If you've ever wondered why I write only about the fifth film, when I try to revisit the others, I immediately see how flat, simple, lacking depth, written so heavily for the action they are. And I simply see how intellectually and in term of experience the other characters are far behind Salazar. I quickly turn them off because... I'll be honest - I don't consider them worthy of my time and attention, and I have such a... distaste. They may be long and there's a lot going on, but that's the problem. They're... artificial and "superficial." Empty. Not well-considered in terms of "something else"—no details you can only pick up on at a later time. It's clearly done for the audience's amusement. The glorification of certain characters, the overly artificial and far-fetched, even illogical, prolongation of their lives, and the mass, senseless murder of, for example, the British. What did that achieve for the creators? I was disgusted. Truly, there's too much senseless, illogical, far-fetched action. This may sound brutal, but I don't find these films interesting, so I quickly turn them off.
Read on only if you want because I wrote a bit about my story :)
Before I discovered Salazar's Revenge, I liked At World's End the most, but even then I felt that... it wasn't it. It might be good, but I needed more background, and I didn't really like it. But I had no better alternative, so I watched it. I felt a bit... empty, which no film could fill. A missing puzzle in my heart.
And then, I don't remember what year it was, maybe 2019? I thought I'd watch the next part in the series. I found it online, connected my laptop to the TV, and turned it on.
The beginning was interesting, but it still wasn't quite it. Then came anger at Henry's unfair treatment by the British and the Devil's Triangle.
And when I saw Salazar...
Immediately, that hole in my heart was filled. I don't know how it happened, but I INSTANTLY LOVED HIM. Those movements, the hair, the voice, the way he spoke, the depth, the emotions, the otherness, the depth, the setting... I truly fell in love instantly. I felt so excited then!!! And I liked that name so much!!!
The very beginning of this film gave me more than all my other films combined. It truly did.
I continued watching. Sparrow... I was a little happy when he returned. Then Salazar again... so different from everyone else... Lesaro... Silent Mary... finally meeting Barbossa. I was so pleased, excited, ecstatic that Barbossa was afraid, how intelligent Salazar was! Then the story... and, honestly, I didn't really like it. Although, I admit, I was genuinely moved and cried, jumping for joy when I saw Sparrow outwit the "previous" Salazar. I don't know why I reacted that way. Then I felt sorry for Salazar. Then I was a little disappointed that Barbossa had survived.
Then the sharks... the genius... the shock when one of Salazar's crew died... then this... strange satisfaction at Salazar's mass murder. And then, when Barbossa outwitted Salazar, I felt disgust, shame, and rage. I'd somehow blocked the "wedding" scene from my memory; I hadn't considered it important at all. And finally, the battle...
I was SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!! Jumping around the cannons... the music... the exchanges... AND SPARROW'S FEAR AND UNCERTAINTY! And Salazar's triumph! How excited I was that Sparrow was no longer so glorified! And how brilliant Salazar was, I identified with him! I was just pissed that the island interrupted his murder, and I wanted a bigger roar.
Then the possession... it felt so wonderful to be able to spy on Salazar's officers on board! And Henry so helpless... and then the fight in his body, Sparrow surprised... and then Salazar emerged from the boy's body. "Hahaha! You deserved it, Sparrow! Finally you won't be so bossy! Finally you'll suffer and be afraid! Haha!" And that soundtrack, I found it online and listened to the few-second snippet before "Hola Sparrow!" over and over again. And I loved it so much that Salazar said it in Spanish! And I felt such wild satisfaction seeing Sparrow's fear, true fear!
Then the torture... I was surprised that it was not so long. And again, Sparrow's line - surrender and I'll let you live. "Oh no, this again..."
Then I thought he'd kill Jack, but he didn't. And I got so angry at Henry and Carina that they devised a plan against him! And cutting the trident... and undoing the curse. I was curious what would happen. But when the walls started closing in and Barbossa appeared, my emotions somehow evaporated. Then the chase—even then I was sad that the crew hadn't climbed the chain—then the climb up the chain, and Salazar's murder. I CRIED SO MUCH! I don't remember what happened next because I was so terribly sad (writing this now, as I remember it, my eyes welled up). For a long time, that thought kept recurring in my head: "Salazar is gone..."—and every time I thought it, I cried even harder. (The same thought brings tears to my eyes even now.)
At the time, I didn't know how it ended. I didn't remember anything after that. I had to watch the ending at another time, calmly, focusing on the action, not Salazar. And only then did I learn how the film ended. I was a little happy by seeing Sparrow at the helm, but the sadness for Salazar was probably stronger.
I loved this film so much and it evoked such strong emotions in me that I still remember the first time in detail.
That's when my obsession with Salazar began, which continues to this day.
I wrote all this after turning off At World's End and switching to Salazar's Revenge a while ago 😅
I remember another time I turned on movie to show it to my aunt, but when we got to the point of breaking the curse, I suddenly turned it off, saying we didn't have to watch any further. I said this in a firm tone, already feeling like I was about to cry. My aunt got a little angry at me and maybe a little disappointed 😅
But that must have been the dubbing version, because Sparrow was dubbed by a famous actor with a strong sense of humor, and my aunt laughed out loud at Sparrow's lines, while I didn't really understand them (understanding came with age 🤭🥲).
I don't remember if I watched the original with voiceover first or the dubbed version... but I remember liking the dubbed version even more.
And I really liked Lesaro's voice. It was nice. And Salazar's was almost too unsettling and scary in my native language.
After that, I would turn on the movie in the middle of the night and watch it while everyone else was asleep. I would search for all the information about Salazar and save it to my phone. I discovered blogs about the Silent Mary crew on Tumblr, and I loved them.
Eventually, I started noticing details and realized no one else had noticed them. I saved my conclusions on my phone (older than this one).
I listened to the soundtrack very carefully; I had (and still have) my favorite songs. I could listen to Salazar's theme on repeat for hours, sitting on the swing in the backyard in the summer.
Then I built a massive version of Silent Mary in Minecraft. I don't think I finished it, but from what I remember, it was impressive.
Sometime—I don't remember exactly when, but it also was a long time ago—I learned that a friend of mine had bought the entire Pirates of the Caribbean book series. I immediately asked if he had the fifth book and if there were any pictures inside it. Yes.
I quickly convinced my parents, and soon after, I bought the novelization, and then the rest of the books.
When my aunt arrived home with the books, I practically immediately, while still in the garage, threw myself onto the novelization. A black book with a skull on the cover. I immediately started reading. I was so excited! I quickly noticed the differences from the movie, and it surprised me a bit. But I don't remember if it was my favorite book, or if I was more into animal atlases, which used to be my greatest passion.
Finally, I found the LEGO Black Pearl, and then the Silent Mary. I convinced my parents. They bought it. It was expensive, but worth it. After about two months of waiting, the package with the Silent Mary arrived. I rushed to the living room and unpacked it. I spent three whole days assembling the ship, and to this day, both ships adorn my wardrobe. Of course, the Silent Mary is the centerpiece. Every guest who looked up exclaimed, "WOW!"
Hmmm, I don't remember any other major threads from my and Salazar's story. I've always taken him very seriously, written tons of stories, tried to get the Salazar skin in Minecraft but failed, watched all the bonus materials on YouTube and Tumblr... and it evoked such strong and positive emotions in me that I actually remember the entire beginning of this story to this day. And this obsession continues to this day. I may have taken a break from it once, and it went away for a while, but I came back. And... I still love him 🤭
Currently, it's one of my greatest passions (along with church organs, repairing musical instruments, classical music, symphony orchestras, physics, and psychology).
I enjoy finding these details and analyzing them from a physics and psychology perspective so much that I keep doing it. Even when I don't have time. Last year, I finally got the idea to start this blog. Honestly, I considered deleting it several times, but I didn't. It was worth it.
Yes, maybe I'm crazy. And brave. And very sensitive.
But I don't really like talking about myself. It's just how I am.
