The Rain Falls Down on Portlandtown

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

FADED: GIRLS + BINGE DRINKING

Janet McIntyre's latest film Faded might be the saddest locally-produced documentary in recent memory. It also feels terribly important, shedding light on a serious social problem in a complex yet approachable way. Sporting the subtitle Girls + Binge Drinking, the accessibility of the piece is a large part of its success, offering hope that it can be used as a pedagogical tool for opening up conversations with the very demographic that it documents.

Faded takes a long, sobering look at four young women, ranging in age from their late teen years to their early twenties, long after they've established unhealthy patterns around alcohol consumption.

Cassidy, a young artistically-driven girl, tells McIntyre that she began drinking at age 13 in the company of her overly permissive parents. Sharon, an Indonesian immigrant whose family relocated to Oregon when she was 15, blames the unwelcome move for her descent into alcoholism and temporary homelessness. Alyssa, a high-school student living with her father, pinpoints her mom's desertion of her as one reason why she drinks. And Holley, a former member of Portland's Rose City Rollers, speaks of the social and media-driven pressures that women experience, casting those forces (as well as the pain experienced during roller derby matches) as justifications for her excesses.

At first, McIntyre allows her subjects the momentary luxury of offering up their reasons before having those defenses contextualized as mere rationalization by Jonathan Lurie, a clinical psychologist specializing in adolescent psychology. From that point on, Faded rejects any arguments the girls offer up for their sustained abuse, choosing instead to watch as their lives unfold, some making better choices while others continue to drink.

In many ways, Faded reminds one of Lauren Greenfield's exceptionally important and disturbing documentary, Thin, a movie about eating disorders that's hard to shake off, even years after seeing it. McIntyre's film at least offers more hope for some of its subjects than that 2006 film. And yet, it's the wider view offered up by Faded that chills the most; the statistical information and cultural attitudes (the latter offered up via a panoply of quotes derived from art, literature and celebrities) cited confirm that there's more than a kernel of truth to Holley's claim that the culture demands more than what actual girls can deliver, who suffer the worst indignities when either buying into those roles or choosing to check out via the route of self-abuse.

Faded is not the easiest film to watch. McIntyre amply displays how each girl's potential has been either sabotaged or delayed by their self-destructive impulses. But, as a piece aimed towards spreading awareness on a seldom-broached topic, its value is immediately felt.

Faded: Girls + Binge Drinking will screen at the NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium (in the Portland Art Museum) on March 15th at 7pm.

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

THE FILMS OF NICOLAS WINDING REFN: DRIVE (2011)

Though the man has been making films for more than fifteen years now, it was in 2011 that Nicolas Winding Refn truly arrived with Drive; a cool distillation of 1980s Hollywood action and thriller tropes remixed by a cultural outsider. Many have already pointed out how Drive pulls from works associated with that decade by Michael Mann, Paul Schrader, Walter Hill and Brian De Palma and, yes, there's absolutely something valid about those observations. But it's a bit of a stretch to describe the film as just an homage to films like Thief, Hardcore, The Driver and Dressed to Kill.

Refn may be pulling from identifiable sources here but he cuts those materials with a post-modern detachment that's truly unique in its assemblage; Ryan Gosling's nameless character (as well as most of the characters in the film) is less an individual than he is a representation of codified behaviors and attitudes in the type of films being cited here.

The significant difference between the characters in Drive and those in, say, the most recent flick from someone like McG is that Refn peels back any pretense that his characters are anything but signifiers...of impenetrable cool, violence; whatever.

Note the way in which Gosling's "The Driver" and Irene (Carey Mulligan) interact in the film. There's more repressed sizzle between these characters than in any other film I've seen since The Remains of the Day (okay, scratch that, since In the Mood for Love). And still, Irene is, akin to all the female characters in the cinema of Michael Mann, a barely fleshed-out, wafer-thin excuse for what constitutes a person. In Mann's films, the way he represents women is an insurmountable barrier to some viewers (count me among them), making his films difficult to fully enjoy.

But, in Drive, Gosling's protagonist is every bit as underdeveloped emotionally and in his back story as the woman to whom he is attracted, striking an odd balance of sorts that heightens the viewer's projections of desire for their coupling, delivering a vicarious thrill based in proximity and distance. This excitement springs from our understanding of how relationships like these in films like this are supposed to unfold; an expectation that Refn fully exploits while simultaneously denying the viewer a resolution to the tension that he orchestrates in the scenes between Gosling and Mulligan.

The result: an atmosphere of intensely-felt longing motivates almost every action in the film, from the crimes at the heart of the plot to the extreme acts of violence that have stuck with all who have seen it. Drive functions less as a proper thriller than as an immersive cinematic experience based in projection. Its success is located in the fact that, even when Refn's manipulations are made transparent, the film continues to vibrate with a curiously slippery energy that shocks every bit as much as it teases.

Drive will screen at the NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium (in the Portland Art Museum) on March 17th & 18th at 7pm. The film is part of the retrospective series, Driven: The Films of Nicolas Winding Refn.

Related links:
The Films of Nicolas Winding Refn: Pusher
The Films of Nicolas Winding Refn: Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands
The Films of Nicolas Winding Refn: Pusher III: I'm the Angel of Death
The Films of Nicolas Winding Refn: Fear X

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UPDATE: WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? postponed until fall

Okay, folks...it looks like Cinema 21's upcoming triple feature (written about here) has been cut down to a double feature, as What Ever Happend to Baby Jane? has been postponed until fall.

Thanks to Jeff Vanvickle (who writes the Through Taped Lenses blog) for pointing this out to me.

Here's the updated schedule for Cinema 21's classic double feature:

To Kill a Mockingbird (@4:15pm & 9:15) and The Manchurian Candidate (@7pm) runs March 16th thru 22nd at Cinema 21. Admission for each film is $5. A double feature will only set you back $8. Don't miss out!

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1962 TRIPLE FEATURE: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE & WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? @Cinema 21

UPDATE: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? has been postponed until fall. More info here.

Hot on the heels of Cinema 21's Double Indemnity/Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed double feature, Tom Ranieri and his staff have lined up yet another cinematic treat for Portland film fans. This time around, it's a triple feature of films from 1962. To Kill a Mockingbird, The Manchurian Candidate and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? are all turning 50 this year and Cinema 21's throwing them a week-long birthday party.

A still from To Kill a Mockingbird

Nominated for 7 Academy awards (and the winner of 3, for best actor, screenplay and art direction), To Kill a Mockingbird is the most lauded of the films. Robert Mulligan's adaptation of Harper Lee's novel used to be compulsory viewing back when I was in elementary school (is it still?). If there's a kid-friendly film among the trio being celebrated this week, this is it. Featuring a stellar debut performance by a very young Robert Duvall as the iconic Boo Radley.

A still from The Manchurian Candidate

Remade in 2004 by Jonathan Demme as a Denzel Washington vehicle, the original 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate holds up remarkably well today, rejecting any notions that this tense thriller needed updating. Boasting a stellar cast (Angela Landsbury's name may not be featured on the poster but her menacing, Oscar-nominated performance is the best in the film), tight direction by John Frankenheimer and tension-infused cinematography by Lionel Lindon, the film transforms noir tropes from the prior generation, repurposing them to potent effect, and is arguably the template for many of the best paranoia-induced thrillers of the 70s (think: The Parallax View and Three Days of the Condor).

A still from What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is by far the creepiest (and, perhaps, the most fun) of the bunch. Bette Davis and Joan Crawford play aging sisters who have always been at odds due to a jealousy stemming from childhood. Both stars milk their roles for all they're worth here; Davis was nominated for best actress for her portrayal of Baby Jane Hudson, a character that is one of Hollywood's most sinister explorations of the psychologically damaging effects of child stardom.

If I could only make it to one of these films, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? would be the one.

To Kill a Mockingbird (@4:15pm), The Manchurian Candidate (@7pm) and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (@9:15) runs March 16th thru 22nd at Cinema 21. Admission for each film is $5. A double feature will only set you back $8. Don't miss out!

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Sunday, March 11, 2012

POWFest 2012: THE 90TH MINUTE, NERVES OF STEEL & THE EIGHTH PARALLEL

POWFest comes to a close on Sunday evening with a classic screening of Nora Ephron's 1993 hit Sleepless in Seattle; a quasi-remake of Leo McCarey's (Make Way for Tomorrow) An Affair to Remember. Before that final film runs, there's still several films remaining on Sunday's schedule, including a triad of documentaries on athletes (and, yes, I consider dancers to be athletes--don't you?), most of whom are female.

A still from The 90th Minute

Jun Stinson's short documentary about Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), The 90th Minute, focuses on a Bay Area team, FC Gold Pride. Despite having won the WPS championship in the 2010 season, the team finds themselves on the verge of folding due a lack of funding.

The 90th Minute is only partly concerned with the fate of FC Gold Pride, though. Much of the film is devoted to dialogue on how few opportunities there are for women athletes to compete in professional arena. Stinson traces how the progressive, gender equality provisions of Title IX paved the way for women to play sports in high schools and colleges, eventually leading to the establishment of professional leagues.

It's a solid piece that makes a strong case for the necessity of institutions like WPS; an interview with a mother who feels her daughter has a much wider range of role models to choose from post-exposure to FC Gold Pride is particularly moving.

The 90th Minute Trailer from Jun Stinson on Vimeo.

A still from Nerves of Steel: A Year With the Portland Ballet

Nerves of Steel: A Year With the Portland Ballet is, to be blunt, not a film for newcomers to dance or films on the subject. Having recently seen Pina; a film where absolutely no prior study of dance was necessary to have a deep connection with it, I did hope that Susan Hess Logeals' piece would similarly hook the neophyte as well as those who live and breathe their enthusiasm for balletic form. I may have simply been asking too much of the film.

A still from Nerves of Steel: A Year With the Portland Ballet

What I do know, despite my lack of knowledge on ballet, is that Nerves of Steel comes off more like an advertisement for Portland Ballet than a film about it. For instance, there's a seven-plus minute sequence where Portland Ballet's Nancy Davis and Jim Lane rattle off an inordinately long list of faculty names, flatly describing the talents of each instructor and what it is they provide to their students.

Part of the problem is that the film devotes almost all of its weight to the perspective of the administrators and faculty. Other than a short chunk devoted to asking the kids how long they've been dancing, we're kept at a distance from the very people who embody the subject of the film.

A still from The Eight Parallel

Without a doubt, the most beautiful looking film I've seen at POWFest this year is Darcy Turenne's The Eighth Parallel. With a running time of under thirty minutes, the film is jam-packed with one impressive image after another, never letting up until the final credits roll. The biggest shock: Turenne shot, directed and edited the film without the aid of a crew. This is her debut film; I already want to see more from her.

A still from The Eight Parallel

I'm not usually a fan of films that fall into the extreme sports genre. But The Eighth Parallel plays by a different set of rules than most movies within that category. The film treks through Indonesia in search of women stepping outside of traditional female roles and into the world of extreme athleticism. Turenne compartmentalizes the work into vignettes highlighting each of her interview subjects, inserting sociological and philosophical context between those sections via writings sourced from academic journals.

A still from The Eight Parallel

The Eighth Parallel is a film that succeeds on so many levels. The images, pacing and stories are all combined with a strong sense of purpose. And the aforementioned academic input elevates the work into the territories of the inspirational. If I had a daughter, I'd want her to see The Eighth Parallel.

A still from The Eight Parallel

The Eighth Parallel from Darcy Turenne on Vimeo.

Festival passes can be acquired at this link and tickets for individual screenings can be purchased here.

The 90th Minute, Nerves of Steel: A Year With the Portland Ballet & The Eighth Parallel will screen together at POWFest on Sun., March 11th at 3pm at the Hollywood Theatre.

Friday, March 9, 2012

POWFest 2012: 10,000 TREES, AN ORDINARY LIFE & MARION STODDART: THE WORK OF 1000

Saturday afternoon's POWFest schedule brings a trio of thematically-connected documentaries about individuals whose lives are inextricably linked to their actions on behalf of the natural world. From tree-planting to chronicles of direct activism, the films take a complex view of three people who looked outside of themselves and chose to practice stewardship of the planet's resources.

A still from 10,000 Trees

10,000 Trees tells the story of Victor Kaufmann, a man whose wide-open plot of farmland inspired him to begin planting trees. Sarah Berkovich and Sarah Ginsburg's film catches up with Kaufmann as he is about to plant his 10,000th tree on the property; an accomplishment which Kaufmann's son describes as a "milestone," rather than the end of the journey.

A still from 10,000 Trees

For much of the film, Kaufmann comes off as simplistic in his world view; an assumption that is amply rebutted in a moment where he reads aloud from a letter written to his granddaughter. In the handwritten note, he offers up his understanding of the problems and meager solutions found in this world, showing both self-awareness and humility concerning his own role within that balance.

It's a beautiful moment in a film that already does so many things well; it's exceptionally well edited (note the moment when Kaufmann asks if he should begin describing the environment of his shed), gorgeously shot and contains more than enough air within the piece to really let the story breathe.

10,000 Trees: Teaser-ish from Sarah Ginsburg on Vimeo.

A still from An Ordinary Life

Patricia Somers' An Ordinary Life focuses on Dot Fisher-Smith an octogenarian activist whose consciousness became roused and redirected in the upheaval that was the 1960s protest scene, bringing her to spearhead actions against logging, war, etc. At the same time, Fisher-Smith is a practicing Buddhist whose life philosophy reflects her spiritual search. She's also one hell of a talker, something that becomes abundantly apparent only a few minutes into the film.

A still from An Ordinary Life

An Ordinary Life barely has a second that isn't pushed forward by Dot's scene-grabbing personality. What this delightful character study sometimes lacks in focus, it makes up for in charm, effectively mirroring the woman who is its subject.

An Ordinary Life - Trailer from Patricia Somers on Vimeo.

A still from Marion Stoddart: The Work of 1000

By far, the most inspiring of Saturday afternoon's documentary showcase is Marion Stoddart: The Work of 1000. Susan Edwards and Dorie Clark's impeccably constructed film highlights Marion Stoddart's trailblazing efforts in the mid-1960s to restore the Nashua River, after decades of neglect had left it filled with industrial waste and unusable by the communities through which it ran.

A still from Marion Stoddart: The Work of 1000

Stoddart spearheaded a campaign that began with gathering signatures, eventually forming the Nashua River Watershed Association, paving the way for a monumental reassessment of the manner in which communities, government and industry interacted with that body of water. For all that she accomplished, Stoddart comes across as someone who views herself as ordinary, stating as much for the cameras when discussing how she and her husband met.

A still from Marion Stoddart: The Work of 1000

The subtitle of the film springs from an inspirational quote that Stoddart stumbled upon in a magazine. Most people would have been satisfied enough with reading that "one person can do the work of 1000;" but then, Marion Stoddart is not most people.

Festival passes can be acquired at this link and tickets for individual screenings can be purchased here.

10,000 Trees, An Ordinary Life & Marion Stoddart: The Work of 1000 will screen together at POWFest on Sat., March 10th at 2:30pm at the Hollywood Theatre.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

THE FILMS OF NICOLAS WINDING REFN: FEAR X (2003)

For his third feature, Fear X, Danish-born director Nicolas Winding Refn brings his uniquely effective eye for cinematic violence to America. He couldn't have chosen two more appropriate symbols for the country than the film's setting--a shopping mall--and the violence with which the plot concerns itself; it's located in the past, connoting a history of violence, as well as the dark potential for future mayhem.

Harry Caine (John Turturro) spends his days as a rent-a-cop in a Midwestern shopping mall. He squanders his nights pouring over vhs tapes filled with security footage. What Harry is looking for is an answer to his grief; his wife was murdered in the parking lot of his workplace. He says he's not in search of "who" as much as "why."

With a tightly-wound script written by Refn and novelist Hubert Selby Jr. (Last Exit to Brooklyn, Requiem for a Dream), the film offers little solace to the viewer that such questions will be answered, focusing instead on the obsession and repetition that has supplanted the vitality that one assumes once constituted Harry's existence.

As in Drive (as well as other works by its director), the influence of David Lynch is palpable in Fear X. Refn's co-opting of Lynchian atmospherics doesn't attempt to replicate the great surrealist's works, necessarily. Whereas Lynch employs his stylistic excesses to explore the extremes of human nature, Refn is less interested in the analytical than he is in scenarios and environments that sort individuals into the roles they are compelled to perform.

We're not talking Joseph Campbell here, though; Harry is neither a hero, nor particularly suited to the task that he must complete. He does undertake a journey that, depending on how you read the ending, is either frustratingly literal or symbolic in nature.

And that ending is a humdinger, I tell ya. It's likely to upset the same people who strongly disliked the conclusion of No Country for Old Men. But adventurous film goers (you know who you are); those who love nothing more than a post-screening breakdown of a movie, will be thrilled by what's offered up here.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I enjoyed Fear X more than Drive. BOOM! I said it.

Fear X will screen at the NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium (in the Portland Art Museum) on March 11th at 5pm & March 14th at 7pm. The film is part of the retrospective series, Driven: The Films of Nicolas Winding Refn.

Related links:
The Films of Nicolas Winding Refn: Pusher
The Films of Nicolas Winding Refn: Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands
The Films of Nicolas Winding Refn: Pusher III: I'm the Angel of Death
The Films of Nicolas Winding Refn: Drive

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