Løve unlike any other: Mia Hansen-Løve Interview

Mia Hansen-Løve's third film, Goodbye First Love is being released in New York and LA on 4/20. This is my interview with her, conducted last year during the New York Film Festival.

Hansen-Løve, the 30-year old gifted French writer/director, made her film debut first as an actress at 17, in Late August, Early September, directed by her future husband, Olivier Assayas. But it is her acute, clear-eyed depiction of growing pains in her own films that has been garnering critical acclaim (her second feature, Father of My Children, won the Jury Special Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival). Goodbye First Love tells that universal theme of young love with a great deal of insight and maturity. It is definitely her best film to date.

There are differences writing three-dimensional characters on paper and working with actors to bring them into life. I am just amazed by how you were able to facilitate those amazing performances from young actors in Goodbye First Love. I am very curious to know if you have a different method dealing with young actors.

I get a great pleasure working with young people, not only adolescents but also children. But it has to do with working with non-film actors and actors with little experiences. I had a lot of pleasure working with Magne (Magne-Håvard Brekke) who is a stage actor and has had very little experience in film previously. There is certain innocence in non-film actors, young or old. It gives me great joy in seeing how they respond to the camera, and capturing that is very essential to my films.

Honestly, I find that working with known actors and big trailers and all that business very depressing. Surely there are some famous actors I'd love to work with, but for me it's all about the uncluttered relationship between me and the actors. The simpler relationship, the better. It makes me very happy to have that intimate relationship, especially with young actors and children.

That's what struck me at the Q & A session yesterday with Lola (Lola Creton). Because she is extremely shy. But in your film, she is completely open and free.

You know, I have to say something about that because it reminds me so much about myself. When I was 16, 17, I was really unhappy with my life. As the case with many other adolescents, I was extremely melancholic. Then by chance I was in this film (Late August, Early September), I say by chance because I was in theater school and I was chosen to be in the film. The experience changed my life. It is difficult to interact with so many people on a movie set, but there is something to be said about finding yourself through another character. It's like being your self by not being yourself, if that makes any sense. Cinema gave me that freedom. The experience never left me. I think that's the reason why I want to go through it again and again to relive that experience through young people.

I see myself in Lola. She has the same double personality. In real life she can be very shy and introverted but on set, she becomes extremely generous and wants to give you everything. It really moves me to see people who can't communicate well in real life, but through power of fiction and playing characters, they blossom. I think this is particularly true with adolescents.

Maybe that's why they respond to you because they can feel that you understand what they are going through. There are not many directors I can think of who can bring out that kind of performances out of young people.

Thank you. But it's not like I would be going around filming every adolescent. (laughs) I think Lola is different. Unlike other non-actors I've previously worked with, she is still very much an actress. Maybe not one of those who are self assured and can discuss about characters and scenes in depth. She can be professional, but there is a certain uniqueness, certain mystery about her that makes me just want to film her all the time. What I am interested in, when I choose an actor for a project, is not what she's done before, but what I imagine I can project on her. It's very scientific in a way. A little confidence you give the actors makes them capable of everything, every time without fail.

For instance, I had children crying in my previous film. You can't make them cry on command. You have to build your trust in them. Alice (Alice de Lencquesaing, a young actress in Father of My Children) told me about meeting Jacques Doillon and asking him about this great little film he did and how he got this amazing performance out of a 4 year old girl.

Ponette? That was unbelievable!

Yes. Doillon said the girl did it because she wanted to please him. It's that kind of love and tender relationships I want for my films. I learned that from Olivier. That look he gave me when I was sixteen, the trust he had in me, things he saw in me that I myself wasn't aware of, made me come through.

First love is such an universal theme. When you were writing it, did you write it from the personal perspective or have broader approach?

I totally wrote it from my personal perspective. I think the more specific you get, the more universal it becomes. If you see the first love in a larger context, you'd lose all the nuances. I'm talking about layers and deeper nuances in relationships not the little practical details. For me those nuances reveal truth about the relationship. I try to stay away from all the archetypes in literature and in films about first love that we are influenced by, consciously or unconsciously. So when I reread my script, I struck all the lines that sounded typical. I am very strict and rigorous with myself to watch out for those kind of dialog. Also more often than not, it's those dialog that are deceptively more efficient and therefore tempting. So I try to veer away from efficiency and stay truthful.

Even though it is from your personal experience, it is universal though. The film really hit me right in my heart.

Thank you. That's what any director can hope for. You write something and try to make it as personal as possible and hope that it would somehow transcend your own experience.

Can you tell me the current climate of French cinema after the passing of Humbert Balsan (independent producer of such directors as Claire Denis and Lars von Trier and the subject of Father of My Children)?

It was depressing times after Humbert's death. But the industry came back and it's business as usual. That's life. But the budget gap between big films and independent films are getting wider. I've been very fortunate because I was kind of an exception to the rule. My films have very little commercial appeal. Somehow I fell in the cracks and was able to sidle up between the cracks. I have to tell you that my films are not cheap. It may not show, but I have a lot of sets in my films and they cost money. I am very lucky I found money for this film. But I'm not very optimistic about the new one I'm planning on making, since it will be expensive and not very commercial. I don't really know how this miracle will happen.

It will happen. It will happen. So what is this next project?

It's called Eden. It will be a two part film, like Carlos (directed by Assayas). (laughs) No, it's about a destiny of a French DJ in the 90s. Part one will take place in the 90s with the rising popularity of electronic music in France and the second part in the 2000s till now.

That sounds expensive. Good luck.

It is. Thanks. (laughs)

Virtual Connection

Happy Here and Now (2002) - Almereyda

Never seen internet age portrayed this intriguing and gentle. Almereyda succeeds where Wenders has been failing over and over again with his mushy, pretentious films about human disconnections in a world saturated in technology. Amelia (Liane Balaban) comes down to New Orleans to look for clues in the disappearance of her computer obsessed sister (Shalom Harlow). With the help of her cousin Bill (Clearance Williams III), she attempts at tracking down down her sister's videochat correspondent, a philosophizing cowboy named Eddie Mars (alternatedly played by Karl Geary and David Arquette). Almereyda diddles with ideas like avatars, youtube and internet relationships playfully, using Fisher-Price b&w camera and other medium and laid-back philosophizing. Watching this, I feel like everyone (including me) has been paying too much attention on negative aspects of the internet. Yes we might not know our mysterious friends that well. Yes the universe is larger than we are and may crush us, but sharing ideas and exchanging thoughts are what counts. Let us be happy here and now.

Hawkeyed Badassery

Get Carter (1971) - Hodges

This was on TCM last night and it was the reason I stayed up until 2am. The godfather of all contemporary revenge flick, ain't it? You can see its influences everywhere from Scarface to countless Nic Cage movies. And of course it's Michael fucking Caine.

Caine plays Jack Carter, a small time crony hell bent on finding out just who killed his brother. His no-nonsense, hawkeyed badassery slowly but surely penetrates the tight lipped small time organization and easy broads alike. But its Hodges' abrupt style in dreary industrial, row houses set England that makes the movie great. His paralleling action sequences are not that of smooth, time defining, showy nonsense we are now used to by talentless hacks but has real sense of rhythm and purpose. The phone sex scene (with sexy Britt Ekland of Wicker Man, no less) is obviously way ahead of its time. And of course the legendary ending at the muddy beach.... They don't make 'em like this anymore.

Nostalgia

Midnight in Paris (2011) - Allen

The last Woody Allen movie I've seen was Sweet and Lowdown. Dunno, lost my interest along the way I guess. Someone gave me a copy of Midnight. Finally opened it up and watched it. I knew what it was about. I knew what to expect. And I had my reservations. It took me a while to start enjoying it. Owen Wilson is still Owen Wilson, I don't care what anybody says. Allen's dialogue doesn't hit my funny bones as hard as before. His routine edit of setting up jokes and cutting for laughs doesn't always work. A lot of the jokes fall flat and feel corny as hell. Many actors seem very uncomfortable in their roles, especially Léa Seydoux. But the film about being nostalgic about the past while embracing the present is still excessively charming. Loved Adrian Brody. But I don't think I will seek out other recent Allens actively any time soon.

Disappearing Act IV - European Film Festival in NYC April 11-22

Disappearing Act, the only European Film Festival in NY is celebrating the fourth year April 11-22 with undistributed gems from emerging European filmmakers including Michael Hers, Miguel Gomes and Nanook Leopold. I am honored to be part of this year's event with my colleague Ben Umstead at Twitchfilm.

From Goethe Institute's press release:

The Czech Center New York and the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, in collaboration with 23 other European cultural institutes and consulates in the framework of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), present the Disappearing Act IV European film festival in New York. This year, the series presents films in three venues with an opening night event, the screening of Marc Bauder's film The System, at the IFC Center on April 11; two days of screenings at Tinker Auditorium at the French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF) on April 13 and April 14; and in the digital cinema at Bohemian National Hall, from April 12-22.


The festival will present 25 contemporary European films from Austria, the Wallonia-Brussels and Flanders regions of Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
  
Here are three films I covered:

The Little Room (2010) - Chuat/Raymond

The Little Room is a film about aging and loss, directed by two female Swiss filmmakers (Stephanie Chuat and Veronique Raymond). Unfortunately for them, it invites inevitable comparisons with The Mourning Forest, the Cannes Grand prix winning film directed by Naomi Kawase, which shares the same subject matter. Here the setting is snow covered Switzerland and the Alps instead of the green forest of Japan in summer. Sad faced Florence Loiret Caille plays a nurse and grieving mother and the great Michel Bouquet plays a stubborn old man who refuses to be looked after. It would've been a lot better if the directors restrained themselves on exposition through dialogue.

Wasted Youth (2011) - Papadimitropolous/Vogel

The financial crisis in Greece is leaving an indelible mark on its citizens' psyche. Argyris Papadmitropolous and Jan Vogel's Wasted Youth reflects this grim mood, leading up to the riot that erupted in 2008. There are two story lines: one about an aimless young skater and the other, an overworked, underappreciated cop. You can already draw a conclusion. With long, handheld takes and a realistic approach, the film strongly resembles Gus Van Sant's work. Brooding yet not too distanced for us to feel alienated, Wasted Youth is a subtle and poignant work that is a stark contrast to the current crop of mischievous, sensationalistic Greek films (Dogtooth and Attenberg come to mind).

Medal of Honor (2009) - Netzer

Romania, at least in films, seems like the bureaucratic purgatory discarded by the former Soviet Union, while its citizens are left to fend for themselves. In this Tuttle/Buttle black comedy, an aging pensioner Ion Ion (Victor Rebenguic) is falsely awarded a medal of bravery in WWII that he does not recall. He at first is suspicious about it, then elated, then outraged by the government recalling the medal because it was supposed to be given to a different Ion. Filled with funny little details about living in a squalid former communist country, and with plenty of humanism, Medal of Honor is definitely worth checking out for the fans of Romanian New Wave.

Read the whole preview of Disappearing Act IV at twitch

For more info and film schedule please visit Czech Center

Creole

Dry Wood (1973) - Blank





With intoxicating fiddle and accordion, Blank briskly chronicles Southwest Louisiana creole culture. From a beadless Mardi Gras celebration to no frills Ash Wendnesday, to a social dance, to Marx Bros. style physical comedy, to butchering of a hog, Blank gives each moment same amount of attention and warmth. It ends with Ms. Fontenot of Eunice, LA, lamenting about the changing times that 'life is too fast' for a family (she had 18 kids and raised 16) to sit down and have dinner together anymore while cooking head cheese. Laid back and extremely intimate, Dry Wood shows what a cultural documentary ought to be.

Being Normal

The Conformist (1970) - Bertolucci *rewatch*




Marcello Clerici (Jean-Louis Trintignant) tries very hard to be normal in Italy in the 30s. This means he will become a perfect petit-bourgeois fascist. He marries a ditzy doll Giulia (Stefania Sandrelli) and takes up an assignment to kill his former teacher, now a political dissent living in Paris. He gets tangled up with beautiful and mysterious Anna (Dominique Sanda), the young wife of his teacher. The fact that Anna is a total opposite of Giulia is the main attraction to Marcello.

Trintinant's cold demeanor and small physique is perfect for the role of a weak willed man who wants to assimilate. On this viewing, it's delightful to find that Giulia and Anna's lesbo alliance has got to do with their bourgeois tendencies whether they are fascists or left-leaning intellectual dissenters against the rise of communism (there is a scene where 'Internationale' is sang by a couple of street flower sellers making underhanded mockery of Marcello and Anna's affair). Also, the inclusion of the party scene of the blinds in the basement was pretty cool. If anything, The Conformist is all style. But all the carefully composed shots last a lot shorter, and editing a lot clunkier than I remember. Marcello's memory of killing a pedophile chauffeur being a stand in for all those who followed war atrocities like a sheep doesn't have that much of an impact.

Wuthering Heights Reconceptualized

Wuthering Heights (2011) - Arnold

In Pictures:


In this version, Heathcliff is not a gypsy but a very photogenic black boy (played by Solomon Glave and later by James Howson) and the misty Yorkshire moors play huge part. Arnold skips the second half of the book entirely but gets the essence of the unrequited love and digs deep into the psyche of a boy who was scarred by abuse and love early on. Without music and sparse dialog the film is largely told by its visuals.

Emily Brontë's source novel about doomed love between Catherine and Heathcliff on the moor has been done to death. Using her dogma 95 trained economy filmmaking- the mostly handheld, painterly full frame, no artificial light cinematography is accompanied by wind, mud, rain and sun-flare mixed with blood, sweat and tears. Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights is, dare I say, much more beautiful than any of Malick's meandering pretty picture shows. It never recovers from its breathtakingly gorgeous first half where young Heathcliff and Cathy run around on the misty moor. You just wish it goes on and on like that.


My Interview with Andrea Arnold

The Damned

The Night Porter (1974) - Cavani *rewatch*

Max (Dirk Bogarde) is a night porter at a hotel and a former nazi SS officer. He runs into one of his former concentration camp captives, beautiful Lucia (Charlotte Rampling), as she is now a wife of an opera conductor visiting Germany. Lucia is understandably upset and avoids contacts with Max. He pursues her and they once more fall into a sadomasochistic relationship.

Unlike other former nazi officer friends who have regular meetings to free themselves from the past by interrogating each other, have mockup trials to acquit themselves and 'file away witnesses' of their crimes (group therapy turning into rogue, neo-nazi criminal organization), Max knows he is damned forever and doesn't try to hide his contempt. His attitude makes him and the witness (Lucia) targets. The pair becomes prisoners in Max's small apartment and have their master/slave, protector/little girl existence until their food runs out.

Young Rampling is radiant and seductive and Bogarde svelt. Marvel at the scene where Lucia's does Marlene Dietrich redux in the screencap above. Plus, there are two amazingly erotic scenes taking place in Max's apartment- their first physical encounter after the war in one long take and the strawberry jam scene, as they are almost starving to death. Acting in those scenes are mindboggling. Night Porter became the unwitting trailblazer for slew of Nazisploitation movies to come. But its attractions are a somber condemnation of war past and tragic love story which is as intense as it gets.

Fiddles and Accordions

J'ai été au Bal/I Went to the Ball (1989) - Blank/Strachwitz

A comprehensive anthropological survey of Cajun and Zydeco in Southern Louisiana. Blank, a Southerner (born in Florida, schooled in Louisiana), dips right into the subject and the history of the celtic and West Indies infused, fiddles and accordions heavy, impossible-not-to-stomp-your-feet music. It features many of its pioneers and practitioners showing off their skills. I had very little idea of the Cajun culture, so the film is a great history lesson- the Acadians, the descendants of French settlers in Nova Scotia who got kicked out by the British, made the long journey down to Louisiana (French colony at the time) and mixed in with Creole blacks and Cajun was born. Zydeco, also accordion heavy dance hall music (with a rub board thrown in), was derived from beat heavy African music combined with blues. There are also a lot of similarities between Cajun and early Country music. Fascinating from beginning to end, with plenty of amazing, upbeat music, J'ai été au Bal is a lively, colorful documentary about music and its people. Highly recommended.

Disappearing Act

The Island President (2011) - Shenk

In early February this year, Mohamed Nasheed, the first democratically elected (in 2008) president of the republic of Maldives, a tiny nation consists of 1,200 islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, was forced to resign in a military coup by the loyalists to Maumood Abdul Gayoom, the former president. This bizarre and tragic turn of event needs the world's attention because Nasheed's victory over Gayoom, an autocrat who ruthlessly ruled the country for 30 years, precedes the Egypt Revolt and the Arab Spring. The Island President's release couldn't have come at any more opportune time than now.

Filmmaker Jon Shenk (Lost Boys of Sudan, The Rape of Europa) documents with unprecedented access, Nasheed's first year in the office as the beacon in the fight against the global warming. For him and the 400,000 Maldivians, the climate issue has direct consequences. The Maldives, considered as the lowest lying nation in the world (mere 1.5 meters above sea level on average), could be under water before 2050 if the carbon emission to the atmosphere keeps up its current pace.

Nasheed, a political activist who was jailed, tortured and exiled before becoming the first democratically elected president, proves to be an unusually shrewd and sophisticated politician who grasped that only way he could stand up to the catastrophic issues of climate change facing his country would be to take his case to the world stage through the power of media. He declares his nation the first country to go carbon neutral within a decade. He holds a symbolic parliament meeting under water with international TV crew in tow. In a good way, with his boundless charm and charisma, Nasheed makes Shenk and his crew his mouthpiece for the cause in exchange for unfettered access to his administration and beyond.

The documentary culminates to the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit and Nasheed's eleventh-hour plea to sign an accord on carbon emission. And it's a nail-biter. Shenk and his all-access crew (as part of Nasheed's envoy, not mere journalists), provides a rare glimpse of the political horse-trading that goes on at such a high-level global assembly. While Copenhagen is judged by many as a failure, it marked the first time in history that China, India and the United States agreed to reduce carbon emissions.

From the planes, the coral islands have otherworldly quality. They seem too beautiful to be real. With Radiohead providing haunting soundtrack (14 songs in total!), Shenk serenely records the tropical paradise that could be lost forever.

The Island President has two-week limited engagement, starting March 28th at New York's Film Forum and limited releases in other cities to follow in April.

For more info and tickets, please visit www.filmforum.org and the film's website www.theislandpresident.com

For Radiohead's involvement on the film, please visit their blog www.radiohead.com/deadairspace

ND/NF 2012: Atmen/Breathing

There are NF/ND 2012 Preview write ups I did with the esteemed Peter Gutierrez over at twitch. Click here to view.

Atmen/Breathing (2011) - Markovics

Roman (Thomas Schubert), an unresponsive 18 year old in juvenile detention center gets a job at a municipal mortuary after failing at other job prospects. He has to commute and report back to the center every evening. At the job, it's all business. No one cuts him any slack for being a newbie. He has to observe and learn fast.

Markovics' economical style is devoid of any sentimentality. He is also not in a hurry in unfolding the troubled young man's story. We slowly get to know Roman, a boy who was abandoned by his mother, grew up in an orphanage. He killed another boy by accident at age 14, then has been in the system ever since.

An encounter with a corpse of a naked woman with a same sir name as his leads Roman to track down his own mother. In a rather humorous scene, he confronts his rather young mother in IKEA of all places, shopping for a new mattress. His caseworker spots him there too, apparently shopping with his daughter on his day off. The case worker whispers to him, "I hope you know what you are doing!" Roman doesn't. He has no social skills. He just wanted to see his mother for the first time. He learns that when he was a toddler, the young irresponsible mother almost suffocated him to death with a pillow to stop him from crying.

The title- Breathing, as in being alive, as in being relieved, clues you in on why Roman chooses that mortuary job. Dead boy, being under water, suffocation... everything fits in. But under Markovics' hand, everything is understated. As an actor directing and scripting his first film, Markovics film is closer to the Dardennes than something more hard-knuckled, like Nil by Mouth by another actor-turned-director Gary Oldman, but achieves the same level of poignancy without the emotional fireworks or physical violence.

Schubert, with his natural, matter-of-fact demeanor, successfully conveys quiet, socially inept young man. There is a great scene in a commuter train with a cute American tourist. Being a quite normal looking teenager, it shows that Roman can blend in perfectly and possibly lead a normal life if he was ever given a chance. Schubert's performance goes down as one of the most memorable juvies in a recent movie history.

ND/NF 2012: Oslo, August 31st

There are NF/ND 2012 Preview write ups I did with the esteemed Peter Gutierrez over at twitch. Click here to view.

Oslo, August 31st (2011) - Trier

It's not fair to compare Oslo, August 31st to Joachim Trier's smashing debut Reprise, but with the same lead Anders Danielsen Lie, playing pretty much the same character (an older, substance abuser in rehab rather than a mental hospital patient) and just as talky script (by Trier and his writing partner Eskil Vogt), I can't help doing so. Reprise was already walking the fine line between being an overly precious 1st world privileged twenty something male problem movie and being an emotionally truthful drama showing the limitless possibility of life. Glad the latter was the case (but almost undone by its flashy style). Oslo is a melancholic downer from the get-go.

In many ways Oslo is an improvement. Trier restrains himself in style and concentrates all his energy on creating a character study. Lie is fantastic as a 34 year old man who made some bad choices and ended up wasting the best years of his youth in a rehab. Anchored by 15 minute conversation between Anders (Lie) and his old friend in the beginning of the film, Oslo is as truthful and direct as it gets. Anders doesn't want to hear the usual lecture from his best friend and he doesn't want pity either. He made mistakes and it's done irreparable damage to his social life, job prospects, his whole future. Realizing it is his darkest hour, he wants his former friend from the wild days who now has a wife and kids, home and living mundane life, to understand that he is in dire situation.

The film starts with a compiled video clips of Oslo and its inhabitants in various seasons (including the demolition of a landmark building shot from just outside of its interior) and earnest voice-overs of people reminiscing about their experience in the city. There is something to be said about the nostalgic value at the end of Summer- the setting sun, green grass, an empty pool, all reflecting Anders' loneliness as he treks his day-trip out to his once stomping ground from the rehab. It's the first/last day of his life. He observes other people leading their lives with their ordinary concerns and wishes. As the new dawn breaks, with a little bit of fun with old and new friends, Anders manages a smile. Trier and Vogt are gifted writers, never making life's problems black and white and making sophistication easy and likable.

But I couldn't get over Oslo's specificity of its subject and its foregone conclusion. Reprise had its mature universality that appealed to both a cynic and optimist in me. Oslo, is decidedly a downer. It's still far better than Louis Malle's impenetrable Fire Within, the film that has the same source, Le Feu Follet by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle (I fell asleep during Malle's film years ago), thanks to Lie's affecting performance.

I understand this was an in-between project before his American debut, Louder than Bombs, but I really hope Trier doesn't get stuck with the afflicted, sullen, privileged (middle class, whatever you call it) male schtick. I want to see him and Vogt grow, tackling other territories as well.

Oslo, August 31st plays as part of ND/NF 2012 on March 28th and March 29th. For tickets and more info, please visit ND/NF website.

Everyday Miracles

William Eggleston in the Real World (2005) - Almereyda

Michael Almereyda's intimate, loving documentary about color photograph pioneer William Eggleston is a beautiful portrait of an artist. Almereyda tags along with ever prolific photographer as he snaps photos everywhere he goes with the help of his son, Winston. Eggleston remains largely inarticulate at putting any values and meaning to his well known, vivid photographs of everyday things and places.

It's seeing mundane things in a new way. It's everyday miracles. Even though Almereyda tries to state the fact about concreteness of photographs against fleeting reality ('photos are more real than reality'!), the eccentric but likable photographer answers in his drawl that he just likes to do them (here meaning photography, drawings- he carries cigar box full of color pencils everywhere and music- he composes symphonies with his keyboards). Really loved it.

Some of Egglestone's Photos:








Please visit Eggleston Trust website for more photographs.

Argento: Il Cinema Nel Sangue at MAD

The Museum of Art and Design announces the three month long celebration of Italy's best known cinema dynasty, the Argentos. Argento: Il Cinema Nel Sangue (Cinema in the Blood) chronicles three generations of Argentos (Salvatore, Claudio, Dario and Asia) in their artistic endeavor in film. Presenting 16 films in total, including Dario Argento's Animal Trilogy and Three Mothers Trilogy, and selections from Asia Argento's diverse filmography (including her directorial effort, Scarlet Diva), most of them in rare 35mm prints, Il Cinema Nel Sangue is an opportunity not to be missed by Argento fans!

The series kicks off with Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die/Se tutte le donne del mondo on March 23rd and continues until May 25th.

Program Description


The Museum of Arts and Design is proud to present "Argento: il cinema nel sangue" (Argento: Cinema in the Blood) a three-month retrospective celebrating the first family of Italian cinematic ingenuity.


Rejecting the corporate studio system, the Argentos have for over three generations taken a distinctly Italian approach to filmmaking by relying on family to collaborate on cinematic productions as producers, screenwriters, actors, and directors. The Argento film dynasty began in the 1960s with film producer/executive Salvatore Argento, but became a legend with his two sons, Dario, who started as a screenwriter, and Claudio, who first worked as a producer with his father. With Claudio and his father's support, Dario moved into film direction, distinguishing himself in a series of Giallo thrillers through his sophisticated visual approach and technical prowess. (Giallo is a genre of Italian crime/horror fiction, which takes its names from the yellow--giallo is Italian for "yellow"--covers of the paperbacks.) The resulting films have continued to influence filmmakers, artists, and other cultural producers throughout the globe.


In 1975, Dario cast the actress Daria Nicolodi in Deep Red, and for the next ten years the duo became partners both privately as well as professionally . The Agrento legacy has continued on with their daughter, Asia. Who, after staring in her father's films emerged onto the international cinema landscape as an actress, staring in films by directors Sophia Coppola, Olivier Assayas, Catherine Breillat, Abel Ferrara, and Gus Van Sant, before helming her own works as director.


Spanning from March until May 2012, "Argento: il cinema nel sangue" showcases the rich visual tableaus, inventive cinematic techniques, and combined talent of the family Argento.


Special Trilogy Screenings:


ANIMAL TRILOGY
April 11th, 13th, and 14th, 2012


Beginning his career as columnist for Paese Sera in Rome, Dario Argento transitioned into the film industry as screenwriter on a number of Westerns, including Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West," which he co-wrote with Bernardo Bertolucci. However, it was when he teamed with the producing partnership of his brother and father that Dario discovered international acclaim and box office success in the Giallo cinema. Dario pushed Giallo to new heights with his first three films, known as the Animal Trilogy. His polished yet brazen style made the name Argento known across the globe.


screenings include:


The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, L'uccello dale piume di cristallo
Wednesday April 11th, 2012 7PM


The Cat o' Nine Tails, Il gatto a nove code
Friday April 13th, 2012 7PM


Four Flies on Gray Velvet, Quattro mosche di velluto grigio
Saturday April 14th, 2012 3 PM




THREE MOTHERS TRILOGY
April 19th, 20th, and 21st, 2012


Visually striking and atmospherically uncanny, the Three Mothers trilogy cemented Dario Argento's reputation as a maestro of the horror genre. Inspired by a 19th-century essay by Thomas De Quincey, the Three Mothers trilogy centers on the exploits of three witch sisters: Mater Suspiriorum (The Mother of Sighs), Mater Tenebrarum (Mother of Darkness), and Mater Lachrymarum (Mother of Tears), who can manipulate events on a global scale.


In the 11th century, the Three Mothers forced the Italian architect E. Varelli to design and construct three exquisite, stately buildings from which the could each rule the world. Centering on the architecture of these homes as a source for evil, the films "Suspiria," "Inferno" and "Mother of Tears" feature stunning visually rich sets filled with lush and colorful lighting. Teaming with the progressive rock band Goblin, Argento took innovative approaches to production design and musical arrangement that broke new ground in the visual and audio representation of the supernatural on the silver screen.


screenings include:


Suspiria
Thursday April 19, 2012 7PM


Inferno
Friday April 20, 2012 7PM


Mother of Tears, La terza madre
Saturday April 21st, 2012 3PM


Argento: il cinema nel sangue is organized by Jake Yuzna, Manager of Public Programs

For more information and tickets, please visit www.madmuseum.org

ND/NF 2012: Historias que so existem quando lembradas/Found Memories

There are NF/ND 2012 Preview write ups I did with the esteemed Peter Gutierrez over at twitch. Click here to view.

Historias que so existem quando lembradas/Found Memories (2011) - Murat

Aging Madalena (Sonia Guedes) in a small rural mountain village goes about her routine life- getting up at dawn to make bread, walking along the railroad tracks to deliver the bread to Antonio (Luiz Serra), getting into tit-a-tat sessions with him about how to arrange the bread on the shelf, complaining about the taste of coffee he makes, hearing him talking about the weather, attending a mass at the local church and writing letters to her long dead husband. All of that changes when Rita (Lisa E Fávero), a young photographer, shows up, asking for a place to stay for a few days.

The arrival of the mysterious stranger makes some ripples in the village mostly consists of old folks. At first Madalena is apprehensive about the manifestation of this young person in her life and rightfully so. Rita is indeed a weird one. She takes photos, often with her made-up pinhole cameras (big tin cans), of old buildings and artifacts, never people. When asked about why she came to the village, with her trademark smirk, she avoids the question. But soon Rita's nonchalance and brevity win over the oldsters including Madalena. When she is invited to the mass and the communal lunch afterword, Rita finds out that the town's cemetery that she wanted to photograph is closed. "God doesn't want us to die." One of the villagers tells her.

Rita's presence in the house makes Madalena question her own mortality. With her failing health, Madalena laments her woes to Antonio, "I don't want to die." "Then don't die. Live as much as you want to," he answers. When it's time for Rita to leave, Madalena gives her the key to the cemetery gate. Fávero portrays perhaps the most beguiling angel of death, who dances around to Franz Ferdinand in her headphones.

With graceful performances by Guedes, Serra, Fávero and non-actors who play villagers and beautiful cinematography (especially Rembrandt-esque indoor scenes only lit by candles), Found Memories is a moving tribute to memories we hold dear to ourselves. Murat's sensitive, leisurely storytelling style reminds me of magic realism in Latin American literary tradition.

Found Memories plays part of New Directors New Films 2012. For tickets and info, please visit ND/NF website.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Le Gamin au Vélo/The Kid with a Bike (2011) - Dardenne

The Kid with a Bike opens 3/16 at Lincoln Plaza Cinema in NY. It will undoubtedly be ending up on my year end top 10 list for sure. Please go see it.

Just when I thought I comfortably settled in the world of the likes of Godard, Denis and Weerasethakul, the Belgian neo-realists the Dardenne Bros' The Kid with a Bike floors me and humbles me to appreciate the power of simple narrative once more.

Cyril (Thomas Doret) is an 11 year-old kid with a serious abandonment issue. After briefly running away from some sort of reform school to find his dad while adamantly denying the fact that his young dad abandoned him and sold his beloved bike for money, he has a run-in with Samantha, a hairdresser with a heart of gold (Cecil de France). She buys back his bike and agrees to be his foster parent on weekends. Cyril's not giving up finding his dad though and Samantha obliges to help him. But the young father working menial jobs, can't take care of him and doesn't want to see him. The result is devastating- Cyril scrapes his face and bangs his head against the car door repeatedly on the way back. Cyril is so desperate to find any kind of father figure, he falls in with the local 'dealer' who lures him in. One of many heartbreaking moments comes when the dealer plans a armed robbery of the local business using Cyril: When asked if 300 would be enough for him, Cyril answers, "I don't want any. I just want to do it for you."

With no acting experience beforehand, Doret is a revelation playing a physically violent, emotionally damaged kid. De France underplays her character and keeps her motivations hidden but she doesn't need to try hard. Her warmth pours out with a hint of her smile. You really get to feel for the kid. You really want the best for him.

Talk about quality, I bet every one of the Dardennes' films are exceptionally good. I've seen only two- La Promesse and Rosetta, both excellent. I shunned their films afterward thinking that every movie the Belgians are doing is pretty much the same. I moved away from the pleasures of watching a simple humanist (but never sentimental) drama. Not challenging enough, not edge enough, I kept telling myself. The Dardennes are undoubtedly the master at what they do. They hit the right note every time. Deeply moving and beautifully acted, The Kid with a Bike is undoubtedly one of the year's best. And I am saving some of their films at bay for those days when I get so worked up and angry at this ugly ugly world.

Bareback of Romy Schneider

That Most Important Thing: Love/L'important c'est d'aimer (1975) - Zulawski

Romy Schneider plays Nadine, a washed-up, thirty something actress who does films like "Nympires" to sustain a living. She is married to Jacques (young Jacques Dutronc), an eccentric, old movie memorabilia collector in a big townhouse borrowed from a friend. Enter Servais (Fabio Testi), first seen photographing Nadine in compromising positions in her latest movie set. Whether he wanted to make a quick buck or blackmail her with his photos is unknown, but surely he is drown to the aging yet still radiant actress. Thus begins the love triangle.

Just like other Zulawski films, L'important C'est d'aimer provides plenty of emotional fireworks. Love leads to madness, self-pity, sacrifices and repeated punches in the gut. Three leads are all very good but it's all about Schneider's bare back. Comparably, her role might not be as physically demanding here than in Zulawski's other, later films with more sex and violence, but Nadine's emotional intensity is just as great, if not greater. Schneider's performance is rapturous. With energetic handheld cinematography, Zulawski captures his usual theme- frantic, crazy love, like no other. Klaus Kinski, with his short screen time, truly makes every minute count as a charismatic German actor. The film is exhausting. Its 1 hour 42 minutes runtime feels more like 3 hours. But it's all worth it.

Hysterical Excess: Andrzej Zulawski Retro at BAM

BAM Cinematek is hosting the complete filmography of Polish director Andrzej Zulawski, from 3/7 to 3/20. It is a rare treat, because many of his films are not available on DVDs and seldom screened on big screen. This is your chance to see many of the most maniacal emotional outbursts ever captured on film.

*Sophie Marceau in L'amour Braque, Zulawski's interpretation of Dostoevsky's The Idiot

From BAM's Series Description:

Dubbed the enfant terrible of Polish cinema, Andrzej Zulawski is one of the most controversial and polarizing filmmakers in the world. BAMcinématek is proud to present the first US retrospective of the uncompromising auteur’s complete work in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute.

The series includes two rare, early shorts Zulawski directed for Polish television—Pavoncello and The Song of Triumphant Love—along with a new 35mm print of his first feature, The Third Part of the Night. A true cinematic agitator, Zulawski squeezed fervent performances from all of his actors in these films that rise to ecstatic heights yet dive deep into the nadirs of the human condition: birth, love, loss, death, and everything in between.

As a big fan of Zulawski, I've seen Possession, The Devil, L'amour Braque, My Nights are More Beautiful Than Your Days and On the Silver Globe, but none on the big screen. Be sure to check out Possession with Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neil and That Most Important Thing, Love with Klaus Kinski and Romy Schneider.

Possession Review

Limpet Love/L'amour Braque Review

For more information and tickets please visit BAM Cinematek.