Oscar's Cinema Journal 2005

*Not clueless at all, Chris. There's a music thread in the "Lounge" section you should check out.
*I love Jaromil Jires' The Joke:http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/show...=7018#post7018
*I look forward to your comments about any WKW film and the book. I watched As Tears Go By again today after you posted about it.

Sunday March 20th

La Escondida (The Hidden One) on Region 1 dvd rental. An accomplished historical epic, in Eastmancolor, directed by Roberto Gavaldon and starring Maria Felix and Pedro Armendariz, set in 1909 during the Mexican Revolution. Disc has easy to read English subs and the print is in good shape for a film made in 1958. What makes this film special is the cinematography by the great Gabriel Figueroa, who lensed a bunch of Luis Bunuel and Emilio "El Indio" Fernandez films and The Night of the Iguana. So the fact that the film's aspect ratio is 2.35:1 and the disc is pan-and-scan is terribly sad. I simply cannot recommend this dvd.

As Tears Go By on import dvd but NTSC all region. This MediAsia disc has grammatically incorrect English subs but the print is decent and the transfer is anamorphic. The fact that Wong's debut is a triad genre picture didn't keep him from imprinting his visual style all over it (bathing scenes in one or two basic colors, the fetishistic use of pop music, slo-mo frames during action scenes...). I loved how WKW inserts a few frames of Lau embracing Cheung as his body twirls from being shot at the conclusion, the briefest of flashbacks. Regarding Cheung's performance, let's take into account the character she is playing. Same goes for Jackie Cheung's over-the-top perf which reminded me of De Niro in Mean Streets and Pesci in Goodfellas. WKW's particular themes and concerns are not manifested here.

The new Stephen Teo book also focuses on the interiors of the flat in the opening, out of which many more elaborate drab flats ultimately have grown, and I would note the smoky club/restaurant interior, which foreshadows shots in ChungKing Express and Fallen Angels. Yes, we do have to take into consideration Maggie's role, and in that sense it's quite good acting, but I was just noting how ordinary she looks considering the beauty and elegance she has acqired and her sophistication in a movie like Assayas' Clean. The music isn't the kind Wong uses later, but he does use it similarly to later films. I wouldn't go so far as to say flatly "particular themes and concerns are not manifested here," because actually lots of them are there; it's just that the overall effect is more ordinary, and the "triad" as you call it genre predominates. But Wong kept the crooks and hit men -- and cops -- into his more distinctive films. That's the interesting thing. I'd say the subtitles are worse than ungrammatical and if this is the best DVD I hope a collected Wong edition comes out with completely new and better subtitles on As Tears Go By. The meanings were just garbled over and over again.

Hoberman wrote that Days of Being Wild was the film where Wong Kar Wai first became Wong Kar Wai, or words to that effect, and the interesting thing would be to watch that after watching As Tears Go By and see what happens. (Well of course everything changes so I don't know offhand how you make the comparison.)

But in my viewing experience the one I saw right after As Tears Go by in the same theater the same day in a double bill was Ashes of Time, and that threw me for a loop. It had all the wild gorgeous visual stuff as well as the quirky calendar schemes and recollections in voiceover, and I hadn't the faintest idea what the plot was. Actually I hadn't the faintest idea what was going on in either movie, but I knew I was going to go back for more at the first opportunity. It was love at first sight and "the heart has its reasons which the reason does not know."

I estimate I've seen Ashes of Time about six times. I'm convinced it will one day be properly restored and subtitled. It was also love at first sight for me.

Monday March 21st

Henry V (1944) on Criterion dvd.
This is the version directed and starring Laurence Olivier, which was intended to inspire patriotism on British audiences during WWII. The first half hour or so is a play-within-film as we experience what it must have felt to witness a performance of the play in 1600. This adaptation emphasizes humor and renders the king heroic by 20th century standards. It's still Shakespeare but purists will prefer Kenneth Branagh's darker, more faithful adaptation. Olivier's version is more accesible and entertaining. The treatment and production values reminded me of The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn.

A Hard Day's Night (1964) on dvd
Watched Richard Lester's stylish b&w early Beatlemania showcase with the kids. Felt nostalgic for those years before we all got so jaded and cynical, but I know there was a dark side to them. Society was changing so rapidly in the 60s. You best believe we sang along.

Tuesday March 22nd

The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) on rented import dvd

Jacques Offenbach, a German Jew, died four months before the premiere of his first opera (as opposed to operettas or musical comedies) in 1881. After their success with The Red Shoes, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger decided to adapt it to the screen, incorporating two ballet sequences written especially for this film and featuring Moira Shearer. The film mixes operatic staging with cinematographic devices to create a visually opulent experience for the viewer. The score was recorded first with the mise-en-scene subservient to it, driven by the music. Every aspect of production exemplifies the highest levels of artistic refinement, most notably the Oscar nominated art direction and costume design. Hoffmann is a poet who regales tavern patrons with stories of his infatuations with three different women: a Parisian ballerina, a Venetian courtesan, and a Greek opera singer. All three tales feature elements of fantasy and result in disappointment for the lovelorn Hoffmann. I found The Tales of Hoffmann lacking in terms of dramatic impact. Perhaps the episodic nature of the opera and/or the fantastic and comedic aspects dissipate its emotional intensity. Don't the great operas move you to the verge of tears? Opera buffs would have a better answer. My idea of great opera films is something like Verdi's La Traviata directed by Zeffirelli or Bizet's Carmen directed by Francesco Rosi. The Tales of Hoffmann delights, entertains, dazzles with its visual and aural inventiveness, yet I was not completely satisfied.

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Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Thanks for backing my up on Les Choristes. I still think there's more to it than American reviewers seem to see. I wish the song had won the Oscar, but, agreed, not the film.

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Hmmm ... I hope too ...
Actually, I also hope they let the kids sang LIVE!
;PPP

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Originally posted by Chris Knipp
... But in my viewing experience the one I saw right after As Tears Go by in the same theater the same day in a double bill was Ashes of Time, and that threw me for a loop.

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Hmmm ... when I am free, I will write sth about these two movies.
;)

Another movie I saw when it was new and I was very young with major impact on me. I had the positive response you did, without your reservations. No reservations, whatsoever. I had no preconceptions about opera. This being French opera, it's naturally different. I loved the separate styles of the sections, which emphasized what we'd call the art direction. I was simply swept away by it. I don't think we have this kind of hand craftsmanship today; it's so much digitally assisted and so technical. I was deeply impressed by some of the main actors/dancers, whose names I can't come up with right now. I was also entranced by the music, of course most of all by the barcarolle which is the most famous moment in the piece.

Chris, I just want to clarify/restate that I would grade the film "A-", that after watching it I returned to certain passages that are too wonderful to watch only once, and that I was deeply impressed with every aspect of the production. I found my lone reservation is not unique to me.
"Without dramatic grounding Powell's voluptuous visuals seem empty" (Dave Kehr)
"Emotionally underwhelming" (J. Overbeck)
"Not a single moment will Tales of Hoffmann move you to laughter or tears" (BritMovie site).

*It's sometimes frustrating to live in a "B" market for films. I want to go to the cinema yet none of the films playing here now compels me to go. Head On and Downfall have not opened yet. Inside Deep Throat seems quite suitable for home viewing and will play on HBO. Is The Upside of Anger good enough to justify the expense? It seems to be the best reviewed film playing here that I haven't seen.

Wednesday March 23rd

Ivan's Childhood (1962) on import dvd.
My second or third viewing of Andrei Tarkovsky's debut feature, also known as My Name is Ivan, is an adaptation of a WWII story by Vladimir Bogolomov. The project was offered to Tarkovsky when pre-production was already underway. He had little time to make any changes to the script he deemed necessary. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice FF. Ivan's Childhood the only one of his features that is not a "head scratcher" in the sense that there's little open to interpretation, yet his visual style, his fractured concept of time, the primacy of the natural landscape and water imagery were already in evidence from the outset of his career. The film is concerned with a boy whose childhood was stolen by war, and the tensions experienced by the soldiers who become his surrogate family. Scenes at the war front are contrasted with idyllic pre-war scenes that may or may not be Ivan's dreams or memories. Toward the conclusion, Tarkovsky artfully incorporates newsreel footage from the days immediately after Germany's defeat, providing added historical context and a sense of closure that his subsequent six features don't provide so concretely.

Thursday March 24

We drove to the suburbs where a new multiplex was showing almost every Oscar-nominated film for a buck to celebrate its opening. I had seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind twice during its theatrical opening, once with Chelsea who came home and became a member expressively to write about it. Dylan was only 10 at the time, perhaps too young to make sense of it, so today was his first time watching it.
My appreciation and admiration for ESOTSM increase with every viewing. It's not only my favorite film of 2004 but after looking at my lists of favorite films from the last few years, I've concluded that, in my opinion, this is the best Hollywood film since at least Scorsese's Kundun ('97) or Jarmusch's Dead Man ('95), assuming those are "Hollywood films". Chelsea described the plot and the basic message of the film a year ago. Subsequent viewings reveal a variety of viewpoints on aspects of the pursuit of happiness via romantic relationships that are quite insightful. That such material is presented in such a novel and engaging fashion, without didacticism, managing to incorporate humor and poetry is indicative of the unique talents of Oscar-winner scriptwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Gondry.
In case anyone reading didn't watch it at the theatre, there's always dvd. I hope you have a home theatre system with a state-of-the-art speaker set-up. One of the most accomplished aspects of ESOTSM is the layering and editing of sound, particularly during the scenes in which the protagonist is undergoing the memory-erasing procedure, when different things are happening simultaneously at the conscious, subconscious and unconscious levels, and the sound design allows the viewer to tell them apart. I will watch it on dvd for the first time soon to listen to the commentary provided, from Kaufman and Gondry I believe. I have avoided specifics regarding plot and its interpretation to avoid contaminating your own response. I would recommend multiple viewings of this masterpiece.

In these deep solitudes and awful cells,
Where heav'nly-pensive contemplation dwells,
And ever-musing melancholy reigns;
What means this tumult in a vestal's veins?

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd.

(Excerpt from Alexander Pope's "Eloisa to Abelard")


Samurai 2 on Criterion dvd.
Second of three parts of the Samurai trilogy starring Toshiro Mifune and directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, who may not be Kurosawa but, by the evidence of this film and the reviews of others, deserves to be better known. His The Rickshaw Man won the Golden Lion at Venice, and others such as Incident at Blood Pass (Mifune also) and Chushingura are recommended and available on dvd. I've neglected Inagaki long enough, I'm enjoying this trilogy as much as Kurosawa's period films (excluding Rashomon).

Friday March 25th

The Yes Men on dvd
Documentary about the witty group of political activists who developed websites that look very similar to the president's and the World Trade Organization's but don't deceive. Film centers on how their WTO site fooled others to such extent they managed to inpersonate WTO reps at trade conferences worldwide. The Yes Men took the opportunity to raise consciousness via inventive, outrageous pranks at such events. Michael Moore makes two brief appearances to illustrate the consequences of WTO policies. Not as informative as it could be but certainly entertaining and inspirational.

Sat. March 26th

Western Union (1941) on TCM
Fritz Lang's second Western, starring Randolph Scott and Robert Young, centers on the perils faced by folks extending telegraphic service to the western states circa 1861. The technicolor Western Union dramatizes the importance of communications to the development of the West. The romantic subplot seemed superfluous to me, but overall well worth seeing.

Sex is Comedy (2004) on dvd.
Catherine Breillat's autobiographical film about a director played by Anne Parrillaud directing "Scenes Intimes", a film that resembles Breillat's own Fat Girl. The star of that film, Roxane Mesquida, is identified here as "the actress" and Gregoire Colin is "the actor". They are filming scenes at a resort town concluding with the shooting of a defloration scene in which Colin wears a prosthetic penis. Sex is Comedy is an extremely frank dramatization of the role of the director and the relationships forged between directors and performers, most specifically when nudity is required (like in Breillat's films). Those who find the topic interesting will have much to ponder here.

Untold Scandal (2004) at Cosford Cinema
This Korean adaptation of Chordelos de Lacros' "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" is set in the 18th century at the end of the Chosun dynasty. This beautifully mounted film was directed by Je-yong Lee (Asako in Ruby Shoes) and features excellent cinematography and performances. Several directors have adapted the original French novel to the screen including Roger Vadim, Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liasons), Milos Forman (Valmont) and Roger Kumble (Cruel Intentions). This Korean version is as luxurious and more affecting than any of its predecessors.

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Those who find the topic interesting will have much to ponder here.

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Do you--find it interesting, that is? Breillat can be very annoying. She seems a person who never got over the Seventies.

Untold Scandal---well, Les Liaisons Dangereuses has been done to death, especially considering that Choderlos de Laclos' epistolary novel is itself a masterpiece upon which it is impossible to improve. Cruel Intentions is fun, and has been milked for more, but otherwise for my money nothing can touch the Frears version. I'd be surprised if this one, being "more affecting", is actually true to the original, which, after all, is elegant and cold and cruel, in the style of the culture and the period and the milieu. The recent French TV version featuring Ruppert Everett and Catherine Deneuve, which I have had exchanges about with arsaib4, and is available on DVD, is a waste of time, just glossy schlock. Anything woudl be better than that, and the much earlier Jeanne Moreau one isn't very good either.

I am not sure I would agree if you think that the fate of Glenn Close isn't very "affecting." Her destruction is devastating; within the terms of 18th-century French aristocratic life, she is ruined, and nothing is more "affecting" than becoming a non-person, even if it's more shocking and alienating than weepy. I would of course like to see this Korean version, anyway.

Still in NYC. Saw the Oscar Shorts series at Cinema Village. Almost consistently high quality, with some real gems from Australia and Canada (the latter the Oscar winner) and the UK. I find real people "more affecting" than animations--well, mostly the Ryan Larkin piece is amazing; it made me think of Waking Life.

I also enjoyed Ong-bak Thai Warrior; Tony Jaa is amazing to watch and it's a relief to see somebody actually doing the stunts you see him perform on film, instead of having it all faked in one way or another. Not that this one has no doctoring of the film, but there are, they say, "no wires," and the best part is where he leaps over and dives under cars, and simply goes through the moves for his sensei at the beginning, with perfect grace and precision. A pleasure to watch. And, of course, in a sense completely mindless. Also ultra-violent, later on; if you don't like bone-crushing, stay away.

Not only do I find films that depict "directing" activities and dissect director-actor relationships interesting in general, but I am particularly interested in Breillat's creative process and how she relates to actors. I recognize Sex is Comedy as a film for cinephiles and a companion piece to Fat Girl, not as a film that would appeal to a wider audience. I find it interesting to note that, since the erect penis in view is fake the film received an "R", but had it been Colin's own and most likely shorter pecker, the film would be rated "NC-17" (if submitted to the Board).
I don't find Breillat "annoying" at all and I think you mean to provoke debate (which I welcome) by your "never got over the 70s" comment. I know you wouldn't object to provocative, frank studies of (mostly) female sexuality so I'll defer until you amplify and expound on your comment. I don't remember if you liked Fat Girl, I certainly thought it was exceptional.

Untold Scandal is my favorite adaptation of the source novel. As a whole, it stirred and moved my emotions more than any version, including Frears'.

You've convinced me to rent Ong-bak when it comes out on dvd. Not "my thing" but if you enjoyed it...

Sunday March 27th

Anne Fontaine's How I killed my Father was retitled My Father and I for home video release probably because many interpreted the original title literally and expected perhaps a different kind of film. The 40 year old protagonist played by Charles Berling reads a letter immediately after the opening titles in which he learns that his father, who's been living in Africa for over 20 years, died before he was able to return to France as he had planned. The rest of the film takes place inside Berling's head as he imagines how his father's (Michel Bouquet) visit would have turned out and how it'd have affected his life, that of his wife (Natacha Regnier from The Dreamlife of Angels) and brother. This extremely well observed psychological drama is easily Fontaine's best picture to date, although the single p.o.v. means several of the film's mysteries are left unresolved. Some will find the film's reserve and rigor admirable, others will find it frustrating. I'm in the first group, but I admit I would have opened up the film a little bit, perhaps by adding an epilogue or a coda of some sort (the film ends where it began, with Berling holding the letter in his hand, lost in thought).

I've posted before about The Barbarian Invasions after its theatrical run in late 2003. The film has won 2 awards at Cannes, 3 French Academy awards, 6 Canadian Academy awards, and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. It's one of my favorite films of 2003 and today I watch the Canadian version which is 14 minutes longer. I managed to purchase a copy of this dvd which apparently was only sold in the province of Quebec. It adds a scene between the cancer-stricken Remy and one of his lovers and extends several of the scenes in the shorter version. I found Les Invasions Barbares one of the funniest, most insightful films of the current decade. It celebrates and criticizes the baby boom generation and its legacy like no other film I can recall.