FOR RAUL 2: AS I WAS MOVING AHEAD OCCASIONALLY I SAW BRIEF GLIMPSES OF BEAUTY

This blog entry is inspired by Misterio Abierto's blog:
http://misterioabierto.blogspot.com/2010/01/for-jit-2-eric-rohmer.html

Hi Raúl

I'm not sure if you have finished your letter or not, but I want to reply to you so much that I think I shouldn't wait any more. :-)


I envy you a lot that you have seen OUT 1 (1971, Jacques Rivette). I wonder when this film will be released as a DVD boxset. It's one of the films that I want to see the most before I die.

I love A TALE OF SPRINGTIME (1990, Eric Rohmer), but because of a rather silly reason. The most important reason why I like this film is because it has one thing I want to see in melodrama films – a fight between the heroine and the villainess by debating in philosophy. Of course, A TALE OF SPRINGTIME is not a melodrama film, but I like the philosophical debate between the heroine and the lover of the hero very much. I have never seen things like this before. I love some melodrama films or TV series, but the fight between the heroine and the villainess in most melodramatic TV series are very stupid catfights. I want to see something different, and I want to see the heroine and her female antagonist in some films fight against each other in a philosophical way like in A TALE OF SPRINGTIME. However, I'm not sure I understand what they said in their debate. Hahaha. I have no knowledge in philosophy. I still have a lot to learn about it. I once saw WITTGENSTEIN (1993, Derek Jarman) and understand nothing in this film at all.

I'm glad you adore THE GREEN RAY. It's my most favorite film of Rohmer and one of my most favorite films of all time. Its ending touches my heart very deeply, and I'm not sure why. Maybe the true happiness in life is something so simple such as watching a sunset, watching a sunrise, watching the sunlight, watching a clear blue sky, watching a pond, watching the sea, watching the trees swaying in the wind, or watching life.

Sunset in THE GREEN RAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtlu5_FdoKw

Beautiful sunlight in KITTYPIE (2007, Jennifer MacMillan)
http://invisiblecinema.typepad.com/invisible_cinema/2007/08/kittypie-by-jen.html

Watching a pond in HIGH KUKUS (James Broughton)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9c0qu_james-broughton-high-kukus_shortfilms

Watching the sea in NO ONE AT THE SEA (Tossapol Boonsinsukh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vB7yCQURj8

Watching flowers swaying in the wind in ALL MY LIFE (Bruce Baillie)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xo5mg_bruce-baillie_creation

Watching the wind blow in FRAGRANCE OF THE WIND (2007, Chaiwat Wiansantia)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39YOq11Q_MQ

Watching landscape covered in snow in AI NO UTA (Miki Imai)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dU9IdUoQfE

Watching the love and care between the two monkeys in IMPERFECT FILM (Jonas Mekas)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkcfLP-MvW4

Watching people enjoying themselves in SHE IS READING NEWSPAPER (2005, Tossapol Boonsinsukh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWwOcpknjLA


I also consider THE GREEN RAY one of my most romantic films of all time, because its last part is very romantic for me. It corresponds to my romantic dream.

One of the reasons why I like Rohmer's films is because I like going to beaches and get to know some strangers. Hahaha. That is the reason why I love LA COLLECTIONNEUSE (1967), PAULINE AT THE BEACH (1983), and A SUMMER'S TALE (1996). These films, along with THE GREEN RAY, somehow correspond to the joy, the excitement, or the expectations I have when I go to beaches. Unfortunately, most strangers whom we meet at beaches give us only temporary joy. I still haven't found a stranger who is as interesting as the last guy in THE GREEN RAY. Somehow THE GREEN RAY represents the ultimate happy ending for me, a kind of happy ending I'm not sure I will ever find in my real life. Anyway, I'm happy enough watching this film.

As for CLAIRE'S KNEE, I just talked with a friend about a film which unintentionally reminds me of CLAIRE'S KNEE. It's ABIGAIL'S PARTY (Mike Leigh), because in this film the female characters talk about how sexy male legs can turn them on. This thing reminds me of the hero in CLAIRE'S KNEE who is also obsessed with an organ of the opposite sex.

Hope to talk to you again soon

Jit

P.S. The title of this letter comes from the film of Jonas Mekas which I haven't seen yet.

FOR RAUL 1: MARIE-JOSE NAT

This entry is inspired by
http://misterioabierto.blogspot.com/2010/01/for-jit-1-anne-wiazemsky.html

Hi Raúl

I'm fine, though I feel a bit sad for the death of Eric Rohmer. He is one of my most favorite filmmakers of all time. How are you?

Thanks for the information about JEUNE FILLE. This book is very interesting. I also just found out from Film Comment magazine that this book will be translated into English soon. That would be great.

To tell you the truth, I hadn't noticed much about the sexiness of Bresson's cast before, except in the case of Humbert Balsan in LANCELOT DU LAC (1974), who is one of the handsomest French actors in my point of view. Your observation about his cast makes me reconsider it. Why did I overlook it? Maybe it is because Bresson didn't exploit the sexiness of his cast in the same way that Hollywood filmmakers exploit it. Maybe it is because the stories of his films divert my attention away from their sexiness. Maybe it is because his cast is mostly made up of unknown actors, thus it is easier to overlook their true beauty. Maybe it is partly because many people didn't talk about this thing when they talked about Bresson's films. Hahaha.

However, I can't deny that I like the looks of the leading actors in A MAN ESCAPED
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrBZF9AFH4Q

and L'ARGENT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDHeyTwPNmc

I still haven't seen many films by Bresson. I haven't seen LES ANGES DU PÉCHÉ, DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST, PICKPOCKET, THE TRIAL OF JOAN OF ARC, UNE FEMME DOUCE, and FOUR NIGHTS OF A DREAMER. I have to find time to watch them soon.

I think I need to see more of Anne Wiazemsky's films, especially her films with Philippe Garrel. As for her films, I have only seen AU HASARD BALTHAZAR, LA CHINOISE and TEOREMA, and I can't remember her face at all. I don't know why her face doesn't register in my memory. What I remember from AU HASARD BALTHAZAR is the scene in which the bad boy listens to his radio. What I remember from TEOREMA is the scene in which the maid soars above a house or something like that. What I remember the most from LA CHINOISE is Juliet Berto. But I think if I see Wiazemsky in Garrel's films, I will not forget her face, because Garrel always has a way to capture the faces of his characters and make them unforgettable, especially the weary face of Marie-Paule Laval in THE BIRTH OF LOVE.

The maid's scene in TEOREMA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO9gzK3I32g

Talking about Bresson, I want to note that I just went to see 20TH CENTURY BOYS 3: THE LAST CHAPTER – OUR FLAG (2009, Yukihiko Tsutsumi, A+), and the film unintentionally reminds of L'ARGENT, because in this Japanese film, a little boy is accused of a small theft he didn't commit. This injustice done to the boy helps make him grow up to be a man who wants to wipe out the human race. I am impressed by this kind of stories like in L'ARGENT, which shows us how a sin which seems so small such as using a fake bank note can lead to a massacre. Unfortunately, that's just the only thing in 20TH CENTURY BOYS 3 which reminds me of L'ARGENT. Other than that, the film is the opposite of L'ARGENT because its style is like TRANSFORMERS or TERMINATORS or something like that, though its story is a little bit more touching than many big budget mainstream films.

I just learned from Film Comment that Bresson used to be a gigolo, like Billy Wilder and Jacques Nolot. This fact makes me love him even more.

I also found some interesting books in secondhand book shops from time to time. I bought POSITIF 50 YEARS, PARIS HOLLYWOOD: WRITINGS ON FILM (Peter Wollen), LANDSCAPE OF RESISTANCE: THE GERMAN FILMS OF DANIÈLE HUILLET AND JEAN-MARIE STRAUB, THE ZERO HOUR: GLASNOST AND SOVIET CINEMA IN TRANSITION, DEREK JARMAN: A BIOGRAPHY, etc., from a secondhand book shop in Bangkok. What is interesting is that I can't find these books in firsthand book shops in Bangkok. I can only find them in a secondhand book shop. But this is a good thing, because it helps me save the money. I haven't found time to read all of these books, though.

While you love Anne Wiazemsky, I think I just fell in love with a French actress called Marie-José Nat. I just watched ELISE, OR REAL LIFE (1970, Michel Drach, A+), and she is amazing in that film. I love her role and her face in that film very much. I had never heard her name before. I think she is as charming as Élodie Bouchez. I also just saw her in L'ONCE DE RUSSIE (2006, Francis Girod, A+), though she didn't have a chance to use her real talent in this film, because the film mainly focuses on the acting of Claude Brasseur.

Now I wish I could see more of Marie-José Nat's films, especially VIOLINS AT THE BALL (1974, Michel Drach), THE SIMPLE PAST (1977, Michel Drach), ANNA (1981, Márta Mészáros), LA DISBUBBIDIENZA (1981, Aldo Lado), and NIGHT OF DESTINY (1997, Abdelkrim Bahloul).