The Garden (Scott Hamilton Kennedy, 2008)

The Garden (Scott Hamilton Kennedy, 2008)
Loved this also. This was Oscar-nominated so should be easy to find. Begins with footage of LA riots in ‘92, and tells how as a result the largest community garden in the US was founded in the heart of its most concrete city, mainly to appease the community. 14 years later, gardens and community are both flourishing, so of course the property developer who actually owns the land comes in and decides he’s going to flatten it to build warehouses. 247 Campesino families will be evicted unless they can raise $60M in 60 days. Throw in some decidedly dodgy political shenanigans, and you have the makings of one of the great David v Goliath docs. And it really is beautifully constructed so that you’re cheering on the immigrant farmers, jeering at The Man and the politicos, and outraged and the greed, corruption and ultimately sheer spite that blight them at every turn. The Garden stands as a great piece of investigative journalism when it starts digging (geddit?) further into the backroom deals, and allows the key players to condemn themselves with their own words. But more than that, it’s a rousing, inspiring document of a community banding together (despite, most tragically, at one point being forced to fight within themselves in order not to be punished by the system) in the face of incredible pressures and injustice.

Co-starring Zack de la Rocha, Daryl Hannah, and most hilariously, Dennis Kucinich.

Dark Tourism: Holidays In The Sun

Dark Tourism: Holidays In the Sun (Manfred Becker, 2008)
Good luck trying to find this one. Whenever I google it I just get references to the screening I saw and one other festival. Which is a shame, because it’s totally riveting. Becker’s film documents one of the most ghoulish predilections of our age, dropping into the newly minted tourist hotspots of genocide sites in Latvia, Cambodia, Lithuania, Poland, Sarajevo and Vietnam and offering little in the way of contextualization beyond the thoughts of those who are visiting or working there. The result is one of the most uncomfortable meta-documentaries I’ve ever seen that gets right to the heart of our desire to experience death and destruction at a comfortable distance, and poses numerous questions about how we decide not only what is worth remembering, but how. By the end, as the sound fades on a list of further atrocity sites that could be potential day-trips where we can safely “meet confusion” before returning to the numbing safety of adventureless lives, I was absolutely reflecting on my own choice to be indulge in emotional tourism as a viewer, and as a visitor to these sites (I’ve been to the killing fields in Cambodia). I really hope this film gets more exposure soon – would love to talk about it with people.

Dark Tourism: Holidays In The Sun

Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy (Alice Elliott, 2007)

Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy (Alice Elliott, 2007)
This is a very moving film, and I can see why it was judged best doc. It shadows in simple, verite style, the lives of two severely women who for over 30+ years have been struggling to lead independent lives. It is one of those films that is just really difficult to watch, but makes you thankful that your life is so easy, and fills you with glowing admiration for the strength and drive of the remarkable people on screen. It also generates a large share of injustice and anger at how the disabled are treated as second-class citizens in this country. I was fuming at the ridiculous Medicare/medicaid restrictions on their lives which basically make them prisoners in their own home, and the consistent drive to institutionalize them. But the heart and joy of Elliott’s film comes from the beautifully supportive and symbiotic relationship between Diana (who has down syndrome and a lower IQ) and Kathy (cerebral palsy since birth, unable to speak, but with a degree in English and able to communicate through a tube, and with a sign on her wheelchair that says “Pat my head and I’ll bite your hand!”  ), who form a remarkable bond that transcends their individual ailments. For years they have been fighting for their independence, advocating on behalf of others (we see them lobbying Illinois Senators in Washington) and running away from an uncaring system, and the tragedy of Elliott’s film is that she catches them at the tail-end of this battle, weakened by depleted funds and physical frailty, but undaunted and unified to the last. Highly recommended.

Ask Not (Johnny Symons, 2008)

Eye-opening doc about the US military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that clearly and without sensationalism shows how the ruling has had an extremely negative impact on lives of gays and lesbians who wish to serve their country through military service. Fairly decent personal profiles – including one of a new recruit whose face is obscured as his embarks on tour of duty of Iraq while forced to hide his sexuality and comes to the conclusion that when in combat, all he’s thinking about is being a soldier – mixed with some surprising stats (military lowering standards, recruiting known felons and academically inadequate troops, while estimated 65,000 homosexuals still ‘in hiding’ in service) add to the sense of injustice and hypocrisy in the policy. Historical background – including comparisons of Truman’s 1948 President ruling putting Blacks into the military overnight with Clinton’s fudged 1993 ruling, and the similarities in the language used re: blacks/gays ‘disrupting’ white/hetero units in combat – adds consistent weight to the argument to repeal the policy, which by the end seemed pretty irrefutable. Doc shows burgeoning youth movement and increasingly outspoken retired top-ranking officials will hold the key to changing the policy, and almost has an elegiac feel amid the quiet provocation, as if documenting the last days of this bizarre and unworkable compromised discrimination.

GlenVIEWINGS #1: Rear Window

Rear Window offers perhaps the best example of what defines a ‘Hitchcock film.’ The Master of Suspense engaged audiences by aligning the viewer’s gaze with that of the central characters. Rear Window takes this motif to its extreme, as we watch a man watching others.

In an allegory of the process of filmmaking, the far side of the courtyard constitutes a screen on which the hero projects his fantasies. The individual events – like the individual shots in a film – only gain meaning through being assembled in a montage that is constructed solely through his point of view.

The experiences and perceptions of L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart) mirror our own, as we watch the drama unfold. As Jeffries tries to unravel the mystery, we too are piecing together the plot from the clues we are given. Suspense emanates from not knowing if we can believe our eyes; a moral conundrum stems from whether we should be looking in the first place.

By the close, the wheelchair-bound Jeffries is left shouting that old movie cliché “Don’t go in there!” as he helplessly watches the events his curiosity has set in motion. He is advised not too look if he’s too “squeamish,” and we too can look away if the suspense becomes too much. But we don’t; by this point we cannot help ourselves, any more than he can.

DID YOU KNOW?
•    All of the sound in the film is diegetic, meaning that the music, speech and sounds originate from within the world of the film.
•    The entire film was shot on one set, which was at that time the largest ever built by Paramount studios. All the apartments in Thorwald’s building had electricity and running water.
•    During the month-long shoot “Miss Torso”, lived in her apartment all day, relaxing between takes as if really at home.
•    The film was based on the short story “It Had to be Murder” by Cornell Woolrich, a recluse who spent most of his life sharing a Harlem apartment with his mother.
•    It is possible that Woolrich never saw the film; he was not invited to the film’s premiere and it did not air on television during his lifetime.
•    Hitchcock makes a cameo appearance in each of his films. Keep an eye out for him.
•    The film was nominated for four Oscars, but did not win any. Hitchcock himself was nominated a total of six times in his career, including Best Director for Rear Window.  He never won the award.
•    Four Hitchcock films were listed in the American Film Institute’s ‘Ten Best Mystery Films of All Time”: Vertigo (#1), Rear Window (#3), North by Northwest (#7), Dial M for Murder (#9).

Discussion Questions and Topics
Questions:
•    Did you spot Hitchcock?

•    Do you approve of Jeffries’ voyeurism? Does the fact that Thorwald was a murderer excuse his actions?

•    Why is it that Jeffries becomes so fascinated with his neighbors?

•    Is Jeffries an active or a passive protagonist?

•    Why is it that Jeffries doesn’t ever take a picture of what he sees?

•    Why do you think James Stewart was cast in this role?

•    What do you think of the film’s view of relationships? Is the film romantic or skeptical in its view of the way people interact?

•    How does the relationship between Jeffries and Lisa compare to the other characters we see?

•    What do you think of Stella’s (the nurse) assessment that “we’re a race of Peeping Toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change.”

Topics
•    Voyeurism
•    Suspense vs. surprise
•    The film’s portrayal of male/female relationships
•    Vigilantism
•    Neighborly etiquette

Library Resources
1) Adaptations: From Short Story to Big Screen, 35 Great Stories that have Inspired Great Films, edited by Stephanie Harrison. Contains Cornell Woolrich’s original short story “It Had To Be Murder” and information on its adaptation into Rear Window.
Copy                  Material          Location
791.436 ADA             1 Book         Nonfiction
2) The Women Who Knew Too Much, Tania Modleski. Contains a feminist interpretation of the film.
Copy                  Material          Location
791.430233 MOD         1 Book         Nonfiction
3)  Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light, Patrick McGilligan.
Copy                  Material          Location
B HITCHCOCK, A. MCG     1 Book         Biography
4)  The A-Z of Hitchcock, Howard Maxford.
Copy                  Material          Location
791.430233 HITCHCOCK     1 Book         Nonfiction
5)  Hitchcock’s Notebooks: An Authorized and Illustrated Look Inside the Creative Mind of Alfred Hitchcock, Dan Auiler.
Copy                  Material          Location
791.430233 HITCHCOCK     1 Book         Nonfiction
6)  Find the Director and other Hitchcock Games, Thomas M. Leitch.
Copy                  Material          Location
791.430233 HITCHCOCK     1 Book         Nonfiction
7)  Rear Window [videorecording (DVD)]. Just in case you want to see it again!
Copy                  Material          Location
DVD REA             1 DVD, Fiction     Audio-Visual – Movies

Online Resources

www.dailyscript.com/scripts/rearwindow.pdf
A PDF copy of John Michael Hayes’ classic screenplay.

http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~muffin/rear_window_c.html
An excellent academic essay on the film by Hitchcock biographer Ken Mogg

http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/03/29/rear_window.html
Interesting analysis of the film from the viewpoint of Jeffries’ recuperation

http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9712/11/rearwindow.restoration.lat/
An article about the film’s restoration.

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/8255/filmog/film5.html
Contains audio excerpts from the film.

http://www.time.com/time/columnist/corliss/article/0,9565,557218,00.html
A Time magazine feature on short story writer Cornell Woolrich

http://hitchcock.tv/
A site devoted to Hitchcock, including essays, quotes and upcoming TV screenings of his films.

Collage Work Must Be Hard Work

Yard Work is Hard Work (Jodie Mack, 2007)

This is a delightfully cute animation, using pixellation and cut-up collages to tell the story of a relationship entirely through Kimya Dawson-esque songs. Intelligent, warm-hearted and constantly inventive, this skips through its 28minutes with glee, and yet also has some nicely observed moments that are very true to life, as well as some decent satirical jabs at modern love.

Three films by Paul McComas

Blood of the Wolfman (Paul McComas, 2007) This is a hilariously silly tribute to old horror flicks and the merits of DIY filmmaking. McComas’ shtick is something he calls ‘inter-generational self-collaboration,’ meaning taking the old super-8 films he shot when he was a teenager in late 70’s and updating them new soundtracks that play with knowing, affectionate irony for the craptastic filmmaking and acting on show. McComas has a little too much reverence for the material (this could be a brilliant 8 or 9min short, instead of a patchy-feeling 13minutes), but the whole thing is done with such infectious joy, and Wolfman in particular is really suited to the format.

Beyond the Planet of the Apes (Paul McComas, 2007) So, this time it’s Dr. Zeus and co who get the McComas treatment, in a particularly warped parody that features some particularly inventive ape costumes and scenarios considering the average age of the crew appears to have been about 14. The adult McComas’ re-sweding of his own sweded version now twists this footage into a pretty weak satire of the Bush Presidency and the war on Iraq which the material can’t really support. It does have a great final pay-off shot nailing the parallels though.

Twilight Zone: Reactionary (Paul McComas, 2007) This was the slowest of McComas’ works that I’ve seen (other titles include Logan’s Run and Star Wars parodies), and barely raised a smile from me. The prolific teenage McComas clearly was having an off-day here, and isn’t helped by the adult McComas’ splicing in of actual clips from the Twilight Zone which themselves look like a parody rather than a real TV show. Though maybe that’s the point.

(Side note – McComas has written a semi-autobiographical comic novel called “Planet of the Dates” which has been optioned by Hollywood and sounds like it’s cross between Superbad and Dazed and Confused. Will be interesting to see if it makes it to the screen…)

Two films by Paula Froehle

The Collector (Paula Froehle, 2008)
An elderly collector contemplates his life, coming to a conclusion that frees him from his obsession. At first all I noticed was the slightly ponderous content and some and weak acting (or perhaps it’s some overwrought dialogue? I couldn’t quite tell), but the immaculate presentation does leave you with a sense of having felt something slip away (matching its central theme) thanks to the rather startling and beautiful special effects at the end. On a second watch I found it to be quietly effective; the film’s meaning is clearly meant to be teased out, rather than being overtly stated, and the uncanny mood is deliberate.


The Clockmaker’s Revelation (Paula Froehle, 2009)
This short is even more beguiling than The Collector, with which it shares themes of time and mortality, along with some gorgeous visuals and an eerie, surreal mood, which is here emphasized by a mesmeric piano soundtrack. The plot is slight and oblique, concerning little more than bringing to life the titular painting, yet I was totally captivated. Froehle’s short film work right now is nothing less than stunning.

Paula Froehle’s El Relojero

Remedios Varo's El Relejero

Review: Sita Sings The Blues

Sita Sings The Blues (Nina Paley, 2009)

I loved this film. It’s just such an inventive and cheerful mash-up. Effortlessly combines genres, animations styles and 3 distinct storylines, and was constantly surprising, touching and funny. The dialogue in the ‘discussion’ segments felt very authentic to me (I was born in India and have grown up surrounded by Indian culture). As well as playing reflexively with being a dissection of its own creation as well as the creation of these myths and stories by which we shape our lives, it also has a few subtle comments to make on Orientalist views of women and Indian culture in general. But really, it’s just playful and witty and deserves a huge audience.

Roger Ebert’s review of the film is pretty great.

WATCH SITA SINGS THE BLUES FOR FREE HERE

Fans of Sita Sings the Blues should check out The Wit and Wisdom of Cancer, a darkly humorous short in which cancer cells chat away in a parody of human conversations. Features more of Paley’s irreverent humor and successful meshing of animation styles.

This page also has ‘links’ to more of her work, but they all seemed bust to me. On her blog Paley stated she still needs $$$$$ to release Sita out copyright ‘jail’. Donate!

Star DePaul University Cinema Professors Fired Without Explanation

Mystery surrounds non-renewal of star professors’ contracts in DePaul University’s Digital Cinema program

Oscar-winning sound editor Dave Stone and two-time Emmy-winning sound and dialogue editor Lou Kleinman spent the DePaul University spring break reeling from the surprise news that they should look for new employment after being informed their contracts to teach the school’s Digital Cinema program were not going to be renewed.

David E. Stone and Lou Kleinman

Both professors were also relieved of their teaching duties for the remainder of the academic year, leaving the fledgling program’s 350+ students wondering who will fill their place for the spring semester.

The decision will come as a surprise to many, as Stone and Kleinman’s classes had repeatedly scored highly in student evaluations, and DePaul had heavily recruited the pair for their Hollywood experience and A-list status.

DePaul declined to comment on the individual cases, but informed ReelChicago that the college “has two types of faculty – a full-time, permanent core faculty with terminal degrees that are tenured or on a tenure-track, and a one-year, non-tenure track faculty corps that is temporary. This model enables DePaul to be responsive to developing pedagogical and curricular needs and tap into the wealth of top professional expertise available in a particular field.”

CTI Dean David Miller

Kleinman and Stone were first informed their contracts would not be renewed near the end of the Winter Quarter by David Miller, Dean of the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems (CTI). They received official written notice on March 20th. The school closed for spring break the following day.

Stone and Kleinman were on rolling one-year contracts, but the timing of the decision and the short notice given to find other positions are unusual for the academic community. As an Oscar-winner (Best Sound Effects Editing for ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’), Stone in particular was regularly touted in the program’s promotional materials, and it remains to be seen whether replacements will be able to match his experience and quality.

David Stone had relocated his family from LA specifically to teach at the program after a hugely successful career in Hollywood, with credits including ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ & ‘Ocean’s Twelve’, ‘Training Day’, ‘Speed’, ‘Reservoir Dogs’, ‘Batman Returns’, ‘Top Gun’, ‘Predator’ and many more spanning 30 years. Kleinman’s credits include ‘Braveheart’, ‘Heat’, ‘The Bourne Identity’ and ‘Gladiator’.

Adding to the mystery is the fact that Stone’s wife, celebrated foley artist Vanessa Ament (‘Die Hard’, ‘Edward Scissorhands’), was released by the program in similarly abrupt fashion in 2007 – also despite scoring highly on student approval ratings. At the time students petitioned unsuccessfully for her reinstatement, and rumors of a student-led petition against Stone and Kleinman’s dismissals have already begun circulating the campus.

Matt Irvine

The Digital Cinema program at DePaul was established in 2004 with the goal of becoming “the number one cinema/television/computer gaming program in the Midwest… then number one in the nation”, according to the program’s director Matthew Irvine. It rapidly grew into the most popular undergraduate major in DePaul’s School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems.

It remains to be seen whether the uncertainty over the release of two of the school’s most professionally successful and popular tutors will damage the credibility of the program, into which the university has already invested over $3million in funding.
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A version of this article originally appeared on Reelchicago.com on 04/02/08

The article generated a record amount of page hits and feedback as DePaul students expressed their dismay at the firings.