Before the Rains
21 June, 2008
Santosh Sivan has made an almost note-perfect entry into the ever-growing compendium of third cinema inspections into the source, and subversion, of imperialist power in colonial states. The various power dynamics here- between British and Indian, between man and woman, between boss and employee, between man and wife, man and son- tell a tale of delicate balance, and of balance lost.
The primary power dynamic is between Henry Moores and T.K.; the English plantation owner and his Indian right hand man, a Western-educated man who has been occupied, as it were, by British ideals. The interactions between Moores and his wife; between Moores and Sajani, his housekeeper and illicit lover; between Moores and his wife; between Moores and the people of the village, and so forth, all serve to illustrate the same themes to different or lesser degrees.
The themes are, of course, familiar, but only because they must be. There is nothing else for them to be- the occupied colonies are, at a very basic level, all the same. And it is the variation on the themes that is interesting- in this case, an inspection of the damage wreaked by even the most benevolent power. Even a man viewed as gentle, and harmless, is rendered monstrous by his position of power.
And then, of course, there is the film as a visual thing. Sivan as a cinematographer is superb. While at times he is playful to the detriment of the work, generally the film is sumptuous and elegant- quite simply, utterly beautiful.
How to Conduct a Love Affair
21 June, 2008
This time through was both more and less painful. This perfect little piece of cinema is so achingly beautiful- the subtle colors and the subtle movements, the compositions reminiscent of Edward Weston or of Imogen Cunningham, the pacing reminiscent of nothing I can name save for the beating of my own heart. Like Peter Hutton, David Gatten works in presence and absence- that which is and that which is not. And David does it so very well.
Secret History of the Dividing Line
21 June, 2008
I am reminded of Barnett Newman’s Stations of the Cross, the Lema sabachthani, quite strongly. Liminal echoes carry throughout, one foot in public and another in private. The spaces between and behind are well established and forsaken until they are lifted up to the heavens and reborn- and the line that divides here and now from there and then is always wavering- at times more permeable than others.
Son of Rambow
17 June, 2008
I don’t want to analyze this one too hard, because I enjoyed it so much. I think I was in the mood for cute. There is a lot owed here to other directors and other films, of course- Wes Anderson springs to mind, as does The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys- and the aesthetic is a familiar one, though not yet entirely worn-out. As a whole the film rests on spindly legs, the threads that tie the segments together are very thin. There is more fluff than substance, but it is rare that music video directors make it in feature-length without feeling a bit vignette-y.
The majority of the charm comes from the relationship between the two boys- Lee Carter and Will Proudfoot- as the rest of the characters are fairly broad caricatures. The moments of childish innocence, Will’s quirky habits most especially, are delightful; and the depiction of kids’-world creativity is dead on. There is something to be said for letting the sheer joy of making something, anything, overwhelm you. If only they had managed to let that joy show through elsewhere, or had gotten someone other than their own characters to write THEIR plot, the boys of Hammer & Tongs would’ve been a bit more on top of the game.
Jeu
15 June, 2008
Georges Schwizgebel animates by painting on glass. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of paintings that morph, one into the next into the next. Jeu, with its Escher-feel, is the most geometric piece I have seen from him. But everything that I have seen from him is a beautiful circular carousel ride. Circuitous without becoming redundant. It feels, somehow, like a trance-song, intended to put one into a state of sublime bliss.
I would dearly love to see this piece on film, because digitally the textures are lacking and it feels like the depth of the paint is not captured. When I first saw La Course à l’abîme it was possible to see the shadows on the brushstrokes, and I have a feeling that this would be true of Jeu as well. But when something tastes as divine as this on a digital projection, it would be pure serene ecstasy to see it projected on film.
The Strangers
12 June, 2008
I was so irritated that we left an hour in. I don’t do that, generally. I’ve only walked out of two other films- The Ring 2 and War of the Worlds- and War of the Worlds was only because the projection was so bad it was making me nauseous. Anyhow. Liv Tyler is being her usual dull self, the suspense is almost entirely music-based, the ‘scares’ are all loud noises and nothing else. I don’t know when I’ve been so bored in a ‘scary’ movie. And I’m usually the one watching through my fingers.
Yawn.
The Animation Show
10 June, 2008
First off, I have to say that, while I love The Lyric, the projection on this was disappointing. Remind me not to see anything you guys are showing on DVD, okay? Also, matte your screen properly please, and put up something black behind your silvers so that I don’t get doubled text and bounceback glare. It’s annoying, and I’m spoiled rotten.
And now, on to the show. Which was also disappointing, but my expectations were WAY up after the last three. I suppose that MTV’s involvement was never going to bode well. I’m just gonna address each piece in order, I suppose. Though there are a couple of pieces that will get their own post later, as well.
Psychotown (Oranges):
Clever in the way that Australian animation tends to be- you are laughing, and you are not quite sure why. It could be the accents.
Burning Safari:
The animation wasn’t good enough to justify the one-liner of a gag that it turned out to be. Sad, because it had potential.
Yompi, the crotch-biting sloup:
From the people who brought you Ricky, even more obnoxious claymation. Ricky was funnier though. Much funnier. I do appreciate the work that goes into any sort of claymation, but can’t it have a payoff?
Operator:
This was honestly incredibly clever, well animated, expressive, and mildly touching. I really, really enjoy intra-frame reactions, and the cat was a clever one. Animation is exceptionally good at pulling off this sort of gag.
Mr. Scwartz, Mr. Hazen, and Mr. Horlocken:
The animation was exceptional for the most part, especially the POV bits. And the story made me laugh, though the end shot didn’t really need to happen. I could’ve done without certain extra MSPaint looking bits, but mostly it was really lovely.
Love Sport: Paintball:
Completely pointless and completely entertaining.
Angry Unpaid Hooker:
Falls in the Home Movies school of really amusing, deliberately poorly animated stories about complete misunderstandings. I love it.
Psychotown (Therapy):
The first mini-sode was cute, this one was brilliant.
Blind Spot:
The tendency of animation to exploit sight gags and little else notwithstanding, this piece was absolutely brilliant. Subtle, properly built-up, incredibly well animated. The interplay of the seen and the not seen is a lovely comment on the idea of filmmaking and the frame/window that is the screen. I’ll have more on this later.
Jeu:
In the first installation of The Animation Show, Georges Schwizgebel’s piece La Course à l’abîme utterly astounded me. His painted-on-glass animations are transcendent and mesmerizing, and compete with the work of Stacy Steers in terms of sheer devotion to the craft of animation. Again, there will be more on this piece later. Suffice it to say, I was blown away.
Prof. Nieto Show Ep. 1:
There is a good idea here. A great idea, even. But the execution is sorely lacking. At any rate, I look forward to seeing how Nieto evolves.
Voodoo:
Clever, light, and funny. Not much to it, but it was well animated and it made me laugh.
John and Karen:
Nick Park, by way of Creature Comforts, already did this sort of thing. And much better. It was sweet, but not much to look at.
(I didn’t catch the name of the next piece because the titles were HORRID):
It was about chickens. That’s about all I recall. Chickens in a race to see who can make it to the pressure cooker first. Not offensive, not memorable.
Key-lime Pie:
OK, death has a retractable scythe hidden inside a tommygun. I can get behind this. Kind of an amusing take on vice/virtue. The animation was very lovingly done.
Raymond:
Fabulous. Reminds me a bit of last year’s City Paradise. Very very well done, and incredibly funny. I’ll have to watch it again, of course, but I really liked what I saw.
Forgetfulness:
Totally charming. The animation (is that AfterEffects? I think it is) was a bit choppy, but nothing terrible. And I really enjoy the collision of animation and spoken poetry.
Psychotown (Coup):
Ok, so the first one was clever, the second one brilliant, and this one is astoundingly funny. Because re-creating the scene in The Wild Bunch where they all die… great idea.
Hot Dog:
Plympton’s little dog just tries so damn hard. I love Bill’s combination of utterly charming pencil animations and incredibly subtle lewdness. Well, occasionally subtle. Sometimes not so subtle.
USAvich:
So goddamn obnoxious that I want to remove my eyeballs and soak them in lye.
Western Spaghetti:
I lack fondness for PES. I don’t know quite why. I think perhaps it is my annoyance with the lack of depth displayed. Someone so clever ought to be going a little further than the visual riffs he seems stuck in.
This Way Up:
This piece owes a bit to Tim Burton, but it stands alone incredibly well. I love the pacing of it. Much less MTV than a lot of the other pieces, much more conducive to thought.
And that’s a wrap. I am disappointed that Don and Mike seem to be playing to their new-found MTV audience, because I hardly think that these are the best animated films to be found. And the programming was choppy at best- things could’ve been organized a bit better. But I thank them for it anyhow, because seeing Jeu was worth the rest.
My Blueberry Nights
1 June, 2008
Wong Kar Wai is much more interesting when he is working in Hong Kong. Also, I hate conversations that sound normal but are occurring on the other side of a pane of glass. With that much effort to be visually interesting, shouldn’t the sound be interesting as well? The visual gimmicks are overdone in a way that makes me think he is hiding something… in fact, he is hiding something. He is hiding his discomfort with the English language, hiding that he cannot seem to guide his actors properly, hiding a story that is generally either unbelievable or rather drab. But the blueberry pie is awfully pretty.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
28 May, 2008
I expected bad. I went in expecting the thing to be utter shit. I went in expecting the thing to make me shout at the screen, even. But I didn’t expect THIS bad. I kept wanting someone, maybe Indy himself, to look at the camera and say ‘I cannot believe you are watching this shit’. Unfortunately, instead, all I got was a bunch of poorly CGI’ed monkeys, some anthropomorphized prairie dogs, Shia the beef dressed up as Marlon Brando without the talent, swagger, or soul; and a reasonably good nap. John Hurt was, as always, emminently watchable; and Karen Allen has aged well. Harrison Ford, however, was airbrushed so much that every shot of his face is overexposed and his presence makes the lighting inconsistent from shot to countershot. And Cate Blanchett is the least believable Soviet ever, which is dismaying considering how lovely she is and my fetish for all things Russky.
I just don’t know what to think. It’s hardly even worth getting mad about, it’s so awful.
The Visitor
26 May, 2008
Be trained into docility, by yourself or by others. Your brain so accustomed to nothingness, to blankness, to mediocrity and blandness. You will never have the proper shock to bring you into humanity. You do not need to live your life because you have reached the point where all of your living is done. You are, in fact, American. You will not be questioned, not when you do nothing for your paycheck and not when you spend your evenings alone and not when you seem to utterly lack a soul. You Belong. You do not need to do aught for your belonging.
I do not understand what it is, not to Belong. Not really. But I will not idle simply because I can. I will not take my belonging as a given. I cannot take my belonging as a given. Belonging is not enough, and I am not convinced that it will not go away.
