воскресенье, 31 марта 2019 г.

"Highlander" (1986)


There can be only one

When we were kids, we all watched «Highlander» TV-series and played in Duncan MacLeod. It were fine TV-series, which quality, nevertheless, depreciated (I don’t remember after which season). Before the TV-series, there were two «Highlander» movies. The second part I watched long time ago and even back then it didn’t impress me too much. Rewatching the first «Highlander» was a bit of cautious experience.

Why? Because there are so many examples, when our favorite childhood/teenage film do not pass the time test and after rewatching them we have only one question – «What was so special about this film». On the other hand, certain films, as my favorite «The Last Boyscout» pass the time test and you want to rewatch them again and again.


What a makes a banal action movie cool? Perhaps, a hero’s charisma. Remember the black humor and philosophical dialogues of Bruce Willis and his verbal clashes with Damon Wayans, and also charismatic villains. «Highlander» also passed a 33-year test. What makes a story about immortals, who chop each other heads, so attractive?

The story becomes attractive, if you add here some fine actor, including, sadly, underperformed Christopher Lambert. Only a year ago he played a thief, hooligan and vagabond Fred in «Subway», which enabled him to get a first main billing in the English-speaking film. His Connor MacLeod is not an unnatural superhero; he is a man.


The Immortal is a creature with superpower and immortality doesn’t brings out a joy. Such life leads to sadness, because you cannot have children and you will always lose your loved ones. Some Immortals turns into monsters, but Connor MacLeod saved his humanity. He helps people, saves children from the SS and kept an ability for love and compassion, but he would pay anything in order to become human again.

His nemesis – Kurgan, - is a complete antipode. He lost his sanity because of the immortality and superpower and turned into the monster, which could kill anyone and crash anything. If he wins, the humanity would enter the Dark Age. Clancy Brown also did an outstanding job in creating a villain, which terrified all kids.

Another characters also did a good job. Sean Connery is tantamount to a nice Scottish single malt, which you could keep for ten years in your bar and it would get better and better. Sean Connery did a good job in portraying Ramirez – a tutor of Connor, which taught him new rules and the main thing – always to stay human and apply your new power responsibly.

While rewatching all films you could expect a disappointment with old special effects. Yes, multiplication is not so cool in computer age, but sword fights and stunts are still quite impressive, so just don’t pay attention to old special effects.


You should not forget the music. Queen wrote a music, which enabled to make the fight atmosphere. While listening Who Wants to Live Forever, the spectator would feel sadness with Immortals, who can’t keep their loved ones; Don’t Lose Your Head prepares you for the battle scenes and etc. It is very sad, that Freddie Mercury died, but his music lives forever.

The Director did an outstanding job in assembling the spare parts, which resulted in a great and rewatchable film. Don’t afraid to be disappointed and rewatch «Highlander» and after that, to make it even better, listen to A King of Magic by Queen!

суббота, 30 марта 2019 г.

«Cas sluhu» (1989)


The time for lackeys

On the 8th of April, 1975 Vaclav Havel wrote a letter to the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Gustav Husak about a moral, cultural and intellectual crisis of the «normalized» Czechoslovakia. Particularly, the playwright wrote about current political system, which pushes the born lackeys to the top, which are ready for any humiliation and willing at all times to sacrifice their neighbors and their own honor for a chance to ingratiate themselves with those in power.

Vaclav Havel summarized, that such a situation can only lead toward the gradual erosion of all moral standards, the breakdown of all criteria of decency, and the widespread destruction of confidence in the meaning of values such as sincerity and honor. In 14 years after the letter, when CSSR was living its last days, a young debutante Irena Pavlásková shot «Cas sluhu» - a film about Czechoslovakia in words of Vaclav Havel.


In beginning of the 1980s, a young medical student Dana dates a young international relations student Marek, until the day when young Prague inhabitant and a future young diplomat dumps this village girl. Dana gets so devastated and in order to kick Marek, she persuades her girlfriend Lenka to «lend» her boyfriend Milan (a young functionary in the Foreign Ministry) for a one-month marriage.

In 1980, Krzysztof Zanussi showed in «Constance» the closed and unpleasant world of the people, who were able to travel abroad and get foreign currency. Those were the workers, but the «crème» was functionaries in Foreign Ministry and diplomats, which were, rather, specific people. There were big dossiers on every diplomat and functionary and one snitch was a ground for dismissal. That is why their sphere was not characterized by such words, as trust and mutual help.


Any society, which artificially rations some goods (including foreign travel), oppresses freedom ad have a strong repressive apparatus, becomes crueler and nervous. The most enterprising inhabitants of such society are using any methods of advancement and they have real blood on their hands. Later, such people would start a cruel circus of wild capitalism, which was always quite familiar.

In 1980’s Czechoslovakia nobody believes in socialism and in two hours of the film, the only symbol of socialism is a portrait of Brezhnev in some government office. In this Czechoslovakia, everybody is concerned with self-advancement and the success is measured by your level of unscrupulousness.


Dana says that she moved to Prague in order to leave her unscrupulous mother and to earn an honest living as a doctor. Despite that, her subconsciousness remembers only one way of success and she catches the golden train, Dana becomes a cynical and calculating bitch. Even her looks are altered – from a bleak student she transforms into sexy woman, which radiates cruelty, ruthlessness and power.

New Dana promotes only herself and other people for her are merely garbage and instruments, and she doesn’t even bother to hide such attitude. She teaches others how to manipulate, play a double-face and to promote yourself at any price. Dana even helps to further the career of detested husband in order to get a grip on more luxury items. And in the end, a hard currency prostitute would point out Dana as equal, but maybe prostitute’s labor is more «honorable», than Dana’s.


The same letter to Husak, have an interesting passage about societal attitude for the opposing individuals. Vaclav Havel wrote, that those indifferent neighbors may expel opposing person from their midst, for appearance sake while sympathizing with him in secret or in private, hoping to still their conscience by clandestine approval of someone who acts as they themselves should, but cannot.

According to this words, Dana gets «flashes of conscience». She privately praises a colleague of Milan, who is not afraid to speak out, she asks mother to help with employment of Milan’s ex-girlfriend and even speaks out against Milan’s authorities. Furthermore, she takes a pleasant history researcher as a lover and feeds him stories about her upcoming divorce. Does it remind you about a gangster, who sponsors classical music and church renovation?


Despite that, when Dana is faced with true, but materially poor love, she sticks to the unloved husband, because he could provide her with foreign trips and she lost an ability to work and converse with usual people. No, love and truth would never prevail over lies and hatred in her life. And there are tens of thousands of Danas.

Combing the realistic portrait of «normalized» Czechoslovakia, the Director reaches another level with the universal story about internal void, which could happen in any country and under any regime. I agree, that «Cas sluhu» is a film, which parallels such films as «Decalogue» by Krzysztof Kieslowski.


«Cas sluhu» was released on the 1st of November, 1989, and Vaclav Havel was unanimously elected as the President by the Federal Assembly on the 29th of December, 1989. Vaclav Havel tried to heal the sick society, but Danas started to rip off the country. Nevertheless, Vaclav Havel was able to smooth this process, not unlike the other ex-socialistic countries, and not to lose his soul after 14 years of the presidency.

Watch «Cas sluhu», without any politics, maybe it will help you to think.

воскресенье, 24 марта 2019 г.

"Green Book" (2018)


The world is full of lonely people afraid to make the first move

My first experience with Academy Award winner in this year was not too good. I tried to watch «Roma», understood that I am too stupid for this film, decided not to shame myself and turned it off. It killed off any desire to watch another winners, but everybody kept saying good words about «Green Book», so I have decided to give the second chance to Academy Award.

In 1962, in New York, an average Italian-American man Frank «Tony Lip» Vallelonga is forced into two months’ unpaid vacation, because his place work (the club) is closed for renovation. He got a recommendation to work as a driver for a black piano player, who is going to give a two-month US tour. Tony is not too tempered to work for a black man, but pride is an unaffordable luxury for a father of two, and he accepts the job…



We should not hide, that Hollywood has gone too far with political correctness. Don’t judge me wrong, I am not against tolerance as a whole, but when Asian people are cast in films about the XVI-century England, this is too much. Such films, along with teary and judging dramas, teach us quite differently (remember the great quote from Carnage: « I saw your friend Jane Fonda on TV the other day. It made me want to go out and buy a Ku Klux Klan poster»).

Forcing down the throat, especially concerning moral and ethical norms, almost never works. In order to cultivate «saint out of nature» and not «saint out of fear» (quoting Bertrand Russel) you should subtly teach about importance of thinking, that you should not judge a man only on a basis of her class, race and etc. And the most important – never to think, that «this filthy plebe» would never teach you anything.



In this aspect, «Green Book» is much better, than politicized ads. In the beginning, none of the heroes draw too much sympathy. Tony is a stereotypical blue collar American, who is more used to punch his way out of problems and to sweet-talk people. Don is a stereotypical smart ass, multiplied by his lower class achiever arrogance, who is pointing out his intellectual superiority and looks above to such plebes, as Tony.

Despite that, you cannot stay silent for two months and the heroes are forced to communicate. In this, the author made a right point – he shows how two different men are learning from each other. Tony learns from Don literacy and diplomacy; Don learns from Tony street wise skills and drops snobbery.



Yes, the film take place in the early 1960s US, the Southern States are still full with bigotry, and the heroes sometimes gets into trouble, but author doesn’t divert unnecessary attention on this. He shows, how two men drops internal stereotypes and learns to see the real sides of themselves and, finally, they become friends.

The right tolerance is that you shouldn’t automatically judge someone only on the basis of his class, race and etc. «Green Book» teaches us the right tolerance and it makes a rather pleasant watching experience. One minus – a little bit long, but it doesn’t kill the joy from watching the film.

суббота, 23 марта 2019 г.

" Le Dernier Métro" (1980)


She is cruel despite herself…

When Nazi Germany occupied France Francois Truffaut was eight years old; when France was liberated Francois Truffaut was twelve years old. A film director remembered the occupied France and wanted to picture it; he was able to do it and «Le Dernier Metro» became his most successful film.

In 1942, Paris is in occupied zone. People are trying to find nourishment and to escape the reality in theaters and cinema halls. One of the theaters, led by Jew Lucas Steiner, is desperately trying to survive. A spouse of Lucas, Marion Steiner, leads the theatre and get a permit to stage a Norwegian play. She is trying to save the theatre and the group and to hide the biggest secret – that her husband is living in a theatre’s cellar.



French cinema has films, which portrays one of the most controversial aspects of the French history – Second World War. «Lacombe, Lucien» portrays the general collaboration of the French society and work of minor collaborators; «Le Bon et les mechants» portrays the segretion of French underworld and police forces; «Au Revoir, Les Enfants» portrays the culture of betrayal, «Une Affaire de Femmes» portrays the hypocrisy of the Vichy France; «Un héros très discret» portrays the attempt of French consciousness to rewrite the Second World War page.

«Le Dernier Metro» portrays the French society as a whole and theater world. In September of 1942, it is still unknown whether the Allies would win the war and, if so, when France would be liberated. That is shy a lot of Frenchmen are mostly concerned with means of survival. Someone deals on the black market, someone is suing theatre costumes at home, someone is acting in propaganda films.



At the same time, the occupational authorities are beginning to put people against each other in order to better manage them. That is why snitching becomes the acceptable way to promote yourself. From every corner people hear stories about how Filthy Jews are ruining the Great France and almost everyone is afraid that someone would snitch on him that he is a Jew.

Sergei Dovlatov was absolutely right about his words «who wrote four million snitches?». Strangely, the officers of Wehrmacht are portrayed rather better, than some of the Director’s fellow countrymen. All power in France is in hands of scum, who are using propaganda as a mean of destroying their adversaries. One such voluntary collaborators is a disgusting theatre critic Daxiat, who wants to take over all theaters, including Steiner’s theatre.



From the other side, Marion Steiner and her colleagues are forced to walk on the knife edge in order to save the theater. They are forced to insert clauses into contracts that none of the actors are Jews, get censor’s visa on plays and humiliate themselves with Daxiat and other scum. Marion Steiner is forced to be «the most fervent Catholic» in order to save her husband from concentration camp.

This forced collaboration of Marion Steiner is met with ire from her colleagues, including young Bernard Granger. A member of Resistance Bernard at first considers Marion as a cold and indifferent woman and willing collaborator; later, strangely, they start to develop mutual feelings. Nevertheless, Marion cannot put at risk her colleagues.


The main enemy of any dictatorship is a free art. We all remember famous photos of book burnings in Nazi Germany. Any dictatorship is afraid of free art, because it enables to show to the people the incompetence and impotence of any «Great State». That is why almost any independent piece of art is immediately banned, but most of the censors are stupid and you could bypass them by coded language.

Francois Truffaut reminds us about a role of real art as an antidote to cultural barbarity. In staged play, there is coded message about prevailing hypocrisy and double speak and remind about a need to save humanity until the inevitable good times. The Director doesn’t judge such people, as Marion Steiner, who is forced to do unpleasant things in order to save the loved ones; the Director is judging only such scum, as Daxiat.


The Director was able to shoot an important film about a need to preserve your soul in dark times and about a sheer power of the real art. Only those people, who saved their souls, apart from «few scratches», would come back to the liberated scene and get real applause. I recommend to watch «Le Dernier Metro» with some of the films, which I mentioned in the second paragraph.

понедельник, 18 марта 2019 г.

"Trois couleurs : Rouge" (1994)


Fraternite

There are certain encounters (even the short ones) in our life, which catalyzes the most profound changes in our life. 10 years ago I have met a person and we were chatting on different themes and I felt, as if I have known this person for 1000 years. My foolishness was the reason why I lost this person, but I was given a very important last message: «You’re one of those, who consider themselves cynics, but you still didn’t have enough of life. In 10 years you would probably understand me».

I understood those words much earlier, but I have got a chance to say it to this person. That acquaintance lasted for about three weeks, but it was a case for a «full reboot» of my system. I would be glad, if the life of this person would be good, because without this wisdom, I would be still a complete life fool. You would ask me – why am I torturing you with my biography? I am doing this, because even during the first viewing of «Trois couleurs: Rouge» I recalled all acquaintances, which caused the profound effect in my life.



A lot of our life events are dictated by accidents. One negligent word, which causes the mist profound harm to another man; one accidental encounter in unusual place, which causes the most profound changes in our life; acceptance to University, about which you have never dreamed. As everything else, accidents could be positive or negative.

MSU Professor Vladimir Tomsinov always tells the law students the following: «In the law school you are indoctrinated into thinking, that all people are scumbags. You cannot trust anyone. You will be cheated or tried to be cheated by the people, whom you are allowed to do this. What king of lawyer is it, who believes in integrity and honesty of other people?»

Those words could be fully attributed to criminal judges. During their practice they will encounter such things, which would easily destroy any traces of believe in humanity. Also criminal judge, as God, has an absolute power to condemn to prison or death (the latter in some countries). Judge could condemn non-guilty and acquit guilty, but by the time of retirement they reach complete spiritual burnout.


A retired criminal judge Joseph Kern is one of those burned out men, who lost faith in everything. He developed an addiction for human scum and he satisfies it by spying on the neighbor’s telephone calls. Every day brings him closer to complete indifference and loneliness, and even runaway of his dog Rita doesn’t bother the judge too much.

A young student and model Valentine Dussaut is one of the rare type of people, who has «a beautiful soul». One night, she accidentally hits Rita with her car and bring the dog back to the judge. The Judge is not too interested in a dog and he rudely sends away Valentine, but she tells him a few words, which have the most profound effect on the judge’s soul. After some time, the Judge and Student would meet again…

I am not a big fan of poetry, but I remembered one line of «Ulysses» by Lord Tennison: « I am a part of all that I have met ». The main heroes became the «parts of each other» and unleashed the best in them. The Judge no longer feel a need to explore scum, because he regained his faith in humanity; the Students sees a lost man in need of help and not an angry and poisonous old fool. Although they cannot be together because of the huge age difference, their good deeds woulg light their life cycle.


Some critics considered «Trois couleurs» as a manifesto of a New Europe. If they meant a political union, than they were wrong, because it is not a political trilogy, If they meant a possibility for the Polish director to attract French financing in order to make film about common themes of humanity, which would be applauded on the Western film festivals, then they were right.

Krzysztof Kieślowski travelled a long path in his art. If in his first feature film he was a cynic and misanthrope, his last films shows his transformation into the highest form of humanist. The last film enables people to believe, that there are still some kind people left on Earth and their unselfish kindness create an unbreakable bond with other people.

I, as these French girl, who said to the Director about « La Double Vie de Véronique», that this film «made her to believe that soul exists» watched the film beyond the end titles and understood, that something inside of me was better. Thank you, Pan Krzysztof, for giving us the art into the highest meaning of this word. Maybe someone else would also watch the film and feel something good.

суббота, 16 марта 2019 г.

"Comédie de l'innocence" (2000)


Tu n’est pas ma maman

Tonight is the 66th birthday of Isabelle Huppert. She started her film career in 1971 and Isabelle Huppert still keeps us pleased with her successes. She played, among others, the roles of two condemned to death women, Marie Curie, Anna Bronte, Emma Bovary and so on and so on.

In 2015, Isabelle Huppert visited Moscow theatre and I was, primarily stunned, by her stage moves. She, wearing a rather high-heel shoes, floated like a butterfly. Among her many years, I would pay special attention to 2000. In 2000, Michael Haneke finished shooting «La Pianiste» (it was released the next year), «Merci Pour Le Chocolat» (I watch it every year on her birthday) and she acted in play «Medee».


The same year, Isabelle Huppert starred in «Comedie de l’innocence» made by Chilean filmmaker Raul Ruiz. This film was rather overlooked, but it doesn’t make it worse than her more known roles. That is why, on the birthday of Isabelle Huppert, it is more convenient to recall some of her lesser-known roles.

Once, King Solomon was visited by two women with argument about a toddler. After listening to the argument, Solomon ordered to cut the baby into two pieces and give the parts to arguing women. After hearing the cry of woman not kill the child and to give it to her rival, Solomon realized who was the real mother.


One rich and affluent French family have a rather good and steady life. Serge and Ariane are celebrating the 9th birthday of their beloved son Camille. Everything goes as planned, until the evening, when Camille starts to call his mother by name and stating that he is really Paul, and they should urgently visit «the real mother». Ariane and Camille have reached the address and they encounter Isabella – a woman, who lost a son two years ago, - which happily embrace Paul-Camille and the boy calls her a real mother.

The strongest bond is a mother love. Mother loves her child unconditionally and would never abandon him or put him in harm’s way. The death of a child is one of the main human tragedies, which could completely destroy the woman’s life (at least, psychologically). The other tragedy – loss of a child or if a child rejects the mother.


The children are enjoying fantasies, including inventing new biographies and parents. Some of such fantasies are deliberate and aim to hurt the more (as in a case, when mom refuses to buy something). Usually such tantrums are short-lived, but what if child makes a claim about another mum and such claim is somehow verified?

The worst thing in such satiation is ambiguity. When child is physically sick, you know, most of the times, about proper drugs and how to nurse your child back to feet. In case of the «second mother», mum have the only course of action left – to mend fences with her rival in order not to lose a child, because such radical trial, as in parable about King Solomon, are abolished since the Middle Ages.


Every minute in such surrealistic situation is destroying Ariane’s psychic. Everything looks like as a rather bizarre nightmare, but Ariane cannot wake up and merely embrace Camille. The only option left for her is to dream about another Solomon, who would help to settle her dispute for good.

By using a rather simple means, the director was able to shoot a haunting story about a child loss. The worst is that such stories are quite real and the only hope that such Kafkaesque story would never happen to you or your close friends. Despite all of that, I would like to thank Isabelle Huppert for making this film «fly». I am impatiently waiting for release of «Greta» and again wish the happiest of birthdays to Isabelle Huppert!

среда, 13 марта 2019 г.

"Giorgino" (1994)


Je t’aime mélancolie

Milen Farmer rocked the French music world of the 1980s. Music, provocative lyrics and, of course, the first rate music videos, which resembled the actual films. A talented film director and composer Laurent Boutonnat was one of the main architects of Milen Farmer’s success, because he directed those music videos and helped to stage her shows.

 


Since 1982, Laurent Boutonnat wanted to shoot «Giorgino». In 1992, he finally got the chance and Milen Farmer agreed to act in order to provide some «star power» to the film. The film was released… and became a box office bomb. «Giorgino» grossed about 0,5 million euros against a 12 million euros budget. The critics also destroyed the film, but was it justified?

In October 1918, an army doctor Giorgio Volli got with his regiment under gas attack and became the sole survivor. An attack severely damaged Volli’s lungs and he was medically discharged from active duty. He returns to an orphanage, in which he worked before the war, and finds out that the children were evacuated to another French village. When he makes to the village, he finds out that all children drowned and the villagers suspect, that they were murdered by mysterious Catherine.



The pyrrhic French victory in the First World War did an irreparable damage to the French nation, which became the cause of French defeat in the Second World War. By watching «Giorgino», the spectator would feel the power and verbosity of this national trauma.

A snowy village, surrounded by mountains and deep forests, symbolizes France in 1918. This village is inhabited by women on the edge of madness, who are hoping for return of their husbands/brothers/sons. The wartime cruelty turned children into jackals and one-legged priest symbolizes the phrase of Friedrich Nitzsche «God is dead» (of course in a misquoted context).



Lots of veterans and discharged on medical ground are ending up in a psychiatric asylum, which is merely a chilling alternative to quick combat death. This hell is runned by doctors and nurses, who are also plagued by wartime cruelty, are staging depraved experiments aimed at spiritually killing «rope-marked» patients, instead of healing them.

The disillusioned and bitter French people desire to find a way to channel their anger on someone and they got the motive – death of orphans. Some of the villagers are thinking that the children were killed by wolves, but most of them suspect red-haired Catherine. You should not forget that in the Middle Ages the red-haired girls were considered witches and the war is a fertile ground for the most bizarre beliefs.



On the hand, while watching the misadventures of gassed Giorgio Volli you could draw up a certain parallel with Andrzej Zulawski’s « The Third Part of the Night» and a logical question – if those events are merely the game of sick and dying subconsciousness of Giorgio. You could agree or disagree with me, but first you have to watch the film.

The War will soon end and it will not bring a joy to the nation. On the opposite, the nation would grieve for their fallen ones and experience anger, which could not be satisfied by attacking the state. Every minute of the film multiplies this mood and in the end you would also feel this pain of the French nation in 1918.


The director realized this concept by, among other things, attracting the first class actors, including Louise Fletcher and Joss Ackland. Milen Farmer was also a pleasant surprise. We all know about her great charisma, but she convincingly portrayed a mystique «red-haired witch», which is always a target in war time.

The only weak point of a movie is certain gaps, which slows down the development of tension. I think that in order to train director should have made an «easier» film before « Giorgino», but he preferred that his first film would also be his dream film. Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt the film.


There are lots of cases, when good films flops at the box office. So, forget about box office and watch the story about real consequences of war. I think that such films are needed, because they illustrate how war is abominable and its consequences. Maybe someone would not talk and joke lightly about the war.