5 Movies I Saw Recently
So part of the application for one of the many jobs I've recently applied to asked me to list the last five movies I saw and my thoughts on them. Here they are:
• The Decline of the American Empire (DVD; Canadian)
A talky early film from Canadian director Denys Arcand, “The Decline of the American Empire” juxtaposes masculine and feminine conversations about sex and relationships. Arcand exposes the lies and half-truths that men and women share in their own company while suggesting that mixed company provides the most honest – if damaging – dialogue. With its circle of academics as concerned with sex as with Marx and Freud, I found this film a stimulating and refreshing glimpse into French Canadian culture in the eighties.
• Hustle & Flow
An enjoyable if clichéd film by Craig Brewer, “Hustle & Flow” follows Terrence Howard’s character of DJay on his rocky journey from pimp to poet-rapper. The main draw for me was the strong performances by Howard and Taryn Manning, each breathing a sense of humanity and ambivalence into these characters living on the edge of society. Though the ending comes off as pat and predictable, it is hard to not root for these characters.
• The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (DVD; French)
I only recently had the opportunity to see this mid-sixties classic for the first time. Jacques Demy’s film musical tells a traditional love story through a highly original style. The dialogue is entirely sung, coming off as neither contrived nor cheesy. Instead, I felt catapulted into a quasi-psychedelic dream, the jazzy score propelling the story of the lovely Catherine Deneuve’s Genevieve along a series of meticulously matched technicolor sets. “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” is a very beautiful and sad film.
• Rize
“Rize” traces the roots of the South Central Los Angeles dance/entertainment movement of “clowning” through its later, harsher incarnation as “krumping.” Director David LaChapelle alludes to the dance’s parallels to African tribal dance by juxtaposing images of hard-bodied, face-painted Los Angeles teenagers energetically dancing with archival African tribal dance footage. LaChapelle effectively shows what a boon this movement has become for teens desperately seeking an outlet for their anger, physical energy, and creativity as well as how the area’s distinct dance groups have created their own signature styles of dance, dress, face paint, and ultimately, their own nonviolent gangs.
• Me and You and Everyone We Know
Having met Miranda July and seen several of her short films, I was anxious for “Me and You and Everyone We Know,” her feature-length debut. Miranda July stars as Christine Jesperson, a quirky performance artist not unlike herself who is trying to connect with a lonely shoe salesman. There are many little poetic moments in this film such as Christine’s realization that the forgotten goldfish in a bag atop a man’s car is doomed to certain death because of its inevitable fall once the cars stops. July’s gift is for seeing the world through the eyes of a child - not in a laughably naïve way, but rather filled with wonder at the magic in the mundane.
Last night I went to see Gus Van Sant's "Last Days." I'm still processing that one, but I can say it made a strong impression. Today I was reading an article about Sleater-Kinney and thinking about the Pacific Northwest and, for a moment, felt as if I had just been there yesterday.