Film Obsessions
[11/21/08] Rachel Getting Married - RGM has been without a doubt the finest film of 2008 I've had the chance to view. It's fine in the sense that I haven't been able to stop recommending it to friends and strangers, and so thought it would be a perfect candidate to write about as a film obsession.
If most people think of Anne Hathaway as the Princess Diary, as I am guilty of previously doing so, they will be in for a huge surprise when they see RGM. In this movie, Miss Hathaway indecisively puts an end to any questions as to whether or not she can act. It's a tough role to play without overdoing, but Hathaway nails it. A lesser actress would have easily been too hammy with the whole "drug problem/recovery" schtick, but Anne lays it on in just the right proportions. It's a much better non-adolcent world breakout role for her than her 30 seconds of glorified extra work in Brokeback.
The movie was written by legendary director Syndey Lumet's daughter, Jenny Lumet. Directed by the great Jonathan Demme. And shot by Declan Quinn. It feels like a documentary in the sense that we get an intimate peak into the lives of a family on the weekend of Rachel's wedding. Mom and dad are divorced, Rachel is the eldest daughter and is successful, Kym (Anne Hathaway) is the middle child and has been dealing with a drug problem for the last 10-15 years, and then, in allusion only, there is mention of a younger brother whom died some years back in a car accident. Reportedly, Kym was driving and was high.
The scenes feel as though they are snapshots, little memories, of events that happened during this weekend. Whether the events individually are significant or not is non-material as they all add up to form something greater than themselves alone can achieve. The movie, like the weekend, isn't really about Rachel getting married, although that does take place, it's more about the family coming to terms with Kym and her past.
My favorite scene in the whole movie is probably a 10 minute ordeal in which Rachel's husband-to-be, Sidney, played by Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, challenges his dad-to-be to a dishwasher loading contest. The entire scene has an incredibly real energy and feeling that one feels, perhaps the actors came up with it on the spot. In fact, much of the dialog and scenes seem to be this way, even though each word has obviously been scrupulously crafted, directed, and rehearsed numerous of times.
It's not an easy movie to digest. It is very emotionally taxing as you are part of the family and are engaged with them for the two hours that they air their dirty laundry and free themselves of some deeply repressed issues. Nonetheless, Rachel Getting Married is spectacular. Don't miss it.
[09/12/07] The Weather Underground - I first saw Underground when I was a junior in college, and it has been one of my favorite docs since. I caught it on PBS one night when I was flipping through the channels. Instantly, I was mesmerized. The images, the narration; both had this illusory feeling of a time and place that existed only in people's skewed recollection of not how things had happened, but of only how time had allowed them to remember things happening. But there it was on the screen in black & white, in color faded by time, in 16mm, in 8mm, documented by both professional observers and amateur participants. It was the '60s, and this stuff really took place. It was the US like I can't imagine it. There wasn't just talk of revolution; it was a revolution. Although, ultimately an unsuccessful one.
This documentary takes an intimate look back at the actions of a handful of 20 year old revolutionaries that could not just standby and allow the US government to go on with its unjust treatment of the poor, the black, and the Vietnamese. They started off peaceful, but when that got no one's attention, they resorted to another tactic; they would 'Bring the War Home.' Property was the target. They carefully made sure that no lives would be put in harm as time bombs were placed in government buildings across the US. An explosion would occur along with another communique from the Weathermen explaining why they had done it. The government had to listen, and the American people had to care about what was going on in society around them. But neither happened, and eventually the story of these revolutionaries was forgotten. The events that had occurred were buried by time. Few people of my generation have heard this story, but once you hear it, it will change you just as it changed me. I don't agree with the conclusion to engage in terrorist actions because of the feeling that peaceful protest isn't expeditious enough. Somewhere in the mass confusion of lost lives and the apparent effects of social injustice this group became misguided. Nevertheless, one can respect the idea of wanting to reduce the injustices inflicted upon the minorities by those in the ruling class.
[09/16/06] Tony Takitani - It's been way too long since I've posted a review on one of my obsessions, but this is a good one to start getting back into the groove with. This film was based off of a short story written by famed Japanese novelist, Haruki Murakami. It's one of the stories included in his new collection of shorts, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. The story itself is fairly intriguing and has a great moral to it. However, I don't think it would be an "obsession" had the story not been told in such a creative way. The whole film is only 1 hour 15 minutes long. It sounds short, but had it been longer it would have been too long, and had it been shorter, it had been too short. Director, Jun Ichikawa, made a perfect length film given the story he was telling. Although there is some, the dialogue is very sparse between the characters. Most of the story is told through the voice over of the narrator. We can assume that this narrator is Murakami himself. One of my favorite things was that at times characters would finish the narrators sentence and narrate their actions themselves. This would happen even when other characters were present, but no one seemed to care. It was very interesting. Also, I can't mention the film without saying something of the cinematography. In one word, poetic. The images of this film captures the hearts of the characters and the story itself. It's not pretentious or ambitious in the least. If eyes are the window to the soul, then the lens of Ichikawa's camera is the eyes of his characters. Wonderful film; can't wait to see it again and again.
[04/01/06] Baraka -
Baraka is a word that can be found in many cultures throughout the world. Although the exact meaning can be slightly different, most cultures agree that it represents something close to the meaning of the word, "blessing," in english.
This is one of those films that does not neatly fall into a little genre or category. It's definitely experimental, but it's also sort of documentary, except not in the conventional idea of documentary. It's about culture, religion, customs, goodness, evil, pleasure, survival... life. At its core, I guess it's about humanity.
Baraka was made in 1992 and directed by the cinematographer Ron Fricke. While watching it, you can tell that this guy is at heart a cinematographer. The film is all imagery. The central characters are the locations themselves. There is no dialog; only music. And the music has been composed to the action, to the camera movements, to the locations. Everything fits perfectly into this wild ride throughout different cultures and countries around the earth.
Although there is no dialog, there is still a very tight narrative structure. It was such an ambitious feat to make this film, but somehow Fricke was able to join together these images and tell a story without the use of words. At first I didn't know if it was going to be able to keep my attention, but after the first 15 minutes, I knew that I was not going to be able to look away for the next 75 (it's 90 minutes in length).
While watching it, I just kept thinking about the fact that the word Baraka looks so similar to Brakhage. I doubt it was intentional, but it does pay a nice little homage to the great experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage. You see, almost all of Brakhage's films had no dialog (actually, most had no sound whatsoever) and neither does Baraka. It should be noted, however, that Brakhage and Fricke are very very different filmmakers. Perhaps their only connection is their usage of dialogue, or rather the lack thereof.
I love the detail of the 65mm format used here. It makes Fricke's wide shots look breathtaking. I can only imagine what it would be like to see this thing at a theater, or better yet an IMAX. When watching it on small 27 inch television, it's hard to not constantly be wishing you could see the scene projected onto a huge screen. Another thing I really enjoyed was Frcike's use of time lapse. He implemented this rather over-done technique in a very creative fashion. A lot of "fast motion" stuff can be hokey, but not here.
This is one of the most fascinating films I've seen a while, and it is one that should not be passed over.
Do The Right Thing - I just picked up the Criterion edition of this one the other day. Two Christmas' ago I made a list of over 50 films that I had wanted to see over my winter break. Maybe it was a little ambitious, but I was only able to make it through about half of them. Do The Right Thing was one of the films on the list. I had watched about 20 minutes of it, but I didn't get it. I'm not sure if I just wasn't in the mood or what, but I wasn't connecting. So, I ejected it and decided to move on to another one on the list.
About 4 months later I had decided to revist the film and try it out again. This time I loved it. I couldn't get enough of it. I think I watched it twice in a row.
There's just something about the characters, the narrative structure, the colors, and the photography that draws you in. It's a realistic plot, shot in a real location, with characters that are just like people I know exist in real life, yet somehow it feels fictitious; somewhat surreal. It has this edge of stylization that makes it seem almost like theater.
The story is mainly about race relations between the african americans and italian americans on this one street in Brooklyn on the hottest day of the year. Temperatures are swelling and so are people's nerves. It's a great film that sparks much positive debate and discussion on this very important issue of racial prejudice from all wavelengths of the color spectrum.
I wonder, has much changed since '89 when it was first released? Probably not much, but hopefully we won't be able to say that within the next 15 years. This film is definitely in my top 10, perhaps my top 5. I urge anyone who has not seen it to go find it somehow. It's interesting how you can't really buy it in stores even though it was one of the most talked about films of that year. And it should have gotten best film at the Academy Awards, but that's sort of difficult when it's not even nominated. Fight the Power, and go see this movie.
Any Errol Morris Film - Ok, so it's not exactly a film. It's a filmmaker, or rather a filmmaker's entire body of work. Whatever it is, it's greater than a single film. Maybe it doesn't exactly fit in this section of my website, but I had to write about him somewhere. I'm sure the people who talk to me on a daily basis are absolutely sick of it, but I seriously can't stop talking about this guy. His films are all about completely original ideas, and are shot in a very distinct and innovative format. They are documentary style, but not always can they be easily classified as a documentary. He has broken almost every rule of cinema verite - the said formula for truth in documentary film. Perhaps, one of the most interesting factors in his films is the use of his Interrotron camera. Morris invented this camera that projects a live image of himself on a telepromter that the interviewee looks directly at and talks/responds to. The effect is a truly 1st person interview. You notice the difference too. His subjects aren't looking into a blank lens, or off the to the side of the camera. They're looking at the camera like it's another human being, and thus you feel as if they're talking directly to you.
His films range in topics from people who run pet cemeteries, to historical figures like Robert S. McNamara, and everything in between.
I first recognized his work at the 2002 Academy Awards. He had a short (click here to see it) that ran during the television broadcast. It had people talking about film and how much they love it, but the format was so unconventional and ingenious at the time that I had to find out who made the darned thing. And I did. I have sort of been following his career since, but have just recently began seeing some of his older stuff.
He's also about the most influencial commercial director there is. Remember the Academy Award thing I talked about earlier? Well, he used that idea and made the Apple Switch campaign. Remember, it had the people talking about how they switched to Apple from a PC with the plain white background and everything. Yeah, that was him. It might not sound so innovative now since EVERYONE (AMC, eHarmony, etc) has started to use that format. Even I'm guilty of it. Check out the 2002 Senior Video on my films page. I think I can justify it though, since I only copied his Academy film, not the switch ads like everyone else. What can I say, I know a good thing when I see it.
He also has made a bunch of awesome commercials for Nike, AIG, Citibank, Miller, Quaker Oats, and Cisco. I honestly believe he has contributed more in the areas of style and theme to documentary and commercial film than any other filmmaker has in the past 25 years. He is probably one of the most copied documentarians of all time.
My favorite films of his would have to be: "The Thin Blue Line," "Vernon, FL," "The Fog of War," and "Fast, Cheap, and out of Control." Go ahead, check out some of his stuff. You can see clips from his films, a bazillion of his commercials, aborted projects, and many articles he's written at his website - errolmorris.com.
Match Point - Good form, Woody; Good form. After about a decade and-a-half of mediocre/bad films, Woody Allen has finally decided to show us just why he's considered one of the all-time great American directors. Match Point is an amazing film about the old saying, "It's better to be lucky than good." Throughout the whole film I just kept thinking, "way to go Woody." I was so proud of him. It looked like a large scale, larger budget film, yet kept the feeling and content of a small indie flick. One noticeably different feature from other films of his is that the "Woody Allen" character was not present in the film in anyway. The central character, who is played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers (and strikes an amazing resemblance to Joaquin Phoenix), has none of Woody's characteristics and in no way could be considered anything like Allen himself, except maybe for the fact that they both like to read books about Doestevesky. Of course all of the character's conversations and the theme of the film itself dealt with many existential topics found throughout many of Allen's films. Usually he just uses these conversations as filler or to show the true shallowness of characters, but in Match Point he cleverly uses these conversations to contribute greatly to the theme and drive the plot. I don't want to give anything away, but it will keep you guessing with sheer suspense. Even though it shares many similarities with his Crimes and Misdemeanors and Hannah and Her Sisters, it is such a unique story, and it's told in a very creative way. Well done Mr. allen, you have created one of the best new films I've seen in a while.
By Brakhage: An Anthology - This is a collection of short films made by Stan Brakhage. He was an experimental filmmaker who started making shorts in '64 and continued to do so until his death in 2003. Visually, his work is stunning. Often resorting to unconventional methods such as painting film, taping moths' wings to film, using extrememly short cuts, etc. He is definitely an auteur who resisted anything that could ever be conceived as mainstream or commercial. One intrigueing aspect of almost all his films is that there is no sound whatsover. They are completely silent. Why? I don't know. Perhaps he didn't want anything to distract the viewer from the amazing visual display that he had composed. Whatever the reason, Brakhage was an amazing filmmaker, and his work, although not mainstream, cannot and should not be overlooked by any film enthusiast.
The Red Balloon - A short by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse. It's a wonderful story about a young boy and the balloon that he finds while walking down the street one day.
8 1/2 - Those who know me know I can't stop talking about this one. My favorite Fellini film, and one of my favorites of all time. You may have to watch it a few times to fully appreciate it, but it's well worth it. Fellini breaks ties with his realist roots - it's truly amazing how easily he transitions so seemlessly through dreams, fantasy, and the real.
The Paper Chase - Made in '73, this film is about a first year law student at Harvard Law School and all the trials that entails. The film itself is really good and entertaining. Great acting by Timmothy Bottoms (Sonny from The Last Picture Show) and John Houseman (who won an Oscar for his role). However, what makes me love it so much is Gordon Willis' cinematography. Willis, my 2nd favorite American DP (just behind Conrad Hall), painstakingly frames every moment into a perfect photograph. The colors, the shadows, movements, angles, everything is perfect.
Winterlude - An independent film by Baltimore local, Jonathon Schultz. It's very innovative in it's use of perspective by jumping from director, to actors, to cameraman (all who have cameras for whatever reason). We see the film through the eye of the lens held in the hand of each character. It feels like an early Cassavetes film (Shadows) mixed with 8 1/2 (because it's a film about filmmaking perhaps?). Whatever it is, I like it.
Born Into Brothels - An amazing documentary about a photographer, Zana Briski, who was living in the Red Light District of Calcutta trying to document the lives of prostitutes that lived there. While doing so, she established close relationships with the children of the prostitutes. She began teaching them how to use a camera and how to express themselves artistically through photography. This interaction with the children later developed into a struggle for her to get them out of poverty and that lifestyle. Her not-for-profit organization Kids With Cameras has lots of information on the documentary, the kids in the documentary, and the current status of what she is trying to do for the kids that were born into the brothels.
Random Rambles
Date Added: 03/20/06
This is just supposed to be like a short little journal/write-up to clarify some questions and bring to light the reasons behind my latest documentary, Independent Storytelling: folks and tales. I'm going to keep it true to a "journal/diary" form and not spellcheck it or anything. It's probably not going to even be proof read either. Whatever I write is what's going down, and there's no backspacing or re-editing later. It's going to be a total stream of consciousness thing like a real journal. So bear with me on my little experiment here...
The last week of February a local Frederick filmmaker, Pepi Singh Khara, contacted me and asked if I'd make a short film to screen before his feature, Footsie and the Toe, which was premiering March 11. I wasn't exactly sure what I'd make at first, but I'd been itching to make a documentary for a while.
I'm not really sure if the thing turned out to be a documentary so much as an editorial, though since I scripted everything out (besides the cultural sayings). Although, I'm sure most documentaries are scripted, but actually I'm not even sure.
Anyway, this doesn't even matter. Back to the story at hand... Pepi had given me only one stipulation. He had wanted my film to somehow prepare the audience in letting them know that indpendent film is not as perfect looking as hollywood produced films. I thought this could be fantastic criteria for a doc/editorial. So, I started thinking of all the things that were different about indpendent films and studio financed films.
Also, I found out that Pepi's feature was about an old Indian saying his grandmother used to tell him when he was a little boy living in India. In my Intercultural Communication class in college, I had remembered studying cultural sayings from Mexico. There were a bunch of them, so I figured most cultures probably have some set of interesting sayings. My goal was then to collect a bunch of these sayings given by people from the culture the saying came from. It was to be in a montage format, sort of like an Errol Morris commercial or something (see below in obsessions for Errol Morris).
I also wanted it to look like it was shot in a studio, and so I sort of needed a studio to do that. Well, I went over to the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center in downtown Frederick. The people over there are so awesome, they agreed to let me use their photography studio space for free. I think they were thinking, and actually I was too, that I'd only have to use it one day. I guess I didn't realize how hard it was to get people to actually show up. It ended up being a few days that I had to use the place cause I could totally not find people to put in this thing. I ended up using every resource I could think of. I asked all the people from other countries that I knew, I started asking people who knew people, I got a tip from a friend that there's a lot of foreigners that hang out at the bookstore at a college here in Frederick (Hood), I posted stuff on Craigslist, and eventually Chris Howell (whom also helped me out tremendously by carrying/setting up equipment, doing boom mic, really just being my right-hand man) and I went out to a bunch of ethnic restaurants in the area to ask the workers if they'd be interested.
Eventually, I started getting people scheduled, but let me tell you, it was no easy task. Thank you to all who did participate... it seriously helped me out more than you can imagine. Yeah, and also thanks again to the Delaplaine for letting me use that space, hopefully you don't feel like I took advantage of the situation.
So, now back to talking about writing this sucka. Sorry this is organized so poorly; it's really just stream of consciousness here. Once I figured out that I had wanted to collect these cultural sayings, and that I wanted to talk about independent film, I needed some sort of thread of coherence between the two. That's when I came up with the constituent element between these sayings and film. They are both stories. So that was sort of the driving force, the thesis, of the documentary - film is storytelling and cultural sayings are derived from storytelling. I feel like the connection was perhaps a little weak between the two, and that it could have somehow flowed a little better, but it is what it is.
Remember, I also had to talk about independent film vs. studio/hollywood. Since I was saying that filmmaking is storytelling, then decided that independent filmmaking was a truer, more sincere form of storytelling since those stories are often times more from the heart of a single person rather than a film written by the masses for the masses.
So there you have it, that was pretty much how this thing came to be. It was a fantastic experience to make which consumed about 2 entire (day and night) weeks of my life. I can't help but thank all the people involved from the amazing Rona who did the narration for the scripted part, to all the wonderful people that shared a cultural saying, to my crew, and those that lent me equipment to make this thing (I own no equipment).
I actually ended up shooting almost 3 hours of interviews. I really could have made this thing a lot longer and touched on other subjects as well, but I just didn't have the time slot for it. I found all the people and their cultures so fascinating. I hope that I have been able to share at least a glimpse of this with the audience.
I guess if I learned one thing from all this it would be that even though every culture is so different, we all have lots of crazy sayings. We probably don't know why or how they started, but if you think about it long and hard enough, I'm sure that you can learn something, no matter how crazy it sounds.
