The title of this post refers to a line in Charlie Chaplin's film City Lights as an intertitle, quite possibly one of the the most famous of all silent films; a film that was made four years after talking films came into existence. I make this reference not just because it actually has to do with the films story but because Disney and Pixar's Wall-E is essentially, for the most part, a silent film.
Yes, of course it is not silent in any traditional way, but, more specifically, the film's narrative and cinematic expression is motivated by the inherent characteristics of silent film. Now, for those of you unfamiliar with silent film, it actually is quite different than what we are use to now in film. Emphasis of expression and significance is delivered more through action leaving the viewer with the allowance to observe and imply more openly than if dialogue is applied for explanation. In addition, since dialogue becomes a non-entity, audio is saved to emphasize either emotional significance or to help illustrate the world the film is set in. A silent film, or in the case of Wall-E, a film that is silent, becomes a more immersive audio-visual experience; we regard the use of sound as well as cinematography, in interplay between them, because we leave little to no intellectual investment to the spoken word. That is the nature of silent film...in a nutshell...I'd like to write about silent film in the near future but work with this description for now.
It is worthy to note that the first forty minutes or so there is not any spoken dialogue (true spoken dialogue...mind you, introductions don't count) yet Pixar does a wonderful job at developing the character of Wall-E and soon Eve by just allowing us to observe their personality through action, with many of these actions involving lighthearted gags. We see Wall-E practice a sort of Sisyphian task of trying to organize the infinite amount of trash leftover on an abandoned Earth in the far future. We also figure out that he is the last of his kind, motivating what seems to be a sense of loneliness, strengthened by the depiction of his living quarters, which is filled with memorabilia of humanity. In essence, Wall-E's loneliness fuels a curiosity to acquire remnants of beings that could potentially rid him of a continually building sense of desolation. But how do we know this and, more importantly, how do we feel this from a robot? Well, it is through the nuance and elegance of pantomime. We connect with Wall-E in the same way we connect with Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. The way Wall-E moves his eyes and inspects things, the way he maneuvers, it is just as if he has created his own staple mannerisms akin to Keaton's stone face, Chaplin's tramp walk, and Lloyd's adolescent cheerfulness. Actually, one could say he most resembles a (sorta) neo-silent film star in Jacques Tati's Mr. Hulot trilogy (a similar premise in presentation) It is these subtle mannerisms that enliven Wall-E as a character not just fun to watch but open to intimately connect with all without any dialogue. These mannerisms will be carried throughout the rest of the film and remain poignant.
We can only make this sort of connection if the film allows us the time. See, the problem with a lot of mainstream family films of today is that many characters are only injected with punchlines and hip jokes of today, out-dating themselves before their respective film is even over while at the same time constructing themselves their own emotional enclave the size of a teaspoon; there is just never enough time for us to just observe a character, to see them act without any forceful propulsion of plot progression and conclusion. Pixar's pace in this first third of the film is controlled and contemplative, illuminating every subtlety of Wall-E's character. Again, silence is the dominating tone, and what we witness is curiosity in an unfamiliar familiar world as well as visual gags the robot becomes involved in. This tone is the film's greatest strength which, frankly, doesn't appear again when Wall-E leaves Earth but, while it remains, creates a pure (purer, if you will) cinematic experience. Of course, the fact that it isn't really a silent film becomes a benefit to us as we have the privilege to listen to the minimalist, yet powerful gasps and yelps as well as the famous utterance of Wall-E's name to Eve. Nevertheless, Pixar was not afraid to enlist the foundations of cinema, namely silent cinema, to allow audiences to absorb their imaginative and visually striking dystopia. Wall-E's narrative construction makes so much sense since it is a family film or, in other words, a film that will be seen mostly by children. It sets itself up as a sort of playground to which children can feast their eyes upon. It never backs down and divulges in cheap tricks and shallow dialogue.
For the rest of the film, Wall-E resorts to the the lovable relationship between the title character and Eve as well as the intense realism that is the state of humanity. It loses its traditional roots for the most part, but it does not lose its charm. The film finds away to adapt to its tonal shifts and makes the more action-packed second act quite involving. Again, I mentioned how rooted Wall-E was in silent film, but I could write another essay on the minimalism but effectiveness of the sounds used in the film. That will be for another day, maybe. For now, I'd like to change direction in my discussion and talk about the imagery.
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Wall-E pulls no punches in making fun of this possible future, and in one of the most amusing yet intense vignettes, we observe the physics of an obese people as they slide this way and that as their spaceship, intriguingly called Axiom, tilts left and right. Though it is never glossed in a hateful manner, not even close, it colors its gags in a teasing manner, the film still makes sure to give enough screen time to this obesity problem such that it lays prominently in our minds. But this issue is quite interesting. An economics professor I have had the privilege to be a student under has a unique and provocative take on this obesity issue in this post here. He makes great points that goes against conventional wisdom, in my opinion. Furthermore, because of what he thinks on this issue I feel he might not agree with the way Wall-E presents obesity as a concern. Tinkering with the approach I made towards this film, I have found a strong significance to this sort of illustration of humanity in the future that I think will satisfy his claims, a significance that more has to do with individual psychology than an economic concern. Basically, grouping the problem we see on Earth with the metropolitan junkyards, the fact that it is now deserted, and the way in which humans have now forgone health in the wake of technological ease what we have is a lack of any sort of initiative to confront a problem. Wall-E as the central character, as I said earlier, is ambitious and willing to mend a problem he seems to face no matter the costs. The humans ignore any problem they face, whether it be their health or their planet. The film becomes a parable urging its viewers to take action, using obesity and other stark depictions as symbols for this problem of ignorance and immobility. Looking at this in a much more specific scope, we can articulate the fundamental problem this film seems to be getting at: initiative and action comes first from an individual's choice. If they choose to ignore such action, the problem will continue to exist.
The film leads us in the direction that if we do wipe away things that are distracting us from the real problem and we work together, we can prevent such a catastrophe that occurred in this film. Wall-E's charm retains itself until the hopeful ending and leaves an indelible imprint in our minds, reminiscent to the way in which the silent clowns of yesteryear liked to leave audiences with infectious optimism.
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