Sunday, June 17, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
The Promise and The Son
Thanks to Netflix and searches of “best films” Web sites, I had the pleasure of seeing 2 related films back to back last week. Both are directed and written by the Belgian brothers, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, both starring the Belgian actor, Olivier Gourmet, whom I was not familiar with, though apparently he is well-known in Europe.
Both these films are about older male/younger male dynamics, a topic American filmmakers never address (with the possible exception of the recent Pursuit of Happyness—clouded up by the need for triumphant happy endings and Gus Van Zant’s My Own Private Idaho and Michael Cuesta’s L.I.E., though both these films have a strong, sexual overlay).
We live in times where our schools routinely prescribe Ritalin for young male “acting out” behavior, while better-behaved girls move up academically. Since other studies show conclusively that women have little interest in males less successful then they, this recent development doesn’t bode well for either males or females.
The American film landscape is full of “chick” flicks as producers believe there is little market for any serious film about male relationships in the U.S. Television is the same, with some notable exceptions (i.e., The Sopranos, Deadwood). Film & TV help reinforce identity and behavior so the absence of any visual media regarding males versus the plethora of media about female relations is a drag. [Note: action-adventure, comic book-type films or “buddy” films are not comparable to dramatic and romantic films geared for women]
That’s why it was refreshing to see these French-Belgian films.
The first, La Promesse (1996), is about a boy, a young thief and criminal, apprenticing as a mechanic while at the same time working for his father, who runs an immigrant smuggling racket: a beat-out building for housing them and shady construction projects where they can work until they get their papers and move on (or in some cases, are caught and sent back).
The film begins with a promise the boy makes to a dying man and the conflict this causes him in his relations with his father.
The second, Le Fils (2003), is about a boy just released from juvenile prison after serving time for a murder and the cabinetry teacher who takes him on as an apprentice—and possible adoption. The teacher lives alone after the dissolution of his marriage due to a catastrophic event.
The father-son relationships are expressed compellingly by the constantly-active cameral work, mostly in close-up (a la Blair Witch Project), making them appear like documentaries. No music track, no histrionics, no magical romantic moments as in many American films. Just a barebones story that is somehow natural and engrossing.
Check it out!
Saturday, March 3, 2007
On Location - 10/06/2006
Fall is here: breezy, sometimes rainy, then back to hot and humid, but not so hot and humid as in July. New Yorkers are already wearing sweaters and light coats, even in sunny, hot weather. Go figure.
Just finished Bob Dylan’s Chronicles, Volume 1 (there is no Volume 2—yet), which makes very little chronological sense but is engrossing. His telling of both the physical experience of being an artist and the creative process was enlightening to me. Why he did this or that, what the scene was, his reaction to other artists, etc. Great book!
I was down in the Village and mentioned I was reading the book to a guy at a bar. He said he’d been a bartender in those days that “Bobby” had lived around the corner. I asked him how much a studio apartment would go for in the area now. He said a room not even big enough for a double bed would rent for $1,700.
In the book, Dylan does finally take an apartment (just down from the bar I was in) after months of sofa-surfing: a 2-room place for $60–in 1961. That would make rental inflation about 6,000% in 45 years (you would double 2006’s 1-room price).
I was also struck by the empty (or emptier) artistic landscape Dylan found when he started out. He came to New York to do something new. There were other artists sure, but the field seemed somehow more sparse than today. An older artist I talked to recently voiced the same opinion: when he started out, an artist’s calling was rarer. I know from reading the autobiographies of directors John Houston and Elia Kazan that actor’s used to be looked down upon by society as ne’er do well’s. It wasn’t something you would do or want to aspire to unless you had a calling.
That’s all changed now. Everyone is an artist or wants to be. Dylan may not be everyone’s idea of an artist or a singer. I personally think he was most vital in the first 6 years of his recording career and after that he just lost it. Some really hate his voice and that distracts them. Whatever your opinion, his description of his creative processes is fascinating for those interested in the creative arts.