|
Mer,
mère et oubli: des visions hollywoodiennes et ferrariennnes
Ce travail
propose une mise en parallèle de trois thèmes, qui
sont également des motifs plastiques et figuratifs: l'élément
liquide, la figure maternelle et l'oubli, qui sont liés
aux concepts de mémoire et d'inconscient. Ces éléments
sont au cœur de trois films divergeant de par leurs modes
de production, de distribution et de réception au sein
de l'industrie cinématographique. D'une part, The Blackout
(1997) [1], oeuvre décriée par une majorité
de critiques et boudée par le public, de l'auteur marginal,
marginalisé et surtout en marge du système dominant
hollywoodien qu'est Abel Ferrara. A l'autre extrême, le
film de Robert Zemeckis, What Lies Beneath (2000) [2],
produit hollywoodien destiné au grand public. Entre ces
deux pôles, une œuvre de synthèse : Body
Snatchers (1993) [3] : l'incursion du premier cas de figure,
Abel Ferrara, dans le second système, celui d'Hollywood.
Japón
: An Analysis
"The
devil loads the guns and morons pull the trigger." This piece
of wisdom, if not central to Japón's plot, pretty much
sums up the film's philosophy -or should one say cynical vision
of life. Talented newcomer Carlos Reygadas was awarded a Camera
d'Or Special Mention at the Cannes' 2002 film festival for this
first feature-length endeavor, a brutal rendering with fable-like
qualities in bold, uncompromising cinematographic style.
Berlinale
2002: A reflection of the world today
From
the terror of the past to current violence
(3/8/2002)
Up until 13
years ago, Berlin still embodied the Cold War with its divide
between East and West. Remnants of the Wall or the recent renovation
of the Parliament, set on fire by the Nazis over half a century
ago, make the city's past hard to forget. But once a year the
city takes on a lighter feel as the Berlin Film Festival, a leading
festival in the Venice and Toronto league, gathers crowds on the
Potsdamer Platz, the new center between East and West. This year's
52nd edition of the Berlinale ran from February 6 to the 17th,
scoring high on movies, VIP's, and -more prosaically- on comfortable
theaters with screens ranging from huge to gigantic.
Unveiling
the spiritual nature of Dead Man
(12/20/2001)
"It is
preferable not to travel with a dead man," Henri Michaux.
Death
and travel, Blake as Death, a death voyage, death as a journey,
all these variations on the two basic themes are present in Dead
Man. The narrative arc recounts the journey taken by the main
character towards his own demise. But the metaphoric quality of
Michaux's sentence suggests a symbolic level of interpretation.
As the narrative shows Blake to be quite alive, death is therefore
of a spiritual nature rather than a physical one, a death through
loss of identity or the loss of the 'essence of being'.
With
LOTR, the Land Down Under is taking its turn on center stage
(11/05/2001)
Millions of
people around the world are anxiously awaiting December 19th,
2001. Only the out-of-touch won't know that this date marks the
release of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment of
the most anticipated screen adaptation of the decade, Tolkien's
Lord of the Rings.
The
invasion from Down Under
A Xmas blowout, the year in review and other tales (10/10/2001)
From Russell
Crowe's Oscar consecration to TV's Survivor II: The Australian
Outback to the first installment of the Lord Of The Rings, America
is having a major Down Under craze.
Jake"Raging
Bull" LaMotta
Still rolling with the punches (06/14/2001)
Wednesday
evening, 80 year-old Jake LaMotta sat through what must be for
him the umpteenth screening of his life as seen through the eyes
of Martin Scorsese. Raging Bull, the Oscar winning, cult
movie based on the boxing champion's career, was playing at NYU's
Cantor Film Center as part of the Golden Age of Cinema, a series
of classic films selected and presented by teacher Zhenya Kiperman.
The
world of sound in Bresson's A Man Escaped
(05/07/2001)
A Man Escaped,
Robert Bresson's fourth feature-length film, centers on Fontaine
(François Leterrier), a member of the French Resistance,
and recounts his escape from a German prison in 1943. Instead
of subordinating sound to the image, Bresson enhances it in such
a way that the viewer not only sees Fontaine's world but fully
hears it as well. His work can be compared to a puzzle made of
sounds, images, music and narration. Bresson lets us piece together
the elements he lays out for us and construct our own meaning
of to story, thus giving the viewer the rare possibility in cinema
to be an active spectator.
Los
Amigos Invisibles
Arepa 3000 (02/20/2001)
Don't let
yourself be fooled by Los Amigos Invisibles' double-entendres,
bogus Latin-lover attitude and 70s disco shows. Beneath the self-mockery
and the tongue-in-cheek lyrics, you will find an inspired sextet
with a wide stylistic range, a knack for flavoring whatever they
are playing with a sexy Latin tinge and a straightforward desire
for the audience to have a good time.
French
Short Film Series (10/30/2000)
For its second
year in New York, the French Short Film Series has once again
offered New Yorkers quality foreign short films. The curator,
Maeva Aubert, selected what she considers to be the highlights
of French short movies from the four past years and divided these
into two programs which alternate fiction and documentary.
|
