Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans

Last night I went to the local arthouse (Robinson Film Center in Shreveport, LA) to see this new film, and honestly I didn't know what to expect.  I knew it was directed by one of the most famous German directors in the history of film, Werner Herzog.  And I knew that it was somewhat of a loose extension of an earlier, "cult" film (simply Bad Lieutenant) starring Harvey Keitel.  But that was about all I knew.

Well, all this to say, I really enjoyed it.  If you're familiar with Herzog's previous work, it certainly feels like HIS film.  It's absurd, zany, and perhaps even messy, but all in an artful and emotionally complex way. Somehow, Herzog is able to perserve the spirit of the original film while taking it somewhere that is altogether new and different.

Highlights for me include a truly wonderful Nicolas Cage performance and a fantastic score by veteran composer, Mark Isham.  More than anything though, it's the film's energy that really grabbed me.  Often times, the film ventures into places that are incredulous, confusing, even awesomely bizarre, but because it does it all with absolute conviction (think Ian Curtis dancing), it never managed to lose me.  

I usually champion films that approach the crime genre straight, not in an ironic way.  But here Herzog's treatment is so contagious that I can't help but mention it.  In many ways, it reminds me of David Cronenberg's two recent entries (A History of Violence and Eastern Promises) into the genre.  It makes me realize that it's these sort of things, great directors working with new genres, that help keep them fresh and alive.  After last night, I would be more than thrilled to see Herzog make another crime film.

Favorites of My Favorites #8 -- Abel Ferrara

“…they (the audience) like the pictures to be cheaply done, they enjoy the crudeness; it’s a breather, a vacation from proper behavior and good taste and required responses.”  - Pauline Kael, Trash, Art, and the Movies

Abel Ferrara, at times, demonstrates as much artistic grace and skill as anyone, but he never completely lets you forget where he started.  First it was porn and then the slasher film; Ferrara understands that a large part of the audience go to movies for sex, violence, profanity, and whatever else they might not be getting from their daily lives. 

And sure the cinema has always given us plenty of this.  But, in Ferrara’s work, it’s different.  There’s no gloss, it’s not “movie-ish”, you feel like it’s more real, like you’re seeing these things for the first time.  In Ferrara’s work, these things are also more than mere diversions.  They’re harsh, heavy, and often times so visceral they force you to engage with them.   His films are not escapist fantasies, their essays on something dark, deep, and troubling.

His work with rapper Schoolly D is one of my favorite Director/Musician collaborations.  I also love the naturalism of his work.  After Scorsese and some of the other guys decided to abandon the visual grit of their earlier work (think Mean Streets and Taxi Driver), along comes Ferrara to keep the tradition alive.  Almost all of Ferrara’s work is palpably rooted in a specific time and place. 

He’s not for everyone.  And he’s not even always for me.  But, when he’s on, he’s one of my very favorites.

*Pauline Kael probably influenced me more than any other film critic.  She passed away in 2001, and I miss her dearly.  I thought she was a fantastic writer with wonderful taste.  But, more important, I thought she was a mentor and guide for filmmakers.  She took a real interest in their careers and would try to help them understand when they did something well and when they went off course.  De Palma was one of her favorites, and I hate that I’ll never have the opportunity to read her thoughts on Femme Fatale (I have the feeling that she would have really loved it.)  I also would have really liked to hear her talk about Lynch, Ferrara, Tarantino, Jarmusch, Bujalski, David Gordon Green, and other filmmakers who have emerged, for the most part, since she stopped writing in 1991.  

ABEL FERRARA (in preferential order):

1.  King of New York
2.  The Funeral
3.  Bad Lieutenant
4.  Crime Story (pilot)
5.  Go Go Tales watched 2/5/10
6.  Dangerous Game
7.  Chelsea on the Rocks watched 3/24/11
8.  ‘R Xmas
9.  The Driller Killer
10.  New Rose Hotel
11.  Ms. 45
12.  Body Snatchers watched 4/30/10
13.  The Blackout watched 4/25/10
14.  China Girl
15.  The Addiction
16.  Fear City
17.  Cat Chaser (90-minute version)
18.  The Hold Up watched 10/15/11
19.  Nicky's Film watched 10/15/11
20.  Mary
21.  Subway Stories (segment “Love on the A Train”)
22. Could This Be Love watched 10/16/11

Never seen:
Napoli, Napoli, Napoli
Chelsea on the Rocks
Go Go Tales
The Blackout
Body Snatchers
California (short)
Not Guilty:  For Keith Richards (documentary short)
9 Lives of a Wet Pussy
Could This Be Love (short)
The Hold Up (short)
Nicky's Film (short)