VALKYRIE, THE FILM THAT IS NOT ABOUT NAZISM

[ A mere few minutes after first posting this entry I wandered into a Downtown Montreal eatery and picked up a copy of THE HOUR , one of the downtown papers which seems to be very scarce these days--- perhaps succumbing to haphazard distribution .I was excited to see an article on Valkyrie featured on the cover, which I read with delight and interest.It includes an interview with the Producer.

See : http://www.hour.ca/film/film.aspx?iIDArticle=16289 ]




Quote from Valkyrie :


THIS IS A MILITARY OPERATION ...NOTHING EVER GOES ACCORDING TO PLAN !



Through a strange concordance of circumstances , yours truly,(The Book Fool) , was priveleged to attend the Montreal Premiere { the third public showing ever if I correctly understood ,of course Los Angeles and another American city were the favoured test-screening areas for the studio's first showings} of the historical Drama VALKYRIE.


This was the first showing of the film attended by the two writers of the script. Also present was one of the world respected authorities on the subject of the German Resistance , who also participated in the Q&A at the end of the screening, Proffesor Hoffman, of Montreal .



( He is the Author of a seminal work on World War Two : THE GERMAN RESISTANCE )


To briefly tell what I gathered from the question and answers : I think many of the audience were spell bound and speachless, thusly there were few questiopns.The writers seemed to answer the questions with one voice, though one of them spoke much more ( I sadly did not manage to place a face to the name of which one of the two was most voluble-- )


They spoke at length about the difficulties encountered by the production team, about the problems surrounding the efforts at historical exactitude-- as much informtion surrounding the events were obtained from third and fourth hand sources and as many of the protagonists died soon after the attempted coup ( last of thirteen ) , many others dying soon after the war ended. There were problems which serendipitously seemed to solve themselves with access to certain locations and in obtaining Nazi paraphenalia for filming in Germany , where such items are still illegal and considered incitful of nefarious tendencies.


This film is filled with details of the daily experiences of Germans , and of the Managers of the Hitlers war machine. It is not a mere war drama-- it attempts to show the human experience of war.
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Quote from film :

Hitler : " One cannot understand National Socialism unless one understands Wagner "
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The film is a rich visual lesson of how human passions can so cleverly be harnessed to serve sometimes obscure ends, and of how these passions blurr the distinctions we make in pedestrian life between good and evil. The complicated birth of Modern Europe and the genesis of the messy two World Wars , are all reflected in this film. All the tangled , psychologically complex and tumerous nature the Rattenkönig, for lack of a better metaphor , of Western civilisation, of which we find many indications in Nietzche"s writings
(for example : Beyond Good and Evil :

http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/Nietzsche/beyondgoodandevil_tofc.htm )

are glimpsed in the mere two hours this film lasts.


True, all humans falter and fail, we are all weak : but when a collective weakness becomes transformed into a strength, the devastating results are frightening.

This film serves the purpose well of re-awakening this fear in us: of what we are collectively capable of, given the necessary political and social elements. We of the post 9-11 world, the Past-Post Modern world , are jaded to the possibilities of mass murder and genocide...there has been so much mayhem in living memory, from Vietnam, to Bosnia and Rwanda, to the various small scale atrocities in the Balkan states and various Eastern Asian states...
All of the contadictory feelings which the present-day conflict between western liberalism and the various fundamentalisms ( reminiscent as they are of fascist purism ) are pleasantly absent when viewing a film that shows a conflict that is rapidly moving out of the field of Living Memory and which only a small handfull of us still actually remember anything of.


THE RATTENKONIG ( THE RAT - KING )


War , sadly , continues to (apparently) be the mainspring of human history...we seem to not be able to live without conflict.It is absurd, and yet we placidly accept it.

The seeds of the world Geopolitical situation as it is now , were sown in the conflagration which detroyed the old imperialism constructs , forming the new corporatism we know today. It is important to remember that Fascism, once a political movement that ( however misguidedly )sought order and structure, was one of the parents of corporatism, and the new imperialism of multinationals.

The film makers were perhaps more concerned with producing an interesting and entertaining film...Nonetheless, they created a masterpiece of educational and instructional use, a film that all young students should see : the result was an almost-documentary.

It is a tragic story , to be sure, with a very sad ending , for the failed assassination and coup ( the last of 42 attempts ) only served to strengthen the Hitlerian inner circle and their resolve: had Shauffenberg been succesful, The Invasion of Normandy , the enormous expense and ever so high cost in human lives of the final months of the war , would have been avoided- perhaps Europe would have been a much different place , and also, America would not have gained it's foothold for future hegemony by becoming the Superman of the world.

Shaufenbergs failure helped , by default, to create the new form of Liberal-Fascism that now controls much of our lives.


Who can say...Is the world a better or worse place than it would have been had the assassination and Coup not failed ?
We are , for now, enjoying , in some parts of the world , a level of individual freedom and cultural prosperity that is unprecedented in history ( Although this is such a fragile freedom and is superficial at best )
Beneath these somewhat frail freedoms still rumbles the war machine that was brought forth in the age of industry...


I was planning to post this entry when the 100th Canadian fell in Afghanistan..Sadly, the tally has actually reached 103 by dec 14th ... and today, 5 days before the end of 2008 and supposed the scheduled withdrawl of Canada from Afghanistan , we can expect more deaths. A mere 103 men fallen , less than nothing in the cosmic scheme of things. Our lives go on-- few of us question the irrationality of this new world war in the making.

War, the artificial human machinery of death , is , to this day, omnipresent. We have not found the key to unrooting its deep hold on us. Why we need so badly to speed up the march of death, when Nature does such a good job of doing so independantly of us , is one of the greatest mysteries of the Human Phenomenon.

For us who have never lived war, never felt the fear , the absolute terror of the cold ,bitter wind of nihilism, the film offers a solid look at war from a comfortable distance -- it is much more real than any documentary could be , much more real than any CNN footage from Irak or Afghanistan.


There have been lukewarm reviews for this bit of cinema...I will be very interested to see what judgement the court of public opinion will render , now the film has been released. Tom Cruise did an extaordinary job of portraying how "human" a Nazi can be , and though her role was incidental, the charm and style of Carice van Houten , the -as yet - relatively unknown European actress, added a little ' je ne sais quoi' to the visual feast.



This is a film we must all see twice. The first time to better understand the Twentieth century and the generations of men and women whose lives are now gradually leaving this earth, and once more to better understand the twenty-first century, of which the first decade and it's birth pangs is ending so dismally.

How the Book Fool was Trance-Fixed by Music

It has been quite a few months now, thirty and counting ...Long enough for time to have wrought it's wisdom in the tumult of my feelings...

At some point in february 2006 , sometime before my friend John George shed his mortal coil ; leaving this earth, one dares hope , for better clymes ; I wandered the streets of Montreal despondently... I had spent several nights and afternoons in his company as he slowly disappeared before my eyes, battle weary from his fight with cancer...

I sought refuge in a small Urban-Legendary Bistro, the Casa del Popolo on St. Laurent Blvd, Montreal. A hot cup of Café au Lait and a sandwich was all I hoped for... Instead I encountered the healing and soothing sounds of Hunter Eves voice and electronic keyboard... Truth be told I remember little of that night, other than that I left strengthened--I even bought the C.D. as I recall...thought perhaps I purchased it at the next show I was able to go to, a few months later...

In a sense the sequence of events matters little. The weeks up to and following my friends death are somewhat of a blurr... I cannot help but sense that perhaps his otherworldly hand guided me to the Casa not only that first night, but on several others as he patiently waited for death, and after his departure as well... I saw a klezmer band , and a presentation by some master storytellers , as well as some poetry readings...all of which he would have liked . His presence as well as that of his his Bookshop had been a lighthouse ( For he and the Argo on rue Ste. Catherine in Montreal were as one ) and had unfailingly guided me time and again , as They did many others , to safe harbour , through years of my navigating the darkness .

I have forgotten the details of most of that period of time except this : On to the small stage of my life burst the cosmic sounds of Hunter Eves.

What must be underlined is that in the years ending the old millenium and beginning the new , music was not much of a reality in my life... Years ago I had stopped listening to any thing ressembling music... let alone live performances. With the closing of the Golem Coffee house, the sporadic venue wherein I occasionally served coffee and which hosted many fine singers such as Garnet Rogers, Odetta , Rory Block and many others , my encounters with music were suspended ... There followed some years during which John George and his Bookshop remained my lighthouse , during which time I wandered the Dark Night of my Soul.

However , The two concerts of Hunter Eves I saw that year are Bookends to a time in which much happened (perhaps without happening ) in my life, and of which I frankly must say I remember little.

In this world of Sensory Feasting, we are bombarded everywhere by sound and visual stimuli-- much of which is pollution : but the fact That I remember Hunter Eves and her music and that I continue to listen to it, (at live shows whenever possible ) , is precisely the point herein. It may seem trivial to some that I forget much of everything that is thrown at me, this being a mere symptom of this worlds tendeny to create short attention spans and to encourage instant gratification.
That Hunter Eves I did NOT forget then- and do NOT now forget - is not so trivial to me, especially in light of this contemporary tendency -- It means, I think, that her music is qualitatively different from much of what we hear .

My friend was not fond of modernity-- Technology and all it's trappings bothered him. I think that despite his hungry and open mind he was suspicious of all things scientific, considering them faintly touched by Evil. "I don't like all this technology" he said at one point in his last few days, as I tried to distract him from his pain with some sort of CNN documentary... He wisely asked me to instead read to him from the Times Literary Supplement . The electronic music of his youthful neighbour whom he was fond of bemused him...

Yet , I think he would have liked the music of Hunter Eves, for in her style is found a pleasant conjunction of the classical with the new electric sounds of the sometimes alienating Cyber-world that is being brought forth daily. She demonstrates , in her performances, that the Muses of old continue to Be present , although the instruments may change.

Her shows, usually held in small venues are uncomplicated , and do not overwhelm. If her music lulls and soothes you as it does me , then I am sure you will be as enthusiastic a fan as I .

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To see where her next shows are and to hear some of her music visit her MySpace address :

http://www.myspace.com/huntereves

also : http://www.isound.com/hunter_eves

ANIMATED AMERICAN

THE BOOK FOOL GOES TO THE MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL....

I had the good fortune to see a couple of films at this years edition of the Montreal Film festival. One 15 minute short pleased me ... so here is a small tribute to this little work of Directors James Baker and Joe Haidar . Of course , this was a 'HIGH END " big budget" short...[ How else could such eye-catching and breathtaking talent as Bree Turner and such excellent acting as that of Jason Marsden appear--unless they donated their time ? ]
In some ways , it may not deserve attention, as such a budget may perhaps exclude the film from the category of " Forgettable , Insignificant & falling through the Cracks" , the somewhat muddled criterion I use to choose what I write about.
That it was slotted, perhaps intentionally(?), preceding the showing of a documentary film is perhaps what redeems this film and gives it status in the pantheon of the obscure. The film it served to introduce was " The Price of Pleasure " by Documentary producer CHYNG SUN coincidentally also co-creator of the 2001 documentary film " Mickey Mouse Monopoly , Disney, Childhood and Corporate Power" ( Which -perhaps not so strangely - happens to NOT have a page on IMDB, and which Animated American , the subject of this review does ) , [ Visit : http://www.thepriceofpleasure.com/ ] ---

If the showing of the film was as a sly reminder that Comics have the edge on reality- as witnessed by the several Comic Book inspired films from Ironman and The Hulk to Hellboy and Batman that were offered to us for summer viewing by the studios-- then this Reality Denying Fool considers it noteworthy, if only because understanding why these films have such influence is an important exercise in mental gymnastics. ( Though the films were not Animated , they certainly show the power of the Comic and Animé media... Why else would studios spend the big bucks ?]

That said, despite the dominance of the Comic in the Real World , there are definitely conflicts within World of the Comic itself , which the short film obliquely develops.

In this lighthearted film the theme of technology's encroachment on the world of the Cartoon is humorously portrayed.

" TWO WORDS : C.G.I !!! "

shouts Max Rabbit at the arrogant high powered executive who , bewildered , asks

WHY?

as he becomes the disgruntled Cartoon's plaything ...

The Old penciled ' Toon ( and Roger Rabbit understudy ) takes matters into his own hands to save his Two-dimensional existence from the invasion of Digital Life Forms into the world of animation. Devious and cunning tactics , which exploit well known human weaknesses [ the Lust for beautiful property both as brick and mortar and in shaply two legged form] lead to the defeat of the Executive and to a Table-Turning dénouement . The old penciled Cartoon, once the offspring, becomes the new master in an act of castrating parricide.

Reading a satirical subtext into the theme of the film and interpreting it's title as a critique of American self-aggrandizement remains a delicate question of subjective judgment . It does not stretch the laws of probability, though , to see parallels : The conflicts within the American Psyche are certainly reflected in the' Toon world-These Mythic stories are the dark glass of our passions and most obscure motives.

America is definitely very Animated in the Heroic theater of geopolitical hegemony---whether America will in the long run be a Good old Penciled 'Toon, or completely succumb to the C.G.I. Disease ( Technologization , along with Pornification are infectious World-Views ) , remains to be seen-- for the conservative windstorm sweeping the world has not ended it's whiplash .

As the ancient Greek chronicler Herodotus ( No, sadly not Homer, the other illustrious Ancient One ; nor his Geek incarnation as the All American Patriarch of the the 'toon - world ) said :

"...the Gods love to thwart whatever is greater than the rest . They do not suffer pride in anyone but themselves. "

Our modern day Archetypal incarnations of the gods,the beloved Comic Book Super Heroes , will perhaps render judgment on the ones who portray their adventures .

Geek Hubris will only be tolerated so far...



NOTA : For anyone who doubts the power of C.G.I. : I suggest you arrange a screening of The Price of Pleasure above mentioned, in which - amongst other things -the American Supreme Court ruling , on the constitutionality of C.G.I representations ,of Children in Pornography , is carefully exposed - showing how our pornified world view and the Comicalisation of Reality have infested even one of the better institutional examples of human enlightenment to have ever existed.
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you can See the Animated American film web page on IMDB :
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1271967/
and:
The Price of Pleasure
http://www.thepriceofpleasure.com/

X-Files-- The Darkness is Out There-or In Here.

The X-Files flirts again with the Lord of the Flies..( I should resist the dyslexic pun : The Lord of the Files) -- this to the disappointment of some of the audience whom I heard muttering : "There Were No Aliens" ....

Many of the more than 200 episodes of this series which were for several years my only connection to the un-reel world of television-[ having no such machine in my home I was fortunate to be invited ,often,on Sunday evenings , to a friends home to watch the show]- were thematically about human alienation , deviance , freakishness and , why not say the word : Evil.

Indeed , part of the shows mystery was it's continuous probing of the reality of Aliens as they live amongst us , Alien - Humans , those homegrown on our world.

I was therefore neither surprised nor disappointed. The film was not an over dramatic exposé of some of the more intangible and painful aspects of human lived experience-- rather it was carefully understated . ( This I say , despite the gore which was carefully served up for the audiences horrification ). It was also mercifully devoid of the special effects overdose which films have much of these days. It stood firmly in the tradition of the x-files series in that it raised more questions than it answered, leaving loose ends galore and sparing us none of the horribleness mixed with wonderment that much of life paradoxically presents us with , every day.

There was no great novelty in this film, I will grant you this. But that was part of the point of making the film.. Chris Carters obsession , with evil and suffering , which I share in my own limited way, is suitably realistic .By this I mean : the fact that Evil is in some ways very unimaginative and thus repetetive, as in a sense the original Show was , is part of it's somewhat banal reality, to paraphrase the Jewish Philosopher Hannah Arendt . Because the Devil is in the Details, the sameness within many episodes and within the film loses it's importance...because it is with the differences of detail that the Devil fascinates and distracts us..

or, dare I ask : is it God ?

Human organ harvesting and pedophilia , both subjects which till recently were sufficiently Taboo to be avoided by most Directors are bravely mingled in a plot which sports a fair amount of Freudian allusions to the innocence of children and to the ways in which we fill our inner voids with searches for the unfindable , undefinable and the unattainable.

Dana Scully complains to her partner and intellectual opposite that she is tired of looking into the darkness...She hopes they can close the book on this - with usual aplomb Mulder responds :

" I don't think it works that way , I think the Darkness finds you "

Of course , as the title states, the film is all about faith, about wanting to believe. Both Scully and her Lover are sorely tested. As within the T.V. Series Mulder ' s Belief system is tested by the frustration of never quite getting tangible proof with which to clobber his detractors--and Scully is frustrated because her skepticism is never given the full satisfaction of reason. The duality , if it should be ever resolved would perhaps ruin human experience...Within the rationality of one the kernel of faith never ceases to germinate...and within the belief system of the other the seed of doubt forever finds a small nook or cranny within which to grow.

Is God using Evil , as the Pedophile tragic anti-hero feels ? Or is Evil, the omnipresent force within and without , playing with us, toying with our desires, one of the strongest of these being our desire to believe.

Certainly Chris Carter does not have a simple answer. I fear he would cease making films if he did...

The minuscule gold cross which was a frequent appearance around the neck of our loverly heroine in the X-files shows, seemed absent in this film, but she carried it nonetheless...At the end of the narrative , against a backdrop of three nuns she performs an Act of Faith that may be as cruel as the act of scientific brutality which the faceless villains ( Russians, no less ) perform throughout the story. It is however , qualitatively different , infused with love.
( How I have missed you Scully, the tenderness you represent. -- Ok, I forgive you Gillian Anderson, for not really being Scully and for actually having a life outside of the television set... I admit it , you have long been an inspiration and the source of a few wicked dreams to this poor soul. )

If there is a moral to the story , then, it is perhaps this : that it, the story , never ends. As the very last scene makes explicit, we are all very much at sea on very small boat.

Although, we seem if (Dana and Mulder are seen as our representatives ) to have a couple of oars.

At least for now.

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Duffy --- A Blonde with Morals

The title of this short review betrays some of the predjudices that I , as many males of our society, am plagued by. There is something about Blondes embedded (oops, sorry Freud ) in our conciousness : They are both desired and feared , they are a source of envy , considered dangerous and, as most fearsome beings, they are put down--who hasn't laughed at a Dumb Blonde joke ? So to title a review "A Blonde with Morals " betrays a holier than thou superciliousness that only a chauvinist can be guilty of. I hope the reader can forgive this fallibility.

Our culture is permeated with music about Love-- or at least romantic love , which is the most accessible form of this mystery-emotion. My access to popular music is limited to what I hear in public forums , namely my work place or shopping spaces...This because I have a tendency to shut the world out -- Musical choices are extremely personal and usually the forgettable songs that make the airwaves are chosen for mass -listening through some unknown alchemy of the music business . Pop is just that: Popular. What determines Pop-ularity is of course an extremely complex ' averaging process ' for lack of a better term.

Much of the music that gets insidiously thrown at us , chosen for us by the alchemists who choose play lists goes in one ear and out the other of this particular Fool... Occasionally however, something sticks.

I have not listened to any other songs by Duffy ( yet) . I first heard " Mercy" when I went to the cinema and the music-video played at the beginning, before the film started--I forgot the film, but not the video. Then I started noticing the song played often during the night hours during which I work-- ( the Radio stations my co-workers allow vary a bit, but I could not help but notice that Duffy's song pop-ped up almost everywhere on the dial.

It's a catchy tune. No doubt about it. Subtly explicit about the painful issues of seduction and sexual dominance, captivity and release , without being crass, it is a simple yet strangely beautiful song . There is a refreshing frankness to its style.

Perhaps I am not the best judge , as I do not know the music scene well : but an erotic song that has reached popularity in the charts AND has the word 'Morals' at it's core seems to me to be a unique happening.
( Of course if one could discern the subtext of words that stream in the background through parts of the recording, the meaning of the song might be altered-- that would be too easy , perhaps ? )


Hats off Duffy. I don't think it's my morals that have ME on my knees.

I'll try not to dream of you too much. I may even purchase your C.D.

The Book Fool.
( The lyrics and soundtrack are accessible , to the right of this page , thanks to the miracles of modern technology and countless geeks ).

Review of the film : Gunshy.

Gunshy

A Study of Ambiguity and Evil

William Petersen, known for his long lasting role as Grissom in the CSI television series , did some feature film work in the nineties. He is remembered by some for his role in Manhunter , the first [least glamourous ,though probably best] film in the Hannibal Lecter ark...and he is perhaps not remembered at all for his role in an amazingly well written Noir film released in 1998 in which he played a washed out writer Jake Bridges , a broken man in search of a story and of renewed creative vitality . Gunshy has everything a cult movie should have : Sex- or rather , controled lust - brutality, death , and yes , love and renewed life and birth . But this production fascinated me mostly for it's careful delineation of the timeline and stepping stones that bring our heroes closer and closer to self-annhilation. This etiology ( to use a medical term) , of the illness that afflicts the writer and the others -- until good sense , or a semblance thereof, is restored , is instructive.

The Legbreaking enforcer who plays the 'Bad Guy ' in the film, ( Frankie , played by Michael Wincott ) has grown up in a culture of violence. His loyalties and loves are all determined by this environment. He feels comfortable in it, though he does have thoughts of leaving this behind. The " Good Guy " has lost his footing in the world that he knows , one of semi-glamourous writer working for mainline newspapers, one in which his writing is known as exemplary. The interesting thing about this plot is that the archetypes which govern most plots involving good and evil have been reversed. Here the figure of Christ the saviour is actually played by The Gangster Frankie, The figure of Judas is filled by the one who would normally be perceived as good- the writer with a sick soul. The serpent in this paradise is played by a somewhat Satanic police officer, he who should in fact be the paragon of virtue.{ He says to Jake whom he is using , as only the devil incarnate could :

" You're mine, Your eyes are mine, your ears are mine, your dick is mine ..the fact is every step you take you take for me" }

Diane Lane in the role of the lovely Melissa plays The loving figure of Mary ( or one might say of the two Mary's in one , both mother and whore ) : she who will love whomever needs her, perhaps giving of herself too indiscriminately in the hope of saving what she loves. ....
All of these characters are flawed and undeniably intertwined by complexities of need and want that leave them faced with decisions and compromises that can only be seen as painful from the observation booth of the cinema seat.

Frankie has simple ethics, but they work. These are summed up basically as : An eye for an eye, or at least, Break bones for Dollars owing.

" I like to hurt people who deserve to get hurt "

The Father figure,( played by Michael Byrne --shiver me timbers, this is 'good' acting of Evil ) arguably the most primally evil character of the plot , protector and nurturer of Frankie , sends him on missions of avenging . These he performs unquestioningly. The writer, with his complex ,somewhat dysfunctional morality and intelectualised view of the world starts a wobble in Frankies unwaverng orbit. Both men admire the other and both envy the strengths of the other. Frankie asks Jake to be his teacher-- and so is introduced into the story what is perhaps the most important Character of this film -- The book Moby Dick, a novel by Herman Melville.
The theme of reading , and of the healing nature of books is a counterpoint to the writers story of his failure at his craft.

Foreshadowing the choices that will ultimately be made , Jake tells his student , as they discuss Moby Dick :

" I mean that caring about someone and loving someone , that connection , is more important than whether we live or die , whether we're rich or poor , whether we owe someone or not. "

In the end, Frankie must commit the one act he has prided himself in avoiding all his life. He must kill . Parricide is his only salvation from the knotted complexities of his perceived uncomplicated world.

All pay a price to the carnally uncompromising world we live in. Melissa betrays her love for Frankie by allowing the seductive spinner of words to lure her into his world so he can satisfy his creative needs... Frankie will lose the illusion of loyal bonding, both to his father figure whom he kills and to his Melissa whom he almost kills, when she admits to having transgressed-- though the actual act of lust is never acknowledged, merely alluded to as a feeling of caring. And Jake will lose his freedom, at least temporarily , the price for his transgression of luring Frankie into a setup and abusing his trust. This apparently altruistic act of giving affords his new friend the chance to escape from the labyrinth of the cold streets of Atlantic City.

The Good guy is bad, the Bad guy is good ---It is hard to decide which, if any of these puppets in the circus , is the least slimy. The only figure with an untarnished view of the world [and who evokes a somewhat reluctant admiration from this reviewer, for his authenticity] - is Pops, the one who unquestioningly embraces Evil in it's purity--if the reader will allow the oxymoron . The Woman is , in the end , the one whose life is the most coloured by the two very opposite males to whom she gives of herself. Amongst all the death and mayhem there is a noteworthy reference at the end , of a new life to be borne as in the final minutes of dialog we learn she will be bearing Frankie a child. As Pops , Evil as he is , recognises in the film :

"There is nothing like a sons love for his father."

Ultimately the peacemaker in the Drama is the female, the Mother figure. She will risk losing one man to whom she is bonded by life history, To save the other. Yet this very sacrifice, this 'pound of flesh' is what ultimately saves her Frankie-- for the morally bankrupt writer gets a taste of goodness in her arms and finally sees that the words he spoke to Frankie [ as quoted above] , must apply to himself as well . What she does , although the flattering attentions of the seducer do appeal to her, she does for love. Interestingly, she saves them both, for in the end Jakes love for her which began as a fixation { Melissa you are the one thing in my life that makes sense to me } progresses and becomes selfless enough that he will relinquishes his desire for her :

" Everything I said to you I meant- you've got to believe that "

Prosaically, one might say : Life goes on. As Jake says at the end , as he reflects in his prison cell :

" It's funny - people you don't expect to love are the ones you never forget. "

The english-linguistic melting pot has created three categories to accommodate the ambiguities that surround Evil and the many flaws of humanity. From within the English language We speak of The Good, of The Bad and of Evil. The two main protagonists struggle with the polarities of Good and Bad, the one purely Evil character, terrifying in his unwavering belief in his view of things is the Crime-boss, Pops. The one character in the film who is perhaps closest to the logic of nature , is of course the Female, Melissa, who, though she could have been a femme fatale and embraced the dark side , manages instead to bring two men out from beneath the shadows of corruption and Evil with a finesse that the actress Diane Lane so admirably portrays.

The film ends on an understated cliffhanger , as our redeemed gangster asks his intelectual mentor : "What should I read next ? I'm looking for a good book to read..."

I do wish the writer Larry Gross had suggested something for us to dig our eyes into.

BOOKS RULE !!!


This film is available on DVD and if Movieland ( 1972 St. Catherine Street West ) don't have it in their collection --- they certainly ought to .

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange , the Sorcerer Supreme

This animated film was , for me, a wonderful introduction to a genre which I have avoided for many years. Both the comic book and animated film media belong , one might think , to the world of Saturday morning television. , the world of young impressionable minds , not of cynical and sour middle aged Fools.

But what a treat this story was . It contained all the elements of a classic timeless story , without boring me to death…The fight between good and evil, mysticism, magic , Demonic creatures , tragedy and hubris as well as the conflict between the Eastern and Western World Views– Remorse, pain, toil and also the hope ( if ever so faint) of redemption ; or at least of resolution , are all mixed into this fast moving 76 minute film .

Our tragic hero, Dr. Strange has reached the sumum of fame and the greatest possible level of scientific as well as material achievement possible in the world he knows, but through a bizarre series of fateful events and mental episodes he finds himself severly handicapped. He loses everything.

Thus begins a journey, which is everymans journey, one that every single living person on this earth who has the most minimal concioussness can identify with — while also being specific to him as well— for though he is a Faustian figure he is also Messianic , a Chosen One— chosen by forces unknown to play a role he fundamentally does not desire.

Since this is basically the first animated film I have ever watched, except for the 1978 production of The Lord of the Rings, which I vaguely recall seeing many years ago at the now defunct Cinema Five ,( which once was the equivalent of Cinema du Parc, here in Montreal, for people of my generation) I cannot give a fair critique of the art work … Some of the action scenes may seem a bit choppy … but over all the wonderful powers which the Champions of the The Sorcerer Supreme exhibit , and the fierce imagery of the Evil instruments of the Dark Dimension and it’s ruler Dormammu , do not fail to impress .

The enigmatic Ancient One , attempts ( and succeeds) to instill the secrets of Wizardry into Dr. Strange, with the use of very zen-like koans and apparently self- contadictory logic. “ Accepting the Unacceptable ” to free oneself, “using the strength of ones opponent” against him, absorbing your enemy’s force to turn it aginst him… these are all part of the teachings which help the hero gain access to the Power Within .

We learn , along with him , that much of life’s pain and misery is linked to perception : “ Love , Loss, Pain, they are stones in the wall that blocks your path” . We learn that the ultimate magic is all about energy and it’s transformation—Once our hero ceases to imagine the wall it disappears .. at one point in the film I saw a shadowy shape which ressembled the black mask of Darth Vader.. oops. That was just a trick of my mind right ? { If only life were so simple } .

Even the theme of defeating the brother , In this case Mordo - this universal motif found in many legends and stories around the world - in a fight to the death, is present. To Jungian psychologists, Mordo may represent the hero’s personal Shadow, the part of him that splits off to make a pact the Satanic Dormammu … Mordo’s feeling of being abandoned by his master the Sorcerer drives him to the arms of the enemy ( at one point in the film I saw a shadowy shape which ressembled the black mask of Darth Vader.. oops. That was just a Magical trick of my mind , a perception thing ,
right ? ) …Mordo embodies all the spite , anger and frustration that Dr. Strange is battling within himself. By overcoming Mordo and killing that part of himself, Doctor Strange takes his first steps towards enlightenment .

In the final apocalyptic battle, all the valiant soldiers of the Sorcerer Supreme give their lives to protect the Sanctum Sanctorum the quiet place where all dimensions intersect… Dr. Strange finally understands his role in this final fight to the death : He must awaken the children who have fallen under the spell of the Evil Dread-Dormammu so that their pure minds cannot be utilized by this Evil Being as a portal into this world. Underlying this, of course, is yet another archetypal theme : The corruption and abuse of innocence to impure ends.

If the above review has not spoiled the fun , then I encourage everyone of all ages to watch this film. It is entertaining while being exciting and replete with nuggets of puzzling wisdom. It provokes thought while at the same time providing some escape ( albeit fleeting ) from this world of woe.

As an additional treat there are some special features including one in which the artists and writers are interviewed and the origin of Doctor Strange are discussed in detail .

Available for rent at Movieland , 1972 St. Catherine street West. 514 937 1231.

.

Review of :

THE BRAVE ONE.


“Vengeance , Revenge don’t take a tremendous amount of courage . That’s mostly driven by anger, hatred and that sort of overcomes your natural fear and inhibition . But the desire to Live, when you don’t want to live anymore, and to reconstitute yourself after you have been broken apart is what the courage is about.”
That’s why we called it : THE BRAVE ONE.
Roderick Taylor, Writer.
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Most B movies are attempts to make it into the Big Leagues. The best ones are those that have all the elements of excellence, without the money to deliver the sort of goods which ever more demanding audiences expect.
THE BRAVE ONE is unique, as it does the reverse : It is an “A” movie trying to be a “ B” movie. The sort of money that was spent filming this film is probably enough to keep a small third world country supplied in guns and ammo for a year. Were the effort and expense worthwhile ? One hopes so. Perhaps enough people will watch the film and give pause to the moral predicaments which this story tries to picture.
Jodie Foster , our star performer , says in the special ‘making of’ feature :
“ I think this is very much a Genre movie, I mean: That’s what you hope you’re making, but the quality of what your saying and the meaningfulness , the significance of what you’re saying is more than just an imitation of old films.”
The issues that are facing modern urban environments are perhaps no different than those which every living being that has ever walked the earth has faced. But the issues facing America, one of the most successful agglomerations of life in the history of Humanity—of which New York is a microcosm --- are not only Quantitatively different, but also Qualitatively different from those of the empires of the past. This because individuality and self-development- in short freedom , have reached unprecedented levels.
In some ways life is all about survival and self-defence and about somehow balancing the needs of the One and those of the Many. Revenge , race issues, hate are all packed into this Pandora box of a film. Crossing the line into violent self- expression , the irreparable alteration that occurs to any living being who experiences victimization and violation , both as a Victim and as a Perpetrator , are neatly delineated in this film. This is a Concerto in two movements : First the Heroine is destroyed, violated, all she cares for ripped away from her. Then she is reborn into a new being , the same but different . She also destroys and violates.
“ There is no going back to that other person, to that other place. This thing, this stranger, she is all you are now.”
In a sense she loses her individuality.
Answering the question posed by the young prostitute ( whose life she interferes with in an attempt to save her ) Erica Bain says :
Prostitute : Who are you ?
Erica : I am nobody
Later in the film , the young girl is questioned by the police , with Erica present .
Erica: Tell them the truth . Tell them what you saw.
Young girl: I saw Nobody. And Nobody saw me .

This is a neat semantic trick. A perfect example of how language can distract . The girl tells the truth , without actually exposing the lie which Erica is living .
Throughout much of the film, the heroine grapples with the issue of self-disclosure, dissimulation and anonymity, a difficulty artfully well depicted in the scene which takes place in the Diner. Her new found friend policeman and she , talk to each other without looking at each other…all the while seeing each other reflected in the mirror. The policeman suspects something, but
does not wish to confront. Part of him is unwilling to confront and expose the person whom he suspects of committing crimes .
If crimes are being committed, this often means excessive freedom is being exerted. At the foundation of American society, besides the historic Revolt against unfair imperial taxation, is the Constitution, the document which enshrined-- for perhaps the first time in known history-- the principle that every one , even the most apparently undeserving , has the right to a fair trial .
Of course the dilemma this creates, by protecting people who commit unjust acts is a painful one. This dilemma is also at the core of American life and is also far from being new. Cop shows treat of the subject daily on Cable Television .
In the center of the film is quoted one of the twentieth centuries most beleaguered and prophetic writers :
“ The essential American Soul is Hard. Isolate, Stoic and a killer. It has never yet melted."
D.H. Lawrence.
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The ever recurring problem of what being American is about is carefully detailed in this film...

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Jodie Foster :
“I’ll say it a thousand times : My character is wrong and she knows it . It is a terrifying and terrible thing to see somebody whose intellect can’t change what her body is doing—and that’s her reaction to fear, It’s what’s happened to her , has turned her into this stranger, someone that she doesn’t even recognize.
Is it right? No it’s not right”

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Intertwined with the right to fair hearing is of course the so-called right to bear Arms.
It is an old story. No doubt if there were fewer weapons on earth, fewer people would die from weapon provoked injuries…though there are other ways to kill. If not a persons body, certainly a persons mind or life-force can be removed from them, or disabled, by other means. Definitely , ‘the gun’ , as an American utility, refined from one of it’s earliest forms and developed by Samuel Colt, then further modified through the years , has democratized killing , made It more easily accessible to the everyday person .

Jodie Foster :
“The second that you buy a gun, fear is yours. You’ve walked into a culture that immediately puts you in danger….and puts others in danger of you.”

The other protagonist and Hero of the film ( well , yes, let’s forget Jodie Foster for the moment ) Detective Mercer , the policeman friend mentioned above , ( Played by Terrence Howard ) , is the other side of the coin which is being flipped in this morally complex dilemma tale. For as emotionally- driven and instinct – driven as is our heroine, so detective Mercer is the voice of reason and the incarnation of fair play. Erica Bain has compromised her "middle class" moral values to pursue an enemy on her own terms. Detective Mercer must also eventually face a similar choice : compromise his professional integrity and deontological code of ethics to pursue a friendship , with a person whom obscure forces have sent his way to populate his solitude, or instead , remain aloof in the upholding of legal correctness.

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Mercer:
It’s amazing what a dead body can tell you …
BAIN:
So the dead do talk ?
MERCER:
Oh yeah, everybody talks. Now almost everybody lies, but the dead can’t . But then again the lies tell you things too , because people tell them for a reason .
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Much as Erica Bain must live with the lie she is creating because she now has an alter ego, or in reprehensible pop-psychology-talk terms , a double personality ; so Detective Mercer must live with the truth he is slowly uncovering , which his friend so hopes he will expose. Both of them must enter a moral no-man's/no-woman's land , but for different reasons-- In this roller coaster ride both start at different points in the continuum between the extremes of Good and Evil. They cross paths, as both shift their positions ... The Heroine moves toward the telling of the truth , the Hero towards the telling of a lie . Both will become different as a result. Whether for better or for worse we will never know.
But then, this is only Film, right?

The Immortal

The Immortal.

Demons of the Night, Parts one & Two

Mallos : You don't really believe that you are immortal, do you ? I mean, what is that all about ?

The Enigma of Immortality , part two. ( Part one may be found below, as my previous posting. )

I received , as I was finishing the previous instalment to my Review-Blog , the boxed set of the now all but forgotten show :

The Immortal. http://imdb.com/title/tt0248644/

This little bit of synchronism ( I had been warned by my diligent providers that it might take a long time for me to receive it ) was interesting, as I was wrestling with the concept of immortality as shown in the Highlander film,when I received it- and this prompted me to make this review a two part item.

The show lasted one season, in the months preceding 9 / 11. It appeared briefly in the middle of the longer lasting series “ Highlander” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. The reviews one can find of this show are at best unfriendly and at worst Scathing. This is unfortunate , as , in fact there is something quite refreshing about this theatrically direct , unambiguous and naïve portrayal of our fight against Evil . I watched every episode , but the first two, ( which it seems were also made into a movie ) Demons of the Night, parts one and two , are the focus of this comparative review.

The entertainment industry ain’t no Charity Ball. If a show cannot rake in the viewership , ( read dollars ) , to slake the thirst of this hungry Media Vampire then , even if it may save a few souls through humour , than it is not worth the trouble of keeping it going . It might have been fun to see how the writers of “The Immortal” developed the theme of Raphael Cain’ s immortality and addressed the dilemma’s it presents , but as it stands we have very few clues as to the origins of this condition .

Through a vow to fight and kill every one of Satan’s henchmen who walk the earth Raphael Cain inevitably finds himself kept alive by the forces that drive him in his mission. Though at one point he states that he “ can be killed” he also tells us that he has been provided with the necessary learning to survive by his Mentor Yashiro ( played by Canadian actor Robert Ito :

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411731/ )

Other side-effects of his immortality seem to be that he does not need to eat ( though his squire, also afflicted with longevity, has a proclivity for junk food which he and the knight share. ) .

Why Immortality and Evil are such companionable partners in film and television , of course harkens back to the ancient promethean curse of seeking forbidden knowledge : Man , humanity , rather does not unless under duress, desire death. It’s inevitability has somehow irked most of us in our somewhat pedestrian existences. The Human-animal is shown to make unholy pacts galore, at least in literary narratives , to prolong his own individual or racial life.

Very much as with The Highlander , the immortality of our hero is contingent upon a quest , a search. This seemingly endless and frustrating journey , the one upon which hinges the quality of the metaphysical meaningfulness of our admittedly minuscule lives , is the one reason our Hero continues battling , much as the other greek tragic figure, Sysiphus keeps pushing up his rock up a hill , only to have it roll down again.

As the Demoness , Vashista ( Kira Clavell, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0165413/ ) says :

“ An eternity of pleasure , or an eternity of Pain : You do the Math.”

She is convinced that her path as the accomplice of Mallos ( magnificently played by Dominic Keating http://imdb.com/name/nm0444098/) the archvillain of the show, will bring her an eternity of gratification. This of course is the lure that Evil has traditionally been portrayed as using to make playthings of humans

Though no television show is likely ever to resolve the spiritual paradoxes of existence, the ones that are presented here are nonetheless given a very satisfying if simple treatment. As is the Highlander movie , this series is much like a Medieval mystery play, naïve yes , but delightful in it’s uncomplicated focus.

Raphael , The Immortal :

Sarah, you have no idea how close the Demons have come to bringing this world into total Darkness. All the wars, the holocausts , the demons caused all of it . If they win this world would be turned into an epoch so vile it would block out the sun . I’m not letting this happen .

And later :

Sarah, you may think you know what you are dealing with here , but you don’t .

One reviewer of this show felt that , as compared to Highlander it was a bit like Low fat potato chips compared to the real thing. Good to nibble on and for entertainment, but unsatisfying for thinking people , to he recommends Highlander. Perhaps . I myself prefer neither, but I do find The Immortal offers plenty to think about, that is, if one is willing to think about the unthinkable.

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Sarah, the modern Physicist and student of fringe phenomena echoes her newfound mentors teachings when, in a later episode she discusses the Demonic with a medical practitioner.

Sarah : You don't have a clue what you are dealing with here .

Doctor : And I suppose you do ?

Sarah : You are damn right .

Doc : Demons are manifestations of internalized trauma. they are not boogey men under the bed.

Sarah: I used to think that too- that is until Demons killled my parents.

Doc: Well. I think you have proven my point .

Sarah : The only one in denial here is you. You know what I think doctor? You are afraid . This isn't about helping the mentally ill. -This is about your inability to recognise that Evil has a face . That Evil is a real and tangible thing.

Doc: I deal in clinical fact , not metaphysical speculation .

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Metaphysics has had a bad name since the age of enlightenment ushered in reductivist science. To be sure there is much to be said for the physics we know today . But the Meta-dimension is returning in full force with the advent of Quantum thought , with it's promises of other dimensions and energy based realities. As our lovely heroine Sarah says early in the show :

" Well I felt a whole lot safer when I thought I was crazy "

Truly, human , all too human , is the tendency to need to feel safe. Even if the safety we create for ourselves is illusory, we often prefer the illusion to the alternative. I would fault no fellow human for this natural weakness. After all living the paranoid dream is doubtless far from pleasant.

So Whether the lure of immortality for the human animal is healthy or a delusional and sick fantasy is unclear. Nonetheless I warmly recommend either Highlander - The Source or The Immortal ( which is the re-released 2 part pilot of the show and possibly available seperately from the boxed set ) . With the proviso of course that the viewer not be expecting answers to life's greater mysteries, rather an artistic representation of them .

So, to end this brief exposition, I encourage anyone with an inquisitive mind to employ caution , but to never cease to consider the unthinkable. For although deductive science when misapplied can destroy many mental constructs , we must not forget that one of the ancestors of this tradition of thought , William of Okham taught us one valuable principle, which I paraphrase as follows : Eliminate all theories that are plausible and which nonetheless do not accomodate all the experiential elements of a given problem-cluster , and whatever remains, however implausible must be reconsidered as possibly true fact .
So , " B " movies and television productions must not be too easily dismissed, dismal as the prospect is of watching them . Or so I presently believe.


The Immortal : This place reeks of Evil
Goodwin : Could be the plumbing
The Immortal :Could be the stench of all those rotten T.V. Shows .

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The Immortal is unfortunately not for Rent at Movieland ( 1972 st. Catherine street West ) but can be obtained through the help of Metrovideo, below Scotia Bank Cinema, in Les Cours Mont Royal.

Highlander , The Source . The Enigma of Immortality, part one .

Highlander : The Source . http://imdb.com/title/tt0299981/




The Enigma of Immortality, Part one .

The latest addition to the Highlander Series ( the Adrian Paul story ark , not the Christopher Lambert - bigger - budget productions ) seems to have disappointed , not to say disgusted admirers and fans , if one goes by the IMDB comments.

Yet , as a somewhat distant observer of this strand of Mytho-Poetic creativity ( I have seen a few of the television episodes through the years, as well as each of the previous four theatrical films) -- I was captivated by this films compact treatment of the multiplicity of difficult problems which the concept of " The Immortal" presents.

Perhaps the ever more demanding audiences of the 21 st century , who are starved for meaning and significance , felt cheated by this films attempt to resolve the somewhat cruel paradox of the Immortal Mythology : How can there be only One ? Why must so many die ? For myself, I was entertained and also stimulated by this film-- in the same way, for example, as a person who though not belonging to a particular religious group might find a interesting a sermon delivered from the pulpit of a country parson. This because there is almost always food for thought in any narrative.

The religious and mystical traditions that uphold this idea of the Chosen One are of course not restricted to the creators of Highlander . Our Judaeo-Christian tradition , here in the west , has firmly implanted the idea in our Collective Psyche . God regularly ( in cosmic terms ) Chooses prophets, guides , saviours, for us to look to for guidance, from Abraham through to Jesus . Other, sometimes competing , sometimes complementary traditions present us with similar great teachers. And they all must , if one reads history from this point of view, sacrifice themselves for the Many.

It is a rather gruesome, un-friendly view of the world that leaves the slightly more alert members of the human race wondering : Huh ??

The need we feel to rationalize the cruelty of nature and the somewhat disturbing pleasure humans take in the suffering of others is not likely to disappear from our intellectual environment. The world is apocalyptic , as much now as it ever was . We have no shortage of Wars and Plagues Famine and Death--The four horsemen of St. Johns Revelation continue to trample the earth ... And although some of us are for the moment quite safe , we all feel and know that this can change in an instant. Whether in a ball of flame as we saw it in the 9 / 11 television footage , or the next time we bend to pick a flower in a garden and perhaps put our back out or twist our ankle walking down the street . The precariousness of existence is omnipresent, Chaos is forever at our gates.

To me , the Film HIGHLANDER : THE SOURCE is much like a medieval mystery play. For though the tools of the theatrical trade have changed in the last 600 years and though we now spend much more time and money than our forefathers would ever have dreamed possible , to put on a show --and this particular show was probably inexpensive compared to others -- this story has all the elements of our oldest belief - motifs : There is a Satanic figure, a Marian incarnation, a mysterious God-Head as well as several prophetic and martyred bystanders --- and there is the foretelling of what may well be a virgin birth --- For though the Immortals cannot beget children it seems that Duncan Macleod , perhaps by passing "The Test" , may be "The One" to father a child whom the "Eternal Mother " figure ( Anna , played by Thelka Reuten -- http://imdb.com/name/nm0720671/ ) so desires to carry -- enough so that she will even sacrifice her temporal happiness to this end.

So all ye unsatisfiable and truth-hungry fans : see this film as a celebration of the ancient mystery of fertility , of " The Quickening " ( an old folk term from Scotland that signifying the moment when a child begins to show activity in a mothers womb). Perhaps this way you will be less frustrated by the films lack of concrete solutions to what is essentially the historical Problem of Evil , or of the problem of historical Evil . For if immortality and eternal life are very much at the center of human mythic and religious constructs , and though we are all given to believe that this goal may be achievable--nonetheless, the true immortality of our species remains in our ability to adapt and reproduce. Individual immortality and the survival of ones personality is a sweet and deceptively alluring dream.

The Guardian :
" You like graveyards? I love 'em -- I mean , who wants to live forever ? "

There is no way to avoid death except, perhaps, through reproduction but herein lies the rub : for if , as the satanic figure of the Guardian puts it

" There can be only Me " then there perhaps cannot also be ONLY ONE .

Individual immortality and the survival of ones personality is a sweet and deceptively alluring dream -- I , especially as I slowly grow older ( I shall be fifty sooner than I wish to acknowledge ) am not immune to this very human and very egoist desire. However, true Oneness and wholeness , unicity , and perhaps the ultimate salvation , of our species and of life on planet earth is the pardisical chimera that many of us see shimmering on the horizon of our group-life. A mirage that can never be reached for it keeps receding as we approach it.
Perhaps conflict is too deeply anchored in our Being , and perhaps our individual and primal need to be dominant will ultimately defeat us. There are certainly no lack of signs pointing towards this seeming inevitability.

The Highlander films, and this last one in particular , in it's gruesome somewhat pastiche hypereality, do try to offer a message of hope -- one which Anna delivers in a beautiful and simple epilogue . This I leave to you, reader,to discover for yourself , as I encourage you to watch the film .

To Be Continued. (Next instalment : The Immortal . The Enigma of Immortality, Part Two. )

Highlander : The Source can be rented at Movieland . 1972 Rue Ste Catherine Ouest , Montreal ;or purchased through Metrovideo , Montreal , in Les Cours Mont Royal, below the Scotiabank Cinema.

Shattered and Already Dead.

Shattered and Already Dead.

Anger, Vengeance and the Dark Siide of Justice : Feeling Good about Being Bad.














I am a sucker for films that are not mainstream and yet have the distinction of being supported by the names of the some finest actors in the profession … The first of these, Already Dead has Christopher Plummer in it’s roster, The Second has Pierce Brosnan . These actors have had long and fruitful careers and continue to involve themselves in projects that are not of necessity Academy award material…and thank the Film God for that…
Both the above films are cinematic treatments of some of the darkest most powerful emotions of human life. Revenge, Anger, Jealousy , Envy …. And the need for Justice even as coloured by these.
In SHATTERED ( the title under which you will find this film in North American Video shops ) an angry, VERY angry man devises an artfully cruel and unusual plan to teach a life-lesson to a man whose perfect life hides some dark secrets . . Our angry Anti-Hero feels the executive who is the somehat unwilling target of his attentions must be punished for the excesses which his success has made possible. His ingenious plot to humiliate his rival ( which I will not reveal more of as I think you should watch the film ) is as insane as it is clever… and will leave the viewer wondering what is right and what is wrong. Ultimately , the finer virtues of self-restraint which are applauded by our better thinkers are called into question. The suspenseful thriller succeeds in keeping the viewers attention, even in this age of Suspense overdose. This is partly due to the quality of the acting , and also—to my eye, at least—because of the clean and sparing cinematography.
In ALREADY DEAD we find a similarly VERY angry man . Angry for slightly different reasons , he nonetheless pursues ,as does the Anti Hero of SHATTERED a path of "Justice on his own terms" . However , In this film, the denouement does not reveal entirely the machinations at work behind the events that throw our hero and an equally unusual anti-hero together in a fight for survival against a common enemy. In SHATTERED questions are answered that make the equations simpler to grapple with. In ALREADY DEAD there are some unanswered questions which make the film more plausible and realistic but less easy to rationalize.

The shady gray’s of Evil and Retribution are given a detailed examination in these films . The somewhat difficult problem of how the need for justice can easily be transformed into an intimate release of passion ; the equally thorny problem of the apparently erotic nature violence — [that is, of the pleasure which violence seems to give our protagonists who are so very much like all of us ]-- and the also unresolved problem of what the limits of individual freedom are or should be ; all these questions are developed in these two films.

Is Feeling Good the same as Being Good ? There is no easy answer.

In both films the issue is exposed in cinematic realism, without being entirely resolved.
The existential torment of life on earth as we know it , the Sartrean theme expressed in the philosopher Sartre’s words : " Hell is Other People" and the theme of how our illusions about freedom can create our ultimate aloneness … these issues are the underpinning of the two films, which at another level are simple Thrillers, cathartic and entertaining .

These are good yarns if you don’t want to think, but they are also good yarns if you DO want to think.

Both films are available for rent at : Movieland , 1972 Rue Ste. Catherine O.
The Book Fool can be reached at : fictionalworld@hotmail.com

Cult

From: fictionalworld@hotmail.com
To: fictionalworld@hotmail.com
Subject: Review of " Cult"
Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:45:36 -0500

American World Picture &
Autumn Entertainment ;
Present, in association with :
Madman Apparel,
The Syndicate,
Bear Path Venture
Max Ink Café


CULT ( 2006)

Directed by Joe knee

If you base your choices of films to watch on IMDB comments ( see above) then you will certainly not be watching this film…Definitely a time-waster for most of the viewing public. But, if as I, you will waste your time on any film that even tries to approach issues of the spirit, no matter how badly written and edited, then perhaps, some late cold night, if you have nothing, really nothing, to do …

Because our society is pervaded with issues of Religion as seen through the Judaeo-Christian- Islamic traditions it is good to see an attempt--no matter how faulty and faltering-- to present something of the Taoist current of thought.

A group of students explore an obscure Cult Massacre that took place in a Taoist temple in California. The story reveals there is an ancient amulet with occult powers linked to a Chinese maiden, Kwain Jen, murdered by her own Father, many centuries ago. The enraged father killed his daughter when he found out that she sullied his family name by giving in to a moment of passion with a man from a lower level of society—though it is key in this narrative though not clearly explained, that the issue is not the passion, (a fully understandable human weakness at least in in some Chinese traditions) but the ensuing pregnancy, that is the root cause of the Fathers Rage.

The film attempts to explore the recurrent and unavoidable problems of "Purity" of the soul and the "Dirtiness of the body" –especially of the female body.
These themes pervade all of religion and human experience. The film also addresses the issue of marginal religions. As the teacher of our student-anthropologists informs us: “One mans Cult can be another mans Religion.” This is of course at the root of much of human conflict--- or at least this is the pre-text which is used to cover up the sub-text of much human conflict, much as the Ideology of Freedom often covers up unbridled Greed.

The heroine of the film (Mindy, played by Rachel Miner), though this is only alluded to, is afflicted with a form of second sight (reminiscent of Eliza Dusk’s character Tru Davies in the show Tru Calling), a gift or curse which unfortunately does not allow her to save her friends from death, as dark forces manipulate her to a final showdown with the Evil that haunts her.
Ultimately, it is unclear whether it is her Father, or a force that has possessed her Father which attempts to kill her---and which she manages to overcome by sacrificing herself. If I understood correctly, the sacrifice brings not only Purity of soul, but grants the heroine salvation of her body—or in prosaic western terms: immortality without immorality.

Perhaps the obscurantism of this film was intentional, or simply the result of lack of time and funds… I must admit that even a low budget film should at least have a coherent story line to reach a large audience. But if the director was not concerned with being easily understood, perhaps the film achieved its purpose. Whatever that may have been.
The Cynicism of young characters and the somewhat hopeless determination with which they face doom does not bode well for the never ending cycle of birth and death that we all face.
As one lyric from a song in the sound track puts it:
“You feel when you win, you still lose”
Family bloodlines are taken very seriously in some parts of the world, and were more so, of course, centuries ago when fertility and reproduction were not so well understood. Though I have not studied Taoism, I know that Ancestry is important in this form of spirituality-- perhaps this story has within it the theme of the eternal struggle between Patriarchy and the Feminine.. of Yin and Yang …The writers of this script , had they had the schooling necessary for this, could perhaps have done a much better job of telling this Taoist Tale .As it stands, I am sure the film will remain obscure and disliked. Too Bad .
The young actors make a valiant attempt to work with a poor script…and the music was , in my opinion good. Noteworthy were the songs listed in the credits : 21 AND LOADED ; SIT DOWN STARE OUT; CHANGE YOUR MIND all by The Ruse, and 7 BUCKS by Angela Carter. There were also some nice melodies as well, (un-credited). When I pressed the subtitle option, I was offered English as an option, but the subtitles are actually Spanish . The names under the Production umbrella also caught my eye, which is why I listed them at the beginning of this review.

Available for rent at Movieland , 1972 Rue Ste. Catherine Street.O. Mtl. .

The Book-Fool

( fictionalworld@hotmail.com )

---

Bad Blood

Review of : BAD BLOOD [2006]

Directed by : Tiago Guedes
Frederico Serra

Portuguese with English Subtitles .

(Also : Footnote about In a Dark Place - Directed by Donato Rotuno )

As does most of the human population I do find Evil interesting… not to say fascinating. Yet so much has been written, thought, filmed about the subject that it is trite , almost , to even bring up the subject in urbane parlors and conversations. Not because it is taboo, but because it no longer is taboo. Perhaps There is nothing sacred ( or scared) about evil, anymore.
For this reason , this film wins my unending admiration…The writer and the directors, the actors… all leave me breathless. This is a truly refreshing treatment of a time-worn and timeless subject.
My first recommendation is that any one who watches the film must watch the " Making of" special feature. From watching this , I gleaned some wonderful insights into the creative process and into the Genius of the team who made this film.
These are all comments I quote and paraphrase from the creators and actors:
" A horror film without being one there is hardly any blood in it --- a film about the Portuguese inner universe --- a film about how living in the countryside can influence and alter relationships…a film that is about Evil and yet avoids the sensationalism of scatology that is so popular amongst the youthful generation" …
To me this Film is definitely about exorcising demons. It is about Exorcism as a function , about Exorcism as a tool of survival… If I understood the comments in the interviews , this film, in a way , is a response to the ever present cultural Icon THE EXORCIST which has branded the minds of the last 3o years of film viewers. In that film there is an old Priest and a young priest. But there the parallel ends.
So much is touched upon, alluded to , made manifest without shocking the viewer. In some ways this is a quiet meditation from a unique , nearly medieval farmer’s point of view. Or perhaps it is , rather, about a modern slightly dysfunctional family , of a scientist Father and urbane Mother with typically nonchalant children and their clash with the remnants of a long medieval tradition of Catholicism still alive in the Portuguese countryside.
This film awakens many questions , without directly answering them. Amongst these : Will the mytho-religious ways of apprehending the world ever be completely supplant by reductive science? Or will mysteries such as the ever so Banal one of Evil ( to misquote the great Jewish Philosopher Hannah Arendt) , always defy science and force us, as humans, to seek understanding using alternative approaches. Indeed, even in the Hyper-scientific world of Star Wars, for example , we need Jedi mysticism to help explain the unexplainable…. So in the rustic environment of a Portuguese village the young, wet about the ears, priest must resort to the laying on of hands and Latin incantations ( a wizardry much less spectacular than Jedi telepathic mind-control ) to free the eldest son of our ill fated family from the Demon that afflicts him.
There is much more to the film than a simple tale of haunting. The complex weave of this tapestry shows—if you pardon my pursuing the contrast to the Jedi-world – how deviously indirect the suggestive influences of the Dark Side are. There are references to the perennial ‘ social issues ' of incest and masturbation, there is birth and death. Sorrow and anger… The somewhat bewildered family members blindly enter a world in which the sins of the Fathers revisit them--- the never ending domino effect of Blood for Blood which provides the Devil (or to use his post-modern name , the Whatever ) with his never ending feast.
At one point in the film the well worn truism that the Devils best trick is that he convinces us he does not exist, is cited by young the priest… as The actor who plays the Academic Pater-Familias says of his own country’s folklore :" In Portugal the Devil has hundreds of names , many faces. To use his correct appellation “ The Devil” brings bad luck." So indirect naming is considered wise and cautious. 'Bad Blood' is one of these names.
To conclude, the film treats of the Organic nature of Evil, ( as the title emphasizes ) and it is also about how the many forces which mold us and against which we build fortresses of thought and myth are forever elusive, no matter how we apply our Ratio ( the logical side of our being) .

As a finale I would like, if my readers ( if any ) permit me the excess , to quote the following passage from the script:

YOUNG PRIEST :
I mean - an exorcism ! I never paid much attention to these stories . Besides I always thought permission was necessary for it.
OLD PRIEST : Permission I have from God which dispenses with Church Bureaucracy . As for the stories , you have only been here a few months ...you are a lad from the seminary. See how these people live- and learn that you are the salvation ...otherwise you came here to do nothing.
YOUNG PRIEST : I am only asking you if you can guarantee that the girl was possessed by strange forces..
OLD PRIEST : And it is a very good question too ! But these people will always ask you something different ; if you can guarantee that she was NOT possessed.

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Footnote :

I also watched ,in the same night I watched the above, this film : IN A DARK PLACE ( 2006) Directed by Donatu Rotuno.
The comments on the IMDB page trash this interpretation of Henry James's novella TURN OF THE SCREW... but , perhaps because I had just watched BAD BLOOD, I was captivated by the parallels: Both films treat of Evil , and of Evil in the isolation of a country-side context , both allude to the sexual substrate of the human predicament , and of how misdirected erotic forces ruin life and lives. IN A DARK PLACE may be a cinematic faux-pas , in many ways, but I was not bored by this film. Perhaps only fit to be viewed by the Genre-Obsessed, it is noteworthy , none the less.

In my humble opinion.

Both films are available for rent at: Movieland, 1972 rue Ste Catherine O. Mtl.

The Book Fool can be reached at fictionalworld@hotmail.com

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