CLAIRE DENIS’S “Both Sides of the Blade”: ‘You’re going on junk….”

by James Clark 2022

The films of Claire Denis have a  penchant for disaster. Understanding her way must not be a quick take. Reaching her range involves much sophistication. In fact, we must involve the novel, Remembrance of Things Past, by novelist, Marcel Proust.

    Here I want to open the enigma with a wealth of the shock of Surrealism.

The enigma, however, involves Surrealism being old hat. That doesn’t  sound like Denis. (In the Ingmar Bergman film, Thirst [1949], there were many stunning visual presentations, by way of the cameraman, Gunner Fischer.) Why, though, this matter now, after all these years. Of course Denis must have very good reasons for us to ponder. We’ll begin with a primer, and see what can develop. Surrealist thinking was, and still does, have a hope. A small hope. We begin, however, the hope of the new. The new, but normal. Looking to the normal, in any way, could give one a horrible time.

However, we have marvelous resources in the form of novelist Marcel Proust (1871-1922). Denis engaging Proust? Yes. Watch and be thrilled! One of the protagonists of Denis’s film is a former lover (of the main actress, Sara). His name is  Francois. He gets around. Another mover, is the busy and wise servant of the protagonist to Proust, namely Francoise.

Sara and Jean are not of the same era. Sara is about twenty years younger than him. But they adhere to helping new immigrants to France. Rather peculiar, Denis opens with a tropical fling. They alone tread the wonders, and Jean  embraces her as if he were in a Hollywood flick. One with much business caressing her. “Twisting,” being in several moments in difficult films. After that, there is darkness in a subway, which turns to a station that does not allow places to step. The rooftops of Paris! Fog along the river. Fog everywhere! Mail under the door. Digging for what. (Proust was seldom a traveller. He seldom left his bedroom. His family riches allowed concentration.) Sara owned the flat. Her taste in features was incisive. Her taste in men was something else. (All these considerations require thought. Denis delivers.) Tickling, kissing, her long graceful hands and fingers. Long needs. In shadow, a sort of monster. Then on the phone. “Yes, Mom, it’s me. Yeah, it was great… Give her a kiss… Sara sends her love. We relaxed, it was nice, we took it easy…” (Taking it easy may not be the best choice.)

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Bones and All, Devotion and The Menu on Monday Morning Diary (November 28)

by Sam Juliano

I trust that all our stateside readers enjoyed their Thanksgiving Day.  Many are now pivoting in the direction of the yuletide season.  Activities over the coming weeks will surely intensify, and I am wishing everyone good health and continued safety.

I have taken some baby steps with my third novel, Roses for Saoirse, but mainly to work on a general outline.  Still, I have reached the second chapter.  Meanwhile, Irish Jesus in Fairview is in possessions of my editors.  Our resident film essay writer extraordinaire, Jim Clark has penned another superlative piece, which will be publishing within a half-hour of this MMD’s posting.

Lucille and I saw three new releases in theaters this past week.

   Luca Guadagnino’s “Bones and All” Rating: 1.5 of 5.0

(Seen in Ridgefield Park on Saturday evening)

I absolutely get the metaphors and the audacious manner of exploring love in the rural American environs in the dreamy and nightmarish new film by Luca Guadagnino, titled BONES AND ALL, and found it easy to be seduced by the sublime cinematography and extraordinary musical score by a renowned twosome – and who, while watching the film could argue that Timothy Chalamee, Taylor Russell and Mark Rylance aren’t captivating in roles wildly disperate than any they have ever tackled, but the end result for me after watching the film last night, was disgust, revulsion, incredulity and downright anger. I spent over two hours largely being regaled by human depravity and ulra-violent set pieces (one in a cornfield and another in a bathtub that brought back horrifying images of HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER) and sickening domestic scenes right out of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST which pop up shockingly in a visual scheme patterned on Terence Malick (the film has been compared to BADLANDS by some). Yes, there is a moral compass here for sure, and the film’s fans in the critical ranks have offered up superlative argumants in support of the film’s style, explicitly choreographed passion and metaphorical underpinnings. I respect that absolutely. But as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and BONES AND ALL sickened me to my core. The price to pay for the exploration of the unthinkable outweighs the vile lengths of this off-putting and tedious experience.

“The Menu” and “Devotion”

Both films rate 3.5 of 5.0 (Seen in Teaneck and Ridgefield Park on Wenesday and Friday evenings)

My guess is that regular diners and inveterate foodies will find much to satiate their taste buds in THE MENU, a film that for me is a blend of Peter Greenaway’s 1989 “The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover” and the multiple film adaptations of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None.” To be sure, this black comedy with an ongoing perverse undercurrent (that explodes into full-flavored perversity before all is said and done) showcases a markedly twisted restaurant, located on a secluded island, where tragic events and satiric happenings (a recall of Triangle of Sadness too) bring about the kind of emotion caught between laughter and revulsion. A star-studded cast sustain the affair and the ending is no-holds barred. I can’t deny the fun quotient.

Nothing in the Korean War film DEVOTION, directed by J. D. Dillard, and acted superbly by the two leads, is remarkable, and in some ways it is standard fare. Yet,, whether by design or by the safe presentation of its story of heroism and friendship, it succeeds in moving the viewer, which in these days of multiplex fodder is a substancial return on the time investment. The friendship is based on a real-life story, and it was wonderful to know the families stayed close over generations. I expected something much less that what I got.

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EO, The Fabelmans, Top 200 Films of All-Time polling results and Happy Thanksgiving on Monday Morning Diary (November 21)

by Sam Juliano

Happy Thanksgiving to all our good friends and readers who will be celebrating the holiday on Thursday of this week!  Our own family will be attending our annual massively-attended event at the Butler, New Jersey home of my wife’s sister and family!

Irish Jesus in Fairview is still in the hands of my excellent first-stage editor, Rob Bignell.  I have been dabbling with ideas for the third novel, and hope to proceed over the holidays.

Lucille, Sammy IV, Jeremy and I attended a new release on Saturday night in Manhattan, and on Sunday I attended a second film in Manhattan by my lonesome.

Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical THE FABELMANS is a life-affirming work that is the furthest thing from self-indulgence and shameless self-promotion, in fact the story of a legendary filmmaker’s childhood years, growing up as part of a dysfunctional family dynamic allows for all kinds of emotional and humorous vignettes, one wrought with heartbreak, exhilaration and music-infused documentation of a time and an era, that according to the director is all too fleeting. The kaleidoscopic film is an audience charmer that is celebratory in tone, and a showcase of cinematic craftsmanship from the acting, script, cinematography, art direction and score. Spielberg rarely has gotten this personal, and as filmgoers we were treated to a two-and-a-half hour film that flew by as quickly as the coming-of-age story it chronicled. THE FABELMANS is truly one of the greatest films of Spielberg’s career. 5 of 5.

Few of us who have come to regard Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski as a major talent from decades past could have predicted that he would create one of this very best films in his mid-80s. Robert Bresson’s supreme masterpiece “Au Hasard Balthazar” from 1966 was the inspiration, but unlike Bresson’s film -which focuses on the people around the film’s animal metaphor – his new surrealist and poetic EO, an economical, minimalist work is an intimate cinematic probe of a donkey who moves on from one threat to another, after his first appearance in a circus. The story, much like the one told in Bresson’s film, isn’t tightly plotted (an understatement) and through some captivating expressionistic cinematography by Micha Dymek, the episodic work (again like Bresson’s film) establishes and develops a deep emotional bond between audience and central character, even though six donkeys (Hola, Tako, Marietta, Ettore, Rocco and Mela take turns playing the animal). I’d be hard pressed to name a film released in 2022 that is as wrenchingly moving as this Polish masterwork. 5 of 5.

The long-awaited results of the Greatest Films of All-Time polling, brilliantly tabulated by Bill Kamberger, follows:

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85 ballots submitted for All-Time Greatest Film polling on Monday Morning Diary (November 14)

 

by Sam Juliano

Authors. University professors. Film critics. Film scholars. Filmmakers. Collectors. Impassioned cinephiles. Film fanatics who have watched upwards of 5,000 films in their lives. (Kendal College cum laude, the Briton Allan Fish, who authored a film book like no other -and whose ballot here is the only posthumous one submitted – saw double that number, easily, but this group is so prolific that associating with them is a humbling affair.) Film lovers who compile annual lists of the best they saw in years where they watched in the hundreds. Inveterate list makers. International movie denizens. Proctors of movie blog sites. And even a small sprinkling of the more modest movie watcher. They are all here for this Mother of all Pollings. (Yes, we still need to complete our Best American Films poll in our nearly-completed International balloting, but this present poll does stand alone). And for Tabulator Extraordinaire Bill Kamberger, this is truly the Mother of All Tabulations. It requires about one hour of his time to tabulate just one ballot, and we now have a grand total of eighty-five (85) ballots submitted.  The deadline passed today. This is a staggering total when you consider that the overwhelming majority of the ballots feature 100 films on them. This means the respective authors of those lists spent considerable time on crafting them.

We are not the final word on anything, not remotely. Yet, I am so proud of this group, and over the past several years have gotten to know most. This is as tasteful and as expert a group of cineastes I could ever hope to be associated with, and in behalf of Bill and myself I’d like to thank you for mustering up the energy and passion to complete this challenging task. The end results (concensus) will surely justify the time and effort that went into the project. To all those submitting ballots, thank you a million times over!

This past week was quiet on the movie front, but the coming week we plan to see a few more, including the highly-praised new Spielberg film.  I’ve been tinkering with the manuscript of Irish Jesus in Fairview, as I await the editing of the first-half of the book from my first-stage editor.  Meanwhile I have been outlining some ideas for the third novel, Roses for Saiorse. 

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The Banshees of Inisherin, Armegeddon Time and conclusion to Horrorfest 2022 on Monday Morning Diary (November 7)

 

 

by Sam Juliano

Election Day is tomorrow (Tuesday, November 8th).  I think we all know what is at stake.

The Banshees of Inisherin and Armegeddon Time at Teaneck multiplex

Lucille, Sammy, Jeremy and I watched two films over the weekend at the Cedar Lane Cinemas in Teaneck – on Friday and Saturday evenings. Though both films received strong reviews, we needed to see ourselves if the glowing notices were warranted. Alas they were. Both films for me get 4.5 of 5.0 and contend mightily for the end of the year honors, when I compile my “Best of 2022” list. The black comedy “Banshees”, written and directed by Martin McDonagh, is an allegorical, indeed existential meditation on loneliness which incorporates Ingmar Bergman and David Lynch and features breathtaking cinematography, shot on the sandy shores of Galway Bay, (a remote island off the coast of Ireland) and segues into a gruesome revenge fable that is brilliantly performed by Colin Ferrel, Brendan Gleason, Barry Keoghan and especially Kerry

Condon, who plays the independent-minded foil to the warring males.

James Gray’s autobiographical coming-of-age drama, “Armegeddon Time,” set in the 1980’s in Queens, during the Reagan era when Fred and Maryann Trump are dramatized making an appearance at a school – depicts an 11 year-old Jewish boy (Banks Repeta as Paul Graff) who befriends an African-American classmate, and gets into trouble after they smoke pot in the bathroom. A disciplinary scene where a belt is employed, evokes the era and underscores bad choices made by young and old, and how guilt isn’t easily overcome, as time moves forward. The film explores how race and class determine how one’s life will play out after young people are failed by the education system. Elegiac and bittersweet, the film is provocatively lensed by Darius Khondji, and the period is superbly evoked by the music and set design. Anthony Hopkins is excellent as a Holocaust survivor who warns his grandson of antisemitism, and the rest of the cast, including Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong and the aforementioned Repeta are first-rate. This is the “lightest” film of Gray’s career, but overall it may well be his best. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN 4.5 of 5.0 ARMEGEDDON TIME 4.5 of 5.0

Jamie Uhler’s final entries in his stupendous 2022 Horrorfest:

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