And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. Genesis 4:10
Did anyone else notice that the DVD icon (for the chapters) is no longer the White Hand? That doesn't bode well for Saurman.
Finally, the map is shown. We hear the current news from our Gondorian talking heads. Saruman, once he blows though Théoden's forces, will strike at Gondor from the top. Sauron and his orcs will come at it from the east. The 500 men stationed in Osgiliath will not stop the river crossing. More forces approach from the South. Faramir even admits that Gondor is weak. The stock market is down and it will rain
. We are party to yet another desperate situation where all looks black. The lingering close-up shows us where the heavy hand will fall first.
On the map, is the distance between the Black Gate and Barad-dûr a bit overestimated? Or will they be much closer in RotK (continental shift)?
Frodo and Sam are unmasked and ignored as they take in their surroundings in Henneth Annûn. They continually rub their wrists...were they bound as well as blindfolded? The scene looks like bad photoshopping; Frodo and Sam seem to be acting in front of a large movie screen.
Faramir leads off with a lie, as even his men could not confuse these two with even the prettiest of orc kind. Sam gets rowed up, and I think that was what Faramir intended - to put the hobbits off balance.
By the by, the guy in the background off of Frodo's right shoulder. Is he stuffed, stupored, meditating, using some kind of incantation to keep Henneth Annûn hidden? What's up with that?
Frodo identifies himself and Sam, and in the best line of maybe the movie, Sam corrects Faramir as to his job title. Faramir asks of Gollum, and the hobbits are so obviously lying that even the pupil of a lesser wizard could see right through their denials. Did you notice that Faramir perked up a bit at the mention of Imladris?
The interrogation turns to Boromir, and it didn't help Frodo's case that he'd already lied about Gollum. Faramir deals out the crime scene details, and then drops the bomb that Boromir was his brother. David Wenham’s eyes welled up at the words. Did Frodo think that he was going to have to run from another corrupted Man again? I thought that PJ could have shown, like in the books, that Frodo thinks that if Boromir the Strong were dead, then his kinsmen and friends were probably dead as well, but the scene is about Faramir. The flashback/misty dream sequence shows Boromir boating down the Anduin in style - did Sean Bean put on weight? The reflection goes back even further in time, to a happier day when the Steward's firstborn was alive, well and victorious. Boromir touts his and Gondor's victory over the forces of Mordor, and I assume that PJ is showing us when Boromir denied the passage of the bridge (that feint that was just a test and a ruse to cover the crossing of the Nine). The army at his command is more enthusiastic than we will see later when they try to repel Mordor aggression yet again. Oddly I thought that Osgiliath was regulated after the plague (Black Breath?) as an outpost, and no one thought of ever opening up shop there, but here it seems that PJ made it into a city that could be populated once more.
The love between the brothers is seen when they jest and hug. They share a moment over a cup of foam, then the darkness falls again, but this comes not from the East, but from the west. We get our first glimpse of the Steward of Gondor, Denethor II, and he's a poor
father – even Boromir finds him overbearing. Faramir is credited for losing Osgiliath, and that makes absolutely no sense, but maybe PJ just uses the words to show the contempt that the father has for his poorer reflection. Boromir stands up for his brother, and yet Denethor's treatment of Faramir in front of Boromir wounds not only the second son of Finduilas.
Denethor, not Boromir, has become the evil man from Gondor. One so wise would not treat his son thus, in public, and say that this son had lost Osgiliath. Boromir, unlike in the book, is more sympathetic here. And here we have Elrond calling the Meeting of the Ring (right after the Bakesale of the Ring). Guess he sent email or posted flyers on the backs of Ents. At least we know what was on the banner that sailed behind Gwaihir. Denethor continues, telling us that he knows what the meeting’s about, and that the Ring must come to Gondor and not be claimed by the Elves, Dwarves or those pesky Wizards. You can see that Boromir does not steal this dream journey from his younger brother but that it is forced upon him by a megalomaniac.
Denethor is one sick man.
We see the brothers part for what we know will be the last time, and it is truly sad.
Frodo is awakened by Faramir and his guards. They go to the falls and see Gollum feasting himself on his favorite food. Gollum sings as he taps the rhythm with the fish on a rock, complete oblivious to his mortal peril. Frodo stretches out the moment, deciding perhaps that he could be easily rid of this gangrel creature once and for all.
But, in the end, he can’t do it and so seeks to help poor Sméagol. But he leads the poor wretch into an ambush, and nothing good will come of that. Not once here did I think that CG was used – that’s a real being that we’re seeing, and so many kudos to WETA. Faramir’s guards tenderize Gollum, and that’s a bit hard to watch. The physical pain/trauma brings the Stinker back.
Faramir stands amazed at the creature – it’s nothing like he’s seen before. Do you get the feeling that Faramir is doing what he thinks will make Daddy happy? Is that why his head is turned away from the torture, thinking it to be what his father would want but finding it distasteful? If he did what
he wanted, would Gollum have been treated more humanely?
Sam tries to convince Frodo to sneak off with the Ring. Frodo then apologizes to Sam, for what I’m not exactly sure, then states that if he were to put on the Ring, Sauron would spot him right quick. Looks like Frodo’s starting to crack. The genes of his uncle coming to fore, or is it that band of gold? Before we learn any more Faramir drops by and draws a sword on them. He speaks the words that in the book he says as they gather in the amphitheatre, and turns the quality issue on its head. Frodo begins going into a trance, and I thought, “What a great diversion. Foam at the mouth, and when Faramir calls for help, RUN!”
Sam explains what their real mission is, and what the Ring is doing to his master. Coincidently, Faramir gets a news update that Osgiliath is under attack yet again. Faramir has to decide what to do with the Ring, and he has to do it quickly, as time presses.
The Ring is to go to Gondor.