tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71885332684730352002024-03-04T12:22:22.699-08:00Movie Magazine International BlogMovie reviews, tributes, book reviews and special reports from our nationally syndicated radio show.srthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02505845104508837706noreply@blogger.comBlogger330125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-68689461820141579242023-11-03T16:53:00.014-07:002023-11-04T21:57:53.667-07:00Diana Nyad's Big Swim<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKTJui-vTQDuCEJMydVE_NkfFTRwkDDhUSTHcri9MuJBWdazAxZPMnWTdAaD5nRFd3lMQbkozKa29b5KQ1GPSMJ-e_yGK9_0lvwdMqjRquZ3rDd4vPtVyyX1opSzmLxYb9jDX88J0BImcJSwq4QI4-PdMYeGao7xVqWQzTkP6k1Uwvxp78uiw6AkKsqAo/s1200/x6wSBLYpC3z4VpBoexGV6j-1200-80.jpg.webp" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKTJui-vTQDuCEJMydVE_NkfFTRwkDDhUSTHcri9MuJBWdazAxZPMnWTdAaD5nRFd3lMQbkozKa29b5KQ1GPSMJ-e_yGK9_0lvwdMqjRquZ3rDd4vPtVyyX1opSzmLxYb9jDX88J0BImcJSwq4QI4-PdMYeGao7xVqWQzTkP6k1Uwvxp78uiw6AkKsqAo/w640-h362/x6wSBLYpC3z4VpBoexGV6j-1200-80.jpg.webp" width="640" /></a></div> <p>
By Moira Jean Sullivan
</p>
<p>
<i>Nyad </i>is now out on Netflix starring Jodie Foster and Annette Bening about Diana Nyad, a courageous 60+ woman who would not give up her dream of swimming 110 miles from Cuba to Miami. The film tackles the universal question of how great athletes co-exist with their environment. The answer is that nothing exists in a vacuum even a famous solo swimmer in a volatile ocean. A dynamic skilled team is assembled to work with Nyad including her personal assistant Bonnie (Jodie Foster), young deep sea swimmers who put up shark screens, a marine biologist who's well versed in the dangers of jellyfish, John Bartlett - her navigator, and others in a team of about 40 people who accompany Nyad on this Olympian swim to Miami. It's not a straight trajectory with several setbacks before she finally succeeds. It's a plus that the film is set up like that but one can't help being a bit irritated with Nyad’s egotistical personality though there are compelling reasons for this. She puts herself and her team in danger often for her personal goal of swimming and not giving up despite the limitations of her body and advice from medical and scientific experts. Yet the one territory the experts have not conquered is the human brain and personal dreams and that is the strength of Nyad. Diana Nyad pushes forward with her unique ambition that cannot be medically or scientifically quantified. She has “the dream”; it's even on a T-shirt Bonnie (Jodie Foster) wears called “extreme dreams” and there's no better concept to describe what Annette Bening so magnificently represents in her character. We haven't seen Jodie Foster in such a great role in a long time and she's perfect as the person who loves, challenges, and is positively critical of her best friend.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh50EleVof7FritaMzvGfi6lZgPOHIUaAe8V1Sk9Mvc3J2oIj5YZBhBtpvkbXXz75fbwW8I_lo1qujoMeBpWUGoq7LY6NVMDv-3NBAF0LjHhbAPv2jJFsRmKlC-aVNUsE4DdsLi08KKOg8QyEsv6mgxxWe4zUFjtWm33ibsb1YD1yDsOWk5TQU8M_eG36u/s620/Nyad.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="620" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh50EleVof7FritaMzvGfi6lZgPOHIUaAe8V1Sk9Mvc3J2oIj5YZBhBtpvkbXXz75fbwW8I_lo1qujoMeBpWUGoq7LY6NVMDv-3NBAF0LjHhbAPv2jJFsRmKlC-aVNUsE4DdsLi08KKOg8QyEsv6mgxxWe4zUFjtWm33ibsb1YD1yDsOWk5TQU8M_eG36u/w640-h372/Nyad.webp" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>There are all multiple ways to look at what Nyad is trying to accomplish and a chance to see her background: her ambitious father and the romantic name that he has given to her about being a Goddess swimmer, but also the child abuse from her former coach. Her upbringing is not a warm and fuzzy one nor is she surrounded by the female energy she needs other than the sea that propels her forward and gives her life. Yet she is forged through her personal setbacks with her magnificent talent as a swimmer. <div><br /></div><div>The films meticulously shows the process of doing great distance swimming and opens the world to the beauty of a woman at 60+ swimming. Without the money that this team had through sponsorship would she have been able to do what she did? The 40 people that are on her crew and the many people waiting at the finishing line when she's about to come in to take her last two steps are part of the dynamics making this more than a team effort. Everyone loves a winner and Diana is that winner. She's living everyone's dream - not only her own in that regard and conquers the sea and the sea animals which is wondrous to behold. </div><div><br /></div><div>Director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi is the helmer of the rhythmic unfolding of the narrative that weaves personal anecdote with the achievements of popular culture. She lends a personal touch to the swim with elements that one doesn't see in stories of famous male athletes. We need more films like this and this is the filmmaker who can do it. Julia Cox, script writer presents not just a linear tale of a great champion but flashbacks to setbacks and breakthroughs. On the way for the great swim, her “swim” as she calls it, are problems and the swim has to stop. </div><div><br /></div><div>The cinematography by Claudio Miranda shows a glorious sea filmed in Florida, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. There are also special effects and one wonders if Diana is in the grips of dementia as she envisions Taj Mahal at one point, streams of colors descending into the ocean like shooting stars, and a golden lasso Wonderwoman-like lifeline from her to the boat lit up like the great highway. It is a riveting vehicle for both Annette Bening and Jodie Foster. It’s not exactly the American Dream even if Nyad is shown on a box of "Wheaties, the Breakfast of Champions". This film could be summed up as Nyad does at the end of her swim: "You are never too old to follow your dream, never give up, and it looks like a solitary sport, but it takes a team" -- far more than a string of cliché’s.
Diana atones for many of the eccentricities of her personality in a swim set to classics like “Keeps me searching for a Heart of Gold”, which for this film is especially symbolic.</div><div><span style="font-size: 85%; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan - 11/03/23<br /></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"> Movie Magazine International</span></p><div>
<p></p></div>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-51023002061779187172023-06-21T11:08:00.004-07:002023-07-08T11:20:11.438-07:00Lizzie Borden: Guest of Honor at 45th Créteil Film de Femmes
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDJXxwCdRarSjO6HyrJtFzd-aPCIa9T870wWVXVIxz5ZnHcc68t0Fze_O-BnR3PmgRkQnN6scua_sGMSNN_av3yn2Z7avQJXujwRzAAQFsJdk7isjDGfAyMrCAscQ27DtZyIv6AYHuPKqSTvGqGjzaDcxGTGd7iv1oZExqPJxRX-KmfCVGb-ZpN0iBv8I/s2233/Born_in_Flames%C2%A9Lizzie%20Borden.png" style="font-style: italic; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="2233" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDJXxwCdRarSjO6HyrJtFzd-aPCIa9T870wWVXVIxz5ZnHcc68t0Fze_O-BnR3PmgRkQnN6scua_sGMSNN_av3yn2Z7avQJXujwRzAAQFsJdk7isjDGfAyMrCAscQ27DtZyIv6AYHuPKqSTvGqGjzaDcxGTGd7iv1oZExqPJxRX-KmfCVGb-ZpN0iBv8I/w640-h290/Born_in_Flames%C2%A9Lizzie%20Borden.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Born in Flames</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">(1983) © Lizzie Borden<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div>Lizzie Borden was guest of honor at the 45th Créteil Films de Femmes festival held March 24 to
April 2. Her work was enthusiastically received by a new generation of cinéastes with seminars
on her trilogy of films: <i>Regrouping</i> (1976), <i>Born in Flames</i> (1983) and Working Girls (1986).
<i>Born in Flames</i>’ relevance today is illustrated by its intersectionality of race, gender and class
that debunks the myth that feminism was a 'white women's movement'. Featuring Kathryn
Bigelow as a member of a youth socialist feminist journal, the setting is 10 years after the
Socialist Revolution in the US. Borden took seven years to make the film and acquire funding.
The brilliant editing of <i>Born in Flames</i> resembles the 'choreographic' editing of Borden’s first
film, the documentary Regrouping made in 1976 on four artists in a women’s group. During the
course of the film project, Borden introduced other women into the original group and created an
experimental film on the practices of collectivity. Forty years later she released the original film
digitally restored by Anthology Film Archives. Borden said you could watch the film, even fall
asleep, reawaken, and become immersed in the film's creative matrix. That is exactly what
happens watching <i>Born in Flames</i> 40 years after it’s making which was also digitized by
Anthology Film Archives. <div>Here now is Lizzie Borden in an exclusive interview with Movie Magazine talking about her
evolution as a filmmaker and her film <i>Born in Flames.</i><p>
<i>Lizzie Borden: what does it mean for you to be a filmmaker. What made you aspire to this profession?</i>
</p><p>
I started out in the art world and wanted to be a painter. I was sidetracked into becoming an art reviewer more than a critic by studying art history. However, I learned too much to be a painter because every time I tried to paint, I felt that I was being derivative. I became supremely self-conscious. What I was attracted to in painting was a lot of women's work in galleries and short films. At the same time I was radicalized by the 2nd wave of the second wave - not the second wave itself because that was in the 60s. I realized that women's work was seen as not as important as men's work, as it wasn't paid as much. Men didn't consider it as serious as men's work and it¬¬ wasn't represented much in galleries or in museums.
</p><p>
<i>Who were your filmmaking models?</i>
</p><p>
I was seeing a lot of films within the context of the art world where films were shown. I didn't go to film school; I went to art school. Films were shown downtown [NYC], like retrospectives of Godard or Fassbinder and Cassavetes. It wasn't that I particularly saw women's film. The fourth wall was broken by Godard but it wasn't his classic films that turned everyone on. It was sometimes his essay films that were exciting to me because I could see that you could write an essay, which is what I was doing for magazines, and also tell a story.
<i>
</i></p><p><i>
What were the artistic/political values you wanted to transmit when you started to make films?</i></p>
<p>
When I made Regrouping , I was really excited by breaking the 4th wall. I was trying to do a straight-line documentary of women who were doing something interesting in terms of feminism in the art world and it became an experimental film in which I was filming and editing. This taught me a lot about technique. Writing an essay on an editing machine got me into filmmaking and it was a different form of writing for me. Political analysis made me realize that these were all middle-class white women. Groups in the art world in Art Language led me to a fascination with Marxism and the idea of the woman question. And the question of what would happen if there was a kind of socialist cultural revolution, and the women were all put to the side. I began to think of a film where that was the premise and also include nonwhite women because downtown in New York there were very few. But I didn't want to get too involved in readings of philosophy because that's what killed art for me and stymied me in terms of becoming a painter. I didn't want to study a lot of film theory, so I stopped studying until afterwards.
</p><p>
<i>How did you work making your films?</i>
</p><p>
I really didn't understand how to structure a screenplay when I made my three films Born in Flames, Working Girls and Regrouping. I had total control of the means of production. I could do everything pretty much although I had other people shoot. With Working Girls there were other people working on it professionally but I edited them up to a point and had other editors and their mixers. The was no sense of an intellectual approach beforehand. Afterwards is when I learned screenplay structure and started reading about film, so I don't feel as if I had a film education.
</p><p>
<i>What kinds of films influenced your three films?</i>
</p><p>
I did love films like the <i>Battle of Algiers.</i> I was obsessed with and took elements from that. I stole a shot from <i>Klute</i> for <i>Working Girls</i> that came out of a more political feminist impulse.
</p><p>
<i>Quick question: what part of Klute did you take a shot from - I just saw that again recently?</i>
</p><p>
When Molly looks at her watch when she's with a client. She takes a quick glance over the client’s shoulder and looks at her watch like Bree Daniels does in <i>Klute.</i> It’s the same thing. In the middle of the scene, she looks over her shoulder at a watch. It is a direct steal.
</p><p>
Despite the kind of background that filmmakers have coming out of film school or whatever kind of preparation one does to be a filmmaker, your experience is still what a lot of people have: trying different artistic formats and then choosing to focus on making a film - and it's not easy to make a film. So, it's interesting to hear what you had to say about the theoretical backgrounds like Marxism and feminism as it was in the 80s.
</p><p>
<i>At the Créteil seminar panel the question what stood out to me was kind of an unbelievable question by a young woman who said that she wanted to know why there were so many black women in the film that were activists. Do you remember that question? </i>
</p><p>
I don't. But it's actually very interesting because I wonder if that was a uniquely European question because it was after having done <i>Regrouping </i>about white women in a group. Most of the women talking were white and most of the ancillary women were white.
That was the reason I made Born in Flames. I wanted an intersectional approach, which meant if there was a Social Democratic cultural revolution and women were put into second place, who would the women be that would most suffer? It would be women of color and probably lesbians. These days women of color and trans women/people would be the ones to suffer in terms of being given jobs, social services, and things like that. In <i>Born in Flames</i> these women wanted not only equal pay but they wanted traditional male jobs. How we support this was the very point of making Born in Flames. Also, every person created her own character and there were white characters and black characters together all having their own voices simultaneously. Flo Kennedy is in it, and she's so clearly speaking her own language and has great authority.
</p><p>
<i>I thought that the question at the seminar was something quite different. It was why were there black women to begin with that were activists. It was like she didn't have a sense of history - of the history of colonialism in France with so many people of color. It was the very question that was always asked about Maya Deren --what do you feel about a white woman going into Haiti and making a film? That question is often asked. You say that there are films that mirror today's contemporary situation but at the time you made your film there wasn't any film like that. Would you agree?</i>
</p><p>
I haven't seen anything like it which is why I made it. I did watch films or newsreels about the Black Panthers which seemed very heavily dominated by men. I did see films about German so-called terrorists, and I didn't want these women to seem to be terrorists. And I didn't see anything like this in particular, but yes, you're right I hadn't seen anything like this in this style. There was the Combahee River Collective, but they weren't doing films - they were a group that stood in between the Black Panthers and the feminists. They were a lesbian group that created their own stance because they felt that neither the white feminists nor the Black activists represented their interests. So, in some ways this was inspired more by an actual group of women, a political group, than anything. It was more about trying to create something in the absence of anything else. I started with the premise of not knowing where I was going to end up five years later. I didn't know many Black women, as I've said many times. I had to look for them. I met Honey [Black radio host in film] through a woman who I met at a gay bar. I met Jeannie Satterfield who played Adelaide at the YMCA - she was playing basketball. Flo Kennedy-- somebody introduced me to her. A lot of Black women I met wouldn't stay for the whole movie so assembling the cast for this movie took a long time and the ones who stayed were a miracle. I really didn't think it was done. even when it was invited to the Berlin Film Festival because I really thought it needed more Latinas. It needed some Asian women. I thought I should have tried harder, but I knew that it would take me another five years to do this, and so ended the movie.
</p>
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan - Date: 06/21/23<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p></div></div>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-80827182401655023422023-06-16T07:46:00.014-07:002023-06-20T14:02:33.073-07:00Georgia Oakley's 'Blue Jean' explores homophobia in Margaret Thatcher's Britain
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWUEZp8Ael-y28i_jV-0hn_FCE-pDS9RkzxW9YiMmxBVBRqccItbqXYelc6z4kvIKUcg_R8FDHKwMbeqp0wTSfKl9NALYYYBpa1LVKxEOskx4eCTGpTBA6WF40tnzNRbST1V5kR61jl-9AzEf7C2Q99dkTRADfxzbNyg9mr1PRUYIcnlzPNFijmVl8ViHi/s1200/CO-3-BLUE-JEAN-1-2.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWUEZp8Ael-y28i_jV-0hn_FCE-pDS9RkzxW9YiMmxBVBRqccItbqXYelc6z4kvIKUcg_R8FDHKwMbeqp0wTSfKl9NALYYYBpa1LVKxEOskx4eCTGpTBA6WF40tnzNRbST1V5kR61jl-9AzEf7C2Q99dkTRADfxzbNyg9mr1PRUYIcnlzPNFijmVl8ViHi/w640-h336/CO-3-BLUE-JEAN-1-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p>
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<p>
<i>Blue Jean</i> is set in 1988 after Margaret Thatcher’s conservative government has introduced Section 28, a clause of the Local Government Act which seeks to prohibit “the promotion of homosexuality” by local authorities across the United Kingdom. The clause is directed towards the 'pretend' relationships of lesbians and gay men. Jean is a a high school gym teacher who must keep her life as a lesbian secret at work and cannot risk being open about her relationship with Viv (Kerrie Hayes)<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #231f20;"> </span></span>even to her family.
The film style by director/writer Georgia Oakley has the look and feel of a film from the 80's. Shot in 16mm the cinematography spotlights run down housing and establishments and an atmosphere that reeks of the butchery of human rights. </p><p>Oakley creates an authentic environment at the high school where Jean works. The script written by Oakley is directed towards internalised homophobia of the characters. The enrolment of a new student Lois (Lucy Halliday) who begins to frequent a lesbian bar where Jean and her friends are regulars brings Jean's internalised homophobia into play. Lois is a good player and gets into a fight with a teammate who is jealous of her skills. Jean supports the school's decision to expel Lois. Prior to this Jean socialized with her circle of friends but Viv does not like having to be closeted along with Jean.
While Jean's internalised homophobia is well illustrated, it is clear that it is not only Section 28 that is behind her fears as the most visible part of open discrimination against lesbians in Thatcher's Britain.</p><p>
Rosy McEwen gives an extraordinary performance as Jean in a brilliant debut film from 2022 at the Venice Film Festival in the <a href="https://www.giornatedegliautori.com/en/program/blue-jean-eng/"><i>Giornate degli Autori</i> - </a>Venice Days section. The theatrical release on June 16 couldn't come at a more fitting time than in memory of the newly departed Glenda Jackson, June 15. Her outspoken words against Margaret Thatcher's Thatcherism in the House of Commons, April 10, 2013 were delivered two days after the death of the former PM when a proposal was made to honor her. Her speech attests to the heinous legacy Thatcher left to Britain economically as well as spiritually during her days as PM Section 28 is one of many government acts that attacked human rights and was a catalyst to the rise of the gay rights movement such as Stonewall and the Gay Teachers Association.</p>
<p>
</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan - Date: 06/16<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p><p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-67838345100110917382023-06-09T12:54:00.046-07:002023-06-13T06:55:19.504-07:00Mary Harron guests San Francisco Film Festival with 'Daliland'
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</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMgFLRRVPV1xZzwC7DtxkizIgYK_noY0KsnTAMdYmqkujfeWemtFMzwzLfioXAv8yPsaF9IAqU3SsMyLaWnos1pWceD7WsHLLzKdAc8Pq51D2xp5mYWZXhvnpUbLBEd0mr6sq48J2Dfbf0Mk7JS_WuAeXIshF22gq2lEybL4IzJo6AqU_3TjqzhXw0Q/s1920/Dali-Land-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMgFLRRVPV1xZzwC7DtxkizIgYK_noY0KsnTAMdYmqkujfeWemtFMzwzLfioXAv8yPsaF9IAqU3SsMyLaWnos1pWceD7WsHLLzKdAc8Pq51D2xp5mYWZXhvnpUbLBEd0mr6sq48J2Dfbf0Mk7JS_WuAeXIshF22gq2lEybL4IzJo6AqU_3TjqzhXw0Q/w640-h360/Dali-Land-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Mary Harron was a special guest at the San Francisco International Film Festival in April.I had the opportunity to interview her from Sweden after returning from the <a href="https://filmsdefemmes.com/">Créteil International Women's Film Festival</a> in March 24 – April 2. Harron is probably one of the best female auteur filmmakers who writes and directs her own films. She has a very eclectic body of work and her latest film is <i>Daliland </i>about the Spanish filmmaker and surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. His signature in popular culture is his extravagant looking moustache turned up at the ends held in place with hair oil. <p></p><p><i>Dalíland</i> takes place when Dalí is 70 years old with flashbacks to his younger years with his muse and Russian wife Gala and the mature Gala is played by the magnificent Barbara Sukowa. Dalí is a curiosity for young people, but he does not impress the film critics of his time when he was in his 70s. He is shown milling around at celebrity parties in the art world where people show up to be seen at a “happening” with him. His followers do not really have great contact with him and he is regarded as an oddity. The film also shows that he likes to watch people having sex another sign of him being out of step with the times as an observer rather than participant.</p><p>When I interviewed Mary Harron, she was happy to hear her debut film <i>I Shot Andy Warhol</i> (1996) was one of my favorites in her repertoire. You can tell that a tremendous amount of research went into that film which is layered and detailed. Lili Taylor plays Valerie Solanas in an outstanding performance that brings the visionary lesbian artist into sharp focus. </p><p>Andy Warhol (played by Jared Harris) is an enigma whose mother in real life ironed his underwear and like Dalí attracts people who are fascinated by his way of making art and film. Harron's focus is on Solanas and her background, writing, lifestyle and eccentricity. People hung around Warhol's studio where he made video and photographic portraits of his fans. This kind of fan based cultural phenomena is interesting in Harron’s films profiling sensational artists in popular culture.<i> </i></p><p><i>Dalíland</i> was not allowed to be shot in Spain by the estate of Salvador Dalí even if Ben Kingsley is almost a carbon copy of the Spanish surrealist. <i>I Shot Andy Warhol</i> was approved by the Warhol estate.</p><p><a href="https://soundcloud.com/moira-jean-sullivan/mary-harron-interview-in-san-francisco-april-2023?si=ec51d7baa8984155b78952c99487afc4&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing" target="_blank">Here now is Mary Harron in an exclusive interview with Movie Magazine International interviewed by Moira Sullivan</a></p><p><br /></p>
<p>
</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan - Air Date: 06/09/23<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-47827614319677049372023-05-30T10:14:00.001-07:002023-05-30T10:14:25.259-07:00France’s National Audiovisual Institute (INA) and Ciné-Tamaris create platform for Agnès Varda's footage for film students.
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<h2 class="with-tabs pageTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 25px; margin: 5px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="" src="https://www.filmfestivals.com/files/images/u14733/varda.camera.jpg" style="border: none; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; height: 540px; vertical-align: bottom; width: 810px;" /></h2><div class="clear-block" id="MyContent" style="background-color: white;"><div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">At the 76th Cannes Film Festival it was announced that more than 60 hours of rushes of Agnes Varda’s 2000 documentary feature <i>The Gleaners and I</i> will now be available for the next generation of international filmmakers thanks to a new educational initiative from France’s National Audiovisual Institute (INA) and Ciné-Tamaris (Agnès Varda's company run by her daughter Rosalie Varda). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">The five-year project offers students a bilingual platform available 24/7 where they can view and download the complete collection of rushes in addition to the edited film in addition to educational materials like photos and press kits from the period of the film’s release. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">The innovative indexing technique uses artificial intelligence and documentary engineering techniques, applied for the first time to film footage. Students will be able to search for words and pull footage with specific images or merge unused interviews with footage that did make it into the film to create their own spin. </span></div><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p></div></div>
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan - Date: 05/30/23<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-67994981867645052672023-05-27T10:28:00.003-07:002023-05-31T10:52:28.902-07:00Aki Kaurismaki's 'Fallen Leaves' wins the heart of Cannes and Jury Prize
<p style="background-color: white; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRcHsfdRmX6d2bfFB4UB1a0RWrvpHK_KuHXkGtmrSCyuSoMaleg9dgM4NP-EqojXVbi2Wz3o-YFALwC86-MeribaFN2pYPOTWurmh_t5UW1JBFsIMOvM-24bzxyM3e_LdC5Cj9khhAzyJIO5pqo9tksZOBwZlPjXfYFNCZ8OXoEjDKc3nzmLaApnRAA/s3840/images-original.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRcHsfdRmX6d2bfFB4UB1a0RWrvpHK_KuHXkGtmrSCyuSoMaleg9dgM4NP-EqojXVbi2Wz3o-YFALwC86-MeribaFN2pYPOTWurmh_t5UW1JBFsIMOvM-24bzxyM3e_LdC5Cj9khhAzyJIO5pqo9tksZOBwZlPjXfYFNCZ8OXoEjDKc3nzmLaApnRAA/w640-h360/images-original.png" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Aki Kaurismaki's new film <em>Fallen Leaves</em> is a comedy in a world he feels has very little left of humanity. He wastes no time to not give his opinion about other filmmakers or even his own films that he never sees -- all except Chaplin who he says is the best due to his simplicity. That sums up the Finnish director whose simple responses to questions about the world, other filmmakers and his own work is deadpan humor of the highest order. And in subtle ways he explains aspects of his provocative fimmaking, such as that he is was not able to choose the music he likes - Screamin' Jay Hawkins - because 'the Yankees want too many pennies". A simple revelation like this says a lot about the huge stretch between his work and commercial films that are funded without a thought to expense. </span><p></p><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In <em>Fallen Leaves,</em> Alma Poysti plays Ansa, a middle aged supermarket clerk who "risks falling in love no matter how old she gets". She meets a construction worker named Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) and there is a cute dog which Aki nominates to win the Palme Dog at this festival. They go on a date and see Jim Jarmusch's <em>Only Lovers Left Alive</em>. Kaurismaki said it made Jarmusch cry. Screen Daily critics gave <em>Fallen Leaves</em> the highest points on day 8. </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The film takes on the war against Ukraine by Putin moreover Finland's proximity to Russia. Finland recently joined NATO in April and Kaurismaki would have voted against it. Since Finland is on the border with Russia the threat is real. Such a real event is something he hopes will serve as memory to future generations. </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Aki Kaurismaki is a beloved filmmaker with short explanations to questions that have nothing to do with his artistry. In a pageant with so much sophistication he stands far above the artifice and the glamour that takes many captive at Cannes. He has dismissed the notion that this is his final film and is planning a slapstick comedy.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although Fallen Leaves was rated high by critics it did not win the Palme d'Or or Palm Dog but won the Jury Prize - the heart of the jury.</span></div>
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan- Air Date: 0527/23<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-10967183242432120402023-05-27T08:20:00.053-07:002023-06-03T22:07:12.333-07:00Jane Fonda gives Master Class on female centric filmmaking and climate change at Cannes May 27
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWIYok1K0zjNPf4ew9OaVmel5cJbg1W7_QqZnOrfhqR0w63-tX944ztc7RQ7Th8SfluNj84sMGBWyVSpsEWQYKfx_zGA7EoIJQ_QEypKDV3EsQWgISlaQHNkxEtarCOdsWP1c-lRNB_JfpzcZ99f0WhEaAlhXrBZWYtyq6rQXwieKDBNpm-DEISdH8g/s1000/jane%20fonda%20cannes.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWIYok1K0zjNPf4ew9OaVmel5cJbg1W7_QqZnOrfhqR0w63-tX944ztc7RQ7Th8SfluNj84sMGBWyVSpsEWQYKfx_zGA7EoIJQ_QEypKDV3EsQWgISlaQHNkxEtarCOdsWP1c-lRNB_JfpzcZ99f0WhEaAlhXrBZWYtyq6rQXwieKDBNpm-DEISdH8g/s400/jane%20fonda%20cannes.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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By Moira Jean Sullivan
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Jane Fonda was a guest at the 76th Cannes Film Festival for a Master Class on May 26 in Salle Buñuel. The following evening she was called on to present the Palme d' Or from the official jury. For young people today she is an important major star. Many of this new generation knows her through <i>Grace and Frankie</i> with seven seasons from 2015 – 2022. She spoke about the trajectory of her career and her evolution from "a blonde with a lot of hair" to a young woman that wanted to be a tomboy and ride horses". <i>Cat Ballou </i> (1965) was one of her first films that she liked making because of it. Four films were made with her first husband, French director Roger Vadim such as<i> Barbarella </i>(1969)<i> </i>but Fonda dismissed them as unimportant because she was basically unaware of herself as a woman. In the 1970's her focus turned to civil rights, women's rights and activism.
<p>During the Vietnam war she made a political feature <i>Tout Va Bien </i> by Jean-Luc Godard and Jean Pierre Gorin. Later as a response to their film they allegedly made a serious study of a photograph of Jane looking with concern at a Vietnamese man in Hanoi. They pose a series of contradictory rhetorical questions in a pseudo-intellectual mash-up such as how can cinema be used to win the war in Vietnam and what is the role of the intellectual in revolutionary struggle? When asked about Godard, Fonda emphatically replied that <i>Letter to Jane </i>was “narcissistic, and a pile of BS”. In other interviews she revealed that Gorin showed up at her door and physically threatened her to finish <i>Tout Va Bien</i>. (<a href="https://www.annakarinaland.org/2006/04/jane-fonda-back-in-stockholm.html">Interview Movie Magazine International, Moira Sullivan 2006) </a> On a trip to North Vietnam with letters for US POWS she was photographed by the Vietcong next to an anti-aircraft gun wearing a helmet that all visitors are required to wear. She asked for it not to be used. From this experience and <i>Letter to Jane</i> she learned how her status as an international actor would be used for political purposes that were misaligned with her beliefs. For a period of time, she declined making films and became involved as an organizer.
</p><p>In 1971 she made <i>Klute </i>named for a detective (Donald Sutherland) investigating a serial murderer. She plays a sex worker with dark brown hair and won her first Oscar. She started to work with organizers such as United Auto and left her daughter at home with a governess. At these meetings women brought their babies with them and she realized how important it was to be with her child.
</p><p>Black revolutionary lawyers told her that movie stars in good films were important, and she eventually formed her own film production company. <i>Coming Home </i>(1978) was the first film she produced about a Vietnam soldier (Jon Voigt) who is paralyzed from injuries he sustained on the battlefield. She won an Oscar for her role. She next made a movie about nuclear power plants which earned her another Oscar nomination in <i>The China Syndrome </i>(1978). Fonda plays a newscaster who asks for serious stories and gets her chance to report on a near accident and coverup at a nuclear power plant. <i>9-5</i> (1980) was another important film which has become an anthem for working women. </p><p>Fonda was dissatisfied with many of the roles offered her and her attention turned to Greenpeace and climate change. In her boldest statement of the evening, she declared that there would be no climate crisis without racism and the patriarchy - that those in power in the fossil fuel industry are white men. She spoke about really listening to what the opposition says with an open heart, never hate the traumatized, and stop supporting politicians who still advocate the use of fossil fuels. Fonda said our time out soon probably within the next seven years to address climate change.</p><p>Lily Tomlin, she said, was her “favorite man” to work with in movies. “I don’t feel I am a part of Hollywood".... Activism gave me a life.“I don’t know how to be any different”.
</p><p>Also significant in the discussion was her response to #METOO where the media has tried to polarize women. “#METOO has made a big difference to report sexual assault and harassment and it’s not over", said Fonda. </p><p> At the closing of the festival she gave the Palme d'Or award to French director Justine Triet for <i>Anatomy of Fall</i>. She remarked that the 76th Festival de Cannes has more women in the official competition than any other previous festival and that in time this would become normal. Many of those in the audience asked her for advice as a woman working in the film industry and her activism. Jane Fonda became an important role model to many young people this day at Cannes and it was an excellent choice by the festival to invite her.
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan - Date: 05/27/23<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Photo©Festival de Cannes</span><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-89072244765976358082023-05-24T19:57:00.000-07:002024-02-25T16:04:52.913-08:00The Taste of Things has an aftertasteBy Moira Jean Sullivan<div>La Passion de Dodin Bouffant (France 2023); The Taste of Things</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-L3uBTwmqr5ZdzyCh7voY-wF3iXynROAsk1cyNM7-MbIvqqUT7xyEDZIyxtV0kZDiBp5deM4Q_D6ldprGa-YkiDH_YvYgbkbtEr-AdjL7ckBloO7ai1Lgs2jqXobdr3on_OjicM4lrFr6vmwzHx_27BTJwpLWzNy4mjDtRo5walzCGPc8k01xOgofoV_-/s1800/09FRENCH-FOOD-MOVIES-01-zqpg-mediumSquareAt3X.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1800" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-L3uBTwmqr5ZdzyCh7voY-wF3iXynROAsk1cyNM7-MbIvqqUT7xyEDZIyxtV0kZDiBp5deM4Q_D6ldprGa-YkiDH_YvYgbkbtEr-AdjL7ckBloO7ai1Lgs2jqXobdr3on_OjicM4lrFr6vmwzHx_27BTJwpLWzNy4mjDtRo5walzCGPc8k01xOgofoV_-/w400-h419/09FRENCH-FOOD-MOVIES-01-zqpg-mediumSquareAt3X.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Most people have small apartments with tiny kitchens and barely enough room for preparing the kind of meal that in the first 17 minutes of <i>The Taste of Things</i> is served to six men in suits and ties by a young apprentice and female cook. Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) learned the art of cooking from her mother and father, a renowned Parisian pastry chef. The main course includes a cream sauce for vegetables she spoons into a large bread bowl, topped off by flaming cake filled with ice cream - “baked Alaska” ("bombe Alaska" actually in this film) or "omelette norvégienne" in French. It is called a “scientific desert” created by the American physicist Sir Benjamin Thompson who made the discovery that egg whites made a great insulator for cold filling in a hot cake. After making this elaborate meal Eugénie almost faints, and I understand why she would after this physically exhausting and demanding culinary ordeal. She was a cook long before the manor owner Dodin but she never sits with his friends at the table. The original title of the film was <i>Pot-au-Feu </i>(Pot on the Fire), the name of an elaborate but comparably unerotic and bland looking meat and vegetable stew prepared by Dodin later in the film. </div><div><br /></div><div>The film’s title in French is <i>La Passion de Dodin Bouffant </i>and the narrative is about Dodin's desire for Eugénie and her cooking. Funding for this film came from the Loire region, Canal Plus and French National Television, directed by Trần Anh Hùng, winner of the best director award at Cannes in May. Originally from Vietnam he has lived in France since 1974 and attended film school at École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière (ENS Louis-Lumière). Several of his films have won at Cannes in the past.</div><div><p>
One thing I have noticed about cooking films set in France are the large kitchens, great utilities, and open spaces.It’s a joy to cook in a place where there's room and so I pause here to note that it is a class difference if you don't have a good kitchen or can afford installing one. In Paris apartments can come without kitchens and so it is nothing to take for granted. When the owner moves, they take the kitchen with them. I have a stove in the US where the heat does not go outside anymore via a stove pipe but stays in the kitchen, that becomes like a furnace. In Stockholm during some renovations ‘kitchens’ are built into a closet with no room for the heat to escape except a ventilator that circulates above the stove. There is no storage for large pans or pots. The kitchen in <i>The Taste of Things </i>is in a French manor with a huge garden, a wine cellar and underground well of fresh water. A film like this is enjoyable for spectators who don’t have such resources. Since this is a period pieces dressing for dinner is a luxury.
</p><p>Historically film is a window to a world of privilege as the characters in this film. I was surprised to see a film like this at Cannes for it is about a world of an ideal past. The extraordinarily refined scenes with meat intensive dishes that require elaborate preparation are beautifully arranged. The kitchen has sauté pans, huge pots for boiling and apprentices who assist in the creation of delicacies from the garden or the market. If you watch this film while you're hungry it should make it even more pleasurable. The sounds of washing vegetables, steaming food, whipping, pouring, and sizzling dishes are part of this almost edible film. The young female apprentices are so used to cooking that they can even taste what the ingredients are without ever seeing them. In one scene, six men with napkins over their heads guzzle and slurp a dish with great relish, reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki’s animated classic <i>Spirited Away</i> (Japan 2001) when the parents of ten-year-old "Sen” turn into pigs in an outdoor restaurant. But it is not just the consumption of food in <i>The Taste of Things:</i> we are instructed in the film that ostentatious, lavish meals constructed without a knowledge of food preparation is not French "haute cuisine". </p><p>
The focus of the cinematography is of course on the utensils and preparation of gourmet meals. The conversation centers on how wonderful the food is with a short history of French cooking with important historical figures. The great Burgundy wines such as 'Clos Vougeot' revered in the Papacy situated in Avignon in the 13th century is part of the history lesson. The men at the table tell the story of Marie-Antoine Carême who grew up poor with fourteen brothers and sisters and not enough food to eat.</p><p>
At the end of the film is a soliloquy by Dodin Bouffant on where food first lands in the mouth and on the peristaltic movement involved in digestion. The relish in which he tells this story is almost erotic, which makes it clear why it took 20 years for him to ask Eugénie to marry him. After all, he regarded her more as his cook than his wife. This is a question posed by Eugénie to him and it is important to her. Her 20 year relationship based on labor intensive food preparation with Dodin involves knocking on her door for permission to enter and peering into her bedroom to watch her partially undressed with her back to the door like a piece of sculpture. The way he thinks about her almost as a meal to devour is contained in his voyeuristic glances. In the meanwhile, his rudeness to the young female apprentices in the manor and other female cooks is obvious all the more since he in contrast relishes speaking with his male comrades who consume Eugénie's cooking and discuss her food with scientific detachment over wine and tobacco; Dodin may love Eugenie but she is eroticized in an uncomfortable way in Trần Anh Hùng almost perfectly created film and meticulously arranged mise en scène like one of Eugénie's gourmet meals.</p><p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_Qib-JtrbJ3b-cfv1SBPoM4Xt3UPjIi_gvvuWMYmrhBsIKuHHroMEIao96gy8VZCvcd__ooPYmklppj5q50jiW0G81JD8s1LbceFC9kEsEXboAY1WBC_lrBhyphenhyphenhTueYY2yInaD9xa8CBwK2PIjl3-jGC7Bd0Hpw_gOfRBtIhC9eFHb9GUYVUPzsxjfZFl/s3841/Tran%20Anh%20Hung%20-%20Director%20Headshot.JPG" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="3841" data-original-width="2930" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_Qib-JtrbJ3b-cfv1SBPoM4Xt3UPjIi_gvvuWMYmrhBsIKuHHroMEIao96gy8VZCvcd__ooPYmklppj5q50jiW0G81JD8s1LbceFC9kEsEXboAY1WBC_lrBhyphenhyphenhTueYY2yInaD9xa8CBwK2PIjl3-jGC7Bd0Hpw_gOfRBtIhC9eFHb9GUYVUPzsxjfZFl/s400/Tran%20Anh%20Hung%20-%20Director%20Headshot.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Trần Anh Hùng</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p></p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2024 - Moira Sullivan: 5/24<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p></div>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-87999384193934883792023-05-24T10:30:00.003-07:002023-05-30T15:07:03.372-07:00Pastel colors and cartoon characters in Wes Anderson's 'Asteroid City'
<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1SyMVHxmzqEpSr3ahF28skWq398Tysyf4PL3AJ-jUVv0aZw6V5n044AdYD7CXfk0B3_XJFWp4uSGbMY1gCQ67UrkobGvtS_4L3OI0ORXzxRFQDc1GFJISpv4aTQlmRBSJuEDgrQyg9S9vzJxPvEmW7V4bskTv-QwUBY4MHdYxuLrY9rnjoQEq4bqunA/s1920/ASTEROID%20CITY%20190423%20default-AC_FP_00002.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1SyMVHxmzqEpSr3ahF28skWq398Tysyf4PL3AJ-jUVv0aZw6V5n044AdYD7CXfk0B3_XJFWp4uSGbMY1gCQ67UrkobGvtS_4L3OI0ORXzxRFQDc1GFJISpv4aTQlmRBSJuEDgrQyg9S9vzJxPvEmW7V4bskTv-QwUBY4MHdYxuLrY9rnjoQEq4bqunA/w640-h360/ASTEROID%20CITY%20190423%20default-AC_FP_00002.webp" width="640" /></a></div><br />Wes Andersson's <em style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Asteroid City </em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">premiered at Cannes to a standing ovation on May 23 at the the Grand Théatre Lumière. Featuring an ensemble cast shot during August and October 2021, the film is set in 1955 where 3070 years ago an asteroid fell to earth in the US southwest desert populated by saguara and mesas. To commemorate this landing, Asteroid City is home to the national Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention attended by parents and students on annual Asteroid Day. It is also the site of a US government astronomical observatory.</span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As a huge dark grey mushroom cloud appears in the horizon, the visitors to <em>Asteroid City</em> become subject to a lockdown. The threat of an event eclipsing the atomic testing of the 1950's sends the guests into panic. </span></p><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The look and feel of the film is almost cartoon like bleeding the faces and clothing of the actors into soft pastels. The aesthetically pleasing aspect of the film also features visual effects by CG artist Tharun Joseph Abraham. <em>Asteroid City </em>is a live action film with animated aspects. The stars serve as cartoon caricatures unlike the animated characters of <em>Isle of Dogs</em>. Scarlett Johansson found the space of the film set theatrical and other actors compare it to a stage play. Brian Cranston likens it to a symphony and such references may come to mind because of the ensemble cast of A list actors some of which have parts playing actors.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unlike many of the films that you will never be able to see in a theater near you at Cannes , the pull of major actors in one place in Wes Anderson's new film created a vortex of instantaneous applause and star-frenzy on its debut May 23. You won't have to wait long to see <em>Asteroid City.</em> Star wattage drives the film along the tracks like the cover of <em>Freight Train</em> sung by Elizabeth Cotton accompanying the trailer. <span style="font-family: inherit;">The film was shot during</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> the pandemic in 2021. It meant losing a Wes Anderson regular Bill Murray who contracted the virus during the shoot.</span></div>
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan - Date: 05/24/23<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-27930455007709195832023-05-22T16:50:00.001-07:002023-05-29T17:01:52.160-07:00Marco Bellocchio's 'Kidnapped' debuts at Cannes on the abduction of Edgardo Morara by Pope Pius IX
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By Moira Jean Sullivan<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p><div class="clear-block" id="MyContent"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMd9ODRX0-7DJZyN360JtpwXlPZeW5MWjeIlKa-iEJDnsFKvlMmqZ-BYK7QD41plW0dgMfCRgBZGeuPTNskPouq5u3Oi1kcttV7SFr2PRv5L1HrgnJnNQhUIHiocUp0wjIM9BsvSabtj1a79f3Aye5k_I7f7dukrd0Sveuyb0BvM8cKZ1XuFFkMm0V8w/s681/Screen-Shot-2023-05-23-at-11.39.24-AM.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="681" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMd9ODRX0-7DJZyN360JtpwXlPZeW5MWjeIlKa-iEJDnsFKvlMmqZ-BYK7QD41plW0dgMfCRgBZGeuPTNskPouq5u3Oi1kcttV7SFr2PRv5L1HrgnJnNQhUIHiocUp0wjIM9BsvSabtj1a79f3Aye5k_I7f7dukrd0Sveuyb0BvM8cKZ1XuFFkMm0V8w/w640-h360/Screen-Shot-2023-05-23-at-11.39.24-AM.webp" width="640" /></a></div><div class="media_embed" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"> </div><p style="background-color: white; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Marco Bellocchio's dramatic narrative<em> Rapito </em>(Kidnapped) premiered at Cannes where the award winning and esteemed Italian director spoke about why he chose the project about a Jewish boy kidnapped by the Papal states in 1858. Baptised Catholic by a servant, after failed attempts to convince the boy's parents to raise him as a Christian, Edgardo is kidnapped by the Inquisitor of the Holy Office Pier Gaetano Feletti (Fabrizio Gifuni) for Pope Pius IX (Paolo Pierobon). Edgardo's parents (Barbara Ronchi and Fausto Russo Alesi) are unable to see their son for months.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bellocchio, who is a non-practicing Catholic, read the story and was deeply touched and wrote the script with Susanna Nicchiarelli, Edoardo Albinati and Daniela Cesellin based on Daniele Scalise's novel <em>Il Caso Mortara. </em>Since it is well known that Steven Spielberg had begun a film project on the kidnapping, Bellocchio was quick to point out that it was based on another book - David Kertzer’s <em>The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara</em>. Though Spielberg looked at locations and actors his project came to a halt, according to Bellocchio, because he could not find the right child. He insisted it was important that the film use a regional Italian actor and that such a film could not be made in English.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The director especially esteemed the child actor in his film who played Edgardo , Enea Sala, who did not know anything about Catholicism or the sacraments such as christening, and confirmation. The screenplay was in Hebrew and Latin, and Sala learned his dialogue well.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The real-life boy Edgardo seemed to understand what people were thinking and had to survive and adapt, according to Bellocchio. He was never mistreated or struck. Pope Pious IX wanted to protect him as a symbol of the temporal and spiritual power of the Pope. Bellocchio called him a dictator who did not want to lose power. The filmmaker said that the focal point of this history is the kidnapping of this child in the name of religion. There were other kidnapping cases, hundreds and hundreds in the 19th century because a Catholic servant was needed for Jewish families on Shabbat. Quite often children were christened in secret by a Catholic servant working for a Jewish family.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once Edgardo becomes an adult, he is fully aware of what happened and that he's been separated from his family. In his unpublished memoirs in 1888 he insisted that he was not kidnapped by the Vatican. Leonardo Maltese who plays Edgardo as a young man wanted to portray the pain within him during his entire life.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bellochio takes up Pope Pius IX's refusal to release Edgardo as one of the reasons used to dissolve the Papal States in 1870 and solidify the unification of Italy . </span></p></div>
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan - Date: 05/23/23<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-31938636715355785642023-05-21T16:16:00.003-07:002023-05-29T16:45:45.606-07:00'New voice' prize goes to Omen, directorial debut of Belgian musician Baloji
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By Moira Jean Sullivan
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<h2 class="with-tabs pageTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 25px; margin: 5px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">Un certain regard 'new voice' prize goes to Omen, directorial debut of Belgian rapper Baloji</h2><div class="clear-block" id="MyContent" style="background-color: white;"><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Arial, Helvetica; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="" height="267" src="https://www.filmfestivals.com/files/images/u673/omen.jpg" style="border: none; height: 540px; vertical-align: bottom; width: 810px;" width="400" /></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>Omen</em> (Augure), the first feature film by Belgian-Congolese musician and actor Baloji, won the “New Voice” prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. The film screened May 22 with a rich visual language previously experienced in Baloji's music videos and heard in his electrifying four part masterpiece, the soundtrack for <em>Augure</em>.</span></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This innovative directorial debut is the story of Koffi (Marc Zinga) who decides to return to his home in Lubumbashi in the Congo with his partner Alice (Lucie Debay). Pregnant and expecting twins, Koffi's family do not welcome them. Koffi was rejected by his mother early in life because he showed signs of being a Zabola (Swahili: Magician) or demon. The film's poster features a Zabola in a haze of pink smoke. Other actors in <em>Omen</em> are Eliane Umuhire as Tshala and Yves-Marina Gnahoua as Mama Mujila.</span></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Balioji reveals that his father died in 2018 and professional mourners were hired for his funeral. He did not want the mourners to cry for him yet his tears became intertwined with theirs. Baloji has said that this was the impetus for <i>Augure</i> and for eight weeks he was in a feverish state. Out of this experience,<em> Omen</em> was born.</span></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The artist's film influences are electic: Barry Jenkins, Steve McQueen, the Safdie brothers, Sean Baker and Wes Anderson. From South America he lists Alexandre Landes and Alejandro González Iñárritu); from Spain Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Pedro Almodóvar and from South Korea Park Chan-wook. The Belgian musician grew up in Liège in a Sicilian neighbourhood and esteems the work of Antonioni, Fellini and Pasolini. All these fantastic filmmakers have paved the way for an outstanding new master in the world of cinema, introduced at the 76th Festval de Cannes.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>Omen</em> cost 1 million euros and was shot in 23 days with 94 scenes. The Un Certain Regard jury was made up of Emilie Dequenne as well as Davy Chou, Paula Beer and Alice Winocour. The jury was chaired by American actor John C. Reilly.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Arial, Helvetica;"> </div></div>
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan - Date: 05/22/23<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-71394041914531383682023-03-06T08:50:00.011-08:002023-03-06T13:39:34.419-08:00Linda Haynes and Rolling Thunder - an actress worth a retrospective<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsYOPhiYHnXI9T1i4LSG_1B9k1hslpPaG47LRCV-dkLX8wzeinV2PCh_1yPDwTyZmDVG4w8Z5vSGsuGoG5idPc8h7Qpe1n7QbqmEcpJDXG7wAfBPksJGZ5biK7qD7scBevNsa_rdAPb0Z40jGyyvMGpPksxz48o9kJLwKmKhKyHGKOMwozxkIMB7_yQ/s1600/b8a0c1264587392.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsYOPhiYHnXI9T1i4LSG_1B9k1hslpPaG47LRCV-dkLX8wzeinV2PCh_1yPDwTyZmDVG4w8Z5vSGsuGoG5idPc8h7Qpe1n7QbqmEcpJDXG7wAfBPksJGZ5biK7qD7scBevNsa_rdAPb0Z40jGyyvMGpPksxz48o9kJLwKmKhKyHGKOMwozxkIMB7_yQ/s600/b8a0c1264587392.jpg"/></a></div>
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By Moira Sullivan
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Quentin Tarantino likes to revitalise actors from film classics. His time working in a video shop gave him the opportunity to see films that are otherwise not very well known to today's Netflix and other popular streaming outlets. He not only knows cult films well but his sets often pay homage to the 70s and 80s. Today's pop streaming culture caters to a whole generation of young film fans do not have the opportunity to enrich their knowledge of film with cult classics. Tarantino can't rediscover everyone. Two actors he has helped are not my favorites - John Travolta (<i>Saturday Night Fever</i> 1977 to <i>Pulp Fiction</i> 2004) and Christophe Walz (nothing comes to mind from before - to <i>Inglorious Basterds</i> (2009). They will always have Tarantino to thank for their rebooted careers. <p>
When it comes to female actors Tarantino brought Pam Grier to the forefront in <i>Jackie Brown</i> (1997) who was a vital presence in B films such as <i>Coffy</i> (1973) and <i>Foxy Brown</i> (1974). She has remained current in an entourage of TV series since the 70's such as <i>The L Word </i> and really did not need Tarantino.<p>
In 1977, Paul Shrader wrote a mesmerizing script for the film <i>Rolling Thunder</i> directed by William Flynn starring William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Haynes. Haynes who was brilliant in this film worked through the 70's and 80's including <i>Coffy </i>and later retired to become a legal secretary. There are so many female actors who 'retire' from the screen since the shelf life is nearly as short as a ballerina's dance career. Her solid acting abilities deviate from male actors made new by Tarantino. He has written about her enthusiastically but didn't put her in any films.<p>
Linda plays Linda Forchet, a barmaid at a local pool hall who has the honor of delivering $2555 worth of silver dollars for every day that US Air Force Major Charles Rane (William Devane) spent as a POW in Vietnam. The major and US Army Master Sergeant Johnny Vohden return home to San Antonio to the airfield in Texas and to a crowd of flag waving citizens. While away Rane's wife has taken up with the local sherif who calls his son a 'runt' and was a toddler when Rane left.<p>
Rane runs into Linda with no fireworks going off for him but she has worn a bracelet the entire time he was held prisoner and tortured in Vietnam. Baddies from Mexico invade Rane's home to get the coins, kill his wife and boy and put his arm in the garbage disposal. Rane asks Linda to go on a road/revenge trip with him in his shiny red Cadillac that was given to him by the town on his return. Her endurance during this time and her perseverance in trying to steer Rane away from violence while maintaining her self-respect is a powerful performance. She gets left at a motel and forgotten after a shootout with Rane, Johnny Vohden and the Mexican bandits. While Rane and Vohden are back in their saddle from their war days alleviating for a period of time their post-traumatic stress, Haynes shines brightly in <i>Rolling Thunder</i>. Film critic Molly Haskell wrote: <p>
"The men... come off better than the women because they are excused from ever uttering a word. Linda Haynes, who was so exciting and authentically rural in Robert Mulligan's <i>Nickel Ride</i>, has that most thankless role of the adoring and impossibly patient woman who must babble on to fill the silences." (<i>New York Magazine,</i> 1977) <p>
When looking back on <i>Rolling Thunder</i> Haynes role serves as a 'meditation on violence' in an otherwise bloody tale. Such devotion and care to the spoils of war makes a chilling statement that endures long after the carnage.<p>
<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:85%;">© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan - Date: 03/06/23<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
</p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-64847491974327686292023-02-21T16:30:00.016-08:002023-02-21T23:07:03.906-08:00Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon new 4K release for Silver Anniversary
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By Moira Sullivan
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It has been 25 years since Ang Lee’s epic 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' was released. The stunning aerial cinematography and martial arts kinesis choreographed by Yuen Wo-Ping with cinematography by Peter Pau were sensational on its release and still hold magic. The film won Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography, Best Original Music Score, and Best Set Decoration at the 2001 Academy Awards. Now a new 4K restoration of the film is out in the Bay Area. </p><p>The film stars Michelle Yeoh (Yu Shu Lien), Zhang Ziyi (Jen Yu), Chow Yun Fat (Li Mu Bai) Cheng Pei Pei (Jade Fox) and Chang Chen ('Dark Cloud' Lo). However this story comes across in broad strokes on the screen the subtleties show that it is actually about three skilled female warriors Yu Shu Lien, Jen Yu and Jade Fox whose talents have been eclipsed by their teachers, fathers and brothers. It is exciting to reintroduce this background with the new restoration. It is as powerful as knowing that Ip Man, the martial arts teacher of Bruce Lee, studied Wing Chun Kung Fu - a tradition created by Ng Mui a Buddhist nun in a Shaolin Temple in the 18th century and one of the top five martial artists in China during this time. Wing Chun was designed for women to protect themselves from male attackers. Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh trained in Wing Chun and Tai Chi for her role in this film. </p><p>Yeoh nominated for an Academy Award for<span face="kepler-std, serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 24px; letter-spacing: -0.12px;"> </span>‘Everything Everywhere All at Once' is the first Asian actress to be so honored. She began as a dancer and later did her own stunts in several Hong Kong action films including a role as a secret agent in 'Tomorrow Never Dies' in the James Bond franchise. Also of world class renown is Cheng Pei Pei who plays Jade Fox, known as the first female martial artist in cinema and called the 'Queen of Swords'.</p><p>
Chinese novelist Wang Du Lu wrote the Crane-Iron Series in the 1940’s about four generations of wandering vigilante warriors - Youxia- including the tale of' 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon'. The title means a place or situation that is full of unnoticed masters, and how apropo it is to notice the female masters of this tale in Ang Lee's film.
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Zhang Ziyi is excellent as Jen and although cast side by side with Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat, she is the pulse of the diegesis. From the age of 8 Jen designs a life for herself to become a warrior, free from the confines of forced marriage. Apprentice to the sorceress Jade Fox, she has been secretly studying the Wudang martial arts manual and her skills soon surpass her teacher who cannot read. She seizes the opportunity to escape her fate by stealing the sword Green Destiny and intends to become the Invisible Sword Goddess. The sword belongs to the great martial artist Li Mu Bai who has been studying with a master in the Wudang mountains. He has decided to give it away because it has only brought him sorrow since the murder of his teacher by Jade Fox.
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Ang Lee may have romanticized Wang Du Lu's story with a love angle between Yu Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai, and Jen Yu and ‘Dark Cloud’ Lo but even if this takes up countless minutes of screen time, the real connections are between the unnoticed masters, friends and foes Yu Shu Lien, Jen Yu and Jade Fox.</p><p>Photo credits:</p><p>CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON: Peter Pau. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.</p>Cheng Pei Pei as Golden Swallow in King Hu's <i>Come Drink With Me</i> (1966) (courtesy viff.org)<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjleK38zKBHRZA1YSQM1hquRh8xVvVC0N6n2jnbL6GyzrtgzUqSCgVjqMPTQoxjyj1GHA2Z8LsI7y74LqzffuBhBAuRUua2okd25B3WdSrlW0a_IOp3nFoHi2P3EomK4ggXM1GYH2qfU-56nlEFJlo3GxsGPHPLoydHaZjubBOOBTjvE6pdJ5fc1PpMKw/s3840/crouching.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjleK38zKBHRZA1YSQM1hquRh8xVvVC0N6n2jnbL6GyzrtgzUqSCgVjqMPTQoxjyj1GHA2Z8LsI7y74LqzffuBhBAuRUua2okd25B3WdSrlW0a_IOp3nFoHi2P3EomK4ggXM1GYH2qfU-56nlEFJlo3GxsGPHPLoydHaZjubBOOBTjvE6pdJ5fc1PpMKw/s600/crouching.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTC96to5B_nOe8zQkQ41n6smzCUg-0hDGPO4arZty6znYdwFyF2wTv89gSgtK-OHqjTlSoYAElc9pFwT8jdCf_TjByz7GWzPwxVAAT9s_gtPckFPMom7SL8JaTMz_bZo1vOZMoOde7JEKy47q64sY268OPoxB28PHKHlJqD6_TGLF0VqaSmCHNtUyaFQ/s3840/yeoh.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTC96to5B_nOe8zQkQ41n6smzCUg-0hDGPO4arZty6znYdwFyF2wTv89gSgtK-OHqjTlSoYAElc9pFwT8jdCf_TjByz7GWzPwxVAAT9s_gtPckFPMom7SL8JaTMz_bZo1vOZMoOde7JEKy47q64sY268OPoxB28PHKHlJqD6_TGLF0VqaSmCHNtUyaFQ/w604-h360/yeoh.jpg" title="Michelle Yeoh as Yu Shu Lien in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. Photo credit: Peter Pau. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics." width="604" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPPVtcxg3ZLCQcyHywOymTSKtRG_PVRTB1EGfEz_b4lKS9x9OO1bbWHPsnhmt19irQo3zdUJ2M_dqtoJ_eflmglY_mhCepb3BU63yz4zwEkc7RaGeFD05lJGe77r0AA2AyF3RQOgyL1JHIfpTj6EQRdHU2lg_LP6ldx0zCUKEwiXS-B98UQkfa8PlIg/s3840/yeoh_ziyi.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPPVtcxg3ZLCQcyHywOymTSKtRG_PVRTB1EGfEz_b4lKS9x9OO1bbWHPsnhmt19irQo3zdUJ2M_dqtoJ_eflmglY_mhCepb3BU63yz4zwEkc7RaGeFD05lJGe77r0AA2AyF3RQOgyL1JHIfpTj6EQRdHU2lg_LP6ldx0zCUKEwiXS-B98UQkfa8PlIg/s600/yeoh_ziyi.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9mJdri-4kt5Ei2ZGTt9zWZwK00OO8VPhFFpHJQdEUlkHReVwBzFE64zRsFJ4LjEljziKJkveK6znM6_aBTsMFyXyzG4aPxlh7SvkcP-a5q8nEpEd_MbUYoIPBXmC9WOrojDxtIFWWxfP3NeoDX9g9-a0aABRUhEs6jnSsnNwTvX-PqtCDu7pQEK5nw/s3840/ziyi.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9mJdri-4kt5Ei2ZGTt9zWZwK00OO8VPhFFpHJQdEUlkHReVwBzFE64zRsFJ4LjEljziKJkveK6znM6_aBTsMFyXyzG4aPxlh7SvkcP-a5q8nEpEd_MbUYoIPBXmC9WOrojDxtIFWWxfP3NeoDX9g9-a0aABRUhEs6jnSsnNwTvX-PqtCDu7pQEK5nw/s600/ziyi.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ30LYp3FzfvU2LQOMCO1NIYSU76aGbescsJtyiGFv8oo96q1l1HYuZFcYzapRpKybtYfSjd-JjfiKzYbJYgS1GFLmg7LcLpEM0R92tlI807gehVfB06Y7EdXDP9RwUcNnSE5eF0Ufl2s6Hu6t04YAWcVmhv7j-alINuKb2xdJYxanWkEtamBRM_mwGw/s3840/ziyi_michelle.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ30LYp3FzfvU2LQOMCO1NIYSU76aGbescsJtyiGFv8oo96q1l1HYuZFcYzapRpKybtYfSjd-JjfiKzYbJYgS1GFLmg7LcLpEM0R92tlI807gehVfB06Y7EdXDP9RwUcNnSE5eF0Ufl2s6Hu6t04YAWcVmhv7j-alINuKb2xdJYxanWkEtamBRM_mwGw/s600/ziyi_michelle.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MAl-MJ5SQRM0LO6mDVcIisGUxabYimfGtvyIiqMfq38jMk5QhyBvw_RThaFM3vcnjBuuL8zqc683UxBQpyOWgrXbzM2dzpDJTOfmtkm84IpE9oPtGPRXYcGslkmz1AeJRa9XjOZ5BBEHvG9PThxJeTysgHDzT4Ye61T4-tSAqQiMFyTcCbepOScrDg/s683/come-drink-with-me-1966-cheng-pei-pei1.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="683" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MAl-MJ5SQRM0LO6mDVcIisGUxabYimfGtvyIiqMfq38jMk5QhyBvw_RThaFM3vcnjBuuL8zqc683UxBQpyOWgrXbzM2dzpDJTOfmtkm84IpE9oPtGPRXYcGslkmz1AeJRa9XjOZ5BBEHvG9PThxJeTysgHDzT4Ye61T4-tSAqQiMFyTcCbepOScrDg/s600/come-drink-with-me-1966-cheng-pei-pei1.jpg" width="600" /> </a></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan - Date: 02/21/23<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-90162046881971911622023-01-28T00:53:00.012-08:002023-01-28T01:57:24.569-08:00Florian Zeller's 'The Son' tackles youth depression<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XgK5UjVojpAW_GnNEB85wnwCk6KgVSSJma8L_lmDYWbLR2gKFNZB6KkLGxMzHX726dWpX081XmFl_jyb5MzVD316fEAi_ivrMePBiyfpejVMG8skzAxmdgg2JHlymy6MhyXP7BGNhSWvNb8im3dqd3gfUDxTCwx4q-phWQvJB2f8wq3blchy6LKksw/s800/the_son_1.webp" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XgK5UjVojpAW_GnNEB85wnwCk6KgVSSJma8L_lmDYWbLR2gKFNZB6KkLGxMzHX726dWpX081XmFl_jyb5MzVD316fEAi_ivrMePBiyfpejVMG8skzAxmdgg2JHlymy6MhyXP7BGNhSWvNb8im3dqd3gfUDxTCwx4q-phWQvJB2f8wq3blchy6LKksw/s600/the_son_1.webp"/></a></div>
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By Moira Sullivan
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Florian Zeller is an exciting director who has made two relevant and meaningful films about difficult subjects. He explores a daughter's relationship with her father who has Alzheimer's in <i>The Father </i>(2020), and in <i>The Son</i>(2022)a father's relationship with his chronically depressed young son. His latest film provides a painful look at a tortured young man. The seemingly bottomless pain is seldom so openly revealed. Even if Hugh Jackman as Peter is excellent, the stellar performance is Zen McGrath as Nicholas, Peter’s son. The film debuted at Venice in September.
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While it seems to be Peter’s new marriage to Beth (Vanessa Kirby)and their new infant that has made Nicholas majorly depressed it could also be the bust up of Peter and Kate (Laura Deren) Nicholas’ parents. The film script sets up plenty of draconian evidence for why Nicholas is depressed with flashbacks to when the original nuclear family was harmonious such as on idyllic holidays. But, Nicholas just does not feel good anymore no matter how he changes his environment. There is pressure from his father to succeed and school is considered a vital component. He decides he can’t live anymore with his mother and has been skipping school. He asks to live with his father and Beth. It doesn’t provide the results he expects, and he still skips school. Peter feels guilty about busting up his family and taking a new wife and tries to compensate with an interest in his son's well-being. The expectation is if only the clock can be turned back to when Nicolas was last happy.
Zen McGrath is excellent in this role in conveying his darkness as a deep seated malaise. Youth is generally considered the happiest time in life but suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people.
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The core to the dramatic content is when Nicolas is committed for observation for an attempted suicide. His doctor tries to convince Beth and Peter that taking him out too soon may seem to be what Nicholas would like but the chances of him trying to harm himself again are too high. <i>The Son</i> shows that it is not only the home life that makes a person feel good but the individual apart from family. What can be done for someone who just does not feel good?
<i>The Father</i> and <i>The Son </i>are both based on plays by Christopher Hampton
Now playing in the Bay Area.
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<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:85%;">© 2023 - Moira Jean Sullivan: 01/28/23<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>.
</p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-31894214932162586212023-01-14T14:46:00.009-08:002023-01-14T16:07:02.343-08:00Oliver Hermanus' 'Living' in San Francisco Landmark TheatresBy Moira Jean Sullivan<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpjZYKzzO_NrZRuiJ1irrpdkulu6m5Ufb2cHztwite1feOv0QNu6YQT3aMi0yZjuJSrps0BVbBvY2HHk1UzRDM_bPCmQvb0F-ZXVFGINeirAqCwpPxwjiTRLTftSg7TdefVirsiXhOtbWGSk9wSrH_QyrTt8GmRDe3sWTXB3NNqHFSj-qFg/s2000/4.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="2000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpjZYKzzO_NrZRuiJ1irrpdkulu6m5Ufb2cHztwite1feOv0QNu6YQT3aMi0yZjuJSrps0BVbBvY2HHk1UzRDM_bPCmQvb0F-ZXVFGINeirAqCwpPxwjiTRLTftSg7TdefVirsiXhOtbWGSk9wSrH_QyrTt8GmRDe3sWTXB3NNqHFSj-qFg/s600/4.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> © Sony Pictures Classics</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>
<i>Living</i> is a finely crafted film set in England in the 1950s by South African director Oliver Hermanus based on <i>Ikiru </i>(To Live), <i> </i> a film made in 1952 by Akira Kurosawa inspired by a novella by Leo Tolstoy <i> The Death of Ivan Ilyich </i>(1886). <p>
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The British version of <i>Living</i> in full regalia is now in San Francisco Landmark Theatres written by Nobel prize winning author Kazuo Ishiguro with rights granted by the Kurosawa estate. Ishiguro who has seen <i>Ikiru</i> many times before fused his own memories of Britain’s pre-and post-War culture in this latest production. </p><p>
The setting is an England being rebuilt after the war and focuses on the efforts of the government planning department to renew the façade and structures of London. </p><p>
</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxj8oXkolpdlUDeCo2l4TpTJ_uWNUvLixQ4ocPCJFNOgOObOrpFnCS2e66ZVXQ9dWVgzVc_j2vBPyI0OFk8r4PVvpUTqDSGIXAWdazNrlue9ooZJaRecxs8Z3rIPDBTdwkagyW-rpTzLMB3CUChHnA2pgop-vBL84OA9Dp5UUzaewisL5Jmg/s4500/5.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxj8oXkolpdlUDeCo2l4TpTJ_uWNUvLixQ4ocPCJFNOgOObOrpFnCS2e66ZVXQ9dWVgzVc_j2vBPyI0OFk8r4PVvpUTqDSGIXAWdazNrlue9ooZJaRecxs8Z3rIPDBTdwkagyW-rpTzLMB3CUChHnA2pgop-vBL84OA9Dp5UUzaewisL5Jmg/s600/5.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Aimee Lee Wood and Bill Nighy </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> © Sony Pictures Classics</span><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Bill Nighy plays veteran civil servant Williams, a bureaucrat in a city department. He is head of a small team commuting to London by train on weekdays in crisp pressed suits, black bowlers or fedoras, with wood handled walking sticks. Nighy is excellent in the role of this quiet no fuss civil servant with impeccable manners and smooth diction. Recently nominated for a Golden Globe he is sure to get an Oscar nod. On Williams' team is the young Margaret Harris who has decided to get another job as an assistant manager in a local bistro in a pivotal role played by British actress Aimee Lee Wood.<p>
</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HJkYaoRd-1ZyxnFCh28Zivirvjfnjl7vK42vPoiCq7Ylm5oEPTF8GJl9V5tOpYZ5SPBxub3ZkKbeutbyT5OHLGsdlZrJnKuq6omMqTuriHJlXifrnqSj3dDRSvkU-NaJEtwWetxZMUd--QttqS9p64csW-_umMkmhe2TwtIpSMux--E0cg/s2000/18.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="2000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HJkYaoRd-1ZyxnFCh28Zivirvjfnjl7vK42vPoiCq7Ylm5oEPTF8GJl9V5tOpYZ5SPBxub3ZkKbeutbyT5OHLGsdlZrJnKuq6omMqTuriHJlXifrnqSj3dDRSvkU-NaJEtwWetxZMUd--QttqS9p64csW-_umMkmhe2TwtIpSMux--E0cg/s600/18.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">© Sony Pictures Classics</span><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>A group of women have visited Williams' department more than once to request that a children’s playground be built in a rundown building with an enclosed courtyard. The proposal gets kicked upstairs and downstairs to various departments. When Williams learns from his doctor that he has a terminal illness, the quality of his last days becomes a driving force. How he chooses to spend his remaining days with his family, co-workers or trying to flee it all to Brighton’s seaside is brilliantly shown. He takes another look at that playground. <p>The technical choices made by Oliver Hermanus in <i>Living</i> are executed by an outstanding crew. Post war England is beautifully shot by cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay within the magnificent expanse of a 1950’s London. The production design is priceless and hand-crafted by Academy award nominated Helen Scott as well as the stunning costume design by three time Academy Award winner Sandy Powell who worked on Derek Jarman’s <i>Caravaggio </i>(1986), Sally Potter’s <i>Orlando</i> (1992) and Yorgos Lanthimos <i>The Favorite </i>(2018). The distinguished crew also includes Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch who did film scoring and excellent editing by Chris Wyatt who has worked on fantastic films such as <i>Ammonite </i>(2020) and <i>Supernova</i> (2020.</p><p>
<i>Living </i>is a moving and inspirational testimony to life lived to the fullest, and is a brilliant first class film experience.
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2023 © Moira Sullivan - Date: 01/14/23<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-23646489458529004312022-10-02T04:29:00.975-07:002022-10-03T07:46:18.043-07:00Blonde's sacrifice to Valhalla<p></p><p>
</p><div><h4><i>Blonde </i>(2022) converts the 'Marilyn prose' of the novel by Joyce Carol Oates (2000) into imagery in a relentless travesty devoid of integrity and ridden with clichés. Oates calls it a "penetration" of the fictitious self of Marilyn Monroe and was used by Andrew Dominik as a "bible" for his film. </h4><div><br /></div><div>Many Netflix spectators describe that they reached a saturation point after 20 minutes. Oates' first chapter is mirrored in these opening scenes: the leitmotif of closeups of Monroe in her white briefs forced into unsolicited sex in casting auditions or twirling on the set of <i>The Seven Year Itch; g</i>rowing up as an infant in a bureau drawer with a mentally unstable mother Gladys (Julianne Nicholson); receiving a birthday present, a photograph of her absent father placed over her bed by her mother; the fire set that results in the child being placed in an orphanage.</div><div><br /></div><div>The language of <i>Blonde</i> is torpid and dramatic: "I will punish myself, despite your love" is one of the fantasmagorical constructions of the novel that finds its way into the film. Oates describes Marilyn as a "defeated" child, "sacrificed" to an institution as ward of Los Angeles County. Her "Oakie name" Norma Jeane adapted from "movie people" - Norma Talmadge and Jean Harlow is changed to Marilyn by a studio executive studio executive and she takes her mother's maiden name Monroe. Her hair is bleached and her teeth straightened. She is a woman, according to Oates, "burdened by her body"; her natural beauty commodified by the studios. She is not shown reading for serious roles in Ibsen or Chekhov. <i>Blonde</i> cherry picks the roles which gave her less money, less versatility and dwarf her real acting register.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxZ2UzygCdx4a5h3RcU8xKaKhOLxDiSjBDalZlncaQ6qJu3oIK9rcghMOzn8lYD1xByju9GHg6AO3Q7NJSQTFTB7GRvW81X7v2EqC7lO00Ka-8CxSFuAln_cXKDsvkbByMJtaH9B8ynVVhJGuU7PDQt9nH4Zdv1QzYujVM5wNBeZDYnpb-Hjz2KCgKg/s700/af56ec43845f40cd53560d9c7a98c61b32-BLONDE-STILLS-521082.rsquare.w700.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxZ2UzygCdx4a5h3RcU8xKaKhOLxDiSjBDalZlncaQ6qJu3oIK9rcghMOzn8lYD1xByju9GHg6AO3Q7NJSQTFTB7GRvW81X7v2EqC7lO00Ka-8CxSFuAln_cXKDsvkbByMJtaH9B8ynVVhJGuU7PDQt9nH4Zdv1QzYujVM5wNBeZDYnpb-Hjz2KCgKg/w640-h640/af56ec43845f40cd53560d9c7a98c61b32-BLONDE-STILLS-521082.rsquare.w700.webp" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Ana De Armas, <i>Blond</i>e (2022).</div><div style="text-align: center;">©La Biennale di Venezia</div><div><br /></div><div>Oates communicates that the psyche of the novel is about a "creature desperate to survive". She calls her 'a goddess visiting in disguise' for screen tests, films and public appearances but otherwise is just 'plain Marilyn'. In Dominik's <i>Blonde</i> ritual enactments of 'goddess murder' are shown through objectification and sexual abuse. Oates said that Monroe was aware of her predators like the Kennedy's but claims she took the stance: "I won't interfere with the world that is trying to exploit me but see how far it will take me". Yet, <i>Blonde </i>shows Monroe's complicity and rebellion against her subjugation in scenes where she is screaming, reeling from pills and alcohol, dissasociating from trauma and speaking in her inner voice in a daunting and tragic downward spiral. It is one punch after another from the burning house to the orphanage to abusive marriages, to the White House. </div><div><br /></div><div>Oates regards the film as "feminist" and extraordinary for being made by a man. The film is neither feminist nor is the novel. The reactions from the general public are overwhelmingly negative since its debut at Venice in September. It did not win any awards. Almost every scene of <i>Blonde</i> is embedded with misogyny towards Monroe, her mother, or any woman with a role in the film. <i>Blonde</i> is a relentless dismissive portrait of a mythologized woman crammed with as many legends as possible from the annals of Monroe worship. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Blond</i>e populates Marilyn Monroe's world with predators in a cycle of abuse. Ana De Armas as Monroe infantalizes and subjugates her character in homage to a caricature that is a copy of a copy incarnate from hell. She consistently uses a baby doll voice and is unable to register anything other than being a victim, seemingly unaware of the largesse of her character. The acclaim accorded to Monroe in her life is never shown, nor the respect of her peers. Her personal accountability for her career with media savvy smarts and entrepreneurship that made her successful is non-existent. The film seems to push her as far into her crypt as possible in Valhalla as a <i>fait accompli.</i> De Armas revealed that she visited Monroe’s grave in Los Angeles to ask for her permission to play her (after Jessica Chastain and Naomi Watts had already turned it down). It seems like director and actress knew nothing about her career and relied on a 20 year old novel to tell the story.</div><div><br /></div><div>Joyce Carol Oates response to the overwhelming negative reaction to the NC-17 rated <i>Blonde</i> is don't watch it (albeit read her novel). For those who are tired of the character assassination of Monroe it is good advice. Oates and others attribute the negative reaction to the "artistic" way the film is made since it deviates from Netflix' s standard entertainment. This assumption is an affront to the eclectic and sophisticated tastes of viewers. <i>Blonde</i> mixes black and white with color cinematography, shows a superimposition of Marilyn having sex atop a gushing Niagara Falls, dialogue with fetuses, and POV shots of OB/GYN procedures. This is not why the film is controversial. <i>Blonde's</i> framing of an ostentatious fantasy of Monroe drugged, dragged and presented to Jack Kennedy’s room for sexual services while he watches sci-fi on a TV console is an egregious and pretentious turnoff in league with Vincent Gallo's<i> Brown Bunny.</i> "Death" arrives with a package to the actor's home in Brentwood two days before her death, a stuffed animal dressed up like a "Rosebud". Montage and elliptical editing suggest Monroe dies allegedly from the horror of the experience.</div><div><br /></div><div>After being subjugated, dissected and and colonized by the camera and editing in the film's myopic and intrinsic misogyny nearly three hours have gone by. Monroe's body is central in the framing of the film, passive, erotic, and dismembered for the male gaze, adhering to the embryonic blueprint of women in film. </div><div><br /></div><div>Netflix waited a year to release September 23 hoping for the NC-17 stamp to rub off, hoping that a standing ovation at Venice in September would redeem it (all films with the director and stars present at Venice get standing ovations). The film shows an actor without a single ally to support her. She is surrounded by a sea of exploiters much like the exaggerated and massive extras on the set of <i>The Seven Year Itch </i>in<i> Blonde.</i> </div><br />Andrew Dominik's films are seldom about women and he admits he knows little about them and would like to even be one to understand, so why make a film about one of the most complex, least understood women in film history? <div><br /><div><div>Fortuitously the gates of Valhalla today are laden with the lipstick kisses of women who esteem Marilyn Monroe - her being - intelligence, humor, entrepreneurship, artistry, and humanity, whose ambitions as a serious and gifted actor were often thwarted but who always conveyed a presence fueled by a powerful inner light.</div><div> </div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_YrOjakENiUNG2OzsaYiQphDHkiBua0ukyqUp2Wu6hwGJeSKp89aTffK53LTIQMx8e22FomrRYbXvCZrh9VIwtq209jwcuCBKKYVTnh4P76iMIifIQPsL-kerF66ywV3kEyRGJv8OSg1H_c_SGGn9UagdcWDaF9T_noPixFItTrrRh7goPfz1d2QqVQ/s1024/GettyImages-1421972717.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_YrOjakENiUNG2OzsaYiQphDHkiBua0ukyqUp2Wu6hwGJeSKp89aTffK53LTIQMx8e22FomrRYbXvCZrh9VIwtq209jwcuCBKKYVTnh4P76iMIifIQPsL-kerF66ywV3kEyRGJv8OSg1H_c_SGGn9UagdcWDaF9T_noPixFItTrrRh7goPfz1d2QqVQ/w640-h426/GettyImages-1421972717.webp" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brad Pitt producer, Ana De Amas, Andrew Dominik and Adrien Brody at premiere of "Blonde"<br />Venice September 8, 2022. ©La Biennale di Venezia</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.6px;">© 2022 - Moira Jean Sullivan - 09/30/22</span></b></div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 13.6px;">Movie Magazine International</b></div></span></div></div></div></div><div><div>
<p></p></div></div>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-63966584597420484382022-06-17T05:48:00.009-07:002023-04-18T06:10:39.806-07:00 Bitterbrush - visionary documentary on female cattle herders opens in San Francisco INTERVIEW AND PODCAST<p>
By Moira Jean Sullivan
</p><p><br /></p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMx3y6G1F0DRDZqLsbEQEbEVnq7Ea-sCX2px8cqUqWpdTOY5n_sVzurnXx9JTVLTzPz7Hua0K6UWoW6yevaeJCeawZfpqN7S7c2QiQ6hwgsZaAFpSCoAe5BxcJqtprNC1a38xfr45W8cjrPM3_aedwSkQnx_wZO4kCsuFvQvuTAHgj9GtzUeDTtkySSw/s1920/Bitterbrush%C2%A9Alejandro_Mejia.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1011" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMx3y6G1F0DRDZqLsbEQEbEVnq7Ea-sCX2px8cqUqWpdTOY5n_sVzurnXx9JTVLTzPz7Hua0K6UWoW6yevaeJCeawZfpqN7S7c2QiQ6hwgsZaAFpSCoAe5BxcJqtprNC1a38xfr45W8cjrPM3_aedwSkQnx_wZO4kCsuFvQvuTAHgj9GtzUeDTtkySSw/s600/Bitterbrush%C2%A9Alejandro_Mejia.png" width="600" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f6f4f4; color: #3d3d3d; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">© Alejandro Mejia, AMC. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. </span></p><p>
BITTERBRUSH is a beautiful hand-crafted documentary about two woman who are seasonal workers hearding cattle in the montatins of Idaho. They live there and take care of the lifestock. In a refreshing documentary style, Mahdavian leaves the herders on their own to tell their story with an expert framing of motion.
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7STEoH8sSRk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> </p><p>Emelie Mahdavian wrote the shooting script and directed the film. She has a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from UC Davis. While studing at Davis she ran the Davis Feminist Film Festival. Her academic research explores dance, film, gender and cultural performance. The subject of her doctoral dissertation was dance and flm during and after the the civil war in Tajikistan. Emelie is Assistant Professor of Film and Media Arts at the University of Utah.</p><p>
Here now is an exclusive interview with Emelie and Movie Magazine International from April 28, 2022 where Bitterbrush screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival. </p><p> <iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1289313505&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe></p><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 100; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/moira-jean-sullivan" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Moira Jean Sullivan">Moira Jean Sullivan</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/moira-jean-sullivan/bitterbush-emelie-mahdavian-movie-magazine-international-4282022" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Bitterbush Emelie Mahdavian Movie Magazine International 4:28:2022">Bitterbush Emelie Mahdavian Movie Magazine International 4:28:2022</a></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2022 - Moira Jean Sullivan - 06/17/22<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13.6px;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<p></p> <p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-43001143999853857702022-05-28T18:08:00.007-07:002022-06-05T19:16:04.659-07:00 Zar Amir Ebrahimi wins best actor award at Cannes for 'Iranian-Danish' thriller Holy Spider'
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Moira Jean Sullivan
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Zar Amir Ebrahimi delivered a powerful statement at the press conference after she was awarded the, best acting award for <i>Holy Spider</i>, one of the most talked about films at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. The actor spoke about how she was forced into exile in 2006 by a smear campaign for an underground video tape where she was proclaimed to be an actor. She said she had been "saved by cinema". <p>In <i>Holy Spider</i> she plays a journalist fighting for social justice for slain sex workers.
"<a href="https://youtu.be/FyP8MBbzk4g">This film is about women</a>, it's about their bodies, it's a movie full of faces, hair, hands, feet, breasts, sex -- everything that is impossible to show in Iran". </p><p>The film is inspired by the true story of a working class man who killed prostitutes in the early 2000s and became known as the "Spider Killer". "Holy Spider" suggests there was little official pressure to catch the murderer, who ends up a hero among the religious right.
"The movie is not only about a serial killer ... it's about a serial killer society...". </p><p> In response to the critical acclaim for the film director, Ali Abbasi stated that "Any serious movie that manages to get made in the Islamic Republic "is a miracle". </p><p> The film is an Iranian-Danish co-production.
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfkDuFaI5QLlD-c-nKsQLeSU_IDy4Bixj_OrzD0VGUKABFgzpKVI3M3nxXy0t0chLxfzsc_oxiCmeO_CjT12H-XzFqaD5nCjHhbg9ZPB9Ox0pLOvRTS_Rdr7gOM4rNFXvVtX3PRoPCVsh3NxoRY-iz4Tgc8c6w1d0phZkx3tchoFufCL7y6Xmrl3g9w/s1024/AAXPK41.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfkDuFaI5QLlD-c-nKsQLeSU_IDy4Bixj_OrzD0VGUKABFgzpKVI3M3nxXy0t0chLxfzsc_oxiCmeO_CjT12H-XzFqaD5nCjHhbg9ZPB9Ox0pLOvRTS_Rdr7gOM4rNFXvVtX3PRoPCVsh3NxoRY-iz4Tgc8c6w1d0phZkx3tchoFufCL7y6Xmrl3g9w/s600/AAXPK41.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>T
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2022 - Moira Sulliva - Air Date:05/29/22<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-12466139071448606992022-05-28T00:29:00.047-07:002023-03-06T14:39:43.316-08:00Vive la Suède - Ruben Östlund wins his second Palme d'Or at Cannes
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By Moira Jean Sullivan
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfSdt_23-9oRlzX9n_13UIjs9g4zId2LjSfT4aDwv5uE55ocVQ0NrlqWKIi0XhDQ69I3KGI8QWm8QNIijll1Ye09kaoqdxBvhXT7PJBhS57bcycSRQc-qoNF1j_TdS61kgKtMj_IkHNQQ_ElLypDqasik-piatWn-XO-OmfHjKUxkYR-U6DQBWo7FSdQ/s681/rexfeatures_8848006ac.webp" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="681" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfSdt_23-9oRlzX9n_13UIjs9g4zId2LjSfT4aDwv5uE55ocVQ0NrlqWKIi0XhDQ69I3KGI8QWm8QNIijll1Ye09kaoqdxBvhXT7PJBhS57bcycSRQc-qoNF1j_TdS61kgKtMj_IkHNQQ_ElLypDqasik-piatWn-XO-OmfHjKUxkYR-U6DQBWo7FSdQ/s600/rexfeatures_8848006ac.webp" width="600" /></a></div>
<p> It was perplexing to listen to Ruben Östlund accept his second Palme d’Or. As he said at the press conference after the closing ceremony, it could be a mistake the first time, but the second time it is is probably not. Not everyone agreed it was the best film this year nor one of the films expected to win. However, the entire sound team - Andreas Franck, Bent Holm, Jacob Ilgner and Jonas Rudels won the Vulcan award - <i>Prix Vulcain de l’Artiste Technicien </i>- awarded by the Superior Technical Commission of Image and Sound. Östlund latest films such as <i>The Square</i> (2017) embrace the absurdity of politics by a director from a multi-party social democratic country. Sweden's has shifted from left to right in the past few years ending years of neutrality to be a part of NATO. Currently the leading party is the Social Democrats but with only a third of the seats , with a third shared by the Conservatives (Moderaterna) and a third by the problematic and alarming nationalist party Swedish Democrats. Östlund claims that his films attempt to unite European intelligence with American show business. </p><p>
<i><a href="https://youtu.be/Fvymi_20NVo">Triangle of Sadness</a></i>, a plastic surgeon term for the procedure involved in the correction of a <a href="https://youtu.be/78kWCvrlAbM">worry line</a> on the forehead, is centered on appearances. It takes place on a yacht and later what happens to three women who get stranded on a deserted island with billionaires and a Marxist captain (Woody Harrelson). The political rhetoric of the left and the right is used to position the lives of the very rich.</p><p>
The 75th Cannes Film Festival was full of surprises especially since critics often seem to value their own choices over those made by a real live jury. And this is exactly what happened on May 28. One disturbing element when sitting in the press section of the final awards at Salle Débussy was when (some) journalists loudly booed Grand Prix winner Claire Denis - it could never happen in the Lumière theater with all the dignitaries. But the press does view the festival differently from the actors and filmmakers. Film critics are focused on the films and primarily don’t have time for the Red Carpet events as we are too busy writing our reviews. We are not allowed to take photos from the balcony of the press room and to try to attend a black tie event is difficult since we are busy meeting deadlines. Gala events are dressed up events and when scurrying to so many screenings it can be trying to wear anything but comfortable clothing. So perhaps it is in this spirit that criticism can only be shared among other journalists in the alternative closing ceremony venue. If a woman wins an award other than acting, however, the response can be rabid. Claire Denis was heckled for the <i><i>Stars at Noon<a href="https://youtu.be/hwVlkprBgbg"></a></i> </i> Grand Prix award starring Margaret Qualley - as well as women of color such as Mira Nair (Leon d'Oro Venice for <i>Monsoon Wedding</i> 2001) and Nadine Labaki (Grand Prix Cannes for <i>Capernaum (</i>2017) .
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuOxq6o7u6BVnqnl0Wj7Dc3hFayQrdGLX4cUldS0Q_zE7XGlQtDqtCPCP7IH_5ZuLHYMZU0aFzZCQmpZNuJqcxSg0JsvqjXQNcMvmzb4N1W-MvFh6WUmtb5ojejbHUJdRsyowpcnZXwCY5GePqdAD6l0Z1QKO3t2lFhIaqs-CkvJDU5lcLheQ0WlFQg/s1004/6d38b79c04.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="1004" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuOxq6o7u6BVnqnl0Wj7Dc3hFayQrdGLX4cUldS0Q_zE7XGlQtDqtCPCP7IH_5ZuLHYMZU0aFzZCQmpZNuJqcxSg0JsvqjXQNcMvmzb4N1W-MvFh6WUmtb5ojejbHUJdRsyowpcnZXwCY5GePqdAD6l0Z1QKO3t2lFhIaqs-CkvJDU5lcLheQ0WlFQg/s600/6d38b79c04.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>Tying for second place, Claire Denis’ “Stars at Noon” and Lukas Dhont’s “Close” shared the Grand Prix, eliciting boos from the press room. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz60SC9F7-iNO0dCcklXCgJh4NBaY_GmwpH1Av25R_zU6M2RhJh6WCR76xHJ4amQmiJhvRzlu75BxniZZl1Pz_bJzjSH-s3gRMoWo7X6zGoLBKvoB7dcSNmBMJcxhmKkMENzUMEQsj786AcHHz6zYjkJxyrvHQ6MwLlG-FOI3sBhuAdEUAxqdSQAc_XA/s3190/de5f242f28.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2127" data-original-width="3190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz60SC9F7-iNO0dCcklXCgJh4NBaY_GmwpH1Av25R_zU6M2RhJh6WCR76xHJ4amQmiJhvRzlu75BxniZZl1Pz_bJzjSH-s3gRMoWo7X6zGoLBKvoB7dcSNmBMJcxhmKkMENzUMEQsj786AcHHz6zYjkJxyrvHQ6MwLlG-FOI3sBhuAdEUAxqdSQAc_XA/s600/de5f242f28.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>(The heckling continued throughout Denis’ speech, but turned to enthusiastic applause when Belgian director Dhont followed to accept his prize.) <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACeu2zmEPrPii3PlvHAuazIvi5QXbbH6vL6Iei3SyPUrilT9D3F6eOOCeeGT4u9laxh48LZhC6iZGIdzKKNAdSCsirCE17vMICDa8SH9K8bIq4oVsWlsLI5CVkW7ZljiUEndi0LYcVyWLbo96H1nXoz15ybygiHlWwcPL2bXYkYtKT0sUlk2vnbJ0KQ/s1280/20220529000098_0.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACeu2zmEPrPii3PlvHAuazIvi5QXbbH6vL6Iei3SyPUrilT9D3F6eOOCeeGT4u9laxh48LZhC6iZGIdzKKNAdSCsirCE17vMICDa8SH9K8bIq4oVsWlsLI5CVkW7ZljiUEndi0LYcVyWLbo96H1nXoz15ybygiHlWwcPL2bXYkYtKT0sUlk2vnbJ0KQ/s600/20220529000098_0.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
Korean director Park Chan-Wook won best director for <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aMHyTqvIvU">Decision to Leave</a></i>, a noir feature that many considered the most technically proficient of the official selection. Lukas Dhont was also considered a favorite for the Palme d'Or with<i> <a href="https://youtu.be/-T12kvsAfjk">Close</a></i> and was the lead in jury grids along with Park Chan-wook. Dhont said he had been waiting to make this film a long time about two young boys at school and their friendship that leads to a suicide. The filmmaker remarked at the press conference that a psychology study revealed that young boys describe their relationships with other boys with emotional language but as they get older they view the relationship differently as they become masculinized. <p>
Best Screenplay went to Swedish filmmaker Tarik Saleh's <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR8nYo4mZvQ">Boy From Heaven</a>,</i> Zar Amir-Ebrahimi won Best Actress for her performance in Ali Abbasi’s Danish-Persian crime thriller <i>Holy Spider</i> and Song Kang-ho, won the Best Actor prize in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s film <i><a href="https://youtu.be/RpNYc3FgYjg">Broker</a>.</i>
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Top awards went to Grand Prix recipient Claire Denis and Jury Prix winner Charlotte Vandermeersch, director/adapted script writer with Felix van Groeningenin for <i><a href="https://youtu.be/cVzlBDwUEbI">Le Otto Montagne</a> </i>(The Eight Mountains - Belgium) - two of five women in the official selection. In<i> Un Certain Regard</i>, a section for new creation in film language, Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret wrote and directed the best film - <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrJLe3FlM3w">Les Pires</a> </i> (The Worst Ones - France) about four children selected for parts in a film showing behind the scenes of the production made in a working class neighborhood. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0X19bQhNxw">Riley Keough and Gina Gammell won the Camera d'Or </a>for their debut feature <i> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCv_9RNy5L0" target="_blank">War Pony</a></i> with Franklin Sioux Bob and Bill Reddy, also serving as script writers. The film is about two Lakota boys growing up in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Keough met them while filming <i>American Honey </i>directed by Andrea Arnold (2016 - Jury Prize at Cannes).
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2022 - Moira Jean Sullivan - 05/28/22<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-41037941345520520162022-05-25T01:32:00.272-07:002022-09-05T00:33:32.228-07:00Ringmaster Baz Luhrmann's Elvis at Cannes<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0U-lkkieVZRdelBU_n3r6C1c8JmgjEoxIJ9hGKkfNmEJ1O4A14XjaM8gL_4U1Ej_eFsrFjvdJ6PfMectJkGXMD82DGVNGXz2CCKo6trN-y9PTENOYTjAW5ZugU14P24rCcPJ93OaOd6Wchv8LTYnZIOL8UsFTXKsb43pVBNOEH6g3fiq_K5PlCCSDNA/s1046/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-04%20at%2011.51.10.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="964" data-original-width="1046" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0U-lkkieVZRdelBU_n3r6C1c8JmgjEoxIJ9hGKkfNmEJ1O4A14XjaM8gL_4U1Ej_eFsrFjvdJ6PfMectJkGXMD82DGVNGXz2CCKo6trN-y9PTENOYTjAW5ZugU14P24rCcPJ93OaOd6Wchv8LTYnZIOL8UsFTXKsb43pVBNOEH6g3fiq_K5PlCCSDNA/s600/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-04%20at%2011.51.10.png" width="600" /></a></div>
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By Moira Jean Sullivan
</p>
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Baz Luhrmann’s highly anticipated <i>Elvis</i> that debuted at Cannes in May is an enticing seductive film by an innovative film artist. Unfortunately, the film has more to do with Tom Hank’s role as Elvis’s business manager Tom Parker than Elvis. Luhrmann controls the camera and editing in making Parker the main attraction with this narrative about the man who claimed he "made" Elvis. Putting Hanks in almost every scene is a major flaw. The film begins with the death of Parker and a voice over that this is his story. Could this be atonement for Elvis that this business manager robbed the artist of his life and true artistry? Closeups, cutaways, and reactions of this corpulent, oily gambler make one incredulously wonder how Elvis let him have so much control over him. The film shows that Elvis knew about this hypnotic con man and tried to stop him. As a magnificently talented man he ironically left his career to be managed by a megalomaniac.</p><p>
The emphasis on the story of Dutchman Colonel Parker, Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, in <i>Elvis</i> and how he embezzled Elvis and financially ruined him should be renamed "Parker." The misleading title of Colonel was bestowed on him for an honorary part in the Louisiana state militia for his management of Jimmie Davis campaign to become the governor of Louisiana.
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6tB_VnSa7qOMTOqyChwJWPg_oVeqtKfwijqt01ryD8gfbmVpHTzzZbdQswWaHJJpAu5hR9efmouIWjz-Ibj-PhTYkEh_CknrOnVkJXPploMqVcycwYAPdl-toplCl5QeZnDa4NZ3sfBPQvpDeZEZ3eqhAiHutxht0K1LiAFaBwLY8u95W-UjiuhxXWQ/s1200/who-was-colonel-tom-parker-to-elvis-3-1656029201487.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6tB_VnSa7qOMTOqyChwJWPg_oVeqtKfwijqt01ryD8gfbmVpHTzzZbdQswWaHJJpAu5hR9efmouIWjz-Ibj-PhTYkEh_CknrOnVkJXPploMqVcycwYAPdl-toplCl5QeZnDa4NZ3sfBPQvpDeZEZ3eqhAiHutxht0K1LiAFaBwLY8u95W-UjiuhxXWQ/s600/who-was-colonel-tom-parker-to-elvis-3-1656029201487.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><p>Another enigma is why Luhrmann allowed Tom Hank’s role rob the wonder of his film about Elvis? It is indeed a circus act from the world of old-fashioned show business suckering spectators with the promise of entertainment for the price of admission. To Luhrmann's credit, however, <i>Elvis</i> shows that the popularity of Elvis had to do with his being a showman that unleashed the pent-up sexual repression of America’s 50’s.</p><p> Hidden behind tons of latex and fat props and an accent that is far from Dutch, Luhrmann idolises Hanks, and his reverence to the 66-year-old actor surpasses his love of Elvis. It is virtually impossible to focus on Elvis with Hanks appearing in every scene, a composite <i>Zelig</i> and <i>Forest Gump</i> altering the history of this folk hero. When the lights go up on Elvis on stage, Hank’s pasty schnoz is a frequent match and his irritating unpolished diction is constant noise. It makes it difficult to focus on what is outstanding about this film with Parker popping up all the time.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxOJ_h_R_Xf-mqu8O9itmUP9CdB-G5GBl0140YdRj3ZqnTzq31-t__AkBrzCyS35Uc6OH94Kkll2oh6zO5YXsTfT6l6nIUt_gotVUh9kyBgTqkA4XNv_vmkEwbzBZhG3V3sOhxYDw1s8IKYb4bRKXmgcdWXl3OIF0w_HjWJm98WYK6fuwXBumyWpv7A/s1327/elvis-2022-austin-butler-film-still-01.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1327" data-original-width="746" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxOJ_h_R_Xf-mqu8O9itmUP9CdB-G5GBl0140YdRj3ZqnTzq31-t__AkBrzCyS35Uc6OH94Kkll2oh6zO5YXsTfT6l6nIUt_gotVUh9kyBgTqkA4XNv_vmkEwbzBZhG3V3sOhxYDw1s8IKYb4bRKXmgcdWXl3OIF0w_HjWJm98WYK6fuwXBumyWpv7A/w360-h640/elvis-2022-austin-butler-film-still-01.webp" width="360" /></a></div><br /></div><br />The beginning of the film focuses on Elvis’ roots in gospel and blues music. Luhrmann returns to these roots during the film. Presley’s controversial performance was criticized because he moved like a black man and his eroticism on stage was like a black man. The media sold this as "White Boy with Black Hips", "Elvis the Pelvis" playing "Voodoo Devil Music". <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB6V_DxuwLCHRjhRwxMKMOETdNlSRdA8qz5wQKdcEAjFRcfBjXBjsaceLg-p0r8H4RGpyBrN5w1xGVUsgHm26Y3mIoSl9B47q_LOjIPfWXB5qjJ6GFompgrpOBw5iuu9-CxJHBewbwZHjQejtkxNh18ZxMPn-h8NGrdWWdx9OeP2zNq_MK2cqCt5qSqA/s1044/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-04%20at%2011.53.04.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="494" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB6V_DxuwLCHRjhRwxMKMOETdNlSRdA8qz5wQKdcEAjFRcfBjXBjsaceLg-p0r8H4RGpyBrN5w1xGVUsgHm26Y3mIoSl9B47q_LOjIPfWXB5qjJ6GFompgrpOBw5iuu9-CxJHBewbwZHjQejtkxNh18ZxMPn-h8NGrdWWdx9OeP2zNq_MK2cqCt5qSqA/s600/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-04%20at%2011.53.04.png" /></a></div>Luhrmann depiction of repression in the 1950's is part of Elvis folklore on how hysterical white women of all ages become when he is on stage and how his movements sexually excite them so much that they can't help but stand up and scream uncontrollably. His movements were not only sexualized but stylized. Martial arts gave his movements a form when he later joined the US Army in 1958 for two years which are unmistakable in scenes from Elvis' shows in the film. <p>Two songs by black artists that had influence on Presley are featured. In "That’s All Right Mama" by blues singer Arthur Crudup, a black woman dances lasciviously to a song about a black snake while Elvis watches through a peephole. Big Mama Thornton 's "You Ain't nothing but a Hound Dog" is sung in a diner which Elvis later adapts for his shows. The influence of
Beale Street music and his friendship with B.B. King took place at a time when Parker wanted Presley to dress like a butler on stage. Parker caters to conservative forces by trying to censor Elvis's roots in black culture, barking that Martin Luther King inspired youth to juvenile delinquency. Presley escapes to Beale Street to authenticate his roots. It is after all these roots that captured the imagination of Parker of a young soul with oily hair and 'girlie makeup'. His music choices shown in the film also included <i>Polk Salad Annie</i> by Swamp Fox Tony Joe White in 1968. </p><p>Austin Butler was an excellent choice to play Elvis and his bravado permeates the film as much as it can when not eclipsed by Parker's image. Catherine Martin’s showmanship with costumes and set design and makeup are outstanding and perhaps she is the real showman of this film with Luhrmann as ringmaster. Elvis’s costumes are commanding as is the set design for his stage and TV appearances.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUMohgd32Lz7AIdZw63PtLOgjEUTiigsx-XNpcQwCWn33m0LMJZ5SLWVGzach2VN-iAyLdXEmVQ2QOYV8h0UYsEWG_M0dTayEQnhaoWG5cvRqMUUEFuhT4p-CPofGCLKrEO8KekxJiRzVq6JB435w5J_gU57a07zOfHMNbMZTDlyZCLHj1NT5MLxRNLg/s557/052015-priscilla-presley-2000-4f174e5ba13643759029a7966c4049d9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUMohgd32Lz7AIdZw63PtLOgjEUTiigsx-XNpcQwCWn33m0LMJZ5SLWVGzach2VN-iAyLdXEmVQ2QOYV8h0UYsEWG_M0dTayEQnhaoWG5cvRqMUUEFuhT4p-CPofGCLKrEO8KekxJiRzVq6JB435w5J_gU57a07zOfHMNbMZTDlyZCLHj1NT5MLxRNLg/w288-h400/052015-priscilla-presley-2000-4f174e5ba13643759029a7966c4049d9.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><br />Priscilla Presley decided on the Luhrmann project because of her confidence in the filmmaker. Little is made though of Presley's relationship with Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge) and his home life with his daughter. His career demise, the crash and burn trajectory of the narrative accelerates with Priscilla's divorce after years of her husband's neglect and substance abuse. More is made of his family of origin and 'hillbilly friends" and his mother Gladys (Helen Thomson) who hit the bottle when Presley was sent overseas to escape a jail sentence for his vivacious stage shows.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1qCu9Gt8PC0jGd-aZjCLPVt-y3ihog1gP1m_FWIU2aGOBnJPrBa4H0vWEyLi6qK6RUFxjdpxbBeruCGJ9LMfAL_JofTW5FY5lfUeyGMXmdbOmTb-BoDhkFUpu44RieVOsy2-NcVhhP_LopfPDDtKmzXjhyqrTpFqBB6cA-Apu7KEJZ8OrAdP1zMIXiQ/s480/hqdefault.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1qCu9Gt8PC0jGd-aZjCLPVt-y3ihog1gP1m_FWIU2aGOBnJPrBa4H0vWEyLi6qK6RUFxjdpxbBeruCGJ9LMfAL_JofTW5FY5lfUeyGMXmdbOmTb-BoDhkFUpu44RieVOsy2-NcVhhP_LopfPDDtKmzXjhyqrTpFqBB6cA-Apu7KEJZ8OrAdP1zMIXiQ/s320/hqdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />It is not only Parker that tries to package Presley as a gimmick singing songs in ugly Christmas sweaters but the influence of television producers with set designs like <i>Jailhouse Rock </i>where Presley did his own choreography. In satellite uplinks a world could watch Elvis and the infamous Las Vegas shows with Parker at helm feeding his gambling addiction. Here Elvis did his last performance after years of substance abuse. The unreal of <i>Elvis</i> meets the real of newsreel footage as the superstar's recording of "In the Ghetto" closes with the credits.<div><p></p>
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2022 - Moira Jean Sullivan: 05/25/22<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p></div>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-36351700495656521962022-05-18T04:59:00.174-07:002022-06-15T16:40:06.735-07:00"Maria Schneider ,1983" - short film featured in Cannes Directors' Fortnight.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaktzLoL_2W1AflFyOiB0z-AgCJV00wwzHO23yyJE_W1XpSQS6gtDQdwiCP6qFL4MAPQ2R89sWVdMg9dZPwOQyDHCMp1RrIzlvotsfX3G2e4YYgriGz3wqgt29bkcXCfA2-JFhXqKfCs2oshjvmzeGn0tZfWmgU9KJglcwFq7cYLejYlNj17kKuNv0jg/s1500/tumblr_a004e770b03f816ebee961f953fd76fb_178e57ae_2048.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaktzLoL_2W1AflFyOiB0z-AgCJV00wwzHO23yyJE_W1XpSQS6gtDQdwiCP6qFL4MAPQ2R89sWVdMg9dZPwOQyDHCMp1RrIzlvotsfX3G2e4YYgriGz3wqgt29bkcXCfA2-JFhXqKfCs2oshjvmzeGn0tZfWmgU9KJglcwFq7cYLejYlNj17kKuNv0jg/s600/tumblr_a004e770b03f816ebee961f953fd76fb_178e57ae_2048.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><br />
The <i>Festival de Cannes </i> Quinzaine des réalisateurs - Directors' Fortnight premiere of <i>Maria Schneider, 1983</i> by Elisabeth Subrin was held May 26 featuring actor Manal Issa, 31, Aïssa Maïga, producer actor and director, 47 and Isabel Sandoval, Filipino filmmaker, 40. The film shot in 16mm is a recreation of a 1983 segment from the documentary series <i>Cinémas Cinéma </i>where Schneider is interviewed by producer Anne Andreu.
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Together with other filmmakers, Subrin's said that her interest in Maria Schneider began when she was asked to work on an unpublished screenplay for Antonioni's film <i>Technically Sweet </i>in 2008. It was never made and Antonioni instead made <i>The Passenger</i> (1983) with Maria Schneider and Nicholson.
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In 2014 Subrin started a blog dedicated to Maria Schneider called <i>Who Cares About Actresses?.</i>The year before media interest was rekindled in Maria Schneider's experience on the set of <i>Last Tango in Paris (</i>1972<i>)</i> directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. The #METOO movement got behind Schneider's story that Bertolucci used her in the film (in a part written for a young boy) to get the reaction of a 19 year old girl, not an actress, in an unscripted scene involving sexual assault. This was without her knowing about it in advance, and without knowing she could have sued Bertolucci. It is not unlike a "snuff film" in this regard circulated for the purpose of entertainment to a mass audience. Schneider's truth about Bertolucci's dishonesty and abuse gained international attention along with similar experiences of other women in the film business. Now, a TV series is in the wings to commodify a sensationalized story of a has been making money since 1972,</p><p>Maria Schneider, actor in 40 films, moved on knowing she will always be associated with this early film but that it was far from how she chose to live her life and work in film. She revealed her exploitation years ago. The truth was well known to the women who knew her and the organizers of<i> <a href="https://filmsdefemmes.com/">Créteil International Women's Film Festival</a>.</i> Schneider was the guest of honor in Créteil 2001 and <a href="https://www.shoestring.org/mmi_interviews/schneider_mary.html"> Movie Magazine International </a> ran an exclusive interview with her at the festival where she spoke about her background and interests.</p><p>
In the 1983 interview for <i>Cinémas Cinéma </i> Maria was 31. She explains that acting is dangerous when you consider the fate of actors such as Romy Schneider. Anne Andreu asks Maria if she wants a clip to be screened from <i>Last Tango in Paris </i>in the interview. For the recreations acted by Manal Issa and Aïssa Maïga they emphatically say no, but in the part acted by Isabel Sandoval filmed in English, Maria says she was raped, that her cries on screen are during the rape, and its intent was to show humiliation - all without her consent.
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In contrast, an interview Maria Schneider did in 2001 at Créteil Film de Femmes where she was guest of honor was extremely powerful and shows her love of cinema and path away from inauthentic film roles for women:
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"For me, cinema is closer to painting, and I like working with filmmakers who have a sense of the image. I like the idea that cinema remains a memory of our time, and when filmed, that there is a trace of it. Then I met Antonioni, who is closer to what I am in life. He chose not to sell his soul, and many actors also abstain . After the Bertolucci film, I had golden bridges to sub-Tango, roles of sex symbols ... I ended it very quickly. I also had problems because they said: "She does not want to undress, she will not do the love scenes ..." That's what we always ask young women, even in 2001, it has not changed one iota, however. I'm still shocked about the fact that men of sixty years, Serrault, Poiret, Noiret, have a continuous career, compared to women the same age. Even Girardot. Between the sex symbol and grandma, there are no other interesting roles. I'm a part of an association for those involved in difficulty called "La Roue Tourne" which has existed since 1956. I'm just their ambassador. The president is eighty years old and she helps those she calls "disasters of glory." The actors have no unemployment insurance and when they have an accident they are not covered by social security. It's incredible when you consider that this association has paid the rent for Marcel Carné in the last ten years of his life ... but also that of Abel Gance. The state did nothing. Me, I also see a time when I will have difficulty working. The president said: "But, my dear Maria, it has always existed, now you're old, you are forty ! She has known actresses of the silent era, like Jacqueline Delubac. All this has not changed, even with women directors. There is a terrible crisis of roles, and film seems locked up. Everyone has their place, and "family film" is an illusion"</p><p>- Maria Schneider, interview for Créteil Films de Femmes, 2001.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dc8U3hFUCri-DpqnAMV-yC-kPKhNfx050-9G7HlZWL9ZmZnctjQvVxKMCwj_p3QygrWiOiZy1p9IKu5_kCi40YzbfLOj7c41hFhnUGD1upVErmTHiC6WQsdVgvuUyu19XucuOCiZIJpkH0zwgBycUQwm2lPYiYC-sbo8qypnJKRlT4DayncB_rfjMg/s497/Maria_schneider_actress.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="375" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dc8U3hFUCri-DpqnAMV-yC-kPKhNfx050-9G7HlZWL9ZmZnctjQvVxKMCwj_p3QygrWiOiZy1p9IKu5_kCi40YzbfLOj7c41hFhnUGD1upVErmTHiC6WQsdVgvuUyu19XucuOCiZIJpkH0zwgBycUQwm2lPYiYC-sbo8qypnJKRlT4DayncB_rfjMg/s600/Maria_schneider_actress.jpeg" /></a></div>
<p>©Moira Sullivan, 2001.
</p><p>Maria Schneider, Guest of honor, Créteil Films de Femmes.
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2022 - Moira Jean Sullivan: 05/18/22 <br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-79067865591267352172022-05-16T01:13:00.107-07:002022-06-05T19:19:38.984-07:00Cannes celebrates 75 years of festivals 18-28 May
By Moira Sullivan
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoTBp5FlU17rshjhDJnDQpNL3DGLdFF93977QR8Oak8chaaHZvoujsj2Ej8qkwwimlP5Di6VcTa_78obmQ05cULkGn5g_lc2V5-EZC5U8L2bjTBlCUtiGhxl233IRHRR_B6Em1UXEVJ1vCDv-dI34AdHyGTVzMaucR07ormijUmklQcbUis_OANno6fw/s851/279260256_5236962932991267_8996421063649107460_n.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="851" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoTBp5FlU17rshjhDJnDQpNL3DGLdFF93977QR8Oak8chaaHZvoujsj2Ej8qkwwimlP5Di6VcTa_78obmQ05cULkGn5g_lc2V5-EZC5U8L2bjTBlCUtiGhxl233IRHRR_B6Em1UXEVJ1vCDv-dI34AdHyGTVzMaucR07ormijUmklQcbUis_OANno6fw/s600/279260256_5236962932991267_8996421063649107460_n.png" width="600" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p>The 75th Cannes Film Festival may not rival last year's event with films selected after the worst of the pandemic but its virtues like
all Cannes festivals are evident. The lineup of 22 films features five films by women, a slight step up after the heavy activism of filmmakers and actors in 2018 festival in side bars with seminars and meetings: Claire Denis, Kelly Reichardt, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and later additions Leonor Serraille with <i>Un Petit Frère</i> and Charlotte Vandermeersch, co-director of <i>The Eight Mountains</i>". Since 2015 there has been a visible <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/05/cannes-2018-metoo-debate">#METOO presence</a> and supporters of gender equality such as Agnès Varda, Ava DuVernay, and Cate Blanchett - president of Cannes Jury in 2018. When asked about this Blanchett answered: “A few years ago there were only two, and I know the selection committee has more women on board than in previous years, which will obviously change the lens through which the films are chosen. But these things are not going to happen overnight . . . would I like to see more women in competition? Absolutely. Do I expect and hope that is going to happen in the future? I hope so.”
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBLao7Vr-GZfZUjnTaTFD_fEm31mX39mamibt0ZVZ_edeIGWdhbFwbiDY1jPFLvFI_TMHd32Q9F87asGeivGbdt0EUWcq8tNIw8TSx0-853HolsxNsqxkMA-Y_tnvqMxp6Vk1lff30OQxYyTnGCgpKTYhYwYxKWhhKnI0gsjTRhPaRgBsrQjSQxrthw/s2504/Screen%20Shot%202022-05-28%20at%2001.17.02.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="2504" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBLao7Vr-GZfZUjnTaTFD_fEm31mX39mamibt0ZVZ_edeIGWdhbFwbiDY1jPFLvFI_TMHd32Q9F87asGeivGbdt0EUWcq8tNIw8TSx0-853HolsxNsqxkMA-Y_tnvqMxp6Vk1lff30OQxYyTnGCgpKTYhYwYxKWhhKnI0gsjTRhPaRgBsrQjSQxrthw/w640-h272/Screen%20Shot%202022-05-28%20at%2001.17.02.png" title="Cate Blanchette, Jury President 2018 with jurors Kristen Stewart, Léa Seydoux, Ava DuVernay and Khadja Nin." width="640" /></a></div><p>
Another activist who has taken signifiant strides in equality parity is the Swedish film Industry is<a href="https://agnesfilms.com/interviews/the-swedish-gender-equality-package-for-women-in-film-interview-with-anna-serner-ceo-at-the-swedish-film-institute/"> Anna Serner, former CEO of the Swedish Film Institute</a> who brought 50/50 gender equality to the selection of films receiving funding. Great Britain followed with a similar program with mandatory 50-50 gender parity for public film funding by 2020. Cannes has not changed much and statements by Cannes President Thierry Frémaux signals it will not change until thinking changes. And that takes time.
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Beyond the official competition are several sections that feature a significant amount of women such as Alice Winocour’s <i>Paris Memories </i>starring Virginie Efira, a survivor of the 2015 Parisian attacks (Revoir Paris), Mia Hansen-Løve’s <i>One Fine Morning</i>, starring Léa Seydoux and Melvil Poupaud.<p></p>
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Other films in <b>Un Certain Regard</b> directed by women include Emily Atef’s <i>More Than Ever</i>, Maha Haj’s <i>Mediterranean Fever</i>, and Maryam Touzani’s <i>The Blue Caftan”</i>.
Special screenings include Doroteya Droumeva’s <i>The Vagabonds </i>and Amandine Fredon’s <i>Little Nicholas</i> (co-directed with Benjamin Massoubre).<p></p>
Towards the close of the festival Cannes will host #RendezVousAvec Alice Rohrwacher at Salle Debussy. The Italian director, Winner of the Grand Jury Prize in 2014 for Les Merveilles and Best Screenplay Award for Heureux comme Lazzaro in 2018, will reflect on her exceptional career.
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2022 - Moira Jean Sullivan: 05/17/22<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
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</div>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-84097131070997610842022-05-03T08:30:00.008-07:002022-05-03T15:13:20.474-07:00The Northman and the Seeress
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By Moira Jean Sullivan
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<i>The Northman</i> is a highly crafted new film by US director Robert Eggers written by Icelandic author Sjón. The film is steeped in Old Norse mythology and set in 10th century Iceland. Old Norse later developed into the dialects of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The set design and historical setting of the film was meticulously researched with a team of experts. The film uses FMX sequences such as an ongoing erupting volcano with naked Viking duels on molten lava. <p>
The Viking prince, Young Amleth (Stellan Skarsgard) witnesses his father King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke) killed and his mother Queen Gudrun (Nicole Kidman) carried off by his uncle Fjölnir -The Brotherless (Claes Bang). Amlet spends several years planning to revenge these deeds. He consults with a Seeress (Björk dressed in a woven coarse barley headdress, with cowrie shells and chicken feet) and is aided by mystical fairies and creatures such as ravens put on his path. Viking seeresses worked with rituals and prophecies and assisted the gods such as Odin and Thor.<p>
Grown Amleth howls like a dog and is full of vengeance. His body armor consists of massive shoulders, a pumped up six pack and contorted angry face. He poses as a farmer and climbs into a wooden sea vessel bound for his uncle’s land. On the voyage is another seeress, Olga of the Birch Forest (Anya Taylor-Joy) so the journey becomes not only one of revenge but love. <p>
The cinematography of <i>The Northman </i>is by Californian Jarin Blaschke, editing by Louise Ford, costume design by Linda Muir and production design by Craig Lathrup. All worked on Robert Eggers two other films – <i>The Lighthouse</i> (2015) and <i>The Witch</i> (2013). The caliber of Eggers' films and cast and crew with Nordic influences makes him a serious evolving film artist. Certainly, his stable of regulars such as Ralph Ineson and Anya Taylor-Joy are rewarding to see in work that progresses in quality.<p>
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The visual architecture of <i>The Northman</i> is breathtaking though all the shots are filmed in the UK not Iceland. <i>The Witch</i> and The Northman are closely related films of ritual and cruelty, but <i>The Witch</i> is filmed in soft daylight whereas <i>The Northman </i>is heavily steeped in darkness and special effects.<p>
The coarse life of Viking Northmen is far from civilized society with warriors, rapists, and butchers. Villages are ransacked and their grass huts are torched. It is a terrible time to be a woman confined to the kitchen or laundry and who are constantly sexually assaulted. Only a Queen can escape the plight of the ordinary woman but even she is often abused. <p>
As rich as the cinematic language of <i>The Northman,</i> the story is patriarchal and cruel. Eggers who thanks Ari Aster, director of <i>Midsommar</i> (2019) set in a fictive Sweden filmed in Hungary could have enhanced <i>Völuspá</i> – the prophecy of the Volvä or Seeress of the <i>Poetic Edda</i> of Norse mythology. When Olga claims she is not a Valkyrie she is seen in the afterlife on a horse in the sky guiding Alsmeth from his capture by Fjölnir and back to her. <p>
Ironically, the six season <i>Xena Warrior Princess </i> cult series featured episodes with Odin and the Valkyries which better addressed the female Valkyrie and faeries of Norse mythology<p>.
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<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:85%;">© 2022 - Moira Jean Sullivan: 05/03/22<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
</p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-73858869362743136012022-05-01T02:05:00.011-07:002022-05-01T15:38:49.526-07:00ANAÏS IN LOVE Opens in San Francisco
By Moira Jean Sullivan
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ANAÏS IN LOVE by Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet is a French romantic comedy about Anaïs (Anaïs Demoustier), a 35 year old woman who on the practical side of life is able to talk her way through not paying her rent, or lodging, or showing up at college or finishing her thesis on passion. Such folly is on the surface of a clever and vibrant young woman who has unfulfilling relationships with a young man she shares an apartment with and Daniel, a stingy older married man (Denis Podalydès) she is having an affair with. But she falls in love with his wife (Valeria Bruni Tedesci) that she has never met who is a writer. She rents out her apartment to a Korean couple and takes off for a writing seminar to meet Emilie. During this time Daniel drives to the seminar for an unarranged meeting with his wife. At a film screening for the seminar, Elie has chosen John Cassavetes<i> Opening Night</i> (1971) with Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara –a film about a writer who ironically has a fan trying to get her attention as Anaïs does with Emilie. <p>
Though she may be irresponsible, Anaïs knows what she wants and is seen constantly running to chase after the essential things she wants in her life. Anaïs and Emilie are quite enough for the film though there are several extraneous characters that are important like Anaïs parents but some even if humorous are unnecessary. <p> Emilie tries convincing Anaïs that she has nothing to offer but Anaïs knows otherwise. <p>
Actors Anaïs Demoustier and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi have good onscreen chemistry, and their relationship is well-crafted by director/writer Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet in a film that only wants more of them. Beautiful love letters scroll on the screen and words of love are poignant and engaging. <p>
ANAÏS IN LOVE was nominated for the Queer Palm and Golden Camera Award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival International Critics week at its World Premiere.
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Opens April 29.
Landmark's Opera Plaza, San Francisco
Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael
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<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:85%;">© 2022 - Moira Jean Sullivan: 04/29/22<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
</p>Moira Jean Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17640971789758086846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188533268473035200.post-13909090935675552452022-04-08T01:51:00.002-07:002022-04-08T01:52:32.173-07:00The Automat - Movie Review<p>By Monica Sullivan</p>
<p>“The Automat”, now in release in America, talks about a time when the country was dominated by the company that served simple, tasty, delicious food.. At its height it was a very important part of American culture. The food was good, and filling, and people loved it. They liked to eat food and meeting their friends at the automat. </p><p>When I first saw Doris Day's movie called “That Touch of Mink” with Cary Grant, Gig Young, Audrey Meadows, and John Astin, I didn’t know how close the automats were to being over. It was a funny movie and is always a lot of fun to watch on the tube. One of the main characters worked in an automat. Tha would be Aurey Meadows. The automat served a larger function than just food for a long, long, long, time. The fact that the automats are long gone now does not mean that people have forgotten them. Far from it. </p><p>The automat was known for serving good, solid, food. Not glamorous food. Good stuff, and it was very popular with large groups of people. They talked about their lives and their friendships, and it was very important for people’s lives. The film shows that as automats were passing away, you can see how what replaced it became a very different world indeed. You can go to diners now but as I found out when Covid hit the scene, it was not a happy place that you would expect. They were places where you went only for food. Something was lacking. For one thing, the food wasn’t as good, and it wasn’t just for nostalgic dreams of what it should have been, it really wasn’t as good. We are now sw itching to more homemade, improvised things at home. We’re still not ready to go to the kind of place where we went before Covid. And, you know, that’s kind of sad. </p><p>It’s obvious that the filmmakers think that we lost something when we lost that particular kind of place, but bits and pieces and old memories still remain and one thing that the movie gives us is that sense of happiness that we look for when we have favorite hangouts. So when you think about things that you loved in the past, and aren’t there anymore, you don’t think of them as they were then, but as we wanted them to be. For Movie Magazine this is Monica Sullivan.</p><div><br /></div>
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</p><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">© 2022 - Monica Sullivan - Air Date: 03/30/22<br />Movie Magazine International</span></div>
<p></p>Monica Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07637552186455752595noreply@blogger.com0