MOVIE MONDAY - MIRRORMASK

“Of course all films are surrealist. They are making something that looks like the real world but isn't.” - Michael Powell

For Movie Monday today, an interesting and different movie made in 2005, McKean’s “MirrorMask”, which it is an example of art crossing barriers and creating a piece that is visually stunning, intellectually stimulating and working on multiple levels. The film is directed by Dave McKean who also wrote the story, in collaboration with Neil Gaiman. Dave McKean is a very talented man - artist, writer, sculptor, director, photographer, musician, etc, etc.

It is not surprising therefore that MirrorMask is a wonderful visual feast, with an engaging story and a well-executed, surrealistic feel to it. It was made by Jim Henson Productions, and if you have seen “The Dark Crystal”, “Labyrinth”, and “Jim Henson’s The Storyteller”, you would know the genre that this film falls into. However, having seen these films, I can also say that this film is similar to, but nothing like them.

The story is simple when viewed superficially. A coming of age plot with the usual conflicts between generations, a girl on the verge of becoming a woman and having to cope with guilt, while trying to define herself as a person and attaining independence while maintaining ties with the people whom she loves - her family.

Now that I have said all of that, let me take a few steps back and note that the majority of the film is a quasi-dream sequence where the young heroine is struggling with forces of good and evil, is attempting to save a world and its ruler, while all the while trying to assert her personality and wanting to make the right choices about her life and future.

The film has several important references to previous works and carries within the sprouts of the seeds of other creators’ ideas. Yes, there is an element of Alice in Wonderland in the film, but at the same time there is something of Oedipus and Greek tragedy in it. There is an obvious homage to the dream sequence in Hitchcock’s “Spellbound” created by Salvador Dalí, but also I found the work replete with the dark imagery of Odilon Redon’s graphic works.

The whole film has a visual gorgeousness that I found similar to gorging myself with dark chocolate bon-bons filled with rich liqueur. In a strange way it also reminded me of Jostein Gaarder’s book “Sophie’s World”, although it had nothing to do with it! I am sure that on viewing the film again many more allusions to existing works, artists, directors, books, etc, will spring to mind, but on first viewing I was too busy relishing the colour and images to concentrate excessively on analysing the film too much.

The computer graphics that the film uses to good effect are varied in style and form a patchwork effect that is interspersed with live action and liberal portions of Dave McKean’s graphic art that I found enchanting. Some of the black and white sketches that are highlighted in the film are beautiful and are so in tune with the film and the story.

I would recommend this film to anybody who is interested not only in the fantasy genre, but also in animation, computer graphics, mixed media, sketching, and art more generally. Although the film would appeal very much to children and adolescents, there is a lot in it for adults too.

MOVIE MONDAY - CATERINA VA IN CITTÀ

“If growing up is the process of creating ideas and dreams about what life should be, then maturity is letting go again.” – Mary Beth Danielson

Imagine you’re an adolescent. Living in the sticks, with a normal family, the usual assortment of relatives, having simple interests and having been raised in a protected environment. Suddenly your world changes. You have to move to the big city, change schools, leave behind all of your friends and have to cope with an environment, which is as different from what you have been used to as you can imagine. What would it be like?

This is the question that Italian moviemaker Paolo Virzì asks in his 2003 film “Caterina va in Città” (Caterina Goes to the City; US: “Caterina in the Big City”). We watched this movie yesterday and enjoyed it greatly. It is a coming of age film with a difference, as it put a seemingly ordinary story in the backdrop of the perennially volatile political situation in Italy.

When Caterina goes to her school in Rome, she is the innocent hillbilly amongst the hip, worldly, politicised, fashionable crowd of her classroom. She becomes trapped in the midst of two cliques, representing the two extremes of Italian politics: Margherita, the grungy rebel with left wing intellectual parents, and Daniela, the chic, but shallow girl, with the ultra-right wing (fascist?) parents.

The politics do play an important role in the movie, and a considerable part of the storyline develops the idea of “who are these people that govern us?”. Despite this sounding very daunting and not particularly interesting to non-Italians who do not want to know about Italian politics, the film is fascinating as the politics only set the stage and the real interest of the viewer is held by Caterina in her lonely journey of self-discovery with the first awakenings of adult thought.

Several subplots make the movie even more interesting and there are intriguing glimpses into  the lives of some people that surround Caterina, but we are not allowed to gain insight into their universe, as this is after all Caterina’s story. One of the most fascinating characters I found was Caterina’s mother, played very well by Margherita Buy. She plays the scatty-brained mother well, but one scene towards the end of the film where she reaches breaking point is quite amazing. Sergio Castellito plays Caterina’s father with gusto and he is a character that is in counterpoint with Caterina’s on many levels, but at the end of the film father and daughter diverge in an amazingly poignant manner. The real acting honours go to Alice Teghil who plays Caterina wonderfully well.

If you haven’t seen this film, it’s well worth a look at. It is widely available on DVD.

MOVIE MONDAY - THE YEAR MY VOICE BROKE

“Puberty for a girl is like floating down a broadening river into an open sea.” - Granville Stanley Hall

We watched another Australian film at the weekend, an oldie but a goodie. I remember missing out seeing this when it first came out, and even though we had the video for quite a while, we never had a chance to see it – or perhaps we had neglected to do so. We had heard many positive comments about this and it had won five prizes in the 1987 Australian Film Institute (AFI) awards, including best picture and best director, while being nominated for three more. It also won for its young male lead Noah Taylor, the 1988 Best Male Lead in the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards.

The film is John Duigan’s 1987 “The Year My Voice Broke”. Duigan also wrote the screenplay, which also won another AFI award. The film stars the young Noah Taylor, Loene Carmen and Ben Mendelsohn, all playing pubescent roles. Familiar faces of Australian Actors in the film include Graeme Blundell, Judi Farr, Nick Tate and Queenie Ashton. Ben Mendelsohn of course has progressed to bigger and better things, but this was a film that launched his career, having worked in TV prior to this. Noah Taylor has also gone to Hollywood, but Loene Carmen has concentrated mainly on TV.

This is a coming of age film set in 1962, in a small outback NSW town. Danny, a young prepubescent boy watches painfully as his best friend and first love, Freya, an older girl, enters into womanhood and falls for Trevor, a thuggish rugby player. This sets off a series of events that changes the lives of everyone involved. The film is simple and honest with natural performances by all the cast, and especially so the three young leads. Danny especially, is played excellently by Noah Taylor. The movie was filmed in Braidwood, New South Wales, and this location (together with good costumes and props) sets the scene of 1960s Australia admirably. The beautiful lonely countryside around the town contributes very much to the atmosphere of isolation, which counterpoints the loneliness that each of the young leads feels as they attempt to cope with their awakening sexuality and try to come to terms with adult relationships.

As Danny watches helplessly when Freya and Trevor begin their liaison, we come to sympathise with him as his feelings of unrequited love overpower him. He writes poetry and tries to emulate rock stars to win Freya over but his voice breaks when he tries to sing. Freya, an adopted child and a wild teenager, shares her every secret with Danny, as they sit in the hideout they share on top of rocky Willy Hill. Danny and Freya are joined because of their loneliness, Danny trying to escape from his macho schoolmates and Freya because she cannot fit into the family that has raised her.

Trains in the film play an important role, signifying the link with the big City, but are also a constant reminder that there is an escape route available to those who dare to leave the town. The increasingly dark mood of the film is lightened with touches of humour especially as it relates to Danny’s ineffectual use of telepathy and hypnotism. The film draws upon the characters’ belief in the supernatural in order to highlight their mundane problems that harsh reality creates for them. This is a film about the pains of growing up and how we each try and cope with puberty and its mysteries. Unfortunately, some of us make it, others are broken by it.

One thing that didn’t work for me was the use of Vaughan Williams’ “The Lark Ascending” in the soundtrack. It just didn’t pass muster as far as its evocation of the Australian landscape was concerned. The music is so English and evocative of green meadows, that to use it in a film set in the Outback is just not on. Otherwise, we enjoyed the film very much and recommend it most highly.

A LULLABY

“There will be sleeping enough in the grave.” - Benjamin Franklin

A Dutch study published recently suggests that lack of sleep is associated with shrinkage of some areas of our brain, with less gray matter in insomniacs, than in people who sleep normally. An imaging study on the brain of people with chronic sleep problems found there was a decreased area in the region of gray matter, which is used to make decisions. The worst loss was demonstrated in severe insomniacs, regardless of how long they had suffered from the disorder. It was not determined whether the insomnia preceded the gray matter loss or whether it followed it.

It has long been reported by sleep researchers that insomnia disrupts brain function and behaviour, but this study begins to answer why that malfunctioning happens. This may also shed some light on how to more effectively treat it. It could cause a shift in paradigm in the way that we deal with insomnia. That is, treating insomnia specifically, relying on recognising a problem, diagnosing it using a test, and developing a specific treatment plan.

An older Swiss study has linked insomnia with addiction to drugs. This is in support of a previous US study that found similar results in teenagers with insomnia. One in four teens showed significant symptoms of insomnia every day for a month. What is even more worrying is that the effect seems to be “transmissible” to other teens. That is, in a study of 8,000 adolescents in the US, a teen with a friend who sleeps under seven hours a night is 11% more likely to do the same and 19% more likely to try marijuana.

Furthermore, a Boston University School of Medicine study supports the fact that we need sleep for normal, organic functioning of our body. It was found that study participants that reported sleeping less than 6 hours, or more than 9 hours a day had an increased incidence of diabetes, compared to those study participants who slept the “average” 7-8 hours.

I sleep about five hours per night and have done so for several decades now. I seem to suffer no ill effects and have no addictions and no loss of brain substance (that I can tell, based on my activities!). There are many different patterns of sleep and the number of hours of sleep that people require seem to vary quite dramatically. I have friends and colleagues who need anything between 7-11 hours of sleep a night. The average adult generally requires 7-8 hours of sleep a night for optimal functioning. The number of hours of sleep each individual needs to sleep, however, is a matter of ‘circadian rhythm” or the biological clock that regulates our sleep-wakefulness cycle.

Some research suggests that intellectually active people require less sleep. For example, Leonardo da Vinci regularly slept only 2 hours per night! Isaac Newton slept 3-4 hours, Benjamin Franklin 2-4 hours, Napoleon 4 hours.

I think the general consensus is to sleep for as long as you need to and to not force yourself to stay awake nor force yourself to sleep if you don’t want to. In terms of insomnia, if you suffer from it, seek treatment, keeping in mind that there are some natural, effective non-drug treatments. Some people, of course will need medication, but your practitioner can advise you as to the best course of action.

insomnia |inˈsämnēə| noun
Habitual sleeplessness; inability to sleep.
DERIVATIVES
insomniac |-nēˌak| noun & adjective
ORIGIN early 17th century: From Latin, from insomnis ‘sleepless,’ from in- (expressing negation) + somnus ‘sleep.’

LIFE IS LIKE AN OLD FILM

“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.” – Tom Bodett

My mother talks of her school days now and then, and the stories she recounts are sometimes amusing, sometimes unbelievable, sometimes scary, sometimes sad, but always enjoyable to listen to. She used to go to a girls’ school and things then were very strict, but she also says that they had a good time of it. School uniforms, lots of homework, girlish pranks, secret loves, dreams and illusions, sighs and scrap books full of poetry and flowers.

A couple of times a year they used to be taken on excursions and that was the highlight of their year. Laughter and music, giggling and high jinks, covert glances at the cute young teacher that used to be every girl’s dream lover. No wonder when a Greek film of 1959, starring the fresh young face of Aliki Vouyouklaki that was destined to become Greece’s national star, came out it was an instant success. It is called “Το Ξύλο Βγήκε Απ΄Τον Παράδεισο” (Spare the rod and spoil the child) and it concerned a high school senior who falls in love with her teacher.

When I first saw the film, it was just like my mother’s school stories. A fresh and sparkling comedy with witty dialogue, an innocent script and two young good-looking actors who were to become a real life couple. Here is a song from the film, where on a school excursion, the young Aliki Vouyouklaki sings of her love for her teacher, Dimitris Papamichael.

I Have a Secret

I have a secret that shines in my glance,
The plains know it, the mountain has guessed it.
The nightingales sing of it on the tree boughs,
And the swallows have written it in the sky.
I have a secret that makes everything beautiful
And for the first time I am inundated with happiness.

I have a secret that has become tangled in my lips
Even though it is a single little word, just one.
When night the enchantress falls, the stars will write the word
And the jasmines will say it in their flowerpot.
I have a secret that has changed my life
But I have no intention of telling you what it is.



Έχω ένα Μυστικό

Έχω ένα μυστικό που στη ματιά μου μέσα λάμπει
Το ξέρουνε οι κάμποι το ΄χει μάθει το βουνό.
Το τραγουδούν τη νύχτα στα κλώνια όλα τ΄αηδόνια
Και το ΄χουν γράψει τα χελιδόνια στον ουρανό.
Έχω ένα μυστικό που όλα τα ομορφαίνει
Και πρώτη μου φορά με πλημμυρίζει η χαρά.

Έχω ένα μυστικό που μες στα χείλια μου έχει μπλέξει
Κι είναι μια λέξη μόνο μια λεξούλα μόνο μια.
Σαν έρθει η νύχτα η ξελογιάστρα τη γράφουν τ΄άστρα
Κι όλο τη λένε μες στη γλάστρα τα γιασεμιά.
Έχω ένα μυστικό που τη ζωή μου έχει αλλάξει
Μα δεν το ΄χω σκοπό ποτέ μου να σας το πω.

A DREAM OF CHILDHOOD LOST

“It is never too late to have a happy childhood.” - Tom Robbins

At what point do we stop being children and enter that curious phase of adolescence that melds imperceptibly into adulthood? Hard to say, we all are so different and children nowadays are so much in a hurry to rush headlong into adolescence and adulthood. Do some of us bypass this adolescent phase? Circumstances can throw us into the adult world rudely, suddenly, with no warning.

Some of us may choose to linger in the playground well into adulthood and our adolescence is indeed a long one, overlapping imperceptibly over childhood games and adult amusements. But some of us have no choice: We sleep tight one night in our pastel-tinted childhood bedroom to the sound of fairy tales being read aloud to us, and awaken alone the next morning in a bleak bedsitter full of gray obligations and black and white responsibilities of the adult world.

Lucky are those amongst us who can preserve the child that plays within our soul and in whose hearts the child’s song resounds. Woe unto those who have been thrust into adulthood and the only remnant of childhood is the evanescent sweet taste of a pleasant dream, forgotten in the morning.

The Child

In the backyard of my soul
A child runs, plays, laughs,
Wastes his time heedlessly
While the tall walls hide their secrets.

In the courtyard of my heart
A child sings, loudly, happily;
Not caring about anything
Drowning in oceans of joy.

In the backyard of my soul
The child grows up, stands still.
The walls crumble and reveal much;
And the tears begin to flow…

In the courtyard of my heart
There is no child any more.
Only a still, empty, echoing space
A deserted melancholy.

Sans Souci hosts poetry Wednesday. Visit her blog for the tour!