film

On November 25th, 2011, JEAN DUJARDIN…

Jean Dujardin and Uggy in The Artist

…’where have you been all of my life?’ is what I was asking myself – surprised I had never heard of him and being such a French film fan and now planning to see all of his lowbrow slapstick comic roles – after making a rare cinematic pilgrimage to LA’s Cinerama Dome to get a privileged LA preview of the new French movie that I have been hearing about all over the place called ‘The Artist‘.

Share
By Fritz Haeg on November 25, 2011 | film
Tags: , , , , , ,

On October 10th, 2011, TACITA DEAN IN THE TATE MODERN TURBINE HALL…

'Film' by Tacita Dean in the Tate Turbine Hall

…opened this evening with a packed Frieze Fair week art crowd filling the mezzanine overlooking the massive film projection of ‘Film’ created for the space (which is about 20,000 times bigger than last night’s art destination of the White Cubicle Toilet Gallery) by Tacita Dean as the latest edition of the much anticipated annual Unilever series of art commissions for the space.

Share
By Fritz Haeg on October 10, 2011 | art, London
Tags: , , , , ,

On July 4th, 2011, INDEPENDENCE DAY…

cutting of the American Academy 4th of July cake & 'Le Cercle Rouge' at Villa Medici

…American Academy-style involved an Americanissimo coleslaw, homemade potato chips, grilled hamburger with fixins, potato salad, and watermelon lunch (making for a strange greeting for newly arrived guests who heard so much about the amazing seasonal local Roman RSFP cuisine) followed by the dramatic arrival of an elaborate patriotic blueberry and strawberry decorated American flag cake – but for the evening we defected to the French Academy – Villa Medici - overlooking the city for a firework-free evening for the first night of their outdoor summer film series – kicking off with the stylish but seemingly endless (2’20″ – including a half hour heist scene that would be hard to imagine coming out of any a.d.d. Hollywood editing room today) 1970 crime thriller ‘Le Cercle Rouge‘ directed by Jean-Pierre Melville and starring Alain Delon, Gian Maria Volonté and Yves Montand.

Share
By Fritz Haeg on July 4, 2011 | film, food
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

On May 9th, 2011, THE BILL CUNNINGHAM DOCUMENTARY…

the tiny spartan Carnegie Hall studio apartment bed of Bill Cunningham

…is in now in theatrical release, coinciding with my my short U.S. visit, which was welcome news since it is the film that I have been waiting for months to see – so off to the local Portland theater (the ‘Living Room,’ where the audience tucks into a full-on dinner while watching the movie, which I suppose is only slightly more tolerable than the typical noisy popcorn?) – and what a super story about a super fascinating man full of contradictions – his modest reclusive austerity versus the outrageous gregarious extravagance of the clothing of international fashion, street and society circles that consume him. (film website)

 

 

Share
By Fritz Haeg on May 9, 2011 | film
Tags: , , , ,

On March 15th, 2011, PIER PAOLO PASOLINI…

Pasolini talks about the real fascism on the beaches of Sabaudia

…is on my mind again – as he often is while contemplating the materially impoverished, but joyous, lively, celebratory, marginal, scrappy, hard-working, essential, common, quotidian, local, humane, modest, austere, resourceful, diverse, connected, localized, sensual, civilized, defiant, earthy, bawdy, slow, simple aspects of Italian culture that are being steamrolled – and then I always remember those brief lucid and prescient thoughts that the great Italian filmmaker and poet suddenly articulated, almost as an after thought, as he was finishing an interview on the beach of the fascist town of Sabaudia which was broadcast on RAI national television on February 7th, 1974 (the year before he was murdered on the Roman beach of Ostia) – declaring that “…the true fascism is really the power of this consumer culture which is destroying Italy” – and instead of simple knee-jerk nostalgia or a conservative retrograde desire to keep things as they were, here was an early vivid sense of the blind thoughtless wholesale cultural, social and ecological gutting that emerged in post-war Italy in the name of short-term convenience, comfort and prosperity which was only just beginning and is still continues. (clip with English subtitles)

Allora io penso questo: che il fascismo, il regime fascista, non è stato altro – in conclusione – che un gruppo di criminali al potere e questo gruppo di criminali al potere non ha potuto in realtà fare niente, non è riuscito ad incidere, nemmeno a scalfire lontanamente la realtà dell’Italia. Sicché Sabaudia, benché ordinata dal Regime secondo certi criteri di carattere razionalistico, estetizzante, accademico, non trova le sue radici nel regime che l’ha ordinata ma trova le sue radici in quella realtà che il fascismo ha dominato tirannicamente, ma che non è riuscito a scalfire. Cioè: è la realtà dell’Italia provinciale, rustica, paleoindustriale che ha prodotto Sabaudia, non il fascismo. Ora, invece, succede il contrario. Il regime è un regime democratico, però quella acculturazione, quella omologazione che il fascismo non è riuscito assolutamente a ottenere, il potere di oggi – cioè il potere della realtà dei consumi –, invece, riesce a ottenere perfettamente, togliendo realtà ai vari modi di essere uomini che l’Italia ha prodotto in modo storicamente molto differenziato. E allora questa acculturazione sta distruggendo, in realtà, l’Italia. E allora io posso dire senz’altro che il vero fascismo è proprio questo potere della civiltà dei consumi che sta distruggendo l’Italia. Questa cosa è avvenuta talmente rapidamente che, in fondo, non ce ne siamo resi conto; è avvenuto tutto negli ultimi cinque, sei, sette, dieci anni; è stato una specie di incubo in cui abbiamo visto l’Italia intorno a noi distruggersi e sparire e adesso, risvegliandoci – forse – da quest’incubo, e guardandoci intorno ci accorgiamo che non c’è più niente da fare. (from transcript on ipercritica)

Share
By Fritz Haeg on March 15, 2011 | film
Tags: , , ,

On March 1st, 2011, VALERIA DE FRANCISCIS…

Valeria de Franciscis as the domineering mother of Gianni di Gregorio in 'Gianni e le Donne'

…is the 95 year old newcomer/up-and-coming actress who plays Gianni Di Gregorio’s mother in his new film ‘Gianni e Le Donne‘ (a follow up to his 2008 low budget hit ‘My Mid-August Lunch‘, or ‘Pranzo di Ferroagosto‘ in which she also plays his mother) which we just saw this weekend at the cute Testaccio theater Cinema Greenwich (where we felt very youthful in an audience that was decidedly on the older side) and it was fun to watch her steal the show playing it up as one of those great old Italian borghese powerful mammas tricked out in big chunky jewelry and shimmery satiny bright pastels.

Share
By Fritz Haeg on March 1, 2011 | film
Tags: , , ,

On December 12th, 2010, PASOLINI’S ‘CHE COSA SONO LE NUVOLE?’

the last frame of Pier Paolo Pasolini's 'Che Cosa Sono le Nuvole?'

…the short film featuring Totò and Ninetto Davoli from the 1968 collection ‘Capriccio all’Italiana‘ – is actually bringing some tears to the eye tonite – especially the last moments of the last scene as Ninetto, a marionette version of Othello, looks up at the sky from the garbage pile where he has been dumped, exclaiming “what are those?” – having never seen them before – to which Totò replies “those are the clouds” – “and what are the clouds?” he asks… (youtube video)

the lyrics: Che io possa esser dannato / se non ti amo. / E se così non fosse / non capirei più niente. / Tutto il mio folle amore / lo soffia il cielo / lo soffia il cielo… così. / Ah, ma l’erba soavemente delicata / di un profumo che dà gli spasimi / Ah, ah! Tu non fossi mai nata! / Tutto il mio folle amore / lo soffia il cielo / lo soffia il cielo… così. / Il derubato che sorride / ruba qualcosa al ladro / ma il derubato che piange / ruba qualcosa a se stesso. / Perciò io vi dico / finché sorriderò / tu non sarai perduta. / Ma queste son parole / e non ho mai sentito / che un cuore, un cuore affranto / si cura con l’udito. / E tutto il mio folle amore / lo soffia il cielo / lo soffia il cielo… così.

Share
By Fritz Haeg on December 12, 2010 | film
Tags: , , , , ,

On November 29th, 2010, TEOREMA…

the last scene of Teorema

…the 1968 film by the singular Italian genius and poet Pier Paolo Pasolini is what we were up late watching tonight, reminding me of another Italy not too long ago – and now I want nothing more than to descend into a Pasolini marathon and watch or rewatch everything. (wiki page)

Share
By Fritz Haeg on November 29, 2010 | film
Tags: , , ,

On November 24th, 2010, SCREENING OF VIDEO BY KAREN YASINSKY…

still from 'Marie' by Karen Yasinsky

…a fellow American Academy fellow this year – was a real pleasure, the highlight of the day, a 3.5 minute video she made in 2009 inspired by one of my favorite films, and described by Karen as “…a drawing animation based on a scene from Robert Bresson’s film ‘Au Hasard Balthazar.‘ It is a close-up profile of the character Marie speaking. She looks sad and earnest. Or rather blank. I rotoscoped it which involved saving the scene as a series of jpegs, 30 images per second and then drawing each image using a light box. There are several interruptions to her speaking when the image changes. It moves down and off the page then comes back from the top; it becomes an image made of small squares then changes colors; and finally the squares show the negative images. There are also series when every other image is a different color, moving through the spectrum, with the original black line on white in between. This creates a strobing effect. The sound, by Snacks (Tom Boram and Dan Breen) uses a piece by Brahms, static sounds; tremolo and other sounds to match these interruptions. Brahms plays while she calmly speaks but only partial sounds come out of her mouth. She doesn’t communicate.” (more of the interview)

Share
By Fritz Haeg on November 24, 2010 | art
Tags: , , , , ,

On August 26th, 2010, ‘THE OATH’…

Abu Jandal, Osama bin Laden’s former bodyguard, no a taxi driver in Yemen, featured in 'The Oath'

…the amazing documentary that tells the story of Osama bin Laden’s former bodyguard was shown to us tonight by the director Laura Poitras, also in residence here at MacDowell Colony. (website)

‘The Oath’ tells the story of Abu Jandal, Osama bin Laden’s former bodyguard, and Salim Hamdan, a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay Prison and the first man to face the controversial military tribunals. Filmed in Yemen and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, THE OATH is a family drama about two men whose fateful encounter in 1996 set them on a journey that would lead to Osama bin Laden, 9/11, Guantanamo Bay Prison, and the U.S. Supreme Court. The film begins as Salim Hamdan is set to face war crime charges at Guantanamo, and Abu Jandal is a free man and drives a taxi in Yemen. We enter the story in a taxicab in Yemen. Here we meet Abu Jandal, the film’s central protagonist, as he transports passengers through the chaotic streets of Yemen’s capital city, Sana’a. Salim Hamdan is the film’s “ghost” protagonist. He was arrested in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 and taken to Guantanamo. His seven-year captivity at Guantanamo is narrated through his prison letters.

Share
By Fritz Haeg on August 26, 2010 | film
Tags: , ,

On July 8th, 2010, BOB FOSSE…

"Rich Man's Frug" dance number from Sweet Charity, 1969

…is someone I am going through a little obsession with, having just watched lots of his choreography including the “Rich Man’s Shrug” from the 1969 film Sweet Charity, and how remarkable to see the source for so much of Michael Jackson’s movements. (Bob Fosse on Wikipedia and video of “The Rich Man’s Shrug” from Sweet Charity)

Share
By Fritz Haeg on July 8, 2010 | dance, film
Tags: , ,

On May 26th, 2010, LITTLE JOE: A MAGAZINE ABOUT QUEERS AND CINEMA, MOSTLY…

Little Joe Magazine No. 1

…“a new biannual publication looking at film from a different perspective. It is a direct move away from the traditional method of reviewing all current and future releases towards a more selective and eclectic focus on films that inspire alternative discourse.” …celebrates tonight (7pm) at London’s Bistrotheque (23-27 Wadeson Street) the release of issue No.1 – which includes a little essay of my own – a personal & queer perspective on the 1985 Merchant and Ivory adaptation of E.M. Forster’s “A Room With a View” – plus contributions by: Cam Archer, Jack Barnes, Paul Burston, Rick Castro, Stuart Henderson, William E Jones, Hynam Kendall, Michael Linington, Feargus O’Sullivan, William Maltese, Yvan Martinez, Frederico Pellacin, Ryan Powell, John David Rhodes, Stuart Sandford, Joshua Trees.- (Little Joe website)

Share
By Fritz Haeg on May 26, 2010 | publications
Tags: , , ,

On May 22nd, 2010, DONNE-MOI LA MAIN…

French 18-year-old twin brothers Antoine (Alexandre Carril) and Quentin (Victor Carril) journey on foot to their mother's funeral in Spain...

…the 2008 film by Pascal-Alex Vincent featuring handsome twin brothers Alexandre and Victor Carril, which I just watched last week is a very slow picturesque film with almost no dialog – and at the moment I’m actually feeling like it is one of my all time favorite French films – wow.

Share
By Fritz Haeg on May 22, 2010 | film
Tags: , , , ,

On April 30th, 2010, “HERB & DOROTHY” – THE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE VOGELS, THE UNLIKELY CONTEMPORARY ART COLLECTORS…

Herb & Dorothy Vogel

…is such a great story – just watched it last night – about the librarian and postal worker who gradually and obsessively amassed one of the great collections of late 20th Century New York art, completely filling their Manhattan rent controlled one bedroom apartment, only to donate it to the museum they visited on their honeymoon in 1962, the National Gallery (because, Dorothy explains, it would never be de-accessioned, the museum is free to the public, and having spent their lives working in civic and federal jobs, they liked the idea of giving it back to the USA) in exchange for a modest monthly stipend to cover their living expenses, which they have gone on to spend on yet more art to donate to the museum. (film by Megumi Sasaki – check out the website )

Share
By Fritz Haeg on April 30, 2010 | film
Tags: , , , ,

On April 29th, 2010, JULIETTE BINOCHE…

Juliette Binoche

…in The Unbearable Lightness of Being reminded me of how awesome she is – and now I’m having a Juliette Binoche moment – watching Damage (1992), Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge (2007), Paris (2008), Caché (2005), and Chocolat (2000)… (wiki bio)

Share
By Fritz Haeg on April 29, 2010 | film
Tags: , ,

On March 13th, 2010, DR. OLIVER SACKS, M.D…

Dr. Oliver Sacks, M.D.

…just sent out this exciting announcement:

Last week, production began on a new feature film based on Dr. Sacks’s essay “The Last Hippie,” in An Anthropologist on Mars. Jim Kohlberg is directing the indie film, which stars J. K. Simmons (“Up in the Air” and “Juno”), Julia Ormond (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Temple Grandin”), Cara Seymour (“An Education”) and Lou Taylor Pucci (“Brotherhood”). The screenplay was written by Gwyn Lurie and Gary Marks, and the soundtrack will feature lots of Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and other music from the sixties and seventies. The producers are looking at a fall release date, and we’ll keep you posted!

Oliver is a great life-long swimmer which he wrote about for the New Yorker a few years ago – and when we were both at MacDowell Colony last summer we became swimming buddies, though he would regularly lap me, and still be zipping back and forth well after I had run out of steam. (website)

Share
By Fritz Haeg on March 13, 2010 | film
Tags: ,

On March 7th, 2010, MERYL STREEP BY CHRIS MARCH AT THE OSCARS…

Meryl Streep arriving at the 2010 Oscars dressed by Project Runway's Chris March

…looks just great – like a superhero’s mom from the future.

This is from an interview with QueerSighted:

She was a fan of mine during season four of Project Runway. She actually was a guest of mine at my finale show. Then recently, for the Golden Globes, she called and asked if I would make her a dress, and it went really well and she was on a bunch of best-dressed lists, so I guess she decided to go with me again. So that’s kinda how it started.

She’s so sweet, and helpful and unassuming. You’re there with the biggest star in the world that there is, and she’s just funny and nice and down-to-earth, easy to get along with. She’s very patient. As you can imagine, she’s been in thousands of costume fittings, so she’s very good at being fit. She’s really sweet.

This is really the first time I’ve ever made anything for the red carpet, and it just happened to be for Meryl Streep. Awards season is kind of new to me, so we’ll see. Maybe Meryl Streep needs more things throughout the year, and I’ll certainly be happy to work with her.

Share
By Fritz Haeg on March 7, 2010 | fashion, film
Tags: , , , , ,

On February 26th, 2010, “DAMELO TODO” (GIVE ME EVERYTHING)…

still from the shoot of Wu Tsang's "Damelo Todo" (Give Me Everything)

…is the title of an upcoming documentary directed by friend Wu Tsang, which is described as “…a hybrid documentary/narrative depicting Latina transgender women who build community with queer performance artists at downtown Los Angeles bar the Silver Platter.” We can’t wait to see it! (website)

Share
By Fritz Haeg on February 26, 2010 | film
Tags: , , , , , ,

On February 4th, 2010, CRUSH FANZINE…

Crush Fanzine issue #3: Acting French

…is a classy romantic publication by French New York photographer Nicolas Wagner (who shot the sexy images for the Animal Scores cards for the 2008 Whitney Biennial Animal Estates project) with a current issue called Acting French which is really exciting because we like French actors…a lot. (Crush Fanzine website)

Share
By Fritz Haeg on February 4, 2010 | publications
Tags: , , , , , ,

On January 29th, 2010, LOS ANGELES CHINATOWN…

Fake market in Los Angeles Chinatown encountered on the way to Via Cafe in the Central Plaza.

Fake market in Los Angeles Chinatown encountered on the way to Via Cafe in the Central Plaza.

…has what appears to be a crowded open market in the Central Plaza – which we are passing through on our way to Via Cafe for lunch today – but it soon becomes apparent that all the shoppers are just extras, and all of the “market” displays of apples, plants, and crafts are fake – an elaborate set for a film shoot.

Share
By Fritz Haeg on January 29, 2010 | cities
Tags: , ,

On January 25th, 2010, RUPERT FRIEND…

Rupert Friend as Prince Albert, asleep next to Emily Blunt as the Young Victoria.

…is a delicious Prince Albert in The Young Victoria – and he’s wearing a different great outfit in every scene.

Share
By Fritz Haeg on January 25, 2010 | film
Tags: , ,

On January 17th, 2010, YVONNE RAINER…

Annette Michelson in a still from "Journeys from Berlin" during a break from her brilliant endless monologue.

…was in conversation with artist Simon Leung tonight after a screening of her 1971 (1980) film “Journey’s from Berlin” – hosted by the L.A. Film Forum at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood – which I couldn’t miss, being such a big Yvonne Rainer fan – but it was the hilarious/dry/brilliant performance by Annette Michelson that really captivated me.

Share
By Fritz Haeg on January 17, 2010 | film
Tags: , , , ,

On January 2nd, 2010, LES CHANSONS D’AMOUR…

Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet and Louis Garrel in the bedroom window singing their way through the final scene of Les Chansons D'Amour.

…the 2007 musical French film by Christophe Honoré, made me so happy with its singing cast including three of my favorite young French actors, Ludivine Sagnier, Chiara Mastroianni, and, yes, especially Louis Garrel, whose songs from the soundtrack I have been listening to all day. (link)

Share
By Fritz Haeg on January 2, 2010 | film
Tags: , , , , , , , ,