VULCANIZADORA

Over the last two years I’ve been struggling with the idea of homages and references in modern movies after an appearance on a movie podcast that will probably never see the light of day. If you’ve been following this blog for the last 15 years or keeping up with my Twitter/X activity, then you know homages and references are pretty much all I do outside of the occasional non-PINNLAND EMPIRE article. I will never hide the fact that I find similarities between films fascinating but at a certain point are modern directors getting carried away? Does anyone want to try and make something “new”? Is that even possible? At the end of the day everything is influenced by something but most new filmmakers aren’t even trying to find their own voice.

In the case of Joel Potrykus I guess this is to be expected. I’ve written about most of his films on here and he never hides the fact that his films are often heavily influenced by older filmmakers. His latest movie is no exception. 

Potrykus pays homage to some of the same scenes he’s referenced in the past.

Some people hate the ending of ALCHEMIST COOKBOOK. I get it. Obviously, it's ripped from 400 Blows (and Body Snatchers remake). I stick by it - Joel Potrykus, twitter

The 400 Blows /
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers /
Alchemist Cookbook

we see the same technique/homage in Potrykus' latest film...

The 400 Blows /
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers /
Vulcanizadora

It doesn’t take much to realize I lift the openings to all my films from Clarke’s Made in Britain and Haneke’s Funny Games. The opening to those films make me want to punch someone in happiness. I want anarchy in character motivations and story structure - Joel Potrykus, rapportoconfidenziale

Made In Britain /
Funny Games /
Vulcanizadora

Gummo / Vulcanizadora

I’m also convinced there’s a few nods to Buffalo 66 (Potrykus has mentioned Gallo as an inspiration in the past)...

Buffalo 66 / Culcanizadora

Buffalo 66 / Culcanizadora

Outside of those moments, the movie itself is sort of an unofficial/loose remake…

So I love Gerry. The first time I watched it, I misinterpreted it and thought it was about something other than two guys lost in nature. And I was like, “Oh I thought they had a mission in that movie!” I thought Gerry missed it, and I was going off on what it could’ve been and where Gerry could’ve gone after the main event happened. I was like “I’m going to make that movie” - Joel Potrykus, Hammertonail.com

Gerry / Vulcanizadora

In addition to being a sequel to his 2014 film; Buzzard, Vulcanizadora is Potrykus doing his iteration of Gus Van Sant’s Gerry. Much like how Rick Alverson wanted to make his version of Two Lane Blacktop with Entertainment (2015) or how Steven Soderbergh wanted to make what he felt was a more digestible version of Tarkovsky’s Solaris, Potrykus is doing something with Vulcanizadora that I’m sure a lot of filmmakers want to do but wouldn’t want to be disrespectful to their heroes. I’m sure most cinephiles (especially filmmaker cinephiles) have those movies that they wish they could tweak or change to benefit their own personal taste. That’s what Joel Potrykus is doing. Personally, I enjoy this unofficial retweak of Gerry and he approaches Van Sant’s material with the utmost respect. 

Gus Van Sant is no stranger to this either. Not only did he have the balls to remake a classic like Hitchcock’s Psycho, but years after it bombed he brought up the idea of remaking his remake as an experiment. 

Every few years I get on a heavy Van Sant kick.

I rewatched Gerry and I had kind of forgotten all about it. It ended at a place where I thought it started to really get interesting. I was like, "I thought these guys were going out there on a mission. I should write that movie instead." That's what this movie is - Joel Potrykus, Variety 

Both films follow two friends out in the wilderness on a vague mission that ends with a fatality. The difference is Potrykus really delves in to what happens when the credits roll. Van Sant was never interested in that. Some might think remaking a film just so you can resolve something that was never meant to be resolved is a little arrogant. That’s perfectly understandable to think that. Are you really interested in seeing what happens when Jeanne Dielman finally gets arrested for murdering her john? Do you want to know what’s in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction? Do you want a more literal explanation of Mulholland Drive? Probably not. But there is some serious grief and self-reflection that would come along with the actions that take place in Gerry/Vulcanizadora (strangely enough, the average person that does want an explanation for open-ended/abstract movies probably wouldn’t like this).

Potrykus also seems to pull from the final moments of Van Sant's Last Days...

Yeah, I love, I love the Gus Van Sant death trilogy of Gerry, Elephant, and Last Days (2005). Man oh man, every time I watch one of those… I’m always trying to make a movie like Gus Van Sant’s death trilogy. He’s a master - Joel Potrykus, theseventhart.org

Last Days / 

Vulcanizadora

At the end of the day it’s really up to you if you want to sit through another loose remake/homage-heavy new movie or not. It’s understandable if you don’t, but I found this movie and its approach interesting and it sort skates around my growing cynicism towards comparisons, similarities and references. 

RAP WORLD

I know this might not come off as the greatest endorsement or sell of a film, but Connor O’malley’s Rap World is all the good stuff from a Harmony Korine film (Trash Humpers & Julien Donkey Boy specifically), reshaped by someone with a much better sense of humor & creativity and zero cynicism (it is my personal opinion that Connor O’malley is one of the funniest and most talented people working today). This is absolutely the kind of movie that will be co-opted by the ironic vice magazine folks that like things ironically but I don’t think they were ever the audience in mind for this. I’m a fan of most Harmony Korine films but a lot of times his work comes off like it’s made by someone pretentious that thinks they’re bored and better than everyone. There’s nothing boring or pretentious or “ironic” about Rap World. It’s is loud, chaotic, energetic, disorganized, schizophrenic and I loved every moment of it. I know this sounds cliché but Rap World has that DIY spirit of picking up a camera, getting a small intimate crew of folks together and just creating something. That something is the darkly comical found footage tale about a group of suburban friends trying to record a rap album over a 24 hour period. And much like the car race in Two Lane Blacktop, the recording of the rap album seems to be least important thing in the story even thought it’s (supposedly) the focal point. Our wanna-be rappers find themselves getting distracted from the recording process at every turn...

Trash Humpers / Rap World

Trash Humpers / Rap World

Julien Donkey-Boy / Rap World

 

Rap World has the perfect amount of nostalgia that doesn’t work against it. Underneath the chaotic humor & alt-comedy, this film pokes fun a at very specific niche demographic that I’m very familiar with – underground suburban hip-hop fans. While the characters in the film are all white, small town suburban underground rap fans come in all races & genders. They spent a lot of time on internet rap message boards getting their hip-hop history lessons from the wrong outlets and always had a warped sense of reality. No offense, and I am a fan of these artists, but think early 2000’s anticon/sage francis/rawkus/def jux message boards and online battle rap forums. I’m all for poking fun at these folks no matter how mean-spirited that may sound. 

The major difference here is that those internet message board rap fans were mostly teenagers while the characters in Rap World are full on adults (one is pushing 30 years old).

This archetype still exists. Again, not to be mean, but given that a lot of Connor O’Malley’s comedy is internet/youtube-based, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was poking fun at recent stuff like this:

 

Krispy Kreme is another possible reference point (although part of me thinks this whole persona is a "bit")

Krispy Kreme / Rap World

 I'm pretty certain this movie sets out to be uncomfortable & alienating to some. Connor O'Malley isn't always the easiest comic to digest but fans of his work will feel rewarded watching this. I certainly did.

WRONG REEL EPISODE #639 - GUMMO

 

I made a recent appearance on Wrong Reel to take about Harmony Korne's Gummo. Click here or the image above to go to the episode.

Enjoy.

A FEW MORE WORDS ON THE CINEMATIC INFLUENCES OF JOEL POTRYKUS

A tale straight from the bible...
Snow White /
Ape

I don’t mean for all of my writing on Joel Potrykus to be attached to other filmmakers, but given what my blog is partially about (visual comparisons & connections), it’s kind of difficult to not focus on that.
To be clear - references, similarities & homages aside, I’m a big fan of his work. His openness about his influences just makes my appreciation that more heightened. He made a comparison video of his own films himself (click here). 

...but I think I found a few more visual similarities (or I could be reaching).

Last month we touched on a handful of visual similarities between Portykus’s films and everyone from Haneke & Alan Clarke to Murnau & Linklater (click here to go to the article). After exploring all of his feature films and reading a handful of interviews, I came across a few more homages & visual connections that I wanted to highlight…

In my review of The Alchemist Cookbook I brought up his nods to Alan Clarke (click here).

It doesn’t take much to realize I lift the openings to all my films from Clarke’s MADE IN BRITAIN and Haneke’s FUNNY GAMES - Joel Potrykus, RapportoConfidenziale.com

But it appears that his love of Clarke extends a bit beyond opening scene of This Is Britain…

Elephant /
Buzzard

The Firm /
Buzzard

Road /
Buzzard

Road /
Ape

The way drug use & addiction are casually introduced in Potrykus’ early short film Coyote is similar to how Clarke handles the same subject matter in Christine… 

Christine / Coyote

This connection to Clarke led me to Harmony Korine who Potrykus has shouted in the past…

Gummo / Buzzard

Harmony Korine made it cool to use natural lighting - Joel Potrykus, RapportoConfidenziale.com

This connection makes sense as Korine is also an Alan Clarke Enthusiast…

If there is any British film maker that has influenced me, it’s Alan Clarke. For me he is the most important. He came out at a time in my life when I needed something like that - Harmony Korine, Vertigo Magazine

Rita, Sue& Bob Too /
Gummo

For me Clarke was the most important filmmaker. He made this movie ‘Christine’, which people don't really talk about much, which is one of my favorite movies - Harmony Korine, Vice

Christine / Gummo

That earlier comparison to Gummo is not much of a reach but Potrykus has made it clear that the spaghetti scene in Buzzard was a reference to Kubrick…

The Movie Mezzanine: In the pantheon of movie spaghetti-eating scenes, you easily knock Harmony Korine's Gummo off the throne. It's this rare moment of happiness for Marty. Was that all done in one take?

JP: That's another really important scene, which is originally lifted from A Clockwork Orange when towards the end, [Alex is] all cleaned up and he's taking a shower and wearing a robe and eating spaghetti. He's happy like he's at home, right before they poison his wine. That scene is really important because that's Marty in a foreign environment, the only time we see him clean, and he's wearing white instead of black, and he's eating essentially real food as opposed to, you know, Hot Pockets or Bugles.

A Clockwork Orange/
Buzzard

The idea of a struggling comic that develops a weird growth on his body in Ape appears to borrow from The Dark Backward… 

The Dark Backward /
Ape

The basic premise of the main character with growth forming on his body also reminded me of How To Get Ahead In Advertising which I came to find out was an influence on Potrykus as well…

I saw this one at a young age, and it warped my taste in the best way possible - Joel Potrykus, Criterion 

How To Get Ahead In Advertising /
Ape

We touched on this in my review of The Anarchist Cookbook last month, but there’s some early Linklater in Potrykus' films...

 

It's Impossible To Learn How To Plow... /Coyote

While his latest feature Relaxer is a loose remake of Luis Bunuel’s The Exterminating Angel (the basic idea of not being to leave a room in Exterminating Angel is morphed in to not getting off of a couch in Relaxer)...

The Exterminating Angel / Relaxer

...the final scene where the main character takes on the form of a Christ-like figure has the DNA of what feels Bunuel’s entire filmography…

The Milky Way / Relaxer

L’Age D’Or / Relaxer

Simon Of The Desert / Relaxer

I try to steal a lot from Bunuel - Joel Potrykus, Criterion.com

Un Chien Andalou / Buzzard

We also see shades of everyone from Brian DePalma to John Landis…

                                                                  The Fury / Relaxer

I just spent a whole summer watching, like, two-hundred movies. And in there was American Werewolf in London, and that kind of changed a lot of things for me. Seeing that kind of blend of horror and comedy, and [director John] Landis going whatever direction he wanted - Joel Potrykus, 366weirdmovies.com 

American Werewolf In London / Coyote

Before the year is over I'll be sharing my thoughts on Buzzard but until then I just wanted to share a few more words (and comparisons) on a filmmaker I've quickly come to admire.

THE SCHOOL OF GODARD PART 5: MOVING IMAGERY

I admire Jean-Luc Godard and I think it's impossible for anyone making cinema to escape from his influence - Hal Hartley

We're continuing our look at Jean-Luc Godard's influence on modern cinema through some regular culprits (Harmony Korine, Hal Hartley & Leos Carax) as well as lesser-mentioned folks like Chantal Akerman, Seijun Suzuki and even the Farrelly Brothers...

Also make sure to check out the previous entries:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Yeah, it’ [The Girl From Monday]'s a conversation with Alphaville - Hal Hartley (Little White Lies)

Alphaville/The Girl From Monday

First Name: Carmen / Amateur

Pierrot Le Fou / 
Amateur

A Married Woman /
Amateur

Godard taught me a sense of freedom - Martin Scorsese (Interveiw Magazine)

Two Or Three Things I know About Her/Taxi Driver

Made In The USA/
Taxi Driver

A Married Woman / Who's That Knocking At My Door

Godard is one of my favourite film-makers. When I was young, I was obsessed by his films, and he’s still a favourite. I probably didn’t understand half of what he wanted to say, but what I did understand touched me, and when I see his films I see the whole, like what you hear when you’re listening to an orchestra - Harmony Korine (Vogue)

Band Of Outsider/
Gummo

I got a letter from Godard. It was hard to read, it was two lines and had coffee stains, something about passing the baton - Harmony Korine (Index Magazine)

Vivre Sa Vie / Julien Donkey Boy

I think the only people who really experienced film are people like Jean-Luc Godard, you know? He really experienced the texture - Claire Denis (Filmmaker Magazine)

Vivre Sa Vie / Trouble Every Day

In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to - Jim Jarmusch (Movie Maker Magazine)

Pierrot Le Fou / Mystery Train

I saw Godard’s film, Pierrot Le Fou, and I had the feeling it was art, and that you could express yourself. It was in 1965, and you felt that the times were changing. He was really representing that, and freedom and poetry and another type of love and everything - Chantal Akerman

First Name: Carmen/Family Business

L'Amore/
Les Rendezvous D'Anna

Passion/Holy Motors

Breathless/Schizopolis

Band Of Outsiders/
Tokyo Drifter

First Name: Carmen/
Kingpin

Vivre Sa Vie/Faces

First Name: Carmen/Punch Drunk Love

A Married Woman / THX 1138

A Married Woman / The Perfect Human

A Marrried Woman / Life Of The Marionettes