M4M IN FILMMAKER MAGAZINE

Oh hell yeah! My most anticipated film of like the last two damn years, MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY, is on the cover of the new issue of Filmmaker Magazine. Director Barry Jenkins and his two actors Wyatt Cenac and Tracey Heggins are prominently featured in a nice 7 page article. It's a really good interview.

Also, M4M has gotten some love up on Apple Trailers:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/medicineformelancholy

I've been following the life of this film for a long time, before it even played at SXSW, and now it'll finally see a nice little release in February. It's been so exciting to watch how far it's come.

If you haven't checked it out yet, please do so.

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PING IN THE OREGONIAN

My parents' new restaurant in Portland, Ping, is nearing its opening... check out this story in The Oregonian that will be in Friday's paper:

http://www.oregonlive.com/dining/index.ssf/2009/01/ping.html

MAMMOTH

Don't know how good this looks... but I'm interested in it off the strength of Williams and Bernal, and my friend Sam's strong recommendation for Swedish director Moodysson's work. Which is apparently a lot more experimental than this new one appears to be. I still have yet to get around watching any of it though.

SEPTEMBER

Woody Allen said of his 1987 drama SEPTEMBER, that he wanted to make "a play on film". Set entirely inside a Vermont vacation home, it certainly feels like it could have been performed on a stage. The problem with this is that the setting is not very interesting, and nothing is really done cinematographically to make the film a memorable visual experience. But I've always loved the concept of films taking place in confined spaces, I've even made a few myself. Off the top of my head, Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT and Linklater's TAPE are two great examples also.

SEPTEMBER is centered around Lane (Mia Farrow), a woman recovering from an attempt at suicide in her parent's vacation home. Her mother (Elaine Stritch), stepfather (Jack Warden), and friends Stephanie (Dianne Wiest) and Howard (Sam Waterson) come to visit and keep her company. Lane's battle with loneliness is compounded by selfishness and small acts of betrayal in her house guests, resulting in a disastrous weekend for all.

The performances are all great from this cast of Woody regulars, especially Dianne Wiest who I always enjoy watching. She is always teetering on these really fragile expressions, where it appears as if she could either burst into tears or into laughter at any moment. Her face is like a cracked sheet of glass with cinder blocks stacked on it.

However, the characters and the relationships are nowhere near as memorable or affecting as INTERIORS, Woody's first drama made 9 years earlier. The overflowing angst in the film is actually kind of obnoxious, in comparison to the genuine tugging at heart strings INTERIORS provided. And as mentioned earlier, besides a couple of scenes during a blackout when light and dark is played with interestingly, the visual life of the film fails to inspire.

SILENT LIGHT/LA THEATER RANT

Not going to lie, I'm getting extremely fed up with LA's lack of places to see interesting films.

Maybe I'm just overlooking them? Will some native please fill me in? It seems that the best we've got are the Lammele's Playhouse theaters, but even those just get stuff like REVOLUTIONARY ROAD or SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.

I fucking miss Film Forum in New York so much that it may be actually developing into an acute physical pain. There is so much stuff I'm dying to see coming through that theater alone, never mind IFC Center or Angelika or any of the other numerous venues I used to frequent.

Anyway, playing right now at Film Forum is Carlos Reygadas' SILENT LIGHT. Hailed as one of the top 10 films of 2008 by The New York Times, Village Voice and Newsweek.

From the acclaimed, provocative director of JAPON and BATTLE IN HEAVEN. SILENT LIGHT begins with an unforgettable sequence – a slowly unfolding, time-lapse shot of daybreak over a rural Mexican Mennonite community, whose inhabitants speak an archaic form of German (Plautdietsch) and wear traditional attire. Johan (Cornelio Wall Fehr) is a married farmer who, against the laws of his faith and traditional beliefs, falls in love with another woman, Marianne (Maria Pankratz). His conflicted behavior threatens to destroy the soul of his wife, Esther (Miriam Toews). This tale of profound love and conscience casts a spell, evoking the eerie religious tones and rigor of Carl Theodor Dreyer.

"See it on the big screen while you can. From its stunning opening shot to its final, hauntingly spiritual finale, Carlos Reygadas's drama of adultery and penance set among the Mennonite community of Mexico is the kind of gorgeous, multilayered art film they just don't make anymore."
– Miranda Siegel, New York magazine

“I was amazed by SILENT LIGHT – the setting, the language, the delicacy of the interactions between the people on screen, the drama of redemption. And most of all by Carlos Reygadas’s extraordinarily rich sense of cinema, evident in every frame. A surprising picture, and a very moving one as well.”
– Martin Scorsese

“At its very best, (it) has the richness of Malick or the transcendental simplicity of Ozu. A deeply considered, formally accomplished, beautiful-looking and unexpectedly gripping film from a director making a giant leap into the first rank of world cinema.”
– Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian (UK)

“I’ve seen SILENT LIGHT three times…
and find it more pleasurable and touching with each viewing.”
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“Distinguished by its formal rigor and deadpan audacity. Extraordinary…powerfully affecting.”
– J. Hoberman, The Village Voice

“The Best Film of 2008! ... Best Director" – Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York

2009 Independent Spirit Award Nominee for Best Foreign Film

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

FILM FORUM FEATURE

This Friday, Chantal Akerman's JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES opens at Film Forum as well... sigh.

***1AM EDIT***
I've discovered The NuArt, on Santa Monica Boulevard. They seem to be the best bet. They are playing Godard's MADE IN USA this week, just like Film Forum. I think I'll go tomorrow to check it out.

IF I HAD A HEART

This video is amazing. It looks like a massacre swept through LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD.



"IF I HAD A HEART"
Fever Ray
Directed by Andreas Nilsson

KELLY REICHARDT ON SUCCESS

Slant: You've talked before about wanting to continue working at these sensationally low-budget levels. Isn't that something filmmakers tend to say and then disregard once they meet with a certain level of success?

KR: Well, what's your definition of success? I find that to be a fucking annoying question, I have to say.

Slant: Why is that?

KR: This constant implication that success has one picture is so limited—and talk about American! I'm constantly asked this, as if teaching is some loser profession, or an uninteresting place to be. I've been out in L.A. for five days with my film, just doing stuff that I've never done before, press junkets and stuff, and I'm like—this is it? This is what everybody thinks is the most special fucking thing on the planet? Are you kidding me? It melts your brain. It's really hard to stay small, actually. That I've been able to make these last two films without anybody paying any fucking attention and just go off and have complete artistic freedom—what are you gonna trade that for?

Slant: What are the good parts of making movies?

KR: When I'm scouting for a film, just driving around the country scouting for the movie and I'm working with my writing partner or my producers who I love and who are my dear friends or talking to Michelle about what a character is or whatever—those are all super, super rich experiences and I'm very fortunate that I've had them. My best filmmaking experience, as far as an experience, has definitely been this film I made, Ode, which is like a 50-minute Super 8 film that I shot and my friend recorded sound on. It was a two-person crew and two actors and we were outside all day and it was super-challenging, there was nobody watching us and it was done completely privately. That's where Old Joy came from, the idea of going off with a group of friends into the forest and making an art project; it was never seen that it was going to be a feature film when we were shooting it. Those are the rich parts, but what comes with all the rest of it falls into that definition of "success."

And on keeping it small, have you ever been on a movie set? They're the most macho environments you could ever hope to come across. It's very different if things are small enough that if I want to move the camera an inch I just move the camera an inch. On a set you tell someone "I'd like to move the camera an inch" and it's like [hand to mouth] "We're moving the camera!" and it's this whole moment-killing thing with everyone running with this shit all over them, the walkie-talkies and the Blackberries and all this stuff. I am really easily distracted. I'm not creative with that much noise around me, so I would say that I'm lucky that my ideas are so small and that it kind of works, aesthetically, for the stories we're telling and the amount of money we've had. And believe me, no one is banging on my door with a ton of money.

Slant: Not yet, but you've got real chops. At some point, a budget of a hundred grand or so might create barriers to your artistic exploration. What I'm talking about is, like, the joy of dolly shots. I don't buy that you're uninterested in exploring that.

KR: I made a first feature and then after that I spent four years not getting a film made—living "the dream" in L.A. to get a feature made. It was by far the least satisfying time of my life. Then I came home and made the Super 8 movie and felt in control. I had this great epiphany when I was standing in a field with friends making an art project. It was like, how do I structure my world around this? This is satisfying. This is the pinnacle.

http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/features/kellyreichardt.asp

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD F/09

More modern punk/traditional Englishman hybrid concoctions, from English designer Vivienne Westwood.

These are from her men's Fall 2009 collection. Some really cool pieces in here. Typically with runway shows the idea is to present the clothes in the most artful, sometimes theatrical way possible, not necessarily how most people would dress walking down the street. But a couple of these are completely street ready I think. And a couple are just outrageous lol.

I only posted a couple of the ones that I liked best or thought were the most interesting. You can check out the rest at WWD.

MATEWAN

John Sayles' MATEWAN, made in 1987, dramatizes the events of a 1920 coal miner strike and their effort to unionize in Matewan, a small West Virginian town. I watched MATEWAN as part of a handful of films I'm looking at for inspiration for a new idea and it's the first John Sayles film I've seen.

The film is based on true events, but is centered around two fictional characters - an organizer for the mine workers, Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper) and a union supporting boy preacher, Danny Radnor (Will Oldham in his first film role). Kenehan comes to Matewan to try and help organize the local miners, who are being not only exploited but threatened and harassed by the coal company men. His efforts are well intentioned and noble, and it is clear where Sayles' personal politics lie. Meanwhile, young Danny Radnor and his mother run a local inn together, where soon enough two company men come to stay and stir up trouble. Radnor seems to look up to Kenehan, and even when the the miners are doubting Kenehan's tactics of resistance, Radnor supports him. When hostility between the two sides ignites, their relationship is ultimately tested.

MATEWAN wears its politics on it's sleeve. It is deeply pro-worker, which only has one unfortunate side effect and that is the reduction of the company men to bad guys straight out of a comic book. There are no shades of humanity or multi-dimension to them at all. They are literally sneering, gun wielding, disgusting pigs, and when they get shot at (as they inevitably do), it is made all too easy to cheer absent minded.

Some really interesting issues are touched upon though, one of which being the relationship between race and class. When Kenehan first arrives in Matewan, the miners harbor violent racist viewpoints. They attack black miners, referring to them not only as "niggers" but "scabs" who are taking their jobs. Kenehan stresses to them the idea that a poor worker is a poor worker, and that everyone needs to be in solidarity.

The film also discusses armed vs non violent resistance. Kenehan is staunch practitioner of non violent protest (the ultimate pacifist in my humble opinion), and attempts to convince the miners to adopt his methods. But when one of their own meets a violent fate at the hands of of the company men, Kenehan can no longer control the justified angry reaction.

MATEWAN is compellingly shot, cinematographer Haskell Wexler created a visual life for the film that looks like a charcoal painting. The performances are all fantastic, most noteworthy being a 17 year old Will Oldham and James Earl Jones as a black miner called Few Clothes. Also exciting to note, this was made on a relatively low budget, and Sayles casted many locals of the town in the film.

TAYLOR MOMSEN FOR NIKE

IN A DREAM

Some of the most amazing documentary films are often the result of the filmmaker turning his/her camera on their own family. Nathaniel Kahn's MY ARCHITECT. Jonathan Caouette's TARNATION. When one has an incredible story brewing under their own roof, the unparalleled access to document it can result in something really original. I know for me, my first inspiration to attempt a documentary came after learning about a tragedy in my own family history.

Following in this tradition is Jeremiah Zagar's IN A DREAM:

In the vibrant, bohemian neighborhood of South Philadelphia, 50,000-square feet of concrete are covered with tile and mirrors—mosaics that were created by Isaiah Zagar, an eccentric, tormented artist.

The murals chronicle his love for his wife, Julia, and subtly hint at the darker corners of an extraordinary imagination. Where Isaiah is obsessive and narcissistic—a former Peace Corps volunteer who has become an icon in South Philly's art community—Julia is gracious and warm. For decades, their opposing natures complemented one another perfectly. But suddenly the family is torn apart at the seams: A few hours before picking up his oldest son from a rehabilitation center, Isaiah declares to the camera, "As people get older they have less and less passion." He then confesses to an affair with his assistant, is kicked out of the house, and spirals into a debilitating, suicidal depression.

A fascinating portrait of love and betrayal, family bonds, and the intimacy of dysfunction. Shot on 35mm, Hi Def, digital video; with 8mm and 16mm home movie footage. The soundtrack features music by the Books, Explosions in the Sky, Efterklang, and Kelli Scarr.

In A Dream Trailer from Herzliya Films on Vimeo.

Does that not look incredible?

http://www.inadreammovie.com

W+K RADIO

Wieden + Kennedy just launched an awesome new endeavor a couple weeks ago... W+K RADIO, their first online radio station.

Here it is from the horse's mouth:

W+K Radio exists to inspire creativity through provocative conversations, interviews, and artistic expression relating to the arts, culture, music and media.

W+K Radio is the auditory extension of Wieden + Kennedy and its network of agents in Portland, Amsterdam, NY, London, Tokyo, Shanghai, Delhi and beyond. Our people harbor secret passions to make public declarations on all sorts of fascinating topics. And we are more than happy to indulge them.

But that is only half our story. We also source material from the communities we live in, artists, thinkers, doers, makers, fakers, blowhards, and propagandists from all walks of life who are willing to share something about their craft, about ideas, about how they do what they do, or why they even try.

And of course, there's the music. Music of all stripes for tastes of all spots, curated by a rotating cast of eclectic individuals.

Tomorrow at 11AM my buddy J.Lowe is the guest DJ, and on Friday at 10AM my dad will be on the air for an interview. If you check out the archive there is a pretty great (and funny!) interview with Dan Wieden himself and also an interview with Portland architect Brad Clopefil, who did the Wieden + Kennedy office. In February they will also start having live performances from bands as well.

http://www.wk.com/radio

Cool shit happening!

OLD JOY

I watched my favorite film, OLD JOY, four times tonight. That has to be a personal movie watching record lol.

Despite all the subdued tension and tinges of sadness, the film is kind of like this calming experience that I have no problem reliving over and over. Consecutively even. Like your favorite album on repeat, or a book you find yourself always revisiting...

A few weeks ago I was having coffee with my friend and actor Ben Parslow, and we somehow got on the topic of how we both hate long movies. How our favorite films are often like short stories- rich, engrossing and potent full experiences, that are conceived to be compact and taken in at once.

OLD JOY is certainly that. 76 near perfect minutes that always call me back for frequent hikes to Bagby with Mark and Kurt.

JEANNE DIELMAN RE-RELEASE

So as mentioned in my post like a month ago, Criterion Collection is gearing up to release Chantal Akerman's JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES on DVD soon. But before that happens, we will get the amazing opportunity to see the film on the big screen thanks to Janus Films:

Hello,

Janus Films is pleased to announce a re-release (in a sparkling new 35mm print) of Chantal Akerman's legendary JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES. The film will open at Film Forum in New York City for a weeklong run beginning on January 23, and will subsequently tour the country. Check the attached links for more information, including current playdates.

Best wishes in the new year,

Janus Films

Chantal Akerman, Belgium/France 1975, 201 min

In a small apartment in Brussels lives Jeanne Dielman (Delphine Seyrig), a middle-aged widow, mother, homemaker, and prostitute whose existence is dominated by routine – the preparation of meals, the running of errands, visits from her clients, and evenings with her teenage son Sylvain (Jan Decorte) – until the cracks start to show. As towering a cinematic landmark as L’avventura or Weekend, Jeanne Dielman is a singular blend of feminism, modernism, and the avant-garde whose hypnotic rhythms and rigorous attention to detail make for a riveting, unforgettable experience. Janus Films is proud to present this masterpiece in a new 35mm print.

“A feminist masterwork of minimalist constraint; a cinematic powerhouse of narrative innuendo: Chantal Akerman’s pièce de résistance.” – Todd Haynes

THEATRICAL PLAYDATES

NOTE: Dates will be added as they are confirmed.

January 23 - January 29
New York, NY - Film Forum

February 12 & February 15
Cleveland, OH - Cleveland Cinematheque

February 20 - February 21
Columbus, OH - Wexner Center for the Arts

February 26 & February 28
San Francisco, CA - San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

March 10
Milwaukee, WI - Union Theatre

March 19 & March 22
Toronto, ON - Cinematheque Ontario

April 6 - April 7
Ithaca, NY - Cornell Cinema

April 10 - April 11
Los Angeles, CA - LACMA

April 17 - April 23
Chicago, IL - Gene Siskel Film Center

Why do we have to wait so long for it to come to LA?!?

OBJECTIFIED

A couple years ago I went to a special screening and director Q&A at Wieden & Kennedy for a film called HELVETICA. Didn't know a thing about it going in, but it turned out to be one of the best documentaries I've seen in recent years. HELVETICA was a sharp and engrossing study of typography and graphic design, using the Helvetica font as the base for a larger exploration of how typeface affects our lives.

Director Gary Hustwit is back with a new film, OBJECTIFIED:

Objectified is a feature-length independent documentary about industrial design. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the people who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. It’s about our relationship to mass-produced objects and, by extension, the people who design them.

Through vérité footage and in-depth conversations, the film documents the creative processes of some of the world’s most influential designers, and looks at how the things they make impact our lives. What can we learn about who we are, and who we want to be, from the objects with which we surround ourselves?

http://www.objectifiedfilm.com

Looks awesome.

Thanks for the heads up Bon.

SKINNY LOVE

Of all the videos Bon Iver did in the La Blogotheque series this one was my favorite. Would have been amazing to be there.

After months of just enjoying the mood, tone and atmosphere of Bon Iver, I'm paying more attention to the words as of late. There is incredible room for subjectivity in not just this song, but the whole album. I love that.

WENDY & LUCY

God, of all films, this deserves an extensive, proper review from me.

But you're just going to have to trust me on this one.

WENDY & LUCY is the most amazing piece of cinema I've seen all year... the most amazing American film since, well, OLD JOY.

See this. Please, please see this. It is destined to be a classic.


KELLY REICHARDT & MICHELLE WILLIAMS INTERVIEW

http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/movies/10wend.html
NY TIMES REVIEW