henrycovert67
http://www.flixster.com/user/henrycovert67
| Name | Henry Covert |
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| Gender | Male |
| I'm From | 2046 |
| Member For | 456 days |
| Last Login | Fri. Jul 25 |
| Profile Views | 1054 |
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| Movie: | Sweet Movie,Natural Born Killers,Dawn of the Dead,Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,Superfly,Holy Mountain,X-Men,Django,Tristana,Orpheus,Oldboy,Possession,2046,Great Silence,Scorpio Rising,Last Tango in Paris, The Housekeeper,Cook The Thief His Wife & Her Lover,Night of the Living Dead,The Idiot,The Killer,Wild Bunch,Hulk,Cutter's Way,Bad Timing,Judex,Blue Collar,El Topo,Cannibal Apocalypse,Querelle,My Life to Live,Drugstore Cowboy,Spider-Man,Aguirre,Texas Chainsaw Massacre,Ganja & Hess.... |
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| Actor: | Chow Yun Fat,Fred Williamson,Franco Nero,Pam Grier,Isabelle Adjani,Emilie Dequenne,Maggie Cheung,Catherine Deneuve,Christopher Walken,Willem Dafoe,Ken Foree,Choi Min-sik,John Hurt,Tony Leung,Meiko Kaji,Vonetta McGee,Klaus Kinski,Fabio Testi,Tomas Milian,Keith Carradine,Florinda Bolkan,Tatsuya Nakadai,Helen Mirren,Kyle MacLachlan,Hugh Jackman,Marisa Mell,Duane Jones,William Holden,Charles Bronson,Woody Strode,Fernando Rey,Toshiro Mifune,Rosario Dawson,Carol Speed,Zhang Ziyi... |
| Director: | Dusan Makavejev,Kenneth Anger,Alejandro Jodorowsky,Pier Paolo Pasolini,David Lynch,Luis Bunuel,Rainer Werner Fassbinder,George Romero,David Cronenberg,Werner Herzog,Akira Kurosawa,Jean Cocteau,Jean-Luc Godard,Lucio Fulci,Mario Bava,Sergio Corbucci,Seijun Suzuki,Peter Greenaway,Abel Ferrara,Park Chan-wook,Antonio Margheriti,Brian DePalma,Nicolas Roeg,Takashi Miike,Roman Polanski,Ralph Bakshi,Hiroshi Teshigahara,Kevin Smith,Jack Hill,John Waters,Wong Kar-wai |
| Quote: |
"That is why I'm with you.. because you say, 'I' for me.", "This is my happening and it freaks me out!" "A window into reality... a breath of cold air from another world." "I could be dead and you wouldn't notice". "We were dead and didn't notice!" "Love is all a matter of timing. It's no good meeting the right person too soon or too late. If I'd lived in another time or place, my story might have had a very different ending." "Hurry, the dead travel fast" |
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Many of my favourite films aren't on Flixster yet. A few of these are: Hit Man (Armitage); Today We Kill... Tomorrow We Die!; Devil in Miss Jones; Texas Adios; Punk in London; One on Top of the Other; Towers Open Fire; Condition Red; That Man Bolt; The Pyjama Girl Case; Dirty Duck; Walking the Edge; Jardins des Supplice; Roseland (Hobbs); Thomasine and Bushrod; Bury Me An Angel; Slaughter; Slaughter's Big Rip-Off; Gambling City; Blood Sabbath; The World According to John Coltrane; The Grissom Gang; The Candy Tangerine Man; Ghosts at No. 9; In the Folds of the Flesh; Tomb of Dracula (anime); The Velvet Vampire; The Butterfly Ball; Rainbow Bridge; The Lickerish Quartet; Delirium (Polselli); several films by Eloy de la Iglesia, Jorge Grau, Kurt Kren, and Otto Muehl; and others I'm forgetting....
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1.
Sweet Movie
Unrated
Yugoslaslavian-born director Dusan Makavejev's Sweet Movie was the succes de scandal at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival (much like Cronenberg's Crash was in 1996). It provoked much outrage at Cannes, and at its US premiere in New York in October 1975, it was met with even more vociferous attacks. Even after four minutes were cut it was declared "a social disease" by Time magazine. Vincent Canby called it "elitist", grudgingly admitting it was a courageous body of work but over his head. Two scenes in particular proved troublesome for viewers and critics (and still do) - a protracted sequence featuring extreme performance artist Otto Muehl's troupe; and a scene where a lead character, Anna Planeta (Anna Prucnal), seduces a group of underaged boys. Makavejev intercuts two discontinuous narratives throughout Sweet Movie: one concerns an unnamed Canadian woman (Carol Laure) who wins a contest to find the virginal beauty possessing the world's most perfectly formed hymen. The contest is televised by the Crazy Daisy Show, whose host introduces the proceedings (and, appropriately, the film) as "a window into reality... a breath of cold air from another world". Miss Canada's prize for becoming 'Miss World 1984' is marriage to the world's wealthiest bachelor, Aristotlese Aplanalp AKA "Mr. Kapital" (John Vernon). After a traumatic honeymoon in which she's ritually swabbed head to toe with rubbing alcohol and then urinated on by the groom's gold-plated member before he deflowers her (though it's left unclear as to whether he actually does), Miss World is then passed on by Martha Aplanalpe, Kapital's mother (Jane Mallet), to musclebound genius Jeremiah (Roy Callendar). Jeremiah ships her off inside a suitcase to Paris, where she trysts with preening mariachi-singing superstar El Macho (Sami Frey), after a music video shoot at the Eiffel Tower. Complications arise from the coupling that require medical attention, however, and after El Macho is on his way, Miss World eventually makes her way to The Milky Way Commune (portrayed by a real-life radical therapy/ performance art group led by arch-provocateur Muehl; Marpessa Dawn and Anna Prucnal, in her second role in the film, also play Commune members), where the group's taboo-shattering brand of therapy seemingly hurls her into a complete fugue state. The film's second narrative strand involves Captain Anna Planeta (Prucnal, in the more prominent of her two roles), a revolutionary Communist prostitute who travels the world in a ship, the Survival - its bow bearing a stolid likeness of Karl Marx, and its hold filled with candy and corpses. She picks up a Russian sailor, Luv Bakunin (Pierre Clemeti) and his pet mouse. Luv has seemingly wandered through time on his bicycle from decades earlier - he is apparently the last survivor of Eisenstien's Battleship Potemkin. Luv and Anna begin a passionate affair, bound by their revolutionary fervor. But Anna's ship is full of secrets unknown to Bakunin. With the promise of sweets and sex, Anna soon lures four young boys to their deaths and later slays Luv in a vat of sugar. Intercut with the two stories is footage from a Nazi documentary depicting the examination of hundreds of Polish corpses. At the film's close, Makavejev brilliantly juxtaposes this footage with the fates of his two heroines, conveying a chilling vision of Communist revolution as it succumbs to the decay and perverse hope of late capitalism. Makavejev had directed WR: Mysteries of the Organism (1971), a part-fictional, part-documentary film linking the life and ideals of radical psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich with Makavejev's own take on the Communist Revolution, just before Sweet Movie. Sweet Movie is almost WR through a mirror darkly, taking Makavejev's communist/ capitalist dialectic to its terminus, using Reichian motifs (though not as explicitly as in the prior film) to illustrate his concerns. But Makavejev cloaks his deeper meanings and transgressive intent in surrealistic parody. Sweet Movie is a tour de force of lunacy, maintaining its outrageous frisson from start to finish, and provokes and entertains on multiple levels. Simply put, it may be disturbing at times, but it's never boring. The Otto Muehl sequence proved to be the most controversial aspect of the film. It contains the film's most graphic shots, and while no doubt a test for weaker stomachs, this portion of the film is the most extreme expression of Makavejev's Reichian ideals. Through body play, infantile regression, and demystification of all bodily fluids and functions, The Milky Way Commune purges itself of guilt and repression and, unlike our tortured heroines, finds redemptive power in the Body Politic. Muehl's antics in Sweet Movie pale before his real-life escapades, captured in an intense series of underground art films that, after many years, remain very difficult to see. Muehl's materialaktionen movement set the standard for extreme performance art, and his films are as artistically accomplished as they are deeply unsettling. His work was the perfect over-the-top actualization of Reichian tenets to attract Makavejev. Carol Laure's traumatic reaction to Muehl's commune was the culmination of her growing disgust with the film, and she dropped out of the movie before all of her scenes could be shot. Originally, hers was to be the sole lead character, and Miss World's ordeals were to transform her into a radical revolutionary. Laure's departure necessitated Makavejev creating the parallel Anna Planeta storyline. As it stands, the picture is all the stronger and more distinctive due to this unplanned dualism: if Anna Planeta is a twisted take on WR's "ideal" communist Milena, then Miss World embodies the excesses of late capitalism. Makavejev assembled a terrific cast for Sweet Movie: Prucnal (Fellini's City of Women); Frey (Godard's Band of Outsiders); Clementi (Bunuel's Belle de Jour); Dawn (Camus' Black Orpheus); Vernon (Boorman's Point Blank); and loveable Leonide the mouse, who Makavejev bills above Vernon! And lastly, from a film so critically reviled, Carol Laure, who truly gives it her all in Sweet Movie, went on to star in Bertrand Blier's Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1978. I would contend that Sweet Movie is among the most misunderstood films ever made, but need great art always be understood? Certainly not. There is, however, a method to Makavejev's madness, as surely as there's madness in his method. I would highly recommend Sweet Movie to anyone who wants to see a film that's truly unique and original - there simply is nothing else like it. And you can't say that about many films. But brace yourself - it's a breath of cold air from another world.
3.
Dawn of the Dead
R
Romero's epic of survival in a world overrun by the living dead could be the most ambitious - and successful - attempt at using the horror film genre as powerful and multi-leveled social critique. Our quartet of hapless protaganists sequester themselves in a massive shopping mall, all the consumerist needs of their past lives fulfilled, despite one of them slowly dying from zombie bites, and the two in a relationship (one pregnant) finding it impossible to get along in this manufactured world as much as in their previous lives. It falls to SWAT officer Peter Washington (an Oscar-level turn by Ken Foree, as if Oscars held much cred really), one of the great heroes of horror or action cinema, to keep his cool and keep thinking, even when faced with his friend's zombification, and the zombies ultimately breaching the mall due to a renegade army of looting bikers. Peter almost manages to deal with it all and get out alive with pregnant Fran (Gaylen Ross), but there's a final twist - but one that makes Peter's struggles worthwhile. If you have yet to see this, see it now!! Much imitated, never equalled, with brilliant performances, a tight (and highly quotable) script that shows Romero thought out every angle of his premise. And the interesting thing is, no one ever learns why the dead walk - it's just happening, and they have to deal with it. I could write on and on about the meanings and subtext at play here, but I leave that to the individual viewer. For the gorehounds (who no doubt have, uh, devoured this flick numerous times, but just in case), the intestine-ripping, gut-munching splatter is on hand in copious amounts. As with its premise and approach, this movie broke ground to become the benchmark for gore films from here on, largely due to Tom Savini's amazingly realistic makeup effects. Finally, if you've seen neither version, please, I beg you, eschew the remake of DOTD. Watch the real one first. I don't hate the remake, but it's for the most part imminently forgettable and misses much of the points Romero was making. So much for "re-imaginings". "When the dead walk, we must stop the killing... or lose the war".
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LemmyCautionposted 1 day ago -
I recommend you see...
The Dark Knight
by AmandaBatman has always been my favourite superhero ever since the first time I heard about him because he his human with no powers, also he is much more questionable than any other superhero. The story of the film is about Batman, Lieutenant James Gordon, and new district attorney Harvey Dent beginning to succeed in rounding up the criminals that plague Gotham City. They are unexpectedly challenged when a mysterious criminal mastermind known as the Joker appears in Gotham. Batman's struggle against the Joker becomes deeply personal, forcing him to "confront everything he believes" and to improve his technology (which introduces the recreation of the Batcycle, known as the Batpod and the Batsuit was redesigned) to stop the madman's campaign of destruction. During the course of the film, a love triangle develops between Bruce Wayne, Dent and Rachel Dawes.
There are now six Batman films and I must say that The Dark Knight is the best out of all of them. The title is good because that is what Batman actually is. It has been 3 years for the adventure to continue from Batman Begins but that entire wait was worth it. Gotham city is very Gothic looking and is very haunting and visionary. The whole movie is charged with pulse-pounding suspense, ingenious special effects and riveting performances from a first-rate cast especially from Heath Ledger who gave an Oscar nomination performance for best supporting-actor. It is a shame that he can't see his terrific work on-screen, he Joker was the best beaten up Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson ones, pit that Heath Ledger dies too soon. The cinematography is excellent which is made so dark & sinister that really did suit the mood for the film. Usually sequels don't turn out to be better than the original but The Dark Knight is one of those rare sequels that surpasses the original like The Godfather 2. I also really liked the poster where the building is on fire in a Bat symbol & Batman is standing in front of it. Christopher Nolan is a brilliant director and his film Memento is one of my most favourite films. He hasn't made 10 movies yet and 3 of them are already on the IMDb top 250. Overall The Dark Knight is the kind of movie that will make the audience cheer in the end instead of throwing fruit & vegetables on the screen.Hey, you should really see this!
posted 2 days ago -
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I recommend you see...
Mamma Mia!
by SarahDirector:Phyllida Lloyd
Released: 2008
Stars: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan,Colin Firth and Julie Walters
Genre: Musical/Comedy
Country: UK/USA
20 year old Sophie (Seyfried) is preparing to marry her boyfriend Sky (Cooper) at her mother's hotel on an island in Greece. She seemingly has it all; a carefree life, loving boyfriend and happy friends but one thing has been missing all her life; a father.
I have to admit that when we deciided to see Mama Mia!, my family and I, I wasn't sure what I would make of it at all. I know Abba songs like the back of my hand, never saw the musical but was sure I might dance a long at some stage. For sure I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Mama Mia has a certain charm to it that you can't ignore and I'm sure it will be one of the biggest hits of the summer.
The appeal of Mama Mia! is set in the songs and the brilliant cast. All the songs tell sophie's story well and you begin to like the characters a lot, but most likely Meryl Streep's character Donna. Donna is unaware of her daughter's actual father, any of the 3 leading men we see in the film; Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgård. All three do sing in the film and at times it can be quite funny. I'm sure not everyone wants to see the last James Bond actor sing his heart out to SOS or Stellen Skarsgard sing Take a Chance on Me, but really folks forget all that and just enjoy a fabulous film. I know Brosnan took a year of singing lessons and doesn't sound bad at all. Not so sure about the paring of Streep and Brosnan but that was only a minor flaw.
The set for Mama Mia, that being in the Greek Islands looks lovly on screen and some great shots of the actual island on helicopter which really gives you that "summer feeling" and actually made me forgets seriously analysing this film, if you see what I mean. Naturally the cheography is brilliant, most notably with Dancing Queen which, If I had the chance, I would have danced near my seat. Meryl streep can certianlydance around, as can Julie Walters both in their late 50's.
Now for the acting. To be honest I think the acting fitted well to the story. I felt most of the actors played a more laid back approach, as indeed this is not a serious film and shouldn't be taken as to be. JUlie Walters was brilliant to watch and lights up every scene she's in, including her hilarious rendition of "Take a Chance on Me." Colin Firth doesn't really do an awful lot but does sing, which wasn't that bad. Stellen Skarsgard, as most of the cast aren't that bad either.
The script is a plain and simple story but very funny and very well done indeed. I;, sure a lot of it was sidreted at die hard Abba fans but I certainly enjoyed it a lot. What's great is that the film is very funny and can divert your attention away from any pretenious bits that might annoy you, as not everything is going to break into song.
I can't recomend this enough. If there's one film that you should see it's Mama Mia! Can't tell you how much fun I had watching this.
Highly recomended
8/10Worth the watch as it's very funny to watch...
<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FKx_14vJNZg&hl=en&fs=1"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/></object>posted 6 days ago -
I recommend you see...
The Savages
by DanielThe Savages is a near-perfectly made, flawlessly acted gem. Suddenly forced into 'real life' at 42 and 39 years of age, siblings Jon and Wendy have to care for their estranged father, who has developed dementia. A simple, character-driven story dealing with a messy subject in a subtle, intelligent and cathartic way that pulls none of its punches and never wallows in sentimentality. Refreshingly told with beautiful camera work and filled with truthful observations, melancholy, black humor and poignancy, this is just a wonderful film. It's essentially a two-hander (though unusually we do also see things from the father's perspective sometimes), with Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman never putting a foot wrong. The Savages reminded me very much of Alexander Payne's About Schmidt and Sideways (and Payne is one of the Exec Producers) - not just in terms of style but in substance too. Definitely worthy of your time.
Semi-interested? Then you must see this.
posted 7 days ago -
I recommend you see...![[Rec]](http://content6.flixster.com/movie/10/52/28/10522876_tmb.jpg)
[Rec]
by CreepNow this was one scary and frightful movie. Very believable and nerve-wracking. Nail-biting and suspenseful. An eerie movie that will have you jumping out of your seat. This movie defines horror. One of the best horror films of 2007.
I highly recommend this movie to any true horror fan out there!!
You definitely should see this movie! Scary stuff!
posted 7 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Them (Ils)
by CreepThis movie was not the least bit scary to me. The Strangers was way scarier. I don't care that "Them" is based on a "supposedly" true story. I looked everywhere for it and there's nothing that comes even close to what these directors described. I understand that most horror movies "based" on a true incident are far fetched to begin with, but this being based on a "true case" could've been the only thing to save this movie, and make it even remotely scary. "The Strangers" comes closer to a true incident than this does. The "Keddie Cabin Murders(www.cabin28.com)", although not thoroughly explained in The Strangers story wise, is a completely and utterly frightening tale. At the end of "Them" it explains that one of the "actual" killers did this evil deed simply because, and they quote "They wouldn't play with us". Scary right? One good thing this movie had going for it. Well I thought so too only if that were true. I later found out that the whole ending was fabricated by the directors. Again, not saying that this "true story" label being a lie is what makes this movie so bad. It's just that only if it were really "true" would I look at this bore fest in a different light, but on the contrary it's still a sloppy mess on the surface. No real thrills, no nail-biting suspense, not even a good build up. Yes it's true, the acting was good and there's some pretty decent atmosphere, but story wise this blows. As a director it's your job to tell a story through particular shot choices and keep the movie at a certain pace. No matter how many good actors or directors of photography you have, it's up to the director to be able to carry all of this material well. This movie had a lot of prime key elements, and it could've been something really good, but it was just executed very poorly. Nothing here was even convincing enough to send real chills, and to be "truly" scary it must be very believable(I partly blame the lame "sewer ending" for destroying that part). Anyways stick to The Strangers. A much better movie in every way possible.
Read my review. I really DID NOT like this movie at all...
posted 7 days ago -
I recommend you see...
The Blob (1988)
by CreepGory and action packed remake! A very fun 80's horror/sci-fi film. Good (goofy)acting, well written, great cinematography, faced paced and filled with gooey slime and tons of bloody outrageous moments. This remake destroys the original. The effects here are very well done too, given that this was made in the 80's, and it never gets too cheesy like most horror films of it's time. The best part I have to say, is when the guy gets sucked down the drain alive, literally his whole body down one little drain. Fu**ing classic!
This movie isn't scary, so don't expect any real chills here. It's just a fun, exciting and gory horror film that's not meant to be taken too seriously. I mean come on, how can you take a movie about a killer jello-like substance running amok serious in the first place? You shouldn't. But it's still damn fun as hell and entertaining to watch. I highly recommend this movie if you haven't seen it yet!
Great movie. If you haven't seen it yet(and you're a horror fan) then you definitely should!
posted 8 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Azumi
by CreepAzumi and Versus is why I'm so excited to see The Midnight Meat Train. This director, Ryuhei Kitamura, has a niche for creating some kick ass style in all his movies. Azumi is loaded with tons of cool, well choreographed action. Lots of interesting(and funny) characters. Plenty of drama, lots of humor, and much stylized violence with blood spraying all over the place. This movie is great. And the final battle scene, I must say, is unbelievably breathtaking. It literally sent chills down my spine. This girl kicked some major fu**ing ass!
Azumi was originally given an NC-17 rating, and although it is pretty violent, I believe the NC-17 rating was given for a rape scene that was later cut out. The blood here does flow, but it's not like it's in your face every 5 seconds. I also believe that The Midnight Meat Train is Ryuhei Kitamura's first American made movie. I just hope it's as good as some other pervious horror reviewers make it out to be. I hear The Midnight Meat Train is suppose to be insanely crazy and twisted. Can't wait to see it!
Anyways, I highly recommend Azumi! Get your hands on this movie as soon as you could.
Definitely see this movie!
posted 9 days ago -
Hi Nice One
Please read my profile for areas of MUTUAL PLEASURES
Young lady 34yrs,5ft9inches,love watching movies,Swimming , caring , genuine and honest.ALSO VERY SOCIABLE & UNINHIBITED when consensual
Happy to chat online
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Look forward to your reply and some great times
Every Blessing
Janeposted 9 days ago -
I recommend you see...Hey, you should really see this!
posted 12 days ago -
I recommend you see...Hey, you should really see this!
posted 17 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Bright Star
by SancarRomance & Desire
In The Portrait of a Lady, several critics disliked the opening credit sequence, or 'prologue', of contemporary teenage Australian girls discussing the thrill of their first kiss and their romantic aspirations for future relationships. (29) Their open and frank tone was considered to be at odds with Isabel's repressed desire, and the 20th century setting unsettled purist fans of the period film. (30) But this opening preface is in fact the key to Campion's interpretation of James' novel; it illuminates her own fascination with Isabel's journey from stubborn independence, to entrapment, through to self-awareness. The girls' voice-overs narrate instances of feminine desire: the ?exquisite? moment before a kiss as a head comes towards you, the excitement of another body in contact with your own, the ?mirror? that is to be found in a lifelong partner. Early in the film, Campion visualises Isabel's sexual desires in a fantasy sequence, (31) when Isabel imagines her three suitors lying in bed with her, kissing and caressing her face and body, or looking on with desire. Campion is explicit about Isabel's desire for this physical contact. Hence, the significance of her first 'real-life' kiss that we see ? as opposed to her fantasies ? when Osmond declares his love for her in the shadowy depths of the catacombs. Despite the marriage proposal of Lord Warburton and the persistence of her American suitor Caspar Goodwood, up to this point we have not witnessed a kiss between Isabel and these men. The combined effect of the fantasy sequence and the prologue's voicing of feminine desire is to invest Osmond's kiss with a life-changing force. Isabel's desire for Osmond's touch ? which remains present throughout even their most brutal confrontations ? is the catalyst for a startling reversal, in a woman who claimed she would ?probably never marry?. Whereas The Piano stages the liberation that comes from a woman's desires, The Portrait of a Lady reveals the dangers of that desire, the seduction that leads to entrapment in a loveless marriage. In this sense, it has been described as an ?anti-romance? and a reverse narrative of the erotic journey to fulfilment undertaken by Ada in The Piano. (32)
It is worth recalling Campion's sceptical and cautionary portrayal of romance in An Angel at my Table, when the romantic longings of Janet are stirred by the attentions of an American history professor, Bernard (William Brandt), holidaying in Ibiza. We witness Janet's discovery of her sexual desire and erotic self-expression, most openly when she swims naked before Bernard, shedding the shyness and self-consciousness we have come to associate with her. But no sooner has Janet glimpsed a new, more confident self through her first sexual relationship, when Bernard declares he is returning to America, dismissing their relationship as simply 'a holiday romance'. Janet is crushed, and the specifically female perils of sexual desire are demonstrated in her discovery that she is pregnant, followed by a traumatic miscarriage. The lesson learnt is that romance is risky, and that sex distracts Janet from her 'real' purpose, her writing. (33)
Campion's fascination with the darker side of romance is demonstrated by her declared passion for the Gothic literature of the Brontës. (34) Her films suggest she is acutely aware of the risks of romance, the dangers of desire, (35) for women in patriarchal society: while Ada is successful in achieving romantic union with Baines (Harvey Keitel) in The Piano, it comes at significant cost ? the loss of a finger and two attempts at rape by her jealous husband. Indeed, we can assume Ada has already discovered the 'costs' of romance in raising Flora (Anna Paquin) without Flora's father.
PJ (Harvey Keitel) and Ruth (Kate Winslet)
In Campion's two contemporary films, Sweetie and Holy Smoke, the seductive pitfalls of romance give way to the considerably unromantic negotiations of sex. In Sweetie, Kay and Louis's (Tom Lycos) courtship may initially appear 'romantic' in its abandonment of logic to the forces of fate and destiny, but the film spends little time on their romance, preferring instead to chart the slow disintegration of their relationship into frigid frustration, typified by Louis's suggestion over pizza that they make appointments to have sex (needless to say, this approach is unsuccessful). (36) In Holy Smoke, sex becomes a bargaining chip between Ruth and PJ. Perceiving the weakness at the heart of his machismo, Ruth seduces PJ in an attempt to reverse the power structure implicit in her position as a cult follower in need of 'de-programming'. Their first sexual encounter is successful in arousing PJ's emotions, thereby rendering him vulnerable, while leaving Ruth unsatisfied by PJ's perfunctory love-making. In contrast, their second sexual encounter, with PJ on his knees underneath Ruth's skirt, suggests a weakening in Ruth's resolve, as the camera focuses on her ecstatic pleasure. This lowering of her defences through sexual satisfaction allows PJ to convince Ruth that she has been cruel, but instead of Ruth falling in love with PJ, she becomes disgusted at her own manipulations of him and she flees the hut. Now PJ assumes the feminised, pathetic position of delirious lover. (37) Campion is merciless in her depiction of a lovesick PJ, stumbling across the desert in a red dress and lipstick, finally collapsing and hallucinating images of Ruth as an Indian goddess. 'Romance' never looked so ridiculous, nor have its power relations been so cruelly exposed.
The themes of madness, ambiguity and desire are central to Campion's films. Her work has generated an extensive body of critical discussion, which is all the more remarkable when one considers she has released only five feature films to date. Campion is a director who inspired critical comment and analysis even before she made her first feature. (38) At the time of writing, Campion's current project is an adaptation of Susanna Moore's novel In The Cut (1995), due for US release in January 2003. Starring Meg Ryan and produced by Nicole Kidman, the film's plot deals with ?murder, sadism and sex?. (39) As a story that continues Campion's uncompromising exploration of female erotic empowerment and masochistic desire, (40) In The Cut may well again inspire debate and controversy.
My thanks to Dr Jeanette Hoorn and Alan Hopgood for their constructive comments on an earlier version of this article.Hey, you should really see this!
posted 17 days ago -
I recommend you see...
In the Cut
by SancarAmbiguity
The essence of Jane Campion's films lies in ambiguity, in the opening up of narrative possibilities. Sue Gillett captures this perfectly when she notes that Campion's films are frequently concerned with what is unseen or unsaid. (25) This very openness of meaning lends power to the themes and issues (un)expressed, where the audience is left to interpret the information they are given ? or the lack of it. Campion is not interested in telling her audience what to think or how to respond. Indeed, the ambiguity in Campion's films is the catalyst for the critical debate her work inspires.
There is much about Sweetie's past that is unseen or unsaid. A key example of this ambiguity is the bathroom scene in Sweetie, where Kay pauses outside the bathroom door, left ajar, and sees Sweetie washing her father in the bath. As Sweetie 'accidentally' drops the soap, she playfully fishes around in the water near her father's groin, humming occasionally as she does so. Campion then cuts to a shot of Kay in bed, pulling up the sheets and blanket close to her chin, staring tensely at the ceiling. Throughout there is a subtle but ominous undertone on the soundtrack. The scene is less than 30 seconds, but its presentation is so haunting that it casts a shadow over the remainder of the narrative, especially in the subsequent scenes between Sweetie and her father, Gordon (Jon Darling). While this is the only scene of intimate physical contact between Sweetie and Gordon, the implication of an incestuous relationship is supported by Gordon's indulgence of Sweetie's unrealistic career ambitions and his fear of upsetting her.
Campion again employs ambiguity to suggest an incestuous relationship in The Portrait of a Lady. When Isabel first meets Gilbert Osmond (John Malkovich), his teenage daughter Pansy (Valentina Cervi) sits on his lap. Twice Campion shows a close-up of Osmond's hands stroking Pansy's, creating a sense of uneasiness in this display of intimacy. While no further evidence of an improper relationship between father and daughter is offered, these shots further arouse our suspicions about Osmond (after we have witnessed his scheming with Madame Merle [Barbara Hershey]) and establish the excessive control he exerts over Pansy, and her fearful obedience to him.
Isabel Archer (Nicole Kidman) in
The Portrait of a Lady
The concept of ambiguity is a key feature of art cinema discourse, and part of what defines Campion's films within these terms. Critics and audiences puzzled over the unanswered questions at the heart of The Piano's narrative: why does Ada refuse to speak? who is the father of Flora? why did Ada's father send her away? what to make of the film's conclusion that contrasts an image of domestic 'bliss' with that of Ada suspended at the bottom of the ocean, tied forever to her piano? (26) Like Sweetie, there is much about Ada's past that is unspoken and the occasional insight offered by the film ? such as Flora's tales of her opera-singing father ? are clearly marked as unreliable. The inscrutability of character motivation was the subject of intense critical discussion with regards to Isabel in The Portrait of a Lady: what exactly is it that Isabel wants? The ambiguous nature of Isabel's desire is expressed in the openness of the film's ending, as Isabel appears literally frozen on the threshold between escape with Caspar Goodwood (Viggo Mortensen) and retreat to the oppressive sphere of the domestic: what is Isabel's final decision? (27) The startling beauty of this final image ? Nicole Kidman's pale face and unruly red hair framed against the frost-covered glass panes of the mansion's door ? heightens the audacity of this unresolved narrative moment with which Campion concludes her film.
Ambiguity in Campion's films is not limited to her characters; it extends to critical analysis of her own directorial project. For reviewers of Holy Smoke, the film's uneven tone ? lurching between comedy and drama ? resulted in the obscuring of the film's intentions: to explore or exploit alternative belief systems? To praise or parody Ruth's pursuit of spiritual enlightenment? Dana Polan's close analysis of the film reveals the source of this confusion. Campion employs the kitsch stylings of 1970s pop culture to great comic effect in her portrayal of PJ Waters and her sense of humour is unforgiving in the presentation of Ruth's family, particularly her sister-in-law Yvonne (Sophie Lee). But, as Polan observes, ?moments of spirituality and vision [such as Ruth's conversion scene] are also treated in terms of a style that resonates with tackiness, and this contributes to the film's undecidability of tone.? (28)
The theme of ambiguity demonstrates the central role of discussion and debate in the reception of Campion's films. One of the most contested topics of discussion is her treatment of heterosexual relationships.Hey, you should really see this!
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Holy Smoke!
by SancarSignificantly, Sweetie (Genevieve Lemon) is the only one of Campion's heroines who dies at the end of the film. She is also considered, by most writers, to be the only one of these women who is truly 'mad'. (15) Without providing 'evidence' from the film to support the following labels, Sweetie has been described variously as ?insane?, (16) ?mentally disturbed?, (17) ?obviously unbalanced?, (18) ?mentally ill?, (19) ?genuinely mad? and ?nuts?. (20) This is a curious assumption as it is based on scant evidence within the diegesis: Sweetie is never diagnosed with a mental illness and we do not see her receiving psychiatric treatment. This veiled, inferential representation of madness in Sweetie is linked to another theme in Campion's films: ambiguity (discussed below). By way of example, consider the first time we meet Sweetie, when she arrives unexpectedly at her sister Kay's house, looking both dishevelled and flamboyant with her heavy eye-make up, well-worn bra and lace cuffs, in contrast with the neurotic, uptight Kay (Karen Colston). The dialogue throughout this scene is ambiguous, inviting us to read Sweetie as mentally ill. Kay confronts Sweetie: ?what are you doing here? You know you're not allowed?. Sweetie has already been presented as socially unconventional in her manner of breaking into Kay's house and proceeding to trash the bedroom with her junkie boyfriend Bob (Michael Lake). Kay then challenges Sweetie: ?you've stopped taking your medication, haven't you?? to which Sweetie replies in a suitably 'spaced-out' tone ?yeah, well Bob and I are really gonna walk through some doors, Kay, we're really getting it together?.
It is characteristic of Campion's style that this is the only time Sweetie's illness is discussed, and we are never informed as to what the medication is for. Nevertheless, as the film progresses, Sweetie seems to us more and more 'mad'. By the time the family returns from a trip to the outback, Sweetie is so incensed at being left behind that she refuses to speak to them. Instead, she growls and whimpers like a dog, and even tries to bite her father's hand. Like Ada in The Piano, who also refuses to speak, Sweetie's nonverbal communication is a rejection of the symbolic order of language, and the aggressive nature of this rejection of the Law of the Father is visualised in Sweetie's attempted assault on her father's hand. Sweetie's barking like a dog can be read in two ways: as a sign of protest ? the renunciation of the patriarchal order of language ? or as a sign of madness, as Kay indicates with her threat to Sweetie: ?you'll end up in a damn home?. Sweetie's childlike inability to care for herself ? the house is a mess and she hasn't been eating ? also suggests her 'madness' or mental instability.
Sweetie's refusal to conform to patriarchal law is taken to fatal extremes. In her final scene, she is naked and covered with black paint, shouting obscenities at her father from her ?princess castle?, her tree-house from childhood. Kay's phobia about trees proves prophetic when Sweetie falls to her death from the castle. (21) The tragic outcome of Sweetie's rebellion underscores the potential problems, noted by some feminists, in reclaiming madness as protest. (22) For these critics, madness represents an impasse, a request for help, a position of powerlessness and vulnerability that only serves to reinforce patriarchy's self-appointed role as moderator and guardian of female behaviour. (23) As Mary Russo observes, ?hysterics and madwomen generally have ended up in the attic or the asylum, their gestures of pain and defiance having served only to put them out of circulation.? (24) However, it is the very expression of these ?gestures of pain and defiance? that marks Campion's films as powerful texts for feminist analysis.Hey, you should really see this!
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An Angel at My Table
by SancarDebate, perhaps even controversy, has characterised the reception of Campion's films since the premiere of her first feature Sweetie at Cannes in 1989, where it was greeted with boos and hisses. (6) Sweetie has since been reclaimed as a hallmark of Campion's iconoclastic style, with its black humour, striking visual design (in terms of colour and shot composition) and its penetrating look at dysfunctional suburban family life. Campion's eagerly awaited follow-up to The Piano, her 1996 adaptation of Henry James' novel The Portrait of a Lady (written in 1881), drew criticism for its modernising impulses and liberal treatment of James' classic text, and for the coldness of its characters despite the sumptuous Italian locations and art direction. (7) Yet the film was highly praised for the supporting performances of Martin Donovan (as Ralph Touchett) and Barbara Hershey (as Madame Merle), with Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Hershey as Best Supporting Actress (1997). Despite an engaging performance from Kate Winslet, the Miramax-funded Holy Smoke (1999) was unable to recapture The Piano's success at the box office. The film was criticised for an uneven script that relied heavily on the stereotype of the grotesque, suburban family of the quirky Aussie comedy, which by 1999 ? some ten years after Sweetie and following on from a backlash against films such as Welcome to Woop Woop (Stephan Elliott, 1997) and Hotel De Love (Craig Rosenberg, 1996) ? was starting to wear thin with the locals and had lost its novelty for the international audience. (8) Even Campion's early short films ? despite being selected for Cannes in 1986, where she won the Palme d'Or for best short film for Peel (1982) ? were unappreciated at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) where she made them. (9) Campion's only film to avoid such controversy and debate has been her prize-winning adaptation of Janet Frame's three-volume autobiography To the Is-land (1982), An Angel at my Table (1984) and The Envoy from Mirror City (1985). Originally made as a television mini-series, in three parts like Frame's autobiography, An Angel at my Table (1990) was later released theatrically as a 155 minute feature. This adaptation, also scripted by Laura Jones who adapted The Portrait of a Lady, had fewer problems in terms of the inclusion or exclusion of information from the original source ? partly due to the luxury of three episodes ? and it featured a modest visual style to suit its televisual medium. Nevertheless, while Campion consciously avoided the striking framings of composition and colour that characterised Sweetie and her short films, (10) An Angel at my Table has a strong visual sense in its broad vistas of the New Zealand landscape and its evocation of Janet's private world.
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