Dickens A La Francais!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                I cannot believe it took me this long to see "The 400 Blows."  I had no idea what I was missing.  The performances of its leads, including the young Jean-Pierre Leaud as Antoine Doniel are spot on.  Anyone who has been through adolescence will easily relate, and those on the verge of it should see this film as a cautionary tale of what to watch out for.

                                 Adolescents, in all sorts of ways, act out.   I know I did.  I never drank or smoked, but I was always acting Barbra Streisand, singing "I'm The Greatest Star," or doing hysterical monologues, like Natalie Wood in "Splendor In The Grass."  My poor parents.  Now I understand what they were going through.

                                    Antoine's parents, though wonderfully played by Albert Remyand Claire Maurier, are sub-par.  The father overworks to support the family, while the mother is a tramp, two timing her husband with the boss, and neglecting the boy, because she feels he is too much of a burden.

                                         So, he acts up in school, reminding me of those years when I resented some of the teachers for the way they taught or did not, and feeling I knew more than they did, which I still do. I did not become a juvenile delinquent like Antoine, but I had my meltdowns.  And I had problems with authority!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                             The boy ends up in a reformatory, which is straight out of Dickens, but with a French twist.  The film captures the more austere sides of Parisian life, but there is a poetic shot of boys running through a flock of pigeons, as if foreshadowing "Les Yeux Sans Visage," and the opening has some wonderful poetic shots of Paris, and some interesting, almost noir, camerawork.  I was more moved than I expected to be.  The final shots of Antoine running along a beach , the ocean in the background is beautifully filmed.

                                                I thought the film ended abruptly, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  The film ends asking its audience the question "So what's next for this boy?"

                                                  Being it is semi-autobiographical I would say the future was bright, for Truffaut emerged as one of our most brilliant filmmakers, despite a troubled past.

                                                    "My only adolescence, my pretty adolescence, my shitty adolescence........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                                       

"Phipps Are Great Big Bunch Of Gyps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                        Remember the famous "I Love Lucy" episode where she did the Phipps Foam Mattress commercial thinking it was a dress rehearsal, only it was live?  Well, that is how David and I felt Wednesday after visiting the Centennial exhibit at The Paley Meida Museum.

                          The exhibit, meant to celebrate 100 years of NBC, is only running for a week, so it is not like I can tell you, darlings, to dash right to it.  Even if it had a longer run, I would tell you to avoid it.

                             What a disappointment!!!!!!!  Let's start with certain displays having such small decals, placed inappropriately on the ground, that only a midget could read what was on them.  Hello?  Does this museum have a curatorial staff.  And what kind?  This was such a chintzy attraction it was not worth our while to come into the city.  No gift shop?  Nothing groundbreaking or exciting!  At my former workplace better exhibits were put on with much more material, if not much more time.  The point is--theirs were better than this.

                                I don't know who was responsible for this reprehensible presentation but shame on them.  I could have come in and mounted a superior exhibit. How about some footage of "Hullabaloo," with Michael Bennett, and Donna McKechnie??????????  Does anyone at Paley know who they are?  I doubt it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     Really, this exhibit is not worth anyone's time, let alone putting it up.

                                     Go to The Morgan, and see the Tarot Exhibition, now playing through October 4.

                                      There, darlings, you will see masterful curatorial work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

16 Years Ago Today....................

                                   Well, it was actually at night; my guess around 8:50PM.

                                   You really did not think I would let this day go by without remembering Tyler Clementi now, do you?  What is sad is Tyler would be in his early 30's now, maybe working at a Jersey or NYC research plant, and hopefully living life with a partner.

                                      These were the opportunities he had.  But they were denied him because of what the actions of Dahrun Ravi and Molly Wei did to his psyche.  I blame them, and not Tyler.  By the way, where are they now?  Living their lives?  Well, I hope a little remorse or a sense of having to live with what you did to this individual penetrates your two sorry lives.

                                           Tyler was a wakeup call and still a symbol for youth suicide, gay or otherwise, in this society.  And a cry for the end of the vulnerable being bullied.  I speak from personal experience.

                                              Take a moment in your day to remember Tyler, darlings!

                                              And send good thoughts out to his parents and brothers!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                             Never to be forgotten, as long as I live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, Proserpina Returns To Hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

                                    Which means, darlings, that the twenty-first of September is here, and Autumn begins.  And with it comes Ceres' grief, over losing her daughter for the next six months. which will cause both she and Proserpina grief.

                                      The leaves will turn color and fall, the days will get shorter, and the weather colder, with snow falling and those of us having to stay more indoors.  I love cozy Winter evenings, but not getting out enough can contribute to seasonal affect disorder.

                                         With this time comes Thanksgiving and the holidays, so there are things to look forward to, during this period.  And in November I face another birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            I will keep posting, viewing movies and writing about them and reading my books, with my beloved David.

                                            As Ann-Margret said, "I've got a lotta livin' to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                           Happy Fall, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

David Lynch Pushes The Envelope Further!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

                                       This was David Lynch's final theatrical feature, and it saddens me to see he did not go further on screen, because it would be interesting to see just how far he might have gone.

                                       Laura Dern plays Nikki Grace, a successful actress living in a gorgeous California mansion, and also Susan Blue, a character in a film she is shooting.  But is she?  Again, Lynch's distortion of space and time, referencing "The Wizard Of Oz," and the duality of personality are trademarks of his and used well here.  Since "Blue Velvet," one could say his narrative schemes are sketchy, but this one questions the concept of narration or even the boundaries of it.  The world that Laura as Nikki/ Susan wanders through is a disturbing one, recalling to me John Parker's 1955 film "Dementia," also known as "Daughter Of Horror."  I would guess Lynch has seen this film, because if I were to show it to a group of people not knowing the credentials, I would guess some of them would say it is a David Lynch film.

                                        The two are similar in that they involve a woman's downward trajectory into madness.  But the question remains is it Nikki or Susan?  Because when she dies on the streets of L.A. as a gutter whore, I was sure it was Nikki.  But then one of the last shots in the film is Nikki smiling contentedly in her California mansion.  So, what happens is anyone's guess.

                                          But Lynch's work is so visually fascinating it almost does not matter.  His colored shots of California catch the underbelly of life there, while the shots of Dern wandering an almost black and white world offer an almost noir look.  "Inland Empire" challenges with its length, but it is exhilarating in its visual detail.  And his ability to acquire interesting actors--Jeremy Irons, Diane Ladd, Justin Theroux-- is genius; but then who wouldn't wanted to have worked with David Lynch?  I would have loved to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          So, darlings, this is where we leave our study of David Lynch, remembering a true genius and visionary, only to ask where are such today?

                                            Even worse, will we ever get any?????????????????

Darlings, You Have GOT To See This Short Film By David Lynch!!!!!!!!!!!!! There Is Nothing Like It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                 

                            Footage from this film was used in his 2006 film "Inland Empire," which I will eventually write about.  As this footage was some of the more interesting parts of the lengthier film, I did an investigation and found that the footage was excerpts from a short film he had made back in 2002, the year after "Mulholland Drive."  And three actresses from that film--Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, and Rebekah Del Riio--appear in the film.

                              Or do they?  Because the most fascinating thing about "Rabbits" is its look.  The living room set looks like a miniature doll house, with miniature furniture, so are the rabbits stop animation creatures with the actors' voices or was Lynch somehow able to shoot this with the real actors and then give it a miniaturized look?  That is just one of the questions surrounding this film, which on one level is about a quiet evening at home on a rainy night, but on another level raises the question of the daughter's having been raped, and someone else murdered.    There are also odd bits of humor; for example, when Jack walks through the door, there is always canned audience applause.  And sometimes, after delivering a monologue, rabbits just disappear.  And while delivering said monologues, fire appears over the living room entrance.

                             "Rabbits" is clearly David Lynch.  It is also close to situation comedy, which I think is what Lynch is saying, that American culture, via the sitcoms we all grew up with, has reduced its citizenry to a sitcom outlook on life that distorts reality.  Disagree with me all you might.

                               As for Rebekah Del Riio, her almost otherworldly nightclub appearance gives another persona to Jane, a trademark clearly from David Lynch but highly influenced by Ingmar Bergman. 

                                 To those of a certain age, "Rabbits" may come across as a surreal "Davey and Goliath."  For those beyond our generation, I leave your interpretations to you.

                                   But there is no question this is a masterpiece.  I am so glad he incorporated it into "Inland Empire," because otherwise I might not have discovered this short gem.

                                   And not a single carrot appears in the film!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I Am Embarassed To Say This Was David's Alternate Choice To "Svengoolie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                Girls, I mean, really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  With all the quality cinema in this house, and David chooses this?  I am just thankful he did not choose something like "Revenge Of The Nerds!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                  I am very familiar with "The Baby," even though I have not seen it in about ten years.  I first saw it accidentally on Channel 9, sometime in my twenties, when I was out of college, but still living at home.  It had Ruth Roman, whom I love as an actress, and was so bizarre, well, I had never seen anything like it.

                                   In 2013, 40 years after the film was made, some Fringe Festival in California attempted a musical version of it, and boy would I like to have seen that.  If done today, Tyne Daly, now butch as all get out, could play the Ruth Roman role!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Or maybe Nathan Lane!  I always confuse the two!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    To think the film was made the year I graduated high school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    How to explain "The Baby."  I wonder if David Lynch had ever seen this film, because it was before "Eraserhead," and while lacking in his artistry, was not far from his cinematic territory.  I would not be surprised if he had seen this film!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      Anjanette Comer, who died on May 26 of this year, at the age of 86, plays Ann Gentry, a dedicated social worker in Los Angeles, assigned to the Wadsworth case, in which a family, consisting of a mother, Mrs. Wadsworth, played by Ruth Roman, who is so butch she would be welcome at any lesbian bar on Saturday night, and her two daughters, Germaine (Marianna Hill) and Alba (Suzanne Zenor), and Baby a grown man kept as an infant.  At first, Ann takes a genuine interest int the case, and this gradually turns to obsession, the reason for which is the movie's plot twist which I will not reveal here.

                                      I can say that the movie is both campy and disturbing.  The abuse scenes of Baby were upsetting and repugnant to watch, and the dynamics of the Wadsworth brings new meaning to the word dysfunctional. There is even incest and adult breast feeding!  I mean, can you imagine?

                                       Granted it is better than "The Ghost And Mr. Chicken," but trust me, girls, next week we will watch a real gem.  And Baby Gojira will have something to say about it.

                                          Speaking of babies, Baby Gojira is his own independent reptile!  This house answers to him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            But we are not nearly as crazy as those in "The Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                            What would "Ozzie And Harriet" say???????????????????  

                                             One more thing.  David Manzy, who played Baby, eventually became a high school English teacher in California!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                              I hope he taught AP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!