Le Chat du Melancholia

Let’s get this out of the way: I am the ultimate fan. What does this mean? First of all, it means that once I have decided I enjoy something, or that I like someone, I go out of my way to get my opinion out there through as many channels as possible. Yes, I am a bit obsessive. I won’t stop until I find out all there is to know about the writer, book, film, band, artist or actor. If I find more and more things to like about the object of interest, I become truly devoted. Having said this, it’s now clear that I don’t become a fan of random things or persons. My admiration has a price: the guarantee that it will be reciprocated with greatness.

In the contemporary actor department, there are several whom I respect and like. There are only three, though, of whom I am honored to call myself a fan. This post is a very humble attempt to honor them in very small measure.

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Inception (2010) was one in a long line of modern classic’s made by English director Christopher Nolan, following up, Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Prestige (2006). But where all those films were flawed, even in the midst of their beauty, darkness and tension, Inception was a perfect work, a masterpiece without reproach. The work is one of the most intelligently constructed blockbusters ever made, with numerous allegorical meanings to a historical and political context. This film is the purest declaration of cinema in the new millennium, Five reasons why;

5.) Breaking the Blockbuster Stereotype - For a number of years previous to summer 2010, blockbuster has been a byword for disappointing, overpriced movies which were overindulgent in ridiculous and pointless spectacle. Inception completely ignored this stereotype with an intelligent blockbuster, based on a number of connections, plots, sub-plots and various other details. This was a film which not only treated it’s audience as intelligent as it’s content, but expected it’s audience to be equally intelligent. 

4.) Progression of Christopher Nolan as an auteur - This film clearly displays Nolan’s ability to craft a film with a trademark visual style, which is very digitally composed, contains great scenes crafted of a tense relationship between image and sound. Furthermore, certain frames in this film recall his previous work. Such an example occurs with Yusuf waiting in the rain at a crossing, an almost mirror image of the beginning of The Dark Knight with the Joker waiting at the crossing. Nolan is easily becoming one of the most distinctive directors in modern hollywood, with his ability to craft his style out of any base.

3.) The Script - Considering the complicated and potentially ridiculous plot details of this work, the writing needed to be of the first class. Christopher Nolan delivered this, with a script which not only deals with these details in a compacted and fluid manner, but also contains an intense humanity in it’s dealing with human relationships, grief and the question of how much faith one human might need. 

2.) Allegory - Like his Batman films, this film also contains clear allegorical references to the historical context of living in a time of avid terrorism. The use of the mind as the main geography for the work, also clearly refers to the planting of extremist thoughts in society, brainwashing and indoctrination. The film clearly hints at the manner in which no facet of life is safe from terrorism in a post 9/11 world, with transport an increasingly vulnerable target, the film asks, why not our very minds? and what is there to tell us we have not already had our mind violated?

1.) The Concept - The real strength of Inception, is the very thing at it’s core, the idea. The question reality, is it better to live in an unhappy reality or a perfect memory, or even an imperfect dream? Is reality even the best place for us to live, or should we live where other things give us more joy? The fact this is dealt with inside a thrilling plot makes the achievement all the better.

- Chris / Galway, Ireland / 8th August, 2011

Maybe it’s a harsh way to put it, but it’s a feeling I get from a lot of people I talk to. On the other side there are others that aren’t of the same opinion. And for some others they jumped the shark with the S5 finale. It certainly leaves room for enough doubt; I don’t think it’s time to say the shark has been jumped yet, or to say that S6 was a massive failure. I do think that we’ll have to see S7 to decide about that, but for now here are some five cents about S6 and the finale.

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HBO’s long running crime serial, The Wire which ran from 2003 until 2008 remains the most critically acclaimed television show of all time. With it’s stellar cast which includes Dominic West (300, The Hour), Michael K. Williams (Boardwalk Empire) and noted Irish character actor Aiden Gillen (Game of Thrones, Identity), the show set not just a higher bar for televisual content, but for those personnel trusted to deliver this to the broadcasted masses. Furthermore, the show is based on literary ambitions, to make it’s presence more than pure entertainment or lofty philosophising, making it an odyssey which is similar to what The Godfather created in cinema. Five reasons why The Wire remains the true televisual odyssey;

1.) The Realism - The Wire misses nothing, every bullet is brutal, every deal is planned on many different levels, and there is rampant poverty in one area of Baltimore, while drug dealers and crooks live in wealth on the other side of the city. This is not TV, this is real life.

2.) Characters - The police, the drug dealers, the assassins, the gunmen are all the same. Some are corrupt, some have arrogance, some have brutality and ruthlessness, but all have the same doubts, the same worries, and in the end, many of them have the same fate. The Wire does not attempt to show how different or similar they are, but just portrays them as human beings, on one side of the law or the other.

3.) Institutions - Each season of The Wire is based on one institution of society, Police, the Ports, Government, School System and finally, the Media. None is presented as transparent from the top of the bottom, but neither is any one presented as the corrupt mess, that they usually are in media. This seasonal patterning, not only helps to keep the work fresh, but ensures that with each season, the working area of Baltimore presented is expanded.

4.) The Game - In The Wire’s presentation of Baltimore, society revolves around ‘The Game’ with Omar Little (Michael K. Williams) stating that, ‘it’s all in the game, yo.’ The game, gives certain characters honour and principles in contrast to others, almost making this a modern day arthurian legend or western. This presentation of criminals with a code of honour, elevates their characterisations above merely crooks or stick-up men.

5.) Story - Despite dealing with ultra realistic events, the work also has a gripping plot, well written with several layers of plotting and twists and turns almost every episode. The writing on the show is superb, as the ability to take a show based around surveillance and turn it into one of the greatest pieces of visual medium ever made suggests. TV has rarely had writing this good.

- Chris / Galway, Ireland / 4th August 2011

Yukiro ‘Rinko’ Kikuchi (1981-) in terms of acting, is one in a million. With a kinetic, instinctual and effortlessly individualistic style, her roles are often idiosyncratic and unpredictable to the extreme. An incredibly selective actress in the mould of Fiona Shaw (Jane Eyre, The Tree of Life), she usually performs only one or two roles a year. In a cinema of predictably overwrought, and overacted roles, Kikuchi is possibly the most exciting working actress, Five reasons why;

5.) Babel (2005) - Her breakthrough role alongside Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, saw her perform a mute role in the tortured tragedy. Nominated for an academy award, she presents the frustration and isolation of her character through expression and gestures. The mere fact that at the age of 24, she was dominating a film with such a reputable cast, says much about her budding acting style.

4.) Her style is based largely on facial expression, in the tradition of the Japanese acting legend Setsuko Hara (Tokyo Story, Late Spring). This style has enabled her to become a highly successful actress in Hollywood, despite her limited grasp of the English language. Her aptitude with mute roles marks her out as a unique and idiosyncratic presence in a cinema preoccupied with superficial exposition.

3.) Norwegian Wood (2010) - One of her key roles to date was in an adaptation of one of her most prized pieces of literature, the novel Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. The work remains her most impressive work in her native language, as she deeply immerses herself in a character she clearly engages with. Furthermore, the emotional heart of the performance displays that she is an actress who excels in different roles, with different styles and different environments.

2.) At the age of only 30, she is the only living Japanese actress to have been nominated for an oscar, as well as one of five actresses to have been nominated for a mute performance, both for her role in Babel (2006). 

1.) Brothers Bloom (2008) - In her best role to date, she plays another mute role, of Bang-Bang, a member of the postmodern heist team obsessed with explosions. A superb performance which is at once understated and extravagant, she  fills the work with a number of scenes which are crowned with an offhand gesture or a facial tick. The manner in which she performs so impressively against Oscar winners, Adrien Brody (The Pianist, The Darjeeling Limited) and Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener, I Want You) displays how effectively she has crafted a unique stage presence.

Six Feet Under is one of the most important pieces of TV, from it’s 2001 premiere to it’s legendary and medium-defining final episode in 2005. In the process, the show formed one of the most loyal fanbases, received an unmatched level of critical acclaim and left HBO with it’s most original, ground-breaking and genre-defining masterpiece. Five reasons why this is such;

5.) Despite being labelled as a comedy, this show was more willing to display sadness, grief and melancholy at it’s most despairing than any other show. The funerals which this show depicts are truly heartbreaking, especially when it belongs to one of the Fishers. However the show also presents the celebration of life, it shows life as a journey, and we all have a different ways of experiencing it. 

4.) The characters are everything in this show. Few of the characters are likeable all time time, they all have their weaknesses including arrogance, infidelity and personal crisis. but most of the all the characters are real, their emotions are real, and in that lies part of the reason this show has such a community based following, the Fishers are just like another part of our family.

3.) The cast for Six Feet Under was sensational. Composed of famous film names, like James Cromwell, Kathy Bates and Patricia Clarkson, as well as actors with a background in musical and dramatic theatre such as Michael C. Hall, Lauren Ambrose and Arthur Miller’s favourite actress, Frances Conroy. This mixture of personnel made for a show which dealt with both the raw and the theatrical, giving it a unique insight. 

2.) The writing from Oscar winner Alan Ball was fresh, intelligent and funny with a large dose of wit and dark surrealism attached. The show introduced the idea that TV writing could be just as good, if not better than the screenwriting on cinema. The scripts were always sharp, humorous and above all infused with the philosophical problems of life and death which the Fishers dealt with daily.

1.) The final episode of the final season, ‘Everybody’s Waiting’ remains not just one of the most perfect endings to a series, but the most perfectly executed hour of television. Mixing trademark melancholy and black humour, the show also managed to tie up most of it’s long running emotional relationships and links. In it’s famous final six minutes, the show mused on life, death and every little comedy in between.

Sofia Coppola is one of the greatest living film directors. Despite only producing four award winning feature films, and one short, she remains one of the most popular and acclaimed auteurs in both Europe and America. Her films probe the isolation, loneliness and existential ennui at the centre of modern society, as well as crafting a distinctive visual style based on pop culture and the influence of Godard. Her work refuses to be easily categorised and her ability to explore themes relevant to both the movies and to modern life itself, has enabled her to become one of the most prominent directors in world cinema.

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Clint Eastwood - 81 years, but you wouldn’t know.

A few days ago Clint Eastwood celebrated his 81st birthday - but you wouldn’t say that, considering that he shoots one movie each year (and he has one about Edgar Hoover coming sometime before the year is over. I want to be like him, when I’m his age). And it could be a good occasion to talk a bit about his career, and the reasons why you really, really should see his movies. Or at least 95% of them (you’re excused from The Eiger Sanction, unless you’re into climbing mountains. But let’s not digress too much).

So, what makes Clint Eastwood not only an icon but pretty much what I’d consider the last of the classic filmmakers that are left?

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HBO’s Game of Thrones (2011-??) has soon after it’s premiere become both one of the most instantly popular and most universally acclaimed TV shows in the history of the network. Adapted from George R. Martin’s legendary series of novels, A Song of Ice and Fire (1996-??) the show presents itself not as another literary adaptation but as the first ushering of a new age of TV. Five reasons why;

5.) The perfectly designed titles for this show change with every single episode, something new for current TV. The credits change depending on which location the episode will occur in and there the centre of the action will be. This is a contrast to TV shows in which the same tired credits are flashed for five whole seasons, this sets the pace for the free-form nature and flexibility of the TV Game of Thrones clearly advocates.

4.) Unlike most TV shows, Game of Thrones has no problems with killing off main characters, even if a great deal of time has been spent on their backstory. This willingness to keep the audience on their toes in terms of who stays alive, and who dies, reflects the random nature of life itself. This displays a stark difference from other TV in which a main character could never be killed off in the middle of it’s season because of the status of the actor or worn out TV ‘rules’.

3.) While previous HBO shows have had incredibly high production values such as on The Wire (2002-2008), Boardwalk Empire (2010-??) and Six Feet Under (2001-2005), never before has this level of production been seen on such a faithful literary adaptation on TV. This enables the creators to re-produce the seven kingdoms with such startling accuracy, and produce costumes and setting with a meticulous sense of detail.

2.) Carrying on from ABC’s tragically cancelled Legend of the Seeker (2008-2010), the show promotes the fantasy genre of fiction without ever indulging in the over exaggeration or crude gimmicks which this type of genre TV is so often plagued by. The show concentrates on human beings alone, their politics, their plotting and their struggles for and with power.

1.) Casting for this show was based on talent, ability and method as opposed to the more shallow and aesthetic casting of other shows on major networks. While artwork based off the book, might have painted Ser Jamie Lannister as the twin of Prince Charming from the Shrek franchise, the casting of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Black Hawk Down, New Amsterdam) was a masterstroke. Several other casting gems such as the understated Lena Headey (300, The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as his scheming sister Cersei Lannister, the smokey Sean Bean as Eddard Stark (Lord of the Rings, Black Death) and Irish character actor Aiden Gillen (Queer as Folk, The Wire) as Littlefinger serve this show as one of the most wonderfully acted televisual works in existence.

- Chris/ Galway, Ireland / June 3rd, 2011

Charlotte Gainsbourg (1971-??) is one of the finest actresses that France has ever  spawned, as well as being an award winning musician with three albums to her name. As the child of the legendary singer Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991) and actress and singer Jane Birkin (1946-??), Gainsbourg is often written off as the beneficiary of nepotism much in the same manner as Sofia Coppola, however she deserves to be recognised as one of France’s finest artists. Five reasons to consider are;

5.) She recently fought death and won, suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage, but has returned from that scare to produce her best performances and notably her most acclaimed musical project, IRM. She is a mother, a daughter, an actress, a singer, a muse and an icon of French Art.

4.) She has one of the most varied and engaging collections of films of any actress, with her performances in 21 Grams (2003) and the Bob Dylan Bio-pic, I’m Not There (2007) to her recent acclaimed work as Lars Von Trier’s muse in slanted masterpieces such as Antichrist (2009) and Melancholia (2011). Her performances include the comic, understated and quirky to the more tragic, tortured and psychologically complex.

3.) The Science of Sleep, directed by Michael Gondry - (2006) - A perfect and understated performance, with a fair amount of insanity and quirkiness thrown in for fun. She really stole the film from some revered actors including Gael Garcia Bernal, proving that she is a fine and talented actress. Furthermore, she has such an ease in front of the camera, that recalling her mother in an eerie fashion.

2.) She constantly campaigns for increased art funding, and represents one of the most significant figures in French society on this issue. She has sat on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival, and remains one of the most exciting actresses active today, becoming a particular favourite of the legendary Isabelle Huppert, who sees Gainsbourg as her heir, quite the compliment.

1.) Antichrist, directed by Lars Von Trier - (2009) - For all the criticism this work received and for all the flaws in this masterpiece, Charlotte Gainsbourg is not one of them. Her performance is powerful, tortured and utterly realistic. Playing the role of a psychologically unstable woman, after the death of her child, the insanity and hysteria she portrays is the equal of any performance in European art cinema. She deservedly collected the Best Actress Award at Cannes for this film. 

- Chris / Galway, Ireland / May 30, 2011