African Film et l'Occident

This last quarter I took a French film class. However, since my instructor had just spent a year in Burkina Faso, so she decided to focus the class on films that revolved around former French colonies of Africa. Most of the films dealt with the influence and affect France has had on the development of these countries post-independence and the experience of the African immigrant in France. I don't know how many of these films all you Netflix-addicts will be able to find. Burkina Faso is the home to the African version of Cannes and it seems that maybe some of these would be pretty difficult to obtain. Nevertheless, I know many film nerds and thought maybe it would be beneficial to pass on the titles and a short description of some of my favorites. (Plus, by doing this, I am helping myself with my final.)

* Black and White In Color (La victoire en chantant) by Jean-Jacques Annaud (1976)

Taking place in Africa during World War 1, this film exposes the absurdity of nationalism and the attempt to re-inact the war being fought on mainland Europe in Africa between the colonies. I guess this really went down. Except who were the soldiers? Not the colonizers that is for sure. This film makes an interesting social commentary through exposing the absurd and often highly comical actions and events of this strange period in history.

*Chocolat by Claire Denis (1988)

Not not that shitty film starring Johnny Depp that came out a few years ago. This film by Claire Denis examines the various power roles during the last days of African colonialization. In addition, to be an intriguing and subtle film, it is also shot exceptionally beautiful. Highly recommended.

*The Battle of Algiers (La bataille d'Alger) by Gillo Pontecorvo (1963)

This is probably the most famous film that we saw all quarter. This film is kind of a must for all lovers of film. Examines the events that took place in Algiers in the 50's which eventually led to the atrocious and bloody Algerian war for independence against France. The film follows an illiterate criminal who works his way up a terrorists organization in the city of Algeria who commits various crimes against the French occupiers until the French Army is called in to squash the rebellion. There are many great elements to this film. Good acting, great soundtrack by Morricone, etc. However, its impressive how much this film is still relevant today by humanizing all those involved until it becomes not so clear who is right or in the wrong. Interestingly, the Pentagon made this film mandatory for all top U.S. military leaders leading up to the invasion of Iraq.


* Twisting in Poponguine (Ça twiste à Poponguine) by Moussa Sena Absa (1994)

One of my favorites of the quarter, this film takes place in a small town in Senegal and follows two teenage gangs imitating their favorite Western rock n roll stars. One names themselves after all American rock stars while the other are named after French rockstars. This film examines the search and struggle for identity in the first years of post-colonial Africa. Once again, the film makes a poignant social commentary through absurd, entertaining and extremely funny moments. In addition, Absa uses almost no professional actors in this film. Find this.

*Sango Malo by Bassek Ba Kobhio (1991)

Kobhio first wrote a novel and then turned his own book into this film that examines the role and importance of education in helping Africa develop. Kobhio brings up an interesting power struggle between communist-style and Western, capitalist influenced style education. This film contains many different elements that seem important in the development of Africa. It exposes contemporary corruption and the problems that exist but then questions the alternatives. There are a few, overly dramatic moments of this film but overall I found it to be enjoyable while enlightening me on something I wasn't entirely aware of.

Dakan by Mohamed Camara (1997)

This is the first film about homosexuality in sub-sahara Africa where many countries still openly state that such does not exist in their country. I feel like films that are specifically about the subject of homosexuality tend to overemphasize their themes and thus making the film feel very cliche and trite. However, Dakan successfully avoids falling into these trappings in telling the story of two boys, from different economic backgrounds, who fall in love in a society that doesn't even recognize the existence of such occurrence even being able to happen. The first half of this film trots along with relative ease while the second half gets suddenly way more complex resulting in a much more powerful film that originally indicated. Some of this has to do with the introduction of a white girl who is African and has a black mother. This never really gets explained but adds an interesting element that reminds of colonialization and its continued presence in Africa. Recommended.


No Fear, No Die (S'en fout la mort) by Claire Denis (1990)

Another film by Claire Denis that now examines the experience of two African immigrants living in France working as cock-trainers in an underground cock-fighting circuit on the outskirts of Paris. The theme of power once again returns and while this film doesn't specifically focus on Africa or colonialization, it does bring up many interesting themes regarding not just race but gender and class as well. In addition, this stars Issach De Bankolé who is a bad ass French-speaking actor from the Ivory Coast who you might recognize from Diving Bell and the Butterfly or Coffee and Cigarettes.

Cult Film ressurection

Is it strictly an American tradition where we celebrate low-budget B-movies, horribly shallow action films, or simplistic teen dramas? Perhaps. Almost all of us have some crappy film(s) that we secretly love and watch faithfully every year that can be categorized in one of the prementioned genres.

If i wrote out a list of my top 25 films, amongst the Czech new wave, Godard's and Antonioni's, you would also find Space Balls, Major Leagues and maybe even Weird Science. That being said, I excitedly await the next installment of...

Point Break 2? Yep. Written by the same dude who wrote the original. Oh man...i can't wait.


Heres the description (now over a year old) taken from SlashFilm:
The new movie will be set in Southeast Asia and uncover the fate of the surfers’ leader Bodhi (played in the original by Patrick Swayze) who was supposedly (spoiler alert) killed by a giant wave at the end of the first film. The sequel will not feature the return of FBI Special Agent John ‘Johnny’ Utah (who was played by Keanu Reeves in the original), but will instead follow a surfer-turned-SEAL who is on the trail of “a criminal gang.” They hope to cast “a young male action star at the same stage in his career as Keanu (Reeves) was.”

Sounds horrible. Horribly amazing.

Think they'll have Clinton and Bush Jr. masks now? God, I hope so.

Post-Script: Screw artistic integrity. Who wants to put their creativity to good use and assist me in writing the next cult film? We can be the laughing stock of Hollywood but still get all the perks(wink wink).

Diving Bell review...

My recent review of Diving Bell and the Butterfly is up on Fanbolt.

Check it here.

It may seem sort of familiar from a previous post of mine late last year.

Juno Review

Here is my latest review on Fanbolt of the film Juno.

Actually click on the link for me even if you don't want to read it. If I get the my review get the most hits thi month then I win something. Thanks!!!!

Kite Runner Review

My most recent review for FanBolt of The Kite Runner is up.

Check it here.

FanBolt

I am writing reviews for Fanbolt.com. It boasts about 80,000 members/readers right now. Not huge by internet standards but definitely on the up.

Check it out...support, etc.

Website: Fanbolt

Most recent review: The Darjeeling Limited

Next up: review of the new Erykah Badu. Check it out if you haven't. Its amazing. "That Hump" is a great single. Madlib and 9th Wonder produce....

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Somebody once told me that Michel Gondry had no balls. It was in relation to his last film "The Science of Sleep". I was having a discussion trying to determine the reasons why I left the theater pleased but with a feeling of emptiness-like something was missing from the film. Gondry's films are good but I came to realization that his characters only contain a certain amount of depth. Gondry chooses to utilize his kitschy surrealism and fantasy rather than ever explore the complexity of human emotion and memory. It is what Gondry does best, but it can leave the more skeptical viewer (as in my case) with a desire for a more involved exploration of the psyche that is only lightly touched upon in his films.
Gondry’s popular and nearly flawless film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" was able to through the writing of Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich) better explore these deeper aspects of ourselves and how we interact with others. However, it was not necessarily the characters of “Eternal Sunshine” that so moved us, but rather the marriage of Gondry's beautifully surreal, visual interpretation of a difficult heartbreak and the role of memory with Kaufman’s sporadic, fragmented emotional script.
It worked well and Jim Carrey pulled out the performance of his life. However, despite these successful combinations, the film still only touched on a level of depth before falling into to somewhat fantastical and imaginary world of Gondry.
I mention Gondry's work to discuss the film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly; a new film by Julian Schnabel (Before Night Falls, Basquiat). Besides being a mostly French film (the director is American), Diving Bell has a very similar feel of a Gondry film due to its utilization of dreamlike scenes as an integral part of the narrative and the characters. However, unlike Gondry, Diving Bell is able to marry its colorful surrealism with a deeply emotional complexity that Gondry’s films have never been able to reach.
Based off the book by former French "Elle' editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, the story tells the personal account of Bauby's experience suffering from “locked-in” syndrome after a stroke at 43. Bauby wrote his story through a series of blinks and a letter chart devised by his medical therapists. The film fluctuates between first-person camera perspective, scenes from his memory and imagination to visually reenact his experience being completely paralyzed except for his left eye. It’s a traumatic real-life tale that is a testament to the ability of an individual’s will to continue to exist in such drastic conditions.
However, the finest aspect of the film is its choice to never dwell on Bauby’s condition. It is the central aspect of the story but celebratory moments of happiness and success never come or become the focus. Rather, the film chooses to center on the incommodious nature of memory and the outcome of all our choices that we are constantly reminded of. The end result is a film that examines all the ephemeral moments of our life that can form the varying characteristics of whom we are.
The film breathes with the beeps of Bauby’s respirator and projects the frustration of a man’s inability to communicate to the exterior world. The linear narration begins to crumble as Bauby’s condition continues. Finally, at the film’s conclusion, a circle has been formed testifying that our lives do not exist on a linear plane but as a constant cycle-destined to be repeated but without exact sameness or total predictability. The nuances will always differ.

Ultimately, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is able to successfully depict the struggle of Bauby's existential dillema in his present state, and his constant reflection and return to a vanished past. The end result is a film that examines all the ephemeral nature of our existence and all moments that can form the varying characteristics of whom we are.
In the book, “The Geography of Bliss”, author Eric Weiner interviewed a man from Bhutan who stated that to really live a life of happiness, one must put aside a few minutes a day to think about death. The attempt at undertaking an understanding of our experiences must first begin with an understanding of our finite existence. This understanding helps to give us a perspective that all things are fleeting, constantly change and someday end.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly contains a similar understanding of life; everything must be weighed down and balanced by its opposite. In conclusion, the film leaves the viewer with a sense of affirmation that the entirety of our emotions and experiences make up exactly what is should: being.
Unlike the other major films of 2007 which examined the degeneration of humanity (No Country for Old Men, There will be Blood); “The Diving Bell” offers hope without ever falling into clichés or overly emotional, heavy-handed sentimentality. It’s refreshing and something needed in lieu of an on-going war, a slowing economy, and other things dragging this country down. It’s not art’s task to implement hope into the observer, but its refreshing when it does it well-even when it’s not intended.
Director of the film and artist Julian Schnabel once said that, “Art is a utilitarian thing, not a decorative thing.” His latest work is just that- a film resonating emotionality that goes beyond the entertainment of mere images flashed upon the screen of the theater and into the marrow and minds of its viewers.

Festen

film review (Taken and adjusted from an essay I am writing for my European Comedy and Satire course):

The Celebration is a disturbing film that successfully draws on its dark aspects to create a story around the taboo subject of incest and the comedy within. Through utilizing the simplified filming techniques of Dogme 95 and by candidly embracing its themes, the film creates an unsettling intimate atmosphere to satirically examine and display the dysfunctions of an upper-class family. The outcome is a film that ultimately proves to be successful at becoming darkly comedic through a conscious and well-created balance between style and narrative.
What proves to be the most important element of The Celebration is the interaction of the characters. In a certain sense, the film is about oppressed individuals attempting to overcome their problems. However, it is through the interactions of all the characters involved that proves to be the key element in helping the story take shape and become entirely horrific and yet wholly absurd and comedic.
This effect is heightened by the film's technical aspects. The unsteady camera work makes the viewer feel directly involved within the film and the characters. However, Vinterberg never lets you feel at ease within the group. Rather, he places you intimately at a seat amongst the rest of the guest and makes you feel awkwardly apart of the scene. Through the shaky camera and close up shots at face-level, the viewer is forced to almost be apart of something that they should not be while simultaneously feeling the same discomfort as some of the characters.
This is also emphasized by the lack of soundtrack throughout its entirety. A musical accompaniment in a film is often utilizes as an indicator or to emphasis a specific emotion being played out upon the screen. The Celebration’s lack thereof proves to only naturally heighten such emotional sentiments. Vinterberg allows the low murmur of conversation and the awkward clinking of dinnerware to be the only indication of the looming emotional reactions of the dinner guest. The lack of musical score in such scenes adds additional elements of realism that Vinterberg is quick to utilize in obtaining an amplified sense of shock, anxiety and embarrassment. Such reactions leak out of the screen and seem to infect the viewer, which further heightens the strange comedy of the tragic situation.
At moments, Vinterberg also allows the viewer to be a voyeur rather than closely involved. It is at these scenes that the film sprinkles comedic elements to make the tragic and vulgar subject matter slightly endurable. These brief interludes often act as a comedic relief. When compared to the greater context of the film, they prove to only further reveal the genius of The Celebration’s ability to find humor within that which is entirely tragic. This causes the film to be all that more disquieting and yet entirely brilliant.
Suggested for fans of Lars von Trier and those wishing Todd Solondz films were a little bit more raw.

Content

Content.
This blog needs more of it. Now that I am aware of at least 4 people who read this blog I guess I should start putting more stuff up here. Its not like I don't have stuff to post, it is more a lack of real satisfaction with what I have written. Alot of what I have written is of course in the form of an essay for school. Many of these essays I am proud of but would like to expand on and perfect. Something which I was not able to fully do in the face of a deadline.
Deadlines.
Something I am use to writing for the leftist school publication (which we just won a local award for. weird.) However, this summer I dont have deadlines. So I am striving to really perfect some things I have written. For when they are finished, they will possibly be, beyond just newspaper I write for, published.
Published.
I have a fear of posting my creative writing online. Therefore, I will only publish creative writing on my blog that has already, previously been published. If you would like to read more of my creative writing then email me and I will send it to you. This fear is from people stealing what I wrote. Not that it is amazing or something....but what if it is.
Is.
Writer, journalist, grad school for creative writing. All the above I have concluded in the last week are my...dare I say...passion. Still, unlike many of those who surround me, I will refuse to call myself a writer for the time being.
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Now here is an article/essay I have been working on. I really want to work on combining culture, arts, etc and contemporary politics and social situations of our world. I would like to expand this more with quotes and/or comparison to other war films. Maybe not though. Enjoy.
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Going Beyond War: The lessons of Kanal and Das Boot

There is no question that war is hell. This seems to be becoming even more apparent as the situation in Iraq continues to fall apart and the daily tally of people killed continues to rise. Recently, I re-watched two war films; Kanal and Das Boot, and it occurred to me the strikingly applicable nature of these two films to our current situation in Iraq. Both films present that war leaves little room for humanistic statements on the worth of the individual or any philosophizing over morality and ethics. Furthermore, each film displays the dehumanizing affect of war through its treatment of those involved as mere pawns in a greater game. Through its anti-heroic stories, the very realistic and devastating consequences of warfare are revealed and serve as a reminder of how atrocious war can be.
The films focus both focus on a small group of individuals and display their struggle to survive as they are forced through the most extreme situations ultimately to no avail. At the bitter, ironic conclusions of these films, we are left to question the purpose of what these characters have just endured. These films testify that amongst the heroic stories of combat, there are an equal number of stories of warfare ending in no heroes and no valiant victory. Ultimately, we are left with a group of young, dead soldiers whose simple desires and wishes have been cut off for a sometimes vague and seemingly purposeless aim.
Despite both these films being over 20 years old (Kanal over 30), they seem to make stronger statements about intricate aspects of war that many other war films seemingly lack. In comparison to other war films such as The Bridge Over the River Kwai or even the more contemporary The Thin Red Line; these films succeed in breaking down the dualistic paradigm of definitive protagonists and antagonists. Unlike most war narratives, Kanal and Das Boot through an attention to the grim nuisances of armed conflict, create stories based on the plight of the individual soldier and succeed in creating a different dialectic of war that argues for the preservation of the ultimate human gift; life.
In an interview accompanying the DVD of Kanal, the Polish director of the film Andrzej Wajda stated,
“I think that the strength of Kanal lies in the fact that it is limited to this certain group of characters and pointing out that they died.”
Wajda plainly reveals the simplicity that Kanal is about the horrors of war and does not allow for any heroic or victorious themes. Furthermore, the film quickly reveals that its aim is not politically or historically based. Rather, Kanal plainly reveals the reality of the final hours of the characters and displays the extremities they had to endure in a very personal and intimate way. Kanal recognizes the participants of the Polish uprising, but in no way glorifies the situation. This is where Kanal is most affective.
From the very beginning of Kanal we are told to watch these characters closely for this is the last hours of their lives. In the same scene we are revealed that this group of individuals is very common people with no lofty aspirations. They simply want to live; something their Nazi oppressors are trying to prevent. Thus they are cast into the roles of soldiers and forced to endure the most extreme of situations. As we watch them descend into the sewers as a last ditch effort for survival, the obvious physical analogy to “hell” is revealed. But what evil or action have these individuals taken to be cast into this abyss? Kanal leaves us with no such explanation but continues to focus on the slow demise of their last hours.
Evidently in war such reasoning does not exist. Thus, Kanal concludes with no victory or success achieved and no point or explanation given. Conclusively, it only reveals the realities of the devastation that war can cause and that bravery can ultimately lead to nowhere. Through its refusal to name a hero or reveal any hint of hopefulness for the future, Kanal ultimately becomes a film that manifests into a blaring anti-war statement that holds strong even today in the face of the Iraqi conflict.
While in Kanal the soldiers were fighting for liberation of their city and country, Das Boot displays a group of men fighting on the side of Nazi Germany. However, it is quick to display that hardly any of the men support nor are necessarily members of the Nazi party. This facet of Das Boot creates an interesting element to the narrative that further strengthens its themes and seems only further applicable in today’s situation.
While these men may fight under the jagged black curves of the Nazi swastika and thus technically fight in support of Hitler, we can still view this film and sympathize with these men without any moralistic or political dilemma. These men are soldiers who choose this position and were assigned to the submarine. Their position is first and foremost a job to them and comes before any socio-political agenda. We bear witness to the captain openly criticizing Hitler. Another scene depicts a home sick sailor writing letters to his French lover. These contrasts allow Das Boot to reveal the strange complexities of war and the individuals that participate in it with glaring relevance to the current Iraqi conflict.
One of the most essential elements of Das Boot, is its ability to display the sailors as ordinary human beings taking part in a global conflict. The American troops of today’s Iraqi conflict are no different than the World War 2 Nazi sailor depicted in Das Boot. Whether fighting under the pretense of fascism or democracy, these individuals are individuals fulfilling their duty to being a solider.
With each passing frame of Das Boot, it becomes increasingly more apparent that the higher military regime that gives their orders holds their lives with little value. The individual does not matter. War becomes Us vs. Them and the assigned mission must be achieved at any cost. The fact that these men are given orders by a political body they don’t necessarily support makes the struggle throughout the film seem even more absurd and further displays the situation as truly tragic.
The conclusion of the film only further highlights the absurdity of the situation. The shockingly realistic and anti-heroic scene that Das Boot closes with causes war to seem wholly inexplicable. Ultimately, the film is a grim depiction of warfare with a perceptivity that allows its themes to go beyond that of a specifically German experience, but of an experience that has and must be endured by those individuals on both sides of the conflict.
Das Boot speaks for the individual participators who serve as pawns to help carry out the work of war. Through focusing on humanistic elements of these individuals, the film reveals the blurred lines between the enemy and the ally.
Upon their conclusion, neither of these two films provide condolence or any elucidation on their tragic outcomes. The viewer is left questioning the purpose of such struggle and as the final credits finish one is left asking who is to blame. No answer is given. Rather, Kanal and Das Boot break down and rule out all our preconceptions and ideologies of war and leave it up to us to recognize the only deduction that can be made; when the fingers start to point and accountability must be allocated, liability for the death toll on both sides of the conflict must be first attributed by those highest in command and not entirely on the individual soldiers. However, these films do not leave the soldier free from consequence. Opposed to the true offenders, who direct these individuals from afar and never have to bear witness to such ugly tribulations, the films display that a soldier’s punishment lies in the psychological weight they must bear for having actually experienced, witnessed and partaken in such atrocities. It is here that lies essence of these films; their ability to depict war through the humanistic and tragic outcome of the participating soldier while leaving it up to us at the final scene to take that last step towards its ultimate thesis.
Ultimately, Kanal and Das Boot are a grimly refreshing alternative to that tired old dualistic conflict of the hero and the villain, the good and the bad by depicting war as an event that results in none other than the death of individuals. No matter the politics or what side you choose to align yourself, the grim and unfortunate reality is that war equals death. These films are ultimately a great aide memoire of such unfortunate truths.