Almanac Of Fall

There's something kind of strange about going through a filmmaker's work in reverse. It allows you to see the evolution of their style, what they thought worked and what failed. While not entirely intentional, this is basically what I've been doing with Bela Tarr, ever since I first saw Werckmeister Harmonies last year, which is now my favorite film (I only saw 2007's wonderful Man From London a few weeks ago, but that was because it wasn't released here until then). In fact, after watching his vastly underseen (even in the realm of Tarr, whose films are all vastly underseen) 1982 film Almanac of Fall this afternoon, I'm confident that I can now call him my favorite filmmaker. Period. Almanac is an interesting film, forming the bridge between his supposedly realist earlier films (remember, I haven't seen them), and the more difficult, allegorical films to come. It's also the only color feature I've seen from him, and his skill with the full color palate nearly reaches his abilities with black and white. The political allegory and Tarkovsky-esque camera work of his later films is here, but in a younger form, and his other influences, especially Bergman and Antonioni (and, maybe, to a much lesser extent Fellini) are more obvious in this film than in his subsequent works.
The entire film takes place in one large, dilapidated mansion. The outside world is barely shown, only intruding for two brief moments of violence. There are only five characters, and the entire film consists of their interactions. The house is owned by Hedi, a woman of about 60 and her 30 year old son Janos. There is also Hedi's nurse, Anna, who lives with her lover, Miklos. Miklos has recently invited his poor friend Tibor, a teacher to move in as well. The five of them spend the two-hour run-time manipulating and hurting each other, all of them trying to gain money and power over the others, all blaming the others for their problems. Hedi and Anna need each other, but they are always competing, and neither is comfortable with the other. Janos wants Anna, but is far too lazy to accomplish anything. Miklos is an angry man, abusing Anna and manipulating Hedi against the others. Tibor owes money to an undisclosed figure, who sends two men in to beat him. This is shown from the floor's point of view, as the entire sequence (of course done in one virtuoso shot) is shown happening on top of a glass pane. Eventually Tibur pawns Hedi's valuable gold bracelet, which further pulls everyone apart, and eventually breaks up the group, who demand a sacrificial lamb before they can return to their twisted normalcy.
It must be made clear that this is an unpleasant film. The characters cruelty and actions would seem at home in something by Von Trier, whose debut feature had been released the previous year. This has turned off many critics (many may be an overstatement given the film's obscurity, but that is unimportant), but it is necessary. The chamber-play setup as well as some of the character actions, especially the manipulative relationship between Hedi and Anna, shows Bergman's influence on Tarr. The expressive and always changing color palate was created entirely with artificial light and reminded me a bit of Fellini's Juliet of the Spirits, but this may be a stretch. The loneliness of the characters, as well as their isolation within the frame as the film uses more wide-shots in the second half, recall Antonioni. Some have seen the film as a critique of the family in general, and the isolation of the characters, especially during the requisite dance scene at the end (if you've seen another Tarr film, you know what I'm talking about) does support this, but there is more to it.
The main themes of the film (as well as the pervasive long-takes) are what I've come to expect from Tarr. The characters are all unable to accept responsibility for their actions. Tibur blames his financial woes on the situation around him, even though he was the one who borrowed from a shady character in the first place. Janos blames his lack of work on alcohol, not on his own inherent laziness. Miklos seems to blame his problems on Anna, but in reality, he's just not a good person. Anna sleeps with all three men, but says that society is at fault for any problems that it may cause. Through all of this, Tarr is saying that man is always responsible for his own actions, but, with the events at the end of the film, he is saying that human nature always calls for a scapegoat, even when the problems are everyone's fault. Given the strong political undertones of his later films, this could be interpreted as him (correctly) predicting that, while at the time people blamed communism for their problems, they would eventually blame capitalism, and the cycle would go on, with people only shifting the blame and not actually doing anything for themselves. There are a lot of long takes in this film, with each conversation usually being made up of only one or two shots, but Tarr does no rely on them as heavily as he would later. The camera work here is interesting in a different way, as Tarr and his cinematographers shoot from every angle and distance imaginable, as a way of saying that the actions of the characters, and therefore humanity, may not make any real, logical sense no matter how one looks at them. I would not put Almanac Of Fall on quite the same level as Werckmeister or Satantango, but I think I would rank it third among the master's films, which means that you really should see it as soon as possible.
Rating (out of ****): ****

Made in USA

Has any other director ever had a burst of creativity like Jean-Luc Godard in the sixties? Starting with Breathless, moving through Vivre Sa Vie, Bande a Part, Alphaville (his masterpiece in my opinion), Contempt, Masculin Feminin and ending with Week End (with eight or nine other films mixed in there for good measure), this burst of creativity forever changed cinema across the world. A film from that period which has always been lost in the shuffle is 1966's Made in USA. It was never released in America because Godard never paid for the rights to adapt the book it was based on, he just did it, and, due to the subsequent legal action, Made in USA never came to the USA. Thankfully, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts decided to include it in their ongoing series on Godard in the 60's and I was able to go. I hope this means the legal issues have been resolved and Criterion can get their hands on this, because this is a film that deserves a wider audience. It is just as deserving of high praise as any other film on that list.

Godard's muse/wife Anna Karina plays Paula Nelson, who travels to Atlantic City (which, for the sake of this film, is in France) to visit her lover Richard, only to discover that he has died under mysterious circumstances. She runs into an old associate of theirs named Typhus, who she quickly knocks out and dumps in his own room, which allows her to meet his nephew David, who is a very strange writer, and his Japanese fiance. As she investigates Richard's death, the police discover that someone has killed Typhus, and things begin to spin out of control. I'm going to stop the plot description here because it would be utterly pointless to go on. Like The Big Sleep, which was a heavy influence on this film, the plot becomes too much to actually explain. I know it is a political thriller has something to to with communism, but that's pretty irrelevant aside from the fact that, at this point, Godard sure loved his communism. They never really explain why most of the things that happen happen, so you're best off just going along for the ride.

Godard was famous for saying that all he needed to make a movie was "a girl and a gun." Karina is the perfect girl for him. Taking on a rather Bogart-esque role, she looks perfect in the requisite trench-coat and the wear and tear of starring in so many films in such a short period of time gives her the perfect look for someone in her line of work, whatever that may be. She also delivers the film's best line "we were in a political movie-Walt Disney with blood" with a perfect amount of irony and anger in her voice. As that line implies, this film is almost comically self-aware, although it stops before it hits pure comedy, which would just seem out of place in a Godard film. The other aspects you'd expect are also there. We get characters named after American pop-culture icons (two henchmen named Richard Nixon and Robert MacNamara), wonderfully jarring mid-scene edits and tons of guns and trench coats. Although, in some ways it is different from the traditional Godard-fare. It was only his third color feature, and the cinematography from Raoul Coutard, who worked on many of Goadard's films is just fantastic.

There is a fascinating paradox inherent to this work. Godard spends much of the film decrying the spread of western culture, calling advertising a form of fascism, but he is obsessed with that same culture. Would he exist without American gangsters? I'm not sure. It may not even matter, but it is something to think about. Hopefully you'll think about it while watching this film.

Rating (out of ****): ****

Best of 2008

OK, I wanted to wait until I'd seen The Class, and now that I have, here's my top 25 of 2008.

25. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army -The year's second best superhero film only further showcases Del Toro's brilliance when it comes to visuals, even if the story is somewhat absurd.

24. The Fall- Yes, this film is highly flawed, and most of the scenes in the hospital only take away from the story itself, but it also features some of the best visuals in any film of this or any year.

23. The Band's Visit- This is one of the two Israeli films on my list this year, and while it wasn't quite as powerful as the other (I think you know what it is), this simple, lighthearted story has a lot to say about the idea of peace and friendship in the middle east. This is a film that everyone should see, just to understand what it's like over there, because this is very realistic.

22. Religulous- Bill Maher's mockumentary on religion is not for everyone, and many will find his style abrasive, but this film is constantly hilarious and has an important message.

21. Pineapple Express- This is one of the funniest films the Appatow crew has put out, although it still wasn't able to live up to the trailer (http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6f25e84ca3/pineapple-express-red-band-trailer-from-judd-apatow-james-franco-and-seth-rogen), which is one of the funniest I've ever seen. Franco was fantastic, and he earned that golden globe nomination. David Gordon Green's visual talents may be somewhat underused, but this is still by far the best looking Appatow film.

20. Gran Torino- Sure, the supporting actors were a joke, and the story wasn't exactly unique, but two hours of Clint Eastwood making racist jokes is far more entertaining than it had any right to be.

19. Revolutionary Road- Great performances highlight Sam Mendes' look at suburban disillusionment. Winslet's best actress nomination should have come from here, and Michael Shannon's best supporting actor nod is much appreciated. The only issue is that the whole thing winds up feeling a bit too cold and intellectual at certain points.

18. Wendy and Lucy- Kelly Reichart's heartbreaking minimalist commentary on the American economy gets by on Michelle Williams fantastic performance, which may have been this year's strongest from a leading actress.

17. Burn After Reading- A decent Coen Brothers film is still better than most other things. While it lacks the depth of No Country, and the pure entertainment value of Big Lebowski, it is a fun film filled with fantastic performances from the A-list cast.

16. Man On Wire- One of this year's best documentaries is a fascinating heist tale and a beautiful remembrance of the world trade center. This is the best reviewed film of all time according to Rottentomatoes.com

15. In Bruges- The "hitmen having an existential crisis" genre has been done to death since Pulp Fiction. This is the first time that it's been done well. Great performances, great direction and a wonderful screenplay elevated this thriller far beyond the normal constraints of the sub-genre

14. Wall-E- This incredibly adorable film is one of the best Pixar has ever done. The second half is a bit of a drop off, but the first half is as good as anything else this year.

13. Vicky Christina Barcelona- This incredibly sexy and entertaining film is Allen's best in years. Bardem continues his winning streak, Cruz and Hall are perfect and Scarlett Johanson...looks really good. Allen perfectly captures the feelings of Spain.

12. Milk- This timely film is loaded with great performances, especially from Penn, Franco and Hirsch. Although it sticks to many conventions of the traditional bio-pic, it works perfectly inside these conventions, giving us a heartbreaking true story.

11. Trouble The Water- This underseen nominee for best documentary tells a stirring tale of survival after Katrina. Using large amounts of footage shot on the ground by aspiring rapper Kimberly Rivers-Roberts and her husband Scott, this is a tale of redemption and a commentary on the lack of anything resembling support that the Bush administration gave to the poor people of New Orleans.

10. Snow Angels- David Gordon Green's depressing story of small-town life boasts great performances from Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale. It is visually brilliant, heartbreaking, and as powerful as any other film this year.

9 . Encounters At The End of The World- Werner Herzog is my hero. Him bringing his act down to Antarctica and combining it with stunning nature photography leads to one of the year's best documentaries

8. Let The Right One In- This coming of age vampire story is, by a rather large margin, the strongest horror film in years. There are a couple missteps (the CGI cats just look stupid), but great performances and fantstic visuals, as well as a generally creepy story that doesn't rely on gore or cheap jump scares elevate it far bayond the normal constraints of the genre.

7. The Class- Now, I haven't seen L'enfant, but based on what I have seen, this is probably the strongest winner of the Palm d'or since at The Pianist back in 2002. Leaving behind the constrains of the traditional heartwarming film about teachers in the inner city, this is a realistic look at life in a poor Parisian school. The students hate the teachers, the teachers can't deal with the students and the parents are stuck in between. Shot with hand-held style footage and featuring great performances from writer François Bégaudeau and most of the kids in the class, this really is one of the year's strongest efforts.

6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- David Fincher's fantasy is the strongest of the best picture nominees and his best film since Se7en. Yes, there are similarities to Forrest Gump, but this film has better performances, fantastic visuals far more interesting themes of life and death and is less sappy and overly sentimental.

5. Rachel Getting Married- Jonathon Demme's best film in years fully immerses us in the lives of it's characters, especially Kym, played to perfection by Anne Hathaway. Some have criticized it as being too slow. I don't really like those people.

4. Waltz with Bashir- Ari Folman's animated documentary was the best foreign film, animated film and documentary of 2008. This movie looks great, has a fascinating score and does a great job exploring the themes of war and memory. It's still in theaters, so see it.

3. The Dark Knight- This is the best superhero film of all time. I don't think it's even close (hell, I'd probably call Hellboy 2 the second best superhero film, so here's a good look at the gap). Nolan's slick visuals, a smarter-than-average script and the best supporting performance of the year from the late, great Heath Ledger are what really pulled this up onto that level and made it a modern masterpiece that will be discussed for years to come.

2. The Wrestler- Aronofsky's best film yet is also his most personal. Mickey Rourke is on screen for almost every second, and he has the perfect combination of ability and charisma to pull it off in one of the year's best performances. Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood also shine in supporting roles, but Rourke is the star here. Also, Springsteen's title track was absurdly snubbed in favor of two songs from that piece of shit Slumdog Millionaire. Really?

1. Synecdoche, New York- the year's best film has it's best script, leading performance and supporting actress (Samantha Morton). Unfortunately, the academy didn't quite get it. Just go back and read my original review. My opinion hasn't changed.