March 21, 2007
Silver Jew: The Movie
At this year's SXSW Interactive, I felt more comfortable with movies than with people. Not to say I didn't meet or hang with a lot of great people–just that I felt a lot of anxiety relating to people. And for me, socializing taps energy while most movies inspire me and allow my batteries to recharge.
I skipped the morning panels on Sunday (yet another of those dreary Austin days we've been having lately) because I knew it would be my only chance to catch the world premiere of "Silver Jew," Michael Tully and Matthew Robison's documentary about David Berman's tour of Jerusalem.
I wasn't sure what to expect. Actually, I was not expecting it to be much more than a travelogue intermixed with musical interludes. While that's what this movie was on the surface, I was underestimating the understated humility and charm of Berman. Sure, I've heard his poetry and read his writings, but watching this movie was like hanging out with DCB. There was no rock star posturing or macho shit-talking. Quite the opposite. Berman exudes a fragility in this movie that I wasn't expecting.
Here's a guy who toiled away in relative obscurity for over a decade partly because of his conviction not to tour or face his audience. He has a innate talent for turning out unexpected, but immediately captivating, observations. But he also possessed an insecure streak and dwelled in a comfort zone cocoon for many years while his best friends experienced success.
How many of us have gone through the same trials and tests? How many of us have been running away from our natural gifts due to some irrationality or insecurity we possess inside? As Berman says (I'm paraphrasing obviously), "We all have something inside that we have to let out, and if we don't let it out, it will kill us." What we suppress will kill us. To pay attention to our internal wants or to ignore them. That is the $500 question.
Helping him along on his journey out of desparation and into the light is the beautiful Cassie (Marrett) Berman. You can tell in a shot where he clutches her hand while walking through the streets that she is the rock–the mooring.
By the end of the movie, you realize that Berman has achieved both a spiritual and professional epiphany. He realizes that he was loved all along and that he's lucky for his lot in life. He doesn't have to run away anymore. The music, which started as a tossed-off side-project recorded on a boombox, has become his medium. Though he originally longed for the artistic respectability and literary sheen of poetry, he's learned that he can affect far more people through his music than will ever read his books.
Posted by timothompson at 12:09 AM
March 06, 2006
Urban Defeats Rural in the Oscars (Or is it Blue States Over Red States?)
McMurtry was asked whether Brokeback’s best-director Oscar was a way to recognize the gay-themed film without giving it the biggest award, best picture. His reply: “I’ve had four movies (nominated). The three rural ones (Hud, The Last Picture Show, Brokeback Mountain) lost; the one that was urban (Terms of Endearment) won. The members of the Academy are mostly urban people. We’re not a rural nation. It’s not easy to get a rural story made.” Asked whether Crash's Los Angeles setting helped its best-picture chances, McMurtry said, “Yeah, I do.”
Posted by timothompson at 11:21 AM
October 21, 2005
AICN: Notes on the Tenacious D Movie
With a reply from Liam Lynch.Posted by timothompson at 01:04 AM
August 17, 2005
Project Greenlight's "Feast": Is It Actually Good?
A report from Ain't It Cool News gives good marks for contest winner John Gulager's horror film "Feast." Though Matt Damon called "Project Greenlight" dead in the water, Maureen Ryan from the Chicago Tribune says Bravo is waiting to see what the reaction to "Feast" will be before they make the decision.Posted by timothompson at 12:33 PM
August 14, 2005
Kelly Leak Today
Felt Up has a current photo of "The Bad News Bears"' Kelly Leak (Jackie Earle Haley).Posted by timothompson at 05:36 PM
February 28, 2005
Tom Hall: Marty Got A Raw Deal
Poor Martin Scorcese, spurned once again by an Academy that favors actor-directors. While his film took most of the behind the scenes movie awards (cinematography, etc.), he lost out to Clint Eastwood in the ones that count (i.e. are remembered). And this isn't the first time it happened. Tom Hall of Indiewire's The Back Row Manifesto explains:
In 1980, Scorsese was nominated as Best Director for his magnum opus Raging Bull (not just the best picture of 1980, but probably the finest film of the entire decade.) The Academy chose Robert Redford’s fine Ordinary People as that year’s Best Picture and Redford as Best Director. Another decade, another injustice: In 1990, Scorsese was up again for Best Director and Best Picture for his seminal Goodfellas. This time, the Academy chose another actor-turned-director, Kevin Costner, and Dances With Wolves for the sweep. Sunday night, Scorsese’s The Aviator, a film of startling virtuosity and dazzling direction, is topped by Clint Eastwood’s boxing tearjerker Million Dollar Baby.
Hall blames The Aviator snub on an Americans not wanting to see the lives of the rich and the famous. I would proffer something simpler—that the Academy prefers its larger-than-life movie stars (the anti-Jude Laws, as Chris Rock would call them) over its talented life-long craftsmen. They prefer the glitz to what goes on behind the scenes to make the glitz. That's why they put their stars on the stage and their cinematographers on the carpet. But history will be kind to Marty. Kevin Costner, on the other hand,...
Posted by timothompson at 07:40 PM