Zelary(Czech Republic, 2002,148 min)

Zelary(Czech Republic, 2002,148 min) --Dec 5, 2004

Zelary won its rated R status in the first 5 minutes, and I' m still puzzled by the choice. Was it the post-89 Eastern European cinema's obsession with sex on screen? (15 years after the fact it's maybe time to move over the memory of 40 or so years of purely allegoric stuff ). Or was it the pedagogical approach of putting a joke/the hottest stuff at the beginning of the class so everyone shows up in time and pays attention?

Anyhow, the first climax is followed by the usually WWII resistance/spy type of scenes, until the train's arrival to the little stop of Sadova Hut. I have only one question from all this part: what ever happened to the Eliska's friend, the surgeon? Did he really emigrated and is he the man we see 20 years after the action, at the end of the movie? His name, Richard Littner, could have been German as well as Jewish. On the other side, Eliska's assumed name becomes Hana Hofmanova, a name so chosen to sound German, so there is plenty of space of imagination in here.

Once in Sadova Hut, (Eliska's former patient and Hana's future husband) Joza starts walking more comfortably, as clearly in his element as Hana is not. We need very few elements to label the new characters: Hana's first hostess acts as she has a claim on Joza, but the claim seems to have expired. The school principal uses alcohol to block his existential questions. The local priest uses faith to put daily decisions into perspective, and consistently chooses the least of two evils. Joza's neighbor is always smiling, a happy counterpart to the grin of Lucka the midwife. And the same neighbour says something that we get to understand later as well: 'you can't just go around using your town clothes; the locals would not accept you'.

There are signs of what it is acceptable or not acceptable behavior all through the story, but the final migration to the shelter in the bogs makes it clear: Zelary is a self-sufficient community that defines itself as 'us vs. them', where 'them' can be anyone from the town dwellers to the Germans, from the game keeper to the Russians, on short anyone who is not born on the mountain or married on the mountain. What happens with 'us and ours' is our concern, in the measure in which affects the community as a whole (beating one's own wife is talked about, but not really acted upon, while messing with someone's else wife without her consent is to be punished at once, and the punishment is not to be discussed; the other workers at the sawmill, not Joza, are the ones saying 'if something happens to her (Hana), we know where to come after you') ; but in front of an outside danger, even the drunk troublemaker is brought to the safety of the shelter for no other reason than being one of 'ours'. {I would take a guess that this is still the rule in many communities all around the globe; a Persian saying comes to mind here, 'Family takes care of family'}. What happens to 'them and theirs' is none of our business (that's at least my take on the lack of reaction of the community toward the killing of the sheppard or of the game keeper's family; the other take would be, of course, that there is a reaction but not a visible one).

There are dark and violent moments all through the movie, and alcohol or easy access to a firearm are to be blamed for most of them. The scene with the Russian soldier taking part unknowingly in a father-and-son revenge, speaks volumes about taking action in an unknown situation and sounds uncanny similar to stories from newer wars.

There are also small moments to be treasured all over the movie: the little girl counting on her fingers the forest animals or sharing her gift of chocolate. Hana's introduction to the old art of medicinal plants (buckhorn, anyone?) and later the ladies getting ready for Christmas, and totally enjoying themselves, ear scratching song and all. Azor's assessment of Hana's first try at cooking (we have in Romanian a similar saying 'not good even for feeding the dogs'). The joy of new wooden floors. The wedding song 'Forest, green forest' .

And what probably stands out is documenting the evolution of the whole relationship Joza-Hana, from the hospital bed to the conjugal one. We see it in the changing of addressing formula from 'Pana doktorowa' (Mrs Doctor, a polite title that Eliska/ Hana refuses promptly "I'll have to wait for both titles"), to 'Hana, thou', followed quickly by 'Hana, you' and eventually by Hanulka (the diminutive form for Hanna, to be used for children, or very close members of the family). We see it in Hanna's slow acceptance that she is safe around Joza, in her attempt to tame the house environment, from a quick inventory of its belongings to the request for soap, and finally in the comfortable bed talk. In their intimate moments, Hana and Joza talk more than Eliska and Richard ever did, as if their explicit differences make verbal communication more necessary. The "May I touch you" scene ( a simpler way of saying "before I get myself in trouble, let me clarify things; do you mean what I think you mean or is it another town trick") , the asymmetrical ears scene and the "I have plans, too." scene (involving medical school for Hanna; and buying some sheep for Joza as we) - all of them are, if not Kodak moments, then very memorable Barandow ones.

And when all seems to be going well, when love and understanding seems to reign over Azor's masters, Spring '45 comes and all things get complicated. The scenes around the entry of the Russian soldiers in the village can be read on many levels. Lucka the midwife is the only one who doesn't join the evening celebration, and the only one who manages to escape unharmed from the visit of a drunk and armed soldier (another saying comes to mind "an old women will dare to go in court against the D/Evil, and will win compensation as well", an oblique tribute to the wisdom brought by life experiences). The priest gets killed, an early sign of the faithless era to follow. The wild boy shares his safe shelter with the whole village. The school principal is the one to give away that shelter, maybe an allusion to the complicated behavior of the intellectuals during the Soviet occupation(I might be applying an extra filter to story,not necessary the one intended by the playwriter). And finally, Joza dies and we can't quite make sense of his death, of his choice to not ask for help. Is it extreme sense of duty for the community? Is it stupid bravery, not improved by the delirium that comes with loss of blood? Is it a supreme act of love, freeing Hana to go off the mountain/ freeing himself from the tougher pain that will come with Hana leaving one day? We don't know.

A Touch of Pink(US, 2003 , 92 minutes )

A Touch of Pink (US, 2003 , 92 minutes )-seen on Nov 21, 2004

Angel's Food (or Pink Velvet) for a rainy afternoon. A light comedy, to be remembered for the apparition of Cary Grant (even in the movie was only his spirit, courtesy of Kyle McLachlan) and, on a personal level, for some romantic-thriller real events(a.k.a. mystery candle-light dinner and round-about discussion) that took place just before/after watching the movie.

For me, the most memorable reply in the movie is given by Giles, the Anglo-Saxon economist boyfriend of Pakistani-Canadian film set-photographer Alim. Alim is reluctant to talk about his private life with his widowed-mom( who came all the way from Toronto to London to convince Alim to get married to a good Muslim girl) and he justifies himself in front of Giles 'She won't understand, she is just an ignorant Pakistani peasant'. To which Giles answers 'if she is just an ignorant Pakistani peasant, what does it make you?'

A great question indeed, when we belittle the ones around us, what does it make us?

Last Life In Universe (Thailand, 2004, 112mins)

Seen sometimes during the Nov 5-11 2004 week, this movie starts very slowly with the view of towers after towers of books, nicely labeled in non-European characters. And in the middle of them-surprise- an unordered pile of books, two un-orderly slippers and a man that wants to move into the other world by pushing an encyclopedia (remember Wilbur, the one who wanted to kill himself? apparently he had a Japanese librarian cousin lost in Thailand). Anyhow, the suicide is interrupted by an annoying door bell and a rude brother, and the action starts.

Fast forward-our Japanese friend, Kenji, contemplates a beautiful girl in his library and tip-toes to see the book she is reading--'The lost life in Universe', a book about a gecko; fast forward- the brother gets killed in the librarian's house (we see that his back is tattooed w. a red gecko/ or maybe a dragon/ the sign- if my memory doesn't trick me- of the Japanese mafia).

Fast forward again - the beautiful girl dies in a car accident, under the eyes of Kenji (who was now contemplating drowning) and of her sister, Noi (who was trying to pick her up in a car and end the fight over a slippery-eyed boyfriend). Fast forward some more--the surviving sister and brother get friendly over the local fast-food (noodles) and a dirty and cluttered house (our Japanese friend's sense of order does miracles out of this mess---that reminds me of a newly heard story- the definition of living as 'choose a mess that appeals to you and make order out of it'). By the end of the cleaning spree, Kenji the librarian is back to life, had shown the slippery-eyed boyfriend who is in charge now (and who has a gecko tattoo) and is ready to go back to Japan, following Noi (who was planning to go there for a work TBA). And all would have ended up well in the most beautiful of the worlds we know, if not for a misplaced passport, a mystery next-day effects dish and the smell of the lost brother (hey, I couldn't just give all the movie away, it would come out on DVD one day!)

Almost Peaceful

Un monde presque paisible (Fr 2002) a movie seen at the Hipp some time during fall 2004.

We are in Paris, the war is over but not forgotten, the 'displaced' people are coming back and try to go back to their life before the war. The main characters are a group of tailors: two couples and their rarely seen children, three single men (say ages 19, 25 and 40), a single young women and the occasional visit of old Mme Sarah. At surface all is normal, all is peaceful,and summer of '46 slowly gets closer to fall. But as always,there are many things hidden behind the surface, and it takes time and patience to find them.

In due time,we find that our characters are French Jews; that some have escaped deportation by hiding in the country side, some are still hoping they are not the only surviving members of their families,and some know they are.

We see Albert, the owner of the tailor shop, as proud of his craft as of his Rudolf Valentino appearance, pleading and making scenes to get work from a larger company, because he has people to take care of. We see his wife, Lea, working by his side in the shop, and worried that he might not love her anymore. We see Leon, a trotzkist, an actor and a former Resistance fighter and father of one (second on his way by the way of his wife,Mme. Andrée, also sewing in the shop) beautifully telling stories while pressing garments. We see the 19 years old, Joseph the future screen- writer (Robert Bober, the movie is based on the auto-biographical novel 'Quoi de neuf sur la guerre?'), presently a disaster-producing tailor apprentice. We see the 25 years old Maurice, quite skillful with skirts on the the sewing table or on a moving model. We see the 40 years-old Charles working all day in the shop, then going home to a simple hotel room, across the street from where he used to live and where he hopes his wife and daughter will come back. We see Jacqueline, the young woman looking for a good partner.

And then we see Mme. Sarah, the aged women that does whatever it takes to keep the community together (I digress wildly in here, but I thinks that the Indian idea of having a creative deity, a destructive deity and one that keeps straightening things and doing maintenance work is just right--it takes all three of them to make a world). Mme. Sarah sells scented soap for the ladies, to keep their bodies clean and the souls still able to enjoy a good smell. Mme. Sarah is a matchmaker, not because there is any money to be made in this business, but because there is satisfaction is seeing fewer people living alone. Mme. Sarah sells membership cards for the Jewish Artists Fund, and paintings of yet unknown artists (Marcel ends up buying a Chagall-like painting of a fiddler outside a village, 'not because you've convinced me, but because I want to show my children what was life like for the grandparents they'll never met'). Sara tells us to remember the past but keep on going with the present.

Up to now, all the making of a depressing movie. And yet, the final product is very life reassuring, as is every action of our heroes. The movie is about love as much as anything else: matrimonial love turned flat for Albert and Lea, past love kept alive in memories by Charles, new love offered by Lea and turned away by Charles, the search of love for Jacqueline, the search of lively companionship for Maurice. And aside for the main stories, there are also vignettes of other interesting stories: the question of the responsability of the intelectual ( 'are the ones who wrote inciting to violence and hate as guilty as the ones that acted on their violence and hate?'), the redemptive power of love ( Maurice ends up dating his favorite, ruby haired, lady of the night Simone).

The picture on the poster is from a trip to the countryside,when the whole tailor shops (less Leon and delivering wife) goes in to see a summer camp. There, Simone is teaching Lea how to 'innocently' flirt and inflame an 18 yes old camp counselor (with the unintended but welcome effect of recapturing the interest of Albert). Same Simone, who less obvious than Mme. Sarah and on a different scale is also a mender of lifes, with her little sewing kit that she provides to Maurice at the camp, so he can use his tailor's skills and save the day of a kid with rear-end-split pants. Same Simone who doesn't lie to herself or anyone else about what her relationship with Maurice is, a temporary pact in a struggle to reconstruct an honorable life (for her) and a meaningful life (for him) or on short, 'we keep each other warm' .

And the movie finishes triumphally in the warm summer camp , where sun is shining, grass is very green, and Marcel's children and their friends had just learned a poem of Aragon, that they take turns saying 'till credits time.

Winter Movies

My desperate friends keep on asking me 'when are you going to post your movie chronicles on line?' . Desperate like in 'can't we get a Christmas/Easter/ Father's Day letter from you without all those movie chronicles?' Desperate like in 'can't we only read about your life, in a first approximation, and about the movie's you've seen in a second one?' Well, sure, here we go.

So this is a list of the movies I've seen in Jan&Febr 2005 in our wonderful independent cinemahouse, The Hipp (approximate dates) . The Chronicles per-se would come a little later, time allowing.

• Jan 6 - Stage Beauty (USA)
• Jan 16- What the #$*! do we know!? (USA)
• Jan 25- You I love (Russia)
• Febr 2 - Vodka Lemon (Armenia)
• Febr 13 - A Silent Love (Mexico)
• Febr 20 - Moolaade (Senegal?, Bambara spoken)

Winter Movies

Coming soon...