Mad Max and the Long, Straight Line

In the Mad Max universe, everything can be represented by a long, straight line. Vertically, it runs from the highest point of the Citadel, where the power resides, down to the starving people hidden below the ground. Horizontally, it extends between the starting point and the destination of those who move to procure rare resources in a savage world where the strong take everything through sheer force.

Resources like water, fuel, and weapons that keep the Citadel running move only along these lines. Water is stored at the highest point and supplied to the poor only through the will of the ruler, pouring down from above. Fuel and weapons are procured from other regions and transported by heavily armed cars, and War Boys are brainwashed into serving the power.

A world where civilization has collapsed is exceedingly simple. The components of the world move either up and down or between the starting point and the destination. Everything is consumable. No one listens; they only kill or get killed. Max is merely a blood bag for Nux. The War Boys are treated like the loads they carry back and forth.

The sight of people being utterly exploited is so common in today’s civilized world that it doesn’t feel too alien. Nux’s collapse in the car trunk, saying, “I thought I was going to do something great,” but feeling worthless because he didn’t go to Valhalla, is indistinguishable from that of a burnt-out office worker.

Furiosa is the only character who deviates from the horizontal movement. She creates exceptions and progress in an otherwise exceedingly simple world. In Mad Max: Fury Road, she abandons the original paradise destination and paradoxically chooses the Citadel she fled from as the new destination, creating redemption. In Furiosa, though initially humiliated, she builds her strength. She achieves revenge while seemingly following, but actually defying, the orders of the powerful to move from here to there.

The simplicity and straightforwardness also contribute to the film’s unique style. The white-painted men shouting “V8!!!” and spraying their mouths with chrome in a desert of bizarre rock formations need an explanation. Still, the film doesn’t deliver specific explanations or background.

It just puts the audience in the car trunk and floors the accelerator, initially leaving you bewildered. Soon, you realize it’s a story about escaping from Immortan, who looks unmistakably evil, to somewhere green since they’re surrounded by deserts on all sides. The gradual reveal of the world, filling the spare space with solid action and imagery, created a captivating style.

Trivial

Thanks to the re-release in South Korea, I saw Fury Road and Furiosa in theaters around the same time. I watched Fury Road at an extended-screen cinema, which perfectly matched the film’s linearity. I felt overwhelmed without a moment’s rest, leaving me utterly drained.

I wished it had the grainy film texture of Fury Road. It felt less logical for a prequel to have crisper visuals.

Since Furiosa was essentially the main character of Fury Road, Max’s role seemed diminished, making me wish for a sequel. However, with the global box office flop, the production of the third film seems uncertain.