Guardian Unlimited | Arts news | Billionaire family feud may unveil hidden Masters

Guardian Unlimited | Arts news | Billionaire family feud may unveil hidden Masters

C'est pas tout à fait la vie dont j'avais rêvé-Theater (Cannes)

C'est pas tout à fait la vie dont j'avais rêvé (2005), Dir. Michel Piccoli

I believe that the title of this film translates to something like "Not Exactly the Life I Expected". Definitely rings true. Anyway, I was excited to see this new film directed by celebrated French actor Michel Piccoli, as his four or five directing forays are all films I have never seen. Most likely this one will never make it to the US, which is very sad.

At only 75 minutes, the film is a quick romp through the life of a man and his relationships with his wife and his mistress. A vaudevillian type story, with elements derived from stage plays, it reminds one of another time, even though it is a contemporary film. It is whimsical in its treatment of the characters, without judgement, pity, or any of the other trappings that seem to come from extramarital affairs. Piccoli maintains this tone throughout the film, painting a man with various eccentricities who needs both women, but for completely different reasons. We see him go through the same types of scenarios with each one, but with wildly varying outcomes. And while the staginess of the film would suggest a similar kind of humor, Piccoli chooses to sprinkle it around in different doses. Some is symbolically funny, like the man dressing up in a lion skin as a form of foreplay, while other times it is more subtle, like the wife wearing a drab dress that has the same pattern as the wallpaper. The funny thing is, you don't even notice it until near the end of the scene.

Much of the content of this film is communicated through metaphor, and I feel that I would get even more from it upon a second viewing. Nevertheless, it is a fun and eccentric romp through a relationship triangle.

Frenchman

Frenchman, originally uploaded by ocean1000.

A Life in Suitcases-Theater (Cannes)

A Life in Suitcases (2005), Dir. Peter Greenaway

Greenaway has stated in the past that cinema has been "100 years of illustrated text.", and holds out hope that it will eventually become an artform unto itself. This aesthetic ideal is apparent in his most recent film, "A Life In Suitcases". With a narrative structure serving as a thread for the visuals to cling to, he gives himself free reign to experiment with various forms of storytelling, graphic representation, and the idea of perspective.

The first element that marks this film as uniquely Greenaway is the constant references to numbers. Greenaway has long been fascinated with numerology, and this film is organized through constant series of numbers that unify it almost as thoroughly as any narrative structure could. Through these systems of numbers, Greenaway also puts forth an idea of trying to organize life and the universe according to categories and numbers, very nearly like scientists categorize various forms of life. The difference is that Greenaway's categories are the sum of one person's life; that of Tulse Luper, and ends up as artistic installation in the form of 92 suitcases, each one representing a section of Luper's life. They vary widely, with such suitcases as "Frogs", "55 Men on Horseback", and "Body Parts".

Greenaway also bends our ideas about storytelling be recalling the Tulse Luper story in a cinema verite style, as if it were something you might see on the Discovery, A&E, or History Channels. With a specifically graphic design style of picture-in-picture, various "experts" tell us the story of Tulse Luper as we see it unfold-in the style of many a reenactment. Through the explanation of screen events, Greenaway frees himself to show us images that are often expressionistic and theatrical in their presentation. In fact, the opening sequences of the film are shown as if they were in a theater, with obviously artificial sets, theatrical lighting, and the kind of exaggerated acting that is necessary if the balcony patrons are going to see it.

In the story of Tulse Luper, Greenaway creates a character that we are never sure of, who sometimes seems like a villain, and sometimes seems like a hero, depending on where you might be standing. Through this, Greenaway also creates a person who is colorful in his adventures. Luper seems to stumble through his adventures much the same as anyone would; with cleverness, stupidity, betrayal, and a little bit of luck, both good and bad. To drive the concept of subjectivity even further, the film is set during the 20th century, spanning across both world wars. How we view Luper is a direct result of how we view the wars, fascism, rascism, religion, homosexuality, and all things that make us human.

As in most human stories, Luper's is filled with nudity and sex, violence, and injustice. At first it may seems jarring, until one remembers that a vast majority of art depicts these things. Greenaway's film is as dramatic as a gargantuan David; except for the simple fact that Greenaway's subject are moving.

With this film, Greenaway is definitely pushing his audience to question what they know as cinema, as well as what they know as human. It is definitely a must see for anyone who wants to join the fight against pandering, lowest common denominator filmmaking.

Theater Logo

Theater Logo, originally uploaded by ocean1000.

Last Days- Theater (Cannes)

Last Days (2005), Dir. Gus Van Sant

First of all, what is the big deal with Kurt Cobain? Sure, I liked the music, but he was definitely no Jimi Hendrix or Hunter S. Thompson. He was just a rocker on too much shit. So, as a corollary to that belief, why would anyone want to make a film based on the few last drug-tripping days of Cobain and his friends? Answer: Gus Van Sant.

It seems that he has the belief that he can connect with the kids by making films about stuff they care about. Well, perhaps he can, but this film left me with one thought. So What? While I recognize that Van Sant definitely has a way with the camera, his subject leaves something to be desired. There was shot after beautiful shot, with thoughtful camera movements, beautiful color; all carefully composed to create a mood that would previal for the majority of the film. However, the mumbled ramblings of a guy on a heroin bender (translated with French subtitles), the making of mac and cheese, and the blind adoration of young gay friends (also on heroin bender) really just leaves me cold.

The end result is a somber film that just seems to pander to a group of groupies, and elevates an average man to the status of hero and martyr. I would have liked to see more stuff outside the circle of kids; like who was the woman who randomly shows up at the house and begs him to come with her? Van Sant offers no explanation as to who this woman is supposed to be. Is she a wife? Sister? Friend? Agent? Or are we supposed to be experiencing the drug induced confusion of the protagonist?

What I'd really like to see is a film by Van Sant with some sort of interesting story. Once he can get that down, pair it with his talent for wonderful composition, and stop making some silly attempt to give the kids what they want, THEN maybe he'll have something amazing on his hands.

Cannes

I have just returned from the Cannes Film Festival in France. Aside from being an eye opening experience about the actual business of film, I got the opportunity to see a bunch of movies, some better than others. Some have since been released, others are still waiting release, and still others are awaiting distribution and may never get released in this country. So, I kept a list of films I got the opportunity to see, and will give my impressions of them here in the next couple of days.

Cannes

Cannes, originally uploaded by ocean1000.

Troy-DVD

Troy (2004), Dir. Wolfgang Petersen

Yeah, I saw this movie the first time, when it was called Gladiator. Although I don't mind scantily clad Brad, I found myself checking my watch and wondering how much more there was. Apart from interesting costumes, there's not much else to find interesting in a story that is inherently interesting. Ah, the ruination of a classic tale. Nobody does it better than Hollywood. With disorienting and frenetic battle scenes that reduce the tale to just a bunch of boys with sharp objects, and camera strategies that are meant to be fantastic only in their execution, this film falls flat on its face. Nothing about the composition of the shots portrays the human stories mixed in with the legendary personalities. It is like a video game, nothing more.

For this film, I say whatever. Read the book. It's better.