"People in the Frame"

"Brush with Fate", by Brent Shields, DVD 2004, Metrodome Distribution

“Brush with Fate” (2003), written by Richard Russo, is the movie adaptation of Susan Vreeland's novel, “Girl in Hyacinth Blue”. Starring Thomas Gibson, Glenn Close, Ellen Burstyn and Phyllida Law, “Brush with Fate”, is a what-if art history and Vermeer trivia that never really succeeded in moving its audience. Despite the intriguing storyline – a "lost" Vermeer painting ended up into the hands of a European history teacher at a tony American college, and the stories of its previous owners – there is something missing here. Let us take a closer look at what is missing.

First, the movie starts with a hypothesis: what if a lost Vermeer painting had been found, changed hands through centuries, and finally ended up into the hands of Cornelia Engelbrecht (Glenn Glose, impeccably creepy), whose father was a former Nazi officer stationed in the Netherlands during WWII? At that point, there are two possible ways of telling the story: 1/ The lost Vermeer painting is the story, which means, director Brent Shields should had focused more on what makes a Vermeer a Vermeer, and why and/or how, its uniqueness might have affected people's lives 2/ The lost Vermeer painting is merely the background of another story, that of the “People who have been, for one brief moment of time, the owners of a genuine lost Vermeer” (Cornelia Engelbrecht). The trouble is, “Brush with Fate”, never really chose which hypothesis its story was based on. Yet, the result is not entirely without merit, as it provides with moments of pure beauty. However, these moments could have been caused by many other things, not necessarily related to a Vermeer painting, real or imaginary.

There are additional puzzling questions that are not properly addressed in the movie. First, why “Brush with Fate”? Whereas the original title, “Girl in Hyacinth Blue”, makes much more sense, as it is the subject matter of the “lost” Vermeer painting. Second, why Cornelia Engelbrecht, a female European history teacher, and not Cornelius Engelbrecht, a male math teacher, as it was in the novel? But most puzzling of all questions, why Cornelia Engelbrecht suddenly decided to show the painting to Richard (Thomas Gibson), an art teacher she just met at her college? In addition to these questions, “Brush with Fate”, is a made-for-television movie – originally, a Hallmark Hall of Fame production – which means the visual quality is not completely at the same level as the painting's beauty, it is supposed to celebrate. 

Even, if the painting is always filmed in the best possible light, I found it difficult to really marvel at it, or even to feel overwhelmed by it. Having written that, I wanted to pay tribute to Jonathan Janson, the painter who created the “lost” Vermeer, for this movie. Although, art connoisseurs would never mistake his “Girl in Hyacinth Blue” with a genuine Vermeer, lost or not, his work was good enough – a beguiling imitation, surely – to create an aura of mystery and fascination around it. For those who are interested in Vermeer, I therefore, strongly recommend a visit to Jonathan Janson's website at: www.essentialvermeer.com

Is “Brush with Fate” a good movie? Yes and no. Yes, because it has an original story, a good acting – especially by the Dutch cast – and it was shot in situ, which gave the movie the proper atmosphere. Also, “Brush with Fate”, introduces its audience to the essential question for all art experts, that of an artwork's provenance. Finally, the movie leaves the viewer wondering if beauty can move even the most tainted souls. No, because, it never clearly chose which hypothesis its storyline was based on. Also, it is lacking in visual power, especially around the question of what constitutes the painting's very uniqueness. With its emphasis on the importance of beauty in human life, I would have expected “Brush with Fate”, to disclose more of it. 

Why the people in the frame - the ones whose lives revoveld around the “lost” Vermeer painting - have been so deeply affected by it? Perhaps, part of the answer to that question might be found in Susan Vreeland's novel, when in the last tale of her book, “Magdalena Looking”, Vreeland wrote: “Almost a child she was, it seemed to her, gazing out the window instead of doing her mending, as if by the mere act of looking she could send her spirit out into the world”, (p239). A final practical word: the 2004 DVD edition has no extra features whatsoever, not even subtittles, but saddest of all, no Vermeer gallery or biography.What a miss!

"Exhilarating"

"The Horseman on the Roof", by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, DVD, 1995, Metrodome Distribution

“The Horseman on the Roof”, (1995) is Jean-Paul Rappeneau's free adaptation of Jean Giono's novel "Le hussard sur le toit", written between 1945 and 1950 and published in 1951. Adapted for the first time by Cyrano of Bergerac's director (1990), “The Horseman on the Roof”, is a romantic and historical drama that shares the same lyrical and tumultuous atmosphere with "Cyrano of Bergerac". It is the story of Angelo Pardi, a young horseman officer from an aristocratic Italian family, exiled from his homeland in search for another compatriot, Maggionari, to warn him of danger. Pardi's country is struggling with the aftermath of Napoleon's fall (1832), when Austria is trying to take control of Italy. He escaped to southern France, only to discover that an acute cholera epidemic ravaged the country. He then found himself fighting against all sorts of enemies: the cholera, the Austrian mercenaries sent after him, the frightened and violent villagers and the French army combing the countryside, seeking those who try to escape the quarantine imposed by the government.

Angelo's escape will finally lead him to a seemingly deserted house in Manosque, where he will meet Pauline de Théus (mysterious and determined Juliette Binoche), the young and beautiful wife of a much older marquis (Paul Freeman, in an impressive guest appearance). The two decide to team up and travel the French countryside, each hoping to achieve a personal goal: Pauline to find her old husband, Angelo to return to Italy with money for the Carbonari's political struggle. Like in Rappeneau's "Cyrano of Bergerac", “The Horseman on the Roof”, is not short of thrilling situations, all experienced - and filmed too - with a sense of panache that alone would make this movie worthy of our attention. To some extent, that I wondered who or what is the real hero in this passionate story: Angelo and Pauline or the stunningly beautiful Provence and Rhône-Alpes landscapes? Or perhaps, it is more Giono's and Rappeneau's way of using Provence as a living character; it too full of passion, violence, dangerous and generous in the same manner, bathed in a golden light that seems to act as a developer for people's truest nature.

Whatever the answers to these questions, “The Horseman on the Roof”, is worth the ten Cesar Awards - two won for best cinematography and best sound - it was nominated for. Besides the beautiful, romantic swashbuckling and epic costume adventure that it is, “The Horseman on the Roof”, succeeded in what many other similar movies of the genre have failed. It has such a haunting atmosphere you will probably - if you are a daydreamer like me - find yourself prolonging the adventure in both your head and your heart. Why is that? Well, it could be because of the Jean-Claude Petit's soundtrack, which is a pure gem, or it could be because of the main characters, who are true and deep enough, they became as close to you as any other real person would.



To summarize: “The Horseman on the Roof”, is an expensive movie, in fact, the biggest French movie production ever. It was shot in more than 60 different locations in Provence, required about 100 movie sets, as well as 1000 extras. It has action, romance, thrills and is supported by an excellent screenplay and an attention to production details that makes for a glorious and exciting movie experience. Anything else? Indeed, the movie is presented in two different versions: a French one and the UK one - with a 28 minute interview with Jean-Paul Rappeneau - which is not region encoded. It is presented anamorphically in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The original audio track is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround and it is fine, as are the UK uncut version with English - non-removable though - subtitles and the beautiful case picture. Final word? Exhilarating!

"Deja Vu Festival"

"Half Light", by Craig Rosenberg, 2006, DVD, Universal Pictures Video

"Half Light" (2006), is a psychological thriller, by Craig Rosenberg ("After the Sunset", "Hotel de Love"), starring Demi Moore, Hans Matheson and Henry Ian Cusick. Set mostly in a Scottish village - in reality, most of the outside scenes were shot in the Welsh Llanddwyn Island, in Anglesey - "Half Light" tells the story of successful American novelist Rachel Carlson, as she tries to cope with the accidental death by drowning of her beloved eight-year old son Thomas. Feeling unsupported by her mediocre writer of husband, Brian, Rachel decides to move to a secluded cottage on the Scottish coast in order to finish up writing her book. There, she meets handsome lighthouse keeper Angus McCulloch, who befriends her and quickly the two fall in love with each other. Intrigued? Well, so far, why not be.

Unfortunately, the storyline does not keep its promises. Instead, after a rather nice beginning, the plot together with the acting slowly capsize into a dark, nonsense ocean of boredom and cliches. Want some examples? Pretty soon Rachel sees her ghost son (as in "Ghost" with Patrick Swayze, only less sexy or in the "Sixth Sense" , without Bruce Willis). Then, she starts to believe she is loosing it (as in "Passion of Mind", only without the excitement of a double life in France), discovers her best friend was cheating on her with her now ex-husband and that the two plotted to kill her in order to get their hands on Rachel's money. Deja vu feeling? Yes, me too. However, so far, nothing dramatically wrong. Just a shortage of imagination, which could easily have been compensated for with a nice piece of acting. Alas, despite the otherwise delightful presence of Demi Moore, and the haunting Welsh scenery, "Half Light" is just sad. Why is that? Well, you just have to take a pick. 

Demi Moore looks tired and, believe it or not, rather unsexy! Her husband, Henry Ian Cusick seems lost and alarmingly bored. The lighthouse keeper then? Well, ok, Hans Matheson is sexy, even if it is quite a challenge to be, given the poor crowd on his remote island of just... one inhabitant. The ending is so predictable, it would be laughable, if it was not so sad. Demi/Rachel survives the ordeal, the bad guys do not, the locals help save the day, while at the very end - the credits, in fact - you might decide that the best actor in the movie was actually the Welsh landscape: amazing, wild, inspiring and thankfully unpredictable. At that point, I owe you guys a confession. I bought the DVD because of Demi Moore - usually so... well, you know, beautiful, untamed, witty - I put it on the DVD player, watched it... Must have been a sort of black-out. Or was it? I woke up dizzy, slightly bewildered. Did someone turn off the light? Or was I shamefully asleep in the dark?

"Trouble in Paradise?"

"What Dreams May Come", by Vincent Ward, 1999, DVD, Uca

"What Dreams May Come", is Vincent Ward's free adaptation of Richard Matheson's eponymous novel (1978), starring Robin Williams, Annabella Sciorra, Cuba Gooding Jr and Max von Sydow. Short version: the movie is about the fairy-tale like life of Chris Nielsen and Annie Collins, and how after the two children, the husband and finally the wife died tragically, they all finally cope - can one say cope here? - in the after-life. Intrigued? I was, although I must say that this otherwise stunningly beautiful movie, fails to deliver the magic it seems to promise. Why? Let us look closer. 

In "What Dreams May Come" which, by the way won four Oscars for - best visual effects, best production design, best blockbuster entertainment award and finally best international monitor award - we embark in some sort of metaphysical romance, with two main messages: 1/ love is eternal and 2/ death does not end anything. That is good news, isn’t it? To make his point real good, Vincent Ward relies heavily on the astonishing visual effects created by the Fuji Velvia (RVM) film stock, that are usually used for still photography of landscapes. If I wanted to be cynical about Ward's movie, I would say that - once he asserted his (Matheson's) belief about love and death, he pretty much ran out of original thoughts or hypotheses. At a deeper level, the whole movie can be viewed as a catalogue of intriguing theories or common beliefs, about the meaning of life, death and the after-life, only without an unifying thread. Well, you know, something that would make the whole experience more universal and less subjective And this is clearly the Achilles’ heel of "What Dreams May Come". 

Despite the stunning and overpowering beauty of the scenery, the magic does not really work. Mind you, it has the fairy-tale atmosphere, the poetic view of human destiny, all the after-life scenic vistas - a special mention to Annie's purple Jacaranda tree- one can possibly wish for, and is never poor on emotional or spiritual melodrama. What went wrong then? Because the movie deals with universal matters: death, suicide, love, redemption, after-life, reincarnation and finally God ("He's up there somewhere, talking to us, hoping we could hear Him" says Albert/Cuba Gooding Jr to Chris/Robin Williams), I would have expected some ultimate truths to be disclosed, something to which all of us could relate. Sort of. When Chris died in a freak accident, he found himself bathed in some sort of painterly paradise light - which is in fact a visual recollection of Annie's impressionist paintings. There, he is told by Albert that he is the one who creates his own paradise, wills things, and finally that he is the one who can find grace or mercy. In short, heaven is in your mind, and if it is messy, then it is your mess.

Trouble in paradise? You are on your own! Where is God, where is the common ultimate revelation in all that? "In the city across the river, we have to have a common vision", says Leona (Rosalind Chao) to Chris. Unfortunately, it is nowhere to be found in this movie! What is left however, is the beauty of the journey itself - the ethereal visual imagery - , which admittedly could compensate for the blandness of the storytelling. Conclusion?. "What Dreams May Come" has the qualities of its faults. It's extremely beautiful and comforting - love is the winner, after all - but it is so fairy-tale like, you are never really in danger of buying it, or are you? Did I forget something? Ah, yes, I like Williams’ and Sciorra's performances. They both are very likable characters, and they made me terribly envious of the love they feel for each other. Perhaps, that is why I like "What Dreams May Come", despite its many flaws. It makes me feel good about being human. “It's not about not giving up”, as Chris/Williams said to Annie, it's about knowing why you're not".

"My Name is France"

"The Proprietor", by Ismail Merchant, 2007, DVD, Prism Leisure

"The Proprietor" (1996) is a Merchant-Ivory's Production film, starring Jeanne Moreau (Adrienne Mark), Christopher Cazenove (Elliott Spencer), Sean Young (Virginia Kelly) and was intended to be a story about the value of friendship, truth and generosity in our multicultural society. Despite its deceiving title, "The Proprietor" has very little to do with the possession of things. Quite the opposite, as Merchant thought of this fairy story (in his own words), as the tale of finding one's truth and one's harmony by letting go the past. 

Adrienne Mark is a French writer of Jewish descent, who flew the Nazi persecution and had lived in New York for thirty years. One day, she learnt that her mother's and childhood house in Paris is on sale and thanks to her maid Milly (Nell Carter in a superb performance), finds the courage to sell all her belongings and to return to live in France, hoping she would have the opportunity to buy her mother's house. While in Paris, Adrienne would have to face her painful memories - the death of her mother, perhaps betrayed by her then gentile lover - and to reconnect with her past life - friends, lover and husband - while attempting to find her place in a country that has changed drastically since her exile to the USA thirty years ago. 

While some of the actors' performance may appear unconvincing at a time, I was deeply moved by Jeanne Moreau's performance. Who else could read the phone directory and make it sound profound?. Perhaps it is merely a question of sensibility, as I found this movie imaginative, warm and optimistic. "The Proprietor" has the Merchant-Ivory’s touch, and is in no way less meaningful and convincing than any of their other stories (The Remains of the Days, Howards End, A Room with a View, etc). In the making of "The Proprietor", Merchant explained that he wanted to tell us the story of a woman's life disconnected from her past, someone who once knew how to see magic in life, but has somehow lost the ability to recognize the gifts life has sent her. Granted the storyline unfolds along reasonably expected situations, but it is also true to say that it is intelligently supported by credible and likeable characters, most of them anyway. 

Back to Jeanne Moreau, there is something truly magic and fascinating about her. Her way of acting makes you feel part of something unique, beautiful and mysterious. She has a sort of classy as well as radiant presence, a special kind of beauty that I find completely intoxicating. And then, you have Richard Robbins, the man behind all the major Merchant-Ivory's film scores. The music he created for "The Proprietor" is simply wonderful, with a touch of magic too, as it lifted your spirits and gives you the strength to get on with your life. When I listen to it, especially the opening titles, I reconnect with another Merchant-Ivory's character in the movie “Howards End”, (Leonard Bast/Samuel West), who was also a human being in search for truth and harmony and whose greatest gift was probably to connect things. 

In "The Proprietor", Adrienne Marks too is trying to reconnect. But she does it through her own past, instead of nature. Bottom line? Nothing valuable in one's life can be achieved in a vacuum, only through love and sincerity can the meaning of life emerged from all the pain and confusion. Shot both in New York and in Paris, "The Proprietor", treats its audience with respect and sensibility and if nothing else, makes you feel grateful about the small gifts and miracles of life. This DVD edition has an extra disc of special features, which gives great value to one's money. You may also purchase from amazon, the Making Of and the film score (I got them at a bargain price), both extremely rich and delightful. And if all of this does not have you say "My name is France" à la Jeanne Moreau, then you are probably hopeless.

"Nobody is perfect"

"Fallen Angel", by Andrew Taylor, 2007, DVD, ITV Studios Home Entertainment

Fallen Angel (2007) is the story of a female serial killer, by director David Drury, starring Charles Dance, Emilia Fox and Clare Holman. It is based on the "Roth Trilogy" (2006), by Andrew Taylor, and is a chilly psychological drama about the making of a murderer. The movie is divided into three episodes, each representing one part of Rosemary Byfield's life: from nowadays back to her early childhood. As the movie progresses, so unfolds the story of the Byfield family into the Roth parish, each time a decade earlier. Rosemary's father, countryside vicar David Byfield (Charles Dance), is an ambitious clergyman, with a huge appetite for life (especially for women), whose brilliant theological mind costs him no end of trouble. Although the acting is beyond reproach - especially the tandem Dance/Fox, which is fascinating to watch - I found "Fallen Angel" a little disappointing. 

Dare I say that, once I saw both the entire movie and the behind-the-scenes bonus, I am still unsure why Rosemary became the terrible person she became. In the interview of writer Andrew Taylor, we are told very interesting things; for instance that Taylor wanted to give his readers, a feeling of mind-digging, a sort of archaeological journey into the sick mind of a female murderer. The trouble is that knowing that does not really help at all to understand why Rosemary kills people. Is it because her grandfather was possibly affected by Alzheimer and fearing confinement, was 'helped' by Rosemary to end his own life? She would have then developed a taste for murder. Taylor seems totally convinced that female serial killers always have a worse behaviour than their male counterparts. Says who? Never mind. 

 

One possible explanation - if there is ever to be one - to Rosemary's fate is that, as a child, she was exposed to misinterpreted religious rites (a key scene in the movie, when Rosemary watched her father serving the Eucharistic wine, and asked "Is it real blood?"), and the bad influence of a revoked lunatic priest, suspected of child abduction, animal tortures and finally murder. But neither Drury, nor the viewer, could say if this alone may have been enough to turn a child into a bloody serial killer. Then, Dury suggests that it might have been Rosemary's indirect exposure to her father's sexual life that made her a murderer. At that point, I must say that, not only is this far-fetched, but it also sounds preposterous, even by that time standards (1990s). Just because one overhears lovemaking noises once in a while, it does not make one a cold-blooded murderer. Especially, as we discover that the vicar's wiwes are less than sex enthusiasts. What then?

Is Rosemary a genuine fallen angel, one that once stood close to God, but later fell because of some terrible deeds or thoughts? Perhaps. Unfortunately, after watching this movie, I am still clueless about the why. On the other hand, Drury is never shy to play with the hows, to the point that Rosemary may very well appear as a catalogue of clinical symptoms, which slowly, but surely produce the disastrous effects that we know. In the first episode, when the Byfield's closest friend, Wendy, meets with Rosemary (she is then five-year-old), the girl told her "My name is nobody, because nobody is perfect". Although, I cannot pretend that this is the very key to unlock Rosemary's killer mind, it might be the best clue – if not the only one - in the entire movie. As if, becoming a serial killer might have something to do with a desperate attempt to achieve some sickened sense of perfection. Far-fetched? Well, nobody is perfect, are they?

"The Untrustworthy"

"Morlang", by Tjebbo Penning, 2001, DVD, Film Movement, 2005

Morlang is loosely adapted from the true story of a couple who has decided to commit suicide together, but only the woman died, for her husband did not really want to kill himself. Morlang is a chilly drama about love, betrayal and selfishness carried to an extreme. Set against the Irish countryside and the fashionable Dutch town of Rotterdam, Morlang is the story of a successful yet aging visual artist, and the life choices he made. His wife and artistic agent Ellen, no longer inspires him. Morlang is a complicated and very selfish character, who does not hesitate to manipulate people. He pushed his wife into having an affair with a rival artist, and when she did, he withdrew in his own world and finds solace in his new muse and lover Ann. Then Morlang's wife is diagnosed with a terminal illness, which is the crucial point of the story. The couple decides to commit suicide together, but Morlang who already has started an affair with another woman decides his art, not to mention himself, is too important to be sacrificed like that. Instead, he let his wife carried on with her suicide, while he happily married his mistress Ann. Lived happily ever after then? Hardly. 

Director Tjebbo Penning and writer Ruud Schuurman penned the sad story of a gifted and attractive man, with the disgusting ability to cut off his moral sense any time he feels like it. He betrayes his wife and lies to his new one. He deceives the ones he loves, but manages to remain likeable and successful in his artistry. At that point, one might ask how he does it. Alas, the movie provides with no satisfactory explanation. Instead, Penning's choice to circulate through Morlang's life with numerous flashbacks, taken from Morlang's point of view, only exacerbates the dubious subjectivity of the character. Who is he really? As the story unfolds, the viewer is left with the difficult task of making up his own mind. The only thing that seems to be clear in that movie - so to speak - is that Penning has not made up his yet. Beware of procrastination! It is as disastrous in personal life, as it is in movie making.

Penning's reliance on an overall dull colour palette, which is supposed to give us a hard feel, makes the misunderstanding even deeper. What, no moral crisis? No, even late, guilty feelings? A confession then? A glimpse into a deeply troubled, yet redeemable soul? Nope! What is left is a sort of visual hangover, the kind that leaves you wondering why you even bothered to watch this movie in the first place. Having written that, I also wish to add that - although the script is very disappointing - the cast is not. Starring Paul Freeman, Diana Kent and Susan Lynch, Morlang should have been a success story. What went wrong according to me is the tragic absence of a moral standpoint. Normally, it would not be that tragic, but it sort of becomes such in a story that is supposed to gives us clues as to why Morlang made the (bad) choices he made. Sadly, at the end of the movie, all I could think about was: who cares?

"What You Believe Becomes Your World"

"Somewhere in Time", by Jeannot Szwarc, 1980, DVD Anchor Bay, 2009

"Somewhere in Time" (1980), starring Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer and Christopher Reeve, adapted from Richard Matheson's novel "Bid Time Return" (1975) is a movie which alone could easily become the material for another story. "Somewhere in Time", is the story of love transcending time and space. American playwright Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) is given an antique gold watch by an elderly woman (Susan French), at the opening of a play at Milford College in 1972. She then told Collier "Come back to me", and simply vanished from his life. Eight years later, Collier who has become a successful playwright, is now fighting against the writer's block and on a more private note, is trying to make sense of his love life. He resolves to take a short trip alone, and ended up booking a room at the Grand Hotel, an old-fashioned resort located on Mackinac Island in Michigan. 

While waiting for the hotel restaurant to open, he wanders into the Hall of History, where he discovers the portrait of a beautiful woman - the successful actress Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour) - which literally bewitched him. He then decided to prolong his stay at the hotel, after having discovered that the old woman who gave him the gold antique watch eight years ago, and asked him to come back to her, was in fact Elise McKenna. From this moment on, Richard decided to do whatever it takes to return to the past in 1912, to find the woman with whom he has deeply fallen in love. Despite the fact that "Somewhere in Time" is somewhat flawed from the start, because of an annoying time loop - the gold watch - the story works wonderfully. It does even better, if you are like me a hopeless romantic. Who would not want to find true love, even if it means given up everything you have achieved in this present life?

What "Somewhere in Time" does for its audience, is to remind us that they are in fact values and feelings that transcend time and space. With its insistence on characterizations, rather than on special effects - no time machine for Richard Collier - or easy movie recipes, "Somewhere in Time", treats us into a gentle, intelligent and deliciously old-fashioned story, not to mention a refreshing view of a time where vulgarity and impatience would not have been regarded as social virtues. And this is largely due to Richard Matheson's way of relating to his own material. As there is in fact, a plethora of material around both Matheson's novel and this movie. 

For Matheson fans, I highly recommend to buy his novel "Bid Time Return", first published  in 1975. In 1999, there has been a special reprint edition of the movie edition of Matheson's novel: a hardcover, leather-bound slip cased one, with movie stills and all personally signed by the author. In addition to this special reprint, there is the movie Making Of, which is in fact a clever and inspired compromise between movie and novel material. Furthermore, it is possible to prolong the pleasure brought by this movie, by visiting Bill Shepard's website "INSITE" (International Network of Somewhere in Time Enthusiasts), at www.somewhereintime.tv, where you can order not only the Making Of of SIT, but also all kinds of movie memorabilia. It is also possible to subscribe to the INSITE quarterly magazine, which gives great value to one's money. Now, movie fans with zone-free DVD player can order the Zone 1 Collector's edition of SIT movie, which contains a lot of special features.

Back to SIT documentary, Director's commentary (Jeannot Szwarc, from Jaw 2), the SIT Fans Club, production photographs, theatrical trailer, production notes and finally cast and filmmakers’ material. And do not fear to loose the magic by either reading Matheson’s novel, or the Making Of, for they are both beautiful as well as inspired creations in their own right. In fact, inspiration is the keyword in the SIT story. Dare I say that it is the greatest merit of the filmmakers (Matheson and Szwarc for the screenplay, Stephan Deutsch for the production, Isidore Mankofsky for the photography, John Barry for the score and finally the Oscar winning costume designer, Jean-Pierre Dorleac) to have been able to preserve the beauty and uniqueness of this time travel romance? 

For those with a romantic mindset, or fascinated by time travel stories, it is impossible not to cherish Matheson's idea that love and will are good enough to travel into time, a belief that is summarized in my review title "What you believe becomes your world", (page 93 in the novel). Last but not least, a world of eternal gratefulness to John Barry who created this haunting film score. It was his gift to his good friend Jane Seymour, and was written shortly after both Barry's parents passed away. Also included in the film score, is Rachmaninoff's wonderful "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini". If indeed what you believe becomes your world, and if eternal love is part of it, then perhaps, somewhere in time you will get your chance too.

"Somewh

"Life is a Gift"

"Life and Nothing But", by Bertrand Tavernier, 1989, DVD Studio Canal 2001

Bertrand Tavernier's "Life and Nothing But" (1989) is a French movie about the absurdity and suffering of WWI. It depicts the story of Major Dellaplane (Philippe Noiret), an obsessive and deeply committed superior officer, whose task is to try to match up the 350,000 dead soldiers with the missing from families' description. His path will cross that of two very different women; the Parisian aristocrat Irène de Courtil (Sabine Azéma) and Alice (Pascale Vignal), a provincial schoolteacher. Post WWI France is a country in economical and political recession, in dire need of healing and reconciliation. Dellaplane's mission (to put names on faces) carried out with zeal and obsession, will soon conflict with the more pragmatic interests of the politicians, the industrialists and oddly enough to that of the army. Tavernier's reputation for political statements and for being l'homme en colère (the angry man), is brilliantly translated in Dellaplane's resilience against oblivion, and the way with which human life has been tragically devalued during the war. Yet, Dellaplane is not the hero of this movie, and his mission - despite his relentless commitment - only makes sense in a collective structure. 

“Life and Nothing But”, is a teamwork (Jean Cosmos co-signed the screenplay), intended to celebrate life through a thorough denunciation of the hypocrisy and profit-driven mentality of post WWI France. Tavernier's choice of using long-shots (only one close-up of Dellaplane, at the end of the movie) to induce a sense of community, is consistent with Dellaplane's quest for a collective sense of justice and decency. When Dellaplane meets with Irène, his first reaction is irritation, as she does not seem to understand the importance of his task. He told Irène that he will "devote exactly one 350,000th of his stunning incompetence" to help her locate her missing husband. Dellaplane's struggle between his enormous task and his attraction to Irène is well reflected in Tavernier's use of wide-angle lenses that create a sense of spatial relationship, over that of intimacy. Yet, there is a sense of nascent intimacy between Dellaplane and Irène, an overwhelming feeling of love and desire, to which he first did not respond very well, "J'étais en panne de tout", (I ran out of everything), he said to his commanding officer, after his first and only private encounter with Irène. 

“Life and Nothing But” won the BAFTA Film Award as well as the Cesar for Best Actor (Philippe Noiret) and best film score (Oswald d'Andrea). Overall, "Life and Nothing But" is not a grim movie, despite its subject matter. My strongest critic is that I found it rather difficult to relate to the main characters, precisely because of Tavernier's emphasis on the community rather than on the individual. On the bright side, I must say that I liked the scenario and the way Tavernier's mind works. As far as I know, he succeeded in capturing the social and cultural landscape of post WWI France. A special mention to the very last part of the movie, when Dellaplane now retired from the army, reads out loud the love letter he sent to Irène, now living in New York. It has the royauté dérisoire (the derisory grandeur) of a true gentleman. This DVD edition is in French, with English subtitles and offers an interview with Bertrand Tavernier and Jean Cosmos, scenes selection, filmographies and finally a stills section. For those who liked Philippe Noiret, this movie is a real treat. To him too, life and nothing but came first.

"Under the Master's Eyes"

"Dreams", 1990, by Akira Kurosawa, Warner Home Video DVD, 2003

"Dreams", by Akira Kurosawa, is a movie about eight dreams made by Kurosawa throughout his life. It was written by the master himself, and shot entirely in Japan in Gotemba Shizuoka and in Tokyo. The movie is a slow-paced and hypnotic-like journey into Kurosawa's dreams, and deals with universal feelings, ideas or important issues, such as beauty, respect for nature, war, mental illness, death, human failures and our ability to connect with the living in a more general sense. Although the eight dreams - but are they really? - pertain to very different areas of human life, they contain some overlapping themes, which make the movie easier to watch, but to my eyes this is detrimental to its credibility. The eight dreams: Sunshine Through The Rain, The Peach Orchard, The Blizzard, The Tunnel, Crows, Mount Fuji in Red, The Weeping Demon and Village of the Watermills, are treated as parables of stunning beauty and allow the viewer to reflect on their richness, either by thinking or by own reverie. As a unifying thread, we follow a wandering ego throughout the eight dreams, whose role seem to be that of a witness to the director's astonishing cinematographic mastery. At that point, dare I say that this mastery is more likely what makes "Dreams" more an exercise in cinematographic virtuosity than the spontaneous tale of a man's dreamlike world. Let us take two examples. 

 

In "The Tunnel", Kurosawa shows us a Japanese captain who has recently being demobilized. As he approaches a dark tunnel, he suddenly finds himself face to face with a menacing anti-tank dog, strapped with explosives. Soon after, he hears the footsteps of a man approaching. The man, one of his soldiers, has been killed during a bloody battle. His soldier is lost between our world and the afterlife, not knowing what to do next, not even realising his life is over. The two men try to communicate with one another, but there is a sense of dead end in the dialogue. Next, the entire company of the captain emerges from the tunnel, faces painted in pale blue and white, they too bewildered and anxiety-laden. As the captain tries to express his sorrow to all his dead men, they look at him silently, as if his words - the absurdity of war, the inhumanity of military life, his own lack of courage during battle - were useless, unable to either alleviate their torments or make sense of their sad fate. Perhaps, it's just me, but I found this one dream terribly preachy. Was it really a dream? Or more like a charge Kurosawa made towards the army, wars fought here and there for whatever purpose or cause, always ending with the same pain and bitterness? 

There is no doubt than the eight dreams are the product of an accomplished visual artist (Kurosawa was a trained painter, storyboarding his films as full-scale paintings), but they don't really feel like they are dreams. Another example of my discomfort, in the ' Village of the Watermills', Kurosawa journeys through the almost-to-good-to-be-true natural beauty of a picturesque landscape. There, he meets an old man who is fixing a watermill wheel. The two engage in a profound reflection about the meaning of human life, the values we should embrace and the illusions we should rid ourselves from. All very interesting and all that, but somehow out of place in what is after all, supposed to be a dream. But, the scenery is astonishingly beautiful, the atmosphere charming, almost to the point of reminding me of another great visual (Hollywood) dream, that of the "Wizard of Oz". Too sacrilege? Debatable, I know. But for all my admiration for Kurosawa's work, I find myself unable to embark on this dreamlike masterpiece. Simply too sophisticated to its own good. What dreams may become, we never really know. But from where they come from, they seldom come as perfect as that. Or, do they?

"Not chocolate box material after all"

"British Painting: 1700-1850", National Gallery Company DVD, 2005, Louise Govier, ISBN 9781857093964

"For many visitors to the National Gallery, John Constable's The Hay Wain is an established and familiar painting, and it remains one of the most popular in the collection. But when it was first made, this harmonious scene was at the cutting edge of landscape painting. This art DVD shows how British paintings developed through the eighteenth century, responding to changes in society and the ambitions of painters who wanted to challenge their continental rivals." Consider yourself warned: British painting, between 1700-1850 is NOT chocolate box material. Forget what you think you know about Constable's "The Hay Wain" (1821), Hogarth's "Marriage-à-la-mode" (1743-45) or even Gainsborough's "Mr and Mrs Andrews" (1748-49). In fifty intense and very entertaining minutes, the then Adult Learning Manager of the National Gallery in London, shows us how to look anew at these very popular paintings, and what exactly made them avant-garde  paintings at their time.

Louise Govier, who is now MLA Museums Clore Leadership Fellow 2008-09 at Clore Leadership Programme, in Bornemouth, UK, starts her demonstration with a brief introduction to the historical context in which these painters developed their art. Until the Royal Academy of Arts was founded by sir Joshua Reynolds in 1768 to promote British Art, painters like Constable, Hoggarth or Gainsborough would often have a hard time selling their works. Because of the genres hierarchy, landscape and genre painting were considered lesser genres than history painting. Each genre had its own set of rules and corresponding expectations. Then, Louise Govier reminds us that British art was then regarded as provincial, compared to that of the Continent. She argues that each artist had to fight many battles, first to innovate in his own genre, then to win over the support of the art patrons as well as the art-buying people.

What makes the National Gallery DVD Collection particularly interesting, is the quality and originality of its scripts. Each well written, well designed and above all, well narrated. Louise Govier's diction is flawless, and she knows how to capture her audience. I like her way of presenting entertaining and informative art historical materials, without sounding too scholarly or too common. For instance, when talking about Constable's "Hay Wain", she explains how the painter tried to merge landscape painting with social statements about the necessity of low scale rural development, how his vision of idealized Suffolk landscape borrowed from the same principles as history painting. In fact, because familiarity with this - and others too - painting often breeds contempt, Louise Govier insists on Constable's groundbreaking approach to landscape painting. "The Hay Wain is not a chocolate box painting", and we are friendly invited to look at these British painters with a new pair of eyes. And indeed, everything is this National Gallery DVD Collection is designed to satisfy the eyes, as well as the mind. Unlike many so-called art DVDs, this one is filmed in various locations, inside the National Gallery, as well as outside in Suffolk county. At the end of this documentary, one feels definitely cleverer about 18th Century British painting, not realizing one actually  knew so little about  some of Britain's favourite painters.