Archive for February, 2008

Last Days

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on February 19, 2008
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Last Days

Last night I watched Last Days by Gus Van Sant. I had no interest in it when it came out. Seeing it occasionally in the DVD store for some reason made me more and more interested in seeing it. It’s very cinematic with little to no dialogue and almost no talking to speak of. The cinematography is quite beautiful and the stunning sound design really carries the visuals well.

I like the way it communicates through absences. Blake, the fictionalised Kurt Cobain character, says almost nothing. Often he wanders off screen. Sound and scenic visuals gently remain. Other characters talk over him or give up on him and walk around him as he withdraws more and more. When he’s not ignoring people he’s running away and hiding from those looking for him. It’s a very sad situation. But the film communicates this kind of emotional state nicely.

The end is understated. His suicide is not shown. He is just found. Everything goes on without him. The one odd bit that I thought was silly was that they did this cheesy spirit-leaving-the-body thing. It looked a bit like a Christian enactment from an old painting and was out of place with the rest of the film. Perhaps they were trying to push the martyr interpretation common with some fans and pop media. But this is lame and flat in this context. I prefer David LaChapelle’s parody with Courtney Love as Virgin Mary and Kurt as dead Jesus Christ. It does a better job of humour.

Movie Marathon

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on February 18, 2008
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Movie Marathon

A few days ago I got back to my garden route village home after a week’s holiday in Cape Town. I stayed with Nikola Tosic and his family in Sea Point. Nikola was recovering from an illness and I’m resting an ankle injury so we were both out of action from our usual training habits and similarly frustrated in sport senses. It was a great relaxing time hanging out, seeing friends, eating good food, going for coffees, watching movies and swimming a bit. I looked at lots of all sorts and read bits of things but felt like a writing holiday. I didn’t even write more than a few words in a note book. Blogging was out of the question. So this a bit of a longer post to get back into the routine.

After spending a day trying to ease back into my routine-lacking lifestyle I returned from a dinner and decided to watch a film. One became many and it ended up running like this…

Control
This is a beautiful black and white film about Joy Division’s vocalist and lyricist, Ian Curtis, his rise and demise. I like their old post-punk music and his unique awkward energy and lyics. It’s a mix of inspiration, with a fair share of bleakness and a very sad end.

Resident Evil Extinction
This is quite a nicely made surface treat. Milla Jovovich apparently dies and then comes back many times. The script is pretty lame and boring stock Sci-Fi good vs evil battle. It was mildly entertaining but I can’t think of much else to say about it. I can’t even remember if there was a plot or not.

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
This is odd and pretty fucked up. It starts off like a really bad porno, then evolves into a tale of two luckless brothers who plot to rob their parents’ shop to improve their cash flows and fuel their dream of buying their way out of misery. The biggest loser is bullied into doing the dirty work. He doesn’t have the balls so he gets some dodgy bloke to help and ends up getting his mother killed. From there it just gets worse and worse as they fall apart and bad luck keeps following them.

Atonement
Ian McEwan is one of my favourite writers so I’ve been keen to see this screen adaptation since release. By the time I got to this I was not tired enough to sleep but far from energised. Probably as a result I found it a bit boring to start with. On the crude level it was less dramatic than the previous two films so maybe that had something to do with why I was ready to sleep on it around half way. I continued when I woke up and it seemed fresher. Of the four films this one made the strongest impression and sticks in my mind. I’d like to see it again and get around to reading more than the first few pages of the book some time.

So that was the movie marathon. Since then I’ve not watched anything other than some bits on YouTube. Mainly I’ve been reading, writing and swimming a bit.

I told Nikola I watched four films in a row and he reckoned I’m depressed as I’m missing his mother’s cooking. I laughed. I’m not sure if he was being ironic or not. Depression is such a nonsense fashion that I think people are too preoccupied with these days. Indulging in a bit of melancholy can be quite fun. But his mother is a damn fine cook and I do miss her food and his family’s great hospitality.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

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on February 7, 2008
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The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

I was browsing through a little bookshop a few weeks ago when this title struck me. About as long and beautiful as it is memorable, it looked good from the cover too, so I ended up taking it. It turned out to be a collection of short stories, the title story being the first and the longest in the little book.

I read the first bit and it seemed great. Then I became preoccupied with reading all sorts of other things for a while. I read one of the other stories, probably the shortest or most striking before falling asleep one evening. Facing a mild bout of insomnia late the other night, I gave the title piece a shot. It was ace until halfway where dreams attacked and defeated a miserable incarnation of insomnia. I surfaced from the dreams hungry to devour the remainder. In some ways this seemed to me a strange way to experience a short story that could lazily be swallowed like a little pill in one sitting. Yet it felt perfectly good to sleep on it at half time.

What I find astounding is that the book was written about 50 years ago yet feels pretty much contemporary England. I suppose because the human condition doesn’t tend to change much and this is a rather classic struggle for individualism, freedom and self-expression regardless of odds. The plot, story, style, timing and characterisation is excellent. I have to say that it’s the best short story I’ve yet read. Admittedly I’ve not read many.

There’s an interesting interview with the author, Allan Sillitoe, at the back of the book too. I always love reading about individual creative processes. His is rather serious and conscientious but delivers quality goods.

There is No Such Thing as Real

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on February 5, 2008
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Here’s a nice video showing Alison Jackson talking about her processes and experiences. I like her engagement with contemporary celebrity culture and media. Some touches are reminiscent of the classic Martha Rosler Bringing the War Home montages. Jackson’s cheeky humor is nicely blended with a bit of seriousness.