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| marantzo |
 Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 9:45 pm |
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Guest
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| Or anti-christ, what have you. |
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| sioux |
| Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 9:48 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 802
Location: philly burbs
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| as long as you understand I'm not anti baseball. I'm rooting for my new city team at the moment, and the Phillies had an amazing afternoon. |
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| judithannie |
| Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 10:20 pm |
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Joined: 14 Aug 2004
Posts: 224
Location: Albuquerque NM
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sioux
Have you seen the British version of Fever Pitch - same name but it's about a crazed soccar fan played by Colin Firth. I really liked it. Two of my favorite films are High Fidelity and About a Boy and I'm looking forward to reading Hornby's new book - I think it's called "A Long Way Down." |
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| Marilyn |
| Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 8:39 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 8210
Location: Skokie (not a bad movie, btw)
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| We watched The Celluloid Closet the other night. This is the second time I've seen this wonderful documentary about depictions of homosexuality in the movies through the years. One thing I didn't fully grasp the first time I saw the film was that while early films were open about homosexual characters, these characters were virtually always portrayed as sissies. When I saw the Margaret Sullavan debut film, Only Yesterday, I was struck by how openly it depicted such subjects as unwed motherhood and homosexuality. On reflection, that film, too, indulged in the stereotype of the sissy. I loved Harvey Fierstein's comment, though, "I love the sissy. I am a sissy." |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 2:44 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9010
Location: Shanghai
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I've been on a mini-documentary binge.
In the Realms of the Unreal; Inside Deep Throat; Life + Debt
Realms of the Unreal was a pretty good documentary which makes some very good and some less than good choices. Having Dakota Fanning, age 7, narrate some of the film is a fairly inspired choice. First, because she does a heck of a job. But it's also unsettling in a way. Partly just to have such a young voice narrating, and partly due to the adult/sophisticated dialogue she handles. It is a good choice because Henry Darger's work itself is both intriguing and unsettling, and of course centers around young girls.
The idea to animate some of his paintings is similarly inspired. It makes his art become more cinematic by providing some (limited) action. And Darger himself was far from any kind of art purist, adapting tracing techniques, photo enlargements and whatever else worked to achieve his vision. And the limited animation comes in later in the film, after we have entered Darger's world and hopefully start feeling liek we are now in his mind.
Some things I didn't like: alot of the interviews were rather boring and uninformative. Largely because the few people who knew Darger had limited contact with him. Almost all of the interviews involved a close-up of a talking head usually located to the right of center. Visually rather dull, especially in a film about the eccentric inner-world and art of Darger. I'm not sure if they should have been sprouting cartoon ram's horns and butterfly wings or what, but there had to have been a more stimulating way to present these usually dull interviews segments. I would have also liked to have seen a few full-size paintings and been given a chance to view them in my own way. Instead of being provided a tight close-up of one small section and then led thru parts of the painting. And lastly, I would have liked to have seen some interviews or get some info from Nathan Lerner, Darger's landlord who passed before this film was made. His widow provides little insight, but Nathan Lerner was an aspiring artist, so his views might have been interesting, Surely there were some archival interviews that the filmmaker chose not to use, which I think is a shame.
There were definitely questions that lingered that were outside of the scope of the film. I was left wondering how and in what terms art critics and professionals assess Darger's work. Also, we aren't really aware of how Darger's work evolved over time (if it did), nor whether the paintings were or could be dated. We also are not given any framework to evaluate the whole of his output. Can the paintings be divided into categories, is the quality uniform or widely varied, etc. Darger's mental condition is hinted at, but their is little attempt to interpret or diagnose his situation. Which is perhaps best. These are all things that the film does not attempt to answer or deal with, so they aren't criticisms of the film that was made, but become areas for further googling.
Anyway, it is a clever film. Well made. And provides some interesting information. Definitely fascinating, mostly due to the intriguing subject matter and the strangely impressive art work. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 3:28 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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Inside Deep Throat was a very pleasant surprise. I didn't know what to expect of the film, and wasn't even sure fi I should pick it up. It does a very good job of tossing one into the 70's cauldron, where the Nixon-led counter-attack to the 60's social revolution was well underway. Alot of fun info, good interviews, and very good archival material (Harry Reems debating Roy Cohn on TV!). It gets a little fast-paced and slick towards the 2/3rds mark, but that seems to fit a documentary about a porn film. Interesting how 30 years later and most principals still feel it is wise to tiptoe around the mob connection to the film. Anyway, this film was alot of fun. Probably much better than actually watching the movie Deep Throat (there are some clips). When it ended after 90 minutes, I was still ready for more ... at least another 15 minutes.
Life + Debt. This Jamaican documentary is about poverty in Jamaica and the IMF/globalization role in it. Far too polemical and one-sided. Not a hint really of alternatives and solutions. They needed to step back a little and contextualize the problem. Look at how globalization affects Jamaica,a nd where opportunities exist. It is telling that Jamaican vegetables cost more to produce than importing from the US. Sure there are American farm subsidies, but Jamaica is importing fertilizer and pestcides, etc.
Mostly it just seems that the gov't is about 2 or 3 steps too slow in dealing with trade and other economic issues. Maybe I'm just used to how China so successfully bullies foreign companies into transferring technology, forcing them to partner with chinese companies, contracting to hire specific numbers of employees, agreeing to use x-amount of local products, and otherwise accepting barriers. Sure China is much larger and has a very enticing market. But the film insists that US companies (milk powder, produce, dark meat chicken) is so keen on conquering the Jamaican market.
But the way Jamaica just lets imported milk powder destroy its dairy industry is largely a result of poorly conceived government policies. In the Kngston Free Trade Zone, the gov't doesn't require local partners, allows foreign companies to close down and leave without long-term commitments and penalties, allows the importation of hundreds of Chinese/Asian workers. Obviously the gov't just didn't do its homework or understand global economics before they entered into these relationships. Sad.
The education level is low, and nobody seems to have much of a grasp of how to deal with the changing economic landscape. Prospects looking bleak.
Anyway, the film just wants to constantly blame the US. And likes to show how out of touch tourists are with the reality of Jamaica. To make its point every single tourist shown is white, although I understand alot of black Americans visit Jamaica. Former PM Michael Manley provides good quotes and analysis interspersed throughout the film. The film narration by Jamaica Kincaid is almost uniformly terrible.
Here's a sample:
Quote: "You must not wonder exactly what happened to the contents of your lavatory went when you flushed it. You must not wonder where the bathwater went when you pulled out the stopper. For you see, Jamaica does not yet have a proper way to dispose of all its sewage. But the Caribbean Sea is very big, and the Atlantic Ocean is even bigger. It would amaze you to know the number of Afrcian slaves this ocean has swallowed up."
"When you sit down to eat your delicious meal, it is probably better that you don't know that everything you are eating came off a ship from Miami. There is a world of somethign in this, but I can't get into it right now."
I suppose this was relatively low-budget, but some of the filming is very cliched. Some of the same footage is used in more than one segment. Despite some interesting parts, a very flawed documentary. Especially the cringe-worthy narration. An important topic, but unfortunately, not recommended. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 3:48 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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Gromit,
Does Inside Deep Throat help the viewer to figure out if Linda Lovelace's claims of abuse and essentially being forced to make the movie are believable. One reason I never watched this movie was because of the history surrounding it (to my knowledge, everyone else claims ignorance of the situation or flat out rejects what she says). I don't want to watch a movie that might be, essentially, a filmed rape. |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
-Topher |
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| Nancy |
| Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 5:10 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4607
Location: Norman, OK
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gromit --
I agree with much of what you said about In the Realms of the Unreal. Parts of it are fascinating, while some parts (such as the interviews you mention) are a bit tedious. Darger's fantasy world was obviously rich and full of activity, which his daily life certainly wasn't. I wonder if anyone has ever tried to publish his novel, or if it is in any shape for that even to be possible? I'm glad I saw this film. Parts of it defintely stay with you. |
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"All in all, it's just another feather in the fan."
Isaacism, 2009 |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 8:24 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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| Started watching City of God last night, but fell asleep. It's a special film, and I intend to see it again. SPOILER - I had heard about the maiming of street kids, both by gangs and cops, but I could not bare the shooting of those children. "Where do you want it, the hand or the foot?", I think it was. |
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| ehle64 |
| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:17 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 7149
Location: NYC; US&A
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May the Gods and Goddesses bless Criterion™:
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It truly disappoints me when people do something for you via no prompt of your own and then use it as some kind of weapon against you at a later time and place. It is what it is. |
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| ehle64 |
| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:21 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 7149
Location: NYC; US&A
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_________________
It truly disappoints me when people do something for you via no prompt of your own and then use it as some kind of weapon against you at a later time and place. It is what it is. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:22 am |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE is one my favorites. |
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| ehle64 |
| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:22 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 7149
Location: NYC; US&A
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_________________
It truly disappoints me when people do something for you via no prompt of your own and then use it as some kind of weapon against you at a later time and place. It is what it is. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:24 am |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
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| NAKED is in my top 20 greatest films of all time. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:25 am |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| As much as I love Criterion editions, they are too expensive. |
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