Film Diary: Lásky jedné plavovlásky, 1965, directed by Milos Forman

I’ve always known about Milos Forman from his more Hollywood fare, but had never seen any of his earlier Czech work. I really loved this film for its beautiful shots, wonderful simplicity, and resilient humanity. His protagonist Andula was played by his former sister-in-law Hana Brejchová in her first film and he captures her unconventional beauty in such artful ways.

The camera loves her, but he also lets his eye linger on even the least consequential of characters. I particularly liked this small moment…

There are so many great compositions…

It’s not an epic movie, but it captures a small-town girl’s story with situations that are sadly comical and ultimately timeless.

photos by Yvonne

Film Diary: Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo?, 1966, directed by William Klein.

This DVD was another random library pick we added to our pile of movies to watch, but after seeing a Louis Malle film that William Klein worked on (Zazie dans le métro) which was so visually interesting, we pushed it up in our queue. Turns out he was a famous photographer for Vogue and for his directorial debut, things start off like a somewhat surreal fashion documentary…

The movie seems to be referred to as a spoof on the fashion industry, but its scope is broader than that. While it satirizes fashion, politics, reality television, and pop culture, it also questions what makes art, identity, and self. It doesn’t quite rise to the level of masterpiece as there is a rather silly side plot which detracts a bit. Overall though, it’s beautiful to look at with an amusing absurdist sensibility.

The titular character of Polly Maggoo is played by model Dorothy McGowan in her only film role. It would have been interesting to see what else she could have done as an actress as she’s very charismatic and perfect in this role. She reminds me of a cross between Sarah Ferguson and Diane Keaton and you can see why she was one of Klein’s favorite models. It’s funny that as in the film, she was discovered in a mob of Beatles fans.

There are also some great animated sequences that will bring to mind Terry Gilliam’s Monty Python work and the closing credits are presented as an awesome continuous illustrated landscape.

photos by Yvonne

Film Diary: Miss Julie, 1951, directed by Alf Sjöberg.

We picked up this DVD from the library just because it was on Criterion. Little did we know that Sjöberg is considered Sweden’s 2nd best director and this film certainly supports the case. He expands the original August Strindberg play that was set in a manor house kitchen into a cinematic masterwork. I imagine the play must be extremely intense and claustrophobic considering the story, but the film is able to bring a stark beauty to the class/gender/power struggles. That’s not to say there aren’t things that are troublesome as far as how Strindberg writes women and Sjöberg portrays them, but that doesn’t detract from the feeling that you’re watching something unusual and significant.

On a design note, I really liked the hand-drawn opening credits over the mysterious woman peeking out from behind a curtain. It was an auspicious beginning.

I was recently in Roanoke, Virginia for a family reunion and had the pleasure of going to their small but excellent new art museum, the Taubman Museum of Art. Designed by architect Randall Stout, it focuses on mostly one-room galleries of American art. There were several great exhibits, but I really liked the one of drawings and handmade cardboard objects called “Kiel Johnson: One Thing Leads to Another.”

The 2003 album Supper by (Smog) ranks as one of my favorites by one of my favorite bands. This is definitely the album of theirs that took me the longest to get into and yet is the one I go back to the most. “Feather by Feather” leading into “Butterflies Drowned in Wine” is one of the best song combinations in the indie rock canon, if that’s a thing. Butterflies, butterflies, butterflies, butterflies!

Fans of Adrian Tomine can get a set of really lovely signed & numbered limited edition prints, a personalized sketch, and help Japan all at once! Tomine and Drawn & Quarterly are offering two prints of his art from Criterion’s Yasujirō Ozu DVD covers and a small original sketch personalized to the name of the purchaser with all proceeds going to the Japan Society’s Earthquake Relief Fund. Three great pieces of art for a great cause. Get all of the details on Drawn & Quarterly’s fundraiser website: http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/japan/

Film Diary: Port of Shadows (Le Quai des Brumes), 1938, directed by Marcel Carné.

We loved Carné’s Children of Paradise so we picked up Port of Shadows when we saw it at the library. Even though the movie starts off with lots of atmosphere and the fantastic actor Jean Gabin, its true greatness kind of creeps up on you.  By the end, we felt like it was one of the best movies we’d ever seen! The shots, the music, the acting, the writing–it’s all top form.

Michèle Morgan is striking (and when you first see her, she’s wearing an eye-catching plastic raincoat–it turns out the costumes were designed by Coco Chanel, adding an additional layer of visual appeal) and Michel Simon is ingratiating and sinister all at once. It’s a rather bleak film, but done in such a poetic style that you can revel in its beauty as it’s breaking your heart. All the elements combine together to present a heightened reality that really works with the improbable story filled with universal themes.

Glenn Gould, Bach: Preludes, Fughettas, and Fugues (recorded 1979-80)

In a strange way this photo tells you more about Glenn Gould than almost anything. Worth buying for the photo alone, not to mention his always interesting interpretations of Bach.

image from wikipedia

Film Diary: After Life (1998), directed by Hirokazu Koreeda.

A week in the life of dead people. The most pragmatic movie about death I’ve ever seen, it is at times a mystery, a documentary, a movie about introspection and the meaning of life and memory with surreal Gondry-esque moments. It should be cheesy but it’s not.

*not currently available through Netflix, but the Portland Library has it so check your local library

Calder Quartet with Andrew WK (from Facebook)

We saw Calder Quartet play two really great pieces of music this weekend at the Portland Central Library at a free event put on by Friends of Chamber Music (and hey, we’re all friends of chamber music, aren’t we?). They are playing two shows this week at PSU, the second of which I’m recommending as they are playing a piece by one of my favorite composers, Leoš Janáček.

Leoš Janáček with his wife in 1881 (from Wikipedia)

They are also doing one of the pieces they performed at the Library, Fred Frith‘s Lelekovice (1991), that was compelling, kinetic and definitely worth experiencing in-person.

Tickets & information here: http://www.focm.org/cla4_10.htm

Calder Quartet
Mon & Tue, March 14 & 15, 7:30 pm
Lincoln Performance Hall, Portland State University

Monday program
Haydn | Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 33 No. 2 “The Joke”
Jacob ter Veldhuis | Quartet No. 3 “There must be some way out of here”
Schubert | Quartet in G Major , D. 887

Tuesday program
Janáček | Quartet No. 2 “Intimate Letters”
Fred Frith | Lelekovice, Op. 20
Beethoven | Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 “Serioso”