Life out of balance

Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Koyaanisqatsi, est le premier film realisé par Godfrey Reggio, et ce film certainement cimente son héritage dans le monde du film. Ce film répresente le terre, essentiellement, USA, en toute sa gloire, sans ignorer aussi le contraire; le pauvreté abjét. En démontrant la nature magnificent, dans les scènes premières, on peut comparer comment on voit la beauté de notre monde avec l'absence des humaines. Or, avec la présence des humaines, est-qu'il y a la même beauté, ou peut-être, est-qu'il y a plus?



Ce film ne cherche pas un sens ou un signification. Au début, la réalisateur a voulu n'avoir rien comme titre. Il est ainsi approprié que il a choisi Koyaanisqatsi. Le spectateur n'est pas donné un façon dans laquelle il doit regarder le film. Il se peut qu'il soit un sérénade à la technologie et la modernité, ou un hymne pour la vitesse des cités et leurs régenerations? La seule clé est que la mot derive d'un langue Hopi, parlé par les indigènes qui habitent en Arizona, un langue ancien. Reggio présente l'idée que les états unis ont un histoire, mais ils avaient préféré de créer un nouveau monde, et utiliser les résources naturels sams cesse. Conséquemment marquent le terre, dans n'importe quel façon ils choisissent. Les images sur l'écran montrent comment la terre est exploité, apparemment très aggressif. Les machines déchirent le sol et la violence est illustrée à travers les explosions nombreuses.

Cela semble très moche, en outre, je crois que c'est la composition qui le fait si belle. Le rythme du film est dicté par la vitesse des scènes. Avec 'time-lapse', les nuages coulent gracieusement sus les montagnes forts et les ombres sous les nuages rougissent l'image. À mon avis, c'est le long duré des quelques scènes qui donne l'impression que les scènes accélerés sont en réalité plus lentes. Il est une illusion intéressante. C'est la prolongement des coleurs et les lumières des voitures, ou des fenêtres, qui augment cette abstraction. Toutefois les aspects visuelles define beaucoup de le rythme, il est aussi la musique. Le compositeur, Philip Glass, a une maîtrise de la marcottage des morceaux dont chacun s'entrelace. Pour chaque chapitre, la melodie commence avec une note dramatique, et des cuivres grognait comme un tremblement de terre.

Ce qui est le meilleure élément, c'est la mode, et la couleur du film qui est synonyme avec les années soixante dix. Les scènes avec les gens sont faits plus fascinant pour moi parce qu'ils évoquent un sens de nostalgie que je peut sentir, même si je n'avait pas encore été née. Plus important, les scènes de Monument Valley provoquent les sentiments de la Sublime, une émotion très enracinée dans mon esprit et mon âme. Est qu'il est claire que les films western aient inspiré ce film, en plus, que les autres films dans la future soient inspiré par le talent artistique des réalisateurs. Enfin, ce film preuve comment on peut rendre quelque chose belle avec un plutôt petit somme d'argent.

*****

Wild West Americana juice (Paris, Texas 1984)

Paris, Texas (1984)

Immediately there is a juxtaposition in the title; Paris and Texas - two very distant, different places yet are joined by their inclusion in American terminology for describing places - like London, England. Before watching, I thought this film was certainly going to be surreal as this film is created by Wings of Desire director - Wim Wenders. Him being German allows him to look in on the American culture, and present it in a way that is not overbearingly laboured, or really patriotic. Paris, Texas makes me think of a dustbowl hamlet in the middle of the desert; the town planners thought they were being ironic.

And thus, The film beings with a panoramic view of the desert, and walking over dunes is a biblical figure donning a red baseball cap. It is his version of the Christian cross, instead for
the religion of the American man. The colour of the sandly yellow against the blue sky and red of the cap is sharpened due to Wender's ability with framing and creating effects with lighting. The simplicity of these primary colours creates the atmosphere continued throughout the film; a passive calming appraisal of a life in the American west.

Its a road movie as well. The trajectory is mostly straight - like his idea to find Paris, Texas although, his motives which are confused and unknown, create deviations off the freeway.  

Apparently Wender's was inspired by the Searchers - a Western in which the lone figure of John Wayne travels, without a clear plan to find his niece captured by Native Americans (it's a very good film)

However, this film is punctuated by relics of consumerism. They are almost as beautiful as the natural landscape now we have been brought up seeing them all the time. This is conveyed when our raggedy wanderer, when understanding his brother designs the billboards exclaims that they are 'real pretty'. Amusingly he believes he is the sole maker...

This idea of the one person that fits a purpose in life goes throughout the film. In a child's mind we have this idea of all the adults we meet. There is less ambiguety and this is how our man sees the world until he surfaces again into society. He wants to find out who 'the father' is? Does this relate to God, as he searches for his place of conception, or notion to the American stereotype of the familial roles? He gets amusing advice from the helper woman who states there are only two types of fathers - rich or poor and how ones outward appearance dictates which one you are.

Contrastingly, it is the child who creates the points of tension in the movie and is the one who is most mature. Our child, Hunter, ends up having two fathers and he can't explain this problem. He tackles it well though, as the kid is a sarky LA 80s kid whos sardonic language is funny - in LA the kids grow up quickly. We worry for the kid - if all this complication with his dad will affect him or when he drives away with his dad, if he will be safe. Through him we also see emblems of 80s america which now look pretty retro - like a Nasa bomber jacket, or a Star Wars bed quilt. (He's a pretty cool kid)

The simple purity of travelling is conveyed as our man wants to walk everywhere - people need to re-engage with their legs again. It's sad because its so peaceful and easy and correct (because that is what we evolved to be able to do). Especially when the car became an essential in the 80s,
it seems like no one walks for the sake of walking anymore.

Similar to Wings of Desire, the screenplay is very thoughtful, though more naturalistic which is interesting. It makes it seem more like an Art film where the viewer is just witnessing someones life, filmed neutrally. The film beings with a sparse commentary as our wanderer doesn't talk, however at the end he ends up reciting a beautiful recount of his life and how he ended up like he was at the beginning. The cycle of the story is envisaged so nicely. Just as nice as the mother 'Jane' is with her 80s cropped blond hair and pink fluffy jumper. Despite being a prostitute, she is quite demure and incongruous As Wenders doesn't portray these woman as obvious 'scums of the earth' kind of characters, it is quite refreshing.

This film for me was really compelling and the tranquility of the bluesy soundtrack lulled you into a state of awe and passiveness as you journey in the brilliant sun of Texas, through dusty outposts that could be the last point of civilisation before the vastity of the Mojave desert. Then going deep into Huston, a futuristic city which when drenched in orange dawn light, makes you think your on Mars (in the future when we can go and live there curtesy of NASA). The director makes you quizzical to what direction you will take your own life through the use of multiple shots of roads, dissapearing into the horizon, or raised highways, criss-crossing over the characters' heads.

****

the 30 sec epic of Wyatt Earp

I watched this film because there was nothing else to watch... 

Watching Tombstone for me was like spot the actor I've seen before. 

So for a bit of actor trivia, there is: Kurt Russel from Stargate (1995), Bill Paxton from Thunderbirds (2004 - you've gotta love that movie), Thomas Hayden Church (the sandman from spiderman) and others... 

TOMBSTONE (1993)
This is not one of your 'classic western' as it was made a lot after the genre's heyday in the 1930s-40s, however it is a good introduction for the modern generation to the genre. The updated tale of Wyatt Earp and his stand-off against the Clayton gang at the O.K Coral continues the legend about the famous sheriff. Courage and Justice prevail once again. The setting of 'the railroad cattle town' is authentic as ever yet the story has more Hollywood-esque sequences than desired. Riding parallel to the sunset is one example, and the ending: Wyatt Earp's crack law & order crew ride into the night gunning down the outlaws (who banded together under a red sash and named themselves 'the cowboys'). 


One of the reasons why I watched the film was because it features Val Kilmer (Top Gun) as the steadfast but at times reckless sidekick Doc Holliday. Kilmer portrays the ex doctor turned gambler as extrovertly witty with an unfaltering swagger and disregard for health or life, contrasting to points where he becomes weak, haggard and insecure. This successful character development highlights how good an actor he is; he really makes the film.

Special bit of the film from 2:25 onwards.  See... Doc Holliday is just cool.

Personally I would say watch the progression of the story from My Darling Clementine - Gun Fight at O.K Coral - then finish up at Tombstone to understand context in which it was made and appreciate the film as a remake. 
Then you can make up your mind to which film is better.
Its another *** from your faithful reviewer Gigi