Monday, January 28, 2008

Essential Cinema - 18




East of Eden

ACTORS
Julie Harris
James Dean
Raymond Massey
Burl Ives
Richard Davalos
Jo Van Fleet
Albert Dekker
Lois Smith
Harold Gordon
Nick Dennis

DIRECTOR
Elia Kazan

SCREENPLAY
John Steinbeck (book)
Paul Osborn (screenplay)

CINEMATOGRAPHER
Ted D. McCord




SYNOPSIS:
Family secrets in a rural 1915 California town and the struggles of youth to discover who they are and what is right.





CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER:
Discovering what life is about by peeling back the layers of our parents to see what came before us. This is a coming of age film that questions all the classic cords, of love, honor, respect and righteousness. The characters in this film are all asking questions and struggling to unravel the truths of life. Some must be discovered and others must be found after being hidden away behind secrets and lies. Almost anyone over the age of 20 can relate to this film and the characters in it. This film deals with the search for love, the love of children by their parents and the desire of children to be worthy.





PROS AND CONS:
The beautiful landscape and set design, evoke America at the turn of the century. The direction of Elia Kazan is very good, his use of camera angles and perspective, both visually and from the point of view of the characters is very well done.





With only three films to his credit before his death, James Dean shows why he is an American Icon in this film. His acting is unconventional for its day but you can't take your eyes off of him and his raw emotion. The rest of the cast is equally up to the task and the viewer is drawn into the story waiting for the eventual resolution to the various plot lines that unfold.





The twist of the story is that in the beginning, it appears that Dean's character (Cal) is sporadic and wild with little self control. This is because Cal is haunted by unknown demons from his past. His brother appears to be the perfect son, but the events that unfold in the film leave him a shattered man, with all that he holds dear cast to the wind. Asking questions and struggling to find the truth is the underlying theme of the film.





Near the end of the film there is a biblical reference regarding the title to the film. "Cane slew his brother Able and fled to dwell in the land of Nod, East of Eden". By the time this line is uttered, it makes perfect sense.



Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Deep Woods




Life is made up of journeys. Most of our lives are spent between the journeys, pondering what we learned during the trip. Then we take off again, experience unforeseen things, arrive at our destination and look back. When we gaze at where we came from, we often have a different perspective. Our point of view is different because of the things we did and saw along the way. Our perspective is different because the place we eventually find ourselves is far different than where we came from.

The number of journeys we take in our lifetimes vary, but almost everyone takes two or three. We all have our first day of school, our honeymoon, changing jobs, moving to a new town, our final trip to the hospital. It was one of these trips back in the 80s that will remain in my memory for the rest of my life. The trip held promise, fear and great beauty, although I didn't know it when I set out on the journey.

I was leaving college. I had lived in Oregon for almost 8 years, going to college and trying to find work. However, the time finally came when I had to call it quites. Back then, the economy was in recession and the unemployment rate in Oregon was astronomical. Even though I had a college degree, there was no work to be had anywhere. So I packed up everything in my Saab 99LE and left town in the middle of the night to head to Arizona. Back then, the American Southwest had a booming economy and my parents lived there. So after 8 years on my own as a young man, I was leaving all my friends and the only adult world I had ever known to return to the nest. I had little choice. Oregon had become a dead end.



Since I knew that this would be the start of a new chapter in my life, I wasn't in any hurry. I was going to take the longest, meandering route I could to Arizona and take in as much scenery as possible. In a way, this was the end of childhood and I was going to enjoy it as much as I could.

I decided to head south along Highway 1 and follow the California Coast all the way down to Santa Barbara. Everything I owned was in that car and I was traveling cheap. No motel rooms, I slept in the car, I ate in the car. Everything I owned that summarized my life up to that point was in that car. It was a little shuttle craft crossing a vast sea of stars to a new world. It was adventurous.



I would often drive long distances until I was about to fall asleep and then find a small park next to the ocean, pull in, stop the car, recline the seat and doze off. The sunlight would eventually wake me and I would peer out the windshield to examine the coastline that I couldn't see the night before. Exiting the car in a deserted parking lot with the smell of salt water and the crashing of the waves isn't a bad way to wake up, even if the car seat wasn't the world's greatest bed.

As my trek left Oregon and entered into Northern California, I entered the land of the wooden giants, The Redwoods.

The route down Highway 1 has changed over the years. They are constantly re-directing the road and making modifications to it. Back in the early 80s, you could drive through the Redwood forest. There were little turnouts called 'groves' where you could park your car and walk off into the woods. They aren't there anymore. The highway has been changed so that there are only a few places where you can actually drive to the trees today.



During this journey, the roads were pretty deserted and as I became tired I found one of the small groves to drive into and parked my car. I was the only one there and as night fell, I hunkered down in my car and ate some chips and dip while listening to the radio. Eventually, the light faded and I covered myself with my sleeping bag and wondered where the next days miles would lead me as I dozed off to sleep.

I don't know how long I had been asleep when I was jarred awake by a loud crash on the top of the car. I sat up and opened my eyes, only to see nothing. I mean nothing in the most literal sense of the word. I couldn't see. Even tough my eyes were open, all I could see was total blackness. I was blind! As I rubbed my eyes in an effort to try and figure out what was wrong, there came another loud "THUMP" over my head, as though something was throwing rocks at my car.

By now I was starting to panic and I began feeling around for the dome light switch. If you have never owned a Saab, the ignition and dome light switch are mounted between the seats. I had to pull way the sleeping bag and the potato chips in the darkness to try and find it. I felt the switch in the darkness, pushed it, and prayed for the return of my sight. The interior of the car illuminated and I took a deep breath realizing that I could still see. But the interior of the car was all I could see. Outside my car windows was nothing but an infinite void of blackness.

"THUMP", I heard something strike the front of my car.

I reached for the headlight switch and turned them on. The front of the car illuminated the grove for about 20 feet. They reveled that a heavy fog had settled into the forest. Realizing that my environment had changed dramatically, I opened the car door and exited into the darkness to investigate. As I stood by my car, what felt like a large slush ball hit the top of my head. It finally started to make sense.



In this remote part of the California coast nature had conspired to play a little trick on me.

There was no light here. Among the thick trees that stood over 200 feet tall all around me, there was a moonless night. Add to this mix, a heavy fog rolling in from the coast to cover up what little starlight there may have been and you get total darkness. Darkness where there is no light what-so-ever. Your eyes are useless in this type of situation. It was nature induced blindness. Add to this the fact that the tall trees acted as giant water collectors for the fog as it drifted though their upper branches. Large drops of water formed in the treetops and then came rolling off their branches and hurtled to the ground below....or in my case, the car below.

I reached inside the car, turned off all the lights and stood there in the darkness. The only sense I could perceive was the faint rush of the wind in the treetops and the ambient noise of the forest at night, along with the occasional shot glass of cold water to my face. This was one of those rare times that nature made me stop and think. The world was full of surprises and this was only the beginning.



As I stood there, I knew what the ant must feel like as he traverses the lawn when the sprinklers suddenly pop on. It is frightening at first, but he eventually gets through it.

I crawled back into my car, snuggled up under the sleeping bag and had the best nights sleep of my life. "This is what life is all about", I thought. Finding the unknown and conquering your fear.

Deep Woods




Life is made up of journeys. Most of our lives are spent between the journeys, pondering what we learned during the trip. Then we take off again, experience unforeseen things, arrive at our destination and look back. When we gaze at where we came from, we often have a different perspective. Our point of view is different because of the things we did and saw along the way. Our perspective is different because the place we eventually find ourselves is far different than where we came from.

The number of journeys we take in our lifetimes vary, but almost everyone takes two or three. We all have our first day of school, our honeymoon, changing jobs, moving to a new town, our final trip to the hospital. It was one of these trips back in the 80s that will remain in my memory for the rest of my life. The trip held promise, fear and great beauty, although I didn't know it when I set out on the journey.

I was leaving college. I had lived in Oregon for almost 8 years, going to college and trying to find work. However, the time finally came when I had to call it quites. Back then, the economy was in recession and the unemployment rate in Oregon was astronomical. Even though I had a college degree, there was no work to be had anywhere. So I packed up everything in my Saab 99LE and left town in the middle of the night to head to Arizona. Back then, the American Southwest had a booming economy and my parents lived there. So after 8 years on my own as a young man, I was leaving all my friends and the only adult world I had ever known to return to the nest. I had little choice. Oregon had become a dead end.



Since I knew that this would be the start of a new chapter in my life, I wasn't in any hurry. I was going to take the longest, meandering route I could to Arizona and take in as much scenery as possible. In a way, this was the end of childhood and I was going to enjoy it as much as I could.

I decided to head south along Highway 1 and follow the California Coast all the way down to Santa Barbara. Everything I owned was in that car and I was traveling cheap. No motel rooms, I slept in the car, I ate in the car. Everything I owned that summarized my life up to that point was in that car. It was a little shuttle craft crossing a vast sea of stars to a new world. It was adventurous.



I would often drive long distances until I was about to fall asleep and then find a small park next to the ocean, pull in, stop the car, recline the seat and doze off. The sunlight would eventually wake me and I would peer out the windshield to examine the coastline that I couldn't see the night before. Exiting the car in a deserted parking lot with the smell of salt water and the crashing of the waves isn't a bad way to wake up, even if the car seat wasn't the world's greatest bed.

As my trek left Oregon and entered into Northern California, I entered the land of the wooden giants, The Redwoods.

The route down Highway 1 has changed over the years. They are constantly re-directing the road and making modifications to it. Back in the early 80s, you could drive through the Redwood forest. There were little turnouts called 'groves' where you could park your car and walk off into the woods. They aren't there anymore. The highway has been changed so that there are only a few places where you can actually drive to the trees today.



During this journey, the roads were pretty deserted and as I became tired I found one of the small groves to drive into and parked my car. I was the only one there and as night fell, I hunkered down in my car and ate some chips and dip while listening to the radio. Eventually, the light faded and I covered myself with my sleeping bag and wondered where the next days miles would lead me as I dozed off to sleep.

I don't know how long I had been asleep when I was jarred awake by a loud crash on the top of the car. I sat up and opened my eyes, only to see nothing. I mean nothing in the most literal sense of the word. I couldn't see. Even tough my eyes were open, all I could see was total blackness. I was blind! As I rubbed my eyes in an effort to try and figure out what was wrong, there came another loud "THUMP" over my head, as though something was throwing rocks at my car.

By now I was starting to panic and I began feeling around for the dome light switch. If you have never owned a Saab, the ignition and dome light switch are mounted between the seats. I had to pull way the sleeping bag and the potato chips in the darkness to try and find it. I felt the switch in the darkness, pushed it, and prayed for the return of my sight. The interior of the car illuminated and I took a deep breath realizing that I could still see. But the interior of the car was all I could see. Outside my car windows was nothing but an infinite void of blackness.

"THUMP", I heard something strike the front of my car.

I reached for the headlight switch and turned them on. The front of the car illuminated the grove for about 20 feet. They reveled that a heavy fog had settled into the forest. Realizing that my environment had changed dramatically, I opened the car door and exited into the darkness to investigate. As I stood by my car, what felt like a large slush ball hit the top of my head. It finally started to make sense.



In this remote part of the California coast nature had conspired to play a little trick on me.

There was no light here. Among the thick trees that stood over 200 feet tall all around me, there was a moonless night. Add to this mix, a heavy fog rolling in from the coast to cover up what little starlight there may have been and you get total darkness. Darkness where there is no light what-so-ever. Your eyes are useless in this type of situation. It was nature induced blindness. Add to this the fact that the tall trees acted as giant water collectors for the fog as it drifted though their upper branches. Large drops of water formed in the treetops and then came rolling off their branches and hurtled to the ground below....or in my case, the car below.

I reached inside the car, turned off all the lights and stood there in the darkness. The only sense I could perceive was the faint rush of the wind in the treetops and the ambient noise of the forest at night, along with the occasional shot glass of cold water to my face. This was one of those rare times that nature made me stop and think. The world was full of surprises and this was only the beginning.



As I stood there, I knew what the ant must feel like as he traverses the lawn when the sprinklers suddenly pop on. It is frightening at first, but he eventually gets through it.

I crawled back into my car, snuggled up under the sleeping bag and had the best nights sleep of my life. "This is what life is all about", I thought. Finding the unknown and conquering your fear.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Y-Pod



Life In Your Hand


I was at the YMCA the other morning, doing the health ritual, but mostly I was just sucking up the endless hot water in the showers and the steam room. When I got there, I did the usual empty locker hunt and found one that suited my needs. While packing my clothes into the locker I noticed something hanging down from the second small shelf. It was an ear-bud. I followed the cord up to the shelf and there sat an iPod. The previous locker resident must have left it there.

I took it out and looked it over. It was a newer model, black with a little leather case and the earphones still attached. It was a 60 gigabyte version which retails for about $249. Since I am an experienced iPod user, I powered the little sucker up, curious to see what was on it.

The owner wasn't a neophyte iPod user either. He had about 10 hours of music downloaded to it. The hard drive was about 1/8 full. He didn't have any videos on it and I didn't bother checking his contact / address list.

I knew I would return it, but for a moment, the lesser angels of my nature sort of played with my head. If I kept it;

a) I could listen to all his music and see if there was anything good that I might want to download for myself.

b) If there were contacts on to it, I could rummage through them and try and figure out who they were. Maybe the last owner was a pimp or a drug dealer?

c) I knew that I could listen to it and recharge it all I wanted, but I couldn't dock it to my computer at home. Docking the 'pod' would reformat it and erase everything on it.

d) I could hock it on ebay....and make an easy $150 in the anonymity of the worldwide marketplace.

After pondering all the possibilities, I knew it was best to pay it forward. If it had been my iPod, I sure would have wanted it back. Besides, I have an iPod and don't need another and I didn't want to take a step closer to being just another opportunistic common criminal.

As I walked the wayward Pod back to the front desk, I felt an odd sense of power in my hands. There, in so much metal, silicon and plastic, I held a portion of a man's life. More personal than his wallet. In that little case I held some of what he was, his desires and the things that made him happy and made him dream. If someone stole my iPod and listened to what was on it, what would they think of me? Would they be curious? Would they try and figure out who I was? Probably not.....their loss.

For more of my ramblings about life with an i-Pod, check out the blog iPod Experiment.

Y-Pod



Life In Your Hand


I was at the YMCA the other morning, doing the health ritual, but mostly I was just sucking up the endless hot water in the showers and the steam room. When I got there, I did the usual empty locker hunt and found one that suited my needs. While packing my clothes into the locker I noticed something hanging down from the second small shelf. It was an ear-bud. I followed the cord up to the shelf and there sat an iPod. The previous locker resident must have left it there.

I took it out and looked it over. It was a newer model, black with a little leather case and the earphones still attached. It was a 60 gigabyte version which retails for about $249. Since I am an experienced iPod user, I powered the little sucker up, curious to see what was on it.

The owner wasn't a neophyte iPod user either. He had about 10 hours of music downloaded to it. The hard drive was about 1/8 full. He didn't have any videos on it and I didn't bother checking his contact / address list.

I knew I would return it, but for a moment, the lesser angels of my nature sort of played with my head. If I kept it;

a) I could listen to all his music and see if there was anything good that I might want to download for myself.

b) If there were contacts on to it, I could rummage through them and try and figure out who they were. Maybe the last owner was a pimp or a drug dealer?

c) I knew that I could listen to it and recharge it all I wanted, but I couldn't dock it to my computer at home. Docking the 'pod' would reformat it and erase everything on it.

d) I could hock it on ebay....and make an easy $150 in the anonymity of the worldwide marketplace.

After pondering all the possibilities, I knew it was best to pay it forward. If it had been my iPod, I sure would have wanted it back. Besides, I have an iPod and don't need another and I didn't want to take a step closer to being just another opportunistic common criminal.

As I walked the wayward Pod back to the front desk, I felt an odd sense of power in my hands. There, in so much metal, silicon and plastic, I held a portion of a man's life. More personal than his wallet. In that little case I held some of what he was, his desires and the things that made him happy and made him dream. If someone stole my iPod and listened to what was on it, what would they think of me? Would they be curious? Would they try and figure out who I was? Probably not.....their loss.

For more of my ramblings about life with an i-Pod, check out the blog iPod Experiment.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Essential Cinema - 17



Spanish with English Subtitles


Maria, Full Of Grace

ACTORS
Catalina Sandino Moreno
Virgina Ariza
Rodrigo Sánchez Borhorquez
Charles Albert Patiño
Wilson Guerrero
Johanna Andrea Mora


DIRECTOR
Joshua Marston


SCREENPLAY
Joshua Marston


CINEMATOGRAPHER
Jim Denault





SYNOPSIS:
A young woman finds herself pregnant and un-employed in a rural Colombian village. In order to help out her family she agrees to transport narcotics into the United States as a mule for drug dealers. A human face to the concept of illegal immigration and the war on drugs.





CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER:
The harsh reality of the lives of those in the third world. Desperate people do desperate things, sometimes with awful consequences.





PROS AND CONS:
This films starts out as an interesting and beautiful view of rural South American life. When the circumstances become dire, there are those that will seek opportunity in the less fortunate.





This becomes an uncomfortable film to watch when the young woman begins her decent into the calculating and ruthless world of the narcotics trade. Her innocence and desire to do the right thing comes into sharp contrast with the reality of money and power.





Near the latter portions of the story, you are on edge of your seat with fear of what might happen to the young women as she tries to juggle the lies and secrets to stay one step ahead of the game.





Catalina Sandino Moreno is superb in her portrayal of the young protagonist and she brings depth and compassion to her character. Anyone who has a strong stance on the immigration / illegal alien debate in the United States, should see this film. It might change your point of view.



Essential Cinema - 17



Spanish with English Subtitles


Maria, Full Of Grace

ACTORS
Catalina Sandino Moreno
Virgina Ariza
Rodrigo Sánchez Borhorquez
Charles Albert Patiño
Wilson Guerrero
Johanna Andrea Mora


DIRECTOR
Joshua Marston


SCREENPLAY
Joshua Marston


CINEMATOGRAPHER
Jim Denault





SYNOPSIS:
A young woman finds herself pregnant and un-employed in a rural Colombian village. In order to help out her family she agrees to transport narcotics into the United States as a mule for drug dealers. A human face to the concept of illegal immigration and the war on drugs.





CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER:
The harsh reality of the lives of those in the third world. Desperate people do desperate things, sometimes with awful consequences.





PROS AND CONS:
This films starts out as an interesting and beautiful view of rural South American life. When the circumstances become dire, there are those that will seek opportunity in the less fortunate.





This becomes an uncomfortable film to watch when the young woman begins her decent into the calculating and ruthless world of the narcotics trade. Her innocence and desire to do the right thing comes into sharp contrast with the reality of money and power.





Near the latter portions of the story, you are on edge of your seat with fear of what might happen to the young women as she tries to juggle the lies and secrets to stay one step ahead of the game.





Catalina Sandino Moreno is superb in her portrayal of the young protagonist and she brings depth and compassion to her character. Anyone who has a strong stance on the immigration / illegal alien debate in the United States, should see this film. It might change your point of view.



Thursday, January 10, 2008

Fading To Black...Again



I Love Walgreens


I have been out sick the past few days. It was not a 'lets take a mental health break from work' type of sick. It was a fever, headache, stuffy head kind of sick. The sort of illness where you get out of bed to walk to the kitchen for something, and forget what it was by the time you get there.

Even our pets could sense something wasn't right. They would sit on the floor and stare at me laying on the sofa in the middle of the day and know, "something isn't right here, he never does this." Several times as I was passed out on the couch, I would feel the warm tongue of our dog licking my hand or the weight of the 20lb cat purring on my chest.

When I get sick, it isn't a pretty thing. Best to take a vacation just so you can be away from me. I am not Mr. Warm and Fuzzy when I have a fever. Condolences to my wife that has to put up with me during this time of infection.

I figured I would blog about this, but realized that I have probably already written the definitive blog about fever dreams and Tylenol, so I will just link to it. Check out Fading to Black. Same situation, two years ago.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Essential Cinema - 16




Cargo To Capetown

ACTORS
Broderick Crawford
John Ireland
Ellen Drew
Edgar Buchanan
Ted de Corsia
Robert Espinoza
Leonard Strong

DIRECTOR
Earl McEvoy

SCREENPLAY
Lionel Houser

CINEMATOGRAPHER
Charles Lawton Jr.




SYNOPSIS:
A tramp steamer outruns a typhoon to Capetown, South Africa, with a disgruntled crew and a love triangle between the Captain, the Chief Engineer and his fiance.



CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER:
Second chances and re-thinking past mistakes. Macho defeats love in the short-term, but compassion triumphs in the end. A trip back to simpler times when everything was black and white, literally.



PROS AND CONS:
This film was supposedly made as a follow up to "All The King's Men", which also starred Crawford and Ireland. "All The King's Men" got a lot of Oscar buzz, so the studios thought they could make lightening strike twice. They sort of missed the mark. This is a competent film, but can hardly be considered great film making.



This film rehashes the tried and true cinema gimmick of trapping adults in a confined space so they must face their past and confront the present. There is a bit of a fantasy element in the concept of a world in which tramp steamers were the semi-trucks of their day, ferrying oil and cargo across the ocean highways of the world. Crewed by men with checkered pasts who lived a nomadic lifestyle. It probably isn't very accurately portrayed in this film, but it does make you wonder.



The camera tends to linger on Ellen Drew's character a lot and she is working her "Betty Davis Eyes" as much as possible. The script and plot lines of the film seem a bit strained from time to time. The roots of the past love affair between the captain and the fiance are never explained. The small boy that longs to go to sea only to be crushed by oil cans in the storm doesn't really make a lot of sense and his acting is terrible.



This is not a very deep film. The basic concept is how folks forced together on a ship in the middle of the ocean have to work as a team and overcome their past differences. Nothing more, nothing less.