'A good story should surprise you as it unfolds. Then afterwards it should seem the story could only have unfolded that way.’
Ken Loach
After celebrating its sixtieth birthday in 2007, Cannes Film Festival begins tomorrow. This year, the visual feast will feature 57 full-length films from 31 countries. Offerings include the new Indiana Jones movie, director Clint Eastwood's Changeling and the DreamWorks animated comedy Kung Fu Pan...
Having seen Before the Devil on the weekend, I feel more drawn to talk about my discovery of Paper magazine's 10 Worst Nude Film Scenes of all time.
At the top of the list, without any honour is Philip Seymour Hoffman in his scene with Marisa Tomei in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Despite...
Julian Schnabel has discovered a second passion in his life, film-making. Firstly, he was known for being a famous and controversial painter of the eighties. But now, with his new film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le Papillon), hes found another medium to thrive in.
A ...
After talking about the impending Fame remake over on Filmpeek, I started thinking about the combination of music and dancing in films. Costumes, music, vibrancy all mixed together can form a vivid, visual feast that sets those tootsies tapping. Its a tenuous affair though; one dodgy pirouette and ...
Ive fallen behind with my blogging duties just lately. The reason why is simple, life. I let my blogging lag happen: Ive seen films, been motivated, made notes and plans, yet did nothing with those thoughts. Theyre still in my, to do file. And that file is growing.
Then life produced a gap...
Following the theme of my last post, films and predictability, I found an article on Forbes.com outlining Hollywoods top box office film couples. Success is measured soley on the tangible element of how much money a film grossed, rather than film quality, characterisation, direction or any of those...
Film festivals give viewers the chance to indulge and immerse themselves in the world that is being offered. A Gus Van Sant visual feast is coming to Dendy cinemas from February 29 March 12, 2008 and Ill be there. Im no Van Sant expert but from the films Ive already seen, My Own Private Idaho...
Watching trailers at the cinema the other night, I wondered what is the mass appeal of seeing a film where you can predict its conclusion before even seeing it? Why bother? Unconsciously I sifted through the films, noting the ones that appealed and the ones that didnt. The list of ones that didn...
I finally saw No Country for Old Men on the weekend and I was mesmerised by Javier Bardems immovable bowl cut. Hair isnt usually a topic Id normally write about but the combination of reading Empire Magazines Top 10 Film Haircuts article and Bardems dedicated tresses, made me think further ab...
Ive seen a few films in my windy film appreciation journey that have perplexed me, some that have fleetingly confused me and some that have just plain bamboozled me. So, here is my topic: films that have baffled me so much Ive had no idea what was happening.
I know that admitting this in a...
Life stories are not normally for me, even if I have a strong admiration and interest for a person and their achievements, I dont normally read them. I dont think I have managed to stay focussed on an entire biography yet. And if I have I have forgotten it. So, that says something. This book w...
Yesterday I wrote a review on Running with Scissors and today its vanished. Its inside my laptop somewhere, I just cant find it. Ive tried tipping it upside down and nothing fell out. I did all the things Im supposed to do...I know I did, Im no novice, so where is it?
Ive looked, moan...
Its a small quandary, nothing life-threatening, but its still a decision. I have three new 2008 diaries to choose from. Each year I choose my diary with a theme in mind. Last year I had the Mind, Body and Spirit Book of Days, the year before was a Lonely Planet one and before that, a Yoga and ...
Hello, we've escaped from manic Sydney for a week in peaceful New Zealand. We had our family celebrations last weekend which were great and now we have a week to ourselves. This is quite a rare and precious event and we are definitely enjoying it, what a gorgeous country this is, so peaceful and g...
Photograph by David Lynch, adapted by Pierre Collier. Image courtesy of http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/festival/officalposter.html.
After celebrating its sixtieth birthday in 2007, Cannes Film Festival begins tomorrow. This year, the visual feast will feature 57 full-length films from 31 countries. Offerings include the new Indiana Jones movie, director Clint Eastwood's Changeling and the DreamWorks animated comedy Kung Fu Panda.
Cannes president Gilles Jacob stated:
Because cinema itself is constantly changing the boundaries, because the world it reflects is more indiscernible than ever, the Festival will not simply coast along on the prestige of its name, however strong that may be. This prestige is above all due to the quality of the films, the creativity of the artists, the fighting spirit of the professionals and the enthusiasm of the press. Cannes is a collective good that each of us, wherever we are and in our own individual way, builds stone by stone, year after year. It’s through never ceasing to question, through constantly evolving, and through inviting criticism, that we do it the most good. Although solidly rooted in its own history, Cannes is always open to newness. That which is dissimilar to it enriches it: and this is why this festival is our festival.
Wise words, how I would love to be there but I think my invite got lost in the post...will someone let Penelope know that I’ll meet her for a drink at the bar afterwards, thanks.
Here are the contenders:
Blindness - Fernando Meirelles (Brazil)
Entre Les Murs (Between the Walls) - Laurent Cantet (France)
At the top of the list, without any honour is Philip Seymour Hoffman in his scene with Marisa Tomei in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Despite having previously won Oscars for his performances, it doesn’t look like he will win one for his bottom baring. I have to admit that I did notice more than a usual film amount of buttock flesh in the infamous scene.
But is this a bad thing? I’m slightly ashamed at even noticing, but my defence is that we’re constantly bombarded by media images of beautiful bodies and faces so when we see something slightly different, it can cause an internal jolt. I didn’t mind my joggle; it made me think about my expectations. We’re all different shapes in real life, so why not on the silver screen? Well, because it doesn’t happen that way, in mainstream cinema anyway. On Hollywood screens we’re customised to perfect bodies and in print media, we’re assaulted by continuous inane information on how these stars do it, how often they starve themselves and how many plastic surgery prodocedures they’ve had that day.
We know as non-Hollywood actors (I’m assuming no one on Orble is, if you are, feeling free to let me know), how much of an unrealistic assumption this is. It is OK to not have that perfect body. They don’t need to cover up; we know we come in all sizes, both on and off-screen.
So it is with playful zest that I’m including this list and to highlight the scrutiny an actor is subjected to, as well as the usual injustice that a male actor can be deviate from the norm, yet Tomei was as expected: trim and gorgeous. Plus, it’s Friday, my brain has been overworked and I need an outlet.
So here is that list: the nominated bodies that are believed they should’ve been covered up and hidden from the world.
Paper magazine's 10 Worst Nude Film Scenes of all time:
1. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
2. Donald Sutherland, Space Cowboys
3. Kathy Bates, At Play in the Fields of the Lord
4. John Gielgud, Prospero's Books
5. Julie Andrews, S.O.B.
6. Burgess Meredith, Such Good Friends
7. Terry Bradshaw, Failure to Launch
8. Jessica Tandy, Camilla
9. Jay North, Maya
10. Patrick Dempsey, Some Girls
What do you think? I’m no nudey expert; I’m merely the vessel of information.
Dennis Dermody, who compiled the list for Paper magazine, said: "The image of Philip's big, bare flabby a** is branded on my brain." Harsh words.
72-year-old star Donald Sutherland, who stripped off while undergoing a physical examination in Space Cowboys in 2000 earned second place. But he’s seventy-two! Is it a surprise that getting nudey isn’t his strongest point?
Finally, I was amazed that Patrick Dempsey, also known as "Dr. McDreamy" by swooning fans was in there, but apparently the 1988 wasn’t his year. In reference to Dempsey, Dermody describes: "The scene won't make you think McDreamy, but rather McTeeny." Ouch. I haven’t seen Some Girls but I can’t comprehend how a nude scene with Patrick Dempsey could be rotten. After all, his face is delectable.
Julian Schnabel has discovered a second passion in his life, film-making. Firstly, he was known for being a famous and controversial painter of the eighties. But now, with his new film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le Papillon), he’s found another medium to thrive in.
A film of elemental power, it is adapted from a memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby, French Ellle’s brash and powerful editor. At age 43, Bauby had a stroke, leaving him paralysed, with lock-in syndrome, where his could only move his left eyelid. Through determination, patience and frustration, Bauby wrote the entire book by blinking his left eyelid.
Before seeing the film, such a premise seemed impossible, yet undoubtedly it is a visually stunning piece of art. It is a fine and cleverly crafted film helped by Ronald Harwood’s accomplished script. The film conveys a strong feeling of claustrophobia without it being a wholly depressing experience, which is quite extraordinary.
In a Normandy hospital, alongside the dedicated amanuensis, Henriette Duand, they begin using a laborious and at times seemingly unlikely form of communication. Henriette listed the French frequency-ordered alphabet (E S A R I N T U L etc.), until Bauby blinked to choose a letter. The completed book took about 200,000 blinks to write and each word took approximately two minutes.
His first complete sentence was ‘I want death’. As a viewer, this wish seemed completely understandable.
For the first half of the film, we saw Bauby’s experiences through his eyes and body. We have access to his thoughts even though his mouth won’t respond. These early scenes are witty and active infused with Bauby’s brusque humour. This device takes the viewer into one of the most confusing, complex and amazing worlds –the mind. We saw the room as he would see it, tilted, as his head usually rested to one side. We heard his thoughts, his frustrated delight at being able to look down Henriette’s dress at her breasts yet not being able to touch them. We heard him screaming internally to try and be heard. We hear his pain from his perspective, quite literally.
Through the adept talents of cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, our views dart around as Bauby's eye would move. It never becomes tiresome because we're constantly aware of his thoughts. He feels like a man trapped in a diving suit but he says there are two things not paralysed - "my imagination and my memory". These take flight as he lies there (hence the butterfly of the title), in startling montages filled with things he loves: food, women, his work and his children. These images and experiences are his salvation.
We learn of Bauby’s life before the accident through these scenes and gain a sense of his being. He imagines experiencing the food he can’t eat, the places he can’t visit and the sex he can’t have. Colour, music and memories are all used as the sensory brushstrokes in this giant portrait of human life. And by learning to explore his memory and imagination, Bauby discovered a kind of freedom and humanity he’d never known as a prince of the Parisian fast life.
Bauby retains his macabre, sarcastic sense of humour heard through his thoughts. He doesn’t want to be treated or thought of as a vegetable, in fact, when a visiting friend tells him that people at their work think he is a vegetable, his answer is, ‘what kind of vegetable, a carrot or a pickle?’ The story is dispersed with Bauby’s scornful humour, where the audience is given permission to laugh, which at times, was a relief. Can you imagine how annoying it would be to watch a football game - and then just before kick-off someone comes in and turns it off and you can’t say a thing? Bauby’s internal dialogue was just as colourful as I would imagine it would be out-loud.
We squirm as the doctor states that he needs to sew his right eye up otherwise it will become septic. We hear Bauby yelp with fear, cry for him to stop and see the needle move towards his eye as the doctor announces in a patronising and jovial tone, ‘now, you won’t feel a thing’. I yearned for the doctor to be silent seeing as he was incapable of comforting Bauby with respect.
We feel Bauby’s frustration and indignation when forced to listen to inane dialogue from doctors who patronised him by repeatedly describing things as being a ‘surprise’. Nothing was a surprise, it was all a nightmare. This joviality continues when the doctor gives Bauby is a mirror to see himself for the first time, as though he is likely to be pleased with what he sees. He isn’t. He is horrified and shocked, describing himself as looking like ‘a vat of formaldehyde’ with his head tilted to the side, one eye sown up and saliva dribbling down his chin.
Schnabel won the best director award at last year's Cannes film festival, a well-earned achievement. Janusz Kaminski (Saving Private Ryan 1998, Schindler's List 1993) received a nomination but unfortunately didn’t win but nonetheless, it was indeed an honour, especially he had no previous experience in working on a French film.
The film had a special resonance for Schnabel. He was aware of Jean-Dominique Bauby's extraordinary memoir for many years, but he never thought he could be involved in its production. Schnabel had just lived through his own father's terminal illness, and stated as seen in the film clip below, that under those circumstances, he couldn't help but be inspired by the film’s premise. Schnabel told interviewers that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was his way of processing and coming to terms with his own mortality. ‘I made this movie, and I'm not afraid to die.’
Bauby’s book was published in France in 1997. Ten days after the book was published, Bauby died of pneumonia.
Julian Schnabel: Reasons for making 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly':
After talking about the impending Fame remake over on Filmpeek, I started thinking about the combination of music and dancing in films. Costumes, music, vibrancy all mixed together can form a vivid, visual feast that sets those tootsies tapping. It’s a tenuous affair though; one dodgy pirouette and Cheese-Ville can call.
For me, when characters spontaneously cut a rug, it's more delectable if the film wasn't actually a musical. So, here are some films that sport an iconic, memorable dance sequence
I’ve fallen behind with my blogging duties just lately. The reason why is simple, life. I let my blogging lag happen: I’ve seen films, been motivated, made notes and plans, yet did nothing with those thoughts. They’re still in my, ‘to do’ file. And that file is growing.
Following the theme of my last post, films and predictability, I found an article on Forbes.com outlining Hollywood’s top box office film couples. Success is measured soley on the tangible element of how much money a film grossed, rather than film quality, characterisation, direction or any of those other ingredients that make up a fine film.
As you would imagine there are not many surprises in this list. In the drama genre we have Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst in Spiderman. You know the scene, where Maguire's unmasked Spider-Man kissed Dunst's Mary Jane Watson upside down in the rain. Isn’t that the one where her headlights are on? Interesting coincidence
Film festivals give viewers the chance to indulge and immerse themselves in the world that is being offered. A Gus Van Sant visual feast is coming to Dendy cinemas from February 29 – March 12, 2008 and I’ll be there. I’m no Van Sant expert but from the films I’ve already seen, My Own Private Idaho, Gerry, Drugstore Cowboy and Elephant, I’m hoping to expand my experiences. It is also our first opportunity in Australia to see Van Sant’s latest piece, Paranoid Park.
Watching trailers at the cinema the other night, I wondered what is the mass appeal of seeing a film where you can predict its conclusion before even seeing it? Why bother? Unconsciously I sifted through the films, noting the ones that appealed and the ones that didn’t. The list of ones that didn’t was longer.
I finally saw No Country for Old Men on the weekend and I was mesmerised by Javier Bardem’s immovable bowl cut. Hair isn’t usually a topic I’d normally write about but the combination of reading Empire Magazine’s Top 10 Film Haircuts article and Bardem’s dedicated tresses, made me think further about the role of hair in films.
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