Jim Jarmusch's 'Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai' (1999)

Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), shot in New Jersey with Japanese dreams. Stars Forest Whitaker in the title role, as a retainer of low-level mobster Louie (John Tormey). 

The film is a most excellent fantasy piece revolving around Ghost Dog, the quiet assassin; aging gangsters; Raymond, a French-speaking Haitian ice cream truck man (Isaach De Bakolé); Pearline (Camille Winbush), a very young reader of books; and active carrier / messenger pigeons, also known as war pigeons.  

The character Ghost Dog filters the world through Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure / Hidden Leaves (from the early 1700s), which strictly and philosophically lays out the samurai way of life.  Many of its "leaves" are read aloud by Ghost Dog over intertitles that show the corresponding text, in English. 

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. Totally hip flick with a groovy soundtrack courtesy of RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. Throughout the film, there are lots of allusions to books, other movies, mixed genres and alternate codes of naming and living. There may be a sequel forthcoming. 

Today's Rune: Protection. 

Jean-Pierre Melville: 'Deux hommes dans Manhattan' (1959)

I finally took in Jean-Pierre Melville's Deux hommes dans Manhattan / Two Men in Manhattan (1959), a nifty noirish film with exterior shots taken on location and interior scenes shot in France. The shot sequencing drives the film a little off-kilter, giving it an interesting split personality throughout.

The plot is simple. Moreau (Jean-Pierre Melville), a French news reporter, is assigned to find out what happened to a French official who was discovered missing from a United Nations vote. Moreau rustles up Delmas (Pierre Grasset), his boozy paparazzo pal, to see if together they can get the scoop before law enforcement or anyone else.  

Where to look first? As a courtesan in the film says matter-of-factly: "Cherchez la femme" -- look for the woman. 

At his apartment, Delmas has a few photos of the missing man. Taken while the latter was roaming around New York City, in each picture he's accompanied by a different woman. The two "investigators" go around to various venues high and low, seeking answers and trying to locate people of interest (all women): an assistant, a jazz singer, an actress, a dancer, a prostitute, a wife and a daughter. Most of the investigation takes place at night.

The beauty of the movie is not so much in the story as in the atmosphere, aptly established through the medium of black and white film. 

Sweeping pans and montages of Manhattan are a joy to see -- compare with the wonderful opening sequence in Woody Allen's Manhattan (1979) -- all set to music that's crackling with jolts of "bright lights, big city" excitement. 

Melville's Manhattan, like Allen's, is informed (apparently) as much by imagination and idealized desire as by realism, and so Two Men in Manhattan serves as both a cool social document and a testimony to the artist's eye. 

I have two more Melville films to see in order to cover his entire ouvre. He made a baker's dozen in all before dying of a heart attack at age fifty-five.

Today's Rune: Journey.       

Béatrix Beck: Léon Morin, prêtre / The Passionate Heart

In Béatrix Beck: Léon Morin, prêtre (Paris: Gallimard, 1952) / The Passionate Heart, translated from the French by Constantine Fitz Gibbon (New York: Julian Messner, 1953), we follow Barny (based on the author), living in Occupied France during the Second World War as she cares for her daughter France (based on Bernadette Szapiro). The novel, written in a sparse but absorbing style, provides a fascinating window into the time, place and people.

A good part of the novel revolves around the intellectual and social relationship that develops between Barny and Léon Morin, a priest. There's a lot of back and forth as Barny seeks to both stay alive during wartime, protect her daughter, and develop existentially as a human being. At first she's furtive with Morin, who early on responds: "'Do you never feel the need to exchange ideas with your equals? What a savage!'" (Gibbon translation, page 65). 

A little later, we learn what happened to Barny's (Jewish) husband: "Without being asked, I . . . told him that my husband had died in the war, probably through suicide. I anticipated that the priest would show shocked horror or would express pity. He did neither, simply saying: 'Yes, there have been many marriages broken.'" 

Barny likes Morin, certainly, but initially wonders why he takes the time to chat with her at all: "'How can you include me, spiritually, among your sisters, since they're presumably Christian and I'm not?'

'What's that got to do with it? Nothing, nothing at all.'" (Gibbon translation, pages 74-75).

Given the wartime setting, there's a lot of background as well as internal energy that drives the novel. Not incidentally, Léon Morin, prêtre was adapted into a very fine black and white movie by Jean-Pierre Melville (released in 1961) as well as a French TV version in 1991.

I tend to like stories that focus on women or priests living through a time of crisis, so this was a double winner for me. 

Today's Rune: Journey.    

Jean-Pierre Melville: L'armée des ombres / Army of Shadows

Jean-Pierre Melville's L'armée des ombres / Army of Shadows. Here's a 1969 film set during wartime (that which we call the Second World War) not released in the USA until 2006. Why? It's excellent, but grim. Gangsters are one thing, but a bleak recounting of the French Resistance is another. Sure, there are cat-and-mouse games, infiltration, betrayals, torture and killings in cops-and-robbers films, but now we have to think about such things among the common citizenry, too? Movies are about escapism, aren't they? Not this one! A harrowing, existentialist film, in which members of the underground are reminded to keep a cyanide tablet on their person at all times. Better suicide than falling into the hands of occupying myrmidons. And don't you know it.

Today's Rune: The Mystery Rune. 

Jean-Pierre Melville: Un flic / A Cop / Dirty Money (Take II)

Images from Jean-Pierre Melville's Un flic / A Cop / Dirty Money (1972) keep floating around in my head, days after seeing it. That's worth noting. 

Commissaire Edouard Coleman, the protagonist (Alain Delon), is comparable to Clint Eastwood's character in Dirty Harry (1971), another cop movie that came out about the same time. Both characters are laconic to the extreme. Neither has any qualms about employing "enhanced interrogation techniques" whenever they see fit. 

In addition, Coleman is nearly identical in temper and disposition to Costello, the main character in Melville's Le Samouraï (1967), also played by Delon -- even though Coleman is a cop and Costello a contract assassin.

German title for Un flic: Der Chef

Two of the main "robbers and gangsters" in Un flic often play cops and military types. For example, think of Richard Crenna as Colonel Sam Troutman in the Rambo flicks, or of Michael Conrad as Sergeant Esterhaus in Hillstreet Blues. And because you never quite know who's throwing heads or tails, or which are the sinners, which are the day's saints, remember: "Let's be careful out there."

Today's Rune: The Mystery Rune. 

Jean-Pierre Melville: Un flic / A Cop / Dirty Money (Take I)

Un flic / A Cop / Dirty Money (1972) -- the last film ever made by Jean-Pierre Melville before he died at age 55 -- features Alain Delon in the lead role, Catherine Deneuve in the middle and Richard Crenna on the far side. Literally tinged in various tones or shades of blue, Un flic is a superbly bleak noir affair. Even scenes involving a helicopter and train -- both appearing as no more than miniature replicas, even toys -- remind us that the arcs of our lives are largely made, at least according to some, but for the sport of the gods.

What's the difference between the cops and the robbers? Not much. One side has "legitimacy," the other has defiance, flying only the black flag of piracy. They duel against each other -- such is their shared destiny, their interplay.

The following statement is laid out twice during Un flic, the first time in caps: 

“Les seuls sentiments que l'homme aie jamais été capable d'inspirer à un policier sont l'ambiguïté et la dérision." - Eugène François Vidocq [1775-1857].

This is subtitled in English as:

"The only feelings mankind has ever inspired in policemen are those of indifference or derision."

Google translator gives a slight variation:

"The only feelings that humans have ever been able to inspire [in] a policeman are ambiguity and derision."

Does something different about people inspire "the robbers" and "the gangsters?"

Today's Rune: Harvest. 

Jean-Pierre Melville: Le Samouraï (Take II)

Man, the Criterion Collection has got to be a fun place to work. What a job they do preserving films for posterity! I try to see as many Criterion DVDs as I can, while juggling a host of other things on the ceaseless agenda. Worth the effort every time. 

Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï (1967) sticks in mind for a number of reasons. It's cool as in cool jazz, hip as in hepcat, beautiful as in Paris, nifty-fifty as in Alain Delon working with Melville both in top form, and glidingly graceful as in zen. What's not to love, dreamers? I should point out that Delon's Costello character is not a superhero and is not imbued with magical powers. He's a bit more along the lines of the early Sean Connery Bond, not as unstoppable as a Sergio Leone-Clint Eastwood "Man With No Name" character. I find this interesting -- and a refreshing rejoinder to many of the more dingbatty action films of recent years.

Today's Rune: Fertility. 

Jean-Pierre Melville: Le Samouraï (Take I)

Watch carefully and you may be blown away by Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï (1967). In the memorable dreamscape of this noir masterpiece, Alain Delon rocks the house stealthily. 

As with several of Melville's movies, you can "see" the continuity in filmmaking history, from American gangster sagas and crime dramas before and offerings by, say, David Lynch, the Coen Brothers, Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino afterward. And in keeping with Melville's experience in the underground during World War II, again there's only a matter of degree in differentiating the types of operational tactics used by police and criminal, organized or otherwise. 

In Le Samouraï, the police employ all sorts of surveillance and interrogation techniques, while criminals use evasive maneuvers and stonewalling to avoid lockup or death. This near-equivalency comes by direct comparison: while Costello (the hitman played by Delon) uses a large set of special keys to steal cars, police use a large set of special keys to break into and enter Costello's apartment to plant a bug. 

As is often the case with Melville, Le Samouraï showcases a dazzling effort that works the mind and senses subliminally as well as superficially.

Today's Rune: Signals.     

Jean-Pierre Melville: Le deuxième souffle (Take II)

In addition to its meticulous construction of noirish detail, Jean-Pierre Melville's Le deuxième souffle (1966) clearly influences other films and series that likewise deal with grittiness, crime and the tactics of military/police occupation (even in "peacetime"). Fragmentary reflections of Melville's personal experience in the Resistance during World War II and the collective French and Algerian endurance of the Guerre d'Algérie (1954-1962) make their way into many scenes. Maybe that's also why it's sometimes difficult to tell whether "the good" are all that much better than "the bad." When they are, it's only by degree, or so it would seem.


Manouche and Commissaire Blot

Names and relationships. How important are memorable names in making a storyline work for you? Or do names become memorable because of a good storyline?  

Le deuxième souffle has several good names. (It's worth noting here that the movie is based on José Giovanni's 1958 novel of the same name, sometimes also referred to as Un reglement de comptes).

It took me a while to absorb that Gu (Lino Ventura) is Manouche's (Christine Fabréga's) sister, or that her first given name is Simone. Good to know early, because they are nicely contrasted against two gangster brothers, Paul and Jo Ricci. Other key characters include Commissaire Blot (what a name!), the mysterious Orloff -- and Antoine Ripa. I'm familiar with Ripa as a real family name only because, in the mists of some of my French ancestry, the name occasionally appears alongside the Saint-Bonnet folks. It's derived from Latin, meaning riverside, or living by the river (as in "riparian"). Manouche means Gypsy or Bohemian, or something like that. Cool beans!

Today's Rune: The Mystery Rune.

Jean-Pierre Melville: Le deuxième souffle (Take I)

Now digging Le deuxième souffle / Second Wind (1966), yet another meticulously shot black and white flick by Jean-Pierre Melville. Film noir, thriller, anti-heroism -- name it what you want to, but next time you say it, you better run!*

Again, Melville's experiences in the Resistance must have informed his taut feel for the underworld lives of his main characters. Riveting cat-and-mouse games, high stakes, bursts of violence.  The element of surprise. You can fairly often see scenes that telegraph Melville's influence on Quentin Tarantino and a slew of other contemporary filmmakers. Let's not forget detecting his inspiration in the details of various recent crime series, as well. Regardless,  Le deuxième souffle is all crystal cool and clear and groovy in its own right. C'est oh!

Today's Rune: Fertility.  *A phrase stolen from Bob Dylan, repackaged and rolled out in tandem.    

Jean-Pierre Melville: Le Doulos [The Informant]

Melville strikes again in black and white with Le Doulos /  The Finger Man, a scary noir film based on the 1957 novel of the same title by Pierre Lesou. Because it deals with a mix of crime, double-crossing friends, acquaintances and "associates," and quick bursts of violence, this one may leave you with nightmares or unsettling thoughts and dreams. I find these kinds of tales scarier than horror stories, seeing how easy it is for people to turn on each other -- even despite a fair amount of social cohesion and personal history. 

The actors are top notch and include Serge Reggiani (with more than a passing resemblance to Mr. Bean), Jean-Paul Belmondo and Michel Piccoli. Grounded in real-life experiences during WWII with the French underground, Melville (and Reggiani) knows and conveys the feeling of "harrowing" experience. 

Today's Rune: Defense.    

Jean-Pierre Melville: Le cercle rouge (Take I)

Jean-Pierre Melville's Le cercle rouge (1970) comes from a point in time two decades after Les enfants terribles, and it's in color. With it, Melville delivers a meticulous mix of crime drama, film noir and neo-noir (depending on your lingo preferences).

It's a real cool film that moves in no particular hurry. 

Early on I started thinking "Sergio Leone," and then it hit me -- the character Vogel is played by Gian Maria Volonté, the same dude that plays Ramón Rojo in Per un pugno di dollari / A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and El Indio in Per qualche dollaro in più / For a Few Dollars More (1965).  

Synchronicities. In the final season of Dexter on Showtime, the new main character, played by Charlotte Rampling, is also named Vogel.

In tonight's season opener of Dexter, a dude is trying to figure out how to "fence" jewely he robbed from a mob-owned jewelry store, while sleeping with Deb, who is on hiatus from the police force.

In Le cercle rouge, a guy is hiding from mobsters while plotting to rob a jewelry store and fence the loot, along with Vogel, who is on the lam from the police.

In tonight's series opener for Ray Donovan also on Showtime, an opening scene has Mickey (Jon Voight) emerging from prison, ready for mischief. In Le cercle rouge, an opening scene has Corey (Alain Delon) emerging from prison, ready for mischief.

Worth noting, even if it means nothing other than that crime tropes repeat themselves across the decades.

Also in Le cercle rouge are two actors who played key roles in Costa-Gavras' Z (1968/1969) the greatest political thriller flick of the 20th century (so far as I have seen): Yves Montand (as Jansen, an alcoholic ex-police sharpshooter in Le cercle rouge) and François Périer (as Santi, a mob-connected club owner in Le cercle rouge). 

Finally, André Bourvil plays Le Commissaire Mattei with gravitas and extra decency, probably because in real life he was dying, and this was his last film. 

Today's Rune: Warrior.  

Jean-Pierre Melville: Les enfants terribles (Take II)

Again while trying to absorb Jean-Pierre Melville (and Jean Cocteau's) Les enfants terribles (1950), live events keep rolling in. Today's big Supreme Court rulings in the USA were victories for the legitmacy of gay marriages, including recognition of federal benefits. This is a touchstone issue around the world and will certainly circulate in due time around the other states here. Overall, these rulings and similar developments represent a big shift since a time-marking event as recent as the 2004 presidential election, when so-and-so's pastor told people not to vote for John Kerry because he wouldn't stifle gay rights. A Pyrrhic victory for social conservatives, it turns out. One of many such in hindsight, I suspect.  

Michigan Daily, October 15, 1975

In any case, Les enfants terribles is a peculiar movie (based on the equally peculiar Cocteau novel), definitely memorable in part because it's so weird and different from more "typical" fare. It does remind me of a few other works, but of each in a different way. It utilizes classical music akin to how Stanley Kubrick later did in completing A Clockwork Orange (1971), for instance. It has social relationships in the same emotional realm as found in Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood (1952) -- which is cool, because she may have seen the film at the time; certainly, given her interest in French literature, she would have been aware of the 1929 Cocteau novel. And there's a thematic connection taken up by Bernardo Bertolucci (Last Tango in Paris, Little Buddha) in The Dreamers (2003), a film also set in Paris, only updated to revolutionary year 1968. All in all for these comparisons and on its own merits, it's worth an extended look.

   
The image here reminds me off the top of my head of Ingmar Bergman's Det sjunde inseglet / The Seventh Seal (1957), Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (1968) and Clint Eastwood's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997). What do you think?

Today's Rune: The Mystery Rune.

   

Jean-Pierre Melville: Les enfants terribles (Take I)

Just began Jean-Pierre Melville's 1950 film adaption of Jean Cocteau's Les enfants terribles (1929). It is immediately bizarre, starting with a snowball fight. A young man is struck in the chest with a snowball. He seems to take it like a gunshot wound and is soon bedridden and eerily cared for her by his sister. 

Meanwhile, momentous live events from 2013 have impinged upon the scene. Big snowball fights all around, and many people taking them for gunshots. The Voting Rights Act, today undercut by a conservative majority of the US Supreme Court, opens a Pandora's Box to "States' Rats" blustering and voter suppression. And in Texas, Wendy Davis leads a Democratic filibuster in the Legislature to run out the clock on repressive Republican-designed anti-abortion legislation.

Tomorrow, another big time ruling of the Supreme Court.

Not a good time for the docile and apathetic! Quite an exciting time for the engaged and energetic!

Today's Rune: Flow.

Jean-Pierre Melville: Bob le flambeur

A real cool black and white film by Jean-Pierre Melville is Bob le flambeur (1955). Stars Roger Duchesne as Bob Montagné and Isabelle Corey as Bob's young foil Anne. Lots of literary stuff embedded in this, ranging from Melville (the director's WW2 code name) to the ghost of Marcel Proust via Deauville -- site of the big casino Bob wants to knock over. 

Bob le flambeur is a sort of godfather of casino capers and the French New Wave / La Nouvelle Vague, while it in turn draws from American film noir.

The character Bob le flambeur is an almost always unflappable, dapper older character who operates within his own civilized code of conduct. He also happens to be a gambling fanatic with a shady past. Anne, on the other hand, is a relative newcomer -- and fast learner. 

Plans are laid and modifications made, but can the croupier's wife (played by Colette Fleury) be trusted?

Today's Rune:  Signals.