FROM SWEDEN : AUTUMN SONATA

OK, as I said, the festival gives one the chance not only to ogle at new productions but catch up on classics one may have missed in ones past. Now as you know, I am studying for a new career as a post-grad student in film studies and there is nothing more ample in my past that “missed classics”. The entire works of Ingmar Bergman, I am ashamed to say, feature prominently in this category. Thus, right at the beginning of the festival, I decided to set this right and took myself to Autumn Sonata by Bergman, among other classics you will find here this week. I usually like all art Scandinavian (a trait that gets me deemed “mad” by many friends and acquaintances) so I wasn’t nervous, merely curious. Bergman didn’t disappoint me. Turned out to be the little Scandinavian gem I always suspected it would be. I am on the hunt for the rest of his filmography as we speak.
So, what’s the story? Eva is the seemingly content wife of a vicar in a remote parish out on the Norwegian fiords. After hearing of the death of her mother’s “friend” (you can guess the reason for the inverted commas, right? Good.) she invites her mother (a celebrated concert pianist by the way) to stay with her and her husband for a couple of days. The mother and daughter will see each other for the first time in seven years, so there is much excitement on both sides. First there seems to be much rejoicing on both sides as caresses and questions are exchanged but before the first night is up the truth behind the veneer begins to raise its ugly head. There truly is nothing as complicated as “family ties”.
I don’t want to give too much of the “issues” (let’s go American) between the mother and daughter, simply because their slow unfurling is the backbone of the film. And I do not want to send you to a backboneless film – like a jellyfish, ugh… Anyway, so I will talk about the emotions the film left me with, or rather the impressions. Now, you may or indeed may not know that Scandinavian countries have a long (read ancient) custom of “story telling”. It survives today – if only barely – I was lucky enough to meet a Norwegian guy who was kinda training himself to become one a couple of years back but that’s a different story. Anyhow, the point is, this tradition makes a lot of their works of art like theatre (thing Ibsen’s plays for example) and film based heavily on dialogue. Take this film. I mean, there are “actions”, re-enactments and the conversation is broken from time to time, but the main part, the heart of the film is Eva and Charlotte’s (the mother) argument that goes on throughout the night and during which we see very little except the two speakers. The conversation takes place at night as I said so it makes the whole affair “dark” in more senses than one. And the content, well, it just gets heavier and heavier as it goes along. Plus it’s in Swedish in case, like my own beloved mother, you are “sensitive” about that. The whole thing is very tricky style to master and pull off that is unless your name is Ingmar Bergman. But even if you get it just right (which Bergman does, being Bergman) it’s definitely not for everyone. You will leave the film either feeling as if you’ve been hit by a freight train (as I did) or refreshed, because you fell asleep halfway (as did quite a few people in the theatre with me. Well, it was an evening séance) But I would take the gamble if I were you…

"SPELLBOUND" BY MR. HITCHCOCK / ONCE AGAIN

This is once again a classic example of old Hollywood at its finest; Alfred Hitchcock at the helm, starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck. A psychological thriller on more than one level this one; not only is it a classic Hitchcock thriller, it is also set largely in and around the human mind with plenty of psychoanalysis thrown in. I am not a particular fan of psychoanalysis. I am, however, a particular fan of Mr. Hitchcock so I persevered. And boy am I glad I did…
Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) is a star psychoanalyst in an asylum called Green Manor. She is young, brilliant and beautiful. The only problem is she steers well clear of all emotion. This stems from the (rather old fashioned and very sexist) belief that a woman in love operates on the lowest level of intellect. Her peaceful life at Green Manor is shaken to the core when the new head of the asylum; Dr. Anthony Edwards (Gregory Peck) arrives on the scene. He is a lot younger than everyone thought. He is charismatic and good looking. Ok, he has some strange mannerisms but that can be overlooked. Despite her own misgivings about women and emotion, Dr. Petersen is madly in love with him in a thrice. Her feelings are by o means one sided… But even though their love is strong, there is something decidedly wrong with Dr. Edwards. As his outbursts and fainting fits get more and more frequent, Dr Petersen is faced with a rather strange question: Who exactly is this man she has fallen in love with?
If you checked in last week, you will have read my opinions on Notorious, another brilliant Hitchcock film, well my opinions stand for this one as well. I mean, Mr. Hitchcock went as far as asking the great Salvador Dali to design the dream sequences in the film. Now THAT is what I call not cutting corners. The plot is complicated and very intelligent as usual. And another thing I love about these old movies is they do not take the audience for fools. It was the same in War and Peace. One assumed you knew the rudiments of European History; no idiotic babble explaining the background for “those who missed it”. Here the same. The film does not have a scene where a professor is lecturing first year students for instance. No. The director feels that a brief introduction to the concept of psychoanalysis is necessary, so, he puts a brief definition of it, in writing, on the screen for a few moments. The audience reads, grasps the definition and carries on. Freud, dream analysis and guilt complexes hurtling at you left and right. You are assumed to have the capacity to follow all that. It’s not scientific at all, but as I said in Notorious, it’s just a good quality thriller. A thriller with quality. And perfect for those of us who do not want to watch monsters and 3D precipices for a thrill but prefer to use our intellects. Elitist? No. I loved Avatar, I just ADORED it. I would have gone again if I could afford the hiked ticket prices (hiked for 3D purposes you know). I just think that this should NOT be the only sort of adventure around. We are forgetting to use our heads as we watch films and that is very sad indeed… Well at least the film was given its due in Oscar nominations in its time (Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Effects, Best Director and Best Actor in a Supporting Role - it ended up only winning Best Music, very unfair in my view...
As I watched this film, I was thinking something else… Oh heck who am I kidding; I wasn’t thinking at all, I was positively drooling over Gregory Peck. Now HE was a stunner – that’s my view anyway. But the cinema business is funny like that isn’t it? One craves intelligent, quality entertainment but even old fashioned Hollywood at its best would not be Hollywood without Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck and all those who came both before and after; looking dashing or beautiful, making us drool or get quite hot and bothered… Well well, that’s the nature of the beast. I mean, both human beings and show business, naturally =)

NOTORIOUS - IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

There are some things in life that you can pretty much guess most people will like. I mean, there are exceptions but some things, as far as the human condition goes, is a generalized like or dislike. Chocolate for instance. Now, a small number of women actually dislike chocolate (no, really, Mom for instance). However generally, women like chocolate. Or waking up with an alarm clock. I’m guessing pretty much most people hate this, then again there’s no accounting for taste of course… In circles of cinema, take Alfred Hitchcock. Again, to each his own but I reckon most of us like Hitchcock, no? His are truly good quality thrillers (or comedies – yes there are some, “There’s Something About Harry” for instance), usually starring classic actors, good solid story lines and an atmosphere you can cut with a spoon. Notorious is no different. Starring film legends Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in addition to the already legendary Hitchcock, I mean be honest, what more COULD you want from a Saturday night thriller…
Florida, 1946. Alicia Huberman(Ingrid Bergman) is the daughter of a Nazi. Her father has been tried for treason and charged. They are estranged for she loves the United States of which they are both citizens. But her father has associates and friends – now living in Brazil. The police know they are “up to something” but they are not quite sure what. They also think Alicia might be “convinced” to help them. Alicia becomes convinced and more when she meets her contact in the secret services - Mr. Devlin(Carey Grant). They click right away; but there is a problem. Devlin is a decent, upstanding chap, whereas Alicia has a “reputation”. She drinks too much and she flirts too much. She claims love has changed her and swears her loyalty to Devlin but before long his faith is tested severely. Alicia’s “job” is to “get close” to Alexander Sebastian, a prominent German businessman who is in the center of the secret proceedings. She succeeds; however, her success in this area means losing Devlin who she truly loves. Unfortunately, the place her heart lies barely comes into it; if the Nazi group finds out she is spying on them it may well cost her her life… Will Devlin and Alicia’s love stand these trials? And more importantly, will Alicia come out of the whole affair alive?
Well, in the hands of the master the most glamorous party turns into a nail – biter, the most dashing gent may well be a murderer and an innocent damsel a wily little so and so ready to ruin you… So it is with Notorious. This classy 40’s flick is old fashioned Hollywood at its finest. Adventure, baddies dashing, brave /beautiful hero(ine)s… A seemingly doomed love affair that may cost the lovers their lives… You know what I’m on about. This is why I like watching old black and white movies you see. You actually get to watch an adventure film or a thriller. You know what I mean, look at modern films; I mean adventure films these days are nothing more than a very skimpy excuse to show off the latest 3D / HD technology. Thrillers? CGI, monsters, plenty of gore. Special effects and Makeup Oscars ® all round. All this is well and good and of course in cinema today we need a bit of that as well but what happened to the film itself? You know what I mean, the thing you’re left with when you strip away the special effects. There has to be substance in that as well, and I don’t necessarily mean in “art movies” or “psychological dramas”. No, thrillers should have class as well… Otherwise, in some cases anyway, the “film” is nothing more than an insult to one’s intelligence. And I don’t give a flying foxglove how old that makes me sound…

WELCOME BACK TO RICK'S - IN "CASABLANCA"

“Here’s looking at you kid”; “We’ll always have Paris”; “This could be the start of a beautiful friendship”; “Play it again Sam”… Even if you haven’t actually seen Casablanca I’m sure you’ve heard all these quotes before. It was the case with me when I first watched it. I jumped at the chance at re-visiting Rick’s the other night (funny how we all seem to end up there, no?) And frankly, before we even get down to brass tacks, if you haven’t seen it, you simply HAVE to see it. If you have seen it, see it again. It’s the kind of thing real cinema is made of…
Casablanca 1941… Port in Morocco and one of the last footholds of free France. Although, of course with the Vichy government and the Nazis breathing down their necks, it’s not as free as one might wish… Escapees from all over occupied Europe flood here and wait… What do they wait for? A rite of passage to Lisbon. From Lisbon they will head to America: Land of hope and new beginnings, far from the horrors of war. Of course rites of passage are hard to come by and sometimes the wait might take years, yes years… Luckily, there is plenty to do to occupy one’s time, and the most prestigious place to pass one’s time is Rick’s. Rick (Humphrey Bogart) runs the place, he is charismatic and mysterious. He has his own rules and rule he does, like a king. He is however, a king in exile, he can never return to his native America… That doesn’t matter though because the world comes to him… And one day a rather special part of the world comes to him: A Czech resistance fighter and hero – Victor Laszlo - trying to make it to the U.S.A. with the Nazis hot on his heels. With him, is Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), his wife. The “problem” is this is not the first time Rick and Ilsa have met… Lives are at stake and enemies are all around as the two face their past… And a very difficult decision…
This film is, in a word, breathtaking. There is a reason a film from the 40’s is still up in the imdb TOP 20. I’m not even going to begin about the acting. Bogart and Bergman, Jesus what a pair… What a couple… Bergman’s beauty and Bogart’s charisma… I am, as you know, quite loony about a lot of modern day actors but these two are true legends for a reason… And I mean, the story is quite original too, I mean yes it is a WW2 film but it’s about an aspect of the war none of us run of the mill folks know much about. (Come on, admit it, when someone says Second World War, Africa is NOT the first, second or third thing you think of). But I really REALLY don’t think you need a reason to watch Casablanca. I mean, OK it’s not AVATAR. No 3D no HD no “D” s at all except for “Delightful” . You may or may not be a fan of old black and white movies. You may simply not be familiar with them. I cannot think of a better way of getting introduced… So, step on down to Rick’s… You’ll like it there – and you’ll be back. I promise.