A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers. -IMDB.com
Directors/Writers - Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski
Cast ...
Character
Keanu Reeves ... Neo/Thomas A. Anderson
Laurence Fishburne ... Morpheus
Carrie-Anne Moss ... Trinity
Hugo Weaving ... Agent Smith
Gloria Foster ... Oracle
Joe Pantoliano ... Cypher
Marcus Chong ... Tank
Julian Arahanga ... Apoc
Matt Doran ... Mouse
Belinda McClory ... Switch
Anthony Ray Parker ... Dozer
The visual style of the Matrix draws on its creators' love or the comic book and Japanese animation traditions, as well as reflecting an affinity with video game culture. These stylistic elements include certain modes of framing and lighting, along with an emphasis on violence" (Sparknotes Editors)
The Matrix is one of the most innovative, confusing and visually exciting science fiction movies I've ever seen. Hopefully this review will scratch the surface on its meanings as it is thoroughly confusing.
"The mise-en-scene (physical environment of a film) displays the strong sense of metaphor throughout the trilogy. The repetitive blandness of the grid in Thomas Anderson's plain, cubicle-laden corporate office symbolizes the Matrix's stifling system of control, and it visually illustrates the Matrix's latitudinal/longitudinal weblike code that Neo finally sees at the end of the Matrix" (Sparknotes Editors)
The film begins with the Matrix code shown on screen. What is funny about this is that recently "Simon Whitely, the creator of the Matrix's code, said that it all came from his wife's Japanese cookbook. Whitely scanned the characters from that book and digitally manipulated them until they became the otherworldly coding that appeared on screen." (Nerdist.com) He says they came from sushi recipes. Interesting.
First of all before we get into the artistic merits of the film which are many, I would like to comment on a few things. The Matrix or the world around us to blind us from the truth is indeed a fantasy world. It is beautiful, fun and worth exploring. So why would anyone want to find out the truth by taking the red pill? Neo was tricked by Morpheus. I would have taken the blue pill. Morpheus tells Neo he is a slave but what does Neo experience after he is freed from being a "battery?" He is forced to fight off agents, sentinals, eat gunk, drink machine oil, live in material poverty, and so forth. Physical comfort are things of the past. They even wear tattered rags.
Even Neo who has a morbid curiosity of his real world laughs when Cypher/Lucifer tells him, Why didn't I take the blue pill? Neo laughs at this meaning he agrees with Cypher. When Neo tells Trinity he recognizes a place he used to eat at that has really good noodles Trinity looks disappointed in Neo's attachment to the Matrix. Maybe this is a distortion of Buddhism where attachment to desires bring suffering. There is a lot of religious symbolism in this film which should be obvious enough. Neo which is an anagram for One is a Jesus like savior. Trinity, like the holy Trinity. Morpheus is the god of dreams in Greek mythology. (wikipedia.org) His fighting styles are Budo, Krav Maga, Wushu. He is the captain of the Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar is in the Bible in Daniel 2:1-49. Another biblical connection is that "his strong, almost single-minded belief in Neo as the One has very strong Biblical correlations to that of John the Baptist's belief in the prophecy of the Messiah." (Wikipedia.org)
The Matrix has Illuminati references all over the place. The sun is often shown or symbolized like in One of the opening shots of the flashlight as the Illuminati is a secret solar cult. There is also El Sol oranges later in the film when Neo runs to find a phone. El Sol is Spansih for "the sun." There is a checkerboard design in the scene where agents and authorities come after Neo, Morepheus and their crew. There are checkerboard designs which are featured in all masonic lodges. Pyramids are shown by objects which is an Illuminati symbol. When Neo touches the pyramid in the broken mirror (gel) he touches the broken capstone of the pyramid. There is Sol (Sun) symbol in the subway wall when Neo fights Smith. Smith means "to strike." There is a sun symbol on the wall of the Oracle's apartment. The circular explosion behind Trinity looks like a sun when they run on the rooftops after Trinity, the roof parts ae shaped like pyramids. There is a masonic double headed eagle symbol behind Neo when he is in the Oracle's apartment. Morpheus stands in a satanic pose - As above, So Below while he is in The Construct. The red pill/blue pill symbolizes the red and blue lodges of freemasonry. The camera eye the machine looks on to Neo as he is unplugged represents the all seeing eye - symbolic of Masonic/occult/Illuminati ritual. One scene where an agent jumps down into the trash, there is a shot of a woman in red making a triangle/pyramid sign with her hand which is an illuminati gesture.
When Neo is talking to Morpheus in his work office his jacket is pinned to form a gold sun pyramid. Morpheus was the Roman god of dreams. The ship Nebuchadnezzar is named after the once ruler of Babylon, Conquerer of Jerusalem. The Illuminati also worship the sun god Horus. Thanks to channel 111Truth111 from youtube for all the insight. So is the film for the Illuminati or against it? Who knows. Does the Illuminati really exist?
The film begins with a close-up shot of a flashlight bulb hinting at the Illuminati obsession with sun symbols. They arrive at room 303 which holds Trinity inside. Trinity means a group of 3. After snapping the cop's arm she jumps in the air with a 360 degrees shot or bullet timewhich was invented in this film. She finally reaches a hardline telephone and gets back to Morpheus, His computer wakes him up and tells him to follow the white rabbit a reference to Alice in Wonderland. The room he is in is 101. Neo is an anagram for "one." He is a computer hacker who sells programs. He sells a program to a guy for $2,000 and puts it in a book called Silmulcra and Silmulation.
Neo is a metaphor for Jesus as his client refers him as. He sees the white rabbit tattoo on his client's girlfrend's arm and decides to go with them. He meets Trinity at the nightclub. SHe tells him he's here because the question that drives him, "What is the Matrix?" Neo has a soul crushing office job. He signs for a package. In it is a cell phone. He talks to Morpheus. Agents and police are looking for him. If you notice Neo - his back part of his blazer is taped up his back to form a gold pyramid. It is an Illuminati symbol.
The Agents and the cops arrest Neo. Mr. Smith threatens Neo telling him he has broken every computer crime they have a law for. They ask to get Morpheus in exchange he not be prosecuted for any computer crime. They put a mechanical bug in his body which is probably a tracer of some sort. Trinity removes it. On the way to see Morpheus the floor is checkerboard design which is seen in masonic lodges. Morpheus tells Neo The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over his eyes to blind him from the truth. He tells Neo he is a slave. His mind is imprisoned. Neo takes the red pill to know the truth. The pill is a tracer. A broken mirror reforms. Neo wakes up in a tube with a liquid and a machine unplugs him. He is no longer a battery that powers the Matrix (false world). Morpheus introduces everyone on the ship, The Nebuchadnezzar.
Morpheus tells Neo reality is just electrical signals interpreted by the brain. He tells Neo he is in a computer program called The Construct. Morpheus revealsthat Machinesand humans fought destroying the world. Machines grow humans because humans produce energy which power the Matrix.
Tank programs various martial arts into Neo's mind. After failing the jump program he bleeds in his mouth. Neo asks, "I thought it wasn't real?" Morpheus says "Your mind makes it real." During a talk in a busy city (allegedly Chicago) Morpheus says people are reliant on the system (matrix) and will fight to protect it. A woman in red distracts Neo. "The woman in red is a reference to the whore of Babylon in Revelation of the Bible." (illuminatisymbols.info) An Agent points a gun at Neo. Morpheus these agents are confined to a world of rules. A freed mind like Neo can beat them if he is skilled enough. Cypher (Lucifer) says he wishes he took the blue pill to Neo. Neo laughs showing some agreement and weakness. Cypher tries to make a deal with Mr. Smith. He wants access codes to the Zion Mainframe from Cypher.
Morpheus lets the crew know he will be taking Neo to see her. She is the Oracle. One thing let's talk about quickly is the colortints based on which "reality" the characters are in. From the blog Filmschoolthrucommentaries, "A lot of people who find this film to be something "cool" are people who simply look at a film and observe the surface. However, The Matrix’s green tint (and blue,
which gets lost in discussions of the film’s look) are actually
representations of the opposing realities. The green tint isn’t there
simply for the film to look cool, it is there for a reason. It is the
Matrix, it’s color palette is based on the green text code that is by
now a part of pop culture easily recognized.
The film has another reality, which is represented buy the use of a
muted, blue tint. This reality is the real world (that’s also
debatable if you watch the subsequent sequels). These color choices
are carefully selected so as to not only thematically and symbolically
represent the different, opposing worlds, but as to not confuse the
audience as to what is going on , on screen.”
(Filmschoolthrucommentaries)
On the way to see the Oracle, Cypher throws a dialing cell phone into
a trash can to mark the location for agents to find because he was
selling them out. The Oracle tells Neo that he is not the “One.” Neo
is told he is going to have to make a choice between saving his own
life or saving Morpheus’s life. There is a glitch in the matrix when
Neo notices there is a black cat that walks by and repeats itself.
Morpheus fights Mr. Smith and saves Neo’s life. After Smith defeats
Morpheus in a fight police come in and beat him with batons that
reminds one of the Rodney King beating. Cypher is back in the ship
after being “logged out” of the Matrix. He shoots Tank and Dozer.
Morpheus is in custody of the agents. They are trying to get codes to
Zion’s mainframe. Mr. Smith describes humans destructive force on the
planet as a virus and a plague.
After defeating police on the rooftop, an agent fires bullets at Neo.
He moves so fast in 360 degrees bullet time the directors invented for
the film that he is able to dodge them. Neo saves Morpheus by catching
him as he jumps from the building when he saves Trinity’s life as
well. Trinity and the operator realize he is the one. Morpheus always
knew he was the one. The one meaning savior.
The subway scene beginning is shot like a genre western standoff with
some trash flying between Smith and Neo. “The shots were relatively
quick for an action scene, with an average length of 2.04 seconds per
shot, with a total of 144 shots in the 294 second scene. This along
with the fast-paced music makes for an intense and action packed
scene.” (
thematrixsubwayscene.weebly.com/cinematography.html#)
Once Neo kills Mr. Smith he comes back alive through another person’s
body he has inhabited. Sentinels come for the ship while Neo is chased
by agents. Neo comes to a room with a phone ringing but agent Smith
shoots him dead. Trinity kisses Neo in the ship which brings him back
to life. When Neo comes back to life he is able to stop bullets on
command. Morpheus fires the EMP to save the crew. Neo and Trinity
kiss.
Works Cited:
www.traditioninaction.org/movies/007mrMatrix2.htm
Sparknotes Editors. "Sparknote on the Matrix Trilogy." Sparknotes.com. Sparknotes LLC. 2004. Web 13 Dec. 2017
http://www.nerdist.com/the-matrix-code-sushi-recipe/
Perkins, John. Perkinsworkins.blogspot.com/2014/01/cinematography-in-matrix.html?m=1
http://illuminatimovies.net/the-matrix
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ziYnvEBoofE
http://www.filmschoolthrucommentaries.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/color-and-the-look-of-a-film-visual-analysis/amp
Matteo admits to Nicola he failed his exam and leaves by train back to Rome. Matteo returns to Rome and joins the army. Nicola lives in Norway as a lumberjack. He writes about people he met like an American coward, Martin, who came to Norway to avoid Vietnam.
Sara wonders where her mother is or whether she's alive. She talks to her dad, Nicola. Giulia has many different Italian passports and is planning something since she is against democracy and for communism. Giulia sees her daughter, Sara and Nicola in a museum. Sara looks at her but it is vague whether she recognized her or ignored her.
At a photography exhibit Nicola gets a catalog of the pictures. Matteo is in one of them. Giorgia is finally talking. She talks to Nicola about Matteo's photograph. Giorgia moves in with people who will take care of her outside the clinic. Giulia meets up with Mirella, the photographer, and they discuss Matteo. She is the one who photographed Matteo. Nicola tells his mom she will be a grandmother. The boy's name is Andrea. She meets her grandson and they go fishing. The grandmother gives photos of Matteo as a boy to Mirella. 
Sara now does art restoration and has a boyfriend called Mimmo. Nicola's mother dies in her sleep. Mirella wrote to him as the grandmother of Andrea stayed with them. Sara meets her mom again. She tells her she's pregnant. Nicola and Mirella fall in love.
