tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27461898339256662962024-03-18T13:39:30.551-04:00the phantom countryJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.comBlogger860125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-84907850927553274742015-09-22T12:31:00.000-04:002015-09-22T12:31:32.907-04:00TIFF '15 Part Two: Dreams and reality <div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlAdqavqNBbZNfKDSuNvdNEsADSa7USL9pJjZnFAhKmPvJlFoRuTHomjnO-AFcripxaA_emfmhO9qVcxZOE_NTBOr7qV0n6ELnzL_Anbf9g-fXobJC__sMKGORrMiHr5i9ivJCysTySs/s1600/THE+FORBIDDEN+ROOM_Still1-thumb-1620x902-53018.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlAdqavqNBbZNfKDSuNvdNEsADSa7USL9pJjZnFAhKmPvJlFoRuTHomjnO-AFcripxaA_emfmhO9qVcxZOE_NTBOr7qV0n6ELnzL_Anbf9g-fXobJC__sMKGORrMiHr5i9ivJCysTySs/s400/THE+FORBIDDEN+ROOM_Still1-thumb-1620x902-53018.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The Forbidden Room</i></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The 2015 edition
of the Toronto International Film Festival has drawn to a close, the ticket
stubs have been swept up, the people from elsewhere have all gone back to
elsewhere and the weather has chilled. After so much time watching movies,
staying up too late, drinking too much and having fleeting close encounters
with those passing through, it’s hard not to feel like I just experienced some
rich, dense, prolonged dream. Especially when so many of the most striking
films at TIFF 2015 possessed the feverish pulse or seductive fluidity of
dreams—yes, I’m thinking of you, <i>The
Forbidden Room</i>, Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson’s intoxicating and hilarious
nesting-doll mega-narrative, which transports us into a volcanic island, a submarine
where sailors eat pancakes for extra oxygen and a wolf’s den where bizarre
tests of brain and braun are undertaken. Those are just a few of this film’s
hallucinatory rest-stops, many of which feature cameos from the likes of
Geraldine Chaplin, Charlotte Rampling and Udo Kier. Maddin has made the most
dynamic next step possible in his extremely particular oeuvre, and <i>The Forbidden Room</i> will be writhing its
way into a theatre near you soon. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8XH0favI-Wh6AnM28RSm_-oeBu380Q3lOnvTJrYJBiN4mEsLOzFgqpTkc92o0QsltzLthq7hbZ_hTkKlh7Qse1Wfgf5O9deGWox07e6iJzA1XR96bbW9XgLKbHNQ6WbJiceMybXnmmc/s1600/thr-arabian-nights-still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8XH0favI-Wh6AnM28RSm_-oeBu380Q3lOnvTJrYJBiN4mEsLOzFgqpTkc92o0QsltzLthq7hbZ_hTkKlh7Qse1Wfgf5O9deGWox07e6iJzA1XR96bbW9XgLKbHNQ6WbJiceMybXnmmc/s400/thr-arabian-nights-still.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Arabian Nights</i></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">More sober by comparison—what
wouldn’t be?—but no less errant and wide ranging in its trajectory, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tabu</i> writer-director Miguel Gomes’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arabian Nights</i> trilogy was presented at
TIFF both as three separate screenings and as a single back-to-back six-hour
marathon. Gomes hasn’t adapted Scheherazade’s<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Arabian Nights</i> but, rather, borrowed its episodic structure as a
means of casting a panoramic view of his country in the midst of its ongoing
austerity crisis. Gomes and his collaborators spent eleven months traversing
Portugal in search of stories, places and faces, blending these elements into
an unforgettable, anachronistic, documentary-fiction hybrid. At one point we
meet a dog who gives what may prove to be the single greatest performance of
2015 by man or beast. Cinema doesn’t get a lot more inventive, resourceful,
socially engaged and daring than this. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRca4eKhT-8vPhBNqBMHZAozH0Hliad8OtoZ1F2SBmISTIK1s0hHhXsYHh4dvmyUe84Hl6FgW9ZefkflBtCUtk_cVbeCgR3Lf4lrOvFrrOifPvjdAkJY0ca6sUYhSBUsKrC8ibsJYOEo/s1600/31005_43_NEON_BULL_Photo05____Desvia_Malbicho_Viking_2015_1__Wahl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRca4eKhT-8vPhBNqBMHZAozH0Hliad8OtoZ1F2SBmISTIK1s0hHhXsYHh4dvmyUe84Hl6FgW9ZefkflBtCUtk_cVbeCgR3Lf4lrOvFrrOifPvjdAkJY0ca6sUYhSBUsKrC8ibsJYOEo/s400/31005_43_NEON_BULL_Photo05____Desvia_Malbicho_Viking_2015_1__Wahl.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><i>Neon Bull</i></span></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Forbidden Room </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arabian Nights </i>both
premiered at major festivals earlier in the year, but of the new or nearly new
films at TIFF 2015 my favourite was easily Brazilian filmmaker and visual
artist Gabriel Mascaro’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Neon Bull</i>,
which follows a handful of people doing the grunt work on a traveling <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">vaquejada</i>, or Brazilian rodeo show. Featuring
rapturous photography from Diego García—who also shot <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cemetery of Splendour</i>, featured in last weeks’ TIFF report—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Neon Bull</i> brims with sensuous,
gorgeously composed images of people and animals in settings where the indoors
and the outdoors meet. It introduces us to memorable characters struggling
against confining economics but dreaming nonetheless of bigger things. Near its
finale is one of the most astonishing, beautiful and moving love scenes in
recent memory, incorporating themes of work, class and gender in a single, perfect,
unbroken shot.</span></span><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hd2vTsftYVsoZxx432waGfU1tgZpuSB21Ohivuw9g65fuYEQxmpBTCJyMuIex1wrPsCrqFYrc8x-MfwouY2SZYW7joR1LQGJBB9hDUXrzAEFFXImEJ-uFksChdI0Mp1UuS9TiKvHgjo/s1600/0261f37215389e14b9bfe8ba920cfc0e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hd2vTsftYVsoZxx432waGfU1tgZpuSB21Ohivuw9g65fuYEQxmpBTCJyMuIex1wrPsCrqFYrc8x-MfwouY2SZYW7joR1LQGJBB9hDUXrzAEFFXImEJ-uFksChdI0Mp1UuS9TiKvHgjo/s400/0261f37215389e14b9bfe8ba920cfc0e.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Hurt</span></i></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Neon Bull </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">was one of a dozen films featured in
TIFF’s new Platform section, named after Jia Zhangke’s masterpiece, which “spotlights
the next generation of masters.” Platform is a competitive section and its
winner gets $25,000. The inaugural judges were Jia himself, along with Claire
Denis and Agnieszka Holland—a very formidable jury, which made it that much
more surprising when it was announced that their prize would be going to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hurt</i>, Toronto director Alan Zweig’s
documentary about Steve Fonyo. Knowing that I will be seeing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hurt </i>soon enough I didn’t catch it at
during TIFF. Zweig has made at least one truly superb film—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Hard Name</i>—and I have absolutely no doubt that the film is very
good, though knowing Sweig’s work it is very hard to imagine that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hurt</i>, pegged as an outlier from the
outset, meets the criteria for auteur-driven innovation that Platform seems to
imply. Perhaps this is what happens when you get three very opinionated
cinematic giants—one of whom is my favourite living director—trying to agree on
something.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqFxEhBckgRRI5HMsXXxn_ENQngVMmWpTO0FrHl4djy4zz95VYnMcSa_NllK6XwXlT4eTG4yhbf-YwK5ROXCiDGOwxcffMUJ6FnB7iEHCdXLWWHqpCyNertCPMau539Uub14rie9888c/s1600/desierto-toronto-film-festival1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqFxEhBckgRRI5HMsXXxn_ENQngVMmWpTO0FrHl4djy4zz95VYnMcSa_NllK6XwXlT4eTG4yhbf-YwK5ROXCiDGOwxcffMUJ6FnB7iEHCdXLWWHqpCyNertCPMau539Uub14rie9888c/s400/desierto-toronto-film-festival1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><i>Desierto</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Still, it doesn’t take cinematic giants to arrive at
a frustrating compromise. This year’s International Critics Prize in TIFF’s
Special Presentation section went to </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Desierto</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">,
Jonás Cuarón’s exceedingly cliché-ridden thriller about Mexican migrants
getting hunted down by a xenophobic, murderous lunatic. Were this an
exploitation flick made by Larry Cohen in the 1970s it might have had its
shaggy charm, but this vehicle for Gael García Bernal and Jeffrey Dean Morgan,
helmed by the son of an extremely successful director, is riddled with the sort
of things that should send Cuarón to screenwriter’s jail and features only the
most superficial of polemical threads. Perhaps better compromises can be
arrived at by thousands of people who have never really met: the People’s
Choice Award, a prize one doesn’t usually expect to go to challenging or
especially artful films, went to Lenny Abrahamson’s surprisingly strong
adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s bestselling </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Room</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQ_drIioEkq5Y9h_IuOgGrm52WkEBZy2E74uEmcHLyRB_wH2GikOS39kKVi9DBr4wxDIyBehrvAn175yWswmVvGU53-RzNp11yTxu_46pSa8gmHAMitLDMXAWnIHJXk_qu6HDRAYBDV4/s1600/the_assassin_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQ_drIioEkq5Y9h_IuOgGrm52WkEBZy2E74uEmcHLyRB_wH2GikOS39kKVi9DBr4wxDIyBehrvAn175yWswmVvGU53-RzNp11yTxu_46pSa8gmHAMitLDMXAWnIHJXk_qu6HDRAYBDV4/s400/the_assassin_2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The Assassin</i></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A few more notes-in-brief before I
close this. Hou Hsaio-hsien’s martial arts film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Assassin </i>is as exquisite and a lot more heartfelt than its
reputation suggests. Athina Rachel Tsangari’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chevalier</i>, which chronicles an increasingly ridiculous competition
to be “best at everything” between a half-dozen men on a yacht is truly one of
the funniest movies I’ve seen in ages. Lucille Hadžihalilović’s haunting <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Evolution </i>is set in some strange seaside
place where there are only pretty little boys and women with mask-like faces
and whatever is really going on here is super-sinister. Charlie Kaufman and
Duke Johnson’s stop-motion <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Anomalisa</i>,
about a middle-aged motivational speaker staying at a Cincinnati hotel,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>is an absolutely ingenious conception,
with every tiny detail tweaked so as to speak to its theme of the world’s
numbing sameness and the way that sameness can be alleviated—however briefly—by
falling in love. Unfortunately it is also one of these films where once the
initial mystifications dissolve and you realize where it’s all going it no
longer seems as emotionally resonant as you’d hoped.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQiCRCdB9wzqMyn1Ebg0KMfCKUrxJ6MsrQ87LUbDp8wj0ZGZZATwbW0NMZEeH_6B7NcZopHCOrrlMtp5hxQybi9F1F_EcGbBPXP8gLOq9lGVtlo2oFtLXvF5OacFCAnKM0ibzEsehXdk/s1600/The-Event-Sobytie-2015-Sergei-Loznitsa-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQiCRCdB9wzqMyn1Ebg0KMfCKUrxJ6MsrQ87LUbDp8wj0ZGZZATwbW0NMZEeH_6B7NcZopHCOrrlMtp5hxQybi9F1F_EcGbBPXP8gLOq9lGVtlo2oFtLXvF5OacFCAnKM0ibzEsehXdk/s400/The-Event-Sobytie-2015-Sergei-Loznitsa-04.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The Event</i></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Chantal Akerman’s </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No
Home Movie</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> is a first-person documentary bidding farewell to the director’s
late mother and is so very knowing about the struggles involved in watching a
parent age. Patricio Guzmán’s </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Pearl
Button</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> considers the exploitation of Chile’s indigenous people under
Pinochet and, like the director’s rigorously associational masterpiece </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nostalgia for the Light</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">, a great many
other fascinating topics. Lastly, Sergei Loznitsa’s </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Event </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">is a elegantly constructed collage of archival footage
shot in Leningrad in August 1991 during what was effectively the fall of the
Soviet Union. This mesmerizing, lively film chronicles an even that’s still
less than a quarter-century-old, yet it’s almost impossible to believe these days
that Russia was once so full of optimism, marveling at their country’s new
possibilities. What stays with you most are the faces of those people filling
the streets in the days before social media, all of them wanting to know what’s
going to happen, wanting to be part of something. I love sequestering myself in
the cinema, but </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Event </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">makes you
long for the open air, for the clamour of your fellow citizens, and, even more
than in the most finely tuned drama, for a reason to wonder what will happen
next.</span></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-51990765506230664602015-09-19T13:10:00.000-04:002015-09-19T13:10:40.414-04:00TIFF '15 Part One: High and low<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiVEhBR8nVn7-4eXhgypzftkIsw98IGqNLz4-jh76ArVkbsG2m3IhEkb-FblV9GL2NaaeyHvJsFf9SSbRqTivMWKdy3T_5gSB4r6zrB5_baJ9vy8dg53om7KiJ6Z6hEVBQqe3aoKM_lQ/s1600/1280x720-rYO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiVEhBR8nVn7-4eXhgypzftkIsw98IGqNLz4-jh76ArVkbsG2m3IhEkb-FblV9GL2NaaeyHvJsFf9SSbRqTivMWKdy3T_5gSB4r6zrB5_baJ9vy8dg53om7KiJ6Z6hEVBQqe3aoKM_lQ/s400/1280x720-rYO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Toronto
International Film Festival moved its base of operations downtown a few years
back with the grand opening of TIFF Bell Lightbox, an elegantly designed
five-cinema arthouse multiplex, complete with offices, restaurants, an art
gallery, a bookstore and, wink-wink, a high-end optometrist. Being at the
corner of King and John places TIFF smack-dab in the heart of one of many Toronto
urban zones that, like urban zones the world over, is being rapidly overtaken
by high-rise apartments—in fact there is a high-rise apartment building
attached to TIFF Bell Ligthbox. It’s thus all too apropos that one of the most
highly anticipated films in this year’s Festival is a film about a high-rise,
one that harkens back to the early days of this particular architectural-lifestyle
phenomenon while looking forward to the rampant, violent psychopathy the
phenomenon obviously engenders.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNyTHuOhlwgTJzZBJQzAJNTiFtglb9rDyLKF5WlA1xYcgTrcfbaX_256zrO717MyluASFauBfPhf6CTlRzCdlWRp55VXcJ8sG4mLD4Xxo_fGzOayap9Fuoj6cL7Nme9hjQLogPALLlyc/s1600/high-rise-novel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNyTHuOhlwgTJzZBJQzAJNTiFtglb9rDyLKF5WlA1xYcgTrcfbaX_256zrO717MyluASFauBfPhf6CTlRzCdlWRp55VXcJ8sG4mLD4Xxo_fGzOayap9Fuoj6cL7Nme9hjQLogPALLlyc/s400/high-rise-novel.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Based on one of the late J.G. Ballard’s most
essential novels and directed by Ben Wheatley (</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Kill List</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">A Field in England</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">),
</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">High-Rise </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">is, naturally, a horror
movie. The story, faithfully adapted by Amy Jump, Wheatley’s partner in life
and cinema, follows the same trajectory of many Ballard narratives, obsessed as
they are with the way that civilization and capitalism reach critical mass and
plunge us back into primitive anarchy. Set in the 1970s, the film is
brilliantly designed, often outrageously funny, and features excellent
performances from Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elizabeth Moss and
Jeremy Irons as the titular high-rise’s architect, who near the film’s end
wonders if perhaps his creation “will become a paradigm for future
developments.” (That line got a big laugh at the screening I attended today.)
It’s not easy to make a well-shaped narrative film from Ballard, and </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">High-Rise </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">does indeed run out of steam
in the second half—and then gets it right back again in a beautifully gauged
finale.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU6q2BndCoDi4UhYlr9WQRRWupG2b94P6Cl7SEpZzbDldAlo3BXQPpQB0hIAdT8qIW07a2g8atNpgaMXGsq0mfrmM3qK9YLgpF3QSz-7Bubfz30q6EztKQ8kgwKcvm-MQxBnZ3Ta8U-kk/s1600/La_calle_de_la_amargura_Still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU6q2BndCoDi4UhYlr9WQRRWupG2b94P6Cl7SEpZzbDldAlo3BXQPpQB0hIAdT8qIW07a2g8atNpgaMXGsq0mfrmM3qK9YLgpF3QSz-7Bubfz30q6EztKQ8kgwKcvm-MQxBnZ3Ta8U-kk/s400/La_calle_de_la_amargura_Still.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">From </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">High </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">to
low, both with regards to economic status, architectural latitude and
geography: </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Bleak Street</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> is the latest
film from the great Mexican auteur Arturo Ripstein. Based on a true story about
two midget wrestlers accidentally murdered by two middle-aged sex workers in a
dingy Mexico City love hotel, the film is one of Ripstein’s finest, most eerily
beautiful explorations of the strange and sad destinies of the down and out,
captured in spectral black and white camerawork that floats adrift through the
poor places where the sun only enters from very high above and the residents
struggle always to get by. The film brims with black humour, yet it also
carries with it a peculiar compassion that is the opposite of
sentimentality—Ripstein, like his one-time mentor Luis Buñuel, refuses to make
the marginal into saints, but by telling their stories with focus and
fascination, he brings them closer to us.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPbtYGAzo90keAKMzJZ3moTKPy4e5qnRy5xdtP3ZE942pBNPULz2l2_9yW_iDHQI2l__Y-lAlzh6-SLOPtJOzs9uM2JLTWH8zcCArKgTmBshKH1iGtE6rdDchzfcutWD3Tkgu0lWPTFY/s1600/45+Years.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPbtYGAzo90keAKMzJZ3moTKPy4e5qnRy5xdtP3ZE942pBNPULz2l2_9yW_iDHQI2l__Y-lAlzh6-SLOPtJOzs9uM2JLTWH8zcCArKgTmBshKH1iGtE6rdDchzfcutWD3Tkgu0lWPTFY/s400/45+Years.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Closeness and the ways in which time and
truth-telling can eat away at it is central to </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">45 Years</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Weekend </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">director
Andrew Haigh’s slow-burn stunner of a relationship drama. The film features
magnificent performances from Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as an
elderly English couple whose preparations for their wedding anniversary party
are curtailed by the news that the remains of a woman Courtenay loved and lost
before he and Rampling met have been discovered. Constructing his film from
many quiet, exquisitely composed scenes where much drama goes unspoken, Haigh
achieves the very impressive feat of conveying how a couple who have lived the
majority of their lives together could be tossed into an emotional tempest by
events that took place five decades ago.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cLwZ7ue8fhQhnBbXV7OIb3V-I7mfrmZlVecOxOVLmtfqO60PJoXQHvX-BisspwHT6xFPelz5JWW9SctIF9i1jSpIS67UdOsEJkMs9RTOYAjqVjw4mF2WBWIUGtI2UjtpjxMAAEJ6SSc/s1600/maxresdefault-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cLwZ7ue8fhQhnBbXV7OIb3V-I7mfrmZlVecOxOVLmtfqO60PJoXQHvX-BisspwHT6xFPelz5JWW9SctIF9i1jSpIS67UdOsEJkMs9RTOYAjqVjw4mF2WBWIUGtI2UjtpjxMAAEJ6SSc/s400/maxresdefault-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The present is also impinged upon by the past—the
long, long, long-past past—in Thai maestro Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s haunted
and haunting </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Cemetery of Splendour</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">,
which largely unfolds within a small, improvised hospital in which a group of
soldiers suffering from a mysterious sleeping sickness are cared for by nurses
and volunteers and overlooked by these weird and beautiful luminous tubes. We
learn early in this latest film from the director of </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Syndromes and a Century</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> that the hospital has supposedly been built
on top of a centuries-old cemetery for kings—and their spirits may be involved
in the onset and alleviation of the enigmatic affliction. In one of the most
imaginative and moving sequences I’ve seen in any film this year, a psychic
gives one of the hospital volunteers a tour of a building that no longer
exists.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLK5Q2D_ZUdu033bNRY6AozHKLcMSH0_phQIFUQ6UK9bNHqANBBJ3qrV1o5U2mo8UhEewhNt9OWe9Z90vwMIFK3sr0W8wvy4Cundios3A8SPmOquZ6oRw1AeojqXBKxAQOWXfVRY8tFtE/s1600/maxresdefault-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLK5Q2D_ZUdu033bNRY6AozHKLcMSH0_phQIFUQ6UK9bNHqANBBJ3qrV1o5U2mo8UhEewhNt9OWe9Z90vwMIFK3sr0W8wvy4Cundios3A8SPmOquZ6oRw1AeojqXBKxAQOWXfVRY8tFtE/s400/maxresdefault-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Such sequences cast the real world about the cinemas in
new, more vivid shades. As I wander the streets of Toronto after another
triple-feature, already over-caffeinated and somewhat dazed, it’s films like
those listed above that make me pause to consider the allure of something as
ephemeral as the changing autumn light. Movies are commonly thought of as
machines of fantasy, but they can also make the world more real. I’m not just
saying that because I stood beside Mathieu Amalric at the bar of the Bovine Sex
Club, saw Jia Zhang-ke dine with his family at a mediocre Chinese restaurant,
or got to share come canapés with Laurie Anderson. It’s the images and sounds
infusing our collective psyches as we sit and watch film after film here: they
change us. And if I try to watch the good films and avoid the stupid ones, I
sometimes believe that may be changing me for the better.</span></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-45994724759951919702015-09-08T11:13:00.001-04:002015-09-08T11:13:53.421-04:00Early onset nostalgia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9XGeiLx7xLgp02ntGsyRQJq-MUYSore3R1WHyJzcLJEEqYFWpW3JzC534meVwlmS6BPetlOutNEGNv3sqU3aDVOFQPtz-w_H_3SaDWAYQufbr6IS_DI-F82zkNXm9mmmmdIV1ELa3jxg/s1600/Stand-By-Me-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9XGeiLx7xLgp02ntGsyRQJq-MUYSore3R1WHyJzcLJEEqYFWpW3JzC534meVwlmS6BPetlOutNEGNv3sqU3aDVOFQPtz-w_H_3SaDWAYQufbr6IS_DI-F82zkNXm9mmmmdIV1ELa3jxg/s400/Stand-By-Me-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I saw </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Stand By Me</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (1986) I was exactly the
same age as the kids in it. I was 12-years-old and, watching </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Stand By Me</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, I experienced a midlife
crisis—the movie made me feel like my life, the good life, was already passing
me by. Which is what the movie is designed to do. I completely identified with Richard
Dreyfuss’ narrator, who, if I think about it, is about the age I am now. He’s
the grown-up version of Gordie (Wil Wheaton). I identified with Dreyfuss when I
was 12, but I don’t much now that I’m actually his age. I don’t relate to the
ridiculous assertion that, at 12, he and his friends “knew who we were and
exactly where we were going.” And I don’t relate to his closing sentiment that
he never had friends like the friends he had when he was 12. </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Stand By Me</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, at least to me, is a film
about an adult man who misses the kinship he felt with other kids when he was
12, but the adult man only makes sense to you when </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">you’re</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> 12, which is very likely a time in your life when you </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">don’t</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> feel such a strong kinship with
other kids. It’s a 12-year-old’s idea of being a nostalgic adult. Is there a
word for nostalgia you feel for something you never experienced?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg338ABgL2fkAlHSg5qt8Yp1T_35Wq1681yv3vs8ZO6OTTtiZkc5tmFy8QpXbVIj2HBh7Va33S449aajgO4p15HVvdUctBc2ZnIoLxEg3wespd4KJ4-LNELvDOFhLiZuaC5R5MLxKN7We0/s1600/Stand-By-Me-stand-by-me-5086016-1024-768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg338ABgL2fkAlHSg5qt8Yp1T_35Wq1681yv3vs8ZO6OTTtiZkc5tmFy8QpXbVIj2HBh7Va33S449aajgO4p15HVvdUctBc2ZnIoLxEg3wespd4KJ4-LNELvDOFhLiZuaC5R5MLxKN7We0/s400/Stand-By-Me-stand-by-me-5086016-1024-768.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The film was perfectly well directed
by Rob Reiner, who apparently could only get enough money to pay for about 20
seconds of any period song. If you don’t know the story, it follows Gordie and
his buddies—crazy Teddy (Corey Feldman), gullible Vern (Jerry O’Connell), and
the wounded, brave and beautiful Chris (River Phoenix, whose hair in the
sunshine looks like spun gold)—as they go on an overnight excursion in search
of the dead body of a missing local boy. It’s small-town Oregon, Labour Day
weekend, 1959. Also looking for this dead body are a bunch of older idiots led
by Kiefer Sutherland, who has a terrible dye job and sculpted stubble. The
confrontation with the Sutherland gang near the movie’s end is pretty dumb.
There is a scene in which Chris talks about his family to Gordie and cries, and
a scene in which Gordie talks to Chris about his family and cries, and those
scenes aren’t exactly silly but simply too on-the-nose and, more to the point,
poorly written. The adults are all cartoons. There is a superfluous dream
sequence that feels like pure filler—the source material is a Stephen King
novella and I guess they felt they needed to pad it out to make it a
feature—and a barf fantasy that is, frankly, awesome. But the scenes of the
boys just hanging out, doing stupid kid stuff, are gold. Walking down train
tracks, spitting into a tin can, sitting around a fire, insulting each others’
mothers—it’s precisely in the scenes not working hard to feel poignant that
feel most poignant. It’s lines like “Pile of shit has a thousand eyes.” It’s
seeing 12-year-old boys with their arms around each other because why not throw
your arms around each other? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDRE5dwZ0hdaedi9abHkpO4-zhWyHP1qb_OmYX_iL0LpLAUzQt4kp89Lp8gJgWiD-eLDE34gtfCDfqVm7LE-3Y-zNjPDOx0STmTGO501G1yFXmXA9ARJo5USy5qw2wQgTL7HODsgvQM8/s1600/Stand-By-Me-stand-by-me-30965586-1024-768.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDRE5dwZ0hdaedi9abHkpO4-zhWyHP1qb_OmYX_iL0LpLAUzQt4kp89Lp8gJgWiD-eLDE34gtfCDfqVm7LE-3Y-zNjPDOx0STmTGO501G1yFXmXA9ARJo5USy5qw2wQgTL7HODsgvQM8/s400/Stand-By-Me-stand-by-me-30965586-1024-768.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I didn’t see a dead body when I was
a kid. (That came later.) I didn’t fend off bullies with bad stubble with a
.45. (That, thankfully, still hasn’t happened.) When I first saw <i>Stand By Me </i>I mourned the lack of such
experiences in my life, which was already hurtling mercilessly forward. But
what matters more to me now is that I never had friends like the boys in <i>Stand By Me</i>. Or I had friends, but never
felt so easily part of a group of friends, that sense of acceptance and
camaraderie. Did you? </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-80670836760971691312015-07-22T10:26:00.000-04:002015-07-22T10:26:49.300-04:00The murderers are among us<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfGlmDmKCBmFx3l3aymauEsEBTtZSPHN5ZnMurWbgfzfg9Ws-UNAQTtvp8B7g_HMhZnG3q2WwO43Nko8MZkVBVtbl2GYDKNDekHkJZ7a3dfSPZsX3-tApI1Td47lgj1aYNiQYOWcMEmM/s1600/TLOS_GLASSES.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfGlmDmKCBmFx3l3aymauEsEBTtZSPHN5ZnMurWbgfzfg9Ws-UNAQTtvp8B7g_HMhZnG3q2WwO43Nko8MZkVBVtbl2GYDKNDekHkJZ7a3dfSPZsX3-tApI1Td47lgj1aYNiQYOWcMEmM/s400/TLOS_GLASSES.tif" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Adi Rukun is an
ophthalmologist living and working in the Indonesian province of Aceh. He’s
handsome and soft-spoken and seems very patient. He embodies an ideal of the
country doctor, but for many members of his community a visit from Adi comes
with a heavy burden. Over the course of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Look of Silence</i>, U.S. director Joshua Oppenheimer’s companion piece to his
2013 film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Act of Killing</i>, Adi
calls on several neighbours, sometimes with medical equipment in tow, sometimes
not, and begins to ask questions about their shared past. “You ask too many
questions” and “I don’t want to remember” are common responses. On one occasion
Adi is told that if people of his generation aren’t careful, if they don’t
leave well enough alone and learn to “get along like the military dictatorship
taught us,” what happened in the past will happen again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWxWNTNf0HEjajYQURHYN91_pcm7Q-i2t_3JT2fOBEp8F5979iVRFNL9zRJDc1IFsGBF8_U2lOP1NAOGL4p6xZRH1DqZo05lBxTRw4ESPOsRRTljxuenX9bVaYSHtkwHJnhdxBslZsZ4/s1600/TLOS_CLASSROOM.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWxWNTNf0HEjajYQURHYN91_pcm7Q-i2t_3JT2fOBEp8F5979iVRFNL9zRJDc1IFsGBF8_U2lOP1NAOGL4p6xZRH1DqZo05lBxTRw4ESPOsRRTljxuenX9bVaYSHtkwHJnhdxBslZsZ4/s400/TLOS_CLASSROOM.tif" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">What
happened in the past, some 50 years ago now, was the slaughter of at least a
million Indonesians, ostensible communists, in the wake of a military coup. One
of those murdered was Adi’s brother Ramli, killed by the Komando Aksi. His
story is not unusual. Ramli was hacked by machetes. He ran home, was stolen
from his home under the pretence of being escorted to a hospital, then he was
hacked some more, his intestines spilling from his torso, and thrown into Snake
River. And when it seemed to his murderers that he was still alive he was
fished out and dismembered and thrown back in. Those murderers became the
leaders of Adi’s community, where they remain in power to this day. A scene in </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Look of Silence </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">finds a teacher
explaining to schoolchildren that the slaughtered communists were evil and the
government had no choice but to exterminate them. In another scene one of the
leaders of an Aceh death squad declares, “We did this because the Americans
taught us to hate communists.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7l_KQDzh1vXrfzjIHLgATu3_E2cK3qeyGGt5QYZczc8yypQ9umvRdKziplGPTFJv2tGPxPdOyK_UOm7eDwhI_gHbr0oq7YCY5ssEvNc-jfIgQZPELNY6OkhvnQpCd5ow2elOG-WJk0MA/s1600/TLOS_ADI.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7l_KQDzh1vXrfzjIHLgATu3_E2cK3qeyGGt5QYZczc8yypQ9umvRdKziplGPTFJv2tGPxPdOyK_UOm7eDwhI_gHbr0oq7YCY5ssEvNc-jfIgQZPELNY6OkhvnQpCd5ow2elOG-WJk0MA/s400/TLOS_ADI.tif" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Act of Killing</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">, in which Oppenheimer, collaborating with several
locals forced to remain anonymous, focused on the perpetrators of the killings,
their legacy and continued self-glorification. </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Act of Killing </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">is the only film I can think of that afflicted
me with prolonged nausea. Not because of the physical violence, which we don’t
see (except in the bizarre, crude reenactments staged by Oppenheimer’s
subjects), but because of the film’s portrait of human nature. Call it
existential nausea. </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Look of Silence </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">concerns
the same horrors as </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Act of Killing</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">,
but it’s the reverse shot: it assumes the perspective of the victims. As he
makes his rounds, Adi isn’t out for revenge. He’s too young to remember the
most violent years—though he lives in a world permanently transformed by those
years, one where living in fear has become the norm for much of the population.
But his unwavering, silent gaze, one of this film’s most potent motifs, feels
like the gaze of an entire traumatized nation’s conscience. Talking to the
children and spouses of killers or to the killers themselves, Adi is out for
forgiveness—this is what makes </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Look
of Silence </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">one of the most moving films I’ve seen. But in order to forgive
a crime the crime must be recognized, which is something almost no one Adi
visits is willing to do.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORn3csMzfoNwBAhZC3FQuyEujcryhGbZORioM-839HCCOdNEp5GNcZAvUVIaI0iNsaByAu2TyljSV7Y3cuc46Ob-1eH5uecyhcMt_PjCoUFtRjJHOfuY0vRdsXyUo3EEPdGz1kPfehx0/s1600/TLOS_BED.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORn3csMzfoNwBAhZC3FQuyEujcryhGbZORioM-839HCCOdNEp5GNcZAvUVIaI0iNsaByAu2TyljSV7Y3cuc46Ob-1eH5uecyhcMt_PjCoUFtRjJHOfuY0vRdsXyUo3EEPdGz1kPfehx0/s400/TLOS_BED.tif" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Look of Silence </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">features no scoring, no voice-over commentary, no
archival footage (save a brief NBC report from 1965, one of many videos we watch
Adi watching on TV), but it is a film in which every frame is infused with
context, compassion, curiosity, and over a decade of Oppenheimer’s life, doing
the hard work, opening his heart, earning people’s trust, finding the story.
And Oppenheimer is an inveterate storyteller. There are many images of people
in repose and every one seems essential. There is a central question woven
through the film, one concerning the value of remembering versus that of
forgetting, and Oppenheimer conveys this question elegantly and diversely
through interviews with killers who jocularly boast of their acts of torture,
rape and murder, through the contrast of Adi’s mother, who remembers
everything, and Adi’s father, who is severely demented, believes he’s an
adolescent and sings naïve love songs, though in certain moments of confusion
is overcome with panic and terror.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPhN5BAIakhYD5FWhFSWZ0eTdvDu75dE4NkC5O2KSod1L96uU2mc1GhNmoxscIt9B_s8yNXXtua4gg1MHi3RURjkCqrROBk5Yz2ojW5Q4RroB9U89jRX5Q_8NLWJ1MZHFCFjj7EI182A/s1600/TLOS_TV.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPhN5BAIakhYD5FWhFSWZ0eTdvDu75dE4NkC5O2KSod1L96uU2mc1GhNmoxscIt9B_s8yNXXtua4gg1MHi3RURjkCqrROBk5Yz2ojW5Q4RroB9U89jRX5Q_8NLWJ1MZHFCFjj7EI182A/s400/TLOS_TV.tif" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Taken
as stand-alone films, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Act of Killing </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">and
</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Look of Silence </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">are masterpieces
of the documentary form at its most rigorous and creative. Taken as a pair they
constitute one of the most important cinematic events of our time. I had the
honour of attending the Canadian premiere of </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Look of Silence </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">at last year’s Toronto International Film
Festival, where both Oppenheimer and Adi were in attendance. After the
screening they took the stage to answer questions, but Adi was overcome with
emotion and, weeping, was unable to speak. Perhaps sharing this story with so
many people at once yielded more feelings that he’d expected. But his presence
was intensely affecting, and, as though so much of the film, his silence spoke
volumes.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-66404442111426201992015-07-21T16:35:00.003-04:002015-07-21T16:35:54.726-04:00Licking against the pricks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrb4rn3SyPpKrnoixqKepOnSuqOOKfHA-3C8jbSDiAiEq1cAP4CzJRFFXo6Mr8ASx3gtEaU8cNAkrwTXRUqZbrqoGGg70fOUdjh7paB_az1neT42BIreGtgMxrPCwlwGbb08YKJieCoWQ/s1600/large_my_beautiful_laundrette_04_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrb4rn3SyPpKrnoixqKepOnSuqOOKfHA-3C8jbSDiAiEq1cAP4CzJRFFXo6Mr8ASx3gtEaU8cNAkrwTXRUqZbrqoGGg70fOUdjh7paB_az1neT42BIreGtgMxrPCwlwGbb08YKJieCoWQ/s400/large_my_beautiful_laundrette_04_blu-ray_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">How many times in the
history of the medium have we seen a single film rattle as many socio-cinematic
paradigms—and done it with as much bio—as <i>My
Beautiful Laundrette</i> (1985)? Scripted by Hanif Kureishi—his first film
credit—and directed by Stephen Frears, this incendiary entertainment made movie
stars of London’s teeming South Asian community, featured a central romance
that was both interracial and gay, and embraced the tenants of Thatcherite
hyper-capitalism only to expose it as fundamentally corrupting and ineffectual
with regards to the populace at large. Yet at no point does the film draw
attention to its importance or iconoclasm. In one of the excellent supplements
contained on Criterion’s new DVD and BD releases of <i>My Beautiful Laundrette</i> Frears claims that he initially didn’t really notice the fact that the story
was queer. The film feels so utterly focued on story, character development and
milieu that I’m inclined to believe him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxcT88Gm8OAbX5xfgZiM54xxt3yK6RkvsgSz2QyV2IH-AgHj36xVysjyV2cMehe1pv5EegSGtoat66KqzjhvEz91p3UZtaSWtf8SSBn3P0U3GOkb_d0WguROMKegNG4jQ6ytrkJz9zkY/s1600/large_my_beautiful_laundrette_03_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxcT88Gm8OAbX5xfgZiM54xxt3yK6RkvsgSz2QyV2IH-AgHj36xVysjyV2cMehe1pv5EegSGtoat66KqzjhvEz91p3UZtaSWtf8SSBn3P0U3GOkb_d0WguROMKegNG4jQ6ytrkJz9zkY/s400/large_my_beautiful_laundrette_03_blu-ray_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My Beautiful
Laundrette</i> begins with second-generation Anglo-Pakistani Omar (Gordon
Warnecke) essentially trading in his former socialist journalist father,
Hussein (Roshan Seth), a man seemingly broken by emigration, for his
businessman uncle, Nasser (Saeed Jaffrey), a man eager to assimilate—complete
with white mistress—and capitalize on every carrot of opportunity life in
Britain dangles before him. “You have to know how to squeeze the tits of the
system,” Nasser insists, and Omar is an apt pupil, rapidly going from washing
cars in a garage to refurbishing a dilapidated old laundromat in a
predominantly Asian South London nieghbourhood. Omar does this with the
assistance of a lanky white working-class factotum named Johnny (Daniel
Day-Lewis in his breakout role), who along the way becomes Omar’s lover, a
development which seems perfectly natural—though its not to interfere with
Omar’s single-minded fixation on making lots of money. Homophobia takes a
backseat to racism in any case, with the local white thugs threatening Johnny
simply for accepting a brown man as his employer. Eventually, in a sequence
Frears stages like a late western, those thugs launch a vicious attack on the
whole lot of them, making for a ugly climax—though that’s not the end of the
story.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9C0k_hClHMLti5TXmXRRMGtPSbL0WUd4-xKIgEwruwiLKInojdIbSkmth5EHeQmCePxLvqKJ8RK53HT65wQDMrrpJO9dxvMJqHAKv-LbJR1Vpru15cpW_IohKbf6wgT0hyphenhyphenB-3umv5bQ/s1600/large_my_beautiful_laundrette_05_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9C0k_hClHMLti5TXmXRRMGtPSbL0WUd4-xKIgEwruwiLKInojdIbSkmth5EHeQmCePxLvqKJ8RK53HT65wQDMrrpJO9dxvMJqHAKv-LbJR1Vpru15cpW_IohKbf6wgT0hyphenhyphenB-3umv5bQ/s400/large_my_beautiful_laundrette_05_blu-ray_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So few films had previously plunged a mainstream audience
in what was until then an all but invisible immigrant community, with its own
rules and ideals and wild contrasts. </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My
Beautiful Laudrette </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">launched a new wave of Asian-centered British films,
not to mention Kureishi’s career—he would go on to script </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sammy and Rosie Get Laid</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (1987), </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Buddha of Suburbia </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(1993), </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My
Son the Fanatic </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(1997), </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Mother </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(2003)
and </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Venus </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(2006), continuing a thread
not only of immigrant representation but sexually audacity. Frears would begin
a winning streak that would peak with </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The
Grifters </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(1990) and Day-Lewis, having emulated Robert De Niro and Clint
Eastwood here, would become like them a star of the first order, known for
transforming himself through methody immersion in vocal and body work. Though
one could argue that the greatest moments throughout the rest of Day-Lewis’
career, from Christy Brown to Lincoln, are only ever on par with that delicious
furtive lick of Omar’s neck, a gesture Criterion has fittingly placed right on
the cover of its superb new package.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-10288031409866358842015-07-16T15:04:00.000-04:002015-07-16T15:04:45.383-04:00Let's get small<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0uyGXd40gt3644k-Dk7HTvxmp4iMm3BAMGkR2qPnlqbeSjS0jZwJFxbFJgvDJhpGTNmEs3gYGMg-gwt_xZh1T8ianmiGTj20dr3yb99ovxH8FXMnHDkYJjW9QC5sBSY710l-KQ23RlvQ/s1600/ant-man-1280jpg-c99401_1280w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0uyGXd40gt3644k-Dk7HTvxmp4iMm3BAMGkR2qPnlqbeSjS0jZwJFxbFJgvDJhpGTNmEs3gYGMg-gwt_xZh1T8ianmiGTj20dr3yb99ovxH8FXMnHDkYJjW9QC5sBSY710l-KQ23RlvQ/s400/ant-man-1280jpg-c99401_1280w.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Scott Lang (Paul Rudd, also
credited as co-scripter) is a burglar with a Masters in electrical engineering.
He gets out of San Quentin after doing time for some sort of genius Robin Hood
caper. Scott finds he can’t even hold down a Baskin & Robbins starting position
with his prison record, which is a problem since he needs a job and an
apartment before he can apply for shared custody of his little girl, so he gets
lured back into a burgling by his buddy Luis (Michael Peña, who gets the best
laughs in the movie in twin sequences involving rapid-fire flashbacks and
ridiculous lip-synching). But, a-ha!, the burgling was covertly masterminded by
entomologist, physicist and former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Hank Pym (Michael
Douglas), who figured out how to “change the distance between atoms.” Which, as
it turns out, is dangerous! It means that you can turn normal-sized guys into
super-small super-soldiers, which is something Pym’s former protégé Darren
Cross (Corey Stoll), with the aid of Pym’s foxy daughter Hope (Canada’s own
Evangeline Lily), is hot to develop and sell to obviously nefarious fellows in
suits. Thus Pym needs Scott to become Ant-Man, right? Complications ensue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyIOy45QT5rpIlDcrSFZIz9LS5Ql_iU-kdq3fmLRRrNtxQIyyAU5UqUYhz7b4zpG9pK9Yt55rs3an7ZP2LjhHblGZymqe6sztmQ01Ce1jZd8fp32ayPPcfUNEP_g-PH9ttKLLKG-mAxo/s1600/tumblr_nejqlgapyk1seys6io1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyIOy45QT5rpIlDcrSFZIz9LS5Ql_iU-kdq3fmLRRrNtxQIyyAU5UqUYhz7b4zpG9pK9Yt55rs3an7ZP2LjhHblGZymqe6sztmQ01Ce1jZd8fp32ayPPcfUNEP_g-PH9ttKLLKG-mAxo/s400/tumblr_nejqlgapyk1seys6io1_1280.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Sound complicated? It is! But no more so than your
average super hero movie, which, it always seems to me, would work better as a
super hero mini-series, since there are always at least three complete
three-act narratives squashed into one of these tent-pole epics. Nevertheless, <i>Ant-Man</i>, directed by Peyton Reed (<i>Bring It On</i>) with the right balance of
magnitude and irreverence, feels surprisingly fleet. The film could have done
without several of the requisite plot twists or the entirely superfluous
Avengers cameo, but these detours are made up for by some inventive set-pieces,
including on that involves a giant Thomas the Tank Engine falling out of a
suburban house while two guys the size of peas duke it out in the carpet
jungle. Unlike some other recent spectacle films (e.g.: <i>Terminator: Genisys</i>), it helps immensely that <i>Ant-Man</i> has experienced actors with actual personalities in the
lead roles, and it helps still more to have a writing team like that of Rudd,
Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish and Adam McKay fleshing out the boiler-plate plot. Also:
there are lots of actual ants doing heroic things. Let’s hear it for ending the
cinema’s unjust tradition of demonizing ugly insects. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-83761654999542250552015-07-13T15:13:00.000-04:002015-07-13T15:13:17.856-04:00Dying in public<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLu2z0Yvhk04YsxWUjVTO92kTFkHAbpyI4eu73ECz0RHnpim2F8B-VLe0mtqbuJXdrGugeQAFuGnDJapNlQZVXcMMiXLVWJfxhu5Ai5WyKOZE2ursxRknrbsafdTj4dgK00MC1OK2iyCw/s1600/3-Amy-Winehouse-Glastonbury-Getty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLu2z0Yvhk04YsxWUjVTO92kTFkHAbpyI4eu73ECz0RHnpim2F8B-VLe0mtqbuJXdrGugeQAFuGnDJapNlQZVXcMMiXLVWJfxhu5Ai5WyKOZE2ursxRknrbsafdTj4dgK00MC1OK2iyCw/s400/3-Amy-Winehouse-Glastonbury-Getty.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You should be stronger than me,” goes one of numerous queasily portentous lyrics heard during <i>Amy</i>, Asif Kapadia’s documentary about the late British jazz and soul singer Amy Winehouse. Winehouse delivered those words with the same playful, dexterous, at times almost abstract vocal style that characterized all her music—like Billie Holiday, Winehouse had a way of rendering heavy sentiments with a disarming, sometimes teasing coo. But the words of ‘Stronger Than Me’ reverberate through this devastating film because we can’t help but wonder if things would have turned out very differently had Winehouse’s family, friends, lovers, collaborators and business partners been a little stronger. It’s not an unreasonable expectation, given that Winehouse was still a teenager when she began her career, which rocketed her to stardom before coming to a screeching halt in 2011, when Winehouse, at age 27, died from alcohol poisoning and complications arising from various addictions and bulimia. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG08fBCwXgDCQoYTK9QDLx8CH0-aaLKMXmejEZ9_cFrHbWHRkbKLabwARP0uElePG_fpDk3WVD7NuBRC9dj86nHtpPGMGR3Hy4fQest-clsXnnAA4WnFIOhhx1ibrvCHSy-o5t08c_ptc/s1600/amywinehouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG08fBCwXgDCQoYTK9QDLx8CH0-aaLKMXmejEZ9_cFrHbWHRkbKLabwARP0uElePG_fpDk3WVD7NuBRC9dj86nHtpPGMGR3Hy4fQest-clsXnnAA4WnFIOhhx1ibrvCHSy-o5t08c_ptc/s400/amywinehouse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Amy</i> features a running voice-over that weaves together several new interviews with those who knew and worked with her into a grand collective testimony (or port-mortem). But, echoing Kapadia’s earlier documentary <i>Serra</i>, <i>Amy</i> restricts its visual component entirely to archival materials, including a great deal of casual video made on consumer-grade cameras and cell phones—Winehouse was young enough to be a member of a generation accustomed to making videos of virtually everything they do. The result can be arrestingly intimate, as well as crappy looking, and, given the deep, morbid unease that grows over the course of the film, it is not altogether dissimilar to a found-footage horror film. We start out watching someone with tremendous talent come to realize her potential for creative and commercial success, but it’s not too long before we get wise to where this is all inevitably leading: we’re watching someone fall into a pit, grasping at loose dirt along the way. We’re watching someone devoid of coping tools struggle to navigate addiction and fame at its most oppressive. We’re watching someone die in public. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTypNEWxt4r8Hgf0b0YZ4bBM1BWchShZyn-2y5H96RczogjWChY6sGDjL_iYmH5jwqYFPopqN8Tyb7-ZT8eypjEe4FqmlusRItZvB0HJVXdu-xF4gRMGkj1_zYAWZ5T02eIvUTXjlRXMQ/s1600/watch-the-heartbreaking-trailer-for-the-upcoming-amy-winehouse-documentary-amy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTypNEWxt4r8Hgf0b0YZ4bBM1BWchShZyn-2y5H96RczogjWChY6sGDjL_iYmH5jwqYFPopqN8Tyb7-ZT8eypjEe4FqmlusRItZvB0HJVXdu-xF4gRMGkj1_zYAWZ5T02eIvUTXjlRXMQ/s400/watch-the-heartbreaking-trailer-for-the-upcoming-amy-winehouse-documentary-amy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Which is to say that <i>Amy</i> makes a perfect companion piece to <i>Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck</i>, replete with the codependent and enabling addict spouse as a key character in the story. (Though in Winehouse’s case the figure in her life who appears to carry the heaviest burden of guilt in facilitating her collapse is her father, who’s actually mentioned in ‘Rehab,’ Winehouse’s brilliant, blackly comic hit, as dissuading her from seeking help.) There is, of course, an obvious difference between <i>Amy</i> and <i>Montage</i>: <i>Montage</i> made extremely creative use of archival materials—home movies, journals, tape recordings, et cetera—to create a film bearing a certain aesthetic kinship to its subject’s work and incorporated new material—interviews, animation—when necessary. <i>Amy</i>, by contrast, is slavish about its formalist conceit—other than the use of written lyrics superimposed on screen, there’s nothing visual in <i>Amy</i> that isn’t archival. I often admire films that apply rigour to a formal proposal, but so little of what’s on screen in <i>Amy</i> is compellingly cinematic and there are several scenes where the clumsily shot footage feels like a placeholder as we work through the narrative. I wonder whether or not this choice really helps the film tell its story or simply limits how that story is told.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-45211246048602562732015-07-01T09:55:00.000-04:002015-07-01T09:55:24.109-04:00Even robots age<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcfXaUwK3jfz5J8JCIjg6S6jvMAkwd0oKpwvpdno_8Fi3iU630fKlPSVGtqdITu-naXVlVo8y8d0p72W8DPMegC7932XHV8Bog8E4LWh3Wwi-vXO0hYZMDrcja76ywyUSLjASMTndN98/s1600/arnold-schwarzenegger-old-terminator-genisys.png.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcfXaUwK3jfz5J8JCIjg6S6jvMAkwd0oKpwvpdno_8Fi3iU630fKlPSVGtqdITu-naXVlVo8y8d0p72W8DPMegC7932XHV8Bog8E4LWh3Wwi-vXO0hYZMDrcja76ywyUSLjASMTndN98/s400/arnold-schwarzenegger-old-terminator-genisys.png.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I’m old, not obsolete.”
That’s Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 (Model 101) defending his—and
Schwarzenegger’s—continuing role in saving mankind by delivering a quip so
quippy it’s dispensed no less than three times over the course of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Terminator: Genisys</i>. But ol’ T-800 could
just as easily be defending the entire <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Terminator
</i>franchise, which, in terms of narrative cohesion, has permanently guarded
itself against obsolescence by incorporating a confusing series of parallel
destinies generated by its characters’ ability to travel through time and alter
history. No amount of time travel, however, can alter the fact that the
original <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Terminator</i> remains the most
inspired, efficient and charming—and cheap!—of the current quintet of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Terminator </i>manifestations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wMy-HpMe0swi1rXlqeeKNi3A-yjJBrBceq3sY4uvEZkpxhyO4k0kUvkqYFJQtFtFxZCl-j5tcqgbdDRBIrb-Bg3juTK5xHRP2tcs7EIzJ-dugvLV_Z-JZtYriljM5Wzsvm8G-B13PH8/s1600/sarah-connor-terminator-genisys.png.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1wMy-HpMe0swi1rXlqeeKNi3A-yjJBrBceq3sY4uvEZkpxhyO4k0kUvkqYFJQtFtFxZCl-j5tcqgbdDRBIrb-Bg3juTK5xHRP2tcs7EIzJ-dugvLV_Z-JZtYriljM5Wzsvm8G-B13PH8/s400/sarah-connor-terminator-genisys.png.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Which is not to say that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Genisys </i>is without merit. Beginning in 2029, the story follows
post-apocalyptic resistance fighter Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) as he travels
back to 1984—the year of the original film—to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia
Clarke) from killer robots so that she can give birth to John Connor (Jason
Clarke), the leader of the anti-killer robot resistance. But circumstances are
such that Kyle and Sarah, with the help of Schwarzenegger’s T-800, whom Sarah affectionately
dubs “Pops”, then need to travel to 2017, which, now that history has been
repeatedly altered, has become the year formerly known as 1997, a.k.a. the year
of “Judgment Day,” when the killer robots take over and slaughter most humans.
I can’t possibly explain all this here, but
you’ll be glad when you make it to 2017 because that’s when some good
actors—J.K. Simmons!—arrive to infuse the supporting characters with a little
life. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Genisys</i>, alas, follows the
original <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Terminator </i>in placing the
star in a supporting robot role while sticking a robotic actor in the lead,
while replacing tough Linda Hamilton with baby-faced and not terribly convincing
Clarke. Still, it’s fun how “Pops” assumes the role of overprotective dad to
Kyle’s hubristic suitor. And it’s appealingly morbid how Kyle has spent his whole
life in love with Sarah, a dead woman he knows only from a snapshot of her
wearing a headband. Until, of course, he gets to meet Sarah (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sans</i> headband) in 1984 and they take a trip
to 2017 together, naked and embracing in the time machine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCLFFQvRq4-O16FSSkGXUqeK2qTplMTMxjWk-UuevF6cG-3N2sTehajrSl7-fjofNqhNpGURnrECodrHlXqqvxfF133VHciZl_HEShiiiqnUcOrk7hFm6hPpjSpJSumeS9GAx5oUMx1Q/s1600/jai-courtney-in-terminator-genisys-movie-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCLFFQvRq4-O16FSSkGXUqeK2qTplMTMxjWk-UuevF6cG-3N2sTehajrSl7-fjofNqhNpGURnrECodrHlXqqvxfF133VHciZl_HEShiiiqnUcOrk7hFm6hPpjSpJSumeS9GAx5oUMx1Q/s400/jai-courtney-in-terminator-genisys-movie-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The film is quite entertaining, and so many things in it are
almost interesting: the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>nods toward <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">La jetée</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Frankenstein</i>, the nonsensical discussions about free will—and, by
the way, where do the robots keep finding the will to destroy mankind?—and the
story’s overriding anti-consumerist critique. That’s right: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Terminator: Genisys </i>is critical of you
buying stuff, “Genisys” being the name of a new operating system that will link
every device you own—and, little do we stupid tech-mongers realize, allow the
robots to crush us all in their invincible liquid metal grips! Which reminds
me: do you like monster truck rallies? Because there is this larger question,
looming over Transformers, Terminators and superheroes alike, about how long it
takes it lose interest in machines pummeling each other without ever getting
being in danger of annihilation. It’s not exactly suspenseful.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-IYM5ffShVU_3yXrkXlxgp6PeqTt4-5VMBrM0YwLKebncbBdv84lobAv0heEbB4r9nbXMyqilt_aneRMYt0IE6ohC5hZYrMVUOmdHrqWkPhrJgUS-y3Om7TXXYUvTsrQIt_e6scmcVw/s1600/Genisys-teaser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-IYM5ffShVU_3yXrkXlxgp6PeqTt4-5VMBrM0YwLKebncbBdv84lobAv0heEbB4r9nbXMyqilt_aneRMYt0IE6ohC5hZYrMVUOmdHrqWkPhrJgUS-y3Om7TXXYUvTsrQIt_e6scmcVw/s400/Genisys-teaser.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Also,
speaking of boringly invincible robots, that quip—“I’m old, not obsolete”—is
made because Kyle notices that Schwarzenegger’s T-800’s flesh looks less fresh
than the other terminators. The logic being that, while robots stay the same
inside, robot flesh is just like human flesh—which is weird because “Pops” gets
his flesh ripped to shreds multiple times in </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Genisys </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">and within minutes it seems to grow right back to normal
67-year-old former-governor-of-California flesh. Baffling! But I’m confident
the next chapter in the interminable </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Terminator
</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">saga will figure out why this is, and explain it in some expository
dialogue.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-37437479966612317992015-06-20T14:28:00.001-04:002015-06-20T14:28:47.007-04:00Two masters, building with precious time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5ZXgfx-xnZkTEDhGy1yjWcMLVAjzcudgbbeYYkFrx5xH2EeXqIEtnAuDZd2kupbLZAk2L_f9k0kYng0f9MNE6I18BS_Px40h_tQB47uPoaHSZmdrMfXHMKHnp5pxlU9DT1ZhU9WpcIM/s1600/large_vanya_on_42nd_street_blu-ray_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5ZXgfx-xnZkTEDhGy1yjWcMLVAjzcudgbbeYYkFrx5xH2EeXqIEtnAuDZd2kupbLZAk2L_f9k0kYng0f9MNE6I18BS_Px40h_tQB47uPoaHSZmdrMfXHMKHnp5pxlU9DT1ZhU9WpcIM/s400/large_vanya_on_42nd_street_blu-ray_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There are collaborations and
there are collaborations. In the movies, as in the theatre, collaboration is
usually something that occurs over a handful of hectic weeks, often between
artists who just met. The result can be brilliant or banal, but it must be
arrived at under duress. Time is money, and those who can’t become galvanized
by pressure enter into a life in the movies or the theatre at their peril. That
stage director André Gregory and playwright-actor Wallace Shawn have been able
to collaborate on projects over much longer periods—most recently a period of
15 years!—is evidence of an uncommon devotion to the vagaries of long-term
creative exchange. Okay, that and, most likely, some degree of privilege. But
this privilege has not been squandered. On the contrary, their collaborations have
resulted in some legendary theatrical experiences and three singular,
spellbinding, rule-breaking works of cinema, all of which have been collected
in <i>André Gregory & Wallace Shawn: 3
Films</i>, Criterion’s inspired new multi-disc collection. Taken as a whole,
these films not only chronicle the cinematic manifestations of Gregory and
Shawn’s more than 40-year relationship; they also function as a testament to
the still-untapped potential for the movies and the theatre to inform each
other in aesthetic, formal and thematic terms and, perhaps most importantly, in
their processes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOgry8c3I5KZcbTc8ZlQsXqvPAvB9fD9W836h_zRrW2TB6YwbpOcVVGgz_0n8pGitfkZnRrDl27-gJjpb3paocIO39BkBStvsWHYN297ogbmn2Av9WKlhKkV3DCvW8mMTAAx-ZCVaqndM/s1600/large_my_dinner_with_andre_4640_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOgry8c3I5KZcbTc8ZlQsXqvPAvB9fD9W836h_zRrW2TB6YwbpOcVVGgz_0n8pGitfkZnRrDl27-gJjpb3paocIO39BkBStvsWHYN297ogbmn2Av9WKlhKkV3DCvW8mMTAAx-ZCVaqndM/s400/large_my_dinner_with_andre_4640_blu-ray_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My Dinner With
André </i>(1981) has been around and been beloved for an awful long time
now—can we all finally agree that a talky movie is not an inherently inferior
thing? That listening can also provide cinematic rapture? I can’t think of a
better rainy afternoon movie. Nor can I imagine many of Richard Linklater’s
finest and most innovative films (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Slacker</i>,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Waking Life</i>, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Before… </i>series) being made without this precedent. Directed by
Louis Malle and written by Gregory and Shawn, who play “André Gregory” and
“Wallace Shawn” respectively, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dinner </i>unfolds
almost entirely around a single table, occupied by two men and occasionally
loomed over by a blinking waiter with an amusing resemblance to Samuel Beckett.
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dinner </i>is about dialogue, and thus a
study in contrasts: between the opening shot of an oil barrel on an abandoned,
dingy street and the refined restaurant where our characters meet, eat and
converse; between the easy elegance of Gregory, speaking in mellifluous tones of
strange experiences in exotic locales in search of transcendence, and the squat,
chinless Shawn, dressed all in beige, mostly listening and posing questions as
a way of managing his unease—until he finally reveals his mixture of
fascination and contempt for what could be deemed as Gregory’s misguided
mysticism, spurred by an apparent nervous breakdown.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9VS24wYhcy4L9dY4JLitPmlUVNyy_yc1N0hB7nDwR3De67t7IcdC_2VF3WK8jO5IwGk01fSeezhqPmV69nb4i6NzIEugIoY4BfrnVC56J5zwekqHdlVtTlCta0DLWJpo_c_Rx6-WeKks/s1600/large_my_dinner_with_andre_03_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9VS24wYhcy4L9dY4JLitPmlUVNyy_yc1N0hB7nDwR3De67t7IcdC_2VF3WK8jO5IwGk01fSeezhqPmV69nb4i6NzIEugIoY4BfrnVC56J5zwekqHdlVtTlCta0DLWJpo_c_Rx6-WeKks/s400/large_my_dinner_with_andre_03_blu-ray_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Gregory
tells of going to the Sahara with a Japanese monk; undertaking deeply ambiguous
theatrical exercises with Jerzy Grotowski; tracking uncanny coincidences in old
copies of </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Minotaur</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">; the ostensibly
fascist overtones of </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Little Prince</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">.
Gregory compares a few too many things to Nazis and the Holocaust and over the
course of this often very funny but also very serious film. He comes off as both
a fool and a wise man. He seems above all to want to be present in the world,
and the feeling of being present, of heightened senses, is exactly what </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Dinner </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">offers. Every time I watch it at
home I think I’m going to hit pause at some point, to watch it in parts—and
every time I lose track of time and take it all in in a single uninterrupted
viewing.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDy4W7a9xF11-VdcTqHXx8Rfb-BKx7C4ud2mLy6aATt_WZBh2lSTAxRzPv7_EaYSZxDGcJwzug_o7BNX7Dx05ybCOUkj_FCoE4dd8pBEHw5OuNMkQm5MrGr6atdIxaamFfwzpblx6rqI/s1600/large_vanya_on_42nd_street_blu-ray_06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidDy4W7a9xF11-VdcTqHXx8Rfb-BKx7C4ud2mLy6aATt_WZBh2lSTAxRzPv7_EaYSZxDGcJwzug_o7BNX7Dx05ybCOUkj_FCoE4dd8pBEHw5OuNMkQm5MrGr6atdIxaamFfwzpblx6rqI/s400/large_vanya_on_42nd_street_blu-ray_06.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Where the source material for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dinner </i>was its creators’ relationship and personal experiences, the
next two films look to works from two of the 19<sup>th</sup> century’s most
canonical playwrights. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vanya on 42<sup>nd</sup>
Street </i>(1994), also directed by Malle, transplants Chekhov’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Uncle Vanya </i>to a crumbling Manhattan
theatre long out of use, where Gregory and a group of actors—Shawn, Julianne
Moore, Larry Pine, and others—invite us to a sort of open rehearsal for a
project that they have been exploring, with no particular plan for production,
for the preceding five years. The actors use only a handful of props and dress
in their own clothes. Their transition from talking about their lives to
performing the text—in an adaptation credited to David Mamet—is so seamless you
might not notice they’ve started until they begin to call each other by names
different from their own. These roles have been lived in. We are transported.
“A hundred years from now, will they remember us with a kind word?” one
characters asks. This film was made almost exactly 100 years after Chekhov
wrote <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Uncle Vanya</i>, and his
characters, all of them stuck in the countryside, in marriages or longings or
business agreements they find deeply dissatisfying, are simultaneously so
specific and so universal. The camerawork is subtle, beautiful and fluid, a
marriage of theatrical intimacy with cinematic intimacy, documentary immediacy
with exquisite artifice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hded-z5FLEiqXUco7frUiglXhnXlz6Y2JqIA_AKLgo3ZO5HRbE0nAPO9AABi9mD_X41T5OBQ2WWGKQlb-Wo7ier4b39j1GEflKYUywdQUUsB3ybawqSc8VVuuSyDChUtGWLkgsv-YdI/s1600/large_a_master_builder_13_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hded-z5FLEiqXUco7frUiglXhnXlz6Y2JqIA_AKLgo3ZO5HRbE0nAPO9AABi9mD_X41T5OBQ2WWGKQlb-Wo7ier4b39j1GEflKYUywdQUUsB3ybawqSc8VVuuSyDChUtGWLkgsv-YdI/s400/large_a_master_builder_13_blu-ray_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Master Builder</i>
(2014) is Shawn’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s strange, difficult, alluring <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Master Builder Solness</i>, devleoped by
Gregory and the cast over a decade and a half and finally translated to the
screen by Jonathan Demme. (Malle died in 1995.) Shawn plays Solness, an aging,
ferocious architect who, in Gregory and Shawn’s interpretation, is on his
deathbed, visited by what we suppose is an apparition of a young woman (Lisa
Joyce) who by turns seems worshipful and oddly threatening, a mischievous
angel. She recounts for him an occasion ten years previous on which he erected
a church in her town, climbed its spire, kissed her 12-year-old lips, and
promised her that one day he would build castles in the sky for them to
inhabit. Whether out of guilt, self-disgust, dementia or the story’s falseness,
Solness has forgotten all of this, but then remembers it, or participates in
the fantasy, as she tells it back to him. Meanwhile Solness denies a talented
young assistant the praise he so deserves and requires so as to forward his own
career. Solness placates his unhappy wife (Julie Haggarty), who seems to both
resent his neglect and dread his demise. Employing tight close-ups,
ostentatious zooms and sudden impressionistic cutaways to views from a moving
car, Demme’s approach, though working with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vanya</i>’s
ace cinematographer Declan Quinn, is entirely different from those taken by
Malle in the preceding films, yet it is extremely effective for this project,
taut and tense, riveting even, despite the play’s endless ambiguities and
lengthy conversations. Demme has described <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A
Master Builder</i> as a haunted house story, and this is ultimately how it
feels, a medley of phantoms, palpable objects and places, and carnal
experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht37jXlorUG5njRpgDrjIXwJF05TwlyFiFiovgkTV5WaPOhN7hzOXMvVn0NqB4pq5gxboGVqwbjqoXGO7ZIEaTGGNIYmtkjYDtwIm9DUhO09nqhzNV6bc5L9IksGsRn5_uxNkBQMCPvW4/s1600/large_a_master_builder_12_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht37jXlorUG5njRpgDrjIXwJF05TwlyFiFiovgkTV5WaPOhN7hzOXMvVn0NqB4pq5gxboGVqwbjqoXGO7ZIEaTGGNIYmtkjYDtwIm9DUhO09nqhzNV6bc5L9IksGsRn5_uxNkBQMCPvW4/s400/large_a_master_builder_12_blu-ray_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Criterion’s supplements are especially superlative—and
too numerous to list here. Most are interviews outlining the extremely
interesting development processes that I’ve only mentioned here. But I think my
favourite is a conversation between Gregory, Shawn and Fran Lebowitz, touching
on topics such as the truth and myth of “playing yourself,” the importance of
small theatre, how the past is never really past, and working on something long
enough to explore every cliché and then throw it away. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-53743974078671334012015-06-14T12:10:00.000-04:002015-06-14T12:10:11.863-04:00His nest of salt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PEjNOivGtn_sgducQW7cXRVd6tdAcAn-ZCL1aE8TZ27aI1bpCoY4E-cWo3_6UwOkbXoU6pMUiuH7iZ0eOOerVl8x_RvpMvuA9mZVhnqHFofgF4mMSFntwmKAsr19kHTmeV-gWHOnDGw/s1600/Kurt-Cobain-House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PEjNOivGtn_sgducQW7cXRVd6tdAcAn-ZCL1aE8TZ27aI1bpCoY4E-cWo3_6UwOkbXoU6pMUiuH7iZ0eOOerVl8x_RvpMvuA9mZVhnqHFofgF4mMSFntwmKAsr19kHTmeV-gWHOnDGw/s400/Kurt-Cobain-House.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You better buckle up,” Kurt
Cobain’s mother said to him upon first hearing Nirvana’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nevermind </i>on her living room stereo, “because you are not ready for
this.” Me and however many million other kids were, of course, more than ready.
We were hungry, eager to identify, with no real notion as to what despair fuels
such inspired, unholy, transcendent pop cacophony. Cobain was gone before we
knew what hit us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CEwXyLb91wyooSo0H-Vf47wG9GF9vQi7eRVfvM7HkxUnLp-XT3G81cCjl7s6qnWRDdJ08SrBpnhtTH838myOAzdpXABHWdAnzVtpSH2sW2Nvobosuurk3XCEwmtKtA9aizVPO3Mn6Vw/s1600/1401x788-Screen-Shot-2015-03-11-at-2.05.24-PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CEwXyLb91wyooSo0H-Vf47wG9GF9vQi7eRVfvM7HkxUnLp-XT3G81cCjl7s6qnWRDdJ08SrBpnhtTH838myOAzdpXABHWdAnzVtpSH2sW2Nvobosuurk3XCEwmtKtA9aizVPO3Mn6Vw/s400/1401x788-Screen-Shot-2015-03-11-at-2.05.24-PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It is the despair, above all, that is the subject of
Brett Morgan’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kurt Cobain: Montage of
Heck</i>. This is not biography in any conventional sense. Exposition is
largely, smartly relayed via archival materials and the tremendous wealth of
diaries, drawings, music video outtakes, home movies and audio recordings
entrusted to Morgan by the keepers of the Cobain estate. There are new
interviews, but they are used sparingly, photographed in low light, sometimes
framed in profile, and the subjects are few in number. We don’t hear from
famous friends or collaborators or cultural commentators. Morgan keeps it in
the family, speaking only with Cobain’s parents and sister, his first
girlfriend, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, and, yes, Courtney Love. And
that’s it. Most of what we see and hear is drawn from Cobain’s personal
effects, the journaling and the drawings sewn together in a highly inventive
manner that feels true to the spirit in which they were originally crafted. In
some places Morgan employs animated reenactments that elegantly invoke a gloom
and wonder that feels particular to the Pacific Northwest. He uses Cobain’s
music as interpreted by Nirvana and others in unpredictable, resonant ways. True
to its name, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Montage of Heck </i>is an
intricate weave chronicling a life that seems to have always been perched upon
the edge of some personal abyss. It’s an often brilliant movie. It is not a fun
movie. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_1a0hQ2GPLWQ8E6S-DGImNYcNcaYot0m-meHT2YWRYbjgsT1hiK-KvflKAxSJaLXdjfkBHcuCqDiBTx-OJ0aGlWQl1t7UqjA02788SumJdVeiYFZ0hpnhw8KS3akYp0uTTtwHo72lGA/s1600/courtney-love-montage-of-heck.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_1a0hQ2GPLWQ8E6S-DGImNYcNcaYot0m-meHT2YWRYbjgsT1hiK-KvflKAxSJaLXdjfkBHcuCqDiBTx-OJ0aGlWQl1t7UqjA02788SumJdVeiYFZ0hpnhw8KS3akYp0uTTtwHo72lGA/s400/courtney-love-montage-of-heck.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The trajectory itself is familiar: divorce, medication
for hyperactivity, an adolescence spent breaking windows, smoking weed, and
stealing booze. There’s an awful story of virginity loss and a first suicide attempt.
In these stories we trace not only Cobain’s psychic fragility but also
something of the resources for his art and personal politics. The first half or
so of <i>Montage of Heck </i>feels guided by
a musical sensibility that’s arguably akin to the darkness and exhilaration of
Nirvana’s music, but the second half is deeply mimetic of Cobain’s more private
desolation, perhaps to a fault. We dive long and deep into crudely made videos
of Cobain and Love in their wreck of a home, playing, babbling semi-coherently.
Love seems very pleased with her breasts. Eventually Love is pregnant and still
the flow of drugs appears to continue. Eventually Frances Bean is born and
there are questions as to whether or not the parents should have custody. Will
fatherhood save Cobain from self-destruction? We know the answer, but still
brace ourselves as Cobain’s life winnows down to a space in which only he is
left, and then not even he. I wonder if this last section could be too much for
some viewers. It’s too much for me, and Cobain kind of meant everything to me
when he killed himself. But I admire <i>Montage
of Heck</i>, and, for all the superfluous rock star profiles in this world, I
think we might need this one. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-20766870942332141892015-06-12T11:01:00.000-04:002015-06-12T11:01:51.595-04:00An actress steps through the looking glass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSsj7KxiwX01ZKMUUoT1F6jzb0-8sdNXj52Be4a5vaHfbJXpx4dkZ0FlBdhUcz5WAFx99wMbkgTXUDjwlPXThR1FbSY1rQ9srJQ9WsuWL864L8881SP17_NW0eMLBHJUJRC3Y8y8XNuWg/s1600/52501167-6576-45cc-a057-e4f607bf0e35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSsj7KxiwX01ZKMUUoT1F6jzb0-8sdNXj52Be4a5vaHfbJXpx4dkZ0FlBdhUcz5WAFx99wMbkgTXUDjwlPXThR1FbSY1rQ9srJQ9WsuWL864L8881SP17_NW0eMLBHJUJRC3Y8y8XNuWg/s400/52501167-6576-45cc-a057-e4f607bf0e35.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">En route to Zurich, where
she’s to accept an award in his honour, Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) learns
that her old mentor, the reclusive Swiss playwright Wilhelm Melchior, has died.
Delivered bluntly to Maria by Val (Kristen Stewart), her personal assistant, a
resourceful young American, the news contributes to the growing sense of things
ending for Maria, or at least transitioning into something else. Maria is in
the midst of a messy divorce. Despite the obvious incentives, she’s declining
to reprise her role in a super hero movie. She may or may not be accepting a
role in a London revival of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Maloja Snake</i>,
the Melchoir play that made her famous, except that when she first did the play
25 years ago she was the young seductress; this time around she’s to play the
opposing role, that of the middle-aged business woman seduced and shattered by
the younger woman, who would now be played by ostensibly talented celebrity train
wreck Jo-Ann (Chloë Grace Moretz). The high-concept casting is tantalizing, and
the director is said to be brilliant, but Maria feels vulnerable. She’s
tampering with her legacy, acknowledging her age in a viciously age-phobic
industry, stepping through the looking glass. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-stVkqJgEom8o0SFhvSXe_DrSpzQeeuDYib8N2hmLHy4L3r62AwIm99aw8uKgnyjB4A8-AbtuV8dmKm5etzPlDxLm7czWmG4TaDXiHmlyzi5BfIyAAtymIl7tcAINQYv9QVmC9_M4S9w/s1600/3cc6e467-ae1e-4c7c-9f22-8fb65ae63788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-stVkqJgEom8o0SFhvSXe_DrSpzQeeuDYib8N2hmLHy4L3r62AwIm99aw8uKgnyjB4A8-AbtuV8dmKm5etzPlDxLm7czWmG4TaDXiHmlyzi5BfIyAAtymIl7tcAINQYv9QVmC9_M4S9w/s400/3cc6e467-ae1e-4c7c-9f22-8fb65ae63788.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Which is not so different from what Binoche is doing by
playing Maria, a character very close to Binoche, written specifically for
Binoche by writer/director Olivier Assayas, with whom the actress worked on
2008’s exquisite <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Summer Hours</i>. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Clouds of Sils Maria </i>brims with such
slippage, between real life and the movies, between the play Maria is working
up the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">courage </i>to act in and the
fraught dynamic between Maria and Val, who retreat to Melchoir’s home in the
spectacular, mountainous Sils Maria to run lines and debate the underlying
values in conflict in the play. Is it better to be young and arrogant or mature
and wise? Certain elements of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Clouds</i> recall
Ingmar Bergman’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Persona</i>—the borrowed
country home, the imperious actress and the fresh-faced helper in psychic
face-off—while <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Maloja Snake</i> is itself
inspired by Fassbinder’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Bitter Tears
of Petra von Kant</i>. These touchstones, like Binoche and her own stature as a
star, are just some of the things hovering in our shared culture that Assayas
is responding to and sculpting into something unique, arresting and ultimately
haunting. The film is so rife of gestures, ideas, events, subtle little moments
in which something suddenly changes. I first saw it nine months ago and it
lingered in my memory as an uncontainable thing. I just watched it for the
second time and had that peculiar experience of revisiting a film and
remembering that films unfold one scene at a time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZX_-a4TrJVaSOW8bxvx-d2e9hp_jT62gNUZK7oXYI4ALfG9JBKFUuft-5sCCD_5vNE23qex2P7jUDJ4J5PLrtEoEk8TFJGONEa0cz2ew7_RB8GgTmlQzC9OGKL709rLM05fP7x39fwnY/s1600/1613a30e-9ed6-4c61-b204-6f1104e37f36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZX_-a4TrJVaSOW8bxvx-d2e9hp_jT62gNUZK7oXYI4ALfG9JBKFUuft-5sCCD_5vNE23qex2P7jUDJ4J5PLrtEoEk8TFJGONEa0cz2ew7_RB8GgTmlQzC9OGKL709rLM05fP7x39fwnY/s400/1613a30e-9ed6-4c61-b204-6f1104e37f36.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">While retaining a rawness, post-<i>Twilight </i>Stewart gives a far more crafted performance as Val than
in anything I’d seen her do—the twitching and fidgeting has been reduced to a
minimum. Moretz too seems to be adopting another, more intriguing register with
Assayas and company. Jo-Ann spills over with faux-stoned bad girl affectations
when Maria watches her on trash TV shows, only to transform into a young artist
longing to reinvent herself when she and Maria finally meet. Binoche is as
inventive, bold, playful and as adverse to the slightest falsity as she’s ever
been. Her Maria is mercurial, capable of exploding into withering laughter, aware
of her power while also aware that her powers could fail her any moment. In the
film’s first part she’s the epitome of glamour; in the second and third she
cuts her hair and scrubs her face clean. She looks her age, I guess, with a new
nakedness, as if to say, If I’m going to be the older woman, let’s get this
over with. She’s also radiant, as I imagine she always will be. But radiance
quiets with time, and the film’s final, quietly brutal scene leaves Maria in a
place similar to its first scenes: we see a woman on the move, between things,
figuring out what to do next, and how best to survive the journey. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-47221564199147573402015-06-09T13:56:00.006-04:002015-06-09T13:56:54.227-04:00Deep trouble<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUtjzpom-EFxesfv2ojZhzve3aPD8YodA4Q3RfmlCEB5XKIgUfAAa8ItxBcormsHeqD6pdbC6M9TB2fMALytF2duLyctWLmf6WCzy31eY7AM8yBA-GN3ve0X6Dxppy-2mKjy9APR5EUA/s1600/1401x788-4075_FP_001351420669898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUtjzpom-EFxesfv2ojZhzve3aPD8YodA4Q3RfmlCEB5XKIgUfAAa8ItxBcormsHeqD6pdbC6M9TB2fMALytF2duLyctWLmf6WCzy31eY7AM8yBA-GN3ve0X6Dxppy-2mKjy9APR5EUA/s400/1401x788-4075_FP_001351420669898.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">At the bottom of the Black
Sea things don’t decay much. Time stands still, or, rather, time continues,
people die, but things don’t corrode. Rust sleeps. It’s like a deep-water
museum down there, I guess. Is this because of what they call anoxic water? I dunno.
This is a film blog, not a blog on hydrology. But I’m fascinated by these
places in the world, dark deep places almost no one goes to, where such
phenomena occur. It’s one of the things that drew me to <i>Black Sea</i>, this submarine movie that, despite the presence of Jude
Law, apparently slid past the gatekeepers of theatrical distribution and has
since surfaced online, on DVD, Blu-ray, et cetera. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDPsHMG2RE2Ugui-euMF0_qn0x7SvhlFjkhlG9CHfKayymuK5BdsH1ZOl3Uvxya64UvwoxqQtY0WBWMf96rZp0a0hRFSgTftjX71mVTm041qvqNPkwUfuFCI6Jojxllgwnl0NqJTn4iE/s1600/BlackSea2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDPsHMG2RE2Ugui-euMF0_qn0x7SvhlFjkhlG9CHfKayymuK5BdsH1ZOl3Uvxya64UvwoxqQtY0WBWMf96rZp0a0hRFSgTftjX71mVTm041qvqNPkwUfuFCI6Jojxllgwnl0NqJTn4iE/s400/BlackSea2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Things don’t change much at the bottom of the Black Sea
and, it turns out, things don’t change much in the manly world of submarine
movies either. Written by Dennis Kelly and directed by Kevin MacDonald, the
prolific Scottish filmmaker who did<i> Last
King of Scotland </i>and a really quite good historical actioner called <i>The Eagle</i>, <i>Black Sea </i>is about a laid off, pissed off Scottish submarine
captain (Law) who gathers a rogue crew comprised of Britons and Russians to find
a sunken WWII-era U-boat rumored to hold an offering of gold bricks Stalin was trying
bribe Hitler with as a way to forestall Nazi invasion. The movie in its essence
could have been made in the 1950s, and, indeed, there are times you sort of
wish it was, with Don Siegel or Sam Fuller or John Huston or the young Stanley
Kubrick at the helm. Those versions might have been meaner and leaner, while
still keeping the film’s political undercurrents, or over-currents, as in
overstated currents, perfectly readable. But I’m okay with MacDonald’s version,
which is certainly more tolerable than, say, a Michael Bay version, which would
of course be something else altogether. MacDonald’s a little ponderous and a
little sentimental at the end with the flashbacks and a little too fond of
unmotivated camera movement. And he really could have tempered Kelly’s almost
comically leaden foreshadowing. But the movie sails. Or sinks. You know what I
mean. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlV-8pxDR8Qgs-TdV1OAItfOl_AQ9lBbcgkZu4D10VwHuC-1yWhTawdqPrF0iIHz1rzN3smHh2yPjc6ZI9VwAiuoW23Y2nEEhFeC57Ioy_ohoEOUWFkTBOaBmPJJad0-s4YQ7wMQlt_U/s1600/Black-Sea-Jude-Law-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlV-8pxDR8Qgs-TdV1OAItfOl_AQ9lBbcgkZu4D10VwHuC-1yWhTawdqPrF0iIHz1rzN3smHh2yPjc6ZI9VwAiuoW23Y2nEEhFeC57Ioy_ohoEOUWFkTBOaBmPJJad0-s4YQ7wMQlt_U/s400/Black-Sea-Jude-Law-.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It’s no spoiler to say things aren’t going to end well.
Kelly bluntly facilitates dramatic tension by having Law recruit a murderous
psychopath to be the group’s ace diver. Law actually <i>knows</i> the guy’s a psychopath, which is what I meant by comically
leaden foreshadowing. That are there are no escape suits and they can’t use the
radio and all the Brits and the Russkies fucking hate each other and can’t get
over Law’s insistence that everyone, him included, get an equal share of the
money. Yes, <i>Black Sea </i>charts the
failure of Marxism in a sub-culture (heh-heh) corrupted by capitalist-generated
greed. And by a psychopath. Did I mention the psychopath is played by Aussie
actor Ben Mendelsohn? He’s pretty enjoyable. And Law, I must admit, hold his
own, surprisingly, given that he has to command the respect of a bunch of
really rough fellows. Konstantin Khabenskiy is very funny as Law’s lead
partner-in-crime. Sergey Veksler is the crew’s sonar guy, the “the best ears in
the Russian navy.” I love the image, a sea of calm in the midst of this very
macho submarine movie, of Veksler perched Buddha-like on a stool, cups on his
ears, eyes closed, just listening to echoes at the bottom of the ocean. </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-11445128766742131252015-05-27T13:16:00.002-04:002015-05-27T13:16:41.048-04:00Seeing Belief: a visual aid to a brilliant book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaLUMe-b5fbHrHE0geY2gHnz7FXtwN9sdz2HTK6MjxIr4bp6CNZB6zzmXULHsLKxjRl-wNg1AZcjwDk-tZi0jQ5vWXMZC3Z1KzZ9AQPWMhu2yiOqVuDPqRKySXNalhGoOBmYXugy08nw/s1600/going-clear-scientology-and-the-prison-of-belief.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaLUMe-b5fbHrHE0geY2gHnz7FXtwN9sdz2HTK6MjxIr4bp6CNZB6zzmXULHsLKxjRl-wNg1AZcjwDk-tZi0jQ5vWXMZC3Z1KzZ9AQPWMhu2yiOqVuDPqRKySXNalhGoOBmYXugy08nw/s400/going-clear-scientology-and-the-prison-of-belief.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There’s a moment in Alex Gibney’s <i>Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Disbelief </i>when Lawrence Wright, the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigate journalist who authored <i>Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Disbelief</i>, explains, “My goal wasn’t to write an exposé. It was simply to understand Scientology, to understand what people get out of it, you know, why do they go into it in the first place.” That’s pretty much the difference between Gibney and Wright, between this new HBO documentary and Wright’s masterfully calibrated, sensitive and expansive 2013 book: Gibney’s in it for the exposé. His approach is far more blunt than Wright’s. Which, it turns out, is just fine, because the documentary, though its title is inexplicably foreshortened, forms a welcome audio-visual aid to the book, and because, frankly, there is <i>sooooo</i> much to expose. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rJpdjJxb_44hyGjKQL4zc7QM_To9pIe-9p-r2k65ZY17Nd8tPzGIVq7w4dkKDx5UPXJZScWyXAY1F1GXgprUGnESC1t935ollCyKwi5sREXqINO-_j3yTMDY-Uf5YbEI0Im4DcUuwME/s1600/1401x788-107955076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rJpdjJxb_44hyGjKQL4zc7QM_To9pIe-9p-r2k65ZY17Nd8tPzGIVq7w4dkKDx5UPXJZScWyXAY1F1GXgprUGnESC1t935ollCyKwi5sREXqINO-_j3yTMDY-Uf5YbEI0Im4DcUuwME/s400/1401x788-107955076.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Mr. Hubbard</div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Where to begin? I’d suggest you begin with the book, of course, which wasn’t released in Canada (I ordered mine from the US), but perhaps the reverse will work just as well: think of the doc as a teaser. The basic trajectory of doc and book are in any case the same, using the highly publicized 2011 resignation of Canadian filmmaker Paul Haggis from the Church of Scientology as a framing device, tracing the batshit crazy life of galactically prolific science fiction writer and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and examining the transformation Scientology undertook when Hubbard died and an equally crazy if less creepily charismatic man named David Miscavige took the celestial reigns and conquered the Internal Revenue Service, who has been demanding millions from Scientology and finally had to cry uncle when Scientology finally managed to get classified as a religion, thus apprehending their financial holy grail: tax exemption! Along the way we hear testimonies from various former Scientologists, such as actor Jason Beghe, John Travolta’s liaison Sylvia “Spanky” Taylor, and Mark Rathbun and Mike Rinder, who both worked their way to Scientology’s upper echelons. They confirm every litigious thing you’ve ever heard about Scientology, the kidnapping and child labour, the coercion and torture, the billion-year contracts and other elements of the Church’s risible mythos. Along the way we also, through archival footage, meet a gentleman by the name of Tom Cruise, the all-powerful evil robot with the eerily strained laughter, who, after shedding his infidel spouse Nicole Kidman, became Scientology’s favourite son and reaped all the benefits. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOE8J4PmGNQJnSCOABc2CZaqFNjUqJkzKoUH7xXgkN-tHgoGAw8rWYjcV_oHAjQ4XmdrrA0Yw90_oGIt5V1bxZFjUAzrDbRDkFFRfUzdu2Y52A4YI__mIX7Dj_7R-c-n5Intz1CuPIGX8/s1600/goingclear02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOE8J4PmGNQJnSCOABc2CZaqFNjUqJkzKoUH7xXgkN-tHgoGAw8rWYjcV_oHAjQ4XmdrrA0Yw90_oGIt5V1bxZFjUAzrDbRDkFFRfUzdu2Y52A4YI__mIX7Dj_7R-c-n5Intz1CuPIGX8/s400/goingclear02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mr. Haggis</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Gibney makes several problematic choices in how he assembles the material, a fairly obvious example is the way he’ll make a hard cut from Miscavige giving a dumb-sounding speech at some expensively tacky Scientology event to an audience bursting into applause, creating a relationship between what’s said and its response that may not represent what really happened. Gibney focuses almost exclusively on the most sensationalistic incidents reported in Wright’s book—though there are so many jaw-dropping stories to choose from that those hungry for dirt will still find their appetites sated should they read it. You won’t leave <i>Going Clear</i> feeling any lack of outrage, but you may, alas, feel slighted with regards to fascination. Gibney shows less interest in the allure of Scientology holds for so many perfectly intelligent, credible, ambitious people, something Wright illuminated beautifully and respectfully. In short: see <i>Going Clear</i>, but also read <i>Going Clear</i>. There’s a far more complex—if no less damning—story to be found here. </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-46238351114616531952015-05-26T12:18:00.000-04:002015-05-26T12:18:23.974-04:00A film for all seasons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwMSgYLB_1mhewt2CySb4iYrdONgtnfxAb-P2hziqzQ0HOElRReDaAkgnmInODZono8mTKCBfSE-aL-6rAwhSHOivtNnvnGu-HrYTi-a5c6ELLeBHhfzmIxUYCpovKTCDAG2pz9uZ7Kk/s1600/large_merchant_four_seasons_04_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwMSgYLB_1mhewt2CySb4iYrdONgtnfxAb-P2hziqzQ0HOElRReDaAkgnmInODZono8mTKCBfSE-aL-6rAwhSHOivtNnvnGu-HrYTi-a5c6ELLeBHhfzmIxUYCpovKTCDAG2pz9uZ7Kk/s400/large_merchant_four_seasons_04_blu-ray_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When I think of <i>The Merchant of Four Seasons</i> I think of
bodies that bend or extend across the frame in fleeting ecstasy or, more often,
distress: the newly abandoned hero’s arm reaching across his kitchen table; his
long-bodied wife straddling another man in sexual release; the hero beating his
wife on a bed as her legs kick at the air; a woman collapsed on the floor of an
apartment building’s foyer before a delicate crossroads of light. Arms, legs,
torsos are meticulously arranged in the poses of melodrama, while emotions are
tampered, bottled up or bottled down: when I think of <i>The Merchant of Four Seasons </i>I think of our hero, hunched drunkenly
over the head of a barroom table, holding court before a huddle of drunken
sycophants. This is the story of a breaking man, raised middle class but drawn by
dubious sentiments to the working class, unloved and incapable, by lack or by
temperament, of loving others.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbYbN9Nhh6YBhkxOMriC7JHoSo9OBy-_89NVSw1yJRYtypEaD5tGkHmvZRsJPM_K8aOfqbD2F3i3UBzkzgI28CrWbwiOt0UG0IJYHGolxue98_jtlc7LAvuaiPEmg2Q3nu9FCAzFGzlY/s1600/large_merchant_four_seasons_01_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbYbN9Nhh6YBhkxOMriC7JHoSo9OBy-_89NVSw1yJRYtypEaD5tGkHmvZRsJPM_K8aOfqbD2F3i3UBzkzgI28CrWbwiOt0UG0IJYHGolxue98_jtlc7LAvuaiPEmg2Q3nu9FCAzFGzlY/s400/large_merchant_four_seasons_01_blu-ray_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Merchant of Four Seasons </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">was Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s breakthrough, made and
released in 1971, following Fassbinder’s fateful discovery of the Hollywood
films of German émigré Dougl</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">as Sirk</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> (</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">All
That Heaven Allows</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Imitation of Life</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">)</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">
and, along with it, the realization that his contribution to this New German
Cinema could inhabit an ideal middle-ground where artifice yields deeper truths
and audiences could have their hearts moved without sacrificing the stimulation
of their critical faculties. The film is now available in a superb DVD or BD
package from the Criterion Collection.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXQx6nX2_QlLmJrpHbli0WF6_UHK-tCbKdVCIU6CPC9SKjKMAiEtLMHhxEkbAFTSpdsw3rrVa3LzP3mKM6ueLfZtGKmLbRiswtzht5pnw4-hmLhNfivJuAkPL7MvvBciNZJhyphenhyphenX6e8SBI/s1600/large_merchant_four_seasons_X07_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXQx6nX2_QlLmJrpHbli0WF6_UHK-tCbKdVCIU6CPC9SKjKMAiEtLMHhxEkbAFTSpdsw3rrVa3LzP3mKM6ueLfZtGKmLbRiswtzht5pnw4-hmLhNfivJuAkPL7MvvBciNZJhyphenhyphenX6e8SBI/s400/large_merchant_four_seasons_X07_blu-ray_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hans (Hans Hirschmüller) returns home following a tour
with the French Foreign Legion to an unwelcoming mother. Hans’ career as a
police officer was destroyed when he was caught accepting sexual favours from a
prostitute and he takes up work as a fruit vendor, the sort that roams the
streets, calling out the prices of his wares, filling paper cones in exchange
for coins. Rejected by the love of his life, he married Irmgard (Irm Hermann),
a woman with whom there seems to be little in the way of real affection, and whom
he in turn neglects and turns violent with. He has a young daughter, Renate,
who seems always to be bearing witness, absorbing trauma. The film is set in
the 1950s, so by the time Fassbinder made it Renate would be a woman about
Fassbinder’s age. Perhaps <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Merchant of
Four Seasons </i>is meant above all for Renate and all the other children of
post-war Germany, a generation of fractured families and a fraught national
history that no one talks about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRuLXafqD6LebhaiNwNUKd2RFfzp_-XsnltkZJsJ7Vi5lF4PDZgm7huKSPXiMXs3ZVW545yy-8ryf34iSfFglkZstHyBpzPB_-mz5j3l8oYggMTePFdbz9pn2XuEgr9_PyWE2l5mJeUOs/s1600/large_merchant_four_seasons_X02_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRuLXafqD6LebhaiNwNUKd2RFfzp_-XsnltkZJsJ7Vi5lF4PDZgm7huKSPXiMXs3ZVW545yy-8ryf34iSfFglkZstHyBpzPB_-mz5j3l8oYggMTePFdbz9pn2XuEgr9_PyWE2l5mJeUOs/s400/large_merchant_four_seasons_X02_blu-ray_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There’s a lot of misery and banality in all this, I
suppose, but there’s also the beauty of eloquent storytelling, sudden bursts of
vibrant colour, engrossing flashbacks that appear unannounced, filmed exactly
the same as the present-tense scenes, collapsing time so that we realize this
is all about the now, not the past. <i>The
Merchant of Four Seasons </i>is an exquisite film, sad and bold. It’s the
favourite Fassbinder film of Fassbinder’s old friend and fellow <i>Münchner</i> Wim Wenders, who supplies Criterion
with a very good audio commentary track. Also worth checking out are new
interviews with Hirchmüller and Hermann, who tell great stories of how
Fassbinder swooped in and changed their lives, and an interview with scholar Eric
Rentschler, who speaks well, is very smart and very passionate, and gives one
of the strongest, most succinct descriptions of Sirk’s influence on Fassbinder
as I’ve come across. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-55126370436776665862015-01-26T18:28:00.002-05:002015-01-26T18:28:54.993-05:00Let's take this lyng down<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrasDQZ0a-yio4KMzIhksdJywKLL1X24FHBWgp4MfZKOJ-JECmy28fhWdiNtawfDMO8AGHXvkEGYkx5bxz9l9iDDxBpSbh892cSTgDje2NPKxRW6uWlLtTVXWdOe1sbivGRyKAnl4MHY/s1600/large_la_cienaga_12_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrasDQZ0a-yio4KMzIhksdJywKLL1X24FHBWgp4MfZKOJ-JECmy28fhWdiNtawfDMO8AGHXvkEGYkx5bxz9l9iDDxBpSbh892cSTgDje2NPKxRW6uWlLtTVXWdOe1sbivGRyKAnl4MHY/s1600/large_la_cienaga_12_blu-ray_.jpg" height="315" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It may be the most
horizontal movie I have ever seen. The teeming populace of <i>La Ciénaga </i>(2001), Lucrecia Martel’s beguiling feature debut, spend
an inordinate amount of time lying down, usually awake, sometimes several to a
bed, sometimes with limbs splayed in various positions. There are amazingly
dynamic geometries composed of bodies just trying to get a little rest. The
laziness on display in <i>La Ciénaga </i>is
charming and funny, and maybe also appalling, emblematic of the liminal space <i>La Ciénaga</i> nimbly inhabits, as though
suspended on a high-wire, scathing social commentary on one side, vivid, goofy,
impressionistic sounds and images on the other. The film is idiosyncratic,
utterly personal, yet riddled with the political, with class critiques suggested
only in playful ways. It’s a stunningly confident work. And the great news is
that it’s now available from Criterion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWu4pkyFv0BSS5rITupj10AvWMNN-YxzPsmaYpaq8GDFHzhyCk6fXHvteUKQNLSAEGgJ0ZAU6Nj0u06zSjwg1FkLADjk2hymHRtqymmgF-5kcRj2g_W-g29K7EUG2fBpMDryZNGir71t0/s1600/large_la_cienaga_09_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWu4pkyFv0BSS5rITupj10AvWMNN-YxzPsmaYpaq8GDFHzhyCk6fXHvteUKQNLSAEGgJ0ZAU6Nj0u06zSjwg1FkLADjk2hymHRtqymmgF-5kcRj2g_W-g29K7EUG2fBpMDryZNGir71t0/s1600/large_la_cienaga_09_blu-ray_.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“La Ciénaga.” “The Swamp.” It’s the name Martel gives to
the place where she grew up in northwestern Argentina. Part of this film’s
allure is also what makes it very difficult to summarize. It is about two
families. It is about a summer home, with a pool, and bedrooms, and lots of
wine drank with ice, and an adjoining forest where the boys go to play with
guns. It is very much about the bourgeoisie, but it’s told from the inside:
many of the characters are often drunk (this would make a pretty good double-feature with <i>The Swimmer</i>), and the camerawork is somehow
brilliantly choreographed and also stumbling and tipsy too; as rough-and-tumble
as the cameras of John Cassavetes, but with a precision Cassavetes’ beloved
mania wasn’t designed to take on. The film is autobiographical and the camera
is never editorializing. The editing, of course, is another matter. It’s
elliptical, teasing. Those boys with the guns: one wants to shoot a dead, muddy
cow; another stands in the way; we cut to a shot of the landscape, no figures
in sight, and we hear the gunshot, not knowing if someone’s been hit. If Martel
made conventional narrative films we’d call her a master manipulator. But there
is nothing conventional and little that’s narrative-forward about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">La Ciénaga</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>546</o:Words>
<o:Characters>3116</o:Characters>
<o:Company>Chiminomatic</o:Company>
<o:Lines>25</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>7</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>3655</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQeG5jySkbxvScMzruIbQHizynYYvqQWaBRXKm6hrh9g7c-6V33EcqWweoM2NWZhTcAbLUlyJ7MNxSOL7GQRVbQboSX-ntjCQGYVLIkyrPl3Cx4RXMh89HWCRRZaY8yrgNF8Op0oDzhoU/s1600/large_la_cienaga_03_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQeG5jySkbxvScMzruIbQHizynYYvqQWaBRXKm6hrh9g7c-6V33EcqWweoM2NWZhTcAbLUlyJ7MNxSOL7GQRVbQboSX-ntjCQGYVLIkyrPl3Cx4RXMh89HWCRRZaY8yrgNF8Op0oDzhoU/s1600/large_la_cienaga_03_blu-ray_.jpg" height="251" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It begins thusly: following an atonal aria in which a
chorus of the world’s noisiest, cheapest-looking lawn chairs are dragged across
tile, one of our two matriarchs, totally stinko, collapses, cutting herself
badly. Her daughter comes to pull pieces of glass from her chest. A lazy
assessment of <i>La Ciénaga </i>might say
that nothing happens, but the film’s gambit rests in the opposite camp:
everything happens, though it happens in fragments, in shards, with scenes that
start halfway-in and end before they’re resolved; with more characters—family,
friends and servants, victims of racial slurs—than we can be expected to keep
track of. Martel is focused on immersing us in this world and that’s exactly
what she’s so devastatingly good at. The film is so funny—the blitzed characters
getting so animated about the idea of shipping for school supplies in Bolivia—the
dialogue so curious, the images so transfixing, we might forgot that this is
also an oblique indictment of a culture of waste and sloth, snobbery and unjust
disparity, of tackiness and unchecked Catholic neurosis. All these ingredients
will come into play in Martel’s subsequent films, <i>The Holy Girl </i>(2004) and <i>The
Headless Woman </i>(2008), each of which feature fewer characters, or at least
feature central characters, and something close to what we might call a
storyline. Paragons of the New Argentine Cinema, they feel sprung from the same
swamp yet each are inventive, provocative variations. Seeing <i>La Ciénaga</i> reminds us of how vast
Martel’s powers are—and how long we’ve had to wait for more. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-84548337734909073242015-01-24T14:10:00.000-05:002015-01-24T14:10:41.571-05:00Assets and deficits <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEjz9cBDnzoqUSeVoVtwx1_Jq3bZMZqTj2BJ-UlUM_UvKad939lIvlTNATHIQ8iKSPC1F_EGL8RwlMjkA-TkG7ROgxf7nBjGT7_Hgpi9V2DaoRzOWIiw_3nXmp3jEirPMr2P32GsEIxM/s1600/A-Most-Violent-Year-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEjz9cBDnzoqUSeVoVtwx1_Jq3bZMZqTj2BJ-UlUM_UvKad939lIvlTNATHIQ8iKSPC1F_EGL8RwlMjkA-TkG7ROgxf7nBjGT7_Hgpi9V2DaoRzOWIiw_3nXmp3jEirPMr2P32GsEIxM/s1600/A-Most-Violent-Year-7.jpg" height="277" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let me just start by telling
you what it’s about, because what it’s about is by far the most interesting
thing about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Most Violent Year</i>, J.C.
Chandor’s third feature and, following <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Margin
Call</i>, second dissertation on the ethics of capitalism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0yfGdMiPF-l2mDvzHWdii-4PQsj0Rs6g0uD-JnCsUgl2ucsePNc4wTu1_2yYeviuv1_GuibYw6qI1buIhvaJyPjnYD7zqPhzyafnhEaST2iI0YvL1n_9PuhCup8x1LpDbXbKpPgFR2k/s1600/4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0yfGdMiPF-l2mDvzHWdii-4PQsj0Rs6g0uD-JnCsUgl2ucsePNc4wTu1_2yYeviuv1_GuibYw6qI1buIhvaJyPjnYD7zqPhzyafnhEaST2iI0YvL1n_9PuhCup8x1LpDbXbKpPgFR2k/s1600/4.jpeg" height="317" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It’s 1981. New York’s crawling with crime. Prosperous
local oil distributor Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) puts down a massive deposit on
a Queens waterfront storage facility, with another $1.5-million to cough up in
the next 30 days. The bank’s got Morales’ back, but he’s assailed with
obstacles: crusading DA Lawrence <span lang="EN-US">(David Oyelowo) is indicting him on vague
corruption charges and, at the same time, fuel bandits are hijacking Morales’
trucks at toll booths and on turnpikes. The teamsters want to arm Morales’
drivers and Anna (Jessica Chastain), Morales’ wife, wants to ask favours from
her “Family,” but Morales says no. Actually he says something terribly
articulate and verbose that’s more or less a “no.” Morales is not to be
corrupted. But Morales is also not to be dissuaded from his dreams of
dominating his industry. He’s the embodiment of good capitalism. </span>“I like to own the things I use,” he says.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKqwxtMA2ybQFd7ic9N_d7nmlcZuaQUdIHTzuWUdXI49Zi_E1TKS4AWHEZUk7QviHmA86yIc5_NPCUsuiXJ2lKWqq-q3nVwsuzJ-RINRSAk_BCBe07vkMeCcYvkW0HjAdFvpNldohEMc/s1600/A-Most-Violent-Year-movie+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKqwxtMA2ybQFd7ic9N_d7nmlcZuaQUdIHTzuWUdXI49Zi_E1TKS4AWHEZUk7QviHmA86yIc5_NPCUsuiXJ2lKWqq-q3nVwsuzJ-RINRSAk_BCBe07vkMeCcYvkW0HjAdFvpNldohEMc/s1600/A-Most-Violent-Year-movie+(1).jpg" height="293" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">He
also says, “I’ve spent my whole life trying not to become a gangster.” A man
presiding over a risky business, trying to avoid getting dragged into a
criminal swamp: Morales is clearly modelled after Michael Corleone, and Isaac,
a good actor, is, in his understated way, doing Pacino. Oddball, methody
details included—he chews gum while going for a run! Isaac’s breakout
performance was as the titular folksinger in </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Inside Llewyn Davis, </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">and there’s a goofy little call-back to </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Llewyn</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> in </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">A Most Violent Year</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">: on a dark road Isaac hits, not a cat this
time, but a deer. Instead of stalking away into the surrounding brush, the deer
is disposed of by Chastain in a laughably portentous Lady Macbeth moment. I
wasn’t especially hung up on her very inconsistent Brooklyn accent, but Chastain’s
talents are not well served by this overwrought yet underwritten role.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06G1Fp7snWXTpwO6ELYjcCQrF_w6pKAXHDeNXB-z-dtngmmOecykgMvYoIRriXMDQmrgfWKQtPODtucHFZvY7NTy6bWKV8D5AOsi1W73GIz0kgZZDn1aZ173Th5AazNK-wMc2Cnc0qMo/s1600/fd920ccc63332bb6e9ce356951e0de1c90b5c736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06G1Fp7snWXTpwO6ELYjcCQrF_w6pKAXHDeNXB-z-dtngmmOecykgMvYoIRriXMDQmrgfWKQtPODtucHFZvY7NTy6bWKV8D5AOsi1W73GIz0kgZZDn1aZ173Th5AazNK-wMc2Cnc0qMo/s1600/fd920ccc63332bb6e9ce356951e0de1c90b5c736.jpg" height="331" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Much as I liked <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All
is Lost</i>, it is easy to overstate Chandor’s chops. The film’s tone benefits
from an interesting if over-used Alex Ebert score, which at times echoes the early
bits of ‘Shine On, You Crazy Diamond’ with hints of Ravel thrown in. But <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Most Violent Year </i>is mostly very baggy,
with many needless cutaways to reaction shots that I suspect will, once you
start noticing them, prompt eye-rolling reactions from you. The bagginess
extends to the blunt, overemphatic dialogue—“It’s a gun. It’s a FUCKING gun” or
“I don’t know. I don’t FUCKING know”—which can also be comically, redundantly
on-the-nose: “You seem to be under a lot of pressure from all sides,” a highly
perceptive union boss says to Morales. Of course, nothing in the writing of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Most Violent Year </i>feels quite as
ham-fisted as the naming of Abel Morales, who is both able and a man of morals.
<span lang="EN-US">“I
have always taken the path that is most right, and that is what this is.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc-VV3fGafgCkV-5AkSKMbNQUQ3i8cgiXcyF7ioiJ2VuMvo1EdzCzVBavGQ9TDeoXpu-YDla2oony2RpJxu9Vne0n_uMyeGHRPY54uUFjtK7MKpxx3_qNYmY_Co9z8Nd8ni-32Z1e8we4/s1600/A-Most-Violent-Year-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc-VV3fGafgCkV-5AkSKMbNQUQ3i8cgiXcyF7ioiJ2VuMvo1EdzCzVBavGQ9TDeoXpu-YDla2oony2RpJxu9Vne0n_uMyeGHRPY54uUFjtK7MKpxx3_qNYmY_Co9z8Nd8ni-32Z1e8we4/s1600/A-Most-Violent-Year-6.jpg" height="282" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">In
broad brushstrokes, the story is a compelling reflection on a certain time and
place, a certain tendency in certain industries, but scene by scene </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">A Most Dangerous Year </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">is poorly
executed. Of course, it’s a story of poor executions—are we really supposed to believe
that not one, but two hired thugs in this movie can’t hold onto their gun? And
is it not a serious weakness in the writing that the drama turns on one of its
characters—a driver who gets repeatedly ambushed—simply being unbelievably
stupid?</span></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>534</o:Words>
<o:Characters>3050</o:Characters>
<o:Company>Chiminomatic</o:Company>
<o:Lines>25</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>7</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>3577</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-23652527629329789452015-01-23T10:18:00.000-05:002015-01-23T10:18:00.654-05:00Hard to get down<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqyqHZjRZavw5KOwiOpaL5yMPXt6ilVpvjXPY07Ft26SDjEBsA3DDrgbRl4xTbqMzwAXFJR2zwjyDnCw9gnX2g3zJsi5KA29_23BqbAkDBS2qQrp75lOwzeBk3P-opVlSsDMjpKL0lg-w/s1600/1416939023_jennifer-aniston-cake-zoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqyqHZjRZavw5KOwiOpaL5yMPXt6ilVpvjXPY07Ft26SDjEBsA3DDrgbRl4xTbqMzwAXFJR2zwjyDnCw9gnX2g3zJsi5KA29_23BqbAkDBS2qQrp75lOwzeBk3P-opVlSsDMjpKL0lg-w/s1600/1416939023_jennifer-aniston-cake-zoom.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cake </i>is
one of these films you might feel sort of bullied into liking, or at least
respecting, because it deals with heavy themes of grief and living with chronic
pain and drug addiction among the white and affluent, because it features an
ostensibly unlikable heroine whom we’re meant to come to love because we
witness some arduous process of redemption, because it stars an actor who
became famous years ago when she was young and bubbly and had influential hair,
and here she is with greasy hair, facial scars, dumpy clothes and a shit
attitude. But that bullying you feel is integral to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cake</i>’s cookie-cutter schematics. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cake</i> chokes on its own dramaturgy, its only icing here being
that, yes, Jennifer Aniston, also conspicuously on board as executive producer,
is pretty good as the blunt, un-ingratiating heroine whose body was mangled in
some terrible accident and whose heart became paralyzed after the devastating
loss of a loved one in that same accident. Without Aniston, or someone like
her, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cake</i> would not have been made,
and without Aniston you would certainly have considerably less reason to watch
it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKpl-be5rByR1zZnQSZYh9BmVio_QsHT9B_N1XZQQt609uQr8euAjmrUqt2MmPk8XIYAJ2Vk0MNAwlTXbngqFBT3MGl6PizZQmx6gkOk9CrqLp4JTRAx4w-kGk0hChDEJFnYFnUhE_lnY/s1600/AR-150119920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKpl-be5rByR1zZnQSZYh9BmVio_QsHT9B_N1XZQQt609uQr8euAjmrUqt2MmPk8XIYAJ2Vk0MNAwlTXbngqFBT3MGl6PizZQmx6gkOk9CrqLp4JTRAx4w-kGk0hChDEJFnYFnUhE_lnY/s1600/AR-150119920.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The set-up has plenty of intrigue: Claire (Aniston) seems
to be stalking Nina (Anna Kendrick), a dead woman, who was in Claire’s
cartoonish chronic pain support group, perhaps because Nina suicided and Claire
envies her gumption. Claire blackmails her support group leader into disclosing
Nina’s address so that Claire can go snoop around Nina’s home, which is still
inhabited by Nina’s little boy and—look out!—her hunky husband (Sam
Worthington). Also intriguing: Claire’s only other occupation is to feed her
need for Percs and Oxys, which, in one of </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cake</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">’s
better sequences, she enlists her devoted Chicana housekeeper Silvana (Adriana
Barraza) to drive her down to Tijuana to procure. But the intrigue quickly
dissipates once we get stuck watching the lamely written sequences in which
Nina appears to Claire as some sort of bitchy ghost, or bitchy hallucination
brought on by addiction and self-loathing. There’s also the issue of Claire
really never seeming that unlikable a person—just one of many ways in which </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cake </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">goes soft. No doubt some will
applaud Barraza, who got an Oscar nod for </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Babel</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">,
but those applauding surely don’t speak Spanish, because when Barraza goes to
town, airing her grievances toward her employer </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">en español</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, it is a flatly inflected tirade worthy of a </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">telenovela </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">hitting end-of-the-week
exhaustion. Don’t even get me started on the ridiculous character of a would-be
starlet and thief from Boise who gets conveniently and awkwardly squashed into </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cake</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">’s final act. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To be sure, there are far worse movies than </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cake</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, but the ways in which </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cake </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">is bad are really annoying.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-35561747724068686292015-01-18T11:05:00.002-05:002015-01-18T11:05:24.944-05:00Bad shot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2lmJO4a9vUle09eMbjE1MmW2JaavMIo1dcFUCL214eth9sGsBXKJZelj6eY57gXRTl0I30t1NfO1DWOgsJ2NS-SUjEfNSFTsbzZYA6ArhtqZz_K8raRw3LfcG6SKFAEGcqiFmWnt1UQ/s1600/americansniper_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2lmJO4a9vUle09eMbjE1MmW2JaavMIo1dcFUCL214eth9sGsBXKJZelj6eY57gXRTl0I30t1NfO1DWOgsJ2NS-SUjEfNSFTsbzZYA6ArhtqZz_K8raRw3LfcG6SKFAEGcqiFmWnt1UQ/s1600/americansniper_a.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>American Sniper</i> is based on Chris Kyle’s memoir and I’m led to understand that it’s quite a faithful adaptation. But the problems one encounters when turning memoirs into movies are myriad. In this case, they include having a famous actor embody a real person, a military hero with a fascinating and fraught legacy (Kyle accumulated a record 160 confirmed kills during his four tours during the Iraq War), and shifting perspective from the book’s first-person to the movie’s inherent third-person, which inevitably imposes a political reading on personal reportage—and with that political reading comes an enormous moral responsibility. Whatever you might think of director Clint Eastwood and screenwriter Jason Hall’s personal politics, their take on American Sniper renders a thorny chapter in the history of US foreign policy as a somewhat dunderheaded white hat/black hat rah-rah western. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC60_sJOE_Y6tHUJeFzAdnAldl555spqMNvsTHIzc2g_2vEakWXDpYNfiKsdFFbdJK9KVfGRJmDZ-EDplxQYcK5OiiEHEhOysvP2LP25FCzm73r0gn_b39CEaXjZwSJgT68wywpInU0v4/s1600/american_sniper1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC60_sJOE_Y6tHUJeFzAdnAldl555spqMNvsTHIzc2g_2vEakWXDpYNfiKsdFFbdJK9KVfGRJmDZ-EDplxQYcK5OiiEHEhOysvP2LP25FCzm73r0gn_b39CEaXjZwSJgT68wywpInU0v4/s1600/american_sniper1.jpg" height="310" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It doesn't help that some scenes are the sort of thing that should land Hall in the screenwriters’ stockade. Take the early scene in which Kyle (a beefy-burly and uncharacteristically opaque Bradley Cooper) comes home to find his live-in girlfriend with another man. “I do this to get attention. Can’t you see that?!” cries the cheater, who has apparently never heard of subtext. Kyle later meets his real love interest in a bar. She acts all tough but vomits after downing shots, which is another way of saying that, unlike Kyle, she ain’t no Navy SEAL. There’s a later scene in which PTSD is invoked by having Kyle seated before his television, from which we hear, as though through his ears, the sound of a war movie, but when the camera spins around <i>the TV isn’t even on!</i> Much of <i>American Sniper</i>’s dialogue fits into the <i>Lone Survivor</i> model: when soldiers aren’t punctuating every word with “fuck” it’s because they’re saying nothing but “fuck.” Defenders may cry verisimilitude, but that hardly excuses redundant, unimaginative verbiage that might otherwise be used to help tell a story. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCySrSCq1nDCB0SrmvsjQWqua7PJjQvQ7CBV0rf9koWWOuuG4UwMffnQENxGuyELeVOx8uoiGOvjSTxvwi261MXdU3JC-eHyRFWz79afOQ89VbKnCDXAZGz2BwX4JBpqSHLea2LDggmE/s1600/american-sniper-bradley-cooper-jake-mcdorman-1200x670_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCySrSCq1nDCB0SrmvsjQWqua7PJjQvQ7CBV0rf9koWWOuuG4UwMffnQENxGuyELeVOx8uoiGOvjSTxvwi261MXdU3JC-eHyRFWz79afOQ89VbKnCDXAZGz2BwX4JBpqSHLea2LDggmE/s1600/american-sniper-bradley-cooper-jake-mcdorman-1200x670_c.jpg" height="246" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>American Sniper</i> is one of Eastwood’s least inspired films as director; visually speaking, its incredibly boring coverage harkens back to TV movies of the ’80s. But the more troubling issues concern point of view, the way we’re invited to watch countless foreigners get shot to hell while Kyle’s tragic death at the hands of a fellow veteran is only alluded to in the film’s flat final moments, or the way Kyle’s nemesis, a dreadlocked sniper rumored to be a Syrian Olympic medalist, is provided with counter-close-ups yet still comes off as mere caricature. Perhaps this material needed Sam Fuller to inject it with manic energy instead of Eastwood’s macho solemnity. Perhaps it simply needed a screenwriter with moral vision, one capable of finding a dramatic way to grapple with the deeper questions about what Kyle’s life, career and untimely death mean to us as we survey the consequences of 9/11 and the Bush administration’s irrevocable response to that day that, one way or another, really did change everything. I think of that speech Kyle’s dad makes about how there are three kinds of people: sheep, wolves and sheepdogs. Kyle was one hell of a sheepdog. But let’s talk about who was his master. </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-70849164421481942982015-01-07T14:17:00.000-05:002015-01-07T14:17:49.083-05:00Katherine Waterston on Inherent Vice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHMLWYRR7eR1Tsy2pHic2oDiRsTu60wdUbOCtjzNRRWTYGI_7fGv85XGKSacYgiiy7Omp3viXuhpPGNB9HNZButZbjOQXOhXiRd1lOLAenH49tnEx-aH2jXjt_YUijnQezPpMpJnDjnk/s1600/HWevz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHMLWYRR7eR1Tsy2pHic2oDiRsTu60wdUbOCtjzNRRWTYGI_7fGv85XGKSacYgiiy7Omp3viXuhpPGNB9HNZButZbjOQXOhXiRd1lOLAenH49tnEx-aH2jXjt_YUijnQezPpMpJnDjnk/s1600/HWevz.jpg" height="253" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Katherine Waterston is the
daughter of Sam Waterston, who rose to prominence with the New Hollywood before
becoming a household name with <i>Law &
Order</i>. Pedigree doesn’t seem to have given the younger Waterston any unfair
advantages, but over the last eight years or so the Tisch School graduate has
built a respected career in theatre—she played Anya in an off-Broadway revival
of <i>The Cherry Orchard</i>—and in
supporting roles in films like <i>Michael
Clayton</i>. Her appearance as the beguiling Shasta in Paul Thomas Anderson's <i>Inherent Vice </i>marks a significant breakthrough. We spoke a few
weeks ago in a Toronto hotel when Waterston was traveling to promote the film. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">JB: I want to begin
by talking with you about something that’s kind of hard to talk about, which is
tone. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inherent Vice </i>basically begins
with your entrance, so you set the tone. But is thinking about tone useful to
you as an actor or just a distraction from playing the scene, beat by beat?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Katherine Waterston: When
you work on scenes they tend to tell you what they need. When you start
speaking the lines you can tell when they don’t feel right. When they do, it’s
because you’ve found the tone that best serves the scene. In the way that Paul
works, and the way I like to work too, we explore until the correct tone
emerges. One of the fun things about working on this project is that it was
based on a novel that changes tone almost constantly. It gives us permission to
have a really sombre or scary scene with a joke in it. There’s physical comedy
followed by very honest, intimate moments. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CyvrLVhYIm0NugCuTinp4duD3N1GP_xJEQNlpenIilMifg8uF32ZCdwLisdS26Y_6ImIcPEiPp4nj5mAjzNJQ8imXyonbg1mXpB7CE48kzMr5S2E8yhhWjhtek1R6XrtB4KpdBYF5Qw/s1600/inherentvice-katherinewaterston-orange+dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CyvrLVhYIm0NugCuTinp4duD3N1GP_xJEQNlpenIilMifg8uF32ZCdwLisdS26Y_6ImIcPEiPp4nj5mAjzNJQ8imXyonbg1mXpB7CE48kzMr5S2E8yhhWjhtek1R6XrtB4KpdBYF5Qw/s1600/inherentvice-katherinewaterston-orange+dress.jpg" height="263" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">JB: Watching your
performance I thought about Mary Astor in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Maltese
Falcon</i>, but I also thought about Diane Ladd. Something about the way you
direct your gaze while fingering the mouth of that beer can. Did you look to
any models while developing Shasta? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">KW: It can sometimes be too
much pressure, to be hyperaware of what’s come before. But I did think about
women of that period, particular from Southern California. I’m glad that you
mentioned the gaze, because a big part of it is they way that they set their
gaze. Cowboys have a similar thing, people who set their gaze on some distant
landscape, or people who live by the sea. If you spend evenings watching the
sun set on the ocean that does something to you. I notice it when I’ve been
east for a long time and I come back to California, especially to seaside
communities. I watched a lot of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Mod
Squad </i>before shooting. I thought that Peggy Lipton had something of a
Shasta quality. Perhaps I took some comfort in knowing that [the actress
playing] this quintessential California girl was actually an East-Coaster, like
me. There was something remote about her. You think about all this before you
get to work. Once you’re on set you try to forget it all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">JB: Did you feel like you
always understood what Shasta wanted? Her duplicity seems to dictate certain
turns in the story. I’ve seen <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inherent
Vice </i>twice and I’m still not sure if I know what she’s after from beginning
to end. Do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> need to know? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">KW: That makes me so happy
that I don’t want to say a damned word. It’s been tough navigating these
interviews, talking about making this movie, which is fun to talk about, while
not spoiling the experience for the viewer. It’s a fine line that I had to
walk, knowing what to express. When you read the novel you become closest to
Doc’s experience. Reality becomes as suspicious to the reader as it is to him.
I didn’t want to take away from that by being too direct. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpI6kMRxZ6EzroTmdFlz9yz3OWfXIcDIv0aWfpBV-a6ffD8yIBvIzCoGVOWRTex1-A0b2Xl2-HFkX42wSHsG1Rh07ouA5sCLTTq6LeWwsmHQbKJIXSjqKlthdif9d8gdLSr54dBt07oiw/s1600/inherent-vice-joaquin-phoenix-katherine-waterston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpI6kMRxZ6EzroTmdFlz9yz3OWfXIcDIv0aWfpBV-a6ffD8yIBvIzCoGVOWRTex1-A0b2Xl2-HFkX42wSHsG1Rh07ouA5sCLTTq6LeWwsmHQbKJIXSjqKlthdif9d8gdLSr54dBt07oiw/s1600/inherent-vice-joaquin-phoenix-katherine-waterston.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">JB: Between Shasta, Bigfoot
and Doc, you’ve got three characters that in very different ways encapsulate
this moment of transition in the culture. Shasta is a product of second wave
feminism while also using her sexuality as capital. She seems both progressive
and regressive in some way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">KW: To the degree that this
is a standard detective story, she’s the femme fatale. But what surprised and
challenged me was that she also had to be human, to have a warmth. There has to
be more between her and Doc than this sexual hold that she has on him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">JB: Do you relate to Shasta?
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">KW: She’s very different
from me, yet I felt I understood her before I even understood what was going
on. It’s exciting to come across a female character that’s complicated and
inconsistent and dynamic. So often there’s the good lady or the bad lady, the
maternal force or the sex goddess. Shasta’s scared but trying to keep her chin
up. She loves Doc but isn’t necessarily going to show it. There was so much in
the novel and it was fun to try and cram as much in as possible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">JB: Were you told why you
were cast?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">KW: No. And I sure as hell
didn’t ask because I didn’t want anyone to start thinking it was a bad idea. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">JB: What do you think? What
do you bring to Shasta that someone else might not have? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">KW: It’s sort of impossible
to know. Or maybe just too embarrassing to think about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">JB: Why embarrassing? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">KW: It’s difficult to
measure what things about you make you right for a part. When I was up for the
part, I saw so clearly why it had to be me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">JB: I was going to say that
when you don’t get a part, that’s when you always know what you could have
brought to it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">KW: Right. When it’s about
to be taken away you can see so clearly why everything in your life, every idea
you’ve ever had, every book you’ve read, every personal thing that’s happened
to you has all been leading up to this moment where you get to process this
role and put it out in the world in a way that no one else could. Then they
tell you that you’ve got the job and it’s like amnesia. All that stuff that was
so clear to you becomes foggy and confusing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG6v99s3diVlqUfOTeKxDXJWW-GJxbzQHF0DPo3dC_UdcgCzKG1omjRcH1ZG79cjPzbIBNxwMmfG-y83CdxKcLgUohyphenhyphenC4fYPthAkXD9JBb0loKoB85ak4ldbz_gS5yBmMoMjHUq4hnvao/s1600/inherent-vice-image-joaquin-phoenix-katherine-waterston-joanna-newsom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG6v99s3diVlqUfOTeKxDXJWW-GJxbzQHF0DPo3dC_UdcgCzKG1omjRcH1ZG79cjPzbIBNxwMmfG-y83CdxKcLgUohyphenhyphenC4fYPthAkXD9JBb0loKoB85ak4ldbz_gS5yBmMoMjHUq4hnvao/s1600/inherent-vice-image-joaquin-phoenix-katherine-waterston-joanna-newsom.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">JB: This seems like an interesting
moment for you. In the last year you’ve had two films come out [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inherent Vice </i>and Kelly Reichardt’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Night Moves</i>], each directed by one of
the most exciting directors in the US. But I never really know if these films
that mean so much to us as viewers mean the same to you the actor, if they have
an effect on your growth commeasurable with our esteem for the work on screen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">KW: As an actor, being
chosen by people you admire is incredibly encouraging. Because we’re just kind
of these leaves blowing in the wind. You don’t know how it’s all going to shake
down at any given moment. Even with people who are much more successful than
me, you never really know. I was at a place in my career where I was pretty
beaten down and struggling to get my hands on interesting material. So these
encouraging events came when I really needed them. But what’s to be learned
from getting to watch great directors at work or being around inspiring actors
I feel like I probably won’t be cognizant of for a couple more years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">JB: When you see the
finished product and see how your performance works as such a lynchpin in this
story, do you learn anything from that? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>1064</o:Words>
<o:Characters>6068</o:Characters>
<o:Company>Chiminomatic</o:Company>
<o:Lines>50</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>14</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>7118</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">KW: I’m so proud of this
work. I feel lucky to be part of it. But I don’t think I can separate myself
from the whole enough to take anything away from it. It’s a miracle that I can
even watch it without running out of the room. It’s Joaquin that keeps me
watching, because I know that if I look away I’ll miss him. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-45153240059201394672015-01-05T14:47:00.001-05:002015-01-05T14:47:57.517-05:00Best of 2014: Inherent Vice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheI0F2e07CyMgXnNS91G7sCbQ7g_uPZfOp4Ui1kYTSMn3FSCzYGX_PoNZmjKab_6mRyEJerio0xqtQoANasLOe9g0VVEv1C6RBHFPUPSg7R4KdgePMRB8GRF3UbTjQT3cxODycfOTZFps/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheI0F2e07CyMgXnNS91G7sCbQ7g_uPZfOp4Ui1kYTSMn3FSCzYGX_PoNZmjKab_6mRyEJerio0xqtQoANasLOe9g0VVEv1C6RBHFPUPSg7R4KdgePMRB8GRF3UbTjQT3cxODycfOTZFps/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWFaKRL4YYF9ngxNJrd5hcqD13Zl2Y7bXVcx1LFDRYWf8r4D_j5x-AMNK4adoEOJg4NAc4IfY1vVoIfzlMVndrrXLAWtapQ4xvIInJNJsY39_0SjFvYxvtoRmxAlwE4y60horFDZ7Wxk/s1600/inherent-vice-joaquin-phoenix-jordan-christian-hearn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWFaKRL4YYF9ngxNJrd5hcqD13Zl2Y7bXVcx1LFDRYWf8r4D_j5x-AMNK4adoEOJg4NAc4IfY1vVoIfzlMVndrrXLAWtapQ4xvIInJNJsY39_0SjFvYxvtoRmxAlwE4y60horFDZ7Wxk/s1600/inherent-vice-joaquin-phoenix-jordan-christian-hearn.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6Jr9efUxOcOFqtFhftV3pTFGKf6whJ_h_sLQx9yudIW2ZvfH3SESzuE3pQ4ZMVohJ1aut6PiYgOg8j1V6QO9GCc7KqsKT8Z5WNw5XO4o8eLgl-xR8QZjIlgUTKPm4lHG9IBCVEbYGug/s1600/inherent-vice-owen-wilson-joaquin-phoenix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6Jr9efUxOcOFqtFhftV3pTFGKf6whJ_h_sLQx9yudIW2ZvfH3SESzuE3pQ4ZMVohJ1aut6PiYgOg8j1V6QO9GCc7KqsKT8Z5WNw5XO4o8eLgl-xR8QZjIlgUTKPm4lHG9IBCVEbYGug/s1600/inherent-vice-owen-wilson-joaquin-phoenix.jpg" height="280" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Paul Thomas Anderson’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inherent Vice</i> is narcotic noir set in
1970 Los Angeles, which, by coincidence (?), are the year and place of
Anderson’s birth. The film distils its source material—Thomas Pynchon’s 2009
novel of the same name—down to its cinematic essences while retaining much of
its manic detouring and labyrinthine plot, which gets sufficiently knotty so as
to render our comprehension to roughly the same level as that of Doc Sportello
(Joaquin Phoenix), the film’s sandal-clad, frizzy-haired, perma-stoned shamus,
a gumshoe with a compulsion for following a cryptic lead and a weakness for high-grade
weed. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inherent Vice </i>isn’t impossible
to follow, it’s just gloriously over-complicated, laden with conspiracy
(Pynchon’s favoured narrative device), and gushing ephemera. The times are
a-changed, a-changing, a-curdling. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inherent
Vice</i> is a mystery, a comedy, a sprawling cultural study, and, in the best sense,
a very American film, shaggy and baroque, beautiful and off-balance, spastic,
slapstick and mottled with melancholy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHEbSUBh5InpNNfzT2egvqwYBofho4KB-8DYEpIUkyhdOWrXtdWuWmny5RdgridWVgJnERwkFvKkdnnsX-98NhTLj3Y1Z2x0YfcOMONk0IkUxPjx7BEyQFC8dKDVWA5RudGWbQPlZoH8/s1600/inherent-vice-joaquin-phoenix-hong-chau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHEbSUBh5InpNNfzT2egvqwYBofho4KB-8DYEpIUkyhdOWrXtdWuWmny5RdgridWVgJnERwkFvKkdnnsX-98NhTLj3Y1Z2x0YfcOMONk0IkUxPjx7BEyQFC8dKDVWA5RudGWbQPlZoH8/s1600/inherent-vice-joaquin-phoenix-hong-chau.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QfLZZiPGkXHRfoez6UalbmUXsbXaV3NfGzX9JKIr_RmbJ8Q06qtFtmtIwOVBq2QPcEZeI3pCYhB2RsjC7dCCvF1dbOKYfhDKbGuETvSwhKujCBaT0e5rku-UQqLLGnUTICqTPaguoZM/s1600/inherent_vice-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QfLZZiPGkXHRfoez6UalbmUXsbXaV3NfGzX9JKIr_RmbJ8Q06qtFtmtIwOVBq2QPcEZeI3pCYhB2RsjC7dCCvF1dbOKYfhDKbGuETvSwhKujCBaT0e5rku-UQqLLGnUTICqTPaguoZM/s1600/inherent_vice-1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWw1ZwDKqfvfqH1HbvyY9WIEWykbO2qjNXSNTzbSJ0gfGYwTW0Qh728QW6S4EDiGATx9a9t0uDcmPI3hYd7PnTSmhYjbEZ_BdiTdxiQhOygj_GgfK5OZckqXUHHwDNJjcRq_XGAbVf5rQ/s1600/inherent-vice-whysoblu-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWw1ZwDKqfvfqH1HbvyY9WIEWykbO2qjNXSNTzbSJ0gfGYwTW0Qh728QW6S4EDiGATx9a9t0uDcmPI3hYd7PnTSmhYjbEZ_BdiTdxiQhOygj_GgfK5OZckqXUHHwDNJjcRq_XGAbVf5rQ/s1600/inherent-vice-whysoblu-2.jpg" height="277" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It starts with Doc receiving a furnace blast from his
past in the shape of Shasta (Katherine Waterston). She’s been carrying on with a
married real estate developer </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Eric Roberts) who’s gone missing. She wants Doc’s
help, but by the time she drives away from his seaside bungalow there’s already
the sense that Doc’s job detail in this is going to be more than that of a skip
tracer. He’s about to be plunged into a web of cunnilingual massage parlours,
seafaring gangsters, errant musicians, Republican activists, dentists on the
verge of a nervous breakdown, black panthers and white supremacists. He has
allies, such as his nautical lawyer (Benicio Del Toro) and Deputy DA lover
(Reese Witherspoon), and a charming, perhaps chimerical figure (singer-harpist
Joanna Newsom) with whom he can theorize and who narrates <i>Inherent Vice </i>with protracted quotes straight out of Pynchon’s lyrically
addled text. Doc also has an oddly antagonistic camaraderie with Detective
Bigfoot Bjornsen (Josh Brolin), a flat-topped conservative and so-called
“renaissance cop” who likes to kick the shit out of Doc when not fellating
chocolate-covered bananas with cryptic fauxmoerotic menace.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlloMND0cese_z17-vxSG97AAJk_2Q8rnpBiPBmTBpnpgl7vsTlbddt2KMGmafkU4v2rT3LkBI_23iEsb3kbBQfx4lSDvUe4JEo-RE20K8xGGwxULlUgtuI3xLDwf51KpmBjpP2bNsoYU/s1600/inherent-vice-eric-roberts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlloMND0cese_z17-vxSG97AAJk_2Q8rnpBiPBmTBpnpgl7vsTlbddt2KMGmafkU4v2rT3LkBI_23iEsb3kbBQfx4lSDvUe4JEo-RE20K8xGGwxULlUgtuI3xLDwf51KpmBjpP2bNsoYU/s1600/inherent-vice-eric-roberts.jpg" height="281" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzFnvLf6eOMsZG2znDtUV8F2hKH2mTXdoac2kq-0lkctFB6WolmddONoa8ZznPaL-RFXxwZnMxBeWo4ecMl4ThWuJnwb3BT08d5lsPX2qqPA0w387pY7xETY1k1Ewa3O_bTFcKvmEXPg/s1600/inherent-vice-joanna-newsom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzFnvLf6eOMsZG2znDtUV8F2hKH2mTXdoac2kq-0lkctFB6WolmddONoa8ZznPaL-RFXxwZnMxBeWo4ecMl4ThWuJnwb3BT08d5lsPX2qqPA0w387pY7xETY1k1Ewa3O_bTFcKvmEXPg/s1600/inherent-vice-joanna-newsom.jpg" height="318" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogL7c4leXQijxN9tYnPpwBL-6QJd7Zx1eg6SmfxJWG2wzfZyEtfv7zFpbZbOphlW7NxoxJFgSrwEKeVf73gYXBL4Z32RKqprjjChrA4rk1nLOD1V46Z9TzSIoQxtdn-MeeWI7m6Ekrag/s1600/inherent-vice-image-josh-brolin-joaquin-phoenix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogL7c4leXQijxN9tYnPpwBL-6QJd7Zx1eg6SmfxJWG2wzfZyEtfv7zFpbZbOphlW7NxoxJFgSrwEKeVf73gYXBL4Z32RKqprjjChrA4rk1nLOD1V46Z9TzSIoQxtdn-MeeWI7m6Ekrag/s1600/inherent-vice-image-josh-brolin-joaquin-phoenix.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The
obvious cinematic precedents for </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Inherent
Vice </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">are Robert Altman’s </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Long
Goodbye </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">(1973) and the Coen Brothers’ </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The
Big Lebowski </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">(1998). In the former Elliot Gould is a product of the ’50s plunked
down into the radically shifting ’70s; in the latter Jeff Bridges is a pot-blitzed
product of the ’70s playing the bowling detective in Bush’s ’90s. What </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Inherent Vice </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">shares with these films is
a playful engagement with crime fiction tropes; the incorporation of drugs,
coke and weed especially, into the paranoid fabric of its narrative strategies;
and a deep interest in the physical and psychic topographies of Los Angeles. There
is however an enormous distinction: unlike Marlowe or the Dude, Doc is very
much a man of his milieu, “out of time” only in the sense that days are
numbered for this idealistic New Age he emblematizes, with flower powered
dreams going up in smoke as the Manson Family go on trial, Cambodia gets
pummelled, hippies take up arms, and the city of angels is getting lorded over
by land grabbers. Dutifully following Pynchon’s lead, Anderson mines So-Cal ’70
culture clashes for comic gold, but he’s also tracking the shift from </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Endless Summer </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">to endless bummer with
reverence, a recognition of something flawed but precious dissolving into a fog
of increasingly dangerous drugs, reactionary authorities, corporate resilience
and, perhaps, some weirder, older evil that gave birth to Hollywood and its
Babylonian double.</span></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>774</o:Words>
<o:Characters>4412</o:Characters>
<o:Company>Chiminomatic</o:Company>
<o:Lines>36</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>10</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>5176</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hP4Rq_S886X6ucKwBK46BzXvi_7g-qCkD1nQcTVZcfitQwK9t1k8jpAxXb7GQDGDko94AUPl6t3fpAD8PP_eVgvKW-BZd00uBSsi7D7BO2MalK6ll8Yq10DlW9lB02-PRoN70dgFA3s/s1600/inherent-vice-joaquin-phoenix-michael-k-williams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hP4Rq_S886X6ucKwBK46BzXvi_7g-qCkD1nQcTVZcfitQwK9t1k8jpAxXb7GQDGDko94AUPl6t3fpAD8PP_eVgvKW-BZd00uBSsi7D7BO2MalK6ll8Yq10DlW9lB02-PRoN70dgFA3s/s1600/inherent-vice-joaquin-phoenix-michael-k-williams.jpg" height="258" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYGL4SPH4hXVT7ebJJPzDXZeUK-2yKJ9mgUWQVGvOyarP7NOyHCBTmPApMgK184yZge-LBKuJR20qsGKnlHb-RV1kQD5pPg9ExUaPrBqsW6NaraMDr9SUDM-Ef9jvznENsPtohNQQp3ZA/s1600/Inherent_Vice_Movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYGL4SPH4hXVT7ebJJPzDXZeUK-2yKJ9mgUWQVGvOyarP7NOyHCBTmPApMgK184yZge-LBKuJR20qsGKnlHb-RV1kQD5pPg9ExUaPrBqsW6NaraMDr9SUDM-Ef9jvznENsPtohNQQp3ZA/s1600/Inherent_Vice_Movie.jpg" height="323" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbW06ETQ6o-DfqSFpXYpoew5hw9jRvyQ8201V7BOhK_8S19BMiIhuESY-AsMzNb9j3amQ9hdfQCaAhXA7MVGfXqJ3Tj6-X8me9FJaXE0nzatm_LIZtTMG6DsMQ8QJr2Myudd96gT1i8H8/s1600/inherent-vice-benicio-del-toro-joaquin-phoenix-owen-wilson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbW06ETQ6o-DfqSFpXYpoew5hw9jRvyQ8201V7BOhK_8S19BMiIhuESY-AsMzNb9j3amQ9hdfQCaAhXA7MVGfXqJ3Tj6-X8me9FJaXE0nzatm_LIZtTMG6DsMQ8QJr2Myudd96gT1i8H8/s1600/inherent-vice-benicio-del-toro-joaquin-phoenix-owen-wilson.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The film’s incorporation of music speaks to Anderson’s
respect for hippie dreams, alternating between the excellently uneasy Johnny
Greenwood score and inspired choices of more or less contemporaneous records:
the brilliant deployment of Can’s ‘Vitamin C’ to set the suspicious tone when
our femme fatale first pulls away from the curb; the by-then ancient-sounding
strains of Sam Cooke on a car radio; or the creaky odes of Neil Young
(‘Harvest,’ ‘Journey Through the Past’) to buoy Doc’s nostalgic recollections
of idyllic times with Shasta—a meta-theme subtly emphasized by Doc’s very Neil
Youngish sense of personal style, the mutton chops and army surplus jacket. The
cast uniformly succeeds at the daunting task of ushering Pynchon’s
character-constructs into people with pasts: Brolin is a cartoon monster with a
tender heart, while Phoenix is prowling the peripheries of lucidity,
registering unease and disbelief with every exaggerated blink, as captivating
here as he was in <i>The Master</i>, though
Doc isn’t nearly as lost as Freddie Quell. The final moments of <i>Inherent Vice </i>could almost appear to
restore order, except by now that we know better than to trust appearances and
we regard order as some pacifying patina projected by the Man. Best to just
keep driving into the sun. And to see <i>Inherent
Vice </i>again as soon as possible—you might have missed a whole rabbit hole
somewhere in the engrossing blur. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-73274805262348567612014-12-29T11:43:00.002-05:002014-12-29T11:43:48.027-05:00Best of 2014: Jonathan Glazer on Under the Skin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPe2IZWQqtrQYI8cWFIckyMH4UrPMqyrqYeyvU56cxO9wlPa22BCm1uP5EPCPH6Kxh9Mw8OKz2OqLYKcwh4FIlOpbOhP4a4H0WwuCSU10ZRRW5YKpBlJ3VNUBqJGltCJ1E_mWfT89yKrs/s1600/a1951562-937e-4bba-a426-f3b65acf8350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPe2IZWQqtrQYI8cWFIckyMH4UrPMqyrqYeyvU56cxO9wlPa22BCm1uP5EPCPH6Kxh9Mw8OKz2OqLYKcwh4FIlOpbOhP4a4H0WwuCSU10ZRRW5YKpBlJ3VNUBqJGltCJ1E_mWfT89yKrs/s1600/a1951562-937e-4bba-a426-f3b65acf8350.jpg" height="255" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Under the Skin</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> begins in some kind
of deeper blackness, less cinema space than outer space. Perhaps it’s the same unfriendly
blackness to which our protagonist will deposit her victims. A projector’s beam
cuts through, and we’re looking at what appears to be the formation of an eye,
listening to what sounds like the uploading of verbal nuance in infinite
variety, some ultra-fast-tracked language lessons. Sound and vision—it’s alive!
Alive! Or nearly so.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcym07fCIcB_WbvFSUaXHqF4vr6rXlxP0c39B8EWrXnErwW9AaX1qZGkKr36q7Vb1hPjPk3puxhmuegshHzUWt34ptEEimISAzbnPfm5BF_I-_FzTzHQbKArF7WTUaancEu78cuNoV1A/s1600/pmB.1280x720.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcym07fCIcB_WbvFSUaXHqF4vr6rXlxP0c39B8EWrXnErwW9AaX1qZGkKr36q7Vb1hPjPk3puxhmuegshHzUWt34ptEEimISAzbnPfm5BF_I-_FzTzHQbKArF7WTUaancEu78cuNoV1A/s1600/pmB.1280x720.jpeg" height="295" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">The “it” in question is a
femme fatale of the third kind, and it’s taken control of the luscious exterior
of some sacrificial lass who looks just like Scarlett Johansson. It, now she,
is a long cool black widow who’s come to Scotland from another galaxy to go
cruising in a big black van for hapless lusty louts, luring them to some
anonymous flat where they’ll sink into some fatal ink, their bodies bloating
and bursting and their flesh harvested for unspecified purposes. She hasn’t
been bred or programmed for pity or compassion, but as this mysterious, singularly
arresting work of science fiction-meets-quasi-anthropological experiment makes
its way, she will develop something called curiosity, one of the finer but also
more precarious human attributes. It can lead to discovery and empathy, but also
vulnerability and danger.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihbxBcLhgyh3XprzxcUr0qEu0vxrUZ48kfmCE8YjMOIHV1otHKsv3PMTEcMWsmsKwzqmlXzRdWOVF2MccYPTfZjGQ_yEYMgy1PjHiyMrnzRC8B4i6aMAmnozbyD1ULbzVpC9DaMllqoi0/s1600/9f58bce5-9763-4894-bf5a-95b2ccb95000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihbxBcLhgyh3XprzxcUr0qEu0vxrUZ48kfmCE8YjMOIHV1otHKsv3PMTEcMWsmsKwzqmlXzRdWOVF2MccYPTfZjGQ_yEYMgy1PjHiyMrnzRC8B4i6aMAmnozbyD1ULbzVpC9DaMllqoi0/s1600/9f58bce5-9763-4894-bf5a-95b2ccb95000.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">The sound of a baby’s cry on
some rocky beach seems to be the tipping point in our story. From here on our
anti-heroine goes native begins to wonder about the world, its culture, and, in
one of the film’s most humorous moments, her own body. As Mica Levi’s music—one
of the best scores I’ve heard in years, its strings like agitated bees—shape
the film’s sound-world into an increasingly sensitive, tenser, almost febrile
place, we come to see earthly life through extraterrestrial eyes: the utter
weirdness of a space heater or a television or a discotheque or kissing, or
this whole eating and drinking business. I can think of few films so alienating
and yet so exquisitely alert to hypothetical first impressions of what for the
rest of us is just drearily ordinary life.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU2sJhqgnnXZHx_-nES5mzy1XLVOmD5hlol2fqgn3OfHnw_BVrP9I4NAvbXXevw9HoRwksyvJRf3bX_NRFwI9z5427gI-6MgtEAbGWbdE_5MSqG_JW-vROr6ng2fa-eEAKFhGD0YvMzsE/s1600/Jonathan-Glazer-014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU2sJhqgnnXZHx_-nES5mzy1XLVOmD5hlol2fqgn3OfHnw_BVrP9I4NAvbXXevw9HoRwksyvJRf3bX_NRFwI9z5427gI-6MgtEAbGWbdE_5MSqG_JW-vROr6ng2fa-eEAKFhGD0YvMzsE/s1600/Jonathan-Glazer-014.jpg" height="332" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jonathan Glazer</span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Jonathan Glazer has spent his filmmaking career loving the alien. Both
of his previous features, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sexy Beast </i>(2000)
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Birth </i>(2004), turn on the arrival
of a strange and threatening visitor. In the case of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Under the Skin</i>, inspired by the less cryptic Michel Faber novel of
the same name,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Glazer’s visitor moves
from the role of antagonist to that of protagonist in what is nearly a
first-person narrative. It’s a bold, creepy notion and, it would seem, an
irresistible challenge. I met with Glazer during <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Under the Skin</i>’s Canadian premiere at the 2013 Toronto International
Film Festival and asked him about his interest in assuming the quintessential
Other’s point of view.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYd270cdbfiybcXZinMMpktwTtH-b3oeOu7LZey3g2HjahyphenhyphenR5FkLucrwL_ZMdVgyVqKwppI4fRmvM2FZDYMD71UsiMtyurMfBkL6FKGC9R1Ifjn5T30Ss36PTaLDQ-JismlOrnLGEGzw/s1600/fa7e35be-4730-4b12-bd8b-6ca932d1c2a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYd270cdbfiybcXZinMMpktwTtH-b3oeOu7LZey3g2HjahyphenhyphenR5FkLucrwL_ZMdVgyVqKwppI4fRmvM2FZDYMD71UsiMtyurMfBkL6FKGC9R1Ifjn5T30Ss36PTaLDQ-JismlOrnLGEGzw/s1600/fa7e35be-4730-4b12-bd8b-6ca932d1c2a3.jpg" height="275" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Making choices about what it
is that she sees never stopped being exciting to me, even as years of starts
and stops passed,” Glazer explains. “What does she get to experience of this
world and what will it mean to her as it accumulates? Our idea in shaping the
story was always that if you could understand what she saw and, latterly, how
she felt, then you would find your place in this unusual story. To find that
osmotic growth for her was always the bottom line.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGU4AZSXk8es83_s03w30Xe76mRhe5vjCqYRcDnXFKyvxtnqfImGgTC752n3kJiSpmFr3Ax4MQwPxosEL3HfSYdGfRUXQ228931ugzdi-rbWav7dtYHIZRw0aGAzzS6QgCtoq0KtA59WQ/s1600/5f6f8017-5e2f-451b-9150-5b0bae196a9e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGU4AZSXk8es83_s03w30Xe76mRhe5vjCqYRcDnXFKyvxtnqfImGgTC752n3kJiSpmFr3Ax4MQwPxosEL3HfSYdGfRUXQ228931ugzdi-rbWav7dtYHIZRw0aGAzzS6QgCtoq0KtA59WQ/s1600/5f6f8017-5e2f-451b-9150-5b0bae196a9e.jpg" height="326" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The project was indeed a
labour of long-term love, nearly nine years in the making, yet Glazer’s
perfectionism regarding filmmaking craft—those comparisons to Stanley Kubrick
are not merely decorative—and the development of the script, co-written by
Glazer and Walter Campbell, is shrewdly thwarted by a modus operandi designed
to dismantle directorial control. The scenes which find our anti-heroine
looking for men were produced by having a wigged Johansson—who’s perfect in
this role, by the way—actually drive around in a van outfitted with hidden
cameras and actually try to pick up random dudes off the street. The surprise
and arousal of these men are real. Repurposing techniques employed by Abbas
Kiarostami in </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Ten </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">(2002), directorial
control during these sequences was limited to what Glazer could see remotely
and what he could say to Johansson via a tiny earpiece. It may sound like a
gimmick, but this approach gives the film a texture that it would have
otherwise lacked.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDg7kcg5gyL4G2TZ-r2KhBVAnrhmkRzdXvA8YzEMtGBsKpa6SiOyM4YMhJiuE6868pzY3EYamRTDDTg4UMzooqsWYVTOVpRucsmB5Pw0IKRs8qjvIceiTPXAvGMwlNkNvwcSngHyf5f4/s1600/60952f05-4219-4cfc-b1cf-06716747fd12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDg7kcg5gyL4G2TZ-r2KhBVAnrhmkRzdXvA8YzEMtGBsKpa6SiOyM4YMhJiuE6868pzY3EYamRTDDTg4UMzooqsWYVTOVpRucsmB5Pw0IKRs8qjvIceiTPXAvGMwlNkNvwcSngHyf5f4/s1600/60952f05-4219-4cfc-b1cf-06716747fd12.jpg" height="295" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">“The writing was very
rigorous,” Glazer explained. “We spent a lot of time turning over ideas until
they felt absolutely essential. We needed sturdy planning to allow the
improvisation to flourish. Without a plan, when you go off-course you can just
get lost. I wanted the film to have a clear structure but also to just find
itself sometimes—and it did. Scarlett turns left and the film’s going to down
that street, she turns right and it’s going down that one. It was an extremely
liberating way to work, driving around in that van with all the cameras
shooting simultaneously, knowing that the scene hinged on her going over to
someone and making a choice in the instant. Exhilarating. I loved it. I would
still be in that van, given the choice.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgce7Y-LqLBxvUvsRegPDWZmfuqSFCVZfZM37Wa6TrYhODcc7Fdt0diQcjsZxBAESOL1tZsGxJxGQspId95uBsEQYCCfd3W1LZRxNwFWNpXD_zw3XABXiaM9EaResSBV-kVb6Md2TRkKDw/s1600/d14a1c82-64e4-46d7-9c76-626133adef6d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgce7Y-LqLBxvUvsRegPDWZmfuqSFCVZfZM37Wa6TrYhODcc7Fdt0diQcjsZxBAESOL1tZsGxJxGQspId95uBsEQYCCfd3W1LZRxNwFWNpXD_zw3XABXiaM9EaResSBV-kVb6Md2TRkKDw/s1600/d14a1c82-64e4-46d7-9c76-626133adef6d.jpg" height="278" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The influence of
Kubrick on Glazer is obvious, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Under
the Skin </i>contains more distinctive and intriguing echoes of the films of
Nicolas Roeg, not only because Roeg’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Man Who Fell to Earth </i>(1976) works from a similar premise, but because the
radical approach to editing and perspective in Roeg’s best films invite a
balance of precision and spontaneity into storytelling that Glazer seems to be
aspiring to. Of course, after spending so many years conceiving of and giving
birth to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Under the Skin</i>, Glazer’s
eyes glaze over when the subject of precedents or influences arise. So much
goes into making a movie, the countless choices and compromises, it’s hardly
like Glazer spent the whole time thinking, “What would Nic do?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0Dw0qDF5tAn3smOrxU_NSLwBkHB6wC_Y522P_ebYPlnAPsrx2dhVTdG-Bvj2Z3s2_0sM-2gUK2RU8kpizESS8vtjln3yjR3QvqGt2dxH7NX-oP6qemUEu9tPxhcPT9Cq06qgenuiGIA/s1600/91043099-2078-4ce6-af7d-40fcd03cd611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv0Dw0qDF5tAn3smOrxU_NSLwBkHB6wC_Y522P_ebYPlnAPsrx2dhVTdG-Bvj2Z3s2_0sM-2gUK2RU8kpizESS8vtjln3yjR3QvqGt2dxH7NX-oP6qemUEu9tPxhcPT9Cq06qgenuiGIA/s1600/91043099-2078-4ce6-af7d-40fcd03cd611.jpg" height="303" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Film is a language,” Glazer says with a calm
objectivity that kind of mirrors that of his film’s protagonist. “You start
with the letters, working through the alphabet, and then one by one you write a
sentence, then a paragraph, and then you get to the point where you’re fluent
enough to write poetry.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdOSjJSOKoTtgx8yactmcKIdT3CyJOXJoAIu-cApu3wKk2zGxZqFlwM4OWSjSuNUVvID8JO8CPH_6TS6_QXNyzTj85p5NMgyBqQp65mvXI8MStZNINnFrAymarDNSO_9AMxKmdFIt9Us/s1600/d3bbddab-c53d-42d1-b5bf-18f08681be50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdOSjJSOKoTtgx8yactmcKIdT3CyJOXJoAIu-cApu3wKk2zGxZqFlwM4OWSjSuNUVvID8JO8CPH_6TS6_QXNyzTj85p5NMgyBqQp65mvXI8MStZNINnFrAymarDNSO_9AMxKmdFIt9Us/s1600/d3bbddab-c53d-42d1-b5bf-18f08681be50.jpg" height="283" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Glazer’s particular poetry
is layered in a way that’s native to cinema, austere on the surface but dense
with sensations arrived at by the collision of artifice and reality, direction
and observation, fruitful collaboration and <i>auteurist
</i>vision, exposition and mystery. There is a long, dreamlike dissolve near
the film’s unforgettable ending that matches nothing else in the rest of the
film, yet it is haunting, and it feels absolutely critical to the protagonist’s
journey. It is perhaps the strongest evidence in favour of Glazer’s unique creative
gifts—other directors would not have found it. <i>Under the Skin</i> will surely frustrate some. It does have a way of
getting under your skin. And it is a work of eerie and cruel beauty. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>1017</o:Words>
<o:Characters>5797</o:Characters>
<o:Company>Chiminomatic</o:Company>
<o:Lines>48</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>13</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>6801</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-21232322509137524742014-12-27T11:58:00.000-05:002014-12-27T11:58:21.298-05:00Best of 2014: The Immigrant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_WWadkoth5DkynA9JHzM21PCNS3wyZOiyD9Lj9ycDFPSkBAGU6_kozGgoYrqicFQfbUWGTfQ114HYbcSc_vMogOhsh-2NZxgcLzq8xzn6chM0b3UB_iF2PWO-vfDm5q-yd-InI4KS3I/s1600/immigrant__140518180826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_WWadkoth5DkynA9JHzM21PCNS3wyZOiyD9Lj9ycDFPSkBAGU6_kozGgoYrqicFQfbUWGTfQ114HYbcSc_vMogOhsh-2NZxgcLzq8xzn6chM0b3UB_iF2PWO-vfDm5q-yd-InI4KS3I/s1600/immigrant__140518180826.jpg" height="292" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Melodrama and mood piece,
character(s) study and historical, James Gray’s </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Immigrant </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">presents us with types that turn into richly complex
individuals and narrative tropes that transform into peculiar tales possessing
both the broad strokes of myth and miniature movements of lived experience.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWd7uwuC77ukl30iRAGp2zEZQO0XkObqY39M5nGRx0SGRNqJ3Kh4iKDyU2o-lrP9VphDpWxCKk_SlnZOGAerT6HdCr7S6Vmt3bkN913Q9zN_BzHdazU6o-yTDx0lh9MdajH4rfQDl2nA/s1600/1278140_408308779269567_1729457809_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWd7uwuC77ukl30iRAGp2zEZQO0XkObqY39M5nGRx0SGRNqJ3Kh4iKDyU2o-lrP9VphDpWxCKk_SlnZOGAerT6HdCr7S6Vmt3bkN913Q9zN_BzHdazU6o-yTDx0lh9MdajH4rfQDl2nA/s1600/1278140_408308779269567_1729457809_o.jpg" height="306" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Set
in New York in the early 1920s, the film introduces us to </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Ewa Cybulska
(Marion Cotillard) just as she and her sister Magda arrive at Ellis Island
after a gruelling journey from their Polish homeland. Magda is diagnosed with tuberculosis,
Ewa is labeled a </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">“woman of low morals”
for unspecified events rumoured to have taken place en route from Europe,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">and the
sisters are unceremoniously separated</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">. Magda cannot escape mandatory quarantine, but Ewa evades deportation
thanks to a shady saviour by the name of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bruno Weiss (Joaquin
Phoenix). Bruno tells Ewa he works with an immigrant assistance organization;
he actually manages a basement burlesque show and pimps out his performers,
whom he houses in cramped apartments filled with yellowing lace and dappled
mirrors. Ewa and Bruno’s relationship is driven by exploitation and childish
ardour, desperation and stubborn optimism, or mere stubbornness, or the stubbornness that emerges out of a need to survive and to negotiate what exactly is survival.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPthPVsXo5tr_O00LoKUytQ7izDAvSvEdxyCV06hOjbUc6g94SFQmwYJIpixKFQk9IKSL3imLaSUupAQR1Xfh8QmBpEOuv-Cfz7ZaHiJgZgCpBMtNqIzpkoZo42DWTbGi54DRzbmvrSRY/s1600/the-immigrant-jeremy-renner-marion-cotillard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPthPVsXo5tr_O00LoKUytQ7izDAvSvEdxyCV06hOjbUc6g94SFQmwYJIpixKFQk9IKSL3imLaSUupAQR1Xfh8QmBpEOuv-Cfz7ZaHiJgZgCpBMtNqIzpkoZo42DWTbGi54DRzbmvrSRY/s1600/the-immigrant-jeremy-renner-marion-cotillard.jpg" height="333" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US">The
Immigrant</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">’s third central character, an illusionist dubbed Orlando (Jeremy
Renner), doesn’t enter the picture until its midpoint. In a film refreshingly
devoid of irony, there’s something fascinating about the fact that the only man
in the movie who doesn’t seem full of shit is the one who fools people for a
living. Orlando is Bruno’s cousin, both sons of immigrants. They are old
rivals, which feeds into what promises to become a love triangle, though this
plot twist too is subverted.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfqqcjG97MgTh7Jo1OisS-hpirBw_TOpMQYUqM1xEuAQgt5ppgonSzyB2ETZSYyCoFOXgK5M9Ken5LbQCZUdKbFjVDh6KcRku6KpjWvXloEoJmvcIDQYjjEL1i8b_ectUDBzqlBJ971o/s1600/the_immigrant1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfqqcjG97MgTh7Jo1OisS-hpirBw_TOpMQYUqM1xEuAQgt5ppgonSzyB2ETZSYyCoFOXgK5M9Ken5LbQCZUdKbFjVDh6KcRku6KpjWvXloEoJmvcIDQYjjEL1i8b_ectUDBzqlBJ971o/s1600/the_immigrant1.jpg" height="293" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Written by Gray and Richard
Menello, <i>The Immigrant </i>is heavy on
incident but grounded in character and performance. Cotillard has never been
better, using languages and cadences to convey varying levels of deceit and
desire. Renner, moustachioed and magnetic, echoes the grace and charismatic
duplicity of James Cagney. Phoenix, in his fourth collaboration with Gray (following
<i>The Yards</i>, <i>Two Lovers </i>and <i>We Own the
Night</i>), is tremendously vulnerable without being ingratiating. His Bruno is
a scoundrel, but he’s also struggling to make sense of the nagging compassion
swelling in him. As the film moves toward its conclusion he somehow emerges as
the most transformed and even tragic figure. This is one of the film’s
masterstrokes, the way </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36pt;">glimmers of moral
fortitude are passed from one character to another.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-79914129934753887952014-12-24T12:02:00.002-05:002014-12-24T12:02:44.875-05:002014: The year in film<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhffbz2C8sJXcFEg0FMvJQ-WWHAMIMaV9xOwAZD45REXllVxyAeciT1lv6ug5PTyFOxThEh5Kla_MiVEk1LMg6logi0sJ49OXtfraia-avIUGNTXLgzNG4yh5TmAnTMfv-IThpgCF6fZM/s1600/immigrant-the-immigrant-27-11-2013-21-g-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhffbz2C8sJXcFEg0FMvJQ-WWHAMIMaV9xOwAZD45REXllVxyAeciT1lv6ug5PTyFOxThEh5Kla_MiVEk1LMg6logi0sJ49OXtfraia-avIUGNTXLgzNG4yh5TmAnTMfv-IThpgCF6fZM/s1600/immigrant-the-immigrant-27-11-2013-21-g-1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJH89xwjpRvyk3wZqckKV0_nFr2SeynWuaxLNrDQykXn9sT4qC_ZeSwzq9x7nYw7V6MMqlGsGIeYp3fK4qyBw3MA_YLsgD6BOFxehZ9xgHncnlIZ8wi8PGC3X6etufYFyvcZcSRn0RM4/s1600/under-the-skin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJH89xwjpRvyk3wZqckKV0_nFr2SeynWuaxLNrDQykXn9sT4qC_ZeSwzq9x7nYw7V6MMqlGsGIeYp3fK4qyBw3MA_YLsgD6BOFxehZ9xgHncnlIZ8wi8PGC3X6etufYFyvcZcSRn0RM4/s1600/under-the-skin1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ZiBWjEVA1e9L1mJOHiCe7HyBXtSd_RBrMse58OO0gH1rlqj_QiO34fWgigAe7DVFHHfKhq0cCPhX4c_33nGMUWNOXojRwnJy525rrNFFZJxnVc22M7uCGbtlU01CtyaWQayv0aCvyQw/s1600/310a5d473c922fddeb9192d9349ca2a7d337ad87.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ZiBWjEVA1e9L1mJOHiCe7HyBXtSd_RBrMse58OO0gH1rlqj_QiO34fWgigAe7DVFHHfKhq0cCPhX4c_33nGMUWNOXojRwnJy525rrNFFZJxnVc22M7uCGbtlU01CtyaWQayv0aCvyQw/s1600/310a5d473c922fddeb9192d9349ca2a7d337ad87.jpg" height="246" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The best films of 2014 were merciless
on marriage (unless you’re a vampire), often obsessed with things of the past
(most especially if you’re a vampire) and enveloped in profoundly evocative,
inventive, hypnotic, ingeniously deployed music from the likes of Trent Reznor,
<span lang="EN-US">Mica Levi</span>, <span lang="EN-US">Jozef van Wissem,</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span>Nick
Cave and the Bad Seeds and Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood—music of the sort that
rarely gets noticed by the awards people yet raises the atmospheres of their
respective films to dizzying heights.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYoVtN57JLxeAE90BdBPyjDC6KBHCdle4iyyFayufw9yXr8Qy_GFLnp5aMjHfV7vgbCqWHy46TTQ9XUxOxSKIex_btf0ot1MhM9s2yhEJqAbzAoLWa7d4Lf3MWa3OcN_c7Rkna26MGpQE/s1600/6a0d6e0c0af160d4_gone-girl-library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYoVtN57JLxeAE90BdBPyjDC6KBHCdle4iyyFayufw9yXr8Qy_GFLnp5aMjHfV7vgbCqWHy46TTQ9XUxOxSKIex_btf0ot1MhM9s2yhEJqAbzAoLWa7d4Lf3MWa3OcN_c7Rkna26MGpQE/s1600/6a0d6e0c0af160d4_gone-girl-library.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">I’m
alarmed by the dominance of US or UK films on this list of mine, which says
something not about the quality of foreign language films in 2014 but, rather,
their increasingly neglectful distribution in Canada—I’ve made a list elsewhere
of the year’s best films waiting for distribution and </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">all</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> of them are from other, non-English-speaking countries.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQysT5ZbuqTg_SIlMAoJNRyNAot9J5mi-S5dly9AQGHHp4ymRmbMYb_j9aODKxv12LZ-6j_F-RiF47_Hk6alt_dlriVfyD9uh4UDlvHE3ArfJbu7ybw3kp3nyxYdRYxvSzYfEjRm8Lyk/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQysT5ZbuqTg_SIlMAoJNRyNAot9J5mi-S5dly9AQGHHp4ymRmbMYb_j9aODKxv12LZ-6j_F-RiF47_Hk6alt_dlriVfyD9uh4UDlvHE3ArfJbu7ybw3kp3nyxYdRYxvSzYfEjRm8Lyk/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" height="287" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
hope you’ve seen some if not several of the films below (I kick things off with
a no-brainer—don’t be calling me no contrarian!), and that you feel compelled to
seek out those you haven’t seen, or perhaps haven’t even heard of. As always, there’s
no ranking, and in fact I urge you to pay equal attention to the titles listed
in that final paragraph—sometimes those “honourable mentions” have a funny way
of sticking with you longer than some of the titles that leap immediately to
the final cut.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LZxWuS0udviDtl0Vji-pVsKyYbawpqY2hFOe0kWmhINZuIkvdKU_mH6wCILte5Rny5K3DEJ36RsvZuP_vmPLwoHJlW2iS8_kxCo223huo5ADN_ccoWh7rJNHf6lojpoxL3YC3kvAjoA/s1600/boyhood_hires_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LZxWuS0udviDtl0Vji-pVsKyYbawpqY2hFOe0kWmhINZuIkvdKU_mH6wCILte5Rny5K3DEJ36RsvZuP_vmPLwoHJlW2iS8_kxCo223huo5ADN_ccoWh7rJNHf6lojpoxL3YC3kvAjoA/s1600/boyhood_hires_3.jpg" height="278" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Boyhood<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That Richard Linklater’s 165-minue,
12-years-in-the-making chronicle of one reasonably ordinary kid coming of age
in Texas turned out to be a major crowd-pleaser serves as a welcome antidote to
the token cynicism that to draw an audience you need baroque mythologies and shit
blowing up every ten minutes—why not someone growing up every ten minutes? At
once epic and intimate, sweeping and absorbed with minutia and achingly fleeting
moments, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Boyhood </i>broadens our notion
of what movies can do—and Patricia Arquette’s turn here has stayed with me as one
of 2014’s most moving supporting performances. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLggmNywWJEBwUCs1Mcsd5ud6m1ROUmTQ4dH7EA09RureerYilrsf6j2vaSB9havg3FpEhFOOM3yV3sGh3zuouorrJ_P_x_Q6Rw8577tNZMMKWRvAUY1mscMXFwOu0oZMQMkry6caKtPQ/s1600/KEY+winter-sleep-086454+%C2%A9+nuri+bilge+ceylan-0-2000-0-1125-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLggmNywWJEBwUCs1Mcsd5ud6m1ROUmTQ4dH7EA09RureerYilrsf6j2vaSB9havg3FpEhFOOM3yV3sGh3zuouorrJ_P_x_Q6Rw8577tNZMMKWRvAUY1mscMXFwOu0oZMQMkry6caKtPQ/s1600/KEY+winter-sleep-086454+%C2%A9+nuri+bilge+ceylan-0-2000-0-1125-crop.jpg" height="332" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winter Sleep</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It is the accumulation of
several smaller events—a rock hurled at a car window, the reading of a letter,
a meeting interrupted—that imbues Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s most
recent film with its gravity. The story of a hotel proprietor unable to
recognize how his condescension and arrogance has distanced him from those he
loves and wants to be loved by—including his younger, resentful wife—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Winter Sleep </i>is roughly based on Chekhov
but the way it unfolds over its three hours-plus, largely through protracted
yet tense and riveting conversations in gloomy rooms, recalls Bergman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUB3geog4hRd6oSshHT8-svGGEYLanYJtsGsWfK8Rbsm7mVwkiOh-xtUZO3BtoiVkjzjGBkUain4U9QnhlTe0Dw04uVGh5rqC_1JpEdPt3TRdUUFbamMhwfx4NO5Or6aZeaIA1iA0oUc/s1600/1412526024572.cached.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUB3geog4hRd6oSshHT8-svGGEYLanYJtsGsWfK8Rbsm7mVwkiOh-xtUZO3BtoiVkjzjGBkUain4U9QnhlTe0Dw04uVGh5rqC_1JpEdPt3TRdUUFbamMhwfx4NO5Or6aZeaIA1iA0oUc/s1600/1412526024572.cached.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Inherent Vice<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Paul Thomas Anderson’s
adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel is a comic narcotic noir about love, drugs,
corruption and real estate in 1970 Los Angeles, with each of its key
characters—Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston, Joaquin Phoenix—representing a
different aspect of that moment’s cultural sea change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4GDJ5HocqiFyLTUxbrSNJTmRfqDWZvp3bcVTgvpsGeG4CUxNNZ-3csnu1dJCZwIEgB_eqocbQTKwUhEH3ntWSo60NpwJ6B2ARV4ckCeue6wrkaR63OF3NcDr0BV1jNKEdPX9iS_JUiLw/s1600/photo-the-immigrant-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4GDJ5HocqiFyLTUxbrSNJTmRfqDWZvp3bcVTgvpsGeG4CUxNNZ-3csnu1dJCZwIEgB_eqocbQTKwUhEH3ntWSo60NpwJ6B2ARV4ckCeue6wrkaR63OF3NcDr0BV1jNKEdPX9iS_JUiLw/s1600/photo-the-immigrant-2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Immigrant <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Speaking of Phoenix, the
consistently under-loved American auteur James Gray’s latest features another
truly remarkable performance from the actor, in a role that incrementally,
fascinatingly migrates from the film’s fairly despicable villain to a figure of
tremendous pathos. Of course, the star of this gorgeous, Cimino-esque melodrama
is the magnificent Marion Cotillard, in another of the year’s best
performances, playing a Polish woman attempting to forge a life in 1920s New
York.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFkPzoTsvCyi8GxQ4zWKxQFar9PykkV_mtCvIGwgp-w2BlWRCictRZ0kHpQwjc32izXTky4lZovpjU4csOayXIrw59Rv_6wSf3sEaVN1u5lDfnvKPotz-fpwfDl2WHzDB1Db4mvPejYLQ/s1600/Two-Days-One-Night-014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFkPzoTsvCyi8GxQ4zWKxQFar9PykkV_mtCvIGwgp-w2BlWRCictRZ0kHpQwjc32izXTky4lZovpjU4csOayXIrw59Rv_6wSf3sEaVN1u5lDfnvKPotz-fpwfDl2WHzDB1Db4mvPejYLQ/s1600/Two-Days-One-Night-014.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Two Days, One Night</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And speaking of Marion
Cotillard, she knocked it out of the park again this year as the first movie
star to feature in a Dardennes Brothers film. She plays an emotionally troubled
woman trying to convince her fellow factory workers to help save her job—by declining
a pay raise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNBSd5l-gnzcdEs2cHwWBnGL9xEMVqQLnhyphenhyphenChArSUe61_mbY6_juzam7k6BhIspf6sG_e56AzMi3Zh5h0EitXCjVuUpbsMpZcMN21Iy6Qbivf5byJpADOKWPy00PanDMw-sV_ax19oPH0/s1600/gone-girl-df-01826cc_rgb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNBSd5l-gnzcdEs2cHwWBnGL9xEMVqQLnhyphenhyphenChArSUe61_mbY6_juzam7k6BhIspf6sG_e56AzMi3Zh5h0EitXCjVuUpbsMpZcMN21Iy6Qbivf5byJpADOKWPy00PanDMw-sV_ax19oPH0/s1600/gone-girl-df-01826cc_rgb.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5svyrigMEypC-xbv6iXKwwIDOobJaACJBlKsCZjdhcQS9Z3O3D_Eacis3Bz2MpmIpZLnZfhpjbVJ0mx58dDhFRB2ePi7JCNCdCWTPKSnHRLrSNHB3Z_62f2qu1AHdnkiDZZP_-bpWq0/s1600/NEW+KEY+ImageVaultHandler-0-2000-0-1125-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5svyrigMEypC-xbv6iXKwwIDOobJaACJBlKsCZjdhcQS9Z3O3D_Eacis3Bz2MpmIpZLnZfhpjbVJ0mx58dDhFRB2ePi7JCNCdCWTPKSnHRLrSNHB3Z_62f2qu1AHdnkiDZZP_-bpWq0/s1600/NEW+KEY+ImageVaultHandler-0-2000-0-1125-crop.jpg" height="302" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Gone Girl, Force Majeure<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Marriage is examined and
diagnosed malignant in these two blackly comic, elegantly crafted but otherwise
very different films, one a sprawling noir procedural about a missing woman
from novelist Gillian Flynn and director David Fincher, the other a chilly
chamber drama from Swedish director <span lang="EN-US">Ruben Östlund </span>about a family ski vacation run horrendously off-track by a cowardly
gesture made in a moment of panic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimtOHDoBOAfApZtCr8umpVBmbvN51hv5ST-snfCL5XsOafXfcCr0PLFXSNy5CZQ-PfdV9QBgqpx3hh8GMRiew7hrumDToL28x0KYJfS2tw7Abjeh_On_wsWW_5raztfUa-khbNGyhcJZY/s1600/under+the+skin.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimtOHDoBOAfApZtCr8umpVBmbvN51hv5ST-snfCL5XsOafXfcCr0PLFXSNy5CZQ-PfdV9QBgqpx3hh8GMRiew7hrumDToL28x0KYJfS2tw7Abjeh_On_wsWW_5raztfUa-khbNGyhcJZY/s1600/under+the+skin.png" height="350" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwpDvtqOwcQ47MGd_5Nc3gvrCSamgk9s59a3an2YyGP3ab621w0cGuiIzQiq9o2VYNosc9PqB9SAiB9nMfWAMOlutdJqkBB5TnrieIYlW9G6ygxhRcKmoAgEflgpzqHRHS0E4SKWXFv8/s1600/Only-Lovers-Left-Alive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwpDvtqOwcQ47MGd_5Nc3gvrCSamgk9s59a3an2YyGP3ab621w0cGuiIzQiq9o2VYNosc9PqB9SAiB9nMfWAMOlutdJqkBB5TnrieIYlW9G6ygxhRcKmoAgEflgpzqHRHS0E4SKWXFv8/s1600/Only-Lovers-Left-Alive.jpg" height="302" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Under the Skin, Only Lovers Left Alive<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Jonathan Glazer’s adaptation
of Michel Faber’s novel follows Scarlett Johansson as an alien hunter
harvesting horny Scottish hunks before going perilously native. Deeply creepy
in its tonal precision, with echoes of Kubrick and Roeg, and anthropological in
its outsider view of life on Earth, this is science fiction without the token
exposition. Jim Jarmusch’s latest, about non-violent vampires, is also a
fantastical genre film, albeit one that forgoes most of its genre’s tropes in
favour of the director’s trademark deadpan humour, nocturnal tours of Detroit
and Tangiers, scenes of musical bliss, and, in contrast to the preceding
marriage-stinks narratives, a tender and insightful tribute to long-term love.
(I mean, really, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> long-term.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYfp_QuaOUciHOOYSrop1C5vYgX_pIL9JCbESlxVJo4aUQEbOIjMYjUzzKmdbUS1KEcJJrHEYWEIxByCNFz2ouCGZ5QDxLovMTqN71tWW8-PYQQIKyx5Xw21tspSA-XQ7H0oXVWE__78/s1600/9_20000-days-on-earth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYfp_QuaOUciHOOYSrop1C5vYgX_pIL9JCbESlxVJo4aUQEbOIjMYjUzzKmdbUS1KEcJJrHEYWEIxByCNFz2ouCGZ5QDxLovMTqN71tWW8-PYQQIKyx5Xw21tspSA-XQ7H0oXVWE__78/s1600/9_20000-days-on-earth.jpg" height="235" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">20,000 Days on Earth<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Nick Cave could be a cousin
to Tom Hiddleston’s pale, raven-haired, brooding rocker in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Only Lovers</i>, but Cave is a living, breathing, touring, eating (more
or less), aging, hard-working family man residing in Brighton. Which is to say
he isn’t fictional—or is he? Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard’s enormously
inventive, insightful feature debut is a documentary profile of the
Australian-born singer-songwriter on his 20,000<sup>th</sup> day of existence,
which involves car-bound conversations with ghosts, an aborted lunch with
Warren Ellis, visits to his archive and his Foucault-lookalike shrink, and a
recording session. ‘Higgs-Boson Blues’ gives me chills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTCejaSJKZw-p2ju8x3MxPhO46RQDagjht9ENtNQ0zxjcEdBkr63tsTm_sNpnPS3Xo8gX-vS00qV3p9Rtbakx08hQHIcGnVcVhDVovevNfIQ8DFTMouwKOAFvCsOPYAIlfYHn0bMtEB9Q/s1600/4-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTCejaSJKZw-p2ju8x3MxPhO46RQDagjht9ENtNQ0zxjcEdBkr63tsTm_sNpnPS3Xo8gX-vS00qV3p9Rtbakx08hQHIcGnVcVhDVovevNfIQ8DFTMouwKOAFvCsOPYAIlfYHn0bMtEB9Q/s1600/4-1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Grand Budapest Hotel<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Inspired by the fictions of Stefan Zweig, Wes Anderson’s frenetic,
nostalgic, melancholy comedy is set in the 1930s, much of it in the titular
alpine hotel nested in a fictional central European republic gradually falling
prey to a thuggish foreign power. Dark times loom, yet at the Grand Budapest
all efforts are made to stall time and maintain a rarified air. Ralph Fiennes
gives one of his most dynamic and appealing performances as the dandyish
proprietor and mentor to a young bellhop. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgab79ObLHqZhaRv8qQf6hfqoitvjZ8A7D-uVIz6Do1OK3F5sf6nND629G6i3zDF5W_ycqkDrM5f1ruaQvFIQ5kZPNaahM07MCAy7cVUZ5GhIiJU-N3jZl_gT4xlGyDgaoh10vU331CoJ0/s1600/stranger_by_the_lake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgab79ObLHqZhaRv8qQf6hfqoitvjZ8A7D-uVIz6Do1OK3F5sf6nND629G6i3zDF5W_ycqkDrM5f1ruaQvFIQ5kZPNaahM07MCAy7cVUZ5GhIiJU-N3jZl_gT4xlGyDgaoh10vU331CoJ0/s1600/stranger_by_the_lake.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Stranger By the Lake<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Alain Guiraudie’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stranger By the
Lake </i>is a starkly seductive, all-male, Hitchcockian thriller set entirely
at a secluded nude beach and the surrounding woods used for cruising. One
evening, after everyone else has left the beach, a man witnesses a murder—but
this doesn’t keep him from coming back the next day and flirting with the
killer. Death and eros are tangled up, yet the motives are as mysterious as the
sex is explicit. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTm0U8p6ANMeuVYT4d4zjMlZxYJtAcp1UWv-J_LuRXBA_juXIjLGzomhTvOHDnl1b3ar4B_qKjTpCZOKBIS7LVBugMKCvuVBMWriTt4JAO0wdabKmoNEvBDUicP0N-k8MgLVCI4xAcsI/s1600/20132062_3_11-02-20_721933a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTm0U8p6ANMeuVYT4d4zjMlZxYJtAcp1UWv-J_LuRXBA_juXIjLGzomhTvOHDnl1b3ar4B_qKjTpCZOKBIS7LVBugMKCvuVBMWriTt4JAO0wdabKmoNEvBDUicP0N-k8MgLVCI4xAcsI/s1600/20132062_3_11-02-20_721933a.jpg" height="277" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>1115</o:Words>
<o:Characters>6361</o:Characters>
<o:Company>Chiminomatic</o:Company>
<o:Lines>53</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>14</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>7462</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Some other films I’d be remiss to exclude from any look back on 2014:
the great Paulina García gave my single-most favourite performance in Sebastián
Lelio’s brilliant character study <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gloria</i></b>; Mark Ruffalo was for me the
stand-out in a trio of remarkable performances in Bennett Miller’s bracingly
bleak <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Foxcatcher</i></b>; Agata Kulesza is wonderful, fierce, sad and ornery
in Pawel Pawlokowski’s exquisite <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ida</i></b>; Kelly Reichardt makes a couple
of tonal fumbles but still comes off as one of the US’s best filmmakers with <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Night
Moves</i></b>; Nicolas Cage gave a fearsome yet heartfelt performance in David
Gordon Green’s <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Joe</i></b>; and Petra Costa made one of the year’s most haunting and
lovely doc feature debuts with her grief memoir <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Elena</i></b>. </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-12938615065957458242014-12-05T12:03:00.000-05:002014-12-05T12:03:17.372-05:00A haunting book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-Kt-fH5GGyFx5zTfDxn_ZMRCbihB7RBp3KK6P-UdmYnpexSAsAf5oCKvRZewPbW4mbkUxV0LxpuYczHnZ6XEnxCA-qu9ZvY_QjD1uERklHIFn8WsowylOD6_lQm6qF1Hrh_YvfwkwCo/s1600/the-babadook-is-real-and-you-can-t-get-rid-of-him-3ab4bbd6-82ea-4eb8-80d6-e12e6111588a.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-Kt-fH5GGyFx5zTfDxn_ZMRCbihB7RBp3KK6P-UdmYnpexSAsAf5oCKvRZewPbW4mbkUxV0LxpuYczHnZ6XEnxCA-qu9ZvY_QjD1uERklHIFn8WsowylOD6_lQm6qF1Hrh_YvfwkwCo/s1600/the-babadook-is-real-and-you-can-t-get-rid-of-him-3ab4bbd6-82ea-4eb8-80d6-e12e6111588a.jpeg" height="400" width="333" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Was it only a dream?
Six-year-old Sam (Noah Wiseman) wakes up in the middle of the night and
scurries to his mother’s bed. He was having a nightmare, but so was Amelia
(Essie Davis), or so it seems during <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Babadook</i>’s arresting, morbidly beautiful opening, in which we see Amelia,
head and shoulders fixed in the frame, surrounded by void, jostled as through
in an accident, then buoyed, eyes wide, as though suddenly submerged. Amelia’s
dream, we’ll eventually learn, is an echo of past experience, while Sam’s
bogeyman may just be something all too real.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69qqzS-A4QaCQr57Ni1s4piYedL8hum3zFT7qQVNAtSavZ7aHlidkP-wPoUfIJOsaRJ8muz6xwUYLPJzG5WV4DacJ5B2psQMWEICv5G6BBx9IlHIRQfT8PoKrE_0v7FePnZjdbXZ05E0/s1600/The-Babadook-Featured.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69qqzS-A4QaCQr57Ni1s4piYedL8hum3zFT7qQVNAtSavZ7aHlidkP-wPoUfIJOsaRJ8muz6xwUYLPJzG5WV4DacJ5B2psQMWEICv5G6BBx9IlHIRQfT8PoKrE_0v7FePnZjdbXZ05E0/s1600/The-Babadook-Featured.jpg" height="255" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">What’s
real and what’s dream? In Australian director Jennifer Kent’s terrifyingly
confident debut the daylight drapes everything in a patina of realism, yet
those interiors, especially in Amelia’s house, with its blue walls, doors and
mouldings, possess an otherworldly dollhouse drabness, a little like Aki Kaurismaki’s
colour-noir lighting, except in this case the décors seem more in keeping with the
aesthetic of a sinister, austere children’s book. In </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Babadook</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">,</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">just such a
book is the trigger for nightmares and waking life to merge into a single
stream.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWn3l0EZFxWxW8P5swPkxFGa24UbfC1wpTi0AAjezPCcOgi2iLNvjI2f3f_ATfUpmzMnbKdKhaG5mWPznhEUrrdcryefURiu_1H64ApnXYxYMmNirQThqqiHdUHELyEb9s7-m3Bdt3Po/s1600/BAB2322lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWn3l0EZFxWxW8P5swPkxFGa24UbfC1wpTi0AAjezPCcOgi2iLNvjI2f3f_ATfUpmzMnbKdKhaG5mWPznhEUrrdcryefURiu_1H64ApnXYxYMmNirQThqqiHdUHELyEb9s7-m3Bdt3Po/s1600/BAB2322lg.jpg" height="321" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The
best horror films for adults, I mean the ones that lodge themselves in some
corner of your psyche where rational thinking helplessly dissolves, are the
ones where the scariest things are the real things. In the first, best third of
</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Babadook</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">, nothing is scarier than
the notion of being a widowed single mother with a potentially monstrous
child—in certain ways, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Babadook</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">
is the crisper, leaner version of Xavier Dolan’s </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Mommy</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">. (It’s also strikingly similar in its themes to the recent
Austrian film </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Goodnight Mommy</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">, which
I hope someone will screen here sometime soon.) Sam is turning into a menace in
his first grade classroom, and he’s just as unruly when Amelia takes him to
visit his relatives. What’s more, his nightmares have become nightly, driving
both he and Amelia batty with sleep deprivation. (Which I can tell you,
speaking as lifelong insomniac, is one of the ways that dreams and reality can
get troublingly blurred.) And when Amelia’s not struggling to control Sam’s
erratic, sometimes violent behaviour, she’s working in the dementia ward of a
nursing home, which isn’t going to help anyone’s grip on reality.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOF2tn9yWJ-2l1uVhqn9jw7YUgqMaBR-wsaejUqTzO5bvdoBQqMpbreOhdYlY_VjakfZnBJNiAdtrUnNnw7c_-rMUMC9YZMJZbPNBX1j0hVpEy8weoat_2nYNXdehuj8H8a2LEBKU4fE/s1600/THE+BABADOOK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOF2tn9yWJ-2l1uVhqn9jw7YUgqMaBR-wsaejUqTzO5bvdoBQqMpbreOhdYlY_VjakfZnBJNiAdtrUnNnw7c_-rMUMC9YZMJZbPNBX1j0hVpEy8weoat_2nYNXdehuj8H8a2LEBKU4fE/s1600/THE+BABADOOK.jpg" height="326" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">And
here’s one more turn of the screw: Sam’s birthday is also the anniversary of
his father’s death, and Amelia’s reluctance to celebrate it is one sign of her
protracted, debilitating grief—and such levels of grief, in the realm of </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Babadook</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">, can manifest as something
like demonic possession. Which is where Kent started to lose me a little. The
film’s title comes from a mysterious children’s book that might be stalking the
characters. A marvellous tension thrives in the film’s initial ambiguities.
Again: what’s dream?, what’s real?, what’s madness, anxiety, grief, trauma?
This is the sort of ambiguity that Roman Polanski excels at in films such as </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Repulsion </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">and </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Rosemary’s Baby</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">. </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Babadook
</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">thankfully never completely succumbs to horror-trope autopilot, but in the
over-extended hysteria of its climax it does start to feel a little too much
like </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The Ring 2</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;">. Anyway, I won’t
quibble too much. There’s enough here that gets under your skin and past the
guards of your unconscious, and Kent’s use of space, light, sound and
performance is very impressive. Whether you like spooky movies or not, watch
out for this name.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2746189833925666296.post-76002042762853419862014-11-25T11:29:00.000-05:002014-11-25T11:29:08.393-05:00In a lonely, wide-open place<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymKVlPltlvu0UmNCGldXp45Z2B6qxZv8b8sYww0ymW3TIdLij1ximZevZdYc6d6OaQBuGQTQMZZ-Kg4uBgATL4Jca2M1mrghbuIJevGJe7Wnst5fq5Z5O_Sp2JBx11Wb4wbg19GZJZYk/s1600/large_two_monte_hellman_Shooting_07_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymKVlPltlvu0UmNCGldXp45Z2B6qxZv8b8sYww0ymW3TIdLij1ximZevZdYc6d6OaQBuGQTQMZZ-Kg4uBgATL4Jca2M1mrghbuIJevGJe7Wnst5fq5Z5O_Sp2JBx11Wb4wbg19GZJZYk/s1600/large_two_monte_hellman_Shooting_07_blu-ray_.jpg" height="282" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZa8wydrwg5QAiPI2iTKntQUWqU9FIcgUNPYBccnbu0rPQ6YlYy1eoqNXY0dMJfDhlq3AvUB_4TFsYNK1NCWqg1Cf77CmoI2nHQs6G3HzXVmFkRnbeevuThzqxl4HIoMi_tKsLeIfr6tE/s1600/large_two_monte_hellman_Shooting_09_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZa8wydrwg5QAiPI2iTKntQUWqU9FIcgUNPYBccnbu0rPQ6YlYy1eoqNXY0dMJfDhlq3AvUB_4TFsYNK1NCWqg1Cf77CmoI2nHQs6G3HzXVmFkRnbeevuThzqxl4HIoMi_tKsLeIfr6tE/s1600/large_two_monte_hellman_Shooting_09_blu-ray_.jpg" height="273" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Both are westerns, a highly cinematic
genre, but their stories unfold far from even the most makeshift signs of
civilization, in deserts of burnt gold, blood orange, aged mustard and glistening
amber, places so desolate and nearly abstract and so little inhabited that we
could just as easily be in the theatre—the theatre of Beckett, Sartre or
Ionesco, say—as the cinema. Except that these two westerns, made simultaneously
in 1965, with a combined budget of $150,000 for B-movie king Roger Corman, were
helmed by Monte Hellman, who’s never made anything like a normal movie but
whose every movie—1971’s </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Two-Lane
Blacktop </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">most famously—is shot-through with a heightened awareness of its
movieness. </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Shooting </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ride the Whirlwind</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, both released to
zero fanfare in 1966, are distinguished by Hellman’s quiet insistence on
disorientation as a method of pulling us deeper into mystery. Hard, clean cuts
are all that separate extreme close-ups from wide vistas, the present from
flashbacks, what’s happening in one place from what’s happening in another.
Space and time are compressed in these compact, unpretentious yet very weird
genre pieces as indebted to Antonioni as they are to John Ford. Both are films
are now available in a single package from the Criterion Collection.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxLhFrYqATlYCX-NOIDhipIdlzKhjuCeyCFukBl1Xrk5Hcgkum30H-OZJ26Wi-GvO6snXxKh3Jub5hECHmb3V-XTqyGHNm4nDSmnRNittpQrDGSqgiqrd1jlcrso0IyttX8w5nqd1E4I/s1600/large_two_monte_hellman_Shooting_02_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxLhFrYqATlYCX-NOIDhipIdlzKhjuCeyCFukBl1Xrk5Hcgkum30H-OZJ26Wi-GvO6snXxKh3Jub5hECHmb3V-XTqyGHNm4nDSmnRNittpQrDGSqgiqrd1jlcrso0IyttX8w5nqd1E4I/s1600/large_two_monte_hellman_Shooting_02_blu-ray_.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL254R7Jn8muoWIPKPMZ0TFGJMD6kj7gqF5f2Ts8QBwjciciYHdlJSBaAQSvkaSqCQLNo18XaInhEGDpFEcaHoaZJlisLIy-s01TCrp7sSlVhyphenhyphenU4nED09we9n8ADoI0WmPj79JGE2812c/s1600/large_two_monte_hellman_Shooting_06_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL254R7Jn8muoWIPKPMZ0TFGJMD6kj7gqF5f2Ts8QBwjciciYHdlJSBaAQSvkaSqCQLNo18XaInhEGDpFEcaHoaZJlisLIy-s01TCrp7sSlVhyphenhyphenU4nED09we9n8ADoI0WmPj79JGE2812c/s1600/large_two_monte_hellman_Shooting_06_blu-ray_.jpg" height="245" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Something’s coming,” Gashade (Warren Oates) whispers to
Coley (Will Hutchins) in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Shooting</i>.
Something’s always coming. The West is an agoraphobic landscape, its every
horizon waiting for some potentially perilous emergence. Richard Markowitz’s
score sounds more in keeping with Japanese horror than American westerns.
Gashade’s a former bounty hunter now tending an unprofitable mine. An unknown
gunman has killed one of his partners and his brother has run off. A woman
(Millie Perkins) turns up, offering Gashade good money to lead her to the town
of Kingsley. She won’t say what she wants there, but Gashade—played with a
humble, weary stoicism singular to Oates but echoing Bogart—has a bad feeling.
The dread is ever-present, like a strange weather pattern that won’t let up.
The film also stars Jack Nicholson and was written by Carole Eastman (as Adrien
Joyce), who would soon write Nicholson one of his most iconic roles in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Five Easy Pieces </i>(1970). Eastman’s
iconoclastic Woman With No Name imbues this western with a refreshingly
feminine sensibility that would not be lost on future filmmakers—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Shooting </i>is most certainly somewhere
in the DNA of Kelly Reichardt’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Meek’s
Cutoff </i>(2010).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>545</o:Words>
<o:Characters>3111</o:Characters>
<o:Company>Chiminomatic</o:Company>
<o:Lines>25</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>7</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>3649</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiueUq7544z4NmBgFZyUzid0CejedNW8Y41HMIZd6WcNGSG8uj-oCjDxr9YweErWFErPHUqDt4XnQ-y7XEhNQqf_Y6IDWOOJaR2PaKpcBMTtheppIcKSW1yaom8drmAMFZHKGRJRgGqyoA/s1600/large_two_monte_hellman_Whirlwind_02_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiueUq7544z4NmBgFZyUzid0CejedNW8Y41HMIZd6WcNGSG8uj-oCjDxr9YweErWFErPHUqDt4XnQ-y7XEhNQqf_Y6IDWOOJaR2PaKpcBMTtheppIcKSW1yaom8drmAMFZHKGRJRgGqyoA/s1600/large_two_monte_hellman_Whirlwind_02_blu-ray_.jpg" height="292" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5uUXxOhTsfMLgv2KnY8XauGe78gKClAtH_dw_3seBfq1FiA4fggZrjP5FqHNbaeHFxn8_5u9yD1QOwkeUAc504opPh7vK7IgDA4iT8C8msw_don_lwjOV6CTS1N-ApRduLAIognpxw2s/s1600/large_two_monte_hellman_Whirlwind_01_blu-ray_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5uUXxOhTsfMLgv2KnY8XauGe78gKClAtH_dw_3seBfq1FiA4fggZrjP5FqHNbaeHFxn8_5u9yD1QOwkeUAc504opPh7vK7IgDA4iT8C8msw_don_lwjOV6CTS1N-ApRduLAIognpxw2s/s1600/large_two_monte_hellman_Whirlwind_01_blu-ray_.jpg" height="270" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Ride the Whirlwind </i>was
written by Nicholson and is somewhat more conventional, though its atmosphere
is equally eerie and still. It opens with a small gang, headed by one Blind Dick
(Harry Dean Stanton), holding up a stagecoach somewhere in the middle of
nowhere, Utah. This motley crew cross paths with a trio of cowpokes (Nicholson
among them) on their way to Waco. A drama of mistaken identity and frontier
justice ensues, but what lingers most in my mind isn’t story but detail, like
the lynching victim stumbled upon by the heroes early in the film. What lingers
too, for any cinephile at least, is the incredible array of soon-to-be famous,
or at least cult-famous, faces assembled here. Hellman had a special genius for
casting: he understood that Oates could be so much more than a character actor,
that Nicholson could be captivating when doing as little as possible, and that
Stanton could be fascinating by playing against a character’s primary
attributes. These are both very special, spectral films, artefacts from a
transitional moment in American movies, and Criterion’s two-for makes for an
excellent double-feature and off-Hollywood history lesson. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319721431296639419noreply@blogger.com0