Platform

On Tuesday night we watched Jia Zhangke's outstanding Platform.



The film starts with the theater troop performing a typical piece of model revolutionary theater praising Mao at roughly the same time that Deng Xiaoping took over the CPC (1979, 1980). These political changes form the backdrop to a film that follows a few members of theater troop from Fenyang, a small city in China's Shanxi province, where Mongolia feels closer (less foreign) than Shanghai and Beijing. Platform is arguably less about the lives of its main characters as it is about the political and cultural changes taking place throughout the 1980s, as the privatization of the theater troop, the acquisition of bellbottoms, perms, and discovering of punk are emphasized as much, if not more, than things like the characters' romantic difficulties, pregnancies, and familial conflicts. Characters drift in and out but what is most striking are Zhangke's long, static shots a country not only very different from than the one presented to the world on 08.08.08, but also in films like Blind Shaft (2003) and Manufactured Landscapes (2006).

There are very few scenes in the history of cinema that force the viewer to stand up in excitement. De Palma's films contain several, for example, this scene from The Untouchables (1987):



Platform contained several such scenes, but all were composed and directed in a manner distant from de Palma. Unfortunately I can't find any of them online but the preview above should give a hint.

Other highlights of the night included our hosts re-enacting the endless fight scene between Roddy Piper and Keith David from Carpenter's They Live (1988) during the film's intermission:

Underground Gay Biker Night [abridged]

First film on the roster for the evening of August 27, 2008 was "Scorpio Rising" (1964, 28 min, Kenneth Anger).  Let us begin with a teaser that may not be a part of the film, but does certainly introduce the thematic elements:

from "Kustom Kar Kommandos" (1965, 3 min, Kenneth Anger)

Yes folks, Kenneth Anger-  fetishizing the bodies of men and machines in this one with some doc footage of the Coney Island scene, crazy nazi stuff before a couple bikes jumping.

I cannot say that I find Mr. Anger's work very accessible, but I can say that in a sort of free-form jazz way of montaging and flash-cutting, he works with his themes of man, machine, hero-fetish, preening queens, Jesus, and Nazis and shows us ... something.  Something that clearly plays in his mind because there is a feeling to the cutting and structure that I don't always agree with, but was moved by.

Like a big gay Frankenstein's monster dancing to "Blue Velvet", swinging a spiked mace, wearing a tutu, but real serious about it which gives it an integrity.

The strange brew of elements include some James Dean and Brando, a lot of male torsos and waists, curvy chrome and metal, a lot of black leather and metal studs, and finally a bit of moving vehicles.

The thing that I found somewhat bland in the movie was the music.  Essentially, "Scorpio Rising" is a 4-part meditation on bodies and motion and masculinity set to late 50's-early 60's doo-wop and pop music that plays like a series of music videos.  For me, this becomes boring, although, as the parts progress, the flash-cutting gets weirder and weirder till Nazis and Jesus and Brando are popping up all over the place making one think, "What the hell?"

Having now damned Anger with faint praise, I offer my thoughts on the structure.  "Scorpio Rising" begins with the preparation of the machine.  Men assemble their bikes.  After this passage, men assemble their attire to go ride these bikes.  Thirdly, we begin to see the biker scene as Anger would like us to [this is where the Hollywood guys, Jesus, and the Third Reich come together] and finally we see some bikes moving towards the logical conclusion of the process ... death.

The following clip is the last 4 of the 28 minutes minus the hold on black that occurs at the end on the copy we watched ... 

In short, the Anger was worth watching, but strange and somewhat dissatisfying, although everyone in attendance seemed to have been moved by the work.

And, because I think it's always interesting to see the folks whose films we've watched ...

This 15 min interview with Anger on French TV makes me want to see anything else this dude has made:

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Movie Viewing Club had to be shortened last week and we opted to see only the short as a group.  The next day, M.C. Adam watched "Bike Boy" (1967, 96 min, Andy Warhol) on his own and is expected to report to us his response.

We did as a group have a short encore before retiring to the local pub to go over our notes - namely, "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" (1986, 17 min, John Heyn and Jeff Krulik) in which Hayne and Krulik direct a couple camera/sound teams through the parking lot before a Judas Priest show somewhere in Maryland.

There is some question among the interviewees as to whether Priest, Dokken [who will open the show], or The Scorpions [who have nothing to do with the show] are the kings of heavy metal, but these differences in opinion just add to the hammered-in-the-afternoon feel of the parking lot.  The footage collected reads like sound-bites from an evening news broadcast if the broadcasters didn't cut when 20 year olds were making out with 13 year olds.  In short, a wonderfully accessible sociological piece on the by-gone days of getting trashed before a Priest show, making out in a car, and driving home.  Oh, and seeing the Priest.

Wonderful little encore.

and the opening sequence:


The other order of business for the week was figuring out a system by which to rotate the members of the selection committee.  For more on that, I turn it over to Web Impresario Jeff Lanza ...

Maddin Mania

What follows is a recap of the inaugural meeting of the Movie Viewing Club from August 12, 2008:

First film on the menu was "Sissy-Boy Slap Party" (1995, 4 min)



The set up is that the owner of a young men harem goes out to replenish the condom supply for his "stables." On the way out he admonishes his boys that there is to be no slapping. From there, this simple one-liner takes flight. The sound is amazing, a mounting cacophony of slaps, drums, yelps, and discordant violins running and falling, hand in hand, with some very funny cutting till exhaustion sets in and the 30's MGM music returns gently. If you don't laugh, you could be uptight.

This was the first piece of Guy Maddin's work I'd seen and I must say it sets a tone. The old-school non-sync Hollywood black and white with a frequent keyhole matte says that this is an auteur who loves the tradition he works in, which is decidedly film. Also seems, the man likes to make us laugh some.

We had another short before the feature, "The Heart of the World" (2000, 6 min)




This one was more of a trip. The cuts fall like lightning cracks and the piano accompaniment accentuates that effect. Strange story in this one, but there's a competition between two brothers for the love of a woman scientist trying to save the heart of the world ... this competition for love theme will come back in the feature. This is a complete thematic film told in 6 tremendous minutes. Really amazing visuals, Metropolis looking costumes and sets, fantastical black and white lighting, and again the cutting! Guy Maddin says that he and his editor were working on a neurological concept of memory and story-telling. You can see him say a bit more on the subject here:





After our journey to Guy Maddin 2000, the Movie Viewing Club traveled back ten years and the edits settled down some.

"Archangel" (1990, 90 min)





The themes here are love and war. A Canadian soldier in WWI finds himself fighting alongside the Russians near the arctic city of Arkhangel'sk. He has recently lost his love Iris. He is taken in by a local family where he meets a woman who he believes to be his lost love, only she's been married to a man who's forgotten he no longer loves her. Strangeness abounds in this tale of love during the brutality of trench warfare in the cold North country.

Here's another bit:




I admit to having lost some interest by the end. Still, a very effective picture and a rad filmmaker.

In short, upon first exposure to the variable of Guy Maddin, I was reminded of where film came from and my imagination was happy.

Hold Me While I'm Naked (1966)

Last night's short was George Kuchar's 1966 short Hold Me While I'm Naked. The film is number 52 on the Village Voice's list of the top 100 films of the 20th century since 'this film could cheer an arthritic gorilla'.

Here are the film's final three minutes (of about 15):


It can be seen in full, together with other Kuchar films, here.

Here is a discussion of Hold Me While I'm Naked via Susan Sontag's 'Notes on Camp'.

Putney Swope (1969)

Last night's feature was Putney Swope: Robert Downey Sr.'s 1969 satire about a black man (whose voice is dubbed by Downey himself) unexpectedly becoming the CEO of a Madison Avenue Ad agency. The first twelve minutes of the film are outstanding. The highlight of the film's second half is the exchange: guy1 - 'I feel like an oreo cookie.' guy2 - 'You look like a pile of shit.'

One of Truth & Soul's commercials:

Welcome to the blog of the Movie Viewing Club

I just made a few posts to get some content up here. Someone want to do something for the Maddin films?