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By: PROJEKT iVIEW | 307 Views
(3 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
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DABBA
(New York, NY)
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Requiem for THE Requiem
I don’t write reviews and rarely read them. I like writing eulogies of films I love, but set to a dirge. This post is partly inspired by
reading Anurag’s Tehelka review of a much discussed film where he said “_______ is a first rate example of craft dictating content and not the other way round.” It immediately called to attention a movie I loved for its stylistic choices, the supreme visual panache BUT most importantly, its heart. Heart (and the bastard child, Soul) is a vague term that I don’t bandy about, but every once in a while it is the only word that can do.
I re-visited Aronofsky’s film today. I could not remember how I felt when I watched it the first time, but I remembered the memory of my first experience with this movie. I was reminded of how a movie set in Coney Island that was so precise in the way it painted the characters and their surroundings reminded me of my mother in a faraway country, and of my relationship with her. Her days working the streets of an Indian metropolis for a pyramid scheme, coming back at night and being so full of hope. How that hope was the last thing she had, and me.
But I didn’t want to be there but knew I should. How I saw through the lies of the pyramid inspite of my youth but let her keep going because her hope made me wishful. Wishful that she find success and happiness so that I won’t have to partake in her misery. That it would all be well with her and I could live my selfish life without remorse. But it was not to be.
I watched the movie today and saw the scene where Burstyn (mom) talks to Leto (son) about why she was doing what she did. It was a simple talking head scene but rendered with such style. Yet, I was not distracted by the visual choices. I did not notice when the camera crossed THE line and the lighting changed so that it would tell me that this was a turning point. The scene was taking a darker turn, literally and metaphorically. All I saw was Ellen’s hope and Jared’s guilt in the way he would not meet her eyes. I watched the scene several times, and cried each time. Maybe this is why my dear friends call me a joyless fcuk.
I remembered how the movie was an adaptation of a novel and made me discover Selby Jr. I could not believe that a movie so stylized could have been based on a novel. It had every music video trick on display, and not one was out of place. A movie with such a subjective pov that the only word I could think of while risking sounding like a stick-up-my-ass-art-critic was expressionism. And I didn’t even know what that word meant. I read the book and thought, he is one joyless fukc (please keep track of the subtle variations in my spelling) but I can not believe that someone would think this could be a movie. It’s like trying to film Catcher. I compared the film’s performances with all those showboaty roles where stars get to battle afflictions in middlebrow productions from studios with an eye on remuneration. And may I just say what a sensation?
I learned a great lesson in filmmaking. A performance is not about the face or screen time or close ups. A hiphop montage followed by a medium shot of an actor in profile with the light catching a glint in her eyes (all of which lasted 10 secs) told me more about the character’s mental state than any amount of “acting” would have. I also saw the unbelievable beauty in some of the shots and saw how quickly they cut away from it (not more than 3 seconds) lest we were distracted by the beauty that surrounded the character’s suffering.
As the third act built to the inevitable conclusion, a climactic barrage is set into motion that echoed Jeunet’s famous synchronized fukking montage from Delicatessen. Only, it was not amusing. With the climax out of the way, I was getting ready to enjoy a cigarette to my masochistic ordeal, but they weren’t done yet. They had to come back and fck me one more time lest I had any hope for these characters at the end. When all was done and the smoke cleared, all I wanted to do was take a machete to the backs of their heads and thrust it out of the eyes and say “Die you miserable bastards. Let me end your miserable lives.”
Oh joy, why have you left me?
Posted on October 8, 2007 at 7:11 pm | Filed Under Region & Language, Hollywood, PROJEKT iVIEW
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11 Responses to “Requiem for THE Requiem”
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2007-10-09 13:51
This is the kind of movie, its so fucking bad, it could actually be fun... if you thought cinema had hit rock bottom with Aag, think again! (-)5/5 -Vijay
0.3 -
2007-10-09 13:48
Heart's in the right place. The pieces though, didn't fall in the right places. -oz
0.3 -
2007-10-01 19:34
RCT is alright but chiruta he is not. If you have to watch it, watch it on DVD -WB
0.3 -
2007-10-01 19:33
Quite funny! Minnie Driver pulls off one of the coolest performances of her career -V.P.Jaiganesh
0.3 -
2007-09-16 19:06
Action, thriller, political commentary, forensic science, and the meaning of family and legacy, all wrapped up in a fast-paced two hour ride -t!
0.3 -
2007-09-16 19:04
Sorry, how can one rate a film when it was so bad one walked out of it? -t! if only a minus infinity rating was allowed... -oz
0.3 -
2007-09-16 19:03
So much talent wasted in a film with no story, and action that becomes tiresome halfway through the movie -t! When A Grade actors start acting in Z grade films, it's Armageddon -oz
0.3 -
2007-09-16 19:02
2 of my fav filmmakers with 2 opposite perspective on one of the biggest cities of the world -Mainak
0.3 -
2007-09-05 23:08
Despite Todd Field's "best intentions", it all seems so cliched and seen over. Only Kate Winslet's dazzling performance makes it all worth in the end... -Pratim D. Gupta
0.3 -
2007-09-05 23:04
A very dark film and disturbing film... maybe a little predictable. But that is compensated by yet another incredible performance by Gael Garcia . A film about faith and evil... has the feel of a Greek tragedy - ONIR
0.3
Wow…
When you read a review(or eulogy) of a film like this, you know the director got it perfectly right. Love this movie. And you said it all.
Was reading Anurag’s interview in Tehelka.com where he mentioned about Joshi-Abhyankar murders. I tried to google some info about the murders but couldn’t find much. Can anyone post me any link that has the complete story?
Beautiful film Dabba…I agree. What did u think of Aronofsky’s first low budget, dripping with genius film - ‘Pi’? How many decades do you think it will take a Bombay filmmaker to come up with something close to that, where the protagonists chaotic internal state is totally externalized through visual devices? An early attempt at something similar was Polanski’s ‘Repulsion’…you must see it if you havent done so already.
brilliant film. watched it 6 years ago, when my world was hardly beyond bollywood. probably the greatest single reason behind me becoming a film buff.
Even though I saw this film sometime ago, I still remember exactly how I felt at the end of it!!
The climax of this film is unforgettable.
But the downward spiral left me feeling all cold and low for days, such was the impact.
I do want to see it again, but it made me feel like crap.
Brilliant film nonetheless!
@Johnny Gaddaar- the link for joshi Abhyankar case:
http://www.rahulchandawarkar.com/news/general/general03float.htm
(courtesy: satya)
Qwerty,
I saw pi (seems like a graduate school requirement for all people that come to the US from Des) and admired its brilliance and the realization of the director’s vision. It didn’t draw me in like Requiem though for obvious reasons. I will watch Repulsion.
In India, we need more filmmakers from diverse backgrounds like graphic design, animation, visual effects and advertising in addition to the current crop to create visually rich and diverse films. Right now visual storytelling consists of dressing up a set.
I was disappointed with the story telling of The Fountain. Someone please give Aronofsky a dense and depressing book to adapt. Perhaps he should have been the one to direct Parfum and not Tykwer.
I wish he would adapt one of Ellison’s stories. The combination of Harlan’s perverse vision and Aronofsky’s visual realization can not go wrong.
Apoorva,
I was in the same boat as you. One of the seminal films that turned me into a film buff and now a filmmaker.
dabba, I saw ellison at an American Cinematheque screening of his doc recently…it was quite an experience…the guy is patently nuts, and doesnt care how many people he pisses off! I have to go interview him for a doc soon, he lives in a house that looks like a cross between angkor wat and a Mayan temple…pretty cool..
Yes, him and Aronofsky would be a good match.
p.s -Also, watch Lonergan’s ‘Clean, Shaven’,radically expressionistic, you’ll get a kick out of it, from what I gather so far.
Dabba
You didn’t think Tykwer did a good job of adapting PERFUME? I missed that film but everyone was so impressed with that film. Kubrick wanted to adapt it , but decided not to as he thought its almost impossible to do so. For Tykwer to have done so is a brave thing to do.
But I agree someone needs to give Aronofsky a depressing book. But someone both his next projects don’t interest me much. BLACK SWAN & THE FIGHTER.
Clean,Shaven & Repulsion goes in my list now.
**********
Last Film - TSOTSI(5/10) Couldnt finish the film. Its so bad. I can’t believe they gave it OSCAR.
Music - Black Star
Love the film’s repulsive feel. I would have prefered to watch it before all the hype built up, but nevermind, it is an enriching piece of cinema nonetheless. May be the visual jugglery or the montages,or the screen time devotion to faces, but the film works including or in spite of all the devices.
Liked your reaction to the film, the way its put. Such a film cannot do with a ‘review’. It just exists somewhere in a corner of your house. You see it someday and you say a Hi. Sadly the film isn’t in popular circulation in India but I would try and buy it and watch it again to absorb it more.
I have to check the films that you guys are talking about.
@ Qwerty,
Would love to meet Ellison. He’s like the McEnroe of writing only crazier and more talented. In what capacity are you invloved in the doc with Ellison? Care to share any details of the project? Will check out clean, shaven. I think Mahinist was another movie that tried to do something similar but fell woefully short.
@ Mainak,
Full disclosure…I only read a few snatches of Perfume. I was not impressed by the movie because it didn’t quite come together. Perhaps it is irresponsible on my part to say that Tykwer didn’t do a good job adapting it (he didn’t write the screenplay though) since I have not read the book. Aronofsky co-wrote the screenplay for Requiem with Selby Jr.