Despite the opening shots of this 2005 movie, which follow young mother Sonja (Deborah Francois) and her very vocal new-born baby around the city, it is as the story unravels that you begin to realise that it is, in fact, Sonja's 19 year-old boyfriend, Bruno (Jeremie Renier) that is the child of the film's title.
Bruno, unemployed and exiled from a caring family life, refuses to work, instead choosing the 'easy' way to survive - wheeling and dealing in petty crime, feeding off the misfortune of others. It is not until one criminal act puts him in a direct position of responsibility for the safety of his very young accomplice that Bruno is forced to behave like not only an adult, but also as a responsible father-figure.
Whilst this 'coming of age' plot may, on the surface, sound like a fairly rudimentary genre-piece, what propels it to a masterpiece is the way the directors (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) went about 'painting' the film's exterior with layers of depth and subtle poignancy.
The colour pallete they chose for the look of the film is mostly muted and neutral, but is strikingly contrasted with brush-strokes of dense primary colours (green, red, yellow, blue) - resulting in a consistent, yet wonderfully subtle, reminder of a child's nursery, or kindergarten.
The hand-held camera work is so careful not to intrude (despite constantly being on a leash with the characters) that it simply blends into it's environment: you almost forget you're watching a staged performance.
The soundtrack, apart from one short scene in the car with a radio playing, is completely void of music, instead just picking up the aural ambiance of inner-city life.
All these exterior choices add to the authenticity of the film, and really just allow the focus to rest with the superb screenplay and acting performances. This is a definite sign of self-assured, mature, and masterful direction.
In the closing scene of the movie, vibrant colours are etched onto the walls and onto Sonja's clothing, yet Bruno is stripped of this playfulness, instead being dressed in a stark grey/white uniform. This is a brilliant use of metaphor to show Bruno's transition from an immature child into a blank canvas from which to transform into adulthood. The couple's emotional embrace - mirroring, yet directly contrasting, the opening scenes carefree, youthful embrace - reflects their understanding of the difficult task it is to be responsible parents. They are scared, but they are not alone.
As critic Margaret Pomeranz sighed; L'enfants is an "exquisite film", and one of a very very subtle and understated brilliance.
L'enfants (The Child) was released in 2005, and is now available on DVD
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
[Review] 2008: A Year With Music
Similar to my film viewing habits, this year I have broadened my horizons in regards to the music that I have been buying/listening to. However, unlike my experiences with film, where I went out of my way to seek out non-commercial screenings, my journey with music has been much more organic.
For the majority of my youth, I was holistically enraptured by electronic dance music, to the point where I had no inkling to explore other genres. The tide began to change in March of 2007, when I bought myself vinyl turntables and hit Sydney's 2nd-hand record shops. Simply by spending many hours digging through crate after crate, I slowly yet surely began exiting with a wide range of different sounds and styles.
This growing curiosity for new sounds became an unquenchable thirst when, in February of this year, I started a new job and made 2 new friends, with whom I discussed music at any available opportunity. Increasingly, I would hereafter walk into record shops with a much more educated awareness of what 'important' artists and albums I should be looking out for.
Here is a 30 minute mix of some of the music which has been making a deep connection with me this year. 2008 was a year in which my passion for music and film took a giant surge forward, although it was also a year that saw a number of close friendships slowly begin drifting away with the changing tides of life. The reason I seem to be drawn to the melancholic and bittersweet emotions within this music is no doubt a reflection of the experiences this year has provided me with.
'White & Blue'
01 Brian Eno - Aragon (1978)
02 Radiohead - All I Need (2007)
03 Earl Grant - Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You (1961)
04 Art Garfunkel - Ragdoll (1975)
05 The Brian Jonestown Massacre - We Are... (2007)
06 Kerri Chandler - I Think Of You (Reprise) (2006)
07 The Cure - All Cat's Are Grey (1980)
08 Louis Armstrong - Black And Blue (1929)
Download link (right-click, save as...)
For the majority of my youth, I was holistically enraptured by electronic dance music, to the point where I had no inkling to explore other genres. The tide began to change in March of 2007, when I bought myself vinyl turntables and hit Sydney's 2nd-hand record shops. Simply by spending many hours digging through crate after crate, I slowly yet surely began exiting with a wide range of different sounds and styles.
This growing curiosity for new sounds became an unquenchable thirst when, in February of this year, I started a new job and made 2 new friends, with whom I discussed music at any available opportunity. Increasingly, I would hereafter walk into record shops with a much more educated awareness of what 'important' artists and albums I should be looking out for.
Here is a 30 minute mix of some of the music which has been making a deep connection with me this year. 2008 was a year in which my passion for music and film took a giant surge forward, although it was also a year that saw a number of close friendships slowly begin drifting away with the changing tides of life. The reason I seem to be drawn to the melancholic and bittersweet emotions within this music is no doubt a reflection of the experiences this year has provided me with.
'White & Blue'
01 Brian Eno - Aragon (1978)
02 Radiohead - All I Need (2007)
03 Earl Grant - Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You (1961)
04 Art Garfunkel - Ragdoll (1975)
05 The Brian Jonestown Massacre - We Are... (2007)
06 Kerri Chandler - I Think Of You (Reprise) (2006)
07 The Cure - All Cat's Are Grey (1980)
08 Louis Armstrong - Black And Blue (1929)
Download link (right-click, save as...)
Sunday, December 7, 2008
[Review] 2008: A Year Of Film
Film - 2008 was a year in which I made a concerted effort to attend more film festivals, with the aim of broadening my awareness of world cinema (as opposed to simply the cinema from big American studios). In brief, I managed to attend film festivals from Mexico, Germany, Israel, and Italy, as well as Sydney (both the International and Underground festival), along with a trek down to Melbourne for their International film festival. It was great to not only see some brilliant movies, but to also be amongst the community-based, film-appreciation astmosphere of such festivals.
I have completed 2 short courses at Sydney University in International Film History. The first of which was taught by Andrew Urban (Urbancinefile). This course was particularly beneficial, because Andrew consistently had guest speakers from each of the countries we focused on (e.g. the director of the German Film Festival, and the Minister for Culture of Argentina). The second course was with David Stratton ('At The Movies'), where we focused on international films from the 1980's era. Whilst overall the 80's wasn't really a period of huge inspiration for me (although i particularly took interest in the British realist cinema of that time), simply listening to David talk about movies was inspiring in itself - as my bulging notepad attests to! Luminary guests such as director Jane Campion ('The Piano') and actress Rachel Ward ('Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid') also heavily inspired. Both courses were great in the sense of contextualising what was happening in film with what was happening in society. As Greek director Costa Gavras ('Missing') said; "film should act as a mirror to society, it should make people think".
Always a nice way to round off the year is to vote in the online 'Best Of' poll' for the 'At The Movies' film review show, hosted by Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton. After some consideration, these are my top 5 films from 2008 that were commerically released in Australian cinemas. The consistent theme amongst these 5 films is that I always exited the theatre a changed person; these films all had a heavy impact on me, and they all served as a very clear mirror to society.
1. Waltz With Bashir (Israel)
2. The Diving Bell & The Butterfly (France)
3. Hunger (UK)
4. Towelhead (USA)
5. Ten Empty (Australia)
I have completed 2 short courses at Sydney University in International Film History. The first of which was taught by Andrew Urban (Urbancinefile). This course was particularly beneficial, because Andrew consistently had guest speakers from each of the countries we focused on (e.g. the director of the German Film Festival, and the Minister for Culture of Argentina). The second course was with David Stratton ('At The Movies'), where we focused on international films from the 1980's era. Whilst overall the 80's wasn't really a period of huge inspiration for me (although i particularly took interest in the British realist cinema of that time), simply listening to David talk about movies was inspiring in itself - as my bulging notepad attests to! Luminary guests such as director Jane Campion ('The Piano') and actress Rachel Ward ('Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid') also heavily inspired. Both courses were great in the sense of contextualising what was happening in film with what was happening in society. As Greek director Costa Gavras ('Missing') said; "film should act as a mirror to society, it should make people think".
Always a nice way to round off the year is to vote in the online 'Best Of' poll' for the 'At The Movies' film review show, hosted by Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton. After some consideration, these are my top 5 films from 2008 that were commerically released in Australian cinemas. The consistent theme amongst these 5 films is that I always exited the theatre a changed person; these films all had a heavy impact on me, and they all served as a very clear mirror to society.
1. Waltz With Bashir (Israel)
2. The Diving Bell & The Butterfly (France)
3. Hunger (UK)
4. Towelhead (USA)
5. Ten Empty (Australia)
Saturday, November 15, 2008
[Film Review] '4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days'
After the success of Canadian film 'Juno' last year, this exceptional and confronting Romanian film hit international cinemas at a pitch-perfect time. Both films deal with the issue of teenage pregnancy, though whilst 'Juno' is set in an advantaged, middle-class family environment, '4 Months, 3 Weeks And 3 Days' finds it's protagonists in communist Romania, with not nearly as many choices.
The contrasts further reveal themselves as Juno, with her family in tow, patiently shops around for the perfect couple to adopt her baby... a world away from Gabita, the pregnant lead of '4 Months', and her friend Otilia, whom, alone, are desperately trying to arrange an illegal, and very dangerous, abortion.
I think we know where I'm going with this: 'Juno' is a cute comedy; '4 Months' is a raw tragedy.
The catch-phrase slogan of '4 Months' reads, 'How far would you go for a friend?', but I feel the subtext in this movie reflect a wider struggle, a struggle that asks the question; 'How far must a woman go because of a man?' How marginalised is the destiny of a woman under a patriarchal legal system?
Before seeing this film, I had felt that the most powerful movie I had seen in recent years was undoubtedly 'Hunger' (2008), which covers the IRA hunger strikes in Belfast's Maze Prison during the early 80's. After viewing '4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days' though, it is clear to me that for all it's gritty courage and bloody persecution, what gave 'Hunger' a weighted sense of poignancy was, in fact, just that: pathetic and pointless testosterone-fueled madness; flawed males rebelling against a flawed male system. '4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days' strips itself of all that ego, and what remains is an uphill battle against patriarchal oppression, defiantly pushed along with the love, self-determination, and quiet intelligence inherent in femininity.
'4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days' was released in Australia in 2007, and is now available to rent on DVD.
The contrasts further reveal themselves as Juno, with her family in tow, patiently shops around for the perfect couple to adopt her baby... a world away from Gabita, the pregnant lead of '4 Months', and her friend Otilia, whom, alone, are desperately trying to arrange an illegal, and very dangerous, abortion.
I think we know where I'm going with this: 'Juno' is a cute comedy; '4 Months' is a raw tragedy.
The catch-phrase slogan of '4 Months' reads, 'How far would you go for a friend?', but I feel the subtext in this movie reflect a wider struggle, a struggle that asks the question; 'How far must a woman go because of a man?' How marginalised is the destiny of a woman under a patriarchal legal system?
Before seeing this film, I had felt that the most powerful movie I had seen in recent years was undoubtedly 'Hunger' (2008), which covers the IRA hunger strikes in Belfast's Maze Prison during the early 80's. After viewing '4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days' though, it is clear to me that for all it's gritty courage and bloody persecution, what gave 'Hunger' a weighted sense of poignancy was, in fact, just that: pathetic and pointless testosterone-fueled madness; flawed males rebelling against a flawed male system. '4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days' strips itself of all that ego, and what remains is an uphill battle against patriarchal oppression, defiantly pushed along with the love, self-determination, and quiet intelligence inherent in femininity.
'4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days' was released in Australia in 2007, and is now available to rent on DVD.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
[Course Impression] International Film History
Wow, had a great class tonight for my international film history course. David Stratton took us through a selection of Australian films of the 1980's, until we arrived at the feature film for the evening, which we watch in its entirety. Tonight it was a movie made in 1989 called 'Sweetie', by director Jane Campion (of 'The Piano' fame). Anyways, as a special treat, David had brought in Jane to watch the film with us and then chat about it afterwards. Long story short, the film was really bloody impressive (particularly as i have rather ignorantly kinda shunned the Australian film industry up until quite recently), and Jane was really lovely and more than willing to share her thought-processes. She discussed the cinematography, the casting, the themes, and the poetic nature of the subtext.. but just when i had closed my notebook thinking it was pack up time, this was her answer in regards to the thinking behind her choices of soundtrack music:
"Look.. the thing is... some of the best art is done without philosophy.. and instead by just connecting with what is human"
I dove back into my bag and jotted that quote down, cos i reckon it's a really important point. Cos whilst educating yourself on the various philosophies within the art realm is great to develop a sense of history, and therefore a foundation from which to grow from... at the end of the day, if you don't connect with your true human side, all that you are going to express is simply textbook and derivative.
"Look.. the thing is... some of the best art is done without philosophy.. and instead by just connecting with what is human"
I dove back into my bag and jotted that quote down, cos i reckon it's a really important point. Cos whilst educating yourself on the various philosophies within the art realm is great to develop a sense of history, and therefore a foundation from which to grow from... at the end of the day, if you don't connect with your true human side, all that you are going to express is simply textbook and derivative.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
[Film Impression] Waltz With Bashir
In today's modern era of 'shock & awe' media coverage of global wars, perhaps it is necessary to now use animation in any attempt to pierce audience's general apathy towards realities atrocities. Ari Folman explores this idea in his personal recollections of his time spent as an Israeli soldier in the early 80's conflict in Lebanon - a conflict which culminated in the massacre of thousands of Palestinian civilians by Christian Lebanese forces; under the watch of the Israeli military.
What gives this movie heavy impact is an interesting cinematic twist in the final few minutes: Folman cuts to real-life footage. This is a ploy which suggests his idea was to bring back the startling truth's contained in such real-life footage.
I believe this idea was achieved with haunting omnipotence. During the silence of the rolling credits, all that could be heard in the cinema were the shocking wails of a distraught woman in the 3rd aisle. The affect on the rest of the audience was an undeniable parallel between film, and it's purveyance of reality. A result I dare say was also knowingly orchestrated by Folman.
Waltz With Bashir was released in 2008, and is screening in selected cinemas nationally.
What gives this movie heavy impact is an interesting cinematic twist in the final few minutes: Folman cuts to real-life footage. This is a ploy which suggests his idea was to bring back the startling truth's contained in such real-life footage.
I believe this idea was achieved with haunting omnipotence. During the silence of the rolling credits, all that could be heard in the cinema were the shocking wails of a distraught woman in the 3rd aisle. The affect on the rest of the audience was an undeniable parallel between film, and it's purveyance of reality. A result I dare say was also knowingly orchestrated by Folman.
Waltz With Bashir was released in 2008, and is screening in selected cinemas nationally.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
[Melbourne Memoir] A History Of Brief Time
On Friday, during a mid-morning stroll through the belly of Melbourne's city, I stumbled across an independent bookshop. A bookshop in which I would hear a phrase that would come to encapsulate my experience in this lovely town.
-------------------------------
"I Teach: You Listen,
I Talk: You Talk"
-------------------------------
This phrase was part of a poem being read in-store by a man from Greece, who was raised in Fitzroy. The poem was about growing up, and learning to communicate with new people and experiences. I believe that the phrase describes the give:take nature of shared communication; the push:pull structure of engaging in positive conversation. The type of communication where both parties walk away having felt a connection was made.
Later into my day, during a documentary on Marlon Brando - being screened as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival - this exact phrase was repeated by actor James Caan, whilst describing his personal relationship with Brando. At the time I didn't think too much of this correlation in speech, it was simply one of those moments where you smile to yourself and feel that the world isn't quite as big and daunting as it sometimes appears. Now, on Monday afternoon however, as I sit alone staring out the window of a tram, I am reflecting back on all my experiences from the past 4 days, and I realise that they all share a common trait of connections made through positive communication.
The situations may have been different.........
A connection was made during my 3rd and final film screening of Friday night - a Mexican movie called 'Silent Light', directed by Carlos Reygadas. The movie went for 2.5 hours, but felt more like 10 hours. Set in the North Mexican countryside, Reygadas slowed the pace of the film to give one the feel of how life would be if living in such an environment. The result was cinema genocide. People were dropping out of the theatre like flies swatted on a sunny summers day. Whilst on one hand I did feel small pangs of disappointment at the lack of patience amongst this 'arthouse tourist' crowd, I was also excited that cinema doesn't always have to be easy, or even enjoyable, to be great. There is no question about it - the film is debilitating. Yet it is still alive in my mind, 3 days after its screening. I realised that a lot of the audience were waiting for the film to give something to them, rather than giving themselves to it. I gave myself to it, and only after the credits started rolling did it start to give back.
-------------------------------
"I Teach: You Listen,
I Talk: You Talk"
-------------------------------
A connection was made later on in the night at a grass-roots level, independent warehouse party in Footscray. Whilst musically not quite as adventurous as the warehouse parties I've been going to in Sydney this year, the free and community-based vibe was very much of the same ilk. Independent warehouse parties represent the original ethos of early New York underground club culture: no bouncers, no police security, no dress codes, no specific music policy, and no exorbitant prices. Put simply, it is anarchy manifested in its purest form. Conversations morphed into dancing, and positive communication was the social putty which glued it together.
-------------------------------
"I Teach: You Listen,
I Talk: You Talk"
-------------------------------
Further connections were made the following night. Still a little exhausted from Friday's hectic adventures, myself and Kieran (a friend with who I have been connected with since we were 12 years old, and someone who was akin to my pillow throughout my brief visit, i.e. familiar and comfortable), headed along to an Ethiopian cafe/bar in Fitzroy. Kieran has called the cafe his social mecca since moving down here in 2007, and after only 5 minutes inside it was easy to see why. Here was an unpretentious, open-minded haven for like-minded artistic types, which celebrated African culture via the warm and friendly service of food, drink, and live music. The vibe was one of harmonious relaxation, and as a result, the warmth exuded by everyone made the freezing winter weather something of a non-issue. One person in particular left a lasting impression on me; a lovely young woman called Bridget Pross. 'Bridge' emanated a joyous sense of carefree exuberance, whilst her eyes revealed a quiet, guarded vulnerability - a combo which I found incredibly endearing. As it turns out, Bridge is a singer/songwriter originally from Tasmania, who has just recently had her debut album released via a local Melbourne label. After I mentioned I had an interest in reviewing music, I was lucky enough to receive a copy of her CD. This CD will now become my aural memory of my time in Melbourne, and Bridget herself represents the completely warm, welcoming, and wonderful people that I met in my brief, yet fairly intense, 4 day adventure down here in Melbourne.
-------------------------------
"I Teach: You Listen,
I Talk: You Talk"
-------------------------------
......... yet as you can see, the experiences all yielded similar emotional connections. Connections, as fleeting as they may have been, that have left me with a clear reminder of the positivity I feel is inherent in humanity, and ultimately, connections that have left me feeling inspired to share this positive communication in further adventures I may find myself in.
Click here to hear a track off Bridget Pross' album on YouTube
Bridget Pross' debut album 'I Wanted To' was released in 2007, and is available to download from iTunes, via her website - click here
Thursday, July 31, 2008
[CD Review] Raz Ohara & The Odd Orchestra (self-titled album)
2008: As German record label ‘Get Physical’ move forward into their 8th year of operation, the founders (DJ T, M.A.N.D.Y, and Booka Shade) have decided it’s time to Get Emotional. The act of ‘feeling’ is a physical sensation, after all. The first release of the New Year for the Berlin-based family has been reserved for the ripened artistic collaboration of Dane Raz (Danish-born, Berlin-bred) and Oliver Doerell (Belgium-born, Berlin-based), together known as Raz Ohara & The Odd Orchestra.
In the film ’24 Hour Party People’ – which documents the emergence of the mid-80s post-punk music scene in Manchester, England – there is a scene where Tony Wilson, label-head of Factory Records, listens to a completed demo of rock/dance band, The Happy Monday’s. As their trademark fun and bouncy music enters its second minute of audio, Wilson’s face begins to contort; “where are the vocals?!” The vocals were, in fact, a non-entity on the album - The Happy Mondays had created an entirely instrumental record. Wilson and Factory could not fathom this. The idea of releasing such an album to their established fan-base seemed preposterous.
One wonders if the Get Physical camp, which has worked very hard at becoming a world-renowned provider of quality electronic dance music, had a similar concern to Factory Records. In a reversal of circumstance though, as Raz Ohara & The Odd Orchestra’s self-titled debut is an acoustic/electronic album completely laden with Raz Ohara’s vocals. Would an audience fed a steady diet of loop-based, atmospheric, punchy instrumentals from the likes of Booka Shade and M.A.N.D.Y be willing to embrace an album full of guitar-based, down-tempo rhythms coupled with honest and heartfelt lyrics? Obviously DJ T and co feels the time is right, and after receiving criticism in some pockets of the dance scene for beginning to sound formulaic, one gets the impression that, in some ways, Get Physical are releasing this album as a retort to such negativity: “let’s see if you cynic’s can move forward with us!” Indeed, I believe that this is an album that could, and should, appeal to a much wider audience; not simply fans of electronic dance music.
Meanwhile, back in the world of the genuine artist, where dilemmas such as audience expectation and label appeal are brushed away like dust from a microphone, Dane Raz (providing vocals and guitar as Raz Ohara) and Oliver Doerell (adding a subtle, yet essential underbelly of electronic melodies as The Odd Orchestra) focused all their energy towards creating something that of which all self-respecting artists aim to achieve, something real. Have they achieved this? Well that’s for you to decide. I will, however, leave you with a knowing lyric from the wonderfully lingering final track on the album; ‘Set On You’:
“Truth doesn’t fake, if you’re not afraid to look…if only you would”
Click here to hear a track off the album on YouTube
Raz Ohara & The Odd Orchestra was released in 2008, and is available to download from Amazon - click here
In the film ’24 Hour Party People’ – which documents the emergence of the mid-80s post-punk music scene in Manchester, England – there is a scene where Tony Wilson, label-head of Factory Records, listens to a completed demo of rock/dance band, The Happy Monday’s. As their trademark fun and bouncy music enters its second minute of audio, Wilson’s face begins to contort; “where are the vocals?!” The vocals were, in fact, a non-entity on the album - The Happy Mondays had created an entirely instrumental record. Wilson and Factory could not fathom this. The idea of releasing such an album to their established fan-base seemed preposterous.
One wonders if the Get Physical camp, which has worked very hard at becoming a world-renowned provider of quality electronic dance music, had a similar concern to Factory Records. In a reversal of circumstance though, as Raz Ohara & The Odd Orchestra’s self-titled debut is an acoustic/electronic album completely laden with Raz Ohara’s vocals. Would an audience fed a steady diet of loop-based, atmospheric, punchy instrumentals from the likes of Booka Shade and M.A.N.D.Y be willing to embrace an album full of guitar-based, down-tempo rhythms coupled with honest and heartfelt lyrics? Obviously DJ T and co feels the time is right, and after receiving criticism in some pockets of the dance scene for beginning to sound formulaic, one gets the impression that, in some ways, Get Physical are releasing this album as a retort to such negativity: “let’s see if you cynic’s can move forward with us!” Indeed, I believe that this is an album that could, and should, appeal to a much wider audience; not simply fans of electronic dance music.
Meanwhile, back in the world of the genuine artist, where dilemmas such as audience expectation and label appeal are brushed away like dust from a microphone, Dane Raz (providing vocals and guitar as Raz Ohara) and Oliver Doerell (adding a subtle, yet essential underbelly of electronic melodies as The Odd Orchestra) focused all their energy towards creating something that of which all self-respecting artists aim to achieve, something real. Have they achieved this? Well that’s for you to decide. I will, however, leave you with a knowing lyric from the wonderfully lingering final track on the album; ‘Set On You’:
“Truth doesn’t fake, if you’re not afraid to look…if only you would”
Click here to hear a track off the album on YouTube
Raz Ohara & The Odd Orchestra was released in 2008, and is available to download from Amazon - click here
[CD Review] Susumu Yokota - Skintone Collection
It must be stated immediately: this compilation is a magical gem – a living organism. It has been in my life for 14 days now, breathing with me in a variety of environments; at work; in my bedroom; whilst making dinner; whilst window shopping; and now, sitting in a quiet park transcribing my thoughts about it. Every day has yielded a new favourite track, a new overwhelming emotional attachment. This phenomenon has continued in a gravitating, spiral form, to the point where now the depths of my soul have been parented by the album as a whole.
One of my initial thoughts when the aura of this music first began ingratiating itself upon me was of a Godly nature – who created these spiritually piercing sounds?
Not altogether surprising to me, I discovered this ‘God’ was, in fact, Japanese producer Susumu Yokota (unsurprising, because Japan has always had a sense of mystique and ethereality, as seen in the nobility and spirit of the Samurai culture, or the inter-planetary, technologic Anime fascination). A highly creative artist, whose output covers everything from early techno/house production, and later, ambient electronica (of which this compilation focuses on), through to graphic design and planning, Susumu Yokota has been flowering a burgeoning body of work in the music realm since his debut release, in 1993.
The title of this compilation, ‘Skintone Collection’, refers to a collation of back-catalogue tracks from Yokota’s record label, ‘Skintone’. Plucking some of the most emotionally engaging tracks from 10 of Yokota’s Skintone albums, this collection has been compiled and arranged by the highly accomplished UK radio producer/DJ, Ben Eshmade. Eshmade began his music career as a DJ in the early 80’s, impressing niche audiences and breaking convention by steering ears away from the popular ‘New Romantics’ synth-pop affection of the time. With an ever-developing, eclectic taste in music, Eshmade eventually moved into the field of radio, where he now presents the widely regarded digital broadcast, ‘The Chiller Cabinet’. More recently, he has begun promoting live music as part of the collective, ‘The Arctic Circle’. It is therefore appropriate, and justified, that Eshmade be called upon to compile this, the first, ‘Best of’ compilation of the prolific Japanese producer’s much adorned body of work.
‘Skintone Collection’, for those unfamiliar with Yokota’s music, is the perfect invitation into his magical world, and one which will leave you with a thirst for the juices of his back-catalogue. For those already aware of Yokota’s genius, this compilation will be a wonderfully melancholic and nostalgic reflective journey into the memories of your soul.
Click here to hear a track off the album on YouTube
Skintone Collection was released in 2007, and is available to download from Amazon - click here
One of my initial thoughts when the aura of this music first began ingratiating itself upon me was of a Godly nature – who created these spiritually piercing sounds?
Not altogether surprising to me, I discovered this ‘God’ was, in fact, Japanese producer Susumu Yokota (unsurprising, because Japan has always had a sense of mystique and ethereality, as seen in the nobility and spirit of the Samurai culture, or the inter-planetary, technologic Anime fascination). A highly creative artist, whose output covers everything from early techno/house production, and later, ambient electronica (of which this compilation focuses on), through to graphic design and planning, Susumu Yokota has been flowering a burgeoning body of work in the music realm since his debut release, in 1993.
The title of this compilation, ‘Skintone Collection’, refers to a collation of back-catalogue tracks from Yokota’s record label, ‘Skintone’. Plucking some of the most emotionally engaging tracks from 10 of Yokota’s Skintone albums, this collection has been compiled and arranged by the highly accomplished UK radio producer/DJ, Ben Eshmade. Eshmade began his music career as a DJ in the early 80’s, impressing niche audiences and breaking convention by steering ears away from the popular ‘New Romantics’ synth-pop affection of the time. With an ever-developing, eclectic taste in music, Eshmade eventually moved into the field of radio, where he now presents the widely regarded digital broadcast, ‘The Chiller Cabinet’. More recently, he has begun promoting live music as part of the collective, ‘The Arctic Circle’. It is therefore appropriate, and justified, that Eshmade be called upon to compile this, the first, ‘Best of’ compilation of the prolific Japanese producer’s much adorned body of work.
‘Skintone Collection’, for those unfamiliar with Yokota’s music, is the perfect invitation into his magical world, and one which will leave you with a thirst for the juices of his back-catalogue. For those already aware of Yokota’s genius, this compilation will be a wonderfully melancholic and nostalgic reflective journey into the memories of your soul.
Click here to hear a track off the album on YouTube
Skintone Collection was released in 2007, and is available to download from Amazon - click here
[CD Review] Kiln - Dusker
Nostalgia
n. homesickness; sentimental yearning for (some period of) the past
Onomatopoeia is the term used for words that aurally sound like the object or thing being described. For example; ‘buzzing’, or ‘cracking’. I am not aware if there is a term coined to describe words that have a heavy emotional correlation, words like ‘melancholy’, or ‘nostalgia’. Considering the piercing omnipotence of such a concept, I am sure if I looked hard enough I would find one.
‘Dusker’, the new album from the Michigan-based project ‘Kiln’ (an electronic/ambient trio comprising Kevin Hayes, Kirk Marrison, and Clark Rehberg III) invokes an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. But here is the somewhat extraordinary twist to the usual connotations that encapsulate nostalgia: it invokes feelings of reminiscence that don’t actually exist in my memory. In other words, it is conjuring up emotional connections that do not exist in real terms. As an atheist, I believe that this is as spiritual as our reality can get, and as such, this album is a precious beacon to a world in which humanity is getting bound closer together, yet spiraling more out of touch every day.
‘Dusker’ is released on ‘Ghostly International’; a label founded in 1999 by Samuel Valenti IV from the humble beginnings of a college dormitory in his home state of Michigan, USA. Heavily influenced by the electronic dance music coming out of Detroit, Valenti acted on a vision to create a label which maintained a certain artistic aesthetic, and represented a wide range of quality sounds in the electronic genre. Breaking such key artists as Tadd Mullinix (aka Dabrye) and Matthew Dear (aka Audion), Ghostly International has steadily grown into a widely respected label with global receptivity. Indeed, with a grasp reaching as far flung as Germany, where the likes of Fedde Le Grande are putting their hands up in homage for the label’s first release – Matthew Dear’s ‘Hands Up For Detroit’.
Similar to all the great landmark albums in contemporary music (The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’, Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’) Kiln have condensed their album to a palatable running time of just 52 minutes. Despite an availability of up to 80 minutes on an audio CD, it is widely accepted that such running times are inductive to enabling the listener to form an attachment to albums as a whole. It is for this fact, and also through utilizing similar key tones and pitch across various tracks - almost (but calculatingly not quite) to the point of questionable repetition – that Kiln have produced an album which holistically embodies its listener. ‘Dusker’ is the perfect ear-piece accompaniment for travel across metropolitan city landscapes; whereby the population is abundant, yet the isolation is rife.
Click here to hear a track off the album on YouTube
Dusker was released in 2007, and is available to download from Amazon - click here
n. homesickness; sentimental yearning for (some period of) the past
Onomatopoeia is the term used for words that aurally sound like the object or thing being described. For example; ‘buzzing’, or ‘cracking’. I am not aware if there is a term coined to describe words that have a heavy emotional correlation, words like ‘melancholy’, or ‘nostalgia’. Considering the piercing omnipotence of such a concept, I am sure if I looked hard enough I would find one.
‘Dusker’, the new album from the Michigan-based project ‘Kiln’ (an electronic/ambient trio comprising Kevin Hayes, Kirk Marrison, and Clark Rehberg III) invokes an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. But here is the somewhat extraordinary twist to the usual connotations that encapsulate nostalgia: it invokes feelings of reminiscence that don’t actually exist in my memory. In other words, it is conjuring up emotional connections that do not exist in real terms. As an atheist, I believe that this is as spiritual as our reality can get, and as such, this album is a precious beacon to a world in which humanity is getting bound closer together, yet spiraling more out of touch every day.
‘Dusker’ is released on ‘Ghostly International’; a label founded in 1999 by Samuel Valenti IV from the humble beginnings of a college dormitory in his home state of Michigan, USA. Heavily influenced by the electronic dance music coming out of Detroit, Valenti acted on a vision to create a label which maintained a certain artistic aesthetic, and represented a wide range of quality sounds in the electronic genre. Breaking such key artists as Tadd Mullinix (aka Dabrye) and Matthew Dear (aka Audion), Ghostly International has steadily grown into a widely respected label with global receptivity. Indeed, with a grasp reaching as far flung as Germany, where the likes of Fedde Le Grande are putting their hands up in homage for the label’s first release – Matthew Dear’s ‘Hands Up For Detroit’.
Similar to all the great landmark albums in contemporary music (The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’, Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’) Kiln have condensed their album to a palatable running time of just 52 minutes. Despite an availability of up to 80 minutes on an audio CD, it is widely accepted that such running times are inductive to enabling the listener to form an attachment to albums as a whole. It is for this fact, and also through utilizing similar key tones and pitch across various tracks - almost (but calculatingly not quite) to the point of questionable repetition – that Kiln have produced an album which holistically embodies its listener. ‘Dusker’ is the perfect ear-piece accompaniment for travel across metropolitan city landscapes; whereby the population is abundant, yet the isolation is rife.
Click here to hear a track off the album on YouTube
Dusker was released in 2007, and is available to download from Amazon - click here
[Music Mixtape] Psychedelic Rock / Acid Electronica
Over the past 6 months or so I've been really getting back into rock music sounds (previously I had been enraptured by house music, and house music alone). As with any sort of new sound, I find that I prefer getting an idea as to its origins before involving myself in the contemporary releases. About 3 months ago, I went to a psychedelic electronica warehouse party, and took magic mushrooms for the first time. This experience coincided with the 60s/70s psychedelic rock music that I had just started collecting. The planets were aligned, and this music made a real connection with my soul.
Here is a 20 minute mixtape that I compiled in homage to psychedelic rock / acid electronica.
01) Woodstock Announcement
02) Tangerine Dream - Impressions Of Sorcerer
03) Gershon Kingsley - Sunset Sound
04) Hendrix - Live At Woodstock
05) Pink Floyd - Any Colour You Like
06) Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
07) Le Tone - New Memory
Download (right-click, save as...)
Here is a 20 minute mixtape that I compiled in homage to psychedelic rock / acid electronica.
01) Woodstock Announcement
02) Tangerine Dream - Impressions Of Sorcerer
03) Gershon Kingsley - Sunset Sound
04) Hendrix - Live At Woodstock
05) Pink Floyd - Any Colour You Like
06) Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
07) Le Tone - New Memory
Download (right-click, save as...)
[Music Mixtape] From Within The Dying Universe
About 2 months ago I noticed an article in the paper detailing the first successful aircraft landing on Mars by NASA. This means that NASA will now be able to send humans to the planet to research traces of water believed to be under the surface. The ultimate goal here is to ascertain whether or not Mars is a viable environment for humans to colonise.
This piece of news comes as our current living environment - Earth - is becoming increasingly unstable (e.g. typhoon in Burma, earthquake in China, recent tsunami in Indonesia). There are many who believe that human behaviour has caused the destablisation of planet Earth.
One wonders if humans will continue to use, abuse, and abandon planet after planet after planet in its blind fury for survival.
This is my mixtape which comes from the soul of our dying, darling universe.
01) The Moody Blues - The Word
02) Tangerine Dream - The Call
03) Ernest Bour - Atmospheres
04) Brian Eno - By This River
05) Thom Yorke - Black Swan
06) Brian Eno - Through Hollow Lands
07) Marillion - The Torch Song
08) Penquin Cafe Orchestra - Air A Danser
09) Do Make Say Think - In Mind
Download (right-click, save as...)
This piece of news comes as our current living environment - Earth - is becoming increasingly unstable (e.g. typhoon in Burma, earthquake in China, recent tsunami in Indonesia). There are many who believe that human behaviour has caused the destablisation of planet Earth.
One wonders if humans will continue to use, abuse, and abandon planet after planet after planet in its blind fury for survival.
This is my mixtape which comes from the soul of our dying, darling universe.
01) The Moody Blues - The Word
02) Tangerine Dream - The Call
03) Ernest Bour - Atmospheres
04) Brian Eno - By This River
05) Thom Yorke - Black Swan
06) Brian Eno - Through Hollow Lands
07) Marillion - The Torch Song
08) Penquin Cafe Orchestra - Air A Danser
09) Do Make Say Think - In Mind
Download (right-click, save as...)
[Film Review] The Great Debaters
“The time for justice is always – is always – right now!”
This rousing statement, delivered with absolute vehemence by Samantha Booke (played by Jurnee Smollett) of the inspirational Wiley College debate team of the 1930’s, embodies one of the main idea’s director Denzel Washington desires to have linger in the minds of audiences after seeing his latest film ‘The Great Debaters’. Here we are in 2008 - some 78 years after Wiley College defied the barriers of racial discrimination and class stature and became the first African American college to debate against an Anglo-Saxon college - yet have we continued to grow as a liberal society?
The terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001 forever changed our world. Initially, America became the victim for the first time since the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in 1941. Then, echoing the response to the Japanese attack, the American war machine was thrust into full throttle and quite quickly America became the assailant again. Casting aside the myriad of other issues created as a result of these events, and focusing on just one, what essentially changed was the focus on America’s domestic policy to a focus on America’s foreign policy. The ramifications of this, from a personal point of view, were that last week I found myself in a cinema asking the question of “how relevant is the issue of race-relations in America these days?” Sedated by constant ‘terror’ newspaper headlines, ‘The Great Debaters’ charged me back to consciousness and got me thinking about America’s domestic policy once again.
As I type this, the people of America are celebrating the annual public holiday dedicated to the spirit of African American civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr, who was assassinated in 1968. Former President Ronald Reagan enacted the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed in 1986. After many years of resistance, all 50 states finally observed it in 2000. The 3 sentences you just read pretty much mirror America’s progression in race-relation issues: up and down, but moving steadily down the right path. One of the American’s celebrating is Barack Obama. Barack Obama, an African American politician, is doubly celebrating, as he was just victorious at the caucus in Iowa – one of the whitest states in the country. He is now a serious contender to represent the Democrats in 2009’s national election, and quite possibly become the USA’s first African American president. This is fantastic news for advocates of social justice, and Obama is a great role model for other African American’s who are in a position to climb the ranks of the socio-economic ladder.
What then, for those not in such advantaged positions? Who are the role models for the working class African Americans; those not fortunate enough to be in a position to attend college? While on the campaign trail, Obama spoke with rapper/musicians Jay Z and Kanye West about using hip hop as a positive power if he gets elected as president. Reporting back on the encounter, Obama, very aware that hip hop is a prime source of role models for many disadvantaged African American’s, expressed “concern that they’re always talking about material things; how I can get more money, more cars.” This dire observation encapsulates the other key idea Denzel Washington wishes to convey to audiences of ‘The Great Debaters’: the fundamental importance of education, and crucially, the necessity for across the board access to education.
After showing early promise with his 2002 directorial debut, ‘Antwone Fisher’, Denzel Washington has really stepped up to the plate with his follow-up, and is right at home creating the vision for his cast and crew to deliver the figurative home run. Both thematically, and technically, ‘The Great Debaters’ is an outstanding film – and that’s an opinion I’m willing to debate with anyone and everyone!
The Great Debaters has not yet been released in Australia, keep an eye out for it!
This rousing statement, delivered with absolute vehemence by Samantha Booke (played by Jurnee Smollett) of the inspirational Wiley College debate team of the 1930’s, embodies one of the main idea’s director Denzel Washington desires to have linger in the minds of audiences after seeing his latest film ‘The Great Debaters’. Here we are in 2008 - some 78 years after Wiley College defied the barriers of racial discrimination and class stature and became the first African American college to debate against an Anglo-Saxon college - yet have we continued to grow as a liberal society?
The terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001 forever changed our world. Initially, America became the victim for the first time since the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in 1941. Then, echoing the response to the Japanese attack, the American war machine was thrust into full throttle and quite quickly America became the assailant again. Casting aside the myriad of other issues created as a result of these events, and focusing on just one, what essentially changed was the focus on America’s domestic policy to a focus on America’s foreign policy. The ramifications of this, from a personal point of view, were that last week I found myself in a cinema asking the question of “how relevant is the issue of race-relations in America these days?” Sedated by constant ‘terror’ newspaper headlines, ‘The Great Debaters’ charged me back to consciousness and got me thinking about America’s domestic policy once again.
As I type this, the people of America are celebrating the annual public holiday dedicated to the spirit of African American civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr, who was assassinated in 1968. Former President Ronald Reagan enacted the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed in 1986. After many years of resistance, all 50 states finally observed it in 2000. The 3 sentences you just read pretty much mirror America’s progression in race-relation issues: up and down, but moving steadily down the right path. One of the American’s celebrating is Barack Obama. Barack Obama, an African American politician, is doubly celebrating, as he was just victorious at the caucus in Iowa – one of the whitest states in the country. He is now a serious contender to represent the Democrats in 2009’s national election, and quite possibly become the USA’s first African American president. This is fantastic news for advocates of social justice, and Obama is a great role model for other African American’s who are in a position to climb the ranks of the socio-economic ladder.
What then, for those not in such advantaged positions? Who are the role models for the working class African Americans; those not fortunate enough to be in a position to attend college? While on the campaign trail, Obama spoke with rapper/musicians Jay Z and Kanye West about using hip hop as a positive power if he gets elected as president. Reporting back on the encounter, Obama, very aware that hip hop is a prime source of role models for many disadvantaged African American’s, expressed “concern that they’re always talking about material things; how I can get more money, more cars.” This dire observation encapsulates the other key idea Denzel Washington wishes to convey to audiences of ‘The Great Debaters’: the fundamental importance of education, and crucially, the necessity for across the board access to education.
After showing early promise with his 2002 directorial debut, ‘Antwone Fisher’, Denzel Washington has really stepped up to the plate with his follow-up, and is right at home creating the vision for his cast and crew to deliver the figurative home run. Both thematically, and technically, ‘The Great Debaters’ is an outstanding film – and that’s an opinion I’m willing to debate with anyone and everyone!
The Great Debaters has not yet been released in Australia, keep an eye out for it!
[Film Review] Grace Is Gone
Grace is Gone is a very private movie, dealing with the consequences of a very public matter: War. Rather than follow the current theme of ‘finger pointing’, Grace is Gone casts aside all exterior concerns and narrows in on the most rudimentary dilemma in times of war - how the family unit deals with loss.
Written and directed by James C. Strouse (who’s only other film credit is as writer of the critically-acclaimed 2005 film, ‘Lonesome Jim’), ‘Grace is Gone’ stars John Cusack as Stanley Phillips, a middle-aged retail manager. Father of two daughters: 12-and-a-half year old Heidi (Shelan O’Keefe), and 8 year old Dawn (Grace Bednarczyk), Stanley is in the rather unusual circumstance whereby his wife, and mother to the children, Grace, is serving as a soldier in the Iraq war. When the harrowing news arrives that Grace has been killed, Stanley - whose persona is more akin to that of a provider as opposed to that of a homemaker - becomes emotionally frozen. Unable to find the words, or strength, to break the news to his daughters, Stanley instead lures them on a road-trip to an amusement park a couple of days drive away. And so begins a heartbreaking journey; not only in the literal sense across the grandiosely corporate, yet strikingly isolated, mid-west of America; but also for Stanley, as he gradually becomes close enough to his daughters to reveal the truth to them.
Grace is Gone recently won the ‘Audience Prize’ at ‘Sundance’, the film festival founded by Robert Redford. Considering the deeply personal subject matter, and how it directly mirrors the afflictions of the Iraq war, it comes as no surprise that American audiences are unanimously warming to the film.
However, the fact that it also won the ‘Critics Award’ at the Deauville Film Festival (France) suggests that there are other elements which place this rather humble film amongst some of the year’s best. In my opinion, two elements specifically: the cinematography, and the original score. Renowned French cinematographer Jean-Louis Bompoint’s (‘Science of Sleep’) photography of Middle America quietly encapsulates the hypocrisy the superpower tries so hard to mask. Using very wide lenses, and staged compositional shots of America’s corporate highway (e.g. a giant Starbucks, or an overwhelmingly indulgent Toys ‘R’ Us), Bompoint poignantly highlights how America’s ‘shock and awe’ submission tactics are not reserved for war purposes alone. The score is composed by Clint Eastwood (who also scored for his films ‘Mystic River’ and ‘Flags of our Fathers’), and it is this element which sledges the figurative axe into the heart of viewers emotions. Subtle, melancholic, and ethereal, Eastwood’s score runs parallel to Stanley’s journey, sounding reminiscent to that of a child’s musical box. During some of the most emotionally arresting scenes, all audio is drained from the soundtrack except for the score - a heartbreaking method to confront audiences and leave their emotions with nowhere to hide.
Gentle and poignant, Grace is Gone is a clever film put together by just a few of the ever-growing number of American’s who desperately want to see their nation return to grace.
Grace Is Gone has not yet been released in Australia, keep an eye out for it!
Written and directed by James C. Strouse (who’s only other film credit is as writer of the critically-acclaimed 2005 film, ‘Lonesome Jim’), ‘Grace is Gone’ stars John Cusack as Stanley Phillips, a middle-aged retail manager. Father of two daughters: 12-and-a-half year old Heidi (Shelan O’Keefe), and 8 year old Dawn (Grace Bednarczyk), Stanley is in the rather unusual circumstance whereby his wife, and mother to the children, Grace, is serving as a soldier in the Iraq war. When the harrowing news arrives that Grace has been killed, Stanley - whose persona is more akin to that of a provider as opposed to that of a homemaker - becomes emotionally frozen. Unable to find the words, or strength, to break the news to his daughters, Stanley instead lures them on a road-trip to an amusement park a couple of days drive away. And so begins a heartbreaking journey; not only in the literal sense across the grandiosely corporate, yet strikingly isolated, mid-west of America; but also for Stanley, as he gradually becomes close enough to his daughters to reveal the truth to them.
Grace is Gone recently won the ‘Audience Prize’ at ‘Sundance’, the film festival founded by Robert Redford. Considering the deeply personal subject matter, and how it directly mirrors the afflictions of the Iraq war, it comes as no surprise that American audiences are unanimously warming to the film.
However, the fact that it also won the ‘Critics Award’ at the Deauville Film Festival (France) suggests that there are other elements which place this rather humble film amongst some of the year’s best. In my opinion, two elements specifically: the cinematography, and the original score. Renowned French cinematographer Jean-Louis Bompoint’s (‘Science of Sleep’) photography of Middle America quietly encapsulates the hypocrisy the superpower tries so hard to mask. Using very wide lenses, and staged compositional shots of America’s corporate highway (e.g. a giant Starbucks, or an overwhelmingly indulgent Toys ‘R’ Us), Bompoint poignantly highlights how America’s ‘shock and awe’ submission tactics are not reserved for war purposes alone. The score is composed by Clint Eastwood (who also scored for his films ‘Mystic River’ and ‘Flags of our Fathers’), and it is this element which sledges the figurative axe into the heart of viewers emotions. Subtle, melancholic, and ethereal, Eastwood’s score runs parallel to Stanley’s journey, sounding reminiscent to that of a child’s musical box. During some of the most emotionally arresting scenes, all audio is drained from the soundtrack except for the score - a heartbreaking method to confront audiences and leave their emotions with nowhere to hide.
Gentle and poignant, Grace is Gone is a clever film put together by just a few of the ever-growing number of American’s who desperately want to see their nation return to grace.
Grace Is Gone has not yet been released in Australia, keep an eye out for it!
[Film Review] Be Kind Rewind
It was only during the final 15 minutes of Michel Gondry’s new movie, ‘Be Kind Rewind’, (starring Jack Black and Mos Def) that I really felt a connection with what Gondry had obviously set out to achieve. The words that came into my head as I left the cinema - awash with a sense of ‘movie baptism’ – were: ‘the end justifies the means’.
Gondry is one of the first directors to evolve from, and be influenced by, the ‘MTV generation’ of the late 1990s. This was an era where digital media - cable internet, plasma-screen televisions, pay-tv, highly realistic computer gaming consoles, reality television programs, etc - became ubiquitous. An era where immediate gratification became not only available, it became essential, to avoid viewers ‘switching off’. As a result of this, consumerism (more and more so without dollar payment) flourished, and the attention spans of many young people became increasingly reduced.
Gondry began his creative career making television commercials (including ‘Drugstore’, an ad for Levi 501s which is officially the most awarded commercial in history), as well as indie music videos for his French band “Oui Oui”. These videos caught the attention of Bjork, who then enlisted him to direct her own video clips. Work for Radiohead, The White Stripes, and Daft Punk soon followed. All of his videos had a very unique, quirky, and almost makeshift feel. Rather than using digital effects, Gondry prefers to create all sets himself, and uses cardboard cut-out props to represent various real-life elements. The end result is a semi-maniacal (… keeping the impatient youth interested?), and ultimately a very real and human aesthetic.
Moving from music videos to feature length films is not always a seamless transition, although it was Gondry, along with Spike Jonze (‘Being John Malkovich’, ‘Adaptation’) and David Fincher (‘Se7en’, ‘Fight Club’), who are credited as representing the first-wave of artists to do so successfully. Gondry’s first film, released in 2001, was the intelligent and highly entertaining ‘Human Nature’. With a screenplay by lauded writer Charlie Kaufman, and produced by Spike Jonze, ‘Human Nature’ is quite light in essence, but certainly has a deeper sub-text accompanying the quirky vision that Gondry employed for the screenplay.
Next up was ‘Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind’; another film penned by Charlie Kaufman, and without doubt, one of the best films of its release year. Gondry was now lauded, by fans and critics alike, as a bona fide director. The time had come for him to free himself of the parent-like creative relationship with the brilliant Charlie Kaufman, and he did this with his own original script in 2006 - the romantic fantasy drama ‘The Science Of Sleep’. This was the film in which Gondry was finally able to have full creative control over the direction of the visual effects.
So where to now for Gondry, an artist who has covered so much ground already in a relatively short time in the industry? The answer is this back to ‘grass-roots’ movie - ‘Be Kind Rewind’ - which he both wrote and directed. Working within a small budget, getting the most use out of basic props, favouring genuine camera trickery over digital cheating, and casting relatively inexperienced actors (rapper-cum-actor, Mos Def, and Melonie Diaz), it is almost like Gondry put aside any artistic ego and instead just focused on trying to put together a really honest and human movie. Take note of my use of words here – ‘movie’, not ‘film’. There is a level of elitism that tends to come with the term ‘film’, and ‘Be Kind Rewind’ is a world away from any such high-brow critiques. ‘Be Kind Rewind’ hasn’t got a very deep plot (two video shop clerks concoct a plan to re-enact all the videos in the shop after they accidentally erase all the originals), nor has it got any breathtaking performances (Mos Def, whilst cute, doesn’t come across as the confident and charismatic man that is on display in his hip hop music). It wasn’t until close to the end of the movie that I really warmed to it and understood that Gondry didn’t so much care about the individual parts of the movie, he had an overall vision for it. Without giving too much away – there really is a life-affirming final stanza that is worth experiencing – Gondry, with ‘Be Kind Rewind’, has gone back to grass-roots movie-making, and in the process, has created something which will not only leave audiences with a reinvigorated love of the cinema experience, it will leave them with a touching sense of community togetherness. Put simply, this could be (1988 classic Italian film) ‘Cinema Paradiso’ for 2008.
Be Kind Rewind was released in 2008, and is now available on DVD.
Gondry is one of the first directors to evolve from, and be influenced by, the ‘MTV generation’ of the late 1990s. This was an era where digital media - cable internet, plasma-screen televisions, pay-tv, highly realistic computer gaming consoles, reality television programs, etc - became ubiquitous. An era where immediate gratification became not only available, it became essential, to avoid viewers ‘switching off’. As a result of this, consumerism (more and more so without dollar payment) flourished, and the attention spans of many young people became increasingly reduced.
Gondry began his creative career making television commercials (including ‘Drugstore’, an ad for Levi 501s which is officially the most awarded commercial in history), as well as indie music videos for his French band “Oui Oui”. These videos caught the attention of Bjork, who then enlisted him to direct her own video clips. Work for Radiohead, The White Stripes, and Daft Punk soon followed. All of his videos had a very unique, quirky, and almost makeshift feel. Rather than using digital effects, Gondry prefers to create all sets himself, and uses cardboard cut-out props to represent various real-life elements. The end result is a semi-maniacal (… keeping the impatient youth interested?), and ultimately a very real and human aesthetic.
Moving from music videos to feature length films is not always a seamless transition, although it was Gondry, along with Spike Jonze (‘Being John Malkovich’, ‘Adaptation’) and David Fincher (‘Se7en’, ‘Fight Club’), who are credited as representing the first-wave of artists to do so successfully. Gondry’s first film, released in 2001, was the intelligent and highly entertaining ‘Human Nature’. With a screenplay by lauded writer Charlie Kaufman, and produced by Spike Jonze, ‘Human Nature’ is quite light in essence, but certainly has a deeper sub-text accompanying the quirky vision that Gondry employed for the screenplay.
Next up was ‘Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind’; another film penned by Charlie Kaufman, and without doubt, one of the best films of its release year. Gondry was now lauded, by fans and critics alike, as a bona fide director. The time had come for him to free himself of the parent-like creative relationship with the brilliant Charlie Kaufman, and he did this with his own original script in 2006 - the romantic fantasy drama ‘The Science Of Sleep’. This was the film in which Gondry was finally able to have full creative control over the direction of the visual effects.
So where to now for Gondry, an artist who has covered so much ground already in a relatively short time in the industry? The answer is this back to ‘grass-roots’ movie - ‘Be Kind Rewind’ - which he both wrote and directed. Working within a small budget, getting the most use out of basic props, favouring genuine camera trickery over digital cheating, and casting relatively inexperienced actors (rapper-cum-actor, Mos Def, and Melonie Diaz), it is almost like Gondry put aside any artistic ego and instead just focused on trying to put together a really honest and human movie. Take note of my use of words here – ‘movie’, not ‘film’. There is a level of elitism that tends to come with the term ‘film’, and ‘Be Kind Rewind’ is a world away from any such high-brow critiques. ‘Be Kind Rewind’ hasn’t got a very deep plot (two video shop clerks concoct a plan to re-enact all the videos in the shop after they accidentally erase all the originals), nor has it got any breathtaking performances (Mos Def, whilst cute, doesn’t come across as the confident and charismatic man that is on display in his hip hop music). It wasn’t until close to the end of the movie that I really warmed to it and understood that Gondry didn’t so much care about the individual parts of the movie, he had an overall vision for it. Without giving too much away – there really is a life-affirming final stanza that is worth experiencing – Gondry, with ‘Be Kind Rewind’, has gone back to grass-roots movie-making, and in the process, has created something which will not only leave audiences with a reinvigorated love of the cinema experience, it will leave them with a touching sense of community togetherness. Put simply, this could be (1988 classic Italian film) ‘Cinema Paradiso’ for 2008.
Be Kind Rewind was released in 2008, and is now available on DVD.
[Film Review] The Kite Runner
It is commonly assumed that the Director of a film is the most important contributor to the overall production. However, it is the Producer who is involved in all aspects of the film-making process. One way to describe the role of the Producer is to suggest he/she is responsible for the casting of the entire production, with a particular focus on gathering together the best possible crew. A conductor, if you like – the person overseeing the individual performances, ensuring they all play their part to the satisfaction of the intended completed product.
The Producer of ‘The Kite Runner’ (a film adapted from Khaled Hosseini’s best selling novel of the same name) is William Horberg.
Horberg first came across ‘The Kite Runner’ when it was merely a rough manuscript Hosseini was still polishing. Set in Afghanistan in the 1970’s, the story traces the lives of two young boys - best friends - with different ethnic backgrounds; backgrounds which eventually play catalyst to a life-changing course of events for both. Horberg immediately saw the potential of this powerful, human story, and secured the rights to a film adaptation. A few months later, Hosseini’s novel was released. To the surprise of Horberg and his developing entourage of conspirators, the novel became a world-wide phenomenon, catapulting to best-selling lists in over 30 countries. It is then that Horberg and co realized just how much attention the film adaptation would no doubt garner – and in my opinion, it is this realization that is responsible for turning what could have been an art-house treasure into a fairly ‘safe’ film for general consumption.
‘Safe’ is the best way to describe the overall feeling of the film, which really disappoints me on a couple of levels. Firstly because I really don’t think Horberg has enough confidence in what general audiences are willing to embrace, and secondly because there are so many wonderful aspects to this film. The cinematography is sweeping and lush; the digital effects crisp and awesome; the vast majority of the score is subtle, ethereal, and extremely heart-felt; and the cast (made up of both seasoned and first-time actors) is completely superb, guided fluidly by Director Marc Foster (Monsters Ball, Finding Neverland).
What is it, then, that takes these fantastic elements and pushes them into safe territory? To me, it comes down to the screenplay itself. In adapting from the novel, screenwriter David Benioff (25th Hour) seems to have taken a very literal transcription. In the same way that a robot would translate the English language, all the poetics and elegance have been stripped from the script. The end result is a beautifully shot, brilliantly acted, and wonderfully scored, rather dry American interpretation of a truly endearing Afghanistani story.
The Kite Runner was released in 2008, and is now available on DVD.
The Producer of ‘The Kite Runner’ (a film adapted from Khaled Hosseini’s best selling novel of the same name) is William Horberg.
Horberg first came across ‘The Kite Runner’ when it was merely a rough manuscript Hosseini was still polishing. Set in Afghanistan in the 1970’s, the story traces the lives of two young boys - best friends - with different ethnic backgrounds; backgrounds which eventually play catalyst to a life-changing course of events for both. Horberg immediately saw the potential of this powerful, human story, and secured the rights to a film adaptation. A few months later, Hosseini’s novel was released. To the surprise of Horberg and his developing entourage of conspirators, the novel became a world-wide phenomenon, catapulting to best-selling lists in over 30 countries. It is then that Horberg and co realized just how much attention the film adaptation would no doubt garner – and in my opinion, it is this realization that is responsible for turning what could have been an art-house treasure into a fairly ‘safe’ film for general consumption.
‘Safe’ is the best way to describe the overall feeling of the film, which really disappoints me on a couple of levels. Firstly because I really don’t think Horberg has enough confidence in what general audiences are willing to embrace, and secondly because there are so many wonderful aspects to this film. The cinematography is sweeping and lush; the digital effects crisp and awesome; the vast majority of the score is subtle, ethereal, and extremely heart-felt; and the cast (made up of both seasoned and first-time actors) is completely superb, guided fluidly by Director Marc Foster (Monsters Ball, Finding Neverland).
What is it, then, that takes these fantastic elements and pushes them into safe territory? To me, it comes down to the screenplay itself. In adapting from the novel, screenwriter David Benioff (25th Hour) seems to have taken a very literal transcription. In the same way that a robot would translate the English language, all the poetics and elegance have been stripped from the script. The end result is a beautifully shot, brilliantly acted, and wonderfully scored, rather dry American interpretation of a truly endearing Afghanistani story.
The Kite Runner was released in 2008, and is now available on DVD.
[Film Review] No Country For Old Men
‘No Country for Old Men’ is an American film neo-noir, adapted from a Cormac McCarthy novel of the same title, with perhaps too much awareness of the novel’s subtext. Writer/Directors Joel and Ethan Coen, who are undeniably brilliant, and always relevant, filmmakers, seem to not be able to let go of an ‘identity ego’ – a linear film would be too ‘easy’ in their, and their devoted following’s, judgments. Or maybe it’s just that the ‘between the lines’ aspect of ‘No Country for Old Men’ is not presented clearly, or cohesively, enough.
On the surface, the film plays like a fairly rudimentary thriller genre-piece. Protagonist Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon a large sum of money, as well as a litter of bodies, which even the most elementary of sleuth’s would be able to decipher as the remnants of a drug smuggle gone very wrong. Llewelyn, who lives in a trailer park in Texas, decides to play ‘finders keepers’, and jets off with the loot. A crisis of conscience leads him back to the bloodied, corpse-ridden scene, where he encounters the rogue posse sent to investigate the bodged smuggle. A chase ensues, one involving the full gamut of stakeholders: the assigned, ruthless assassin Anton Chigurh (played with truly chilling conviction by the lauded Spanish actor Javier Badem); a representative of the American drug syndicate responsible for the drug transportation, Carson Wells (the increasingly annoying Woody ‘Goofy’ Harrelson); local sheriff Ed Tom Bell (the faultless, yet rather mundane Tommy Lee Jones); and of course our ‘in over his head’ protagonist Llewelyn (played adequately by Josh Brolin).
In all of American writer Cormac McCarthy’s novels there is the subtext of the ever-changing nature of America’s West. The original inspiration for ‘No Country for Old Men’ stemmed from the W.B. Yeats poem, ‘Sailing to Byzantium’. Indeed, the title was plucked from the poem’s opening stanza:
That is No Country For Old Men, The young
In one another’s arms, birds in the trees
- Those dying generations – at their song
In the Coen Brothers’ adaptation, Tommy Lee Jones’ sheriff represents that ‘old man’, a man who no longer feels a sense of belonging to, or empathy with, an American society which is falling further and further from grace. This is a powerful and necessary theme for post-9/11 American films to explore, and one which has been explored effectively in such films as ‘Lions for Lambs’, and the upcoming ‘Grace is Gone’. In my opinion, ‘No Country for Old Men’ fails to achieve similar success in this regard. I believe this is because the Coen Brothers are – fundamentally - stylistically esoteric and meticulously detailed filmmakers, resulting in the poignant subtext being overshadowed by a brilliantly mapped-out thriller.
If you’re after a top-shelf thriller, look no further than these benchmark setting American filmmakers’ latest master-craft. However, if you are after a film which successfully marries thrills with philosophy, and/or politics, perhaps you’re better looking to the French, whose 2005 film, ‘Hidden’, sits amongst the best in contemporary cinema’s history.
No Country For Old Men was released in 2007, and is now available on DVD.
On the surface, the film plays like a fairly rudimentary thriller genre-piece. Protagonist Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon a large sum of money, as well as a litter of bodies, which even the most elementary of sleuth’s would be able to decipher as the remnants of a drug smuggle gone very wrong. Llewelyn, who lives in a trailer park in Texas, decides to play ‘finders keepers’, and jets off with the loot. A crisis of conscience leads him back to the bloodied, corpse-ridden scene, where he encounters the rogue posse sent to investigate the bodged smuggle. A chase ensues, one involving the full gamut of stakeholders: the assigned, ruthless assassin Anton Chigurh (played with truly chilling conviction by the lauded Spanish actor Javier Badem); a representative of the American drug syndicate responsible for the drug transportation, Carson Wells (the increasingly annoying Woody ‘Goofy’ Harrelson); local sheriff Ed Tom Bell (the faultless, yet rather mundane Tommy Lee Jones); and of course our ‘in over his head’ protagonist Llewelyn (played adequately by Josh Brolin).
In all of American writer Cormac McCarthy’s novels there is the subtext of the ever-changing nature of America’s West. The original inspiration for ‘No Country for Old Men’ stemmed from the W.B. Yeats poem, ‘Sailing to Byzantium’. Indeed, the title was plucked from the poem’s opening stanza:
That is No Country For Old Men, The young
In one another’s arms, birds in the trees
- Those dying generations – at their song
In the Coen Brothers’ adaptation, Tommy Lee Jones’ sheriff represents that ‘old man’, a man who no longer feels a sense of belonging to, or empathy with, an American society which is falling further and further from grace. This is a powerful and necessary theme for post-9/11 American films to explore, and one which has been explored effectively in such films as ‘Lions for Lambs’, and the upcoming ‘Grace is Gone’. In my opinion, ‘No Country for Old Men’ fails to achieve similar success in this regard. I believe this is because the Coen Brothers are – fundamentally - stylistically esoteric and meticulously detailed filmmakers, resulting in the poignant subtext being overshadowed by a brilliantly mapped-out thriller.
If you’re after a top-shelf thriller, look no further than these benchmark setting American filmmakers’ latest master-craft. However, if you are after a film which successfully marries thrills with philosophy, and/or politics, perhaps you’re better looking to the French, whose 2005 film, ‘Hidden’, sits amongst the best in contemporary cinema’s history.
No Country For Old Men was released in 2007, and is now available on DVD.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
[Film Review] Lions For Lambs
“What do we do now?” is the rhetorical question posed by Senator Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise) during a conversation with media representative Janine Roth (Meryl Streep) in one of the opening scenes from ‘Lions for Lambs’, the new film directed by Robert Redford.
“Do you know what you’re getting?” is the direct question from a college student to fellow student Todd (Andrew Garfield), after a summoned confrontation with Professor Dr. Malley (Redford), during the film’s closing scene.
In many ways, these unrelated questions, asked by the two demographic groups in Mathew Michael Carnahan’s (‘The Kingdom’) screenplay, symbolise one of the main themes of the film. And that is - the decisions made now will affect and influence future generations’ approach to problem-solving issues.
At a time when the public’s nonchalance towards such real-life issues as global-warming and the ‘war on terror’ is becoming increasingly prevalent, this unassuming political-drama couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time. Robert Redford has developed a remarkable ability in choosing socially-conscious films, and then presenting them in an effortlessly fluid and always-engaging manner. In his earlier directorial effort, the Oscar-winning film ‘Quiz Show’, released in 1994, Redford touched upon a related theme from ‘Lions for lambs’: how ethically corrupted will the media become in order to sell a product, and how apathetic will the viewing public become as a result.
It goes without saying that technically speaking ‘Lions for lambs’ has been put together with all-rounded class. Executive producers Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner have a long, successful history in film production, which has instilled in them a formidable knowledge of how best to ‘conduct’ the full gamut of the film-making process. However, the talk-provoking nature of this film is what is really worth selling to you. ‘Lions for lambs’ is a concise, fluid, and receptive film dealing with a current political/social climate that is anything but. I highly recommend you see it, and I strongly urge you talk about it.
Lions For Lambs was released in 2007, and is now available on DVD.
“Do you know what you’re getting?” is the direct question from a college student to fellow student Todd (Andrew Garfield), after a summoned confrontation with Professor Dr. Malley (Redford), during the film’s closing scene.
In many ways, these unrelated questions, asked by the two demographic groups in Mathew Michael Carnahan’s (‘The Kingdom’) screenplay, symbolise one of the main themes of the film. And that is - the decisions made now will affect and influence future generations’ approach to problem-solving issues.
At a time when the public’s nonchalance towards such real-life issues as global-warming and the ‘war on terror’ is becoming increasingly prevalent, this unassuming political-drama couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time. Robert Redford has developed a remarkable ability in choosing socially-conscious films, and then presenting them in an effortlessly fluid and always-engaging manner. In his earlier directorial effort, the Oscar-winning film ‘Quiz Show’, released in 1994, Redford touched upon a related theme from ‘Lions for lambs’: how ethically corrupted will the media become in order to sell a product, and how apathetic will the viewing public become as a result.
It goes without saying that technically speaking ‘Lions for lambs’ has been put together with all-rounded class. Executive producers Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner have a long, successful history in film production, which has instilled in them a formidable knowledge of how best to ‘conduct’ the full gamut of the film-making process. However, the talk-provoking nature of this film is what is really worth selling to you. ‘Lions for lambs’ is a concise, fluid, and receptive film dealing with a current political/social climate that is anything but. I highly recommend you see it, and I strongly urge you talk about it.
Lions For Lambs was released in 2007, and is now available on DVD.
Manifesto
Hello there everyone,
I thought I'd start up a blog so I could have somewhere that I could shamelessly ramble about the things that are inspiring me. I was writing film & music reviews for a digital media website, but they decided to streamline their content, thus putting a focus on cost efficiency rather than community-based values. This new approach didn't bode so well for my tendency to write sprawling reviews, of which some did not even discuss the film or CD itself. I was always told that as a writer, its imperative to find your own voice, and this is advice that I considered deeply when I began 'finding my voice'.
Anyways, I thought rather than let my opinions lie dormant I'd post them online in the hope that some of you might get something out of them.
So, in short, this blog will be dedicated to my film & music reviews, and also any other related tidbits which are keeping me inspired. Hopefully some of you, in turn, will also be inspired!
Ryan :)
I thought I'd start up a blog so I could have somewhere that I could shamelessly ramble about the things that are inspiring me. I was writing film & music reviews for a digital media website, but they decided to streamline their content, thus putting a focus on cost efficiency rather than community-based values. This new approach didn't bode so well for my tendency to write sprawling reviews, of which some did not even discuss the film or CD itself. I was always told that as a writer, its imperative to find your own voice, and this is advice that I considered deeply when I began 'finding my voice'.
Anyways, I thought rather than let my opinions lie dormant I'd post them online in the hope that some of you might get something out of them.
So, in short, this blog will be dedicated to my film & music reviews, and also any other related tidbits which are keeping me inspired. Hopefully some of you, in turn, will also be inspired!
Ryan :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
