THE CRITERION COLLECTION update

For those of you who haven't visited Criterion recently, they have some interesting additions and developments to their collection. Their cult movie line has a deliciously splendid mix of kitsche and classic. On Five, the Criterion blog, is worth a look for its insight into Criterion's work and the tribulations involved with some surprising anecdotes.

And for those of you who have upgraded your systems to BluRay, Criterion will release The Last Emperor, Bottle Rocket, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Chungking Express, and The Third Man on BluRay in November this year(2008).

Links:
Criterion
OnFive (Criterion Blog)
Criterion Trailers (YouTube)

So Yong Kim's TREELESS MOUNTAIN

Early word on So Yong Kim's Treeless Mountain is promising following on from her first feature In Between Days. This is Kim's statement on the film:

"TREELESS MOUNTAIN is inspired by events from my early childhood in Pusan, Korea. My mother divorced our father and left us with our grandparents on a rice farm. She immigrated to America in order to find a better life for herself and to build a future for her children. At the time of these events we were too young to understand and our mother did not tell us what was happening. I began writing the film to search for certain lost memories from this period of my life and also as a letter to my mother.

As the story began to take shape, Jin, the main character, took on her own distinctive personality and blossomed. As the writing progressed, the story and the characters began to separate from actual events from my life. Jin's emotional and physical journey became the main force of the story. As in the case of the Aimie character in IN BETWEEN DAYS, I used my personal memories and experience as the starting point to develop Jin, and then allowed her to dictate her own journey.


TREELESS MOUNTAIN is a simple story about a six-year-old girl, Jin, and her journey to early maturity. Jin's sensitivity and the complexity of the emotions stem from her desire to have her family life back. She must let go of everything she has known in order to persevere. In this sense TREELESS MOUNTAIN is an intimate portrait of a young girl and a classic coming-of-age story. I wanted to tell the story of Jin in order to celebrate her resilience in life."

Links:
So Yong Kim interview (IndieWIRE)
Treeless Mountain review (Twitch)
Treeless Mountain review (Spout.com)
Treeless Mountain official site

The Kitsche Appeal of GODZILLA

I've always had a soft spot for the innocent fun and snappy tempo of a good Japanese monster (Kaiju) film. I grew up with Godzilla films in technicolor on television and its appeal never vanished and to a great extent, it's retro-hyper-aesthetic has merged with my own.

It was somewhat surprising to find this guilty pleasure is shared by an unexpected other. And having browsed for further information on Godzilla, I found that the source of the Japanese name Gojira is supposedly an amalgam of the Japanese words for ‘gorilla’ (gorira) and whale (kujira). It's things like that which make me smile; gorilla-whale.

Links:
Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (Conscientious)
Cultreviews essay
Godzilla - original BFI release

Favourite Scenes: THE GREAT DICTATOR

It has been something of a political week (though not by design) on the Wire so I suppose it's appropriate that this is the current favourite scene. I selected it before the last, but it's arrival is timely.

The ending scene from The Great Dictator is a heartfelt plea that remains surprisingly relevant. The mention of the "aeroplane and radio" is easily applied to modern transport and communication. "The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all." As for prejudice, greed, war... we haven't outgrown those either.

At this point in the film, Charlie Chaplin is less a character than his self and looks directly at the audience. It's startling and the conviction with which he delivers the speech is hypnotic. Below are the original speech as well as an effective version from Duffy23 featuring music and mixing from the brilliant Lasse Gjertsen.

original

Lasse Gjertsen mix

Here is the full text of the Look up, Hannah speech:

"Hope... I'm sorry but I don't want to be an Emperor - that's not my business - I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that.

We all want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the earth is rich and can provide for everyone.

The way of life can be free and beautiful.

But we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men's souls - has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.

We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say 'Do not despair'.

The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die [now] liberty will never perish...

Soldiers - don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you - who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you as cattle, as cannon fodder.

Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men. You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate - only the unloved hate. Only the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers - don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty.

In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written " the kingdom of God is within man " - not one man, nor a group of men - but in all men - in you, the people!

You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let's use that power - let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie. They do not fulfil their promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfil that promise. Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness.

Soldiers - in the name of democracy, let us all unite!

Look up! Look up! The clouds are lifting - the sun is breaking through. We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world. A kind new world where men will rise above their hate and brutality.

The soul of man has been given wings - and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow - into the light of hope - into the future, that glorious future that belongs to you, to me and to all of us. Look up. Look up."

Links:
The Great Dictator (Roger Ebert)
The Great Dictator Wiki
The Great Dictator (BFI)

CINEMATIC TYPOGRAPHY

The following is a selection of typographic animations based on movie scenes. It's interesting to see how they flow, influence and enhance the dialogue.

Links:
I Love Typography
ABC Typography
Typographic Animation tutorial(Computer Arts)
Typography Wiki

Baz Luhrmann's AUSTRALIA

"Australia is Baz Luhrmann's first feature film since the 2001 musical success Moulin Rouge! The highly anticipated film centres on an English aristocrat in the 1930s, played by Nicole Kidman, who comes to northern Australia to sell a cattle property the size of Belgium. After an epic journey across the country with a rough-hewn drover, Hugh Jackman, they are caught in the bombing of Darwin during World War II. Filming began late April 2007 & concluded December 19th 2007. The film is slated for a November 13 2008 release."

The teaser trailer for Australia is below. For additional viewing options, visit the official site HERE.

After enjoying Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, I'm looking forward to seeing his approach to this film which looks like a departure from his earlier work. Also, I highly recommend Nick Cave's The Proposition which (like the recently mentioned Dead Man) viscerally presents a convincing representation of a gritty period of history and like Luhrmann's latest is set in Australia.

I haven't enjoyed everything from Luhrmann but that doesn't diminish my admiration for his work which began with this gentle gem:

Links:
Australia
Bazmark Inq (official Baz Luhrmann site)
Baz Luhrmann Wiki
Baz the Great! (fansite)

Favourite Scenes: DEAD MAN

Jim Jarmusch certainly ranks among my favourite film makers and I can track key events in my life through the release of his films. I saw Dead Man on the day of its release(1996) in London and having seen Jarmusch's earlier works, this was surprising. I have several scenes I love in this film, but the one scene that has lingered with me all these years is one in which the protagonist William Blake(Johnny Depp) embraces a dead fawn in the forest.

I have read numerous interpretations of this scene and generally speaking they're all quite interesting, but I believe it is our protagonist literally embracing death. Up until this point in the film, he has been running from the truth ("but I'm not dead") and in his vision quest for which his discovery of the fawn is a part, he finally understands Nobody(Gary Farmer)'s view that death is inherently a part of the fabric of life. In facing this truth, he finds peace and this scene perfectly illustrates this.

Aesthetically, the way the black and white film exaggerates the textures of the leaves, the fawn, the fur of Blake's coat, and the plaid of his trousers is rich and earthy. The appearance of his black hat in the top-down view of the scene is almost like a hole in the ground. Everything blends and in death, everything returns to the earth and in the stillness of this scene, it looks beautiful and tranquil.

The scene also reminds me personally of a time when my mum went mushroom picking in Washington State and one day found a mortally wounded deer in the forest. It had been shot and left. She stayed with it until it breathed its last and came home without the mushrooms but returned instead with a story. I was 10 years old at the time.

Dead Man trailer

Links:
Dead Man analysis (The Film Journal)
Jim Jarmusch Dead Man Q&A (NY Trash)
Jim Jarmusch (Senses of Cinema)
Jim Jarmusch Wiki
Jim Jarmusch interview (The Guardian)

Ari Folman's WALTZ WITH BASHIR

One of the first films from this year's Cannes to cause a stir is Ari Folman's animated feature Waltz with Bashir.

The synopsis from the official site:

One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari Folman about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life.

Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images …

Links:
Waltz with Bashir
Animation tipped for Cannes glory (BBC)
Waltz with Bashir (GreenCine Daily)
Folman's confession thrills Cannes (Guardian)
Ari Folman (IMDB)

LORCAN FINNEGAN's video for Orba Squara's "Gravel"

This video was a little confection in an otherwise bitter day. EDIT: Lorcan has removed the video from his Vimeo page. Here's the YouTube version:

Links:
Gravel (Lovely Productions)
Gravel (No Fat Clips)
Lorcan Finnegan (MySpace)
Lorcan Finnegan (Vimeo)
Orba Squara
Orba Squara (MySpace)
Lorcan Finnegan (YouTube)
Lorcan Finnegan (BBC)

The Reykjavík Arts Festival 2008

The Reykjavik Arts Festival has been held since 1970 featuring an international selection of artists. Since 2004, the original bi-annual schedule of the festival was made an annual event held each May. This year it will be held from the 15 May to 5 June.

The festival takes in a variety of artists with music representative of classical, pop, jazz, opera, and world as well as visual artists, seminars, theatre and dance. Some of the highlights of this year's festival include Croatian Contemporary Art at Gallerí 100°, the Experiment Marathon Reykjavík at the Reykjavík Art Museum (RAM) organized by the Serpentine Gallery(London), and what sounds to be a fascinating performance by the Iceland Dance Company and The Norwegian Company of Contemporary Dance featuring choreography by Ina Christel Johannessen and music composed by two Icelandic musicians, Kira Kira and Hildur I. Gudnadottir, along with their German counterpart Dirk Desselhaus.




Links:
The Reykjavik Arts Festival

Cannes 2008 - Short film online competition

Having been selected by Danny Lennon from more than 650 submissions from around the world, the nine entries selected for the 2008 NFB online competition can be viewed below. Voting ends on May 19, 2008.

EDIT: Voting has ended and the videos have been removed. The winner will be announced on May 21, 2008.

Links:
Cannes 2008 NFB Online Competition
Profiles of films in competition
Competition YouTube page - English
Competition YouTube page - French
Short Film Corner

Introducing RUNA ISLAM

The second introduction to the quartet of Turner Prize nominees, Runa Islam graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2004. Born in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1970, she now works and resides in London.

From White Cube:

Runa Islam makes film and video installations that use overlapping layers of narrative to explore notions of truth and fiction, subjectivity and authorship. Islam installs her films in architectural configurations, frequently presenting them across two or three screens as a framing device. Her work aims to blur the distinctions between film and sculpture, art and cinema, and encourages a range of interpretations from viewers.

Links:
Runa Islam (White Cube)
Runa Islam - video excerpt (Artonfilm)
Runa Islam (Hammer Museum)
Runa Islam (Frieze Magazine)
Cinematic Effects: The art of Runa Islam (ArtForum)
Runa Islam images (Shugo Arts)
Runa Islam - Conditional Probability (Serpentine Gallery)
Runa Islam - CV (White Cube)
Runa Islam - Time takes a cigarette (White Cube)
Runa Islam interview (Kopenhagen.dk)
Runa Islam Q&A (White Cube)

Introducing CATHY WILKES

The first introduction to the four artists nominated for this year's Turner Prize, Cathy Wilkes was born in Belfast(1967). Her work is varied, precocious, feminine and as a whole surprisingly concise. A Borges-like symmetry and enigma emanate from her creations.

Cathy Wilkes currently lives and works in Glasgow. Her show for which she is nominated at the Milton Keynes Gallery runs through to June 8, 2008




Links:
Cathy Wilkes (The Modern Institute)
Cathy Wilkes (MAP Magazine)
Cathy Wilkes (Manifesta 5)
Cathy Wilkes (Milton Keynes Gallery)
Cathy Wilkes (Frieze)

Favourite Scenes: MAN ON THE MOON

Milos Forman's biopic of Andy Kaufman, Man on the Moon was received with mixed reviews and tepid box office, but a number of the negative reviews seem to have missed the point as much as those who felt compelled to label Kaufman a comedian. For me, Milos Forman managed to create a biopic that deftly captures the spirit of its subject with Jim Carrey putting in a solid performance.

The scene that ranks among my favourites is short(less than a minute) and segues onto Kaufman's funeral. It is the moment that Kaufman(Carrey) realises that his last shot at survival is a falsehood. In that instant, Carrey exudes fear, acceptance, appreciation, humour, and something else that is hard to grasp; perhaps regret? Resignation? It's difficult to tell, but it is a potent moment that is compounded by the fact that during this expression, Carrey's gaze is firmly fixed on us/the audience.

Below are clips including the scene in question. If you've not seen the film, I recommend giving these a miss.

Here is a selection of videos pertaining to the film and Andy Kaufman...

Links:
Milos Forman (Official Site)
Man on the Moon(Official Site)
Andy Kaufman
Milos Forman Wiki
Andy Kaufman Wiki
Man on the Moon Wiki
Man on the Moon trailer (YouTube)