Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Anton Sirius, our very own mad glorious bastard, is stalking the streets of Toronto even as we speak. He's got a lot of films and interviews scheduled these next however-many days, and it should be a kick to see what he's up to. First, he's got some ranting to do about the destruction of one of Toronto's theaters, and I feel for him. When they ruined the downstairs house at the Westwood Avco, I nearly went postal. It can be disheartening to watch great theaters close while these prefab clone multiplex boxes take over the world. Here's Anton to explain more...
“You wouldn’t like me when I’m happy.” - David Boreanaz
Day One: Thursday the 6th
OK, now I’m mad.
I spent the early part of Thursday wandering around the city, getting re-acquainted with it. And to my utter horror I discovered that one of the best theaters in Toronto, the York, had closed down. Open since 1969. Host to the Phantom Menace line-up. Gone, poof, to be replaced by a banquet hall or some damn thing. (They went out in style, though, showing a 70mm print of Lawrence of Arabla.)
And I was all set to rant on about how crap multiplexes like the gawd-awful Paramount (the thing has a bloody Rubick’s Cube as its main architectural feature. Who in the blue hell thought this was a good idea?) were absolutely no replacement for a quality movie palace, when I was informed that in all likelihood the York was just the tip of the iceberg.
The Uptown is probably next.
I am telling the world right now- if they close the Uptown I will be the first one with a torch and pitchfork banging on the office doors of Famous Players. It’s too monstrous to contemplate.
For those of you who haven’t been to Toronto, the Uptown is nowhere near the greatest movie palace in the world. It’s got one main screen with a capacity just shy of 1000, and two dingy smaller screens in the basement. But what it has is character, and that in spades. From it’s perfect central location at Yonge & Bloor to its long history with the Festival (and more recently with Midnight Madness specifically) the Uptown 1 just drips cool. The front row, in particular, has innumerable fond memories for me (and get your mind out of the gutter there, bunky- I sit way up in the back corner if I’ve got something other than movie-watching on my mind). The Uptown 1, you see, has a thirty or so foot sloped stage between the first row and the massive screen, meaning if you sit down front you can pull a Lily von Schtupp and put your feet up on stage while watching the film, along with your drink and popcorn, whatever shopping you did earlier in the day, and a herd of mountain goats. And nobody else will care. It’s brilliant.
And apparently there’s a 75% chance that will all be gone after this year’s fest is done.
The worst part is, of course, that if the Uptown goes the Eglinton will almost certainly be next, and that will be it- all the first-run screens will be soulless multiplex abominations like the Paramount and Silver City X and the Colossus and the Gargantua and the Omnipotus or whatever stupid name they come up with for the next one. A few of the old palaces still linger in the rep chains, like the Bloor and the Regent, but they’re getting run down, and who knows how much longer they’ll last.
The Capitol - closed.
The Runnymede - gutted and turned into a bookstore by a chain that went under two years later.
The York - now hosting Jimmy and Patricia’s wedding reception.
Madness.
It’s simple, really. For the majority of the swill Hollywood’s been pushing the last two years, where you see it just doesn’t matter. Let it be in some sterile cookie cutter somewhere with a Taco Bell burrito burning a hole through your stomach lining, who cares.
But every once in awhile, when the suits aren’t looking, someone goes and turns a film into art. And Art deserves a proper location for its presentation, one embodying the respect that this particular triumph of the human spirit deserves.
You wouldn’t hang Guernica above a public urinal. Symphony orchestras don’t perform in mall food courts. And films- real, honest-to-Goddess films- should be shown somewhere better than the contemptible, hollow, hideous dungheaps we are being herded towards.
Damn it all to hell.
The first film he sent a review for was LA COMMUNE...
Some Thoughts on la Commune (Paris 1871), directed by Peter Watkins
This was the six-hour film I mentioned yesterday. I didn’t- no, make that couldn’t- watch the whole thing, so it wouldn’t be right to do a full review, but I do want to talk about it nonetheless.
La Commune is most definitely an experiment. Made with non-professional actors, a good chunk of the film is presented as a kind of 19th century public access TV- reporters shove microphones into the faces of the Communards to get ‘genuine’ impressions of what life is like among the revolutionaries. These segments are contrasted with the ‘official’ version of events as given by national TV Versailles. While the actual history of the uprising is present and accounted for, the story is used more as a metaphor for current conditions in France and around the world than a history lesson. At times even the metaphor bleeds away and the actors- still in period costume- begin discussing globalization and 3rd world solidarity.
The big question therefore is- was the experiment successful? That would all depend on what Watkins’ objective was.
As an object lesson it doesn’t seem to cut it, simply because so few will ever see it or respond to it. It’s brazenly uncommercial, which is hardly a bad thing, but even I didn’t have the stomach for 345 minutes of black and white subtitled DV, and I’m at least receptive to the political polemics, whether I entirely agree with them or not.
As a work of art I can’t and won’t say, any more than I would judge Rodin based solely on the top of the Thinker’s head. ‘Taint fair.
As entertainment… actually, it was surprisingly captivating at times. The sense of pure moment the film embodies is intoxicating. If the idea wasn’t ludicrously contradictory I’d say it was almost Situationist.
Maybe seven of you out there will ever get a chance to see this, so recommending it or not recommending it is pointless. I will say this though- while I don’t begrudge the time I did spend watching it, I have no regrets about missing great big chunks of it either. I guess from my perspective the film is very much like the Commune itself- a noble thing, but ultimately doomed.
(It helps that the time I spent not watching it instead went to securing interviews with:
-Guillermo del Toro
-Shunji Iwai
-Tim Blake Nelson
-Peter Fonda
If you’ve got questions for ‘em you know where to find me.
That would be anton_sirius@yahoo.com if you don't know. He also sent in this brief thought on SILENT PARTNER:
Silent Partner (2000, directed by Alkinos Tsilimidos)
This wasn’t my first choice for a post-la Commune film tonight. As with last year the first night films are packed, which isn’t always a bad thing. Last year, for instance, I wanted to see Maria de Medeiros’ April Captains (which vanished post-fest without a trace) but got ‘stuck’ seeing Amos Gitai’s Kippur, which was magnificent. This year the film I didn’t get in to see was the Orphan of Anyang. Was it the hand of God… or the work of the devil?
And don’t let the director’s name fool you- this is another one of those Aussie comedies that sprout up like weeds at this time of year. I’ve got a better title for this one, though- “A Day at the Races with Two Withnail & I Wannabes”
Actually, that’s not fair. To Bruce Robinson. Silent Partner has absolutely none of the energy or spark of Withnail. And without that desperate manic invention, all you are left with is two drunken losers babbling on into the night. With slurred Australian accents.
Oh yes, it is exactly as painful as it sounds.
And finally, Anton passed along a letter someone had sent to him, a review of ELYSIAN FIELDS. We ran a ton of stills from this new George Hickenlooper film just the other day, and I asked people to send us their thoughts on it. Well, ask and you shall receive...
Dear Mr. Serious,
The other day you guys were asking for reviews of upcoming films. I've never written a review for you guys, but I thought I might now since you've asked for comments on a movie that no one else has seen yet.
First, let me say that you and Harry and Moriarty do an amazing job, and let me add that my friends and I have already started an anti-Scooby Doo solidarity contingent, and we are willing to take to the streets next summer when that corporate parasite is released on the minds of our youth. It's war against the giant conglomerate machine and its powerful vacuum in the poisoning of the American cinema!!!
The film I saw is the one premiering in Toronto next week ELYSIAN FIELDS. First let me say that I go to the movies pretty often. My girlfriend is a P.A. for the TV show Entertainment Tonight in Los Angeles, so I often get to inside screenings when I visit her. For example, last Wednesday there was a press screening for Elysian Fields at an old studio near Paramount. And let me say, whole heartedly that this film is amazing. Now, I tend to be pretty picky. I hate most everything, particularly this year. I really liked Sexy Beast and The Deep End. Studiowise, I really like The Score but HATED, shall I repeat HATED, America's Sweethearts, so that might give you an idea where my tastes run. Anyway, Elysian Fields is extremely good. In this culture of hype and movie bull, I won't dare to call it a masterpiece, but it's maybe a breath or two away. What I can honestly say is that I recently saw what I think is the best movie in a while, well, at least maybe since American Beauty.
Before the screening, I had no idea what the movie was about. All I knew is what my girlfriend told me and that was that Mick Jagger was one of the stars. I thought, cool, as long as the big lipped one gets to sing, right? Well, in this movie he doesn't have to because he should win some major awards for the incredible job he pulls off playing a sad, lonely male gigolo. By the end of the movie, my girlfriend was balling her eyes out. I have to admit I was kind of moved, too. But the story was also really funny and smart at the same time. VERY RARE THESE DAYS. The dialogue and cinematography is very crisp, and again, the performances are just the most superb. James Coburn should also get an Oscar nomination for his part as a dying Hemmingway like guy who lets his wife sleep with a male escort just so he can keep her around the house. And Andy Garcia whom my girlfriend is in love with, but who I've never really liked, is I have to admit really good as an unsuccessful writer who works for Jagger as a male escort so he can pay the bills. I actually felt sorry for Garcia's character even though he was cheating on his wife, played by Julianna Margulies. And, boy, did she make the right decision when she turned down all that money on ER to play this role. She is excellent and sexy and the English girl from Rushmore is excellent, too. The 30 or so people there seemed to be really jazzed by this film. My girlfriend and I, who have fidelity issues of our own, talked about the movie the next day, which says a lot since most movies today are pretty forgettable. Like I said, the last movie I felt that about was on the American Beauty level. I don't know when this movie is coming out, but when it does, I highly recommend it. And if I were giving out the Academy Awards, this might be the movie. It really rocks and Mick Jagger doesn't even have to sing. Needless to say, I really liked it.
Yours truly,
Michael Rodger Hardling
Chicago, Illinois
"Moriarty" out.
