This weekend, I saw two very interesting films. The first was 'Guerrilla-The Taking Of Patty Hearst.' The second was 'A History Of Violence,' the latest from everybody's pal, the talented Mr. David Cronenberg. Each was impressive in its powerful and individual interpretations of similar themes.

'Guerrilla-The Taking Of Patty Hearst,' as one might expect, details the kidnapping of Patricia Hearst by the SLA, or Symbionese Liberation Army. The flick makes short shrift of the actual, physical abduction and, instead, concentrates on the transformation of Ms. Heart from Possibly The Wealthiest College Sophomore In America to Tania, The Girl In The Car With The Glasses And The Gun (namecheck for all you Screamers fans out there.) By juxtaposing the limited sights and sounds of Increasingly Radicalized Patty (those made available to the media by her captors) with images of Sunshine-y, Soft-Voiced Patty, the flickmakers create an uneasiness of identity. What was Ms. Hearst capable of doing? Do what degree was she coerced? To what extent was she a willing participant in bank stick-ups and other anti-social behaviors? Hrrmmmmmmmmmm...

'A History Of Violence' also uses physical hostility and vengeance as means of examining veracity and duplicity. Viggo Mortenson (who also has connections to the LA punk scene, mind you) portrays a mild-mannered, small-town Dr. Jekyll, whose averting of a robbery in a diner transforms him into an objectionable Mr. Hyde. Without giving too much away, 'A History Of Violence' presents the idea that brute force is such a dangerous thing that those who find themselves in proximity to it (or even those who participate in it, themselves) are altered by the event.

I am somewhat concerned about placing 'Guerrilla - The Taking Of Patty Hearst' alongside 'A History Of Violence' in their examinations. One details true-to-life events and the other is a narrative tale. Both, however, ponder similar themes of fear, force, identity and revenge.

See 'em both.