add a ridiculous over-blown symphonic sound track . . to a sci-fi flick that is hyped as cutting edge . . and taking place in the deep silence of outer space . . “where sound doesn’t exist”.
witness the start of the trailer, beautifully, starkly . . awesomely, silent.
I bet the Cuaron father/son team’s original draft . . . had no musical ‘background’.
my gut feeling is, my bet is . . some dumb suit – in the back office made them add it.
see: GRAVITY
THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES: REVIEWED BY NANCY SMITH. APRIL 22, 2013
if you saw THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, you might be in more of a mindset to better be able to ‘process’ the BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRAGEDY, of last week.
esp as it is playing out – with the younger bomber communicating from his hospital bed, after being reported to have fatally mowed-down his older brother, the mastermind, with a car during a gun battle. and the questions I would love to ask him about that. done to shut him up, spare him torture/imprisonment, or because he was finally mad at a him .. the mind boggles.
and the live breaking news interviews with his family and friends. amazing.
not that the film is about terrorists or bombing, though there are .. car mechanics ? ok, bike/motorcycle mechanics. and oh, I almost forgot: immigrants.
but it is . . about tragedy.
and families. sons. and twisted, intertwined .. fates.
and ultimately how easy it is, for a father to mess up a son, and esp how easy it is .. for a younger person to come under the bad influence of another.
both movie, and the real-life event, are very very intense. and move deeply to the dark side.
in the movie as in this Boston real-life story, the narrative centers on how .. just one family, i.e. each family – is .. in itself: is a cell.
a self-contained unit within society, and both fiction and non-fiction each demonstrate just how easy it is .. for everything to go south, really really quickly. with young boys at the heart of the storm.
south, for that family, and for society as a whole .. based on the particulars & history of that family: be it genetic characteristics and/or parental guidance, in this movie’s the main storyline is the lack of …
THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES .. in a nutshell, it’s the ole nature vs. nuture game, staring some pretty great actors.
it’s a game that plays out bad on both sides of the typical American scenario: a struggling ethnic/immigrant family vs. a privileged upper class family . . and predictably, both sides take a dive.
and guess what?
this film says: a lot of that bad action – depends on the actions of .. the dads.
though I’m not sure, they mean dads as in bio ‘DNA gene pool’ dad, as in the Ryan Gosling ‘dumb-luck’ dad passing on the genetic dumb-luck potential for making bad choices .. to his son, who never knew him, but had a loving home.
or .. the ‘nuturing’ factor – as in the Bradley Cooper over-achieving but traumatized cop dad because he shot the Ryan bank robber dad, and his son, of course .. turns out rotten.
who knows: maybe they were trying to cover all bases ?
I guess subconsciously that’s what makes the movie so compelling.
it really does suck you up, into the drama.
either way you cut it: this film spells .. tragedy.
Ryan Gosling’s character, Luke, is .. a maladjusted gypsy-like ‘carnie’ figure. who seemed self-contained and alright until, Eva came back .. for just one last look.
He’s a little on the dumb side, served up with a gorgeous all-American face, and skills. he is a daredevil motorcyclist in a traveling circus. a hero to summer kids with circus tickets, but a way big loser . . in the bigger picture.
anyway this film – is NOT about religion, or immigration. it cuts closer to the bone.
it’s about the fathers. and their sons. and just how crucial, and how precarious the family unit, EACH FAMILY UNIT is, dad being central .. to the success and mellowness of the family, therefore to all of society, as a whole.
I mean who wants to be shot, dead .. on a minor expedition to empty the bank. yes Ryan’s character quickly morphs into a bank robber, motivated by wanting to take care of his new son.
fast forward, and I do mean FAST FORWARD !!
who wants their carefully raised and loved school kid, same Ryan’s son .. caught up in neglected rich kids’ drug-fuelled parties . . and being busted and put behind bars for like .. 5 to 15 years.
likewise back to real life: who wants to be blown up and maimed in a marathon. a celebration of inner resolve and new age positivity.
so consider that: ALL you people always looking for the b-i-g answer, the .. ‘motive’.
the black and white. the ‘why’?
tragedy, it seems is very complex: born of bad choices, certainly .. but also stemming from deep-rooted parental, if not downright genetic .. circumstance.
that’s the mind-set I was referring to.
in Boston, just like in this harrowing movie, it might just come down to .. the family. the dad. the mom. the genes. the instincts. the old world culture. the history.
this film is also about .. ‘losers’. a word that got taken away from the Boston event, too.
though ‘corruption’ also plays a part.
in fact the police corruption bit in the film . . is it’s weakest link. and the most boring part of the whole movie. RAY LIOTTA . . is way too obvious. I almost walked out, right then and there. lucky I didn’t, so just sit still when the movie wanes .. it most definite gets better.
‘losers’.
in this movie .. its about the spectrum, the different ways there are to be losers, on both sides of the coin .. rob a bank / shoot a robber too soon. and the way these bad choice actions in and of themselves produce a shared tragedy: produces the next generation of losers – the robber’s son is a loser for making wrong choices, but seems to come out ahead, while the cop’s son looks to be totally evil & unredeemed. the bad guy Ryan’s son is looking good, after taking a manipulated wrong turn, unlike his dad, he gets a second chance – by the very cop who did not give his dad a second chance. while his son – looks e.o.a. – evil on arrival, no going back, no good to come. and in that sense: dead. it’s kind of the classic – cross-over. it sounds a bit complicated as a soundbite – but as a movie – it rocks, and it ROLLS.
plus: it’s worth the time and ticket just to watch RYAN GOSLING .. duh.
do you feel for him, or what ? and he’s – the bad guy !!
or is it the cop, whose the bad guy. well, that a sense of how the movie plays the viewer, just like .. a damn violin.
but still, GOSLING.
is that guy some emotional straight-faced .. sweet-faced camera-magnet, or what !!
and when he dies, and his body leaves the screen, half-way through the movie no less, the young EMORY COHEN . . who plays BRADLEY COOPER’s privileged but neglected evil son, AJ .. takes up the camera-so- loves-him .. slack. big time.!
a young Marlon Brando, and I bet I’m not the first .. to say this.
c-h-a-r-i-s-m-a.
THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES .. at the end of the day, you have to wonder seriously, about how e-a-s-y it is .. for some people to be totally TOTALLY dominated, totally twisted out by others .. so, I’m also thinking, Boston Marathon .. here, too.
in the film the bad domination comes from total, TOTAL strangers. what the hell guys, whatever happened to just say: NO ? but then there would be no story, this is the key to the action, in the PLACE BEYOND THE PINES.
the Ryan Gosling/dad is dominated to no good by a bank robbin’ mechanic he just happens to run into on the road; his son is likewise easily dominated by a drug-seeking high school macho moron who just arrived at the school, a total unknown, who happens to be Bradley the cop’s bad-to-the-bone son .. in the school cafeteria.
1. so is this a tragic genetic flaw that both Ryan and his son, share .. to be so easily undone by strangers. is this why you DO need your dad around to tell the bio son, look I got mislead, now don’t you be doing the same thing. we prob share a dumb domination gene.
file under: nature.
3. while the Bradley Cooper dad, though he’s successful and smart, and his kid looks to be smart enough too, manages to screw up his kid, big time, because he neglected him.
file under: nuture.
.
so I’m still thinking Boston. sons. fathers. family units. nature / nuture.
is it genetic.
a propensity for making bad choices. a propensity to be influenced. a propensity for not being able to channel disappointment, aggression, or faith.
is it nuture ?
could better family influence/guidance have helped with those ancient mountain fighter Chechen genes.
and finally, it’s a long, deep wide-sweeping movie !!
file under: AS IF !!
everybody should be born with .. a great, wise and powerful, rich is nice too, power lawyer dad – to get them out of jams. Bradley Cooper’s character’s – dad !!
at least, until we figure out how to modify .. all human DNA. and therefore families !!
down to a universal .. and, very m-e-l-l-o-w state. and, then we WILL not have any short-circuiting ole world crazy bros blowing-up .. new age runners.
but by then, we’ll probably all be clones.
let’s hope the guys look like Ryan . . and the girls, like Eva.
watch the trailer: The Place Beyond the Pines – official website
RYAN GOSLING in THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES / image credit
EMORY COHEN (AJ) and DANE DEHAAN (who plays the Ryan Gosling character, Luke’s son .. Jason) in THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES / image credit
HEADS UP – LAST 3 DAYS !! at the FILM FORUM, OCT 31 – NOV 13, 2012
FILE UNDER: DON’T MISS IT.
GREGORY CREWDSON: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS – A FILM BY BEN SHAPIRO
REVIEWED BY NANCY SMITH. NOV 11, 2012
GREGORY CREWDSON, left, on location.
these past 2 weeks, NEW YORK CITY has seen a lot of tragedy, damage, and loss, due to extreme Hurricane Sandy’s rampage.
culturally speaking, specifically in the art world – probably the biggest loss – was the bad luck timing of this film’s – New York City opening run.
GREGORY CREWDSON: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS, ironically also a film of loss, pivoting on the natural downward spiral that is found in the unending cycle of human, geographic, and economic erosion, even touching on the inevitable degrading of the infra-structure of small town America circa 1940 – is a film that shouldn’t be missed on any account, but which also took on a more poignant local meaning, in the aftermath of Sandy’s path – yet, which lost its biggest play for gathering key audience momentum . . . due to the storm’s complete shutdown of the city.
bad timing to the max.
talk about real-world bad luck . . echoing the ‘down-on-your-luck’ ethos of the work !!
the reviews that managed to surface in the mainstream press, didn’t help.
the worst of the lot, was that dumb idiot chick in the NEW YORK POST, one FARRAN SMITH NEHME, whose under-educated and absolutely dreadful scribble – makes you wonder if she even saw the film. and if she actually did sit herself through an advance press screening – she still didn’t see it. what’s wrong with people, especially the ones who are supposed to telegraph the news.
one: even though it is a documentary – it is an astonishing narrative, and tells a wonderful story. it’s definitely NOT just all about the “astonishing amounts of labor and time” that go into the production of Crewdson’s work, though that in itself is a great reveal . . .
but more important, as to her last sentence . . . “Director Ben Shapiro keeps focus entirely on work, leaving Crewdson himself an enigma.” . . . this is SO ridiculous, and off-base, that all I could think of, besides being happy to be alive, and living on high ground – was, when would my Sandy-downed internet server gonna come back online, so I could refute this garbage, and set the record straight.
GREGORY CREWDSON; BRIEF ENCOUNTERS . . . is the most wonderfully, yet easy-going articulate portrait of an artist I have ever seen, and the artist himself is grounded and articulate to boot.
enigma, NOT !!
no, it’s not all about the work, the “SPEEDIES”, anybody ?!! though it’s obvious GREGORY CREWDSON is all about the work, and it’s a great piece of cinematic storytelling, esp great to be seen on a big screen, as to how it all comes about.
thank you BEN SHAPIRO . . . who produced, directed and PHOTOGRAPHED this film, and who followed Mr. Crewdson around for quite a period of time and, so the film includes, therefore . . . many history-making archival passages.
so, drop everything and go see it – on the big screen, here in NYC at least – during the next 2 days.
it’s the real deal.
I wasn’t that big a fan of Crewdson’s work before, but for sure, I am now.
the real magic in the film, and in the work is just how truly evocative . . . Crewdson’s photographs are. whether filmed on actual locale or created from the ground-up on a ‘production’ set .. we are provoked to see and feel the unspoken fear and sadness that lives in all of us. it’s funny-sad, but quite deeply true – how so much of life as we live it, is not about what we have, or have gained, but what we have lost.
somewhere along the way, in our personal lives, and somewhere along the way, as time passes, and specifically bypasses – the American small town ethos of the 40s, as the metaphor, and the reality.
and the inevitable future.
the only sureness is: all things will change.
a lot of this visual/emotional power comes from how Gregory Crewdson deeply understands his ‘story’ . . . and the detail-oriented vision with which he infuses what is still, even after the all the technical work – just one single frame, a still photograph. he says somewhere along the way that “every artist has one story that they tell over and over” . . . til they get it right.
one of the ways he gets it right, is simply through the use of man-made lighting.
on location, he shoots at twilight, when there is just that small window of camera time available to catch the production’s not day not night, but eerie ‘fictional’ light of an atmosphere, not so much charged, as so . . . incandescently imbued of the unknown. the photographs that result take ‘place’ and makes it: mystery.
without the viewer quite knowing why, at least until you see this film . . .
it’s that ‘captured’ unreal light that is the real ‘fiction’ and secret of these photographs. it’s simply ‘manipulated’ or ‘fabricated’ light as much as any other element – that really drives the scene. and tugs at your emotions. as the viewer, you can’t quite put your finger on the source, what is doing you in. and then the fog truck is called upon to roll through the composed scenario, just before the shutter clicks.
and you get it.
so yes. yes, for the power of great movies. profound photographs. enchanting story-telling, and behind-the-scene docs !!
take a pick-up truck spewing man-made FOG, add some cinematic lighting, and put to scenes of psychologically tinged reality, and you understand that Gregory Crewdson’s photographs are more like paintings, than you could have ever first imagined.
and nowhere near movies, which is the first impression.
watch the trailer & get more info: GREGORY CREWDSON: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS
this is the media poster for the movie.
whatever was I thinking, not using this image for the initial review, after a storm that flooded a great swath of this city and its environs.
well, actually the flood that Sandy unleashed was NOT like this . . . at all. it was more like a dirty mud-filled sucker punch that had no prettiness to it, at all.
and likewise, even though this image, which I guess was picked for its obvious poster-grade mass audience common denominator graphic punch – stands not for the majority of Crewdson’s work, but interestingly more speaks to how . . . he LEFT this way-too surreal, way-too obvious, way-too-easy-to-read brand of visual ‘fiction’ behind. and for the better.
in fact you could say a really compelling subtext of the film is actually how it follows the evolution of the work back and forth as time goes on, and reveals Mr. Crewdson’s evolving artistic decision-making. and his, finally – deeply gathered ability to distill a ‘vision’ – that is so pure and perfect – that it makes for a deeply singular and profound body of work.
it’s like . . . he had several aesthetic paths, esp once he got with the big bucks, to tell his story. and he pared down the surreal, and upped the Walker Evans.
it’s interesting therefore to watch how in touch he is with himself, and what he wants to say . . . about the world around him, and the great dark mystery of it all. he doesn’t need to discuss it, it’s just that ‘key’ that he left this garish hyper-surrealism layering behind, and concentrated on the classicism and silence of less ‘mentally’ composed scenes.
it’s …. feeling .. . stripped down, not amped up, that is WORKING here.
it’s really all about the lighting and the details, not a super-imposed ‘drama’. we aren’t distracted by a ‘thriller’ of a pictorial narrative that we can read with our minds, as much as we are led down a path – into ourselves. the deep secrets, the loss and fear – beneath the surface. we don’t need over-the-top surrealism, to bring it all home, just a little attention to detail, a grimy window, a dirty thrift-shop lamp, a local native . . . and the unseen, but ever intuited . . . . pass of the fog.
this is the real genius of Gregory Crewdson.
FILE UNDER: if you want to banish redneck mentality, for-evah !! go no fur-tha !!
FILE UNDER: if you want to see why the current art scene is pretty much nowheresville, and that means lame, lame and more lame !! look no further than the fashion world, past, present . . . and probably, future !!
DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL – A FILM BY LISA IMMORDINO VREELAND
REVIEWED BY NANCY SMITH. OCT 19, 2012
DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL – CURRENTLY PLAYING at THE ANGELIKA FILM CENTER in NYC. DON’T MISS IT.
love this frame from the trailer – did you catch that … vintage crochet afghan (!!) – on the left.
WATCH: THE OFFICIAL TRAILER !!
p.s. hit the top image, to engage. don’t let that (lame) page fool ya.
the trailer starts off, with Ms. Vreeland narrating:
“the fashion world changes all the time. you can even see the approaching revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes.” (!!)
the film is even more fascinating than the trailer makes for . . if you can imagine that.
it’s a wonderful story, a wonderful history – a vivid lively burst of color, fashion, and art. and key: ORIGINAL thought, also known as VISION – beyond the beyond.
but what really holds it all together is the brilliant job that the film’s director LISA IMMORDINO VREELAND, I guess a relative, has brought to the project, this film is one big treat. it moves swiftly as it lays the story down. the narrative just sweeps you up in the moment and never, ever … drops you into a dense too-much-info moment. somehow all the facts are laid bare with exquisite visuals . . . with such entertaining eloquence, the film is more a froth of a force, than a force of a force – if you get what I mean. nothing slows this film down, and it when it’s over, well . . . you just want to sit there, and watch it – all over again.
and, well regarding ‘all’ the facts, that’s interesting too.
though some mention is made of her personal life, she speaks of her very glamorous looking husband and how wonderful he made her feel, “how beautiful”, the film makes no other details of him or their relationship available. and though we do get to meet her grown-up sons, it’s a brief hello. but in those brief cameos, if you read between the lines, the filmmaker has opened up a little peek into maybe the only ‘flaw’ line of Ms. Vreeland’s super dedicated professional, if not downright obsessional life slash career. her grown sons have a strange half-life about them, like they never felt the absolute bonding of mother and child, it’s something that still seems to (sadly) resonate with them, even now.
but what a life, what a career – what superlative brilliance and authority did this “Empress of Fashion” exude, just as naturally as she did breathe. as she says, by way of explanation, she was born in Paris (!!) during the ‘belle epoque’, if you know your art history – you can put your head around that !! . . . and, she came of age during the Roaring Twenties – and, yes !! still in Paris. she didn’t fit into school as a child, and only settled down when she was sent to a dancing school, and yes, apparently she was quite the dancer.
she was of the original generation that was thrilled by the ultra fab: DIAGHLEV, NUREYEV and the Russian ballet, in Paris . . . and that was one visual, richly, profoundly dramatic scene – of course. no kidding. she was ‘found’ when she was full-blown dancing at a nightclub, in Paris of course, in her late teens, I think, something like that. she was noticed both for her dancing, and her style. she was chic, it seems from the get-go. she was wearing CHANEL !! and of course, once she opened her mouth, and the ideas and her full-on creative mind spun out in full gear, the next thing you knew she had her own fashion column. I’ll let the movie fill you in on that, and take over . . . it’s one amazing flight of inspiration, that’s for sure.
TWO LEGENDS: DIANA VREELAND with YVES SAINT LAURENT.
PHOTO BY ROXANNE LOWIT, ‘DIANA VREELAND’ by ELEANOR W DWIGHT, pg 262 – PHOTO C/O DIANAVREELAND.COM
the quote that appears with this photo, pretty much says it all:
“Mrs. Vreeland was one of the most exceptional people I have met in all my life. Her force of character, her glamor, her intelligence, her innate sense of elegance and her exuberance energized all those who meet her.” ~ YVES SAINT LAURENT, Designer, excerpted from ‘Diana Vreeland’ by ELEANOR DWIGHT.
YES !!
there IS an amazing website associated with this film . . . and it is absolutely, and delightfully chock-full of ARCHIVAL PHOTOS & QUOTES !!
it’s a rainy day – go for it !!
see: DIANAVREELAND.COM
WITH INITIAL REPORTING BY: KATE CERIGO
HUSHPUPPY !!
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD – A FILM BY BENH ZEITLIN
REVIEWED BY NANCY SMITH. JULY 2, 2012
HUSHPUPPY – SCREENGRAB from the trailer.
if the 30s had the young SHIRLEY TEMPLE. in 2012 – about 80 years later, we have HUSHPUPPY, or more correctly the young 6 year old actress, at the time of the filming (!!) – who plays her: QUVENZHANE WALLIS. why am I thinking her film name is gonna follow her around for life ?
they both have curly hair, and own the camera. BUT that’s where the similarities end, and the fierce metaphors for OUR time arise. no sentimentality here. fierceness all the way “down the drain” of the losers vs. the big ‘machine’ of progress.
yes, HUSHPUPPY makes the case for our dwindling reality. and the power of dreams. the pure storm for – survival.
as does this film, a remarkable, magical, visually rich, emotionally powerful, haunting, passionate and wholly original cry for the world’s increasingly lost souls. it asks all the big questions.
the story is enriched by all the locals – who are cast in the location-centric story, and who help the narrative play out with the kind of utmost power – that comes with the deep inside-out voices – of the native, and authentic ‘players’.
the very first (!!) full-length feature effort of its young American director BEHN ZIETLIN, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, the southern wild being Louisiana, USA (!!) won the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic at this year’s Sundance 2012, and also scored the super prestigious Camera D’or at this year’s Festival de Cannes 2012 – an award that goes to the first-ever film feature of an individual.
a NYC ‘homeboy’ – BENH ZEITLIN was raised in Sunnyside Queens, NYC – and meet his ‘Beasts’ co-writer LUCY ALIBAR at summer camp when they were teenagers. His parents STEVE ZEITLIN and AMANDA DARGAN are both urban folklorists who founded the “popular” non-profit CITY LORE which protects landmarks and seeks to preserve and promote the cultural diversity of New York City.
see: IMDb/bio
I went to see the film the very first day it opened here in NYC, this past Fri June 29, 2012 – with my friend, writer and producer JAN ALBERT, who knows Behn’s dad, from way back – and she related that BENH ZEITLIN went down to help with the flood devastation of New Orleans, and that’s how the film began. the people and place caught fire in his imagination, is the better way to state it.
it’s playing at the SUNSHINE, here in NYC.
it’s a pure cinematic rush !! yes, you want to go see it.
Director BEHN ZEITLIN, the young actress QUVENZHANE WALLIS, aka the glorious HUSHPUPPY !! and DWIGHT HENRY who plays her single dad.
PHOTO: MICHAEL BUCKNER copyright 2012 – GETTY IMAGES, by way of: COLLIDER.COM
watch the TRAILER: BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, hit that central arrow
check out: Welcome to the BATHTUB (!!)
the caveman ink – on the thigh of the Bathtub’s teacher / medicine woman. screengrab from the trailer.
it’s all agonna change.
the icebergs be a crashin’ down, it’s just – the tip !!
. . . of the iceberg.
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF: DAN ASHER & ALEXANDER McQUEEN. NYC artist, and BRIT fashion icon, respectively – who both felt the impending sea change – up close and personal. very (very) fast frame forward.
now, even the little Hushpuppys of the world – see it in their dreams.
‘CHICO & RITA’ – A FILM BY FERNANDO TRUEBA & JAVIER MARISCAL
WRITTEN BY IGNACIO MARTINEZ de PISON
MUSIC COMPOSER/ARRANGER: BEBO VALDES
REVIEWED BY: NANCY SMITH, FEB 18, 2012
up, for an Academy Award Oscar for BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM, ‘Chico & Rita’ is a lovely, dreamy, steamy and often sad look back at beautiful times – its two main characters hurt by both their own tempestuous temperaments, and the biased days of 1948. This is a retro postcard that plays out as maybe the first Black Latin contender among the American and Japanese genres of animation. and its voice is adult, passionate and a reality check.
any comic book artist worth their salt, or any visual artist with soul for that matter, is going to marvel at how the characters’ black Latino features flit across the big screen and seep down into your soul. the backgrounds are literally ‘souvenir’ postcards filled with the lights and ambiance of cities and days, not that long past. and yes Chico arrives in the big apple, New York City, much the same way as the Cuban poet REINALDO ARENAS, of Julian Schnabel’s, ‘Before Night Falls’ did . . . amidst the wonder and magic of a big city snowfall. and like that eventful film, this one too, can steal your heart, and leave you secretly wiping away – the tears.
the movie is framed by a flashback stance, that works really well, and gets you in the heart. closer to the action and drama, than a straightforward narrative might have. but what really captures your heart – is the music. haunting and beyond soulful, it betrays the term ‘jazz’ – and takes on an absolutely otherworldiness. it’s not quite a better time or place – but it is a ‘moment’ of pure desire . . .
watch the trailer: Chico & Rita
on the lower right there, you can listen to the soundtrack, and switch among the songs. look for the film’s signature melody: ‘Sabor A Mi’ – sung by Idania and Bebo Valdes
in NYC, its currently playing at the ANGELIKA FILM CENTER.
‘THE SHOE’ – A SHORT FILM BY ANDRE SARAIVA – MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH J.M. WESTON SHOEMAKERS, FRANCE (2011)
INDIE SOUNDTRACK BY KITSUNE ‘CHIEF’ – GILDAS LOAEC, featuring The Virgins, Is Tropical, and Vandaveer, among others.
REVIEWED BY: NANCY SMITH, FEB 11, 2012
yo, if the shoe fits – grab it !!
yes, yes, and more yes !!
Parisian nightlife lightbulb x 1,000 and street artist ANDRE SARAIVA aka Mr. A – has made a great, great, fun, funny, fab and downright super whimsical hi-style, fashion forward, huge French come-back (!!) short film – straight out of the gate. it’s his debut film.
and, so is he . . . the BANKSY of France !!
even the lowly opening credits roll – with a fashion forward edge – a real retro-animated grace and wit !! – that would put even the most accomplished graphic designers on the scene today, to shame. and the sound track ? it’s just as delightful – VIRGINS, move over !!
‘The Shoe’ made in collaboration with France’s legendary J.M WESTON brand, ‘French Master Shoemaker Since 1891’ (!!) is ANDRE SARAIVA’s first stroll into moving pictures. A playful, light as air non-stop Parisian tumble, it rolls sweet and romantic – but always right on the edge of going somewhere – and yeah, you want to be, wherever it’s going, too.
Starring his friends, including the featured LEO FITZPATRICK, and the cutest of them all, ANNABELLE DEXTER-JONES, even OLIVIER ZAHM, of PURPLE gets a writing contribution credit.
here’s a new maxim: there’s usually a reason why – people get their celebrity status reps & it’s called: TALENT !!
and maybe that’s why New York City’s HALF GALLERY is opening a show called: ANDRE SARAIVA – ‘LOVE LETTERS’ to-nite !! and maybe that’s why, the gallery’s founder & director BILL POWERS, has reason – to be, all over !!
conundrum, NOT !!
LEO FITZPATRICK – IN ANDRE SARAIVA’S – ‘THE SHOE” – !!
WATCH IT HERE: ANDRE SARAIVA -THE SHOE – on SLAMXHYPE/NOWNESS.COM – !!!!!!!!!!
VETERAN WRITER/ DIRECTOR BEN LEWIN and his first ever film at Sundance, ‘THE SURROGATE’ . . are making huge huge web waves . . . the film is just taking off on every plane imaginable . . . including apparently way gifted performances by (indie fave) JOHN HAWKES, along with big screen vets: HELEN HUNT and WILLIAM H. MACY.
this is as close to a clip as I can find you . . .
watch: AN INTERVIEW with ‘THE SURROGATE’ – DIRECTOR & SCREENWRITER: BEN LEWIN
it’s very charming.
JOHN HAWKES stars in ‘THE SURROGATE’ as the true life poet journalist MARK O’BRIEN. image: Movieline
read: a great great interview with JOHN HAWKES on . . . ‘THE SURROGATE’ – from Movieline
getting back to the young, with-it, and truly happy crazy creative !!
of course the best and most funniest !! move clips to surface – this year – are the Portlandia series – no offense, DIYers and gender benders !! if you hear your roommate falling over with laughter, at their laptop – it’s because they’ve tuned into the truly hysterical Portlandia universe, which manages to be witty, outrageous, and yet not really that mean-spirited, and goes down easy. way easy. it’s a rainy day – mood breaker. visual popcorn for the creative pros, that’s for sure . . . super fun, for everybody else. the laughs just keep on coming.
this spoof of America’s fave alternative lifestyle city, and mecca to the new age hordes – Portland, Orgeon – was brought to life, wouldn’t you know it – by three super wicked funny SNL, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, as in NEW YORK CITY !! – alumnae: FRED ARMISEN, CARRIE BROWNSTEIN, and JONATHAN KRISEL. Krisel is the man behind the scenes. Fred and Carrie, also co-creators and co-writers – just waltz off this planet – with their various Portlandia caricatures.
Lucille Ball, and Desi Arnaz . . . can finally rest in peace, and . . . move over.
Portlandia plays current shows on the IFC channel, which also spools past episodes !! – and the whole back series has also just come out on Netflix instants, too.
just, don’t ever call me NANCE !!
CARRIE BROWNSTEIN and FRED ARMISEN – classic !! in Portlandia – forever !!
image: IFC
I think that about . . . . says it all !!
image: IFC
so here’s a great web cruise for a so-cold, let’s stay inside day, start with: PORTLANDIA, IFC
so, don’t miss the great cast bios !! watch the clips and get background info – it’s big fun fan site !!
and while you are there. . . root around a bit, and sign up to have your site – pickled, too: we can pickle that !!
and yes !! that is local Lower East Side hero from way back in the hood – 80s: and now big Empire Broadway honcho – STEVE BUSCHEMI – on the ‘PORTLANDIA: Customers Only’ episode.
though . . . . . if pressed.
yes, if pressed, if I had to pick out one all time fave – I’d have to go with: PORTLANDIA: Put a Bird on It !!
but really every episode is ace. . . from ‘Dumpster Diving’ to bring ‘Your Own (shopping) Bag’ !! Portlandia – it just keeps on giving. Portlandia – rules.
in fact, I say Fred Armisen, (who plays Obama on SNL), and Carrie Brownstein – should take over for Barack and Michelle, for real . . . for a day or two, at the very least. get things back on track.
and when the Oscars get boring – you know where to turn.
PORTLANDIA – BOOM BOX !!
designed by DKNG Studios – on: IFC – PORTLANDIA website/POSTERS !!
MATT BUA – are you diggin’ it ?
p.s. the planet SATURN squares up with Earth – tomorrow – the 20th of January, 2012. no doubt about it. god of agriculture and all. ha.
in a new age nutshell: you reap – what you sow !!
and, yeah. I’m waiting big time on that – but maybe I shouldn’t be holding . . . my breath.
and oh, yeah . . .
the HSMG – Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild (!!) is holding their 15th annual conference in Portland, Oregon – this May 9-11, 2012.
just saying . . .
it’s a long story, let’s just say the DIY web query began with: dropped bar of soap down the toilet, how to fix ?
from VANITY FAIR – JUNE 2011
photo: VANITY FAIR, June 2011
Yves Saint Laurent in his living room, Rue de Babylon, 1974. inset: Saint Laurent fitting a model, 1961.
below: Saint Laurent and his longtime companion and business partenr, Pierre Berger in 1983.
see: VANITYFAIR.COM
in an interesting little ‘HOT REELS’ article – published last JUNE 2011 – VANITY FAIR scribe A. M. HOLMES writes that not only is this film, ‘L’AMOUR FOU’ , “Pierre Thoretton’s directorial and documentary debut” but, more dramatically . . . “the two Pierres (filmmaker Pierre Thoretton and YSL partner PIERRE BERGE) were introduced by Thoretton’s former mother-in-law, actress CATHERINE DENEUVE, (!!) in the 90s.”
he goes on:
“Sometime later they began meeting for lunch every Thursday to talk about life. The portrait that emerged from their conversations is an intimate, elegiac celebration of the two lives intertwined”.
elegaic, as in sorrowful, yes. celebration ? no.
“The film begins with Yves Saint Laurent’s announcement, amid popping flashbulbs, of his retirement, in 2002; from there it cuts to Berge’s eloquent observations six years later at Saint Laurent’s funeral . . . and follows Berge through the sale of hundreds of art objects the two men collected over the years.
Berge, who was always behind the scenes, comes across as almost regal in his stoicism, his philosophical determination to separate the objects from the man. ‘I show that — but I don’t believe a word of it,’ Thoretton says. ‘Despite what he says, it’s just not the way he is. Selling everything was part of the grieving process. The memories were too large to live with . . .’
In 2009, Christie’s oversaw the ‘Sale of the Century’ at the Grand Palais, in Paris — the auction of the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge Collection, which netted in excess of $450 million.
Berge’s reaction to the film, Thoretton says, was profound. ‘He cried. He said Thank you. And he said he’d learned things about himself that he didn’t want to talk about — because they were things he didn’t like.'”
yeah, like maybe he should have let Yves smoke a little medicinal weed ?? !! or bike ride ?
or, give it all away – in Saint Laurent’s lifetime – and run a school for under-privileged kids ?
beats me. but, about that house in Morocco . . . .
and yeah, it was kind of obscene to see him so unhappy, surrounded by so much wealth. I mean some people are happy just with one plant blooming in their kitchen window. I think after awhile the essence maybe gets lost in the numbers.
maybe he should have come to New York and rocked the contemporary scene. what they were collecting was so fusty and staid, anyways. this seemed to be a collection entirely devoid of life. L’amour fou, crazy love ? looking more like suffocating love, to me.