Always guilt

A visit to the movie theatre together with the woman of Saturday's chat.

Of course the film that had to be seen was "Inception" by director and writer Christopher Nolan.
With Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page.

It is the story of a thief that can be hired.
To enter the minds of people and return with secrets.
Or to enter the minds of persons and change the way they think about something.
The way into the minds is by dreaming.
Both the thief and the victim need to be asleep for the process to be effective.

An interesting concept although this method exists as long as there are human beings.

One very good thing of this film "Inception" is that it doesn't approach the audience as if they were dummies.
It is a highly intelligent film and it invites to make a brain effort to understand what is happening in the film.

Obviously the director and the producers believed this was also a weak point of the film.
Because the Hollywood philosophy is that for a film to be successful, it must make money to return the investment and a profit.
Because they believe most people are stupid, a film must not be too intelligent.
In the film "Inception" they have answered this challenge by putting in a lot of violence, destruction and aggression.
To entertain those customers who can't follow the details of the complicated story.

All this violence, destruction and aggression is totally unnecessary for the story of the film.
But it makes "Inception" a box office hit and nobody seems to have a problem with that.

The bottom line of the film is far more interesting then all the violence, destruction and aggression.
It is very similar to the theme of Steven Soderbergh's 2002 film "Solaris" with George Clooney.
A man had a relationship with a woman who committed suicide.
Next, the man starts to feel guilty.
And spends his life trying to deal with that guilt.

In the film "Inception" the thief, Leonardo DiCaprio, goes to sleep to dream and enter the mind and the dream of the victim.
To do a good job he can't of course be disturbed and distracted by issues from his private life while on duty.
And this is of course exactly what happens.
Like in "Solaris", the woman that committed suicide appears in the dream and sabotages therefore the job.
Only because of the man's feeling of guilt.

The ending of "Inception" is similar to "Solaris" as well.
The man has to decide to return to his current life or stay in a dream that is like life together with the woman.
And surprise, surprise, in both films the man stays with the woman.
The feelings of guilt are not resolved.
Instead an escape of those feelings is made by staying in a dream world.

Writer and director Christopher Nolan better sends a box of chocolate to Steven Soderbergh with a thank you note.


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A good film in bed

One of the exquisite pleasures of being with someone in love, harmony and peace is to watch together in bed a good film.
Curled up and caressing while the plot of the film unfolds.

This privileged experience gets even more excellence when the film is more than just a good movie.
Like the one of last night:
"Das Leben der Anderen" made by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

It is a story that plays in Autumn 1984 in the time East Germany was called the DDR.
The German Democratic Republic.
A country that only existed thanks to the Soviets and was ruled with an iron fist by Honnecker and his bandits who were responsible for making their country a totalitarian state.
Where there was not much freedom and a secret service, called the Stasi, that was controlling everybody.
People lived constantly in paranoia and were unable to protest the miserable circumstances they had to live in.

In this dramatic context the film "Das Leben der Anderen" tells the story of a well-known author of books and theater plays who revolts against the rulers that are celebrating him as a great and political correct writer.
The illegal activities of the author are discovered by a Stasi agent who monitors each moment of the life of the author and his girlfriend.
But this Stasi agent meets his morality.
He has his political opinions that are in solidarity with the socialist regime he works for.
But in the process, he develops sympathy and other human feelings for the couple he is monitoring and trying to frame.
Eventually, he protects them and contributes to the rescue of them and to the fall of the DDR.

The film "Das Leben der Anderen" is a fantastic film.
Very well made.
Great actors.
Fabulous story.
Strong emotions.
No wonder it won numerous awards.
Including an Oscar as best foreign film.
Quite an achievement because the film "Das Leben der Anderen" was the debut of the director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Nevertheless, it must be realized that this movie reaches a rather small audience.
Compared to most Hollywood movies.
In order to grasp the essential of this movie, one must have some geographical and historical knowledge.
Educated Europeans therefore have access to the film and are able to clearly understand the story but one may wonder how deep this film can go with educated people in the USA, Japan, China and other countries uninformed and disinterested in recent European history.
Most likely is that they will never see this film as it will not show in a movie theatre near where they live.
Nor that they would be interested in a film about the German Democratic Republic about which they hardly know anything.
Hence, we have a situation that we have a marvelous and great film and that most people worldwide only see Hollywood garbage.

The girlfriend experience

Having to wait for Mr. Ferguson who has to rebuild the Fuso Szulc and needs over six weeks to do so offers exceptional opportunities.

Like waking up at the usual very early hour because daylight comes in our lives in California, USA at six.
But now able to have another hour of sleep because waiting for Mr. Ferguson.
The extra hour of light sleep where dreams are able to enter the consciousness bringing messages inspired by desires and the imagination and the sub consciousness.
Short films of an often dramatic kind for violence, sexuality, love and beauty.
The whole ratamacue explained and visualised in a dream that can be remembered clearly and therefore enjoyed, hated or appreciated.

A hole in the wall to peek behind the scenes of the own existence.

To see the truth about the animal and the angel both living in the same place.

Another advantage of having to wait for Mr. Ferguson is that finally there is time to see a movie in a cinema.

Recently the experience of seeing the latest Jim Jarmusch film “Limits of control” in Solana Beach was shared with the fervent and loyal blog readers.
And then today the latest film of Steven Soderbergh titled “The Girlfriend Experience” .

For some years Steven Soderbergh has been considered one of the more interesting US film makers.
Especially his film “Solaris” is considered a fabulous movie.
Produced by James Cameron.
In the Fuso Szulc is only one DVD.
Of Soderbergh’s “Solaris”.
That is watched at least once a year.
It is such a good film.
A beautiful, beautiful love story.
With fascinating music by Cliff Martinez.

The most recent film of Soderbergh “The Girlfriend Experience” is not playing nationwide in the USA.
It can be downloaded from the internet.
Or one has to go to selected theatres.
Like the Hillcrest Cinemas on 5th Avenue in San Diego.
That makes a fan drive many miles just to see a movie of a film maker admired.

What is this film “The Girlfriend Experience” about?

It is the story of an escort girl.
Who has a website.
To get clients.
Who she meets, pleases and allows to fuck her beautiful body.
While emotionally only pretending.
In other words, a prostitute.

She lives with a boyfriend.
Who knows about her activities.
And seems not to have a problem with it.

So far so good.
As good can be in these circumstances.

After one hour in the 90 minutes movie, finally problems arise.
The prostitute seems to get more involved with a customer than the boyfriend can accept.
Finally some drama and an issue justifying the film and the admission fee to the movie theatre.

But even this more or less dramatization remains as much to the surface as the words I love you coming from a prostitute.

In “The Girlfriend Experience” much of the time people are eating together, like in French movies, and talk.
Intellectualizing an issue that could be of huge emotional impact.

In other words: the movie is shit.
A total disappointment.
And only one person responsible: Steven Soderbergh.
Not though the principal actress.
Sasha Grey who played in porno movies before Soderbergh got horny.
Acting in a natural and convincing way.

Her participation in “The Girlfriend Experience” reflects her evolvement.
From porno to posh.
While synchronically the “The Girlfriend Experience” is about a prostitute who tries to get more high class and better paying customers.
While opening her wall to have possibly get a guy in her emotional life that pays better than her boyfriend.

What is the coldest shower of “The Girlfriend Experience” is its end.
Although the prostitute wants to move up the social ladder, the final scenes are her going into a Jewish delicatesse shop.
The Jewish orthodox shopkeeper goes with her in the anteroom.
They talk and we understand they know each other.
They undress more or less and then only hold each other resulting in the orthodox Jew to have an orgasm.

Soderbergh, Soderbergh.
Check your dreams between 6 and 7 am.



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"The limits of control"

Jim Jarmusch is a 56-year-old man from Ohio, United States.



His mother was a reviewer of film and theatre for the Akron Beacon Journal before marrying his father, a businessman who worked for the B.F. Goodrich Company.
The middle of three children, Jarmusch was an avid reader in his youth, with an interest in literature encouraged by his grandmother.
He was introduced to the world of cinema by his mother, who would leave him at a local theatre to watch matinee double features such as “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and “Creature From the Black Lagoon” while she ran errands.

Now, of course, Jim Jarmusch is a filmmaker.

Yesterday, in the movie theatre of Solana Beach, that has the worst projection in the world, the latest film by Jim Jarmusch was seen.
Titled “The limits of control”.

In case you like Hollywood films, the advice is not to go and see “The limits of control”.
You might find that film boring and not making sense.

The story is about an African man that has come to Spain.
He is a hit man.
And has the assignment to kill an important person.
This he does successfully and next he returns to his ordinary life.

A story costing 50 cents.
However, Jim Jarmusch uses this story to tell something else.
“Reality is arbitrary” says one of the characters in the film.
And this is what the 2-hour film is all about.
The perception decides what the reality is.

Another character in the film, a Mexican, says that he is more interested in the reflection than in what is reflected.

When a filmmaker goes that way, the possibilities are limitless.
There is a detachment of what we all together consider as reality and we enter a new version of it.
The Jim Jarmusch reality.

Is that an interesting one?
Most of the time not.
Because it remains all within very reasonable boundaries.
Rarely does it become, illogic, abstract or surrealistic.
This explains why the film is in a regular US movie theatre.
It is a different and strange movie but not too much to be unable to be commercial.

So, the excitement is not coming too much from the pseudo reality Jarmusch is offering us.
It comes much more to simply BE in that extra reality.
It makes the spectator feel different.
Special.
Outside of the claws of society.

The film is the most impressive after it is finished and the moviegoer leaves the theatre.
The film is still too strong in the existence and for a while it feels to be in that Jarmusch reality while physically in today’s world.
A temporary cocoon.
Melting by the fumes of the passing cars.



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