But both of these movies share something that I'm sure is quite common in our post-modern climate.  They both reflect the fact that we can't deny the existence of evil.  It's all around us.  It impacts us in a variety of ways even as we turn a blind eye to it or cherish our myriad forms of ignorance.  But there's no doubt that it's there, and the vestiges of modernity's assumptions that evil could be eliminated by proper education or proper breeding are pretty much in tatters.  It would seem we know better.

On the other hand, we are not nearly as clear on the existence of good.  If evil is an entity of sorts that manifests itself in a variety of ways and shapes and forms, good is something we're far less willing culturally to assert the existence of.  This was much more strongly present in Kick Ass.  There are no good guys in this movie.  No entity representing good as the alternative of evil.  Everyone is complicit in various forms of evil - primarily in varying degrees of selfishness.  Everyone seems to be trying to manipulate someone else.  The bad guys are more blatant about it.  It seems to be a study in shades of grey, where the bad guys are pretty close to black, but there's nobody that we could really say approaches or attempts to really represent white.  The protagonist is at best clueless, naive, and somewhat delusional.  He acts less out of a desire to truly do good than the desire to quit being the punching bag for everyone around him.  

In The Beautiful Country our protagonist is good in the more traditional sense.  Selfless.  Self-sacrificing.  Loyal.  Persevering.  But he's also by and large a victim.   He only stands up to evil at one point, and then seems at a loss as to what to do when he wins.  Otherwise, he is battered by varying degrees of evil, and the most he is able to do is survive.  Granted, this film is not set up as a superhero good vs. evil battle.  But the small instances of good that are scattered through the film are also by and large examples of good existing on the margins of evil - tenuously, precariously.  

It strikes me that if people are so hot on eliminating the possibility of God and absolute, real and objective good, then what we're left with is a very real and objective evil.  We seem to abandon ourselves to the worst possible situation without any source of rescue or hope.  All that remains is a scramble to see who is on top and who is on the bottom.  Who is the exploiter vs. the exploited.  Because there will be no real calling to account.  There remains no real force to oppose the expansion of evil.  

That's pretty depressing.  Not just philosophically but realistically as well.  

Oh, and in case you're wondering, skip watching Kick Ass.  The Beautiful Country is worth watching but it's not exactly a cheerful movie.  Make sure you're in a good mood before you sit down to watch it, as you probably won't be when it's over!