FIRE

If Claire Denis’ latest film is supposed to be an on-the-spot improvised pandemic-era exercise/experiment - then I’m willing to go easy on it. But if it is meant to be taken like a serious well-crafted film in the vein of her stronger efforts like Beau Travail, No Fear No Die or 35 Rums - then I am a little disappointed. Disappointed as if I’m watching an A+ student intentionally get a C- on a test because they find it amusing. I don’t think Denis has the ability to make a “terrible” movie, and no matter how head-scratchingly vague/empty the movie felt to me at times, it does have me thinking about it non-stop well after watching it. Perhaps that is a win on some level...

For those of you familiar with Denis’ entire filmography, Fire feels like an even more playful & loose iteration of something like L’Intrus. Not in terms of plot but in terms of execution. From the beginning we’re introduced to characters and information in a very “in the know”/speakeasy kind of way. Claire Denis is the queen of hints & implications and with Fire we see Denis pushing that form storytelling to the limit.

As a fan of movie references & homages I should love this. For those that don’t know, the tone of this film is very much in the school of Jacques Rivetter right down to Denis casting Rivette regular; Bulle Olgier. Fire’s most Rivette quality is the way it weaves in & out of being silly/playful and incredibly intense (the film's playfulness also owes a bit to the French new wave while it's intense finale feels like an argument from a Cassavetes film).
A movie from my favorite filmmaker (Denis) drenched in vague homages & movie references from older filmmakers I love (Cassavetes, Rivette, etc) should be right up my alley but unfortunately it just  didn’t click.

Outside of the Rivette homage there is a basic premise/plot that involves a couple’s relationship being put to the test when various outside forces try to come between them. But ultimately this film almost felt like an inside reference that I wasn’t privy to (which is incredibly frustrating considering my love for Claire Denis).
Anyone who knows me is aware I’m Claire Denis’ biggest fan but I’m no authority on her or her work (even if I come off that way at times). I encourage everyone to watch this (Fire is being put out by IFC films so it should be somewhat easy to see). Perhaps there’s something I just didn’t get or understand. I plan on watching this many times over in the future so maybe things will change.

And Fire isn’t without some incredibly positive qualities…

Tindersticks make yet another amazing musical contribution to the cinematic world of Claire Denis (the score is more in line with other “moody” scores like Bastards or L’Intrus).
The cast of Fire feels like a family affair with appearances from almost every era of Claire Denis regular. Watching Alice Houri, Vincent Lindon, Juliette Binoche, Gregoire Colin, Mati Diop and a (mute) Lola Cretan all share the screen feels like watching a fun-yet hastily put together experimental all-star game.

Again - I encourage as many people as possible to see Fire. I know I’m not raving about this like I have other Claire Denis films but I’m really curious to know if there are pieces I didn’t get in order to fully appreciate it.

Please watch and report back. I'm incredibly open to chat about this with any and everyone…

THE BASTARDS SLEEP WELL (Claire Denis' Bastards @ NYFF)

Its no mystery that PINNLAND EMPIRE is the kindest place on the web for all things Claire Denis-related. Part of me wishes that her latest film was bad so you all wouldn't think I was just blindly praising her work but Bastards was really good in my opinion. Denis' latest film is like one of those creepy dreams that stays with you for the entire day leaving you feeling slightly disoriented. It's not exactly a nightmare but nothing you wake up smiling about. And like any dream, there is no traditional beginning or end. We're just thrown right in to the story and we're not exactly sure how we got there.

Bastards is a neo-noir revenge story/family drama about a naval captain; "Marco" (Vincent Lindon) who returns home to help his sister; "Sandra" (Julie Bataille) whose fallen on some incredibly hard times. Sandra's husband (who was once Marco's friend) has just committed suicide and her daughter, Marco's niece, was brutally raped and the same man; "Edouard Laporte" (Michel Subor), is possibly responsible for both tragic events.
Although Claire Denis denied that Bastards has any underlying messages about capitalism or corporate greed, Edouard Laporte is a powerful businessman who triggers the suicide of a smaller/struggling businessman (Sandra's husband). One can't help but still think that on some level this film applies to issues like "The 99% vs. The 1%" or the unfair distribution and/or misuse of power in different parts of the world. These aren't the typical issues that Denis focuses on so that could just be me reaching.

This is another "family affair" with Denis regulars; Gregoire Colin, Michel Subor, Alex Descas, Florence Loire Caille, Agnes Goddard, Jean-Pol Fargeau & The Tindersticks all appearing in front of or behind the camera in some fashion. This also marks the second collaboration between Vincent Lindon & Denis since Friday Night (2002). 

There's even "extended family" in Bastards with the presence of Lola Creton whose relationship with Olivier Assayas, Denis' friend, probably had something to do with her being cast in this (Creton co-starred in Assayas' last film; Something In The Air and she also starred in Goodbye My First Love which was directed by Assayas' girlfriend Mia Hansen-Love). And I don't mean to downplay Creton's natural acting ability or screen presence by saying she was only cast due to some kind of "cinematic nepotism". It's the same thing with other actors. Bastards co-star; Alex Descas, who is Claire Denis' most frequent collaborator, is one of my favorite actors but I'm sure his relationship with Olivier Assayas is an extension of his relationship with Denis (Descas has co-starred in three of Assayas' films). Creton's performance is both haunting & heartbreaking at the same time...

The French love William Faulkner. And its no mystery that Claire Denis, who is obviously French, is heavily influenced by books & literature. Some of her best work is adapted from or inspired by books - Beau Travail (1999) is a loose adaptation of Billy Buddy and both; Friday Night (2002) & The Intruder (2004) are adapted from books/essays, so it doesn't come as too much of a surprise that elements of Bastards draws heavily from Faulkner's writing (specifically Sanctuary). In Bastards, one of the characters is violated sexually with a piece of corn and eventually tries to go back to the very same person who abused her. For those that aren't familiar with Faulkner's Sanctuary, one of the most alarming scenarios in the story involves one of the characters (Temple) getting raped & violated with a piece of corn which opens up her dark side and pulls her in to a world of sexual abuse & prostitution. Even the basic plot of Bastards; the lone male character going home to be with his sister who eventually gets caught up in a series of tragic events, is a play on Sanctuary. 

Based on this review so far one might think Claire Denis has gone back to that dark side we saw in films like I Can't Sleep (1994) and Trouble Everyday (2001). To a certain degree that's true. Bastards, which couldn't have a more appropriate title as almost every male character in the film is very much a bastard, has some of the same frightening sexual aggression found in Trouble Everyday along with the same dark/moody atmosphere (thanks in part to The Tindersticks' score). But Bastards also feels like a loose sequel to The Intruder with its somewhat dreamy/non-linear structure (it should be noted that both; Bastards & The Intruder were written by Jon-Pol Fargeau). 

As I've said on here before, its difficult to talk/write about one Denis film without mentioning two or three of her previous films in the process. Her filmography has this invisible continuous thread that ties all her work together. In Bastards, Michel Subor plays an evil businessman but he could very well be the same self centered, mildly unpleasant character that he played almost a decade ago in Denis' The Intruder (the same picture of Michel Subor as a young man that we see in Beau Travail is used again in Bastards). Vincent Lindon's quietly edgy character in Bastards could easily be the same mysterious guy he played years ago in Denis' Friday Night. Much like The Intruder, Bastards has a plot but its more about the feelings you get from the images & isolated scenes placed in front of you. I honestly feel like the plot isn't the most important element here. Denis kinda makes this clear in the way she structures the film - the story does intentionally jump out of order at times (although not in a chaotic way but rather in a more organic & seamless way), some of the dialogue between the characters is extremely familiar (at times it feels like we're thrown in to the middle of a conversation that we should already have the inside dirt on), the moody music is just as important to the film's atmosphere as the acting or cinematography (a completely separate write-up could be done on The Tindersticks' score as they've adopted a slightly new electronic/computerized sound this time around) and, in true Claire Denis fashion, a lot of important information in the film is conveyed through hints & implications rather than traditional straightforward dialogue (although quite a bit of important information is laid out for the audience pretty clearly in the film's 8mm-esque ending).

Faulkner's books & Denis' own previous works aren't the only influences found in Bastards. If you refer to the interview she gave here on PINNLAND EMPIRE earlier this year, Denis mentions Akira Kurosawa & Toshiro Mifune as an influence. Vincent Lindon's motivation for revenge is somewhat similar to Mifune's in Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well (seeking revenge on a corrupt businessman for the death of a family member). And apparently part of Bastards is based on a true story that Denis read about in the news involving a woman who was beaten, raped & left for dead on the side of the road by sex traffickers. In one scene Lola Creton is seen walking naked in the middle of the street at night with blood dripping between her legs which is very reminiscent of a scene in Elim Klimov's Come & See. Bastards is obviously not an autobiographical film but at the same time it feels like we're watching all the random thoughts and feelings that go on inside Claire Denis' head - newspaper articles, books, cinema, music, and unfinished ideas that still deserve to be shared with others. 

In my opinion, Bastards isn't as dark as some people were making it out to be but there are a few moments that may cause you to go; "oh shit." (honestly, if the implication of sodomy with a corn cob doesn't make you squirm in the least bit then something may be wrong with you).

If I had to quickly sum up the character of Marco I guess I'd call him an anti-hero. But if you wanted to go a little deeper I'd use the term, coined by Claire Denis collaborator Alice Houri; "Good Bastard". Yes, Marco is the protagonist of the story but he isn't the traditional good guy we unconditionally root for. His actions are sometimes questionable and his thoughts are dark. But if my brother-in law's suicide was triggered by the same person behind my niece's rape, I might go on a quest for revenge knowing the information that Marco knows. Marco is yet another imperfect character in a long line of Claire Denis characters that we either like or feel sorry for at first then eventually come to dislike or want no part of (like Richard Courcet in I Can't Sleep or Vincent Gallo in Trouble Everyday) or one of those characters we dislike at first but come to feel sorry for later on (like Alex Descas in No Fear No Die or Denis Lavant in Beau Travail). At the Q&A for Bastards Claire Denis compared Vincent Lindon's performance to James Caan in Thief but in my opinion I found Caan to be somewhat childish at times, bordering on being dumb & hot-headed in certain scenarios (when it came to criminal activity however, Caan was intelligent & badass). Marco/Lindon is a lot more methodical and cool-headed to be compared to Caan in Thief.
Michel Subor also gave a noteworthy performance as "the villain". His loyalty to Claire Denis is profound. He seems to only ever act in her movies these days. Subor has the same swagger as that of Takeshi Kitano in that he can play a good bad guy, a bad good guy or a bad bad guy (like in Bastards) with such ease. His ability to casually play such a quietly evil person in Bastards makes me want to see him collaborate with other European filmmakers like Michael Haneke, Catherine Breillat or even Gaspar Noe.

If you're a fan of Denis' darker side, the new french extremity, 8mm, or films that fall under that "Sketchbook Cinema" genre I've been writing about recently (Uncle Boonmee..., Post Tenebras Lux, etc) then this film is absolutely something you'll dig. If you're not a fan of moody non-linear cinema then maybe its best to stay away from Bastards and avoid yourself the frustration. This is some advice that critics failed to mention in their early reviews of the film after it played at Cannes in May. There's nothing more frustrating for me than reading a review of a Claire Denis film written by someone who clearly doesn't understand her work or is still expecting her to make another Beau Travail. Bastards got some early negative press because it was essentially reviewed against & compared to films it played alongside in this years' festival circuit like; Blue Is The Warmest Color & Twelve Years A Slave which couldn't be any more different from each other. If you're gonna put Bastards up against something at least compare it to the appropriate films (The Intruder, Trouble Everyday, Uncle Boonmee, etc).

AN INTERVIEW WITH ALICE HOURI

Not many actresses or actors take their fans out to old school hip-hop parties, mail them rare French movies or invite them in to their home for dinner but that’s what sets Alice Houri apart from everybody else. I recently caught up with her (via email) to discuss last years' The Rabbi's Cat (an animated film that she lent her voice to), Claire Denis' latest, the importance of short films and Americas growing appreciation for (good) French cinema.

Enjoy...

PINNLAND EMPIRE: What was it like doing voiceover for The Rabbi’s Cat? That was your first time working on an animated film, right?

ALICE HOURI: Yes it was my first time working on an animated film and I really enjoyed it. It was a famous comic book before becoming a cartoon. It was full of humor (Jewish humor!) so I was honored to participate in the movie.

PE: Do you see yourself doing more voiceover/cartoons in the future?

AH: I would love to do more.

PE: Are cartoons/animated films becoming more popular within French art house & indie cinema?

AH: I don't really know if animated films are becoming more popular in France (The Rabbi's Cat, the book, was already famous in France). What I know is these kinds of films are expensive to make so for the art house/independent cinema, money is the main problem...

The Rabbi's Cat (2011)

PE: I still have not seen Face La Mere (there’s only one small clip on the Internet). Can you tell us what it’s about?

AH: Face La Mere is a short film about fisherman. We shot it in Sete - a little town in the south that use to be a big fishing port, but not anymore. The profession is dying. It’s really hard to keep the independent way. Sete is now becoming a touristic place and the fishermen have to fight hard to survive...it's sad.

PE: In the last couple of years you’ve acted in a few short films - Do you think short films are a way to work out techniques & ideas for future full length films or do you feel some stories just don’t need to be that long?

AH: Short films are, traditionally in France, a way to access long movies. Like a visit card. So on one hand it's a way to work out techniques and ideas. A way to develop your own universe. And on the other hand, it's hard to tell a story in a short time frame. That's the difficulty of the exercise.

US Go Home (1994)

PE: It seems that films about youth & "coming of age" are more common in French cinema than anywhere else (400 blows, Small Change, Murmur Of The Heart, Au Revoir Les Enfants, Zazie Dans La Metro, A nos Amours, US Go Home, Something In The Air, etc). 

You’ve acted in a few films on that subject yourself (US Go Home, Nenette & Boni, Du Poil Sous Les Roses). Why do you think that is in French cinema?

AH: Well I don't think films about youth and growing up are a French specialty. The subject is universal: Dakota Fanning, Shirley Temple, Macaulay Culkin, Drew Barrymore, etc. The Kid by Chaplin is my favorite. It’s the most poetical look at the topic of childhood

PE: French-based films are starting to become more popular over here in America (Amour, Holy Motors, Carlos, etc). Is this a surprise to some French people? How does it make you feel?

AH: It’s kind of a surprise and maybe there's a sense of pride for some French people to see that some movies have succeeded in America. You know, here, we humbly call this industry "the French exception". I think your country is amazing because you have a long tradition of cinephilia and films like Holy Motors find a larger public there than in France. But at the same time a movie like La Vie En Rose was a huge success (and it's not the same public at all). Woody Allen says he's more famous in France than in his own country. To be recognized here first you have to find the glory in America.

Holy Motors - Leos Carax (2012)

PE: You’re a cinephile so I know you saw a bunch of movies in 2012. What were your favorite films from last year?

AH: The best film I’ve seen lately is Tey made by Alain Gomis. So poetic. I loved it!

PE: What films are you looking forward to watching this year?

AH: I don't know - The next Djinn Carrenard, Kechiche, Claire Denis, Farhadi…

Blue Is The Warmest Color - Kechiche (2013)

PE: Speaking of the new Claire Denis - what was it like working with her again, even if it was a small part?

AH: I was touched to work with Claire (last time I was 15). It was kind of nostalgic. But my little scene in Les Salauds was cut at the end! I'm very curious to see this next opus! It will be done on Saturday...



PE: Now that Vincent Lindon has made two films with Claire Denis is he considered part of the "family"?

AH: Yep I think Vincent Lindon is for sure part of the family. They seem to love and respect each other really deeply



PE: In the future do you ever see yourself moving away from acting completely to become a director or would you like to do both?


AH: I would like to work as a director, actress or scenarist…

AN INTERVIEW WITH CLAIRE DENIS

What's left to say about Claire Denis that hasn't already been said here on PINNLAND EMPIRE? I've written about all of her features, dedicated a "cinema of..." series to her work, tracked down the co-star of two of her films (Alice Houri) and have managed to reference either her or her films in numerous reviews & writings. I guess the only thing left to do is to interview her. This seemed like a longshot but thankfully Alice Houri understands my intense/borderline unhealthy fascination with Claire's work and put us in contact with each other.
Claire was nice of enough to take the time out to answer some questions regarding her upcoming film; Les Salauds (which reunites her with Vincent Lindon, Agnes Godard and a few of her other regulars). Anyone familiar with this site should know she's PINNLAND EMPIRE favorite #1, so this is pretty special.
Given that Les Salauds is still somewhat under wraps and not that much is known about it yet besides the basic plot (only one official movie still has been released so far) take this opportunity to read about this mysterious & anticipated film directly from it's creator.


PINNLAND EMPIRE: Where did the origin of your new film come from? How was it birthed?

CLAIRE DENIS: The origin of this film is my health in a way. I was obliged to stay in France for a while. My projected next film was due to be shot somewhere far away from home (Wild, dangerous and hot). So in March my producer suggested I make a little film in the neighborhood and to start shooting three months from then. A little film but a fast one. I guess it was so crazy, it looked like a joke. But the producer was also betting me to respond so I said OK to be a sport in a way. Not to react like a little thing - a challenge I thought.

And I start wondering, and Vincent Lindon, the actor, told me he wanted to be part of this crazy bet. I was wondering even more as everyone seemed serious.

I was watching a Kurosawa film, no two actually, with Mifune and from then on I started drifting towards a story that, little by little, transforms into something I was not expecting…towards Faulkner. A move that I would not have done directly or openly. I did it in a hidden way.
Let’s say in Faulkner what happens is inevitable. It was therefore an obligation to try a different way to work with J.P Fargeau. Piece by piece. Like brick by brick without hesitating too much as if everything was urgent. I have no idea if it was for the best or for the worst. I wanted to be ready to shoot in time. Painful & interesting, yes. Every day I was forcing myself to believe in the film.



PE: Do you consider Les Salauds a noir, a revenge thriller, a drama or something else?

CD: I have no name like that under my tongue. The film is not finished, it’s still free.

Les Salauds (2013)

PE: Would you say the basic plot behind Les Salauds (a rich businessman causing the death of a smaller businessman) is a comment on France’s current economic state or a metaphor about the evils behind money & greed?

CD: No, no, it is not really the story. The suicide has, in a way, another cause I guess. And on top of that, no metaphor about anything. Evil is a very complex word for me. I do not use it. It’s almost religious. Hate and Love yes, I believe.



PE: Given that Jean-Pol Fergeau co-wrote some of your more dreamy scripts, will Les Salauds have a surreal/dream-like ambiance similar to L’intrus or Nenette & Boni?

CD: Don't know about that, I am making the film. I have no idea. For me l'intrus was such a natural and realistic story. I was a believer. I am a believer.

Alex Descas & Claire Denis - 35 Shots Of Rum (2008)

PE: Is the filmmaking process easier when you work with people you’re so familiar with like; Agnes Godard, Jean-Pol Fargeau, Alex Descas & Gregoire Colin?

CD: I did work also with Vincent Lindon before. No it is not easier, it is even more difficult - not to trust a sort of habit, not to be bored together. And also I feel good when I see their face in the morning. They represent my companions in cinema.



PE: In between White Material & Les Salauds you made the short documentary; To The Devil.

          -Can you tell the readers a little bit about it and what it meant to you?

          -Are there elements of To The Devil in Salauds?


CD: I did it yes, it was part of a project for a feature film (as I told you to be shot "far away") and it was produced by Jinju film festival. It's about a short visit to a man who lives in Surinam.

No connection.

Thief (1981)

PE: What are some of the latest films you’ve seen that have really impressed you?

CD: El Estudiante, Leviathan, Hong Sang Soo’s new film (In Another Country) & Thief (yes, Thief by Michael Mann with James Caan & Tuesday Weld)



PE: What current filmmakers are you a fan of?

CD: Lisandro Alonso is one of them, but listing is terrible and boring



PE: Are there any American actors besides Vincent Gallo that you’d like to work with?

CD: Yes I do, but Vincent Gallo is Vincent Gallo, that's a simple fact.



PE: Are there any future plans (that you know of) on releasing your “rare” and more unseen work like US Go Home & Keep It For Yourself?

CD: No time right now. I think Vincent Gallo has those films on the internet. So I heard…



PE: It seems like you go through periods where you release films frequently (Beau Travail, Trouble Every Day & Friday Night) then you go through periods where you take a break from making feature films for about 4 to 5 years. Is Les Salauds the start of another one of those periods where we can expect to see another feature to follow soon?

CD: I have no idea about that, man. Each project is a full time program.

FRIDAY NIGHT: CLAIRE DENIS' LAST TANGO IN PARIS

I haven't got much sleep these last couple of days because no matter how late i get home, i end up watching this movie from beginning to end. I always put it on before i go to sleep just to watch one or two scenes and then i find myself watching the whole thing. Claire Denis' 'Friday Night', adapted from a book of the same name, is the ONE film of hers that i didn't fall madly in love with after seeing for the first time like i have with all her others ('Nenette & Boni', 'Trouble Every Day', 'No Fear No Die', etc). But like 'Ghost Dog', Steven Soderbergh's 'Solaris' and 'Sex, Lies & Videotape', its grown on me over the years. 'Friday Night' has the power to change the opinion of a guy like me who isn't too big on romantic films mainly because they're always sappy and are usually only made with women in mind. But 'Friday Night' is different.
After moving out of her apartment, our main character (Laurie) gets caught in a ridiculous traffic jam due to a transportation strike which has put Paris at a standstill. But for some strange reason she seems to be the only person who doesn't care. She sits in her car in bumper to bumper traffic listening to music and watching people ditch their cars to walk home. Eventually she offers a mysterious man (Jean) a ride in her car (even though they don't get very far due to the traffic), and in a kind of unspoken agreement they decide to spend the night together. Without making an obvious reference to an older movie like many of Denis' contemporaries (jarmusch, von trier, tarrantino) do, 2 strangers meeting up to have sex with each other is kinda similar to 'Last Tango In Paris'. Yet 'Friday Night' is still Denis' own film and she borrows nothing style-wise from Bertolucci. It has the dreamy atmosphere that you should expect from a "Nenette & Boni to Intruder era" Claire Denis film. In my last big Claire Denis blog entry (PINNLAND EMPIRE: The Cinema Of Claire Denis) i talked about the effect that The Tindersticks (the band that has been scoring her films for the last 15 years) had on her work once she started working with them. And 'Friday Night', scored by Tindersticks member Dickon Hinchliffe, may be the perfect example. Before their music graced her films, Denis' style was a bit more grounded in gritty realism. 'No Fear No Die' was a film about underground cockfighting and 'I Cant Sleep' dealt with a sociopathic serial killer that targeted old women. Once she made 'Nenette & Boni' her films got more and more dreamlike ('Friday Night' kinda feels like a dream you don't wanna wake up from) culminating in 'The Intruder' (Denis' 2004 film), which was like one long epic dream.

Last Tango In Paris

Friday Night

The fact that 'Friday Night' mostly takes place in a car and/or a small motel room, gives the film a lot of intimacy. And when there's scenes that don't take place in a small space, the camera is right up close & personal in the actors' faces. And like much of Denis' other work, there isn't a ton of dialogue. 'Friday Night' falls in to the same category of films like 'In The Mood For Love' (or just about almost anything else by Wong Kar Wai).

The movie really plays of body language. There isn’t much spoken out loud in the film, even though we retained nearly all the dialogue from the book. There are perhaps one or two bits of dialogue which we suppressed during the filming, because the actors did not want to deliver them. - Claire Denis

In The Mood For Love

Friday Night

'Friday Night' is often overlooked for a couple of reasons: It's essentially the "middle child" between two of Denis' greatest films (trouble every day & the intruder). A small film like this is easy to look past when it's sandwiched between a bloody vagina biting "horror"/drama/romance (trouble every day) and a 2+ hour surreal epic filmed in 3 different countries (the intruder). Its also overlooked because its the one Claire Denis film that doesn't feature any of her "regulars" in lead roles. In fact, the only 2 commonly used Claire Denis actors that are in 'Friday Night' appear in quick cameos (Gregoire Colin & Florence Loiret Caille). This is a great movie, and you don't have to like "arthouse" films to enjoy it. I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to Claire Denis, but if you're a fan of her more recent work and have yet to see this, I highly recommend it.

Friday Night (2003)

Beau Travail (1999/2000)

Another thing i picked up on while watching 'Friday Night' is a common shot that Denis uses (which i shoulda put in that last big entry i did on her). In many of her films there's always a point of view shot from the perspective of the inside of a car (or a train in the case of '35 Shots Of Rum'), often times quickly catching someone in the headlights before they quickly fall out of frame. There's a particular scene in 'Friday Night' that looks exactly like a scene in Denis' earlier film 'Beau Travail' (below).