“Do you know what the Bush is about?”
A key question both asked answered by Melbourne detective Nathan Leckie (Guy Pierce) as he tries to turn Joshua ‘J’ Cody (James Frecheville) into a witness against his own family.
“Tarkovsky for me is the greatest [director], the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream”.
This quote from Ingmar Bergman about Andrei Tarkovksy applies to few directors, whose films are like echoes which never fade, feeling of déjà vu from things you’ve never seen.
Can there be a more “controlled” medium than animation, I don’t know. But this may be the most interesting dichotomy (or seeming contradiction) about the Quay brothers, in that they will show you elaborate images for your imagination to use as canvass and subject.
They seem to shy away from the notion of script, well maybe not shy away, so much as discard. I think they see scripting as restrictive to the creative process of story telling: the characters as well as the decors are enabled to follow their own rhythm and narration.
This, of course, is how most of us dream.
The Quay brothers’ second film, as their shorts and previous feature, is not easily described. They themselves appear like 18th century automatons, speaking in the halting way of people born into a world of opinions, hostile to developing ideas.
Their literary, visual and musical references are just this side off mainstream, not obscure so much as… Uncommon yet surprisingly attainable, and are woven in loose tapestries which invite you to pull whichever string twitches tantalizingly, following yet another rabbit hole of sorts: the décor itself is an actor.
“The piano tuner of earthquakes” would I think appeal to anyone who truly enjoyed Cocteau’s “Beauty and the Beast”, Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth”, Tim Burton’s “nightmare before Christmas” or Tarkovsky’s “Stalker”.
To try and outline a synopsis, or post pictures or a trailer, in the case their movies would be restrictive and so I do not. Instead I would simply tell you that if you have read this far, you will likely want to continue this dialogue by watching the Quay brothers’ oeuvre.
“The piano tuner of earthquakes”… Such a title, and it is just the beginning.
This French movie, filmed in the U.S., will hopefully be available on DVD in coming months. I doubt it will gain exposure in theatres as the subject matter is likely too dark and depressing, but the trailer alone hints at a masterpiece.
“Rubber” is the story of Robert who, wandering through the desert, gains awareness and special, powerful, psychic powers. One central theme of “rubber” is extermination, you may even call it genocide.
You see, Robert is a used tire. A car tire. Rolling aimlessly, unknowingly, through the desertic landscapes of the American Southwest, discarded. Used up. Until that moment when Robert rolls up languidly to a junkyard where humans are burning stacks of old tires: Robert’s kin. From then on, Robert’s burgeoning psychic powers will hone themselves into a weapon which he will turn against this humanity who created his people only to reject them after 40.000 miles or less.
Benjamin Purvis (Michael Angarano) is a home schooled teenager living in a small town with his mother Judith (Jennifer Coolidge, also known as Stifler’s mom in the “American pie” comedies).
This is a foray into the monstrosities men commit, with an unusual protagonist who herself has been mauled by such, yet has the brass to fight back…
A previous Swedish film, “let the right one in”, got us curious about cinema from that part of Europe: Sweden, Denmark, Norway and their neighbor to the Southwest, the Netherlands.
Watch the trailer:
We catch episodes of the police drama “Wallander”, either the Swedish version or the British production with Kenneth Branagh in the title role on a local station.
A gunfighter arrives in a small town divided between two powerful and vicious clans, the Whites and the Reds. You’re right: you’ve seen this before in “Yojimbo”, “last man standing” and others…
Watch the trailer:
What sets “Sukiyaki western Django” apart, then, is director Takashi Miike’s style. Visually, it looks like a very colorful dream, with that “photoshopped” quality many movies have nowadays, with high contrast and bright hues.
Tarantino feeling lucky
It has been called visually stunning, but I think that’s overstating it, just as “Avatar” felt to me like watching a fancy screensaver for almost three hours.
“Mother” – (2009, South Korea, 128 minutes – rated R)
The film opens with “Mother” (Hye-Ja Kim) walking through a field, stopping and then dancing to a theme by Byeong-woo Lee, a remarkable composition of musical motives evoking works by such diverse artists as Nino Rota, Roque Banos, Nick Cave or Frank Tetaz.
Byeong-woo Lee playing the piece live:
It starts with a cinematic work of art, further enhanced once it is revealed what Mother just did.
Julie Anne Harris was born on Dec. 2, 1925. She has always been one of my favorite actresses. In fact, she starred in my favorite movie, The Haunting, in 1963. Lastech wrote about it in Midnight Madness. She appeared in numerous movies and tv shows, including East of Eden. In addition to tv and movies, she has perfomed on stage.
According to IMDb,
Julie Harris is the most honored performer in Tony history with ten nominations and five victories. She won the award as Best Actress (Dramatic) for “I Am A Camera” (1952), “The Lark” (1956), “Forty Carats” (1969), and “The Last of Mrs. Lincoln” (1973); and as Best Actress (Play) for “The Belle of Amherst” (1977). Her five additional nominations were: for Best Actress (dramatic), “Marathon ’33” (1964) and “The Au Pair Man” (1974); for Best Actress (musical), “Skyscraper” (1966); and for Best Actress (play), “Lucifer’s Child” (1991), and “The Gin Game” (1997).
Julie Harris in the East of Eden Trailer
JBoD would like to take the time to wish Ms. Harris a wonderful and happy birthday.
Science fiction has always appealed to my imagination, for as far back as I can remember, and my favorite sub-genre remains the space opera.
Both in film and book forms, it allowed me to escape and hope the future would be better and more exciting than the present.
“Forbidden planet” is still the single most vibrant example of pure sci-fi for me, as Leslie Nielsen’s passing reminded me this week. This post isn’t intended as a review of the movie, rather it’s a look back on how it influenced me personally.
When someone like Leslie Nielsen passes on, it is difficult not to feel a pang of loss, so familiar was he to so many of us. Not just from films but from countless TV appearances over the years. It wasn’t uncommon to see him in an episode of some show before he’d appear again later the same evening on another.
He was one of those faces we grew up with, and he was never tabloid material. As young as I was when I first saw “forbidden planet” I knew Walter Pidgeon (another Canadian, like Nielsen) from various films and Earl Holliman from TV appearances, but I didn’t recognize Nielsen until years later, when I had an “aha!” moment.
I also believe my taste for electronic music (Orbital and such) stems from the fascinating soundtrack of the film, as does my love of open spaces which ultimately drove me westward.
Everything about the film, from the foreboding skies, ambient sounds and design of the underground city raised the bar for future movies, and for me there aren’t many space operas worth the time. I’ve never been a fan of the “Star Wars” series, so it’s slim pickings out there. I imagine younger viewers might find it hokey by now, but on the other hand, there are some undeniable qualities to this old pre-CGI favorite, after all theater also remains a popular art form. It still takes me back.
Leslie Nielsen in a scene from the trailer for Forbidden Planet
