a trip to the nyff : Leave Her to Heaven

(directed by John Stahl)

When I first got the schedule for the 45th annual New York Film Festival, I skimmed through the selections and the first film that got me extremely excited was John Stahl's Leave Her to Heaven. First, because it is an amazing film, second because Martin Scorsese would be introducing it and third (also mainly) it was going to be presented in restored Technicolor!

The film itself is a wonderful melodramatic noir about obsession starring Gene Tierney and the best color pallet of any film I have ever seen. I feel pretty confident about my opinions on this one - it isn't often you have video proof of Martin Scorsese reconfirming your beliefs about a film : enjoy!

Click To Play

a trip to the nyff : I'm Not There
(directed by Todd Haynes)

This was without a doubt my most anticipated film of this year's festival. Todd Haynes is one of my favorite directors - but beyond that, the idea of a film about Bob Dylan, with Dylan's music and six different people playing various interpretations of Dylan is pretty remarkable sounding.

I don't know how much my anticipatory excitement blurred my opinion, but I have to say, the film was one of the best I have seen in quite some time. Truly an experimental piece, I'm Not There takes a pop culture icon, big name actors and a Hollywood studio and twists it into something that defies the convention of almost everything behind the film (with the exception of the director).


From the moment he entered the the cinematic scene, Haynes has played with the conventionality of subject and of genre - and with I'm Not There he is finally able to really play with the convention of narrative. He takes the idea of looking at a man's life and tosses it in the air, weaving together various pieces and parts into a film that acts as an experience of a life, instead of a point a to point b narrative.

All six of the actors that contribute to the idea of who Bob Dylan is/was/will be - escape into their roles, with special mention for Cate Blanchett (the buzz is well deserved) and Ben Whishaw, perhaps the least flashy of the Dylan's (Dylan the poet as Arthur Rimbaud). You never really question that they are all the same person, despite the fact that none of the "Dylans" are actually named "Dylan" and within seconds you could be presented with 3 different actors all playing "the main character."

Hearing Dylan's music, sometimes sung by Dylan, sometimes sung by various musicians, also drives home the experience. With I'm Not There, Haynes has managed to not just tell the story of a famous individual, but to give you the impression, the sensation of almost embodying Dylan - to go beyond storytelling. Not only do you learn about a life - you feel it, and it's quite amazing, all 136 minutes.

a trip to the nyff : Silent Light

(directed by Carlos Reygadas)

It is hard to know where to start with Silent Light, a quiet film that transports you to a very different world through striking visuals and a simple story. Here that story is a classic love triangle set in a not so classic mennonite village in the small Mexican town of Chihuahua.

Our main character, husband and father Johan, is in love with a woman that isn't his wife. the film takes us through subtle moments that tell the story of johan, his wife Ester and his mistress Marianne, along with the larger less plot driven story of their faith and of the community in general. Supposedly the film is a tribue of sorts to Dreyer's Ordet (which I haven't seen) but even with this, I have a hard time with the supposedly spiritual aspects of the film - outside of the personal connection I made to the natural surroundings where the film was set (Reygadas' opening shot is of a sky full of stars, and living in Brooklyn, that is a site I rarely get to appreciate.)

The journey of the characters, the plight Johan faces between desire and faith never quite grabbed me, as even with a somewhat scandalous subject matter (adultery in a small religious village), the film relies on the faces of the characters and not on any revelations in plot (save the last scene). And while I loved looking into the eyes of these people it seemed to me to be more like looking at a long set of paintings and not like watching a story (which isn't necessarily bad, but something to take note of.) I know many folks who love this unconventional method of storytelling and cherish the idea of dumping the typical 3-act structure most films give us - and instead opt for longer takes and ellipses, letting the audience fill in the blanks. And while films of this sort are usually visually stunning and are memorizing to watch, I do wonder about how much they take the audience into account. 2 hours and 7 minutes (the running time of silent light) is a lot for most people to take, even for folks who like slow films and have the patience to appreciate them. Also, practically speaking, the 3 act structure of cinema hasn't really been around that long when you compare it to storytelling forms in literature or theatre (both of which have been around for quite some time). Has it really been explored all that it can be?

That being said, the cookie cutter way in which most 3-act films, especially American work, are made isn't fair to audiences either and in the end I would rather sit through 1,000 Silent Lights before subjecting myself to most of the fare at the mainstream box office.

a trip to the nyff 2007 : Secret Sunshine

(directed by Lee Chang-Dong)

Going into Lee Chang-Dong's Cannes winner Secret Sunshine, I didn't know much about what I was about to see. All I knew was that it was a film of shifting emotion and that Jeon Do-Yeon was supposed to give an amazing performance.

After all was said and done, I was glad to have known so little, as Secret Sunshine is a film about transition and how events change us and allow us to accept that change and a huge part of enjoying that process is not knowing what will happen next.

I don't want to give anything away so I'll go without a plot summary, suffice to say Jeon Do-Yeon's accolades are well deserved for her portrayal of a woman that has a lot handed to her throughout the film's 2 hours and 22 minutes. Lee Chang-Dong takes a character and displays how people shed layers of superficiality when confronted with tragedy and uncertainty.
He also provides a balance that allows the viewer to not get lost in the despair through the character of Kim, played by Kang-Ho Song, who is best known for more macho roles (ie his work in The Host). In Secret Sunshine he plays with something different and gives us a character that is quite understated and docile in nature, a man that at 39 isn't married, still hangs out with the guys from work and develops an innocent crush on Jeon Do-Yeon's Shin-ae.

The one thing that makes me sad about the film, is that as of now, Secret Sunshine has no American distribution. This is a real shame, as the film deals with emotions in a way most Americans, let alone American films, never do. However, it is nice to remember the power that The New York Film Festival has to bring us works that we wouldn't have access to outside of the festival. Although in today's troubled film climate, for every Secret Sunshine the fest has, we have to contend with a The Darjeeling Limited, a film I can make no judgments on (I haven't seen it) except to note that it premiered at the NYFF on Friday and promptly opened in New York theaters the next day.

Locked in Laughter and Tears

a trip to the nyff 2007 : The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
(directed by Julian Schnabel)

The New York Film Festival has begun! With one weekend out of the way I have seen 3 films and been to one director's dialogue. the highlight of the weekend was without a doubt Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

The film, an experiment in form and point of view tells the story of Jean-Dominque Bauby, the editor of French Elle who had a paralyzing stroke at the age of 47, resulting in "locked in syndrome." Bauby was only able to communicate by blinking his eye but managed to write a book about his life and experience as a prisoner of his own body.


Schnabel used a swivel and tilt lens to tell much of the story through our main character's perspective. In this way people stare right into the camera and we experience what is happening just as Jean-Do did, with people out of our line of sight more often than not. About halfway through, we also begin to see things from an objective POV, just as Jean-Do begins to find his own way to live.

The film is an exhilarating roller coaster, running the emotional gamut with some scenes sparking both tears and laughter. Schnabel, a painter who occasionally makes films, creates a beautiful portrait of life out of a tale of mortality and death, somehow connecting the two opposing forces in a way that illustrates what it means to be human.

Mathieu Amalric, continues to be amazing, here in a roll that is largely dependent on his voice, eyes and ability to stay still. The women that inhabit Bauby's life are just as good, each one complimenting, along with defining him in a different way.

What makes the film amazing and an experience not to be missed is Schnabel's uncompromising approach to filmmaking. As someone who doesn't rely on filmmaking as a profession, he has a freedom and reckless spirit that allows for experimentation and for non-traditional moments. He can create based purely on artistic merit, he doesn't need to worry about whether or not he'll be able to make his next picture,. In a world of compromised visions, this is a rare thing and more than that, seems the most appropriate way for the story of Jean-Do to be told.

The film will be released stateside in December - for now check out the French trailer: