PINNLAND EMPIRE

Saturday, June 4, 2022

MOVIE FROM HELL: CRIMES OF THE FUTURE

As an added bonus/supplement to my recent thoughts on Cronenberg's Crimes Of The Future, check out my appearance on the Movies From Hell podcast where we delved a bit more in to the film (click here or the image above to go to the episode)

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

I HIRED A CONTRACT KILLER

Aki Kaurismaki strikes me as someone who hates rigid & constrictive labels but I can only describe his 1990 film I Hired A Contract Killer as an “anti-comedy”. It is certainly funny but in a typical Kaurismaki deadpan matter-of-fact kind of way. It doesn’t go for too many cheap laughs or corny set-ups (almost like if Bresson had made a comedy). The basic premise of I Hired A Contract Killer sounds quite silly on paper. A recently unemployed French immigrant living in the UK (Jean Pierre Leaud) hires his own hit man because he can’t seem to successfully commit suicide after a few tries.

If other filmmakers tackled this basic premise it would more than likely be a basic silly comedy. But Kaurismaki strips away most of the typical comedic tropes and makes a straightforward barebones story that deals with issues ranging from loneliness & depression to the unjust & unethical treatment of immigrant workers. There’s even a love story wedged in there.

Look at the popular Kids In The Hall Sketch; “The Hit” for further proof that under a more traditional comedic umbrella, the basic premise of a guy hiring their own hit man would be handled in a more predictable way (click here to watch “The Hit”).

No offense to The Kids In The Hall ("The Hit" is a funny sketch) but Kaurismaki’s comedy draws inspiration from non-comedic sources like Ozu (one of Kaursmaki’s favorites), while The Kids In The Hall draw inspiration from typical sources like Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton. Again - nothing against that. I just sometimes find non-traditional comedies rooted in drama to be a bit more interesting when done right.

Dragnet Girl / I Hired A Contract Killer

An Ozu-esque opening...
Floating Weeds
/ I Hired A Contract Killer

Ozu’s influence has always been a constant force in the work of Kaurismaki. From his earlier work like Shadows in Paradise to semi-recent stuff like Le Havre…

What moves me in Ozu's work above all else is his humanity, his honesty, his rectitude - Aki Kaurismaki, Film Quarterly

Floating Weeds /
Shadows In Paradise

Floating Weeds / Shadows In Paradise

What I respect most is that Ozu never needed to use murder or violence to tell everything that’s essential about human life - Aki Kaurismaki, Talking With Ozu

Equinox Flower / Shadows In Paradise

I refuse to go to my grave until I have proved to myself that I’ll never reach your level, Mr. Ozu - Aki Kaurismaki, Talking With Ozu

Floating Weeds /
Le Havre

Tokyo Story /
Le Havre

Social justice, immigration & the exploitation of the working class has been at the root of Kaurismaki’s films since day one. I Hired A Contract Killer is, in my opinion, one of the first films of his where he mad an overt political statement about the way immigrants and non-born citizens are treated in Europe specifically. This film also planted the seeds for future works like Le Havre and The Other Side Of Hope where we see immigrant life through the eyes of non-white characters (I’m not the biggest fan of either film but I appreciate the idea behind them). Kaurismaki does a very clever thing where he starts this journey with White European immigrants (I Hired A Contract Killer) then eventually transitions to characters like Africans (Le Havre) and middle eastern people (The Other Side Of Hope).

Kaurismaki has always been a political filmmaker (and a very outspoken critic of things he feels to be unjust in his personal life). He just didn’t always wear it on his sleeve so heavily until this past decade. I Hired A Contract Killer is a great mix of comedy and not-so heavy-handed social commentary that clocks in at the perfect runtime of 78 minutes.

Friday, May 20, 2022

THE ALCHEMIST COOKBOOK

These last few years I’ve been fairly aware of all the semi-recent slow-burn psychological horror movies like A Dark Song, The Transfiguration, Saint Maude, Entrance, The Witch, etc, so I’m surprised this underrated 2016 gem never came up until now (courtesy of the criterion channel). The Alchemist Cookbook would actually make for a nice double feature with A Dark Song as both intentionally slowly-paced films have a lot of similar imagery and take a more realistic approach to the idea of black magic and/or casting spells…

The Alchemist Cookbook /
A Dark Song

The motivation behind using spells & magic is quite different between the two films (A Dark Song is about grief & letting go while The Alchemist Cookbook is more about curiosity & experimentation mixed with mental illness), but the basic similarities are still there.

In addition to the coincidental visual & thematic similarities to A Dark Song, The Alchemist Cookbook has subconscious ties to everything from early Richard Linklater…

as much as I thought I hated it [SLACKER] it was one of my earliest influences. And now watching it as someone much more educated in my film experience, I understand what he was doing - Joel Potrykus, gavinschmitt.com

Slacker /
The Alchemist Cookbook

To unexpected sources like The French New Wave and more traditional horror films like The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers…

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 /
The Alchemist Cookbook

I also found some other coincidental visual similarities between The Alchemist Cookbook and other random horror films and psychological thrillers from over the years…

Twin Peaks /
The Alchemist Cookbook

The Fly /
The Alchemist Cookbook

Ganja and Hess /
The Alchemist Cookbook

I know I’m going a bit overboard with the comparisons but the more I read about Potrykus the more I appreciate his wide variety of influences.

Take these audio/video comparisons below for example:

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

Or this direct nod to Jim Jarmusch in his feature debut Ape...

Or what I believe to be a reference to Cassavetes’ The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie (right down to the Nightclub setting and both of these scenes taking place at the end of their respective movies)

His 2018 film Relaxer is a one long loose homage to Bunuel with an opening scene right out of Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange...

I’m sure I’m reaching on this one but one specific moment from the movie reminded of Murnau…

Sunrise /
The Alchemist Cookbook

Joel Potrykus is open about the things he borrows from yet none of his films could be called clones of Alan Clarke or Michael Haneke. It’s rare to be able to pull from so many sources yet not come off like a copycat. In my opinion it is possible to wear certain specific influences on your sleeve all while still having your own unique voice/approach and Potrykus is a great recent example of this.

Influences and visual nods aside, this is still very much it’s own movie…

In The Alchemist Cookbook we follow “Sean” - a recluse with deteriorating mental health living off the grid in a tiny house/caravan experimenting with various potions Igor unknown reasons. Sean is visited by his friend Cortez who brings him supplies, groceries & meds from time to time (it isn’t fully laid out but Potrykus gives little nuggets of information about Sean & Cortez’s relationship prior to the events of the film).

Although Sean is unsuccessful with his spells & experimentations (…at first), he is still haunted by unknown sounds at night. Much like other slow burn horror films in the vein of Entrance (2012), the typical horror elements of the story don’t hit until the final act. Prior to the finale, this is a film about mental illness & isolation with little hints & implications to horror and psychological unease.

Because The Alchemist Cookbook is a film about both mental illness and the supernatural, this is something that can be over-analyzed to death (and it has been). My fascination with this movie is the deliberate transgressive approach (from being a horror movie that holds back on the cheap jumps & scares) to the conscious casting choices of only Black males (this is the kind of independent movie that wouldn’t typically include Black men in the lead).

Even though I’m a Black male viewer and the cast of this movie consists of only two Black male characters - I kept race out of my analysis until reading a quote from Potrykus himself saying he wanted to “take the white people out of the movie”. Once I read that I reassessed everything and I now think The Alchemist Cookbook belongs in an unofficial updated modern Black film canon (even with a White director). A few strides have been made when it comes to the portrayal of Black people and mental health on the big screen (Black men specifically in the case of The Alchemist Cookbook), but it is still kind of a rarity to find what I consider a good film that focuses on these issues. This is certainly of them.

Between the subconscious racial elements to the slow pacing, this isn’t a film for everyone (and I’m pretty sure it was never intended to be for everyone) but it is quite rewarding if you have the patience to stay the course (and to be fair the movie is only 80 minutes).

Thursday, May 12, 2022

ARTIST TO ARTIST TALK #4

I recently joined my good friend Mtume Gant on his Patreon podcast to chat about the current state of modern Black film, twitter, film festivals and so much more.

This is essentially an extension of the conversations we've have over the last two decades.

Click here or the image above to listen to Part One and make sure to subscribe to his Patreon (click here to join) to listen to the second part of the talk.

Enjoy...

CRITERION NOW - EPISODE 143

I recently joined the gang over at The Criterioncast podcast to discuss announcements for June and other various news.

Click here or the image above to go to the episode.

Enjoy...

Sunday, April 10, 2022

MOVIES FROM HELL: THE FILMS OF JOHN PAIZS

My ongoing fascination with John Paizs has now extended to other platforms. I made another appearance on the Movies From Hell podcast to talk about Paizs' career as a living Canadian cult legend. I also had my friend and Canadian film critic/historian David Davidson of The Toronto Film blog join us for the discussion as he was the person who put me on to Paizs' work originally.

Click here or the image above to go to the episode...

And when you're done listening to this episode click here to head on over to Dave's blog to check out some great early footage/coverage of Paizs

Friday, April 1, 2022

THE SCHOOL OF CHANTAL AKERMAN: PART 12 UPDATED

Here is the latest entry in my ongoing look at the (intentional & unintentional) visual similarities between the work of Chantal Akerman and many filmmakers that came after her.

Enjoy...

We carry trauma intergenerationally via DNA. It’s literally in our genes. So the combination of a Holocaust personal history and a fiercely feminist consciousness makes my connection to Chantal Akerman’s work very clear - Nina Menkes, Film Comment

Jeanne Dielman.../
Queen Of Diamonds

We watched some references — one big-time reference for this was Chantal Akerman - Thimios Bakatakis, Variety

Jeanne Dielman.../
Master Of None

Joanna Hogg co-curated an extensive traveling retrospective on Chantal Akerman (which she eventually turned in to a small book) It’s safe to assume Hogg was influenced by Akerman’s work...

Les Rendezvous D'Anna/
The Souvenir

Les Rendezvous D'Anna/
The Souvenir

While he is often tight-lipped about his (possible) influences and things he draws inspiration from -Rick Alverson's early work shares a lot of the same ambience & tone as Akerman...