BETTE GORDON: ROAD MOVIES

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Coming straight off the Amtrak train from Washington D.C. (that's right, i didn't even go home first to drop my shit off) i was able to make the last 2 nights of the Bette Gordon retrospective @ anthology film archives. What stood out the most to me from her body of work were her road movies.  First was her experimental film; 'United States Of America'. Although there is no (clear) dialogue between the characters, its pretty straight forward. The film follows a couple (Bette Gordon and her early collaborator; James Benning) on a road trip from the perspective of someone sitting in the back seat of their car. Watching this movie, i could see where Richard Linklater may have got some inspiration for his very similar first film; 'Its Impossible To Learn To Plow By Reading Books', which is another road movie where the director (Linklater) films himself on a cross country trip by way of train, making pit stops here & there to visit friends and wander aimlessly. If you can get past (what some may consider) the boredom and banality of 'United States of America' like; the long shots of the open road, the couple pulling off on the side of the road to switch drivers, the windshield wipers, the changing of the radio, etc, you'll soon realize that 'United States Of America' almost stands as kind of a time capsule of the 70's. In fact, the use of the radio is the main element that drives this home. Filmed in 1974 or '75, the radio switches in and out of different news stories and songs that capture the spirit of the 70's (specifically the news stories regarding the Vietnam war, and the use of Minnie Ripperton's 'loving you', which is a song that seems to follow them through their trip no matter what part of the country they're in). Gordon's experimental films of the 70's are quite different from her more narrative/straight forward work of the 80's up through the present day, but with 'United States Of America', you can see where some of the seeds were planted for the next road movie of hers that i saw; 'Luminous Motion'...

LUMINOUS MOTION

The back seat perspective of Gordon's 'United States Of America', almost makes it a prequel to 'Luminous Motion' (a movie that i saw for the first time on saturday night and instantly became a fan of). The film follows main character; Phillip, a smart 10 year old boy fascinated by science, on the road (or on the run depending on how you look at it) with his alcoholic/con-artist/prostitute mom, played by Deborah Kara Unger. At the introduction of the screening on saturday night, Bette Gordon commented that she was always fascinated by the "mother & son" relationship, and with 'Luminous Motion', she also wanted to make her own version of 'bonnie & clyde'. Even though i categorized this film as a "road movie", about less than a third of the film actually takes place in a car or even on the road for that matter. At one point in the middle of the film, it looks like Phillip and his mom are finally gonna settle down, but after a gruesome incident, they're back on the run. As the the story progresses, not only does the film start to get more and more dark (Phillip kills someone, his mom sinks in to a deep depression and wont get out of bed, etc), we start to piece together why he and his mom ended up on the road in the first place. We learn that his mother is actually a bit more complex than just the "alcoholic/con-artist/prostitute" that i labeled her earlier. And finally, we learn that Phillip doesn't have the best grip on reality. Through out the film, Phillip is both haunted & helped by the ghost of his mom's ex-boyfriend who Kasey may or may not have killed with a drill gun earlier in the film. He's also haunted by the presence of his father, who may or may not be real as well. Due to Deborah Kara Unger's usual soft spoken & sensual acting (also found in her performances in 'the game' and cronenberg's 'crash'), you cant help but sense some incestuous undertones between her and Phillip (from him rubbing lotion on her back and painting her toenails, to the scene where he spies on her having sex), which further drive home the point i made earlier about the film becoming more and more complicated and dark as it goes on. Of everything I've seen so far, this is easily my favorite film by Gordon (i still have yet to see 'Variety' though). The tone and atmosphere of the movie are reminiscent of everything from Wim Wenders to Alex Cox's 'repoman'. 'Luminous Motion' falls under many categories. Its a coming of age tale, part comedy comedy/part family drama and it even has elements of science fiction. This is one of the many forgotten about independent gems of the 90's that, thanks to anthology film archives, got its 2nd wind this past weekend. I enjoyed this movie so much, right after i saw it, i went around the corner to kim's video and bought the DVD. I think part of the reason that i enjoyed 'Luminous Motion' so much was because it had a similar vibe to other coming of age movies i love like; 'Parents' and 'The Reflecting Skin'. All of those movies combine elements of dark humor, the horror of childhood (which is actually a line from 'the reflecting skin') and family drama from the perspective of a child. Also, all three films focus on a child discovering things about adults (specifically their parents) that frighten them.

Luminous Motion

The Reflecting Skin

Parents

HANDSOME HARRY

While 'United States Of America' & 'Luminous Motion' have quite a few elements in common with one another, Bette Gordon's most recent film; 'Handsome Harry', doesn't really connect with her previous road movies. In fact, the only thing 'Handsome Harry' has in common with the other 2  is that they all take place on the road. 'Handsome Harry' almost feels like the sequel to 'Young Torless'. Both are movies that deal with bullying and harassing gone too far within the military. In 'Young Torless', there's a scene towards the end, when the main character has the chance to help a fellow military student who's been harassed to point where its become sadistic, but he turns his back on him, and allows his fellow classmates to gang up on him and literally string him up. 'Handsome Harry' essentially picks up where that movie left off many years later. In 'Handsome Harry', a middle-aged electrician takes to the road to find his old navy buddies who he committed a hate crime with 30 years earlier against their gay navy mate. This film plays out like a cross between 'Broken Flowers' (a middle-aged man on a road trip trying to track down people from his past) and an episode of 'Law & Order: SVU' (the hate crime aspect of the film). As Harry tracks down each navy buddy, he learns that they have all been suffering or paying for their sin one way or another. One, played by John Savage, not only has sexual problems, but his son turned out to be gay. Another, has a paralyzed wife who was hit by a drunk driver, and he's had to take care of her ever since. And another one of his old navy buddies is dying from what i guess we're led to believe is some kind of cancer. What i liked most about the film was that even though i could see where the plot was going, i didn't expect the film to end the way it did (i mean that in a good way). The acting, which featured a stand-out performance from John Savage, almost seemed like stage acting, rather than film acting. And along with 'Young Torless', 'Handsome Harry' stirs up elements of Dennis Quaid's performance in 'Far From Heaven' (the repressed, masculine closet homosexual struggling with his sexuality).

MOVIES FOR HALLOWEEN: PART 2

HALLOWEENIE (Pete & Pete)
Ever since season two came out, i always make it a point to watch this episode (which is one of my all time top 5 Pete & Pete episodes ever) during the Halloween season. It brings back so many memories. Aside from the tv show being a major part of my childhood, this specific episode brings back Halloween memories of all the stupid shit me and friends use to do during Halloween once we got to old to dress up and knock on doors for candy, which is basically what this episode is about. In 'Halloweenie', big Pete realizes he's getting too old for Halloween which causes a problem for little Pete. Little Pete wants to break the record for getting the most candy, but he cant do it alone and needs his older brothers help. At the same time, a gang of highschoolers called; The Pumpkin Eaters (led by recurring character; Endless Mike), plan to not only destroy Halloween for all the little kids in town, but hey also try to recruit big Pete in to their gang. Now big Pete is torn between weather or not he should help his little brother on Halloween or grow up and say goodbye to trick or treating. Any Pete & Pete episode with Endless Mike is gold. He's one of the shows best characters (even more than Artie as far as I'm concerned). If you ever wanted to turn anyone on to 'Pete & Pete', THIS would be the episode for sure. This one really highlights the shows unique sense of humor, which i like to call 'G-rated dark humor'.



PARENTS
This is one of my all time favorite movies, and one of my greatest late night cable tv discoveries as a little kid. In 'Parents' (directed by Bob Balaban), a little boy suspects that his parents are serial killing cannibals. His suspicions arise due to his parent's love of eating only meat and the horrific nightmares/visions hes has that show his parents in a disturbing light. This is one of the most original (and underrated) movies of the 80's. 'Parents' has the spirit of; 'Pete & Pete', 'blue velvet', 'heathers' and 'are you afraid of the dark' all rolled up in to one movie. The acting in the movie is really great. In fact, Randy Quaid was nominated for an independent spirit award for his performance in this. The lead kid in this movie never went on to act in anything else, which is a shame because he did a really good job. Also, Bob Balaban has never directed or written anything quite like this ever since. In fact, this seems more like a David Lynch movie. As underrated and forgotten about as this movie may be, it has a small cult audience, and is slowly getting rediscovered thanks to the hulu and the youtube movie channel. Also, even though you cant see any traces of 'Parents' in any of his work, this is one of Darren Aronofsky's favorite movies.



THE REFLECTING SKIN
This movie would make an amazing double feature with 'Parents'. 'The Reflecting Skin' shares the same basic plot as 'Parents'; the disturbing imagination of a child who suspects the adults around him are evil. This movie, like 'Parents' is also VERY underrated. 'The Reflecting Skin' tells the story of 'Seth' and the creepy Midwestern town he lives in. He comes from a dysfunctional home (his father is not only a drunk but has been labeled the town pedophile due to a misunderstanding that took place many years ago and his mother is overly religious and physically abusive). His brother (Played by Viggo Mortensen in one of his earliest roles), has come back from WW2 with a disease that's making him weaker and weaker. He's absolutely convinced that the British woman who lives next door to him is a vampire (she eventually becomes his older brothers girlfriend). And all of his friends are being killed off by a group a serial killers that pray on the young boys in the neighborhood (this aspect of the movie is actually very open to interpretation in that the serial killers might be a split personality of 'Seth' himself, who in reality may be the one killing his friends). This movie has its share of funny scenes, but at the end of the day its a serious film. Like some of the other movies on my Halloween movie lists, this isn't so much a horror movie as it is a psychological thriller/drama. The soundtrack to this movie is great, btw.



HOUSE
This cult Japanese film from the late 70's has regained a new cult following due its recent midnight screenings at IFC and its addition to the criterion collection. If it weren't for criterion/janus films, most people (myself included) wouldn't be exposed to a lot the great Japanese films outside of Kurosawa and Ozu. Even though 'House' is more of a satirical and somewhat cheesy movie, it still falls in to the same category of films like; kwadain or jigoku (which have also been released by criterion), just a lot less serious. This surreal horror/comedy/musical will probably leave you laughing more than frightened, but it still possesses the spirit of Halloween. In 'House', main character; 'Gorgeous' takes her six friends (each with an equally peculiar nickname; 'kung-fu', 'fantasy', 'mac', 'melody', 'sweet' and 'prof') to her aunts house (whom she hasn't seen for years) for the summer, to get away from her father and new stepmother. What they don't know is that not only is Gorgeous's aunt a ghost, but the house they're staying in is haunted. In fact, the actual house itself starts to take on a life of its own and one by one, each of the girls is killed during their stay at the haunted house, each in a different hilarious way (one is killed by a piano that comes to life, one is beheaded, etc etc). The 'House' criterion dvd comes out at the perfect time for the Halloween season (October 26th). This is a great movie to watch with a group of friends.



COMMUNION
'Fire in the sky' might have one of the best alien abduction scenes ever, but the entire movie overall is pretty average. Communion on the other hand is a great movie all around (weather the events are true or not), that kinda got forgotten about over time. The movie, based on the true story of an alien abduction just like 'Fire in the Sky', stars Christopher Walken in the lead role as a man recovering from an alien abduction and the toll it takes on him and his family. This is probably one of Christopher Walken's last performances where actually ACTS instead of playing a character of himself which is pretty much what he's been for the last 15 years or so. In fact, Walken's performance is just as creepy as the aliens in the movie (christopher walken actually kinda looks like an alien to be honest). Speaking of the aliens in the film, that might be the one aspect of the movie that falls short (which is probably due to the budget, judging by how cheap the aliens look). In 'Communion' Walken is visited by two different kinds of Alien race. The first kind are reminiscent of the aliens at the end of close encounters (skinny bodies, big heads and big eyes). While the second group of aliens Walken comes in contact with are little black troll-like aliens. Some people may be turned off by the cheapness of the alien suits and special effects, while some might not mind. If can put that aspect of the movie aside, you'll be able to enjoy 'Communion' for the 1/2 science fiction, 1/2 psychological drama that it is.



ANGST
Any movie that Gaspar Noe counts as one of inspirations is going to intrigue me. Thanks to a multi-region dvd, I was finally able to see this after years and years of only youtube clips. When you finally see 'Angst', and then think back on Noe's work, it'll all make sense as to why this is one of the favorite movies of the guy responsible for 'Irreversible'. In 'Angst', we follow a psychopath who's just been released from prison and the difficult time he has adjusting to life on the outside. It's clear that he should've never been released, and he turns to killing again. A lot of people will look at 'Angst' as nothing more than a slasher film that's just violent for the sake of being violent. But what sets 'Angst' apart from typical slasher movies is its cinematography, which makes me even more sense that it would be one of Gaspar Noe's favorite movies (the cinematography in 'Enter The Void' is especially reminiscent of 'Angst'). In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the cinematography in 'La Haine' was partially inspired by 'Angst'. Similar to how movies like; Bladerunner & Element of Crime, Vertigo & Lost Highway, Parent & The Reflecting Skin and Barton Fink & Eraserhead go together, 'Angst' has a similar relationship with 'Henry: Portrait of Serial Killer'. This movie isn't for everyone.



LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Vampires seem to be 'in' these days, so I thought id mention at least one of the few good vampire movies out there (i still have yet to see 'Thirst'). Seeing the remake to this movie last night, made me go back and watch the original when I got home. Even though I found the remake surprisingly good (which takes a lot for me to say, because I went in to the remake wanting it to be bad), it made me appreciate the original much more. The remake still retains the spirit of the original version. The story of a lonely boy that becomes friends with a child vampire and the "complicated" relationship between the vampire girl and her 'father'. But the remake is more of a horror movie, whereas the original Swedish version is pretty much an art house drama with a few isolated scenes of gore & violence here & there. The American remake has more of a traditional horror movie soundtrack (tense, dramatic strings that build up to an obvious vampire attack), way more blood, and (like most remakes) there are some parts of the original that were left out in the remake. The biggest contrast between the original and the remake is how its shot. Specifically the lighting of each film. Because the remake is made to be more of a traditional horror movie, the look of the movie is very "dark". It seemed like most of the scenes took place at night. This is a HUGE contrast to the original which is very bright and makes great use of the snowy landscape. The bright white look of the original accentuates the violent and bloody scenes. 'Let The Right One In' is easily one of the best vampire movies to come out in years.