January 15, 2009

Cinema file: Godard's Made in U.S.A., Eraserhead

NewYorkology’s new film columnist, Tim McGonagle, was orphaned in a revival theater in Boston, Massachusetts in the mid-1970s. While other kids were outside playing tag, he was busy absorbing the films of Buster Keaton, Akira Kurosawa and the inappropriate for his then age, John Cassavettes. Currently he contributes to the “Noir of the Week” film noir website and maintains a blog of his own. Here are his picks of upcoming cinema offerings.

Made in U.S.A. (1966)
Never shown in the states since its premiere at the New York Film Festival in 1967, Made in U.S.A. is a French New Wave lost treasure playing at Film Forum through January 22nd. In Made in U.S.A., director Jean-Luc Godard takes the conventional geometry of the film noir and makes it non-Euclidean. Mind you this inversion is not done for the sake of him poking fun or getting kicks by this process. Godard was an avid fan, as the film’s opening dedication to noir auteurs — “Nicholas (Ray) and Samuel (Fuller) who raised me to love sound and image” — proclaims. Godard however brands his signature style of filmmaking on the film noir genre through his unique interpretation and delivery. By infusing some of his favorite themes of existentialism, commercialism and politics, he turns the conventions of the hard-boiled thriller on their ear.

The film stars Godard’s mesmerizing avant-garde muse Ana Karina searching for her boyfriend’s killers in an apparent politically motivated assassination. While the story is purposely convoluted and told at paces ranging from staccato to languorous, visually it pops with energy. Instead of nefarious men lurking in dark shadows, Made in U.S.A. is filmed with vivid lighting and color that at times borders on the brightness and saturation of a 1950s MGM musical. Karina’s frequent outfit changes are radiant palates of retina-roasting oranges and reds. Such dresses are stark contrasts to the dark suits of, say Bogart’s Philip Marlowe. Godard’s humor is omnipresent with such examples as the onscreen violence often replaced by seconds of comic book panels (a la the late 60s “Batman” television show) and book-ended by a soothing classical music score. Made in U.S.A. is a fascinating film that is thoughtful, engrossing and four decades later, still very hip fun.

Remembering Richard
In tribute to former co-founder and director of the New York Film Festival Richard Round, The Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theatre is showing two of his favorites for the price of one admission on Thursday, January 23rd.

The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (1968)
The story of Johann Sebastian Bach (Gustav Leonhardt) as told with sparse narrative voiceover through his wife Anna Magdalena (Christiane Lang.) The majority of the film, set in the 18th century, is comprised of portions of Bach’s music performed by Leonhardt and other musicians/actors. Directors Daniele Huillet’s and Jean-Marie Straub’s use of a fixed camera in filming these wonderful extended musical sequences lets the drama of Bach’s life pale in comparison to the beauty and complexity of his compositions. Unconventional and unique in execution, The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach is a must for classical music fans.

La Ronde (1950)
By using a dovetailing series of racy scenarios set in 1900 Vienna, Director Max Ophüls creates a charming dream like environment where passionate affairs spill over from one character to the next and eventually come full circle. The linked vignettes are seemingly orchestrated by a mysterious and omniscient character named “Raconteur” and contain performances by French film legends Simone Signoret and Jean-Louis Barrault among others. It’s a beautifully shot film containing not only fantastic camera work, but some very saucy scenes for its time. La Ronde was nominated for two Oscars and won the BAFTA Best Film Award in 1952.

Waverly Midnights at IFC
Friday and Saturday nights at the IFC have some nice offerings coming up not excluding David Lynch’s paramount cult film Eraserhead (1977). It contains some of the most disturbing and bizarre images ever captured on celluloid along with such gems as the worst question you could be asked over dinner conversation when meeting your girlfriend’s parents for the first time: “Is it true you’re having sexual intercourse with Mary?” Seeing the film is practically a rite of passage in certain circles, so catch it properly on the big screen.

Also coming to Waverly Midnights for you Joy Division fans are Control (2007) January 30 and 31st and Joy Division (2007) on February 6 and 7th.

Also of note…

The 18th annual NY Jewish Film Festival presented by The Film Society at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum looks to be chock full of interesting cinema from around the world.

January 15, 2009 10:36 AM in Cheap Stuff, Downtown, Sightsology, Upper East Side, Upper West Side

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