The Devil(s), Probably!

Holy fucking shit. Ken Russell's The Devils, uncut, on DVD, Region 1, May 20th. Best news of the year. I love you all. Warner's treatment of The Devils has been a serious cause of blue balls for me. They've been threatening to release it for over five years and now they've "delayed" it again. Shoot me.

In other DVD news, it looks like Criterion has their hands on Milcho Manchevski's Before the Rain, starring Rade Serbedzija, Grégoire Colin, Phyllida Law and the late Katrin Cartlidge. Expect it later this year.

Bresson, Region 2, April

Artificial Eye, from the U.K., will be releasing three Bresson DVDs in April, most notably The Devil, Probably [Le diable probablement], which would mark the first DVD of the film with English subtitles. They will also be releasing Lancelot du lac and A Man Escaped, both of which are available from New Yorker in the US.

His Milkshake Brings All the Boys to the Yard

Though, yeah, the ceremony was pretty dull (especially with three fucking musical numbers from Enchanted), but if nothing else, this year's Oscars really favored the hotness: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard (in Gaultier, no less), Tilda Swinton and Javier Bardem... too much (I favored all four to win as well and all also come from the great continent of Europe). And those kids from Once... adorable. Not once did I slam down my fist or mutter obscenities, so for that, it must have been a good year.

Picture: No Country for Old Men
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Actress: Marion Cotillard - La Vie en rose
Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody - Juno
Animated Film: Ratatouille - dir. Brad Bird

Full winners can be found at this link. Thanks to Michael K from Dlisted for photoshopping a picture together so I didn't have to.

And for the Best Picture of the Year...

Nominees: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood

Who Should Win: (tie) No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood

You know, this is probably the first year where I would be entirely satisfied with the Oscar going to two films (other than the year Crash won, where I wanted anything BUT Crash to get the Oscar). Both are remarkable in their own right and both will stand the test of time.

The WTF? Nominee: Atonement

Before seeing Atonement, I was disappointed that the Academy went for what's expected of them: a boring costume drama. And while I didn't despise Atonement, it lacked something... and I think that would be getting the meat of the book lost in translation. I can't think of any film I've seen recently where I've thought, "Wow, this was probably an amazing book... too bad for the film."

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees: Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There), Ruby Dee (American Gangster), Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone) and Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton).

Who Should Win: Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

It's no secret that I'd listen to Tilda Swinton read from the phone book and be pleased, but she deserves the Oscar because she did so much with so little. Her character was a rather throw-away ice queen, but Tilda turned her into a fully three-dimensional character, arm pit sweat and all.

The WTF? Nominee: Ruby Dee (American Gangster)

I guess the Academy realized they didn't reach their ethnic quota and threw a nomination in Ruby Dee's way. Don't get me wrong, Dee is fine, and she's usually excellent, but she's got lack of screen time (particularly in a three hour film) and lack of significance going against her.

Best Actress

Nominees: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julie Christie (Away from Her), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en rose), Laura Linney (The Savages) and Ellen Page (Juno).

Who Should Win: Marion Cotillard (La Vie en rose)

I hate biopics, and seldom am I impressed with the actors who place themselves in them (exception of course given to Helen Mirren), but Marion Cotillard's performance as the tragic French singer Edith Piaf is shattering. There's a sincere distinction between her Piaf versus, say, Jamie Foxx's Ray Charles in that she's not delivering an impersonation; she's literally possessed. I haven't seen such a rapturous transformation portrayed anywhere since I saw Christine Ebersole on Broadway as Little Edie in Grey Gardens.

The WTF? Nominee: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age)

I understand the Academy loves Cate Blanchett to death, even more so than Kate Winslet as Ms. Blanchett has a trophy to her name... but nominating her for Elizabeth: The Golden Age? Ridiculous. Not only was she better in the original, but she's... dare I say... kind of hammy in the unnecessary and stale sequel. And not hammy in a good way, like she was during that scene in Notes on a Scandal. Whether you agree with the hamminess or not, you have to admit, from an actress as ranged and talented as she, her Elizabeth was Blanchett on autopilot.

Best Actor

Nominees: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah) and Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises).

Who Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)

Well, duh. The field this year is actually quite strong. Jones, Mortensen and Clooney are all exceptional, but Day-Lewis, whoa. How do you compete with the best performance from one of the world's finest actors? Like Bardem, Day-Lewis is menacing and brilliant.

The WTF? Nominee: Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street)

I know by saying this the Johnny Depp fan squad will be on my ass, but, really, was he good in Sweeney Todd? I was too distracted by the fact that he (and most of his costars) couldn't sing to save his life. And isn't that part of the overall performance in a musical?

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees: Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson's War), Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild) and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton).

Who Should Win: Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)

Bardem is the clear frontrunner in this category and for good reason. Much of the power of No Country for Old Men lies on his shoulders, and though his performance is the showiest of his other male counterparts (Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin), he exudes a raw power of terror to his Chigurh. Absolutely astounding.

The WTF? Nominee: Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild)

Yeah, okay, he's old. Yeah, okay, the Academy loves giving prizes to old people. But wasn't there someone more qualified than Holbrook? Catherine Keener was the only standout performance in Into the Wild, and her chemistry with Emile Hirsch was far more impressive than Holbrook's. Holbrook isn't another causality of my disdain for the film; his performance wouldn't have been astounding if he were actually in a good film.

Malle and Korda from Criterion in May

Criterion will be releasing Louis Malle's Les amants (The Lovers) and The Fire Within (Le feu follet) in May, along with the Alexander Korda production of The Thief of Bagdad from 1940. They seem to be releasing fewer and fewer titles per month lately.

3 to go!

With 3 films to go and five categories to run down, I've got a lot of shit to do before the Oscar ceremony. AND, I'm filming a short this weekend as part of our Fortnight Film Project. So, wish me luck (again), and hope another snowstorm comes through town, so I can get out of my other responsibilities and watch shitloads of cinema.

Best Adapted Screenplay

The nominees are as follows: Christopher Hampton (Atonement), Sarah Polley (Away from Her), Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men), and Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood). [side note: I realize Pedro won for Best Original Screenplay, but I couldn't resist posting it here. Regardless, I think that's also a photo from when he won for All About My Mother, not Talk to Her... whatever]

Who Should Win: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)

It's not usually the case that some of the finer screenplays in a year come from previously written material, but such is this year. Four of the five nominees are all solid works and could conceivably win the award without much fuss from me, but the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men screenplay perfectly captured the tone of the novel for me (though again, I know Eric will have some complaints here).

The WTF? Nominee: Christopher Hampton (Atonement)

The failure of Atonement cannot be solely attributed to Hampton's screenplay, but more to Joe Wright's direction, which was thankfully overlooked for a nomination. I'm noticing that a lot of my picks this year are based on the person nominated significance to the film as a whole (which is why I'm already convinced Ruby Dee's less-than-five-minute performance in American Gangster will be the WTF? of that category). Atonement is the only of films nominated which screams, "I'm sure the book was better," while all the other films beautifully add to their source material, creating something altogether different (but not entirely). Atonement lacked punch.

Best Original Screenplay

Here are the nominees for reference: Diablo Cody (Juno), Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco (Ratatouille), and Tamara Jenkins (The Savages).

Who Should Win: Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton)

I can already hear Eric bitching about this one, but in my opinion (and many others), Michael Clayton was exactly what it was billed to be: a Hollywood film for thinking adults. Now that's a scary thought, but I think Gilroy's accomplishments are far more successful than the other nominees.

The WTF? Nominee: Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl)

She gets points in my book for a handful of things, most notably never treating Ryan Gosling's Lars as character to be mocked. However, most appreciation for Lars and the Real Girl isn't because of her, or director Craig Gillespie, strengths as it is the actors'. Gosling is impeccable (as always) and received fine support from Patricia Clarkson, Kelli Garner and Emily Mortimer, all of which carry Lars and the Real Girl much further than the collective efforts of anyone else. Kudos though for the Academy recognizing female talent in the writing department.

Best Animated Film

Nominees: Ratatouille - dir. Brad Bird, Persepolis - dir. Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud, Surf's Up - dir. Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

Who Should Win: Persepolis - dir. Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud

I know everyone else is voting for Ratatouille, but honestly, that film never reached my high expectations of it. Persepolis exceeded mine, and its win would mark the first animated film for adults to capture the new trophy. Persepolis is thoughtful, entertaining and wonderfully animated in mostly black-and-white hand-drawn style. Based on the graphic novel by co-director Satrapi, the film is a marvelous depiction of identity and growing up, all without schmaltz.

The WTF? Nominee: Surf's Up - dir. Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

It's a bit unfair of me to even have a WTF? nominee here as there are only three nominees, and really, Surf's Up isn't bad by any means. It's more clever than it looks (and it's a fuckload better than The Simpsons Movie), but it's the ho-hum nominee of this category. Persepolis and Ratatouille are far stronger films, and out of all three, Surf's Up feels the most like a children's movie.

Best Director

As I only have 3 movies left to watch (Charlie Wilson's War, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and American Gangster), I'm going to begin my rundown of the people who should win the gold this Sunday. I'm not nearly as good at summing up who will win, but here's my thoughts. The nominees are as follows: Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood), Ethan Coen, Joel Coen (No Country for Old Men), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), Jason Reitman (Juno), and Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly).

Best Director

Who Should Win: Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

This is a tough category as I was pretty astounded by both P.T. Anderson and the Coen brothers' achievements, but Schnabel achieved something really groundbreaking for me: an artpiece, a biopic and a film without false or manipulative sentiments. His vision is breathtaking, and my only complaint came when he decided to take the film out of first person. Yet still, the film is masterful, particularly from a director whose only worked in the realm of biopics. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is his finest achievement in the film world and one I don't think will be easily forgotten (though I could say the same about Anderson and the Coens)...

The WTF? Nominee: Jason Reitman (Juno)

Jason Reitman... for Juno? Really? Do you think Diablo Cody was pissed that someone tried to attribute a separate authorship to the film? I bet she was. Juno's strengths (and its weaknesses) all lie on Cody's shoulders; Reitman was just there to make sure the camera was placed in the right direction. He, thankfully, avoids the obnoxious quirky look and feel of a Zack Braff film (which Juno could have very, very easily fallen into), so maybe he should be thanked for that... or maybe just not at all.

I've Got Ambition

The Oscars are happening a week from yesterday, and I think I may be able to pull the impossible: seeing every film nominated in the big categories (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supp. Actor, Supp. Actress, Orig. Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Animated Film) before the ceremony. Now this won't be the easiest endeavor, as the only categories where I've seen every film nominated are the shorts, Original Screenplay and Director. So, here's what I got left.

Atonement (bah)
Sweeney Todd
In the Valley of Elah
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (double bah)
Charlie Wilson's War
American Gangster
Persepolis
Surf's Up

Think I can do it? We'll see. Wish me luck.

In the Mood for...

My Blueberry Nights – dir. Wong Kar-Wai – 2007 – France/Hong Kong/China

The best understanding I can make of Wong Kar-Wai’s English-language debut can be pulled directly from its soundtrack. Though it features obligatory tunes from two of the cast members (Norah Jones and Chan Marshall of Cat Power), listen out for a jazzy rendition of the achingly beautiful score from In the Mood for Love and a female vocalist covering Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon.” What does that mean exactly? My Blueberry Nights feels like a well-meaning cover song, aesthetically pleasing but without the passion of coming from the person who wrote it.

Upon reading some of the message boards for My Blueberry Nights, I found myself strangely drawn to one that commented how strange it feels seeing a WKW film without an Asian cast. Though it would seem like a superficial complaint, there’s something indeed off about the cast of My Blueberry Nights and, surprisingly, it’s not from Jones who makes her acting debut here. There’s a certain visual landscape that’s so easily recognizable in a WKW film (though one will undoubtedly note that his famed cinematographer Christopher Doyle was not present here) that taking it outside of Hong Kong would be potentially dangerous; he successfully avoided this issue with setting Happy Together in Buenos Aires, but not so much here. Though Doyle is absent, Darius Khondji (who has shot a number of impressive features, including City of Lost Children, The Beach and Seven) does his best to adapt to Doyle’s style, though one would remark that their styles aren’t exactly foreign to one another. Unfortunately for us, the closest thing to downtown Hong Kong, visually speaking, would be Las Vegas, and when My Blueberry Nights finally reaches that city, it stays far away from the images we’d quickly associate with Sin City.

Back to the cast… It would seem that My Blueberry Nights would be a curious star vehicle for the Grammy winner Jones whose fans I doubt were begging to put her into motion pictures. However, it’s Jones that’s the least offensive of the “round-eyed” cast. One could suggest the language barrier as being an issue, particularly when dealing with trained actors, which is how I would imagine Jones got by. With Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz (who plays a character named Sue Lynn, a variation on Maggie Cheung’s name in In the Mood for Love) and Natalie Portman, their pedigree seems wasted, appearing awkward in adapting to WKW’s style. Jones, too, may have benefited from the fact that her Lizzie really only serves as the roadmap for My Blueberry Nights, the central figure who’s always placed into the background of the people she encounters.

My Blueberry Nights is hardly a disaster, but any fan of WKW should be quick to recognize the shakiness of the whole thing. Everything is seemingly in place yet strangely missing heart. WKW’s once infallible filmography has been reaching rocky ground in the years after In the Mood for Love, with 2046 somehow missing the mark (though there’s debate about that) and My Blueberry Nights swerving off course. Perhaps he’s falling into the trap that a lot of directors slip into: the sad stage of unintentional self-parody.

Berlin 08

The Berlin International Film Festival came to a wrap today, with Jose Padilha's (Bus 174) Tropa de Elite, from Brazil starring Wagner Moura (Lower City), winning the top prize, the Golden Bear. Paul Thomas Anderson won the Best Director prize for There Will Be Blood... and you can find the rest of the award winners at this link via IndieWire.

Contact High

Guess who saw Juno for the first time this morning? You guessed right. And guess who didn't hate it nearly as much as he thought he would. I'm not going to go as far to say Juno is "good," but with such low expectations, it made for a much more pleasurable experience than, say, a routine dental check-up. Eric at Filmbo's Chick Magnet pointed out the deathly flaw of Juno (though I suppose I'm a bit more forgiving) in being that the adult characters (Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, JK Simmons, Allison Janney) are each extraordinarily more interesting people to watch than Juno herself. And if you can look past Juno's calculated quirkiness, there's morsels of good stuff around the fringes. However, about it's Oscar nominations, I don't understand why Hollywood must give accolades (in the Best Picture category) to the "lil' indie that could" every year. Juno and Little Miss Sunshine already took their love to the bank; they certainly didn't need the nod.

I've been looking through my list of 2007 films and given some strong consideration in placing Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days at the top of the revision. In some ways, it's No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood and The Bourne Ultimatum in one, without discrediting its own individual merits. I'm kind of stuck, because I feel this need to make a Top 10 list every year, but in a year as phenomenal as 2007, I could have made a top 30 and still been unsatisfied. New additions to the 10 list include Aaron Katz's sublime Quiet City (now available from Benten Films) and Craig Zobel's Great World of Sound (whose personal impact has caused it to move up on the list).

In other news, I'm suffering from Godard malaise. This sentiment will undoubtedly displease two of my most frequent readers (coughEricandEdcough), but Lionsgate's boxset of First Name: Carmen, Passion, Détective and Oh, Woe Is Me did nothing other than induce agitation from me. There's a self-importance in Passion that Godard exposed in Tout va bien about his dealings with the working class that just irks me. It's more than likely that I just "don't get" him, but alas, cross me off the list of fans.

On a shinier note, I have a new favorite film, at least one that deserves placement on my shortlist of personal favorites. Martin Donovan's Apartment Zero. Check that shit if you haven't already... and as a side note, I'd absolutely give Hart Bochner the business.

Oh, Walt Disney. At work, I got stuck watching two of the recent canon of Disney films (as in within the past fifteen years or so): Aladdin and Cars. Now, I'd seen both before, but with Aladdin, I was never old enough to look at it critically, and with Cars, I just hadn't realized what a terrible film it was. I never thought I'd hear myself saying this, but Robin Williams and... Larry the Cable Guy are really the only saving graces of the respective films (God, fucking shoot me now). With Aladdin, how could I have never noticed what duds of characters and love interests Aladdin and Jasmine are? Not only is Jasmine a precocious bitch, but she's criminally bland. Aladdin really only holds up today due to its memorable songs (though I'm not going to go as far to say "good," but don't tell me you can't think of at least three songs from that film) and, yes, Robin Williams. Cars, however, is the biggest embarrassment Pixar has ever released (much, much more so than the mediocre Bug's Life). It's not particularly funny nor visually striking. Hell, the idea alone sounded dull. It is, however, worth watching if only for the shitty country song that runs through the end credits which puts into cheesy song lyrics the entire premise of Cars. It'll save you the trouble of having to sit through it.

I'd also appreciate if a Russ Meyer fan could point me in the best direction for continuing with his films. I have yet to see a film of his that isn't Vixen!, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls or Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (I love his use of punctuation) that is even worth the time I would spend watching it. Up! Megavixen and Supervixens are dreadful. Should I continue on or just not allow Meyer's good name to be spoiled with these lousy films?

Hope not

Is Lionsgate about to announce two Luis Buñuel films (Nazarin and Los olvidados) in lousy transfers? And as double features with other B-grade Mexican films? And not even together? More information to come as I uncover what's going on.

UPDATE: By "two," I meant "six." Illusion Travels by Streetcar / The River and Death and The Great Madcap / Daughter of Deceit being the other four.

Some delays...

It looks as if the Weinstein Company has delayed the releases of both Anton Corbijn's Control and Grant Gee's doc Joy Division until June. There's some dispute among the seller sites, but the date of 10 June looks to be more likely. You may have noticed, too, that IFC/Genius have also delayed Christophe Honoré's Dans Paris, with Romain Duris and Louis Garrel, until 6 May. Again, there is some dispute with this film's release.

Also, ThinkFilm, who appears to now be owned by Image Entertainment, will push Paul Schrader's The Walker from April to 27 May. Despite what you may have heard, it's actually quite good. ThinkFilm/Image will also be releasing The Air I Breathe, with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Brendan Fraser, Julie Delpy, Andy Garcia, Forest Whitaker and Kevin Bacon, in May.

Revision

I think I'm going to follow-through with the threat I make every year: revisiting my best of the year list and fixing it. Many things have been circling through my mind.

1.) I'm finally seeing 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days today.
2.) Maybe my friend Dan is right and Black Book is indeed slightly better than No Country for Old Men.
3.) Great World of Sound is way too low on my list.
4.) There Will Be Blood has been sneaking up on me ever since I saw it, thus I need to raise it.
5.) I only just yesterday saw Aaron Katz's Quiet City.
6.) I've waited this long to see Juno... it won't make the cut.

All of these, plus a few others that are in the back of my mind, have forced me to this decision, one that I should have done last year (since the list was sorely missing Old Joy, Mutual Appreciation and Wild Tigers I Have Known). Hey, maybe I'll get inspired and redo that list too! Wish me luck.

Moi non plus...

CultEpics will be releasing Pierre Grimbalt's Slogan on DVD on 20 May. If you haven't heard of the film (as I hadn't), it's historical for being the film in which Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, who would produce a handful of children including Charlotte Gainsbourg and record the classic "Je t'aime, moi non plus" together, met and subsequently fell in love. Gainsbourg, naturally, scores the film as well as appearing in it.

In other DVD news, Benten Films will be releasing the film The Free Will, starring Jürgen Vogel, on DVD on 24 June. And on the subject of Benten Films, if you haven't picked up their latest release of two films by Aaron Katz (Quiet City and Dance Party, USA) do yourself a favor and do so. Lionsgate and After Dark Horrorfest will also be releasing Xavier Gens' Frontière(s) on 15 May, after delaying it from their stupid fest for its NC-17 rating.

And speaking of Mademoiselle Cotillard...

The writers' strike better end to set Rob Marshall's Nine back into production. If you're unfamiliar, it's a musical (?) remake of Fellini's 8 1/2, with Javier Bardem in the Marcello Mastroianni role. Wanna know who else is in this? Penélope Cruz, Marion Cotillard and Sophia Loren. Christ, I haven't been more pleased with casting this good in... I dunno, forever. That's really too much sexy for one film. I may write a blog in the upcoming days about my newfound obsession with Mlle. Cotillard, who has coincidentally become my Penélope Cruz for 2007.

BAFTAs!

So, I'll let the fact that Atonement won the BAFTA for Best Picture slide, because they awarded my dear Tilda Swinton as the best supporting actress for Michael Clayton, for which she's hardly the front-runner for in the upcoming Academy Awards. Other awards included Marion Cotillard for La vie en rose in the Best Actress, Daniel Day Lewis for Best Actor, Javier Bardem for Best Supporting Actor, the Coens for Best Director, Juno for Original Screenplay, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly for adapted, Ratatouille for Animated Film, The Lives of Others for Foreign, No Country for Old Men for cinematography, and This Is England for Best British Film (though wasn't Atonement British?).

Dareaoke Update

So, as one may have expected, the Daraoke experiment isn't working out quite as planned. Really, it might have just been that Tekkonkinkreet (I'm not even bothering to check to see if I spelled that correctly) turned me off the idea of watching bad movies for fun. Or maybe it's just that the following weeks' picks (Samurai Reincarnation and Walking Tall: The Final Chapter) just didn't sound the least bit fun in the first place. Now, if I had been recommended She-Devil with Meryl Streep and Roseanne, you know I would have watched that shit in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, shitty crime films, shitty samurai films (unless they fall into the exploitation category) and shitty anime just don't float this boy's boat. However, Mike and I have been continuing the weekly recommendations of films we should have already seen in the first place. I got the pleasure of viewing Carlito's Way (yeah, what kind of De Palma fan could I be without that one?), Casablanca and John Woo's The Killer (which is way better than Broken Arrow if you didn't already know). Mike was disappointed to see that all of my Woo experience was shitty beyond belief (Mission: Impossible 2 is one of the worst films I've ever seen... Broken Arrow isn't far behind). This week I have Spike Lee's Bamboozled.

And, on a side note, what the fuck is wrong with Tilda Swinton? I had forgotten that the Chronicles of Narnia was the beginning of a series and thought she might have wised up by the time the second one was ready to come out... but no! She's back as the Ice Queen or whatever, which is perfect visually for her... but completely against just about everything else she stands for as a woman and as an actor. I'm sure she's got plenty up her sleeve to continue to make me drool otherwise, but Narnia? Jeez. Don't worry, Tilda, I'll still be the only person rooting for you at this year's Oscars. Fuck Cate Blanchett.

Jarman in May

Zeitgeist has announced three (!) Derek Jarman DVDs on the way for May: Wittgenstein, Caravaggio, and Blue. The first two are Jarman's "biopics," and Blue is a chronicle of his final days dying of AIDS. Unfortunately, my two favorite Jarman works, The Garden and The Angelic Conversation, remain MIA on Region 1 disc, but this is exciting news nonetheless, no doubt released to coincide with the documentary Derek, which premiered at Sundance a week or so ago. All three films star the wonderful Tilda Swinton, who also narrates Derek.

Through a Lens Darkly

Mary - dir. Abel Ferrara - 2005 - Italy/USA/France

I've often joked that Abel Ferrara, like Sam Fuller before him, isn't so much "an American filmmaker" as he is the French's idea of "an American filmmaker." He's pulpy and seedy, particularly when addressing issues of philosophy, spirituality and religion. It's only now dawned on me that more than just that, he's the French's idea of an American Ingmar Bergman. As peculiar as that seems, Ferrara's torrid relationship with Christianity appears to have eluded my thoughts until he tackled the issue head-on in Mary. In Mary, Ferrara places Forest Whitaker in the Harvey Keitel role, a total cod whose bad behavior karmicly releases the ultimate test of faith as he's haunted by the performance of Marie Palesi (Juliette Binoche) as Mary Magdalene in yet another Jesus flick. Now, Ted Younger (Whitaker) is no stranger to Jesus and faith; he hosts a popular television program examining the origins of the Christian messiah. However, when his job becomes more important than his relationship with his pregnant wife (Heather Graham) and suspicion is raised about his extramarital affair with actress Gretchen (Marion Cotillard), he seeks understanding from the elusive Marie in his path of redemption.

Like most of Ferrara's work, Mary is deeply flawed. It's a filthy orgy of controversial ideas, none of which come to a simultaneous climax, or even a coherent climax at all. In researching other people's thoughts of Mary, I discovered that the film's crossover appeal (as in an appeal to anyone outside of Ferrara's small fanbase) is pretty much null, almost entirely attributed to the film's shaky stance on faith in chaos. However, to the Ferrara admirer, Mary works beautifully into his oeuvre, a fascinating mess of frustration and admiration.

Where Ferrara succeeds in Mary is in his character placement. Marie, played phenomenally by Binoche, is undoubtedly the most fascinating individual in the film and most of her fascination comes from the fact that you come to a realization that Ferrara doesn't understand her in the least. After taking on the role of Mary Magdalene, Marie spirals into a moral and spirital abyss, unable to shake her own performance, which (according to Whitaker) is shattering. Part of the blame can be placed upon the film's writer/director/star Matthew Modine, a deplorable megalomaniac whose delusions run much deeper than simply casting himself as Jesus. According to Cotillard, it's Modine's self-importance and incompetence as a director which keeps Binoche from returning from Jerusalem. Binoche's personal crisis shrouds the film without becoming its central focus. Outside of Lili Taylor's Kathleen in The Addiction, she's the only Ferrara woman I can think of that doesn't fit into his dual idea of women, the simple Madonna/whore complex seen in its fullest between Béatrice Dalle and Claudia Schiffer in The Blackout. It's perhaps in Binoche's obsession with Mary Magdalene, a whore according to certain gospels, Jesus' number one disciple according to others, that her Marie breaks the mold of your typical Ferrara woman in becoming something entirely separate, something he clearly doesn't understand. In keeping Marie in the background while still placing her as the driving force of Mary, Ferrara turns her into a haunting figure as enigmatic and impenetrable as the mysteries of Jesus himself.

There's a chilling relevance to Binoche's Marie, escalated by the recent death of Heath Ledger. As far as most reports go, his death may have been caused by the inability to shake his last role, that of the Joker in Batman. To those unfamiliar with the method of acting, both Marie's conversion and Ledger's death haunt to the bone, a possession of which those outside of the field could never fully grasp. I understand it even less than Ferrara seems to, and it's in this ignorance, or more specificially the impossibility of empathy, that Binoche's performance, reminiscent of Liv Ullmann's Elisabet in Persona, becomes so breathtaking... and scary. There comes a point where Whitaker's tribulations reek of familiarity in the context of Ferrara, but it's Binoche's looming presence that holds the film to where it needs to be. Like Ullmann's disastrous effect on Bibi Andersson, Binoche drives Mary into its frenzy.

Scratch my palms, there's blood on my hands

I suppose this could be filed under self-promotion, but I thought I'd share my goings-on as of lately. A few friends of mine and I have formed a project entitled The Fortnight Film Project, originally planned as a bi-monthly way to fuck around with a camera. Well, it's sort of growing into a larger project, hopefully with more people involved, and highly intricate storylines (well, at least, intersecting ones). It's still a work-in-progress as we work out our kinks (for example, the audio is terrible on both films... and we're only now making better efforts in setting up shots and framing and all that jazz). You can check out our first two shorts via the website above. My character will be making his grand entrance this coming weekend, so look for that in the next coming week following. Feedback is always appreciated, help always wanted.

In addition to all the filmmaking fun, I've gotten my hands on a surplus of films once painfully unavailable to me: the entire Russ Meyer collection, Abel Ferrara's Mary, Hal Hartley's Trust, and Destricted, to name a few. Expect thoughts on said films in the coming days.

Funny/Sad

Strange that the first thing I could think to write about would be the curiously compelling "failures" of a number of films I've viewed in the past week over the "yeah, yeah, it's good" crossing of Casablanca off my "why the fuck haven't I seen this?" list. Really, what is there to say about Casablanca anyway? It's superior on nearly every level, and yet the focus of this entry is on the (perhaps more interesting) oddities I found myself viewing.

El misterio de los almendros [The Mystery of the Almond Trees] - dir. Jaime Humberto Hermosillo - 2004 - Mexico

Here's a premise to befuddle even the most un-beffuddle-able: two rookie detectives (Alejandro Tommasi, José Juan Meraz) are assigned to a case of a missing painting, belonging to a wealthy family whose daughter had gone missing. The rookies pose as homosexual lovers to get a special invite from a widow (María Rojo), known for hosting weekend posh parties for societal outcasts, whose daughter may have been the lover of the missing girl. There's also a string of murders that happen to surround the whole affair. Where is this going, you might think. Strangely, it happens to be going in directions I'm not sure the director (famous for Doña Herlinda and Her Son and Esmeralda Comes by Night) was even aware of. At some point in the film, the whole premise goes up in smoke, and the director doesn't even seem to care! What's also notable about the film (aside from the fact that I don't remember there being trees or almonds anywhere onscreen) is that the film isn't lead astray by the director's alterier motives, but merely for the sake of just going where it wants. It's like an untamed animal, all coiffed up before destroying the dinner party. And yet, it's so compelling in its confusion that you, too, forget why the detectives are even at this woman's house, let alone posing as lovers, let alone engaging in the sort of devious activity they fall into. I'd probably deserve a prize if I could explain what actually went on during the film, but I'm just satisfied with the ability to still shake my head at a film which I can't resist being coaxed into.

The Life [Yo puta] - dir. Luna - 2004 - Spain

Oh, what to do with The Life? I have no knowledge of the production itself, so all I can do is merely speculate. On one level, the film is about a young anthropology student (Denise Richards... yeah, I know) having trouble paying her bills as her grant runs out. Her neighbor (Daryl Hannah) has a solution: become a whore like her! You see, Ms. Richards has never had a boyfriend, and she's a virgin (right, I know), so this could pose a problem. It apparently posed a problem for the film itself, as I think the two actresses clock in about 15% of the film's actual screen time. Intercut, you'll find weird testimonials from actual prostitutes about "the business," love and sex, and their first time, seemingly having little to do with Denise's unfortunate situation. The talking-heads aren't particularly enlightening (you can find about 1000 documentaries on sex workers out there), but I'll say: it's never boring. Not being boring is a lot more to ask than you can imagine for me lately, so kudos to director Luna (not J.J. Bigas Luna as Netflix has labeled the film). Watching The Life is like watching someone salvaging a film they tried to make and realized half-way through was utter crap. I wouldn't encourage every director out there to piece together their rotten, unused footage and throw it together in some tiresome essay film, but at least The Life can show you that sometimes you can find lovely things buried in your trash can (if that's indeed what happened).

Innocents [Dark Summer] - dir. Gregory Marquette - 2000 - Canada/USA/Germany

This film, with its wonderful cast and awful Photoshopped-boxart, had always taunted me at the video store. What was Connie Nielsen and Jean-Hughes Anglade doing in this film? (The answer was a bit more simply answered when it came to Mia Kirshner) Well, eventually, I had to find out... and I'm still not very sure, but in ways more surprising than if the film was just direct-to-video shit. It's certainly not that, but what it is, I'm also unsure. In some ways it's a gothic tale of Americana (filmed in Canada, of course) in which a cellist (Anglade) takes two sisters he barely knows (Nielsen, Kirshner) on a cross country road trip. But, oh shit, there's a murderer lurking on the freeway. Or are the sisters a part of these murders? The answer, thankfully, is that they aren't, and about midway through the tension, the director gives up on it realizing there would be no possible way for the cards to fall in such a way. Innocents (or Dark Summer as it was originally titled) is amusing unflinching in its cold (but somehow pulpy) violence and trickery. Its trickery, thankfully, is all on Anglade's head, not the audience's. The film exists solely to display conflict, both imaginary and played out, in a perversely sexual manner. I don't know if I'm happy with where the director went with it, but, like I said for the two previous films, I was never bored. At one point in the film, Anglade asks the real question that's boiling beneath the surface: why the hell is Mia Kirshner wearing an awful wig? I'm always for a movie where a line of dialogue reminds you that the filmmakers aren't nearly as clueless as you might think they are, especially when I was afraid the wig was just a cheap way to convince the audience that the strikingly different actresses could be sisters.

Agnes and His Brothers [Agnes und seine Brüder] - dir. Oskar Roehler - 2004 - Germany

For someone with very little interest in American Beauty, I was surprised to find how much I liked a film that could owe so much to that film (even five years too late). Not to give anything away for those concerned with spoilers, but Agnes and His Brothers lifts at least two notable scenes from its American predecessor... and I didn't even mind! I'm not really sure where my film taste is going right now, but I'm happy enough to just let it find its way. The film concerns itself with three brothers: Werner (Herbert Knaup), a politician of sorts who relates to his dog more than his family; Hans-Jörg (Mortiz Bleibtreu), the lonely middle brother who happens to work at the only library in the entire world where the only inhabitants are hot women (thus feeding his sexual addiction); and, of course, Agnes (Martin Weiß), a transsexual go-go dancer. It's rather typically funny/sad, but it amplifies both sides so well to points frequently hilarious/devastating. Though the film's aim is in a different direction, I can't help but wish something like Margot at the Wedding had a bit more Agnes in her.

Sugar - dir. John Palmer - 2004 - Canada

The business of adapting Bruce LaBruce would seem a difficult endeavor as director Palmer did with LaBruce's short stories in Sugar. It probably made it a lot easier considering that the stories in which the film was based have little in common with LaBruce's cinematic work (of which I'm a raging fan, as you should know). I don't have a lot to say about Sugar here as it's working beautifully into a longer piece I'm planning based on my New Queer Cinema blog from a few months back. In many ways though, Sugar works as a meta piece of the youngster growing up with the films of LaBruce and Gregg Araki, depicting a teenage boy's (Andre Noble) fascination and subsequent disgust with the darker side of first love in a rent boy named Butch (Brendan Fehr). Also look for (now Oscar-nominated!) Sarah Polley as a pregnant crack dealer.

Good Boys [Yeladim Tovim] - dir. Yair Hochner - 2005 - Israel

Like Sugar, I won't say as much as I'd like to about Good Boys, as it, too, will be worked into the New Queer Cinema piece. It's actually quite fascinating how Good Boys works opposite everything about contemporary "gay" cinema in its promise of nastiness and heart and the way it gives it to the audience. It's nasty, alright, but not in redeeming ways. In fact, it uses nudity in a most clever manner, de-sexualizing it to the point of digust and, thus, straying from the more beautiful forms of sexuality. Though calling the film "good" might be a stretch, it still works as a great counter-point to the post-NQC garbage of American cinema.