8.4.13

INTIMACY- what kind of a furry animal is that?




Intimacy
- an european film

 
Criticized for its "pornographic eroticism", "Intimacy" by Patrice Chereau ( a film that won the Golden Bear in Berlin 2000) unveils the ugggggly of our every day life...



 
It is a realistic, hard and explicit film about our irresistible wish of always having more...

Claire and Jay are lovers, but they do not know each other intimately.



Their encounters are exclusively sexual and filmed so explicitly that they cannot become immoral. Or morbid. The failed actress and the bartender meet every Wednesday afternoon on the worn out carpet of a hideous apartment somewhere in the East End.

 Under the apparent perversion of their gestures there is the basic need of the two to survive.

They enter each other's body with the wish of entering their souls, even in this case when the bynom sex+love does not lead to Intimacy+LOVE...



 
What is love, admitting it exists?

Is there enough to have sexual intimacy, in order to  lure ourselves of having reached the real thing?

 One of these Wednesdays Claire doesn't show up.

It will be the trigger for Jay to depart in an exhausting chase for the woman's identity. A desperate attempt to win more space in her life.



 
The image is shaken, many times unclear, as a reflexion of the chaos the bartender lives in.

It alternates the camera on the shoulder and its claustrophobic consequences, with more conventional frames, which returns a sort of documentary and a tragic dimension to the movie.

As it recreates Jay's interior disturbance, the camera is also an echo to the brownien hazards of the outside world.

 Jay's living space seems more of a squat, impossible to manage.

There dominate terrible dirt and disorder, with nothing really personal: old clothes thrown among desuete cd-s, fallow interiors, a minimum of comfort, flooded toilets.

A typical house for an inconstant budget...

In contrast we see his bourgeoise family house, a typical London home: clean neighborhood, kitchen curtains and fluffy carpets, faience warm bathroom..



 The irony of the title is a reflection on the human condition of always wanting to belong to something or someone, despite the cruel reality of our existential isolation.

It thus forces us to meditate on a double interpretation of the concept of "intimacy".



 
Far from the edulcorated image of love in the Hollywood movies, "Intimacy" shines in its natural light, without being distorted by visual effects, choreographed scenes and perfect bodies.

Its graphic realism is an aggression for a public expecting the classical "romantic film".



 
"Intimacy" is human and attentive... a film about vulnerability, brittleness and susceptibility...
 

Giulia  Ghica Dobre

 
 

My interview with Tricky


Ingerul negru cu fata curata

 

TRICKY TALKS cu Giulia DOBRE

 

Artist multietnic ca origini si ca stil de viata, Tricky are 40 de ani. Intre trip-hop, film si televiziune, a lucrat cu mai toate numele experimentale sau nu, de la Bjork la The Gravediggaz, de la Jerry Bruckheimer la seriale lesbiene…. Dupa 5 ani de liniste revine cu un album nou: Knowle West Boy. Inca de la primele vorbe a fost viu si arzator, contagios…

L-am intrebat cum de exact in acest moment al vietii s-a gandit la copilarie si la locul in care a crescut. Mi-a raspuns ca de mult se gandea la acest subiect, dar ca:”… Nu e un album doar despre adolescenta mea. Sunt si multe alte subiecte. Knowle West e un loc din care nu te-ai astepta sa iasa nimic bun. Insa eu sunt foarte mandru ca provin de-acolo, dintr-un loc cu oameni dintr-o bucata!”… Il intreb daca s-a gandit vreodata ca a creat un sound foarte personal. Daca s-a gandit vreodata la cat de mult a evoluat muzica lui in ultimii 18 ani…“ Inca incerc sa-mi gasesc soundul propriu. Imi doresc sa il schimb mereu, si asta vine oricum natural. Nu aleg schimbarea cu orice pret. Vine de la sine. Si nu, nu cred ca exista un “sound Tricky”. Chiar daca fiecare album suna diferit, cred ca se recunoaste stilul meu. Cred ca exista un sentiment Tricky. Un vibe Tricky. “

       Dupa ce in adolescenta ameninta sa iasa puternic de pe sine, talentul lui extrem l-a mentinut pe linia de plutire. La 20 de ani aparuse spectaculos pe scena, scriind 9 dintre piesele albumului “Blue Lines” al lui Massive Attack. Foarte multi ani a stat in America, taram adorat, unde a trait misterios. Il intreb de ce acest exil autoimpus si neproductiv. Raspunde: “ Poti sa ai un anume tip de succes si sa nu insemne  defapt nimic. Apari pe toate copertile faimoase, dar lumea nu te cunoaste. Si nimanui defapt nu-i prea pasa de tine, cel real.  Am simtit nevoia sa ma caut prin underground. A supravietui in muzica este la fel de dur precum a supravietui in Knowle West, uneori e mai bine sa dispari putin, iar alteori trebuie sa-ti faci simtita prezenta. In America am invatat sa pierd timpul cu gratie…Imi vizitam putinii prieteni, stateam pe terase la o cafea si o tigara ore in sir, adesea singur. Era perfect. Mancam in cele mai bune restaurante care apartin unor prieteni ai mei, traiam simplu si bine. Am avut cateva iubite, mi-am vazut familia. Am trait. Uneori mai fugeam la cate o noapte nebuna in Vegas, cu gasca…”

L-am intrebat cand, in agenda ultra plina de inregistrari, turnee, concerte, relatii cu media, mai are timp de el-insusi. Daca face sport, daca tine diete. Daca il intereseaza. Da, Tricky face foarte mult sport. Sala zilnica. Si tratamente intense de acupunctura. Trupul e sanctuarul lui. Asta si pentru ca Tricky are o candida cronica, cu care se lupta de ani de zile. Imi spune ca antibioticele i-au cauzat o puternica intoleranta la glucide, la lapte, la o seama de alte alimente de baza. Deja cunoscut pentru starile sale rapid schimbatoare, mergand pana la paranoia, in mare parte bazate pe consumul industrial de marijuana, ajunsese intr-o faza in care intreaga cariera i-a fost pusa in dubiu.

Acum este insa alt om. Cu totul. “Prima dezintoxicare a durat 3 luni. Eram in turneu, si a trebuit sa iau un bucatar cu mine. Trebuia sa supravegheze tot ce mancam si sa ma tina departe de zahar si de cereale. Initial am fost foarte bolnav de la schimbarea dietei. Transpiram si vomam- era hardcore! Dupa 6 saptamani, am ajuns intr-un magazin si aproape ca am lesinat cand am simtit mirosul ciocolatii si al dulciurilor”. Acele zile negre insa au trecut. E mandru de “diferenta” care se simte pe album, in voce, in soundul epurat si eclectic. Pana si astmul de-o viata i s-a mai potolit de cand nu mai consuma nici-un produs lactat. S-a mutat pe bune la Paris pentru bucataria excelenta, pastrand dieta. ”La inceputul dietei nici macar nu stiam ce sunt alimentele integrale,  dar acum le descopar cu un soi bizar de intuitie. In locul lucrurilor care imi placeau, m-am trezit ca poftesc dupa chestii gen sparanghel, mai ales dupa ce fac sport.  Si pentru ca le am acum pe toate bine aranjate, mai pot trisa din cand in cand, cu o pizza”.

Materie de baza pentru acest ultim album, o relatie furtunoasa tocmai i s-a destramat. Isi propune sa nu se mai indragosteasca o buna vreme…Insa femeile sunt pentru el lumea. Misterul prim si ultim. Ii place sa-si plaseze femeile in pozitii puternice, masculine. A crescut cu ele, prin ele, adesea se imbraca pe scena in costume femeiesti ca un omagiu adus inefabilului ascuns in spatele fustelor…Lucreaza cu femeile, le iubeste patimas. Dar nu e capabil s-o exprime altfel decat prin muzica. Este satul de actrite si de manechine, prea ocupate, prea superficiale. Si-ar dori, poate, sa intalneasca o fata simpla, cu un umor sanatos, cu care sa vorbeasca ore in sir la telefon, care sa-l faca sa rada. O fata de cartier…

Ce ii repugna? “Chiar acum, imi repugna barbatii in toata firea care fac pe lupii sexy. Gen Pharell sau Timberlake. Nu inteleg de ce se stramba in camera, in video-clipurile alea, incercand sa para super bombe sexuale. Cand asta trebuie sa transpara fara nici-un efort. Defapt nu trebuie, pentru ca nu asta vinzi. Cine mai cade in plasa asta, a atractiei fortate?”.

Il intreb daca mai crede in necesitatea textelor, a versurilor, in lumea actuala cinica si grabita. “De multe ori scriu doar texte. Fara muzica. Nu stiu ce primeaza la mine. Cred ca textul. Ma doare cand scriu vorbe. Parca sunt vehiculul unei alte sensibilitati. Poate sunt aici ca sa exprim ce n-a apucat mama (sinucisa cand el avea 4 ani, n.a.). Sunt vocea ei. Cu totii spunem tot felul de chestii dementiale in fiecare zi, si ele trec, nu le noteaza nimeni. Pe mine astea ma inspira. O respiratie ingreunata, un colt de strada in LA, clasa in care invatam…”

Il intreb ce mai asculta. “Totul, spune, chestii de tineret gen MGMT sau Death Cab for Cuties...Vad insa multe filme acum, ador filmele. Tocmai am terminat de turnat unul: "Brown Punk”. 12 cantece din artisti diferiti,ale caror cuvinte formeaza un scenariu...”

L-am intrebat cu ce artist si-ar mai dori sa colaboreze, si ce zone muzicale sa mai exploreze. De curand a compus si cantat cu Tom Waits, poetul damnat al Americii, cu care recunoaste ca are enorm in comun. De la dezabuzare, la urgenta de trai cat mai multe, si a face muzica. Are o multime de alte vise. Vrea un album intreg cu PJ Harvey, muziciana pe care o admira neconditionat. Isi doreste sa viziteze mai multe locuri pe unde doar a trecut timp de cateva ore inaintea unui concert. Europa de Est il fascineaza. Simte o gramada de noi albume fierbandu-i in stomac. Cum zice el:”… I've got albums to make, I've got souls to touch…”.

Ultimul sau album redefineste atomosfera absolut seducatoare si cosmopolitana a lipsei lui de radacini.  10 piese cu 10 stari diferite”, spune Tricky. “School Gates” este o cantecel folk mai sumbru decat partea intunecata a Lunii, scris in amintirea unei relatii hiper-colorate din prima sa adolescenta. Relatie din care astazi supravietuieste o fiica de 23 de ani. Urmeaza primul cantec in care canta singur:”Council Estate”, despre viata fara tata in cartierul underground.  Un cartier in care, spune Tricky:”…Eram toti tratati la fel, albi sau negri, pentru ca eram cu totii saraci. Oricum pe mine m-a crescut bunica, care e alba, si am verisori de toate rasele. Am crescut ascultand Elvis si Bob Dylan, si privind filmele de groaza ale bunicii, cele in alb-negru, clasicele. “

Fragil si barbat, interiorizat, inocent, dezabuzat si ireverentios, punk-rockerul Tricky se intoarce.

 

5.3.13

not only about porn....Don Jon's Addiction at the Berlinale 2013

 
DON JON'S ADDICTION
USA c.2013
A polymorphic gifted actor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt took lately the big step of Directing and Writing, with “Don Jon’s addiction”.
Jon is a security guard in a Club.
He is also called DON, for his italian origins and  for being the leader of the sexual flirting camp.
In his well regulated life there are: women, the church, the familly, the gym and porn.
An impenitent philanderer, Jon cannot stop masturbating in front of porn, even when he is having sex with a woman.
 And then one night, in da club, arrives HER : la femme fatale, the siren with a hypnotic song….
Scarlett Johansson is Barbara Sugarman, who becomes even more intriguing when she refuses intimacy.  
But what seemed to be a story seen and overseen, becomes totally subverted : the gorgeous Barbara is an infantile and vicious woman…
An arrogant and capricious princess wearing the mask of a romantic dreamer wearing the mask of a femme fatale…  
 
They will start a game of reavealing each other, spiced up by the performance of the two actors and by the continous porno streaming of Jon.
Then enters the scene a very estranged Julianne Moore as an outsider, totally out of any stereotypes.
The quadrate Jon-Barbara-Ester-Porno evolves in a frenetic walz.
 Gordon-Levitt is at his top in building up the American sterotype, middle way between a dickhead and a metrosexual, with a substantial critique of addiction, virtual world and arrogance.
The scenes are never too long, the frames are short but directed with a clever eye.
Symmetry measures as a counter the obsessive return to habits, fixations, addictions.
 
 
 
Don Jon’s addiction provokes a lot of laughter.
 
It does not originate so much in its dialogues, but rather in its editing solutions, in its secondary details or in the sudden appearance of a face  expression, always at the borderline with the ridicule.

 
But rather than being a seedy examination of the porn industry, the film is, actually  about intimacy, says Gordon-Levitt.
It is a delightful film that goes beyond a simple comedy and almost smells of drama.
It is playing with a vivid irony that doesn’t spare anyone, and with a certain elegance…
It also operates a powerful critique that follows unconventional modes.
 
 
 
The film of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, just as his character, has a spontaneity and a lightness that can only inspire sympathy...
GD

USA 2013, 90 min
 
English

DIRECTOR

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

CAST

Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Scarlett Johansson
Julianne Moore


2.3.13

More is Less: DESHORA in Panorama plays to the very end...

 
DESHORA (Belated)
(ARgentina-Columbia-Chile-NOrway) 
 
 
Another personal favorite, the heavy-handed chamber drama "Deshora” from Argentina-Columbia, is the feature debut of Argentine Barbara Sarasola-Day.
 
A long opening tracking shot through tobacco fields in the Argentine highlands shows the back of a man bearing a heavy load.
 
We are therefore introduced to the burdened lives of a wealthy tobacco farmer Ernesto, his wife Helena and Helena’s cousin Joaquin, fresh out of rehab, who joins them to experience farm life and the salutary benefits of physical effort.
 
 
We understand there is a problem here with dependence – on narcotics, but also some troubles with the affection, status, and convention.
 
Coming from a tradition of noblesse oblige, muscular, macho Ernesto (Luis Ziembrowski) glad hands his peasant employees and participates in landed-gentry traditions like hunting, cockfighting and visiting the bordello.
 
He's not particularly interested in bedding horsey wife Helena (Maria Ucedo-one of the most sensual actresses on screen), who is desperate for a child.
Their lack of success has made them irritable and prone to half-hearted sex.
But social context and the osmotic virility of ranch life shores up their marriage.
Ernesto takes then Joaquin to cockfights, to his regular high-end brothels and out hunting.
 
“Animals can smell fear” he says, as he shows Joaquin how to fire a rifle, embracing him from behind and releasing a more elemental response: an attraction as undeniable as the grass on which they stand…
 
Joaquin’s character is meant to spice up the couple’s sex life, particularly if they can see him watching. The atonal acting of the actor, though, fails to bring any erotic spark to the tale…
Ernesto and Joaquin (an uncharismatic asexual being) torch each other with looks.

 
And one day with one kiss that stands for a whole world of forbidden desires, transferred by both men onto an increasingly confused Helena.
 
The film rests almost entirely on this trio for whom the open spaces around them are an escape from their confinement within inherited and perpetuated norms.
 
Stretched to the maximum bearable, they reach into the corners of their projected roles…They open old scars…  They draw new blood from a society made vulnerable by prejudice…
 
Misty, uneven camera work by Lucio Bonelli approximates the green-gray-yellow color of a bruise, the warm and humid surroundings, the noises of an old wooden floor secretly stepped on at night…
 
 
It is a literally dark, elaborated execution of an overly familiar theme in the conservative countryside of northwest Argentina. A place where men are men… 
... women are mothers, whores or servants…
...and homosexual desire is present, but absolutely taboo…
 
 
 
 
 

GD

A Pucara Cine, Antorcha Films, Faction Film production, in association with Atopic, with the support of Incaa, Proimagenes Colombia, FDC. Sorfond Norwegian South Film Fund, Fundacion Carolina Casa America, IFP. Produced by Federico Eibuszyc, Jhonny Hendrix, Barbara Sarasola-Day, Dag Hoel, Daniel A. Werner.
Directed, written by Barbara Sarasola-Day.
 
 
 
With:
Luis Ziembrowski, Maria Ucedo, Alejandro Buitrago.
(Spanish dialogue)
Camera (color, widescreen, HD), Lucio Bonelli; editor, Catalina Rincon; music, Alvaro Morales; art director, Marcela Gomez Montoya; sound (Dolby Digital 5.1)
 Running time: 102 MIN.