tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334156802024-03-13T19:51:37.125+05:30Movies that make you thinkA selection of intelligent cinema from around the world that entertains and provokes a mature viewer to reflect on what the viewer saw, long after the film ends--extending the entertainment valueJugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.comBlogger286125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-21804180593749803562024-01-09T08:48:00.007+05:302024-01-10T19:01:43.969+05:30283. The Vietnamese director Thien An Pham’s debut feature film “Ben trong vo ken vang“ (Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell) (2023), based on his original screenplay: Searching for faith and meaning in life, following a recent personal tragedy<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkg-1Nd06Yrr53l0Km0BwP4SEEo0rwwBiamADXrmxRyR_EWAfL-CjF_nP38xmdlXhyphenhyphenUZW1FGxEY75jNJwAwmlWH2WBdydp8UgE12Cw8z9biwXP6Lui1R13vFWMn0m0Mrh3Kic3lHJ7y63P6TE35wu1VGqyzLFNGbj-4OLWHsYkLZ_kPiMJT9W/s855/Inside.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="605" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkg-1Nd06Yrr53l0Km0BwP4SEEo0rwwBiamADXrmxRyR_EWAfL-CjF_nP38xmdlXhyphenhyphenUZW1FGxEY75jNJwAwmlWH2WBdydp8UgE12Cw8z9biwXP6Lui1R13vFWMn0m0Mrh3Kic3lHJ7y63P6TE35wu1VGqyzLFNGbj-4OLWHsYkLZ_kPiMJT9W/w283-h400/Inside.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><br /><p></p><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmiJvsvylI-yT2R8j5d_iaOa3zGz-e-1DiCfoHZfTL47Kbl9P_cvQRGeuUxGuxFgt81jgt81P_PXxpZERceTOrJ0QgLRcRIf-VGjQh0cVOIRVJ4QaoYbPmnuJkQvLEf_qAiUFY94D_4_y_vdiZ7JFSu57oquwzGw35x6UScrsMwCV0zvXL9Ax/s857/inside2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="517" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmiJvsvylI-yT2R8j5d_iaOa3zGz-e-1DiCfoHZfTL47Kbl9P_cvQRGeuUxGuxFgt81jgt81P_PXxpZERceTOrJ0QgLRcRIf-VGjQh0cVOIRVJ4QaoYbPmnuJkQvLEf_qAiUFY94D_4_y_vdiZ7JFSu57oquwzGw35x6UScrsMwCV0zvXL9Ax/w241-h400/inside2.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><blockquote><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Faith is what I am searching for</i>”<o:p></o:p>
--answers
the film’s main character, Thien, to his toddler nephew’s question, on what is
faith, soon after his dead mother is described publicly as someone who had strong
faith<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p></blockquote><blockquote>
“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Would you give your favorite toys to your
friend and did you think he would to return them to you</i>?” Thien asks his nephew<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p></blockquote><blockquote>
“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He will return them to me because he is good,”</i>
answers the nephew<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p></blockquote><blockquote>
“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Faith</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is a little bit like that,</i>” Thien explains to his nephew</blockquote><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>nside the Yellow Cocoon Shell </b>is
nearly 3-hours long, bereft of sex, violence, or crime. Further, it is slow-moving,
philosophical, magical (literally and metaphorically) and charming--aspects
missing in most contemporary American and British films. You don’t see fast
cars in this Vietnamese film; instead you see mopeds that often breakdown,
traversing dirt tracks more often than on proper paved roads. Much of what you
see in the film is rural contemporary Vietnam with birds, animals and human
beings sharing space and time. Cocks crow before dawn and humans wake early
to trap wild, well-fed cocks that fight for fresh territory with others. This
is not a film that could conventionally compete and win an Oscar. Yet, this
film has won the coveted 2023 Golden Camera award at the Cannes international
film festival , from amongst debut films
competing in all the competitive sections of the 2023 festival. The Vietnamese
film was chosen in the ‘Director’s
Fortnight’ section and won the coveted award that transcends the conventional
borders of that particular section of the festival. A dream-start for a young,
relatively unknown filmmaker’s career who scripted a mature screenplay with the
lead character sharing the director’s name.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0SQJY2fggUVa3Nx_IxWagclhr1uZ9AETDkQtwejEnuXzqH98sQ9VsINpxtSeOcttP7Li6o0-QZfhgXVjTwmjoy3WTIKUts2ugVkaNBS9mnNcxpRbDluog-dQ9TSgNlDvTI0tm1cEazg0J3gc7UC_fU8yMkVhbTHKKVupZaFXtJA27SgVuVIi/s815/inside3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="815" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0SQJY2fggUVa3Nx_IxWagclhr1uZ9AETDkQtwejEnuXzqH98sQ9VsINpxtSeOcttP7Li6o0-QZfhgXVjTwmjoy3WTIKUts2ugVkaNBS9mnNcxpRbDluog-dQ9TSgNlDvTI0tm1cEazg0J3gc7UC_fU8yMkVhbTHKKVupZaFXtJA27SgVuVIi/w400-h259/inside3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thien and his toddler nephew accompany <br />his sister-in-law Hanh's coffin to his village</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p>
What
is remarkable about this work is the swathe of complex ideas that fill the
film’s canvas as the young filmmaker Thien paints it. The film opens with a near-monologue
over dinner for three in a small, crowded restaurant in Saigon over the
opportunities offered in city life versus those in rural Vietnam. The ensuing film
does discuss that in a meandering manner. What is equally remarkable is
that the film’s cinematography and the diegetic soundtrack that could amaze perceptive
viewers, who notice those aspects while watching a film over the more obvious
narrative. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> <div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjvMb3vJRpAlXpmRTaX8x6jDxrVCS5P7abSeSwGJMR7NLjqiBs7ckXzBIgMyzko0nHt7b-Ejw6jT1LuWjDrP5Zyb-fUY-96HsquPPlsE3OENowghPkIWpY4e7kHqaI0MagBJWfKLQkGiV9rJQszCKcItuZNZekekjzFuDxUQd4W3NgrIOeB0y/s1855/inside12.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="1855" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjvMb3vJRpAlXpmRTaX8x6jDxrVCS5P7abSeSwGJMR7NLjqiBs7ckXzBIgMyzko0nHt7b-Ejw6jT1LuWjDrP5Zyb-fUY-96HsquPPlsE3OENowghPkIWpY4e7kHqaI0MagBJWfKLQkGiV9rJQszCKcItuZNZekekjzFuDxUQd4W3NgrIOeB0y/w400-h214/inside12.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thein (back to the camera) listens to former soldier Lu'u<br />in his humble abode. There is no music, only diegetic sound. </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><div><br /></div><div> <span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>s the
film unspools, there are ordinary conversations between young and old,
strangers and villagers who have known each other’s families over decades; small
birds that enter the film’s narrative and then die, adding to the mosaic of
lives offered in the film; magic tricks
to entrance kids (and even elder viewers of the film) with props such as a
finger-sized bell that proves to have a tale of its own as the film progresses;
and dialogs between different elders and Thien that reek of wisdom and philosophy rarely
encountered in a film made by a young director. The connection between Thien and his
elders are as mystical as varied encounters of Thien has with nature (rain,
butterflies, sericulture cocoons, dreams of aggressive buffaloes that sense danger only to
turn around, the soothing invitation of the flowing waters of a brook). </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWmBe7XT5u1O-UEO-ihN6LpPBJdv9QV_8gcuChCCJtJg_HQZMbloL6U9uxuIel_CgugS_TDNg1xV3oL4dmRUfnnD7uyWIBy9NtVvdSm1ZLBh7-O3EJtTWo4TpuB8lr7sAVsttw9hWCdnnOwbF8MD71HwGmVy2qrIvHtpsbvy-YWBKC5dSHzgP/s1893/inside8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="993" data-original-width="1893" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWmBe7XT5u1O-UEO-ihN6LpPBJdv9QV_8gcuChCCJtJg_HQZMbloL6U9uxuIel_CgugS_TDNg1xV3oL4dmRUfnnD7uyWIBy9NtVvdSm1ZLBh7-O3EJtTWo4TpuB8lr7sAVsttw9hWCdnnOwbF8MD71HwGmVy2qrIvHtpsbvy-YWBKC5dSHzgP/w400-h210/inside8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Searching for his brother Tam,<br />Thien encounters the wise old lady who experienced <br />a near death event and has wisdom to impart for his search</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkiAFaVFh2heV-FS4S4tTp7Zs_bvvn6bP9bzA8QAZ_U1OKEcj4oIP55loPN6yOb40gsv3sRv5v3y78mJ4EDcCH20E06VxjeESIHQgpNzjNYziBmKZzQutFaH6S1J6UJHYoDhl0AedKCpNMgVxFod2hIB2pHT2nDK_qNFCN10GDmFRUw-qPeOm/s1853/inside9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="1853" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkiAFaVFh2heV-FS4S4tTp7Zs_bvvn6bP9bzA8QAZ_U1OKEcj4oIP55loPN6yOb40gsv3sRv5v3y78mJ4EDcCH20E06VxjeESIHQgpNzjNYziBmKZzQutFaH6S1J6UJHYoDhl0AedKCpNMgVxFod2hIB2pHT2nDK_qNFCN10GDmFRUw-qPeOm/w400-h205/inside9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the conversation with the old lady, Thien falls asleep<br />at the same spot, and dreams of an encounter with buffaloes<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2QH1uXfALx-FltAB-x4I0dHH_SLjyFfUQ3xfI7p6HDsW6o_cgRpsianxxSXwg595LxO_gECbfP1oqkPQtsDwqSLB9wrZ_ugpbK_yKv5vhbrDKQnLptMnjN-kdZHIb8xP_NL3vfrVRIDPA26O1vSm3vfwMd44R-dbIuAqdGoRzG8varRfHRfbm/s1785/inside11.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="1785" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2QH1uXfALx-FltAB-x4I0dHH_SLjyFfUQ3xfI7p6HDsW6o_cgRpsianxxSXwg595LxO_gECbfP1oqkPQtsDwqSLB9wrZ_ugpbK_yKv5vhbrDKQnLptMnjN-kdZHIb8xP_NL3vfrVRIDPA26O1vSm3vfwMd44R-dbIuAqdGoRzG8varRfHRfbm/w400-h208/inside11.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On waking up, Thien has an urge to walk in the rain,<br />until encountering the shrub with white butterflies</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Each
character populating the film offers depth to the screenplay. Thiem’s brother
Tam, who has suddenly left his wife and son, had wanted and to be a priest,
until his theological teachers advised him to get married instead. Tam’s wife
Hanh is described as a woman of “faith,” who wanted to give birth to her unborn
child, even after doctors had warned her that the child would be born without
arms. A former soldier who had fought in the Vietnam war and had once enjoyed war
combats as a young man, explains to Thien that he no longer has interest in lucre even when it is offered to him by Thien and
instead prefers to live a humble life, preparing
shrouds for the dead in his village. Then there is an old lady, who claims to
have endured a near death experience, providing philosophical solace to Thien
in his quest to locate his elder brother to inform him of his wife Hanh’s
passing and of his son being admitted into a convent where Thien’s former
sweetheart, now a nun, teaches the tiny tots. </div><div><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div><o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6S5QTmRGcoeVvrDdpL2plIYHWp2eDZCZrui2QsU11jmMDUNVCGPIgGgX0gl8Gi6yR3hWyXicGvhAcm_JCv5lTFf5IseQyhjqLKglJZkt6l_bzxhdSa8GIq7DXzcf-1byu4LFuUxXXQNKlV3WkL8ES-Jwgu4o02z7LE8bcxuOMctuPKlXsK18/s1861/inside5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1861" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6S5QTmRGcoeVvrDdpL2plIYHWp2eDZCZrui2QsU11jmMDUNVCGPIgGgX0gl8Gi6yR3hWyXicGvhAcm_JCv5lTFf5IseQyhjqLKglJZkt6l_bzxhdSa8GIq7DXzcf-1byu4LFuUxXXQNKlV3WkL8ES-Jwgu4o02z7LE8bcxuOMctuPKlXsK18/w400-h200/inside5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thien gets closer to finding his brother Tam (a sericulturist) <br />and holds Tam's child surrounded by yellow silk cocoons</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt896Z434yc6WOKME7oD9iQV5iEe-tsnCZfIlg2uDsVVawLi8eA2_GGxlwYpyyZk_2-B1dV_af96ddAfbfOEr2dyIFhWmyfSvn8OpgT9b7aegP__11e2xnpcXtvELbE4p5_Ml_Hc8NOVF14LsdnN2guZC9Qb6PmoUFUisyRl2Yb6tSr2dWz4mK/s1879/inside6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="909" data-original-width="1879" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt896Z434yc6WOKME7oD9iQV5iEe-tsnCZfIlg2uDsVVawLi8eA2_GGxlwYpyyZk_2-B1dV_af96ddAfbfOEr2dyIFhWmyfSvn8OpgT9b7aegP__11e2xnpcXtvELbE4p5_Ml_Hc8NOVF14LsdnN2guZC9Qb6PmoUFUisyRl2Yb6tSr2dWz4mK/w400-h194/inside6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tam's new wife with Tam's child leads Thien to Tam's<br />work spot </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPimxsO7MD8Uag2ZKd8UGAxlCT0LbbIDdgtmz7cVoxy0LXapKU4-AokD7Ahr82qL-B8gJGo5hJ_J89zgRpB745wbI_IjR-PXyDz8vrri70yRww0rIafc71R6Hcq2ZBk6QidDOe3ccZ4PQLLy0IuKsH0Z_qWb_o3sIu34IGf19xn4zYQxMXUj5/s1871/inside7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1871" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPimxsO7MD8Uag2ZKd8UGAxlCT0LbbIDdgtmz7cVoxy0LXapKU4-AokD7Ahr82qL-B8gJGo5hJ_J89zgRpB745wbI_IjR-PXyDz8vrri70yRww0rIafc71R6Hcq2ZBk6QidDOe3ccZ4PQLLy0IuKsH0Z_qWb_o3sIu34IGf19xn4zYQxMXUj5/w400-h199/inside7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Tam's work spot, Thien falls asleep, Tam's wife and child<br />disappear, and the farm owner (back to camera) states <br />that there is no Tam there. (For confused filmgoers. the <br />maroon bag on the moped is crucial to explain matters)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>What
is stunning is the long single shot of Thien holding Tam’s baby in his arms and the shot ending without cuts with Thien sleeping on his moped alone and being woken up by the farm owner who
states that there is no person named Tam anywhere near his farm. These are aspects (sleep, dreams, etc.) in <b>Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell </b>that any knowledgeable filmgoer will recall of the Thai
director Weerasethakul’s superb film <b>Memoria,
</b>another cinematic tale connecting death, history and the present or the long takes of the Greek
director Angelopoulos, drifting in time within a single shot<b>. </b>The sudden rains (common in Vietnam
and other parts of Asia) is intentionally used as a stylistic device to blur
time and space. <b>Inside the Yellow Cocoon
Shell,</b> as in Zvyaginstev’s <b>The
Return </b>or<b> </b>Tarkovsky’s earth
sequences in<b> Solaris </b>uses rain to
invite Thien <b> </b>on a dreamlike walk that offers images akin to
Joycean epiphanies (white butterflies on a particular shrub in the rain). Could it be a mulberry shrub? The viewer is equally reminded of Theo Angelopoulos’ films
(e.g., <b>Eternity and a Day</b>) of the
historical connections of the Vietnam war and the present and the present
through the memories of elders, such as the former soldier Lu’u, content making
shrouds for the dead remarking that there will be no one else to do it, if he stopped doing it.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipf8qXxcY_m0Og7F9lM_xTN19fU9jnFGa6Ew1hyh86BbyRBpGhfgd6ayMy1piu6M0wyOc9odEx_RJhA793YCFrNmRH42aVrwlNC-8MYcHA8oV8jvTcSdhyphenhyphend3NMRqc0ySJmCDmCdmqAPqWo7pMgKkGRqOCE0Obb95fl6RxMNOH6Tgi046JRHt8r/s1340/insidelast.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="1340" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipf8qXxcY_m0Og7F9lM_xTN19fU9jnFGa6Ew1hyh86BbyRBpGhfgd6ayMy1piu6M0wyOc9odEx_RJhA793YCFrNmRH42aVrwlNC-8MYcHA8oV8jvTcSdhyphenhyphend3NMRqc0ySJmCDmCdmqAPqWo7pMgKkGRqOCE0Obb95fl6RxMNOH6Tgi046JRHt8r/w400-h173/insidelast.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last shot: Thien lies in the brook as the gently flowing <br />waters of the brook stroke his body</td></tr></tbody></table><div> <o:p> </o:p></div><div><o:p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>nside the Yellow Cocoon Shell </b>may not appeal
to the millions who love commercial cinema and believe the Oscars, the BAFTAs
and the Golden Globes honor the best in world cinema, oblivious of good cinema
of a different kind being made elsewhere on the globe. That is where the three
big film festivals of the world (Cannes, Berlin, and Venice) step in to alert
us to the fact such films do exist.
Knowledgeable folks know that even Hollywood’s best filmmakers compete in those festivals for early valuable recognition before
the Oscar circus.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p></o:p></div><div><o:p> </o:p></div><div><o:p><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>hien
An Pham’s <b>Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell</b>
has heralded the arrival of a new prodigy from Vietnam. This cinematic product
amply proves that any young director with talent will get world recognition, if
the film’s style and content are original and admirable, while specifically not
spoon-feeding a lazy viewer on what the film is all about. A good film has to ultimately
make the viewer think.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> </o:p></div><div><o:p><b><i><br /></i></b></o:p></div><div><o:p><b><i>P.S. </i>Inside
the Yellow Cocoon Shell<i> </i></b><i>won the<b>
</b>Golden Camera award at Cannes, the Roberto Rossellini award for the Best Film
at the Pingyao (China) and the Best Asian feature film award at the Singapore
international film festival. Three films, mentioned in passing in the above review—</i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2022/03/273-thai-director-apichatpong.html">Memoria</a>, <a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2006/08/2-andrei-zvyagenitsevs-vozvrashcheniye.html">The Return</a></b><i> and </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2014/06/163-russian-maestro-andrei-tarkovskys.html">Solaris</a> </b><i>have been</i><b> </b><i>reviewed on this blog earlier
and those reviews can be accessed by clicking on their names in this postscript.<o:p></o:p></i></o:p></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IqdAUaqbhmk?si=bxKEcPUuULlvrOrc" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-73757609915187199012023-12-17T19:51:00.015+05:302024-01-07T04:59:22.891+05:30The Polish film maestro Krzysztof Zanussi converses with Jugu Abraham on 14 Dec 2023 on the occasion of receiving his lifetime achievement award at IFFK, Trivandrum<p><span style="font-size: x-large;">K</span>rzysztof Zanussi (84) has won the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival for his film <b>A Year of the Quiet Sun </b>(1984), the Jury prize at the Cannes film festival for <b>The Constant Factor </b>(1980)., the Golden Leopard at Locarno film festival for <b>Illumination</b> (1973), among 69 international awards. The latest is his Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed by the International Film Festival of Kerala, India. He spoke to the author of this blog, Jugu Abraham. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPbJGoEdgaPkYsi0C96c21ZJCxiSxZUQxCCPRdtT1tRlas6VLTzKJwQC_REPnznqF385dZLUGVp9MgH7Zk_J1uNQ4TCkcmQfyD0iiNInMUwfkwBax2KWFEb26wasXPfw4vs-vyMsAgVfAwympOWhwl68eAEheEPYlls4KrOJs9pRmSIySlH2N4/s485/Zanussi%20at%20press%20conference.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="485" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPbJGoEdgaPkYsi0C96c21ZJCxiSxZUQxCCPRdtT1tRlas6VLTzKJwQC_REPnznqF385dZLUGVp9MgH7Zk_J1uNQ4TCkcmQfyD0iiNInMUwfkwBax2KWFEb26wasXPfw4vs-vyMsAgVfAwympOWhwl68eAEheEPYlls4KrOJs9pRmSIySlH2N4/s320/Zanussi%20at%20press%20conference.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr Zanussi addressing the media at IFFK <br />on 14 Dec 2023 at Trivandrum, Kerala</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9XcAtRk6XlYFUJ3Rjjajdp7uaRZwLRqqpZQ3jNoji58fp7lK0SA56A-3uX42PzE1FFBInqtHWh8XEbbVY4cw9Fw9GvcVrOiTKnvVl-HcKnKo7eKEmVCd5nyDnrsSUPA5PdqCbM-YXBOm1JMbB4_ft6Dn1ov5We3QgG16J52iZrpYVvLNUk0m/s1040/Interviewing%20Krzyzstof%20Zanussi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="1040" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9XcAtRk6XlYFUJ3Rjjajdp7uaRZwLRqqpZQ3jNoji58fp7lK0SA56A-3uX42PzE1FFBInqtHWh8XEbbVY4cw9Fw9GvcVrOiTKnvVl-HcKnKo7eKEmVCd5nyDnrsSUPA5PdqCbM-YXBOm1JMbB4_ft6Dn1ov5We3QgG16J52iZrpYVvLNUk0m/w400-h188/Interviewing%20Krzyzstof%20Zanussi.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr Zanussi listening to his interviewer, Mr Abraham</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><b><i>Jugu Abraham</i></b>: Mr
Zanussi, You have been always considered as one of the three major Polish film
directors..The others being Wajda and Kieslowski. But there's a distinct
difference between you and the other two that I have noticed. Almost all your
screenplays are your own and not adapted from other sources, unlike Wajda or
Kieslowski.<o:p></o:p> <div> </div><div><b><i>Krzysztof Zanussi</i></b>:
Wajda, no. Kieslowski, yes.<o:p></o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>Abraham</b></i>: Yes,
Kieslowski, did one (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Blind Chance</b>) that
was entirely his own.</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Zanussi:</i></b> Even though Kieslowski
wrote all the screenplays with his personal friends as co-scriptwriters, he was responsible for the
stories. He was the leading writer. We were very close friends.</p></div>
<br /><b><i>
Abraham</i></b>: In your case, most of the scripts are
your own. <div><br /></div><div><o:p></o:p><i><b>
Zanussi: </b></i>Yes. </div><div><br /></div><div><o:p></o:p><b><i>
Abraham:</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b><i> </i></b> </span>That makes you the main person in
spite of the characters in the film. Your mind comes through to us who are
viewing your films because your mind is represented through those characters
you have created. I see a lot of your interest in science, your interest in the
books that you have read, those philosophies come through in the leading characters
you have created in your films. Is that right?<div>
<br /><b><i>Zanussi:</i></b> I hope it is. It's up to you to judge.<o:p></o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>Abraham:</b></i> One of your
films<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that really made me your admirer was your
early work made in collaboration with Germany, a film called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ways in the Night</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1979).<o:p></o:p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Z<i><b>anussi:</b></i> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wege in der Nacht</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYL2vKLL2yqQQnn-vTcGXH3fpWy6Fa9hRQ61Bx0_tjeEuK7fqRuqU6aw9PQcjDIc4MTF3bSmMoP0z4f1iGBG8joiO6Z7vAPD0-0zAdxEoI44jOJv3Gs02szTavkmZf-1PCn9cXazCebBi13j9WgykHE7fxTGhSnyeGN5ucI5qOgqkAMFtA4rc/s663/Ways%20in%20the%20night.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="521" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYL2vKLL2yqQQnn-vTcGXH3fpWy6Fa9hRQ61Bx0_tjeEuK7fqRuqU6aw9PQcjDIc4MTF3bSmMoP0z4f1iGBG8joiO6Z7vAPD0-0zAdxEoI44jOJv3Gs02szTavkmZf-1PCn9cXazCebBi13j9WgykHE7fxTGhSnyeGN5ucI5qOgqkAMFtA4rc/s320/Ways%20in%20the%20night.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Abraham:</i></b> Yes, The way
you structured it was fascinating for me, because your script split it into
three parts. One on the love affair between a good Nazi and a Polish aristocratic
lady; another on the past history of the Nazi officer, and the final segment of
the Nazi’s daughter and her strange comments on the affair concluding the film, a segment that
would force viewers to reassess the film altogether.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several
decades later, Russian director Konchalovsky has done the same with his film <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Paradise</b>. Not many other directors have employed this radical structure.</p><b><i>
Zanussi:</i></b> Glad to hear that. And as this film is
forgotten, I am very happy that you are one of my viewers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was inspired by some situation in my own
family. So it is a very personal film. Of course, everything is remodeled. But
the whole idea of a good German, a good enemy, is something very intriguing to
me. And at the time, when I was writing this film, it was in the 70s . I was
very much afraid that being the subject, a citizen of a country in the Soviet
bloc, I will be forced to take part in the war that they were announcing all
the time. And we knew in Poland, the Polish army was supposed to go against
Denmark. And that I could be some day, probably be an interpreter in the army, I
will be soon be facing my acquaintances, my friends in Denmark, telling them
get out of their house, because some Soviet officer would be staying there
This was a frightening prospect. So I did identify with the German as
much as with the Polish character. I thought each of them is in a tragic
position. Culture is not enough to make peace between two people who are on opposite sides of a war.<br /><br /><b><i>
Abraham:</i></b> Probably you're aware of it
that subconsciously you had created two
well-educated personalities as the two lovers, and that they have read a lot more than
the others.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Zanussi:</i></b> Right.<o:p></o:p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Abraham</i></b>: And that made
the difference to the entire story. And this resurfaces in the
rest of your work as well. It's the people who are well read, who are often good
people listening to their conscience and making the right decisions.. <o:p></o:p></p><b><i>
Zanussi:</i></b> I am not in a
position to judge. That is my intention. You read my intention according to
my expectation. I am very grateful. <br />
<br /><i><b>
Abraham:</b></i>. And also, you are able to do something
special with Maja Komorowska, one of your favorite actresses who has been with
you.in so many later films of yours. In this particular film, she stole my
heart. I mean, even though later on, she has done so many works (<b>A</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Year of the Quiet Sun; In Full
Gallop</b>), which were equally good. But this early work was remarkable.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEsx8WbkFUwUWzaJvte05f9bu3c1y-aSE_BVZwOYL-HSo1QTpqUPtr80YRUN9OYWUW7DTUIW7vi8i02KpiJcczfQQecYUU7uFzeaZ_TYPgJtFKLtLeg1s2-ob6jzFebIVLi7Bq8ml04vV7y1bxRu2QMyNIetHZuPlQXxAW2f8zayN8DN3eFvDS/s877/Quiet%20Sun.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="877" data-original-width="545" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEsx8WbkFUwUWzaJvte05f9bu3c1y-aSE_BVZwOYL-HSo1QTpqUPtr80YRUN9OYWUW7DTUIW7vi8i02KpiJcczfQQecYUU7uFzeaZ_TYPgJtFKLtLeg1s2-ob6jzFebIVLi7Bq8ml04vV7y1bxRu2QMyNIetHZuPlQXxAW2f8zayN8DN3eFvDS/s320/Quiet%20Sun.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br />
<br /><i><b>
Zanussi</b></i>: I will definitely will tell her, Yes, because we're still friends, and still in
touch. She's still active, even though she's even older than myself. And she is
still active on stage, occasionally she does some some roles in films. <br />
<br /><i><b>
Abraham:</b></i> We see her later on in your film A<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Year of the Quiet Sun</b>, portraying
a different character. There again, her character is almost similar to her
character in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ways in the Night </b>underscoring
that people who have a good conscience, do the right thing. And I think that
comes as a recurring theme that goes through all your films, that taking the
right moral action is very important, in spite of everything else.<br />
<br /><b><i>
Zanussi:</i></b> While trying to be right, there are
some tragic situations where there is no good way out as in my film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Camouflage</b>. When if you don't quit,
you're guilty, even if you have good intentions. That's a tragic
situation that we know from Greek drama. Right. But that's what we try to
avoid. In fact, whenever I'm confronted with India, I wonder how you manage
to avoid tragic aspects because you have Sanskrit
drama and I try to read some of them. But there is no tragedy but there is
drama and conflicts but there is always a way out. And there is always an
original order original harmony yes, that you can restore at the end. Right? I
think there's a very big cultural difference between Europe and India.<br />
<br /><b><i>
Abraham:</i></b> Contemporary playwrights have taken up
the aspect of tragedy in contrast to, as you point out, the original ancient ones.
You might have heard of the late Girish Karnad as a playwright and filmmaker.
He wrote <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tughlaq,</i> which is a very interesting tragic play, I always wondered why nobody has picked up that play to make
a film. And it's a historical character, which is a tragedy and a beautiful one.
I've happened to have acted in that play when I was in college. <o:p></o:p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, apart from that, I
noticed that you have often reverted to casting some of the actors whom you
worked with earlier on. An example is Scott Wilson. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Zanussi</b></i>: Oh, yes. How do you go back as a human
being? As a married man<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have only
married once! Yes. So I have a natural tendency to be faithful and faithful to
my friends, right. So when I have a good experience with an actor, I always
invite these actors to my future works, like Leslie Caron, who worked three times with me, and really
many others like Maja Komorowska<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
Zbigniew Zapasiewiecz.. He is such a good example when we talk about well-educated
and passionate people. Right. Sometimes education kills your passion. Then the
education is not the right education. What it means is that it is the wrong
education.</p><b><i>
Abraham:</i></b> Now, let me get back to your physics.
Because that's interests me because I too studied physics initially in college. When you
started your films career as a director and original screenplay-writer, you
dealt with inorganic subjects, and then gradually moved on to organic subjects in films and used them as allegories, For instance, from <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Structure
of Crystals,</b> to mathematics and statistics (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Imperative</b>), to physics (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Illumination</b>)
to even linguistics (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Camouflage</b>),
and then you go on to inorganic examples in science as in the film <b>Life</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> as a Sexually Transmitted Disease.</b> <br />
<br /><i><b>
Zanussi:</b></i> One thing is stable, that all material
world is interconnected. <o:p></o:p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Abraham:</b></i> That’s true, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Zanussi</b></i>: And there was
a movement, the first half of the past century was half century of physics. The
second is half a century of biology. So I travel with the development of the
problems. Now the future of humanity depends very much on biology and genetic
engineering, right? Are we going to improve our species or kill it? What’s
going to happen?</p>
<br /><b><i>
Abraham: </i></b>I was surprised that not many people in
the US, UK and Latin America are aware of your films except when the early
film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ways in the Night</b> came out. The
famous US film critic Roger Ebert gave it very high ratings and in his review and stated that you are “<i>one of the best filmmakers in the world.</i>.“ Apart from that
recognition, not many people are aware of your films in those parts of the
world.<br />
<i><b><br />
Zanussi:</b></i> I still must be happy that somebody is
aware like yourself. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><o:p></o:p><i>
(The exclusive interview was curtailed by the IFFK organizers and I had
to join the press conference where I could ask more questions to Zanussi)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><o:p></o:p>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My questions at the press conference follow:
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></i><i><b>
Abraham: </b></i>My
question relates to my earlier conversation with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were there chances for you to collaborate
with some other co-scriptwriters on your films and what was the outcome?<br />
<br /><b><i>
Zanussi:</i></b> Yes, at the beginning, with a colleague of mine from the film school,
who was a writer. He was more advanced than I was. He joined me and we were
writing scripts for television, which I made into films later. But once the scripts became
more of a story for my first film, we could not agree, I had my vision and he
had his. We had a friendly parting of ways. We remained friends for the rest of
his life.<br />
<br /><b><i>
Abraham</i>:</b> So you felt that by doing things your own, you probably had a more
rounded structure for your screenplays?<br />
<br /><b><i>
Zanussi:</i></b> No. A different structure. The message was different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My friend was far more negative than I was. So
there was no compromise. Either there was hope or no hope. <br />
<br /><i><b>
Abraham:</b></i> Would you like to say something about your work with Polish music composer<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wojciech Kilar, and the music of the composer
with whom you have worked on so many of your films? Why did you pick him? And
stay with him?</div><div> <o:p></o:p><br /><b><i>Zanussi:</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b><i> </i></b> </span>We became friends. The
beginning of the friendship was a disaster. And I was guilty of it. I had a
crazy idea as young filmmakers have, when you're young, you have ideas that are
totally insane. Because I have a good musical ear, no education, I thought I will
make a revolution and I will ask music to be written before I make a film, not
after. Two composers said it is impossible. And the third one said, I don't say
that is reasonable. He wrote the music, I used his music as a playback.
Everything was right. Once the film was edited, it looked ridiculous. It was
really, really ludicrous. Because when you had a shadow, you had to have
something that corresponded to it. So it was like animation. It was a very bad idea.
Kilar said that now I will write the real appropriate music for your <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Structure of Crystals.</b> He wrote it. And
since then, I felt I had such depth from his music for my films. From my next film onwards, I wouldn't say a word to him to avoid confrontation. And since then, he wrote music for all my films with no exception. And I was never disappointed.
Sometimes <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spoke with his wife, as an
intermediary but never directly. Sometimes it was my wife who was speaking with
his wife. That was the way how we survived without confronting each other. But we
were talking about theology, physics, and everything else but music. Well, unfortunately, he was working with
other bigger directors than myself like Francis Ford Coppola (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bram Stoker’s Dracula</b>), like Kiesolwski
and Polansky and many others. And I reproached him and said you are my good friend.
Why do you write such good music for my competitors? He simply answered “<i>Makes good
films as they do</i>” and I will write you good music. So even this terrible answer
didn't discourage me and our friendship survived. </div><div><br /></div><div><o:p></o:p><b><i>
Abraham:</i></b> A question
on cinematographer Edward Klosinsky and his actress wife Krystyna Janda, both
of whom collaborated who with you on several films.</div><div><br /></div><div><o:p></o:p><b><i>
Zanussi:</i></b> You know
so much about Polish cinema…<o:p></o:p> </div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>Abraham: </i></b>How did
you find working with Klosinsky (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Camouflage;
Persona non grata</b>)? </div><div><br /></div><div><o:p></o:p><i><b>
Zanussi:</b></i> Well,
Janda is now a widow. Klosinsky, my friend and cameraman passed away. We had a
good understanding as he was extremely intelligent and became famous making
films abroad (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Three Colors: White and
Red; Europa</b>) as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His wife Janda,
now in her 70s, became famous in the films of Wajda (<b>Man of Iron; Man of Marble; The Conductor</b>)
with Klosinski as the cinematographer. She is now very popular with feminists. </div><div><br /></div><div><o:p></o:p><i><b>
Abraham:</b></i> When you
worked with Klosinski, was he giving you ideas or were you
giving him ideas? What was the creative process between the two of you?<o:p></o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>Zanussi:</b></i> As an
intelligent man, he found it easy to tune into somebody’s tastes. When he was
working with me he would bring me suggestions, and they were in my style of filmmaking.
When he was working with Wajda, he would suggest to Wajda according to Wajda’s
style. He understood the script; he understood the director.,</div><div><o:p></o:p>
<br /><b><i>
Abraham:</i></b> When you made your film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Imperative</b>,
you had named the main character as Augustine. What percentage of the audiences you feel recognized the connection?<o:p></o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Zanussi:</i></b> I didn’t
make a survey to check. The name of the main character is not just coincidental.
When we have children we choose their names according to our desire. We
sometimes name them after saints to protect them later in life. St Augustine
was the first writer of psychological perspective of one’s inner life. And he
was a terrible character, a difficult man to deal with and yet a genius..<o:p></o:p> </div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><b>Abraham</b>:</i> Thank you,
Mr Zanussi.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div>****</div><div><br /></div><div>Some interesting Zanussi quotes
from the Press Conference in response to other media persons' questions: </div><div><br /></div><div><o:p></o:p>
“<i>I believe in
reason, but reason has its limits. We think, everything is already explained.
And now we see mysteries are back. That's a great discovery of the 21st
century, with the new modern physics, where everything is surprising and
paradoxical. Because they use different logics. And I meet many scientists who
say, we work but we don't have a step. That's a very humble approach.</i>”<o:p></o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div>“<i>I have to refer to
something that you all remember from school and maybe not yet. It is the Gauss
curve (Gaussian distribution). You know, Gauss has made this camel-like curve <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which shows that majority in every case is
mediocre. because majority is always off as a mathematical principle, a statistical
principle. And excellence is always in minority. So, in the past, when your maharajahs
and our princes and kings and emperors were giving subsidies to support art,
they were supporting great artists who were not popular with a large audience
at all.</i>”<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b style="font-style: italic;">P.S. </b><i>The author's review of Zanussi's </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2006/12/27-persona-non-grata-2005-one-of-finest.html">Persona non grata</a>,</b><i> written in 2006, on this blog can be accessed by clicking on the name of the film in this postscript. </i></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-71406081366114644222023-11-12T13:47:00.012+05:302023-11-22T05:41:07.776+05:30282. The talented indigenous Australian filmmaker Ivan Sen’s 11th feature film “Limbo“ (2023), based on his original screenplay: More than a crime investigation, a study on the plight of the indigenous people in Australia, and gaining significance after the recent national vote rejecting additional power for the disadvantaged community<div class="separator"><br /></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieo-wS7KigG3TCGUG63IOGU_66P41J1VIYNJIybzOxamr8SXIpRDc1IZUVZtuWKqaH9wwPCpr8uadMW8Lr5bsuCO-GSmENEENHgPQ6pja77vr0nhPcypzEmR7MEF22999Ny0M0e8FeEYrp1n63o-fjaTZU8iS62fj6vC00ieWeErWRMySRrOat/s755/limbo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="521" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieo-wS7KigG3TCGUG63IOGU_66P41J1VIYNJIybzOxamr8SXIpRDc1IZUVZtuWKqaH9wwPCpr8uadMW8Lr5bsuCO-GSmENEENHgPQ6pja77vr0nhPcypzEmR7MEF22999Ny0M0e8FeEYrp1n63o-fjaTZU8iS62fj6vC00ieWeErWRMySRrOat/w442-h640/limbo.jpg" width="442" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><blockquote><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"Limbo
</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is the continuation of themes I
explored in my previous films. Those earlier films dealt with indigenous
perspective through the eyes of an indigenous police officer. </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Limbo </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">explores the deeper impact of a crime on an indigenous family through
the eyes of a white police officer. Some of these ideas have largely come from
my own personal experience, from family members and friends.”</i> </blockquote><blockquote>
--director, original screenplay-writer,
music composer, editor and cinematographer Ivan Sen of<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Limbo</b><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></b></div><div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Every single negative can lead to a
positive”</i> </div></blockquote><blockquote><div>
---from
the Evangelist broadcast station heard on the police officer <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Travis’ car radio, early in the film, after discussing
the travails of the Biblical Joseph who was sold off </div></blockquote><div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>ustralian
cinema’s contribution to world cinema was phenomenal in the Seventies. It
produced talented directors such as Peter Weir (<b>Picnic at Hanging Rock; The Last Wave, etc); Bruce Beresford (Breaker Morant; Getting of Wisdom, </b>),
George Miller (<b>Mad Max</b>), Gillian
Armstrong (<b>My Brilliant Career; Mrs
Soffel</b>), and Paul Cox (<b>A Woman’s
Tale: Vincent</b>), indigenous actor
David Gulpilil, cinematographer Russell Boyd and editor William Anderson (contributing
to many of the aforementioned films). Unfortunately,
for Australian cinema, many of them ‘migrated’ to Hollywood and are now
associated with their work out there. After the glorious Seventies, there was a
lull favoring more commercial cinema (e.g., <b>Crocodile Dundee</b>) save for occasional good cinema (e.g., <b>Babe; </b>Jennifer Kent's<b> The Nightingale</b>). In recent years, the very
talented actors Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Hugo Weaving and
Geoffrey Rush are rarely recognized as essentially
Australians.
</p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>n
this bleak scenario, a 2023 Australian film <b>Limbo </b>could make any discerning filmgoer sit up. It is a crime film that provides a fascinating
screenplay, mesmerizing black and white cinematography, hypnotic direction and
music (used mostly towards the end, recalling the effect of Antonioni’s film <b>Zabriskie Point,</b> with a top-notch performance by lead actor Simon
Baker (another Australian making waves in recent decades in Hollywood films <b>The Devil Wears Prada</b> and<b> L.
A . Confidential</b>).</div><div> <o:p></o:p><br />Ivan
Sen is an unusual name. As an Indian, I would associate “Sen” with persons from
Bengal in eastern India (e.g., Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen or filmmaker
Mrinal Sen). However, I was surprised to find Ivan Sen has no Indian
connection. He is an indigenous Australian and had already made 10 feature
films, often in color, in Australia. Even more surprising is that director Sen
writes his own original scripts. In <b>Limbo</b>,
a 20 year-old cold case is solved by a heroin-addicted Caucasian Australian police
officer in a non-orthodox manner and the outcome is equally unconventional but pleasing
(connecting up with the Biblical Joseph), again recalling the end of John
Sayles' lovely film of the same name <b>Limbo
</b>(1999).</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizERF1_HJwC3W8SvYIhMHFG2nOS-2CwwR5VLsESdOwheJ4pUIgVly46-I4bqKaA9sffYUOk4pmHOfq_RF6ZZGoTySzfQ2DpgRb_syQt8AVoiURUhC4ABTOOlRPt3xjAaSCgkhGRF2ch0jthogDuWZawmsdOai6_FXeZhIBfjd8duaBFMxk6UnM/s1200/limbo9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizERF1_HJwC3W8SvYIhMHFG2nOS-2CwwR5VLsESdOwheJ4pUIgVly46-I4bqKaA9sffYUOk4pmHOfq_RF6ZZGoTySzfQ2DpgRb_syQt8AVoiURUhC4ABTOOlRPt3xjAaSCgkhGRF2ch0jthogDuWZawmsdOai6_FXeZhIBfjd8duaBFMxk6UnM/w400-h200/limbo9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Police officer Travis (Simon Baker) in casual clothes<br />arrives in Limbo</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><o:p></o:p><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he
unusual aspect of Sen’s <b>Limbo<i> </i></b>is the economy of the spoken words
and the emphasis on body language and lazy action, or rather inaction, which
results strangely in growing trust between the indigenous folk and the white
police officer that apparently never existed in the past. One of the indigenous
persons, Charlie, who the police officer
Travis (Simon Baker) encounters for the first time, candidly states “<i>I don’t talk to cops, especially white
ones.”</i> We learn from the few
conversations in the film that in the original investigation of the missing
woman, indigenous witnesses were roughed up by police officers 20 years ago if
they gave any information that the white police officers did not want to
hear. <o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXD6eiPxryOobznPbU6lgbaZzRRPHB5Jy1SAY1SEISnUbzjAwrregTzamm-iQ_yvV23R34oKoAdiOLUNafxfSniM4gjtTozU3s88nFraSb3PqwCixYZr_H7hx1TDcb1gvKAXoWYUCz4n-HiFvi7rXnfqApcum_w0euaG5yy9tcVEdeJ9pFnUej/s1541/Limbo3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1541" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXD6eiPxryOobznPbU6lgbaZzRRPHB5Jy1SAY1SEISnUbzjAwrregTzamm-iQ_yvV23R34oKoAdiOLUNafxfSniM4gjtTozU3s88nFraSb3PqwCixYZr_H7hx1TDcb1gvKAXoWYUCz4n-HiFvi7rXnfqApcum_w0euaG5yy9tcVEdeJ9pFnUej/w400-h168/Limbo3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soon after Travis' arrival in Limbo his swanky car gets vandalized <br />while parked outside his motel and Travis has to make do <br />with a Sixties Dodge replacement (above) that serves him well; <br />reminding one of the Japanese film <b>Drive My Car</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he
camera of Sen ‘speaks’ a lot. It connects visually shoe-marks near the
officer’s car that has been vandalized and resulting in damaging a critical
computer chip that makes the car run, and a boy, a blood relation of the missing
woman being investigated, wearing two shoes that do not match. It again
connects the indigenous art work inferred to have been the product of the
missing person and the presence of the artwork in Leon’s dwelling. It connects
the retrieval of the registration details retrieved from a missing burnt car
wreck that provides possible clues to the missing girl. In a regular Hollywood script, the details of
how a police officer accesses and reconfirms by talking to colleagues or
checking old data are concepts thrown out of the window by Ivan Sen. He expects the viewer to be smart enough to connect
the images and the brief spoken words subsequently. That is mature cinema and a
more realistic approach to detective work than mere spoon-feeding of details in
the typical Hollywood <i>noir</i> fare.<o:p></o:p> </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh531-X3jiys09ofLZH0eTyherMuE3BsLbQ2ko4JsJ7OAMk8iGzZX1NgeyZV_UTH5QWHE_Vivd2HuTf-Vk1b0qJ3rhsXgf_gG8jI1-XEUVKFijMJM-t4EyPdZyfP-LwwoccaxQaBcY8zHZa0_jX4clS_P31M5exK0BDgOIJTCQqjF8yv73fJTl7/s1889/limbo6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="1889" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh531-X3jiys09ofLZH0eTyherMuE3BsLbQ2ko4JsJ7OAMk8iGzZX1NgeyZV_UTH5QWHE_Vivd2HuTf-Vk1b0qJ3rhsXgf_gG8jI1-XEUVKFijMJM-t4EyPdZyfP-LwwoccaxQaBcY8zHZa0_jX4clS_P31M5exK0BDgOIJTCQqjF8yv73fJTl7/w400-h144/limbo6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Questions from the police officer Travis elicit icy responses</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br />Equally
confounding, initially are the words spoken by Charlie to the suspect Leon’s
dog (in a local indigenous language, used infrequently in the film, the rest
being English). The dog understands what is said but not the viewer. I guess
the director wants the viewer to turn detective and connect that the dog knows
Charlie, the brother of the victim, while the initial suspect Leon, now dead, owned
the dog and is now cared for by Joseph, Leon’s buddy . It is typical of the
filmmaking method of Ivan Sen, evident throughout the film. Joseph’s character
can be fleshed out in an unconventional manner (by an attentive viewer) by
connecting the dots: his concern for the dog, the flowers regularly placed at
the last known location of the missing person, Joseph in the small church
speaking to the priest, Joseph’s condolences 20 years late to the missing
person’s family, etc.<div><o:p></o:p>
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4KFWQ3axDNNWfU4Xihks6K-s7sYPKSePCwdPEBYMJiVEmRLjunyXmmJoTHla1fFeepX2MFINdCUunsm0vQ9H3Qg8kISIN5D7baIyR57Hyg3dmgDq4YyMH5BEVFB2Lr_KjbSLNPMjaIqpMTGFlt0JAe3bn6-8axRrVRf5TzU8d7ddejND29Pj/s1171/limbo7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="1171" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4KFWQ3axDNNWfU4Xihks6K-s7sYPKSePCwdPEBYMJiVEmRLjunyXmmJoTHla1fFeepX2MFINdCUunsm0vQ9H3Qg8kISIN5D7baIyR57Hyg3dmgDq4YyMH5BEVFB2Lr_KjbSLNPMjaIqpMTGFlt0JAe3bn6-8axRrVRf5TzU8d7ddejND29Pj/w400-h258/limbo7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Travis persists and wins over the key persons <br />related to the cold case</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p>
<b>Limbo</b> is unusual because it presents a
police officer who is a heroin addict and yet solves the case with persistence.
We realize the man had gone undercover with a body full of tattoos to bust a drug
traffic case and got addicted in the process. Yet he can still do his job—and how!
His addiction could also have been because his wife has left him for another
man and his son with her. He quietly steps out of that cosmos to help another family
come together, even though when requested initially to help the fractured
family he feels he is not qualified for that specific intervention.<div><br /> <o:p></o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YkV5CHQRe444bO0pKIAhA5pg9CmQdj3T_3VL6eFk959YMPBvgJvjJgoyE9cbuLvA28wldkaEsZhd-wc-BDeMdrFwR9hI4jYzIawBscPuKILOZsXGqwEWLJ9zqn7nJdyBeofDNfAJ-R1GfM5QekfH-2D8iyVGIvax3D6N494XM1b3D2Kigg1t/s660/limbo10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="660" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YkV5CHQRe444bO0pKIAhA5pg9CmQdj3T_3VL6eFk959YMPBvgJvjJgoyE9cbuLvA28wldkaEsZhd-wc-BDeMdrFwR9hI4jYzIawBscPuKILOZsXGqwEWLJ9zqn7nJdyBeofDNfAJ-R1GfM5QekfH-2D8iyVGIvax3D6N494XM1b3D2Kigg1t/w400-h219/limbo10.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indigenous residents, including children, survive by <br />scrounging for opal stones in the soil near the old opal mines</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdx7oGDzwmaOHYyN14yeQz1fIdBgtfHiembVg54V9VWwgmeIksUT-qNXak3H0nKyMA65PFNelvQLimetWe17U-JjD_-fCd1WkwTbHPethw37A_AMAR9RsUa_lUFHbnVzUG_lfdtN1s3Tlb8HWjsveD3gwAcLb136x3XNHZTwHdM16NkrmItd3/s1534/Limbo1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1534" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdx7oGDzwmaOHYyN14yeQz1fIdBgtfHiembVg54V9VWwgmeIksUT-qNXak3H0nKyMA65PFNelvQLimetWe17U-JjD_-fCd1WkwTbHPethw37A_AMAR9RsUa_lUFHbnVzUG_lfdtN1s3Tlb8HWjsveD3gwAcLb136x3XNHZTwHdM16NkrmItd3/w400-h170/Limbo1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Ariel view of the unused opal mines in South Australia in twilight</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />
Beyond
the ‘outback’ noir, the film uses spirituality. First, there are the radio
broadcasts that Travis listens to in the car. Then there is a seemingly
unconnected visit by Travis to the Limbo church where he observes Joseph and
the priest from a distance. You don’t hear the spoken words, you “see” the body
language. Most importantly, the film like the Joseph story in the Bible
reunites a family thanks to the police officer’s kind intervention. The viewer is seemingly urged by the director
to superimpose the Biblical tale of Joseph on Travis’ difficulty in solving the crime as
much as the missing girl’s family’s defeatist feeling that they will never get
justice or closure in the social and physical wasteland of Coober Pedy in South
Australia, where once opal stone was mined commercially. It is still sparsely inhabited with a few
police cars, a church, a few pubs and diners, an opal trader, and an automobile
technician who needs to order spare parts from a distant town to get them. <div><br /></div><div> <o:p></o:p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1p2hIIxC4MA8lZp6y7MRPzNXcwxfO6SVKLMQd9oukXiWgYD9mIPV5SpCavIYsvMIMleF_y9vh9RKutT8IKJSdho1jBCfoKYvyVE0DGbZcdwGFKY0EEKkRCM2cPEnuQ1YgwD8csZeet5gcJ0OyC3AH4Q6SthEw7hs9JXtf07tD_CaLt6copY5/s1539/Limbo4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1539" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1p2hIIxC4MA8lZp6y7MRPzNXcwxfO6SVKLMQd9oukXiWgYD9mIPV5SpCavIYsvMIMleF_y9vh9RKutT8IKJSdho1jBCfoKYvyVE0DGbZcdwGFKY0EEKkRCM2cPEnuQ1YgwD8csZeet5gcJ0OyC3AH4Q6SthEw7hs9JXtf07tD_CaLt6copY5/w400-h164/Limbo4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entry to one of the opal caves, exterior view, with Travis's car <br />parked outside</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI53w8V65jknTiDwpMk8HGtGWzGTYtCUE_awyx_BEaJyM1jjie_F_T4BJO4jZohfRUfp6DGPeSKeIUgCcmHkMvoZ8fCnvRv9mldQzCUzXJH5AsO2icDxCxXiSY_W9pspr6rvKf0bap_U4T7LUVADqztzeTLWZfHGTfsHFXDIwHcqxHncmHkrQw/s1881/limbo5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="1881" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI53w8V65jknTiDwpMk8HGtGWzGTYtCUE_awyx_BEaJyM1jjie_F_T4BJO4jZohfRUfp6DGPeSKeIUgCcmHkMvoZ8fCnvRv9mldQzCUzXJH5AsO2icDxCxXiSY_W9pspr6rvKf0bap_U4T7LUVADqztzeTLWZfHGTfsHFXDIwHcqxHncmHkrQw/w400-h163/limbo5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Metaphoric entry of Travis into the caves of Limbo,<br />dug to mine opal stones, to crack the cold case <br />he is investigating</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>dd
all this cinematic craft of Sen to the breath-taking aerial view of the deserted
man-made opal cave mines that still have some opal in the rubble with Sen’s own
music. Further, the decision that Sen made to film <b>Limbo</b> in black-and-white was astute—a departure from his earlier
work <b>Mystery Road</b>. It all works.
Congratulations, Mr Ivan Sen, you are lifting up a sagging Australian cinema cherry
picking fine cinematic concepts from world cinema and adapting those to benefit
a better global understanding of the indigenous community. The funding for the
film is well-conceptualized: <b>Limbo </b>will
possibly attract tourism to the South Australian outback with opal to pick up
if you have a keen eye, just as some parks near former gold-mining hotspots in
USA do reward visitors with keen eyes who spot gold nuggets. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>P.S. </i>Limbo </b><i>won the Grand Prize at the 2023 Brussels International Film festival. It
was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 2023 Berlin Film festival.</i> <i>It is one of best films of 2023 for this
critic. Ivan Sen’s work in this film reminds you of the late Ermanno Olmi,
whose Golden Palm winning film </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2013/08/150-italian-filmmaker-ermanno-olmis.html">The Tree of Wooden Clogs</a></b><i> (1978) was also directed,
written, edited, and cinematographed by Olmi himself. Sen goes one step further
than Olmi—he contributes the music of his own film as well! Another Australian film that took an empathetic view of the indigenous people was Peter Weir’s </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2010/08/103-australian-director-peter-weirs.html">The Last Wave</a></b><i> (1977). Reviews of the two films by this author, published on this blog, mentioned earlier in this postscript can be
accessed by clicking on their colored titles here.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><o:p></o:p><i><br /></i><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div></div></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-UgQxOmBNSM?si=dK4FiJjsp6PQB2DH" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-91752279126198774902023-08-09T22:15:00.000+05:302023-08-09T22:15:07.674+05:30281. German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 11th feature film “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant “(Die Bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant) (1972): A fascinating original script built on interactions of five German ladies captured on a limited spatial stage, with the overarching power of money influencing their actions past, present and future<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGSjtvncoG_UMzYdRHRqADvRxi8A2jjAWBw8MFiVUU18JDRt2nCXv6B7_F8VubG2XBC3ifrfOXPUe-bOx4c_qVPe2F7m8yW6OgrVeI0R1eNZ5b8YkQSiVhbnBgm4p7WBZburtHcEiFuIV6IVGyd3SdwmuCa1cWzVQV20jtbMhJtvmlIzaS8LT/s426/petra.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="283" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGSjtvncoG_UMzYdRHRqADvRxi8A2jjAWBw8MFiVUU18JDRt2nCXv6B7_F8VubG2XBC3ifrfOXPUe-bOx4c_qVPe2F7m8yW6OgrVeI0R1eNZ5b8YkQSiVhbnBgm4p7WBZburtHcEiFuIV6IVGyd3SdwmuCa1cWzVQV20jtbMhJtvmlIzaS8LT/w266-h400/petra.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><blockquote><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Of course, he took me seriously, respected
my opinions.. but, nevertheless, he wanted to be the breadwinner. That way,
oppression lies; that’s obvious. It’s like this, ‘I hear what you are saying
and, of course I understand, but who brings home the bacon?’ So there you
are—two sets of rules.”<o:p></o:p></i>
---Petra
von Kant on her professional success as a fashion designer breaking up her once
perfect marriage<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><div><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><i>“I may seem hard, but it is because I am
using my head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re evidently not used
to women using their brains”</i> -- Petra von Kant to her cousin, Sidonie<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i> </div><div><br /></div><div> (Key
lines spoken in the film)</div></blockquote><div><o:p></o:p><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span>y
first viewing of Fassbinder’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Bitter
Tears of Petra von Kant</b> was some 40 years ago. The single take-away from
that initial viewing was the awesome performance of Ms Margit Carstensen as Petra, who
is on screen most of the time, expounding a varied range of emotions--smiling,
crying, sniping, begging, recalling, feigning, lying, and even worrying. The
range of emotions she exhibited is staggering. When I learnt of her passing
in June 2023, I took considerable efforts to view the film a second time. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div>The
second viewing enabled me notice details other than Ms Carstensen’s performance
and the obvious overarching bitterness of the break-up<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of a once perfect 15 to 18 year marriage that had resulted in the birth and development of her teenage daughter,
Gabriele, now studying in an expensive boarding school and experiencing and
acknowledging for the first time a pristine love for ”a tall, slim, boy with long hair
and who looks like Mick Jagger.” <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div>The film does go beyond the very obvious effects of a marriage break-up and the need for emotional
co-dependency (male and/or female) for four women in different situations, direct or indirectly linked to Petra. There are no men in the
entire film though the ladies talk and discuss various men, real and possibly imaginary ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the five women, Marlene (Irm Hermann),
who is Petra’s creative assistant and hostess at Petra’s residence, plays a
major role silently, except to announce the names of Petra’s guests on their arrival at the apartment. <o:p></o:p><br /><p></p><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>assbinder subtly introduces the power of money into the emotional equation, both visually and
verbally. The verbal reinforcement is in the first quote, from the film, stated above. The visual reinforcement is achieved by a blown-up painting that
covers an entire wall of Petra’s room that is often in the background of almost all the
action in the film. That painting is important when one appreciates that it provides a stark allegory of this Fassbinder film (never referred directly in the film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">per se</i>). The painting in question is artist Nicolas
Poussin’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1689 work <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Midas
and Bacchus. </i>I had not<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>heard of
this artwork even when I was a student of aesthetics. What does it depict? King Midas of Greek
mythology (when he was asked for any wish for having taken care of the
inebriate satyr Silenius) was endowed with a
gift by Dionysius (Bacchus) to turn anything he touched into gold. Midas’
happiness was short-lived—the boon had become a curse as food and family
members turned to gold at his touch. The Poussin painting depicts King Midas,
in blue garments, kneeling before Bacchus to remove the gift he gave him that
turned anything he touched to gold. This visual comparison is deliberately introduced by Fassbinder and production designer Kurt Raab. Viewers who are unaware of the subject of the painting will miss the connection, just as I did on my first viewing.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkIIncrZsecz5ARMO-6qLOSJgGJlH3Useawzgye_uCuooHWzJmAOCXrvMHSr8Es1aI6oSgGxy2KNu7a8BPLh5fvzwQhOLDOEhAj04en0y-4ZT8X6CXdRgYrqfTaNiom3h0yaXFgUTeVdWW4iY-3B9iwH9qdUqO2UXqg_tmRh5HLkX1CJ0wEf7/s800/petra13.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="800" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkIIncrZsecz5ARMO-6qLOSJgGJlH3Useawzgye_uCuooHWzJmAOCXrvMHSr8Es1aI6oSgGxy2KNu7a8BPLh5fvzwQhOLDOEhAj04en0y-4ZT8X6CXdRgYrqfTaNiom3h0yaXFgUTeVdWW4iY-3B9iwH9qdUqO2UXqg_tmRh5HLkX1CJ0wEf7/w400-h290/petra13.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poussin's 1689 painting <i>Midas and Bacchus </i>with King Midas <br />on his knees imploring Bacchus to remove the gift of turning <br />anything to gold at his touch (courtesy: Web Gallery of Art, <br />Wikimedia Commons) </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4yS2es96XQjsrUx2YRovYCc2LWU5fS0-RWBKPMCaE3swRk3-1bNgM9P3hIvTsC_Clj87zBAxzM-IlGrBqcpjMm4i7tzYQywRU-g7EkOswzKFPA9Ne0blH_GT1-3PReKayFxZiO25HPCQuIpv9hQuzOLeZDrDHtzCG3fkWwqaCVzmEcvodapT/s1533/Petra2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1047" data-original-width="1533" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4yS2es96XQjsrUx2YRovYCc2LWU5fS0-RWBKPMCaE3swRk3-1bNgM9P3hIvTsC_Clj87zBAxzM-IlGrBqcpjMm4i7tzYQywRU-g7EkOswzKFPA9Ne0blH_GT1-3PReKayFxZiO25HPCQuIpv9hQuzOLeZDrDHtzCG3fkWwqaCVzmEcvodapT/w400-h274/Petra2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petra (Carstensen) dictates a letter to the Hollywood director <br />Mankiewicz on being suddenly unable to support him <br />financially, with the Poussin painting in the background </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>hat is the connection of the painting to the
Fassbinder film, one could well ask.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>Petra,
who was not the main bread-winner of her nuclear family, had for long enjoyed a perfect
husband-wife relationship, while she gradually built her career as a successful dress designer. The marriage collapsed as her designing work gradually became world famous<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(unlike Petra’s mother Valerie, who Petra
alleges never worked) and gradually became the main bread-winner of her family. Early in the film, we could infer that Petra had become
so successful that she could bankroll Hollywood director Joseph
Mankiewicz (of <b>Cleopatra</b> and <b>The Barefoot Contessa</b> fame).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She opts out of that commitment to Mankiewicz when her marriage breaks up and her mother Valerie asks her for considerable financial support as well.<o:p></o:p>
Like
Midas, success in the world of design caused the collapse of Petra’s marriage,
as her husband<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frank wanted to continue
to be the person who <i>‘brought home the bacon.’</i> <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcgoVWzXF5nDadkPX2s4r_Az0U_R5D3_nfXQu2jXqrxfYFDmJHDdTNvU4FRxpNNuk4hgvrKwJTZIPAZvbbsday25-yVKFLL-Pz6C53tgG8p50TRvTByf-WPwz1rgPa6mVXeNPWHgUuRnuXcqpgJjja9kFvwC5TAxBt6JIGoQ8FSX3sGXGQ2Zp/s1505/Petra4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1041" data-original-width="1505" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcgoVWzXF5nDadkPX2s4r_Az0U_R5D3_nfXQu2jXqrxfYFDmJHDdTNvU4FRxpNNuk4hgvrKwJTZIPAZvbbsday25-yVKFLL-Pz6C53tgG8p50TRvTByf-WPwz1rgPa6mVXeNPWHgUuRnuXcqpgJjja9kFvwC5TAxBt6JIGoQ8FSX3sGXGQ2Zp/w400-h276/Petra4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petra recalls the good times with her former husband Frank</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFDOvlB-NlUj9f_it2efNnZtcYTayLoOxEymWEo5bGNOXVYg7G0uy0i8o7HAoKQhMfHoUvAOo8vZfrmlc1UqgsHJdfBQV7UZNAmp5nwRySurTuORXv-rqxIsx7j09z683Q9sUiXL9sNoOToAd5aERUfTVXDXbLpHy9L_FuMJeJ-klipU1SG_l/s1531/Petra12.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1013" data-original-width="1531" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFDOvlB-NlUj9f_it2efNnZtcYTayLoOxEymWEo5bGNOXVYg7G0uy0i8o7HAoKQhMfHoUvAOo8vZfrmlc1UqgsHJdfBQV7UZNAmp5nwRySurTuORXv-rqxIsx7j09z683Q9sUiXL9sNoOToAd5aERUfTVXDXbLpHy9L_FuMJeJ-klipU1SG_l/w400-h265/Petra12.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When the silent and ever subservient Marlene (<i>foreground</i>)<br />leaves the mean and self-centered Petra, Balhaus' camera<br />deliberately avoids the Poussin painting--the "Midas gift"<br />has allegorically been removed from Petra.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The connection with money and relationships continue. Petra
wanted to “<i>possess</i>” her cousin Sidonie’s (Katrin Schaake) friend Karin (Hanna
Schygulla), soon after her their first meeting, with the lure of money, asking her to work for her and later to move
into her apartment instead of the expensive hotel, thus saving Karin money. Petra
already has Marlene staying with her who is her butler, typist, and errand
woman, again using her money power allowing Petra to treat her shabbily in the process. Petra
provides money for her mother Valerie and her daughter Gabriele. Like Midas, who
could turn everything to gold at his touch, Petra could achieve a lot of
control of people with her money. Ultimately, her hubris, associated with growing wealth turns out to be her
undoing. After 6 months with Petra, Karin decides to return to her husband who has moved to Zurich from Australia and asks Petra for money and air tickets. Petra gives Karin twice the sum asked, hoping
that would lure her back her apartment. It does not. When Petra calls her a whore, Karin observes
her time with Petra was easier than working the street –again an indirect
reference to money.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">B</span>eyond
the role of Poussin's painting in the film, one has to split the excellent Fassbinder script into 5 Acts, in the
vein of a Shakespearean play. Act I: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Petra meets Karin, introduced by Sidonie. Act
II: Petra gets to know Karin and promises to transform her into a great fashion
model. Act III: In spite of living with Petra for 6 months, Karin decides to
return to her husband in Zurich. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Act
IV: Petra,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on her birthday, devastated by Karin’s absence, is lying on the carpet for the first time in the film as her daughter, her cousin and her mother
drop in to see her on her birthday. Petra is uncharitable to all and asks them to leave. Act V:
Petra now sees Marlene as a replacement for the absent Karin, and uses the same
opening lines she used with Karin to snare Marlene as future lover. Marlene silently packs her bag and leaves Petra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpIau9C_gVT77DpvJlavtg4Ha4Ri1FYpNJEaxwHXHi4xwJMbI_e6KmylFt1GYAshrv5EpJ4L4yAHbKwXZm0i0JL_BiIEJOmRDl2KhRNqQUGqah20v0Jm75H7nehMvmfPxSqPPdbCboT8OBfNdF_ESGy-MkFtkrTkK5goQs_U7nue39u6kCGcI/s1008/petra14.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpIau9C_gVT77DpvJlavtg4Ha4Ri1FYpNJEaxwHXHi4xwJMbI_e6KmylFt1GYAshrv5EpJ4L4yAHbKwXZm0i0JL_BiIEJOmRDl2KhRNqQUGqah20v0Jm75H7nehMvmfPxSqPPdbCboT8OBfNdF_ESGy-MkFtkrTkK5goQs_U7nue39u6kCGcI/w400-h300/petra14.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petra (with her back facing the camera) spews her outburst <br />(<i>from left to right</i>) at her mother Valerie, <br />her daughter Gabriele and her cousin Sidonie</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>here are no
curtains to separate the Acts as when a play is performed in a theatre. Fassbinder uses Petra’s natural hair
and four wigs to separate the Acts. In Act I, Petra wakes up with her natural
hair and wears her first wig; in Act II she wears a second one; in Act III a
third one; in Act IV a fourth one; and finally in Act V, she reverts to her natural
hair, visually and structurally completing the Aristotelian unity proposed<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Poetics</i>. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12LWZwtlXNvPF0HDuClPHhyS3OY9E9QRlZU3k7GwEi3x8ZqV7zvVN1OYSM5FGINZoV0xZYEuMPq9pCh2kZqPfIeJjJ9xiJPSWiwuO-rUbSwmV13Fc9PDMl_fBUg4PNuKYmed7Q7g9YMFotcRQn5kkWQXCMt5gOA1DtM1OY1QN8hlt5FAHHi_C/s747/Petra1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="747" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12LWZwtlXNvPF0HDuClPHhyS3OY9E9QRlZU3k7GwEi3x8ZqV7zvVN1OYSM5FGINZoV0xZYEuMPq9pCh2kZqPfIeJjJ9xiJPSWiwuO-rUbSwmV13Fc9PDMl_fBUg4PNuKYmed7Q7g9YMFotcRQn5kkWQXCMt5gOA1DtM1OY1QN8hlt5FAHHi_C/w400-h303/Petra1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening image of the film of the two cats on which the<br />opening credits are super-imposed. The cat with white fur moves <br />away from the black cat to a few steps below</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>f one recalls the opening shot of the two cats on the small stairs (the cats are never shown
again); they are together initially. One of them moves away to sit on a separate step eventually. That
is indeed the tale of each of the five characters shown later on screen in the film. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>hat a wonderful screenplay conceived and written during a 12-hour flight from
Berlin to Los Angeles by the director.<o:p></o:p>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p>While Fassbinder
and Carstensen drive the film, Kurt Raab’s production design and Michael
Ballhaus’ indoor cinematography contribute considerably to the holistic effect, especially
when you realize the entire film was shot<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in 10 days.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> </div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEL41gWSxT3EVHi_uM_VwHkjooFrg1bhyCDFTjxcLL6QKLNEy3WFPs4v-2I1I5DdfXcZMrZILH7k4qlHzD0qIFJWlWq32T3cg5UrdROkyuxrA2jWphT9xNNANmFrt3ibPojK2pT8GafOpLfQ8LoneIya6soVuLuyyh3jP2pbWJU35g_ghxkQn/s1531/Petra10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1043" data-original-width="1531" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEL41gWSxT3EVHi_uM_VwHkjooFrg1bhyCDFTjxcLL6QKLNEy3WFPs4v-2I1I5DdfXcZMrZILH7k4qlHzD0qIFJWlWq32T3cg5UrdROkyuxrA2jWphT9xNNANmFrt3ibPojK2pT8GafOpLfQ8LoneIya6soVuLuyyh3jP2pbWJU35g_ghxkQn/w400-h272/Petra10.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As Petra's life and confidence unravels with the departure of Karin, Ballhaus' <br />camera captures the the activities from the carpet level, complete with <br />the doll (presented to Petra on her birthday), the phone and the bottle of gin</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant</b> offers
a near flipside of Fassbinder’s final film, his adaption of Jean Genet’s play <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Querelle</b> (1982), in which the male protagonist, not unlike Petra, manipulates his lovers for thrills and profit.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div> R.I.P. Ms
Margit Carstensen, February 1940 to June 2023.<o:p></o:p><br /><p></p></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2WnTfjCEohs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-77532515108623922142023-06-11T09:35:00.003+05:302023-06-16T07:06:03.340+05:30280. Russian maestro Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky’s 24th feature film “Sin“ (Il Peccato) (2019), in Italian: A fascinating study on Michelangelo’s thoughts and actions while leading a near hermitic life and creating monumental works of art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYeOPZFIMvroTYRfiei4y-RJPeE3QGVJ1-Cz1hm1h0nUVvVtGeZkJdySsPZOATfNc5qZYNxmAVbEEWaMrlryR-HOSPZ3rcgnuE2iEvXfaiLoXaD5CGjhNwXs5nse63f8RFHrj9qQD2-A-lAGH2nJERuUedAU-kyXujPupS5JFSgsBt6RIYDQ/s879/sinA.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="613" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYeOPZFIMvroTYRfiei4y-RJPeE3QGVJ1-Cz1hm1h0nUVvVtGeZkJdySsPZOATfNc5qZYNxmAVbEEWaMrlryR-HOSPZ3rcgnuE2iEvXfaiLoXaD5CGjhNwXs5nse63f8RFHrj9qQD2-A-lAGH2nJERuUedAU-kyXujPupS5JFSgsBt6RIYDQ/w279-h400/sinA.jpg" width="279" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><i></i><blockquote><i>“<span style="font-size: medium;">A</span>rrogance is sin”</i><o:p></o:p> <div><br /></div><div> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<span style="font-size: medium;">I</span> wanted to find God; I only found Man”<o:p></o:p></i>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i> </div><div><br /></div><div> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<span style="font-size: medium;">M</span>oney always rubs elbows with infamy”</i></div></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div> --key
lines spoken in <b>Sin</b>--co-scripted by Andrei Konchalovsky and Elena Kisaleva</div><div><o:p></o:p><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>ndrei
Konchalovsky<b>’</b>s <b>Sin</b> is a film more on the thoughts of the amazingly gifted painter,
sculptor and writer Michelangelo (1465-1564) and less on his famous works and
how he created those masterpieces of art. The film presents a frenetic individual at the time of his life when he was sculpting night and day, more than he was painting or writing, often in imaginary conversation with the dead poet Dante Alighieri whose works he knew by rote, even while walking alone. The more we delve into Konchalovsky’s
film <b>Sin, </b>one appreciates<b> </b>the dogged research that went into the
making of the film to connect the dots between Dante’s <i>The Divine Comedy, </i>the historical battles between two rich Roman
families--the Della Povere and the Medicis--to install Popes, and the
effect of both Dante’s works and the two
Roman families that controlled and influenced the creative outputs of Michelangelo,
which included the final design of the
existing St Peter’s Cathedral in Vatican
City, apart from fresco paintings and sculptures admired to date. At a different level, the film is a perfect example of
the importance of original co-scriptwriters—in this case, the gifted team
of Konchalovsky and Elena Kiseleva-- in
creating a feature film, than other facets, as is often perceived in
good cinema.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p></div><div><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9E5CCxsHFlErUK58fVp1t51O8AIZoDY4OtKhPxCP0fR79mwsexIyRV_riMgSzCyuVJn9AtTHFuW5ZH0CZ7lJMi5_uFtp7yiKEtTzzomDr3ETfZ1gPW7LtExlPu23DwJjcVq_8SdFLrBHx8Xd4MjDKSMXTAq_4OjQ5KE4b-mrcjxPHY5O1aQ/s698/Sin1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="698" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9E5CCxsHFlErUK58fVp1t51O8AIZoDY4OtKhPxCP0fR79mwsexIyRV_riMgSzCyuVJn9AtTHFuW5ZH0CZ7lJMi5_uFtp7yiKEtTzzomDr3ETfZ1gPW7LtExlPu23DwJjcVq_8SdFLrBHx8Xd4MjDKSMXTAq_4OjQ5KE4b-mrcjxPHY5O1aQ/w400-h225/Sin1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alberto Testone, a dentist in real life, who resembles <br />Michelangelo, plays the lead part in the film</td></tr></tbody></table><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>t is therefore
important to know some basic details about Konchalovsky and Kiseleva in order
to appreciate <b>Sin,</b> the film, in its
totality.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>ndrei
Konchalovsky has been overlooked by many film critics and cinephiles for his outstanding
contribution to the medium over several decades. As a Russian, the western
world ignored him, possibly because his films were either not easily accessible
nor well assessed by prominent western film critics. Most Tarkovsky fans do not
realize that three of Tarkovsky’s early films (<b>Andrei Rublev, Ivan’s Childhood, </b>and <b>The Steamroller and the Violin</b>) were co-scripted by
Konchalovsky (who incidentally was
Tarkovsky’s classmate at film school). <o:p></o:p>
While
Konchalovsky made a mark collaborating first with Tarkovsky, he later
improved his credibility of his own worth by moving from scriptwriting to
direction (five films he directed: <b>Asya;
The First Teacher; A Nest of the Gentry; Siberiade; </b>and a superb film
version of<b> Uncle Vanya</b>) in Russia
during his pre-Hollywood phase, which
saw these films winning a Golden Lion award at Venice film festival (for
<b>Asya</b>), a Silver Lion for Best Actress at Venice (for <b>The First Teacher)</b>, and the Grand Prize
of the Jury at the Cannes festival (for <b>Siberiade</b>). <br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>hen
he left Russia in 1980 to make films in Hollywood, one of his films (<b>Runaway Train</b>) got nominated for an
Oscar and the Golden Palm at the Cannes film festival; another (<b>Duet for One</b>) got nominated for a
Golden Globe; another (<b>Maria’s Lovers</b>) got nominated for the
Golden Lion at the Venice film festival; another (<b>Homer and
Eddie</b>) won the Golden Seashell for
the best film at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain, while yet another of his films from
his Hollywood period (<b>Shy People</b>)
won the Best Actress award for Barbara
Hershey at Cannes. These accolades strung together are more
impressive global honors than the works of most other directors working in
Hollywood and would make any one of them envious.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>fter
he returned to Russia, disillusioned with the Hollywood studio system
disagreeing with his artistic non-commercial concepts and eventually ending up being
fired midway while trying to make <b>Tango
and Cash </b>the way he conceived it, Konchalovsky struck gold by teaming up
with co-scriptwriter Elena Kiseleva. His four films with her have won even
better accolades than ever before in his career—<b>The Postman’s White Nights </b>(2014, Silver Lion For Best Director at
Venice film festival); <b>Paradise </b>(2016,
Silver Lion For Best Director at Venice film festival 2017, once again; Best
Actor (Actress) award at the Munich film Festival,2017); <b>Sin</b> (2019, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best
Costume Design at the Nika awards, 2020); and <b>Dear Comrades</b> (2020, Special Jury Prize at the Venice film
festival, Best Director at the Chicago international film festival, Best Film,
Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Sound
awards at the Nika awards). The magic weaved by the duo is comparable to
the similar director-scriptwriter magic woven by Kieslowski and Piesiewicz in
Poland, by Loach and Laverty, by Lean and Bolt, and by Losey and Pinter in UK--
all fine examples of directors peaking at the evening of their careers by
teaming up with the right co-scriptwriter. The more you know of Konchalovsky's films you realize the director is a thinker and immensely well read compared to his peers globally and can arguably be only compared to Orson Welles or Raul Ruiz, not even Andrei Tarkovsky or Ingmar Bergman.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgQ0T5vvRl2z20_Wru2lmWTjfFI8-HCLGM4ze2Qz64dMGw7ficfuqGnDIMoohkN2ypC5UyJGQLSofka96DvtsKe2xB8L-okXoZHv7_JDPLZOGcRysTdKzO_mSrc-QM_u71WQGoeChcYWKLgSF-327a5oMNTKrGICeECSXLxScZp0mGaaxWeA/s1415/Sin6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1047" data-original-width="1415" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgQ0T5vvRl2z20_Wru2lmWTjfFI8-HCLGM4ze2Qz64dMGw7ficfuqGnDIMoohkN2ypC5UyJGQLSofka96DvtsKe2xB8L-okXoZHv7_JDPLZOGcRysTdKzO_mSrc-QM_u71WQGoeChcYWKLgSF-327a5oMNTKrGICeECSXLxScZp0mGaaxWeA/w400-h296/Sin6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Joycean epiphany perceived by Michelangelo woken up from slumber<br />at dawn in Florence. His statue of David is erected in the streets <br />but behind it is a man who has been hanged. <br />Konchalovsky's vision of Michelangelo's quatrain<br />"..<i style="text-align: left;">in this age of crime and shame/not to live, not to feel-an enviable destiny/<br />it is gratifying to sleep/ it is more gratifying to be stone"</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">K</span>onchalovsky’s
initial interest in making a film about the Italian artistic genius
Michelangelo has an amazing connection with <b>Andrei Rublev</b>, which he co-scripted with Tarkovsky. This writer stumbled upon journalist/critic
Valery Kichin’s revealing interview in Russian with Konchalovsky in 2018, in which
Konchalovsky recalls noticing visitors to an Italian cathedral kissing a
laminated A4-size Rublev’s painting called <i>Trinity, </i>ignoring the luxurious Italian frescoes
in the vicinity. That incident sparked off the idea in Konchalovsky's mind of making a film on Michelangelo since his script on Rublev had struck gold nearly half a century earlier. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he well-read
Konchalovsky recalled that Michelangelo in a response to a historian and
aristocrat Giovanni Strozzi (who had written a quatrain admiring Michelangelo’s
sculpture <i>Night </i>with the words<i> </i>“<i>…she was sculpted from stone by an
angel/if he sleeps then he is full of life/just wake up/ he will talk to you</i>” to which Michelangelo had replied to Strozzi
with a witty quatrain “<i>Be quiet please, don’t you dare wake me/oh, in this age of crime and
shame/not to live, not to feel-an enviable destiny/it is gratifying to sleep/
it is more gratifying to be stone.</i>”<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div>Konchalovsky
connects that response of Michelangelo with why he decided to make <b>Sin. </b>He reveals to Kichin: “’<i>In a
shameful age I want to be stone.’ What did he mean by that about his life? ..If
this statement is taken as an analysis of his life, an artist and a
person? More precisely a person…An
artist sculpts something from stone, writes notes, paints,..all this is in
external form something secondary. There is a great play on Salieri’s envy of a
genius (Mozart) but not about how the genius writes music. Michelangelo lives
in the center of European culture, in Florence, and it so happens that he is
brilliantly gifted. Hence, the theme and the conflict of my movie <b>Sin</b>. Michelangelo was a fan of Dante.
Michelangelo in his sculptures expressed the idea of martyrdom, created images
that were equal in expression to the images of Dante</i> ” (Ref: <a href="https://rg.ru/2018/10/24/andrej-konchalovskij-moj-film-eto-moe-videnie-zhizni-mikelandzhelo.html">https://rg.ru/2018/10/24/andrej-konchalovskij-moj-film-eto-moe-videnie-zhizni-mikelandzhelo.html</a>)<o:p></o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>n the
same interview with Kichin, Konchalovsky reveals that even Leonardo da Vinci
regarded Michelangelo as an expert on Dante’s writings and would refer him as
such to Leonardo’s students. “<i>Dante
wrote in the genre of “</i>visione<i>”—using religious phantasmogoric visions</i>” says
Konchalovsky, who researched Michelangelo’s life for some 10 years before<b> Sin</b> was made.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmTkIuhK4-HBFJ12MNNyHdy2ZLyseJrsa5gAG76AI15e9SzfPJuSl8V-iNr4d_jz7r5rYzk2Td17G1OwNBhRcASL1fo-6xAtVizWVuA6MCyGwI-Jg1US1vK38KPJuPiWAE9h0Sv72SckPGC8S_CqojQibga56lIZVhuUXZMUhLhfyxr34ww/s1451/Sin3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="1451" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmTkIuhK4-HBFJ12MNNyHdy2ZLyseJrsa5gAG76AI15e9SzfPJuSl8V-iNr4d_jz7r5rYzk2Td17G1OwNBhRcASL1fo-6xAtVizWVuA6MCyGwI-Jg1US1vK38KPJuPiWAE9h0Sv72SckPGC8S_CqojQibga56lIZVhuUXZMUhLhfyxr34ww/w400-h259/Sin3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The repentant Michelangelo in conversation with Dante (<i>in red</i>),<br />after he finds the newly married couple,<br /> whose marriage he had financially supported <br />inexplicably killed and...<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_wSo-hCRvirvi2zBuTY_o7q3-DiUqfk9nhiDnNSick1FCddb0vopCfJjm1v-v-Q7owDn1WNSbyq4wlw3IrOgu_qIbWBc1yxAFOUjkVMfRtSMy6SaiImDTsgGghN5xKcjr-rWw2dlJ2pl9tKhVog-C0Hro2H1hzBx9EQtQOFZyilnkvz90g/s1360/Sin2..jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1360" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_wSo-hCRvirvi2zBuTY_o7q3-DiUqfk9nhiDnNSick1FCddb0vopCfJjm1v-v-Q7owDn1WNSbyq4wlw3IrOgu_qIbWBc1yxAFOUjkVMfRtSMy6SaiImDTsgGghN5xKcjr-rWw2dlJ2pl9tKhVog-C0Hro2H1hzBx9EQtQOFZyilnkvz90g/w400-h186/Sin2..jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... the conversation with Dante continues, edited and transported <br />from the room to the mountains, with their positions unchanged. <br />"<i>I know my creations are beautiful. People admire<br /> them but nobody prays in front of them</i>"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>Thus,
the differences between Carol Reed’s film <b>The
Agony and The Ecstasy </b>(based on Irving Stone’s novel of the same name) made
in 1965 and Michelangelo’s <b>Sin </b>are
considerable. The former is an adaptation of a novel, while the latter is based
on the director’s personal research.
Konchalovsky’s film emphasizes the connections with Dante, which is not
discussed by Reed and Stone. Reed’s film
delves more on the Sistine Chapel paintings, while Konchalovsky’s film begins
with the near completion of the Sistine Chapel paintings and is devoted more to
Michelangelo working on later sculptures of Michelangelo, with the statue of
David already erected on a street, in a dream sequence. And unlike Reed’s film
where Contessina de Medici (played by Diane
Cilento) is a major female personality close to Michelangelo,
Konchalovsky’s film presents a
hermit-like Michelangelo whose interest in women is clinical, to use visible
aspects of their bodies as mere sources
of inspiration for his sculptures and not sexual attraction. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">K</span>onchalovsky’s
and Kiseleva’s original screenplay projects Michelangelo’s growing popularity with the rich and the poor alike as
a maestro while he was still alive which led him to an artistic hubris, understandably with three
Popes in succession asking Michelangelo to work for them when they became Popes: Pope Julius II (belonging to the Della Rovere family) and
Popes Clemens VII and Paul III (belonging to the Medici family). Michelangelo had only
contempt for his contemporary artist Raphael’s abilities (shown in <b>Sin</b>) unlike Raphael, who in admiration
of Michelangelo, drew the portrait of Michelangelo as Heraclitus, a pre-Socratic
Greek philosopher in one of his paintings for the Pope’s apartments. That pride of Michelangelo is the “arrogance”
stated in one of the spoken lines in <b>Sin</b>.<b> </b>He
did not allow even allow his assistants to work on his paintings and
sculptures. <o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p></div><div><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TAttg-_c8pguE_D4pTIfG9pKD7TN0wcmdf-6fJ74NPcbjlhFs_Y3Yj12Dddfexf_vwPkdHp2velaM46rrZYHk6pcwQZ1wN8gGJpZwkIWvXBUlG6n3AC9xnr4MIxLiLQCqgI8aSbqGZhQmDJ_BUjOI-rn8P3vLFDkXfVuR_7fMTI-VmXB9w/s1119/sin9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="1119" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TAttg-_c8pguE_D4pTIfG9pKD7TN0wcmdf-6fJ74NPcbjlhFs_Y3Yj12Dddfexf_vwPkdHp2velaM46rrZYHk6pcwQZ1wN8gGJpZwkIWvXBUlG6n3AC9xnr4MIxLiLQCqgI8aSbqGZhQmDJ_BUjOI-rn8P3vLFDkXfVuR_7fMTI-VmXB9w/w400-h308/sin9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michelangelo negotiates with one of the successive Popes<br />on assignments, payments and deadlines</td></tr></tbody></table><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div><br /></div><div>In one
of the memorable sequences in <b>Sin</b>, another
painter is asked by the Pope to undertake a sculpture and design assignment that
Michelangelo was initially asked to do and discusses the project with Michelangelo
to gain some insights in a pub. In a nod to Dante’s <i>Inferno</i> in <i>The Divine Comedy,
</i>while the Michelangelo and the other painter discuss the project,
Michelangelo sees a reptile/snake in a pile of clothes in a corner. He goes to
the pile to investigate and finds no snake. He returns to the table and tears
up the design of the other painter. That’s another sin (envy) in the proximity
of the devil (read, snake). Greed, pride
and anger overtake Michelangelo, becoming richer by the day but living like
hermit in tattered clothes on salted cod fish and forcing his apprentices to eat likewise. He began to imagine he was being poisoned when
that was not true. An inexplicable murder of a bridal couple (married with the
finances that Michelangelo provided) with their blood dripping on his table wakes
up Michelangelo from slumber to acknowledge his sins of greed, pride and anger with Michelangelo asking forgiveness from God and seeking help from the long dead Dante<o:p> Alighieri.</o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he
Konchalovsky-Kiseleva duo extends the realistically unreal “purgatory”
interview in their earlier award-winning work <b>Paradise </b>to insert<b> </b>several<b> </b>Joyce-like<b> </b>epiphanies of Michelangelo in the course of the film, with a final meeting with the dead Dante, who when asked for help, replies with single word “<i>Listen</i>”
in response.<o:p></o:p><br /><br /></div><div>The
interview with Kichin provides more fascinating insights. Konchalovsky began to
see the finished collaborative script of <b>Sin
</b>as an extension <b>Andrei Rublev</b>,
there with a bell, here with a large chunk of marble. The 10-ton marble block
in the film was transported with the help of 50 odd descendants of Carrara workers
who speak the local dialect (of Michelangelo’s time) who extract marble to this
day and was transported with oxen brought from different parts of Italy—not unlike
Herzog making his <b>Fitzcarraldo</b>, transporting
a steamship over hills of Peru. The
actor Alberto Testone, chosen to play Michelangelo, is a dentist in real life
and resembles Michelangelo (unlike Charlton Heston in Reed’s film) and gives a
very impressive performance. But Konchalovsky has a knack to make his actors
give outstanding performances (Barbara Hershey in <b>Shy People</b>, Julie Andrews in <b>Duet
for One</b>, Jon Voight in<b> Runaway Train</b>,
and, last but not least,<b> </b>his<b> </b>own wife<b> </b>Yulia Vysotskaya in <b>Paradise</b>
and <b>Dear Comrades</b>).<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLmkLo5xmxydx8fpGhuJH0WOupFnc4E2Bc-Jvp0_sWidXhz0FDp7yn2DbHg1ODO_6m7TcO9kBSMbEzGeVzJLW37Ji3IwFZbE-TsxVGB0BwvpcE09J2OysQKgov3iqNPxzj8YV0JuWusLTfwrtY32CKZuU5a-krbjjCraCOYMTxwlnaFhMrQ/s1416/sin5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1416" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLmkLo5xmxydx8fpGhuJH0WOupFnc4E2Bc-Jvp0_sWidXhz0FDp7yn2DbHg1ODO_6m7TcO9kBSMbEzGeVzJLW37Ji3IwFZbE-TsxVGB0BwvpcE09J2OysQKgov3iqNPxzj8YV0JuWusLTfwrtY32CKZuU5a-krbjjCraCOYMTxwlnaFhMrQ/w400-h297/sin5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Transporting the 10-ton marble block from Carrera mountains to <br />the city reminiscent of Herzog's <b>Fitzcarraldo</b> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">O</span>ne
wonders if Dante’s <i>Divine Comedy, </i>which
is divided into three sections Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise, fits well with a possible completed Konchalovsky trilogy made up with <b>Sin</b> and <b>Paradise</b> as being possible components
with a possible third film being conceptualized. That said, Konchalovsky is one of the best
filmmakers actively making award winning films over several decades and continues to
work with some of the original team that worked with Tarkovsky such as Eduard Artemyev who
composed and arranged music for most films of directors Tarkovsky, Konchalovsky and Konchalovsky’s half-brother Nikita Mikhalkov. The film is a treat for students of cinema, of the <i>Bible</i>, of the arts and of literature.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHblsqG3PAnVA9bPIkam5_rnyJSoeVn0yOcdG2JiNhjtKYFu8J2FrHnzcpOhkyO5bE09CTHoP8cKMiZRBpQc65vam66tTmnIGN_mkGR3ZZHNuJqLMAHXCZ7UrzA7tVrqwspMXa38ddlnN6ypjbmDXXIY0NNI3fAuIus92-q2jzx1k4n_Dxnw/s1461/Sin4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="1461" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHblsqG3PAnVA9bPIkam5_rnyJSoeVn0yOcdG2JiNhjtKYFu8J2FrHnzcpOhkyO5bE09CTHoP8cKMiZRBpQc65vam66tTmnIGN_mkGR3ZZHNuJqLMAHXCZ7UrzA7tVrqwspMXa38ddlnN6ypjbmDXXIY0NNI3fAuIus92-q2jzx1k4n_Dxnw/w400-h173/Sin4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A silent cameo of Mrs Konchalovsky (actress Yulia Vyotskaya) <br />in <b>Sin</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><i><b>P.S. </b>A first cut of<b> </b></i><b>Sin </b><i>was personally presented by President Putin of Russia to Pope Francis at the suggestion of Konchalovsky. It won Nika awards for cinematography, production design, and costume design. Several of<b> </b>Konchalovsky’s</i> <i>earlier films
</i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2015/09/183-russian-director-andrei-mikhalkov.html">Runaway Train</a> </b><i>(1985), </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2018/05/222-russian-director-andrei.html">Shy People</a></b><i> (1987), </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/search?q=house+of+fools">House of Fools</a> </b><i>(2002), </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/search?q=postman%27s+white">The Postman’s White Nights</a> </b><i>(2014), and </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2016/12/199-russian-director-andrei.html">Paradise</a></b><i> (2016) have been reviewed on this blog earlier (Please click on their
names in this post-script to access those reviews) <o:p></o:p></i>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GgzKM1L_Gcs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-10049056973139191432023-04-22T08:01:00.003+05:302023-04-22T23:31:36.215+05:30279. Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof’s second feature film “Jazireh Ahani “ (Iron Island) (2005), based on his original screenplay: Brave cinema focusing on the travails faced by the common citizen, using allegory to bypass hawkish national censors<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGf75VHUnS6xwDH4Qn5f5Pm4Rb-xfdiZbfCn_h6v0jD3d0jqnFLfcV_iek2vda2g1WqJVzyVA6TJ-VKqoPWwugL3E96nCbNkDuSDP7hDqpB_eJRU52-z7Rg3sAhBIldgOuwaut3foJq6OYBMsDTHTvco2w2-uThj0tfdSs-PGjuToO4y-I1w/s647/IronA.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="439" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGf75VHUnS6xwDH4Qn5f5Pm4Rb-xfdiZbfCn_h6v0jD3d0jqnFLfcV_iek2vda2g1WqJVzyVA6TJ-VKqoPWwugL3E96nCbNkDuSDP7hDqpB_eJRU52-z7Rg3sAhBIldgOuwaut3foJq6OYBMsDTHTvco2w2-uThj0tfdSs-PGjuToO4y-I1w/w271-h400/IronA.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><span style="font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>M</span>ohammad
Rasoulof is different from most filmmakers. He does not adapt written works—he
writes his own original screenplays stitched together from what he observes and
hears from Iranian compatriots. He has made a modest tally of seven fictional feature
films to date and these have picked up a Golden Bear at Berlin, a Golden
Peacock in India, a Gold and a Silver Hugo at Chicago and three major awards at
Cannes’ important<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Un Certain Regard</i> section, among 36 prestigious awards and prizes won
globally. The seven feature films do not include his two feature-length
docu-dramas/documentaries—<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Intentional
Crime</b> (2022) and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Head Wind</b>
(2008).<o:p></o:p><div><br /></div><div>Rasoulof
loves to encapsulate the human condition of present day life in Iran and the
aspirations of its population in realistic tales that avoids direct criticism of the Iranian government. Unlike the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami,
who never made a film that was obviously critical of the government, Jafar
Panahi<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(once Kiarostami’s assistant) has
evolved into an Iranian filmmaker winning praise, on his own merit, making feature
films in which couched criticism of the lack of freedom in contemporary Iran is
comparably more forthright. Rasoulof, in turn worked with Panahi on Panahi’s
films initially, until Rasoulof, too, became an equally world-renowned filmmaker
winning awards worldwide. The Iranian government has not been happy with <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rasoulof ever since he made made his second
film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Iron Island</b>. Today, both Panahi
and Rasoulof are in prison because of the contents of the films they made and
their social activism. While Rasoulof’s first film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Gagooman</b> (2002) did not ruffle feathers, in spite of the fact that its
two principal characters are prisoners serving time in an Iranian jail for
minor crimes. That film was widely appreciated within Iran went on to win the
Best First Film award at the Fajr Film Festival in Iran. Then came <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Iron Island</b> (2005) and the spate of problems
for the director from the Iranian government sprouted for each subsequent film he made.<o:p></o:p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAslXdRvSkexr3m4CCsKnnTvv5B7QPYUkBOvGUzZowtnFORtIFkIW2bxGjQ3TjlHQwdXU_mTVk_lmsNeDEChbYqK9V-D0-rJn_jH8q1XRGuismtRgPsDd4QTHKdVx_o6Ge5s0XK6e3NBRGguK_6_cQZPGaWN18xRU26TAG_h-fG5XK3pI-A/s993/Iron3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="993" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAslXdRvSkexr3m4CCsKnnTvv5B7QPYUkBOvGUzZowtnFORtIFkIW2bxGjQ3TjlHQwdXU_mTVk_lmsNeDEChbYqK9V-D0-rJn_jH8q1XRGuismtRgPsDd4QTHKdVx_o6Ge5s0XK6e3NBRGguK_6_cQZPGaWN18xRU26TAG_h-fG5XK3pI-A/w400-h259/Iron3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Captain (Ali Nasirian) warns the lad, Ahmad,<br />not to pursue the unmarried lass on the ship</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPcVi3wY8ibVEM7pBR7a-Ord_lauCgY3JyRJaxLfOXfdT61KVxGD-7J5nAvfPYihnoN2QDsDKJblKqkbfH4e4Igr3zdJWjWMxzzCHHfVMY2qY0B5oEovVgBoaufEy9_OjB5WipDym4FQbdzhDN4r-YGEMtVVLeatHiml8A7Wy7sISojrWeg/s971/iron4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="971" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPcVi3wY8ibVEM7pBR7a-Ord_lauCgY3JyRJaxLfOXfdT61KVxGD-7J5nAvfPYihnoN2QDsDKJblKqkbfH4e4Igr3zdJWjWMxzzCHHfVMY2qY0B5oEovVgBoaufEy9_OjB5WipDym4FQbdzhDN4r-YGEMtVVLeatHiml8A7Wy7sISojrWeg/w400-h276/iron4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The unmarried lass, with her face partially covered, <br />as per certain Muslim traditions, is living on the tanker <br />and shows interest in Ahmad</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he film
<b>Iron Island</b> is not about a real
island; it is merely a description of a disused oil tanker anchored off-shore, a
vessel that is gradually sinking. Rasoulof transforms the disused tanker,
awaiting eventual shipbreaking, into a contemporary Noah's ark, providing
refuge for homeless poor Iranians, young and old, under the care of a seemingly
benevolent "Captain," who is able to provide food and medicines for
the refugees her brings on board. He is able to buy provisions and medicines by gradually selling off metal parts and oil on the ship that the young men are made to identify and rip off the ship each day. The
Captain is a veiled representation of the Iranian Government, which is
dictatorial and brutal to those who step out of line, while appearing to be
benevolent to others. The same benevolent Captain, in the film, also mercilessly
tortures a lad, who escapes the ship when his beloved, an unmarried girl with a
partly masked face, is given away in marriage by the Captain to someone else
living on the mainland (a process that makes the 'Captain' richer). The lad is caught and brought back to the “iron island”
all tied up in a boat. The 'Captain' teaches the errant lad a tortorous lesson that leaves him almost dead. The motley refugee group on the “iron island” represents
the innocent folk with little or no income, who accept their fate without being
able to question their benefactor’s (the Captain’s) motives or actions out of a
combination of fear and gratitude. <o:p></o:p></div><div><br /></div><div>The
boy called Fish, ultimately is made to leave the tanker for the shore but resumes his pastime, searching for small fishes, this time trapped on the sandy beach. He picks one and throws them back into the sea as he used to while on the
tanker, little realizing that there are fishermen’s nets set up in the water to catch such fish. </div><div><br /></div><div>The
lovers on the tanker who were forcibly separated by the Captain are brought
together by fate even though the lad is lying in a mosque recovering from his recent
torture ordeal and his beloved is married to a rich person who owns a car and employs a chauffeur. The viewer is left to figure out the outcome of that possible meeting which is never shown on screen. Similarly, the viewer has to figure
out the allegory of the Captain’s angry action of throwing out the working TV
the boys had painstakingly made to work.<o:p></o:p></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHmN5cR46ZBuZ69OZGLA1kVuViwc4V79lNEnob_TUhFdr6JBKgChpgDlfamRAIPLNPl_2o6c1jIRwMBoY9vtrK5dvmBhFsEBwj3EPJKWY-aTWk24YLoQsWEyE56BfnL1-O4x1eiHo4dgk6ecwWLXqqEJWp8Q9OUG362EQWadDj-nyn6mW9g/s980/iron6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="980" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHmN5cR46ZBuZ69OZGLA1kVuViwc4V79lNEnob_TUhFdr6JBKgChpgDlfamRAIPLNPl_2o6c1jIRwMBoY9vtrK5dvmBhFsEBwj3EPJKWY-aTWk24YLoQsWEyE56BfnL1-O4x1eiHo4dgk6ecwWLXqqEJWp8Q9OUG362EQWadDj-nyn6mW9g/w400-h258/iron6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Captain" intervenes in a skirmish between<br />two lads as an elder and peace prevails</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigts-b-xBTddV0fA-aIC-oWxZqIDE-DGbPeF_HOrSoXiy_TM5tcuToXRTXMB_YPunE_2UP1H3oS7zGNflC5w6VCym3t4U0XrXTOrYNz7CLr6kuATD4KOgL4ZRmWnpG2p1hYi41PeWEgmgN0QEZp9LZVnXKOaCaSt0eB_baI4ZyA_jQihbBbQ/s947/iron5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="947" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigts-b-xBTddV0fA-aIC-oWxZqIDE-DGbPeF_HOrSoXiy_TM5tcuToXRTXMB_YPunE_2UP1H3oS7zGNflC5w6VCym3t4U0XrXTOrYNz7CLr6kuATD4KOgL4ZRmWnpG2p1hYi41PeWEgmgN0QEZp9LZVnXKOaCaSt0eB_baI4ZyA_jQihbBbQ/w400-h251/iron5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Captain" collects passports of all adults on the tanker<br />as precursor to collecting their signatures, <br />the purpose of which is never revealed, even when questioned. <br />The viewer has to conjecture the purpose. </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-large;">
R</span>asoulof’s
films provide punches but the endings of each film are deliberately left open-ended. He does it intentionally; his films have to pass the national censors.
It is unclear how many of his films have actually been released in Iran and, if
released, how much is censored. <o:p></o:p>
<b>Iron Island</b> may not be as sophisticated
as Rasoulof's later films but it makes you think beyond the obvious tale.
Rasoulof is definitely one of the finest and the boldest filmmakers in Iran, if
not the world, now languishing in prison. His crime--he made films that were indirectly critical of
lack of freedom in Iran in recent decades and his social activism. The bravery and the acclaim of his films cannot be equalled by most other filmmakers, currently alive and making films. <div><br /></div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8AP364ObhUCqphQDPuf8FE1I_GWyF-l9BAUGL-E5pAOk2ui7aAPU-upJT2-RAFSB02jXJ5n82Sazhbjgt02XXlT631UIUBh7VQMpcWn4qR9zIwhWWGN9ueCTX7sGB7388GmTnjEM9rtsdUsZkMFJ7ahEc_jjMY6ecIm8IoR3OvrxRoTLuA/s629/Iron1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="629" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8AP364ObhUCqphQDPuf8FE1I_GWyF-l9BAUGL-E5pAOk2ui7aAPU-upJT2-RAFSB02jXJ5n82Sazhbjgt02XXlT631UIUBh7VQMpcWn4qR9zIwhWWGN9ueCTX7sGB7388GmTnjEM9rtsdUsZkMFJ7ahEc_jjMY6ecIm8IoR3OvrxRoTLuA/w400-h398/Iron1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Captain" is attired more like an Arab rather than a typical Iranian <br />but speaks Farsi the language of Iran</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div>
<span style="font-size: large;">W</span>e
live in a world where filmmakers cannot tell the truth without offending the
governments in power, even though the respective governments criticised are often "elected" democratically. There are brave filmmakers who present the truth using allegory
and fables, to bypass hawk-eyed Government censors. In Russia, film directors
Andrei Zvyagintsev, Andrei
Konchalovsky and Alexei German ,Sr.,
have made allegorical films. Raul Ruiz made films made films in exile with despondent references to his native Chile. When they do make such films they often win major
awards at reputed film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Locarno,
among others. Contemporary Iranian filmmakers Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof,
and Mohsen Amiryousefi are three prominent talented filmmakers who have made
films that made the Iranian government uncomfortable often banning their
release within the country. Panahi and Rasoukof have been sentenced to long jail terms and are
released for short periods for medical or other reasons, after which they have to
return to prison and complete their sentences. It is not clear how many citizens
in Iran have seen the completed works of these filmmakers in public screenings and, if so,
whether the films were shown without cuts by the censors.<o:p></o:p> </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>ron Island </b>is merely a harbinger to
Rasoulof’s later films. His later film <b>Goodbye
</b>is an extension of the young lad’s decision to leave the tanker and the
oppressive environment in <b>Iron Island</b>.
His film <b>Man of Integrity</b>, a film on
corruption within Iran and on intolerance of minorities is glimpsed by the <b>Iron Island</b>’s Captain’s actions of
collecting signatures of the refugees without adequate explanation and sale of
the ship’s parts without the knowledge of the real owners, who innocently believe he is doing a good deed for the refugees. What is quite evident is that
Rasoulof has improved further technically with each film, ultimately reaching
world standards in <b>There is No Evil</b>,
which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival. Panahi, Rasoulof and
Amiryousefi need the support of cineastes who value filmmakers who use the
medium creatively for improving the freedom within Iran and promote the aspirations of its citizens..</div><div><br />
<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>P.S. </i> Iron Island</b><i> won<b> </b>the Golden Peacock
award for the best film in competition at
the International Film Festival of India (2005); the Cinema prize and the
Script prize at the Avanca Film Festival (Portugal) (2007); the Special Jury
prize at the Gijon International Film
Festival (Spain) (2005); Screenplay
award at the Montreal Festival of New Cinema (Canada) (2005; and the Critics prize
at the Hamburg Film Festival (2005). Three of Rasoulof’s later films </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2012/03/127-iranian-director-mohammad-rasoulofs.html">Goodbye</a> </b><i>(2011), </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2018/03/220-iranian-director-mohammad-rasoulofs.html">A Man of Integrity</a></b><i> (2017) and </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2020/10/257-iranian-director-mohammad-rasoulofs.html">There is No Evil</a></b><i> (2020) have
been reviewed on this blog earlier. So are Zvyagintsev's </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2006/08/2-andrei-zvyagenitsevs-vozvrashcheniye.html">The Return</a></b><i> and </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2015/01/171-russian-director-andrei.html">Leviathan</a></b><i>; Konchalovsky's </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2018/05/222-russian-director-andrei.html">Shy People</a></b><i>, </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2017/04/206-russian-director-andrei-mikhalkov.html">The Postman's White Nights</a></b><i> and </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2016/12/199-russian-director-andrei.html">Paradise</a></b><i><b>; </b>Ruiz'</i><b> <a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2010/06/101-chilean-director-in-exile-raul.html">That Day</a>,</b> <i>all films with subtle bits of allegory on politics and its effects on the common citizens.</i><i><b> </b>(Please click on their names in this post-script
to access those reviews) <o:p></o:p></i></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3yoTgy3gDgI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-42618985691520241992022-12-17T18:04:00.031+05:302023-02-20T08:14:22.840+05:30278. US film director Todd Field’s third feature film “Tár” (2022), based on his original screenplay: An intelligent, well-crafted study of the decline, fall, and eventual survival of a gifted, renowned (possibly, partly fictional) maestro <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3VqdQ6p0DpSAwMzvi2O4EpFWq1jE9WK1Tti0pTVvSE5AUA7jlD67-r74BCCycxzCimwp7tvaC7ZtkDO1Bjhi6gHU_1GSV7zX6DlGVighKfR9oJsma2nIbmWEyNGn-hRaQEFT2-MvI6mp-SQ8NMkeNvzHLyPXVimkSNB53Er2fdwJoDX-Gug/s901/Tar.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="671" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3VqdQ6p0DpSAwMzvi2O4EpFWq1jE9WK1Tti0pTVvSE5AUA7jlD67-r74BCCycxzCimwp7tvaC7ZtkDO1Bjhi6gHU_1GSV7zX6DlGVighKfR9oJsma2nIbmWEyNGn-hRaQEFT2-MvI6mp-SQ8NMkeNvzHLyPXVimkSNB53Er2fdwJoDX-Gug/w298-h400/Tar.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><blockquote>Quotes
from the film that provide glimpses of the thought-provoking script:</blockquote><blockquote><i>
(Tár,
being interviewed by Adam Gopnik<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><i>in front of a live audience </i><i>on Tár
conducting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mahler’s Adagietto Symphony
no.5) </i></blockquote><blockquote>
Tár: And this piece was not born into aching
tragedy. It was born into young love. </blockquote><blockquote>
Gopnik
(real life writer of <i>New Yorker</i> magazine): And you
chose...</blockquote><blockquote>Tár: Love</blockquote><blockquote>
Gopnik: Right,
but precisely how long?</blockquote><blockquote>
Tár: Well, seven minutes.</blockquote><blockquote><i>
(That conversation could go beyond face
value, if the viewer is familiar with Irving Wallace)
</i></blockquote><p> ****** </p><blockquote><i>
(On conducting a philharmonic orchestra)</i></blockquote><blockquote>
Tár: Time is the thing.</blockquote><blockquote>
Tár: You want to dance the mask. You must service
the composer, you have got to sublimate yourself, your ego, and yes, your
identity. You must, in fact, stand in front of the public and God, and
obliterate yourself.</blockquote><p> </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiIL_vJi6DFT8bM6DmUhR6ynnEHV1k6tTuWP6JC7DN3GUyL_i03HKaV9Quckt8To3rX1wic61BXsKawZkT2cinewYyoC3XShrThalEUgMkrVyUODE39RWweNYZ31TGZ_x4wWc0a0lrsCZQrZMhtnEFbgXoDgkGmHkGNX0fq2QJaNCdt7yyUw/s1603/Tar4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="1603" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiIL_vJi6DFT8bM6DmUhR6ynnEHV1k6tTuWP6JC7DN3GUyL_i03HKaV9Quckt8To3rX1wic61BXsKawZkT2cinewYyoC3XShrThalEUgMkrVyUODE39RWweNYZ31TGZ_x4wWc0a0lrsCZQrZMhtnEFbgXoDgkGmHkGNX0fq2QJaNCdt7yyUw/w400-h160/Tar4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Tár (Cate Blanchett) rehearses while her wife and first violinist<br />Sharon (Nina Hoss) is all attention </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span>irector
and original screenplay writer Todd Field knows music well. He played the mysterious pianist Nick Nightingale in Stanley Kubrick’s <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>Eyes Wide Shut</b></span>. One of the undeniable strengths of the film’s
script is the load of information and classical music trivia dumped through the
engaging dialogs on why Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) wants Edward Elgar’s Cello
Concerto to be performed as a companion piece to Mahler’s 5<sup>th</sup> symphony
and those enlightening conversations between Tár and her former mentor Andris Davis (Julian Glover). However, in
the film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tár</b> only one
movement—<i>Trauermarsch</i>– of the 5<sup>th</sup> symphony is played again and again in the
film, including the crucial scene where Eliot Kaplan (Mark Strong) is
conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, replacing Tár as the conductor. <i>Trauermarsch </i>can be translated as <i>Funeral March. </i>It is<i> </i>a piece of music comparable to Beethoven's opening of his Fifth Symphony. One has to appreciate Todd Field, the screenplay writer and director for zeroing in on this piece of music that anticipates the tragedy of Lydia Tár's future with the fictional conductor ironically engrossed in Mahler's possible mood while recovering from near death in his real life. In the film, too, there is recovery for Lydia Tár's fall from hubris. </p><p><o:p></o:p></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKFOVCwvpdVQImHq38TBObbQ1yR9muGLseWx2PrK1abNjUzBy1BfPBICaNqkSYGkEn-guZkO8wdt_Dn80-JiR9cBo3QqhPQsYuKeWelZgSvAzsRH16PPwN-Smjc5juhtk8sRhsTqIU6wHs2O0MQs4oz4h0ekMVek6y8ufn6zwQUX1D8cZxqw/s1556/Tar13.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1556" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKFOVCwvpdVQImHq38TBObbQ1yR9muGLseWx2PrK1abNjUzBy1BfPBICaNqkSYGkEn-guZkO8wdt_Dn80-JiR9cBo3QqhPQsYuKeWelZgSvAzsRH16PPwN-Smjc5juhtk8sRhsTqIU6wHs2O0MQs4oz4h0ekMVek6y8ufn6zwQUX1D8cZxqw/w400-h163/Tar13.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Much of the film's music revolves around the first movement <br />of Mahler's Fifth symphony</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>ár is
evidently very good at her job and has earned her position as the chief
conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and is presented to us by the
screenplay as the first woman to be chief conductor of a major orchestra and
thus constantly addressed as “maestro.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All the members of her orchestra are in awe of her talents and respect
her. As the film progresses, we are informed that she had humble beginnings but
her talent and ear for classical music was only too evident and went on to win medals. As the film constantly provides examples of her ear
for music and her talent for conducting, we continue to be fascinated by the successful and
not-so-successful times of Tár's career.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-N85gz8qwGoaz8qnxFPoojg5wEAS9iQg6QxR_5z9IE0xbTb6YOPvTKPf9Ja0VNwWUi_0qJR6eqezmyIaqSl7_9rIBATmuOyOpRejO8IOugnDWom205gwZ0nQwS_4nTKDniPRFPuwitKbSO2UfgzxMSKDADTJ1fql5Z9R5DIMm2TbP0c0Dw/s1602/Tar7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="1602" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-N85gz8qwGoaz8qnxFPoojg5wEAS9iQg6QxR_5z9IE0xbTb6YOPvTKPf9Ja0VNwWUi_0qJR6eqezmyIaqSl7_9rIBATmuOyOpRejO8IOugnDWom205gwZ0nQwS_4nTKDniPRFPuwitKbSO2UfgzxMSKDADTJ1fql5Z9R5DIMm2TbP0c0Dw/w400-h164/Tar7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Tár rehearses with the orchestra, which is often when she gets <br />her creative juices to flow </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>n the
film, Ms Blanchett switches from spoken English to spoken German and back with felicity as
she rehearses with members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Blanchett
possibly knew she could do a great job if cast in the main role. It is therefore not
surprising that she took on the role of the executive producer of this film as well. She
even writes the mocking lyrics of a song that she sings in the film about a
middle-class neighbor next door who sells and moves out because of her constant
musical activities often involving piano and other musical instruments.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQhsT2oZU4_U-Zcrb3czLgeJeX-9DLv5LbfEzhMZdiYmvQpCIO7DyfzBYJ0XcvQ4mezEWtV6Bh2eAFzEgF-Yby7Qtgk2bT6wbESql5Ht29rYfLb-ypGtQNkQbt9B95AqxkOU4PQt7hXPzXMePztvOXePWfyfnZCu18DZ5XDKBQFMYheq2yw/s1581/Tar18.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="1581" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQhsT2oZU4_U-Zcrb3czLgeJeX-9DLv5LbfEzhMZdiYmvQpCIO7DyfzBYJ0XcvQ4mezEWtV6Bh2eAFzEgF-Yby7Qtgk2bT6wbESql5Ht29rYfLb-ypGtQNkQbt9B95AqxkOU4PQt7hXPzXMePztvOXePWfyfnZCu18DZ5XDKBQFMYheq2yw/w400-h161/Tar18.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sound of a far-away trumpet, played at a considerable distance <br />from the main orchestra,was a creative addition made by Tár<br /> to the 5th symphony during a rehearsal, and she fumes that someone <br />else instead of her is conducting what she had creatively tweaked <br />in the score </td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>Though
the film’s tale is about LGBT characters there are few sexual encounters on
screen save for kisses between Tár and her wife Sharon (Nina Hoss, who made an major impact in the early films of the German filmmaker, Christian Petzold) and a hug with Krista Taylor. The LGBT
elements might move forward the plot of the film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tár</b> but they are not the mainstay of Todd Field’s film; instead,
the film<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Tár</b> focuses on music and the
mental state of the maestro. When the carpet under Lydia Tár is pulled at the
zenith of her career for her sexual appetite rather than her musical skills,
screenplay-writer and director Todd Field dishes out elements of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Eyes Wide Shut</b>—recollection of past
events, masks, mystery and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fringe characters that are crucial (such as Krista Taylor) who we never get to
study beyond<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a rear-head shot listening to the opening interview or in a
short dream sequence. The script leads us instead to study the effects such individuals eventually
have on Lydia, an alleged sexual predator. Another such fringe character is
Lydia/Linda Tár’s mother, who too, is never discussed at length—similar to the
treatment Kubrick gave to several fringe characters in<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>Eyes Wide Shut</b></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.<o:p></o:p></i>
<o:p> </o:p></p><p><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxhStFNaHDf8CLKr62h0H7D1jFet85ah2vx5hvMIMA2J2IyR2NAzeIz5JovbTvoLukHK8Aj8u8wG0-NYzfWI7OQRurjkKTeKxKQc1lCmId1ddUHnKGi34VJqQPDB9xK8psrd_7H6hSR7My21YzTABawnx5xrTGAQN49JfhAG1q7wJjrY8gg/s1550/Tar20.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="1550" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxhStFNaHDf8CLKr62h0H7D1jFet85ah2vx5hvMIMA2J2IyR2NAzeIz5JovbTvoLukHK8Aj8u8wG0-NYzfWI7OQRurjkKTeKxKQc1lCmId1ddUHnKGi34VJqQPDB9xK8psrd_7H6hSR7My21YzTABawnx5xrTGAQN49JfhAG1q7wJjrY8gg/w400-h168/Tar20.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mysterious lady in the audience that the director highlights: <br />is it Krista Taylor,who later commits suicide?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he
maestro Tár is shown as a top-notch conductor mentored in the past by an
elderly famous conductor Andris Davis, who eventually avoids her, when she has
lost her fame. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another conductor who Tár
evidently was influenced by is Leonard Bernstein (we are shown her replaying a
video of Bernstein that has tips on conducting). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tár is shown bullying an aspiring male music
conductor called Max at a Julliard class where she is a guest teacher. Off and
on screen we know she bullied and could even wreck the careers of female
conductors who aspired to move up. Thankfully the movie is more about music than about sex. Interestingly, Todd Field’s screenplay
includes Tár making a jibe at Jerry Goldsmith’s score of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Planet of the Apes </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">during</span> the Julliard class. The script is indeed a
delightful trivia trough for music lovers.<o:p></o:p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxAe6wE9uSfhRIuHdBuG6WKdWP5whxk_1x0JCguAeKY4jZYmPyo8g1uCBFoukw9s0MbO229VprjjYxjO7v51pX1Xkx4FAgYyWWED1w03eHJCUclOcwUJzlAxO5YlfFz4bczoL1mctFhlsDOFZHOn3HSoOzi6IendxDaaieNdDxIlgRwQSJg/s1574/Tar8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="1574" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxAe6wE9uSfhRIuHdBuG6WKdWP5whxk_1x0JCguAeKY4jZYmPyo8g1uCBFoukw9s0MbO229VprjjYxjO7v51pX1Xkx4FAgYyWWED1w03eHJCUclOcwUJzlAxO5YlfFz4bczoL1mctFhlsDOFZHOn3HSoOzi6IendxDaaieNdDxIlgRwQSJg/w400-h165/Tar8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A distinguished conductor, Andris Davis (Julian Glover)<br />often mentors Tár, until her rapid fall from grace<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWOufNO_dCt2-gubZCZy5ZNjoZygBwCtTE84_Hg4zFW3pd9UoFWSFHGs_BBWPr5aZPvOL0u9DWrJ9GSwmEjfMQ4rxXKF2eN8RZyM1-xTvB-DpvxLmdXKyyg2tESUpzLJzXuOTSTbdCL3ts67t72xOIdOZXHn8d9LhAfxDmS1nMDjQFY1x_nQ/s1531/Tar15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="1531" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWOufNO_dCt2-gubZCZy5ZNjoZygBwCtTE84_Hg4zFW3pd9UoFWSFHGs_BBWPr5aZPvOL0u9DWrJ9GSwmEjfMQ4rxXKF2eN8RZyM1-xTvB-DpvxLmdXKyyg2tESUpzLJzXuOTSTbdCL3ts67t72xOIdOZXHn8d9LhAfxDmS1nMDjQFY1x_nQ/w400-h168/Tar15.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tár, the human metronome. who prides in managing time is disturbed <br />at home by the mechanical metronome and rushes to stop it:<br />Field's script indicates that all is not well with the maestro's mind<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiK4-t5af3SnRz4PApZxdZzLLNIhAsV6nTgWIXUf2nTTEaWlvJDtOWgzUpStz_0Mo27KnLTZyP5h-mvWnMCJUjHdxaXHNgGMV7qnnPPhzhO06NvTvD721jqT049eZGGHtH7WrjBIxouMZ6i20MtqLgZ_6lBhTMmPW-Qi_CpkjnErFe3GzR9Q/s1584/Tar21.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="1584" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiK4-t5af3SnRz4PApZxdZzLLNIhAsV6nTgWIXUf2nTTEaWlvJDtOWgzUpStz_0Mo27KnLTZyP5h-mvWnMCJUjHdxaXHNgGMV7qnnPPhzhO06NvTvD721jqT049eZGGHtH7WrjBIxouMZ6i20MtqLgZ_6lBhTMmPW-Qi_CpkjnErFe3GzR9Q/w400-h164/Tar21.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Past lovers wonder if Tár has a conscience</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">B</span>eyond
music, the amazing script explores the mind of the talented maestro, who is
introduced to us as a maestro, who gives the highest of importance to “time” in the musical pieces that she
controls with her baton in the right hand, unlike the shapes of music controlled
by her empty left hand. Tár's character is developed by director Field as a human metronome. When
Blanchett’s life is unwinding, she is disturbed by a sound--seemingly marking rhythmic
time, which she goes searching for in her apartment to get rid off, including searching her
refrigerator, only to discover a regular metronome kept hidden in a shelf, which
she stops. The metronome is symbolically crucial to the film because Tár, the ultimate alpha
female, during the Julliard guest lecture called the aspiring conductors, like
Max,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>did not toe her line, “robots” while in the film's finale the once-perfect and
creative Tár is reduced to be a robotic conductor in an unspecified Asian country,
despite her innate creative talent. In the Julliard lecture (for those who notice editing details, the entire lecture is filmed in a single unstitched take) shown earlier in the film, Tár points out to
Max that the sexual life of Bach (who apparently sired 20 or more kids) is not a
barometer to judge a composer’s worth but by his creative work in the world of music. It
is ironic, in the context of her own statements during the lecture, that the eventual downfall of Tár was her sexual life and its consequences,
rather than her awesome ability to conduct music. </p><p>In the words of Cate Blanchett (quoted on the IMDb website): "<i>Tár speaks to a moment in a woman's life when she is moving inexorably, as we all are, towards death, and we try to outrun that very thing--we try to outrun that unpalatable side of ourselves. We try to hide.</i>" Now moving towards death is what the opening movement, <i>Funeral Marc</i>h, of Mahler's 5th symphony is all about. So, too, is the reference of likely chance of losing your life (if you were enticed to swim) to the deadly crocodiles introduced into an Asian river for shooting of <b>Apocalypse, Now</b>--the Marlon Brando film alluded to in the screenplay.</p><p>Cineastes could compare and contrast Todd Field's <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tár </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">with the recent French film <b>France</b> (2021) directed by Bruno Dumont, based on Dumont's original screenplay, where Lea Seydoux plays a star TV personality also falling rapidly from her zenith of popularity. Lea Seydoux, like Cate Blanchett in </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tár, </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">gives one of her best performances in the French film. S</span>imilarly, the original scripts of Field and Dumont, and the original music in both the films, offer much to be compared and contrasted with each other.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70WPvNmX_2a7mPitdpl2I-avbU84ZcrLndYPQckags4Uc0eAUjExXBvccRZcAIP4baC-lRFppcXaSSpDyJjZOe9ZzvJhcmZM2wI-9ZnNBGHh5S5gNjQ2Mi8OvvAaY1hjzHDQrTaEIWLkOePyXpguMRihrQEqP_6SJp2gGZT7HQqDMQux02g/s1571/Tar22.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="1571" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70WPvNmX_2a7mPitdpl2I-avbU84ZcrLndYPQckags4Uc0eAUjExXBvccRZcAIP4baC-lRFppcXaSSpDyJjZOe9ZzvJhcmZM2wI-9ZnNBGHh5S5gNjQ2Mi8OvvAaY1hjzHDQrTaEIWLkOePyXpguMRihrQEqP_6SJp2gGZT7HQqDMQux02g/w400-h171/Tar22.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The masseur <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">Tár</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"> </b>chooses sits at the almost same position in<br />the orchestra as the last lover who rejected Tár's advances. <br />This shot aids the viewer to note the connection with the<br />maestro's conducting of the orchestra.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he
film is what it is because of the brilliance of Todd Field’s well-crafted screenplay;
the cinematography of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Florian
Hoffmeister and Todd<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Field; and last but not least Cate
Blanchett’s best performance thus far in her career in myriad situations within
the film. Bravo!<div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P.S. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tár</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> won<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>the Best Actress award for Ms Cate
Blanchett at the Venice international film festival in 2022, BAFTA Awards (UK) and at the Golden Globes 2023 (USA). Ms Blanchett has
collected similar awards at two US international film festivals. </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tár </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">won
the prestigious Camerimage’s Golden Frog<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>award for cinematography for the contributions of Florian Hoffmeister
and Todd Field. Director Todd Field also won the Gotham Independent Film Award
for Best Screenplay. Actresses Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss are among the
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/list/ls560076789/">author’s favorite 14 actresses of the 21<sup>st</sup> century.</a> <o:p></o:p></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tár </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>tops <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-best-films-of-2022-ranked.html">the author's list of best films of 2022.</a></i></span></p></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Na6gA1RehsU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-45821509348363909382022-09-15T12:40:00.006+05:302022-12-17T11:32:52.139+05:30277. Japanese film director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s fifteenth feature film “Broker” (2022), based on his original screenplay, set in South Korea and made in the Korean language: “Finding ourselves and each other”<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFw-FfM7C5pKCzcM5SbwpepEbMoTtqFf05G_x8ODnQRrg3aYb0ezhZaK11IKnyVbTC7g3-IARde5rM_C8_sJ0m--YVIRtoIY6DXKwz7FZ1JawFNwQYNGzZ_RcCKYVG7UMLa6yB9kuLN3j1ZMEJdIJRj_wZLErp4FBS4bMhymlqPJUtx1dqA/s887/broker.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="887" data-original-width="701" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFw-FfM7C5pKCzcM5SbwpepEbMoTtqFf05G_x8ODnQRrg3aYb0ezhZaK11IKnyVbTC7g3-IARde5rM_C8_sJ0m--YVIRtoIY6DXKwz7FZ1JawFNwQYNGzZ_RcCKYVG7UMLa6yB9kuLN3j1ZMEJdIJRj_wZLErp4FBS4bMhymlqPJUtx1dqA/w316-h400/broker.jpg" width="316" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"></span></i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">"'Thank you for being born.' - A single
sentence that touches the audience in such a way that entire films rarely can.
When every character, no matter how small or large, is intricately layered,
simultaneously fractured and in the end so lovingly developed, that's cinema.
Great cinema. This film is a journey. One filled with longings, with decisions,
with detours. Sometimes it is precisely these detours that we must take in life
to find ourselves and each other. And we found a bit of ourselves in this
film." <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">--Citation of the
Best International film award for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Broker</b>
at the Munich film festival</span></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>wo contemporary
Japanese directors Hirokazu Kore-eda and Naomi Kawase are fascinating
filmmakers because both make wonderful, distinctive films, both write their
own original screenplays and most of their tales revolve around relationships
involving parents and children, orphans and adoption. Sometimes the parents are
old and dying, sometimes they are young and experiencing parenthood for the
first time; sometimes they are yearning to be part of a family. (Kawase, of
course, adds nature into the equation, while Kore-eda adds heart-warming humour.) That is why
their films are so appealing when you reflect on what they offer in their films.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGU_2TVmZKpElu87A2BJ0qqAIe-5-CTHw85mqEmC_5pRCMorAnSOFuHHPRsGvlqNjZ7NQ77C3VR3_HZ1pSwp1ZCeaTZodqp5LEcWKtXRRL8UifbTmLafSHc6EmwEeKNihe7jwsB8r-Ax8qCF5lbOw0Z839NS0bjUu-oe_EfiUvDzUSSdFbDg/s650/broker8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="650" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGU_2TVmZKpElu87A2BJ0qqAIe-5-CTHw85mqEmC_5pRCMorAnSOFuHHPRsGvlqNjZ7NQ77C3VR3_HZ1pSwp1ZCeaTZodqp5LEcWKtXRRL8UifbTmLafSHc6EmwEeKNihe7jwsB8r-Ax8qCF5lbOw0Z839NS0bjUu-oe_EfiUvDzUSSdFbDg/w400-h246/broker8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young mother So-young (acted by IU, the stage name of <br />singer-songwriter-actress Lee Ji-eun) <br />preparing to deposit her child in the box<br />for adoption late in the night</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTT2iU8QNu5r606_GaVYQHFUgQmhl7y0fzHehejzH0l7ZJoC1H1uHVVnvsDGVoT1-haOhp8TjHM2J0a1UrKATaYKD4EAjOTppMKYXTnjZcEHFITC4mlGXE9Dfea_YAJ_N64dc_IcV29JoHQBDtxWb_ojLnXg6vC2d0bOd9WYcBcoErYbHdw/s1385/broker5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1385" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTT2iU8QNu5r606_GaVYQHFUgQmhl7y0fzHehejzH0l7ZJoC1H1uHVVnvsDGVoT1-haOhp8TjHM2J0a1UrKATaYKD4EAjOTppMKYXTnjZcEHFITC4mlGXE9Dfea_YAJ_N64dc_IcV29JoHQBDtxWb_ojLnXg6vC2d0bOd9WYcBcoErYbHdw/w400-h203/broker5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So-young depositing her child in the Church's adoption box</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kore-eda has shifted gears in the last two films; his tales
have moved beyond Japan. In <b>The Truth</b>
(2019) the tale was set in France with three generations of a family in focus
and the ethics or lack of ethics in their behaviour, developing the tale, with the
help of outstanding French actresses (Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche,
playing the major roles of mother and daughter, respectively). In<b> Broker</b> (2022), the Kore-eda tale is
set in South Korea with Korean actors, one of whom won the Best Actor award at
Cannes for his performance in this very film. Almost every character in<b> Broker</b> is significant. Each character
is an orphan, or has given birth to a child that she cannot care for, or is a
character hoping to have a foster child to care for. Thus, the tale is once
again about orphans and families, a recurring Kore-eda theme. To this basic
framework in<b> Broker,</b> Kore-eda adds
the element of illegal, unethical and criminal commerce into the mix.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAl47ZRmvoSntKo3bSF4i5QrzLJGWX8Jtx23VPzC4BATWUIDlm-GaDFft839zyqo6aZbLVHBHXOq_gj99pC3bc27lE9jTWmq-qOFfnQUc_z9bB0CeZqwobsx7Bkw6nDr0C1mbVZMMGUedEVKALTtuhydePymAHB0KeOuXdseXYLE4i5mH08g/s1341/broker7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1341" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAl47ZRmvoSntKo3bSF4i5QrzLJGWX8Jtx23VPzC4BATWUIDlm-GaDFft839zyqo6aZbLVHBHXOq_gj99pC3bc27lE9jTWmq-qOFfnQUc_z9bB0CeZqwobsx7Bkw6nDr0C1mbVZMMGUedEVKALTtuhydePymAHB0KeOuXdseXYLE4i5mH08g/w400-h236/broker7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kore-eda's criminal family: like the one in his <b>Shoplifters.</b><br />Three, if not four (including the baby), are orphans. The man <br />holding the child is the main 'broker' (Song Kang-ho, who won <br />the Cannes Best Actor award for the role)</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhchzILyGuNI6xKoi8fM_BB4iVYtqBExOSqIQUgNApuqV1WTrbV8mCjEl2b3RiCdPh4-pWvMOJVwFI2LsZbf0iMltQfxoslM_5p-ZvYAJ0yc2-6oPkJnLk6SMfRtZ5X1JjJlV4VW2W1MsUiaWvGxY9fDQ3QtoUoOE3i9X9vhaHGSFceiqz24g/s761/broker6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="761" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhchzILyGuNI6xKoi8fM_BB4iVYtqBExOSqIQUgNApuqV1WTrbV8mCjEl2b3RiCdPh4-pWvMOJVwFI2LsZbf0iMltQfxoslM_5p-ZvYAJ0yc2-6oPkJnLk6SMfRtZ5X1JjJlV4VW2W1MsUiaWvGxY9fDQ3QtoUoOE3i9X9vhaHGSFceiqz24g/w400-h255/broker6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The two lady Korean police officers shadowing the brokers <br />in an unmarked car to catch them the act of human-trafficking </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKso7k2SFxMv8Kz9iCEPDV8smNvS8rURo78dlDGYxRCBkMjNTkS8BSbMd61tmk_It1vyZM9YhD3Exe_pD0re_NY_XOvzdA8YqOhxDD7y_flVCmNIhDvb9hLmY1UecnSYn3rGpiy_HUlEtLVytGczP4wwD16Dik0vvGGtCt4cjRxPKU7vQoXw/s1151/broker9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1151" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKso7k2SFxMv8Kz9iCEPDV8smNvS8rURo78dlDGYxRCBkMjNTkS8BSbMd61tmk_It1vyZM9YhD3Exe_pD0re_NY_XOvzdA8YqOhxDD7y_flVCmNIhDvb9hLmY1UecnSYn3rGpiy_HUlEtLVytGczP4wwD16Dik0vvGGtCt4cjRxPKU7vQoXw/w400-h268/broker9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mother So-young entrapped by the shadow police</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">K</span>ore-eda’s forte is to present diverse characters and to
link them all in a single central concept as directors Robert Altman or John Cassavetes
would do in their films. In <b>Broker</b>,<b> </b>as stated in the above award citation,
the overarching theme is about being born into this world and appreciating the
support from another person to live and form essential relationships for the
future. Those who have been deprived of such fulsome life try to ensure that
others they notice to be deprived of that privilege do get to enjoy that
missing bonding. In Kore-eda’s <b>Shoplifters</b> (2018) the film dwelt on the fact that we
don’t choose our family—it could have helped if we could. In Kore-eda’s most
complex and rewarding film, <b>The Third
Murder </b>(2017), the director extended the human bonding among human beings,
to visual metaphors of man and birds. Kore-eda’s recent geographical moves to France and Korea, remind you of another
contemporary Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s <b>Drive My Car </b>(2021), consciously shifting the tale of the film from
Japan to Korea. Kore-eda and Hamaguchi are both asking us to view the world as
a global village, where human concerns remain the same, irrespective of
geographies.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbcY1SvTQCGhWavXBrj_5LYLVKJikw3vCbGanVh8IP95ppU2QmkZhcHYQX6lZScQlEI4_hg3ka_I7hAaDjzjK7vgzJxo7p9TuQZjKzpgcEEvylUqwoJmotr4m5PTnbTuC6rJ8qeuDdy9titBIx0rMDt03T65QCgWuhxKZmcIthWugK4Dk_oQ/s1345/broker3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="1345" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbcY1SvTQCGhWavXBrj_5LYLVKJikw3vCbGanVh8IP95ppU2QmkZhcHYQX6lZScQlEI4_hg3ka_I7hAaDjzjK7vgzJxo7p9TuQZjKzpgcEEvylUqwoJmotr4m5PTnbTuC6rJ8qeuDdy9titBIx0rMDt03T65QCgWuhxKZmcIthWugK4Dk_oQ/w400-h234/broker3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mother joins the 'brokers' to negotiate with <br />likely foster parents</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>n <b>Broker, </b>Kore-eda’s
move from Japan to Korea is possibly prompted by Korea allowing unwanted
children to be anonymously dropped off in a box at a church, which is not so
common a practice in Japan. Whilst most such children are taken good care of by
the church, there is a grown-up orphan who has infiltrated the staff of that
church to steal new drop-offs before the church authorities get to record its
arrival. The “brokers” delete footage recorded in the surveillance footage
recorded by the church. The stolen children get good care by the human traffickers
described by the director’s chosen title as ”brokers” who look for foster
parents in the black market. There are
always eager childless couples ready to pay good money for adopting a child
bypassing the red tape of legal adoption that the church and the country insist on
before the adoption is legally formalized. Two Korean police-women in an
unmarked vehicle, have tip-off of the brokers’ activities and are shadowing
them to catch the brokers red-handed making an illegal deal with foster parents.
Director and writer Kore-eda loves to add spice to the basic framework—here he
throws in a murder, a rich-widow of the murdered person with no real love for a
child but shows an interest in raising the child because it her murdered husband’s
offspring, and finally one of the shadowing policewomen‘s personal interest in
adoption. It may seem too convoluted and unreal but it works as it did in <b>Shoplifters</b>. Both Kore-eda and Kawase, as original scriptwriters/directors,
are amazing in their abilities making film after film on subjects that are essentially
on children, orphans and family.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">K</span>ore-eda’s nod to US
director P. T. Anderson’s film <b>Magnolia</b>
(1999), with the policewoman listening
to the song <i>Wise Up,</i> used in the US film
and discussing it over the phone while shadowing the human-traffickers is another
element to reinforce the global village concept of Kore-eda’s vision. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">B</span>roker</b> is
definitely one of the best films of 2022 and of the director’s oeuvre. The last
five minutes of the film wraps up the tale on a positive note, bringing to mind
the similarities and the contrasts of the two films <b>Broker</b> and <b>Shoplifters</b>. Once again Kore-eda makes the thin line between the good guys (Korean cops, caring parents) and the bad guys (brokers of all hues, murderers, vengeful wives, bad son born to a good family getting involved with thugs) almost disappear. <b>The Third Murder,</b> however, remains the more sophisticated and philosophical work of Kore-eda.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>P.S. </i> Broker
</b><i>won<b> </b>the Best Actor award and the Ecumenical Jury prize at the Cannes
international film festival in 2022. It won the Best International Film award
at the 2022 Munich film festival. Two earlier works of director Kore-eda </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2018/07/223-japanese-director-hirokazu-kore.html">The Third Murder</a></b><i> (2017) and </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2019/10/241-japanese-filmmaker-and-screenplay.html">The Truth</a></b><i> (2019) have been reviewed earlier on this
blog. (Please click on their names in this post-script to access those
reviews.) My <a href="https://letterboxd.com/jugu/list/my-best-works-of-hirokazu-koreeda/">ranked list of Kore-eda's films</a> is on Letterboxd. </i><b>Broker</b><i> is one of the <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-best-films-of-2022-ranked.html">author's best films of 2022</a>.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><br /></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NoWryyuj4Hg" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-41461313649502639362022-08-22T05:39:00.007+05:302023-01-24T20:23:52.129+05:30276. The late French director Bertrand Tavernier’s feature film “Ça commence aujourd'hui” (It All Starts Today) (1999), based on a commendable screenplay co-written by the director, his daughter Tiffany, and Dominique Sampiero: A primary school teacher who walks the extra mile to serve and speak for the tiny tots raised by parents with marginal incomes <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8q4LWa0D_6SXoDUsCqLyDBecnzuqL7wWcml77RSsOspIY3_HQRgqdnymYNIHCDuCB-d0Ysk0fclkboe462jTh1HcIYf8CIu0qOwzBjCaCrzGSD_Km32_Qo_4m9XSNVJsKqYwEg3ZlWzFq8mLhOmnNc_S_Rq2SPJ6XFALtxvYZgJ-83G8gYw/s439/Starts%20today.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="305" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8q4LWa0D_6SXoDUsCqLyDBecnzuqL7wWcml77RSsOspIY3_HQRgqdnymYNIHCDuCB-d0Ysk0fclkboe462jTh1HcIYf8CIu0qOwzBjCaCrzGSD_Km32_Qo_4m9XSNVJsKqYwEg3ZlWzFq8mLhOmnNc_S_Rq2SPJ6XFALtxvYZgJ-83G8gYw/w278-h400/Starts%20today.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><blockquote><i>"For its commitment to
everyday heroism, its multi-layered approach to an array of social problems,
and for the visual force of the storytelling.”
</i><p class="MsoNormal">--Citation of the FIPRESCI award bestowed on the film <b>It
All Starts Today </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">at the Berlin
International Film Festival</span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>here have been
several films made on uplifting student-teacher relationships. These include <b>To
Sir, With Love</b> (1967) a film on boisterous white high school students from
slums of London eventually admiring and respecting their black rookie teacher;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>Dead Poet’s Society</b> (1989) on another
rookie teacher kindling creative self-expression through poetry in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a US boarding school for senior US students
from wealthy<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>backgrounds resulting in
their unwavering respect and love for him; <b>Goodbye, Mr Chips </b>(1969), a
remake of a film made 30 years before, where a stodgy Latin teacher after his marriage
transforms<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>himself into an endearing school
headmaster winning the hearts of his students; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>Not One Less</b> (1999), a neorealist
Chinese film with real life characters playing their real roles directed by
Yimou Zhang, focusing on a real life 13-year-old substitute teacher bringing to
the fore the urban-rural education divide and the earnest desire of the teacher
to teach and care for all her wards equally well;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and <b>The
Class </b>(2008), a French film on the true experiences of a French language
and literature middle-school teacher dealing with his foreign-born students disciplining
them and gradually gaining their confidence--yet, not all students feel they ‘learned’
anything in his class. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>t is Bertrand
Tavernier’s two feature films on related subjects that discuss matters more
substantive in the teacher-pupil interactivity, namely his films <b>A Week’s Vacation</b> (1980) and <b>It All Starts
Today </b>(1999). In both films, the teachers are not rookies<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> they have some credible experience in their jobs. </span>The former discusses the
importance of a female teacher observing and "listening" to her
pupils in their early teens in a school in Lyons, France. The film underscores
the fact that a reflective teacher could gain from the interactions with the
pupils. However, Tavernier’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>It All
Starts Today </b>inverts the teaching role further to a teacher taking
proactive steps to get the local government and the student’s parents to get
involved in helping the teachers to impart education as they wish they could
with limited resources provided by the local government.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6cM4cjrvRFkHlekKga7Fu-m_lFCCFgORK8Ku5oZ6vkwdEcAmEeV_4f5bF0xr3Kl3ghUzLtUei56heZTpvXz-_A5lbn8SzZesH_Z2ObqT7_Bmg48kOn8sQWMwK-BXrDJdQvOMs5ZjJas3ssmw2sdGYKKSpiZRWtDRSJFhOQrt4v8Ft72Xag/s1187/Starts%20today2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="1187" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6cM4cjrvRFkHlekKga7Fu-m_lFCCFgORK8Ku5oZ6vkwdEcAmEeV_4f5bF0xr3Kl3ghUzLtUei56heZTpvXz-_A5lbn8SzZesH_Z2ObqT7_Bmg48kOn8sQWMwK-BXrDJdQvOMs5ZjJas3ssmw2sdGYKKSpiZRWtDRSJFhOQrt4v8Ft72Xag/w400-h261/Starts%20today2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel (Philippe Torreton) truly cares for his students<br />and they love him for it</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>It All Starts Today</b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> has actor Philippe Torreton playing the role of Daniel, a head teacher of
a primary school in a small mining town in France where former miners Daniel’s
father survive with an oxygen cylinder strapped to his back. Miners not only
battle pollution of particulate matter affecting tem while they worked in the mines, they have few
other options of re-employment. Some are not clever enough to look for sustainable options for livelihood and slip into despair. Most are not sufficiently educated to move out and
nor do they have any plans to start a new life and hence spend their days and
nights in front of the TV sets. Their offspring are named after characters like
“Starsky” and “Hutch” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from popular US TV
serials. Some of the families cannot pay their utility bills and send their
kids where they can get some education and mingle with others of their age.
Worse still it is these cash-strapped families who are expected to support Daniel’s
school through funds provided by the local civil council. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Daniel is the angry
young man who is livid when the council cuts the lunch program for the kids and
the parents are supposed to provide each kid with their lunches. When Daniel confronts the
chief of the civic body, he is told the council has no money and Daniel, the
underpaid teacher, offers a small contribution from his purse so that they make
efforts to garner more funds to restart the scheme. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3cp4O8UK9rSPWUfqa_jhFYMPmIjGMTgMw9wedRYZVZl788NgfI1IwugKevHAEevnA3KsF64gdrvymr72Iri3Bi3OgKNBZhxchVnaviCm9_ILHITqfgIWHNN8GGPqf4RR5e0NJ0D04GVZ2_Zk4Ih5yVvL2JWQouiigxNw2C2F-fpNxGfqhFg/s694/Starts%20today3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="694" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3cp4O8UK9rSPWUfqa_jhFYMPmIjGMTgMw9wedRYZVZl788NgfI1IwugKevHAEevnA3KsF64gdrvymr72Iri3Bi3OgKNBZhxchVnaviCm9_ILHITqfgIWHNN8GGPqf4RR5e0NJ0D04GVZ2_Zk4Ih5yVvL2JWQouiigxNw2C2F-fpNxGfqhFg/w400-h217/Starts%20today3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel takes food on a personal initiative to the home of a<br />child whose parents are struggling to survive;<br />the other kids on the street are only marginally better off</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>avernier and his co-scriptwriters
keep the viewer cleverly engaged to the bleak tale of the film using two tools. The first is Daniel’s
demanding parallel personal life where his father is sick and his girlfriend wants him
to father her next child while he pleases every student (including his girlfriend's son from an earlier relationship with another man) with care and empathy. The second is Daniel's and his girlfriend’s out-of-the-box ideas to keep the young students
happy and educated. One such innovative idea is to ask a parent, who is a truck
driver, to bring his heavy duty truck to the school for the students to see what
it could do—which proves to be a real treat for the kids who have never seen
such a huge vehicle up-close. <o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeDHUOQBQhzi8-RhZ_HylCam0eitSDCiKTBqNtaNzfzVteHfLCpujM0lWbd-sZvl9k-9twc3VR2QdZ9AV_rcHUtOPxDvrGirOsk1SHxUV1SN18X5mEBLA0gKUmg5ElOYlJeAc4ezMjyNEDkUsxwFRBGm1_tXR8lXdGN1eiKbU3pkjEZjqNQ/s800/Starts%20today5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeDHUOQBQhzi8-RhZ_HylCam0eitSDCiKTBqNtaNzfzVteHfLCpujM0lWbd-sZvl9k-9twc3VR2QdZ9AV_rcHUtOPxDvrGirOsk1SHxUV1SN18X5mEBLA0gKUmg5ElOYlJeAc4ezMjyNEDkUsxwFRBGm1_tXR8lXdGN1eiKbU3pkjEZjqNQ/s320/Starts%20today5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel, the angry multi-tasking primary school teacher,<br />is not just good at his job, he is loved by his students</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>hen a financially struggling
parent commits suicide with the children, the community that had preferred to
look the other way comes out in full strength providing a flower-decked
hearse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tavernier’s strength has been
his choice of credible actors in minor roles such as the lady—Mrs Henry--who is
driven to suicide because she does not see any hope to improve her lot.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkB2bQvEO8LQwnGnwacF107Wuq139AfNlQp7g5XpmjhRWKGtUWX8xGq6EnFZgq1PZml1V-_pBXuBK_JwmaKwxBgZb7yQCd56RyF5f7JkW9a-8eacsijnEBhDTaZa7L9OewLHdkYWuzW_J9294XFOhMfJq-03_uNRKI5SH0KGY23OhlE89dxQ/s596/Starts%20today4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="596" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkB2bQvEO8LQwnGnwacF107Wuq139AfNlQp7g5XpmjhRWKGtUWX8xGq6EnFZgq1PZml1V-_pBXuBK_JwmaKwxBgZb7yQCd56RyF5f7JkW9a-8eacsijnEBhDTaZa7L9OewLHdkYWuzW_J9294XFOhMfJq-03_uNRKI5SH0KGY23OhlE89dxQ/w400-h179/Starts%20today4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel talks to a child to figure out if he is <br />being ill-treated at home, a role uncommon in a usual <br />teacher-student relationship</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span>aniel is concerned
and takes proactive steps to stop a student from being brutalized at home by an abusive step-parent. The film is not merely a tale of an angry teacher forced to multi-task; it is a film about an
individual being proactive to make the economically depressed society of a mining
town to realize that change in their attitudes will go a long way to help their
progenies to prepare for the future. The FIPRESCI award citation for the film (mentioned
above) captured the strengths of the film well.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P.S. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">It All
Starts Today </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><i>won</i><b style="font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><i>the FIPRESCI prize at the Berlin
international film festival in 1999 and was nominated for the Golden Bear. It
won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and an Honorable Mention from the main
Competition Jury for “the specialty of the topic;” the Best Film awards at the ASECAN,
Sant Jordi </i><span style="font-style: italic; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>and the Fotogramas de Plata
film festivals, all</i><span style="font-style: italic; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>three in Spain; the
Audience Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, Spain; the
Best Actor award at the Lumiere Awards, France; and </i><span style="font-style: italic; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>the Ecumenical Film Award at the Norwegian
Film Festival. The other 1999 film mentioned above </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2007/02/32-chinese-filmmaker-yimou-zhangs-yi-ge.html">Not One Less</a>,</b><i> made in China, was reviewed earlier on this blog. (Please click on that name in this post-script to access the review)</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-85282534958117615932022-06-22T08:30:00.014+05:302022-12-17T11:38:21.703+05:30275. Italian director Paolo Taviani’s twenty-second feature film “Leonora addio” (2022), based on his original screenplay: A fitting, unique tribute to the Nobel Prize in Literature winner Luigi Pirandello and to the late film director Vittorio Taviani from the 91-year-old Paolo, younger brother of Vittorio<div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhffzm37GyKb38oHFhmB9C2EFwbIDMoajaBC7HVq1-5jOFUcKZ4DOvDpiasCVRURS9IzbysCiwzwPuk7A9VUuy0E0iSn-Iulss9vRrZDmD6XAUvO8bjPs7jFGMuC-7_HnhCcjjsN4rnP4iKU61VVfJEJv0s6czpDN_x6nqF1aZhp2cfSzbiw/s823/leonora%20addio.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="597" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhffzm37GyKb38oHFhmB9C2EFwbIDMoajaBC7HVq1-5jOFUcKZ4DOvDpiasCVRURS9IzbysCiwzwPuk7A9VUuy0E0iSn-Iulss9vRrZDmD6XAUvO8bjPs7jFGMuC-7_HnhCcjjsN4rnP4iKU61VVfJEJv0s6czpDN_x6nqF1aZhp2cfSzbiw/s320/leonora%20addio.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">“Have any of you read Pirandello?” asks a senior priest in a Sicilian seminary to his junior priests </blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">“I read him in secret, then I confessed” replies a junior priest meekly, with penitence, “I have read one novel--</span>The Old and The Young.<i>” </i></blockquote><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">“Do you remember the inscription? It reads –To my children: young today, old tomorrow” adds the senior priest, a Pirandello admirer</blockquote><blockquote><i>
--conversation between priests in a seminary within the film </i><b>Leonora addio</b></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">P</span>aolo Taviani collaborated with his late elder brother Vittorio on 20 feature films until Vittorio’s demise in 2018 at the age of 88. Their first feature film was released/made in 1962. The two brothers had a unique method of directing their films. Each directed alternate scenes with the other watching but never interfering. That formula worked. The Russian film maestro Aleksander Sukorov, in an interview given to this writer, said it was very rare and commendable for two creative persons to collaborate as directors on feature films for a long stretch of time (he was referring to Grigori Kozintsev and Leonard Trauberg of Russia who worked on a much shorter list of films than what the Tavianis made together.) Two of those Taviani collaborations won the highest award at the Cannes (<b>Padre Padrone</b>) and Berlin (<b>Caesar Must Die</b>) film festivals over the decades. Many of their films are geographically related to Sicily in Italy. All the Taviani films have either original or adapted screenplays written by the brothers. Paolo Taviani has made two feature films after the death of the Vittorio—the first of the two was based on the jointly written screenplay of both the brothers. <b>Leonora Addio</b>, the latest work of Paolo Taviani, made at the ripe age of 91 is the sole work where there is no official contribution of the late elder brother—but in the title credits, soon after the film’s title, are the words “...<i>to my brother Vittorio</i>.” </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Leonora addio</b> is not a mere tip of the hat to Vittorio from Paolo. It is also an acknowledgement of the brothers’ admiration for the Italian playwright, novelist and poet Luigi Pirandello, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1934. Though controversial as a supporter of Mussolini’s Fascism for a while, he was admired and respected, not merely in Sicily but all of Italy and the world as people became increasingly aware of what he had written and published. The Taviani brothers had made a fascinating 1984 film titled <b>Kaos</b> (released as <b>Chaos</b> in USA) based on four short stories written by Pirandello. In <b>Leonora addio</b>, some scenes from <b>Kaos</b> are included, or rather, recreated. </div><div><br /></div><div>Years later in 1998, the brothers made another feature film <b>You Laugh</b> based on two Pirandello stories. Pirandello was indeed close to the hearts and minds of the two Sicilian brothers. </div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUg-_Rz1lF1einot07--ChR71eIs_k4ye6VDVrVYDYfDgYzDy42OOjfdnHT6C6imRLdnVL1CfR36i59zNE2nb5-k0t63SVi9mjbdzbgAhrCqbTwBLSa54XJGxDHwbdJUonYBZzHXa7T8HWDxajHEZlEbyexxfdXR2IldtzimmaYgWLCB0CA/s811/leonora%20addio%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="811" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUg-_Rz1lF1einot07--ChR71eIs_k4ye6VDVrVYDYfDgYzDy42OOjfdnHT6C6imRLdnVL1CfR36i59zNE2nb5-k0t63SVi9mjbdzbgAhrCqbTwBLSa54XJGxDHwbdJUonYBZzHXa7T8HWDxajHEZlEbyexxfdXR2IldtzimmaYgWLCB0CA/w400-h154/leonora%20addio%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While Sicilians respect Pirandello, they are superstitious<br />and refuse to fly on a flight with his ashes on board</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixs4gmT2optmMMcgtiykItB9XWwiX6sW7cXj-QKdri_akSOmfShnmJwVZ_DwPKl5vX2pvij6LS4fIA2OLu9xsWj-W3QBIZX_ElYcINAWbha5u-A5dSjrT-m_tF5sIXu2Gj3KnEjsBhUkWgJu44DDKPc3js8pP_fJb-nq9vOd-MpoRyNi_5Cg/s785/leonaro%20addio%204.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="785" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixs4gmT2optmMMcgtiykItB9XWwiX6sW7cXj-QKdri_akSOmfShnmJwVZ_DwPKl5vX2pvij6LS4fIA2OLu9xsWj-W3QBIZX_ElYcINAWbha5u-A5dSjrT-m_tF5sIXu2Gj3KnEjsBhUkWgJu44DDKPc3js8pP_fJb-nq9vOd-MpoRyNi_5Cg/w400-h151/leonaro%20addio%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pirandello's ashes arrive in Sicily in a Greek urn <br />and are transferred to a white coffin meant for a dead child,<br />while Pirandello's admirers peek at the activity</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he comedy of Pirandello rubbed off on films of the Taviani brothers. In <b>Leonora addio</b>, Pirandello’s ashes are carried in a white coffin of small size meant for a sinless child because “<i>the town has run out of adult coffins</i>.” A child who witnesses the stately procession of the coffin asks her father innocently, “<i>Papa,</i> <i>has a child died?,</i>” evoking spontaneous laughter from the grieving adults. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOF4LSrx2Om0zn-NNR5niGROfg-RaC97CDuiAPSW9TYnRPbcPxhmiKYQOB6EyJi_cAvzrMiX3IufmKsEFHQL6KfLqO8LxwBv2zcf9Y-arIOeVxYYPj5UXKayekj5dELtMr87u6bkw4dkEBc2rTRnb0BiRDcsm1OQXGzDrq7NSHA_f8WtvmLg/s1873/leonora%20addio%201.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1873" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOF4LSrx2Om0zn-NNR5niGROfg-RaC97CDuiAPSW9TYnRPbcPxhmiKYQOB6EyJi_cAvzrMiX3IufmKsEFHQL6KfLqO8LxwBv2zcf9Y-arIOeVxYYPj5UXKayekj5dELtMr87u6bkw4dkEBc2rTRnb0BiRDcsm1OQXGzDrq7NSHA_f8WtvmLg/w400-h144/leonora%20addio%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In this dreamlike sequence, a nod to Kubrick's final sequence in <br /><b>2001-A Space Odysse</b>y, Paolo Taviani recreates <br />an old man (Pirandello?/Vittorio?) on his deathbed as the door opens <br />to reveal three children who emerge and age fast to elderly adulthood</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Later in the film, when the final resting place for the ashes is decided after a 15-year search for an appropriate final resting place, there is a leaping leg-clap by the individual who located it, recalling Carol Reed’s musical film <b>Oliver!</b>, where the leg-clap is beautifully executed by actors Ron Moody and Jack Wild walking into the sunset at end of the film! </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Leonora addio</b> may not be appear to be a perfect film on a casual viewing but it provides perfect entertainment for those familiar with the works of Pirandello and of the Taviani brothers. Much of the film deals with the relocation of the jar containing Pirandello’s ashes to the area in Sicily where the writer was born and grew up. That process of relocation is described with considerable respect which mingles with wry humor, typical of most Taviani films. Most of all, one has to respect the effort of a 91-year-old director showing his love and respect for his elder brother and colleague, as also to a great Italian writer that both brothers admired. Implicit in <b>Leonora addio </b>are<b> </b>the decisions taken by people in the evening of their lives and how those decisions are dealt with by those who survive the person who has died. The film constantly deals with children and the elderly--"young today, old tomorrow."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8e3L8CHfWv0w_7H0Q4eB1VLTMLg1cL2_tnGJbSJ4pZE9Pbz3p9qtJEHb2LUQ9VjyKxAx57FUyiSa12qVmOHQwqiuHoK_lBe_5z-9lq4YKBuZO_uIK0jfHXtnQpQJHgRNup_uLqWK6_KC2hGkAqKbgI92TOOeyRpLe7gxYxF1DCGp0I4xLg/s1257/leonoro%201.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="1257" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8e3L8CHfWv0w_7H0Q4eB1VLTMLg1cL2_tnGJbSJ4pZE9Pbz3p9qtJEHb2LUQ9VjyKxAx57FUyiSa12qVmOHQwqiuHoK_lBe_5z-9lq4YKBuZO_uIK0jfHXtnQpQJHgRNup_uLqWK6_KC2hGkAqKbgI92TOOeyRpLe7gxYxF1DCGp0I4xLg/w400-h225/leonoro%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;">Leonora addio</b><span style="text-align: left;">'s second segment is Pirandello's <b>The Nail,</b><br />where an affable Sicilian immigrant boy (in Brooklyn) who <br />can dance to music while working as a waiter. In Taviani's earlier work <br /><b>Kaos, </b>Sicilian boys dreamt to emigrate to USA</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQP3FFefk8k2yQp78vtFwbYPgD2yxYaVbCZ601c6ZY2HlVBzmnMM0qdvl2XaicmKVmQc17A5MgmlChZyWqpi8MIkFriI75GEpccdpTy6-HXO5DRVD5KveEkr8bLrMdWfsEFt2Z6xE4KMY9JkvI7W7hQ5r-m-NofnfCmkk1oQ1GL9p2JY_Yg/s806/leonora%20addio%206.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="806" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQP3FFefk8k2yQp78vtFwbYPgD2yxYaVbCZ601c6ZY2HlVBzmnMM0qdvl2XaicmKVmQc17A5MgmlChZyWqpi8MIkFriI75GEpccdpTy6-HXO5DRVD5KveEkr8bLrMdWfsEFt2Z6xE4KMY9JkvI7W7hQ5r-m-NofnfCmkk1oQ1GL9p2JY_Yg/w400-h161/leonora%20addio%206.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The immigrant boy waiter who dances, later kills <span style="text-align: left;">a girl who was <br />fighting another seemingly "without purpose." Taviani's earlier film <br /><b>Good Morning, Babylon</b> was about two Sicilian brothers who <br />emigrate to USA and find work with D W Griffith in Hollywood </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>t is thus not without purpose that the first half of <b>Leonora addio</b>, dealing with the relocation of Pirandello’s ashes as per the writer's wishes, is shot in black and white, which is followed by a Pirandello story titled <i>The Nail</i> set in Brooklyn, USA, filmed in contrasting lush color, This segment also deals with death of a little girl with a large nail and her killer’s frequent trip to place flowers on her grave on a regular basis, after his release from prison. When the killer is asked why he killed the girl, he answers that he killed the girl because she was was fighting with another “without purpose.” The viewer could reflect if the growth of Fascism under Mussolini was "without purpose" as well.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he most intriguing trivia is that the title <b>Leonora addio</b> is indeed the title of a written work of Pirandello that surprisingly is not discussed within the film. So why did Paolo choose the title of that Pirandello work as the title of the film? There must be a reason and there is one that fits logically. There is a Pirandello play called <i>Tonight We Improvise</i>, which is part of the Pirandello trilogy of plays better known as ‘Theatre within Theatre.’ In this play, a famous opera singer describes the physical theater to her children, who have never seen it, while singing parts of the opera ending with the duet <i>Leonara addio</i>, she apparently dies from exhaustion only to get up later and seek the forgiveness of the audience. </div><div><br /></div><div>“<i>Time must pass and carry us away with all the scenarios of life</i>” is a Pirandello quote spoken in <b>Leonora addio</b>. The film allows us to do the same recalling both Pirandello and the elder Taviani. All this adds to the details inter-mingling the memories of the works of Pirandello with the past works of the Taviani brothers and other works of Italian cinema shown in clips within the film.
Leonora addio’s depth of communication will be lost on those viewers who are not sufficiently exposed to the films of the Taviani brothers or the written works of Pirandello, significantly his most famous play <i>Six Characters in Search of an Author </i>and its related concept of “theatre in the theatre.” It can argued that Pirandello’s “theatre in the theatre” laid the foundation for the more famous concept of “theatre of the absurd” of Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco and Arthur Adamov. However, for those who are familiar with all that, <b>Leonora addio</b> provides quality entertainment. If we look closely at the title credits, the title of the film followed immediately by the dedication, is a personal message from Paolo “Leonora addio.. to my brother Vittorio,” which a lover of good cinema and literature would relish and approve of. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>P.S.</i></b> <b>Leonora addio</b> <i>won the FIPRESCI prize at the Berlin international film festival in 2022 and was nominated for the Golden Bear. The Taviani brothers' film </i><b style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2013/03/141-italian-directors-paolo-and.html">Caesar Must Die</a></b><i> (2012) has been reviewed on this blog. (Click on the film's title in this post-script to access the review). Paolo Taviani is one of the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/list/ls064262544/">author’s favorite 15 active filmmakers in the world</a>. Two of the Taviani films are included in <a href="https://letterboxd.com/jugu/list/my-top-250-films/">the author’s list of top 250 films</a>: </i><b>Padre Padrone</b><i> and </i><b>Kaos</b><i>.</i><b> Leonora addio</b><i> is one of the <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-best-films-of-2022-ranked.html">author's best films of the year 2022.</a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yNGtLjz5mt8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QF0tPN4z-lI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-28898146423710152492022-06-12T21:46:00.014+05:302022-06-15T18:32:24.733+05:30274. Turkish director Semih Kaplanoglu’s eighth feature film “Baglilik Hasan” (Commitment Hasan) (2021) (Turkey), based on his original screenplay: An interesting study of a Turkish male farmer growing apples and tomatoes preparing for a Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca with his wife, a dream-come-true trip for her<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhjAJLjx7CoS8sGTYd_CLCxediMjXmv3AA4_PXKrB2wymlbHnk3VI9VltOPf32UiDoJJG-h78CMYi0WMSM1XdDtofM4hZZZ6rzlQrPCPUITD3K3nd2LXj2BuAztyRa7Bbf3KcD6PkQxyfrPPzlmiEx9iPnVYJ1aHwu7XjefprSZR95YDmVw/s824/Commitment%20H.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="584" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhjAJLjx7CoS8sGTYd_CLCxediMjXmv3AA4_PXKrB2wymlbHnk3VI9VltOPf32UiDoJJG-h78CMYi0WMSM1XdDtofM4hZZZ6rzlQrPCPUITD3K3nd2LXj2BuAztyRa7Bbf3KcD6PkQxyfrPPzlmiEx9iPnVYJ1aHwu7XjefprSZR95YDmVw/w284-h400/Commitment%20H.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><span><div style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: xx-large;"><br /></div><div><blockquote><span><p class="MsoNormal"><i>"You think you can go on a
pilgrimage and come back clean as a whistle?</i> <i>Only God can forgive you, sir." </i></p></span></blockquote><blockquote><span><p class="MsoNormal">--Turgut, an honest former employee of Hasan, branded as a thief by Hasan, when Turgut procured less price from a buyer of Hasan's produce, a buyer who was only ready to pay that lesser sum</p></span></blockquote><p> </p></div><span style="font-size: x-large;">N</span></span>uri Bilge Ceylan and Semih Kaplanoglu are the two most important internationally recognized contemporary film directors who make films of very high standards. <div><br /></div><div><b>Commitment Hasan</b> is the second film in a row from Semih Kaplanoglu (it follows the 2019 film <b>Commitment</b> or Baglilik Asli) with the key word “Baglilik” in Turkish language (or “Commitment” in English) in the titles of both films. Kaplanoglu watchers can assume this film is possibly a part of a second trilogy in the making–the first one being the Yusuf trilogy of “Yumurta” (<b>Egg</b>) (2007), “Sut” (<b>Milk</b>) (2008), and “Bal” (<b>Honey</b>) (2010), made in reverse chronology of Yusuf’s life. All the five films are original tales/screenplays of director Kaplanoglu, with <b>Honey</b> winning the prestigious Golden Bear for the Best Film at the Berlin Film Festival. After the Yusuf trilogy, Kaplanoglu made <b>Grain </b>(2017), a science fiction film in black and white in English language, which won the best film award at the Tokyo film festival, but faced a possible undercurrent of opposition from the pro-GMO lobbies that led to poor distribution in many developed countries. Kaplanoglu’s interest in farm life, agriculture, apiculture and horticulture is evident in his body of work—mainly written by him with a few exceptions. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ExWjoAyqU7LsCHvVg4fNkCVvZvFGCuxG0Z2JgGlRkQUKRC6TpW13nG0Ye0ARL0BwOT1AzeprzuUGZF2iVeNX371NXOnmSarZT-08nek62PkfDRsbaFBeCGjvVRXc1K_FJuF6x6L9THEbuXzrpLjz26FVrnD0300syQhIAsFd_kCOlwECnQ/s1515/Commitment%20H%203.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="1515" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ExWjoAyqU7LsCHvVg4fNkCVvZvFGCuxG0Z2JgGlRkQUKRC6TpW13nG0Ye0ARL0BwOT1AzeprzuUGZF2iVeNX371NXOnmSarZT-08nek62PkfDRsbaFBeCGjvVRXc1K_FJuF6x6L9THEbuXzrpLjz26FVrnD0300syQhIAsFd_kCOlwECnQ/w400-h199/Commitment%20H%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The farmer Hasan (Umut Karadag) is a calculating man, ensuring <br />that he got the best part of his father's property by going to court, <br />while alienating his brother</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he two “Baglilik” films are comparable studies to each other but not connected. The first is a character study on Asli (a Turkish affluent, working lady) being attitudinally transformed by the actions and life of her baby-sitter (from a lower-economic strata). The second film is a character study on Hasan, a calculating male farmer transformed by his wife Emina’s considered advice, who finally has her dream wish of a pilgrimage with her husband to Mecca looming on the horizon, after ensuring that there are no debts to be paid and seeking the blessings of Hasan’s near and dear ones before undertaking the pilgrimage. Both Emina and Hasan seem to be made for each other, squeezing money out of every little transaction they make. Emina, despite all her flaws, wants to make the perfect pilgrimage with her husband and be blessed.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_SFyUgBrlMRo1EERNebJi4dmukQ1RxshiX1h61PQjFR7ZB59nuAWpwjQ3RppGktbmDmJRFb4yac2edHZwLjPTX5YvSsrBOOL9rffDois3E-kEnrbdM3S8vXqOPvw0inhUwGPICKdTnYEVw2ESzLRWJZHfZO-ktDOZbYHDCBp-8yJCDG0uA/s1518/Commitment%20H%201.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1518" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_SFyUgBrlMRo1EERNebJi4dmukQ1RxshiX1h61PQjFR7ZB59nuAWpwjQ3RppGktbmDmJRFb4yac2edHZwLjPTX5YvSsrBOOL9rffDois3E-kEnrbdM3S8vXqOPvw0inhUwGPICKdTnYEVw2ESzLRWJZHfZO-ktDOZbYHDCBp-8yJCDG0uA/w400-h213/Commitment%20H%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hasan's wife Emina (Filiz Bozok) drives hard bargains with <br />poorer folks than her, but wants her husband to seek forgiveness <br />from those he has wronged, before going on a Hajj pilgrimage</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>There are remarkable common elements in the two “Commitment” films. In both films, it is a female character that is the catalyst for change, not a male character. This is very significant within a male dominated scenario of Muslim Turkey. The second and the more trenchant element pronounced in <b>Commitment Hasan</b> is the importance of forgiveness in Islam, which was underscored in the recent Iranian film <b>Ballad of a White Cow</b> as well. In the Turkish film, it is a key male figure that has been wronged and refuses to forgive the wrong-doer; in the Iranian film it is a key female character that in a similar situation refuses to forgive those who request forgiveness. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdGscSPFfdcIlcH2tpVHtbcsNL3CnhP2GMs3FLr2U1jQPqxYiUtf1uJ_gcdxVKUNVa_ERNyv88ZeLmY09ctlcDt04hkzWcTJT7Sh69RvNhNaOtFgbGM73SgVH6gOhvpQbGuBwYSbdIBeMAPxxUL7RsXvC8jaHF5xoovtx1qIs5jGtoeb_WQ/s1500/commitment%20h%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1500" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdGscSPFfdcIlcH2tpVHtbcsNL3CnhP2GMs3FLr2U1jQPqxYiUtf1uJ_gcdxVKUNVa_ERNyv88ZeLmY09ctlcDt04hkzWcTJT7Sh69RvNhNaOtFgbGM73SgVH6gOhvpQbGuBwYSbdIBeMAPxxUL7RsXvC8jaHF5xoovtx1qIs5jGtoeb_WQ/w400-h181/commitment%20h%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is it dementia or is it more than that? <br />Hasan is not recognized by his brother Muzaffar, on meeting <br />him after 2 years</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQXVjQH5y8X8C_gRFiJrW4SVlQg58YwqnKZ6VBGlUmzZUM5zzlvtLwLYVZkAB01NxqM03yrx1zN5mwWs7otgcM2oifK5v03HgF8K4SO-3Uf9BAzTZ5LmzJNGX1nb4z7FUzuCnRPnvMN4TaID0ENl1rVX69QzVeNVsg6-iehua8SINExnxkw/s1582/Commitment%20H%204.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="1582" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQXVjQH5y8X8C_gRFiJrW4SVlQg58YwqnKZ6VBGlUmzZUM5zzlvtLwLYVZkAB01NxqM03yrx1zN5mwWs7otgcM2oifK5v03HgF8K4SO-3Uf9BAzTZ5LmzJNGX1nb4z7FUzuCnRPnvMN4TaID0ENl1rVX69QzVeNVsg6-iehua8SINExnxkw/w400-h144/Commitment%20H%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The two brothers, one seeming to not recognize the other,<br />captured in silhouette by cinematographer Ozgur Eken, as he <br />had done in certain scenes in Kaplanoglu's earlier film, <b>Milk</b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">O</span>ne can note the influence of Andrei Tarkovsky’s films in those of Semih Kaplanoglu (the shot of rear head profile of Tarkovsky’s mother sitting on the fence in <b>Mirror</b> reprised in Kaplanoglu’s <b>Milk</b>) or the sudden rains in Tarkovsky’s/Zvyaginstsev’s films reprised as an unreal rain of rotten apples in <b>Commitment Hasan</b>. A shepherd, who Hasan encounters for the second time, this time on the road, tells him that Tugrut, Hasan's former diligent worker, who Hasan is hoping to meet is waiting for Hasan at the coffee-shop. Earlier in the film, Hasan had been rude to the shepherd for letting his sheep graze on his land without permission. Surprisingly for Hasan, the shepherd knows Hasan is preparing to go on a Hajj pilgrimage and possibly even conjectured the reason Hasan wants to meet his former worker. Kaplanoglu thus infuses elements of magic realism and unusual abilities in personalities poorer than Hasan to read Hasan’s mind and purpose. There are extra-ordinary aspects of Kaplanoglu’s original screenplay that connects the chopped tree in Hasan’s dream, the shepherd’s comments while sitting under the tree that is not chopped as dreamt by Hasan, and the chain of events that follow. Kaplanoglu expects the viewer to connect the dots and get the larger picture of repentance and its importance before seeking a blessed outcome of a costly pilgrimage. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he differences between the films of Ceylan and Kaplanoglu are very thin. Kaplanoglu’s religious commentary is obvious for the viewer, while Ceylan prefers to discuss religion obliquely (e.g., the concept of free will discussed by two imams in <b>The Wild Pear Tree</b>). </div><div><br /></div><div>Kaplanoglu’s films have slightly more interesting performances than those of Ceylan. Both directors take great care with the cinematography (the giant tree in <b>Commitment Hasan</b> and Ceylan’s <b>The Wild Pear Tree</b> image are remarkably similar as are the water-well sequences in both films). The final sequences of <b>Commitment Hasan</b> with the two brothers are visually not far removed from the end sequence visuals of Terrence Malick’s <b>The Tree of Life</b>—but one film ends in silhouette shadows, the other in light. Kaplanoglu’s <b>Milk</b> had employed the silhouette effect (see my review on this blog) which is not surprising as the cinematographer of the two Kaplanoglu films is the same person: Ozgur Eken. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>inally and very importantly, both directors do not use music on the soundtrack of their films, which make their filming so refreshing compared to most other films from other parts of the world. There is heightened use of natural sounds but their films are almost bereft of composed music, unless the script requires it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>P.S.</i></b> <i>The film </i><b>Commitment Hasan</b><i> won the Best Foreign film at Sao Paulo International Film Festival; the Best Cinematography Award at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival; and Audience Awards for the Best International Film and the Best Actor at the Golden Rooster Awards, China. Kaplanoglu's earlier films </i><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2012/11/135-turkish-director-semih-kaplanoglus.html" style="font-weight: bold;">Milk</a><i>; </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2011/01/111-turkish-director-semih-kaplanoglus.html">Honey</a></b><i>;</i><b> <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2017/12/217-turkish-director-semih-kaplanoglus.html">Grain</a></b><i>; and </i><b><a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2020/04/251-turkish-director-semih-kaplanoglus.html">Commitment</a></b><i> have been reviewed earlier on this blog. The other films referred in the above review: the Iranian film </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2021/11/268-iranian-film-directors-maryam.html">Ballad of a White Cow</a></b><i>; Tarkovsky's</i> <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2013/06/146-russian-maestro-andrei-tarkovskys.html" style="font-weight: bold;">Mirror</a><i>;<b> </b> Malick's </i><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2011/11/121-us-director-terrence-malicks-tree.html" style="font-weight: bold;">The Tree of Life</a><i>;</i> <i>and Ceylan'</i>s <b> <a href="https://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2018/10/228-turkish-director-nuri-bilge-ceylans.html">The Wild Pear Tree</a></b><i> have also been reviewed earlier on this blog. (Click on the names of the films in the post-script to access the reviews of that particular film.) </i></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2rP74biHfy4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-70463910664459820202022-03-07T05:47:00.012+05:302022-06-03T17:54:19.161+05:30273. Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s tenth complete feature film, “Memoria” (2021), shot in Colombia, based on his original screenplay: Metaphysics of awakening human memory through sound and sight, rather than words<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqjnhMwwptBdEw8KAfCcsaV8LPGfw4Na7S4VGpWvVhD7EAaR3RXZm-i1YmfFZZPFi2jdiNfG2jQljAYgfFR4_HpuN_eHZR3uZyrqucOh-gRhdmcgbZVFWl8Tu-BNCy2kUfBn4_p624MS0t0KJvHqw0cMEExgWSD22E27YH7rg_ri1aBf31ZQ=s904" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="638" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqjnhMwwptBdEw8KAfCcsaV8LPGfw4Na7S4VGpWvVhD7EAaR3RXZm-i1YmfFZZPFi2jdiNfG2jQljAYgfFR4_HpuN_eHZR3uZyrqucOh-gRhdmcgbZVFWl8Tu-BNCy2kUfBn4_p624MS0t0KJvHqw0cMEExgWSD22E27YH7rg_ri1aBf31ZQ=w283-h400" width="283" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A sound like a rumble
from the core of the earth</i>” </p></blockquote><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">—Jessica (Tilda Swinton), a Scotswoman and a
scientist, describing the sound that woke her up one day from slumber <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in Colombia, a sound that she wishes to identify and understand
(words spoken in the early part of the film)</p></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why are you crying,
when they are not of your memories?”</i> </p></blockquote><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">—Jessica’s new-found acquaintance
Hernan (the metaphoric “hard disk," as he describes himself”) says to her, after
Jessica (the metaphoric “antenna”, in Hernan’s words) physically connects with
Hernan by Jessica placing his palm on her arm (words spoken towards the end of
the film)</p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span>emoria</b> is a film
that recalls Carlos Reygadas’ opening and closing sequences of his <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Silent Light </b>(2007), approaching
metaphysical mysteries using sounds and visuals. It was not surprising for this
critic that Reygadas was one of the many thanked by the filmmakers in the film’s
credits. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Memoria</b> equally recalls
sequences from Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Solaris</b> (Kris’ sequences on earth outside his home before
travelling into space and Kris viewing the liquid world of Solaris from his
spaceship window) and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Stalker </b>(the
child watching the glass tumbler moving off the table, aided by external
vibrations). Viewers, who found <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Silent
Light, Solaris</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Stalker</b>
boring, would find <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Memoria</b>
exasperating with almost negligible spoken words compared to those films and
mysteries deliberately left partially explained. However, for a viewer who
loves the films of Reygadas and Tarkovsky—<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Memoria
</b>would be a strangely rewarding and exhilarating experience to view, mixing
science and the history of Colombia, where director Weerasethakul detects
parallels in recent times with his native Thailand. Those parallels become more
apparent if the viewer has watched two of the director’s films <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives</b>
(2010) and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Cemetery of Splendor </b>(2018).
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidoso59SImIoUP41ef7MkVWWisYum0rEZ7tYVzqkoZ07EF2lNqFdomzdI7NYORbyrm9wZv8tgdUEs2s6MAEmAF5wexEMD6krhseI65fdbY5qzv5MVhsCuCNISVpTBx0FXX6fci5fuNf06IPxt3fy3taVO93v5KPyMnJKyvttC02u555GIpcQ=s1920" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidoso59SImIoUP41ef7MkVWWisYum0rEZ7tYVzqkoZ07EF2lNqFdomzdI7NYORbyrm9wZv8tgdUEs2s6MAEmAF5wexEMD6krhseI65fdbY5qzv5MVhsCuCNISVpTBx0FXX6fci5fuNf06IPxt3fy3taVO93v5KPyMnJKyvttC02u555GIpcQ=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jessica (Tilda Swinton) becomes the antenna<br />of "hard disk" Hernan (Elkin Diaz) by placing his palm on her hand</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggRIXfZNPFuiSUJ5RG64GyNMHi8tq7uC0P_9kJ8aHeUNgKiQK6r77kOjUehHnewx48OuRjySG-WEe0WhPv9bM4Ae-Q_p3B7dNf9GKoqHGkBNvhX_iNOn3-i4MP8Jz_Tt6M5u1TbTuejLxXLWxXWiTghwcUsbqld3YWEwyJKo26yrp6zM90sQ=s850" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="850" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggRIXfZNPFuiSUJ5RG64GyNMHi8tq7uC0P_9kJ8aHeUNgKiQK6r77kOjUehHnewx48OuRjySG-WEe0WhPv9bM4Ae-Q_p3B7dNf9GKoqHGkBNvhX_iNOn3-i4MP8Jz_Tt6M5u1TbTuejLxXLWxXWiTghwcUsbqld3YWEwyJKo26yrp6zM90sQ=w400-h254" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The archeologist Agnes (Jeanne Balibar) encourages Jessica<br />to touch the manmade hole in the head of a skull of a girl who <br />lived in Colombia 6000 years ago.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span>irector <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Weerasethakul</span>
had spent time in Colombia to research and grapple with the parallel histories
of Colombia and his native Thailand before he decided to write the original
script of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Memoria</b> as an extension of
ideas he had developed in his earlier films<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Cemetery of Splendor</b>. His fictional character Uncle Boonmee could
recall the past lives, so too in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Memoria</b>
can the mysterious elder Hernan, who claims he never left that village, as he
removes the scales of fishes to salt and dry them. In<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Memoria, </b>there are several references to the dead being excavated<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>in tunnels by<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>road builders possibly referring to the dead bodies of the battles
between Marxist Leninist FARC activists and the Colombian militia as well as
the skeleton of a girl who had lived 6000 years ago in Colombia with a manmade hole
in her skull indicating the way she died. In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Cemetery of Splendor</b>,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>comatose
Thai soldiers were kept in hospital wards (over lands where Thai kings were
buried) with bright colorful lights to induce good dreams in the still alive
but comatose soldiers. None of these facts are mentioned in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Memoria</b> explicitly. It is left for an
intelligent filmgoer, familiar with the director’s past works to figure out why
Jessica’s eyes well with tears when she connects with “hard disk” Hernan, who
knows all the past lives of the people of Colombia.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1GgHl-KSIUba5iwN1FE66cBdtLpTMq2Qqo7VfMH5ydfTSaO4lMVe9Sx6gprvfVs8FQc7enPTEfs7sz8RlxzVclccr07FIbbolMj5SeOAZ9Bz5pCdkl5efz0fKIWAS3AIfbO_EnQn7OO99JU90KB1OKJAw-lU1wWCoKdEMiq-mnJeG7s04sQ=s1350" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1350" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1GgHl-KSIUba5iwN1FE66cBdtLpTMq2Qqo7VfMH5ydfTSaO4lMVe9Sx6gprvfVs8FQc7enPTEfs7sz8RlxzVclccr07FIbbolMj5SeOAZ9Bz5pCdkl5efz0fKIWAS3AIfbO_EnQn7OO99JU90KB1OKJAw-lU1wWCoKdEMiq-mnJeG7s04sQ=w400-h226" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jessica with young sound engineer Hernan<br />(Juan Pablo Urrego),who was never real, <br />presenting her the precise recorded sound</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span>emoria </b>is a film
on sleep, dreams, death and life. Jessica is woken from “sleep” by the strange
sound and is eager to know how the elder Hernan can “sleep” without memories
and watches him sleep for a while. Dreams play a part in the film as Jessica’s
sister Karen claims she was affected by a strange illness after she did not
feed and take care of a stray dog that had come to her doorstep. When Jessica
recounts the dog story back to Karen who has been cured of her illness she does
not recollect it. Who is dreaming--Jessica or Karen? The viewer learns from the
sparse conversations that dot the film that Jessica has lost her husband in the
recent past. Whose death certificate is Jessica asked to sign by Karen’s
partner? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Jessica connects with
“hard disk“ Hernan,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jessica’s ”antenna”
allows Jessica to “recognize” her past childhood items “visible” in the room.
However, earlier Jessica dreams that her dentist has died but her sister Karen
and her partner assure her that he is alive and well.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span>emoria</b>
communicates with its viewers using sound, silence and a visual magnetism rare
in cinema. That sound that Jessica and the viewer hears for the first time,
which is central to the film hits one after a long period of silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That thud is recreated with amazing sound
engineering of the young Herman with inputs from Jessica and his studio
equipment. Later on in the film, Jessica and the viewer accost other denizens of the
same building where the sound engineer had worked who convince Jessica that no such
person as the young Hernan ever worked there or is known to them when Jessica
describes his physique. When Jessica hears the same sound on the street, one
Colombian, is startled and runs for his life while others are not affected. In
open areas in Colombia, the strange thud also scares a bird but no other human
seem to have heard it or is affected. The strange sound switches on a wave of
alarms in parked cars that subside as it started indicating it is not a human
action.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jessica had come to Colombia to study the effect of a fungus
on orchids and eventually the strange sound opens her eyes to hidden histories
of the land and extra-terrestrial communication. When Jessica goes to a doctor
seeking a cure for her “affliction” by the strange sounds, she is refused
medication but instead advised to take an interest in either art or God to cure
her current state.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipL8FE5SgitjEd_Z7tNeCwio6HW4gQAwCQE8w-Vo47WZ2fDyIrf8eZLKKGXJdJUWPSLSxXUpLB561vXd9N9klylaqrzmficwO8esemFaCwmbRYDoc_c_tWxhGA4AEPIYfJWq_z-OVhyCkPlLwsrTNynBc5Bxj_zTMUCwCYEscb8cD3XEq3mg=s1200" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1200" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipL8FE5SgitjEd_Z7tNeCwio6HW4gQAwCQE8w-Vo47WZ2fDyIrf8eZLKKGXJdJUWPSLSxXUpLB561vXd9N9klylaqrzmficwO8esemFaCwmbRYDoc_c_tWxhGA4AEPIYfJWq_z-OVhyCkPlLwsrTNynBc5Bxj_zTMUCwCYEscb8cD3XEq3mg=w400-h166" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cinematography of Mukdeeprom, capturing still life, <br />as in a painting, with birds in the far background, <br />uninterested in the fish, even when the characters stop speaking</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifeaMSa7wGZKu7g7bxGamJ7wwqIC3Qn_abcSgSrXFJwSBlELY25-IB5lp1Kr8uql8_rkt0BIstHnmMQCwp0VIfbQhlPNzXgde494nPEPAaEUtUAhqd2lXZtgcBbHcLadjB_CJRBTd35L0KHTd3vLb_O9uoejoIcJ3HcWc14VvJnGC8x-ZqDQ=s1350" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="973" data-original-width="1350" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifeaMSa7wGZKu7g7bxGamJ7wwqIC3Qn_abcSgSrXFJwSBlELY25-IB5lp1Kr8uql8_rkt0BIstHnmMQCwp0VIfbQhlPNzXgde494nPEPAaEUtUAhqd2lXZtgcBbHcLadjB_CJRBTd35L0KHTd3vLb_O9uoejoIcJ3HcWc14VvJnGC8x-ZqDQ=w400-h289" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jessica recalls objects in the room <br />as parts of her childhood memory</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>n <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Memoria</b>, director
and original scriptwriter <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Weerasethakul
comes close to the world of Tarkovsky and the Polish science fiction writer Stanislaw
Lem whose ideas were distilled in <b>Solaris</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span><i><br /></i>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Weerasethakul is aided once again by
the cinematography of Sayembhu Mukdeeprom, who captures the beauty of Colombia’s
natural resources as though the scenes were still life paintings recalling the cinematography
in Terence Malick’s films: <b>The Thin Red Line, Days of Heaven</b>, and the bison
sequence in <b>To the Wonder</b>. Those who care to note the details of the
exterior sequence of Jessica and “hard disk” Hernan, will note crow-like birds
in the distance, birds that surprisingly do not seem to be attracted by the
fish being dried out in the sun. Therein lies clues to the film’s narrative
that unfolds in the last 15 minutes of the film.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Memoria</b>, which
won the Gold Hugo at the Chicago film festival, was given the following
citation for the award: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“.. for its sense of
cinematic poetry and humanism. In this profound and meditative film, the
director creates a story that emphasizes the connection people have to the
places that they live, to the past and the present, and to the terrestrial and
beyond. Tilda Swinton’s note perfect performance embodies Weerasethakul’s faith
in cinema, in science, in secular mysticism, and in the possibilities of
cross-cultural empathy and understanding.” </i>The comprehensive citation captures it all. <b>Memoria</b> is a film that will exasperate many but be treasured by those who can pick up details in a reflective narrative and string them all together.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P.S. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Memoria </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">won<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>the
Jury Prize at Cannes film Festival in 2021 and the Gold Hugo for the Best Film
at the Chicago film festival. Weerasethakul’s film</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2011/05/114-thai-director-apichatpong.html">Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives</a> </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(2010)<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">,</b></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reygadas</i>’<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2008/01/52-mexican-film-director-carlos.html">Silent Light</a> </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(2007)</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">; </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tarkovsky's</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2014/06/163-russian-maestro-andrei-tarkovskys.html">Solaris</a></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> (1972); and Malick’s
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2009/10/90-us-director-terrence-malicks-thin.html">The Thin Red Line</a> </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(1998),</span></i><b>
<a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2007/04/36-us-director-terence-mallicks-days-of.html">Days of Heaven</a> </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1978), and</i> <b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2013/04/144-us-director-terrence-malicks-sixth.html">To the Wonder</a></b></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> (2012) have been reviewed earlier on this
blog. (Click on the names of the films in this post script to access each of the
reviews.) </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>Memoria</b></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> is one of <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-best-films-of-2021-ranked.html">the author's best films of 2021</a>. </i></p>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PDU6B93ltds" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-12620023411560984302022-02-14T15:47:00.005+05:302022-06-04T10:24:02.546+05:30272. Russian director Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky’s fifteenth feature film “Dom Durakov” (House of Fools) (2002), based on his original screenplay: An assessment of a film trashed soon after its release by most critics<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgl9Y6YA9nDeJoFLLYk7a469mr9xJp3m5lRec1tiPyJGCnGyg_1zIqlozoaVoD2nDfIvPVApN79Tt9cdVlChtE4X_myexTo4-rR1d3AsnAsySzP8TQs0uVwA2akTk6EKKkKp9slonKckcHFyECapn8oG7jf9X90SCc8souWLR70S1MN9jCONw=s515" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="408" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgl9Y6YA9nDeJoFLLYk7a469mr9xJp3m5lRec1tiPyJGCnGyg_1zIqlozoaVoD2nDfIvPVApN79Tt9cdVlChtE4X_myexTo4-rR1d3AsnAsySzP8TQs0uVwA2akTk6EKKkKp9slonKckcHFyECapn8oG7jf9X90SCc8souWLR70S1MN9jCONw=w318-h400" width="318" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span> majority of film critics and viewers tend to dismiss
Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky’s films in their initial assessments, especially
in recent decades. Why is that? To answer that question, one needs to know some
key facts about Konchalovsky and the three phases of his career. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Who is Konchalovsky?</span><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>ew know or recall that Konchalovsky was partly responsible for the
early masterpieces of Andrei Tarkovsky—<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The
Steamroller and The Violin; Ivan’s Childhood</b>; and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Andrei Rublyev</b>. As a screenplay-writer, Konchalovsky collaborated
with Tarkovsky (his film school classmate) as a co-scriptwriter on these films
as well as for other directors’ films: Shaken Ajmanov’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The End of the Ataman</b> (1971) and Tolomush Okeev’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Fierce One </b>(1974). He also
contributed, as a screenplay-writer, to his half-brother Nikita Mikhalkov’s
film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A Slave of Love </b>(1976). Many of
these films dealt with children and childhood. This was the specifically highlighted in his own debut film as a director and co-scriptwriter, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The First Teacher</b> (1965), a film that won the best actress award at
the Venice film festival. Then he directed <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Siberiade</b> (1979), which won the Cannes Grand Prize of the Jury (essentially, the second-best
film in competition at that event in 1979). These accomplishments mark his
first phase evolving from an important screenplay-writer into a notable film director,
winning international recognition at major film festivals.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>hen his second phase begins when he moves to Hollywood
directing a string of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>impressive films in USA: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Maria’s Lovers</b> (1984), with his
screenplay, nominated for the Venice Golden Lion; <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Runaway Train</b> (1985), based on a re-worked screenplay by Akira
Kurosawa, winner of the best actor Golden Globe, and nominated for the Cannes
Golden Palm and three Oscars; <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Duet for
One</b> (1986), based on his co-scripted screenplay and nominated for a Golden
Globe; <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Shy People</b> (1987), based on
his original story and screenplay, winner of the best actress award at Cannes, and nominated for the Golden Palm at that festival; and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Homer and Eddie</b> (1989) winner of the Golden Seashell award for the
best film at the San Sebastian film festival in Spain. This was followed by a critical
and commercial disaster called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tango and
Cash, </b>made the same year. It was a disaster primarily due to the studio’s
(and possibly actor Sylvester Stallone’s) interference with the director’s
plans at every stage triggering the exasperated director’s return to Russia. This
second phase re-emphasized Konchalovsky’s talents as a director (when there was no studio interference), a screenplay-writer (in three films in this phase) and, more importantly, as a
director who could extract award-winning performances from his actors.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then comes his third phase when he returns to Russia and
films <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Inner Circle</b> (1991), with
his screenplay, and wins a nomination for the Golden Bear at Berlin; <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ryaba, My Chicken</b> (1994) with his
original screenplay, and wins a nomination for the Golden Palm at Cannes that
year; and follows those two films by directing<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">House of Fools</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2002) this time again with his original
screenplay,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which gets nominated<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for the Golden Lion at Venice, winning the
Grand Special Jury Prize and the UNICEF award. Konchalovsky followed these
three major nominations at the big three festivals with another set of three top-notch
films that have actually won him better and more significant laurels: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Postman’s White Nights</b> (2014), <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Paradise</b> (2016), and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dear Comrades </b>(2020). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first two were winners of the Silver Lion
for the Best Director and the third a winner of Jury’s Special Prize all at the
Venice film festival, with all the three screenplays co-scripted by Konchalovsky
and his new collaborator, Elena Kiseleva. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he third phase, thus, marks the amazing contributions of
Konchalovsky as director and screenplay-writer while collaborating on many films with
his actress wife Vysostkaya and his new found co-scriptwriter Kiseleva—a wonderful, winning
combination. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What is most exciting
is that Konchalovsky is currently working on rebuilding afresh the Tarkovsky
film</i> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The First Day,</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">destroyed in 1979 by the Russian Censors,
which was based on the script written by Konchalovsky</i>. Both Konchalovsky
and Tarkovsky have a close affinity with the Russian Orthodox Church and
evidently Tarkovsky’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>last film project in the USSR, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The First Day,</b> upset the
atheist doctrines of USSR in 1979, and contributed in part to the destruction
of the completed footage of the film project. That ill-fated Tarkovsky-Konchalovsky
film project had followed Konchalovsky’s collaboration on Tarkovsky’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Andrei Rublyev</b>. The destruction of that
Tarkovsky film resulted in the self-exile of the director. The timing of the destruction of the film coincides with the year <b>Siberiade</b> was made--the last film of Konchalovsky in the first phase, before he makes films in USA instead of his homeland. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The numerous nominations and accolades of Konchalovsky over
the decades at the big three film festivals of the world—Cannes, Venice and
Berlin--are rare feathers in the cap for any film director from any country. Thus,
it is rather odd when an awarded work such as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">House of Fools</b> is hastily dismissed by many..<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Assessment of</i> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">House of Fools</span><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoQuote"></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“Why is man happy when he kills another? What is there to be
happy about?"</i>—Leo Tolstoy, <span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">recalled by a Russian army officer (played by a famous Russian actor,
Evginiy Mironov) in the film</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>everal critics, who assessed this work of Konchalovsky,
compared <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">House of Fools</b> with Milos
Forman’s famous US film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">One Flew Over
the Cuckoo’s Nest </b>(1975) and found the Konchalovsky film to be a disjointed
and unimpressive work. Yet the only common factor between the two films is that
both revolve around inmates of a mental asylum. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="593" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUTjo8eG1-o6JUi-7y3rMjZumV9l1Jrp7c1CCpW17494uEYiKdbpKuALEridamA6CAx0mkt50WU4RD1SF6sHr3KIRnpS_SZE7V4ip-cJ9MjdsBJsSDaSLmzEcFPHyLAfVRX4w7nLktxDkXnuV1_s1JNw3EgMJM0bIKSaWmqy4LoWuOgFdzrA=w400-h259" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Yulia Vysotskaya plays an asylum inmate, Zhanna,<br />who adores Bryan Adams, and dreams that he drives the train<br />that crosses the bridge each evening, near the asylum</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are major differences between the two films. Forman’s
film is an adaptation of novel by Ken Kesey about a criminal who hides in a
mental asylum. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Konchalovsky’s film is
based on real events and the screenplay is original. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">H</span>ouse of Fools</b> is
a film on good humans with mental problems. These patients are incarcerated in a mental
asylum, run by an efficient doctor, who is dedicated to the well-being of his
patients and caring. On the not-so-obvious side--it is based on true incidents
in Chechnya (Russia) during the Second Chechen War of 1999-2000. For those
unfamiliar with Chechnya, it is a constituent republic of Russia with a
predominant Muslim population. Russians predominantly belong to the Russian
Orthodox Church. Konchalovsky has proven his Russian orthodox credentials in
all his cinematic works.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In this film, the inmates of the asylum include patients of
both faiths living in harmony. Outside the asylum, there is war (between the
Muslim Chechens and the Christian Russians). Konchalovsky's script underscores
the camaraderie between the warring factions when they fought side by side in
Afghanistan saving each others lives. During the Chechen war, some soldiers of both
sides recall that they were once friends and show respect for each other.<br />
<br />
When the asylum is bombed by the Russians, many of the inmates “cross”
themselves out of fear of impending death--indicating the majority of the
inmates are Christian. Ahmed, a Muslim Chechen and a pacifist, incarcerates
himself with this motley group of inmates as he finds safety, anonymity, and friendship
among the "crazies" who accept him as one of their own. <o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="593" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3XvZyl5j6DwjwQiYZcnCCfJzFlxNv0whxyn6eu1soyFPJzxWi6IVZS5U9Gh7WLyhzDBRDIkxmzK8eVysuQDYQmotIFqEv4BjF_JIoo5BGVwxiNSFo-VJXXZ-32kMFzjQT41SrjdHQ4wjlrHxasRlHiEE7KN7BjbmJ1X-V5yzqfDrGWXCQFg=w400-h269" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zhanna assumes the actor-turned-Chechen soldier, Ahmed<br />(Sultan Islamov), intends to marry and dresses in white attire,<br />contributed by various inmates for the bride-to-be </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span>uring the war, many of the support staff flee to save
their lives. The good doctor, who alone has to care for some twenty-odd
patients, is worried for the safety of his patients and goes out of the hospital
to find a bus to transport the inmates to a safer zone, Significantly, even
then, they do not wish to leave the hospital, quite unlike the Milos Forman’s
film and Ken Kesey’s novel, where troublemaking patients are not sensitively cared for but lobotomized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Konchalovsky’s film, the doctor in charge
of the hospital listens to and cares for his wards, in contrast to the
Hollywood film. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">House of Fools</b> is a
humanist film where a Chechen ultimately seeks the solace of the asylum
compared to the world outside. Most importantly, the film is secular, where the
doctor and his patients help and love one another irrespective of their religions. This is where <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">House of Fools</b> is considerably different from the Forman film.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Another facet of the film that will surprise many viewers is that many of the patients in the mental hospital are real mental patients who were working alongside professional actors. Not many directors would attempt such a feat; Konchalovsky did it, with elan.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9AhSWjMjNdDeMONJTwS5pWhkGifgQAipzOx7g38YJsIC2LUBbWS8QjZpDzkqQ-p1GzG2qMtDxUWIqx_rNGi8E8kjgNLzkJH8uvK1DPPJebz5eHRSgtS4gvNMnygMqfhC4IEtT0LbVE7CiMcxLDUiJCgW2tWG27aRL6GwUhmZmSMqvLVml_Q=s586" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="586" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9AhSWjMjNdDeMONJTwS5pWhkGifgQAipzOx7g38YJsIC2LUBbWS8QjZpDzkqQ-p1GzG2qMtDxUWIqx_rNGi8E8kjgNLzkJH8uvK1DPPJebz5eHRSgtS4gvNMnygMqfhC4IEtT0LbVE7CiMcxLDUiJCgW2tWG27aRL6GwUhmZmSMqvLVml_Q=w400-h260" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The caring doctor (Vladas Bagdonas) who returns after his <br />unsuccessful trip to get a bus to evacuate the asylum patients,<br />is worried that the Chechen soldiers have harmed the innocent Zhanna</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">
T</span>he participation of rock singer Bryan Adams as an actor and singer in the film
is Konchalovsky's masterstroke along with the soothing words of the song <i>Have you ever really loved a woman?</i> sung
by the singer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crash of a helicopter
and it bursting into flames within the hospital’s grounds during the war show
the intensity of the conflict while the innocent Zhanna plays her accordion oblivious of the gangers with a a few feet of her. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Other important trivia, the lead actress Yulia Vysotskaya is
the director's wife of over 20 years. Her acting capability is showcased in a wide variety of roles she has subsequently played in her husband's films--most importantly
in <b>Paradise</b> and <b>Dear Comrades</b>.<br />
<br />
The film is further strengthened on the aural front beyond Bryan Adams by the
music of composer Eduard Artemyev. Artemyev's contribution is often bypassed by the fans of
Tarkovsky (in <b>Solaris, Stalker, Mirror</b>), of Konchalovsky (in <b>Siberiade, The Inner
Circle, Homer and Eddie</b>),of Mikhalkov (in <b>The Barber of Siberia, A Few Days in the Life of I. I. Oblomov</b>), etc.<br />
<br />
The crux of the film lies in the quotation of Tolstoy <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Why is man happy when he kills another? What is there to be happy
about?"</i> recalled by a Russian army officer (played by a famous Russian
actor, Evginiy Mironov,) in the film towards the end.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0KhLL8s0VvdReo6TcTWuNFvqc_g6bchA3_eL1_BMmEg2j737fIHedcKtByoGDEJb7a1vqNpetyzLv1FKgSN6u7EBXzzEbSK1qXiMw51rK6bBPI6IOP2ZdJjnbt_0CTNQCU7mO0sCvq7Lp558418AgEVSjTyl_RSsKys025eLOTEOrk_1v-g=s589" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="589" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0KhLL8s0VvdReo6TcTWuNFvqc_g6bchA3_eL1_BMmEg2j737fIHedcKtByoGDEJb7a1vqNpetyzLv1FKgSN6u7EBXzzEbSK1qXiMw51rK6bBPI6IOP2ZdJjnbt_0CTNQCU7mO0sCvq7Lp558418AgEVSjTyl_RSsKys025eLOTEOrk_1v-g=w400-h263" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chechen soldier Ahmed acts as if he has fallen for <br />the accordion-playing Zhanna and blurts out that he will<br /> marry her, little realizing the consequences <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>hen Konchalovsky writes his own original screenplays (as
opposed to when he is adapting an existing written work) few aspects emerge:
his firm Christian roots, his wide reading, and his love for Russia. While each tale could be set
in different locations--a remote marshy forest in USA (as in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Shy
People</b>), a mental asylum (as in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">House
of Fools</b>), or a remote village in Russia (as in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Postman’s White Nights</b>)--step back from the obvious tale and you
will spot a metaphor that is critical of the current state of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> the director's homeland</span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those are his unique strengths.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P.S. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>House of Fools </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">won<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>the
Grand Special Jury Prize and the UNICEF award at the Venice film Festival in
2002. Konchalovsky’s films </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2015/09/183-russian-director-andrei-mikhalkov.html">Runaway Train</a>, <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2018/05/222-russian-director-andrei.html">Shy People</a>, <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2017/04/206-russian-director-andrei-mikhalkov.html">The Postman’s White Nights</a>, </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2016/12/199-russian-director-andrei.html">Paradise</a>, </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have been reviewed on this blog. (Click on
the names of the films in this post-script to access each of the reviews.) Konchalovsky is one of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/list/ls064262544/">the author's top 15 active filmmakers</a>.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wrj-txELp_8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-24274260775676785792022-01-16T08:25:00.011+05:302022-04-19T20:54:59.176+05:30271. Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s ninth feature film “Doraibu mai ka” (Drive My Car) (2021), based on his co-scripted screenplay, adapting a fascinating short story written by the celebrated contemporary Japanese writer Haruki Murakami: An unusual script structure comprising a 39-minute prologue, followed by the main tale, and tying it all up with a stunning, minimalist, micro-epilogue<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdy50BodFJlCPwXpDeCdvxFByoEMBz3wtJPpB2jJq3e_nfAKkcBrECeFxoUu7PsDsbVp37NhKh2LhuNHssR2dVpuKatki3TkdFAclLooh8QGakx3ZG1o2_xGScZKx9ARAecWYiiBAdyn0NOfbv2STpogIdAXH2CzHZy15xjxvllBsSLC3T2g=s689" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="453" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdy50BodFJlCPwXpDeCdvxFByoEMBz3wtJPpB2jJq3e_nfAKkcBrECeFxoUu7PsDsbVp37NhKh2LhuNHssR2dVpuKatki3TkdFAclLooh8QGakx3ZG1o2_xGScZKx9ARAecWYiiBAdyn0NOfbv2STpogIdAXH2CzHZy15xjxvllBsSLC3T2g=w263-h400" width="263" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Ryusuke Hamaguchi</span>’s
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Drive My Car</b> will appeal to
different folks for totally different reasons. Those familiar with Haruki Murakami’s
written work flock to watch cinematic adaptations of his written works such as
the Korean director Chang-dong Lee’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Burning</b>
(2018), Japanese director Anh Hung Tran’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Norwegian
Wood</b> (2010) or the Japanese director Jun Ichikawa’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Toni Takitani</b> (2004), among the nine such feature films already
released.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Drive My Car</b> is the latest cinematic adaptation of the nine films
and is based on a short story with the same title as the film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Drive My Car</b>
is equally interesting for readers who love Anton Chekov’s famous play <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Uncle Vanya</i>. They will be pleasantly surprised
that it still can be staged in myriad ways, though purists will find Andrei
Konchalovsky’s 1970 film version of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Uncle
Vanya</b> with Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Sergei Bondarchuk and Irina Kupchenko,
as the definitive cinematic adaptation. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, director Hamaguchi leaps beyond the original tales
of Murakami and Chekov with a stunning screenplay melding both the literary
works. Those who have read Murakami’s short story will easily spot that
Chekov’s play is barely discussed in the short story, while the film discusses
the casting, the rehearsals and the staging of the play in considerable detail.
There is a reason for it. More on that later.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvJxK-CY3Asw1QDu00oBlWHYM83LyALqcDnrlpv0GUmpszDbYf7Z_0y9Jygskczn_N8W3jsQBSYEf9TRcpltCYYZiVNp8rDtZxukcIofLzWjiFQyg9AyYxuUql5q6SDydsh-z_DvUITmMvjgzm_K_KAGCjPRsKYppq-Cf575cm_Ktq6t8vkg=s1311" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="1311" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvJxK-CY3Asw1QDu00oBlWHYM83LyALqcDnrlpv0GUmpszDbYf7Z_0y9Jygskczn_N8W3jsQBSYEf9TRcpltCYYZiVNp8rDtZxukcIofLzWjiFQyg9AyYxuUql5q6SDydsh-z_DvUITmMvjgzm_K_KAGCjPRsKYppq-Cf575cm_Ktq6t8vkg=w400-h209" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kafuku's wife Oto (Reika Kirishima), <br />an actress-turned-playwright,<br /> who appears only in the prologue</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evidently Hamaguchi had the tacit approval of Murakami (who
is credited as the second among the three co-scriptwriters, the third being
Takamasa Oe). Murakami’s tale is essentially of the happily married middle-aged
couple, Kafuku (a stage actor who eventually becomes a stage director) and his
wife Oto (an attractive stage actress flowering into a playwright over the
decades). The couple have an active sex life and Oto gets her creative ideas as
a playwright post-coitus, narrating it to her husband before writing it on
paper. (This aspect of the tale is incorporated by the scriptwriters from another
Murakami short story called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scheherazade</i>.)
Both thespians are in love with each other. Some 20 years before, a child was
born to Kafuku and Oto, that did not survive beyond 3 days after birth. Both
grieved and mutually decided not to procreate another child. In spite of their
mutual love, the wife has trysts with other actors on the sly, which the
husband had sensed and discovered to be true. As the uxorial love between the
couple was not affected, the husband opted to never confront his wife with his
knowledge of his wife’s infidelity. One day, his beloved wife of 20 years dies.
In the film, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Drive My Car</b>, Oto’s
death is unexpected. In the short story, the husband and wife knew Oto had
cancer; Oto was hospitalized and only allowed Kafuku, Oto’s mother and Oto’s
sister to visit her—no one else. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After the screen credits, the substantive main tale of the
film is presented. The Saab car is an interesting subject for both the
film and the short story. In Murakami’s tale, the Saab car is yellow; in the
film, it’s red. In the prologue, Kafuku’s fondness for this vehicle recalls novelist
Robert Pirsig’s hero and his philosophical fondness for his motorbike in his
famous autobiographical novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zen and the
Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: an inquiry into values. </i>Kafuku, who loves
his car and is a careful driver, involuntarily involves it in an accident due
to a blind spot in his vision (real and metaphorical), soon after discovering
his wife in bed with a lover. It is the red Saab that links the prologue, the
main tale and the epilogue—hence the Pirsig connection. Not even Kafuku. In
fact, Kafuku is “physically absent” in the epilogue. Kafuku’s love for his Saab
is as strong as his love for his dead wife Oto. When Kafuku, is invited to a
Japanese city of Hiroshima to direct and present an experimental <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Uncle Vanya, </i>with performers speaking different languages, we are
indirectly made to realize that considerable time has passed after Oto’s death
as Kafuku has evolved from a famous actor playing Uncle Vanya in the play to be
respected at that point of time as a famous director of the Chekov play. Thus,
it is in the main portion of Hamaguchi’s film that we encounter for the first
time Kafuku’s female driver Misaki, suggested by the drama company funding and
contracting Kafuku to stage the play. As per their rules of that company, all
major creative figures are not allowed to drive cars, during period the play is
being rehearsed and performed publicly. This would not seem out of place for a
viewer who has not read Murakami’s short story. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, Murakami’s short story begins with
Misaki being employed by Kafuku soon after Oto’s death and the Saab accident, at
the behest of the garage owner who repaired the Saab, following the accident.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjue6UrXfcQL3PuRhpXM_GvjSLgL98ylXtI3DMfFZsQfwTHfPEE-63bQyzzc40vfCi7i_enAesVFgvdgwLF6E3qRt-ERfH0qfFwpn72IWZO9R6cLai8gttQpfqkA0QgHFhqAoxn1D0O7qY-W7BIR-lLvpnilhspAcsk2Uy_K76L848QKg14aA=s1097" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1097" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjue6UrXfcQL3PuRhpXM_GvjSLgL98ylXtI3DMfFZsQfwTHfPEE-63bQyzzc40vfCi7i_enAesVFgvdgwLF6E3qRt-ERfH0qfFwpn72IWZO9R6cLai8gttQpfqkA0QgHFhqAoxn1D0O7qY-W7BIR-lLvpnilhspAcsk2Uy_K76L848QKg14aA=w400-h249" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Saab car flanked by its owner Kafuku <i>(</i>Hidetoshi Nishijima) <i>(left)</i> and his personal<br />driver Misaki (Toko Miura) <i>(right)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hamaguchi’s film now reintroduces Oto’s final illicit lover,
Takatsuki, briefly shown in the prologue twice, once having sex with Oto and
then at Oto’s funeral where Takatsuki condoles Kafuku. Takatsuki is picked by
Kafuku in the film to play Uncle Vanya, a role Kafuku had perfected as an actor in earlier
stage productions in Japan—despite Takatsuki being too young to play the role. Kafuku’s
ulterior design is to get to befriend Takatsuki to figure out what attracted
Oto to Takatsuki for a brief period.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTjp70ki6rExADn8OLA8HFC8h1UR3EEU1I46EJ8L2emqCVeEHpaij7tHh9f0f6fX86ujUQu13fJ9LVtxectaD_Lbl_EKiK1xOJKzE3cUIUGKkVF6XhXDtJgW4ygzwMzcvF4KBSm9XZmLFmNTFiAqhlGYKC_ikoldKsXyy1jdXAxqPBCcvo3A=s768" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTjp70ki6rExADn8OLA8HFC8h1UR3EEU1I46EJ8L2emqCVeEHpaij7tHh9f0f6fX86ujUQu13fJ9LVtxectaD_Lbl_EKiK1xOJKzE3cUIUGKkVF6XhXDtJgW4ygzwMzcvF4KBSm9XZmLFmNTFiAqhlGYKC_ikoldKsXyy1jdXAxqPBCcvo3A=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kafuku (<i>right)</i> engages Takatsuki (Oto's lover, <i>left</i>)<br />in conversations relating to Oto</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The deliberate switching of chronology and changes in the
introduction of the driver Misaki serves a bigger role in Hamaguchi’s film than
in the short story—he introduces two new characters that are not part of the
Murakami story. They are a male official of the drama company and his Korean wife
who is an actress, who cannot speak but communicates in the sign language. These
two important characters are not part of Murakami’s story. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Korean actress is cast by Kafuku in an
important role in the experimental production accentuating that the world is a
global village. These additional characters are creations of co-scriptwriters
Hamaguchi and Oe, without tampering much with Murakami’s original creations of
Kafuku, his wife Oto, his driver Misaki and Oto’s last lover Takatsuki.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Further, the unusual rehearsals and performances of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Uncle Vanya </i>in the film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Drive My Car </b>that take up considerable
screen time of the 3-hour film<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>are
not even a part of the Murakami short story. In the short story, there is no
mention of Takatsuki’s arrest by the police midway for crimes barely discussed in the film during a rehearsal of the Chekov play—all these
are creations of Hamaguchi and Oe. So is the entire trip of Kafuko and his
driver Misaki to Misaki’s house where she and her mother lived, before her
mother’s death, opening up parallels in their lonely lives. The lonely Misaki and the widower Kafuko realize the difficult years of their past and that like Sonya and her Uncle Vanya need to move on with positive ideals. Both love driving
the Saab car with its manual gear shifts, without literal or metaphorical jerks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To the credit of Hamaguchi and Oe, their additions to the
Murakami tale lifted up the story to a new level. Their stunning minimalist
epilogue urges the viewer to figure out much of the tale that is left for the
viewer to figure out and savour. For one, the epilogue is set in the
pandemic—so the time has moved forward from the main portion of the film. Secondly,
the concept of the experimental version of the play with characters speaking in
different tongues, with a written script projected above the stage to help the
audience, in many ways reflects Chekov’s hope and dream when he wrote the
play after visiting Siberia that ends with the words of Sonya to Uncle Vanya: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">…We will live a good life. We will look back
on it with a smile. My sweet uncle, we will hear angels, see the riches of
heaven, and look down on earthly evil. All our suffering will become good that
covers the earth. I believe it. I believe it.</i>”</p><p class="MsoNormal"> The plain and physically
unattractive driver Misaki, in the film and in the story, listens to the
recording of the play as she drives Kafuku around and identifies herself with
Sonya of the play, who like Misaki is not physically attractive. Thirdly, and
most importantly. the epilogue is not set in Japan but in Korea. Misaki, the red
Saab, and the dog that belongs to the Korean actress (who communicates through
sign language) have moved on to Korea. (If you can’t read the two different
languages, you will note the side of the road they drive on has changed in the epilogue from the main film) Hamaguchi forces
the viewer to connect the dots and figure it all out at the end of the film. A reflective viewer would note the wider connection between a play performed in different languages and the Corona virus pandemic that affected all parts of the world (indicated by the masks worn in the epilogue). This
is undoubtedly one of the finest, complex, and mature adapted screenplays in
recent times. It’s a also a good example of a film that cajoles a lazy film viewer to
read the original written work to appreciate and compare both mediums. If one reads Murakami's short story, any intelligent viewer will be able to grasp the importance of a creative and well-adapted screenplay, which leaves the original tale, to the extent shown in the film, almost intact. Thus both Murakami and Hamaguchi would be pleased with their distinct products in two different mediums.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P.S. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Drive My Car </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is one of <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-best-films-of-2021-ranked.html">the author's best films of 2021</a>. The
film won the Best Screenplay award, the FIPRESCI prize and the Ecumenical Jury
prize at the Cannes Film Festival; the Silver Hugo jury prize at the Chicago
International Film Festival; the Kieslowski award for the best feature film at
the Denver International Film Festival; the Golden Globe for the Best Motion
Picture in a non-English language at the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscar for Best International Film. It is expected to
win more accolades. Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky’s </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Uncle Vanya </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(1970) can be
accessed with English subtitles on YouTube free of cost.<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6BPKPb_RTwI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-45140815655837230082021-12-26T20:22:00.005+05:302022-04-19T20:52:32.009+05:30270. German film director Maria Schrader’s third feature film “Ich bin dein Mensch” (I am Your Man) (2021) (Germany) in German, based on a short story by Emma Braslavsky: Can artificial intelligence and robotics find your perfect spouse in the near future?<div class="separator"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiykWnFg7Y4vs-dmzGLP8VRMM8pQzuFg7cX26mgU1Wm8XXX6RadpHgaVB3CwQ35QC7Ow5TklVyjo353IX-I67jLtN7f4vLZTNKeAg1VDI9fU_Pvc4BouRhg2FsM7fk1g8uR08oR25FQVpovmair-RZ8K_uD__uChgG2Rsh_tQQB1Gb2oqQagA=s815" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="815" data-original-width="554" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiykWnFg7Y4vs-dmzGLP8VRMM8pQzuFg7cX26mgU1Wm8XXX6RadpHgaVB3CwQ35QC7Ow5TklVyjo353IX-I67jLtN7f4vLZTNKeAg1VDI9fU_Pvc4BouRhg2FsM7fk1g8uR08oR25FQVpovmair-RZ8K_uD__uChgG2Rsh_tQQB1Gb2oqQagA=w273-h400" width="273" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“</span>Your pain is
pathetic. It is pathetic because it is relative. It is also not pathetic
because it is part of you, and that’s why I love it.”</i> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">---The
android Tom created by algorithms and constantly capable of processing new
information and thus evolving and responding constantly to be the designed perfect
partner of Alma, a human archaeologist, ironically studying how people have
changed over 4000 years by studying cuneiform scripts.</span></span></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span>aria Schrader’s film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I
am Your Man</b> is a fascinating sci-fi (science fiction) film. The film progresses
from the milestones set by the talking and scheming computer HAL of Stanley Kubrick’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2001: A space odyssey </b>(1968), to the crafty
gynoid (a female android) of Alex Garland’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ex Machina</b> (2014), to the algorithm-oriented holographic spouses of
the sci-fi play by Jordan Harrison and its adapted movie version of Michael
Almeyreda’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Marjorie Prime </b>(2017) to
eventually introduce us to director Maria Schrader’s Tom—a perfect android, very
smart, handsome, affable and totally benevolent to humans. In Kubrick’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2001: A space odyssey</b>,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>HAL the computer had become so smart
that it began to give malevolent advice to misguide humans and even went to the
extent of turning off the life-support system of three crewmen surviving in
animated suspension, killing them instantly, in an effort to control the human crew of the space ship. In Garland’s Oscar-winning<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Ex Machina </b>the near-perfect gynoid Ava
locks up her human friend and leaves her mortally wounded human creator’s
scientific facility to blend with the outside world of humans—yet another but
more sophisticated variant of HAL. In Harrison’s/Almeyreda’s<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Marjorie Prime</b>, while the holographic
spouses cannot be touched they provide psychological and benevolent comfort to
humans suffering from Alzheimer’s disease but can recall the memories of those
suffering from the disease and thus provide succor. But one of the holograms does
trip up to upset the near perfect scenario. Thus both Maria Schrader’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I am Your Man </b>and<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>Almeyreda’s<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Marjorie Prime</b>
take the viewer to the distinct possibility of recreating memories of past love
in humans with the intelligent use of artificial intelligence in the not-so-distant
future. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Schrader’s film scores over
Almeyreda’s film because the android Tom in<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
I am Your Man</b> is physical, protective, affable with all humans, and good
looking. Screenplay writers Jan Schomburg and Maria Schrader reveal towards the
end of the film that even the name Tom is connected with Thomas, a childhood
sweetheart of Alma, the archaeologist—evidently information sourced by the
company that manufactured Tom by delving deep into the memory of Alma aided by her brain scans. (Actress Maren Eggert, won the Best Actress award at the Berlin
International Film Festival, 2021, for her performance as Alma<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>in<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
I am your Man</b>.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGG98CZSWgc3_FfGZaX-C-U2xDo-WAyu2YgIng-POUXMYPkBkZ-vm6CjQwGEnyk1D59drgI5Hot_4SltGmF-w4nZWEJsCLFx0mHokcXA_cspeu2YG8wCeLfg86F4Mfbrkl_G1G9t-LW54K5SR1MX9j6d_idZ2CvLzynIcFYzegae7gdCT4EQ=s768" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGG98CZSWgc3_FfGZaX-C-U2xDo-WAyu2YgIng-POUXMYPkBkZ-vm6CjQwGEnyk1D59drgI5Hot_4SltGmF-w4nZWEJsCLFx0mHokcXA_cspeu2YG8wCeLfg86F4Mfbrkl_G1G9t-LW54K5SR1MX9j6d_idZ2CvLzynIcFYzegae7gdCT4EQ=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The android Tom (Dan Stevens) observing Alma <br />(Maren Eggert) to pick up minute details to please <br />her, in her apartment</td></tr></tbody></table><br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>n the film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I am your
Man</b>,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>Alma the archaeologist,
faces a fund crunch for her scientific project and to augment her depleting
financial resources she agrees to participate in a 3-week evaluation of an
android boyfriend developed by a company by assimilating her past memories with
the aid of a brain scan among other sources of information to suit her dream
spouse--intelligent, handsome and somewhat exotic. The evaluation period of Tom
includes a 3-day live-in period when the pair does have a sexual encounter that
satisfies the needs of Alma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxDFXLYy2gkML_zyHg2lM-eIV8uCYtzwU2g6IK9Q-4vp-S5oIUC3McKwWORY-ECV6K3Oi3QE7Q3JU8R0AujRh2Cpwf7PQPcMjLHbSJfNk_4GMXbKjmLFH2XlQtC3WAzyomnPiOgxkTRQoUduoY6XrnBmWoVshhzeHIlrzawSq1ce2itSuVaw=s1199" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="1199" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxDFXLYy2gkML_zyHg2lM-eIV8uCYtzwU2g6IK9Q-4vp-S5oIUC3McKwWORY-ECV6K3Oi3QE7Q3JU8R0AujRh2Cpwf7PQPcMjLHbSJfNk_4GMXbKjmLFH2XlQtC3WAzyomnPiOgxkTRQoUduoY6XrnBmWoVshhzeHIlrzawSq1ce2itSuVaw=w400-h166" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom and Alma outdoors--Alma loves<br />the companionship</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXNrfHzdfE3xnxKFPz9EFvdUvXhnywM9j9VBuB_j5KSAnyfhyREkT-raIZn8z7wbFzCFfFFpgbwW4msZOfKUaafMSv3Hv-msKARmDIjij4R3BV1cGOnlD4YHH2dKQ-7PDDl9dWDSzCcFRSScVlM9zAGVUlbPOYbcnUjliZ-5S39OT-OJiWwQ=s1568" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="1568" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXNrfHzdfE3xnxKFPz9EFvdUvXhnywM9j9VBuB_j5KSAnyfhyREkT-raIZn8z7wbFzCFfFFpgbwW4msZOfKUaafMSv3Hv-msKARmDIjij4R3BV1cGOnlD4YHH2dKQ-7PDDl9dWDSzCcFRSScVlM9zAGVUlbPOYbcnUjliZ-5S39OT-OJiWwQ=w400-h200" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alma is touched by Tom waiting the rain to meet <br />her as agreed earlier</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivJsjbN_knCUAftEJEcwMC5_Xcub4ssoAQbXcSv662Q-JwDydIFyxn42pDDNvDgTTOfmZKTlQK9LJBW8Iq6ro5avVRf4RN6K46Sm0BUCoID8KVNZ2uJyZ9LyRMMlO3OWKkbHc3MnnMoqXSZNHdJ52nbAjYVxjlt5CV6hgBkiJ1qjYuxCWtNQ=s770" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="770" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivJsjbN_knCUAftEJEcwMC5_Xcub4ssoAQbXcSv662Q-JwDydIFyxn42pDDNvDgTTOfmZKTlQK9LJBW8Iq6ro5avVRf4RN6K46Sm0BUCoID8KVNZ2uJyZ9LyRMMlO3OWKkbHc3MnnMoqXSZNHdJ52nbAjYVxjlt5CV6hgBkiJ1qjYuxCWtNQ=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom and the android company's <br />representative (Sandra Huller)</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>lma is single, middle aged and successful in her field of archaeology.
She has had a recent affair with her boyfriend that unfortunately resulted in a
miscarriage. Soon he starts dating another woman and that woman is now
pregnant. Alma is pushed into a fragile psychological state: her ability to
conceive is in doubt and her boyfriend has found a new flame. Her father is battling
dementia. Evidently, Alma does not want to die alone. When she asks Tom what is the saddest thing he can think of, Tom responds as Alma would have done in an honest moment: "<i>Dying alone</i>." Tom, the android watching Alma work in the lab, is able to absorb the
basics of her work, search the internet and warn her that another set of
scientists in another part of the world is ahead of her and on the verge of publishing
their results before Alma’s team would be able to do the same. Tears well up in
Alma’s eyes, while confronting these facts. The reaction of Tom to that situation
is his profound analytical response: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So the
tears in your eyes only relate to you yourself and your career? They are
egotistical tears</i>.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tom even
graciously suggests an alternate paper that Alma could put together with the
work she has put in thus far. Alma is hurt and packs him off to the android
factory that manufactured him.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKHf2VJPY2qTCdAOC3afLz0w_TOVr0K0Y_bi9myFyQB9XUmUABugTDGNwNfrMFLa4QiVvvVxh_1730gJ_9pg-a3XDo7TMJXRscZqh5IASwAc3CZ1d3pZnqZ1-_uGy0oAeXWIADGEf_LzfMXc9gJX_-HRuw9SbyImXBk6zQWVAuQ7frdTzC_Q=s1347" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1347" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKHf2VJPY2qTCdAOC3afLz0w_TOVr0K0Y_bi9myFyQB9XUmUABugTDGNwNfrMFLa4QiVvvVxh_1730gJ_9pg-a3XDo7TMJXRscZqh5IASwAc3CZ1d3pZnqZ1-_uGy0oAeXWIADGEf_LzfMXc9gJX_-HRuw9SbyImXBk6zQWVAuQ7frdTzC_Q=w400-h186" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild animals may be wary of humans; <br />not so of androids<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEQNrwG5sFxIhE3YjRIo48FDb2nnMsefkxo2dm2lKH7OErmYOtiM-EBYUcr_oRFGm4UNxqTaLB9f3pFvFCSXjAbGauSMH9WDuQ0ZYg8yXtu4NrM46RmFbm4SJgjubSp-U1Lnwm6A28m6hCVMq3pHI8GOozA8IUhCQs16j8mppx0pGbyOBzPQ=s1607" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="1607" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEQNrwG5sFxIhE3YjRIo48FDb2nnMsefkxo2dm2lKH7OErmYOtiM-EBYUcr_oRFGm4UNxqTaLB9f3pFvFCSXjAbGauSMH9WDuQ0ZYg8yXtu4NrM46RmFbm4SJgjubSp-U1Lnwm6A28m6hCVMq3pHI8GOozA8IUhCQs16j8mppx0pGbyOBzPQ=w400-h230" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A key line spoken in the film</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>oday, we tend to assume that human beings have better
feelings than machines/programmed androids. Schrader’s film contradicts that
notion. Tom sits next to a customer in a café, while both watch a TV clip
showing people failing to implement a plan. The customers sitting next to Tom laugh
as they fail. Tom asks the customer seated next to him: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Could you explain to me what is funny about it?</i>” He is answered “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It looks so silly. I don’t know. I can’t
explain it</i>.” Tom continues, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The fact
that no one dies?</i>” He gets this answer, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That definitely would not be funny. Dying is definitely not funny,
right?” </i>Schrader and short-story writer Braslavsky thus project a future
scenario when programmed androids could be more humane than humans in their gut
reactions that sift good from the bad/insensitive ones.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After dispatching Tom off back to the factory that made him in
egotistical anger, Alma writes up her evaluation of Tom, who is “not human” and
is “not flawed in any conventional sense” during the 3-week period. Lines from
her negative evaluation include “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Are humans
intended to have all their needs met with a push of a button? It will create a
society of addicts who decide to not challenge themselves and endure conflicts.</i>”</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVRZ2zZEYkD3gB5wPe2ejhfDjZDin7K_uQ9F3UxpNZFNQej8lGoBqnOpn1caX2VcG4SqHw6U333A_3GnrnsNZL17RLKeyq1MWzvG8pGPYOXl55BoPnMJQ2qYU3nm61f4kOhM_lg7Pk1tOCAxf9NR2oO8-zUjqFKW9ZlXNCDuxzpuVnJ0sJeQ=s970" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="970" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVRZ2zZEYkD3gB5wPe2ejhfDjZDin7K_uQ9F3UxpNZFNQej8lGoBqnOpn1caX2VcG4SqHw6U333A_3GnrnsNZL17RLKeyq1MWzvG8pGPYOXl55BoPnMJQ2qYU3nm61f4kOhM_lg7Pk1tOCAxf9NR2oO8-zUjqFKW9ZlXNCDuxzpuVnJ0sJeQ=w400-h170" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A key scene between Tom and Alma</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he delightful end of this unusual film is quite
unpredictable providing the viewer with a cocktail of light entertainment,
science, and thought-provoking questions about humans and machines programmed to
improve themselves in a positive way, quite unlike “HAL”, “Eva”, and “Marjorie Prime”
who preceded “Tom,” in cinematic chronology. Congratulations to the filmmakers
and the short-story writer!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P.S. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>I am Your Man </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">won the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International
Film Festival for Ms Maren Eggert who plays Alma. It has also won the best
fiction film and the best director awards at the German national awards and is
Germany’s submission to the Oscars in the foreign language category.. It is one of <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-best-films-of-2021-ranked.html">the best films of 2021 for the author</a>.
The sci-fi film </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2017/11/213-us-director-michael-almereydas-film.html">Marjorie Prime</a></b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(2017) has been reviewed earlier on this
blog</i>.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Click on the colored name of
the film in the post-script to access the review.) <o:p></o:p></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J8eq53SdH1E" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-83124871133193833272021-11-14T21:35:00.012+05:302022-02-24T14:32:55.282+05:30269. Canadian film director Denis Côté’s tenth feature film “Hygiène sociale” (Social Hygiene) (2021) in French, based on his original script: An unusual film that serves to entertain verbally and visually as a dark comedy, without sex or violence<div class="separator"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FuzBNYRN0HQ/YZEnr7XmbUI/AAAAAAAAGVU/i0X5y3PP1FUm7QvbcDOv71Q2MZAkbDf3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s709/social%2Bhyg.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="498" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FuzBNYRN0HQ/YZEnr7XmbUI/AAAAAAAAGVU/i0X5y3PP1FUm7QvbcDOv71Q2MZAkbDf3ACLcBGAsYHQ/w281-h400/social%2Bhyg.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>T</span>he title of the film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Social Hygiene </b>will remind<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>viewers of the Covid pandemic’s cardinal
rule to avoid infection—maintain social distancing to avoid infection. In fact,
no two characters make physical contact in the entire film and maintain at least
a 12 feet distance between each other. There is no mention of Covid or even
wearing of masks in the film. Simply put, though the film was made during the
pandemic, the film has nothing to do with it. Further, the film’s original script
was written by the director Denis Côté in 2015, much before the onset of the pandemic. <div> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k4oMZZGElFY/YZEoaiVqxAI/AAAAAAAAGVc/KjMi5O56qHolMsirs4K45vxnS-vbEoniACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/social%2Bhyg%2B1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antonin (right) spars verbally with his love <br />Cassiopée, while her new admirer silently watches <br />in the background</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he film is built around the pivotal
character, Antonin, married, but staying away from his wife, Eglantine. Where?
In a friend’s Volkswagen! Antonin, we realize is prone to making up unreal stories,
is well read, deft with language wordplay, and is a thief, vandalizing cars in
the process. The director/screenplay-writer Denis Côté’s central character
encounters four ladies apart from his wife Eglantine. He meets with his sister,
Solveig; his secret love, Cassiopée; a lady named Rose from the Ministry of
Revenue tracking him down to coerce him to cough up his unpaid tax dues; and
finally, Aurore, who has been also tracking him to get back a jacket and a computer
he stole from her car, and some compensation for smashing its windows to steal
those items. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-szVWC9KRzZI/YZEp0v0xg0I/AAAAAAAAGVk/eTqQvSZPozcBnAsyJMoM6ITgHa7nmjKAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s600/social%2Bhyg%2B2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="600" height="286" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-szVWC9KRzZI/YZEp0v0xg0I/AAAAAAAAGVk/eTqQvSZPozcBnAsyJMoM6ITgHa7nmjKAwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h286/social%2Bhyg%2B2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antonin talks to his wife Eglantine</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k_Hz8S4O1C8/YZEypu6VKhI/AAAAAAAAGWs/J62-Xcg8PRA2ZFixEt4ZxD7KfoNEesmKwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1228/social%2Bhyg%2B3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="1228" height="243" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k_Hz8S4O1C8/YZEypu6VKhI/AAAAAAAAGWs/J62-Xcg8PRA2ZFixEt4ZxD7KfoNEesmKwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h243/social%2Bhyg%2B3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antonin talks to Rose (note she wears pink),<br />the tax collector who can send him to prison</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>ll the meetings with the five ladies
are staged like a Samuel Beckett play with two or three characters (always
including Antonin) in open grassy fields, often on the edges of forests. There
is minimal movement from the characters often rooted to the same spot; only
wordplay ensues with pregnant pauses between spoken lines. The only exceptionally
active scene is Aurore dancing by herself in the forest to music, the source of
which is never revealed. Why and what provokes Aurore, a theology student who
works in a McDonald’s outlet, to suddenly dance or decide to take an interest
in criminals is an amusing conundrum. To the casual viewer, the social criticism
of Facebook, internet and taxes in the script may not be obvious. All the
characters have lines to speak that refer to the ills of contemporary society
and lifestyles. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0OjF3xYEgRE/YZEql48f1aI/AAAAAAAAGVs/1yznwxvBUHwKSnNEHRzqLaKCyMjOyn37ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1214/social%2Bhyg%2B5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1214" height="248" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0OjF3xYEgRE/YZEql48f1aI/AAAAAAAAGVs/1yznwxvBUHwKSnNEHRzqLaKCyMjOyn37ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h248/social%2Bhyg%2B5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antonin interacts with Solveig, his sister,<br />after she states that she found a lover at a restaurant<br />Note: She is still holding her wine glass </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">C</span>ôté’s Antonin (mostly captured by the static
camera in long shots, with a rare close-up towards the end of the film) is
revealed as a filmmaker struggling to complete his script, and responds to Aurore’s
revelation that she is a student of theology thus: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I believe in myself. I believe I can find the keys to my enigmas in my
life by myself.</i>” </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zGYpL7npYmg/YZEr0kSLSeI/AAAAAAAAGV0/9d8cSyIgapM0Vxdkr02sKPHu8kgsbGJfwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1656/social%2Bhyg%2B4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1656" height="256" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zGYpL7npYmg/YZEr0kSLSeI/AAAAAAAAGV0/9d8cSyIgapM0Vxdkr02sKPHu8kgsbGJfwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h256/social%2Bhyg%2B4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antonin returns the jacket he stole from <br />Aurore's car to her. Note: Aurore's dress differs<br /> from those worn by other women</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>When asked about when and where he met
his wife, Antonin wittily replies “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I met
my wife in a zoo, by the cage of the hyena. The rest is a long quiet river</i>.” </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>n Côté’s interesting script, the best
lines are not invested with Antonin alone. Antonin’s love Cassiopée calls him a
narcissist and says “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You are 100 times dead.
I love you as a zombie....Men are like mushrooms. The more handsome they are the
more poison they contain.” </i>The cocky Antonin pleads and buckles under Rose’s
threat “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I have the key to your prison
cell at the edge of my pen,</i>” to pay his taxes. To Aurore, Antonin agrees to
return the jacket and computer. His sister, Solveig, finally finds a lover over
tea and long tales, uttering the words “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Carpe
Diem</i>.” His wife, too, leaves him for another lover. The once confident and witty
Antonin is completely “socially distanced.” </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pHYY8rD-GdI/YZEs9joUi5I/AAAAAAAAGV8/PHY6I-8pcpU_wT-84Dppt9yfNbBF2wYZQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1227/social%2Bhyg%2B8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="1227" height="230" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pHYY8rD-GdI/YZEs9joUi5I/AAAAAAAAGV8/PHY6I-8pcpU_wT-84Dppt9yfNbBF2wYZQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h230/social%2Bhyg%2B8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antonin holds a flower he wishes to present to his love <br />Cassiopée (center, background) while his wife (left) <br />notes it all and decides to leave her philandering husband</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span>enis Côté, the filmmaker is essentially
a charming, absurdist playwright, who stages his written work in natural open surroundings
with clearly demarcated stage markings for his actors in grassy patches with distant
bird, animal, and traffic sounds on the soundtrack. The rare body movements of
most characters are in sharp contrast to Aurore flexible body movements during
her dancing spell in the film. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pCgJCg-86LA/YZEuUE9GGzI/AAAAAAAAGWE/jx5IOlsrx5UjsO10llVb_bdfhKH2z4-OACLcBGAsYHQ/s1220/social%2Bhyg%2B6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="1220" height="219" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pCgJCg-86LA/YZEuUE9GGzI/AAAAAAAAGWE/jx5IOlsrx5UjsO10llVb_bdfhKH2z4-OACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h219/social%2Bhyg%2B6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aurore dances in the forest, the only character <br />in the film who moves a lot physically</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>hile Côté presents verbal sparring that
will interest most viewers, there are details that some could miss. The clothes
worn by all actors are period costumes a century old, with the sole exception
of Aurore’s clothes that are contemporary. Thus her clothes and her dance
movements are in interesting contrast to all other characters. Is Côté
suggesting that Antonin’s appropriate love interest should be Aurore, not the
characters wearing century-old costumes? Antonin does confess he finds Aurore
attractive. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vy0ZRFs3N9o/YZEwmqzOWZI/AAAAAAAAGWk/EAA5lq0M1t8wd2TANaaXfJ-ag7qd_C0hQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1211/social%2Bhyg%2B9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1211" height="251" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vy0ZRFs3N9o/YZEwmqzOWZI/AAAAAAAAGWk/EAA5lq0M1t8wd2TANaaXfJ-ag7qd_C0hQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h251/social%2Bhyg%2B9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antonin (Maxim Gaudette) levelled by all women: <br />The only close-up shot in the entire film</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>hen there is a deliberate smudge in the
static vision to the left corner of the First Act in the countryside with Antonin
sparring with his sister possibly to accentuate the picture postcard shot, because
Solveig retains her hands-on-the-hips pose for a long while. When the static
camera moves, there seems to be a purpose to intervene in the social distancing
of the actors and the camera.
Denis Côté’s film provides unusual
entertainment for those who can appreciate good playwrights and a totally fresh
approach to the medium that is visually and verbally witty. A very interesting
filmmaker setting a new style! <div><br /></div><div><b> P.S. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Social Hygiene</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> won the Best Director award at the Berlin
Film Festival’s “Encounters” section and the Best Director award at the Fajr
Film Festival in Iran. This film is one of <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-best-films-of-2021-ranked.html">the best films of 2021 for the author.</a><o:p></o:p></i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-19475444422230886302021-11-13T19:34:00.012+05:302022-02-24T14:40:07.194+05:30268. Iranian film directors Maryam Moghadam’s and Behtash Sanaeeha’s feature film “Ghasideh Gave Sefid” (Ballad of a White Cow) (2020) (Iran) in Farsi/Persian language, based on their original script: Fallouts of the miscarriage of justice when an innocent person is executed for a murder he did not commit<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DBbwKb-i4bw/YY-dUTkkdgI/AAAAAAAAGT8/kNCGrmBialIRU5g9JVSC-yCki8fjk5AkACLcBGAsYHQ/s776/Ballad.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="601" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DBbwKb-i4bw/YY-dUTkkdgI/AAAAAAAAGT8/kNCGrmBialIRU5g9JVSC-yCki8fjk5AkACLcBGAsYHQ/w310-h400/Ballad.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And recall when Moses
said to his people, </i>“Allah commands you to slaughter a cow” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">They answered, “</i>Do
you make a mockery of us?”<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">---“Surah
of the Cow” in the Holy Quran (Opening quote in the film)</i></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>ran continues to
make interesting feature films, year after year, bereft of sex, nudity,
escapist car chases and on-screen violence. <b>Ballad of a White Cow </b>is a tale of the bread-winner of small
nuclear family found guilty of the killing of a known friend by a court,
condemned to death by a three judge bench according to Iranian law and consequently
executed for the crime. Later, the real killer confesses to the crime. A
miscarriage of justice has unintentionally taken place.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While the wife of the hastily executed innocent man
approaches the Iranian Supreme Court for justice for her and her mute daughter
and retribution for the judges, one of the three judges is devastated by the
revelations of the real killer and reaches out to help the wife and child of
the executed prisoner, without revealing his own identity, and quits his job as
a judge much to the amazement of the judiciary and officials, as he had merely
applied existing laws of the land. That single judge, among the three judges
who jointly passed the hasty sentence, makes
a laudable effort to make amends even before the Supreme Court surprisingly
ruled that the wife and child had to be compensated and judges be held
responsible in some way. The film is an implicit critique of capital punishment
and of miscarriage of justice.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eUgps_IRI6g/YY-8jSUljxI/AAAAAAAAGUE/LcRSvVYHSMI59_vFeefELdg5h6hNyxXqACLcBGAsYHQ/s1174/ballad2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="1174" height="171" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eUgps_IRI6g/YY-8jSUljxI/AAAAAAAAGUE/LcRSvVYHSMI59_vFeefELdg5h6hNyxXqACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h171/ballad2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mina (Maryam Moghadam) with her brother-in-law<br />reacting to the information that her dead husband <br />was innocent and the real killer has confessed</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he interesting original script treads more on the indirect
punishment on the blameless wife Mina (played by the screenplay-writer and
co-director Moghadam) and daughter, living in a rented apartment. If a strange
man, Reza (Alireza Sani Far), visits her to pay back “a loan” he took from
Mina’s husband, the owner of the rented apartment also hastily assumes his
tenant is involved in some immoral activity and asks Mina to speedily vacate.
In Iran, a single woman with a child and without a job, cannot easily find an
alternate accommodation at short notice, even if she has the money. Thus, the
film is not just about capital punishment and miscarriage of justice, it is a
commentary on single women/mothers in Iran. However, women in Iran do enjoy a
lot of freedom and respect compared to their counterparts in some other Muslim
countries, such as Saudi Arabia.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iJYzmkQ6XzI/YY_As1QNr6I/AAAAAAAAGUU/_i3C3guaFd0SR7WHxPi3ArBww8CyfF-egCLcBGAsYHQ/s1441/ballad3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="1441" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iJYzmkQ6XzI/YY_As1QNr6I/AAAAAAAAGUU/_i3C3guaFd0SR7WHxPi3ArBww8CyfF-egCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h145/ballad3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mina explains to her daughter Bita<br />that her father has gone far away </td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">R</span>eza is a rare individual with a conscience. His life as a
judge crumbles with a hasty judgement he made with two others on the basis of
questionable evidence. Reza’s son, whose mother is either dead or divorced, is
so alienated from his father after he learns of his father’s involvement in the
miscarriage of justice that he rushes to join the army and soon commits
suicide. Reza is twice broken. But the good man has no courage to inform Mina
that he was one of the three judges who hastily condemned Mina’s husband to
death. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kogYZOzurV0/YY-992M7cZI/AAAAAAAAGUM/wsPbuqZ8cbgLhtu_lHaScUrHlMa4_dfMgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1583/ballad4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="1583" height="156" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kogYZOzurV0/YY-992M7cZI/AAAAAAAAGUM/wsPbuqZ8cbgLhtu_lHaScUrHlMa4_dfMgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h156/ballad4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Judge Reza (Alireza Sani Far) arrives at Mina's <br />door without revealing his true identity, stating that <br />he has come to return a large sum of money <br />her husband had lent him</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>hat follows has to be interpreted keeping in mind the
opening quote about the cow. A white cow is shown in a mosque (the barbed wire on the walls resemble a prison) readied for slaughter early in
the film to help the viewer with a visual connection to the opening quote. The
script-writer Moghadam envisages Mina as a worker in a milk-packaging factory,
a metaphoric connect to the innocent cow in the quotation. Mina does seem to
eventually accept her husband’s execution as a submission to the will of Allah
(God) as a good Muslim. When Mina realizes her husband was innocent she finds
that she and her mute daughter seems to have been “mocked” by the judicial
system. The “mockery” extends to Mina, already under stress from the judiciary,
the owner of her initial apartment, and Mina’s father-in-law trying to grab the
“blood money” or the financial compensation from the government, added up to
Mina losing her job at the milk packaging factory, due to a strike. The finale
of the film could confound an average viewer but if the viewer realizes Mina is
intelligent, the ending is easy to decipher. The tale can be considered as a modern-day
parable. The tale is a very interesting confrontation of the ethics of a remorseful
judge and that of the eventual suffering victim’s ability or lack of ability to forgive. The viewer
is left much to ruminate on.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-leiVYZvoM60/YY_BoDZfKCI/AAAAAAAAGUc/EPtuogcA8SQ35wa81eYIOlCsmiPK1wO2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/ballad6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="1024" height="199" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-leiVYZvoM60/YY_BoDZfKCI/AAAAAAAAGUc/EPtuogcA8SQ35wa81eYIOlCsmiPK1wO2ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h199/ballad6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reza realizing Mina's problems of finding<br />a new apartment provides her an apartment he owns <br />that is lying unused at discounted rent</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FfkhjfqZdnw/YY_CgPwgk_I/AAAAAAAAGUk/P8AKvhkK1Ts1_B_Q-_Pws6sHORsC8FOVQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1389/ballad1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="1389" height="168" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FfkhjfqZdnw/YY_CgPwgk_I/AAAAAAAAGUk/P8AKvhkK1Ts1_B_Q-_Pws6sHORsC8FOVQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h168/ballad1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mina and Bita prepare for an uncertain future</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span>s Maryam Moghadam
(spelled Moqaddam in <i>Wikipedia</i>) and Mr
Behtash Sanaeeha are a rare husband-wife team making their first film <b>Ballad of a White Cow</b> as co-directors
which won them the awards for the Best New Director at the 2021 Valladolid
International Film Festival in Spain. The Uruguayan/Mexican couple of Rodrigo
Plá and his wife Laura Santullo are another team who made their first film as
co-directors. In both these husband-wife teams, the wife is the main original
writer of award-winning screenplays. Unlike Ms Santullo who has never ventured
to act, Ms Moghadam is an accomplished actress, having worked as actress in
Jafar Panahi’s <b>Closed Curtain </b>(2013)
and her husband’s debut film <b>Risk of
Acid Rain</b> (2015) and several other feature and TV films. Ms Moghadam’s
script refers to a film <b>Bita </b>(1972),<b> </b>made in Iran prior to the Ayatollah
revolution, a favorite film of her daughter, Bita, named after the title
character of that film. Bita, though mute, can hear and enjoy feature films and
is a film addict. The film <b>Ballad of a
White Cow </b>is dedicated to “Mina,” which some feel is the name of the screenplay-writer’s
mother. If that is indeed true, young Bita’s love for films is an
autobiographical trivia of the lady co-director.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>P.S. </i>Ballad of a White Cow</b>
<i>has won, apart from the Valladolid award mentioned above, the Best Film award at the Jerusalem
Film Festival (Israel), an incredible honor in light of the fact that there is
not much love lost between Israel and Iran. The film is currently competing for the Krzysztof Kieslowski award for the best film at the Denver film festival. <o:p></o:p>Rodrigo Plá's and his wife Laura Santullo's first co-directed film </i><b><a href="Rodrigo Plá and his wife Laura Santullo">The Other Tom</a> </b><i>was reviewed earlier on this blog. (Click on the film's name in this postscript to access that review) Though initially released in 2020 in some parts of the world, the film is listed among<a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-best-films-of-2021-ranked.html"> the best films of 2021 of the author</a>.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EO6gmtAywIY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-31446163087258114222021-11-05T20:59:00.003+05:302022-02-24T14:43:00.726+05:30267. Uruguayan film director Rodrigo Plá’s sixth feature film “El Otro Tom” (The Other Tom) (2021) (Mexico) in English/Mexican, co-directed with his Mexican wife Laura Santullo based on her script: The single mother as a contemporary Brechtian Mother Courage variant<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sjhDQNh6oQs/YYU5mNm2dhI/AAAAAAAAGR4/mGn5wcjzUu49L4R8TWrKvb4Flt44YW8lACLcBGAsYHQ/s794/othertom.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="529" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sjhDQNh6oQs/YYU5mNm2dhI/AAAAAAAAGR4/mGn5wcjzUu49L4R8TWrKvb4Flt44YW8lACLcBGAsYHQ/w266-h400/othertom.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“</i><i>Although you
don't attempt to show it, one has a point of view on things and it ends up
emerging, whether you like it or not. Our films (with director/husband Rodrigo
Plá) often turn on the limits of the public and the private, the individual
confronting the state, and what happens when that individual is defenceless...
The state of helplessness is one of the motors of what we write. Regarding why
we often portray female characters, I think the question is really: Why don't
other people portray them more?” </i></p>
---Original
screenplay-writer and co-director Laura Santullo, on her script for her
husband’s earlier work <b>A Monster with a Thousand Heads</b> (2015), a
quotation equally applicable to <b>The Other Tom</b> (2021), where finally she is not merely
the scriptwriter for her husband’s six films but credited as the official
co-director.</blockquote><p><span style="font-size: large;">R</span>odrigo Plá (an Uruguayan) and Laura Santullo (a Mexican) are
a rare husband-wife team making remarkable low-budget films, often with
non-professional actors who give top notch performances, on subjects that
matter for the ordinary, hardworking persons globally. <b>The
Other Tom </b>is their first work where Ms Santullo is credited as a co-director,
even though she has been writing the scripts of all the previous films directed
by her husband. This film is officially
a Mexican film, in which the characters speak in English, with the story taking
place in some southern part of USA.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2mYAsxnk-pE/YYU9h8rKHXI/AAAAAAAAGSA/C1w4pebxXgk9R6TUgeCfSkWSnaEpjOjuACLcBGAsYHQ/s840/othertom10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="840" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2mYAsxnk-pE/YYU9h8rKHXI/AAAAAAAAGSA/C1w4pebxXgk9R6TUgeCfSkWSnaEpjOjuACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h200/othertom10.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elena (Julia Chavez) and her 9-year old <br />son Tom (Israel Rodriguez)</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The tale is essentially of a single mother, Elena
(a creditable debut performance from Julia Chavez) with Mexican roots, working
hard to make ends meet with her 9-year old son, Tom. Tom (or Tommy as his
mother calls him) has long hair, is intelligent and hyperactive. He troubles
his teachers and sometimes his mother. Once again the directorial duo extract a
lovely realistic performance from young Israel Rodriguez playing the role of
Tom, evidently his first film role as well. Tom’s biological father always
promises to send money to Elena but keeps reneging on his promises. The educational costs of Tom in a school and monthly
expenses force Elena to part-time prostitution.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">A</span>s the film progresses, Tom is diagnosed to have Attention
Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). ADHD can be treated with medication. Elena
is pleased to know that her son will improve with prescribed medication and is
initially pleased to see the medicated Tom or the “other Tom.” However, the medication can lead to side
effects. One of the side effects is a tendency to commit suicide, which young Tom
attempts. The mother Elena realizes the connection recalling that a
well-meaning parent had warned her about the side-effects of ADHD medicines.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E-Kyja-Z_hc/YYVA9I4WQ5I/AAAAAAAAGSI/6iG9uV1nVn0XL4nHFYz8alFG4Q08ypwvACLcBGAsYHQ/s1454/othertom4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="1454" height="164" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E-Kyja-Z_hc/YYVA9I4WQ5I/AAAAAAAAGSI/6iG9uV1nVn0XL4nHFYz8alFG4Q08ypwvACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h164/othertom4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A conversation outside a hospital for a cigarette break,<br />with a well-meaning parent, on the side-effects <br />of ADHD medication. The reduced visual size of people <br />compared to buildings is a favorite visual stamp <br />of director Plá<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal">The intelligent script of co-director Ms Santullo braces the
hard-working Elena trying to protect the original Tom from becoming the other
Tom. She has to brace against teachers who disclose the medication that Tom
takes to other kids and report her to Child Protection Services (CPS) when she
decides to take Tom off the prescribed drugs, which as a “Catch 22” scenario,
is an offence that can deprive her of Tom’s custody. At a CPS assessment
hearing Elena is forced to take Tom to a distant children’s camp. While the CPS
hearing progresses, Ms Santullo’s script has this evocative line spoken by Tom
at a coffee-vending machine in a figurative response to an elderly lady who
shows her concern as he opts for a strong coffee (for a lady friend of Elena
accompanying him, who the good elderly lady did not notice): “<i>I am getting sentenced today. I killed a
Fourth Grade Teacher and didn’t mean it.</i>” The viewer knows that Tom did not
kill anyone, but merely disliked her. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jozkvrouZuE/YYVFKAcTf0I/AAAAAAAAGSY/UogvTletG34psyQxUYTBnVbHmearAaB5gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1458/othertom3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="1458" height="168" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jozkvrouZuE/YYVFKAcTf0I/AAAAAAAAGSY/UogvTletG34psyQxUYTBnVbHmearAaB5gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h168/othertom3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom's art teacher at school notices Tom's talent <br />to paint and offers to help Tom improve <br />further in that area; the sole positive comment<br /> Elena receives from a school staff about Tom</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2gUI5MZ6rR0/YYVI5PKn2hI/AAAAAAAAGSw/O4IStRBuVVobrtGLNVzpDy2b-H_4tCQCACLcBGAsYHQ/s1453/othertom6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="1453" height="166" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2gUI5MZ6rR0/YYVI5PKn2hI/AAAAAAAAGSw/O4IStRBuVVobrtGLNVzpDy2b-H_4tCQCACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h166/othertom6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The in-camera hearing about Tom with the over-zealous<br />CPS staff that the bright Tom describes as his "sentencing"</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he film’s open-ended culmination helps the viewer to
realize that some laws benefit big businesses (here, pharmaceutical industry).
Some teachers are a treasure in the education system; an art teacher reveals to
Elena that Tom is very talented as an artist. Some others may teach well but
not protect the privacy of a student’s medical condition.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the defining statements of the film on the strong mother-son bonding is Tom’s statement to Elena towards the end of the film: “<i>If I said I hate you, it is only because I
am angry</i>.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zn-ffn0mJG4/YYVHAHtf3rI/AAAAAAAAGSg/k_JG4mfJbB4MrKEThrufQC5kdpumO21FACLcBGAsYHQ/s1447/othertom7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="1447" height="148" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zn-ffn0mJG4/YYVHAHtf3rI/AAAAAAAAGSg/k_JG4mfJbB4MrKEThrufQC5kdpumO21FACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h148/othertom7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom ends up with a bloody nose, <br />when one teacher reveals that one student<br /> is on medication, a fact that ought not be disclosed</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V6NoVcmHk_0/YYVJ73n4yXI/AAAAAAAAGS4/i-KVScoMGu8vAoFhdPX1v-d_Ng_T3a5pgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1449/othertom5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="1449" height="165" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V6NoVcmHk_0/YYVJ73n4yXI/AAAAAAAAGS4/i-KVScoMGu8vAoFhdPX1v-d_Ng_T3a5pgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h165/othertom5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elena, the caring mother, looking<br />even at legal options to care for son <br />without medication</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">W</span>hile Ms Santullo’s contribution is obvious and commendable,
her husband Rodrigo Plá is able to continue what he is good at—to tell a tale
visually and dramatically by choosing non-professional actors who match the
best of professional actors. In his most admirable work, <b>The Delay</b> shot in Uruguay, Mr Plá ends a film about elders dying
with a shot of an old man struggling with the onset of dementia in the midst of
tall buildings in Montevideo with one daughter with three kids and limited
means trying to care for him while another married daughter does not help her sister.
<b>The Delay</b> presents the reverse
scenario of <b>The Other Tom </b>where a
valiant mother struggles to care for her parent because old-age homes are over-populated
and cannot admit her father. As in <b>The Other
Tom</b>, the ending is open-ended but the message of the predicament of caring single
mothers is loud and clear. But these mothers trudge on. This director duo are
making films that matter on pertinent subjects relating to those who are not
rich but work hard.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>P.S. </i>The Other Tom </b><i>has won the Best Film award at the Warsaw International
Film Festival (Poland). The director’s earlier film </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2013/02/140-uruguayan-director-rodrigo-plas-la.html">The Delay</a></b> <i>(2012) has been
reviewed earlier on this blog</i>.<b> </b><i> (Click
on the colored names of the film in the post-script to access the review.) </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2013/02/140-uruguayan-director-rodrigo-plas-la.html">The Delay</a> </b><i>(2012) was included in the author's list of <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-10-best-movies-of-2012.html">best films of 2012</a>. </i><b>The Other Tom</b><i> is participating in the ongoing Denver Film Festival and is included among <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-best-films-of-2021-ranked.html">the best films of 2021 for the author</a>.</i></p><h2 style="margin-top: 0cm;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span color="windowtext" face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></h2>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JTyAqZxa5G0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-13651607056978504792021-10-26T08:59:00.004+05:302021-10-26T21:05:03.962+05:30266. The late Chilean maestro Raoul Ruiz’ film in French “Les trois couronnes du matelot” (Three Crowns of the Sailor) (1983) (France/Portugal/Chile): An absorbing non-linear, surreal screenplay with stunning cinematography and loads of remarks that will make you ruminate <div class="separator"> </div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Aautl6ZAXtE/YXbq6VBQpDI/AAAAAAAAGPw/iVDvTb2C860mPwuMfCQooFYSvxRzDeZSACLcBGAsYHQ/s685/3%2Bcrowns.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="509" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Aautl6ZAXtE/YXbq6VBQpDI/AAAAAAAAGPw/iVDvTb2C860mPwuMfCQooFYSvxRzDeZSACLcBGAsYHQ/w298-h400/3%2Bcrowns.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></i></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“You always need a living sailor on a ship
full of the dead. That was me.” (Final spoken lines of the film)<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Never forget that
memories, imagination and understanding must be used for an honest and
productive life.”</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">--Two separate statements of the sailor, narrating the stories,
reflecting Ruiz’ own life of self-imposed exile, moving from one country to the
other, making extraordinary films</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>f there are two Raoul (Raul) Ruiz films that are extraordinary,
these would be <b>Three Crowns of the
Sailor</b> (1983) and <b>Mysteries of
Lisbon </b>(2010). Both have absorbing, non-linear screenplays with stunning
cinematography. Yet, the two films are different in one significant aspect: the
former is based on Ruiz’ own original tale while the latter is based on a novel
of Camilo Castelo Branco. Both films have lead characters mirroring Ruiz’
departure from and memories of his land of birth and incorporate biographical
elements.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sAMvcqlwgVA/YXbsU7ByWyI/AAAAAAAAGP4/7_SIn7ooM5ohdHsoHtr0UtSO-rA3fdP3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1441/3%2Bcrowns%2B%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="1441" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sAMvcqlwgVA/YXbsU7ByWyI/AAAAAAAAGP4/7_SIn7ooM5ohdHsoHtr0UtSO-rA3fdP3ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/3%2Bcrowns%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sailor (Guillard, left) who narrates the tales, <br />asks the student (Deplanche, right) for 3 Danish Crowns<br /> and his attention to his tales for passage on his ship</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IR_OWrbqL0o/YXdVbioJWHI/AAAAAAAAGQg/9OKiGo50Ui8N9mKOy5fIgkNRMVSd5tIDACLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/3%2Bcrowns2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IR_OWrbqL0o/YXdVbioJWHI/AAAAAAAAGQg/9OKiGo50Ui8N9mKOy5fIgkNRMVSd5tIDACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/3%2Bcrowns2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sailor narrates and Ruiz leads the viewer not merely <br />into the tales but also the narrator's views on death and life</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>hree Crowns of the
Sailor </b>takes a leaf from the Chilean folklore of a ghost ship. The sailors
die and reappear, as the film unspools. Ruiz himself was the son of a ship
captain. The only likely real individual in the film is a Polish student
(Philippe Deplanche) of theology who kills his tutor. We learn from the opening
statement of the student that his victim had also taught him the art of
“polishing diamonds” and leaves his future killer-student a long letter to
leave the country, as though the tutor knew the events in advance. We also get
to know that the murder took place in July 1958 from the soliloquy of the
killer. When Ruiz incorporates a date, there is a purpose. This writer did some
checking. In July 1958, the Polish state police broke into the Institute of the
Lady of Czestochowa located in a monastery in Poland and took way all the
books, mimeographed texts, correspondence and texts (ref: www.jstor/stable/25777621).
Did the killing of the theological tutor and the student picking up the letter,
a ring offered by the tutor to the student several times, and some currency
notes mirror those historical events? It is quite possible.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The fleeing murderer/student meets a sailor (Jean-Bernard
Guillard) who asks him for 3 Danish crowns (currency) and a promise to listen
to his tale in exchange for a place on his ship called the “Funchalense” that
will take him away from Poland. The ship, the student boards, is rusty but
travels to Valparaiso, the main sea-port in Chile (not surprising!). There, as
per the narration of the sailor, he looks for his family in his house which is
boarded up by planks (suggestion to the actions of military junta regime that
ousted President Allende, which in turn led to Ruiz’ self-exile, not stated
explicitly in the film). His neighbors do not seem recognize him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he main tale is a juxtaposition of several tales narrated
by the sailor of unusual, bizarre persons he has met at every port of the
ship’s journey—Singapore, Buenaventura (Colombia), Tangier (Morocco), Dakar (Senegal),
and Tampico (Mexico). For example, there is a shy gum-chewing prostitute, who
has a coffin kept in her room full of dolls and marks each customer’s encounter
by depositing the chewed gum on the coffin. Then, in Singapore, there is a
small boy who the sailor adopts as his son, because the boy is exceptionally
intelligent and has already read all the writings of Robert Louis Stevenson. He is boy who looks like a kid and does not
grow old if he does not eat. He does not require light to read books because “<i>he is the light</i>” in the words of the
Vice Consul of Singapore. Elsewhere, the sailor meets up with a beautiful
singer who has only one orifice—her mouth (a suggestive symbol of scenarios in nations
that are autocratic and singers sing only praises). In Dakar, he meets an
African doctor who knows the Bible by heart, lives in poverty, philosophically
claiming to discuss each minute of his life that would extend to days, and asks
the sailor for three Danish Crowns if he is inclined to listen to him. This is
the same proposition made by the sailor to the Polish student and the fee
required to be paid for recounting the story.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6mIN8Azs3J8/YXdmnyHSrNI/AAAAAAAAGQs/pg_uO5dgmz0q1EcPYsxe0PXguqGReWGPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1485/3%2Bcrowns7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="1485" height="278" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6mIN8Azs3J8/YXdmnyHSrNI/AAAAAAAAGQs/pg_uO5dgmz0q1EcPYsxe0PXguqGReWGPgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h278/3%2Bcrowns7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sailor in an angelic prostitute's room full of <br />dolls and a white coffin (white is often related <br />to the sinless dead, especially children). <br />Note the camera placement.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PTDP0FiumaA/YXbwqBu-K_I/AAAAAAAAGQI/1n9_XZg480M9ckAbJ2KrLyT-A71a63zDgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1409/3%2Bcrowns5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1033" data-original-width="1409" height="294" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PTDP0FiumaA/YXbwqBu-K_I/AAAAAAAAGQI/1n9_XZg480M9ckAbJ2KrLyT-A71a63zDgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h294/3%2Bcrowns5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Singapore, the sailor is introduced to a well-read <br />doctor who looks like a child <br />and can read books without light</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Berenice Reynaude’s essay in “Fuse” (February/March 1985)
and in “Rouge” (www.rouge.com.au/2/crowns/html) points out the several literary
cinematic connections within the narrative—from Coleridge to Borges to Cortezar
to Hans Christian Andersen to Selma Lagerloff. Raoul Ruiz could do that with
considerable felicity rarely associated with any other director/writer worldwide.
Ruiz’ ability to do this in <b>Three Crowns
of the Sailor </b>(and in all his other films)<b> </b>would not be easily perceived by viewers unless they themselves are
equally well-read and acquainted with works of great writers of different
continents and languages to appreciate the full mastery of Ruiz’ craft.<b> </b>For instance, a character is reading the novel <i>The Sea Rose</i> by Paul Vialer,
an obscure novel that was made into a French film called <b>La maison sous la mer</b> in 1947. Each Ruiz film is a crossword puzzle
(in this film, the Vice Consul of Singapore informs the sailor that his Consulate
was attacked by crossword fanatics!) asking
to be solved with clues that include love, money, religion, politics, sailors, perceived
insanity, history, art (both paintings and cinematic visual perspectives),
music, philosophy and literature thrown in. <b>Three Crowns of the Sailor </b>is no exception in this regard.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">W</span>hile knowledge of literature helped Ruiz carve out a niche
among directors, he is also one who opted for surrealism in most of his films.
In <b>Three Crowns of the Sailor, </b>Ruiz
scripted a ghost tale where all the sailors of the ship, except for the
narrator, did not defecate and had worms surfacing from their abscesses on
their bodies. He has sailors committing suicide only to resurface alive next
day attributing the suicide to someone else. A key spoken line in the film is “<i>Art is barbarous.</i>” Ruiz used surrealism
to encourage the viewer to re-evaluate reality.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PCGNJFXr6-0/YXdrdaS2cHI/AAAAAAAAGQ8/Nq5JWtj4o1o2K9yvlt3DKZfh156KWzjTACLcBGAsYHQ/s1434/3%2Bcrowns3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1434" height="235" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PCGNJFXr6-0/YXdrdaS2cHI/AAAAAAAAGQ8/Nq5JWtj4o1o2K9yvlt3DKZfh156KWzjTACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h235/3%2Bcrowns3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surrealism vs reality</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kFjtiZY0MrQ/YXdszDNt7fI/AAAAAAAAGRU/qtOom4eY7PYEE6WU4-TlSQRKqnwVaSuGgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1427/3%2Bcrowns8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1059" data-original-width="1427" height="296" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kFjtiZY0MrQ/YXdszDNt7fI/AAAAAAAAGRU/qtOom4eY7PYEE6WU4-TlSQRKqnwVaSuGgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h296/3%2Bcrowns8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruiz and cinematographer Sacha Vierny: <br />The words spoken are neither by the person holding <br />the food nor the persons immediately behind the beer glass. <br />They are spoken by the sailor (Guillard) <br />at the extreme end of the room, also in focus. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>n <b>Three Crowns of
the Sailor</b>, Ruiz is helped by the cinematographer Sacha Vierny (a regular
for directors Peter Greenaway and Alain Resnais and for Bunuel’s <b>Belle de Jour</b>) to produce the unusual
visual perspectives that bear the stamp of Ruiz in most of his films—an aspect
that reached perfection in Ruiz’ <b>Mysteries
of Lisbon </b>(decades later). The unusual camera angles and the switches from
color to black-and-white and back might unnerve the regular filmgoer—but Ruiz
does it with a purpose, to nudge the viewer to appreciate the unwritten script
suggesting a reality that can be perceived if you distance yourself from the
obvious and take in the wider world of the “political exile,” the “stranger,”
the “thinker,” the “symbolic sailor striding from one geography to another,”
etc. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>f there is another filmmaker
to match Ruiz in knowledge and surreal filmmaking it is Orson Welles (in
particular, Welles’ films <b>The Immortal
Story</b>--based on Isaak Denisen’s novel complete with a sailor as a key character
as in<b> Three Crowns of the Sailor</b>—and
<b>F for Fake</b> on paintings and visual tricks).
Ruiz and Welles were an evolved set of directors who have few equivalent peers and
have yet to be appreciated sufficiently by a broad swath of the film-going
public.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>inally, another quote from the film <b>Three Crowns of the Sailor</b> encapsulates the film for reflection “<i>Our presence here is gratuitous, like most
things in life.</i>” The final sequence of the film is appropriately presented
in black and white as in the early segment where the sailor asks the student “<i>Do you believe in the hereafter?”</i> and
gets the reply “<i>I am an atheist</i>.”</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j7sezzOcm3A/YXbvGt-D11I/AAAAAAAAGQA/iepKiBchG6oMT5pVesofcnadbKO4gncCACLcBGAsYHQ/s1387/3%2Bcrowns6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1037" data-original-width="1387" height="299" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j7sezzOcm3A/YXbvGt-D11I/AAAAAAAAGQA/iepKiBchG6oMT5pVesofcnadbKO4gncCACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h299/3%2Bcrowns6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sailor tells the student: "If all the jerks<br /> spread their wings, we will never see the sun" <br />in the final sequence<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>P.S. </i>Three Crowns of the Sailor</b><i> was bestowed the rare “Perspectives du cinema“ award
even though it was not a participant in any of the official sections of the
1983 Cannes film festival. The author has reviewed the following films of Ruiz
on this blog earlier: </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2014/12/170-late-chilean-maestros-portuguese.html">Mysteries of Lisbon</a> </b><i>(2010); </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2017/09/210-late-chilean-maestro-raoul-ruiz.html">Klimt</a></b><i> (2006) and </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2010/06/101-chilean-director-in-exile-raul.html">That Day</a></b><i> (2006). Orson Welles' </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2013/07/147-us-maestro-orson-welles-last-film-f.html">F for Fake</a></b><i> was also reviewed earlier on this blog.</i><b> Three Crowns of the Sailor </b><i>has
been included among the author’s <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/my-best-100-movies.html">Best 100 Films</a> which already included</i><b> <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2014/12/170-late-chilean-maestros-portuguese.html">Mysteries of Lisbon</a>. </b><i>(Click on the names of the films in this postscript to access the author's review)</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-52538851651501995132021-08-28T23:08:00.007+05:302022-02-24T14:46:25.428+05:30265. Italian film director Uberto Pasolini’s third feature film “Nowhere Special” (2020) in English, based on his original script: The rare intent and ability to care for the future needs of others when you can do so<div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_NB8n0IIO3g/YSplHRKuoXI/AAAAAAAAFE4/DpjDq6z-XGUyIWPZ2MxvdVBFRf2ndO56ACLcBGAsYHQ/s805/Nowhere1.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="574" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_NB8n0IIO3g/YSplHRKuoXI/AAAAAAAAFE4/DpjDq6z-XGUyIWPZ2MxvdVBFRf2ndO56ACLcBGAsYHQ/w285-h400/Nowhere1.png" width="285" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I wanted to make a
film with this title for a long time. The title is from a dialogue at the
end of Mel Brooks' film </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Blazing
Saddles</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">; one character asks the
other, </i>"Where are you going to go<i>?</i>"<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> and the other replies,"</i>Nowhere special<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">", and the first person replies, </i>"I always wanted to go
there." <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The idea behind this
choice is that there is no perfection, that you just have to live, find a place
where it is good to live, simply.”<o:p></o:p></i></p><h2 style="margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">---Director Uberto Pasolini, speaking on how he chose the title of this film for his own fictional script, written after he read a newspaper story on a similar adoption, with the adoption agency refusing to divulge details of that case to him, due to confidentiality clauses (a rough translation of his interview given to Malik Berkati at the Zurich film festival, quoted in J:Ma.
Lifestyle and Citizenship) </span></h2></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>ilm director Uberto Pasolini makes small budget films with
great care and thought that demand respect of mature filmgoers worldwide. His last
two films <b>Still Life</b> (2013) and his
latest work <b>Nowhere Special</b> (2020)
focus on realistic characters who belong to the middle class but are sensitive
to the world around them, lending a helping hand to people who require help in
a low-key and admirable manner. Both his works stand out among so many others
because he writes original stories/screenplays alone—a very creditable
distinction separating him from the bulk of other filmmakers, relying on
someone else’s tale to direct.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Nowhere Special </b>is
a tale of a single father, John, who has brought up his 3 year-old-son, Michael,
with earnings from his work as an independent window cleaner in Northern Ireland.
John dotes on his single offspring and takes care of him as a mother would. As
the film progresses, we learn that John is in advanced stages of a life-threatening
illness and Michael can’t be in his care for long. He approaches an adoption
agency and they arrange for John and Michael to meet prospective foster parents for Michael in order for John to decide on Michael’s
future family. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z_6YHs4g9Ws/YSplw3cqnPI/AAAAAAAAFFA/WGv_87KcTqQRuHYIvs4hzhx3Lxvexrc7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s807/Nowhere2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="608" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z_6YHs4g9Ws/YSplw3cqnPI/AAAAAAAAFFA/WGv_87KcTqQRuHYIvs4hzhx3Lxvexrc7wCLcBGAsYHQ/w301-h400/Nowhere2.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The single father John (James Norton) <br />goes shopping with his son <br />Michael (Daniel Lamont) </td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">P</span>asolini’s amazing ability is in presenting the relationship
of father and son in the absence of a mother. John provides all he can, within
his financial limitations, which include providing toys and trips to fairs for his
intelligent, responsive son. The conversations are minimal and the performances of the first-time
child actor Daniel Lamont under the tutelage of Pasolini reminds you of Charles
Chaplin directing Jackie Coogan in <b>The Kid</b>
(1921) and perhaps even of Vittorio de Sica directing a relatively older Enzo Staiola in
<b>Bicycle Thieves</b> (1948). Pasolini’s
direction of James Norton as the father John, repressing anger, and alternating frustration with patience in <b>Nowhere Special </b>results in<b> </b>an amazingly controlled
outcome. Pasolini had achieved a similar feat with Eddie Marsan in his earlier remarkable film, <b>Still Life</b>. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Are there similar patterns between <b>Nowhere Special </b>and<b> Still
Life</b>? Both films study men’s actions in this life and the events after
death. Death is the fulcrum of both films, philosophically. In <b>Nowhere Special</b>, John<b> </b>introduces<b> </b>the<b> </b>concept of death to
his 3-year-old son by getting him to read about death of dinosaurs. The
audience sees some manifestation of his son’s understanding that his father is
tired/sick when the boy covers his sleeping father with the blanket that has partially
fallen, possibly mimicking what his father would have done for him. Both films of Pasolini are a treat to study for colorful details that
the director infuses into the narrative, one example being of John looking at
the side mirror of his car to observe an older schoolboy with his bag walking
back home, to imagine what Michael would be like when he grows up. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gThphT24AA/YSpzaub7U3I/AAAAAAAAFGA/rmtFEvIOtIMYhQdpRPV1HxA0akdTFcFrQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/nowhere4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1000" height="251" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gThphT24AA/YSpzaub7U3I/AAAAAAAAFGA/rmtFEvIOtIMYhQdpRPV1HxA0akdTFcFrQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h251/nowhere4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The single father's treasure notices the tattoo, <br />which he tries to copy on his own hand</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>n bits and pieces of conversation in the film, we learn
that John was an orphan and therefore is all the more interested that Michael
has a good family to take care of him. In <b>Still
Life</b>, the colorless bureaucrat, Mr. May, goes the extra mile to contact
dead persons' relatives and friends and informs them of the death of their forgotten kith
and kin. In <b>Nowhere Special</b>, it is a
dying father worried about the future of his son if he hands him over to the wrong
foster parents. <i>“This is the most
important decision of my life. How will I know if I got it right?”</i> John bursts
out his frustration at the quiet adoption agency staffer, who reminds him that
the clock is ticking for him to make a decision about Michael. There is no obvious
manifestation of his deteriorating health except for a bout of vomiting (thankfully less repulsive realism than John Cassavetes’ 1970 film <b>Husbands)</b> and a sudden decision to stop
working after having climbed a tall ladder to clean a window. I admire Pasolini’s
ability to add small details in both his films that say a lot without spoken words.
One example is saving John’s wife’s/spouse’s mitten left in the dashboard of
his car (which he is now selling to evidently augment his purse as he has decided to stop working) to be included in a box of memorabilia for Michael, when he grows up, along with John’s photographs with Michael. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hXXKmn-uevY/YSpm_oLhQQI/AAAAAAAAFFI/ryzndGUH_wEQ-3bKRssKxWJNT7-4s59HwCLcBGAsYHQ/s750/Nowhere3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="750" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hXXKmn-uevY/YSpm_oLhQQI/AAAAAAAAFFI/ryzndGUH_wEQ-3bKRssKxWJNT7-4s59HwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/Nowhere3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breaking the concept of time to his toddler <br />with 34 candles on John's birthday cake<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>t is important to compare and contrast <b>Nowhere Special </b>with Naomi Kawase’s Japanese film <b>True Mothers</b>—both films about adoption
made the same year in different parts of the world. <b>True Mothers </b>is a film made by a lady director about real mothers and foster
mothers of orphans in the contemporary world. In both films, the single parent
is giving up their biological child for foster care out of extreme necessity.
Both are remarkably well-made films. While religion is absent in the Japanese
film, for Pasolini this is important in <b>Nowhere
Special</b> as it was in <b>Still Life</b>.
John teaches Michael to pray before he goes to sleep and John has a silent
thought of his impending future<b> </b>as he stops his car at a red signal, and he views
a closed church with a cemetery, ending the short car halt with a smile,
possibly indicating that he is now well prepared for the inevitable. Compared to <b>Still Life, Nowhere Special </b>has a muted
dose of religion. <div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k_lQX4udcVY/YSptSZug_rI/AAAAAAAAFFg/7rgYmJisrEAGV68YmsRx28bPlyAU16OYwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1919/nowhere5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1009" data-original-width="1919" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k_lQX4udcVY/YSptSZug_rI/AAAAAAAAFFg/7rgYmJisrEAGV68YmsRx28bPlyAU16OYwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h210/nowhere5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John looking at the closed church and cemetery</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gMDEetyaTJY/YSprkdtp6OI/AAAAAAAAFFU/AAk7ZpnPpDEQ33Ph1QkSpsIt-6W3fDW0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1839/Nowhere6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="1839" height="204" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gMDEetyaTJY/YSprkdtp6OI/AAAAAAAAFFU/AAk7ZpnPpDEQ33Ph1QkSpsIt-6W3fDW0ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h204/Nowhere6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John drives on with a telling smile</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0py9WVyUjlY/YSpvHmGveLI/AAAAAAAAFF4/yS63uUXr45AtXWYv1A8qCnb2Jxodl9xVgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1781/Nowhere8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="1781" height="205" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0py9WVyUjlY/YSpvHmGveLI/AAAAAAAAFF4/yS63uUXr45AtXWYv1A8qCnb2Jxodl9xVgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h205/Nowhere8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final incredibly mature goodbye of a 3-year old</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">U</span>nfortunately, compared to <b>Still Life, Nowhere Special </b>lacks<b> </b>the musical contribution of Pasolini’s<b> </b>wife, composer Rachel Portman, which had enriched the earlier work.
Even without Ms Portman’s musical flourishes, <b>Nowhere Special</b> is a very rewarding viewing experience for viewers
who are not mesmerized by escapist and unreal tales. Mr Pasolini, the
late film maestro Luchino Visconti will be proud of you as his nephew putting
so much care and thought into the films you make to entertain discerning viewers!</div><div><br /></div><div><br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>P.S. </i>Nowhere Special </b><i>has won the Best Film award at the Pula (Croatia)
film festival, and the Audience awards at the Warsaw (Poland) and the
Valladolid (Spain) international film festivals. The director’s earlier film </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2013/12/156-italian-filmmaker-uberto-pasolinis.html">Still Life</a> </b><i>(2013), winner of the Best Film award in the Venice film festival’s
Horizons section, and 18 other awards worldwide, has been reviewed earlier on
this blog</i>.<b> </b><i> The other Japanese film by director Naomi Kawase’s </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2021/06/264-japanese-film-director-naomi.html">True Mothers</a></b><i> discussed in the above review also has been reviewed earlier on this
blog. (Click on the colored names of the films in the post-script to access
the reviews.) Both </i><b>Nowhere Special </b><i>(2020) and </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2021/06/264-japanese-film-director-naomi.html">True Mothers </a></b><i>(2020)</i> <i>are
included in the <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-best-films-of-2021-ranked.html">author’s list of best films of 2021.</a> <o:p></o:p></i></p><h2 style="margin-top: 0cm;"><span color="windowtext" face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></h2></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hLTQxSyT3mc" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I3kxXGJXAsY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-39964320715872866032021-06-23T07:56:00.008+05:302022-02-24T14:49:30.895+05:30264. Japanese film director Naomi Kawase’s fourteenth feature film “Asa ga kuru” (True Mothers) (2020), based on a novel by Mizuki Tsujimura: A contemplative cinematic essay on mothers of various hues and ages<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3V7qMqwPl8A/YNKQuGMtwFI/AAAAAAAAE_o/XdESl1zZpqsQj7a7CNNH6jj7oXaWErdQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s681/truemothers.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3V7qMqwPl8A/YNKQuGMtwFI/AAAAAAAAE_o/XdESl1zZpqsQj7a7CNNH6jj7oXaWErdQQCLcBGAsYHQ/w294-h400/truemothers.jpg" width="294" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span>irector and co-scriptwriter <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Naomi Kawase, co-scriptwriter Izumi Takahashi </span>and novelist <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Mizuki Tsujimura</span> present a diversity
of candidates in the film<b> True Mothers</b> who could fit the title of the
film. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9mYYkk8BFqU/YNKRZ_lIoXI/AAAAAAAAE_w/ec5DCNVjbg89qh3E52NN2Y7q9pbxyAZmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s990/truemothers3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="990" height="286" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9mYYkk8BFqU/YNKRZ_lIoXI/AAAAAAAAE_w/ec5DCNVjbg89qh3E52NN2Y7q9pbxyAZmgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h286/truemothers3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Confrontation between the biological mother<br /><i> (left)</i> and the foster parents<i> (right)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>irst, there is a biological mother, Hikari, a young teen in
school, who accidentally becomes 24-weeks pregnant following a tryst with a
teenager. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>econd, Hikari’s own mother is another type of elderly mother,
who is embarrassed by her teenage school-going daughter’s motherhood and wants
to hide those facts from friends, neighbors and Hikari’s school. She obviously
wants to protect her daughter’s and her family’s image in society for the
future. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-563XMdZSsp8/YNKZjJx1OJI/AAAAAAAAFAU/tuOuHDyADZcZI7xGpgI5KTeLeqKCyWZcQCLcBGAsYHQ/s850/truemothers6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="850" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-563XMdZSsp8/YNKZjJx1OJI/AAAAAAAAFAU/tuOuHDyADZcZI7xGpgI5KTeLeqKCyWZcQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/truemothers6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asami (Miyoki Asada) <i>(center)</i> runs the <i>Baby Baton,<br /> </i>showering happiness to so many</td></tr></tbody></table> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>hird, there is Shizue Asami, who runs an adoption organization
called “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Baby Baton,</i>” located in a
secluded resort helping young mothers-to-be prepare for the birth of their
children and arranging for their adoption by couples yearning to be parents.
The elderly and kind Asami (Miyoki Asada who played the role of the shopkeeper’s
wife in Kawase’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">An/Sweet Bean</b>) is
another kind of “mother”-figure for the young mothers-in-distress awaiting the
birth of their unwanted offspring and process the eventual adoption of the
newborns. It is interesting to note that Hikari, much after the birth of her
son, seeks help from (and refuge with) the elderly Asami rather than her own
biological mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>ourth, much later, in the film young Hikari herself,
exhibits motherly love for another girl, close to her own age, she had met at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Baby Baton</i> extending limited financial,
moral and emotional support in her time of need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0IATF4XosVk/YNKTBkw5FcI/AAAAAAAAE_4/0EIewk7RXaQwnB0cqxuiqkzJqHXFjdBPACLcBGAsYHQ/s850/truemothers1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="850" height="254" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0IATF4XosVk/YNKTBkw5FcI/AAAAAAAAE_4/0EIewk7RXaQwnB0cqxuiqkzJqHXFjdBPACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h254/truemothers1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The foster-mother Satoko and her husband <br />take the child Asato to school</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>ifth and a strong candidate for<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the “true mother” title in the foster-mother (Satoko)
who adopts the child Asato (through<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Baby
Baton)</i> with her husband showering love and care, because they are unable to
have a biological child of their own due to sterility issues, long after their marriage.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>inally, there is another kind of mother, whose son suffers
a fall in the school and holds Satoko’s son Asato <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>responsible for the mishap and aggressively
demands financial compensation from Satoko, who is relatively affluent and can
afford to pay the medical expenses. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>f King Solomon of the Bible were to sit in judgement over
who among the above six exhibits values of a “true” mother in this Japanese
film, it doubtful if he would have found a clear and satisfactory clue to make
a non-controversial judgement. In the Biblical tale, after hearing the pleas of
two ladies each claiming to be the mother of the child, Solomon said he would
cut the child in half and give an equal part to each claimant. The true mother
in the tale gives up her claim so that the child would live and Solomon
realized she indeed was the true mother among the two claimants. That is the
rhetorical question Ms Kawase is posing at the viewer of the film to figure out
like King Solomon: who among the six “mothers” has the best attributes to be called
a true mother.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is a reason for Naomi Kawase to be interested in
making the film on mothers and their offspring. Ms Kawase was brought up by her
grandmother, not her mother. Her father, too, was absent as she grew up under
the care of her grandmother. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--R46H4wV5nY/YNKT8imhnbI/AAAAAAAAFAE/KImxjDS8BkArUUiJTW5oBnXKODW2LGzdgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/truemothers4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--R46H4wV5nY/YNKT8imhnbI/AAAAAAAAFAE/KImxjDS8BkArUUiJTW5oBnXKODW2LGzdgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h200/truemothers4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The decision to adopt a child can be painful <br />before enjoying the rewards<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he film is indeed sentimental. Childless couples do dream
of a child of their own. In Japan, however, same-sex couples are not allowed to
adopt. In Japan, as in most countries, a pregnant school girl would inevitably face
social trauma and boycott, not support. The film’s fictional <i>Baby Baton</i> enterprise serves an
important social function but, in the film, it ultimately closes shop, for reasons
never stated.
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fpboMdl4ULc/YNKbAYicgGI/AAAAAAAAFAc/B1If3tII4_wpGvqIr1cjYA45cLgLaZBawCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/truemothers5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="640" height="183" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fpboMdl4ULc/YNKbAYicgGI/AAAAAAAAFAc/B1If3tII4_wpGvqIr1cjYA45cLgLaZBawCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h183/truemothers5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water and trees in a concrete jungle, provide <br />natural succor for the troubled mind</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />A</span> Kawase film offers sophistication beyond the presentation of interesting human characters;
<b>True Mothers</b> is no exception. Trees are silent characters as in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Mourning Forest</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Still the Water.</b> The sea and
waterfronts provide solace to the troubled characters. The birds do bring
messages of the stork. Kawase, like Terence Malick, brings to the fore
connections between humans and nature in each of their works and it is for the
perceptive viewer to pick up those threads. Kawase’s films try to connect normal
human beings with those living on the margins of society and try to construct
bridges of connection between generations. In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Mourning Forest </b>there is reversal of the roles of the nurse and
the nursed, both grieving for personal losses, one of a dead wife, another of a
dead child with a forest supporting the two characters, “sometimes gently,
sometimes strictly” in Kawase’s own words. In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sweet Bean</b>, a trio of social misfits without a family meld into a
virtual family. In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hanezu</b>, Kawase<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>presents the unfulfilled love triangle
of grandparents of lovers, mirrored in the present day love triangle, with
spiders and arachnids as nature’s metaphors to the tale. In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Still the Water</b>,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>the mother of the lead character dies and her boyfriend’s father
is physically absent. Yet the connections between generations are made visually
with banyan trees and the waters of the sea. A Kawase film always offers more
than the obvious and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">True Mothers</b> is
no exception, with contemplative sequences, without spoken words, accentuated
by birds, trees and waterfronts. <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All types of "mothers" in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">True Mothers</b> are very credibly presented and all the actors are a
treat to watch. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">True Mothers</b> is a
rare Kawase film that is not based on an original script written by the
director. Kawase and her co-scriptwriter<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Izumi Takahashi adapted the Japanese “mystery” novel by Mizuki
Tsujimura. However, there is an additional <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>personal touch here, Kawase herself was
brought up by her grandparents in the Nara region of Japan, which is where the
biological mother in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">True Mothers</b> is
originally from. In Kawase’s films, the little details add more value than the obvious
tale.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P.S. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">True Mothers</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">won the 2021 Best Director award for Ms
Kawase at the Mainichi Film Concours, Tokyo, Japan. Ms Kawase’s earlier feature
films </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2017/06/207-japanese-director-naomi-kawases.html">Shara</a></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> (2003), </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2008/01/53-japanese-director-naomi-kawases.html">The Mourning Forest</a>
</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(2007), </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2012/02/126-japanese-director-naomi-kawases.html">Hanezu</a> </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(2011), </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2015/04/176-japanese-director-naomi-kawases.html">Still the Water </a></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(2014), </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2016/04/191-japanese-director-naomi-kawases.html">Sweet Bean</a></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> (2015), and </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2019/04/236-japanese-director-naomi-kawases.html">Vision</a> </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(2018)</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have
been reviewed earlier on this blog. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b style="font-style: normal;">True Mothers </b>is one of <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-best-films-of-2021-ranked.html">the author's best films of 202</a>1. </span></span> Ms Kawase is one of the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/list/ls064262544/">author's favorite 15 active film directors</a> from all over the world</i>.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <o:p></o:p></i></p></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_Vp92jzBqMY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-35432148448147695382021-05-16T21:33:00.584+05:302021-05-21T18:41:40.184+05:30263. Mexican film director Carlos Reygadas’ debut film “Japón” (Japan) (2002), based on his original screenplay: Fascinating debut of the talented duo of film director Reygadas and his Argentine cinematographer Diego Martinez Vignatti<blockquote><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GuNjqIi3T6M/YKFD3KmPeII/AAAAAAAAE80/hJCI7w9XPmYBce5kRNXjlsjsoySF11ilQCLcBGAsYHQ/s570/japon.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GuNjqIi3T6M/YKFD3KmPeII/AAAAAAAAE80/hJCI7w9XPmYBce5kRNXjlsjsoySF11ilQCLcBGAsYHQ/w281-h400/japon.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><br /><p></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">My goal is to observe life and not to
mystify it. What I film is simply matter that exists in the world. A person or
object may have a particular meaning within the context of the film but I don’t
see them as having an inherent conceptual identity. If I say the word ‘tree’,
you don’t necessarily need to see the tree because you have learned since you
were a child how to conceptualize the tree. In most narrative films,
things—whether it’s a bird, a human body, a cloud, a car or a sound—exist as
devices that only serve to tell a story. This is true for the actors as
well. These types of films do not allow the viewer to see the actors as people
existing in the world. Instead, the viewer sees a mask moving around in a
costume and wearing lots of make-up. My goal is to bring out the individuality
of each person or object and to capture something of their essence. I’m not
interested in filming the mask. This is why you see the particular bodies in
the films. If they are not ‘conventional’ —if they are considered old, ugly or
fat—I couldn’t care less; they are all people and they are all equally
beautiful. Filming people as they are is my way of showing them respect.<br />
</span></i><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">—Carlos Reygadas,
interviewed by Paul Dallas, in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Extra
Extra Magazine (</i></span><a href="https://extraextramagazine.com/talk/carlos-reygadas-on-existence-the-flow-of-perception-and-the-feeling-of-being-embraced/"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">https://extraextramagazine.com/talk/carlos-reygadas-on-existence-the-flow-of-perception-and-the-feeling-of-being-embraced/</span></i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">)</span></i></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>s the above quote
reveals, Carlos Reygadas’ film </span><b>Jap</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ó<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">n </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">is different<b> </b>from the films<b> </b>of his
contemporary Mexican directors such as Guillermo del Toro (who made <b>The
Shape of Water</b> and <b>Pan’s Labyrinth</b>), Alfonso Cuaron (who made <b>Roma</b>
and <b>Gravity</b>), and Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu (who made <b>Birdman</b>
and <b>The Revenant</b>), who have won Oscars and wide public acceptance
globally. They are as different as chalk and cheese. Not just <b>Jap</b></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b>ó</b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b>n</b> but</span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b> </b>all the feature films of Reygadas,
have ultra-real characters, some with physical characteristics or appearances
that one would not normally associate with the typical actors and actresses in
commercial films. Reygadas’ choice of actors resembles the casting choices of
the famous Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini (who made <b>The Gospel According
to Saint Mathew</b> with non-actors, in contrast to the Hollywood Biblicals). Again unlike
his Mexican counterparts, Reygadas’ films are minimalistic in terms of dialogues,
accentuating instead on sounds and visuals to communicate with the viewer,
fusing the internal thoughts of characters with external visuals of nature,
animals and the innocence of children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
entire film used first time actors and it is unlikely that a viewer will easily forget their faces. It was shot on 16 mm anamorphic film stock using
2.88:1 screen aspect ratio and blown up. The outcome is amazing for such a
modest technical investment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YDAFLyLvsRI/YKFE5Uv4LFI/AAAAAAAAE88/kqZZcrt7S7cqkm6nQm826mrPiRfBN13qgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1567/Japon7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="1567" height="136" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YDAFLyLvsRI/YKFE5Uv4LFI/AAAAAAAAE88/kqZZcrt7S7cqkm6nQm826mrPiRfBN13qgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h136/Japon7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lame painter takes in the rural Mexico's <br />beauty: cacti, trees, hills and river</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">J</span>ap</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ó<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">n</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> is different from all the films mentioned above for other reasons as
well. One, the name of the principal character of Japón<b> </b>is never
revealed. The viewers of the film only get to know visually that he is lame and
needs a walking stick at all times. They get to learn gradually that he is a painter,
that his backpack contains painting material, that he intends to commit suicide
with a gun that he carries with him and that he loves music of Shostakovich (particularly
the composer’s <i>15th symphony</i>) because you can hear it and that he is not
religious, at least in the conventional sense, because he states as much. He has
evidently travelled from an urban part of Mexico (first sequence of the film)
to a carefully chosen distant rural spot of the country, where he is a stranger
and has no relations. How and why he chose that village is never revealed in the film. The viewer soon realizes that the painter is a man of few words,
observing more than speaking, even when spoken to. Reygadas’ use of Shostakovich’s
<i>15<sup>th</sup> symphony</i>, which the painter in his film shares with his benefactor
widow, using earplugs, suggesting to her that he could explain the music to her
but eventually does not, made this critic to delve into what was left unexplained. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The history of this piece of music is a story by itself. The composer Shostakovich
(film director Grigory Kozintsev’s close friend and his collaborator on his <b>King
Lear</b> and <b>Hamlet</b>) wrote the music—his last symphony--keeping in mind
the Russian intellectual and film director Yevgeny Yuvtuschenko’s poem on the
suicide of another Russian intellectual Marina Tsvetaeva. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Suicide and tragedy
serve as the background of this Shostakovich composition, the painter listens to in <b>Jap</b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ó<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">n</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">. </span>The painter himself is contemplating suicide
while listening to this music. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Shostakovich's music is not the only music that adorns this beautiful film that finds beauty in what most people would consider ugly (wrinkled faces), mundane (the poor and the dirty, smelly, unhygienic persons travelling in a vehicle together in <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b>Jap</b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ó<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">n</span></b>), or even profane (the extreme lack of comprehension and respect for anything another person considers worth worshipping), Reygadas uses two other composers and specific works of theirs to drive home his point of view. One is Johann Sebastian Bach's <i>Passion of St. Mathew </i>and the other is the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's two works <i>Miserere</i> and <i>Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten</i>. (The second composition of Pärt is used for the final sequences with the camera of cinematographer Vignatti circling the rail tracks capturing urban Mexico in the far distance and the flowing river to one side, with dead bodies and stones from the barn strewn around blending in a bizarre and sad way into the landscape.) Reygadas thanks Pärt in the end credits. Pärt's music is often incorporated in the films of Andrei Zvyagintsev, Terrence Malick, Michael Mann, Paolo Sorrentino, Pablo Larrain, and Leos Carax, among others.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-na9bWjhW82U/YKFQ0VJdg1I/AAAAAAAAE9Q/snEYavDjspAryySptBu2lEntv9mxoXLUgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1261/Japon2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="1261" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-na9bWjhW82U/YKFQ0VJdg1I/AAAAAAAAE9Q/snEYavDjspAryySptBu2lEntv9mxoXLUgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h150/Japon2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The painter, skeptical of religion..</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W1V_vxEMGkM/YKFRDTky6lI/AAAAAAAAE9U/QR1VJzmkIYMnh_aZq_5WogtVjj8zUeRKQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1560/Japon3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="1560" height="139" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W1V_vxEMGkM/YKFRDTky6lI/AAAAAAAAE9U/QR1VJzmkIYMnh_aZq_5WogtVjj8zUeRKQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h139/Japon3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and Ascen the intensely religious widow,<br />who believes in caring for others and loving all<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>inally, why title the film as “Japan,” most
viewers would ask when there is no apparent connection to that country. Would
it be hara-kiri? Or is it that the landscape of this far away non-descript Mexican
village offers a transcendental beauty with all its stones, trees and cacti connects
with Japan in some obscure manner for one to commit suicide? When the painter
does attempt suicide, it is on a cliff where a horse lies dead. Is the painter
a famous one? Is the book of paintings that he carries in his backpack related
to him? There is no clue offered in the film except that he is excited that his
benefactor widow found one painting in the book to be very nice and he wanted
her to reveal that particular painting to him.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zl3V4v0LGO4/YKFSc8y36vI/AAAAAAAAE9k/cBdt9y1UZDsPXesMvnEikD3TkBJjQgC1ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1581/Japon4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="1581" height="134" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zl3V4v0LGO4/YKFSc8y36vI/AAAAAAAAE9k/cBdt9y1UZDsPXesMvnEikD3TkBJjQgC1ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h134/Japon4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Assimilating the stones and the trees,<br />the inanimate and the animate</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R5MakeXA0-E/YKFbAryNR7I/AAAAAAAAE-Y/MAPDza7aoHAjVhevnLDnPtsR0BH5yfz-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1573/Japon10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="1573" height="133" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R5MakeXA0-E/YKFbAryNR7I/AAAAAAAAE-Y/MAPDza7aoHAjVhevnLDnPtsR0BH5yfz-wCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h133/Japon10.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The painter and a child--children are important<br />in Reygadas' films <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The suicide attempt
triggers off a latent sexual urge and a possible desire to continue living. His
benefactor, Ascen, is a much older widow than the painter and she offers him food
and shelter in her stone barn where her dead husband used to sleep. Ascen is a
devout Catholic and explains to the painter that her name is related to the
ascension of St Mary as distinct from ascension of Jesus Christ and even offers
to pray for the painter, when he indicates that he is not religious. But a bond
grows and a particular scene shows her physical trust in the painter as she
extends her hand to him and offers to wash his clothes. That gesture of relationship gradually grows into a physical one with the painter.</span></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3pXnf33_YHk/YKFV3qX4FvI/AAAAAAAAE-A/fJ4tgjtY1IIXW9tOXp86HXIGY9eEenDNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1257/Japon1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="1257" height="149" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3pXnf33_YHk/YKFV3qX4FvI/AAAAAAAAE-A/fJ4tgjtY1IIXW9tOXp86HXIGY9eEenDNgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h149/Japon1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post suicide attempt, the painter lies next to <br />a dead horse</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CKEmjzZHVVQ/YKFY3i0FAEI/AAAAAAAAE-Q/OBvm7SHebb4uy8uTfC0aqPyyOOudubgegCLcBGAsYHQ/s1262/japon8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="1262" height="151" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CKEmjzZHVVQ/YKFY3i0FAEI/AAAAAAAAE-Q/OBvm7SHebb4uy8uTfC0aqPyyOOudubgegCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h151/japon8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dead Ascen wearing the painter's jacket,<br />a "suicide" with a cosmic, religious tinge</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span> subplot of a
devious nephew of Ascen to deprive her ownership of the stone barn so that he could sell the stones, leads to the painter pointing out that that the barn legally belongs to her. Ascen does not resist the nephew’s wiles. Her visit to the village
church service/mass and her body language would appear as distant parallels to Jesus’ final days on
earth. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Jap</b><b>ón </b>starts as a man wanting to end his life. <b>Jap</b><b>ón </b>ends with amazing actions of love and a heavenly
design of ascension of the pure in heart. Ascen, in the film, is developed as an
individual with characteristics close to the Martha of the Gospels, for
viewers familiar with the scriptures, providing food with love to workers who are demolishing her barn and food for a stranger staying under her roof, without being asked. Reygadas might not be religious, overtly.
Yet his films show a depth of religious comprehension (biblical names of his films' characters and the term "post tenebras lux" used as a film's title are examples) that few other film directors exude. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Reygadas can and will unsettle the purist, with his unorthodox content. Reygadas does it for a reason. When crockery falls off a table suddenly, a viewer will recall Tarkovsky's <b>Stalker </b>where a glass of water falls off a table--but here Reygadas relates it to the demolition of the barn, drawing the viewer's attention to the evil designs of those who only think of themselves while amassing lucre. Reygadas infuses philosophy, politics, racial harmony and uplifting innocence of children in his films, recalling the works of Tarkovsky, Paradjanov, Kozintsev, Kiesolwski, Olmi, Ruiz, Malick, and Kawase. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>P.S. </i>Japón</b><i> only<b>
</b>won a Cannes film festival special mention but won significant awards
elsewhere: Grand Prize at the Bratislava international film festival, the Best
Director awards at the Thessaloniki and the Edinburgh international film
festivals, and the Best First Work award at the Havana international film
festival and the Audience award at the Stockholm film festival. Reygadas’ later
feature films </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2008/01/52-mexican-film-director-carlos.html">Silent Light</a></b><i> and </i><b><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2013/01/137-mexican-director-carlos-reygadas.html">Post Tenebras Lux</a> </b><i>have been
reviewed earlier on my blog. The film</i><b> Jap</b><b>ón </b><i>replaces Reygadas' </i><b>Post Tenebras Lux </b>on the
<a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/my-best-100-movies.html">author’s top 100 films</a> list. Reygadas, for this author, is one of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/list/ls064262544/">the 15 best living-and-active film directors today.</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nexP8ubLkxQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zovvxouEpg8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-52459271554847487112021-04-06T22:46:00.004+05:302021-04-07T19:06:12.654+05:30262. Spanish film director Oliver Laxe’s film “O Que Arde” (Fire Will Come) (2019), based on the original co-scripted screenplay of Santiago Fillol and the film’s director Laxe: Unusual film with very few spoken lines preferring instead to communicate with visuals of nature and a cocktail of sounds (diegetic, composed music and exceptionally alluring sound mixing)<blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uOp7qWdIxf4/YGyMyUO0nZI/AAAAAAAAE6s/94I1aZG-_kgfi6-dUEwouRmh2I6oBOs9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s625/Fire.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="437" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uOp7qWdIxf4/YGyMyUO0nZI/AAAAAAAAE6s/94I1aZG-_kgfi6-dUEwouRmh2I6oBOs9ACLcBGAsYHQ/w224-h320/Fire.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></p></blockquote><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“If they hurt others,
it’s because they hurt, too.”-- </i>Benedicta, mother of Amador, responding to
Amador’s comment on the root formation of the Eucalyptus tree, a tree that can
cause explosive burning during forest fires, a metaphor of trees used in the
film to describe human behavior</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> ****</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“They told you about
me?” </i>Amador to Elena<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Yes, but..well, you
know how people are.” </i>Elena’s response</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>n a 2021 interview for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">American
Cinematheque, </i>Russian film director Andrei Konchalovsky stated “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sometimes silence is better than action</i>.”
That is a comment applicable to Oliver Laxe’s film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Fire Will Come</b>.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>The lead
character Amador rarely speaks but his body language and the soundtrack do the
talking, not words. Laxe’s film urges the viewer to explore the soundtrack that
is expressive and offers much food for thought for an attentive viewer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The film opens with a night sequence of a bulldozer with
headlights switched on relentlessly mowing down eucalyptus trees until it comes
up against a massive oak tree in its path. The bulldozer stops as if the
majestic tree had commanded it to stop. The viewer never sees the driver of the
bulldozer. The reason for the bulldozer mowing down the eucalyptus trees in a
straight line is not spoonfed to the viewer. One has to figure out the puzzle
from the clues that the script leaves for the attentive viewer to pick up. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GpdE6XDj6Yk/YGyPB0UuePI/AAAAAAAAE68/3PMXNleCeXYkL9-wfkg-gJ72yZuVGxU8wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/fire1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1200" height="257" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GpdE6XDj6Yk/YGyPB0UuePI/AAAAAAAAE68/3PMXNleCeXYkL9-wfkg-gJ72yZuVGxU8wCLcBGAsYHQ/w390-h257/fire1.jpg" width="390" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amador (son), Benedicta (mother) and dog--<br />discussing trees of the forest</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he film has three major characters: Amador (actor Amador
Arias), Amador’s mother Benedicta (actress Benedicta Sanchez) and the veterinarian
doctor Elena (actress Elena Mar Fernandez). Amador, early in the film is
introduced being released from prison after serving a sentence for apparently
causing a forest-fire. As he is a man of few words, the viewer has to depend on
the villager’s point of view that he is actually an arsonist. Amador does not
have a wife; he lives with his old mother, who is possibly a widow. They have a
few milch-cows and a dog. An accident to one cow leads to Dr Elena visiting
their home to treat their cow’s injured leg. Elena indicates her interest in
Amador, but the taciturn man is guarded in his response to her overture of
playing Leonard Cohen’s song <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Suzanne </i>while
driving in Elena’s vehicle<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OMv4Y8wlkDQ/YGyS9CD7S9I/AAAAAAAAE7c/gRRyuS5ulc0QyYRHJP1A2sN8MmXBQ1cdgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/fire2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OMv4Y8wlkDQ/YGyS9CD7S9I/AAAAAAAAE7c/gRRyuS5ulc0QyYRHJP1A2sN8MmXBQ1cdgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/fire2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Benedicta enjoying the tranquility of<br />living on the edge of the forest</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">More details about Amador are progressively revealed in the
film. He is aware of various scientific details of the eucalyptus tree in his somewhat
cryptic conversation with his mother. He is well aware that the eucalyptus tree is Australian in origin, and was accidentally introduced into the forest near
his Spanish village, possibly by travelling earthmoving equipment. He is even
aware of the structure of roots of the eucalyptus, in his brief comments to his
mother. One can only surmise that he would also know that species only increases
the threat to a forest prone to forest fires. Was mowing down of eucalyptus
trees, at the beginning of the film, a pro-active action to protect the forest
from fire? The viewer has to complete the jigsaw puzzle in the Laxe film.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ln9uZy9bZUI/YGyRU3SbHbI/AAAAAAAAE7M/KozQY_hNc8AJHzu_fGC2FSlk-0RdU7kPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/fire3.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ln9uZy9bZUI/YGyRU3SbHbI/AAAAAAAAE7M/KozQY_hNc8AJHzu_fGC2FSlk-0RdU7kPwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/fire3.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Firefighters trying to control fire with fire</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>t is indeed unusual when the film’s script has actors
making their film debut playing roles that have their own names—an unusual
decision taken by the director and his co-scriptwriter. Amazingly and
deservedly, both Amador and Benedicta have received acting awards for their
debut performances in this film. But it is not Amador and Benedicta alone that
make the film interesting.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Laxe’s film is a wonderful example to study the importance
of the soundtrack in a film, an aspect that is often overlooked. Most viewers
would easily pick up the importance of the Leonard Cohen song, essentially a
song recalling a lover called Suzanne, spiked with Christian theology. Some viewers
attuned to Western classical music would identify Vivaldi’s “Cum Dederit” from the
larger composition <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nisi Dominus</i> play
on the film’s soundtrack. Fewer would know that both Handel and Vivaldi
composed their versions of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nisi Dominus</i>
in the context of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Psalms 127</i> in the
Bible. Now <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Psalms 127</i> relate to God’s
plan. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Psalms 127</i> discuss the
anxiety in persons affected by reliance on their work experience and contrasts
it with God’s gift of sleep to his loved ones who leave it all to Him to
configure. The possible evidence of Laxe’s choice of this specific piece of
Vivaldi is mirrored in the film when the mother Benedicta goes looking for her
son Amador one morning because he had looked worried the previous night, and
finds him in deep slumber in the driver’s seat of his van instead of sleeping in the house.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HGnOuQCcLU0/YGyQomMaFqI/AAAAAAAAE7E/oEJc7qDdI54AWtsB9V7EL3lf5qIrn0QswCLcBGAsYHQ/s499/fire5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="499" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HGnOuQCcLU0/YGyQomMaFqI/AAAAAAAAE7E/oEJc7qDdI54AWtsB9V7EL3lf5qIrn0QswCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fire5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amador driving his vehicle and reflecting <br />on the forest reflected on the windshield</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXYWwik89rs/YGyTq8tbVdI/AAAAAAAAE7k/CTxZtWDJbFUgmT5asrTcJrVVUTCvcwCuwCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/Fire6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="768" height="308" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXYWwik89rs/YGyTq8tbVdI/AAAAAAAAE7k/CTxZtWDJbFUgmT5asrTcJrVVUTCvcwCuwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h308/Fire6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amador gets set to meet the vet Elena,<br />only to realize that the villagers have influenced her <br />with their opinions that he is a pyromaniac</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">H</span>owever, it is not Leonard Cohen’s lyrics and the choice of Vivaldi’s
composition alone that makes the soundtrack of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Fire Will Come</b> rewarding. The control of the forest fire sequences play
out Georg Friedrich Haas’ avant garde composition <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Konzert fur Posuane und Orchestra</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with top-notch sound mixing by composer and
sound mixer Xavi Font. For those readers who are interested, the Haas
composition in a concert hall is appended to this review to contrast it with Xavi
Font’s contribution of the same piece in the film.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jewpO0ZeIJ0/YGySCq9P06I/AAAAAAAAE7U/1bv4GbCKLQ00ySXC3FCqc8TjrEJzRtWmQCLcBGAsYHQ/s624/fire4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="624" height="216" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jewpO0ZeIJ0/YGySCq9P06I/AAAAAAAAE7U/1bv4GbCKLQ00ySXC3FCqc8TjrEJzRtWmQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h216/fire4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mother Benedicta takes cover from the rain <br />under the shade of an oak tree, possibly the one<br />shown at the start of the film </td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>part from the soundtrack, it is the long reflective
silences in the film that add to the effect. Was Amador driving the bulldozer
in the night? Was the oak tree that stopped the bulldozer the same tree that
gives Benedicta cover from the pouring rain? Could Amador who helps clear a blocked
canal for the entire village selflessly be attacked a few days later by the
same villagers for the final forest fire for which he was clearly (at least for
the viewers of the film) not responsible? Perhaps the eucalyptus tree does hurt
other trees for a reason, as Benedicta figured. The award-winning screenplay, the
film’s direction and cinematography, sound mixing and the debut performances of
the lead actors make the film outstanding for any serious cinephile. Laxe,
Fillol and Font make a coherent and complete team. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One can
only wish for more exciting films from this talented team.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P.S. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Fire Will Come<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">won
the Cannes film festival’s Un Certain Regard Jury Prize, the well-deserved
Chicago international film festival’s Silver Hugo for Best Sound Design, the
Best Film and the Best Actor awards at the Thessaloniki international film
festival and the Best Film and the Best Screenplay awards at the Mar Del Plata
international film festival. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9BQevPcf08c" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4E463Olwo4s" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-11033847809603972202021-03-29T22:47:00.002+05:302021-04-02T17:23:16.168+05:30261. US film directors Cathy Allyn’s and Nick Loeb’s film “Roe v. Wade” (2021), based on their original co-scripted screenplay with co-scriptwriter Ken Kushner: A “right-to-life” view of the US Supreme Court decision made in 1973<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YzHovNX46nw/YGH2mp8MucI/AAAAAAAAE5I/x_tv5L72kFEE9sDV1WsRn768RPzCsptKgCLcBGAsYHQ/s765/Roe.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="530" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YzHovNX46nw/YGH2mp8MucI/AAAAAAAAE5I/x_tv5L72kFEE9sDV1WsRn768RPzCsptKgCLcBGAsYHQ/w445-h640/Roe.jpg" width="445" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">R</span>oe v. Wade </b>is a<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>2021<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>feature film<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>that
provides considerable insight from a pro-life point of view into a very important US Supreme Court
judgement given in 1973 that the Constitution of the United States “protects a
pregnant lady’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive
government restriction” (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wikipedia</i>).
Nearly five decades after that landmark ruling, the decision continues to be fervently
debated within USA, between the two main political parties of the country, between
church groups and women’s rights groups, and between the National Abortion
Rights Action League and the National Right to Life Committee, to mention just a
few. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-im-Y2_ZbD-0/YGH6rKfTtxI/AAAAAAAAE5Y/Zi68R4MS30AZSrAfgL4cDQ-jgQtverQzQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1294/Roe1.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="1294" height="173" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-im-Y2_ZbD-0/YGH6rKfTtxI/AAAAAAAAE5Y/Zi68R4MS30AZSrAfgL4cDQ-jgQtverQzQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h173/Roe1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">US Supreme Court Justices listening <br />to arguments...</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e4ZTft1LpCc/YGH8a88z-II/AAAAAAAAE5k/2hGavWZVAdYjz6_g5i8ukGC8dPB50nMoQCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="1286" height="169" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e4ZTft1LpCc/YGH8a88z-II/AAAAAAAAE5k/2hGavWZVAdYjz6_g5i8ukGC8dPB50nMoQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h169/image.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and discussing the case among themselves <br />outside the courtroom <br />(actors Forsythe, Portnow and Davi)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bEWCTGv2DUM/YGIAhzs7-JI/AAAAAAAAE5w/kDaJlhWbGP4fQkQWZ_sABGqPPCz7OTaYQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1264/Roe4.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="1264" height="164" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bEWCTGv2DUM/YGIAhzs7-JI/AAAAAAAAE5w/kDaJlhWbGP4fQkQWZ_sABGqPPCz7OTaYQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h164/Roe4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">US Supreme Court Chief Justice (Jon Voight)<br />in his chambers reflecting on the case</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cathy Allyn’s and Nick Loeb’s film takes the right to life
argument armed with lots of details from the genesis of the case when Jane Roe
(real name revealed much later as Norma McCorvey) became pregnant in 1969 with
her third child in Texas, where abortion was illegal, unless it was to save the
mother’s life. “Wade” refers to Henry Wade, the Texas district attorney, who
opposed the initial lawsuit of Roe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Roe’s child was born because the legal machinery took its time to come
to a decision. The Texas laws were challenged in the US Federal Supreme Court,
argued in December 1971, reargued in October 1972, and decided in January 1973.
The key players in the controversial case appear in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Roe v. Wade</b>, the film, portrayed by actors Jon
Voight (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Runaway Train; Deliverance</b>)
and Robert Davi (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Die Hard</b>) as key
Supreme Court Justices who contributed to the final 7-2 verdict in favor of
abortion. Nick Loeb, the co-director of the film, acts in the role of the real Dr
Bernard Nathanson, who made considerable money from conducting some 6000
abortions and was an abortion rights activist initially but eventually converts
to a pro-life activist, authoring a book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Silent Scream. <o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5VdvqBtWnmA/YGICESaqGRI/AAAAAAAAE54/ev68CGqDTL4JlDC0bkmBASIOKZXlrmsHACLcBGAsYHQ/s1271/Roe6.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="1271" height="165" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5VdvqBtWnmA/YGICESaqGRI/AAAAAAAAE54/ev68CGqDTL4JlDC0bkmBASIOKZXlrmsHACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h165/Roe6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr Nathanson (Nick Loeb) conducting legal <br />abortions in New York </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Roe v. Wade </b>is
useful viewing for those who are not aware of the background of the famous
Supreme Court judgement. Where the film treads on disputable territory are the
conversations between the Justices amongst themselves and within their families,
which are conjectured by the scriptwriters (on the basis of various writings,
they claim) but are not real, leading up to their final judgement. For viewers, their ability to sift facts from fiction, will be key to their assessment of the film
for themselves. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While viewing the film, a perceptive viewer will note Dr
Nathanson walking up to the altar of an empty church orally and rhetorically
questioning God followed by a scene of his eventual adult baptism, which are
scenes that underscore the Church support for this pro-life film. It is also a
film that will recall for the viewer the importance of the recent controversy
of political appointments to the US Supreme Court. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pn9eKGgr68w/YGIEaHlk9jI/AAAAAAAAE6A/9zBTVpV0sEoamQCruFTNNhLn2csWtmPAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1277/Roe7.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="1277" height="165" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pn9eKGgr68w/YGIEaHlk9jI/AAAAAAAAE6A/9zBTVpV0sEoamQCruFTNNhLn2csWtmPAwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h165/Roe7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr Nathanson getting baptized <br />following a U-turn in his beliefs on abortion</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>o evaluate the true merits of the film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Roe v. Wade</b> one could compare and contrast the implicit arguments
in a recent US film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Never Rarely
Sometimes Always</b> (2020) directed by Eliza Hittman—a film that won the Berlin
International Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize, the Sundance Film Festival’s
Special Jury Prize, and two honors from the US National Board of Review. Ms
Hittman’s independent film is not just artistically superior to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Roe v. Wade</b> but puts forward the
travails of a young pregnant woman, who wishes to abort her foetus in the US State
of Pennsylvania, without parental consent, but cannot do so and subsequently travels
to New York for the abortion with limited financial resources. The problems of
a young mother who wishes to abort her foetus in a geographical territory that
considers it totally illegal is probably best conveyed in the 2007 Romanian
film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days </b>depicting
abortions conducted<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>under covert
conditions increasing the danger to the mother’s life—a film<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>that won the Golden Palm at the Cannes
International Film Festival and 41 other awards worldwide, including one from
the US National Board of Review.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If one cares to look closely at Allyn’s and Loeb’s cleverly
crafted film, the pro-abortionist advocates (Dr Nathanson in his early phase,
Larry Lader, Betty Friedan) are developed as prospectors for money and personal
acclaim, with Dr Nathanson taking a U-turn on his perspective on abortions towards the end. In spite of the salted
script, the actress Lucy Davenport playing the feisty Ms Betty Friedan stood out among the
rest. The changes in Dr Nathanson’s views are subtly accompanied by physical
changes for the better as the film progresses as though the film was nudging
the viewer to like the person as he evolves within the film. (Of course, the
version this critic viewed was a rough cut and may differ from the final
released version.) </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>ll in all, the filmmakers behind <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Roe v. Wade</b>, the film,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>have<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>displayed some talent and have done a
good deed in trying to inform a wider public of how the Supreme Court arguments
are made and the process of its Justices arriving at a decision. Whether the
filmmakers who made <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Roe v. Wade</b> can
make films in future that transcend their personal agenda and avoid making incredible
statements such as major US newspapers and magazines can be manipulated to rely
on unverified sources of information, or include images suggesting Margaret
Sanger, a birth control activist, as a Ku Klux Klan supporter (which innocent
viewers might believe to be a fact) only the future can tell.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P.S. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Roe v Wade<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">has
won several minor awards including a “Cannes world festival” award for best
historical film from IMDB (not to be confused with the prestigious awards of
the Cannes International Film Festival of France). <o:p></o:p></i></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HUkEpm8kPyQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://feedjit.com/serve/?bc=ffffff&tc=494949&brd1=336699&lnk=494949&hc=336699&ww=160"></script><noscript><a href="http://feedjit.com/">Feedjit Live Website Statistics</a></noscript></div>Jugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-74581380312684624982021-01-28T22:52:00.007+05:302021-01-29T09:29:04.780+05:30260. Côte d’Ivoire’s (Ivory Coast’s) film director Philippe Lacôte’s second feature film “La Nuit des Rois” (Night of the Kings) (2020), based on his original script: A significant prison film underscoring the power of storytelling and magic realism from the African Continent<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x2RUbVfRic8/YBLgJEcOHLI/AAAAAAAAEzY/62Bic6vyAeEqSNjbxQS8h60XFrfI-CTXACLcBGAsYHQ/s160/Night%2BKings.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="107" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x2RUbVfRic8/YBLgJEcOHLI/AAAAAAAAEzY/62Bic6vyAeEqSNjbxQS8h60XFrfI-CTXACLcBGAsYHQ/w268-h400/Night%2BKings.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I don’t make a lot of
films...I can only shoot what is essential to me”</i> </p></blockquote><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">--Director </i><i>Philippe Lacôte</i> <i>in an interview to CNN titled "Machetes and Microbes: Why </i><i>Philippe Lacôte's Prison Drama Cuts Close to the Bone" (September 8, 2020) </i></p><h2 style="margin-top: 0cm;"><i><span><p class="MsoNormal"><i> </i> </p></span></i></h2></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>rench-Ivorian filmmaker Philippe Lacôte has made two
feature films <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Run</b> (2014) and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Night of the Kings</b> (2020), both
officially submitted to the Oscar’s foreign language category by Côte d’Ivoire
(former name: Ivory Coast), in respective years. Both films provide a marriage
of documentary and narrative fiction styles, and both have international actors
of repute playing major roles. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Run</b>
has Côte d’Ivoire-born Isaach de Bankole (Jim Jarmusch’s actor in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Limits of Control/Coffee and
Cigarettes/Ghost Dog-The Way of the Samurai</b>; Claire Denis’ actor in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">White Material/ Chocolat</b>) and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Night of the Kings</b> has Denis Lavant (Leos
Carax’s actor in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Holy Motors/The Lovers
on the Bridge</b>); Claire Denis’ actor in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Beau
Travail</b>) working alongside local non-professionals with elan.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nkns1c4ZRV0/YBLk10koAfI/AAAAAAAAEzk/MAaPnGh_Vec7eRZeN6JYvcVtxqCM7ESJwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1465/Night%2BKings4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="1465" height="168" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nkns1c4ZRV0/YBLk10koAfI/AAAAAAAAEzk/MAaPnGh_Vec7eRZeN6JYvcVtxqCM7ESJwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h168/Night%2BKings4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Roman viewing the MACA prison's <br />exteriors on arrival</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Night of the Kings </b>is
a film about the first day and night of a new prisoner, whose real name is
never revealed/mentioned in the entire film, in Côte d’Ivoire’s infamous prison
called La MACA (Maison d'Arrêt et de Correction d'Abidjan). It is an unusual
prison—it functions as an open prison, within a closed well-guarded perimeter
walls. The prisoners are governed, not by the armed police stationed outside
but by a prison inmate who is given the title of Dangoro by other prisoners.
The Dangoro (Steve Tientcheu,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who had a
meaty role in 2019 film directed by Ladj Ly called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Les Miserables</b>, an Oscar nominated and Cannes Jury award-winning
film) rules over other inmates in accordance with <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>internal rules, laws, and beliefs that one
guesses evolved over time by the prisoners. The official prison
warden/officials, armed with guns, merely keep watch through small slits in the
wall at a vantage point. As the new prisoner is brought to the prison in an
open truck with an armed guard seated next to him, the Dangoro assesses the
young man who might be 20-years old or even less and announces the new prisoner
is the “Roman.” The viewer gradually learns the import of the strange baptized
name Roman. A Roman, in the prison, has to wear an impressive gown and narrate
tales the entire night to all the Roman’s prison cohabitants just as
Scheherazade did to survive in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Thousand
and One Nights</i>. In Roman’s case, he learns he has to keep his listeners transfixed
overnight<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>to see the sunrise the next
day.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JX4t6peO5ZE/YBLl1YLt2zI/AAAAAAAAEzs/fIlIFKGcVAItsNCJXAS5bqZvuOVUAE1eQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1454/Night%2BKings2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1454" height="168" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JX4t6peO5ZE/YBLl1YLt2zI/AAAAAAAAEzs/fIlIFKGcVAItsNCJXAS5bqZvuOVUAE1eQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h168/Night%2BKings2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ailing Blackbeard is the Dongoro, facing <br />challenge to his leadership in the MACA</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>hile many viewers will be enraptured by the Roman’s innovative
ability to narrate interesting tales woven from his knowledge of Ivorian
contemporary street conflicts and his ability to recall Ivorian oral history
and tales narrated by his elders as he grew up, the original script of director
Lacôte, mirrors more than its face value. What the Roman narrates is a close
examination of the violence in Côte d’Ivoire after and between the two civil
wars (2002-2007 and 2010-2011), the reasons for that violence, the historical
seeds sown over centuries in the minds of Ivorian inhabitants that contribute
to the recurring waves of violence, and the internal contemporary politics of
the country stated with skill and some camouflage through the Roman’s seemingly
innocent storytelling and the parallel events in the prison relating to
politics to dethrone the ailing Dongoro and Dongoro’s own plans for his final
end-game in line with the internal codes of MACA evolved over time by the
prisoners. All this is observed by the warden and his officials and they act as
traditional neo-colonial rulers do with knee-jerk reactions, seemingly unable
to comprehend the ground complexities.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mfQed2Rq7iU/YBLo3HHVYlI/AAAAAAAAE0E/lfNgT254uvAU9T3JzI4IShTGw9GCAGU5QCLcBGAsYHQ/s600/Night%2BKings1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mfQed2Rq7iU/YBLo3HHVYlI/AAAAAAAAE0E/lfNgT254uvAU9T3JzI4IShTGw9GCAGU5QCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/Night%2BKings1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Roman narrates his stories, wearing the <br />Roman's fine attire as other prisoners listen</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">To comprehend the full import of the film, an unusual
external event preceding the release of the film, publicized by CNN news
channel referred above, needs to be kept in perspective. In December 2019, the
film’s director Philippe Lacôte was attacked in the night on the streets of
Abidjan (capital of Côte d’Ivoire, by a youth gang armed with machetes referred
to in the film as the “microbes,” one of which the Roman in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Night of the Kings</b> was purported to
have been a member) leaving director Lacôte with injuries on head, hand, and
leg that requiring three medical operations to recover somewhat and release the
film. Mr Lacôte is an admirable filmmaker crafting his own screenplays. His
screenplay for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Night of the Kings</b> is
entrenched with Ivorian truths, history and folklore that could be allegorical
as well. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W9vxGYV-xw8/YBLrCFyXyWI/AAAAAAAAE0U/X9UQnHaVDTM35zkg2xDqJgNrk7xvm7OoACLcBGAsYHQ/s1430/Night%2BKings8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="1430" height="171" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W9vxGYV-xw8/YBLrCFyXyWI/AAAAAAAAE0U/X9UQnHaVDTM35zkg2xDqJgNrk7xvm7OoACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h171/Night%2BKings8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silence (Denis Lavant)<br />comes to Roman's rescue<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YgFpndFDIs4/YBLsCznm23I/AAAAAAAAE0k/FqErC0fCsBgCJeVpsizRWb_MO8uhRe3ggCLcBGAsYHQ/s1460/Night%2BKings6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="1460" height="170" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YgFpndFDIs4/YBLsCznm23I/AAAAAAAAE0k/FqErC0fCsBgCJeVpsizRWb_MO8uhRe3ggCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h170/Night%2BKings6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silence helps Roman with ideas to extend his tales<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />I</span>n order to survive, the Roman begins by narrating somewhat
real events of Zama King, a contemporary leader of microbes, who he is supposed
to have killed, when his real crime was mere pick-pocketing. In order to lengthen
the story telling, the Roman goes back several years describing Zama King and
his blind father in rural Côte d’Ivoire, attacked by armed groups. At the
behest of a well wisher called Silence (Denis Lavant) walking with a hen on his
shoulder in the MACA jail, the Roman adds new characters in Ivorian folklore,
Barbe Noire, a queen with magical prowess, accompanied by soldiers set in a
time zone several centuries prior to the present day. And while Roman is
keeping the prisoners distracted with the stories, there are murders, suicides
and power games among the prisoners to replace the ailing Dangoro on a full
moon night with a new one. Perhaps the goings-on within MACA reflect the
turmoil of Côte d’Ivoire’s socio-political scenario in recent years that forced
the African Development Bank to move its headquarters from Abidjan to Tunisia in
2003 until its eventual return to Abidjan in 2014.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ncfObDPurVg/YBLueeGux5I/AAAAAAAAE04/n4x7FgMKCXU7c6RRIczcyQ8Bh6rJZNqfgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1454/Night%2BKings5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="1454" height="168" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ncfObDPurVg/YBLueeGux5I/AAAAAAAAE04/n4x7FgMKCXU7c6RRIczcyQ8Bh6rJZNqfgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h168/Night%2BKings5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Ivorian queen with an unusual head dress, <br />accompanied by her armed soldiers, <br />is one of the riveting tales of the Roman</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />D</span>irector Lacôte has written the script with intimate
personal knowledge of the MACA prison. When he was a child, Lacôte’s mother was
a political prisoner in MACA and he would travel in public vehicles to meet
with her inside the “open prison” depicted in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Night of the Kings</b>.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>According
to Lacôte, the ritual of a “Roman” telling stories is real but in reality the “Roman”
is never killed. A quarter of the cast of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Night
of the Kings</b> was made up of former MACA inmates to lend authenticity to the
film. Lacôte’s screenplay and the film’s French title further suggests similarities
with the Shakespearean play <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Twelfth
Night</i>, where the servants play the masters in a flow of licensed disorder,
just as the Roman holds court while narrating the tales in the MACA. Young Lacôte
apparently noticed some of elements of power play within MACA on his visits to
meet his imprisoned mother. The screenplay also uses the ancient Greek theatre
elements of the chorus as groups of prisoners sing and chant elements of Roman’s
tale in an impromptu fashion. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iOhVwtbH_D4/YBLtcVq8iTI/AAAAAAAAE0w/0vPP7EXt1Zc_2LJXtTD90EDKBxShT4XCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1452/Night%2BKings7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="1452" height="170" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iOhVwtbH_D4/YBLtcVq8iTI/AAAAAAAAE0w/0vPP7EXt1Zc_2LJXtTD90EDKBxShT4XCgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h170/Night%2BKings7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The survivor</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>hile director Lacôte’s film harks back to Middle Eastern
roots of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">One Thousand and One Nights, </i>another
African film <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sleepwalking Land</b> made
in 2007 in Mozambique, directed by Teresa Prata, adapted novelist Mia Couto’s
novel of the same name adding Ms Prata’s personal nods to Melville’s Moby Dick
and a distant alluded equivalent of Captain Ahab. So too did French director Claire
Denis while cleverly adapting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Melville’s
Billy Budd in her remarkable film <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b>Beau
Travail </b>(1999),</span> set in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa. All the three films, by
three different directors, deal with Africa and the colonial influences in that
wonderful, diverse continent. Cinema is able to link them all together like
beads in a necklace. Recent films from Africa that include <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection </b>(2019)<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>from Lesotho<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Night of the Kings </b>from
Côte d’Ivoire signify that the continent is proudly exhibiting a resurgence in
quality films from unexpected countries not often associated as sources of
impressive indigenous cinema.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">P.S. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Night of The Kings </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">has won two Silver Hugo awards at the
Chicago international festival, one for its cinematography and one for its
sound, the Amplify Voices award at the Toronto international festival,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the Artistic Achievement award at
Thessaloniki (Greece) film festival. The films </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2020/11/259-lesothos-film-director-lemohang.html">This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection</a> </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(2019)</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2008/02/58-portuguese-director-teresa-pratas.html">Sleepwalking Land</a> </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(2007) have been reviewed on
this blog earlier. (Click on the names of the films in the post-script to
access the reviews.) This film is one of the <a href="http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/p/the-authors-best-films-of-2020-ranked.html">author's top 15 films of 2020</a>. The author is one of the contributors of The Directory of World Cinema: Africa (Intellect Books), The author has had the privilege of having visited Côte
d’Ivoire in the Nineties, several times on official work to interact with African Development
Bank officials.<o:p></o:p></i></p>
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