The Claim

Take Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character (1885/1886) and relocate the setting from 19th century England to a mountanous region in the American (actually Canadian) West after the American Civil War, just when the railroad is about to come through. Season with touches of C'era una volta il West / Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), High Plains Drifter (1973) and Deadwood (2004-2006), and voila -- there you have a gilded glimmer of Michael Winterbottom's The Claim. Wintry, mountainous backdrop, warm bordellos and other interior spaces, harshness versus comfort, health versus sickness, choice versus luck.

The ensemble cast of The Claim works well together, but three actors in  particular make it worth the whole kit and caboodle: Nastassja Kinski, Milla Jovovich and Sarah Polley.

I love some of the international variations in the title, giving their own slant, as it were.  In Québécois French: Le maître de Kingdom Come; in "regular" French, Rédemption; and in German, Das Reich und die Herrlichkeit. 

Today's Rune: The Mystery Rune.   

Butterfly Kiss

Butterfly Kiss is the ninth Michael Winterbottom film noted on this site and was his first theatrical release (1995). It's a creepy independent tale set mostly along "motorways" and "carriageways" and in and around "petrol stations" in northern England. Eunice (Amanda Plummer, who happens to be Christopher Plummer's daughter), a sort of Pied Piper of secretive mayhem, draws a neophytic devotee (Miriam, played by Saskia Reeves) into her orbit. Interesting film, particularly its psychological and quasi-religious dimensions. Also, Plummer and Reeves together are compelling.

Today's Rune: Gateway.    

     

Trishna

 

Trishna (2011/2012), the eighth of Michael Winterbottom's films to pop up here, draws its main arc from Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented (1891). However, the setting has been transposed to contemporary India, making for an interesting update.

Trishna, the main character (played by Freida Pinto), was born into rural poverty. The man who becomes her abusive boyfriend (played by Riz Ahmed) was born into great wealth. Intense conflict ensues -- involving socioeconomic class, privilege, and gender differences. Trishna at first becomes a servant at one of said boyfriend's father's luxury hotels (a converted palace of ancient origin), and she sends money back to her family. Later they move to Mumbai and she is exposed to modern urban life. Things start to go awry just about then.

Trishna shows many facets of early 21st century India. What's riveting beyond the story line itself is seeing the weird juxtapoisition of ultra-modern gadgets with ancient traditions, large domesticated animals in the streets and paths, plus monkeys and peacocks positioning themselves in various locations. It's a wild ride, and for Trishna -- as for Tess in industrializing England -- a tragic one.

Today's Rune: Defense.   

Genova

Jeesh, this is already the seventh Michael Winterbottom movie I've posted about. What I like about his approach is how he engages with the world, with people, and with people in the world, all relating to each other. Usually up close and personal. With Genova (2008; rebranded in the US as A Summer in Genoa), this all very much holds true.

Setup: a father and two daughters move from Chicago to Genoa for a year after the mother dies in a car wreck. They all three are soon trying to get their bearings. The older daughter quickly comes to hang out with somewhat risky local peers, while the younger begins to see their mother's ghost (and/or is having post-traumatic stress intrusions upon everyday life). The father is sort of in a daze, caught between anxiously caring for his daughters and being vaguely wooed by an old colleague and a new student.  

Primary setting: Genova (Genoa), Italy -- at something like 2,500 years old, it's worth its weight in history and gold and, even aside from the intertwining story, a major character in its own right. Including cuisine -- pasta with pesto, and so on.  

Ensemble acting is very effective. They made me care, hoping they'd make it through a difficult time in their lives without further damage, anxious for their well-being. Key actors: Colin Firth, Hope Davis, Catherine Keener, Margherita Romeo, Perla Haney-Jardine and Willa Holland. Also: narrow medieval alleyways (caruggi), the Mediterranean Sea, Catholic inconography, music, everything. 

Today's Rune: Joy.    

Michael Winterbottom: Nine Songs

Michael Winerbottom has made a variety of films, experimenting as he goes. One of my favorites of his remains 24 Hour Party People (2002), both for its wit and recreation of the Manchester music scene beginning with a visit by the Sex Pistols in 1976 and starring Steve Coogan as Tony Wilson; a lot of that one revolves around Joy Division and New Order.

Winterbottom's Nine Songs (2004) is a more stripped-down film -- literally and figuratively -- about a man and a woman who "see" each other in London, spend a lot of time at his flat, and see a lot of live music (quite a bit of it at Brixton Academy). Sex, drugs and rock and roll, more or less. Told from Englishman Matt's (Kieran O'Brien) point of view, the film is intercut with brief scenes from his later working life in Antarctica. His American paramour Lisa (North Carolina-born Margo Stilley) comes and goes as she wishes, while his attachment to her seems to grow. Dialogue is sparse, leaving the audience to connect the dots about their larger lives.

Upon its release, 9 Songs was the most sexually frank British movie ever shown on the big screen (outside of "blue" theatres, I suppose).  In context, you can see it as the culmination of an arc that begins with the controversial reception of Louis Malle's  Les Amants / The Lovers (1958), proceeds through Bernardo Bertolucci's Ultimo tango a Parigi / Last Tango in Paris (1972) and Wayne Wang's The Center of the World (2001) and arrives at 9 Songs.

Today's Rune: Signals. p.s. music by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and others is cool for context.
 

Welcome to Sarajevo

Michael Winterbottom's Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) looks at the Bosnian War (1992-1995) from the point of view of journalists who placed themselves in an up-close position to cover the bloodletting, and from the perspective of "ordinary" Bosniaks caught up in the mayhem. Coupled with Jean-Luc Godard's Notre Musique (2004), I found it to be conciousness-raising and valuable as a testament to recent historical events.

There's no doubt where Winterbottom's film stands on Serbian forces: they are the main aggressors here. Archival footage is interwoven with later filming in an effective way to incorprate some of the atrocities committed by Serbs. We also see a belated international response, with UN peacekeepers making some strides in better protecting civilians. Also, US 1992 Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton comes off better than President George H.W. Bush, and for good reason given their differing appraches to the conflict.

As in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, the Bosnian War is most accurately understood as a painful disaster and human tragedy. In Welcome to Sarajevo, because the war is ongoing, the tram lines are destroyed and there's little thought of rebuilding yet, which is contrasted in the post-war film Notre Musique, when the trams are running again and the Mostar Bridge is nearly restored.

Ensemble acting is solid in Welcome to Sarajevo. Cast includes a couple of American stars (Marisa Tomei and Woody Harrelson) who play it low-key. Also, there's Croatian actor Goran Višnjić, Emira Nusevic, Stephen Dillane, Harriet Fox, Juliet Aubrey, Emily Loyd, Igor Dzambazov and Davor Janjić. Soundtrack is good and includes a well-placed song from the Rolling Stones ("Waiting On a Friend"). 

Today's Rune: Gateway.      

Código 46

There may have been something in the air or the water or the ether or the Zeitgeist just around 2003 and 2004. Whatever the case may have been, a cluster of movies came out in that time bubble and all seem to overlap in this way: they are pensive, offbeat and a little eerie and they all contain elements of beauty. Here are four for the ages:

Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation (2003)

Michael Winterbottom's Code 46 (2003)

Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Wong Kar-Wai's 2046 (2004)

Each of these films has a science fiction feel -- but they are also in the here and now, the near past and the near future. They have an international, cosmopolitan edge. And they collectively remind me of something Luis Buñuel's wrote via My Last Sigh (translated by Abigail Israel; University of Minnesota Press, 2003): "You have to begin to lose your memory, if only in bits and pieces, to realize that memory is what makes our lives. . . Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling, even our action. Without it, we are nothing. . ."   Indeed, that's a motivation for maintaining "Erik's Choice" and "Speak, Memory: Time Regained," tending to memories individual and collective -- dreams, history, imagination.

Today's Rune: Flow.

In This World

On a shoestring budget, Michael Winterbottom and his small film crew have created a riveting docudrama -- In This World (2002) -- that combines specifics with universals. The main story line follows the efforts and harrowing (mostly overland) journey of Afghan cousins Jamal (Jamal Udin Tarabi, who looks sort of like singer Eric Burdon of The Animals) and Enayat (Enayatullah) from a Pakistani refugee camp, with the intention of finding de facto asylum in London during the still-ongoing Afghanistan War. Will they make it safely through Iran and Turkey and beyond?

In the tradition of John Steinbeck and many others, Winterbottom and crew's efforts are effective. By the end of this film, any alert viewer would learn a lot about the desperation and resilience of refugees and immigration efforts. From an international perspective, changing one's situation is hard, a long shot, unless one is extremely fortunate to begin with. On the other hand, if one doesn't make the attempt, one has no chance at all.

Today's Rune: Opening.   

Wonderland UK

Set in late 20th century London, Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland (1999) -- not to be confused with the 2003 James Cox true crime film of the same name that's set in early 1980s Los Angeles -- follows the members of a troubled family over Guy Fawkes night carnivale weekend.

Going by this and some of his other films, and mostly taking an indie film approach, Winterbottom appears to be steeped in literary tradition. Wonderland seems to telescope something like Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters (1900).  He combines literary with cinematic devices -- vivid reds and an overall palette that may be inspired by Jean-Luc Godard. The social aspects bring something from realistic British "kitchen sink" dramas. Rather than Godard's socio-economic analysis, we're delivered a slice of life from within the London working class milieu that's a little like a condensed version of the TV series East Enders.
 

With Wonderland, we see life in London among fairly ordinary people. The family is not very supportive, beginning with parents who seem to despise each other. The mother is miserable, the father henpecked. Their son has left home and is having fun with a free-spirited woman, but keeps his family issues in mind as a burden. The three daughters operate within limited horizons. One is pregnant, and her husband is in panic mode, ready to flee. The other two find this funny. One of them is divorced with a son and works as a hairdresser -- she's the family mischief-maker. The other haphazardly dates various men and wanders around with a peculiar hairstyle through the London wonderland, a real mixed bag. There's more, but that's the basic set-up.

Today's Rune: Signals.     

The Trip

Michael Winterbottom's The Trip (2010) stars Steve Coogan (who is to the real Steve Coogan what Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm is to the real Larry David, which is to say, who knows how much of each persona is "real?"). It co-stars his running buddy Rob Brydon (as "Rob Brydon"). Both actors are, throughout the film, sharp-witted and nicely accented (Coogan hailing from greater Manchester, Brydon from Swansea, Wales).

In any case, "The Trip" of the title transpires because of an assignment Coogan has taken mostly to sweeten the pot for Mischa, his American girlfriend (played by Margo Stilley, a North Carolina native). The task at hand?  Travel to the scenic North Country and sample fine cuisine along the way. Unfortunately for both, Mischa has since decided to "take a break," and is back in the States, leaving Coogan to scramble for an alternative, who turns out to be Rob Brydon.

Brydon, for his part, aims to enjoy the trip, bantering, doing various impressions and breaking out "Small Man in a Box," while Coogan, even though he's got this cushy gig and a beautiful pad and a way with certain women besides Mischa, seems dejected to the point of existential crisis. Coogan takes some of his frustration out on Brydon, who keeps up an incessantly deflective mimicry.  

Note: the film version compresses the original BBC mini-series by a little over an hour. I should also mention the Romantic poets -- Coogan finds them alluring and in some ways shares their outlook. Steve Coogan, a 21st century Romantic with spotty cellphone reception.

Today's Rune: Journey.      

Natty Dread: End of the 70s, Early 80s RIP Edition

End of the 70, early 80s, this sampling is all male performers but gives a passing glimpse at the 70s music scene. You've got your reggae, your guitar heroes Southern rock style, your punk, your Manchester post-punk, your Old School heavy metal and your storyteller. And the beat goes on.

The thing about being a kid and teenager in the Research Triangle, North Carolina, in the 70s, was this: you heard it all pretty much as soon as it came out no matter where it came from. Lynyrd Skynyrd was all over the place, starting with their first album in 1973. It was shocking when Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines and three others associated with the band were killed in a plane crash in Mississippi on October 20, 1977. The survivors disbanded for ten years. Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant (1/15/1948-10/20/1977) is gone, but his brothers Johnny and Donnie live on.

Ah, Sid Vicious (5/10/1957-2/2/1979). The best take on him may be Alex Cox's Sid and Nancy aka Love Kills (1986). And there's lots of the Hotel Chelsea. I still remember the shock waves from the outrageous Sex Pistols American tour, January 1978.

Ian Curtis (7/15/1956-5/18/1980) has a direct relation to the Sex Pistols -- after seeing them perform, he was so inspired he helped form the band that would become Joy Division. Here's a dude that clearly fascinates, a sort of prequel to Kurt Cobain. There's already a slew of movies and books out about him and his milieu - and they're all amazingly good. Just a few examples: Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People (2002), Anton Corbijn's Control (2007) and Grant Gee's documentary, Joy Division (2007).

John Bonham (5/31/1948-9/25/1980). When he died of a vodka overdose, Led Zeppelin disbanded. For more on Bonham, there are the Led Zeppelin albums and concert footage, and Chris Welch and Geoff Nicholls' John Bonham: A Thunder of Drums (2001).

Bob Marley (2/6/1945-5/11/1981). Mr. Reggae. Just about everybody likes some Bob Marley. Documentaries and biopic in the works.

Harry Chapin (12/7/1942-7/16/1981). The storyteller, ranging from "Taxi" (1972) to "Cat's in the Cradle" (1974) and from "Flowers Are Red" (1978) to "Sequel" (1980).

Today's Rune: Protection.