The Fountain

"The Fountain" (2006) is about life and death all the same. A surreal quest for life that takes you from middle age Spain all the way to a dying star of Mayan myths to see where life and death joins together in harmony. The story of a dying woman that has to be finished by her beloved. You might say it takes him ages to become able to... finish it. Among the unalterable facts that we have to accept death seems to be the most fearsome. And yet, if I was to define the human condition in one word, it would be the "but..." we respond to these facts, and indeed many times this rebelling word is what helped us change seemingly immovable circumstances and bend them in our favor. It is this spirit that seeks to alter our condemnation to death, and he travels a long way to finally accept it as the graceful fulfillment and renewal of life. An interesting note about the visual effects in the movie (the dying star sequence): they are not CGI, but microphotographic shots of chemical reactions. I think it is pretty interesting how well this much cheaper solution turned out to be, as I am not sure that any CGI would have been better here, but I am quite sure that this choice resulted in a unique visual world that I may have lost the chance to see if CGI had been used. Beautiful and enlightening film from Darren Aronofsky with the enchanting music by Clint Mansell.

Tenshi no Tamago

"Tenshi no Tamago" (Angel's Egg, 1985) could be another piece in the row of surrealist art that I wrote earlier that I wanted to write about. It is what I like to sometimes call "an inner language film". It is a story of a pure feeling, perhaps "trust" would be the word that gives a good idea of what it is about, but perhaps it is better to say that it is about the fact that in a relationship one will inevitably hurt the other. Due to its nature, this 71 minutes long animated film is basically plotless and ambiguous, we follow the weird journey of two characters in a devastated Gothic world: a girl guarding and egg, and a man who befriends her. The girl gradually becomes confident that the man does not want the egg, but then... Some associate this feeling with a turn in director Mamoru Oshii's own life, namely a loss of faith during the time he was trained to become a priest. But I don't think we need such speculations whether they are true or not, because the feelings depicted are quite general so that many people with different backgrounds may recognize them. The artwork is that of Yoshitaka Amano, and some originals can be seen in the first video I am posting, which was probably made when the film was in an initial stage. The other "trailer" is edited from the film itself, using a piece from the original soundtrack of Yoshihiro Kanno (one that is also a favorite of mine). It is funny to remember that I ordered the cd with the original sound track directly from Japan some ten years ago. Back then it wasn't so easy to order or even to find such things online... Today you may watch the whole thing on youtube.

Blame, Ghosts And Kaosgumi - GMV At Its Best

Youtube can be a treasure mine sometimes, especially if you are looking for contemporary experimental art. I have just checked out the channel of a user called "kaosgumi", and I thought I'd link one of his works here. It uses the manga art of Tsutomu Nihei, more specifically his popular cyberpunk, "Blame!". This is a GMV - Graphic Music Video and those who are familiar with the notion of AMV (Anime MV) may already know what this means: it takes the artwork of the original which is then organized to the taste of the GMV creator to tell a story or simply to convey a feeling to the rhythm of a chosen piece of music. This is a very fine example of GMV, it keeps the atmosphere of the manga, uses simple but effective solutions of animation, and fitting choice of music. The latter is Ghosts IV [32] from the alternative rock band Nine Inch Nails. I have chosen this video to post here, but there are quite a few others on youtube. Check out if you can!

Édith Piaf - La vie en rose

"La vie en rose" is Édith Piaf's signature song, and an atmospheric one at that... I have the feeling of sitting in a Paris café, when I am listening to this song. Many have performed this song since then, but it gains a special significance when she sings it as her life was often stormy but seems to have been fulfilled in singing. The same goes for "Non, je ne regrette rien"; another song which I think is especially suited for her...

Vampires

Since Bram Stoker's Dracula appeared in 1897, it has been a subject of many interpretations and adaptations. In films, I would distinguish between two major types that put emphasis on different aspects of the character. I would label these as "Dracula" and "Nosferatu" films. Dracula films are either based on the novel itself, or, as the majority seems to do, rely more on the stage play adaptation of the book. Examples of adaptations following the book include Coppola's or that of Jesús Franco, but the real lasting image of a vampire is based on the stage play adaptations, and probably on the performance of Béla Lugosi in "Dracula" (1931). Here Dracula has a hypnotic personal charm, a mesmerising gaze that was extremely effective especially at a time when sound was so new that in Dracula there is no film music other than Swan Lake in the opening credits, as the makers were not sure how people would react to it... But the charmeur reading of Dracula is not limited to this film only, and has lived on until nowadays. That Dracula has figurative allusions to relationships of a sexual nature forbidden in the late Victorian era when it was written has been discussed by many. A charming vampire is sympathetic to both those who identify themselves with the seduced and the seducer. In the end, the victims may just throw themselves at the feet of the vampire as you can see in the video I am posting here with Frank Langella in "Dracula" (1979).

On the other hand, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's version of Dracula shows a quite different aspect of the character. His adaptation is titled "Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens" (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, 1922), as Murnau was forced to omit references to Dracula due to copyright reasons. The nosferatu also has unearthly powers, but those are more rotten than a vampire's, as Count Orlok himself is repulsive compared to the charming Dracula. Orlok is followed by rats and disease wherever he goes and albeit he possesses hypnotic powers they rather paralyse the victims with fright than lure them with attraction. The same hidden desire is present of course but in a more brutal and frightening manner. A remake was made in 1979 by Werner Herzog, with Klaus Kinski as Dracula (no more copyright issues), titled "Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht" (Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night). It is a very dazzling and dreamy experience to watch this film, quite worthy of the original's reputation. Here we now see the seduction scene as nosferatu does it. In this version, he is much more a victim of his own way of existence, the continuous need to acquire love, and despite all his powers, he is forced to retreat.

These two views on the vampire seem to confront in a scene from "Shadow of the Vampire" (2000) by E. Elias Merhige, a film which tells the story of the making of Murnau's Nosferatu assuming that the vampire was real in the movie. Here, Willem Dafoe as the creature offers his opinion as a vampire on the book "Dracula". Interesting how things depend on interpretation (points of view). He explains the sadness and loneliness lurking in the book, something only a vampire sees, as the others seem to be more fascinated by his power to fulfil his desires.

And finally, I think it is only fitting if I add my own venture into writing a vampire story. Part of it at least... This was written when I was very low... the diary of my sadness follows here. What I found very interesting that this received much more positive feedback from those I took the trouble to impress before than anything else I had previously attempted... a bit ironic maybe, but such are the doings of deep feelings... better move on to see the world in a different light before they devour you... When I wrote this, I felt that the contrast between the creature that forever longs for the essence of life and beauty and another myth, Narciss who has all those but to himself alone and for that reason needs nobody else... that contrast is what my life was about... seeing from the vampire's point of view, life appeared thus:

"Oh, yes, i know... the sunlight... these, whom i call vampires like the sun... they do dance if they see it... and their dance gives me warm feelings... that i want to join, yet i am not able to. Strange isn't it?? now i am starting to remember why is it so strange... yes, i am awakening... and yes, these is no sunshine, just the still darkness of a coffin. With this dream, all the vampires are gone... except the only true one... i... i am still lying in this coffin...

After you awake, the borders of reality and that of dreamworld are still fuzzy. But still, it makes more sense, i am the vampire... Let's just see... I set up a comfortable bed for the young and innocent... i know, even if they like dancing in the sun, sometimes they just want to rest a bit... maybe they even want a little shadow... if they are comfortable, it makes me happy. Lying in my bed, they inevitably give me drops of their innocence... For them, this bed is just a convenient possibility... they could get it elsewhere... maybe not so comfortable, but they could, and they can... I, on the other hand, need these drops, and suck them for more... it is the need that defines the vampire... and the need falls on my side...

I show the young narciss the perfect mirror he looks for. I see into his soul, that his tender heartbeat gets faster if he sees the beauties of himself gradually unfolding in their natural nudity, making the mirror shining from their image. I stand by him to enjoy... and that's it... i do not have a mirror image!!! Seeing this, their smile changes a bit, to a bit uncomfortable, maybe a bit scared at first... but the sunlight is not too far, all they have to do is to step out... Why hurry then... They are determined to go, but why hurry? He doesn't really see into me, but what he knows is enough... he can get away at any time to the sunshine, where i am unable to follow. They know the weak point of the old freak... He however feels that it would be rude to leave without saying good bye and thank you properly, so he begins this procedure with the lengthiness which he thinks is right nevertheless. He says, he will come again, and indeed, there is a possibility, since the bed is comfortable, and the freak who guards it is really managable... maybe even sympathetic a bit in his moody gloominess."

Bette Davis

Two video tributes from Turner Classic Movies to actress Bette Davis. In the first, Meryl Streep talks about the influence Davis had on her carrier, and I must agree with her on at least two accounts. First that it is the radiating determination in Bette Davis that I admire independently from her acting talent. And the second is that she deserves acclaim for her pioneering work, the fact that she dared to play female roles showing the "ugly side" of the character. This is not to say that she could not play more conventional roles well, indeed, some scenes shown here serve as examples for that too. Nevertheless, she was not the beauty idol of her time, neither did she follow the rules of appropriate behavior required from and therefore limiting the performances of many of her fellow actresses. That said, it still remains true that her philosophy on acting was that of classic cinema, that movies have to be more than real life. Finally, I will also post the 80s hit song, Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes with an imaginative video tribute from youtube. Indeed, I think there was something magical in her eyes...

Enya - Orinoco Flow

It has been a busy day today... I have received some stimulation from some attractive images sent to me combined with my fantasy... and also from some difficult task I was given at work. So I decided to go for a long journey with Enya on the Orinoco Flow... yes... sail away... There is some transcendental motion in this song I like very much. I have sometimes the feeling that I see something sad in her eyes, despite the enthusiasm that comes form the song. Is it just a feeling over departure, or quite the opposite, arising from the fact that we actually get to start such a journey rarely? Or from the fact that while we travel we pass by things fast and have no time to get into contact with what we see? But still, the magic that we are going somewhere, to some new place on the wings of our imagination is what affects me into motion from inside and helps me go on here and now...