Oscar's Cinema Journal 2005

Monday April 18th

Sauvage Innocence (France, 2002) on PAL dvd

Phillipe Garrel, a 57 y.o. Parisian, has been making films for 40 years but none of them has had a commercial run stateside and none are available on video here. His films are rarely exhibited outside France, yet his critical rep is impeccable and there's nothing imposing about his autobiographical narratives. Sauvage Innocence is the first Garrel film I watch, so any comments beyond the scope of it are based on recent research. I took an active interest in Garrel after reading "Movie Mutations: The Changing Face of World Cinephilia", a wonderful example of cross-cultural, interactive film criticism. His name is mentioned many times by several of the book's contributors. Adrian Martin from Australia states: "The arte povera of Cassavetes and Garrel gives me a quiet, clear, minimalist intensity. Their films herald some kind of primal, fundamental return to the body, to the body as the only remaining site of authenticity, of lived and verifiable experience, of sensation and desire". Being a Cassavetes fan, I was definitely curious. Having watched the film, I find Martin's linking of these directors to be apt. Sauvage concerns Francois, a young director who wants to make a film based on his ex-girlfriend, who died of heroin overdose. He wants to cast Lucie, his new girlfriend, in the role of Marie-Therese but he can't find financing. Lucie decides she cannot afford to pass on an offer to go on a 4-month tour with a theatre company. To hold on to Lucie and get the film made, Francois enters into a Faustian pact with a rich drug dealer. Shooting of "Sauvage Innocence" commences. Gradually the past bleeds into the present, as the spectre of Marie-Therese takes hold of both Francois and Julie, and the drugs that destroyed her exert their poisonous, pervasive influence. A notable film about the creative process lensed by the great Raoul Coutard, a searing indictment of drugs as a destructive and seductive power, a meditation on the past's impingment on the present.

Shame this is the only Garrel title at Nicheflix. Will have to find out if any of his other French dvds have english subs.

One thing I did accomplish while I was at Nicheflix was to have them buy a 2 DVD-set featuring Garrel's Sauvage Innocence and La Naissance de L'Amour (The Birth of Love [1993]). Hopefully the other one is still available. I do have Liberté, la nuit (1983) and J'entends plus la guitare (I Don't Hear the Guitar Anymore [1991]) on vhs but no subs. Perhaps the most comprehensive review of Garrel in English was done by Kent Jones in his early days at Film Comment. Try to get your hands on that if possible. He is one of those auteurs who'd probably prefer if his films aren't widely seen.

That's very kind of you. Birth of Love is now #3 on my queue, below two perennially rented-out Mizoguchis. I found Kent Jones' essay at sensesofcinema, along with a few others, last night. I respect your privacy, but I know Mouchette is an important film to you and would welcome any feedback regarding your experience with it.
P.S. Actually, your link takes me to an essay that's more comprehensive and detailed. Thanks.

This article is from Film Comment:

Sad and proud of it: the films of Philippe Garrel by Kent Jones

...I guess you saw it earlier before I reposted.

I'll have to put off a complete response right now--no time right at the minute. But I wouldn't at all say that Bresson is 'not to my liking.' He is to my liking and I admire his work very much. Even though the deterministic, pessimistic aspects bother me, he's still a remarkable director and I like the good ones. Of course that 'arc' isn't found in everything Bresson did.

More later. I'm also interested to learn more about Garrel.

You sort of "buried" (though you're getting plenty of hits over here) your comments on Sin City and I replied to them in part over on the Sin City thread, quoting what I thought was the key passage summarzing your response and repeating a bit what I said to that here earlier http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/show...155#post10155.

I have not seen Mouchette, and so maybe it's not surprising that I can't quite see what you mean by saying of her " her burden is heavier than the condemned man's imprisonment or the county priest's illness.." Why? Your remarks about this film are very general in nature using words like pain suffering innocent compassion piety hypocrisy grace….I don't get a feel for what's actually going on in the film as a film and a specific human document frame by frame, even though you do summarize her torments, also in general words -- humiliated beaten raped belittled burdened ostracized.. It seems to me that specific, dogged detail, rather than grand generalizations, are typical of Bresson's way of working in his later films, however symbolic the events may be meant to be. Apart from that, it is true as you yourself say that you haven't replied to every query I made, in fact you're just commented on Mouchette.

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I think it's possible to interpret the narrative arc of this film as a deterministic one, much more so than any of the other 9 Bressons I've seen_deterministic in the basic sense, a view that denies the importance and significance of free will. But I think it would be a mistake to make this generalization based one possible interpretation of one film.

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Well we don't have to restrict ourselves to one possible interpretation of one film because we've both seen a goodly sample of Bresson's oeurve, you nine (or is it ten?) and I seven of his films (with one, Au hazard Balthazar, lined up ready to watch and probably Mouchette in the offing if I honor this discussion). Maybe we could go through the films and rate them on a scale of …. Something or other … which is obviously silly… as to their degree of determinism. But I also asked some broader questions by implication about the role of determinism and pessimism in film and I'd like us to discuss those, with Bresson perhaps as a starting point.

Repeating and summarizing my queries:

--"It's too facile to say Bresson's world view is deterministic." Why? Can you enlarge on that point? If Bresson's "world view" isn't simply deterministic, what is it, then? Why can't one call it "deterministic"? What is the more subtle, complex, less "facile" way that you propose of describing his "world view"?

--Do you acknowledge that there are some filmmakers whose work is relentlessly pessimistic? If so, why should such filmmakers not be described as "deterministic"?

--Why emphasize the negative? . . .Why not be life-affirming, like Renoir?

--What's the relevence of American culture to this discussion? Does American culture in its essence rule out a sense of "unavoidable fate" that is beyond the reaches of "mere cause and effect"? Is such a world view really anathema in our American culture, and is it true that therefore any negative reaction to the tendencies in Bresson's films means we are helplessly acting out a pattern of cultural "determinism"? If so, why is Bresson so admired by American film lovers? Are they merely knee-jerk rejectionists of their own culture?

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
I have not seen Mouchette, and so maybe it's not surprising that I can't quite see what you mean by saying of her " her burden is heavier than the condemned man's imprisonment or the county priest's illness.."

My point is that Mouchette is the most hard to watch Bresson film and the one likely to be called "pessimistic" because of the concentration on a single character (as opposed to several human characters in Balthazar that Bresson focuses on), because she's still not grown (almost all of Bresson's "suffering" characters are adults), and because of the amount and variety of pain and humiliation she endures. This may lead some to call this film "pessimistic" and to generalize impressions based on it to the master's entire filmography and to his person. The film is not bleak in my opinion, as there are moments of joy and charity.

I also asked some broader questions by implication about the role of determinism and pessimism in film and I'd like us to discuss those.

To some extent, any film that proposes primarily to depict social injustice or man's inhumanity to man, any film that decries abuses of power in which the weak/victims fail to mount a credible defense can potentially be called "deterministic" or "pessimistic". Take Samira Makhmalbaf's At Five in the Afternoon and the Iranian film The Circle (which I bring up because I know you saw it), for instance. Makhmalbaf's defense against charges of "pessimism" boil down to "it's the truth as I saw it". In other words, to create consciousness and awareness, you've got to show the suffering (allowing for possible moments of joy and respite however brief and fleeting).

It's too facile to say Bresson's world view is deterministic." Why?

(Determinism: "the doctrine that everything, especifically one's choice of action, is determined by causes independent of one's free will")
My comment anticipated a reaction and subsequent generalization that a viewer of Mouchette could make. I would disagree with the generalization to Bresson's ouvre because Bresson grants his characters a considerable degree of free will, although several are suffering from conditions and circumstances imposed on them. There's certainly free will even in Mouchette, in the sense that the protagonist kills herself (like the protagonist of Un Femme Douce, which opens with her suicide).

Why emphasize the negative? . . .Why not be life-affirming, like Renoir?

Here's where Bresson unshakable faith in God and belief in the afterlife come into play. For him, suffering and struggling are natural aspects of our passing through our life on earth. They are not negative, suffering and struggling with one's lot as conduits to Grace. For Bresson, death is not the end. As one who tends toward agnosticism, I am challenged by his certainties.

What's the relevence of American culture to this discussion?

I know I'm generalizing but Americans, more than other peoples, believe that the individual has the power to raise above any obstacle. Americans are probably more likely to find Mouchette "pessimistic". American culture is also, perhaps, more enamored of escapist entertainment that European culture, and more individualistic. I wouldn't want to take this too far because these are obviously crude generalizations.

why is Bresson so admired by American film lovers? Are they merely knee-jerk rejectionists of their own culture?

Is he so admired by Americans? Hard to say, but my guess is the American film goers that watch foreign films admire Kurosawa, Fellini, Truffaut, Leone, Renoir, Bergman and many others more than Bresson. If the "average American" asks me: "I want to get into foreign films, would you recommend some?" I'd go with Amelie, Life is Beautiful, 7 Samurai, Once Upon a Time in the West, La Dolce Vita, Ikiru, Renoir's The River... not A Man Condemned or Mouchette.

Tuesday April 19th

Titicut Follies (1967) at the Cosford Cinema

Frederick Wiseman had to cancel his visit to Miami last fall because of a hurricane warning, but he kept his promise to return. He showed his first documentary, about conditions at the Hospital for the Criminally Insane at Bridgeport, Mass. Wiseman shot eight hours of film during 29 days in 1966 and spent 7 months editing the film by himself. The film shows the daily routine of the patients, how they are forced to conform to rules and regulations, the poor living conditions they face, the condescending and abusive treatment from some of the staff, admission and discharge procedures, etc. Titicut Follies, like all of Wiseman's documentaries, avoids any editorializing and commentary, except for the choice of material and the editing of it which constitutes a type of subtle editorializing. Anything that would lead to ready-made conclusions or force an emotional reaction is actively discouraged by Mr Wiseman. During Q&A, I asked him about the legal fight to get the film shown and he gave me "the short answer": a 15-minute account of how the film was banned by the Mass. Supreme Court for violating the patient's privacy, when in actuality it was all about the State of Mass. supressing information about the poor conditions at their Hospitals, and the use of the film as a political weapon during the race for Attorney Gral. of the State.

I feel there's some hedging on your part about whether Bresson is pessimistic or deterministic; sometimes you say he is, sometimes that he isn't. But what seems clear is that he isn't life-affirming, but afterlife-affirming. These generalizations about Americans are tricky. You may have a different take on this from being close to Spanish-speaking culture in family origins and Spanish-speaking yourself. I'd think most of the world likes what you call "escapist entertainment," it's just that the US is the chief manufacturer of it, film-wise. In saying Europeans are less that way, you may just be focusing on the products of a limited group for a limited audience, not on the general population, which likes things like The Chorus and Amélie just as we do. But Im admittedly no expert on that. You explained that Bresson is joyful in his view of lives that end in pathetic deaths, because he believes in the afterlife, but you yourself are an agnostic, so this troubles you. But if all you know for sure is this life, doesn't a cinema that celebrates life have a special appeal for you? And as a political liberal, are you not disturbed by the lack of free will in Bresson, as opposed, say, to the director of The Circle, who is surely seeking to make us feel rage at the wrong conditions to which women in Iran are subjected, and not celebrating the fact that they are being tested in this life to have a saintly existence in the Beyond, and sadly noting how difficult this life is, as is the case with Bresson? I still do think the serious American film buffs may revere Bresson more than you acknowledge, but I don't have any direct proof of that to offer you. I think it's very interesting to compare critical reactions to films and directors from country to country, partly with the aim of having a more detached perspective on our own admirations and criticisms and the value systems behind them.

Mouchette is certainly a tough to talk about impersonally which is perhaps the reason why not much has been written about it over the years especially compared to some of Bresson's other films. For me the film commemorates purity: Purity in thought, deed, appearance, sacrifice, along with in ruminations about other human beings, and, of course, cinema itself. How can one possibly "review" a film like Mouchette? Its various aspects can certainly be discussed though. I don’t find the ending pessimistic considering what else might’ve been in store. "Mouchette offers evidence of misery and cruelty. She is found everywhere: wars, concentration camps, tortures, assassinations." - Robert Bresson. This also reminds me of something Kiarostami said in reference to Taste of Cherry as he mentioned a philosopher who said to him that "Without the possibility of suicide, I would've killed myself long ago." As hard it is for some to accept, it is an option we have in life.

But we also have to acknowledge that we don’t actually see her death, we only see the process. Bresson always worked against our desire to witness or understand everything. The often discussed spirituality and the presense of a supreme being in his films I think is still rather opaque (?) and is based more on a feeling than an existance or a reflection.

Originally posted by arsaib4
I don’t find the ending pessimistic considering what else might’ve been in store. "Mouchette offers evidence of misery and cruelty. She is found everywhere: wars, concentration camps, tortures, assassinations." - Robert Bresson.

If we define "pessimism" as the tendency to expect the worst outcome in any circumstance, we need to consider that Bresson came of age during WWI, experienced the growing threat of Nazism, lived through the Occupation, spent a year or so as a p.o.w. during WWII (with its holocaust, and nuclear bombing of Japan), then came the Cold War and the imminent threat of a nuclear war. It can be argued he was more of a "realist", given what he experienced, than a "pessimist". Bresson was rather tight-lipped, so any comments like the one you provide are rare and valuable. (There never was a "Bresson on Bresson" or the equivalent of Tarkovsky's "Sculpting in Time", to my knowledge). Let's also take into account that both A Man Escaped and Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne have endings I'd call "happy". Yet another reason to resist attach the label "pessimist" to Robert Bresson.

This also reminds me of something Kiarostami said in reference to Taste of Cherry as he mentioned a philosopher who said to him that "Without the possibility of suicide, I would've killed myself long ago." As hard it is for some to accept, it is an option we have in life.

It's clear to me based on my viewings of his films, my research, and the unusual (for Bresson) addition of religious choral music to Mouchette's body disappearing under water that, for Bresson, she is passing to another stage in a state of Grace. And I'm not against calling it "afterlife-affirming" (as used by Chris). Then again, I can see the director proposing that suffering and pain are integral conditions of our existence, that to embrace them is "life-affirming".
I like this quote from Olaf Moeller: "The idea of society as a prison is the underlying connection between all of Bresson's films. We are all captives, immates, convicts".

Bresson always worked against our desire to witness or understand everything.

Yes, he both advanced certain points of view while leaving quite a bit open to interpretation. There's a mysterious quality that demands complete concentration and scrutiny.

*Your statement regarding his "spirituality" was not clear to me. I'm convinced the man had a deep faith in the Christian God, a belief in an afterlife, a distrust of institutions, and perhaps an attraction towards a predestinarian strain of Catholicism called Jansenism (after the teachings of Cornelius Jansen). As an answer to CK's query I'll say that I think there's evidence of "determinism" or "predestination" in the positions that Bresson's films advance. I sense a tone of resignation at times.

Wed. April 20th

I'll be brief due to time constraints. Today I attended a Master Class given by documentarian Fred Wiseman which included clips from his films Law and Order, Welfare, and others. He discussed his creative process and what he tries to communicate via images. It's remarkable that Wiseman does not do any research whatsoever before shooting, which is an expensive way to work.

Ca Twiste a Poponguine (Senegal, 1993) on vhs

Charming, coming-of-age film which uses a gregarious 12 y.o. boy to introduce the residents of Poponguine, a small seaside village in Senegal during 1964, just prior to independence from colonial rule. A melange of influences: American Pop culture, French culture, Christianity, Islam, and indigenous religions and practices are shown as alternatively complimentary and contrasting. A rather light, sometimes humorous, treatment of the subject.

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As an answer to CK's query I'll say that I think there's evidence of "determinism" or "predestination" in the positions that Bresson's films advance. I sense a tone of resignation at times.

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You're slipping back over to that; fine. I can't help feeling that if you'd been willing to take a more definite position on this we could also have had more of a discussion. I guess it's fair to say Bresson doesn't make his "position" really clear on anything, which is part of his unique charm, but you could have taken one of your own. My stand is that the downbeat mindset is a limited worldview, though some notable minds have adopted it, at least in their work. Bresson seems to about take the cake. The last word on Life Sucks and Then You Die. But: Not to Worry: There May be an Afterlife. The music tells us so.

I love the tautology, or whatever it is, that wihout the option of suicide the guy would've killed himself many times. A real riot, that.

I should perhaps mention that in the past I have been a great fan of the writings of Samuel Beckett, but they're not something that i want to spend a lot of time with. He and Bresson, two of a kind, both My Glass Is Half Empty kinds of guys. But Beckett was a lot wittier.

Bresson must be the ideal filmmaker for anyone who wants to make Cinema with a capital C be a very Serious Thing. There are other ways of looking at life, equally valid. Lots of fun stuff was happening in that century of WWI, WWII, and the Cold War. And we were around for some of it. You know, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." like the French Revolution, according to Dickens.

Thursday April 21st

Head On at SoBe Regal
http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/show...0198#post10198

Sweet Movie (1974) on import dvd

Dusan Makavejev, the Belgrade-born director of The Coca-Cola Kid and W.R.:Mysteries of the Organism, directed this satire of totalitarianism and consumerism. An old woman who presides over the Chastity Belt Organization emcees a Miss World Virgin Contest. The winner gets to marry Mr. Kapital and his $50 billion. Priests escort the contestants onto a stage, a doctor performs a vaginal exam on each girl and names Miss Canada the winner. On her wedding bed, she is horrified by Mr. Kapital's gold-dipped penis and traumatized when he urinates on her. The energetic film grows increasingly bizarre and taboo-breaking. A woman performs a strip-tease for a bunch of 10 year-old boys and seduces one of them. Scenes of a gorgeous woman bathing in melted chocolate are intercut with scenes of Russian troops unearthing concentration camp corpses from a mass grave. There's a bizarre rendition of a mariachi song, a refugee from Battleship Potemkin makes an appearance, and the actual members of a French commune enact a gross-out Bacchanalia. Fans of Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Marco Ferreri's La Grande Bouffe must seek it out.

It certainly sounds bizarre, if not indigestible, though some of the titillating elements sound intriguing.