Leviathan

Last night I went to see the Russian film Leviathan which won Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival, Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globe Awards, and was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards.  I thought it was absolutely brilliant!  I am fascinated by Russia; I've been there twice and I am obsessed with Russian music and literature.  There is something so uncompromisingly beautiful and yet, at the same time, so harsh and forbidding about the landscape, people, and history that holds me enthralled.  Several weeks ago I began seeing previews of Leviathan at my favorite art house theatre and I have been wanting to see it ever since because of the beautiful cinematography and the quintessentially Russian story.  The setting is the northern coastal town of Pribrezhny where a corrupt mayor tries to illegally repossess the property of an out-of-work mechanic using his self-serving police force and an unscrupulous judicial system.  He also seeks the advice of a Russian Orthodox priest who ambiguously sanctions his use of force to acquire the property.  Events unravel tragically for the mechanic and his family until his house is ultimately bulldozed and a major plot twist is revealed in the final scenes.  It is an incredible narrative about the dark side of human nature and the powerful instinct of self-preservation in an inhospitable environment.  It is also a scathing critique of Russian corruption, in politics and religion, juxtaposed with the stark beauty of Russia itself.  The tension builds slowly, very slowly, but eventually reaches a climax that I didn't see coming.  It is a haunting film that I recommend if you have the opportunity to see it!

Ghost at HCT

I am not a fan of the current trend on Broadway of turning popular movies into stage musicals; however, Hale Centre Theatre seems very fond of producing them (9 to 5,  Catch Me If You Can, Big, The Wedding Singer, and Footloose are a few that come to mind).  I almost always attend these shows because I am a fan of the original movie but, with the exception of Catch Me If You Can, I am usually disappointed.  That is definitely the case with HCT's latest offering, Ghost, which I saw last night.  It tells the well-known love story of Sam Wheat (Derek Smith), who is murdered in a robbery gone wrong, and Molly Jensen (Bre Welch), the woman he loves and watches over.  Both of these lead actors are incredibly talented, but I feel that they were miscast.  The songs have a pop feel to them and their voices were much too controlled and their enunciation was too perfect for that style of singing.  I kept wanting them to let loose and sing the blues. Then again, maybe their lackluster performances should be blamed on the material.  In my opinion, none of the songs are even remotely memorable.  It is as if full pages of dialogue from the screenplay were simply put to the accompaniment of music.   So contrived.  The only song I enjoyed was "Unchained Melody" but I thought it was completely overused. There wasn't much chemistry between the two leads (this could be due to the fact that, like the last show I saw, the actors were a mix of the MWF and THS casts).   In the famous pottery wheel scene, Welch seemed more focused on making the perfect pot rather than responding to the caresses of her lover.  All of my attention was focused on the pot, as well, because there wasn't much else going on, especially when compared to that particular scene in the movie.  I did enjoy McKenna K. Jensen's performance as Oda Mae Brown and I thought the special effects were incredible, especially the scenes on the subway. However, the set design was a rare miss for Kacey Udy.  Much of the action takes place on a large platform above the stage, which is cool, but I couldn't really see anything from where I was sitting and that was definitely irritating. There was a piano, cello, and violin trio playing on other platforms which were lowered from the ceiling at various times but I didn't really understand the significance. Again, it was cool, but it didn't contribute to the story in any way.  Bottom line: give this one a miss. Find your old VHS copy of the movie and watch it instead.

All the Light We Cannot See

In February my book club chose to read All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and I literally couldn't put it down, reading well into the night and on my lunch hour to finish it.  I loved this book so much!  I had to know how what happened but, at the same time, I was sad to finish it!  The story is set during the Nazi occupation of France and the narrative alternates between Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind girl living in the ancient town of St. Malo on the northern coast of France, and Werner Pfennig, an orphan who is sent to a prestigious military school in Germany because of his engineering skills.  Both of these characters are wonderfully developed and I began to care about them immediately.  Marie-Laure loves the book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne and wants to explore the world around her despite her overprotective father.  Werner is grateful for the opportunity to leave the dreary life of a coal miner that he was destined for to join the army but questions the brutality of the Nazis (I loved the character of Werner because I don't think all Germans of this era should be described as evil in absolute terms).  What ties these two characters together are radio airwaves (described as invisible filaments of light connecting everyone).  Marie-Laure and her family use the radio to send information to help the Resistance while Werner helps develop triangulation methods to locate the radios that are illegally broadcasting. When their stories converge during the aftermath of the D-Day invasion, it is heartrendingly beautiful! I loved so many things about this book!  I spent some time in the city of St. Malo when I was younger and Doerr's incredibly descriptive language transported me back there: I could feel the wind on my face, taste the salt from the breeze on my tongue, hear the sound of the crashing waves, feel the cobblestone streets under my feet, and see the majestic city walls all around me as I read. Such an amazing setting.  Doerr also brilliantly captures the anguish Werner feels when he realizes that everything he has been taught is a lie.  Not only did I love the characters of Marie-Laure and Werner but I also enjoyed the cast of supporting characters, especially Madame Medec and her "Old Ladies Resistance Club," Jutta, Werner's sister, who is dismayed at the thought of her brother turning into a Nazi, and Etienne, so traumatized by the Great War that he cannot leave his house.  I have a particular fondness for historical fiction, especially World War II, but this novel transcends the genre.  I would highly recommend it to everyone for its compelling story, strong characterization, and beautiful prose!

Mr. Turner

Last night I saw Mr. Turner, a luminous biography of the popular British landscape painter J.M.W. Turner.  Through a series of vignettes depicting the final years of his life, we see Turner's relationships with his father, his devoted housekeeper, his two lovers, one of whom is the mother of the two children he refuses to acknowledge, his aristocratic patrons, and the other members of the Royal Academy of Arts.  This film brilliantly explores the fine line between genius and madness in scenes where Turner ties himself to the mast of a ship in a snowstorm to observe its effects, paints a red splotch on one of his paintings when he hears another painting which prominently features the color red praised, visits a brothel to sketch one of the prostitutes, and runs from his deathbed into the street to sketch a girl who has drowned.  Another scene I particularly enjoyed was when the art critic John Ruskin (hilariously played by Joshua McGuire) analyzes one of Turner's paintings on and on at length prompting Turner to ask him his opinion of steak and kidney pie.  I laughed out loud at this because I just had a conversation with a friend who told me that sometimes a flower is just a flower.  Critics (and English teachers) have a tendency to read too much into art (and literature).  The cinematography in this film is as beautiful as one of Turner's paintings.  I especially loved the dazzling play of light throughout much of the film.  The character actor Timothy Spall, known primarily for portraying Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter movies, gives an incredibly nuanced performance as Turner.  The growl used to show his displeasure is most effective (it certainly elicited a lot of response from the audience during my particular screening) and the look on his face when he overhears Queen Victoria criticize one of his paintings is nothing short of heartbreaking.  Dorothy Atkinson also gives a wonderful performance as Turner's much abused housekeeper.  The scene when she learns of Turner's double life is devastating.  It is a moving film about a flawed and complicated man which I enjoyed very much.

Let's Go Jazz

For the past little while Sean has been asking me to take him to a Jazz game.  I usually take him to at least one game every season so a couple of weeks ago I told him we could go to the next weekend game which happened to be last night against the Portland Trailblazers.  Unlike the last game I took him to, this one was actually really good but Sean didn't care!  Before the game started I told him that I really wanted the Jazz to win because they have been struggling.  He told me that it didn't matter because he would have a good time even if they lost.  He always has such a good attitude!  Because of the Enes Kanter trade, Rudy Gobert was a starter for the first time and there was a lot of hype about it before the game.  Sean was really excited because he got to meet Gobert with his Jr. Jazz team and he has his autographed picture on his wall.  The Trailblazers had a great start and got a quick lead but I thought the Jazz played an outstanding defensive game with lots of blocks and steals and they were able to stay with them.   The lead went back and forth during the first three quarters and then the Jazz went on a 39-10 run in the fourth quarter, including some crowd-pleasing three-pointers, to pull away from the Blazers and ultimately win  92-76.  I've been to a few games this season but this is definitely the most fun I've had!  Not only did the Jazz win against a really good team but Sean is just so entertaining.  The Jazz have a rookie named Rodney Hood but on the display board it says R. Hood.  Sean was absolutely convinced that Robin Hood played for our team!  When he made a three-pointer, Sean yelled, "Robin Hood just scored!"  Everyone looked at us and smiled!

I sure do love this kid!