lonesome dove (simon wincer, 1989)

hmmmmm, what can possibly be said about lonesome dove?  i read the novel earlier this year; i had tried a few years ago and just couldn’t get into it, but i’m so glad i picked it up again because it turned out to be one of the greatest books i’d ever read.  the mini series did not disappont, either.  usually i dislike mini series because they ruin my vision of the imagery in the book (hi, the mists of avalon, i’m looking at you).  lonesome dove the film wasn’t exactly as i had pictured it when reading larry mcmurtry’s novel, but i was so glad they stayed so faithful to the book and the acting was so superb!  this movie has everyone in it:

tommy lee jones as woodrow call, robert duvall as augustus mccrae (my favorite character), diane lane as lorena wood, anjelica houston as clara allen, chris cooper as july johnson and danny glover as joshua deets among others.  with this star-studded cast it would be hard to go wrong.  tommy lee jones and robert duvall were so convincing as two former texas rangers who set out to conquer the last american frontier on a cattle drive that would test the very foundations of who they are as people.  they were really able to bring out the emotion that mcmurtry made me feel when reading the book and i think they captured the spirit of the characters perfectly.

yeay!

the funny thing is, i never considered myself a western fan before reading/seeing lonesome dove. however, i’ve always been interested in the allure and wide open space of that big sky country up in montana (it started with legends of the fall which interestingly enough was actually shot in alberta, not montana) and when i actually took a roadtrip up there in 2007, i was convinced it was one of the most beautiful drives i’ve ever been on. lonesome dove refueled my fascination with montana and really opened up my interest in the american west and the history–the gunslingers, the outlaws, the settlers, the cowboys, the indians, the drama, etc.

in actuality it was a rough life out there on the frontier, but through books and films like lonesome dove, i can’t help but get a nostalgic, sort of romantic vision when i imagine the world of gus and call and the epic cattle drive from the rio grande to the untamed wilderness of the north west. i really wish i could convince everyone to read this book/watch this movie. it’s so good and i cried, nay, sobbed through most of it. what an adventure and what great characters!

the fall (tarsem singh, 2006)

what can I say about this film except for “i watched it last night” and “it was really pretty”?  because both of those things are true!  i remember when this was playing at the indie theatre near campus, but I neglected to watch it–not sure if i would really be interested because I wasn’t sure what it was actually about…or who was in it…or who the hell tarsem singh was.  but then someone posted some screencaps of it at the livejournal community “film_stills” and i decided right then and there that i needed to see it.  i was not disappointed.

the fall turned out to be one of, if not the most visually stunning film i’ve ever seen.  shot on location in over 18 different countries from india to south africa, the cinematography was definitely the best part of the movie.  the story is quite simple: silent film stunt man roy (lee pace of pushing daisies) is paralyzed after a stunt with a horse goes bad on his latest film.  convalescing in a los angeles hospital before the start of world war I, roy is befriended by a 5 year old patient named alexandia (catinca untaru in her first film) who has been hospitalized for a broken arm.  in order to coax alexandria to steal morphine from the hospital supply room, he invents a story about 5 mythical heroes who seek revenge on the tyranical governor odeus.  though roy’s story is somewhat fragmented and thin, it doesn’t matter, because while his story is the input, what we the audience sees is the imagination of alexandira who transforms roy’s tale into a luscious, colorful and strange fantasy.  as the story progresses (along with roy’s depression), it gets much darker and alexandria is unable to separate real life from fantasy.  it is up to roy to pull them both out of darkness.  i was taken by how much lee pace fit the look of a 19-teens film star, and especially by the wonderfulness of catinca untaru’s performance.  what is with these european kids giving such stellar performances?  remember ivana baquero in pan’s labyrinth?

oh! did i mention that the reoccuring musical piece throughout the film is beethoven’s 7th?  because it is, and it’s beautiful.  the costumes were fabulous–designed by the lady who did the costumes for bram stoker’s dracula.  yes, it was a beautiful film.  go watch it now!

the wizard of oz (victor fleming, 1939)

there are two films that were definite staples of my childhood which i occasionally still pop into my dvd player from time to time. those two films are mary poppins and the wizard of oz–pure magic, both of them and when i was little i had an overactive imagination and fantasized that both films were in fact real life; that i could pop in and out of chalk pavement pictures, consort with cartoon characters, and open a door to a world where munchkins ruled.

last night, my awesome roommate tatiana excitedly informed me that she had received in the mail an out of print copy of jack haley’s memoirs: heart of the tin man. tatiana just happens to think jack haley was the cat’s pajamas. i agree, jack haley was pretty awesome, although my favorite oz character was always frank morgan as professor marvel, the cabby, the doorman, the wizard, and the guard. diversity, i like that in an actor. but my favorite of the three principal oz characters is ray bolger as the scarecrow. i’m not sure why, he just seemed the most ridiculous, i think.

anyway, so seeing jack haley’s book made me want to watch the wizard of oz. instead tatiana and i watched two of the special feature documentaries that are included on the wonderful 3 disk special edition dvd that came out about 4 years ago. the first one is my favorite–it’s narrated by angela lansbury and includes all kinds of behind the scenes footage and information. for example, did you know that oz had 5 directors? all the credit went to victor fleming (who happens to be one of my personal favorites as he directed many of my favorite clark gable films, including gone with the wind also in 1939 for which he won the best director academy award). but others that worked on the picture included george cukor (who had a couple weeks off before starting gone with the wind, and he was later replaced by victor fleming. coincidence? probably), and king vidor who finished the picture after fleming left to take over gone with the wind. phew! that was confusing!

victor fleming (right) with jack haley as the tin man

what was i saying? oh right, i love oz, in fact the part where dorothy gale opens the door of her farm house after the tornado and it goes from black and white to color–that’s one of my most favorite moments in all of movies. it’s fabulous and so is the rest of the film. when you’re a kid you don’t think of the sort of significance this film and a few others made at that time had for the people who went to see movies in 1939. it was the summer before wwII started, there was the depression and over half the population went to the theatre on a weekly basis. for them, think moreso than today, movies were pure escapism from the overwhelming problems they were facing and from what was looming on the horizon. but oz, as with gone with the wind and other films that are still popular, has stood the test of time because the themes of the film–finding your way back home, realizing what’s important to you, dreaming of that brighter place over the rainbow–those themes are universal and anyone, no matter where they’re from, can relate to those basic elements.

the wizard of oz will be popular for decades to come and i, for one, don’t think i’ll ever stop loving it.

au hasard balthazar (robert bresson, 1966)

hello, thank you for showing interest in watching me watch movies!  i guess i’ll start by talking about the most recent film i saw: robert bresson’s au hasard balthazar, a french film from 1966.  i had been very interested in seeing this film for the past few months because you see, i often like to look at the cover art of films in the criterion collection (and it just so happens that my favorite movie store, dvd planet, has the entire criterion collection on its shelves).  this one jumped out at me because i thought the cover was so sad yet beautiful.  see below:

it’s about a girl named marie (anne wiazemsky) and her pet donkey, balthazar.  are you crying yet?  i may or may not be.  the story is so simple and allegorical, and pretty religious without being in your face about it.  as time goes on, marie and balthazar are separated, but bresson parallels their lives as they both endure hardship and cruelty at the hands of those who wish only to take advantage of them. it sounds sad because it is sad, and bresson’s style is pretty unforgiving, but interesting.

it might be just me, but in a lot of ways i feel that older foreign films make me care a lot more about characters and situations than most hollywood produced films do.  don’t get me wrong, i love me some studio system flicks, but the emotion those great foreign directors (think vittorio desica, federico fellini, francois truffaut, etc) were able to bring out of people often plucked right off the street and put in these films seems of a whole other level.  it’s subtle and extremely effective.  the donkey was my favorite character in this movie and all he did was just be a donkey.

let’s just say the film was just as sad as i thought the cover made it out to be.  but it was wonderful and beautiful in some way too.  i cried.  but i’d recommend it to anyone who likes serious films.