Film challenge.

Film challenge, April: Fantasy, sci-fi and adventure.

- The Wizard of Oz. (1939. Dirs. Victor Fleming, et al). Young Dorothy Gale runs away from home seeking adventure, using her dog’s safety as a pretext. Tricked by a benevolent con man, Professor Marvel, she turns back home —only to find herself locked out of a storm cellar as a tornado approaches. It sends her to the marvelous land of Oz. Dorothy’s journey back home has just begun…

A classic fantasy film and a cultural icon —to such a degree that, at least in the US, the movie outright surpasses the original book series in terms of popularity. 

Oz in general, and the first story in particular, has been subject to thousands of parodies, dark reinterpretations and more. And from the borderline mean-spirited (“Emerald City Blues” by Stephen R. Boyett (there are actually quite a few books and stories with this title), MacFarlane’s Toys “The twisted land of Oz”, the comic book “Jack of Fables”) to the more interesting takes (“Wicked”, both novel and musical; the comic book “Lost Girls”, movies like “Return to Oz” and “Wild at heart”) —all are far more inspired by this movie adaptation than by the books (“Fables” incorporates characters from the book series, but rarely for more than a knowing wink at the reader). 

And what of this movie as an adaptation? It changes plenty of details, but is still a fairly charming, surprisingly modern American fairy tale. While the Dorothy of the movie has nothing on the book’s levelheaded adventurer, this one has become an important icon (to say nothing of a Gay Icon) in her own right. 

And as a movie in itself? It’s an enchanting spectacle, and much less dated than you would think: The opening act’s tornado alone is still a marvel of special effects. There are more faithful adaptations of the books (including, surprisingly enough, a 1986 Anime adaptation that even incorporated some of the book sequels), but this movie is still worth watching, be it for itself, as an example of an adaptation that is also reinterpretation, and as a fundamental piece of Fantasy cinema. 

Reading diary.

- Twee: The gentle revolution in music, books, television, fashion and film. Marc Spitz. A careful examination of about 70 years of pop culture that lead us all to a certain culture characteristic of the twenty-first century —that of “precocious youths who act like adults and adults who act like children”, or of a certain “bespectacled, art-obsessed precocity”… that of people who want to make the world safe for butterflies and ice-cream vendors. The “gentle revolution”, as the book’s title informs us. 

Spitz carefully examines all sort of major pop icons of the twentieth century seeking the roots of this movement that he dubs “Twee” (while conceding that any other term you personally choose for this aesthetic / life philosophy probably works as well), some of them at first glance unlikely influences —the likes of Edward Gorey and Nirvana’s Curt Cobain, for example. Or Anne Frank. And Holden Caufield. All those at first glance would seem ill-fitting next to the likes of Belle & Sebastian, Wes Anderson, Maurice Sendak and Pee Wee Herman. Yet Spitz presents a convincing, carefully constructed argument about the thread that joins those and several more seemingly disparate artists (to say nothing of tv shows that range from “Twin Peaks” to “My so-called life” and “Daria” to “Portlandia”): A certain taste for whimsy and preciousness, oftentimes wielded as a shield against an often dire, cruel world. 

But this book is neither mystification nor demonization: It presents the critiques that this movement has been subject to, with a special emphasis on it’s occasional sliding into an aesthetic that likely only privileged white kids could really practice and survive. It also presents a few counter-arguments (leaving the readers to decide for themselves). Spitz’s own position is presented in the closing pages: A certain skepticism, yet tinged with the hope that the best traits of it (the kindness, the willingness to embrace new ideas) will prevail. 

Spitz himself died rather young, at 47, and only barely saw what his country became in the last three years. It is perhaps appropriate, then, that this book should remain as a testament not to a time gone by, but to an ideology we all might seek to analyze and perhaps recapture now and then. 

Film challenge, March.

Latinoamerican cinema. 

Due to unforeseen complications, there were only two movies that fit the challenge as such: 

- Oriana. (Venezuela, 1985). 

- La teta asustada (aka The milk of sorrow). (Peru, 2008). 

And several movies outside of the challenge: 

- Big Eyes (2014). 

- D’après une historie vraie (aka Based on a true story (France, 2017). 

- Black Panther (2017). 

- I, Tonya (2017). 

There is an unintentional link here —with the exception of “Black Panther”, these are essentially women’s movies, both in having female protagonists (and the two from the challenge are from female directors —respectively Fina Torres and Claudia Llosa) and in more or less presenting their situation in the world. All of these are women who have to fight for everything against an often hostile society. With one exception, all are artists (singer, painter, writer —does figure skater count?), and all are movies dealing with often harsh themes (abuse, both physical and sexual; repression; intimate betrayal). It’s debatable if all five could be counted as feminist films, but grouped like this they do offer a certain portrayal of gender disparity. 

Film diary.

Two recently-seen movies, outside of the monthly challenge: 

- Big Eyes. (2014; dir. Tim Burton). Biography of painter Margaret Keane; as famous for her pop-kitsch portrayals of children with huge eyes as for her life story proper. For years, her work was plagiarized by husband Walter, who kept her in an emotionally abusive captivity. Margaret’s eventual escape and lawsuit against Walter would become a national cause celebre. 

At first glance, this is an unusual film for Burton, featuring little of his usual Goth trappings and flights of fantasy (apart from an easy sequence where Margaret sees the people around her with those infamous “big eyes”). But on a closer glance it keeps his usual core interest, that of a fragile eccentric nearly broken by a rigid world. Generally a crowd-plesasing feature, with the good characters being pure and vulnerable, and the bad characters being slimy and despicable. Simple, then, but rather entertaining. Thus recommended both for fans of Burton (again, despite the lack of Goth visuals and dark fantasy) and in general for people seeking a nice drama with which to kill a couple hours. 

- D’après une histoire vraie (aka Based on a true story) (France, 2017. Dir. Roman Polanski). Novelist Delphine has penned a best-seller drawn from her real life —which may have been a slight mis-step, considering the anonymous hate mail she’s been receiving (both online and printed) accusing her of throwing her family under the bus. Or, maybe that’s just regular anon hate. Either way Delphine is struggling to find a theme for her next book. Amusing herself with an ardent fan might provide some inspiration. Of course, it’s a little disconcerting that nobody seems to have seen or heard this other young woman…

A relatively low-key and relatively minor Polanski offering, with most of the requisite psychosexual trappings kept vaguely implied rather than delved into. Most of the twist are probably easy to guess for longtime thriller and mystery fans, though making the story itself an examination of the writing process does offer some interesting concepts here and there (for example, using a fictitious character to delegate unpleasant duties like attending a boring conference or dealing with internet trolls). A mostly entertaining film, nothing special. Based on the novel by Delphine de Vigan.