Taiwan Night Market (2018)

I made something.

An experimental documentary filmed in Monterey Park on February 3rd 2018. I've always felt at home in Monterey Park, a small patch of Chinese hills in the San Gabriel Valley, catty-cornered to East LA. Where vastly different cultures are separated by one or two blocks. Home of ghost malls and pastel treats. Boba shops are like check points and restaurants are open 24 hours a day.

I've always loved walking down Garvey street and admiring the buildings and aromas with the soundtrack of Mandarin chattering. So I decided to turn a camera on and film it at least once.

https://vimeo.com/268862961

Carlos Castaneda: Enigma of a Sorcerer (2004)

I'm telling you guys, Hulu is a hotbed of unexplored terrain. I'm not sure what their process of choosing what to stream is but if you dig around a little, it's chocked full of the weirdies. I stumbled upon this Castaneda documentary with every intention of giving it a serious viewing that would potentially lead to my learning something. Before I proceed, let me just say that I'm only familiar with Castaneda by reputation. I know he was a writer, turned guru. I know he took psychedelics and found some enlightenment, a subject I'm always open to. I knew of the character Don Juan, but nothing specific. I was hoping Enigma of a Sorcerer would clear a few things up

As a documentary, this film is a failure. Made by a former follower of the Shaman, a group of fringey kooks talk about what it was like to study under Carlos Castaneda. As the film immediately loses focus, I remained in a state of confusion for the duration of the documentary. I thought less and less of him as the film went on. An over-sexed flaky false prophet. The followers themselves are more fascinating, particularly "The Witches", who were basically his wives. There was one librarian-looking lady with a turtleneck and a prince valiant Church bob who tells some amusing stories with the haze of someone who'd been recently probed by aliens.

I love her.

The dialog was tangent-like and expresses conflicting views from person to person. Not in an unbiased journalistic way. I sensed that the filmmaker himself hadn't made up his mind about the time he spent with Castaneda. There was a huge portion of the film dedicated to whether or not anyone should be sad that he's dead. No one seemed to like him, except for his harem. Castaneda's views weren't fully formed, or at least that's how it sounds coming from the mouths of his students. I walked away viewing him more as a cult leader than a Shaman. The stories of toxic competitive relationships between the witches and his inaccurate descriptions of the harsh desert environment paints him to be nothing but a hack. Was Carlos Castaneda just a failed L. Ron Hubbard?

The rave-like graphics swirling behind the speakers are perfection. This was made in 2004 but reads as a hard '98. I felt like I was staring at the cover of an "Adventures Unlimited" book under the influence of ecstasy for an hour and a half. The techno-spiritual music with Native American chants in the background needs to be coming out of my speakers right NOW. If you have any interest in strange science, outsider fringe videos, if love that episode of Tim and Eric's Awesome Show "The Universe" or if you're just a fan of outdated computer graphics, you might want to give this a shot. It certainly kept me entertained.

Das Triadisches Ballett (1970)

I always felt that ballet was the art of pushing the human body to move naturally in unnatural ways. Das Triadisches does the opposite, these dancers are stiff and inorganic. They glide around like little wind-up toys. Putting you under hypnosis in a minimalist waltz. Developed by Bauhaus mastermind Oskar Schlemmer, who has painting, sculpting, choreography and all areas of design to his credit. He was hired as the Master of Form at the Bauhaus Theater Workshop in 1922. He choreographed many ballets in his duration, Das Triadisches being the most famous.

Translating to "the Triadic Ballet", it unfolds in three parts which can be distinguished by colors and high evocative costumes. Almost unreal geometric figures that's mobility feels rooted in some kind of dark magic. In 1970 is was made into a 29 minute color film directed by Marianne Hasting, Franz Schombs and Georg Verden with a contemporary score by Erich Ferstl.

Part one features a sunshine yellow background with robot-like figures and a faceless ballerina. Emoting a clinical and space-age vibe.

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Part two features a very bubblegum inspired pink background and more humanoids...

The male figure looks like a buff Ultraman.

She is too cool for words.

My favorite dance, still part of the second act...

She's like a confectionary work of folk art. Gumdrop skirt and headdress. The music in the sequence is absolutly perfect. I imagine little children in the Bavarian Forest would play with these toys on Christmas day, or something terribly charming like that.

Part three, all in black, possible the most dramatic, expressive and frightening of the three....

This amazing get-up reminds me of a snail, or something aquatic. Maybe she's Venus? There's something mysterious and goddess-like about her.

Then there's these terrifying warrior figures - or at least that's what they seem like to me. Somewhere in between a luchador, a Roman mercenary and a Japanese masked hero - these guys are 100 % no-bullshit. Don't mess with them.

Then we have possibly the most dangerous looking costume. I say this because no one will convince me that her tutu and head piece is not made out of razor wire. In my perception, this black cloaked world is like a very dangerous game of chess and she is the queen. She WILL fuck you up, like a wasp, she was programmed by aliens to destroy us all. God help us.

There is no escape, you are going to die.

The segment ends with this animated figure, which I haven't decided if he represents failure. The inevitable captivity of the player, or if he represents the player himself. You've failed so now you're apart of the world, stuck in a motionless statue.

Of course nothing I've said is true. It's just how watching this makes me feel, which I love. It's one of my favorite things I've seen all year. It experiments with time and movement. I'm convinced that I've fallen into this world of giant dancing toys, like some kind of Bauhausian Wonderland. Filled with both enchanting beings and ghastly villains.



Oskar Schlemmer seemed to have influenced a lot of things I love. Notably my favorite of David Bowie's 70's looks...

On the left, Schlemmer's costume from the early 20's, on the right Bowie wearing a strikingly similar costume by Kansai Yamamoto.

Bowie's Bauhaus inspired boxy tuxedo (Nomi on the right)

Klaus Nomi's iconic simplified German Expressionist version, which I prefer.



And there's something about the ballet that feels like a live action Piotr Kamler film, particularly my favorite of his shorts, One Ephemeral Mission.

And lastly I'm convinced that it influenced Barry Levinson's Toys, particularly Joan Cusack's character...

I promise to review this movie some day. I have plenty to say about it and I want to take no less than 200 screen grabs.

These all have flutters of beauty that are rooted in the Bauhaus movement and at the center is Oskar Schlemmer and his contributions. I couldn't recommend this short film more. So if you please, pour yourself a beverage and take a half hour break from your day to enjoy this quizzical objet d'art.