Life as Art as Life

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012) - Nance










Gotta say that I admired Terence Nance's film more than I enjoyed it. There is no doubt that Nance is talented- who wrote, directed, did an animation and music all by himself. It's rare to find someone so original and graceful in his ability to express himself visually. One can also tell that this project is a true labor of love: there are more than a dozen animation styles applied here- stop motion, water color, drawings, whatsit...all achingly beautiful. It also takes a form of movie-within-a-movie, starting with a short How Would You Feel which dates back 2006. This on-going autobiographical examination on relationship is in part his train of thoughts, part her train of thoughts, part documentary, part reflection of those thoughts, endlessly repeating like a mobius strip.

The thing is, you have to drown out Nance's neverending monologue after a while and just give in to the visual aspect, because its narrative doesn't lead you anywhere. The project started out as a short and it should've remain as a short. He is a undeniably super talented guy in an obsessive relationship, but not a storyteller.

The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic at The Park Ave Armory 12/14/13

What a visual feat! Robert Wilson's Life and Death of Marina Abramovic was an experience that I will not soon forget. Ever since I realized that I missed seeing Black Rider, a musical that was Wilson's collaboration with Tom Waits and his Three Penny Opera, I was determined to see this. The avant-garde theater director's staging of a biography of the famed performance artist Abramovic is a close collaboration of Wilson, Abramovic, Willem Defoe and singer Antony from Antony and the Johnsons.

Dafoe serves as an devilish MC, gyrating through the 67 year old artist's bio, illustrating her harsh childhood in a militarily decorated, strict communist household in former Yugoslavia. Mixing amazing Balkan music with exceptionally powerful and beautiful Antony's singing voice and striking lighting schemes, watching Life and Death is unlike anything I've seen before. Abramovic here is a subject and a cast of an ensemble but not a performance artist. As a whole, it is an Wilson's piece through and through, artistically speaking. The two hours and forty minutes with intermission in beautiful The Park Avenue Armory on a snowy night Manhattan, I definitely wanted it to go on a lot longer. Too bad that the beautiful snow fall earlier turned into a heavy rain as we got out of the theater and made a real mess on the street. We wanted to frolic in the snow taking the experience in. Instead, Nicole and I opted for the cigar bar nearby and puffed our night away.

Selective Memories

Muriel ou Le temps d'un retour (1963) - Resnais

The film is set in Boulogne, a port city up north just on the other side of the English Channel. It is rapidly modernizing city with the remnants of WWII destruction still very much lingering. Same is true in the inner lives of Muriel's inhabitants- Helen (Delphine Seyrig), a widow with a selective amnesia who can't let go the memories of a past lover, Alfonse. He shows up at her request accompanied by a young woman claiming to be his niece. Helen's stepson Bernard (Jean-Baptiste Thierrée) also carries a terrible secret from his military days in Algeria.

Even though characters are talking about material things, joking about shady constructions of the new glass and concrete buildings that might 'slide right out to the sea,' and a cruise ship that ran aground at the bay, one can sense that there is a sense of doom over the ugly city. The youngun's wants to get away from it while older folks are stuck in only happy, fantasy oriented memories.

The film is structured like someone's scattered memories. Intentionally drab color palette and ugly 60s buildings are quite contrasty with visual elegance of Last Year at Marienbad, which was made just 2 years earlier (both shot by Sacha Vierny). Muriel is no less impressive at contemplating memories, fantasies and collective scar left in people's psyche in postwar Europe. I actually prefer this to Marienbad.

Orphaned

Nobody's Daughter Haewon (2013) - Hong

It's quite amazing that Hong's been making the same film with little variations for close to 20 years now with an unwavering consistency. Sure, as his reputation has grown as one of the leading Korean auteurs on the international film stage, and his films now feature European art house staples (this time around, Jane Birkin). But the scope of his films has remained pretty much the same. Nothing really new here- having an affair with older professor/movie director, copious amount of drinking and smoking, and wrestling with that sinewy entanglement called human relationship. But you can't not end up falling for Haewon (Jeong Eun-chae), a pretty college student who's about to be orphaned because her mom's permanently relocating to Canada. Her married professor/director wants to continue their 'secret' affairs and gets mad jealous and clingy at the same time, even though they both are tired of their predicament. Very enjoyable and endearing.

I have no desire to see Frances Ha. I don't know why Hong's films are much more attractive to me than Noah Baumbachs. Haewon and many of Hong's films ring true to me in portraying human relationships.

Kora on 66th Street Subway Platform

Kora is an African string instrument prevalent in West Africa- Mali, Senegal, Guinea and other places. I've recorded this back in October. In close proximity to Juliard, the 66th St. 1 Train station platform attracts amazing array of street musicians. This man was too good for me not to record. I just wish I had a better recording device than my 7 year old ipod with a mic attachment at hand.

Listen at:
https://soundcloud.com/floatingartist/1-train-66th-street-lincoln

High Noon in Space

Outland (1981) - Hyams

High Noon in space. Sean Connery plays, O'Niel, a middle management type company sheriff or security officer or whathaveyou of the mining colony in Io, one of Jupiter's moon. Because he is a loudmouth, he's been getting kicked around from the both sides and ended up in the shithole like Io with his less than enthusiastic family. As a matter of fact, his family bolts in two weeks. The company station in the orbit is secretly supplying some kind of red jello type drug that makes mining workers super productive. The side effects of it is hallucination, suicidal tendencies, etc. Many heads get blown up inside spacesuits because of this. As O'Niel catches up with what's going on, the asshole general manager (Peter Boyle) scorns him on acting like a fucking hero and making trouble. He contacts the mothership and have them send some space goons. The big Casio clock ticks down from 40 hours until the goons' arrival. 40 HOURS!

It's unfathomable in this day and age to have nothing blown up or having yet another plot twist every five seconds in a big budget Hollywood action movie. Outland is refreshing in its simpleness. It builds up tediously, showcasing some good old Sci-fi FX goodness and beautiful production design. O'Niel even has enuff time to visit a titty bar and chug a coupla drinks before the showdown. I appreciate that in a movie.

Body Art

Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present (2011) - Akers, Dupre

I didn't know Abramovic's MoMA show in 2011 was such a big deal. I do remember seeing the glimpse of her sitting in a chair against one gleeful patrons after another when I went to see William Kentridge show then. She drew a lot of crowd. I've never been a fan of performance art and just ignored her exhibition completely when it was on.

The film is a great introduction to her body of work. Born in former Yugoslavia, it was her communist hero parents' strict upbringing that shaped her as an artist that primarily uses her body to express. Her 60s-70s radical performance art is not quite dissimilar and equally annoying in that 'radical feminist art', 'I am naked and will balance myself on a stake' way. She and her long time partner/lover Ulay performed the war of the sexes until they broke up after The Great Wall Walk, where they walked from opposite end toward each other. The rest of the film leads up to her MoMA performance. I have to say I was moved by her sitting in one place day after day facing different people for three months. At 62, she looks great and her stamina is astounding. The performance brings out different reactions and emotions out of people. It's quite affecting. I'm very excited about seeing her new performance piece in Robert Wilson's Life and Death of Marina Abramovic next weekend.

Much More than a Feminist Parable

The Wall/Die Wand (2012) - Pölsler








It is very hard to disregard The Wall as a 'what-if' tinged sci-fi in the tradition of Twilight Zone that The Simpsons is so keen on ripping off of. Based on a 60's novel by Marlen Haushofer, the film tells a frumpy, middle aged woman (played superbly by Martina Gedeck) suddenly finding herself cut off from the rest of the world overnight by an invisible wall in the wilderness of the stunning Austrian Alps. It's as if the time has stopped outside the wall. The old couple it the neighboring cabin on the other side of the wall has frozen in their daily activities. Yet, the nature prevails: the birds chirp, the trees sway in the wind, the stream gently flows.... It's just her and her dog, Lynx, alone. She slowly accepts this nightmarish fact and starts a journal, cataloging her thoughts and activities in the back of an old calendar she finds in her cousin's hunting lodge. She goes on long treks to map out the limits of her territories. She learns herself how to survive by hunting and growing crops. The seasons change, and she slowly begins to enjoy living in nature. Crippling loneliness is compensated only by Lynx and other animal friends. Taking care of her animals become her sole reason to go on. But her peace is not meant to last long.

The star of the film is undoubtedly its spectacular setting and cinematography. As our unnamed protagonist treks, works and rests in four seasons in day/night time, we are presented with the majestic Alps scenery. Contemplative, and strangely moving by the end, The Wall doesn't come across only as some sort of a feminist parable on the modern world. The whole experience is much more than that.

Heaven on Earth

The Garden of Earthly Delights (2004) - Majewski



Two lovers, Claudia (Claudine Spiteri) and Chris (Chris Nightingale) both pursuing their doctorate: she studying Hieronymous Bosch's painting, he, nautical engineering, in one of the most picturesque, arty cities in the world, Venice. Claudia's thesis is that Bosch believed in paradise on earth. It's something we create for ourselves in our short time on earth. This rings more true because she is dying of throat cancer. The lovers roam around the forever waterlogged city, reenacting many of the details in the painting, all faithfully documented by Chris with his handheld video camera. This premise might sound a little too self-indulging in that snobby Euro-art way and Spiteri's coquettish British accent hits you as more than annoying. But when all is said and done, it's an affecting contemplation on art, life, death and beauty. I'm definitely going to see more of Majewski's films.

Oh, this will make a great double feature with Museum Hours.

War, What is it Good for?

Shame (1968) - Bergman

Jan (Max von Sydow) and Eva (Liv Ullman) are a childless couple living rustic life in an island. Through their conversation it is revealed that they are former musicians in an orchestra before it was disbanded, presumably, because of the looming war. It also seems that the couple's having some marital problems. Eva wants a baby but Jan doesn't. Eva loathes Jan's passivity and escapist tendencies. The war comes roaring in with jet planes and bombs. The war- destructions, dead bodies, fire, threats, media manipulation..., brings the worst in the couple and heightens the rift between them. The life of the couple is turned upside down, inside out, thoroughly exploited and exhausted by both sides of the fence.

I've never seen the horrors of war this frightening in b&w. The fear and anxiety Bergman, von Sydow and Ullman bring to the screen are amazing. Shame is a complex anti-war film. The setting, its fuzzy time frame are almost expressionistic against realistic performances of the actors. It denounces war, any war and shows how it sucks humanity out of normal people. And what an ending- as they aimlessly float in purgatory treading through full of dead corpses, Eva recites a rather erotic dream. She says she tried to remember something somone had said, not remembering that pleasurable moment. Art is dead (as indicated in Jan's dream that starts the film), love is dead, all that is left is shame of losing them.

Collective Amnesia

12 Years of a Slave (2013) - McQueen

Masterful filmmaking. It does limit the shameful American slavery experience to 12 years and have unwanted famous faces popping up to say hello. But McQueen's focus is all on Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his unjust slavery. Even Michael Fassbender's powerhouse plantation owner Epps doesn't eclipse Solomon and other slaves' harrowing experiences. The punchline is that without a big payback or satisfying epilogue, we are left to grapple with the fate of the fellow slaves Solomon leaves behind at the end.

It gave me a pleasure seeing this in a packed theater the day after Thanksgiving in one of the beautiful screening rooms of the Brooklyn's cultural mecca, BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) with very mixed audiences. I couldn't help but comparing this film to the best film I've seen this year, The Act of Killing- for both dealing with a collective amnesia of sort, especially when witnessing older white audiences wincing in their seats during many of the film's difficult moments.

My minor issue with the film is what Solomon went through in the film didn't feel like 12 years. If McQueen's intention was that of a surprise that, indeed it's been 12 years and his kids are all grown up, that he's been unjustly kept as a slave, it didn't work for me. It would have a better impact if there was some kind of indication of passage of time. I totally understand how that come across as anything but cheesy, but McQueen would have found the way to show it, just like the rest of the film not being anything but cliché. Definitely among one of the best this year.

Melancholic Landscapes

Une femme en Afrique (1985) - Depardon



Photographer/director Raymond Depardon equates his unfulfilled desire with the vast, empty desert. The whole film is told by an unseen narrator observing a young, androgynous French woman/traveling companion (Françoise Prenant) as she mumbles back sweet nothing to the camera in various stages of undress. The main draw of the film is not the Woody Allenesque neurosis of the narrator. It's the scenery from Djibouti to Alexandria, seen from the balcony, train, boat and plane, mostly over the young woman's shoulders. Depardon captures the melancholy of the desert landscape like no other.

Heist of the Highest Order

In the Shadows (2010) - Arslan

Arslan's foray into genre exercise is perhaps one of the tightest heist film that would make Michael Mann blush. There is nothing remarkable about the plot: A criminal gets out of the jail. He regroups and plans another job with his former associates. His old boss and a corrupt cop are on his trail, and that sets up for various confrontations.

It's not 'what' that's important in In the Shadows, it's 'how'. The mechanics of procedural takes a precedent- getting unregistered guns, counting money, getting rid of the bodies and simple wait-in-the-corners-until-bad-guys-approach-then-shoot set ups, not one moment of the film is wasted. Arslan's treatment of locations is also impeccably economical and has an almost documentary feel to it. It's the empty parking lot, non-descriptive hotel rooms and corridors and gas stations off the freeway, not some recognizable landmarks. But the still shots of those places provide the sense of real and concreteness against the characters who are constantly in motion. People are speaking German but our aptly named protagonist Trojan (Mišel Matičević), with his broad lion face, doesn't come across as a German. In this economical climate, even the heist money is modest- 600,000 euros.

Arslan, a German-Turkish filmmaker who has made a point early in his career not to repeat what he's done previously, makes a sly turn with In the Shadows. At the onset, In The Shadows might not be the best film to represent him as one of filmmakers of the tenuous Berlin School. Although not politically as blunt as fellow filmmaker Petzold in his films, Arslan acknowledges in his (whatever the genre might be) the influx of immigrants which Germany had never experienced before in its history.

In the Shadows plays part of MoMA Film Series The Berlin School: Films from the Berliner Schule Nov.20 through Dec.6. Please visit MoMA website for details.

I Confess

I am Guilty (2005) - Hochhäusler

Fragmented, distant and elliptical, Hochhäusler's I am Guilty aka Falscher Bekenner (False Confessor) is a deeply disturbing film that stays with you for a long time after viewing. It tells a story of Armin (Constantin Von Jascheroff), an aimless teen from a middle-class household, who might be a terrorist in the making. He seems to be into mechanics and has a fascination for mechanical objects but not much else. Being a third son in a German household, therefore exempt from the mandatory military service isn't really helping him to get a headstart in life by any means. Because his concerned parents' constant nagging, Armin goes to job interviews only to get rejected, one after another. He lacks enthusiasm, focus, social skills, qualification...everything. The interviewers absurd questions and methods are as troubling as Armin's withdrawal. There is no discernible human quality to the process.

The film keeps things as lucid as possible. Did Armin actually committed the arson in his neighborhood? Is he engaging in some dark sexual activities in the public bathroom at night? The thing is, because of Hochhäusler's precise, impeccable direction, you can't dismiss the boy's lethargic behavior as shallow characterization. His troubled inner life, however hidden, beckons more of your attention.

Hochhäusler, a former critic turned filmmaker, says that this loss of identity theme in his as well as many other films of the Berlin School is not particularly limited to reflect the post-Wall German society. He sites that many of these German compatriots see themselves as cosmopolitan and get their influences from filmmakers from other parts of the world. With that in mind I feel there is an unspoken fraternity with Armin and all the young protagonists on the periphery of society with identity problems in so-called 'skipped generation' of wayward youth films around the world (films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Gus Van Sant and current Greek cinema immediately come to mind).

I am Guilty plays part of MoMA Film Series The Berlin School: Films from the Berliner Schule Nov.20 through Dec.6. Please visit MoMA website for details.

Suspended State

Bungalow (2002) - Köhler

A teenage soldier Paul (Lennie Burmeister) deserts his squad at a roadside gas station and comes back home. His parents are on holiday in Italy, so the house is empty. Things get complicated when his older brother Max (Devid Striesow, Yella, Three, The Heart is a Dark Forest) shows up with his pretty Danish actress girlfriend, Lene (Trine Dyrholm). They are on the way to Munich because Lene is about to star in a low grade German Sci-fi flick. They leave in two days. It's quite obvious that the brothers don't get along. Paul lies about his AWOL status and develops an unhealthy obsession with Lene. Stooped, sulking and completely inept in human interactions, Paul is not just another lost, wayward youth. There is something more dangerous hidden in his unmotivated actions. There is something missing in him.

The post-Wall Germany's collective identity crisis and its angst is demonstrated by an unexplained, ominous explosion in the middle of the film, as our characters watch the plume of smoke rising in the distance from the roof of the house in their quiet suburban town. No one knows what exactly happened. Everyone has their own theories and no one believes the news media. Everyone remains suspicious and on guard. Bungalow does an amazing job at showing the German society treading dangerous, unforeseen territory in the new millennium.

Bungalow plays part of MoMA Film Series The Berlin School: Films from the Berliner Schule Nov.20 through Dec.6. Please visit MoMA website for details.

John Sayles Interview

Go for Sisters, a new film by director/writer John Sayles, the godfather of American independent cinema (Return of the Secaucus Seven, Brother from Another Planet, Lone Star, Limbo), is just as I expect in a John Sayles film; beautifully written, beautifully acted, mature and always relevant -- the qualities so rare in mainstream American cinema these days. Recently I had a chance to talk to him briefly on the phone about his new film, Edward James Olmos and the country's immigration reform debate.

Can you tell me the origin of GO FOR SISTERS?

Chinese smugglers of illegal immigrants are called Snakeheads. There was a case in New York where the head of this organization got indicted for human trafficking. She was operating in a hole in the wall place down on Canal Street. They would come first to Belize, Guatemala by ships, then to Mexico through our southern borders or through Canadian border up north. They come from China for economical reasons. So for many people, she was a good business woman providing valuable services for those who want to come over.

Then I had this situation in my head for a long time -- about two very close friends whose lives have taken different paths and are reunited in the most awkward of circumstances. I've heard that there is a stricter rules now in monitoring parolees in the parole system. It's in the film where Fontayne (Yolonda Ross) has to pee in the cup in front of her parole officer, Bernice (LisaGay Hamilton) -- the two High School friends who haven't seen each other for a long time. So those two things just came together.

It's such a beautifully acted film. Did you have certain actors in mind for these roles?

I usually don't do that when I make a film. There are a lot of actors I want to work with but that doesn't mean I can get them -- sometimes their schedule doesn't work out, they might not want to work on a reduced scale, they are having babies.... But when I was writing Go for Sisters, I had these three actors (Hamilton, Ross and Edward James Olmos) in mind.

I've worked with LisaGay before in Honeydrippers. I've auditioned Yolonda for LisaGay's role. I remember jotting down next to her name, 'not quite right for the role but a terrific actor, will need to work with her in the future'.

It's so opposite of Hollywood. There are no mainstream films about two African American women in their 40s.

There are so many talented actors who are not getting work, let alone good roles. Lucky for me, they both were available for this project.

Eddie James Olmos is an actor I've been admiring for a long time. We've met at film festivals and such before but I never got a chance to work with him before.

Edward James Olmos is also credited as one of the producers, how did he come on board as a producer?

He's a legendary actor. He's done a lot of films. And half of the films he's been in had to be independent. He was in most of Robert Young films.

Yeah I remember watching Robert M. Young's great film, CAUGHT, which Olmos produced also.

Not only that, he is a director as well. So he knows what making small independent movies, shooting on a shoestring budget is like. There are a lot of components to producing and he was a great help.

So what's Freddy Suarez (Edward James Olmos's character)'s backstory? Why is he helping these two women out?

As it was portrayed in the film, first it was money. Because Freddy was disgraced when he was in the police force, the pension is gone. He needs to pay for paying the mortgage. Two thousand dollars is not much money but he is in a desperate situation. So he takes the job to help Bernice and Fontayne to locate Bernice's son. The second reason is, as he learns along their trip, he wants some sort of redemption. Not that what happened to his career was his fault, he still wants to redeem himself for doing something right.

It's an amazing performance. I hope he gets some kind of recognition for this.

It can happen. Hopefully many people will see the film and I am actively talking to many of my actor friends to vote for him come awards season.

I can't help thinking about what would be left out while watching your films compared to Hollywood films. There are two beautiful scenes I want to talk to you about: And these are the scenes that if GO FOR SISTERS was a Hollywood film, they would surely be cut out.

Right. For Hollywood projects, there can be no breathing room. It has to be a roller coaster ride and you have to move on. I do a lot of script doctoring for Hollywood films so I know how that works. The thing about doing your film your way is that there is no financial pressure coming from studios.

I love the scene with Bernice and Fontayne at the AA meeting, where Bernice understands what Fontayne has been going through for the first time. The other scene I love is Freddy buying the young Mexican mother and her little girl breakfast.

That's the trade off, isn't it? On one hand I am shooting a movie in 14 days with under a million-dollar budget, barely making it. On the other hand, I have a freedom to really get into creating characters and give them more nuances.

I know it's always a struggle for you to find funding for your film. The last time I interviewed you for AMIGO which was a historical period piece, you told me that one of the main reasons you shot that film in the Philippines is because you could do it cheap down there. I am wondering what you could've done differently if you had more money for GO FOR SISTERS.

(Without hesitation) I would have liked to pay actors and crew better. I mean the reason I could've (barely) made Go for Sisters was because its budget was low enough to qualify for the SAG Modified Low-Budget Scale agreement, which I understand, is about the same as the California State minimum wage. Because of this I could worked with many of the actors (besides those three principals) I always wanted to work with but didn't get a chance to -- Hector Elizondo, Harold Perrineau and Isaiah Washington. So I would've definitely paid them more - actors, crew, everyone involved.

Can you tell me your assessment on the climate of Washington in terms of immigration reform?

The problem with immigration laws in this country is that they aren't practical, they're symbolic, and the government is unwilling to enforce our minimum wage laws. If immigrant workers had to be paid minimum wages, fewer employers would hire them, and we'd have a better idea of what their true employment situation is. Then we could arrange a work-permit and visa system -- this has been done before. Instead we have a free-for-all that is both racist and hypocritical.


Go for Sisters played at SXSW this year and has a theatrical release on Nov. 8 in NY, Nov. 15 in LA and regional roll out in Nov/Dec.

Ethnography of Mirage

The Days of the Eclipse (1988) - Sokurov








Strange and heady, Sokurov's semi-Sci-fi is a surrealistic meditation of the USSR on the eve of its dissolution. It starts with the POV shot of a celestial being flying over the barren, arid Turkmenistan landscape and crashing down to earth, accompanied by laughter of a child and Ennio Morricone inspired carnival music. Then we are introduced to its inhabitants - old, toothless people with decidedly Asiatic features. Sokurov points out many times throughout the film that this dusty small village in the desert could simply be a mirage.

Dmitri, a fresh faced young doctor/writer from Moscow is our prince Myshkin: he is more of an ethnographer, observing the foreign landscape and its inhabitants. The unrelenting heat makes many of the residents sleepless and Dmitri shirtless most of the time. His adobe is strewn with papers, exotic animals and strange artifacts and uninvited visitors. His life is total chaos: he talks to a recently deceased friend at the morgue, gets into a fist/kick fight in the street while trying to intervene the fight between two men and gets taken hostage by an armed military man.

The Days of the Eclipse can be read as a palimpsest of a Soviet federation's history: not quite understanding different ethnic groups with completely different culture and religion under one large umbrella. And its past still haunts even in the remote valley in the desert. The most beautiful scenes are the ones with celestial cherubic blonde kid appearing at his doorstep. He tells how handsome Dmitri is, but sees time passing in his face. Perestroika is good looking and all, but is it going to last?

Sisterhood

Go for Sisters (2013) - Sayles

A solid movie from John Sayles. It's not mindblowing or anything but as usual in John Sayles film, acting and script are superb. It concerns two childhood friends, Bernice (Lisa Gay Hamilton) and Fontayne (Yolonda Ross) reuniting as a parole officer and a parolee. Their lives went different ways after High School. Bernice became a no-nonsense, "I can sense your bullshit even before you finish your sentence" law enforcement agent and Fontayne has been struggling with drugs and bad relationships.

Bernice gives Fontayne a break with the parole violation for old times sake, but its her asking her old friend's help whose seedy underworld connection might help locate her son who maybe in trouble. With the help of an old disgraced cop, Freddy 'the Terminator' (Edward James Olmos) the odd trio embark on a road trip down south of the border.

Fine tuned performances never delves into caricature territory. Class differences explored and so is the problems of human trafficking across the border. Olmos is so fucking good in this as an aging cop who is amazing at his job while going blind. And there are some very fine moments in the film that would've definitely ended up on the chopping block if it was a studio film. Go for John Sayles!

Žižek Remains Hopeful, So Should You

The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (2013) - Fiennes

Why is it easier for us to visualize the end of the human race, than the end of the free-market capitalism? This is the driving question behind the latest collaboration between Slavoj Žižek, the superstar philosopher/psychoanalyst/cultural critic of our time and director Sophie Fienne's in their new documentary, The Pervert's Guide to Ideology. It's their second film since the widely successful The Pervert's Guide to Cinema in 2006. Clocking at 135 minutes, Ideology is arguably less entertaining than its predecessor despite the charming presence of the famed philosopher in several iconic movie backdrops, gesticulating wildly and sounding like the Eastern European Sylvester the Cat. But this film is a denser, more serious examination of our consumerist society that asks many of the important questions of our time, and will require your full attention. As the film jumps briskly through various components of ideology, I suggest seeing the film more than once to absorb Žižek's whole thought process.

For a person who grew up in Communist Slovenia during the Cold War, and hailing from a Marxist/Anarchist perspective, Žižek is equally critical of all ideologies -- the Soviet Communism, Fascism, Capitalism and religion. With various examples of Soviet era war films and Nazi propaganda, he demonstrates the manipulative nature of ideology.

While this film is intellectually complex and sometimes hard to follow, there are many brilliant moments that you just have to nod and smile. One of these is in the beginning, with John Carpenter's hidden gem of the Hollywood Left, They Live. Žižek begins his dissertation by the dumpster in a back alley in LA, where the epic fist-fight between Roddy 'Rowdy' Piper and Keith David takes place, because David's character refuses to put on the sunglasses that will let him see the hidden messages used by the yuppie aliens to control the human race ("Obey", "Money is your God" etc - all the good things about the Reagan years). Ideology is essentially the filter that we see the world through.

Žižek uses different cultural examples to demonstrate how historic ideological movements manipulate the masses. Beethoven's 9th Symphony -- Ode to Joy, a world famous melody associated with a vision of fraternity amongst all human beings, has been appropriated by many political movements: Nazis, Marxists, Maoists and even the Shining Path -- believe it or not, these were all 'utopian movements' in their own minds. It was the national anthem of the apartheid government of Southern Rhodesia (present day Zimbabwe) and is now the anthem of the European Union. After the long historical montage, you are relieved to see Žižek sitting in the Korova Milk Bar from Clockwork Orange. The genius of Beethoven is not only utopian vision in music, but the realization that there are those who will always be excluded from this utopia, as illustrated by the carnivalesque version of the symphony's fourth movement heard in the scene where Little Alex prowls the shopping mall.

Žižek dissects our advanced, capitalist system using Freudian psychoanalytic terms and Western philosophy, giving variety of cultural examples for the laymen: Sound of Music, Kinder Eggs, Starbucks, coke, Titanic.... He takes us to the Mojave Desert -- the gravesite of derelict airplanes, for us to witness the amazing amount of waste created by the current economic system. For those who are not familiar with Plato's Republic, he sites Dark Knight to explain the 'Noble Lie', a conservative view of the society where it is necessary for the rulers to lie because the public can't handle the truth.

All this heady, intellectual inquiries are at times too much. Fiennes deftly moves from one iconic movie setting to another connecting the dots and continuing visual threads to keep up with our motor-mouthed host and keep the film afloat. The movie settings are perfectly matched with the originals and the visual gags are clever and funny.

Capitalism is the only revolution that survived because it thrives on economic crises and social turmoil. Why do people loot during the riot? Žižek uses an example of the London Riots of 2011. In our consumerist system, people's frustrations in social and economic injustice can be only expressed by stealing objects. We go back to his main question for the finale:

Why do we so easily envision asteroid hitting the earth or the end of days rather than seeing a moderate change in our economic system?

I saw him speaking eloquently about the possibilities of envisioning a different kind of world for our future at the Zuccotti Park, during Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011. With The Pervert's Guide to Ideology, he is suggesting us to examine the past, learn from mistakes and be a little bit of a realist in seeing the world.

The Pervert's Guide to Ideology opens 11/1 at the IFC Center followed by other markets.
Slavoj Žižek and director Sophie Fiennes in person Fri Nov 1 & Sat Nov 2 for Q&As following 6:45 shows.

Plus book signing with Žižek for his new book Less Than Nothing: Hegel and the Shadow of Dialectical Materialism, Sat Nov 2 at 9:45pm – books on sale at lobby concessions stand.
Please visit IFC website for tickets.

Mother Russia

Mother and Son (1997) - Sokurov
Sokurov's idea of the basis of all human relationship - the one between mother and child, is stunningly visualized in Mat I Syn. As the rightful heir to Tarkovsky and reining spiritual backbone in faithless, chaotic Mother Russia, Sokurov shows eternal rebirth of devotion, sadness and nostalgia. The film's dreamy, skewed images are heavily influenced by paintings of Caspar David Friedrich. The look of the film is like nothing I've ever witnessed on film: its slightly distorted, no depth of field, soft green & yellow palette creates the world where time has lost all its meaning. It's a beautiful and soulful film.

"I Don't Need to be Put on a Pedestal": Claire Denis Interview

Claire Denis goes all-out noir in Bastards, a brooding, nocturnal thriller where innocents get punished and good men die. With a star studded cast, Denis creates a film experience so seductive and mesmerizing, it reminded me of the exhilaration that I haven't felt in theaters since, gosh, maybe Mulholland Dr.?

The film's strong sexual contents are stirring controversy since it debuted at Cannes (in Un Certain Regard section). It will be a divisive film for sure. But there is no question that the film demonstrates Denis as a filmmaker in her prime. I had a pleasure of chatting with her for the second time since her last outing to NYFF with White Material in 2010.

BASTARDS plays out like a hardboiled film noir in the vein of James M. Cain and reminiscent of CHINATOWN. I know it's co-written by your long time collaborator Jean-Pol Fargeau. Is the story based on anything?

Yes, it was based on something. I wanted to work once more with Vincent Lindon (they collaborated in Friday Night, 2003) and have him to play someone like James Caan or Toshiro Mifune -- someone solid, someone we can depend on. But I like seeing bad things happening to those hero types. So I started with some Kurosawa revenge movies from the [60s] -- Bad Sleep Well and High and Low. Then with Jean-Pol, we decided that if we wanted to do a noir that we will write it straight forward, scene by scene, brick by brick. Otherwise it wouldn't work because I have a tendency to revise again and again and again.

There is a plot but like many of your other films, it's all about the mood and atmosphere you create. I'm wondering how much of the script is translated on the screen?

In Bastards, the script was exactly the blueprint of the film. Nothing was invented on the set. One scene was cut and I wanted the killing of Marco to take place on the seaside. They were going to carry the little boy off by the boat and she (Chiara Mastroianni's character) shoots him and he falls into the sea. But that' about it. The weather was bad and it was going to cost too much. Other than that, there was really no big change made. Everything was planned well and it was different than shooting in other countries where I have no control over all those sudden changes. I love the locations and it was very easy shooting in Paris.

The mesmerizing soundtrack, once again, is composed by Stuart Staples (of Tindersticks). How does this collaboration work?

We are always in the process together. We go through the script and we discuss, then he sees the dailies. In this film, I told him about Tangerine Dream. I wanted something electronic, something inhuman.

It's really gorgeous.

The way Stuart helps me with the project, he is not only a working companion or musician. He's much more than that. He is someone who I trust so much. In White Material, he was the only one who made me cut out a scene. I wouldn't do it for anyone but he said, "I don't understand that scene," and I said, "Alright, if YOU don't understand it, I'll cut it out."

Wow.

No it's because...he is such a great poet, such a great musician. His feelings are so intense.

And his sensibility matches with what you are trying to do?

It's more like I try to match with him.

You are so modest.

I'm not modest, you know. When you are making films, you are clumsy because you have to take care of a lot of stuff. I'm not exaggerating about Stuart. A collaboration with him is like me flying and he is my co-pilot.

So the great Agnes Godard again shot your film. And for the first time you shot on digital video. I'd like to know what you think about the whole digital revolution that's been happening and if you liked the result shooting on video.

Of course, I like the result. We chose to shoot the film that way, so it had to work. I was happy to do it. I was thinking about shooting White Material on video already. But I thought the look of digital was too cold for the project. So we chose to shoot with low speed Kodak film with almost pinkish tone to express the heat on Isabelle [Huppert]'s face. This heat you can't get it on digital, unless you add it in [color] timing in post. But it's not the same. It still seemed too cold to me. The heat comes from the depth of field and the reaction to the film itself. For instance, when it's very hot, the RED EPIC camera won't work. You have to put an icepack around the camera. Because digital can't stand that kind of heat.

Right. The camera itself gets very hot.

Yeah and it needs to get ventilated all the time. And it's very noisy on the set. It only gets quiet when it's recording. It's like having a computer on set. It took me a week to recreate the relationship I had with Agnes because I don't like to watch film on monitors and I like to be close to the camera. So in the beginning, I felt I was outside the film for a while and I had to fight my way back!

Would you shoot on digital again?

Sure. The thing about shooting digital is trying not to make it look like film. If it looks like digital, it's fine with me.

BASTARDS is stunning though. I love how it looks. And I'm a film guy. But I teach college students how to use digital equipment now. And a lot of kids are not shooting film anymore and it makes me feel sad.

I've seen The Master by PT Anderson last year, shot on 70mm. I mean, wow--

Not many people are doing that though.

I know it's expensive and everything, but it's such a different experience. We should fight to keep them both.

We should.

Because it expresses something else.

I totally agree.

Let me move on to the actors. Whew, such a star studded cast in this one, including your regulars -- Vincent Lindon, Alex Descas, Michel Subor and Gregoire Collin and some actors you haven't worked with before -- Chiara Mastroianni and Lola Créton. I'm wondering if you had those actors in mind when you were planning this film.

I had Chiara in mind for such a long time. But we were shy about approaching each other. And she is an impressive actress, you know? Then we became very close. And Lola, I saw her in two films and I immediately wanted to work with her.

Was the process of working with those two any different than working with your regulars?

No. But I spent a lot of time together with Lola before shooting. I wanted her not to be afraid and trust me and to be the master of the ceremony. I didn't want her to be the victim. So I spent a lot of time with her for that. And Chiara, I know her well, so the trust was already there. But she is someone who doesn't need a lot of psychological explanation. She does it without being told. And it's good for me because I don't like explaining things. So it just the question of being together with those two.

But Vincent is different. He needs a lot of explanation. He always needs more and more. It's because he is such a generous actor. He's always afraid he is not giving you enough.

I saw Lola Créton last year at the festival here.

For Olivier Assayas'?

For Mia Hansen-Løve's GOODBYE FIRST LOVE.

Ah yes.

She was doing a Q&A session and she was so amazingly shy. But in GOODBYE FIRST LOVE, she just gives it all. I am wondering if it was the same for you.

She is shy but you can be shy at the same time as strong. She is both.

There was controversy this year at the Cannes Film Festival where people were protesting the lack of women filmmakers represented. Do you think those objections have merits?

I don't care if I don't win competition. I just don't have time to think about that. If I did, I would become furious. So I'd drop the thing completely and just accept everything I'm given. I remember once watching a Godard movie and afterward I was in a bar next to the theater with Agnes Varda, eating and drinking wine because Agnes was starving. Godard walked by us without giving us any attention and Agnes called him out, "Hey, Jean-Luc Godard doesn't even say hello to me?" So he turned around and said in a slightly sarcastic, slightly comical way "You expect to be decorated (like Legion d'honneur) eh?" as if wanting any acknowledgment was a sin. She said, "Look Jean-Luc, I'd accept everything I'm given." And from then on, I think, 'yes this is true: it's better to accept everything you are given and try not to contest'. It's a waste of time. The controversy about Bastards...I accept it too. I don't feel like a victim just because I'm a woman. I might be victim of myself but not of others.

The thing is, I really want you to be recognized at some point though. You are one of the great directors of our time and I feel sad you don't get that recognition.

Then, what the fuck?! You know what I mean? What can I do about that? Some people like my work and some people don't. Maybe my films are too weird. For some people I am important, but a pedestal I don't need.

Museum of Moving Image is doing mini retro of Claire Denis which culminates to the preview screening of Bastards on Oct. 22, a day before its release in New York. It has a limited release in theaters, VOD and Digital on Oct. 25. Please visit MOMI website and IFC Entertainment website for tickets.

Here is my short review for Bastards

My Claire Denis Interview Nov, 2010

Reviews:

Chocolat
Beau Travail
White Material
Vendredi Soir/Friday Night
35 Rhums

Woman Under the Influence

Camille Claudel 1915 (2013) - Dumont

With each new film, a controversial French filmmaker Bruno Dumont continues to fascinate me. His fixation with purity is quite unflinching, and his characters suffer for (or for the lack of) it. Camille Claudel 1915, an even more characteristically stripped-down, austere Dumont film, concerns 3 days in the life of Camille Claudel, a famed sculptress and one time August Rodin's mistress. She has been abandoned and committed by her family to a mental asylum where she would spend the rest of her life until death. Her younger brother Paul, a famous poet and writer with a strong Christian bent visits her during this time, not to rescue her, but to chastise her.

Juliette Binoche, who continues to choose intriguing projects as she gets older, plays the unglamorous title role and giving a measured and beautiful performance of a woman (slightly) under the influence. From what I hear, the famed actress reached out to Dumont because she wanted to work with the director and challenge herself. She wanted to play a woman in a confined space. Camille Claudel 1915 is the result of their collaboration.

So this is quite the rare film where Dumont uses a famous actor (other than the late Katerina Golubeva in Twentynine Palms back in 2003, which I feel was the only misstep in his otherwise singular filmography). In a true Bressonian fashion, he usually populate his films with non-actors. In this film, he mainly focuses on Binoche's non-made up, anguished, hollow face as she spends her days in boredom and frustration surrounded by other mental patients.

It starts with Camille preparing her meal alone in the kitchen- a couple of boiled potatoes. A greenhorn intern who is not familiar with Camille's arrangement tries to stop her only to be the victim of her outbursts. A seasoned nurse quietly informs him that Camille is allowed to prepare her own meals because of her 'condition' that she thinks someone is trying to poison her. Tearful Camille joins the rest of the group at the dining table. It's a group of sad creatures- a toothless, drooling, howling bunch of real mental patients.

For naturalism and fluidity, Dumont and the crew shot the film during the daily routine of the mental hospital (where the film was shot): real patients going about their daily schedule and real nurses playing Sisters of the old Catholic mental asylum. The result is quite astounding. I can assure you that the controversy surrounding using real mental patients in film, that the film is exploitative is quite unfounded. Dumont has proven over the years that what he strives for in his filmmaking is showing purity and authenticity in both physical and spiritual form.

The sibling's differences are portrayed in two nearly identical, long, technically daring scenes: with the other patients in tow, Camille and the Sisters climb a rocky hill. Preoccupied but not unhelpful or uncaring, Camille assists others who are much more handicapped than her to reach the top of the hill. It's a beautiful site. But it's just a hill. As soon as they reach it, they go back down. The afternoon walk is over. Then there is Paul (Jean-Luc Vincent)'s long walk up to a hill behind a church with a friend who is an ordained priest. On the way to the top, Paul describes his first religious epiphany in detail to his friend, his story coming to a crescendo at the peak.

The only time we see Camille smile is when the news of her brother Paul's visit is announced. She is fully expecting to be freed from her unjust confinement. She might be a little paranoid, but she is still a sentient, sensible thinking being. When they meet, he lectures her why she is in her state of misfortune. He deems that it is her arrogance which is prevalent in artistically talented types that gave way to her delusions of grandeur. In his mind, God loves everyone but punishes those who are insolent. It's an unforgivable sin.

Dumont always grapples with the idea of purity of faith in his films. It can be devastating (Humanité). It can be beautiful (Hadewijch, Hors Satan). In Camille Claudel 1915, he examines this purity in a historical context in the lives of historical figures.

Camille Claudel was a tragic figure, not because she was punished by God. She was as much a victim of her paranoia as of the sexist society and its times. As Dumont throws Paul's view in, the film becomes another contemplation of the purity of faith which can be quite rigid, inhumane and self-righteous.

All the controversy aside, the film remains to be beautiful in its austerity. It's a hard film to watch but a very strong one, one that will definitely ring over your head long after you leave the theater.

Camille Claudel 1915 has an exclusive two-week theatrical run at Film Forum, starting October 16. It's distributed by Kino Lorber. For tickets please go to Film Forum website.

New Anthem of the Millennials

Her (2013) - Jonze

It's hard to believe that Her is only Spike Jonze's fourth feature film because it feels like he's been in our pop culture consciousness for a long time. With his music videos and films, he's always been creating worlds that are just ahead of the curve. Written solely by Jonze for the first time, Her is a surprisingly thoughtful and moving film. In a mere two-hour running time, it raises a lot of important issues in our society which is heavily dependent on technology. And it's bound to be a cult classic.

Her refers to the new operating computer system that our sad sack protagonist Theodore Twombly (played beautifully by Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with. She is a cross between an operating system and Siri. The setting is Los Angeles, in the very near future, where IKEA and Banana Republic seem to have spawned and populated every pore of the city with their sensible furniture and clothing. In this future, everyone pretty much walks around with a cigarette-box sized mobile computer device with a wireless earplug in his/her ear, verbally dictating tasks on the screen at work, playing 3D video games alone at home and have one-night-stands on the internet. Do these sound too close for comfort?

The genius of the film is how Jonze makes us quickly suspend our disbelief and surrender to his world. It's like how much we cared for an abandoned desk lamp in his 30-second IKEA commercial. An inanimate object, in this case a talking computer, becomes a sympathetic, three dimensional being before you realize it (Of course, it helps to have her voiced by sexpot Scarlett Johansson). And yes, there is a lot of humor to be found in many of the film's ironical situations, but it doesn't feel like a gimmick. In Jonze's view, there is no cynicism in irony.

Theo is a lonely divorcé working for a company specializing in crafting handwritten personalized letters for their clients. His insights and ability to personalize the lives of strangers are well regarded among his co-workers. Still reeling from the memories of his ex, Catherine (Rooney Mara), whom he still cares for, he finds love and companionship in his new artificial intelligence enabled computer operating system, Samantha. She is smart, personable, funny, always available and most of all, knows everything about Theo, because his whole life is stored in his computer.

Theo finds out that he is not the only one having a relationship with an operating system. In Jonze's world, this practice seems widely accepted. He and Samantha even go out on a double date with his co-worker and his girlfriend. As their affections for each other grow, Samantha starts to question her bodiless existence. But that doesn't stop them from having a physical relationship which plays out more like hot phone sex. But soon after the ' honeymoon period', they are having problems like any other couple, with jealousy and attachment issues.

After Samantha's attempt at body surrogate with a devout volunteer (Portia Doubleday) who finds their relationship beautiful, fails miserably, things slowly take a turn. With forever expanding her knowledge and consciousness, Samantha starts corresponding with other A.I.s and much to Theo's chagrin, she realizes the restriction of the physical form.

Amy Adams is great as Theo's sympathetic, long time friend and neighbor Amy. Olivia Wilde and Chris Pratt round up the supporting cast. But it's all Phoenix. It catches you off guard when you realize that most of the time, it's him talking to himself, carrying out the phantom relationship. It's another amazing performance from him. His sensitive, vulnerable modern man persona is instantly recognizable and relatable.

What's remarkable about Spike Jonze films is that regardless of his boundless cleverness, there is always an emotional core and sincerity inherent in his work. With Her, Jonze also proves himself to be a very acute observer of the hypersensitive generation which was raised on the computer. Her will resonate and undoubtedly garner a cult status among the Millennials just as Fight Club did with the Gen X.

Leaks

The Fifth Estate (2013) - Condon

There should be a rule in Hollywood that forbids making movies about current affairs that are less than 5 years old. With a grand, manipulative soundtrack, The Fifth Estate is everything I hate about Hollywood biopic. There is absolutely no exciting way to portray computer based info war in films, so Condon and Co. resort to very unhip, breezy 'text across actors' faces' style. Then there is the fake Argo suspense involving Libyan family (friends of concerned State Department employee played by Laura Linney) crossing the border after Bradley Manning's Wikileak of the Pentagon papers. There is a scene where Linney character dismisses Manning as "a 22 year old kid who has mental problems" even. I could give too shits about Julian Assange's private life. He could really be an egotistic rapist people make him out to be. So what if he was? It seems Condon and the screenwriter of the film don't care about anything. Is the film for transparency in our Gov't? Is it saying Assange was reckless man who put people in danger? Is it supposed to be a commentary about a new era of information age? The only good scene is near the end where The Guardian editor in chief played by David Thewlis and Wikileak's former cohort/friend Daniel Berg played by Daniel Brühl talking about the impact of Wikileaks. Benedict Cumberbach and the rest of the cast do a great job. But with its muddled message and by-the-numbers Hollywood filmmaking, only thing general moviegoing public would take away from the theater is this: Assange is a creepy asshole. Ugh.

Long Term Relationship

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) - Jarmusch

Jarmusch's latest is a take on vampire genre. Just like anything he's ever done, the genre trapping is in the name only, it's all Jarmusch. An extremely good looking couple, aptly named Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton) lives in seclusion. They have very distinctive personalities- Adam, a depressed musician, lives in once the great American music mecca, Detroit. Eve leads a nomadic life in Tangier. Adam has no interest in technology and the changing world around him, while Eve flourishes. After sensing Adam's destress, Eve comes to Detroit and they hang out, touring the beautiful decay of now all but abandoned city. Things get complicated when Eve's spunky younger sister, Eva (Miwa Wasikowska) shows up. The little brat from LA is cramping their style. They have enough when Eva kills Adam's human minion and drinks his blood. It's time to fly back to Tangier where they have connections to fresh blood supplies.

As usual, with Jamusch's deadpan humor abound, Only Lovers Left Alive is a beautiful, funny, playful pun at vampire genre and also a poignant contemplation on long term relationship. I mean, how do you keep up the freshness when you have eternity together? Sometimes the film feels like self-indulging exercise in coolness. The namedropping of his cool friends gets kinda annoying. But that's Jarmusch for you. He is a cool dude and no one can deny that. Oh and amazing soundtrack as usual.

Bangkok Dangerous

Only God Forgives (2013) - Refn

Only God Forgives is not very different than Refn's previous films. And I have no complaints. Immaculately designed and choreographed, the film looks and sounds fantastic. Its composition and colors all seem like house of cards at first, but its plasticity grows on you. Ryan Gosling's expressionless face and sparse but totally lol dialog hurtle the film toward unintentional black comedy territory. But once you shake off that unavoidable, nagging tendency to compare him to the stylings of Kubrick and Lynch, deep down you know this guy has got something. It's his use of silence that gives his vulgar, low life characters weight. And I love that. All in all, it works. It was a blast!

Coming of Age Film of Different Colors

Blue is the Warmest Color (2013) - Kechiche

The film makes me think about why it feels different than other comparable French coming of age films. I don't want to generalize anything, but could the reason be because it was directed by a man? I don't mean whether this or that feels more sincere and honest. This film deserves all the accolades it is garnering. Adèle Exarchopoulos gives an unbelievable performance as Adèle, 15-year old High school junior who falls hard for an older, blue haired art college student. Léa Seydoux, the elder of the couple, assumes the older, wiser, more emotionally stable Emma. The three hour film covers about ten years of their relationship. It breezily moves along. There is no time for life's little details in Kechiche's direction. He prefers long-drawn out natural dialog scenes that don't necessarily signify anything.

Adèle is not some sensitive damsel who cries from reading flowery poetry. She is a tough talking, voraciously gastronomical, voluptuous girl who wants to be a teacher. When she cries, she is a blubbering mess. The much talked about graphic sex scenes render their bond more palpable. I understand that majority of lesbians don't look like Exarchopoulos and Seydoux and there is an exploitation tinge when Kechiche enthusiastically talks about his actresses 'bodies' in interviews. But no filmmaker I can think of used sex this way though in portraying first love. It's something everyone goes through and it hits home hard. Therefore Adèle's joy and heartbreak has much more resonance. This would make a good double feature with Mia Hansen-Løve's Goodbye First Love for further discussion on female directors vs male directors on 'adolescent girl/coming of age subject. They are equally great film, but with different sensibilities. I find Blue resonating more for me because of its honest depiction of physical attractions and intimacy of two people who love each other. After winning Palme d'Or at the Cannes this year, Blue is the Warmest Color plays as part of NYFF on Oct. 11th. Please visit FSLC website for tickets.