Josephina eventually takes all of the artwork, and begins to sell it for an enormous profit. An interesting fact to note is all of Vetril Dease’s artwork contains themes of Jean-Francois Millet-style paintings, with his noticeable brush strokes, muted colors, his attention to detail, and the common theme of poverty within his subjects. It’s quite clear Dease was painting through the experiences he had throughout his life, as Morf Vandewalt (Jake Gyllenhaal) talks about his history and how Dease painted using his battle for decades with his personal demons, and the result is an epic saga of violence and madness translated onto the canvas. “Vetril Dease howles for answers whilst painting, yet they never came in his life, meaning he left this world without any closure or resolution with his inner demons”; this is the interpretation Vandewalt comes to after learning about Dease’s history and the struggles he went through during his entire life.

The great thing the writer/director, Dan Gilroy, does to open up the film and introduce us to the characters, is show us that they don’t appreciate any art whatsoever, which Gilroy could have been reflecting the stereotypical art connoisseur in today’s world when he was writing these characters. There are still a select few of people who look at art as art, and not a dollar sign; and showing the intrinsic value that comes with that. 

Throughout the movie, everyone surrounding the artwork who is trying to profit off the work, end up being murdered in poetic, or silly, elaborate ways. This is telling us that art is not meant for the people who are only interested in the commercialization of it, but are interested in the message it sends and the actual artistic features meant to be seen. Piers and Damrish are the only ones who don’t see the art for the potential money it could make them, but for the actual art that it is, which is why they are the only ones who are really surrounding themselves within the art. Josephina deliberately went against Dease’s wishes, saw the paintings as a lot of money and an easy way for her to get into the industry, and did not care about what consequences might come with her actions. On the opposite side of the art-appreciation spectrum, we how Piers connects and feels about art during the end credits rolling on the screen and how it reflects the true values he demonstrates.

An interesting feature we come to notice in the movie is that all of the art shown that is not Dease’s is quite theatrical, or elaborate. There is one piece of art that makes you feel actual, physical things when you stick your hand into it, and another that was basically showing a family sitting down watching TV, but you can actually walk throughout the art, almost like a movie set. In contrast, Vetril Dease’s art, like I said earlier, is very Millet-esque in the way he uses his struggles as a gateway to the art we see. I think this is very important to note about the theme and the message Gilroy wanted to send; which is some art is not meant to be put on display for everyone to see, but for the artist who creates it to sometimes only have it for himself, and no one more.

Before art became mainstream, with pieces selling for millions, the artists from the Renaissance, Ancient Greece, etc. were painting for the love of telling a story and showing how they interpret a certain point in history, or their personal life. And we know this is true because artists back then were not paid much at all, and actually looked at as the lower social class. Dan Gilroy wants us to note that the art is about the art, not about the price stamp next to it. In addition to that, he wants people to take away that some art is meant to just be art for some people, or no people, and not put on a grand stage to get bid on because someone says it can.

Despite being silly and at certain points making fun of itself, Velvet Buzzsaw is equally funny and frightening, whether you are fan of art or not. If you go into this movie with an open mind, you won’t regret spending 2 hours with it. If you have a general idea of the art market and what the art market used to be, you will definitely enjoy it and analyze is a little more.

I think Velvet Buzzsaw does convey a meaningful message: art is art for people who want to see it, and if people see it for something else, they will never end up getting what they want from it in the end.

Ben Gates is a man with a love for history, his passion for knowledge took him across the world chasing a treasure no one thought existed. This movie includes historical groups such as the Freemasons and the Knights Templar. Using this the director was able to connect several points of history together to create a wonderfully deep story. For example, Charles Carroll is the last surviving member of the Declaration of Independence. He is depicted as a keeper of the secret of the treasure. The beginning of the movie he is dying and racing toward the White House to tell the President of the United States to keep the secret alive and hidden. Not only is this creative but it makes viewers think of history happening in alternative ways. A wonderful idea that there is a secret historical treasure that has been safeguarded by some of the most powerful men of history. Another example of Cages love for history is that he treats the Declaration of Independence with respect and care. He understands the historical significance of the document as well as what it stands for. Cage further showcases this respect when they transport the Declaration of Independence to Philadelphia. When they are in Independence Hall he says “The last time this was here, it was being signed,” then he takes in the moment. The movie shows a deeper truth that history is to be treated with respect. History plays such a large role in how we live our lives that it should be something that is sacred.

Something that the movie does well was to use people and groups that hold historical significance to United States history. Thinking that the Freemasons and the Knights Templar have buried treasure somewhere is a little ridiculous, but the movie did contain facts. For example, the movie talks about the Founding Fathers a lot. It says they assisted in hiding the secret by writing it on the back of the declaration which was only visible to them through a pair of spectacles designed by Ben Franklin. He did in fact help design some of his own glasses. The movie also includes two largely mysterious groups in history. The Freemasons, and the Knights Templar. The Templar Knights were an ancient order and have been around since medieval time serving under the king or as roaming warriors for hire. Unlike the Templars, the Freemasons have been extremely secretive about their fraternity activities. The movie touches on the ancient orders being connected which also adds to the developing storyline. The movie also says that several Freemasons signed the declaration, which is accurate because, Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Paul Revere signed and are all known as Masons. The movie may have a fictional storyline but they do a terrific job of giving historical facts. This makes the viewer look at recorded U.S. history in the case of “what if.” By supplying a possibility of a different outcome than what we have been told happened, it is only natural to explore it and its possibilities.

The movie touches on several things throughout American history. History is almost respected as much as art in American culture. Museums and historical monuments are erected to preserve history. The movie expresses this by utilizing real monuments as best they could and in some cases making entire replicas of buildings like Independence Hall in the movie. Another example of historical significance is the inclusion of the Silence Dogood letters written by Ben Franklin. He would write to his brother who was the editor of a paper. He would write under the pseudonym “Silence Dogood” pretending to be a middle-aged widow. These letters were part of the bigger whole as to why he and his brother didn’t get along. However, the movie incorporated them in a strange way saying that there was a hidden code in the letters that lead them to “The House of Pass and Stow”. Which leads them to the Liberty Bell that was hung in Independence Hall. Incorporating things like a hidden code in some of Ben Franklin’s early work showcases a common theme in art of hidden messages and symbolic meaning that the movie utilized elegantly.

In my opinion, I think this movie has great historical information and contains a lot of facts. The only problem is that the story of the treasure hunt requires a lot of drama to be enticing. Including chases, things falling into the wrong hands, a point of hitting rock bottom only then to rise to the top and find everything they’ve been searching for. Then when all is said and done he donates almost the entire treasure to national archives and museums around the world so that the history can be enjoyed everywhere. What a noble cause indeed.

This movie makes it clear that it is based of art for the first hour which is amazing. In the first couple minutes of the movie, we witness a man running for his life;who we later find out is Jacques Saunière. After he dies, police officers invite Robert Langdon, a professor, to come examine his body. The first thing that is noticed is that the dead body has been left in the position of Da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man.” I find this one of the most important part of the movie because it sets everything in place. This is where you realize this movie is a mystery and that the Vitruvian Man is the first clue. Seconds later,another clue comes to light. Professor Langdon realizes that the next clue has to do with the Mona Lisa. I didn’t really like this part of the movie because the actor goes on to say that the Mona Lisa’s horizon is lower on the left than the right. He goes on to say that, historically the Mona Lisa’s right side was supposed to be a female and the left side was male, or vice versa. I did not agree with this part because I do not know if that is accurate. Including this part in the movie would leave people who aren’t art experts confused or ignorantly saying wrong information based on the movie. The scene was so serious that I couldn’t even tell if it was fact or fiction. That also goes to show that the movie had good actors. The third clue was found in Da Vinci’s “Virgin of the Rocks”, which was simply a key. Although I don’t know if the Mona Lisa bit is accurate or not, I really enjoyed these three parts of the movie because it speaks loud and clear to why the director chose the title that he did. The movie and the novel is called The Da Vinci Code, because you have to decrypt Da Vinci’s art.

            A much appreciated part of the movie was a number of almost hidden artifacts in the background of the movie. There are multiple example where you see art in the background, in a corner, or even right in front of you. Since the first couple minutes of the movie takes place in the Louvre, I felt as though the director was giving us a gift. The director was giving us a glimpse of what the famous Louvre would look if you were actually there. Other than that, The author goes out of his way by putting random famous painting in the background of the movie plenty of times. For example, when the third code was found, you could clearly see one of Da Vinci’s most famous paintings “The Last Supper” in the background. Another example is during the flashback they showed in the middle of the movie. In the flashback, you notice huge marble statues just like they would carve during the Roman Empire. And my favorite example is right after the flashback where piece of the “Mona Lisa” were scattered in the background. Her eye was on the table, her forehead was on the wall, and so on. The movie shows that art is in reality a mystery. The director is trying to show us that there is technically a story behind every piece of art.

If you are a huge art critic or Christian this movie might make you cringe. In the movie’s attempt to figure out if the Catholic Church is hiding something that they do not want the world to know, they make some comments that may be totally outrageous. When they were analyzing “The Last Supper”, they make comments such as that in the painting there is a female. They continue to say that the female is Jesus’s wife, Mary Magdalene. From what I was taught, “The Last Supper” consisted of a table full of males. Another analysis they make is that they go on “The Last Supper” is that there is not a cup next to Jesus. The cup is known to be the Holy Grail and they make the assumption that the Holy Grail is a person rather than an actual cup. When this analysis was made I thought it was fun and creative for the director to get the audience’s interest with crazy conspiracies, but I also thought from an art enthusiast point of view and thought that they might not like how the movie portrayed the very famous painting. Like I stated earlier, the director tries to show that there is a mystery behind all paintings, but the problem with this is that some paintings are simple and that is what makes them valuable. Not everything has to be a crazy conspiracy, although it is fun to think so.

All in all, The Da Vinci Code is a great movie. In my opinion, this movie is for people who like art or who like mystery. If not for the art in this movie, I feel as though this movie would not have been as famous as the movie was. Other than the crazy conspiracies and the questioning of Christianity, I feel like many people would like the twists that are included in this movie.

After that, Scottie leaves and goes to see his friend who hired him for the job. He informs Scottie that Madeline’s Great Grandmother is Carlotta and she believes that Carlotta posses her body. He then tells Scottie to be careful and watch out for Madeline because Carlotta committed suicide and he fears she might follow in the same footsteps. Scottie follows Madeline for awhile more and she just keeps circling through the same places until one day after the museum she drives to the underside of the golden gate bridge. Then spontaneously jumps in the water in the attempt to kill herself. Scottie jumps in to save her and takes her home to dry off and sleep. Once she awakes Scottie informs her of what happens and calls his friend to inform him of what just happened. Meanwhile Madeline escapes the house and runs off. Scottie somehow falls in love with Madeline and this affects his mission as they both go on dates and hang out more and more. The next major scene is when Scottie and Madeline are outside a Missionary church and Madeline goes crazy and runs up the bell tower.Scottie who suffers from vertigo can only make it half way until he is too scared to go any higher. We hear a woman scream and see a shadow falling through a window Scottie is resting at. He looks down and sees what looks to be Madeline dead on the first layer roof. After that Scottie is very depressed and returns to all of Madeline’s hang out spots to see if maybe she’ll somehow return. One night we see Scottie falling asleep, and Scottie dreams of Madeline over and over again as the screen flashes and shows the painting of Carlotta and the flowers and amulet she’s wearing. He then wakes up quickly in a cold sweat. The next day he’s walking down the street when he notices a woman in a green dress who looks very similar to Madeline. He finds where she lives and knocks on her door, she is very spooked and the two trade conversation as she tells him her names is Judy and that she wants him to leave, Scottie turns around and asks her to go to dinner with her that evening. She somehow agrees and the two hit it off pretty well. We see Judy alone in her room and hear her thought as she confesses that she was Madeline only in disguise. She continues to say how she didn’t mean to fall in love with Scottie and all of this is being written on a piece of paper until she rips it up and decides to just goon with the act. All throughout the rest of the film Scottie is trying everything to get Judy to look as close as possible to Madeline. He buys her the same flowers, clothes, and even pays for her to get her hair done the same exact way. After she finally agrees, and the transformation is over, and we see Judy. However, she doesn’t have her hair the exact way Madeline had hers and Scottie is outraged and asks her “to please try it”. After complying we see Judy stepping out of her bedroom looking exactly like Madeline. Scottie is so pleased he decides he is going to take Judy out to eat. As she gets ready to head out, she digs through her jewelry box and find an amulet a lot like the one Madeline was wearing and the woman in the painting had on. Scottie’s expression goes from happiness to very confused but he doesn’t say anything about it. He takes her “out to eat” but first he takes her to the church where Madeline died and drags Judy up the stairs, this time making it all the way to the top of the bell tower. Scottie figures out that he was part of a murderous plot all along and explains his hypothesis. He believes his boss put his wife up to this to get Scottie killed. As Judy is upset and crying, she sees a shadow-like figure behind Scottie and screams and falls backward out the window and dies on contact.

The painting played a huge role in the film, it was basically the center of the entire movie that molded the characters. When Scottie’s boss was coming up with a scheme to get him killed, he needed to figure out a way to make his wife look like she was possessed by a ghost or some supernatural being. He chose Carlotta because there wasn’t much information on her, so he couldn’t figure out that there was some sort of plan against him. The painting was proof that his boss was telling the truth. So, Madeline just needed to play the role of Carlotta and Scottie would’ve bought it. The female character used the painting for the murder plot, which is the plot to the entire movie. The painting also set up for the suspense of the film, and drama during the bed scene where Scottie wakes up.

There is a secret society trying to stop the Harvard professor from finding the Holy Grail because it would prove that the Catholic Church has been hiding secrets for over 2,000 years. They don’t want to be exposed of their lies, so they will do anything in their power to keep things under control. One reason this movie is so much fun to watch is due to the fact that much of it is based on historical facts. The director of this movie, Ron Howard, has even gone on record saying that over ninety percent of this movie is one hundred percent true historical facts, meaning the artwork used in this movie and the secrets hidden within them are actually true.

Some of the scenes from this movie took place at the Lincoln Cathedral in England, which was finished in 1311. This cathedral had a bell that has rung on the hour ever since World War II, and for the first time during filming it was kept silent. This brought on protesters and boycotts. People really would show up to where they were filming and make it even harder for the film to be made. However, fact that part of the movie takes place there makes it feel so much more realistic and looks amazing onscreen. Instead of watching a movie filled with CGI and green screen backdrops you get a chance to absorb the surroundings of these characters and appreciate the realism that this movie brings to the big screen.

I would recommend this movie to a friend for many reasons. One, the cast for this movie is filled with some award-winning actors like Tom Hanks and Ian McKellen. Two, the movie gives you an electrifying fictional story with some non-fiction aspects. Examples of this include actual hiding meanings behind some of Da Vinci’s paintings for example even though it is known due to Da Vinci’s journals that the person sitting to the right of Jesus Christ is the apostle John. But Da Vinci made him look very lady-like and gave complimenting colors to the two. Starting a theory hundreds of years ago that it might not be the apostle John depicted but in fact Jesus’ lover. This makes it seem more realistic and more exciting to watch because you feel like it’s really happening. Third, you get to see how this movie brings real artwork and historic sites to the big screen. This movie is perfect for people who are sick of the CGI and want to see real artwork and incredible architecture from buildings that are hundreds of years old on the big screen.

Overall I would give this movie an eight out of ten, due to the fact that it has an incredible cast and an exciting story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Even though this movie does not have great reviews online, this is probably due to the fact that the Catholic Church and other important groups told people to boycott the movie due to the fact that it makes the Catholic Church look bad and suggests that Jesus Christ’s bloodline did not end with him. This film had protests and boycotts,which led to it even being banned in certain countries. It was banned in places like Syria, China, Iran, and Pakistan. But even with this movie being banned and having tons of negative press thanks to the Catholic churches of the world,it still managed to be the second highest grossing movie of 2006, behind only Pirates of the Caribbean. It brought in over seven hundred fifty eight million dollars.

One more thing I would like to address is how this movie might affect the way people look at history. The reason so many countries and religions wanted this movie banned was because they knew exactly what I am about to tell you. People are easily convinced nowadays, meaning with all the fake news and lies being told in schools and in the news. It’s coming to a point in our society that people are going to believe what they choose to regardless of facts. So this movie may influence how you feel about the death of Jesus Christ, secret societies, and Jesus’bloodline.