sâmbătă, 25 martie 2017
vineri, 24 martie 2017
American Beauty written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes
American Beauty written by Alan Ball and
directed by Sam Mendes
A different
version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E
and
http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is a
fabulous film.
-
“Sometimes there's so much beauty in
the world, I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.”
And there
is beauty in this work of art, which has a stellar cast, wonderful script,
beautiful cinematography, memorable lines, a resplendent music that I loved so
much that I used it for my ringtone.
The characters
are complex, with Kevin Spacey magnificent in the lead role of Lester Burnham,
the hero and narrator.
He tells us
from the first lines what will happen to him, so there is no need for a spoiler
alert, with the story remaining fascinating in spite of the revealed grand
finale.
Lester is
married with Carolyn, even if this is just a “front” and they have a daughter,
Jane, who has a friend Angela.
Lester is kind,
likable, funny, smart, and sociable and the man who blackmails, throws
tantrums, smokes marijuana, encourages a young man to sell him illegal
substance and has perverse thoughts concerning his daughter’s friend.
The lust
for a teenager and the effort to go to bed with her could be an illegal
activity and it certainly is immoral and abject, depending on the age of his “paramour”.
It is also
true that the complexity of the hero is emphasized when he finds more about the
real status of a girl that likes to boast about many lovers, sucking d...k and
other shenanigans and has a change of heart...or maybe better said of mind?
-
“Ricky Fitts: It's like God's
looking right at you, just for a second, and if you're careful... you can look
right back.
-
Jane Burnham: And what do you see?
-
Ricky Fitts: Beauty.”
The storyline
is so challenging, it includes so many angles and it is so sophisticated that I
think this is one of the best films around.
The humor
is mixed with drama, like when Carolyn accidently comes to the burger place
where she meets her spouse and is caught in the act of kissing someone else…the
King of Real Estate, who had just been honored with – f..k me your Majesty…who
is the king? You are the king…who is the king!? Do it your majesty!
The satire refers
to the fact that so often suburbia, middle class families, ordinary people hide
such terrible stories.
Carolyn Burnham
wants to project an image of success, by that meaning money, power, sales,
status and good social position.
Positive psychology
studies demonstrate that money is important only in as much as they offer
stability.
Past the
level of comfort- about $ 3- 4,000 income per month- additional wealth does not
bring about significant increases in life satisfaction.
Carolyn has
a very bad opinion about her husband, even if for most of the movie the
audience is inclined to hate her and sympathize with the poor man, seeing as
she appears cold, robotic and cuts the trees of her neighbors.
Looking beneath
the surface however, we see a woman that is close to breakdown, tries hard to
be “successful” and live the “American Dream”, which is itself in question
here, seeing as most envisage it as having more “stuff”, buying more and more
useless items just because we can and they are advertised as necessary or
boosting status.
The Dalai
Lama comes to mind and his visit to the supermarket where he said: “Wow, so
many things I don’t need!!”
Then there
is the family next door, with the repressed colonel Fitts, who is violent and
abusive with his son, a homophobic parent, but hiding sexual desires that he
cannot admit to anyone including himself.
The mother
appears to be a wreck, not able to remember that her son does not eat bacon and
acts like a ghost.
Ricky Fitts
gets involved with Jane Burnham, but he is a strange young man, selling dope
and recovering- perhaps- from earlier traumas, having been hospitalized and
traumatized by his father and his experiences.
Angela offers
some of the very beautiful moments of the film, within a bathroom covered by
rose petals, dancing and the same multitude of rose petals flying from her
opening cleavage and then firing up the imagination of Lester Burnham with the cheerleaders
‘dance.
“There is
so much beauty in this chef d’oeuvre”, in which the actors are almost perfect,
the images splendid and the message intense:
-
“I guess I could be pretty pissed
off about what happened to me, but it's hard to stay mad when there's so much
beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once and it's
too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst. And then I
remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it. And then it flows through
me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of
my stupid little life. You have no idea what I'm talking about I'm sure, but
don't worry, you will someday.”
joi, 23 martie 2017
luni, 20 martie 2017
The Conformist adapted and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, based on the novel by Alberto Moravia
The Conformist
adapted and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, based on the novel by Alberto
Moravia
A different version of this note and thoughts on other books
are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E
and
http://realini.blogspot.ro/
A few weeks ago, I have been mesmerized by The Contempt
written by the writer of The Conformist, Alberto Moravia.
Then I saw Le Mepris, the adaptation for the big screen with
the superb Bardot and I have included The Contempt among my favorite works.
Alas, I did not have the chance to read the original this
time, I just saw the film.
And it is a very good one, albeit I was tempted to say at
times:
-
"What's
your angle here?"
I thought that the approach is post modern or surreal,
perhaps both at times.
Many, if not most of the characters are monstrous, vile.
With Marcello Clerici, played by one of my favorite actors, Jean
Louis Trintignant as one of the worst of all.
He was a promising student, the best in his generation as
the professor Luca Quadri says, but he became The Conformist, a Nazi.
He is not even one of those complex personages who have a
dark side, but at least there is some aspect that you could like about them.
The Conformist appears to be Pure Evil.
Yes, he is sensitive to the beauty of Anna Quadri, but he is
married to Giulia and Anna is the wife of his former professor.
When he shows some concern for his mother, it is again with
extreme violence that he deals with what he sees as a problem.
The woman has a lover who is Japanese and is called Ki.
-
That
means...hemlock.
The poor Ki, who looked like he did a lot of good to the
older woman, who needed comforting and someone to show affection, is killed.
In order to prepare for his marriage with Giulia, Clerici is
supposed to go to confession.
It is stated that even those who attend church do not
believe...90% of them!
That sounds like way too much for me.
Nevertheless, the confession of The Conformist is an
exercise in arrogance and it is completed...
-
In Cold
Blood
And it is not just Clerici that is outrageous.
He speaks the truth when he says:
You are more outraged by an eventual sodomy than by the
murder...
He confessed to killing someone at thirteen, but the prelate
is more interested in the homosexual act that might have been involved in the
story.
Indeed, during the scenes that rendered the incident I
thought that the closeness between the older man and the boy was inappropriate.
And that recalls the filming of A Tango in Paris.
Bertolucci was accused by the actress of being more than
abusive on the set, especially during the sex scenes.
There are many shots that are beautiful, with impressive,
minimalist architecture.
Clerici is given the mission to assassinate his former
professor, Luca Quadri, who is an
anti-fascist and lives in Paris with his wondrous spouse Anna.
The Conformist is taken, attracted by this outstanding
beauty and the outcome is in question.
He even says that he would run away with her to Brazil.
About his wife Clerici only has this to tell:
-
"Mediocre,
she's all bed and kitchen"
-
So what
will he do?
-
Will he
abandon his "cause"?
-
Or will he
remain The Conformist?
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