I had heard reports in mid-December that she was dying, but she hung on until mid January. Ironically, her death was preceded by just a few days with the death of Johnny Otis (he of ”Willie and the Hand Jive” fame) , a blues and rock pioneer who was inextricably linked to James as well as other greats. In fact Otis discovered Etta James (as well as Big Mama Thornton). [more]

WTV has brought the story to Greenland, to Vinland, to the engagement with the indigenous peoples: The Skraelings. WTV decides The Skraelings deserve a closer look. Back to before 30,000 BC. In the beginning was….Elder Brother and Younger Brother. Of his origin, Elder Brother knew nothing. The ice had always been there, and he had always been on the ice. A time before consciousness he could not remember. There was only Self and Other. Other was Younger Brother who had come up through a seal hole in the ice. Maybe that was how he had come into existence? [more]

I keep getting surprised like this: movie genres I generally shy away from sometimes turn out to be enjoyable viewings. A case in point is A Christmas Tale (Un Conte de Noël). You know – the family gathering around the holidays, sometimes Thanksgiving, sometimes Christmas. It’s not the rather complicated dynamics of this family that kept me interested however. As always, it was the acting that  engaged me. I’m an ‘actor’ guy. If the acting is at a high  level, then I’m likely to be drawn in. And the acting here is very good indeed, starting with the great Catherine Deneuve. In this ‘tale’ of a holiday reunion, Deneuve is the matriarch of the Vuillard family, and the holiday is given more import because of the cancer diagnosis of Junon (Deneuve). It’s wonderful how the French value their aging actresses, unlike mainstream American films which seem to discard women at the first sign of a wrinkle. The industry has its exceptions of course. Deneuve has the ability to project a vibrancy wrapped in a world weariness that is remarkable.

Her eldest child Elizabeth (Anne Consigny) plays the resentful daughter who had lost a child to a genetic disease. Elizabeth is the ‘artist’ of the family, with a high-strung personality to match. The eldest son (Elizabeth’s brother) Henri (Mathieu Amalric) has buried his essential good nature in his anger: anger toward his failure, anger toward Elizabeth who has ‘banished’ him from all family gatherings. What is his failure? He had been conceived in hopes that he would be able to donate bone marrow to Elizabeth’s son – but he dies before he was of age. If this defies credibility, I’m with you there, but who is to say…

The irony is that Henri is the best hope for the survival of their mother, since his bone marrow might just save her! Well, if the story arc is a bit of a reach, never underestimate the complications that families can get themselves all twisted up about.

Junon’s husband Abel is played by Jean-Paul Roussillon. Fleshing out the cast are Chiara Mastroianni (Sylvia, Ivan’s wife), the youngest son Ivan (Melvil Poupaud). Elizabeth has a bit of an unfinished relationship with Simon, Ivan’s good friend and cousin (Laurent Capelluto). My favorite perhaps, was the minor role of Henri’s girlfriend Faunia (Emmanuelle Devos) who played the role of an audience to this madness, much as the filmgoer might: the bemused, outside observer.

Just a terrific, professional ensemble cast that was a joy to watch go through their paces.

The chorus was all boys and our costumes were white altar boy-like robes. We had to wear rouge and lipstick, which we boys were kind of embarrassed about. But the pay was good (what pay is not good to 10-year olds?) and Renata encouraged us by saying that if we worked hard and, she’d pay us double wages.

That was part of the chorus actually, which I still remember to this day. I didn’t realize I rehearsed so hard that it was ingrained into me. Doppia soldo became our mantra, and we got it too. That might have been my first pay day. The beginning and the end of my opera career.

As the resident musician, he sings Happy Birthday to the “in mates” (as he calls them – there is a medium security prison across the way) for those who are celebrating.

There you have it. I’ve got some clean-up to do and will be back in sync over the weekend.

Then on to the “task” at hand. The Cannonball Adderley Quintet At The Lighthouse, 1960. [more]

The unifying object is a cruise ship that stops at various Mediterranean ports. Your guess is as good as mine – but better, as to what it all means. My theory is that this was not made for English-only speaking countries. The attempt to communicate with the viewer is desultory and half-hearted. Jean-Luc, do I deserve this? I was so intent on paying attention to the intertitles that I didn’t even note that Patti Smith was in the film (as a singer).

Godard could seemingly care less if we (the English-speaking audience) gets it or not. It’s not his concern. imagine your favorite musician in concert, performing the entire gig with his back to the audience. That’s what this felt like to me and I didn’t appreciate it one little bit. Ugh!

Juliette Binoche won the Best Actress award at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival for her performance here, and it’s not hard to understand why. Binoche is funny, playful, angry, pouting, and radiantly beautiful.  There are scenes of intimacy that feel as if it’s just you and Binoche, as when she looks in a mirror – the camera actually – and applies her lipstick, trys on a few pair of earrings.

Binoche plays a French ex-pat living in Tuscany above her antiques shop with her young son. She attends a lecture from an English author who has written on the nature of authenticity in art, a subject that interests her. He argues that what’s the difference between the original and the copy if they both give equal pleasure. Art itself is a copy of what is seen in nature.They take a ride, talking all the while and end up in a small Tuscan village and sit in a little cafe. While he is outside the elderly cafe owner engages her in conversation. She assumes they are married (she heard them arguing just like a long married couple). How many years have you two been married? She asks. Without missing a beat, Binoche’s character takes up the role of a bickering married couple. When the author, James, comes back in he picks up on what has happened and plays along. For the balance of the film the two argue, bicker, discuss art, wine, children, marriage, happiness (the whole point of life, according to James), loneliness and communication. They are not an authentic married couple, just a certified copy of one, but they function just like a real one nonetheless.

This was all initially disconcerting (had I missed something?), but that just did not matter. Were they real or playacting? Well, this is a movie and they are playacting of course. This is a wonderful film and I took to it immediately. This is a European film through and through and all that implies. It’s people talking about life on a level that I’d like to think is not so out of the ordinary – but I’m probably kidding myself.

Fair warning: this is not an action flick! Talk, talk, talk. Loved it!

Genji is now all of seventeen, when he goes to visit his old nurse, now a nun who practically raised him. Her son Koremitsu, is Genji’s foster brother. Genji is interested in who is living next door, and exchanges notes with whoever it is. He’s frustrated by his failure to move forward on his increasing interest in Utsusemi, and so is pulled in several directions to satisfy his desires. [more]