Oscar's Cinema Journal 2005

Thursday May 19th

El Compadre Mendoza (Mexico, 1934) on TCM
Hispanics are now the USA's number one minority group and L.A. has a new Mexican-American mayor but it's still remarkable that Turner Classic Movies broadcasted this film on prime time. Rated #3 best Mexican film ever in a critics' poll, Godfather Mendoza is not melodrama and features none of the stars popular with older Mexican-Americans. A story of the Mexican Revolution that de-emphasizes folkloric elements and goes against the grain by refraining from romanticizing the conflict. Fernando de Fuentes, the first great Mexican auteur, directs with great skill, particularly in the restrain of the performances, graceful transitions between sequences, and image composition. Chilean Alfredo del Diestro stars as Rosalio Mendoza who manages to survive at his large estate by skillfully manipulating and befriending both governmental and rebel leaders. The perennial fence-sitter's life is saved by rebel general Nieto after another rebel invades his house during Mendoza's posh wedding to the much-younger Lolita. Over the years, Nieto forges a close friendship with the Mendozas. He secretly loves Lolita, whose baby boy is named after Nieto, but never considers betraying his compadre. On the other hand, Mendoza is increasingly pressured by gov. leaders to set a trap for Nieto.
El Compadre Mendoza is a remarkably even-handed political drama that was not popular with Mexican audiences during the 1930s, probably because folkloric and romantic elements are minimally present. The support of critics and lovers of quality cinema has resulted in periodic revivals and TV screenings. Kudos to TCM for showing it (with excellent English subs).

Friday May 20th

Secret Defense (France, 1998) on dvd
Jacques Rivette has been making wonderful films for about half a century but patience is required to enjoy them because of their duration. The 13-hour Out 1 is an anomaly but most of the others are close to three hours long. Their slack pace is certainly the reason most of his films have received limited distribution. I have only seen one, Va Savoir, at the theatre. Thankfully most of Rivette's films are available on video, including my beloved Celine and Julie Go Boating and Jeanne la Pucelle. The film I watched today concerns a researcher played by Sandrine Bonnaire who decides she's better equipped than her brother to take revenge on the man who allegedly killed her father five years earlier. There are obvious mystery and thriller elements within the premise but Rivette is mostly interested in characters not in keeping the rhythm a thriller demands. For instance, a sequence in which Bonnaire travels by bus and train from her apartment to the target's estate lasts exactly 18 minutes and could be ellided altogether without affecting narrative continuity. Bonnaire's performance is a marvel of sustained intensity and I enjoyed the time the sequence afforded me to reminisce about my European train trips, but my wife and, I suspect, many others expecting a thriller will be "bored" because "nothing happens" for long stretches of time. Rivette's command of film language and Sandrine Bonnaire's acting are the film's selling points. I buy but avoid if you're looking for a taut thriller.

Rio das Mortes (Germany, 1971) on dvd
Rainer Werner Fassbinder made 41 features in 13 years. Is it a surprise some of them are bad? Rio das Mortes is not a good film. Hanna Schygulla is Hanna, a young woman whose fiance Mike and his biracial pal Gunther somehow become obsessed with looking for buried Mayan(?!) temples in Peru. Most of the episodes concern different attempts to raise money for the trip. But the two interesting scenes have nothing to do with the plot. There's a scene in which Schygulla and Fassbinder, playing a bar patron, dance to Presley's "Jailhouse Rock". A second scene, most likely borrowed from one of Fassbinder's 60s theatre productions, features Hana and friends walking in a circle reciting revolutionary slogans in front of a chalkboard. On it a drawing of a giant penis with "USA" atop, except the "S" has been replaced with the symbol of Hitler's special forces. Besides these provocations, Rio das Mortes is crude, dull and uninteresting. The dvd's picture is very grainy and slightly cropped.

Sat May 21st

Svjedoci aka Witnesses (Croatia, 2004) at Cosford Cinema
Vinko Bresan's film won the Peace Award at Berlin 2004. Three Croatian soldiers, on a short visit to their village, plan to blow up the home of a Serb they believe to be away. They are startled to find him home, machine-gun him and kidnap his young daughter. As police and press investigate, they ponder what to do about the girl.
The Croatian director has stated he wanted to bring to light the fact that it wasn't only the Serbians who committed atrocities and broke the rules of war by attacking civilians. He also wanted to denounce the Croatian government's lack of interest in investigating such incidents. Witnesses is told via fractured narrative with numerous flashbacks and repetition of scenes with a bit of detail added each time. It has the effect of forcing the viewer to constantly re-orient himself as to time and place, thus robbing the story of some of its considerable emotional impact. The film is set smack in the middle of the war, during the early 90s. Bresan makes it clear the authorities had no interest in finding the culprits of such incidents or bringing them to justice. But if he wanted to implicate the current politicos, he should have brought the story into the present, rather than making what amounts to a period piece. The story is powerful enough though and the filmmaking sufficiently accomplished to recommend Witnesses to anyone looking for an anti-war drama.

Back only on a temporary and limited basis.....I see you have not let up one bit, and am pleased to see some of your reviews are getting less neutral-sounding. Have not been able to see anything, hence no Palindromes. I can atttest that it has had quite negative reviews locally, and it may be no longer showing here. I also love Jean-Pierre Melville, but prefer Le Samourai to Le Doulos. Le Samourai is marvellously sustained and Delon's graceful, almost pure mime, performance is one of his very best. This is a film I never tire of watching. While you call the plot of Le Doulos airtight, I think it's a bit too hard to follow in some of the details, and some of the visuals are murky and unattractive. However, for noir atmosphere Melville is supreme and Le Doulos is no exception in that regard. I wonder why, if you consider it worth watching, your comment on 3-Iron is so very brief? I have not seen it; would like to of course.

What a pleasure to have you back!
I wonder if you're comment about Le Doulos visuals being "murky and unattractive" has to do with the print you watched. It's one of the most attractive-looking high contrast b&w film noirs I've ever seen.
I also posted on 3-Iron's thread and will do so again. It's not nearly as good or as important a film as some of the older films I've been watching, some of which few Americans have seen (Wanda, Funeral Parade of Roses, Lady from Musashino,etc.) so I alloted more time and space to them.
I'm a bit behind with this thread's posts.

Sunday May 22nd

Life of Oharu (Japan, 1952) on PAL dvd
Kenji Mizoguchi won the Silver Lion at Venice for this follow-up to Lady of Musashino. Life of Oharu is a period film that's often been characterized as a feminist protest film (the "most powerful" states Rosenbaum). I think that definition fails to recognize that both characters who suffer tragic deaths are men of low social economic status, the two men who feel true love for the protagonist. What's under attack is not only patriarchy but also feudalism, a whole system of government and social stratification. Moreover, to characterize the film solely as a "protest" film gives the impression of a sullen, angry, somber film. Life of Oharu has intense moments of lyrical beauty and scenes inspired by the picaresque novel_a hilarious scene involves Oharu (Kinuyo Tanaka) training a cat to remove the wig worn by her abusive employer, who's concealing her bald spots from her husband.

When the film opens, Oharu is a 50 year-old street prostitute who wanders into a temple and gazes upon the idols, remembering her past 30 years. The film flashes back to Kyoto, 1686. Without going into specifics, Life of Oharu relates several incidents in which Oharu is treated as an object, a commodity to be valued solely as one able to provide decoration and sexual pleasure, and produce children. It's a materialist analysis, one that reveals the hypocrisy and decadence behind a facade of order and tradition. The cinematography features the depth-of-field used by Toland in films such as Citizen Kane, augmented by the most delicate and precise framing and composition of scenes. Unlike most films by Ozu, Mizoguchi is quite varied in his shot selection and camera angles, to striking effect.

You are probably quite right about the print of Le Doulos. It's a copy of a videotape and probably wasn't a good videotape to begin with. I need to get good DVD's of my favorite French films of that period; I know some of them look much better than my video copies

I still have some discomfort using the computer screen, but it apparently does no actual harm. I look forward to your contributing further to the 3-Iron thread. No doubt it isn't a major film, but I'm glad that it has led to some discussion; unfortunately the thread starter, Howard, has apparently decided we are ganging up on him... He needs an ally, or a moderator -- a role you are better than I at playing.

I just followed your suggestion and posted again regarding 3-Iron. Which are your fave French films "of that period"? Perhaps I can comment re the best disc available of them.

Monday May 23rd

Promises (USA, 2001)
Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning doc directed by Justine Shapiro, B.Z. Goldberg and Carlos Bolado, shot between 1997 and 2000. The doc introduces seven Jewish and Palestinian kids living in and around Jerusalem and concerns primarily their views of the conflict and how it affects their daily lives. Quite compelling how kids who live only a 15-minute drive away from each other can lead such disparate lives. The doc attempts to breach this distance by having two Jewish boys visit a group of Palestinian kids living in the occupied territories. The visit provides some hope of a peaceful future despite all the inherent obstacles. The dvd provides footage of several of the subjects shot during the summer of 2004, which has value as a longuitudinal study similar to Michael Apted's "Up" series of documentaries. As far as taking a political stance, the filmmakers' wide choice of subjects almost guarantees a balanced viewpoint, which they don't betray.

Thank you for introducing your ever-moderate voice into the 3-Iron discussion. You're probably right that there's no point in getting too "het up" about this movie, if it's really not that significant an effort. It's diplomatic of you to say that everybody brings their "ideology" to the movie house. But how much, and how often, and how noticeably? The fact remains that how stringently and how appropriately people apply an ideology can have either a positive or a negative effect, on comments; conversely it's important how much respect is accorded to the apparent aims of the movie and the moviemakers themselves. Even given the importance of humanistic values and not encouraging stuff that's out and out wicked and nasty, there's still also a difference between an "ideology" and a set of aesthetic, stylistic, and technical criteria for what makes a good film, given that in this discussion what was being applied was legality and morality and generalizations about the decline of social values, rather than points about the movie's particular cinematic value. And by the way, I would also like somebody to explain to me what my ideology is. Or on second thought, no, maybe I wouldn't.....

I guess by French films of that period I meant anything from the Fifties or Sixties by François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Jacques Rivette, Eric Rohmer, Louis Malle, Jean-Pierre Melville, Jacques Demy or Alain Resnais, partucularly not the obvious conventional choices such as the Criterion Collection lists; also possibly less known films in which such actors of the period as Jean-Paul Belmondo, Brigitte Bardot, Anna Karina, Jean-Claude Brialy, Bernadette Lafont, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Marie Laforêt and Jeanne Moreau appeared. Otherwise I do not at this point have any specific titles in mind -- except: I would like a copy of Roger Vadim's Sait-on jamais (No Sun in Venice, with its wonderful music by the Modern Jazz Quartet). And I'd like anything by Jean-Gabriel Albicocco, particularly the apparently lost La fille aux yeux d'or, with Marie Laforêt (I've got Le grand Meaulnes). Of course, though, some of my tape copies of these, such as I happen to have, are actually quite good, nothing like the somewhat murky Le Doulos, and as long as VCR's still exist, I have no need to replace them.

Just lost a long post. I'll have to be brief.
Both Albicocco films you mention are available together on dvd for EUR 11 at amazon.fr. The Vadim film was released on video in France but now it's a hard-to-find collector's item.
I like your comments. I think a writer needs to be self-aware to know when his ideology is bearing stringently on his opinion/interpretation of a film and needs to be honest enough to disclose it openly.

Tuesday May 24th

Johnny Got his Gun (USA, 1971) on PAL dvd
Dalton Trumbo directed only one film, based on his 1939 novel, a National Book Award winner. This film adaptation won the Grand Jury Prize and FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes in 1971 but received only limited distribution in the US. Trumbo was an accomplished scriptwriter who was one of the blacklisted "Hollywood Ten". He based the novel on a newspaper account of a British soldier who lost all limbs and part of his brain during combat in WWI but was kept alive for scientific purposes. The novel is Trumbo's response to the question: what if it had happened to me? Joe, the protagonist is, like Trumbo, a youth raised in small town Colorado who was close to his father and moves to California with his mom and sisters when father dies. There are many other autobiographical details. The film alternates between b&w scenes of Joe being attended by army medics and nurses, and color scenes depicting his memories of life events, dreams, etc. It's quite poignant to hear doctors refer to him as "decerebrated" while we hear his thoughts in voice-over. Two of the most compelling scenes involve Joe becoming aware of the extent of his injuries and, years later, managing to communicate his wishes to another person. Trumbo's focus on Joe's plight keeps the film from sliding into didacticism although Trumbo's pacifist and anti-authoritarian stance is unquestionable. Johnny Got His Gun stars Timothy Bottoms as Joe, Jason Robards as his father, and in a supporting role, Donald Sutherland as Jesus Christ. This film is a must-see. It's available on vhs in the USA.

This film is perhaps indeed a must-see, but in my memory deeply depressing.

Thanks for the favorable comment. All this bears on your own earlier statement of principles. I don't know if becoming predictable is the worst thing that can happen to a film critic, but surely unpredictablility makes his or her latest pronouncements more exciting to come accross. This doesn't mean not being true to oneself in reading a movie, but approaching each one with as open a mind as possible.

I assume the amazon.fr Albicocco combo would not be NTSC, of course, but I could order it and have it sent to me here? I just may do that, though I have Le Grand Meaulnes. No Sun in Venice/Sait-on Jamais was never a great film, but it has certain unique qualities and a special charm for me because I saw it and was thrilled by it on one of my first trips to Europe (this is also true of Et Dieu Créa la Femme with the then daring nude shot of Bardot in the opening sequence). The MJQ soundtrack of NSIV is available on CD and is choice. It's a great part of the beauty of the film. I don't think the MJQ did many film scores and it adds great elegance and atmosphere. I have a great desire to see La Fille aux yeux d'or again and find out if it's as visually lush and stylish and baroque as it seemed back then.

I haven't seen either Albicocco movie but I've seen the Modern Jazz Quartet live in NYC. I can see how a viewer would feel depressed after watching Johnny Got His Gun. It's a very effective film.

Leon Morin, Priest (France, 1961) on PAL dvd
The second of Melville's trio of films set during the occupation of France was a critical and commercial hit. The protagonist is not J.P. Belmondo's Morin but Emmanuelle Riva's Barny, a bisexual widow and atheist with communist leanings. As the film opens, Barny has her half-Jewish daughter baptized and entrusted to two old ladies living in the country. We are introduced to Barny's mostly female co-workers, some of which are collaborating to some extent with the occupying Italian and German forces. Her Jewish supervisor changes his identity and emigrates and Barny feels attracted to the beautiful woman who takes his place. Fifteen minutes into the film, she meets Morin. The balance of the film concerns the relationship that develops between these disparate characters. Will Barny's curiosity about Christianity result in a conversion? Will their acquaintance turn into friendship or perhaps, erotic passion? Will Barny actively pursue her new boss? Melville's first cut of the film, based on Beatrix Beck's autobiographical novel, was over one hour longer than the film that premiered at the Venice FF. While the film evokes quite successfully this tragic period in French history, aspects of Leon Morin, Priest that concern political collaboration/resistance are sketchy in the final cut. For instance, there's a brief scene in which Barny helps to hide a Jewish boy. It seems to come out of nowhere, and then the incident is never broached again. Mellvile was very proud of Leon Morin, Priest, going as far as calling it "perfect". It's undoubtedly a major film from a major director, but I wish we could see the 3-hour cut of the film. There are some dramatic setups at the onset that are not fully developed, in order to focus almost exclusively on the very interesting relationship between Barny and Morin. A relationship explored in all its complexities and ambiguities.

Albicocco is a very interesting director I think, and his career was all too short. Le Grand Meaulnes (AKA in English The Wanderer) as a book is a chilidhood classic in France, a very straightforward version in the film, but I think he does it full justice. As I have said, the style, which was very dark visually, of The Girl with the Golden Eyes made a huge impression on me, which I only realized much later, and I am dying to see it again and analyze it with what I know now. I saw it first at Cinema 16 which was a sort of film subscription series in New York in the early Sixties. Then I saw it during a minin film series at the American University in Cairo a couple of years later and it still lived up to my expectations, but that was a very long time ago.

I have not seen Léon Morin, but obviously should. It is funny that Belmondo had the dashing roles like in Breathless, and seemed best in that, and That Man from Rio, and Godard's things, but also had some very straight roles like this and Two Women, where he plays the very serious young socialist/communist, with glasses. You make clear a lot about the film and I wonder if it will some day be possible to restore the film to its original length, as, you imply, it should be. Was this from Nicheflix?

Yes, Chris, I rented this dvd from Nicheflix. It's a British Film Institute release.

According to Ginette Vicendeau, author of the ironically titled "Jean Paul Melville: An American in Paris", the 190-minute cut of the film, was only seen by Melville himself. He decided it was not "commercially viable" to release the film at that length and edited it down to 115 minutes. According to IMdb, a version lasting 130 minutes was shown on Swedish TV in 1971. The film is available on a vhs version released by Kino in the US in 2000.

For the film to work, the role of Morin had to be played by an attractive and youthful actor. Belmondo is quite believable in the role even though it's not a typical "Belmondo character".

I wanted to discuss the Catholic church's reaction to the film, but doing so entails revealing aspects of its resolution I am glad I didn't know about prior to watching it.

Thanks for the further information. Maybe we can get the information about the Catholic Church elsewhere if we want to. I always wondered whether Belmondo was really a good actor or just a cool guy with a certain amount of dash and physical energy, but he has certainly done a lot of acting in his life, including stage work. To me he will always be primarily the guy in Godard's classic Breathless, but of course, he could play serious, straighter roles.

I gather Nichefix is working out well for you. You seemed to have doubts earlier, partly because of its costing more than Netflix.

Belmondo won one Cesar award for best actor in a 1988 Claude Lelouch film that was not released in English-speaking countries. I'd be curious to see it although I'm not a fan of Lelouch.
Nicheflix has a single shipping location in Indiana which means the discs take longer to get here than Netflix's, but I manage to rent 9-10 discs per month. They carry some great films that have been neglected in this country, including a few by American directors like Wanda and Chimes at Midnight.

Thursday May 26th

Ahi Esta El Detalle (Mexico, 1940) on TCM
The most highly regarded film starring the beloved comedian Cantinflas is this hilarious comedy of errors. The title translates to "There's the rub" or "There's the crux of the matter". Translation is a major issue as about half of the jokes are untranslatable. This is comedy based on language_ double-entendres and puns_and the delivery is vertiginous like in His Girl Friday or The Front Page. The character of Cantiflas here is a bum reminiscent of Boudu, not the reformed, socially-conscious Cantinflas of the films that followed. Even if the subs can only translate half the jokes, there are so many that non-Spanish-speakers will have fun too. But the universal appeal of Cantinflas, the Marx brothers and other text-based comedians cannot match Keaton's or Chaplin's.