REPO MAN (1984). This is a cult classic from Alex Cox (director of Sid & Nancy. Lacking role models and a purpose, baby-faced delinquent Otto (Emilio Estevez) finds a code of honor and a higher calling when he hooks up with a band of contemporary "knights": the repo men. A "seasoned" auto repossessor (Harry Dean Stanton) shows Otto the ropes, and when a big reward is offered for an elusive 1964 Malibu, Otto dodges G-men, cops, religious kooks, and more, in a frenzied quest for the car. Does his fate lie in its trunk? (93 mins)
The use of the alien is a significant plot device- a commentary on "freaks", a reference to fears of radiation and nuclear devices, a reference to 50's B movies, and perhaps even a nod to the need for something to believe in despite the empty consumer culture of the 1980's.
The character of Miller is that of "The Fool", a long used plot device for delivering important information in a subtle way.
This film is tremendously post-modern in the disappearance of the critical distance; the text embraces the object of commentary. In this case what is the commentary? Consumerism? Bad films? Loss of meaning?
And yet the text also mocks everything. It mocks the hippies and the 1970's, it mocks the punk counter culture, mocks the government and scientists. What is left at the end for us to believe in?
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