The City of your Final Destination: Review

When a film can transport a viewer to another world is a great experience. James Ivory's "The City of your Final Destination", did that just for me yesterday. I had an intense week and I almost didn't go to the theater, but sometimes I have to. The film was screened at my favorite theatre in Los Angeles at the Laemlle Royal Theater on Santa Monica Blvd. A theater that is a single and has a gigantic double sided marquee of the feature. There are twinkling lights that enunciate the Royal. Last night the crowd was older and mostly over sixty. The best part was everyone stayed completely quiet during the feature.

James Ivory is a fantastic director. The film "The City of your Final Destination", takes the viewer on an artistic journey of an academic going to South America to write a biography about a deceased writer. From the opening sound of the leaves rustling with the wind into a shot of huge eucalyptus trees lining the road to the compound the film is visually arresting. Filmed in the federal district of Buenos Aires, Argentina it was gorgeous. The viewer feels the director is showing them a location of an area that is so far away and never before been seen. The story is intriguing, but becomes meaningless when I am compounded with that much beauty. When Wong Kar Wai films America in "My Blue Berry Nights" I have never seen a noir subway in New York with a lime green pigment like that. Or when Terrence Mallick captures the forests of Roanoke Virginia with natural light that look like a painting it moves me. Ivory is in the same company with these colossal directors in terms of creating a visual pleasure cake. If a film becomes that good visually the director can hold me by the ankle upside down and shake out my money.

In this oasis of South America he captures a compound of reclusive characters. Sir Anthony Hopkins portrays the brother of a deceased writer and is in top form. Charlotte Gainsbourg prior to her artistic base jump as the lead for Von Trier's "Antichrist" plays the former mistress of the writer. She is a naive woman who seems bored with her environment and is looking for erotic excitement. However, the show stopper of film is Ms. Laura Linney who plays the widow. Linney is a reclusive powerhouse who is obsessed with control in a cut off world. For the other characters and the academic writer who intrudes on their estate, they seem to be entranced in this utopia. Linney from the beginning feels like she is trapped in a South American dungeon of oppressive torture. She does not whine, but lashes out at the weaker characters like a hydra.
Linney's hair is gelled back and her wardrobe could impress any fashionista. One of the early images we see of her is she is obsessively trying to match a necklace to her shirt. She paints and drinks in excess to escape her predicament. In every scene she is driven to control every action of the others. For example, she commands Alexandra Maria Lara to sit down. Lara asks to move a painting to get the chair. Linney responds with a yes. Lara moves the painting and goes to sit down. Linney then asks her to move the painting just a little bit more to the left. Linney's character is fascinating she is a fusion of Ann Margaret in "Great Expectations", Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Boulevard", Jackie O and Sharon Stone in "Basic Instinct." She is a power broking woman who is caught in an unbearable situation.

In reviewing films plot is often times boring because the main thing that interests me is how did the movie make me feel. After viewing "The City of your Final Destination" I was transported back to Earth and reminded of Coppola's recent artistic features "Tetro" also in Argentina and "Youth Without Youth" also starred Alexandra Maria Lara. I realized that with art it is so important to take risks even if they fail. A line directly from the film and that academia can sometimes lead people to tunnel vision and completely distort their reality. Interpersonal communication can be crushed by a pure academic drive. Thanks to Ivory I could go to sleep knowing that someone out there is still shooting for the stars and not afraid to fall.

John Ford's Landscapes

Orson Welles when asked who he believed was the best director of all time responded that he was fond of older pictures and that John Ford was his man. Yesterday I watched "My Darling Clementine" by Ford and throughout the picture it was apparent that the man behind the camera was a master. The story of "My Darling Clementine" was a standard tale of the old West. The film was created in 1946 and stars Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp. The movie was fascinating in how Ford chose to approach the story in Tombstone, Arizona. As a director he chose the story to be focused on two warring families. The Clantons Vs. Earps. Much like the Hatfields Vs. McCoys. From the opening shot of the Earps rounding up cattle to the ending of Wyatt riding off into the distance the film is seamless.

John Ford westerns take on a new meaning to the Western genre. Currently westerns are the most difficult genre film to get financed. Many production companies believe that all westerns have been done and that there are no stories left to be told. Of course this makes absolutely no sense and studios are notoriously cheap. However, the reason I am bringing this up is when one views a Ford picture it becomes apparent that he never cheaped out on production costs. The town of Tombstone Arizona looks unbelievably authentic. From the wooden walk ways to the signs for the casinos. The town looks completely real. The bars are long and wooden and cast a reflection with the light and the saloons are always filled with laughter and yelling. Lanterns are utilized perfectly when Doc Holiday uses them for a medical procedure. The stage coach wheels kick up dirt throughout the movie. The image of stage wheels that keep bringing up dirt like a motorcyle sticks to a Ford picture.

Walter Brennan plays the patriarch of the Clanton family. He whips his sons who are grown men and wears a buffalo coat. As a villian he is unprecedented. Mostly it is the look he gives off more than the words he says that let the viewer know he is in charge. His character's evil is established right from the beginning when the Clantons meet the Earps. He offers to buy Wyatt's cattle and he tries to low ball him.

Last summer I went to Tombstone, Arizona with my father. We drove out there from Los Angeles on our Southwest tour. We went to the Birdcage theater and stood outside of the OK Corral. There is a placard in front of the OK Corral that shows exactly whereIke Clanton was shot. Ford was on top of his game when he made the movie Ike died in the exact same place.

The Future of the Russian Gangster Movie?

When looking at the future of movies it is important to remember the historic year of 2007, it was a bell weather year for adult violent dramas. "No Country for Old Men", by the Cohen brothers, "There Will Be Blood", by P.T. Anderson, and "Eastern Promises" by David Cronenberg. While I enjoyed viewing all three films immensely that year, the one that stuck with me and seemed the most unique was Eastern Promises.

I welcome writers to disagree with this theory, but please mention any other English speaking Russian gangster picture to be on point with Eastern Promises. From the opening shot of London rain outside of the barber shop to the closing shot of Mortensen sitting at the table the film is mesmerizing. The viewer has the feeling of looking from a nuclear periscope at a clear view of the violent and dangerous subculture of the Russian mafia.

In looking at Soviet history it becomes apparent that from Stalin's purge to Prime Minister Putin's slogans Russian politicians are very much like gangsters. When Mortensen is being tattooed to become a member of the Vorev Zorkonia, the panel of Russian gangsters inspecting him look ominous and create a medieval component to the Russian gangster movie. When Mortensen responds that he had solitary confinement in Siberia it speaks volumes to all the Russian people who were sent in box cars to the Gulag. The idea of family in this movie is portrayed similar to the "Godfather." The patriarch of the Russian mafia has striking similarities to Brando. The dinners and the music in both films are rich in tradition.

"Eastern Promises" is unique in the sense that it is a gangster movie that has no guns. Cronenberg uses knives to be more menacing and the film is brilliant at creating tension. The most talked about scene by most viewers is the Turkish bathhouse bloodbath. The scene is executed like an opera and the sound of the scene is even more terrifying than anything that is seen by the viewer. The fact that it is the first time in the feature that the tattoo of St. Basil's Cathedral on the back of Mortensen is exposed publicly also reveals how deep this character is into what he is doing.

The two scenes that were the best in the feature were not violent at all. The scene where Mortensen tries to help Watts kick start her motorcycle is fascinating. The scene is very erotic. Watt's hair is wet and she is wincing to kick start the bike. Mortensen pretends to help and then leads her into his car. She is afraid and intrigued by this character's world. He jokes in the car, while she is serious and they seem like two passing ships.

When I first heard that "Eastern Promises 2" was coming I was excited beyond belief. I would like the story to take one of two paths. Either Mortensen continues to work for Scotland Yard and is forced to rescue Watts from some horrific situation in the Russian underworld or for him to become the don for the Russian mafia and sink into the abyss. I would like for part of the film to actually be filmed in Moscow, just how Italy was utilized in the "Godfather". Unfortunately most Russian representation in American cinema consists of Drago in "Rocky IV". I can only hope that Cronenberg takes the helm and steers the future of the Russian gangster movie to the limit.

Shepard's Cowboy Wisdom

In looking at an American writer who is cut from another cloth. Cowboy playwright Sam Shepard has such a unique artistic voice. Last summer I had just written my historical thesis on buffalo hunting in the Great Plains. As a result of my studies I had to travel by car across the great state of Texas from Los Angeles. I went with my father through the Southwest and accompanying me on my journey through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas was Sam Shepard's "Cruising Paradise." The collection of short stories by Shepard was the perfect type of book for a road trip. At the end of each story is the date and the strange location of where Sam has driven to pen this story. Places like Kadoka, South Dakota/ Langtry, Texas/ Tucson, Arizona. Stories of a writer who never uses a plane to travel, but instead drives endlessly across the country. Women who collide into his life leaving only glass shards. Jobs that he possessed like catching hay bales on a moving truck to collecting money in a tiny booth in New York City. As a reader the most striking thing about Shepard's stories are his attention to detail and the visuals he paints.
For example, here is an excerpt from a story called "See You In My Dreams": "On the little table in front of the rocker were opened cans of half eaten tuna fish and a crusty bowl of Esteban's black bean soup. Stacks of National Geographic, Look, and Life, all barricading the table, with a narrow alleyway leading out toward the sink. A peanut butter jar on the floor, half filled with brown water and soggy cigarette butts."

These visuals put the reader directly into the house of the reclusive character. One of the best choices a writer can make is to never make the reader feel rushed. Every detail and object begins to take on a life of it's own. There is no money shot in a Sam Shepard story. The entire story is described seamlessly.

One of my favorite screenplays by Shepard that was adapted for the screen and directed by German auteur Wim Wenders was "Paris Texas." In the creation of Travis, Shepard formulates a character who is haunted by his past. A man who hasn't spoken in four years and walks around endlessly on the Plains of Texas. All a viewer has to do is look into the eyes of Harry Dean Stanton in the opening shot and they know everything they need to know about the character. In the climax of the film, Travis speaks to Jane on the other side of the glass of a peepshow for 10 minutes straight. In this uninterrupted conversation, Travis poetically fills in the gaps of what exactly happened to his lost love. Jane has to turn off the light inside the peepshow room and Travis uses a lamp to illuminate his profile. Shepard's writing for this scene reaches a summit that only he could climb to. The location of Paris Texas is where lost love is found.

The Future of David Lynch's Surreal Dimensions

In looking at the use of surrealism by most contemporary filmakers the doorways to these dimensions are usually choppy and filled with poor choices. For Example, M.Night Shylaman with "Lady in the Water", has Paul Giamitti as a super looking for paranomal behavior from the pool he overseas. Shylaman tries so hard for the film to be groundbreaking, but he fails to make the viewer care about any of the characters in the world he creates. Another talented filmaker Richard Kelly utilized water for The Box to be symbolic of a supernatural corridor into another dimension. Although The Box had some fantastic ideas the picture never seemed to crystallize.

I invite readers to argue with my points made about Shylaman and Kelly. The overarching theme with both directors is they could not establish a concrete sense of place to launch of into their surreal enviornments. Geographic place for any feature film is of gargantuan importance, especially if the director attempts to coral ideas that are very other wordly. Without a sense of location the viewer is lost along with the characters, the script, and the point of why are they watching this film?

In sticking with the topic of surrealism I am going to bring up a director who is a cinematic heavyweight in establishing a sense of place. The greatest champion of cinema coming out of the red room of Twin Peaks is none other than Mr. David Lynch. He creates a sense of place in Twin Peaks in the state of Washington that is unparralled to any cinematic town. Using locations like diners, the woods, and the sherrifs station he creates a breathing world. In order to create the Red Room with jagged black lines on a white floor, red curtains, inhabited by a midget who speaks backwards it is pivotal to establish a clear sense of space for the town of Twin Peaks.

In the view of the American Highway that is inhabited by Sailor Ripley and Lula Pace Fortune in Lynch's Wild At Heart, every stop on there road tour is anchored with a sense of place. For example the couple is in New Orleans for a very brief period in the film. However with one shot of a cast iron building with toilet paper whipping in the wind off a stucture. The viewer is automatically grounded in Louisiania.

In looking at both Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire both extremely surreal features are grounded in Los Angeles just simply by using unique shots of the Hollywood sign. In Mullholand Drive there is what appears to be a helicopter shot of the summit of the sign. In Inland Empire to switch locations from the winter of Poland the sign is shown backwards and the viewer is instantly back in Los Angeles after just having been to Eastern Europe.

One of the most common techniques utlized by directors for New York city is a yellow taxi cab. And for Europe the tool of the sound of European ambulances. With either image or sound a viewer can be teleported back to a particular place.

And that leads me to my last comments today on the Future of David Lynch's Surreal Dimensions. At the water cooler the rumor mill has started that there quite possibly could be a Mulholland Drive 2. In reading what most of the ADD hacks have been writing on IMDB they are all concerned on how could the characters portrayed by Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring be resurected because many writers seem to think they died in Mulholland Drive.
Many writers are looking for the ending of Inland Empire in which Laura Elena Harring is blowing kisses at the viewer as an indicator for Mulholland Drive 2. Cinefiles have also cleverly pointed out that the rabbits in Inland Empire were both Laura Elena Harring and Naomi Watts.
Not to take any of the thunder out of these lovers of film lightning rods, but I think you guys are missing the point on the possibilities for Mulholland Drive 2.

We are taking about a man who could bring a cowboy to Beachwood Canyon and come of as perfectly logical because the location of Los Angeles is established flawlessly. A director who can sum up the heart of Hollywood by shooting a bungalow and a bird of paradise. I trust David Lynch can navigate the subconcious world of Los Angeles and continue the surreal dreamscape of Mulholland Drive.

The main issue in talking with fellow cinefiles was they argued whether Inland Empire was a linear or a non-linear script. The issue is not this!!! The film is art and does not have to be solved like a riddle. All Laura Elena Harring has to do is look into the dark undertow of the blue cube or for the image of her red satin pillow to fade to black. Lynch will instantly create a second phase to the story from these concrete locations. As a viewer I can't wait for the wild ride Mullholand Drive 2.

The Future of the Russian Gangster Movie?

When looking at the future of movies it is important to remember the historic year of 2007 it was a bell weather year for adult violent dramas. "No Country for Old Men", by the Cohen brothers, "There Will Be Blood" by P.T. Anderson, and "Eastern Promises" by David Cronenberg.
While I enjoyed viewing all three features immensely that year. The one that stuck with me and seemed most unique was Eastern Promises.

I welcome writers to disagree with this theory, but please mention any other English speaking Russian ganster picture to be on point with Eastern Promises. From the opening shot of London rain outside of the barber shop to the closing shot of Mortensen sitting at the table the film is mesmerizing. The viewer has the feeling of looking from a nuclear submarine periscope at a clear view of the violent and dangerous subculture of the Russian Mafia.

In looking at Soviet history it becomes apparent that from Stalin's purge to Prime Minister Putin's slogans Russian politicians are very much like gangsters. When Mortensen is being tatooed to become a member of the Vorev Zorkonia, the panel of Russian gangsters inspecting him look ominous and create a medieval component to the Russian Gangster movie. When Mortensen responds that he had solitary confinement in Siberia it speaks volumes of all the Russian people who were sent in box cars to the Gulag. The idea of family in this movie portrayed in this film is similar to the Godfather. The Patriach of the Russian mafia has stiking similarities to Brando. The dinners and the music in both films are rich in tradition.

Eastern Promises is unique in the sense that it is a ganster movie that has no guns. Cronenberg uses knives to be more menacing and the film is brilliant at creating tension. The most talked about scene by most viewers is the Turkish bathhouse bloodbath. The scene is executed like an opera and the sound of the scene is even more terrifying than anything that is seen by the viewer. The fact that it is the first time in the feature that the tatoo of St.Basil's Cathedral on the back of Mortensen also reveals how deep this character is in to what he is doing.

The two scenes that were the best in the feature were not violent at all. The scene where Mortensen tries to help Watts kick start her motorcyle is fascinating. The scene is very erotic. Watt's hair is wet and she is wincing to kick start the bike. Mortensen pretends to help and then leads her into his car. She is afraid and intrigued by this characters world. He jokes in the car, while she is serious and they seem to be like two passing ships.

When I first heard that Eastern Promises 2 was coming I was excited beyond belief. I would like the story to take one of two paths. Either Mortensen contiues to work for Scotland Yard and rescue Watts from some horrific situation in the Russian underworld or for him to become the don for the Russian mafia and sink into the abyss. I would for part of the film to actually be filmed in Moscow, just how Italy was utilized in the Godfather. Unfortunately most Russian representation in American cinema consists of Drago in Rocky V. I can only hope that Cronenberg takes the helm and steers the future of the Russian gangster movie to the limit.