FRANCOFONIA

I think Peter Greenaway’s Belly Of An Architect (1987) has finally met its match in terms of architecture on film in the form of Alexander Sokurov’s Francofonia - an experimental feature concerning the preservation of important cultural artifacts during World War 2. I’m sure there are folks who feel that there have been movies to come out since 1987 that have done architecture on film justice, but in my personal opinion most films on the subject of architecture and/or design (documentary, biopic or fiction) often times only scrape the surface or, even worse, come up short (I think my opinion holds a little more weight in this specific instance as I not only immerse myself in film but I also studied architecture & design for five years and have continued to work in the field for 11 additional years and counting). Francofonia is kind of an unorthodox history lesson that captivates rather than bores. In the same way 24 Hour Party People is a chaotic yet organized history lesson on the Manchester music scene of the 80’s & 90’s, Francofonia is a chaotic yet organized look in to World War 2-era architecture, “European guilt” and the importance of art preservation during times of war.

To be honest, Francofonia focuses more on art preservation than it does Architecture & design (I wouldn’t want to give the wrong impression that this is solely about architecture).

I know it’s pretty lazy to compare Alexander Sokurov to Andrei Tarkovsky in the year 2016 (it’s so easy & obvious) but the comparison goes much deeper than similar shots of a withering tree in the middle of an open field. At times Fancofonia feels like a heavily reworked/remixed version of the middle segment within Tarkovsky’s Mirror where we see real archival War footage mixed in to the semi-fictional story that is The Mirror. The only difference is that Francofonia mixes fiction & non-fiction much more seamlessly than Tarkovsky did in The Mirror. 

There's also a subconscious connection to Elem Klimov's Come & See (another Tarkivsky-esque movie).

In the final moments of Klimov's 1985 war film we, the audience & the film's protagonist, are presented with the question as to weather or not we'd go back in time to kill Hitler as a baby in an effort to undo everything he did as an adult...

These types of crazy questions aren't presented to the audience in Francofonia but Come & See's representation of Hitler through art seems to have rubbed off on Sokurov.

And I know this is another cliché/obvious statement, but Sokurov’s latest feels like the kind of dream you’d have while taking a mid-day nap. It’s weird, confusing, foggy, beautiful and (recent) real life elements creep in to your sleeping subconscious. Not only does Francofonia chronicle the plan/agreement to preserve pieces of art in the midst of World War 2 (played out through the on-screen relationship between French civil servant Jacques Jaujard & Nazi officer Franz Metternich) but there’s an additional layer as Sokurov inserts himself into his own movie in a separate (yet loosely related) story (these segments were very reminiscent of the opening sequence in Holy Motors where we see Leos Carax insert himself into his own film). There’s a lot more to the film (which clocks in at only 80-something minutes) but in an effort to not give too much away (or over-explain) I would go off of that for now.

Art appreciation seems to be a thing in cinema these last couple of years more than usual (Portrait Of The Artist, National Gallery, Museum Hours, Mr. Turner, Monuments Men, etc) and Francofonia is like a hybrid/amalgamation of it all. The art preservation angle is a callback to George Clooney’s Monuments Men. All the scenes of Sokurov’s camera wandering aimlessly through the Louvre are reminiscent of Portrait Of The Artist & Fredrick Wiseman’s National Gallery.
Scenes set in the Louvre also bring to mind Anna Karina & Co. running through the halls of the very same museum in Band Of Outsiders...

Band Of Outsiders / Francofonia

Outside of cinema, popular artists like Kanye West, Jay-Z & Beyonce like to show their interest in arts outside of their own (or they just want to take nice photo opps and name drop painters, designers & architects that folks might not give them credit for knowing). Much of the art featured in Francofonia is often cited or associated with the aforementioned artists these days…

Kanye West's Yeezus tour set design seemed to be inspired by elements of the Louvre (the pyramids would be the most obvious inspiration but in the last 5 years Kanye has sited the Louvre a lot more than he has the pyramids)

Jay-Z & Beyonce visit the Louvre (left). Much of the art they checked out on their much-publicized visit to the museum is featured in Francofonia (right)

Francofonia also ties in to Sokurov’s older stuff. It goes without saying that Russian Ark & Francofonia go hand in hand as both movies are essentially warped history lessons on the subject of European art, architecture, politics, etc. If my earlier assessment of Sokurov’s latest film being an offshoot of The Mirror doesn’t work for you, picture Francofonia as a sequel to Russian Ark (I know Russian Ark is specific to Russian history, but it’s still a branch off of the very large tree of European history). The fascination with the likes of Adolf Hitler that we saw in Sokurov’s Moloch (2002) continues in Francofonia. Through subtle voiceover narration placed on top of archival footage of Hitler in certain scenes, Sokurov in turn makes Hitler a “character” in the movie. We see a fictitious version of Napoleon which brings to mind Sokurov’s "Trilogy Of Power" (Moloch, Taurus, The Son). Napoleon’s presence in Francofonia makes the film feel like a new chapter in the saga. Without meaning to, Sokoruv breathed new life in to some of his older films. Francofonia made me dust off my Sokurov DVD's that I hadn't thought about in a while.

Normally Alexander Sokoruv is the kind of filmmaker I have to suggest to people with caution or some kind of disclaimer. Not because his movies are bad (quite the opposite), but because his work is often times an acquired taste. But Francofonia can be enjoyed by even a casual movie fan. You don’t have to be a super cinephile or arthouse aficionado. All you need to have is an appreciation or fascination with art, history, war or all of the above. Even in all of Fracnofonia’s experimentation & non-traditional/non-linear storytelling, this is still an accessible movie for people outside of its intended audience (this might be one of the most non-off putting feature-length experimental films to come out in quite some time).

WRONG REEL EPISODE 127: UNCLE BOONMEE & POST TENEBRAS LUX

Post Tenebras Lux / Uncle Boonmee...

Anyone who knows me well knows that this edition of Wrong Reel is a dream discussion. In this episode I join James & Martin Kessler to chat about these unofficial cinematic 1st cousins that also happen to be two of the best films of the decade so far (and, on a more personal level, are the last two films that made me shed a tear).

Reygadas & Weerasethakul are also PINNLAND EMPIRE favorites so perhaps it would be a good idea to scroll through both; The Cinema Of Carlos Reygadas & The Cinema Of Apichatpong Weerasethakul as you listen (click the italicized text).

Enjoy...

Don't forget to check out all the back episodes of Wrong Reel and to also stay up on James' Tribeca Film Festival coverage going on right now.

WRONG REEL EPISODE 115: KNIGHT OF CUPS!

I had the pleasure of talking about Terrence Malick's latest film Knight Of Cups on the Wrong Reel podcast yesterday. Make sure to read my thoughts on the film from a few months back to go along with the episode:

Knight Of Cups

The Cinema Of Terrence Malick Part Three

and check out the Wrong Reel review while you're at it.

enjoy...

And don't forget to rent/stream/purchase Bill Plympton's latest short film (produced by Wrong Reel host James Colbrax) on vimeo...

The Loneliest Stoplight from Bill Plympton on Vimeo.

THE CINEMA OF TERRENCE MALICK PART THREE (TREE OF LIFE / TO THE WONDER / KNIGHT OF CUPS)

Like Lost Highway/Mulholland Drive/Inland Empire (David Lynch), The Idiots/Breaking The Waves/Dancer In The Dark (Lars Von Trier) or No Fear No Die/I Can't Sleep/Nenette & Boni (Claire Denis), Terrence Malick's last three films all exist in the same cinematic universe (and are also based on the same source material that is his life). So to serve as a companion to my recent thoughts on Knight Of Cups, here are some visual comparisons from Malick's last three films to show the continuity of his unofficial trilogy...

Enjoy...

To The Wonder / Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / To The Wonder / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / To The Wonder / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / To The Wonder / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / To The Wonder

To The Wonder / Knight Of Cups / Tree Of Life

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups / To The Wonder

Tree Of Life / To The Wonder / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups / To The Wonder

Tree Of Life / To The Wonder / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / To The Wonder / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups / To The Wonder

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / To The Wonder / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups / To The Wonder

Knight Of Cups / Tree Of Life

Knight Of Cups / To The Wonder

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups /To The Wonder

Tree Of Life / To The Wonder / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / To The Wonder / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / To The Wonder / Knight Of Cups

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups / The Wonder

Tree Of Life / Knight Of Cups / To The Wonder

Tree Of Life / To The Wonder

KNIGHT OF CUPS

If there's one thing to take away from Knight Of Cups its that it kind of dispels some of the rumors a lot of folks still buy in to about Terrence Malick. Like Tree Of Life & To The Wonder before it, Knight Of Cups is another semi-autobiographical tale that's partially inspired by Malick's life. In the film Christian Bale essentially plays Terrence Malick ("Rick") - a disenfranchised screenwriter with relationship problems wandering through the decedent underbelly of the entertainment industry (like the tarot card story of The Knight Of Cups, Rick is a bored, flighty, artistic dreamer).
There's this mystique about Terrence Malick that some folks don't want to let go. He's often made out to be this JD Salinger-esque figure in the movie biz because he didn't put out a film in the 20 year span between Days Of Heaven (1978) & The Thin Red Line (1998). But the thing is, he wasn't somewhere off in seclusion meditating on a mountain (this is an image I seriously feel like some folks had of him). Terrence Malick was somewhat active behind the scenes in both film & theater. It's well documented at this point that between the late 70's throughout the 80's Malick did everything from ghostwriting & script touch-ups, to starting & stopping various film & theater projects.
For more on Malick's personal life I highly recommend reading the latest edition of One Big Soul which sheds a lot of light on his so-called "inactive" period (the subplot concerning Rick's brothers in Knight Of Cups is exactly like Malick's real relationship with his late brothers).

Personally, I enjoyed Knight Of Cups overall but I wouldn't really recommend it to just anyone. Not even the casual Malick fan (if there is such a thing). To quote my friend/PINNLAND EMPIRE contributor Leanne Kubicz - Terrence Malick absolutely went "full Malick" on this one (I know that sounds dreadful to some of you but I love that. Knight Of Cups is kind of like Terrence Malick's Inland Empire in that there isn't much of a filter). Because I'm such a big fan of his recent work, I do feel the strange need to be a little protective/territorial no matter how understandably frustrating he can be at times. At this point everyone should know what they're getting in to when it comes to a Terrence Malick film. I never understand all the recent negative/snarky reviews from critics & bloggers who are familiar with his work & style yet always manage to get worked up and angry as if, at this point, they don't know what to expect from a post Thin Red Line Terrence Malick movie. For those who do want something different from the filmmaker, this is his first film set outside of a rural territory/small town, and he works with an ensemble cast of some unlikely actors. This is also his first movie broken up in to chapters. 

Knight Of Cups falls right in line with the style of Tree Of Life & To The Wonder (all three films kind of act as a trilogy for Malick's personal life). There's lots of dreamy/breathy voiceover narration that'll probably make the average person roll their eyes. Emmanuel Lubeski uses the same style of cinematography as his previous collaborations with Malick (I still find it odd that folks have issues with his Malick-related work while his work for Alejandro Innaritu gets blind praise).

Visual similarities between Terrence Malick & Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu...

Tree Of Life / The Revenant

Tree Of Life / The Revenant

To The Wonder / The Revenant

The New World / The Revenant

I’m almost convinced at this point that Alejandro Inarritu is lightweight obsessed with Terrence Malick so much that he not only utilizes Malick’s current cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki in the same exact way, but he even releases his films around the same time as Malick (sidenote - I had the pleasure of seeing The Revenant last night at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music and while it was entertaining, it also hammers home my point). I know Innaritu & Lubezki are connected through the Mexican film scene but no one started using Lubezki’s current style until Malick did with The New World (2005).

In Knight Of Cups Malick draws visual inspiration from filmmakers like Andrei Tarkovsy & Michael Mann...

Solaris (Tarkovsky) / Knight Of Cups

Michael Mann-esque cityscape: Miami Vice (Mann) / Knight Of Cups

Miami Vice / Knight Of Cups

I can only speak for myself when I say that Malick's exploration of inner-turmoil, confusion and just that overall feeling of "blah" speaks to me right now more than any other filmmaker (with the exception of Carlos Reygadas). And you know this feeling has to be true because it takes a lot of courage/balls for anyone to openly admit something like that and actually mean it (I often face ridicule from my friends and my fiancée for my love of Terrence Malick's films). I think we all know that Malick is looked at as more of a joke/slow-moving target than a serious filmmaker these days.

It's easy to watch Knight Of Cups and claim that nothing happens or it isn't about anything (like some early reviews have been saying). But that is kind of the point (sorry to sound pretentious and blindly defensive at the same time, but it's true). This film draws inspiration from a period in Malick's life when he was feeling kind of "blah" and a little cloudy. Christian Bale's silent/brooding/confused performance in Knight Of Cups falls right in line with Ben Affleck in To The Wonder & Sean Penn/Hunter McCracken in Tree Of Life (which makes sense as all of these actors are essentially portraying Terrence Malick at different stages of his life). 

The Thin Red Line / Knight Of Cups

My only (major) issue with Knight Of Cups is that it makes Rick out to be kind of a hypocrite. Throughout the film there's this unspoken vibe we get from him as if he's quietly judging all the glutinous materialistic folks he's surrounded by in the entertainment industry, yet at the same time we see him driving fancy cars and frolicking around with beautiful women. I wonder if this inner-conflict was intentional or if Terrence Malick really is a clueless hypocrite that doesn't realize he's judging the same lifestyle he possibly indulged in at one point.
The female presence in Knight Of Cups is bound to ruffle some feathers. With the exception of Cate Blanchett, every woman we see serves no purpose except to pout, be moody and look attractive.


Knight Of Cups is a breath of fresh air from all the imitation Malick films that have surfaced since Tree Of Life (The Better Angels Mud, Take Shelter, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Birdman, The Revenant, etc). While some of the aforementioned films got Malick's stamp of approval (The Better Angels) and are somewhat enjoyable (Mud), most of the Malick-influenced films are underwhelming (Ain't Them Bodies Saints) or just downright bad/overrated (Take Shelter). It's time dad came back to reclaim his (small) throne.

Tree Of Life / The Better Angels

If you enjoyed To The Wonder (yes, enjoyed) along with the recent work of Nicholas Winding Refn (I'm convinced Malick was partially inspired by Drive & Only God Forgives) then this is for you. If you hated To The Wonder then just save yourself the aggravation and stay away...

LOST RIVER (RYAN GOSLING'S DIRECTORIAL DEBUT)

Lost River. Ryan Gosling's directorial debut. Where do I even begin? First of all, this movie isn't as terrible as some people made it out to be (it was booed at Cannes last year). Personally, I thought it was pretty cool (well...the first hour at least, but we'll get in to that later). Lost River is pretty much the outcome of Terrence Malick & Nicholas Winding Refn rubbing off on Ryan Gosling in a major way (Malick & Refn were the last two filmmakers Gosling worked with). Lost River also deserves some comparison to the work of Stanley Kubrick & David Lynch. I normally hate when recent "weird" movies are compared Kubrick & Lynch because that's such a cliche thing to do, but Gosling mimics some of Lynch's work right down to the color scheme.  There's a night club scene in the first act of Lost River that is heavily inspired by Blue Velvet & Mulholland Drive. There's also a lot of Kubrick-esque hallway shots (like in The Shining) and there's always the threat of the unknown like in Eyes Wide Shut...

Mulholland Drive / Lost River

Mulholland Drive / Lost River

But Malick & Refn are the true inspirations here (for those of you confused at the Malick/Gosling connection, they recently collaborated on a movie that has yet to be released).

The Thin Red Line / Lost River

The New World / Lost River

Five minutes in to Lost River we see a red-headed mother in a sundress (Christina Hendricks) twirling around on her front lawn with her young son which is obviously something right out of Malick's Tree Of Life. A lot of the editing, dialogue & camerawork in Lost River is sprawling & "jazzy" and it's kind of made up of unfinished thoughts & ideas just like a lot of Malick's post-Thin Red Line work (that's not an insult either. I kind of like that sketchbook/unfinished style of filmmaking).
Later on we get scenes of neon-lit night clubs & synth-heavy background music which is right out of the cinema of Nicholas Winding Refn who's been synonymous with Gosling for the last couple of years.

I like Malick & Refn so you can imagine their styles mixed together would intrigue me. But no matter how much I kind of enjoyed this, it's still a train wreck of a movie that I could never defend or try to convince someone else to like. It's a pretty-looking train wreck, but still...a train wreck nonetheless.
Lost River does have a plot but it's really not all that important. This is visual masturbation at it's finest (something Gosling probably picked up from Nicholas Winding Refn). I guarantee if you asked someone what this movie is about they’d have a tough time explaining but they'd have no problem talking about all the cool-looking imagery...

Lost River follows “Bones” - a young man living with his mother (Hendricks) & younger brother in a sort of trippy post-apocalyptic vision of Detroit. Most of Detroit has been buried in a flood and what's left is a ghost town reminiscent of the exterior scenes in Eraserhead. Bones is at odds with the local sadistic Bully while his mother is forced to take odd jobs (...literally) so that she can keep her house.
Gosling has described Lost River as a fairytale when in reality it's kind of a nightmare both in a good way (some of the visuals are very striking & profound) and also a very bad way (in the last 30 minutes the plot kind of goes “bye-bye” and you're forced to sit through a messy neon nightmare of forced weirdness).

I find it problematic that a lot of filmmakers have this recent strange romanticized vision of Detroit as this rotting, ugly, dirty place. I know Detroit is a troubled city and has been for years, but filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch (Only Lovers Left Alive), Jose Padilha (Robocop), Camille Delamarre (Brick Mansions) & Gosling (Lost River) seem to think there's something “cool” about a post-apocalyptic/dystopian Detroit. With all these films set in the motor city, I wonder if anyone is putting back in to the community in order to give it life once again or do people want Detroit to stay fucked so they can have a cool location to shoot in. It's just like with The Beasts Of The Southern Wild in that the filmmaker wants us to think these dumb characters are happy dysfunctional drunks who look forward to the oncoming flood that's about to destroy what's left of their community.

Lost River is the perfect example of why directors are a key ingredient in filmmaking. Sometimes they're needed in order to tell an actor “No. That idea is stupid.” Directors certainly have their problems & insecurities but so do actors. They can be very egotistical & bullheaded. From Werner Herzog & Klaus Kinski to David O. Russell & Lilly Tomlin, we've seen plenty examples of directors clashing with actors over artistic freedom. The cast of Lost River is made up of Gosling's actor friends & former collaborators (Christina Hendricks, Eva Mendes, Ben Mendelssohn, etc). On some level this movie felt like actors trying to cut out the director so they can do whatever they want which is kind of problematic. Actors need guidance and that's definitely the case here. By the one hour mark this movie REALLY starts to drag to a grueling super strange finish (I found myself asking when & how is this going to end). I felt like I was watching a collage of acting reels. Ben Mendelssohn is a unique actor but at certain points Lost River felt like Gosling was just trying to showcase how creepy & menacing he can be. I'd be lying if, at times, I didn’t think Lost River would have made an interesting 20 minute short or a loose long-form narrative music video. With Lost River Ryan Gosling is an actor trying his hand at directing. I don’t know if I consider him an actual director/filmmaker yet.

I was still intrigued by this movie so much that I watched it twice in a 24 hour period (I did rent it off of Google play and I wanted my money's worth). Chromatics/Desire front-man Johnny Jewel really stretched as a film score composer and played an integral part in the film. While synthesizers still remain the backbone in his work, he played with more ambient sounds, didn’t stick to any kind of musical grid and found his “inner Brian Eno” (the music in Lost River is way more mature and less derivative than his music used in Drive & Bronson).

Lost River / Knight Of Cups

Lost River also has me anticipating Malick's Knight Of Cups even more as it looks like a combination of typical Malick (dreamy voice-over narration, off-kiltered cinematography, poetic ambiance, etc) mixed with the neon synthesized filmmaking style of Nicholas Winding Refn.