A Streetcar Named Desire (movie)

10 Feb

Director: Elia Kazan (1951)

I think one of the reasons this movie is considered so definitive a version of A Streetcar Named Desire is that the original director and cast are involved. These people created the story from Tennessee William’s words. The only switch is Vivian Leigh who was Blanche in the original London production. Having no familiarity with Jessica Tandy’s Blanche, I thought Leigh was excellent. I’m curious about how Tandy would have played her, mostly because I’ve only seen Jessica Tandy in Fried Green Tomatoes.

One of the things that surprised me was the setting: 1940s New Orleans inner city. I feel like the title is very melodramatic, and thought that the setting would be more suburban or rural. I wasn’t expecting this hot, urban, claustrophic story. I’m not pointing this out as a criticism. I guess I’m pointing it out because it actually allowed me to enjoy the movie more. Right off I realized that whatever I thought this movie was going to be, it is not what the story actually is. So, I allowed myself to experience the movie as it unfolded.

So, what is the movie? It’s a story about a woman trying to hold on to a dream, looking for a safe place to create her dream, and in the end loses her grip on reality. I don’t feel that Blanche, in the beginning, is so detached that she can’t see reality for her dream. She’s capable of seeing her dream in reality, and acts to create it. I’d say that Stanley, her brother-in-law, is of the same mindset. He sees his desired world within reality and does what he can to create it. However, his reality is at odds with Blanche’s and ultimate fight between them is to see who’s reality will “win.”

Hmm…I didn’t really see that relationship until I wrote the above paragraph, but it feels authentic so I’m going with it. Another thing that I like about this movie is holds up. The clothes and performance style are dated, but those things can be adapted to contemporary times without losing what’s essential. The main conflict arises from individuals creating their respective worlds in the same place. That is a human story, which makes A Streetcar Named Desire a timeless story.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Grapes of Wrath (movie)

10 Feb

It holds up in case you’re wondering. The movie is incredibly moving and depressing at the same time. Poverty in America is a bigger problem than we acknowledge, and I think it’s very telling that a story from the Great Depression has resonance now. I think it’s because John Steinbeck deals with universal themes that come with poverty. Fight vs despair, longing for the recognition of one’s humanity, the desire for and fear of compassion. Emotions don’t disappear over time. The vocabulary words to describe them might change, but the essential story of the poor can always be told.

This is the first John Ford movie I’ve watched with full awareness that he was the director. I like the clean straightforwardness of his work. I have a great appreciation for economical decisions in art. I do love pageantry and melodrama, but I also love plain, committed decisions. There’s nothing superfluous in Ford’s work in this movie, and that’s what will make me want to see this again someday. It won’t feel overlong. My time won’t feel wasted. My attention will be held from the first frame to last.That’s hard to do in a long and epic movie. It’s hard not to exhaust the audience, but this worked out.

I also appreciated the attention Ford gives to the strength of women in hard times. I don’t think it’s one of the louder themes of the book, but it’s one Ford found worth highlighting. Ma Joad’s speech about women being like rivers felt very authentic, and it translates nicely to her final point about the importance of people. The people keep coming, and it’s compassion that will help them all survive.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Before Sunset

27 Jan

Just in time for Before Midnight.

We meet up with the characters from Before Sunrise nine years after their magical night in Vienna. This time Jesse and Celine (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) have another chance meeting Paris, and catch up on everything.

This movie is told in real time. We are with the two characters for as long as they actually have together instead of one night compressed into a movie. They spend the first part of their conversation avoiding just how much they’ve defined themselves by that one night in Vienna. In the Before Sunrise, they are so ready to be completely honest with each other. In this movie, though, they’re initially scared to be honest because they know that with each other they can’t be anything but.

Life has brought them responsibilities and cynicism. But the one thing that hasn’t changed for them, is the longing for real connection. They’d found it when they were young, and now nine years later, when it’s presented to them again all they really want to do is take it. Thus begins what happens only when you’re adult. The strange debate Do I follow my head or do I follow my heart?

The details that struck me were Jesse’s desperation to stick around as long as possible, and Celine’s desire for him to go away so she could go back to her safe emotional walls. The scene I like best is the one in the taxi. Jesse and Celine have a confession explosion over how that night in Vienna left their souls in turmoil every time they think about connecting with other people. They curse the blessing of falling in love while at the same time desperately wanting to embrace that romance is real. They found romance, but in a world that doesn’t let them believe in it, all they do is go slowly, lonely, mad.

I wonder about the ending though. Even thought the theme of these two movies is to embrace romance when it’s presented to you, is the final scene so selfish? There are other ways to embrace what feels emotionally right without making a complete mess. I dunno. Something to think about.

Anyway, I really love this movie, and I think it’s a great companion to the first. I’m looking forward to the third. I like the story telling idea of looking at snapshots of the most important moments in people’s lives. My ballet teacher used to say that no one wants to see the développé, they want to see the finished extension. I don’t mind that there is so much story that happens off screen. That’s not important. What’s important is what happens between Jesse and Celine during these key moments together in their lives. I definitely kinda really love these movies.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Django Unchained

20 Jan

I did not like this movie. I’m surprised I didn’t love it because I do love Tarantino’s movies. I don’t mind the long chunks of dialogue because they’re usually compelling or poetic. With this movie, however, I felt the complaints that most non-fans have about Tarantino. The too long scenes and too many characters felt like masturbation instead of love of the world he’d created. From scene to scene in <em>Django Unchained</em>, Tarantino kept losing me. I kept asking myself “Where is this going?” but I felt no payoff. And every time I thought I’d get one, the feeling was yanked out from under me.

 When I left the theatre, I wasn’t too impressed with Leonardo DiCaprio. Thinking back, though, I think he did a wonderful job. It’s just too bad he was paired opposite Christoph Waltz who, frankly, acts everyone under the table.

I was also disappointed with the underutilization of Kerry Washington. Her character, Broomhilda, was a damsel in distress, which is a trope that I’m tired with. I was surprised to see it from Tarantino who is usually so great at giving his female characters depth and purpose.

 Now, I have no problem with a ‘rescue the girl’ storyline. I don’t mind a female character who is a gentle soul with a flight instead of fight nature. But Kerry Washington is way too strong for that type of character. She needs to be cast as Django’s full partner, not just his supporter.

I really wanted to love this movie, but I don’t. Sad, but it happens

Tags: , , , , , ,

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

13 Jan

I’ve been a Tolkien fan since I was 17. During college I would spend hours online discussing the books. I didn’t go see the movies opening night with friends. I went opening day alone because I loved it all for me. But, after the Extended Edition movies came out, I was exhausted. I just didn’t have it in me to read The Silmarillion again. And I love The Silmarillion. I’ve read it in Spanish. The exhaustion made me sad. I wanted this to be a lifelong love. Not something I was just super into for a while.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey made me fall in love with Tolkien again. This movie was made with such love and affection. It really feels like it was made for fans. There is a lot of Middle-Earth lore in this movie, and I really appreciated all the nods to the things about the dwarves we only learn in the appendices and other texts. The acting, the sets, and the storytelling just felt so good.

Where the movie didn’t work was in the doubled film rate and the use of 3-D. The whole movie looked like the it was stuck on the lowest fast forward speed. It may actually be a necessary adjustment for 3-D film, but it took you out of the movie all the time. Speaking of 3-D, it’s use made the whole movie look like it was filmed on a miniature set with puppets. I think we were supposed to feel like we were floating in the movie. However, even in 3-D glasses, I can see the edge of the picture. It’s never not going to look like a window or framed painting. I think the movie would have been better served if the shots had been framed with this in mind.

Even so, it was a great way for me to return to my love of Tolkien and Middle-Earth. I would watch all three hours again. And, most importantly, FIGWIT returned! So, wins all around.

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Before Sunrise

30 Dec

A really sweet movie. It revolves around a chance meeting between young twenty-somethings Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy and their impromptu decision to spend an evening wandering Vienna and getting to know each other. As they wander, and open themselves up to each other, they also open up to themselves. This spontaneous decision to do something romantic allows them to accept the love of romance that each of them carries within themselves.

The theme I took away from this movie is that we are taught to be cynical. It’s a defense mechanism. Being romantic and a dreamer means that you open yourself up to feeling hurt and feeling pain. BUT if you deny yourself the opportunity to feel pain, then you also deny yourself the opportunity to enjoy feeling romance.

Because the movie is about these universal ideas, it holds up. We all have been twenty, or are twenty, or will be twenty talking about how romance and life are relevant to us. Talking about how our parents teachings, and our own experiences, shape who we are. I also love that the movie takes place in Vienna. I’ve wanted to go there ever since it was claimed the capital of music by Baroque and Classical composers. I suppose that’s where my romance comes from.

I didn’t think I’d turn this movie into something so precious in my writing of it. But romance is precious. So, I guess this movie is precious. It’s a sweet little music box of a movie. And that’s my conclusion.

Tags: , , , , ,

The Nutcracker

26 Dec

Boston Ballet staging 2012

The Good: Everything people have said about the new sets and costumes is true. They are gorgeous. I’m not a fan of super saccharine second acts sets. Some companies go overboard with the “Land of Sweets” theme. The sets Mikko Nissen commissioned, however, are gorgeous. The frescos are colorfully painted without being overwhelming. The dances really stand out in front of them.

I’m most interested in how the Snow Kingdom scene is choreographed. It’s beautiful music, but ver complex and difficult to choreograph to. Boston Ballet’s Snow is very successful. The musical arrangement is much lighter than others I’ve heard but it it works very well. The choreography works very well too. It’s not chaotic, and nicely mirrors the different layers in the music. Falling stage snow makes for a lovely touch, but they almost went a little overboard with it. We, the audience, should believe we’re watching a snow storm. Not actually watch one.

Special mention goes to Avetik Karapetyan, the featured dancer in the Russian Trepak. Not only was he amazing, but he might have had the most fun performing out of the entire cast.

The Bad: As usual, Boston Ballet falls short in the pantomime. The first two scenes, the party scene and the battle scene, really rely on acting. Pantomime is not easy, but in order to stage a successful story ballet you really need to have the acting down. Nelson Madrigal’s Drosselmeir was exceptionally strong which made me happy. He’s kinda key to driving the story.

The other bad thing was the corps de ballet. Boston Ballet’s other weakness. Once again, we had a ballerinas dancing at the same time, but not together. What really shocked me in the performance I saw, was that during Snow, hardly anyone was pointing their feet or had a good turn out. I was frankly flabbergasted. Yes, I said flabbergasted. But seriously. That’s so basic. Running and walking are very hard to do in pointe shoes because it’s so stylized. You’re running on the tips of your toes with most of your weight carried very high. The turnout is actually the easier part because that starts with your posture. The whole tuck your tailbone under to straighten your back thus pushing your pelvis forward and creating a natural turnout of your whole leg starting at your hip that ballet dancers are supposed to do? Yeah. There was none of that. I can forgive students in a recital. But at a professional level, you have that shit down.

Aside from that, it was a lovely performance. I’m not dying to see it again, but I could be talked into it next year. If you’ve never seen a performance of The Nutcracker before, this is a good one to start with. Especially if you have kids. There are a lot of sweet little moments that even made me, with all my Nutcracker cynicism, crack up with giggles.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.