The Only Living Boy in New York

I have not seen a movie for a while, quite uncharacteristic for me, but my local cinema has not shown anything interesting for quite a while. I am even wondering what is the reason for that. Change of ownership, lack of money, change of a person who selects the films?  I must say that lately I have not much ventured outside my suburb so I even did not know if the repertoire of other theatres has been any better. Recently my favourite occupation is bridge and the club, I play at, has developed its own social circles. One of them is the circle of movie goers. I have been asked a couple of times by one of the players if I have seen The Only Living Boy in New York. My answer was that I do not think it is on in the local cinema. It has not been, but the friend brought to my attention that there are other movie theatres in Sydney than the one nearby. Quite a revelation, one might say, so I checked and I found the movie some distance from my place, but even without a car quite easy to get to. My horizons suddenly expended and I have seen the film today. I am glad I did as I enjoyed it. Maybe the film did not have many situation  I could really relate to, but it is a good story even if a bit convoluted.

Does Callum Turner (left) look like young Richard Gere? 

                                   

I would describe the film as sleek. It was pleasant to watch the known good actors and young ones with a promise. I liked the elegant interiors and the New York scenery. The film is about literary crowd of people: writers and their disciples, publishers and critics. Consequently, the dialogs intended to be sophisticated and some of them are, but many are just trying to follow the intended mood not presenting much depth or originality.

The story is about a young man, son of a famous publisher and a neurotic, intellectual but very warm mother (played by Cynthia Nixon of Sex in the City, I liked her in this film). He wants to be a writer but his father's view is that his work is just "serviceable"  so he is confused and tries to figure out what to do with his life. Being very young he rebels and leaves the elegant home of his parents searching for  his own ways. He meets his neighbour who starts to play a role of his mentor and a guide through  maze of literature circles. The boy, Tom, sees one day his father with another woman and in defense of his too sensitive mother tries to stop the romance by demanding of the girl to stop seeing his father. Instead he also lands up in bed with the girl and here the real story starts leading to a surprising happy end. Maybe too much of meandering, but to me it was fun, even if I most likely soon forget the film.

My attention caught the question about a definition of love and reasons behind people thinking that they love another person. Apparently, the answers do not have to be romantic or idealistic at all. It can be to fix childhood traumas and created earlier needs, it can be just lust, it can be fascination with some parts of the character or abilities of the object of love, it can be sort of dependence and many other reasons based on needs of the “loving” person. I do not quite like this approach, but must say that there is something in it, even if not palatable to romantic souls.

Another “golden thought” that made me ponder and agree with is “anything good happens by accident”. Hmm… so what about living on purpose? Or planning our lives? On second thought, this is not a revelation.

I enjoyed my outing, I liked the theatre, as sleek and the film itself. I liked a lot about the film even if some of the ideas were a bit too contrived, like choices in the soundtrack. Song of Simon and Garfunkel “The Only Living Boy in New York” is about Tom, the same name as the young hero of the film. And Bob Dylan’s “Visions of Johanna” with Johanna being another film character. Good music though, so I really do not complain.

The Double Lover

I have not written a film review for some time. Being in Poland during summer holidays meant that I have been here when movie premiers were stopped. This has now finished and on Monday the new school year starts and new movies enter the cinemas. Since my Polish stay is coming to an end I have the feeling similar to being in a departure lounge. I need to pack my suitcases, do some final shopping, organise and tidy up the apartment for the next few months and nothing more. There is time to spend.

There were a couple of new films on and I decided to see one of them.  It was either The Double Lover or The Beguiled. Both of them by famous directors Francois Ozon and Sofia Coppola. The Double Lover was nominated for a Palme d’Or in Cannes this year and I have seen two films by the director The Swimming Pool and Frantz. They were both a little ambiguous, moody films so I thought that this may be more my cup of tea than The Beguiled as I could guess some unsavory scenes in this film watching the trailer.

So, I went. I expected a psychological thriller. The starting shot was rather shocking and I will not go into details of it (too demure or prude for that), but aesthetics was rather pleasing, so I accepted it even if I raised my eye brows in surprise. The film intended to stir the audience and it did, but except for that did not present much more, at least not to me. The sex scenes were back to back, and this would not bother me if there was more of a point to it.

There are elements of psychology as the heroine has some problems related to cannibal twin syndrome blocking her emotional life. She goes to a psychiatrist and then promptly seduces him and turns him (or he turns her) into a lover. And so, it goes. It gets stranger and stranger and eventually the climax of the film indicates that her blockage has been removed. Hmm…

                                       

The actress is very beautiful and it has been a pleasure to watch her as one watches a flower, able to see just the shape of it, but not much behind that. And there are a lot of other flowers in the film, mainly orchids. I wonder what the film director wanted to draw our attention to.

To me it was a fluff which brought an unpleasant feeling of stomach queasiness. I would not recommend the film, but I suspect that what I have written may entice some to see it anyhow or maybe because of what I have written.  Such is human nature.

                                               

I thought more about the film or maybe my subconscious 😕worked over the night giving me in the morning a new perspective to the film. On reflection, the presented story is filmed cleverly, maybe even very cleverly. Subconscious plays very important role in the film and it all makes perfect sense when one thinks about it and synthesise the story a bit. It is actually all very logical when one reflects on it and recalls the scenes. Some of the film presents “real life”, some subconscious of the girl and some her sexual fantasies.  Very clever indeed. Yes, there are many sex scenes, but the film is French, so what would you expect. Apparently in France the classification of the film is for “Over 12 years old”.

Since I am not really a prude, my uneasy feeling in the stomach must have come from this cake I had had before I saw the movie.

I guess that my comments made the film a “must see” proposition.  😏

Denial

I am still in Sydney organising things I need to organise before my holiday, hence not much time for writing or thinking about what to write about. Even the story about my first boyfriend has been put on ice. It has been quite nice to go back in my thoughts to the old very happy and carefree times.  In the process of writing, I have learnt a lot about myself. It is also very pleasant to recollect the times, so I intend to continue the writing only a little later.

Today is Saturday and I thought I will take a break from the preparation to the trip. I went to see a movie, I rather did not plan to see, but it has been enthusiastically mentioned by one of my bridge friends, so changed my plans and went to see Denial.

My earlier reservations were about the subject of the film. I have seen so many films about Holocaust with Auschwitz as a place of action that I thought I will give myself a break. I still remember the primary school excursion to the concentration camp. I was so shocked by the exhibits that I will not be able to go there again. The pictures are still vivid in my memory. I shudder when I think that the place I stay at when in Gdansk, was during the war occupied by professor Spanner who developed the method of producing soap. I cannot bring myself to be specific about it.

Anyhow, I went to see the film and I do not regret it. Obviously, I do not feel uplifted this afternoon, but it is a good film. The story is very interesting and it did happen in real life. It is sad that life writes such good, but unpleasant scenarios. What is even sadder is that it is relevant to this day. The story is about the legal battle for historical truth requiring a proof that the Holocaust really happened. David Irving accused Deborah Lipstadt of libel when she called him denier of historical truth. It is relevant as in many countries neo-Nazis movements are more and more prevalent and often considered a sign of patriotism. For such movements, the truth of Holocaust is uncomfortable and there is temptation to deny that it did happen.

                                    

The film’s title Denial, has double meaning. The obvious one describes the subject of the film and the second one relates to needed self-denial of Deborah Lipstadt and survivors of Auschwitz. The accused, an acclaimed historian and a writer, assumes that she will be able to defend herself taking a stand during the trial. She also expects that she will be able to call on one of the survivors of the Holocaust. The team of lawyers, however, has different plans and their approach does not include any active involvement in the trial of the accused. This causes strong controversy between the client and the team of lawyers. The lawyers demand from Deborah self-denial of satisfaction voicing her strong opinions. It has been some time ago when I understood that often our ego makes us want to do or say things which really harm us. At work, I was often confronted with the situation when people wanted to argue their point even if this was detrimental to a desired outcome. I was saying then: “Do you want to be right or do you want to solve the problem?”. Clever question and I need to confess that I borrowed it from someone. I like the question, it hit me with its obvious truth and power. It is so useful to remember it at times when we want to fight rather than go in the direction of the desired outcome. Like in this film. 

There were two awarded roles in the film. One of Rachel Weisz playing Rachel Lipstadt (Academy Award) and the Cannes Award for Timothy Spall playing David Irving. My favourite, however, was Tom Wilkinson who played Richard Rampton QC defending Rachel Lipstadt. I noticed Tom Wilkinson the first time in his role in Michael Clayton and only then I started to pay attention to this very good and likeable actor.

My rating of the film is 8 out of 10.

Out of comfort zone

Some time ago I saw The Clouds of Sils Maria and the film made a big impression on me. I liked Kristen Stewart, her very contemporary looks with sadness and mystique mixed in. Now, comes another film with the same actress and the reviews say that this is her best role to date. Mind you, she is only 27, so there will be more films with the label “Kristen Stewart the best ever!!”. At least I think she has got it in her. I will also follow the film director of both of the films Olivier Assayas.

                                 

Before I found out what the film is all about I decided to see not so much the film as Kristen Stewart. It was in the post hospital time and I postponed the movie going for a short while. During this time, the film lost its popularity and was screened only very late finishing after 11:00 pm.  Actually, the film was not popular at all, maybe because it was advertised as a horror film, even if it should have been more accurately described as a thriller. Neither of the descriptions enthused me to see it, but I wanted to see the young actress in her best role. While I hesitated if I should go to a horror movie so late in the day, the film stopped to be screened in my local cinema. I was determined, though, and made a brave decision to step out of my comfort zone and see the film no matter what. Of course, I am mocking myself and my set ways. As the result, I had a fun day. I travelled to Paddington to see the film, then walked to Woollahra for lunch at my favourite Polish restaurant. I did the fair bit of walking making my new smart pedometer happy. It actually complemented me on my walking achievements. My good Fitbit Alta. I think we may become friends as it talks to me nicely inviting for a stroll.

I was a bit apprehensive when the film started. The first scenes were meant to scare the viewer. Maureen, who is a personal shopper and a spiritist medium, goes to the house of her dead twin brother,Lewis, to make contact with him. One makes contacts with people on the other side in darkness, of course. I started to breathe deeply to settle my nerves, it was really scary, but everything about the scary scenes was very stylish. The whole film was stylish and I loved this aspect of it.

There are few streams in the film cleverly linked to form something like a beautiful psychological collage. The major stream is Maureen trying to get in contact with her dead brother. Then there is the personal shopper stream with Maureen buying the top fashion items for her client, the famous fashionista Kyra. Those scenes may be more for women interested in high fashion. However, I think that they may be universally appreciated for their mood and aesthetic appeal. Another stream, the trip from Paris to London on a Euro Star train builds incredible atmosphere of fear. Smart phone texting is the tool used to scare us. It does, and how! The clicking of writing the messages is better than any other soundtrack. The double question marks also work well in building the suspense. Maureen exchanges messages with an anonymous. Is it her brother, somebody meaning harm, or her other self?

Motorbike rides through Paris are great and Kristen Stewart looks fantastic in the helmet, moving through crowded streets with high speed and confidence. Energising scenes, one moves more energetically and elegantly remembering those pictures and the soundtrack.

                                      

I love the finesse of the film and the subtle links between the film elements. Like the background song by Marlene Dietrich – The Carpenter Song, DasHobellied. The song is about a carpenter whose plane is like destiny levelling all lives with the same indifference not considering importance and status. At some stage of the film we find out that Lewis, Maureen brother was a carpenter and that this profession, considered peaceful, was supportive of his heart condition. Another scene the girlfriend of Lewis lovingly smoothing a wooden element with the plane confronting us with our mortality.  Such is this film. 

Social media is another element of the film collage. There is Skype, Internet searches, text messaging, You Tube. All ways to communicate with others across the world. But do they help us to connect with others or only exchange messages?  I live in such a world myself. There is an element of loneliness in spite of those very advanced ways of making communication easy. We communicate and exchange ideas with people we do not know and never will meet. Does it matter? Perhaps not. My experience is that we may live and communicate face to face for many years with somebody never really knowing the person. We only know our internal image, we create a person the way we like it to be. So, what is the difference between anonymous and real? I perhaps went too far in my explorations, so I stop here.

The last scene of the film gives a clear answer to Maureen’s questions. The answer is given be a superpower, her brother, herself?

I need to see the film another time to discover elements I missed the first time. It will not be soon, maybe when I get myself a Netflix and a smart TV?  

Adagio

 

I just saw Manchester by the Sea. It is a very good film and the film that moved me for several reasons, some of them rather personal. When a book or a film throws new light on my personal  life and helps me to understand myself and my past better, it has a special value for me. Manchester by the Sea is such a film for people who lived through a trauma. And who has not?

It starts with several scenes seemingly without a point and with rather simplistic dialog. This part lasts  irritatingly long and one wonders what it is all about. I must say that after seeing the whole film I realised that the structure of the film is genial and it needed the first, on reflection, not so boring part.

The film is about Lee who had been a loving uncle to his  nephew, sixteen years old Patrick, and suddenly, after death of his brother, becomes the guardian of the boy. He cannot deal with the new responsibility and we do not understand why. The scenes from the past show a different person, Lee was at that time. Playful, loving husband and the father of three children changed into a solitary man who does not smile, works in a menial job, is aloof to the point of appearing rude. Two different people.

 The film unfolds the story and leads to an extremely tragic event in the lives of Lee and his wife. The background music of  the scene showing the tragedy is Adagio by Albinoni. This music has been used as a background in many films and there was a time I considered it as expressing deep love and emotions related to it. At that time I did not notice profound sadness of the music. To me it was just showing elation that romantic love brings. I felt that it expressed my feelings of the time very well. It  is clear to me now how extreme happiness and extreme tragedy are close to one another. This sadness and tenderness of love are expressed in the Adagio so movingly.  When I and the man of my life chose Adagio as “our song” I did not associate it with sadness at all, such discoveries came later. With time, I noticed that it was used as background to many documentaries dealing with concentration camps. I did not like this associations, how could I? With time, however, I started to hear the other tones in my favourite Adagio. Tenderness and compassion that comes with tragedies are there as well. Sadness and acceptance of unavoidable. Dignity and inner quietness are there as well. Unbelievable piece of music.  I could say AMAZING if the word was not so frequently used in My Kitchen Rules.

I needed to break out from being totally in an Adagio mood and life recollections to return to reality, hence the comment on MKR which helped, but is obviously out of context . Sorry...

Now that my love story is over and trauma of its end is behind me, Adagio can be my music again. A bit sad, but still beautiful. Like life.

So this is what the film is all about. About trauma and the way of dealing with it or not being able to deal with it. Lee is not able to. But his wife does and she moves on. This role is played brilliantly by Michelle Williams. The scene when Lee and his wife meet coincidently after some years will become a movie classic, I believe. One of the most moving scenes of any film I have seen. True to life as well.

Michelle Williams had her share of trauma in her privet life. The relationship with Heath Ledger finished before his death, but even so the final closure was very difficult for the famous actress. Has it helped her to play the scene so extremely well?  I believe that life experiences make us wiser and better understanding human nature.

Great film, but perhaps not uplifting your mood. 10 out of 10 for me. 

Affleck brothers are people to watch and follow. They both already have great achievements to their names.

                         

Moonlight

It is very hot in Sydney and it makes my days lazy and no eventful. My little computer, after a water damage, is being repaired and I am left with the old one that does not function well. It is difficult to sign in and when I manage to do it, the internet connection is spurious. It takes a while to get to it and I manage to achieve  a doubtful success only by repeating the same process over and over. This is just like per the definition of insanity, so no wonder I  feel a bit strange. The cool change is coming though, so maybe things will look up soon. I will perhaps need to buy a new computer, but this is an achievable task. So with a hope for a positive change I gathered enough energy to start a new post. I have a bit of a backlog in my movie reviews, so I will start with the Moonlight, the film that made the biggest impression on me and is the second on my Oscar list after La La Land. I have not seen the Manchester by the Sea yet and this film may change my personal hierarchy. 

Three stages of Chiron's face and life

About the Moonlight then. This is for me a film based on impressions as I hardly understood the dialogue.  African-American slang, used by uneducated people from the circles of drug dealing and using,  is difficult to understand.  I did understand the story though and the moods the film took me through. Beautiful film, showing idealistic emotions and generous actions of people from the society margins. The film is about  Chiron and his life as a child, teenager and then a young man. Beautiful love story shown and experienced by the movie characters as tender and delicate. For me there was more tenderness and respect  in the relationship of the two boys and then men  than there is in most of so called “civilised” heterosexual relationships. No wam bam about it.

The film made me think about that so often we categorise people and situations without knowing much about  it. I am guilty of it quite often, I can see it now.  Dirty, potentially, drug addicts are people I want to isolate myself from. I am afraid of them, judge them as dropouts and move on to my secure, clean, civilised corner, often feeling superior.  The film shows us all another side of the coin. This coin, in fact, has more than two sides, so this may not be the best metaphor. What I want to say is that life is complex for all of us and there are many  facets to a person, good and bad. I know it sound like an obvious truism, but this film helped me  see another dimension of it. Drug dealers may have warmth in themselves  and a need to help others. They may hurt profoundly as well, in fact they do as a part of their dealings, but the film shows that they can do a lot of good on the side as well. This calls for respect.

The film shows a desperate yearning to love and be loved. Again an universal truth,   beautifully and piercingly shown. All together a very moving film which made me to reflect on some life issues and made my understanding of them deeper.

I warmly recommend the film.