I have not written in a while…I refused to write about the war because it felt like giving attention to something i disapprove of, yet I felt that writing about anything else was too mundane.Things are beginning to settle down politically and so I feel it is decent to start writing again.I have been to the movies and want to give you my take on three films I have seen.
The first one is a little french film called “Etre et avoir” referring to the two verbs to be and to have. It is cinema vérité in that a small town teacher was filmed over one school year. There is no story line, you just follow the children and their teacher through the seasons. It is a one classroom school so the ages of the kids go from 4 to 13. It is oddly touching to discover some of the childrens’ sad stories. The teacher is very calm, and patient. He is soothing to the point of being sensual although he seldom touches the children physically. The photography is beautiful whether you are looking at fields or at a close up of a runny nose …Not an action flick for sure but a reassuring one to see in these days of war. It shows you that tolerance, respect, acceptance and love do exist.
I know I know you must be thinking I am moralizing so I will stop here and tell you about the second film. A much more famous one. It is a spanish film titled “Habla con ella” (speak with her) by film maker Almodovar.This one is totally the opposite as there are many plots unfolding, many themes, many moods. The music is an important part of the film ( there is a performance by a famous singer that is breathtaking) . So are colours ( you see a bull fight up close and the putting on of a suit of lights). It is a strong film not a soft subdued one like “Etre et avoir”. It is hard to tell the story, but lets say that there are two “couples”. One is formed by a writer and a woman torreador, who meet as the film starts. The other is composed of a male nurse, whose identity is a bit foggy ( he looks like he could be mildly trisomic, yet he acts and talks almost normally…so it is hard to tell…) and a young ballerina who is in a coma in the hospital after a car accident. The torreador also ends up in a coma in the same hospital so the two male characters meet. But their reactions are totally different. Benino , the nurse, treats his ballerina as if she was alive, he talks to her, he reads to her, he cuts her hair , he dresses her, washes her etc etc…again it is a sensuous film as you see him washing and massaging her limp naked and very beautiful body. The writer on the other hand has trouble talking to his inert lover. He eventually leaves when he finds out that she had been about to tell him she was leaving him, when she got gored by a bull. Meanwhile it is discovered that the ballerina is pregnant. Benino is sent to jail. When the writer finds out he comes back to see if he can help his friend. He finds out that the ballerina lost the baby but recovered consciousness in the process. He is asked NOT to tell Benino as he might try to contact her. So he tells him that the baby died. Benino commits suicide…The last shot is of the writer meeting theballerina at a recital…
>Hard to make sense of it all. So many images…so many symbols…so many ways to interpret…but I enjoy films like that…even if I do not understand it all..I feel the film is rich like a gift.
The third film is a recent release, an american production titled “Anger management” with Jack Nicholson. I don’t think it has any grand ambition as a deep film. it is an easy comedy but well paced, with effective gags. I am reminded of “Something about Mary”, although the humour is not as low. The acting is very good, even if most of the roles are caricatures. In two words, a poor quiet guy gets caught up in a situation that lands him in an anger management program. All kinds of ludicrous situations arise. The end is overly sweet and predictable but this is an american feel good film…A good mindless diversion.