I don’t know if anyone is being condemned if we still rent their movies, and the choice to see them is never entirely based on political content. Speaking for myself, it’s curiosity about the message and the ways that it was presented – the artistry in the rhetoric. The art, in cases where the director is so damn good that it’s worth looking at decades later, trumps the underlying politics. It doesn’t diminish or counteract them, but it alters the conversation. At least for me.
Saw this in the theater in Tribeca, and every time I’ve watched it since has created a sense of nostalgia for those long, beautiful shots of the desert on the big screen, and the loud sound of crunching dirt that no home tv could ever replicate. If I ran Film Forum, this would show at least once a year – in the winter, on weekend afternoons.
I too love the made-up language and ease with which they interact and talk. It obviously helps that they’re friends in real life and that they’re not exactly “acting” some of the time, but I don’t care. That doesn’t detract from the beauty of the whole thing.
Vellaem – my understanding was that they had to finish filming in California… I just checked IMDb and Jordan is listed as well? That seems like a waste of money.
Thoughts? I have mine, but I’m more curious about the forum’s reactions to it.
One thing: in the interview linked above, they discuss the hyper-awareness of sounds and actions in the wake of seeing the movie, and I must second that feeling. Saw it the day it came out, last Friday, when it was pouring in NY, and we left the theater to smoke and ended up standing under an awning for ten minutes, not saying a word. When we finally started walking, I felt like I was moving in slow motion, even though it was pouring and Houston and Broadway were full of loud cars and the sidewalks were packed with people and umbrellas. I felt a bit like the main character – challenging the pace and action around me with my own slower, more reserved pace.
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop. My point is that I think this experience, in my opinion, makes this a great movie.
I sense I’ll have a hard time changing your mind, but I think he’s saying something interesting about making and watching movies, and that those cliches are intentional, the tinkering with the expectations of a movie with this sort of plot. The repetition and the woven dialog, I think, are him working out his options, tweaking the lines and approaches and ideas, and enjoying that process along the way. I don’t think the point – or his goal – is anything beyond that. (This is, I think, either undermined or underscored by his admission that he wrote the scenes only the day before shooting. I can’t figure out which.) And on top of that it’s beautiful, and creates a wonderful aesthetic that I loved being in for a couple of hours.
Do you like or dislike Tarantino? I feel like the loyalty is not dissimilar.
Why? Because sometimes art on the big screen is just plain cool. I’m not saying it’s breaking new ground, but I’m not asking it to, nor do I think every film needs to.
Saw this last night (thank you on-demand!). Though it took me about half of the short movie to figure out why I was watching what I was watching, I think Soderbergh is saying something very interesting about the economic downturn. Sasha Grey’s character believes she is a savvy, well-heeled businesswoman, and that her stock is rising. Or rather that it can rise if she does a few things, which she elects to do only after what she considers careful deliberation. She assumes she’s nothing but rational, that she’s got everything under control. But instead she makes a few bad, irrational decisions that harm her earning potential AND her personal life. I think the metaphor is that we all believe we make rational decisions when it comes to our careers and to our finances, and that we got into the trouble we’re now in at least partially because of this hubris. Other characters surrounding her (the boyfriend, the businessmen, etc) echo her behavior to varying degrees, and supplement it. Another aspect is the feeling of entitlement. She not only feels that she’s capable of moving up with a few sound decisions, but she feels she’s entitled to move up, despite the fact that she isn’t nearly as cultured as she thinks she is, isn’t nearly the conversationist she thinks she is. Again, the boyfriend echoes this.
Anyway…anyone else see this? Thoughts? Am I making too much of it?
Beyond this, it really is a beautifully shot movie. Claustrophobic and yet voyeuristic. Lots of lingering shots of eating, the pauses in conversation, awkward self-promotion. It feels cool without asserting its coolness; modern without being overtly so.
Cache is the end of the discussion for me. Brilliant, and I think the film world will eventually rank it among the best ever made.
Inland Empire is close, though. Mulholland Drive feeds into Inland Empire, and they make a nice pair, but you can still feel the claws of the studio on MD, and the distinct lack of those same claws on IE – so many scenes that reminded me of the power of cinema to stir up genuine awe.
I think the studio’s claws are responsible for that bare minimum of narrative structure, but that Lynch doesn’t necessarily want that, or at least it isn’t his primary concern. It’s not a puzzle to be figured out. There’s no gimmick. He’s not trying to play with the viewer in that way. He just isn’t. Listen to him talk. That’s not his goal. The point is being confused, unseated, provoked, whatever you want to call it – brought away from the innate need to order things and make connections where none exist in order to feel safe. His comments on the filmmaking industry are comments on life-living, too.
I also agree that Dern is much, much better in a Lynch movie than Watts. She’s too pretty. Too precious. And though I’d never realized it before, her cadence does match (or is more capable of matching) Lynch’s Pacific Northwest backwater way of speaking pretty well. She gets the point of every word. I also think Theroux was incredible in his few scenes in IE.
I think what Reichardt is doing is captivating, and I’ll make an effort to see whatever she does as soon as possible. Her films transport me to a part of life that I just don’t spend much time with – whether it’s dwelling on the difficulties of the kind of life Wendy lives or it’s the kind of tense, loaded, nostalgia loaded relationships that happens in Old Joy. And I think that’s valuable, much like the way Jesus’ Son (the stories, not the movie) is. There is something about her shots and the pace that coaxes the viewer into the film’s mood, getting you right into the guts of the story and the emotions. And I think that’s incredible.
A friend from Nebraska once told me that the way it was placed (right-side up or upside down) signaled a man’s intentions with a woman, and that likewise a woman could signal hers by changing it’s position. This applies to cowboys, though.
Which Movies Have You Walked Out On? over 3 years ago
Alexander – and it wasn’t the acting that ruined it (though Jolie’s accent was just confusing), but the mechanical-owl-in-flight shots of the battles.
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The Most beautiful scores in cinema about 3 years ago
The Libertine – Armando Trovajoli
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you cringe when someone tells you they love this film... about 3 years ago
Waking Life
Drives me nuts that people look past the horrible dialogue and “ideas” because of the visuals.
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Is there a liberal bias in the film community? about 3 years ago
I don’t know if anyone is being condemned if we still rent their movies, and the choice to see them is never entirely based on political content. Speaking for myself, it’s curiosity about the message and the ways that it was presented – the artistry in the rhetoric. The art, in cases where the director is so damn good that it’s worth looking at decades later, trumps the underlying politics. It doesn’t diminish or counteract them, but it alters the conversation. At least for me.
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11 Vastly Underrated Films and their underrated directors about 3 years ago
Primer – Shane Carruth
I know it has its devotees, and that IFC plays it monthly, but it still seems like no one has ever heard of it, and I think it’s incredible.
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GERRY about 3 years ago
Saw this in the theater in Tribeca, and every time I’ve watched it since has created a sense of nostalgia for those long, beautiful shots of the desert on the big screen, and the loud sound of crunching dirt that no home tv could ever replicate. If I ran Film Forum, this would show at least once a year – in the winter, on weekend afternoons.
I too love the made-up language and ease with which they interact and talk. It obviously helps that they’re friends in real life and that they’re not exactly “acting” some of the time, but I don’t care. That doesn’t detract from the beauty of the whole thing.
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GERRY about 3 years ago
Vellaem – my understanding was that they had to finish filming in California… I just checked IMDb and Jordan is listed as well? That seems like a waste of money.
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Nick Cave's treatment for "Gladiator" sequel about 3 years ago
Cave also has a(nother) novel coming out soon, which I already read. It’s fantastic in that depraved, Martin Amis kind of way.
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The Limits of Control about 3 years ago
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103902528
Jarmusch talking about The Limits of Control.
Thoughts? I have mine, but I’m more curious about the forum’s reactions to it.
One thing: in the interview linked above, they discuss the hyper-awareness of sounds and actions in the wake of seeing the movie, and I must second that feeling. Saw it the day it came out, last Friday, when it was pouring in NY, and we left the theater to smoke and ended up standing under an awning for ten minutes, not saying a word. When we finally started walking, I felt like I was moving in slow motion, even though it was pouring and Houston and Broadway were full of loud cars and the sidewalks were packed with people and umbrellas. I felt a bit like the main character – challenging the pace and action around me with my own slower, more reserved pace.
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop. My point is that I think this experience, in my opinion, makes this a great movie.
Go to Comment
The Limits of Control about 3 years ago
I sense I’ll have a hard time changing your mind, but I think he’s saying something interesting about making and watching movies, and that those cliches are intentional, the tinkering with the expectations of a movie with this sort of plot. The repetition and the woven dialog, I think, are him working out his options, tweaking the lines and approaches and ideas, and enjoying that process along the way. I don’t think the point – or his goal – is anything beyond that. (This is, I think, either undermined or underscored by his admission that he wrote the scenes only the day before shooting. I can’t figure out which.) And on top of that it’s beautiful, and creates a wonderful aesthetic that I loved being in for a couple of hours.
Go to Comment
The Limits of Control about 3 years ago
Do you like or dislike Tarantino? I feel like the loyalty is not dissimilar.
Why? Because sometimes art on the big screen is just plain cool. I’m not saying it’s breaking new ground, but I’m not asking it to, nor do I think every film needs to.
Go to Comment
The Limits of Control about 3 years ago
@Casey – and the Voice loved it for many of the same reasons I do. People hated Dead Man when it came out – just saying.
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Top Ten French Films about 3 years ago
Adding to the lists…
Bob Le Flambeur (Melville)
Made in USA (Godard)
Anatomy of Hell (Breillat)
And some French productions, movies I think of as French, even though the directors aren’t by birth…
Z (Costa-Gavras)
Cache (Haneke)
Irreversible (Noe)
The Tenant (Polanski)
Blue (Kieslowski)
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Wendy and Lucy about 3 years ago
I’ve now seen Old Joy a few times and get more out of it each time. It’s one of those movies I’m constantly recommending to others.
How does Old Joy compare to Wendy and Lucy? It’s on my queue – coming soon.
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Cannes Antichrist Reaction about 3 years ago
Torture-porn through Von Trier’s filter? Yes, please. I can’t wait.
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Girlfriend Experience about 3 years ago
Saw this last night (thank you on-demand!). Though it took me about half of the short movie to figure out why I was watching what I was watching, I think Soderbergh is saying something very interesting about the economic downturn. Sasha Grey’s character believes she is a savvy, well-heeled businesswoman, and that her stock is rising. Or rather that it can rise if she does a few things, which she elects to do only after what she considers careful deliberation. She assumes she’s nothing but rational, that she’s got everything under control. But instead she makes a few bad, irrational decisions that harm her earning potential AND her personal life. I think the metaphor is that we all believe we make rational decisions when it comes to our careers and to our finances, and that we got into the trouble we’re now in at least partially because of this hubris. Other characters surrounding her (the boyfriend, the businessmen, etc) echo her behavior to varying degrees, and supplement it. Another aspect is the feeling of entitlement. She not only feels that she’s capable of moving up with a few sound decisions, but she feels she’s entitled to move up, despite the fact that she isn’t nearly as cultured as she thinks she is, isn’t nearly the conversationist she thinks she is. Again, the boyfriend echoes this.
Anyway…anyone else see this? Thoughts? Am I making too much of it?
Beyond this, it really is a beautifully shot movie. Claustrophobic and yet voyeuristic. Lots of lingering shots of eating, the pauses in conversation, awkward self-promotion. It feels cool without asserting its coolness; modern without being overtly so.
Go to Comment
Girlfriend Experience about 3 years ago
Fee – $9.99 for 24 hours. I don’t think it’ll last long.
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Mulholland Drive -- The Best Film of the 2000s (So Far)? about 3 years ago
Cache is the end of the discussion for me. Brilliant, and I think the film world will eventually rank it among the best ever made.
Inland Empire is close, though. Mulholland Drive feeds into Inland Empire, and they make a nice pair, but you can still feel the claws of the studio on MD, and the distinct lack of those same claws on IE – so many scenes that reminded me of the power of cinema to stir up genuine awe.
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Further proof of David Mamet's lunacy; or, the longest con about 3 years ago
Red Belt was abominable, and I really wanted to like it.
American Buffalo is my favorite Mamet. Fantastic acting all around.
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Mulholland Drive -- The Best Film of the 2000s (So Far)? about 3 years ago
Ganselmi & Roscoe:
I think the studio’s claws are responsible for that bare minimum of narrative structure, but that Lynch doesn’t necessarily want that, or at least it isn’t his primary concern. It’s not a puzzle to be figured out. There’s no gimmick. He’s not trying to play with the viewer in that way. He just isn’t. Listen to him talk. That’s not his goal. The point is being confused, unseated, provoked, whatever you want to call it – brought away from the innate need to order things and make connections where none exist in order to feel safe. His comments on the filmmaking industry are comments on life-living, too.
I also agree that Dern is much, much better in a Lynch movie than Watts. She’s too pretty. Too precious. And though I’d never realized it before, her cadence does match (or is more capable of matching) Lynch’s Pacific Northwest backwater way of speaking pretty well. She gets the point of every word. I also think Theroux was incredible in his few scenes in IE.
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Your favourite voice in cinema about 3 years ago
Telly Savalas
Lee Marvin
Charles Bronson
Angelica Houston
Cate Blanchett
Benecio del Toro
Adrien Brody
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Favourite film of the decade (so far)? almost 3 years ago
Cache
Has to be.
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Wendy and Lucy: feigned artistry or something more? almost 3 years ago
I think what Reichardt is doing is captivating, and I’ll make an effort to see whatever she does as soon as possible. Her films transport me to a part of life that I just don’t spend much time with – whether it’s dwelling on the difficulties of the kind of life Wendy lives or it’s the kind of tense, loaded, nostalgia loaded relationships that happens in Old Joy. And I think that’s valuable, much like the way Jesus’ Son (the stories, not the movie) is. There is something about her shots and the pace that coaxes the viewer into the film’s mood, getting you right into the guts of the story and the emotions. And I think that’s incredible.
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Philogyny almost 3 years ago
The Libertine should be included here.
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Best foriegn language films/directors of the last 5 years? almost 3 years ago
I think Gomorrah is very, very overrated. Don’t waste your time.
The Lives of Others was like Spielberg in German. If you think you’ll like that, by all means, go ahead. But I found it grating.
If you liked Cache, get Code Unknown and The Piano Teacher. Anything by Briellat will be, well, interesting.
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Most Accomplished and Cinematically Complete Woody Allen Film? almost 3 years ago
Annie Hall or Manhattan, it’s close, but I think I have more of Annie Hall seared on my brain. So I’ll go with that one.
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hat on a bed almost 3 years ago
A friend from Nebraska once told me that the way it was placed (right-side up or upside down) signaled a man’s intentions with a woman, and that likewise a woman could signal hers by changing it’s position. This applies to cowboys, though.
Go to Comment