Favorite (four), part ten

Just like in my other nine posts thus far in this series, I want to take a second to single out the highlights of my recent film viewing.  I'm trying right now to take in almost a film a day.  Most have been first-time viewings, and most I have been glad to finally see.  But only very few have stayed with me.  This series is my filter for those (and hopefully one or two of these will be good to someone else, too).

Corneliu Porumboiu's Police, Adjective
The new Romanian cinema has gotten much recent acclaim, and after seeing 4 Months... and this film it's easy to see why.  What I find so striking about this film is its naturalism that runs in quite a different direction from the cinema of the Dardenne brothers.  Porumboiu keeps the camera fixed in wide frames, as opposed to the handheld close-ups that seem to populate the work of the Dardenne brothers.  Porumboiu also favors long takes in a way that we rarely see in the work of the Belgian filmmakers.  The sense of humor of Porumboiu is quite effective and unexpected and other than perhaps the final ten minutes, I would have no hesitation declaring this one of the greatest of recent films, and a full-blown masterpiece.   

Alberto Lattuada's Mafioso
I've long known this as one of Scorsese's favorites, and it certainly doesn't disappoint.  But it doesn't meet expectations either.  There's far less violence than one would imagine.  The tone more often resembles a vivacious and sunny foreign film than a somber and serious-minded noir.  And Lattuada shows an unexpected assertiveness with his editing, movement of the camera, and ability to juggle different genres. Lattuada also knows how to make great use of music to heighten the action (the jazz leading up to the barbershop sequence) and has no problem leaving the viewer with a great, big lump in his throat.  

Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

This abstract, highly stylized oddity actually is one of the more interesting films I've seen from Schrader.   At times, it is almost too obtuse, but there is also something here that feels quite personal.  And it's the most cinematic of the Schrader-directed films that I've seen.  The actor playing the adult Mishima is quite powerful, and Philip Glass' score, though in typical Glass fashion repetitive, also binds it all together into a successfully surreal, cerebral, and intermittently visceral work.  

David Lynch's The Cowboy and the Frenchman

A short film from Lynch made in 1988 for French television at arguably the peak of his career (two years after Blue Velvet and right before the beginning of Twin Peaks).  It's vintage Lynch, in the best of ways, with its flights of fancy and often gut busting sense of humor.  Along with the Twin Peaks pilot, a Lynch work crying out for discovery.  

2001: Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch)

2001: Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch) 
One thing people don't discuss all that much when it comes to David Lynch is his relationship to film noir.  When I look at the majority of his career -- Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks TV show and film, Lost Highway, Mulholland Dr., and Inland Empire -- as much as anything else, I see influences and traces of noir.  Sure he blends genre, and sure his films challenge us to reconsider the look, feel, and sound of noir, but so many elements of noir are present.  And I say this as a compliment.  After all, noir is the genre I know best, and probably the one that got me into all this in the first place.

I won't break down and analyze all the noir elements I see in Mulholland Dr.  But I will at least make a quick mention of them:  the theme of amnesia, a deep relationship to a specific city and locale, a serpentine plot, a non-linear narrative, a femme fatale, a fatalistic tone, obscurity in favor of clarity, elements of crime, and an emphasis on the nocturnal.    

Mulholland Dr. combines all of Lynch's talents -- mastery of noir, humor, and sexiness -- into an incredibly powerful and fresh concoction.  I love almost all of Lynch's work, but this one has some of his most memorable characters.  It is also one of his more accessible and relatively audience-friendly works.  As always with Lynch, Mulholland Dr. is both entertaining and smart, and looks and sounds amazing.

Other contenders for 2001:  From this year, I still have some things to see.  These include: Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World, Seijun Suzuki's Pistol Opera, Jafar Panahi's The Circle, Guillermo del Toro's The Devil's Backbone, Yves Lavandier's Oui, mais..., and Pedro Costa's Ou git votre sourire enfoui?  From this year, I really like Catherine Breillat's Fat Girl and Sean Penn's The Pledge.  I love Steven Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence: AI, Jacques Rivette's Va savoir, Hou Hsiao-hsien's Millennium Mambo, and Dover Kosashvili's Late Marriage. And my closest runner-up is Tsai Ming-liang's What Time Is It There?

8/29/10 I watched Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums.  I've always struggled a little with his cinema.  He has wonderful taste in music, his cinema is quite unique and of one piece, but it leaves me a little frustrated.  I'm not sure if it's whether I find it too quirky and interested in being hip, or I struggle with something else in his work.  He's a talent.  I just have different wants and needs, I think, when it comes to the medium. 

12/10/10 I watched Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World.  Zwigoff has a little of Woody Allen's sensibility and an extraordinary sense of humor, at times.  I wish this film was a little less quirky and the visuals a little less glossy.  But it's mostly a fun, pretty original little film.  

12/11/10 I watched Julio Medem's Sex and Lucia.  Sexy, for sure.  But not really my type of film.  Complex like the Inarritu movies, with an aesthetic that I found a little on the ugly and messy side.  

12/21/10 I watched Jean-Luc Godard's In Praise of Love.  Godard has not abandoned his path one bit.  He continues to believe that the role of an artist is to provide a mirror on his/her world, and he continues to believe in the power of thought, analysis, and information as a weapon rather than as a crutch.  His style here is more like Chris Marker's filmmaking, but he still has the ability to be lyrical, incredibly perceptive, and bold.   It's good to see him looking at Paris again.  I just wish, at times, that his style was a little more vital, and his thoughts a little easier to follow.  

1/3/11 I watched Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down.  It's amazing that Scott was able to make one battle sequence stretch almost two hours.  He finds a few moments, here and there.  But all in all, I thought it a little less than its reputation. 

9/1/14 I watched Manoel de Oliveira's I'm Going Home.  Only the second film I have so far from the celebrated Portuguese filmmaker and again I was impressed, moved and encouraged to seek out and watch more of his work.  At times his aesthetic and sensibility remind me of Rohmer or even Rivette, something very loose and smart, and it does not hurt that this film takes place in Paris and features Michel Piccoli and Catherine Deneuve.  The title holds several different meanings and the final image perpetuates the contemplative mood and tone that seems to be one of the hallmarks of de Oliveira.  

3/13/22 I watched Frederick Wiseman's Domestic Violence.  Another courageous, unflinching look from Wiseman.  It has some tremendous passages but I was never as involved as I sometimes get in some of my favorite Wiseman films.  

12/10/23 I watched Manoel de Oliveira's Porto of My Childhood.  Struck me as a mixture of a memory film from Godard and Marker.  Poetic and fully felt even if I could not follow it all. 

1992: Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)

1992: Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)

Such a stupid thing to say, but when I think about this one, I just think about an extremely well-made film.  Everything is top shelf -- the acting, the writing, the directing.

I know there is a critique of violence in this one and a certain moral position taken, but that doesn't really connect with me all that much. What really gets me here is its theme of friendship, the incredibly moving bond between Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.

Eastwood is so adult, so patient, so restrained that he stands out by not standing out.  He's carrying on a certain tradition of classical filmmaking, and the further we get away from the source, it's a wonder that a non post-modern work was able to gain this much attention.  A UFO, perhaps, but also craftsmanship of the highest order.  Quiet perfection, without all the bells and whistles.

Other contenders for 1992:  I still have some titles to see from this year.  These include: Alex Cox's Highway Patrolman, Eric Rohmer's A Tale of Winter, Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, Christopher Munch's The Hours and Times, Terrence Davies' The Long Day Closes, and James Ivory's Howards End.  At some point, I'll need to revisit Robert Altman's The Player and Agnieszka Holland's Olivier Olivier as it's been too long since I've seen either of them to know where they'd place on this list.  From this year though, I really like Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives, Arnaud Desplechin's La Sentinelle, and Carl Franklin's One False Move.  I love Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant. And my closest runner-up is David Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.

3/21/11 I watched Robert Altman's The Player.  Messy, in typical Altman fashion, and as incisive as it might be on Hollywood, at times it suffers from feeling so insular and claustrophobic.  Still it's one of our best ever exposes on the movie business, and much of the casting is spot-on.  

8/29/11 I watched James Ivory's Howards End.  Victorian tragedy lively rendered.  Full of deception and compromise, Ivory does extremely well with actors, music, and locations.  I'm just a bit wary of his world view, a sort of chic bleakness, if you will.  

6/20/16 I watched Eric Rohmer's A Tale of Winter.  Rohmer again proves himself a master of his specific approach and style.  Like Bresson or Ozu, Rohmer is a director of transcendence.  Since his primary tools are reduction and refinement, when he decides in those rare moments to unleash it hits the viewer with a real force.  Like someone who whispers 95% of the time, when words are spoken at regular or louder volumes, the ear perks up and becomes unusually attentive.  Perhaps not Rohmer's finest but certainly another testament of his mastery and greatness.      

12/29/21 I watched Bill Duke's Deep Cover.  Interesting as a noir told more from the African-American perspective.  It is entertaining enough but for me it dwarfs in comparison to other films from the period like King of New York and Heat.

Some of My Favorite Endings

Inspired by Greg Ferrara's wonderful post this morning over at Cinema Styles (http://cinemastyles.blogspot.com/2010/01/monday-morning-mumbles.html), I've decided to put together a list of my favorite endings. Someone I was sitting with on a panel once said, "You really write a movie for the final five minutes.  And if those moments work, then everything else just kinda falls into place."  I never really articulated it in that way.  But I do have to admit, the final five minutes of a movie are more important to me than everything else.  

Here's my list, as I can best remember them (not in any specific order):

The Heiress (William Wyler, 1949)
The Soft Skin (Francois Truffaut, 1964) 
Pierrot le fou (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965)
Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
Shampoo (Hal Ashby, 1975)
King of New York (Abel Ferrara, 1990)
La chienne (Jean Renoir, 1931)
Blow Out (Brian De Palma, 1981)
Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959)
Carlito's Way (Brian De Palma, 1993)
The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)
Rumble Fish (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983)
Through the Olive Trees (Abbas Kiarostami, 1994)
Stromboli (Roberto Rossellini, 1950)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)
Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch, 1995)
Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson, 1970) 
Gertrud (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1964)
The French Connection (William Friedkin, 1971)
The 400 Blows (Francois Truffaut, 1959)
Night Moves (Arthur Penn, 1975)

Favorites of My Favorites #7 -- David Lynch

There’s a real danger to David Lynch’s work that is almost unrivaled in the history of the medium.  He’ll take us to places most others won’t dare go.  And he does it with a power, a punch, and a sexiness that for me, at least, is ultimately much more appealing than it is unpleasant.

If being a great filmmaker means having a wonderful eye and ear, creating an experience that is intellectually and viscerally satisfying, and delivering remarkable performances, then I would have to say that Lynch is indeed great.  Many polls recently chose Mulholland Dr. as the best film of the decade, and you won’t hear an argument from me.  It’s just amazing to think, it’s not even my favorite David Lynch film.

I’ve long felt that the medium is 50% visual/50% aural, and no one makes a better argument for this than Lynch.  His sound designs and collaborations with Angelo Badalamenti uncover another layer, an underbelly, that most filmmakers can only graze. 

I would imagine much of his strength comes from his thirty plus years of transcendental meditation.  He trusts himself and his instincts so fully that his work takes on a primal intensity at times.  Of course, I also find that he has a lovable innocence and moments where he demonstrates both a great deal of heart and a wonderful sense of humor.  

I love the way he manages his career.  He’s an independent, an artist, one of the most unique people working in the medium.  Although I can’t say that I understand every moment from every one of his films, it really doesn’t matter to me.  His work affects me about as much as anyone's.

DAVID LYNCH (in preferential order)

1.  Blue Velvet
2.  Mulholland Dr.
3.  Twin Peaks (pilot)
4.  The Elephant Man
5.  Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
6.  Lost Highway
7.  The Cowboy and the Frenchman watched 4/17/11
8.  Inland Empire
9.  Eraserhead
10.  Wild at Heart
11.  The Straight Story

12.  Dune watched 1/26/10
13.  DumbLand (short) watched 1/30/10
14.  The Alphabet watched 4/16/11
15.  The Amputee watched 4/16/11
16.  The Grandmother watched 4/16/11
17.  Lumiere: Premonitions Following an Evil Deed watched 4/17/11
18.  Six Figures Getting Sick watched 4/16/11

 

Never seen:

Dune
More Things That Happened (video)
To Each His Own Cinema (segment "Absurda")
Boat (video short)
Darkened Room (short)
DumbLand (short)
Rabbits

Lumiere and Company (segment "Premonition Following An Evil Deed")

The Grandmother (short)

The Alphabet (short)

Six Figures Getting Sick (short)

Favorites of My Favorites #5 -- David Gordon Green

Within the history of cinema is a history of some extraordinary artistic collaborations.  Some of my favorite include Martin Scorsese/Robert De Niro (Director/Actor), David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti (Director/Composer), and David Gordon Green/Tim Orr (Director/Cinematographer).

Usually, I try to keep away from discussing my contemporaries.  I'm afraid jealousy, the competitive spirit, or something else altogether might cloud my judgment.  David Gordon Green is actually a couple of years younger than me.  But he's long been one of the younger directors that inspires and pushes me to try harder.  He's a great case study, a guy that has made five features to date, starting with the $40,000 George Washington and most recently completing the Judd Apatow-produced Pineapple Express.  He's remained an artist while breaking into Hollywood and has then given back to some of his friends to help their careers, too (serving as a producer on both Shotgun Stories and Great World of Sound).

For me, as he moves forward, his career will tell me, as much as anything, if it's still possible for a young filmmaker to make personal films in Hollywood.

What do I love about David Gordon Green?  The images that he and Orr create are as earthy and lush as any team out there.  Strong arguments for keeping film around a little longer.  And the way they move the camera, steadily and fluidly, are nice alternatives to a medium that seems to be quickly moving towards more shaky, handheld aesthetics.  I also think that, along with David Lynch and Michael Mann, Green has the best ear for sound and music of any American filmmaker.

Some find Green's films slow and frustrating.  I simply think that they have great style and are as poetic as anything out there right now.

DAVID GORDON GREEN (in preferential order)
1.  All the Real Girls
2.  George Washington
3.  Pineapple Express
4.  Snow Angels
5.  Undertow
6.  Physical Pinball (short)
7.  Pleasant Grove (short)

Favorites Update and A Little More Lullaby

A week ago, I started a new series entitled "Favorites of My Favorites" where I list, in preferential order, the films of my favorite filmmakers. So far, I've done an entry on Jean Renoir, Takeshi Kitano, Michael Mann, and Leos Carax.  Next up are Brian De Palma, David Lynch, Abel Ferrara (I already can't wait for the comments on that one), and Jim Jarmusch.  Others as I look ahead will be Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Robert Bresson, Eric Rohmer, Jean-Luc Godard, Woody Allen, Francois Truffaut, Howard Hawks, Raoul Walsh, George Cukor, Jacques Becker, Orson Welles, Michael Cimino, Maurice Pialat, Wim Wenders, Abbas Kiarostami, Jonathan Demme, Sam Peckinpah, Alfred Hitchcock, Kenji Mizoguchi, Roberto Rossellini, Carl Theodor Dreyer, Ernst Lubitsch, Robert Altman, William Friedkin, and Fritz Lang.

I expect the next few entries up in the next couple of weeks.  And then the others will follow throughout the rest of the year.

Also, just in, another really nice piece on The Last Lullaby:

http://dvdlateshow.blogspot.com/2010/01/last-lullaby.html