The Ides of March (2011, USA, George Clooney)
"The punishment which the wise suffer who refuse to take part in the government, is to live under the government of worse men." -- Plato
Once upon a time, a good man wanted to run in politics. He believed he could make a difference because he possessed intelligent ideas, great values and virtues. But once he entered politics, he found out how things truly worked. At first his fingers got dirty but slowly his soul and brain started getting coated with stains of mud. And before a year was over, he was throughly transformed into the very dirty person he had promised to free the country from.
It is an age old story applicable to every politician in every country around the world. The names and details change but the idea remains the same -- that power corrupts, directly or indirectly. Sometimes a politician feels they are still on the side of good even though they are cutting deals with those who break the law. Eventually, all those one time compromises, handshakes and promises erode away any remaining morality/credibility the politician may once have had.
The Ides of March depicts this well known story of how ideals and promises are crushed under the political reality machine. In this regard, the film is not showing anything new but what is refreshing is the focal point of the story. The film does not focus on governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) who is vying for a Democratic presidential ticket but instead fixes its attention on his young press secretary Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) and shows that ditching of ideals can start at a very early age. Meyers is flying high after his intelligence and hard work have put him on the road towards an apparent better future. However, all of that changes when he receives a phone call from the rival campaign manager, Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), for a quick meeting. Meyers accepts the meeting request because he fails to think a few steps ahead like Duffy. When Meyers finally realizes that he was just a pawn in a political chess match, he starts scrambling to save his career. First, he opts for revenge but when that leads to nothing, he resorts to blackmail. In both cases, he uses a potential scandal that he accidentally uncovers to turn things around for himself.
The film shows the transformation of Meyers from an idealistic person into a cold calculative person, perfectly conveyed by the film’s final moments when the camera stays fixed on Meyers’ emotionless face. One can also see the genesis of Morris via Meyers. Morris is shown to be an intelligent person who talks a lot about honesty and integrity. However, as the film shows, his integrity can still be negotiated with. One can easily imagine that a long time ago Morris started out as idealistic as Meyers but Morris probably ditched a few of his ideals for a slice of power. Morris still retained a sense of good values but he is willing to rinse those values occasionally with some grayish shades in order to move ahead.
The fact that The Ides of March focuses on people around a potential presidential candidate is a smart choice. As history has often shown, a president or a party head is just the front man (or woman) with little decision making power. It is often the people working in the shadows that shape the policies and decisions the president/party head speaks about in public. In the film, Morris finds himself in a situation where he loses his ability to exert any power thereby allowing himself to be tugged by another. The film’s title, which refers to the date of Julius Caesar’s assassination, is also highly appropriate. There is no assassination in The Ides of March but there is a death which is caused by betrayal, something which also played a part in Caesar’s slaying. In fact, almost every character in the film, including Morris, Meyers, Zara, Molly (Evan Rachel Wood) and even the journalist Ida (Marisa Tomei), are betrayed to some extent by those around them. Loyalty and trust are stabbed occasionally with no hint of remorse.
The sound and lighting are used to great effect in The Ides of March as are the close-ups. The camera focuses directly on a character and lingers there for a few extra seconds to give an idea of their thoughts while there is silence in the frame when needed. The film also leaves a little bit of doubt regarding not only the scandal but also the death in the movie. This doubt may seem like a loophole in the plot but it also leaves room to show that there is someone else, outside of the frame, that is pulling the shots thereby making every character in the film, from Meyers to Morris, just a pawn in the bigger picture. There are some excellent performances in the film, most notably by Ryan Gosling who is easily one of the best American actors working in the industry today. His great performance in Blue Valentine was ignored but he truly deserves a nod for 2011 after giving two top-notch performances in Drive along with The Ides of March.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Invisible Cinema
The following words stand out from Anthony Lane's article for the New Yorker:
There’s only one problem with home cinema: it doesn’t exist. The very phrase is an oxymoron. As you pause your film to answer the door or fetch a Coke, the experience ceases to be cinema. Even the act of choosing when to watch means you are no longer at the movies. Choice—preferably an exhaustive menu of it—pretty much defines our status as consumers, and has long been an unquestioned tenet of the capitalist feast, but in fact carte blanche is no way to run a cultural life (or any kind of life, for that matter), and one thing that has nourished the theatrical experience, from the Athens of Aeschylus to the multiplex, is the element of compulsion.
................
As Justine’s mother says of marriage, and as the movie tries to say of mortal life, so we should say of cinema: “Enjoy it while it lasts.”
His words may be applicable to those who live in New York City but they hold very little relevance outside New York. The truth is that for people living in North American cities aside from New York and to some extent LA or Toronto, home is the only logical option to watch foreign films. There are no choices for people in majority of North American cities to catch Melancholia or even The Turin Horse in their local cinema. I can confidently vouch for the latter because no Bela Tarr film has ever played in my city. As for Melancholia, it might eventually get here but it won't be until the summer of 2012, more than a year after its Cannes premier. Is that considered a valid choice? Not really especially if the film is going to be available officially in Europe via DVD or by digital pay options much earlier than that.
Talking about the pure experience of cinema is not relevant for people whose weekly cinematic choices are Spider Man 1: the 10th remake, Shrek 7, Transformers 5 or Harry Potter, the diaper years. If these are the only theatrical options that I have each week, then I rather not visit a cinema hall.
Thankfully, there are great films being made around the world every year even though access to such films is getting more and more restricted via traditional theatrical means. Even rental DVD is getting hard as local independent DVD stores across Canada are vanishing at a fast rate. Before anyone else blames Netflix, they need to have a look at the dismal selection of films available on Netflix Canada. As for digital/pay-for-view options, they mostly carry the same Hollywood titles that play in every Canadian multiplex. However, the foreign films are out there. The onus is now on each cinephile to look hard to find those precious films lurking in some region free DVD zone or via other digital means.
Here are just a few worthy films from the last few years that I was lucky enough to see via the film festival circuit. For the most part, these films are still invisible to the rest of the world. That is a shame because they demand to be seen:
Manuel di Ribera (2010, Chile, Pablo Carrera/Christopher Murray)
This visually stunning film is a fascinating mix of Lisandro Alonso and Bela Tarr yet is completely original. The lonely journeys of Manuel, conducted with the aid of boats, has touches of Alonso (from both Los Muertos & Liverpool) while the mostly grayish/dark environment and the drunken locals' distrust of Manuel feels similar to Tarr's The Outsider and Satantango. Also, the film brilliantly plays with the concept of reality by having two almost similar scenes of an event incorporated into the film -- one real and one imagined. The audience is left to figure out what the reality is.
The Intern (2010, Argentina, Clara Picasso)
Clara Picasso's sublime film cleverly uses a Buenos Aires hotel setting as a springboard to examine wider issues, such as male-female power games and the thin boundary that exists between private and public life. Not a single minute is wasted in the film's brisk 64 minutes. Almost at each 20 minute segment, the viewer has to track back to the previous segment to get a clue as to mystery or relationship tussle taking place on screen. The end result is an engaging film.
R (2010, Denmark, Tobias Lindholm/Michael Noer)
The tag 'dark film' is easily thrown around but in the case of R, the tag is entirely justified. The film makes the wonderful Un prophète look like a feel good happy film. Besides being completely savage, R is intelligent and that is demonstrated by a clever perspective shift two-thirds into the film which shows the similar hierarchies of two rival gangs.
Hunting & Zn (2010, Holland, Sander Burger)
This powerful Dutch film shows how a complicated relationship can be strained when lies and a pregnancy enters the equation. Like Maren Ade's brilliant Everyone Else, this film is bold enough to look at the nasty side that exists in all relationships and thereby causes the audience to get deeply involved with the film. As a warning, pregnant women or couples expecting a child might want to brace themselves for an emotionally challenging film.
Breathless (2009, South Korea, Yang Ik-June)
This debut feature by Yang Ik-June packs quite a punch and as per the title leaves one breathless. There are many movies which claim to be anti-violence but instead end up glorifying violence because the consequences of violence is never fully explored. On the other hand, Breathless clearly depicts the danger of a violent life, whether that life is in a household or in a gang. There is a consequence to every violent action and Yang Ik-June’s film has a purpose for every scene of violence and abuse.
The Happiest Girl in the World (2009, Romania co-production, Radu Jude)
Winning a free car is supposed to usher in new freedom for Delia Fratila. All she has to do is act in a 35 second car commercial and drive away with her new car. But things don’t turn out to be that simple. Her parents want to exchange the car for money to finance a better future and the commercial shoot turns out to be an artistic and physical challenge. Funny and engaging. Another vintage film from Romania.
Katalin Varga (2009, Romania co-production, Peter Strickland)
Devastating cinema! After Katalin is kicked out of her home along with her son, she undertakes a journey. The music points to a dark past and even a darker future. Indeed, there is some darkness for Katalin Varga is a revenge tale. But it is unlike any other revenge movie. In fact, it carves out its own rules for vengeance. That means no dramatic dialogues but instead we are treated to beautiful images and haunting music which conveys the hovering tension in the air.
Call If You Need Me (2009, Malaysia, James Lee)
A visually sharp film that combines the sensibilities of diverse film-makers such as Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang and Quentin Tarantino while still retaining a unique Malaysian flavour. Hou Hsiao-Hsien elevated a gangster film to an art form with Goodbye South Goodbye and James Lee does a very job in carrying on that tradition. Call if you Need me is about gangsters and kidnappings but there isn’t a single gun or drop of blood to be found on screen. All the violence is kept out of the frame and we are instead shown events that precede or succeed a violent act. The lack of violence allows audience to focus on the characters and their day to day lives, including their love interests and their choice of food and drugs.
Rough Cut (2008, Korea, Hun Jang)
Rough Cut has taken some aspects of the extraordinary Korean film Dirty Carnival and gone in a different direction with good effect. Dirty Carnival showed how gangsters complained about movies not having authentic fight scenes and in order to correct things, a local gangster (Byeong-du) helped his old college friend (Min-ho) to make an authentic gangster film by giving pointers to the actors and fight instructors. In Rough Cut, a once popular action star asks a local gangster to play a villain in his movies so that the actor can save his career. The gangster, who always dreamed of being an actor himself, agrees provided that all the fight scenes in the film are real and not staged. The end result is a no holds barred on screen contest where even the film’s director has no idea if the end result would hold true to his original script.
Wonderful Town (2007, Thailand, Aditya Assarat)
Wonderful Town is a tender love story between a Bangkok architect Ton, who comes to the southern Thai town Pakua Pak to work on a new beach resort, and Na, the owner of the hotel that Ton stays in. Everything in the film exists in harmony, be it the haunted house, the construction of the new resort, the empty hotel, the isolated beach or even a road-side garage. The town is empty, almost a ghost town, where everyone knows each other. Yet this loneliness never feels oppressive but just a natural cycle of life.
Kill the Referee (2009, Belgium, Y.Hinant/E.Cardot/L.Delphine)
This Belgium soccer documentary does not have any narration or title cards to guide the audience but instead dives right into the action. Like the Zidane film, this documentary gives a completely different perspective to what one experiences when watching a soccer game. One gets to see the game from an on-field angle, but instead of a player's point of view, we see the game from a referee's angle.
This film is essential viewing for anyone who has ever seen a soccer game. And since the film is artistically shot and edited, it offers non-soccer fans plenty to chew on as well. The games shown in the film are from Euro 2008 and if a person is familiar with some of the players, then that enhances the experience. This film does an excellent job in showing us the human side of the refs and also some of the egos that operate in the game.
Steam of Life (2010, Finland, Joonas Berghäll/Mika Hotakainen)
A beautifully shot contemplative film that places the viewer in an awkward position of a voyeur observing Finnish men pour their heart out while sitting in a variety of saunas. The film remarkably shows that any enclosed space can be transformed into a sauna, even a phone booth, and the calming effect of the steam is essential to allow men to tackle life's daily burdens.
Woman without a Piano (2009, Spain, Javier Rebollo)
A sublime film that uses a low key treatment in depicting a single night's events. The camera quietly follows Carmen around and the events that unfold around her are hilarious and sad at the same time. The film is set in Madrid and in some alleys we see situations which Pedro Almovodar uses in his films but Woman without a Piano is an art film through and through, with a pinch of comedy.
Note: I have mentioned these films previously but I still get puzzled looks when I talk about these films to people. Since I have no power over these film's distribution, all I can do is repeat my words.
There’s only one problem with home cinema: it doesn’t exist. The very phrase is an oxymoron. As you pause your film to answer the door or fetch a Coke, the experience ceases to be cinema. Even the act of choosing when to watch means you are no longer at the movies. Choice—preferably an exhaustive menu of it—pretty much defines our status as consumers, and has long been an unquestioned tenet of the capitalist feast, but in fact carte blanche is no way to run a cultural life (or any kind of life, for that matter), and one thing that has nourished the theatrical experience, from the Athens of Aeschylus to the multiplex, is the element of compulsion.
................
As Justine’s mother says of marriage, and as the movie tries to say of mortal life, so we should say of cinema: “Enjoy it while it lasts.”
His words may be applicable to those who live in New York City but they hold very little relevance outside New York. The truth is that for people living in North American cities aside from New York and to some extent LA or Toronto, home is the only logical option to watch foreign films. There are no choices for people in majority of North American cities to catch Melancholia or even The Turin Horse in their local cinema. I can confidently vouch for the latter because no Bela Tarr film has ever played in my city. As for Melancholia, it might eventually get here but it won't be until the summer of 2012, more than a year after its Cannes premier. Is that considered a valid choice? Not really especially if the film is going to be available officially in Europe via DVD or by digital pay options much earlier than that.
Talking about the pure experience of cinema is not relevant for people whose weekly cinematic choices are Spider Man 1: the 10th remake, Shrek 7, Transformers 5 or Harry Potter, the diaper years. If these are the only theatrical options that I have each week, then I rather not visit a cinema hall.
Thankfully, there are great films being made around the world every year even though access to such films is getting more and more restricted via traditional theatrical means. Even rental DVD is getting hard as local independent DVD stores across Canada are vanishing at a fast rate. Before anyone else blames Netflix, they need to have a look at the dismal selection of films available on Netflix Canada. As for digital/pay-for-view options, they mostly carry the same Hollywood titles that play in every Canadian multiplex. However, the foreign films are out there. The onus is now on each cinephile to look hard to find those precious films lurking in some region free DVD zone or via other digital means.
Here are just a few worthy films from the last few years that I was lucky enough to see via the film festival circuit. For the most part, these films are still invisible to the rest of the world. That is a shame because they demand to be seen:
Manuel di Ribera (2010, Chile, Pablo Carrera/Christopher Murray)
This visually stunning film is a fascinating mix of Lisandro Alonso and Bela Tarr yet is completely original. The lonely journeys of Manuel, conducted with the aid of boats, has touches of Alonso (from both Los Muertos & Liverpool) while the mostly grayish/dark environment and the drunken locals' distrust of Manuel feels similar to Tarr's The Outsider and Satantango. Also, the film brilliantly plays with the concept of reality by having two almost similar scenes of an event incorporated into the film -- one real and one imagined. The audience is left to figure out what the reality is.
The Intern (2010, Argentina, Clara Picasso)
Clara Picasso's sublime film cleverly uses a Buenos Aires hotel setting as a springboard to examine wider issues, such as male-female power games and the thin boundary that exists between private and public life. Not a single minute is wasted in the film's brisk 64 minutes. Almost at each 20 minute segment, the viewer has to track back to the previous segment to get a clue as to mystery or relationship tussle taking place on screen. The end result is an engaging film.
R (2010, Denmark, Tobias Lindholm/Michael Noer)
The tag 'dark film' is easily thrown around but in the case of R, the tag is entirely justified. The film makes the wonderful Un prophète look like a feel good happy film. Besides being completely savage, R is intelligent and that is demonstrated by a clever perspective shift two-thirds into the film which shows the similar hierarchies of two rival gangs.
Hunting & Zn (2010, Holland, Sander Burger)
This powerful Dutch film shows how a complicated relationship can be strained when lies and a pregnancy enters the equation. Like Maren Ade's brilliant Everyone Else, this film is bold enough to look at the nasty side that exists in all relationships and thereby causes the audience to get deeply involved with the film. As a warning, pregnant women or couples expecting a child might want to brace themselves for an emotionally challenging film.
Breathless (2009, South Korea, Yang Ik-June)
This debut feature by Yang Ik-June packs quite a punch and as per the title leaves one breathless. There are many movies which claim to be anti-violence but instead end up glorifying violence because the consequences of violence is never fully explored. On the other hand, Breathless clearly depicts the danger of a violent life, whether that life is in a household or in a gang. There is a consequence to every violent action and Yang Ik-June’s film has a purpose for every scene of violence and abuse.
The Happiest Girl in the World (2009, Romania co-production, Radu Jude)
Winning a free car is supposed to usher in new freedom for Delia Fratila. All she has to do is act in a 35 second car commercial and drive away with her new car. But things don’t turn out to be that simple. Her parents want to exchange the car for money to finance a better future and the commercial shoot turns out to be an artistic and physical challenge. Funny and engaging. Another vintage film from Romania.
Katalin Varga (2009, Romania co-production, Peter Strickland)
Devastating cinema! After Katalin is kicked out of her home along with her son, she undertakes a journey. The music points to a dark past and even a darker future. Indeed, there is some darkness for Katalin Varga is a revenge tale. But it is unlike any other revenge movie. In fact, it carves out its own rules for vengeance. That means no dramatic dialogues but instead we are treated to beautiful images and haunting music which conveys the hovering tension in the air.
Call If You Need Me (2009, Malaysia, James Lee)
A visually sharp film that combines the sensibilities of diverse film-makers such as Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang and Quentin Tarantino while still retaining a unique Malaysian flavour. Hou Hsiao-Hsien elevated a gangster film to an art form with Goodbye South Goodbye and James Lee does a very job in carrying on that tradition. Call if you Need me is about gangsters and kidnappings but there isn’t a single gun or drop of blood to be found on screen. All the violence is kept out of the frame and we are instead shown events that precede or succeed a violent act. The lack of violence allows audience to focus on the characters and their day to day lives, including their love interests and their choice of food and drugs.
Rough Cut (2008, Korea, Hun Jang)
Rough Cut has taken some aspects of the extraordinary Korean film Dirty Carnival and gone in a different direction with good effect. Dirty Carnival showed how gangsters complained about movies not having authentic fight scenes and in order to correct things, a local gangster (Byeong-du) helped his old college friend (Min-ho) to make an authentic gangster film by giving pointers to the actors and fight instructors. In Rough Cut, a once popular action star asks a local gangster to play a villain in his movies so that the actor can save his career. The gangster, who always dreamed of being an actor himself, agrees provided that all the fight scenes in the film are real and not staged. The end result is a no holds barred on screen contest where even the film’s director has no idea if the end result would hold true to his original script.
Wonderful Town (2007, Thailand, Aditya Assarat)
Wonderful Town is a tender love story between a Bangkok architect Ton, who comes to the southern Thai town Pakua Pak to work on a new beach resort, and Na, the owner of the hotel that Ton stays in. Everything in the film exists in harmony, be it the haunted house, the construction of the new resort, the empty hotel, the isolated beach or even a road-side garage. The town is empty, almost a ghost town, where everyone knows each other. Yet this loneliness never feels oppressive but just a natural cycle of life.
Kill the Referee (2009, Belgium, Y.Hinant/E.Cardot/L.Delphine)
This Belgium soccer documentary does not have any narration or title cards to guide the audience but instead dives right into the action. Like the Zidane film, this documentary gives a completely different perspective to what one experiences when watching a soccer game. One gets to see the game from an on-field angle, but instead of a player's point of view, we see the game from a referee's angle.
This film is essential viewing for anyone who has ever seen a soccer game. And since the film is artistically shot and edited, it offers non-soccer fans plenty to chew on as well. The games shown in the film are from Euro 2008 and if a person is familiar with some of the players, then that enhances the experience. This film does an excellent job in showing us the human side of the refs and also some of the egos that operate in the game.
Steam of Life (2010, Finland, Joonas Berghäll/Mika Hotakainen)
A beautifully shot contemplative film that places the viewer in an awkward position of a voyeur observing Finnish men pour their heart out while sitting in a variety of saunas. The film remarkably shows that any enclosed space can be transformed into a sauna, even a phone booth, and the calming effect of the steam is essential to allow men to tackle life's daily burdens.
Woman without a Piano (2009, Spain, Javier Rebollo)
A sublime film that uses a low key treatment in depicting a single night's events. The camera quietly follows Carmen around and the events that unfold around her are hilarious and sad at the same time. The film is set in Madrid and in some alleys we see situations which Pedro Almovodar uses in his films but Woman without a Piano is an art film through and through, with a pinch of comedy.
Note: I have mentioned these films previously but I still get puzzled looks when I talk about these films to people. Since I have no power over these film's distribution, all I can do is repeat my words.
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Contagion
End of the World with a cough and a handshake
Contagion (2011, USA/UAE, Steven Soderbergh)
Day 2: A woman coughs on one side of the world and the planet starts moving towards a quick end.
In reality, the end of the world started on the night of Day 1 after the woman passed on her contracted virus to others in an invisible indirect manner when others touched any objects the woman held in her hands. Her cough on Day 2 is the first visible sign that something is wrong. However, there is not much time for anyone to be saved once they get the disease because the virus moves rapidly through the body causing instant death. Naturally, global panic results as more people start dying around the world.
As with most mass epidemic diseases, a few work hard to find a cure, some try to help as many people as possible, others spend their time spinning conspiracy theories or causing more panic while a few look to make money for themselves. In this regard, the movie gives an adequate time slice to an entire array of characters so as to paint a complete picture of what unfolds when a mass epidemic results. So there are characters who are shown to collect samples and analyze the virus, others try to grow the virus so a cure/anti-body can be found, government/health officials debate how to handle public safety, pharmaceutical companies try to sell vaccines, journalists cover the story while common folk are concerned for their loved ones and do whatever they can to save their families/friends.
Contagion shows that most humans are driven by fear or greed, regardless of their job title, so in a sense the film is short on selfless heroes. A single rebel doctor who grows the virus is probably the only hero in the film but the planet could have been truly saved if every human citizen had a hand sanitizer. Of course, if a hand sanitizer was readily available, then there would have been no spread of the virus on Day 1. The absence of a hand sanitizer to save the day means door knobs and hand railings in Contagion are made to look as dangerous as dark hallways do in horror/slasher films.
The film moves at a healthy pace, crisscrossing across various international cities, and keeps the viewer engaged by following a different character in each segment. Contagion shows that a good film can still be made within a predictable template that depicts expected behavior from most characters. However, the true power of Contagion is reserved for the film’s final segment which depicts how the disease came to be spread on Day 1. There are some clues given for the disease’s origin before the final segment that would allow people to piece things together. Still, the final segment is chillingly effective and manages to tie the whole film together nicely.
Contagion (2011, USA/UAE, Steven Soderbergh)
Day 2: A woman coughs on one side of the world and the planet starts moving towards a quick end.
In reality, the end of the world started on the night of Day 1 after the woman passed on her contracted virus to others in an invisible indirect manner when others touched any objects the woman held in her hands. Her cough on Day 2 is the first visible sign that something is wrong. However, there is not much time for anyone to be saved once they get the disease because the virus moves rapidly through the body causing instant death. Naturally, global panic results as more people start dying around the world.
As with most mass epidemic diseases, a few work hard to find a cure, some try to help as many people as possible, others spend their time spinning conspiracy theories or causing more panic while a few look to make money for themselves. In this regard, the movie gives an adequate time slice to an entire array of characters so as to paint a complete picture of what unfolds when a mass epidemic results. So there are characters who are shown to collect samples and analyze the virus, others try to grow the virus so a cure/anti-body can be found, government/health officials debate how to handle public safety, pharmaceutical companies try to sell vaccines, journalists cover the story while common folk are concerned for their loved ones and do whatever they can to save their families/friends.
Contagion shows that most humans are driven by fear or greed, regardless of their job title, so in a sense the film is short on selfless heroes. A single rebel doctor who grows the virus is probably the only hero in the film but the planet could have been truly saved if every human citizen had a hand sanitizer. Of course, if a hand sanitizer was readily available, then there would have been no spread of the virus on Day 1. The absence of a hand sanitizer to save the day means door knobs and hand railings in Contagion are made to look as dangerous as dark hallways do in horror/slasher films.
The film moves at a healthy pace, crisscrossing across various international cities, and keeps the viewer engaged by following a different character in each segment. Contagion shows that a good film can still be made within a predictable template that depicts expected behavior from most characters. However, the true power of Contagion is reserved for the film’s final segment which depicts how the disease came to be spread on Day 1. There are some clues given for the disease’s origin before the final segment that would allow people to piece things together. Still, the final segment is chillingly effective and manages to tie the whole film together nicely.
Friday, October 14, 2011
CIFF 2011 -- All about the Mavericks
Calgary International Film Festival 2011
Every year I joyfully look forward to the 10 day cinematic adventure that is the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF). Normally, I have my festival specific routines and relish tweaking my schedule as the festival goes on, adding in extra films or altering my plan to get some rest. However, this year my schedule for the opening weekend was decided well in advance because I was invited to be on the three person jury to judge the Mavericks competition award. The Mavericks competition featured eight films from first time directors. The goal was to watch all eight films in the cinema along with the audience during the opening weekend and then deliberate to come up with the award. As per the film schedule, I had two options to see all eight films:
1) 2-3-3: Start off with two films on Friday and then take in three each on Saturday or Sunday.
2) 3-3-2: Three on the opening day and end the weekend with two.
I opted for the second option and added two more films for personal viewing, making the format a much more soccer friendly 4-4-2. This format also allowed me to give my full attention to the Mavericks films.
The eight Mavericks films seen in order of viewing:
Maria, my Love (2011, USA, Jasmine McGlade Chazelle)
Heat Wave (2011, France, Jean-Jacques Jauffret)
The Sacrament of Life (2008, USA, Joseph Sorrentino)
Flowers of Evil (2010, France, David Dusa)
Radio Free Albemuth (2010, USA, John Alan Simon)
Old Goats (2010, USA, Taylor Guterson)
The Whisperer in the Darkness (2011, USA, Sean Branney)
Sunflower Hour (2011, Canada, Aaron Houston)
All the eight films are quite wonderful and different from each other which made it fascinating to judge the competition. The eight films are also clearly a labor of love by the filmmakers and it was a great experience to hear the stories about how some of these films saw the light of day. I had the pleasure to listen to Jasmine McGlade Chazelle, Joseph Sorrentino, Sean Branney and John Alan Simon talk about their films and had a very nice chat with Joseph Sorrentino. These films highlight the importance of film festivals in helping to showcase talented filmmakers whose works would otherwise be lost in the overpowering Hollywood dominated North American cinemas. I relished viewing all these films and hope they get the larger audience they deserve.
In the end, we chose Flowers of Evil as the winner of the Mavericks award.
Here is our jury statement:
Flowers of Evil is a bold, innovative film brimming with fresh new ideas. David Dusa has crafted a unique film that smartly integrates social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube within the film’s visual language while maintaining the story’s flow. Dusa’s film contains living breathing three dimensional characters who draw the audience into their lives thereby creating an emotional connection with the characters lives in Paris and a revolution taking place in a far off land.
In addition, Flowers of Evil also features a grooving soundtrack and makes great use of Shantel’s Disko Boy song.
The other two films that I saw on the opening weekend were Kill List and Alps.
Kill List (2011, UK, Ben Wheatley)
Ben Wheatley’s film packs quite a powerful punch and increases the tension and violence as it races along at a riveting pace. One remarkable aspect of the film is that it keeps certain elements off the screen thereby allowing the audience to fill in their own version of certain events related to the characters background story and even to the cult group. The violent scenes cause plenty of discomfort although the film’s most shocking scene won’t seem as a surprize to those who saw a certain 2010 film.
Alps (2011, Greece, Giorgos Lanthimos)
Lanthimos’ follow up to Dogtooth features far more deadpan humor and less of the strangeness that might have put some people off Dogtooth. That is not to say that ALPS is without its quirky dark humor but it is presented in a much more accessible manner than Dogtooth. The material that is presented in ALPS only seems much more darker and sinister when one walks away after seeing the film and thinks about the characters and their lives.
Some quick comments on other films that showed at the festival:
Guilt (2011, Canada, Marc Bisaillon)
This excellent Canadian film is based on a true story and raises some worthy moral questions about guilt/punishment. There is some humor as well regarding how the champ jock is given preferential treatment but the humor is subtle and does not draw attention to itself.
In Heaven, Underground (2011, Germany, Britta Wauer)
The story about how the Weissensee Jewish cemetery survived the Nazi era and continued to operate for more than a century is certainly extraordinary. Surprisingly, this is a very light tender film about the heavy topic of death and features many poetic and contemplative moments.
Target (2011, Russia, Alexander Zeldovich)
Like all good sci-fi films Target uses a single topic, elixir of youth in the film’s case, to explore larger issues about human behavior and morality in society. Plus, the film uses current trends of China’s growth to extrapolate a future where the political power balance is altered. One forgets the sci-fi element 30 minutes into the film after which the story unfolds like an epic Russian novel, carefully highlighting the disintegration of the principal characters. The ending shot certainly evokes Tarkovskiy’s Solaris as do certain other aspects in the film.
Journey of a Dream (2011, Canada co-production, Shenpenn Khymsar)
This worthy documentary is a fascinating mix of a memoir, a road journey, a political film about Tibet's struggle of independence and a look at the underground music scene in Darjeeling. Each part contains many engaging aspects which are nicely tied together in the end when the filmmaker draws a line between his Buddhist beliefs and love of metal music.
Le Quattro Volte: I wrote about this film previously and it is still a front-runner for one of my favourite films of the year.
George the Hedgehog (2011, Poland, Wojtek Wawszczyk, Jakub Tarkowski, Tomasz Leśniak)
And now for something completely different...George the Hedgehog is a Polish animated film that is a blend of political and social satire packed with plenty of sexual innuendo and some nudity to boot. The film is surprizingly liberal with its sexual depiction and is not afraid to offend with its crudeness and racial jokes. George the Hedgehog also smartly includes the impact that online videos can have in swaying public opinion and starting a revolution of sorts.
The ones that got away
The opening weekend certainly exhausted me and that meant I had to give away some of my film tickets over the next few days just to recover. So I missed seeing Take Shelter, Monsieur Lazhar, The Skin I Live In and The Bengali Detective. On top of that, family commitments meant that I missed the closing gala film Take That Waltz along with three of my must-see picks for the festival -- Le Havre, El Bulli and The Salt of Life. Still, CIFF 2011 was another great festival experience highlighted by the outstanding Mavericks competition.
Oh Canadian weather
CIFF has always taken place place in the final week of September and usually spilled over into the first few days of October. As a result, my memories of the fall season have always been associated with CIFF because my waiting in line for films has gone hand in hand with a chill tinged air. However, remarkably last year the weather during the first week of the festival was summer like thereby making the walks in between the cinemas pleasant and fun. Incredibly, this time around the first weekend of the festival (Sept 23 - 25) featured temperatures in the range of 29-30 deg C thereby meaning some of the warmest summer weather of the year took place in the fall. If this summer like weather occurs during the festival next year, then it will certainly be further proof of the changing weather pattern.
Every year I joyfully look forward to the 10 day cinematic adventure that is the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF). Normally, I have my festival specific routines and relish tweaking my schedule as the festival goes on, adding in extra films or altering my plan to get some rest. However, this year my schedule for the opening weekend was decided well in advance because I was invited to be on the three person jury to judge the Mavericks competition award. The Mavericks competition featured eight films from first time directors. The goal was to watch all eight films in the cinema along with the audience during the opening weekend and then deliberate to come up with the award. As per the film schedule, I had two options to see all eight films:
1) 2-3-3: Start off with two films on Friday and then take in three each on Saturday or Sunday.
2) 3-3-2: Three on the opening day and end the weekend with two.
I opted for the second option and added two more films for personal viewing, making the format a much more soccer friendly 4-4-2. This format also allowed me to give my full attention to the Mavericks films.
The eight Mavericks films seen in order of viewing:
Maria, my Love (2011, USA, Jasmine McGlade Chazelle)
Heat Wave (2011, France, Jean-Jacques Jauffret)
The Sacrament of Life (2008, USA, Joseph Sorrentino)
Flowers of Evil (2010, France, David Dusa)
Radio Free Albemuth (2010, USA, John Alan Simon)
Old Goats (2010, USA, Taylor Guterson)
The Whisperer in the Darkness (2011, USA, Sean Branney)
Sunflower Hour (2011, Canada, Aaron Houston)
All the eight films are quite wonderful and different from each other which made it fascinating to judge the competition. The eight films are also clearly a labor of love by the filmmakers and it was a great experience to hear the stories about how some of these films saw the light of day. I had the pleasure to listen to Jasmine McGlade Chazelle, Joseph Sorrentino, Sean Branney and John Alan Simon talk about their films and had a very nice chat with Joseph Sorrentino. These films highlight the importance of film festivals in helping to showcase talented filmmakers whose works would otherwise be lost in the overpowering Hollywood dominated North American cinemas. I relished viewing all these films and hope they get the larger audience they deserve.
In the end, we chose Flowers of Evil as the winner of the Mavericks award.
Here is our jury statement:
Flowers of Evil is a bold, innovative film brimming with fresh new ideas. David Dusa has crafted a unique film that smartly integrates social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube within the film’s visual language while maintaining the story’s flow. Dusa’s film contains living breathing three dimensional characters who draw the audience into their lives thereby creating an emotional connection with the characters lives in Paris and a revolution taking place in a far off land.
In addition, Flowers of Evil also features a grooving soundtrack and makes great use of Shantel’s Disko Boy song.
The other two films that I saw on the opening weekend were Kill List and Alps.
Kill List (2011, UK, Ben Wheatley)
Ben Wheatley’s film packs quite a powerful punch and increases the tension and violence as it races along at a riveting pace. One remarkable aspect of the film is that it keeps certain elements off the screen thereby allowing the audience to fill in their own version of certain events related to the characters background story and even to the cult group. The violent scenes cause plenty of discomfort although the film’s most shocking scene won’t seem as a surprize to those who saw a certain 2010 film.
Alps (2011, Greece, Giorgos Lanthimos)
Lanthimos’ follow up to Dogtooth features far more deadpan humor and less of the strangeness that might have put some people off Dogtooth. That is not to say that ALPS is without its quirky dark humor but it is presented in a much more accessible manner than Dogtooth. The material that is presented in ALPS only seems much more darker and sinister when one walks away after seeing the film and thinks about the characters and their lives.
Some quick comments on other films that showed at the festival:
Guilt (2011, Canada, Marc Bisaillon)
This excellent Canadian film is based on a true story and raises some worthy moral questions about guilt/punishment. There is some humor as well regarding how the champ jock is given preferential treatment but the humor is subtle and does not draw attention to itself.
In Heaven, Underground (2011, Germany, Britta Wauer)
The story about how the Weissensee Jewish cemetery survived the Nazi era and continued to operate for more than a century is certainly extraordinary. Surprisingly, this is a very light tender film about the heavy topic of death and features many poetic and contemplative moments.
Target (2011, Russia, Alexander Zeldovich)
Like all good sci-fi films Target uses a single topic, elixir of youth in the film’s case, to explore larger issues about human behavior and morality in society. Plus, the film uses current trends of China’s growth to extrapolate a future where the political power balance is altered. One forgets the sci-fi element 30 minutes into the film after which the story unfolds like an epic Russian novel, carefully highlighting the disintegration of the principal characters. The ending shot certainly evokes Tarkovskiy’s Solaris as do certain other aspects in the film.
Journey of a Dream (2011, Canada co-production, Shenpenn Khymsar)
This worthy documentary is a fascinating mix of a memoir, a road journey, a political film about Tibet's struggle of independence and a look at the underground music scene in Darjeeling. Each part contains many engaging aspects which are nicely tied together in the end when the filmmaker draws a line between his Buddhist beliefs and love of metal music.
Le Quattro Volte: I wrote about this film previously and it is still a front-runner for one of my favourite films of the year.
George the Hedgehog (2011, Poland, Wojtek Wawszczyk, Jakub Tarkowski, Tomasz Leśniak)
And now for something completely different...George the Hedgehog is a Polish animated film that is a blend of political and social satire packed with plenty of sexual innuendo and some nudity to boot. The film is surprizingly liberal with its sexual depiction and is not afraid to offend with its crudeness and racial jokes. George the Hedgehog also smartly includes the impact that online videos can have in swaying public opinion and starting a revolution of sorts.
The ones that got away
The opening weekend certainly exhausted me and that meant I had to give away some of my film tickets over the next few days just to recover. So I missed seeing Take Shelter, Monsieur Lazhar, The Skin I Live In and The Bengali Detective. On top of that, family commitments meant that I missed the closing gala film Take That Waltz along with three of my must-see picks for the festival -- Le Havre, El Bulli and The Salt of Life. Still, CIFF 2011 was another great festival experience highlighted by the outstanding Mavericks competition.
Oh Canadian weather
CIFF has always taken place place in the final week of September and usually spilled over into the first few days of October. As a result, my memories of the fall season have always been associated with CIFF because my waiting in line for films has gone hand in hand with a chill tinged air. However, remarkably last year the weather during the first week of the festival was summer like thereby making the walks in between the cinemas pleasant and fun. Incredibly, this time around the first weekend of the festival (Sept 23 - 25) featured temperatures in the range of 29-30 deg C thereby meaning some of the warmest summer weather of the year took place in the fall. If this summer like weather occurs during the festival next year, then it will certainly be further proof of the changing weather pattern.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Claire Denis Films
A spotlight on Claire Denis featuring the following 5 films:
Nénette et Boni (1996)
Beau Travail (1999)
Friday Night (2002)
L’Intrus (2004)
White Material (2009)
L’Intrus -- A global journey
First, there was the sound.
Then, there was the image.
Without the sound, the image meant nothing. Without the image, the sound would have not have had such an effect.
A simple image with a simple discordant sound in the background.
Another image, with the same sound.
L’Intrus features many images with variations of the same opening background score by Stuart Staples’ (Tindersticks) solo score. Staples' score is set either against stationary images or against fast moving objects such as the dogs in the snow. The music produces a mesmerizing effect in all cases and adds a layer of mystery around each image while accelerating the pace of the film. When his score comes on, it takes center stage allowing one to listen to it perfectly while observing the images. Normally, in most films one only gets to listen to a few seconds of a background score before the music gets muted when the actors start talking. But in L'Intrus, Claire Denis ensures the music is given enough of a presence. In a sense, Staples' score forms a bridge between the various images and is a key component in carrying the story.
The combination of these images with Staples' score produced a haunting lasting impact on me when I first saw L’Intrus more than a year ago. I always felt that it was a film that demanded a second viewing so that I could move beyond the hypnotic seductive impact of the images and dig a bit deeper into the story. Thankfully, the second viewing proved immensely rewarding and easily confirmed L’Intrus as my favourite Claire Denis film and in this category I include White Material, Beau Travail and I Can’t Sleep.
The story of L’Intrus can be easily summarized as a tale of the missing heart. Louis (Michel Subor) requires a heart transplant to save his life but nothing is the same after he gets his new heart.
He goes on a long journey to gather a part of his past because that would help fill his new heart with love and satisfaction.
In reality, he needs to find his long lost son because his current son (played by Grégoire Colin) is hardly capable of any love. Neither does Louis’ sultry seductive neighbour offer any love although she haunts his fantasies.
Louis names his neighbour (Béatrice Dalle) “queen of the northern hemisphere” and she truly is a queen, who can not only tame men but wild beasts as well.
As tempting as she is, the queen can never mend Louis’ heart. So he is forced to undertake a journey to a more warmer paradise where his past lies.
L’Intrus is a journey across the planet as envisioned by Claire Denis. The film locations consist of snowy landscapes, perfect beaches, rainy ships, a peaceful countryside with some hills, a crowded city and a tense border crossing. The film is inspired by a Jean-Luc Nancy book L’Intrus about a heart transplant that creates a sense of an invasion of the body but in reality, it is the film that invades the mind of its viewer, implants images and sounds that will continue to play long after the film fades to black.
Beau Travail -- working in the sun, dancing under the strobe lights
A kiss. Cue music, Tarkan’s "Şımarık".
The patrons grove to the music. The club is the only escape for French soldiers stuck in an endless cycle of chores which seems to freeze time for them.
The camera observes their activities in the hot sun, be it digging
or just having a duel.
Opera music heightens the impact of the duel and provides a nice balance to the pulsating dance music found in the clubs.
There are three men who the camera chooses to focus more on and in a sense these three men represent different rungs of power. There is the young, confident Gilles (Grégoire Colin),
then there is a conflicted Galoup (Denis Lavant) who is battling his inner demons, including suppressing his desires while Commander Bruno (Michel Subor) gives out orders.
The film consists of discrete images that can be pieced together as one wants. The ending is a clear example of that. One can interpret a sad ending or just enjoy observing Lavant’s character finally letting loose and dancing his heart out to Corona’s Rhythm of the Night.
Like L’Intrus, Beau Travail is another film that demands a second viewing.
Open air cinema to a closed room
The best cinematic experience of my life took place in Sept 2009 when I was fortunate enough to witness White Material debut at the Venice Film Festival. In my case, I caught the open air screening of the film in campo San Polo. The experience was incredible as the empty dark space around the white screen added infinite depth to the film while the blowing wind enhanced the experience and allowed me to soak and breathe in the African surroundings depicted in the film. The only negative aspect was that the French film only had Italian subtitles meaning I missed out some of the specific aspects of the plot. Still, the film was not difficult to follow because of the wonderful visual language.
Almost two years to the date of my Venice screening, I finally saw the English subtitled version of the film and that has only increased my admiration for the film. However, it felt a bit stifling to see the film on a smaller TV screen in a closed setting. In this regard, I would have had the same feeling if I had seen the film in a movie theater because White Material has to be seen in an open air setting to maximize the effect of the natural lighting used in the film. Using natural light was a decision born of circumstances and not a production decision. As per Claire Denis, the lighting equipment did not arrive in Africa on time and would have been delayed for weeks. So she decided the crew should go ahead and shoot as much without any natural lights although Isabelle Huppert was not immediately informed of this. White Material was the first collaboration between Denis and cinematographer Yves Cape. In her previous films, Denis worked with Agnès Godard but Godard was not available so Denis decided to go ahead with Yves Cape because she liked his work in Bruno Dumont’s films. The choice proved to be an inspired one as Yves managed to capture the heat and harshness of the landscape perfectly in each frame. An equally inspired decision came in another sequence shot inside a darkened room entirely with flashlights. That scene manages to capture some of the tension and myth around the character of the Boxer nicely. The Boxer (Isaach De Bankolé) is immensely intriguing and appears to be a mixture of several past African leaders. Another aspect that stands out is the fact that White Material appears to be the first film I have seen a character portrayed by Huppert to be venerable and weak. Normally, she portrays characters completely in control but in White Material her character Maria is at the mercy of events and is forced to seek help.
Cameroon standing in for West Africa
The above wide angle shot from White Material watches Maria run away from the screen and as she runs away, she appears to diminish in size until it looks like a little girl is running. In that exact moment, the shot manages to draw a bridge to Denis’ debut film Chocolat, a film that like White Material was also shot in Cameroon and starred Isaach De Bankolé as well. The young childhood memories of a girl in Chocolat are set against the backdrop of the final days of French colonialism while White Material is set in contemporary Africa against the backdrop of a civil war which is threatening to disintegrate the country. Both films manage to cover a few decades not only of Cameroon’s timeline but also of a few West African countries by extension. The flashback sequences of Chocolat are set in WWII when French colonialism was about to end so the film shows a critical period of transition, when power was finally about to be transferred back to African hands. Chocolat starts off in 1988 Cameroon while White Material is also set in a modern West African country (Cameroon is not named though the film was shot there) and depicts a nation on the verge of collapse. Both films show Africa in a period of transition and even though there are chaotic events which are threatening to overtake everything, Denis integrates enough silent moments in both films which convey a sense of dignity.
Intimate moments and fantasies
L’Intrus, Beau Travail and White Material are shot outside of France and cover a wide array of topics ranging from memories, desire, international crime (illegal heart transplant in L’Intrus), racism, power, political scheming, colonialism and war. On the other hand, Friday Night and Nénette et Boni are smaller scale films shot in Paris and Marseille respectively and feature more intimate moments as the camera narrows onto just a few characters. Friday Night is the only film out of the five confined to a narrow amount of space as the camera is mostly set either inside a car or in a hotel room observing two bodies. Nénette et Boni draws the camera up close when needed but it also pulls back to observe the characters in their moment of misery or joy. At first it was a bit underwhelming to approach Friday Night and Nénette et Boni after seeing the other three visually rich global films but those feelings subsided when I got involved observing the characters closely.
Friday Night features mainly two characters who engage in a one-night stand after a traffic jam in Paris brings them together. The female character is portrayed as someone who is trapped in the film either physically in the car or in a mental cage but she is able to find liberation because of her chance encounter.
Nénette et Boni is a tender story about two siblings who spent most of their lives apart because of their parents divorce. However, when Nénette (Alice Houri) is pregnant, she seeks out her brother Boni (Grégoire Colin) for support. At first, Boni is a bit distant but eventually he warms up to Nénette and looks after her in a loving manner. Denis wonderfully blends Boni’s fantasies about the baker’s wife (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) beautifully within the film’s fabric thereby adding a bit more sensual flavour to the film. A big surprize is seeing Vincent Gallo play the role of the baker.
Similar Names & New Associations
Grégoire Colin is only absent from White Material but is a visible presence in four of the other films. He is the Boni in Nénette et Boni and is a force to reckon with in Beau Travail but only manages a few moments of screen time in L’Intrus and Friday Night. On the other hand, Michel Subor is present in White Material, Beau Travail and L’Intrus.
Agnès Godard was the cinematographer in all but White Material while Nelly Quettier was the editor in three of the films excluding White Material and Nénette et Boni.
Tindersticks, either as a group or via its individual members Stuart A. Staples or Dickon Hinchliffe, are a continuous association in all but Beau Travail. Stuart A. Staples provided the mesmerizing solo score for White Material and L’Intrus while Tindersticks handled the score for Nénette et Boni and Dickon Hinchliffe worked on Friday Night. The collected music box-set by Tindersticks for Denis’ films features these four films and also includes 35 Shots of Rum.
Claire Denis returned to Cameroon to shoot White Material almost two decades after she shot her debut feature Chocolat there but it seems that White Material features many new associations for her, especially by working with Yves Cape as the cinematographer for the first time and finally working with Isabelle Huppert. It seems almost incredible to think that Huppert and Denis, two French women who are clearly among the best in the world in their respective fields, took this long to work with each other but thankfully the association happened.
Overall
If I had to subjectively rate the five films out of 10, this is how they would stack up:
L’Intrus (2004): 10
White Material (2009): 9
Beau Travail (1999): 9
Nénette et Boni (1996): 8
Friday Night (2002): 7
Nénette et Boni (1996)
Beau Travail (1999)
Friday Night (2002)
L’Intrus (2004)
White Material (2009)
L’Intrus -- A global journey
First, there was the sound.
Then, there was the image.
Without the sound, the image meant nothing. Without the image, the sound would have not have had such an effect.
A simple image with a simple discordant sound in the background.
Another image, with the same sound.
L’Intrus features many images with variations of the same opening background score by Stuart Staples’ (Tindersticks) solo score. Staples' score is set either against stationary images or against fast moving objects such as the dogs in the snow. The music produces a mesmerizing effect in all cases and adds a layer of mystery around each image while accelerating the pace of the film. When his score comes on, it takes center stage allowing one to listen to it perfectly while observing the images. Normally, in most films one only gets to listen to a few seconds of a background score before the music gets muted when the actors start talking. But in L'Intrus, Claire Denis ensures the music is given enough of a presence. In a sense, Staples' score forms a bridge between the various images and is a key component in carrying the story.
The combination of these images with Staples' score produced a haunting lasting impact on me when I first saw L’Intrus more than a year ago. I always felt that it was a film that demanded a second viewing so that I could move beyond the hypnotic seductive impact of the images and dig a bit deeper into the story. Thankfully, the second viewing proved immensely rewarding and easily confirmed L’Intrus as my favourite Claire Denis film and in this category I include White Material, Beau Travail and I Can’t Sleep.
The story of L’Intrus can be easily summarized as a tale of the missing heart. Louis (Michel Subor) requires a heart transplant to save his life but nothing is the same after he gets his new heart.
He goes on a long journey to gather a part of his past because that would help fill his new heart with love and satisfaction.
In reality, he needs to find his long lost son because his current son (played by Grégoire Colin) is hardly capable of any love. Neither does Louis’ sultry seductive neighbour offer any love although she haunts his fantasies.
L’Intrus is a journey across the planet as envisioned by Claire Denis. The film locations consist of snowy landscapes, perfect beaches, rainy ships, a peaceful countryside with some hills, a crowded city and a tense border crossing. The film is inspired by a Jean-Luc Nancy book L’Intrus about a heart transplant that creates a sense of an invasion of the body but in reality, it is the film that invades the mind of its viewer, implants images and sounds that will continue to play long after the film fades to black.
Beau Travail -- working in the sun, dancing under the strobe lights
A kiss. Cue music, Tarkan’s "Şımarık".
The patrons grove to the music. The club is the only escape for French soldiers stuck in an endless cycle of chores which seems to freeze time for them.
The camera observes their activities in the hot sun, be it digging
or just having a duel.
Opera music heightens the impact of the duel and provides a nice balance to the pulsating dance music found in the clubs.
There are three men who the camera chooses to focus more on and in a sense these three men represent different rungs of power. There is the young, confident Gilles (Grégoire Colin),
The film consists of discrete images that can be pieced together as one wants. The ending is a clear example of that. One can interpret a sad ending or just enjoy observing Lavant’s character finally letting loose and dancing his heart out to Corona’s Rhythm of the Night.
Like L’Intrus, Beau Travail is another film that demands a second viewing.
Open air cinema to a closed room
The best cinematic experience of my life took place in Sept 2009 when I was fortunate enough to witness White Material debut at the Venice Film Festival. In my case, I caught the open air screening of the film in campo San Polo. The experience was incredible as the empty dark space around the white screen added infinite depth to the film while the blowing wind enhanced the experience and allowed me to soak and breathe in the African surroundings depicted in the film. The only negative aspect was that the French film only had Italian subtitles meaning I missed out some of the specific aspects of the plot. Still, the film was not difficult to follow because of the wonderful visual language.
Almost two years to the date of my Venice screening, I finally saw the English subtitled version of the film and that has only increased my admiration for the film. However, it felt a bit stifling to see the film on a smaller TV screen in a closed setting. In this regard, I would have had the same feeling if I had seen the film in a movie theater because White Material has to be seen in an open air setting to maximize the effect of the natural lighting used in the film. Using natural light was a decision born of circumstances and not a production decision. As per Claire Denis, the lighting equipment did not arrive in Africa on time and would have been delayed for weeks. So she decided the crew should go ahead and shoot as much without any natural lights although Isabelle Huppert was not immediately informed of this. White Material was the first collaboration between Denis and cinematographer Yves Cape. In her previous films, Denis worked with Agnès Godard but Godard was not available so Denis decided to go ahead with Yves Cape because she liked his work in Bruno Dumont’s films. The choice proved to be an inspired one as Yves managed to capture the heat and harshness of the landscape perfectly in each frame. An equally inspired decision came in another sequence shot inside a darkened room entirely with flashlights. That scene manages to capture some of the tension and myth around the character of the Boxer nicely. The Boxer (Isaach De Bankolé) is immensely intriguing and appears to be a mixture of several past African leaders. Another aspect that stands out is the fact that White Material appears to be the first film I have seen a character portrayed by Huppert to be venerable and weak. Normally, she portrays characters completely in control but in White Material her character Maria is at the mercy of events and is forced to seek help.
Cameroon standing in for West Africa
The above wide angle shot from White Material watches Maria run away from the screen and as she runs away, she appears to diminish in size until it looks like a little girl is running. In that exact moment, the shot manages to draw a bridge to Denis’ debut film Chocolat, a film that like White Material was also shot in Cameroon and starred Isaach De Bankolé as well. The young childhood memories of a girl in Chocolat are set against the backdrop of the final days of French colonialism while White Material is set in contemporary Africa against the backdrop of a civil war which is threatening to disintegrate the country. Both films manage to cover a few decades not only of Cameroon’s timeline but also of a few West African countries by extension. The flashback sequences of Chocolat are set in WWII when French colonialism was about to end so the film shows a critical period of transition, when power was finally about to be transferred back to African hands. Chocolat starts off in 1988 Cameroon while White Material is also set in a modern West African country (Cameroon is not named though the film was shot there) and depicts a nation on the verge of collapse. Both films show Africa in a period of transition and even though there are chaotic events which are threatening to overtake everything, Denis integrates enough silent moments in both films which convey a sense of dignity.
Intimate moments and fantasies
L’Intrus, Beau Travail and White Material are shot outside of France and cover a wide array of topics ranging from memories, desire, international crime (illegal heart transplant in L’Intrus), racism, power, political scheming, colonialism and war. On the other hand, Friday Night and Nénette et Boni are smaller scale films shot in Paris and Marseille respectively and feature more intimate moments as the camera narrows onto just a few characters. Friday Night is the only film out of the five confined to a narrow amount of space as the camera is mostly set either inside a car or in a hotel room observing two bodies. Nénette et Boni draws the camera up close when needed but it also pulls back to observe the characters in their moment of misery or joy. At first it was a bit underwhelming to approach Friday Night and Nénette et Boni after seeing the other three visually rich global films but those feelings subsided when I got involved observing the characters closely.
Friday Night features mainly two characters who engage in a one-night stand after a traffic jam in Paris brings them together. The female character is portrayed as someone who is trapped in the film either physically in the car or in a mental cage but she is able to find liberation because of her chance encounter.
Nénette et Boni is a tender story about two siblings who spent most of their lives apart because of their parents divorce. However, when Nénette (Alice Houri) is pregnant, she seeks out her brother Boni (Grégoire Colin) for support. At first, Boni is a bit distant but eventually he warms up to Nénette and looks after her in a loving manner. Denis wonderfully blends Boni’s fantasies about the baker’s wife (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) beautifully within the film’s fabric thereby adding a bit more sensual flavour to the film. A big surprize is seeing Vincent Gallo play the role of the baker.
Similar Names & New Associations
Grégoire Colin is only absent from White Material but is a visible presence in four of the other films. He is the Boni in Nénette et Boni and is a force to reckon with in Beau Travail but only manages a few moments of screen time in L’Intrus and Friday Night. On the other hand, Michel Subor is present in White Material, Beau Travail and L’Intrus.
Agnès Godard was the cinematographer in all but White Material while Nelly Quettier was the editor in three of the films excluding White Material and Nénette et Boni.
Tindersticks, either as a group or via its individual members Stuart A. Staples or Dickon Hinchliffe, are a continuous association in all but Beau Travail. Stuart A. Staples provided the mesmerizing solo score for White Material and L’Intrus while Tindersticks handled the score for Nénette et Boni and Dickon Hinchliffe worked on Friday Night. The collected music box-set by Tindersticks for Denis’ films features these four films and also includes 35 Shots of Rum.
Claire Denis returned to Cameroon to shoot White Material almost two decades after she shot her debut feature Chocolat there but it seems that White Material features many new associations for her, especially by working with Yves Cape as the cinematographer for the first time and finally working with Isabelle Huppert. It seems almost incredible to think that Huppert and Denis, two French women who are clearly among the best in the world in their respective fields, took this long to work with each other but thankfully the association happened.
Overall
If I had to subjectively rate the five films out of 10, this is how they would stack up:
L’Intrus (2004): 10
White Material (2009): 9
Beau Travail (1999): 9
Nénette et Boni (1996): 8
Friday Night (2002): 7
Le Quattro Volte
Michelangelo Frammartino’s remarkable debut film uses an unnamed town in Calabria as an observatory to examine the metaphysical circle of life. The film’s title is translated to “Four Times” and comes from Pythagoras’ belief that a soul passes through four phases from human to animal to vegetable to mineral. Frammartino’s film is thus accordingly broken up into four distinct parts which are clearly separated by visual cues. The first part features an aging goat herder troubled by a persistent cough. The herder’s medicinal cure for the cough is quite unorthodox but is in keeping with the film’s metaphysical theme. One day the herder misplaces his medicine and that leads to a worsening of his health thereby preventing him from tending to his goats. Chaos takes place after a hilarious sequence involving a delivery truck and a guard dog results in the herder's goats having freedom to take over the town. The birth of a goat ushers the film’s second part, the funniest and heartfelt of all the four parts. The baby goat’s journey paves the path for the final two phases of the film which feature a tree and a steaming heap of charcoal.
Le Quattro Volte is a visually stunning film that packs each frame with plenty of incidents which are flushed out in more details later on, such as the purpose of the wooden cross and the delivery truck. The delivery truck plays a key role in the story and the contents of its delivery in the finale complete the circle of life. The cues to mark the beginning of each phase are smartly integrated in the film thereby keeping the story flowing smoothly. Also, the rich usage of sound coupled with the smart visuals hardly make one notice the absence of dialogues in the film. The few scattered inaudible words blend perfectly in the background sound and enhance the film watching experience.
Le Quattro Volte rightly won the Director’s Fortnight prize in Cannes 2010 as Frammartino is one of the best directors to have emerged in recent years. It is a must-see film that is easily one of the best films this year.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Terrence Malick Spotlight
I decided to catch up with Terrence Malick’s first two films and revisit his third and fourth features while waiting for the eventual release of The Tree of Life. So now that I have seen all five of Malick's features within a period of few months, it felt appropriate to finally write some notes.
Badlands (1973)
Days of Heaven (1978)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
The New World (2005)
The Tree of Life (2011)
Journey across America, in space and time
Malick starts off in 1950s America in Badlands but quickly travels across the country as the film progresses, continues traveling across the nation in Days of Heaven (albeit shot in beautiful Alberta, Canada),
hops across the Pacific Ocean in A Thin Red Line before washing up on the shores of America again in The New World but arriving a few centuries back in time. Tree of Life starts off in America in the same decade as Badlands but manages to travel all the way back in time to the origins of the universe and also travels further in time to a futuristic America. In a sense, all five of Malick’s films constitute a circular journey where the starting and ending point is America but his American journey manages to easily navigate across time and space as well.
Fiction or Reality
Badlands was inspired by the real life killing spree of Starkweather-Fugate, The New World had elements of Pocahontas while the The Thin Red Line was based on James Jones' novel set in the island of Guadalcanal during World War II. Given that there has been speculation that Tree of Life might have some autobiographical elements means that Days of Heaven might be the only inspiration free film. Of course, given that Malick manages to give each film such a distinctive touch, it does not matter where his source comes because he can elevate a story into a much more grander scale.
Love and Compassion vs Violence
A love story kicks off the journey in Badlands while love is also at the core of Days of Heaven and The New World. Tree of Life features the most pure form of love which is that between a parent and a child. The film also features many moments of compassion, none more so vivid than when the stronger dinosaur decides to spare the life of a fallen dinosaur. Even though The Thin Red Line features bloody killing and focuses on a war, which is something that signals a complete failure of love and humanity, Malick still manages to infuse the film with quite a few moments of compassion and concern for fellow man. James Caviezel's character is the film’s moral compass and the one character capable of showing love.
All the films also depict violence. The body count steadily increases as Badlands goes on while an accidentally killing at the start of Days of Heaven results in the main characters fleeing the city. There are plenty of violent moments in The Thin Red Line and The New World while The Tree of Life shows that violence is always just one push or leg stomp away.
By balancing the violence with moments of love and compassion, Malick is able to present balanced works that evoke larger questions about human nature in general.
Constant movement
The only film out of the five that does not have much flowing camera movement is Badlands which consists mainly of a static array of shots. That is not to stay that there is no movement shown in Badlands but the movement is signified by following the characters in a moving car or a pan across the landscape as the two characters are on their journey. While in the other films, the camera seems to have more freedom to explore and probe the surroundings around a character. The Tree of Life of course gives the camera the greatest degree of freedom to fly around the characters, hover over them, dive down low or zip to a corner in the room. The camera even moves back in time where it patiently captures the big bang. Such brilliant movements manage to elevate all of Malick’s films from a conventional story into a much more alive tale of love and suffering.
Narrator, guide
Young female characters narrate the first two Malick film while adult males provide the voice-over in the next three films. The New World features some narration by a female but it is Captain Smith’s (Colin Farrell) voice that dominates. The Tree of Life features a distinct male narration but a female voice-over can be heard as well. However, the five films differ in the type of narration. The narration in Badlands and Days of Heaven is mostly recounting of events mixed with some thoughts and observances. However, the narration in The Thin Red Line and The New World borders on the poetic and contains words that probe for a deeper meaning. The words in The Tree of Life are probably the most direct religious invocation.
Tree
"In the morning, we will chop down every tree within half a mile of the moorage, and use the straightest limbs to erect a line of watchtowers and to build our fort." Captain Newport, The New World
Nature plays a big part in all of Malick’s films and with the exception of Days of Heaven, it seems a tree is always present. There are plenty of trees to be found in The Thin Red Line and The New World with the river tributaries in the map of America in the opening credits of The New World looking like trees. A fallen tree is seen in Badlands
and a similar fallen tree immersed in water is visible in The New World as well. The final shot of The New World is that of a tree so maybe that provides a clue to Malick's next feature. Of course, a tree gets top billing in The Tree of Life and there are indeed some tree sightings in the film.
5 down, what’s next?
So what’s next for Malick? Will there be films released by him in 2012 and 2013? People can speculate as much as they want but as the case with The Tree of Life showed, Malick will only let the world see his new film when he is ready. There were quite a few people who dismissed Cannes in 2010 because they could not get past the idea that “the Malick film” was not there. So naturally these people assumed that Cannes had rejected his film. The next round of speculation arose that Malick’s film would show up either at Venice or Toronto 2010 and when that did not happen, the clock was set for Cannes 2011. And as soon as the film was announced for Cannes 2011, it was assumed it would win the top prize. The film did indeed win at Cannes and thankfully the film’s release date was already decided prior to Cannes. So that meant the film was quickly rolled out to theaters across North America in weeks following its Cannes premier meaning there was atleast one worthy film to watch in a multiplex in the summer time period. It would have been pure torture if Tree of Life was instead scheduled to hit North America screens in the fall of 2011.
An Animated World
Every year for a few weeks I set aside films and books and instead focus exclusively on reading graphic novels. The experience is always enriching and leaves me in complete awe of the fascinating direction some writers have taken graphic novels in. While there are still plenty of stories about super heroes, vampires, zombie and noir crime, there are an equally increasing number of works which are journalistic travelogues, memoirs or just a creative spin on genres. This year, I was lucky enough to come across some excellent works and here are some brief words on my haul for 2011:
Norway -- What I did by Jason
What I Did is a pure gem from Norway and I only came across it thanks to the owner of Frosst Books who recommended it. The collection consists of three stories with two of them being black and white. The second of these black and white stories is without any dialogues and appropriately labeled "Sshhhh". It is this silent story that is the best of the trio and manages to convey plenty of emotion and depth without any words. The story revolves around a homeless man who encounters the woman of his dreams and settles down with her. Unfortunately, agents of death take the woman away before her time and the man is left to fend off death who is constantly following him. In the next phase of the story, a man has a fling with a woman leading to a child. In just a few pages, an entire lifetime of emotion between father and son is shown eventually leading to the son parting ways when he grows up as an adult.
The entire graphic novel is beautifully drawn with simple and uncomplicated sketches. Also, the usage of space in each panel has produced a work of great depth that leaves plenty of material to ponder over. For example, in just a few panels a sexual encounter is described perfectly. A woman enters a train compartment where she eyes the man. The two of them move closer. The next panel shows the train heading into a tunnel with the next two panels painted completed in black. The train is shown to emerge from the tunnel followed by a panel which shows the man and woman on opposite ends of the seat, buttoning up their shirts. Given how many comics and graphic novels are packed with needless witty dialogues, Jason proves that in the hands of a good artist, a picture can speak volumes.
Canada -- The Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle
I sought out The Burma Chronicles on the strength of Guy Delisle’s Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea which is a witty humorous graphic novel that recounts Delisle’s time in North Korea and his keen observance of the country’s culture and customs. The Burma Chronicles contains the same humor style and is a pure delight to read. This time around Delisle travels to Burma with his wife and baby and as a result, the book also contains some relevant challenges that arise due to family travel and everything is rendered perfectly with thoughtful panels.
Mexico -- Son of the Gun by Alejandro Jodorowsky
It was a real discovery to find that Alejandro Jodorowsky is also an active graphic novelist and has many collections to his name. Of the many stories available, I opted for Son of the Gun, a volume set against the backdrop of a corrupt Mexican political world. The story starts off with a baby abandoned at birth because of his abnormality in the form of tail. As the child grows up, so does the tail but despite that handicap the growing youngster is able to find his way in the world. The boy grows up to be a mercenary working in the mafia before eventually climbing the rungs of power. However, there are some nasty suprizes that lie in store for him especially regarding the identity of people close to him. Overall, this is a fast moving gripping tale which is beautifully illustrated with some eye-catching sketches.
Shades of War
It Was The War of the Trenches by Jacques Tardi (France)
Tardi’s incredible graphic novel gives a vivid account of life in the trenches during wartime. The illustrations show the suffering and agony that soldiers faced in adverse conditions while trying to fight off an unseen enemy. This work is a perfect example of how graphic novels are creatively moving in new directions and producing work that leaves a lasting emotional impact on the reader.
A short sample of the work is available online.
Waltz with Bashir by Ari Folman and David Polonsky
If Tardi’s graphic novel depicts the horrifying memories that are created due to war, then Waltz with Bashir is about the suppression of such memories of war. Ari Folman’s film contains plenty of memorable images so it was essential to visit the creative source of those images in Folman and Polonsky’s graphic novel. Reading the graphic novel only increases my admiration for the film because the cinematic work is able to transfer the haunting essence of the graphic novel perfectly.
Shooting War by Anthony Lappe and Dan Goldman
Lappe and Goldman’s work not only has plenty of political bite to it but it also highlights the media circus that can be associated with wars. Also, a few panels in the graphic novel reminded me of Richard Kelly's Southland Tales.
Shooting War exists in a web comic form.
War is Boring by David Axe and Matt Bors
If Shooting War shows adrenalin fueled journalists who rush into war zones and put themselves in the line of war, War is Boring is about the moments of silence that precede such chaotic scenes of war. The book provides snippets from David Axe’s journeys to some of the world’s hotspots and is a short quick read and comes across as an appetizer instead of a full course meal.
Israel -- Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan
A young woman soldier approaches Koby to tell him that his father may have been a victim of a suicide bombing attack. Koby is clearly skeptical but when he cannot get hold of his father, he travels with the woman across the country to find either his missing father or his father’s body. In the course of his journey, he discovers many secrets about his father leading him to question whether he ever knew his father. Exit Wounds is smartly paced and chooses its words perfectly. As a result, the graphic novel is an engrossing read packed with some touches of humor and sharp cultural observances.
Eastern Europe -- Market Day by James Sturm
A wonderful story about how a man cannot adapt to the changing times when he finds that there is no longer a market for his fine hand crafted rugs. To make matters worse, the man is going to be a father soon and needs the income for his future family. Market Day is set in decades long gone but the story can easily apply to modern scenarios where people’s products are priced out of a market or the market’s demand for a product shrinks down.
Sweden -- From the Shadow of the Northern Lights, an anthology of Swedish Alternative Comics, Volume 1
I had never read any comic books from Sweden yet nothing could have prepared me this Galago book. The collection features a range of works from relationship stories, political satire, sexual tales, humorous shorts to dark and bizarre tales. The work also serves as a springboard to further explore individual artists.
Brazil -- De:Tales by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, Stories from Urban Brazil
As per the title, the stories are indeed all urban and if Brazil was not mentioned in the book’s title, one would be hard pressed to ever think the characters lived in Brazil. The stories are mostly about one-night stands, love and relationships, with atleast half the stories taking place in clubs/bars. There are some interesting aspects but most of the stories do not leave a lasting impression. The best story in the collection is the last one which is a beautiful wordless tale.
Noir with a twist -- Tumor by Joshua Fialkov and Noel Tuazon
Frank Armstrong, a washed up aging private investigator, goes out to find the missing daughter of a drug lord but in classic noir fashion he finds himself dragged into a larger mess. Things are complicated by the fact that Frank has a tumor in the back of his head which leads to either temporary memory loss or transplants memories from his past into the present. As a result, Frank is battling constantly with himself even for the simple act of trying to cross the road. So when gangsters, corrupts cops, guns and plenty of blood are added to the mix, it leaves Frank fighting a solitary uphill battle.
The book’s introduction by Duane Swierczynski makes a wonderful point about the origins of Frank’s tumor. Duane mentions one of the common elements found in noir tales is when a detective gets a sharp blow to the head leading to a temporary state of unconsciousness. But what if a lifetime of such blows to the head led to a more serious problem? In a sense, Tumor is a response to such a question.
Note: It was remarkable to find out this incredible beautiful work by Archaia books was first a digital only book. I have not read the digital edition but I doubt that it can match the visual beauty of the sharp black and white pictures bound in a hardcover copy.
Future reading
There are quite a few more graphic novels to be read still, including my first ever Italian graphic novel -- Silent Dance by Matteo Casali, Grazia Lobaccaro and Alessandro DeAngelis.
Silent Dance will most likely be pushed onto the pile of reading for 2012 where I hope to find some more titles from other countries.
Norway -- What I did by Jason
What I Did is a pure gem from Norway and I only came across it thanks to the owner of Frosst Books who recommended it. The collection consists of three stories with two of them being black and white. The second of these black and white stories is without any dialogues and appropriately labeled "Sshhhh". It is this silent story that is the best of the trio and manages to convey plenty of emotion and depth without any words. The story revolves around a homeless man who encounters the woman of his dreams and settles down with her. Unfortunately, agents of death take the woman away before her time and the man is left to fend off death who is constantly following him. In the next phase of the story, a man has a fling with a woman leading to a child. In just a few pages, an entire lifetime of emotion between father and son is shown eventually leading to the son parting ways when he grows up as an adult.
The entire graphic novel is beautifully drawn with simple and uncomplicated sketches. Also, the usage of space in each panel has produced a work of great depth that leaves plenty of material to ponder over. For example, in just a few panels a sexual encounter is described perfectly. A woman enters a train compartment where she eyes the man. The two of them move closer. The next panel shows the train heading into a tunnel with the next two panels painted completed in black. The train is shown to emerge from the tunnel followed by a panel which shows the man and woman on opposite ends of the seat, buttoning up their shirts. Given how many comics and graphic novels are packed with needless witty dialogues, Jason proves that in the hands of a good artist, a picture can speak volumes.
Canada -- The Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle
I sought out The Burma Chronicles on the strength of Guy Delisle’s Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea which is a witty humorous graphic novel that recounts Delisle’s time in North Korea and his keen observance of the country’s culture and customs. The Burma Chronicles contains the same humor style and is a pure delight to read. This time around Delisle travels to Burma with his wife and baby and as a result, the book also contains some relevant challenges that arise due to family travel and everything is rendered perfectly with thoughtful panels.
Mexico -- Son of the Gun by Alejandro Jodorowsky
It was a real discovery to find that Alejandro Jodorowsky is also an active graphic novelist and has many collections to his name. Of the many stories available, I opted for Son of the Gun, a volume set against the backdrop of a corrupt Mexican political world. The story starts off with a baby abandoned at birth because of his abnormality in the form of tail. As the child grows up, so does the tail but despite that handicap the growing youngster is able to find his way in the world. The boy grows up to be a mercenary working in the mafia before eventually climbing the rungs of power. However, there are some nasty suprizes that lie in store for him especially regarding the identity of people close to him. Overall, this is a fast moving gripping tale which is beautifully illustrated with some eye-catching sketches.
Shades of War
It Was The War of the Trenches by Jacques Tardi (France)
Tardi’s incredible graphic novel gives a vivid account of life in the trenches during wartime. The illustrations show the suffering and agony that soldiers faced in adverse conditions while trying to fight off an unseen enemy. This work is a perfect example of how graphic novels are creatively moving in new directions and producing work that leaves a lasting emotional impact on the reader.
A short sample of the work is available online.
Waltz with Bashir by Ari Folman and David Polonsky
If Tardi’s graphic novel depicts the horrifying memories that are created due to war, then Waltz with Bashir is about the suppression of such memories of war. Ari Folman’s film contains plenty of memorable images so it was essential to visit the creative source of those images in Folman and Polonsky’s graphic novel. Reading the graphic novel only increases my admiration for the film because the cinematic work is able to transfer the haunting essence of the graphic novel perfectly.
Shooting War by Anthony Lappe and Dan Goldman
Lappe and Goldman’s work not only has plenty of political bite to it but it also highlights the media circus that can be associated with wars. Also, a few panels in the graphic novel reminded me of Richard Kelly's Southland Tales.
Shooting War exists in a web comic form.
War is Boring by David Axe and Matt Bors
If Shooting War shows adrenalin fueled journalists who rush into war zones and put themselves in the line of war, War is Boring is about the moments of silence that precede such chaotic scenes of war. The book provides snippets from David Axe’s journeys to some of the world’s hotspots and is a short quick read and comes across as an appetizer instead of a full course meal.
Israel -- Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan
A young woman soldier approaches Koby to tell him that his father may have been a victim of a suicide bombing attack. Koby is clearly skeptical but when he cannot get hold of his father, he travels with the woman across the country to find either his missing father or his father’s body. In the course of his journey, he discovers many secrets about his father leading him to question whether he ever knew his father. Exit Wounds is smartly paced and chooses its words perfectly. As a result, the graphic novel is an engrossing read packed with some touches of humor and sharp cultural observances.
Eastern Europe -- Market Day by James Sturm
A wonderful story about how a man cannot adapt to the changing times when he finds that there is no longer a market for his fine hand crafted rugs. To make matters worse, the man is going to be a father soon and needs the income for his future family. Market Day is set in decades long gone but the story can easily apply to modern scenarios where people’s products are priced out of a market or the market’s demand for a product shrinks down.
Sweden -- From the Shadow of the Northern Lights, an anthology of Swedish Alternative Comics, Volume 1
I had never read any comic books from Sweden yet nothing could have prepared me this Galago book. The collection features a range of works from relationship stories, political satire, sexual tales, humorous shorts to dark and bizarre tales. The work also serves as a springboard to further explore individual artists.
Brazil -- De:Tales by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, Stories from Urban Brazil
As per the title, the stories are indeed all urban and if Brazil was not mentioned in the book’s title, one would be hard pressed to ever think the characters lived in Brazil. The stories are mostly about one-night stands, love and relationships, with atleast half the stories taking place in clubs/bars. There are some interesting aspects but most of the stories do not leave a lasting impression. The best story in the collection is the last one which is a beautiful wordless tale.
Noir with a twist -- Tumor by Joshua Fialkov and Noel Tuazon
Frank Armstrong, a washed up aging private investigator, goes out to find the missing daughter of a drug lord but in classic noir fashion he finds himself dragged into a larger mess. Things are complicated by the fact that Frank has a tumor in the back of his head which leads to either temporary memory loss or transplants memories from his past into the present. As a result, Frank is battling constantly with himself even for the simple act of trying to cross the road. So when gangsters, corrupts cops, guns and plenty of blood are added to the mix, it leaves Frank fighting a solitary uphill battle.
The book’s introduction by Duane Swierczynski makes a wonderful point about the origins of Frank’s tumor. Duane mentions one of the common elements found in noir tales is when a detective gets a sharp blow to the head leading to a temporary state of unconsciousness. But what if a lifetime of such blows to the head led to a more serious problem? In a sense, Tumor is a response to such a question.
Note: It was remarkable to find out this incredible beautiful work by Archaia books was first a digital only book. I have not read the digital edition but I doubt that it can match the visual beauty of the sharp black and white pictures bound in a hardcover copy.
Future reading
There are quite a few more graphic novels to be read still, including my first ever Italian graphic novel -- Silent Dance by Matteo Casali, Grazia Lobaccaro and Alessandro DeAngelis.
Silent Dance will most likely be pushed onto the pile of reading for 2012 where I hope to find some more titles from other countries.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Hong Sang-soo Spotlight
When I started digging for Korean films 6-7 years ago, the name of Hong Sang-soo came up quite often. Unfortunately, I could not find a single one of his films available on DVD. As each subsequent year went by, I read about another Hong Sang-soo film showing at a far away film festival but none of those titles ever landed in any local cinema. Finally in 2008, an opening emerged when Videomatica in Vancouver carried his Woman is the Future of Man and I was able to end my Hong Sang-soo drought.
I expected the flood gates to open and an a gush of his films to appear but it was not to be. Then remarkably in 2010, I was lucky enough to see a hat-trick of his films starting with Like You Know It All, HaHaHa and finishing off with Oki’s Movie seen on the final day of TIFF 2010.
Now after seeing Hong Sang-soo’s Paris based Night and Day recently, I have managed to see five out of his 12 features to date. So some comments and notes on his features are long overdue.
Eat, Drink, Talk, Man, Woman
All the five features have some form of a gathering where men and women sit down at a table, share a meal and drink plenty of drinks, be it soju or beer. The conversations flow effortlessly among all gathered although the alcohol serves as a lubrication to assist in those fluid words. The alcohol also eases the feelings of those people to pour their heart out or to reveal too much about their hidden feelings thereby putting themselves in an awkward position. These five features show that no matter what hidden thought or feeling a character has, it will be placed out in the open for all to reflect on. In fact, a character could have committed a questionable act years ago and forgotten about it but it will always come back to haunt them. There is no place for the characters to hide and they have to walk with their shame painted invisibly on their faces after their alcoholic infused confession. Night and Day manages to escape from the structure of these life changing social gatherings because the only damage that comes from such a food/drink gathering in the film is regarding a reference towards North Korea and does not get the main character into too much trouble. However, in the other four films the social gatherings have to do with either a woman, issues of the heart or a person’s artistic accomplishments. Such topics are emotionally charged so naturally when characters have their tongues loosened, it leads to a far more damaging effect.
Structure & Framework
Hong Sang-soo’s recent features may give the appearance of familiarity because of elements of love, relationship, drinks, memory and conversations. In the last few features he has used the same technique of abrupt zooms and divided the films into different chapters or four short films as in the case of Oki’s Movie. Flashbacks are also a critical part of these movies as the story cuts from the present to the past as characters reminisce about their past loves and hopes while feeling a bit down in the present. However, despite all these familiar elements, each film is still crafted in a unique mould with each character and story standing on its own.
In a sense, the five features do not cover a wide array of brew styles ranging from a lager to a stout but merely alter the hop count found in an IPA. Depending on how hoppy an IPA is, one can either experience a fragrant aroma and taste or have a bitter hoppy experience. So Hong Sang-soo is barely tweaking the recipe of his own created IPA and coming up with new subtle flavours. Some creations are a bit more bitter than others while some contain a sweet aftertaste. On top of that, the honesty of the characters and the awkward situations they find themselves in does not feel like scripted cinema but instead seems like something born from a personal experience. Yet, it could all be down to Hong Sang-soo’s ability that he is able to craft films which ooze with real and breathing characters who exhibit none of the conventional stereotypical templates others movies impose on characters. His films manage to weave wit, humor and sarcasm seamlessly while providing enough for viewers to put together their own version of the character’s lives.
Other essential reading
David Bordwell has an amazing piece regarding the structure and narrative style of Oki’s Movie and HaHaHa.
Marc Raymond has some great reviews about Oki’s Movie and HaHaHa.
Quintin’s remarkable piece on Like You Know It All does indicate an autobiographical element to that film.
Eat, Drink, Talk, Man, Woman
All the five features have some form of a gathering where men and women sit down at a table, share a meal and drink plenty of drinks, be it soju or beer. The conversations flow effortlessly among all gathered although the alcohol serves as a lubrication to assist in those fluid words. The alcohol also eases the feelings of those people to pour their heart out or to reveal too much about their hidden feelings thereby putting themselves in an awkward position. These five features show that no matter what hidden thought or feeling a character has, it will be placed out in the open for all to reflect on. In fact, a character could have committed a questionable act years ago and forgotten about it but it will always come back to haunt them. There is no place for the characters to hide and they have to walk with their shame painted invisibly on their faces after their alcoholic infused confession. Night and Day manages to escape from the structure of these life changing social gatherings because the only damage that comes from such a food/drink gathering in the film is regarding a reference towards North Korea and does not get the main character into too much trouble. However, in the other four films the social gatherings have to do with either a woman, issues of the heart or a person’s artistic accomplishments. Such topics are emotionally charged so naturally when characters have their tongues loosened, it leads to a far more damaging effect.
Structure & Framework
Hong Sang-soo’s recent features may give the appearance of familiarity because of elements of love, relationship, drinks, memory and conversations. In the last few features he has used the same technique of abrupt zooms and divided the films into different chapters or four short films as in the case of Oki’s Movie. Flashbacks are also a critical part of these movies as the story cuts from the present to the past as characters reminisce about their past loves and hopes while feeling a bit down in the present. However, despite all these familiar elements, each film is still crafted in a unique mould with each character and story standing on its own.
In a sense, the five features do not cover a wide array of brew styles ranging from a lager to a stout but merely alter the hop count found in an IPA. Depending on how hoppy an IPA is, one can either experience a fragrant aroma and taste or have a bitter hoppy experience. So Hong Sang-soo is barely tweaking the recipe of his own created IPA and coming up with new subtle flavours. Some creations are a bit more bitter than others while some contain a sweet aftertaste. On top of that, the honesty of the characters and the awkward situations they find themselves in does not feel like scripted cinema but instead seems like something born from a personal experience. Yet, it could all be down to Hong Sang-soo’s ability that he is able to craft films which ooze with real and breathing characters who exhibit none of the conventional stereotypical templates others movies impose on characters. His films manage to weave wit, humor and sarcasm seamlessly while providing enough for viewers to put together their own version of the character’s lives.
Other essential reading
David Bordwell has an amazing piece regarding the structure and narrative style of Oki’s Movie and HaHaHa.
Marc Raymond has some great reviews about Oki’s Movie and HaHaHa.
Quintin’s remarkable piece on Like You Know It All does indicate an autobiographical element to that film.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Montreal -- World Film Festival
Montreal’s World Film Festival is now in its 35th year but somehow it is invisible to most of English speaking Canada and much of North America. A quick look at the line-up gives an idea why this may be. The festival is devoid of big name Hollywood films so that ensures that majority of the mainstream media would likely stay away. But one would think that a festival with hundreds of foreign films should be able to attract cinephiles and film critics? Unfortunately, North American film magazines and critics hardly cover the festival either. In the last few years, I have never seen a mention of the festival in either Film Comment or Cinema Scope (a Canadian publication nonetheless). In 2010, I came across a report by Cineaste but the article was only restricted to the web and not in their full magazine. The reason for ignorance from film magazines or cinephiles could be that Montreal does not get most of the big name Cannes films which have their exclusive Canadian or North American premier in Toronto. Yet, if cinephiles and critics are not seeing any of the films shown in Montreal, then how would they know what they are missing?
For example, these are this year’s competition feature films:
ANTOKI NO INOCHI, Dir. Takahisa Zeze, Japan.
CHE BELLA GIORNATA, Dir. Gennaro Nunziante, Italy
CINCO METROS CUADRADOS, Dir. Max Lemcke, Spain
CORAÇÕES SUJOS, Dir. Vicente Amorim, Brazil.
COTEAU ROUGE, Dir. André Forcier, Canada.
CZARNY CZWARTEK, Dir. Antoni Krauze, Poland.
DAVID, Dir. Joel Fendelman, United States.
DER BRAND, Dir. Brigitte Maria Bertele, Germany
DER GANZ GROSSE TRAUM, Dir. Sebastian Grobler, Germany
HASTA LA VISTA, Dir. Geoffrey Enthoven, Belgium
INJA BEDOONE MAN, Dir. Bahram Tavakoli, Iran
KRET, Dir. Rafael LewandowskI, Poland - France
L'ART D'AIMER, Dir. Emmanuel Mouret, France
LA RUN, Dir. Demian Fuica, Canada
PLAYOFF, Dir. Eran Riklis, Israel - France - Germany
TAGE DIE BLEIBEN, Dir. Pia Strietmann, Germany
TATANKA, Dir. Giuseppe Gagliardi, Italy
WAGA HAHA NO KI, Dir. Masato Harada, Japan
WAN YOU YIN LI, Dir. Tianyu Zhao, China
ZILA-BILA ODNA BABA, Dir. Andrey Smirnov, Russia
Only CHE BELLA GIORNATA and DER BRAND are 2010 films with the rest being brand new 2011 films from around the world, untouched by negative press that almost accompanies ever single Cannes festival title. In fact, I have not seen a single mention of any of these films anywhere. The only film that I am slightly aware of is Tatanka but that is because of a personal interest in the film as the story is written by the incredible Roberto Saviano whose book Gomorrah is one of the best books I have read in the last few years.
There are many unknown films in other categories but surprizingly it is only in the Out of Competition category that some familiar titles show up:
This is Not a Film (Jafar Panahi, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb)
Black Bread (Agusti Villaronga)
The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius)
What Love May Bring (Claude Lelouch)
There is indeed a very good chance that most of the films shown at Montreal will disappear without a trace. For example, I have not seen most of the previous year’s award winners. Just taking a small subset of award winners from a few categories produces many undiscovered older titles.
In 2010, the top three prizes went to:
Grand prix des Americas: OXYGEN (ADEM) by Hans Van Nuffel (Belgium/Netherlands)
Special Grand Prix of the jury: DALLA VITA IN POI (FROM THE WAIST ON) by Gianfrancesco Lazotti (Italy)
Best Director ex-aequo:
LIMBO by Maria Sødahl (Norway/Sweden/Denmark/Trinidad and Tobago)
TÊTE DE TURC by Pascal Elbé (France)
I have not seen any of these 2009 winners even though I have seen a few of Tony Gatlif’s previous films.
Grand prix des Americas: KORKORO (FREEDOM) by Tony Gatlif (France)
Special Grand Prix of the jury: WEAVING GIRL by Wang Quan’an (China)
Best Director: VILLON’S WIFE (VIYON NO TSUMA) by Kichitaro Negishi (Japan)
Thankfully, I have seen the 2008 award winner, Departures:
Grand prix of the Americas:
OKURIBITO (DEPARTURES) by Yojiro Takita (Japan)
Special Grand Prix of the jury :
THE NECESSITIES OF LIFE (CE QU’IL FAUT POUR VIVRE) by Benoît Pilon (Canada)
Best Director :
THE TOUR (TURNEJA) by Goran Markovic (Serbia/Bosnia and Herzegovina)
However, if I keep going back through other years, I draw a blank for the award winners. And these are only for the films that got an award. There are hundreds of films waiting to be discovered via the archives.
The global film world is large indeed and one needs a proper fishing net to capture a good set of the films that exist. Unfortunately, the global distribution network only moves a select few titles around. Cannes plays a big part in this distribution stream as most of its new titles blindly get booked by a majority of film festivals and eventually get a DVD release. Sundance provides North American theaters with a few alternatives to Hollywood films while Rotterdam, Berlin, Venice, Locarno, Buenos Aries, TIFF, VIFF and Pusan also help in injecting new titles into the mix. Yet, despite all these festivals, a good number of international films still remain out of reach.
I appreciate what Montreal is doing and I am glad that a film festival exists that is helping bring many new and unknown titles out of the shadows. The distribution framework to give these films a life outside of Montreal may be broken but awareness of titles is the first step.
Venues & Outdoor cinema
During my stay for Fantasia, I saw plenty of banners and advertising for the World Film Festival because the festival was going to kick off 11 days after Fantasia ended. As it turned out, my hotel was very close to two of the World Film Festival venues. I was also within touching distance of the Cinema Under the Stars location and since I was very close to a Metro station, the remaining three cinemas were also very easily accessible. Of course, given Montreal’s excellent Metro system, most locations are easily within reach.
As indicated by the name, Cinema under the Stars films are shown outside on a closed-off street. This year, the collection features a few Hollywood and Bollywood musicals such as Singin’ in the Rain, All That Jazz, Chicago, Devdas, Lagaan along with two Jacques Demy films The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and Les demoiselles de Rochefort . Combined with the great summer weather in Montreal, Cinema Under the Stars will make for some fun viewings while the amazing selection of brewpubs and third-wave cafes in Montreal should provide enough fuel to discover films that apparently most of North America is unaware of.
Note: The Cine Files blog on Montreal Gazette’s website is providing coverage of the World Film Festival including links to some of the film trailers.
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