THE MASTER 9/23/12

Saw movie "The Master" today. Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman were terrific. So was Amy Adams. I love to watch excellent actors perform. The way they can evoke emotional change through the slightest nuance in their facial expression - the use of the hands and the way Joaquin hunched over when he walked - never out of character. And Amy Adams was cool and collected, subtly manipulating the "Master" (Hoffman) himself.

This film was about the Id vs.the Super-ego; the rational "perfect" vs.the irrational/volatile "animal" in man. Controlled vs. Controller. The two main characters complement each other but also are very much alike. An undercurrent of need and attachment between Phoenix and Hoffman is there from the beginning which is left at just that - an undercurrent.

There are some visually beautiful shots - the clarity of light is played up against darkness; sand vs. water, family man vs. ruler - cult leader, etc.
I felt that this film definitely referred to Ron Hubbard and Scientology though as this reviewer said - not enough to be legally actionable.
Its a film I have to see again and think about some more. I loved Boogie Nights and Magnolia - this one did not affect me as wildly as those films did.

TO ROME WITH LOVE 9/17/12

• Saw Woody Allen's film To Rome With Love which was a reflection/ meditation on FAME and the fickleness of celebrity, and those who are enamored of the "famous" in the gorgeous setting of Rome- still romantic and beautiful but always an awareness of its past glory and ruins. Entertaining but absolutely a slight film dealing with surface issues and one-liners."

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BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD 7/30/12

The press photos for Beasts of the Southern Wild shows a young girl running and I am reminded of the 1972 Pulitzer winning photo by Nick Ut of 9 year old Phan Thị Kim Phúc fleeing with severe burns (and who ultimately survived) caused by napalm during the Vietnam War.

This film has nothing to do with Viet Nam but has to do with fire and survival under harsh conditions. It also features an extraordinary young actress, Quvenzhané Wallis playing 6 year old "Hush Puppy" being brought up by her father played by Dwight Henry - who is fiercely independent of the "civilized/industrial" society" that the group of people who live in a section of Southern Louisiana cut off from the mainland by levees-called the "Bathtub" eschew. He knows he is dying and is determined that his daughter will be "da man." Her mother left them after birth, and Hush Puppy in her imagination has a running dialogue with her abandoned parent and occasionally utters a shrill cry which pierces your being. The little girl is fearless - and very much in touch with the animals and life that surround her. She literally puts her ear to objects to speak and hear "the universe" which gives her comfort and wisdom.

Living off the detritus of "civilization", filmed in dark browns and blacks with the light of a fire, and the constant threat of impending storms creates an environment that is not "romantic" but rather harshly primal and elemental.
When the film has a scene where the residents of the "bathtub" interact with Mainland society in a Hospital, Hush Puppy's confusion and embrace of that world is wrenching. We hear her thoughts which express the innocence of discovery.
Throughout the film there are references to Mythical creatures and global warming and a there is a moral code among the inhabitants of this world that evince the values of a true community.

See Roger Ebert's beautiful review:
http://tinyurl.com/bu375tc

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BERNIE 6/9/12

Finally left the house and saw a surprisingly wonderful performance by Jack Black in the film BERNIE directed by Richard Linklater - really good director of Slacker and Dazed and Confused. This film is set in Linklater's home state of Texas and his familiarity with the hometown characters are therefore beautifully individuated - but yet so familiar. Based on the true story of Bernie Tiede, Assistant Funeral Director who genuinely loved his job - opened my eyes to the rituals of funeral services and their importance for family and friends who mourn the death of a loved one.

Bernie, a good "Christian" community man who is driven to compromise his deepest moral values in a relationship with someone (Shirley McLaine) who is very different from him. This is a comedy but a dark one of good/generosity of spirit vs. a meanness of spirit but there are many gray areas to ponder.

Jack Black uses his body to flush out this character and i love when actors do that. The way they walk, move their arms, and with the slightest turn of the head can give the audience insight into a character.

DAMSELS IN DISTRESS 4/22/12

Saw Whit Stillman's "Damsels in Distress" with friends and I was the only one who really liked this funny, charming film - precisely because of its wonderfully, self-consciously spoken dialogue, and the eccentricity of Stillman's characters. Always a surprise to hear language that is so original - even if intentionally stilted. I was constantly aware that this is theater giving homage to 50's film even to the unflattering "cinch belt" the main character Violet wears with her dresses.

The film is set in a College environment but there is not much studying going on and the war between the sexes is carried on with many original parries and thrusts. Tap Dancing and "scents - like smells" among other forms of dance craze's are the answer to life's "tailspins." The musical numbers are delightful despite the awkwardness of the participants - these dances do not have Fred and Ginger's graceful mobility. But never mind!

A SEPARATION 1/29/12

Some people wrote that Iran's repressive regime was an element in this film, but I disagree and do not believe that Iran's system of justice was depicted unfairly, and that is why it was not censored. All films made in other countries, if good give you a glimpse into their culture. AND A Separation is a strong, wrenching film about interpersonal divisions and the way a society deals with conflict.

To quote Roger Ebert:
"The movie takes place in present-day Iran, a modern nation that attempts to live under Islamic law. The film's story has no quarrel with Islam, but it demonstrates that the inflexible application of the letter of the law may frustrate the spirit of the law. This is true in all nations under all religions and all laws. Laws are an attempt to regulate hypothetical situations before they may arise. If laws were replaced by principles, they might be a better fit with human nature...

"...A Separation" provides a useful portrait of Iran today. Some inflamed American political rhetoric has portrayed it as a rogue nation eager to start nuclear war. All too many Americans, I fear, picture Iranians as camel-riding harem-keepers. Certainly some of Iran's punishments for adultery that we read about seem medieval. But this film portrays a more nuanced nation, and its decent characters are trying to do the right thing. To untangle right and wrong in this fascinating story is a moral challenge. I'd love to see the film with wise judges from American divorce courts and hear their decisions. Sometimes the law is not adequate to deal with human feelings..."

I thought it was interesting to see the way everyone was forced to compromise some principals and not others. There was a powerful ethical/religious compulsion to tell the "truth" and we
are shown in the film how often a personal crisis can trump one's most devoutly held beliefs.

All societies have their economic pressures, laws and ways of meting out justice. This movie deals with a very personal story of two people who could not solve their difference in a society that also has religious and class distinctions. The husband was choosing between his father who has Alzheimer's and needs 24 hour care and his wife and daughter; the daughter was asked to choose between parents. And the married couple are both devoted to their daughter who is torn between them and basically to each other.

Questions of arrogance, pride and justice prevail in this film, where all the characters are basically decent people trying to live their lives in as uncomplicated a way as they can; and how chance occurrences can disrupt that very fabric.

TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY 1/14/12

Pay CLOSE ATTENTION to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy as it is complicated; even if you don't "get" most of it, one can enjoy this film anyway for the dark, haunting cinematography, and the stoic performance by that excellent actor Gary Oldman as George Smiley, and a great performance by John Hurt as his boss whose weary face reveals the horrors and strain of the job and all that that he has seen and experienced.

My friends and I were riveted to the screen, though not always sure where we were in time and place. I was not bored at all, but drank in the cold-war atmosphere and the spy game - where everyone is suspect and every look is filled with suspicion. No James Bond antics - fast cars, womanizing and gadgets - just plain old digging into files, and other quiet, albeit tedious grunt work with Smiley's sharp intellect putting the puzzle all together - often with bloody and dangerous consequences.