finally come down to fifteen thousand and then ten, finally you say, 'Lord, let me just find five thousand dollars worth and never ask for anything more the rest of my life.'...Here in this joint, it seems like a lot, but I tell you, if you was to make a real strike, you couldn't be dragged away. Not even the threat of miserable death'd keep you from trying to add ten thousand more. Ten you want to get twenty-five. Twenty-five you want to get fifty. Fifty, a hundred. Like roulette. One more turn, you know, always one more."
It's a comforting thought for all us worriers. This is good, old-fashioned cinema. You won't walk away thinking about much else, but then again, you can't walk away not thinking about it.
Not half as bad as you figure it will be before it's happened.
