Crime And Punishment

"Crime And Punishment" is probably one of the best known pieces of world literature. It has been studied by literary scholars, disciples of psychology or by simply those who just love reading a good novel. It is evident that the intriguing topic of the novel could be discussed in hundreds of pages. Here, I only want to mention some points I find very interesting in this novel. There is the unfortunate fate of the innocent bystander for one. This is an interesting point since Raskolnikov was motivated and felt justified to kill the old pawnbroker, Alyona Ivanovna, who lived from exploiting him, among others. But with Lizaveta, whose only "crime" was to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, it was a different matter. He summoned up courage to murder someone he hated, and carried away by the same momentum, he killed someone he did not want to. Whatever we do, it is rarely focused on only the object of our actions, and crime is no exception. It is the involuntary nature of the second murder, that it lacked any personal motive, and was simply forced by the circumstances that makes Raskolnikov's deed really terrible, even for himself. The second and larger half of the novel than deals with the consequences of the murder, how Raskolnikov struggles with recurring memories, how he is finally driven to the point of confession, and finds religious comfort and peace from his menacing consciousness.

Woody Allen's "Match Point" (2005) is based heavily on some of these motifs. It paraphrases the story from a modern point of view. The bystander is a part of the plan from the beginning, a necessary obstacle on the way to the intended murder. The murder is not committed out of need, or to justify some higher moral cause, only to eliminate a person once beloved who is now being reduced to a factor preventing success in life. It would be appropriate to call Allen's work "Crime And Consequences", as it is the very lack of punishment and the consequent mental peace, the absence of "meaning" and the realisation that the world is such a place where one can get away with this deed, which is the disturbing thought that the murderer has to live with. The irony of the modern feeling of life is that one can actually live with it...

Brad Anderson's "The Machinist" (2004) is another modern day paraphrase of Dostoyevsky's novel. Here, we have only a bystander, there is no intent in murder, but neither there is for confession. It is the lack of intent that fuels the struggles against an unwanted reality, and it is the quest for courage to face the truth and suffer the consequences that eventually leads to relief from a much worse alienation. Punishment seems to serve a similar purpose here as for Raskolnikov, it makes it possible for one to find peace with oneself.

The Mass - Era

Era is the name of the musical project of French composer Eric Lévi. The music and the video recall the atmosphere of medieval legends, a mixture of Gregorian choirs with modern electronic music. The lyrics are written in a language that deliberately has no exact meaning, although quite similar to Latin. "The Mass" (2003) is like a pilgrimage to an uphill sanctuary, we gradually increase in spirit until we arrive at the peak and even learn to fly beyond...

Le Révolution des crabes

A nice little short from 2003 by Arthur de Pins. What happens if one day a crab, whose whole race walks in one direction only, suddenly realises he is capable of much more than that? Watch and see in this allegoric little tale... sure, no revolution is welcome in the world of habits...

Nicole Renaud

This post is connected to the previous one inasmuch as Plympton's animation "Eat" uses the accordion music and vocal talents of Nicole Renaud, where I actually heard them for the first time, and took the trouble to track her down some years later, which lead me to this portfolio posted here. She really has a nice voice, something I would call ethereal, almost out of another world. The song around the first minute I think illustrates very well what I mean, which song according to her website is an 18th century Italian love song; but I also like her performance around the third minute. Well, I like the whole thing actually...

Bill Plympton

Your face. from Amalia Loret on Vimeo.

Bill Plympton directed a large number of short animations as well as a handful of full length features. His often grotesque and always humorously designed cartoons are referred to as "plymptoons" due to their unique style. "Your Face" (1987) is not the first one of these, but perhaps still the most well-known one not only because of its form-breaking imagination but also due to the very fitting music composed especially for the short. A personal favourite of mine is "Eat" (2001), which combines the atmosphere of slow French accordion music with a grotesque caricature of gastronomy and expensive restaurant culture. And finally, you may learn how risky it may be to have an overprotective pet in "Guard Dog" (2004).

Bill Plympton (2001) - Eat from Joaquin on Vimeo.

Bill Plympton - Guard Dog from moi on Vimeo.

Earth Song

Michael Jackson - Earth Song

Hochgeladen von martin1976. - Sieh funny Tier Videos.

Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" is part of the HIStory album released in 1995. What can I say... it is a great achievement both as far as the music and the video are concerned. Very moving and dramatic indeed, it relates the ballad of the stormy relation of human and Earth. It drives you desperate about the carelessness of the human race about our environment, and even about ourselves. We cry together with Earth over the wounds we ourselves inflicted. So loud is the lamentation that Nature itself intervenes to blow away disorder... If you care to know more about the details of how and where the video was made, don't miss the written summary after the clip.

Louis de Funès

Today I am posting a few clips from French comedian Louis de Funès (1914-1983). He is probably most famous for his "going crazy" scenes in the role of some domineering personality. His facial expressions and the high intensity of his performances are especially memorable. The first post is one of the most memorable of these from "Oscar" (1967). Another scene from "Le grand restaurant" (1966) shows his abilities for impersonation in the famous Muskartnuss Hitler parody. And finally, I felt obliged to involve a piece from his Gendarme series as well. In this episode from "Le gendarme à New York" (1965), Ludovic Cruchot undertakes the English education of the gendarmes on the way to New York. There are no subtitles for the this one, but I think it is pretty clear what's happening even without them...