7
Pain, loss, and the cost of hope
Star Wars: Episode VIII—The Last Jedi
Writer: Rian Johnson
Director: Rian Johnson
The Last Jedi is a beautiful film.
Rian Johnson, cinematographer Steve Yedlin, the production designers, the visual effects artists, the gaffers, the production assistant that made sure everyone had coffee, and anyone that had a hand in crafting this film deserves every ounce of credit for giving us piece after piece of breathtaking Star Wars art. It’s everywhere in the film. The violent imagery of the exploding Resistance bombers, Rey on a ledge practicing her lightsaber skills against the backdrop of the Ahch-To sea, Luke Skywalker defiantly standing before the forces of the First Order, and the epic tableau of Kylo Ren and his former master facing off before the storms of Crait. All of them and more are works of art and each shot belongs in a museum, to paraphrase another legend in another time. However, the centerpiece of this collection is the eyes of Leia.
It’s a brief moment in the film that barely stretches over one second in real time, but it encompasses an entire lifetime. A princess turned general awaits at the mouth of a forgotten Rebel base on Crait that she hopes will save the Resistance and she stares out into the horizon, waiting for the arrival of her enemy and perhaps her final fate. Leia Organa’s face is hidden by the collar of her majestic outfit and all we see are her eyes. And the eyes of Leia do tell the story.
Leia’s entire life has come to this moment. Though surrounded by a small band of Resistance fighters, Leia Organa is now alone. It’s as if she is looking back through time and reliving all of the causes she fought for, all the risks she took, and remembering all that have died or gone. This is the pain and loss behind the hope her entire existence was built on.
Leia’s past is littered with the memories of those who are gone. Her birth mother Padmé who died as she was born, who she was connected to perhaps only through the Force, but whose leadership and fortitude coursed through her veins. Her birth father who died on that day as well, becoming a figure that cast a shadow over her life that she struggles to escape. Her first love Kier Domadi, who challenged her beliefs in the best of ways, and whose lock of hair she kept in a chest the rest of her days. Leia’s gaze drifts out through time to her adoptive parents Bail and Breha, who gave her a life of purpose and instilled beliefs in her that never wavered, even after they were erased in the blink an eye on Alderaan. Her precious Alderaan, a beautiful planet and people she watched die with those same eyes but could not stop to grieve for.
As she stands there on Crait on the brink of a final battle, Leia knows the cost of war. She’s watched countless Rebels die—those she’s led, those fresh-faced idealists trying to topple an Empire, and those she served with, like General Jan Dodonna and Captain Raymus Antilles, who died in the crushing hands of Vader while trying in vain to protect her. She had coaxed Admiral Gial Ackbar out of retirement to once again fight at her side and her childhood friend Amilyn Holdo proudly stood there as well. Both were now gone.
Her own husband, long struggling with his true identity and commitments, returned finally, only to die while attempting to fulfill her last request of Han Solo: save their son. He was gone, too, murdered by that son. Ben Solo was a casualty, too, his great purpose forever twisted and his destiny on a dark path. She had sent him away to train with her brother and essentially lost them both. Luke Skywalker had vanished, destroyed over his own failures, leaving Leia to fight alone.
Loss after loss.
Yet, the biggest loss was herself. Leia, Princess of Alderaan, made her life about others. In a world of heroes’ journeys and great redemptions, Leia had discovered who she was early on and never had time to change it. A compassionate soul, a fearless leader, and a fighter until the end, Leia served the greater good, always. Even a chance to become a Jedi was pushed away because, after the fall of the Empire, Leia knew she needed to rebuild the Republic. She had no time to lock herself away and become a Jedi. The galaxy needed her as a leader. It always came back to the cause, never to her.
It’s all there. Every memory flickering behind those eyes.
After a second, we move on. Just as Leia always had to.
Princess Leia Organa, now a general, always a general, represents the best in Star Wars. In a story of morality and choices, strengths and victories, heroes and villains, Leia remained at its core, speaking up, staying to fight, always helping, always leading. In a dark time, she was the bright beacon of hope. As she looks out over the surface of Crait, those eyes, the eyes of Leia, the eyes of Carrie Fisher, tell the story of a life lived to the fullest and a life that was not easy, but a life that was worth it. Even though she still feels the pain of each and every loss, you know, as you stare back at those eyes, that Leia would never want to be anywhere else.
Those eyes are work of art.