Penn State Hazleton Collegian Williams and Bridges high/ight Fisher King by Michael T. Jesky Terry Gilliam has another tour de force in his latest release, The Fisher King Some movies that Gilliam wor ked on in the past include Srazf and The Adventures of Baron Munchau sen, both are movies that did not do well at the box office but have develo ped cult followings. The Fisher King begins with a close-up of Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) shouting into a microphone. Jack is a radio shock-jock whose early morning tirade convinces a caller to go on a shooting spree in a crowded night spot, killing several others and himself. Jack, thinking the killings were his once were, and nothing can be done to correct our mistakes.” Before explaining how the ecosystem is being affected by shark depletion, a brief description of a shark hunt must be given, to prove that the slaughter ing is gruesome and must be stop ped. Mark Quartino runs a luxury sport fishing boat that is docked in down town Miami. A daily charter costs six hundred dollars. The boat is fully equipped to hunt sharks. If interested in sailing with Mark, call 305-759- JAWS. One morning, two men and a thirteen year old board the ship and head out into the sea For hours, the fisherman wait without a nibble. Sud denly, one of the fishing rods bend. Bobby, the thirteen year old, straps himself in and starts reeling. Soon after, a seven-foot hammerhead is thrashing alongside of the boat Mark and the shipmate each grab the head, and haul it into the boat The shark’s eyes bulge out of the side of its head and its tail frantically whips back and forth. Its mouth sprays blood, the gills flap, and its beautiful golden skin begins turning grey. It begin to die. The fishermen are planning to stand back and let it die, aren’t they? Not quite. Mark Quartino lifts an aluminum bat and clubs the shark fault, quits his job and we jump to three years later where we find him a drunk working at a video rental store with his girlfriend played by Mercedes Ruehl. Ruehl’s character is a gutsy, tough woman who really loves Jack even though he can’t or won’t see it During a drinking binge, Jack hits the streets and is being mugged when Parry (Robin Williams), a lunatic homeless person who talks inces santly about the Holy Grail, saves his life. Parry and Jack become a duo, both lost in his own way. Parry is obsessed with finding the Holy Grail, which he believes a bil lionaire has in his mansion in New York. over the head again, and again, and again. In another example, Captain Eric Sander baits several hooks which drop to the bottom of the ocean and stay there all night long. The next morning the hooked sharks are reeled in. As soon as one comes to the surface, Sander aims his .22-caliber pistol and fires right into the head. Still twitching, the dying shark is lifted aboard, unhooked and tossed into the back of the boat The tail, head, and guts are cut away. As this process goes on, another hooked shark sur faces, and the pistol is aimed to kill once more. “This is nothing,” says the mate. “On a good day, you work in a river of blood. When I started, I thought I was going to be a fisher man. I didn’t know I was going to end up a butcher.” This mindless killing must stop now. Not only are the sharks endangered, but so is our fragile ecosystem. Sharks, like wolves and lions, are at the top of the food chain. They rid the ocean of sick and injured animals, thus keeping the species below them strong and healthy. Also, observers attribute the in populations of sting rays ish to the decline of their main pre dator, sharks. Jack is obsessed with piecing together the apparent meaningless ness of Ns life. Their search for their own goafs is the main plot of this movie, leading to a climax that is unlike any you are likely to have ever seen before. This movie is priceless for its many memorable moments including the dance in Grand Central Station. Williams and Bridges give deep, flawless performances that drag you into the story with great force. The movie flows easily and quickly despite its length of two hours and thirteen minutes. This movie should not be missed. Injured and sick dolphins do not die and are not removed from the ocean’s ecosystem as they would be if the shark population were normal. In earlier years, dolphins that were stran ded on shore would have shark bites. Today, shark bites on stranded dol phins are rare. This proves that the shark populations have decreased tre mendously, and the world is in danger of losing a major predator. People cannot feel threatened by the existence of sharks. Sharks attacks are infrequent, and at times sharks fear us more than we fear them. The hunting of sharks has increased to such an alarming rate that the time to repair the damage has already passed. Fisherman hunt sharks in such a cruel and inhumane way, that we should react just as we do when domestic pets are abused or mistreated. Finally, and most impor tantly, if sharks do go extinct, the oceans may not be able to recover. As one of the top predators, sharks are relied upon to keep the ecosystem intact What it comes down to is this: sharks have prowled the seas for four hundred million years, and they are the most feared creatures of the deep. But now the tide has turned; the predator has become the prey. Pages
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