Oscar's Cinema Journal 2005

I don't care if Godard disowned Sympathy. You asked me the last one I loved. Of course Alphaville is one to go back to again and again. Some might to Weekend, not me. Breathless, which is so nostalgic and charming. La Chinoise at the time was exciting. So was Godard's cantankerous spirit. He appeared on the Berkeley campus with a panel and questions from the floor and an interrpreter he used as a foil -- a scene right out of one of his movies.

Garrel junior seems to be doing very well for somebody who just got in through nepotism. Or can it be that he has talent. Nothing like having talent and connections. I'm not the fan of Kent Jones that some of you guys are. His writing seems to me to be the usual solemn turgid self-important youthful academic kind of thing. Maybe I'll be proven wrong. At least he is well placed and producing serious stuff. Too serious, but he may be a good influence. But his blanket assertion of Garrel's profundity seems a bit naive. His shorthands are a bit crude at times: "He conceives a filmic moment in terms of time-stopping portraiture. Garrel honors the individual by refusing to embellish or soften life's verities in any way. His philosophy is that the only thing worth talking about is a man, a woman, and a child, and every other structure is either superfluous or destructive." "Every other structure"? Bad phrase. "Soften life's verities"? Pompous nonsense. The best example of that is "typically French." He just doesn't write all that well, Oscar. If he'd written "more truly French" that would have worked better. It's not what he's saying, it's how he says it.

I may see Machuca. A friend wants to go and it's at the San Rafael theater which I think is nice. But Michael Atkinson has shredded it in the Voice, and oftentimes when Atkinson shreds something, it's hard to put it back together, it remains partly in tatters.

*I didn't mean to imply Sympathy is bad because Godard disowned it. I find it interesting that he'd get so upset about the song being played in its entirety over the final credits. It's something I'll keep in mind when I watch it again because it could potentially shine a light on Godard's intentions.
*I'd be interested in any Garrel but perhaps more so 1989's Emergency Kisses in which Maurice (Philippe's father), Philippe and Louis practically play themselves. Lamentably, the two films directed by Garrel I've watched this year are the only ones available anywhere with English subtitles.

That's a very telling point you brought up about Godard and I should've mentioned in my last response. It's something that shows he liked to provoke people, not provide answers. That may have been misunderstood in this country because compared to an American, he seemed so doctrinaire, but he was merely alluding to doctrines, not advocating them.

You'll just have to learn French so you can watch more of Garrel père's films. Your Spanish will give you a big boost with the grammar. I'm watching where the three actors in The Dreamers go. Whatever people think of that movie the actors' selecton by Bertolucci amounts to an anointment from on high. Michael Pitt has had more appearances, and stars in the new Gus Van Sant, which promises to be as interesting and provocative as Elephant. I'm also a bit of a Lucas Haas fan. Eva Green got almost cut out of a medieval epic, but she's just as voluptuous as Garrel if not more so and is going to go somewhere eventually. Louis Garrel is getting great roles judging by his appearance with Isabelle Huppert in Ma Mère, which I'm interrested to see; and it won't be long: it comes to Berkeley July 29. That's a series of one-week showings in which Tropical Malady is followed by Lila Says and then Ma Mère. If something does well they extend it.

*I understand some French but certainly not enough to watch a film without English subtitles. I'd had to devote ample time to study it. My mother and brother speak it well so they'd be able to help me, but I'd have to limit my film-watching to no more than one per day. That would be a big sacrifice for me. As it is, I'm barely reducing the number of movies on my "To Watch" list.
*I've seen both Lila Says and Tropical Malady, the latter amounts to the most original/revolutionary film I've seen all year. Extremely curious as to your response to it. I'd watch paint dry if Huppert wielded the brush (re Ma Mere)
*Eva Green's perf will be restored on the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven, to be released on dvd.

Wed. July 13th

Martha (Germany, 1974) dvd
I've watched about 25 movies directed by Rainer W. Fassbinder and I think this made-for-tv film is perhaps the best and definitely the most excrutiating to watch. Martha (Margrit Carstensen) is a 31 year-old virgin who works as a librarian and lives with her emotionally abusive and restrictive bourgeoise parents. While on vacation to Italy with her father, he dies of a heart attack. At the entrance to the German embassy she encounters Helmut (Karlheinz Bohm), a civil engineer she will eventually marry. The scene is a tour-de-force in which the camera goes around the couple 360 degrees while both actors meet face-to-face and spin around. They meet again at Helmut's brother's wedding and begin to date. Helmut is good looking and successful, and also cold and casually cruel, not unlike Martha's parents. Once married, Helmut begins in earnest to dominate and subjugate the suffering Martha. To some extent she is complicit in her own abuse, her marriage seems to perpetuate a relationship pattern she's been raised to repeat. Increasingly and methodically, Helmut incarcerates Martha and removes any trace of her own individuality.
Every aspect of production, particularly the cinematography (Michael Balhaus) and the acting, is excellent. If possible, Bohm is creepier here than in Peeping Tom. Carstensen's performance is detailed and carefully balanced between acquiescence and protestation. Fassbinder's film, from a story by Cornel Woolrich, is not only a commentary on bourgeoise marriage but also a treatise on the macabre dance between oppressor and oppressed. Martha is simply perfect. Every scene gives one the impression that a lot of thought and careful planning went into it, and that everyone was "on the same page", so to speak. I felt short-of-breath watching Martha and emotionally exhausted afterwards. I'm full of admiration for Fassbinder and everyone involved.

Fassbinder in Hollywood (USA, 2002) dvd
One hour documentary on the career of F.W. Fassbinder, includes clips of a dozen of his movies and interviews with Schygulla, Balhaus, Lommel and many of his collaborators. The film ponders the idea of the director working in Hollywood, which became more of a possibility as his films became more polished and demanded higher budgets. Interesting comments from Wim Wenders and others regarding the kind of studio film Fassbinder would direct.

Thursday July 14th

Dazed and Confused (USA, 1993) dvd
Chelsea's pick. A movie I'd already seen twice. A sort-of American Grafitti for those of us who came-of-age in the 70s like writer/director Richard Linklater but less concerned with plot. Set in Texas, like Linklater's Slacker, but less specific about place. A rock comedy, like his School of Rock, but much less wholesome. Dazed and Confused (also a Led Zeppelin song) takes place on May 28th, 1976, the last day of the school year. It's concerned primarily with partying and juniors and seniors submitting incoming freshmen to hazing rituals. Dazed and Confused is funny and nails its time period, hence its nostalgic pull on folks of a certain age. I'm rather disappointed Linklater lets the bullies off easy. I wish Linklater had fit in some of the deleted scenes (included on the dvd) which expose the racism and sadism of two major characters. Moreover, unlike the 70s I remember, nobody here vomits from drinking too much or becomes unpleasantly paranoid after smoking pot. Dude doesn't want his teen comedy to turn into a "bummer", I guess. Large cast includes Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey and Joey Lauren Adams.

Libeled Lady (USA, 1936) dvd
Newspaper prints lies about socialite (Myrna Loy). She sues for $5 million. Managing editor (Spencer Tracy) counter-maneuvers by having a former columnist (William Powell) first marry his fiancee (Jean Harlow) then seduce Loy. Complications ensue when Harlow falls for Powell and Powell falls for Loy. Libeled Lady is neither a great screwball comedy nor a classic but it's well worth-seeing. The clever plot takes a number of unpredictable turns during its fast and furious last twenty minutes. The direction by Jack Conway is undistinguished.

Not On the Lips (France, 2004) dvd
It's really sad the latest film from Alain Resnais went straight to video. It's my favorite musical since Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988). Not on the Lips is an adaptation of an operetta by Andre Barde and Maurice Yvain divided in three acts and set in Paris during the autumn of 1925. Sabine Azema and Pierre Arditi, the married couple from Melo play the Valandrays, a well-to-do couple. This time Azema has not one but three potential lovers: a gregarious older bachelor; a young, handsome artiste, and most significantly, an American to whom she was secretely married while living in Chicago. Azema's spinster sister (Isabelle Nanty) and a charming ingenue (Audrey Tatou) round up the cast. Romantic complications galore. Very funny and witty lyrics, a magnificent score, perfectly cast actors performing with ebullient energy and gusto, precise and evocative art direction...you name it, Not on the Lips put a smile on my face from beginning to end. Guaranteed a place on my year end Top 10.

Friday July 15th

Criss Cross (USA, 1949) dvd
One of the 20 or so films directed by Robert Siodmark during his exile in America (1941-1952), Criss Cross has a lot in common with Siodmark's The Killers, which I watched a month ago. Both are film-noirs in which a man played by Burt Lancaster is infatuated with a gorgeous woman involved with a gangster. The woman drags him into a life of crime and eventually betrays him. Both films are highly regarded. I beg to differ. I found Criss Cross eminently inferior. Two major reasons: 1) the femme fatale in Criss Cross is played by Yvonne De Carlo, whose extremely limited acting range results in an unconvincing ensnarement of the hero. 2) the script of Criss Cross is vague regarding the logistics of the plot to rob an armored truck, the central event in the film, which detracts from one's involvement.

The Ister (Australia, 2004) at Miami Art Central
High-brow entertainment, 3 hours and 10 minutes long. A film that is part philosophy essay, part historical travelogue. a) In the 18th century, Friedrich Holderlin writes a poem about the Danube river called The Ister (from "Istros", the ancient Greek term for the Danube). b) German philosopher Martin Heidegger delivers a series of lectures in 1942 inspired by "The Ister". c) Directors David Barison and Daniel Ross deconstruct and analyze the poem and the lectures by: a) Filming a voyage that traces the Danube's full course from the Black Sea to Bavaria while stopping to observe Romanians celebrating their country's entry into NATO, the Mauthausen concentration camp, the bombed city of Vukovar, Croatia, and other sites of historic-political interest b) Interviewing leading philosophers who have studied Heidegger's books and lectures and confronted his politics, including Heidegger's embrace of National Socialism (at his most controversial, Heidegger compared industrialized agriculture to the Nazi death camps) and c) providing quotes from both the poem and the lectures to match cetain images.
If you are not interested in German and Greek poetry and philosophy_or preoccupied with questions regarding consciousness, Being, memory, the ethics of technology and such_ you may want to pass on The Ister. I didn't find the visuals alone compelling enough to justify its running time. But if you find anything in my description enticing then you'll probably find The Ister quite provocative and stimulating.

Quote:

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Originally posted by oscar jubis
Not On the Lips (France, 2004) dvd
It's really sad the latest film from Alain Resnais went straight to video. Not on the Lips put a smile on my face from beginning to end.

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I also liked it quite a bit. Still not sure why Wellspring didn't release it theatrically; after all, it's a blithe-spirited effort which arthouse audiences would've enjoyed since it comments on our value system. And the film stars Audrey Tautou, whose lesser films have seen the light of day.

Originally posted by arsaib4
it's a blithe-spirited effort which arthouse audiences would've enjoyed since it comments on our value system.

Yes, primarily through characterization, I thought. Take Georges and his barely concealed xenophobia and his wife Gilberte, so shallow and attention-craving. Consider Charley's inflated self-importance and Tatou's Huguette, who is enough of a gold-digger to consider seducing the rich American Eric. We don't need to talk about him. These folks would feel right at home in the 21st century. Yet they remain eminently likable.

Saturday July 16th

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (US/UK, 2005) at AMC CocoWalk

War of the Worlds (USA, 2005) at AMC CocoWalk

You're keeping up manfully, Oscar -- I'd consider both of those chores, one creepy and the other annoying, but it would have given you something current and cinematic to do with your kids. I myself would consider them "worth seeing" from the technical point of view though I've avoided other earlier versions of both stories; if I get more active in viewing mainstream stuff, I may see them soon, we'll see. And both show off American filmmaking technique I guess. I read your restrained and judicious comments.

I suppose Not on Our Lips will turn up on videoshop shelves, if it has Tautou?

There's a Criss Cross I bet you haven't seen, "a pleasant little diversion," made in 1992 but set in 1969, about the moral dilemma of a boy with a single mom, and it's set in Florida. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104027/maindetails What made me rent it back then was it's directed by an excellent cinematographer, Chris Menges (The Killing Fields, MIchael Collins, Dirty Pretty Things, The Good Thief).

Here are my comments on Not on the Lips along with some DVD info.

Thanks. I wouldn't have found it without the link. Will you also write about Mélo? I see the MK2 DVD has English subtitles.

I'd love to write about Mélo, and many of his other films, but, as you know, it's hard to keep up with what's out now so a lot of my free time gets devoted to recent films. I believe Oscar has written something on the film. I'll let him find it!

Yup, the French DVD has subs.

*My post re Melo.
*Rosenbaum on Not On the Lips.

Sunday July 17th

In a Lonely Place (USA, 1950) dvd
Bitter Victory (USA/UK, 1957) dvd
Nicholas Ray was one of the most accomplished directors of the mid 20th century. In a short span of 14 years beginning in 1949 with They Live by Night, Ray developed a consistently excellent and thematically unified body of work. Personal problems and studio interference cut short his commercial career. They Live by Night and Rebel Without a Cause (1955) are well known and frequently screened. Many others deserve equal attention but have yet to be fully appreciated by the public at large.
In A Lonely Place can be viewed from three major perspectives:
a) As one of a series of films made in the 50s that viewed show business (and more specifically, Hollywood) with suspicion. Films like The Bad and the Beautiful, Sunset Blvd, All About Eve and The Barefoot Contessa. The protagonist of In a Lonely Place is Dixon Steele (Bogart), a disillusioned writer who is quite cynical about his employment by the studios. Scenes involving an alcoholic silent movie star comment relentlessly on the dark side of the star-making machinery.
b)Dixon Steele as the typical Ray protagonist: an isolated, deeply flawed, well-meaning man who is suspicious of institutions. A man who pursues a happiness that is ultimately too fleeting and fragile.
c) It's also interesting to analyze In a Lonely Place as an autobiographical film. It was made while Ray's marital relationship with the female lead, Gloria Grahame, was deteriorating beyond repair. During divorce proceedings, Grahame accused Ray of violence and brutality. In the film, Steele's inability to contain the violent expression of his anger resulted in his becoming a murder suspect and his losing the possibility of happiness with the smart and lovely Laurel (a fantastic Gloria Grahame, of course).
Bitter Victory is a war movie about a British commando raid on the German headquarters in Lybia during WWII. It depicts a conflict between a manipulative, cowardly career officer (Curt Jurgens) and an archaeologist (Richard Burton) who's sole interest is survival and who used to be deeply involved with the officer's wife. The plot and characterizations afford Ray an opportunity to comment on the nature of war heroics and reconsider who actually are society's outlaws.
Bitter Victory also evidences Ray's predilection for CinemaScope and his brilliant compositions using this widescreen format. Nicolas Ray has mentioned his involvement with Frank Lloyd Wright as influential in this regard. The scenes that take place in North African desert landscapes are particularly impressive.

Monday July 18th

My Best Girl (USA, 1927) on TCM
Mary Pickford as a stock girl who doesn't know the handsome boy she loves is the son of the store owner, who's hiding his identity to prove himself. Moreover, she doesn't know he's engaged to marry a rich society girl. More romance than comedy, The Best Girl features some remarkable camera work by cinematographer Charles Rosher, particularly scenes set in crowded city streets. As usual, Mary Pickford is utterly adorable and charming.

Blood of the Beasts (France, 1949) dvd
Georges Franju's short documentary about the slaughterhouses of Paris and the surrounding area. Franju pays particular attention to the skilled butchers and the methods used to kill farm animals and prepare their flesh for human consumption. A lyrical approach to the subject.

Triple Agent (France, 2004) PAL dvd
One of the few films written and directed by Eric Rohmer not to receive distribution stateside. Slow-paced and dialogue-heavy drama based on the real mystery of the disappearance of two leaders of a Paris-based White Army Vets association. The film concentrates on a Russian named Fyodor and his Greek-born painter wife. About half of Triple Agent's running time consists of conversations between them regarding the political climate in Europe circa 1936 and 1937 and Fyodor's political activities. It can be argued that nothing per se "happens" in Triple Agent as significant events occuring in Paris and elsewhere are merely mentioned and discussed. Rohmer makes ample use of Pathe News footage to provide information and add needed context to the verbal exchanges. The film's value as drama is limited to the issue of how much information can a person in a politically sensitive position share with his/her spouse, and how to maintain intimacy within a marriage characterized by secrecy. A political chamber drama whose appeal is limited to specialized audiences.

Tuesday July 19th

King of Kings (USA, 1961) on TCM
A discreet and sober Jesus biopic directed by Nicholas Ray from a screenplay by Philip Yordan (Johnny Guitar), with Orson Welles providing brief voice-over narration. Released in 70 mm Technirama, and now available on a dvd that respects the original widescreen frame.King of Kings is particularly memorable because of the visual compositions of Nicholas Ray_aided by new diopter lenses that allow for two sharp focal points within an image, and the magnificent use of Spanish locations. The absence of recognizable stars, other than Robert Ryan as John the Baptist,is an asset in that none of the actors carry associations from other films that interfere with one's fantasy that these faces belong to the actual historical persons. Unlike other Hollywood epics, Ray's King of Kings avoids reliance on scenes that require special effects. Musical score by Miklos Rozsa.

Le Chignon d'Olga (France, 2002)
The feature debut of writer/director Jerome Bonnell concers a family living in a provincial town who are dealing with the recent loss of the mother.The film is particularly interested in Julien, a good piano player of about 20 who seems to have lost interest in music. Emma, who seems most affected by her mother's death, is his younger sister. They live with their father, who writes books for children, and doesn't quite know how to handle the sexual advances of a friend's wife. Julien develops a crush on Olga, a girl who works at a bookstore and styles her hair in a bun, but he hangs out a lot with childhood pal Alice, who's five years older and trying to get over a bad relationship.
The obvious comparisons to Eric Rohmer are warranted but may lead the viewer to expect too much out of Bonnel's charming, light drama. Bonnel was 23 when the film was released and Le Chignon d'Olga evidences potential more than accomplishment.Olga is quite pleasant and has many insightful moments, but pales in comparison with Rohmer's La Genou de Claire, for instance.