Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
We’ve got a whole mess of Rotterdam reviews today, and first up is this offering from first-time spy Professor Gladney:
This is my first year at Rotterdam. The schedule is overwhelming and choosing the right movies is like solving Rubik’s cube, I have managed to do pretty well thus far even though I can’t get into this damn Tommy Lee Jones movie to save my life. The Dutch love them some America movies. I did get to see some great stuff that most likely won’t be coming to a theater near you but that you should look out for. Here’s some of what I’ve seen so far:
KLIMT (Raoul Ruiz)
Unfortunately, I am new to Ruiz. This is the first film of his that I’ve seen. However, I think I could become a convert. This movie deftly jukes all of the most tiresome biopic cliches and injects a healthy amount of surrealism into this “life of” story. The only comparisons that come to mind are Julie Taymor’s treatment of Frida Kahlo and Julian Schnabel’s Before Night Falls. All three films wisely expend their energy inventing interesting ways to depict the inner lives of their subjects instead of reiterating the stale biopic formula. If this film has one shortcoming, it would have to be that I don’t really know anything new about Gustav Klimt. There are many beautiful fantasy/hallucination/dream sequences but it’s almost as if Ruiz goes too far in the other direction and by eschewing the expository information, he leaves the audience without a context for Klimt’s inner life. There is not much of a narrative to digress from. On the other hand, films aren’t necessarily intended to be educational. Maybe I will sleep on this one.
DRAWING RESTRAINT 9 (Matthew Barney)
Despite how aggressively boring his movies can be, I think I still like Matthew Barney. It’s a marvel how movies like this get made. I can’t even fairly characterize Barney’s film work as “movies.” It’s not cinema, though it has many of the symptoms. Visually, it resembles a movie -- 35mm film, crane shots, tracking shots, costumes, sets, spectacle, etc. It employs film grammar but completely abandons the literary elements (character, plot, drama) of cinema. In fact if you don’t mind a SPOILER, I can sum this film up for you: Anonymous hands wrap gifts. Parade. Crew work on a ship. Man arrives on ship. Bjork arrives on ship. Both don ceremonial garb. Tea is offered and accepted. It’s been two and half hours. And it’s over. This is not an exaggeration. Apparently the film is overflowing with symbolism but judging from the grumbles outside the theater, I would say that Barney’s references were lost on everyone. Oh well, it’s always fun to see a director with a big budget who couldn’t care less if anyone gets his movie. You philistines who thought Last Days was artsy and boring should check out Bjork’s baby daddy, Mr. Barney. He’s got weird-ass artsy goin’ on.
MASTERS OF HORROR: HOMECOMING (Joe Dante)
I have no idea how the fuck this one-hour episode of a Showtime series ended up in the festival program. I knew of the series but I don’t have cable. I had a gap in my schedule so I squeezed this one in. Quite a mistake. I hate when people who I essentially agree with me choose to express their beliefs in such an obvious and simplistic manner. It’s worse than listening to Ann Coulter or one of the other lunatics this film satirizes. I wish they would have shown the Miike episode of Master of Horror. Fuck. I want my 8 Euro back. And by the way, when did Dante go all hardcore on us. Gremlins, man. Gremlins.
PRINCESS RACCOON (Seijun Suzuki)
I couldn’t recommend this film more highly. This is what Guy Maddin dreams about. This movie is an endlessly inventive and hyper-stylized fairy tale from the master of the yakuza film. It’s big and over-the-top in all the right ways. I had no idea what to expect from this one but I left the theater grinning like an idiot. Suzuki effortlessly blends theatrical and digital techniques to create a film unlike any other I’ve seen. This little epic is at once a loving homage to a previous era and a thoroughly modern spectacle. It’s such a fun movie and a uniquely cinematic experience.
TALE OF CINEMA
This site was one of the early prophets, preaching the gospel of The New Korean Cinema. These movies are incredible and there’s such a variety. Hong Sang-Soo is not one of the directors that wants to show you your intestines or trick you into fucking your daughter. He is not part of the whole “extreme” genre. However, he has made a string of really great, realty smart movies. This guy’s movies make the other Korean arthouse fave, Kim Ki-Duk, look like a self-important wiener. Tale of Cinema coaxes you into thinking you’re watching one movie for about thirty minutes and then switches gears and becomes another movie altogether. It re-examines the old life-imitates-art-imitates-life theme and brings some new insights to it. Highly recommended.
I will be back tomorrow with new films from The Brother’s Quay and Jan Svankmeyer, as well as Buscemi’s latest directorial effort, Lonesome Jim. If you use this call me, Professor Gladney.
Thanks, man. Nice stuff.
"Moriarty" out.
