A FEW MORE WORDS ON THE CINEMATIC INFLUENCES OF JOEL POTRYKUS - PART TWO

The Firm / Ape

Joel Potrykus’ films have the unique distinction of being 100% his own while still being incredibly reference-heavy. Last year we delved in to his many homages & references (click here & here to read more). A handful of comparisons got left on the cutting room floor so I decided to post them before the year is over.

Some of these are straight from the director’s mouth while others are total reaches on my own part. Either way, enjoy…

Don't forget to check out Potrykus' own video montage of references over on vimeo (click here)

I consider myself lucky to have been so moved by Jarmusch's early films, because I'd be living a disappointing existence if I were trying to copy Star Wars - Joel Potrykus, Criterion

Permanent Vacation / Ape

Permanent Vacation / Ape

Permanent Vacation / Buzzard

Permanent Vacation / Gordon

We thought, if this Richard Linklater guy living in Texas can do it, we can do it in Michigan. We filmed ourselves hanging out and talking about nothing - Joel Potrykus, Criterion 

Slacker / Buzzard

Slacker / Coyote

Gummo– this is great, I love it, I can make that movie - Joel Potrykus, hammertoenail.com

Gummo / Ape

I was still trying to emulate Sam Raimi. Raimi is a Michigan filmmaker, and he was the guy that first made me feel I could be a filmmaker - Joel Potrykus, moviemezzanine.com

Evil Dead 2 / Buzzard

Last year we looked at a parallel between Ape and Cassavetes’ Killing Of A Chinese Bookie (click here to read). Hear are a few more…

As Cassavetes says ‘The face is the best landscape’ - Joel Potrykus, Bomb Magazine

The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie / Ape

The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie / Ape

Alan Clarke is one of my biggest influences, because his work feels more raw and real - Joel Potrykus, Bomb Magazine

Christine / Ape

Yeah, The Road Warrior. He's just eating that dog food out of the can. Ever since I was a little kid, I was like, "Wow, if the world goes to shit, you can find dog food or cat food and you'll be fine." I was always obsessed with that. Especially since in the first Mad Max, he's out in a field eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich or something like that. He's gone from the domestic bliss of peanut butter to the wasteland version of dog food out of the can. I loved that. - Joel Potrykus, avclub 

Mad Max 2 / Alchemist Cookbook

Mad Max 2 / Buzzard

Here are some more (non-confirmed) visual similarities that stuck out to me…

Mean Streets / Ape

A Clockwork Orange / Alchemist Cookbook

THE BEAST @ NYFF *UPDATED*

Okay. I'm going to say something a little schematic about French cinema. But if we imagine two lines, we can say there is [Jean] Renoir and [Robert] Bresson that gave us [Francois] Truffaut and [Jean-Luc] Godard, that gave us [Maurice] Pialat and [Jean] Eustache, that gave us [Arnaud] Desplechin and [Leos] Carax. I fall more on the Bresson/Godard/Eustache/Carax side than the other one - Bertrand Bonello, cineaste.com

That quote above is an important passage to remember before going in to Bertrand Bonello’s latest sci-fi tale because there are a lot of Leos Carax-isms throughout (beautiful-looking comedic absurdity masked underneath a layer of arthouse cinema). The Beast comes off like a cross between Holy Motors and Highlander with a pinch of Maya Deren’s Meshes Of The Afternoon told from the perspective of an incel. I can namedrop folks like Deren & Carax without giving any background because chances are anyone looking forward to The Beast will already be familiar with Bonello's work and his influences. This is not the kind of movie that you just blindly watch. Now...I know my description of this movie sounds like a fun little “gumbo” of influences & ideas, but at the end of the day it doesn’t work. That’s what’s so frustrating. To have so much in common with so many fun cinematic reference-points to be a big nothing almost takes extra effort to accomplish. I’m a Bertrand Bonello fan/occasional defender but I can’t defend this one. The Beast is very much a mixture of all the things I just mentioned but it’s kind of a mess as opposed to a well-crafted collage of ideas. I really don’t know who this was made for outside of bored disingenuous letterboxed "critics" that love to go against the grain and claim that bad movies are really misunderstood masterpieces. 

Holy Motors / The Beast

The Beast felt like two feature lengths films and a short mushed together in to one movie (in a way, this was Bonello’s She Hate Me). The film follows two lovers that cross paths with one another through different time periods. Bertrand Bonello takes the audience back & forth between the early 1900s and a post-Covid mask-wearing dystopian future with a pitstop in to modern day California.

The California section of the film, which owes a lot to Maya Deren’s Meshes and David Lynch’s Lost Highway, is the only interesting part of the movie but still not enough to stop me from checking my watch every 10-15 minutes (it should also be noted that this is Bertrand’s second feature in a row to borrow heavily from Maya Deren. Read my thoughts on Zombi Child here).

Meshes Of The Afternoon / The Beast

Meshes Of The Afternoon / The Beast

Meshes Of The Afternoon / The Beast

I was resistant to compare this to David Lynch but after I re-watch I came to the realization that is has quite a few Lynch-esque moments...

I think Season Three, the Return… I mean, it was a real shock for me as a filmmaker and it has been very present in my mind since I saw it. Maybe the biggest influence of David Lynch on me is the possibility to be free - David Lynch, thecurb.com

Twin Peaks: Season 3 / The Beast

there was a screening of the film in a Paris a few days ago, and someone told me that in one of Louis’ videos you can see David Lynch’s house in the background. I don’t know if that’s true, but maybe there’s a connection there - Bertrand Bonello, BFI

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me / The Beast

Lost Highway / The Beast

Inland Empire / The Beast

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me / The Beast

Inland Empire / The Beast

The Beast vision board: 

I watched two films before shooting. One was The Age Of Innocence by Scorsese. The other was When a Stranger Calls - Bertrand Bonello, Hammertonail.com

The Age Of Innocence / The Beast

When A Stranger Calls / The Beast

Earlier this year there was some press about The Beast being rejected from the Cannes film festival and now that I’ve seen it I kind of understand why. Movies don’t need to have a complete thought, a "satisfying" ending, or a set of rules to follow but I think The Beast would have benefited from a bit more structure. Somewhere within the 140+ minutes that is The Beast is a 72 minute feature that could have possibly worked. I’ve made this criticism before and I’ll do it again here - this movie is the equivalent of “showing your work” on a math test without getting to an actual answer.

 

THE ORDER *UPDATED*

I’m a fan of Matthew Barney’s films but I also have the ability to step outside of that fandom and see how his work is an acquired taste. I get it. I would never try to rally the troops or convert someone. This entry isn’t for everyone. Matthew Barney isn’t someone you just blindly delve in to (he’s said himself that his work isn’t for everyone). I just love The Order and wanted to share my thoughts...

When it comes to what folks consider to be “pure cinema” (the criteria is very vague and always changing) - I think Barney’s work deserves to be mentioned. Just on a purely visual level…

Cremaster Cycle

Drawing Restraint 9

River Of Fundament

Redoubt

Barney also has some serious subconscious cinematic connections to everyone from Busby Berkeley…

Night World / The Order

Night World / The Order

Night World / The Order

To Leos Carax…

Cremaster 1 / Annette

Matthew Barney is a sculptor/exhibition artist first and a filmmaker second (this probably explains why the “plot” in all of his films comes second and sometimes third). I think the only reason he ended up making movies & filming moving images is because his sculptures & exhibitions got so elaborate that they almost became theatrical. Barney often puts his body in to his work (he was an Athlete as a teenager and maintains an impressive physique to this day). His physicality became a part of his art but you’d never know that just from looking at hit…

Athletics play a huge part in a lot of Barney's films...

Super Sunday: A History Of The Super Bowl / Cremaster 1

They Call It Pro Football / Cremaster 2

1976-09-27 MN Halftime Highlights / Cremaster 1

They Call It Pro Football / Cremaster 1

Saviors, Saints and Sinners / Cremaster 1

The Beginning 1962-65 / The Order

The Beginning 1962-65 / The Order

NFL Films: 1966-68 / The Order

NFL Films: 1966-68 / The Order

A Glorious Game / The Order

A Glorious Game / The Order

Now…if you’ve spent time in a studio, wood shop, model shop, etc - you probably would know it takes some serious physical strength to produce some of his pieces…

His work got too big for a gallery. The next logical step was the moving image.

Barney’s progression from exhibition artist to filmmaker is similar to David Lynch. Lynch transitioned from painting to filmmaking because he felt limited. It’s almost like he wanted his painting to move. His early films showed this…

Six Figures Getting Sick

Lynch continues to experiment with moving paintings…

Pretty As A Picture: The Art Of David Lynch

Naturally this goes back to Lynch's ongoing ties to Bunuel:

Un Chien Andalou /

Pretty As A Picture: The Art Of David Lynch

The Order is an isolated segment from a feature film (Cremaster 3) that’s part of a larger series (The Cremaster Cycle). Like I said earlier, plot comes second with Matthew Barney and The Order is no exception. The Order, set in the Guggenheim, is a massive multimedia project that fuse performance art, video, and sculptural installation that explores historical narratives, the politics of the body, and the physicality and eroticism of sport. 

But it’s hard to catch a lot of that on the first (or second) viewing when faced with imagery like this:

The Order

The Order

The Order

To some degree, all of Barney’s work is an abstracted look about the creative process. The section/“level” where we watch Richard Serra (another artist that works on a large scale) is the most fascinating and almost serves as a precursor to Barney’s most recent feature; Redoubt:

The Order

The Order, which clocks in at under an hour is the perfect film to watch over and over (you catch something new every time).