A horrific political drama, but also strangely funny at times, The Lives of Others is probably the strongest contender for the foreign film award after Pan’s Labyrinth. I still hold the latter as my favourite, but I was more impressed by this German period piece than I expected beforehand. It’s slow-paced, but never boring, and the acting is wonderful. The plot revolves around a Stasi surveillance officer - superbly played by Ulrich Muhe - who, having no real life of his own, finds himself getting too close to the lives of his subjects and begins to omit obvious acts of dissent from his reports. More than being about a man who has a change of heart, however, it seems to me that this film is about the potential power of art in contributing to social change. One of the very few scenes in which Muhe’s character shows any emotion is when he breaks into tears while listening in on his subject, a famous playwright, playing a Beethoven sonata on the piano. The film is also about the self-fulfilling nature of totalitarian paranoia; if you treat people like criminals, that’s exactly what they will become. I’d elaborate on that, but I don’t want to spoil too much of the plot.
I’m actually having trouble getting this film out of my head. Perhaps in part because I saw it on the same day that the Swedish Legislative Council approved the government’s wiretapping proposal. I used to think such a thing wouldn’t be possible in this country, but by now this just feels like further proof of the new right-wing government’s disdain for its citizens. The Lives of Others may depict a society now gone, but it doesn’t feel all that far away. Isn’t it kind of ironic how all those things that used to characterize totalitarian socialist regimes in the ‘East’ - unwarranted wiretapping, torture and detention without trial - are now becoming all the more common in Western democracies run by right-wing governments? There might be a lesson in here somewhere.
By the way, last month this film was awarded a Guldbagge (golden beetle) as the best foreign film at the Swedish equivalent of the Oscars. Well deserved, since Pan’s Labyrinth didn’t come here until this week.
Oscar nominee: Best Foreign Language Film, Cinematography, Original Screenplay, Original Score, Art Direction
What can I say? This film is simply magnificent. I know it’s been hyped to death, but for good reason. Films like this don’t come around too often. It seems to me that most of the negative comments found on message boards and such are from people who expected it to be something other than it is, and this is exactly why I prefer to know as little as possible about a film before I see it. I had no idea what I was in for with this, and I was completely blown away by this heart-wrenching tale about a little girl trying to escape a terrifying reality by creating her own fantasy world. I did not expect this. Especially not from the man behind Hellboy (although, looking at Guillermo del Toro’s filmography I see that he also made The Devil’s Backbone, which was pretty good and which this film, in retrospect, is slightly reminiscent of). It’s a horrifying and violent story with elements of a magical fairytale. The wonderful cinematography gives the film that extra something as well. I honestly can’t think of a single negative thing to say about this film, so this’ll be my first top rating since I started blogging. Definitely my choice for the Best Foreign Language Film award. Best film overall, probably, if only it was nominated. I wish del Toro would spend more time making films like this instead of those ridiculous comics.
The Oscar race continues with Algeria’s contribution to the “Best Foreign Language Film” category. While I’m getting pretty bored with American films about the Second World War - or any war for that matter - this one by French-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb offers something fresh as it’s told from an entirely new perspective. Where I went to school, we certainly weren’t tought that men from the French colonies in North Africa went in large numbers to Europe to fight for the “motherland”. Indigènes tells the story of a few of these men, and how they fought and died for a country that couldn’t care less about them. Unlike most Hollywood productions, which can sometimes be critical of their own government but never ever of the army itself (see my comments on This Film is Not Yet Rated), this film depicts how the Africans were considered second-class soldiers and were constantly denied even the smallest of privileges given to the other French soldiers.
The entire film is a political statement, and I can’t remember ever seeing a war film so critical of a system that is still in power. I am, of course, referring to the fact that these soldiers still haven’t received the recognition they deserve, and that those who are still alive today are still being denied their pensions that were frozen in 1959. Despite an order to pay the pensions in full in 2002, the French government has yet to make any payments to the remaining veterans. I don’t know how this film has been received in France, but I can only hope it manages to create enough buzz to make something happen. It could very well be a good start in relieving some of the frustration and alienation felt by many people of North African descent in France today.
But I digress. All politics aside, Indigènes is a very well acted and well directed film. The battle scenes are naturalistic, and the mellow Arabic-sounding music is a nice change from the pompous orchestral scores usually found in this type of film. While I don’t see this one beating Pan’s Labyrinth for the Oscar, it’s definitely a worthy nominee. A forgotten piece of European history restored.
Now when the Oscar nominations have been announced, I will officially kick off my second annual Oscar Race. I managed to see quite a few of the ‘important’ nominees before last year’s ceremony, but I’m still hoping to beat that number this year. Considering the fact that some films (e.g. Blood Diamond) won’t reach Sweden until soon after the ceremony, I won’t be able to see all the films I want to see, nor will I have the time, but I’ll do my best. Since I’m planning to make a trip soon - not sure where yet - I just might be able to see one or two of those not-yet-arrived-here films then. I know I probably shouldn’t even bother, and I normally hate awards shows (except for the MTV ones, which used to be kinda fun, but lately they’ve all sucked, which makes perfect sense since MTV itself sucks), but I’ve always liked the Oscars for some reason. It’s a fun show, and it’s even more fun when you’ve seen most of the big films and get all those puns. By the way, I have no idea who’s the host this year. Someone new again?
Here are this year’s nominees, listed in alphabetical order. The ones I’ve already seen have titles in bold and are followed by my rating. As for the rest, I’m going to prioritise watching films with nominations in the heavier categories first. This post will remain my one Oscar Race entry, so the list below will be updated as I see more films. I will also comment on the films in separate entries though.
After the Wedding (3)
Apocalypto Babel (4)
The Black Dahlia Blood Diamond (3 ½)
Borat Cars (3) Children of Men (4) Click (2)
Curse of the Golden Flower The Departed (2 ½) The Devil Wears Prada (2 ½)
Dreamgirls
Flags of Our Fathers
The Good German
The Good Shepherd Half Nelson (4) Happy Feet (2)
The Illusionist
Indigènes (Days of Glory) (4) The Last King of Scotland (3 ½)
Letters From Iwo Jima Little Children (2 ½) Little Miss Sunshine (4) The Lives of Others (4 ½)
Marie Antoinette Monster House (3 ½)
Notes on a Scandal Pan’s Labyrinth (5) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (3) Poseidon (1) The Prestige (3) The Pursuit of Happyness (3) The Queen (4) Superman Returns (2)
United 93 Venus (1) Volver (3)
Water
Documentaries:
Deliver Us From Evil
An Inconvenient Truth
Iraq in Fragments Jesus Camp
My Country, My Country
I don’t really believe in reviewing documentaries, so this post is more of a personal discussion of the subject matter of this film. Now, you’d think a person living in Sweden wouldn’t care much about how films are rated in the US, but to tell you the truth, I’ve been annoyed with this for quite some time. I’ll explain why later on, but first I’d like to say something about the things Kirby Dick brings up in his documentary.
As the film makes clear, the MPAA has some serious issues regarding sex and sexuality. This is hardly a surprise, considering the general taboo surrounding this subject in American media and society, but what’s really interesting is how they distinguish between different aspects and forms of sexuality. It’s painfully obvious that the MPAA not only is uncomfortable with homosexuality, but with female sexuality in general. A fully clothed girl masturbating caused a film to be rated NC-17, while American Pie, which came out just before and featured the main character fucking an apple pie on the kitchen table, his naked ass fully visible, received the lower R rating. Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
Kimberly Peirce, the director of Boys Don’t Cry, explains how her film received an NC-17 rating not because of the scene where Brandon is shot in the head and blood sprays on the wall, but because of an orally induced female orgasm lasting too long (camera strictly on face), Hilary Swank wiping her mouth afterwards, and an anal rape scene. Ok for the rape scene, but the others? No reasons were ever given, other than the scenes being “offensive”. Offensive to whom, I wonder. And that’s just the thing; the MPAA refuses to reveal the identities of their rating board members. Thanks to the private investigator Dick hired to lurk outside the MPAA building, though, we now know that they’re not at all who they’re supposed to be. Jack Valenti, creator of the rating system, has claimed that all the board members are parents of children between the ages of 5 to 17, but as it turns out, that description only fits a couple of the board members. Why is this relevant? Well, one might wonder why a bunch of old, filthy rich Republicans should be the only ones deciding what’s appropriate for today’s kids to watch.
The point of the ratings is to serve as guidelines to parents regarding what’s appropriate for their children to see. Now, can somebody please tell me why it’s more damaging for a kid to see a woman’s pubic hair for a fraction of a second and hear some foul language (as in what forced The Cooler to be re-edited to avoid the NC-17 rating) than it is to see a bunch of people getting brutally tortured and murdered (as in R rated horror films like Hostel)? If you think that films can influence your kids’ behaviour, what would be the worst scenario; that they have sex or that they kill somebody? Kevin Smith makes an excellent point, as well, when he argues that the kind of realistic violence seen in films such as Saving Private Ryan should be rated lower than the bloodless, no-consequences violence from most action films - not the other way around, as is the case today.
The documentary also points out some interesting (and scary) things about war movies and the way they are likely to have shaped public opinion in the US throughout the past half-century. It was certainly news to me that in order to allow use of military assets for such films, the Pentagon demands to read the scripts and takes out anything that could possibly make the military look bad. A representative of the Pentagon is also present during the production to make sure everything is done the way they agreed. No wonder all American war films are so intolerably patriotic. The critical ones are never made, because they’re not allowed to be.
So, finally, why do I care about all this? Well, it’s pretty obvious that these ratings often affect the content of the films being released, and I’m not amused by the way they interact with economic interests. In order to have the biggest potential audience, a film should have a PG-13 rating, so many films are edited down to be suitable for young teens, or, which is worse, they’re made with this in mind from the beginning, thus leaving out anything potentially challenging. The result is that we end up with most big films being unnecessarily bland and uninteresting. Moreover, since the MPAA doesn’t like “deviant sexual behaviour”, the only gay characters young audiences ever get to see are either asexual or being made fun of. What exactly is it about Brokeback Mountain that warrants an R rating? For the sake of comparison, the recommended age to see this film in Sweden is seven (or any age when accompanied by a parent).
Not only do the ratings influence what films look like, they can also decide what kinds of films are made in the first place. I bet it happens every day that studios reject good scripts merely for concerns about marketability. In the documentary, Ms Pierce claims that the studio wouldn’t release Boys Don’t Cry with an NC-17 rating, so she was forced to re-edit it in order for it to be released at all. For us over here in small European countries with a more limited number of cinemas, a high rating can indirectly decide whether or not a film makes its way here. A high rating means it’s harder to market and gets a narrower release, resulting in it being more likely to be overlooked by foreign distributors. Nowadays, these films usually appear as straight-to-DVD releases after a while, but most of them pass by pretty much unnoticed. I can only wonder how many good independent films I’ve missed over the years because of this. Because it’s always the independent films that get the worst treatment by the MPAA, the reason for which is pretty obvious when it’s revealed who the secret members of the appeals board are.
Now, I should better finish this long and probably tedious rant here. If you’re the least bit interested in film, I’d highly recommend you watch this documentary. And if you’ve seen it already, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Perhaps you disagree with all this?
2006 was a pretty good year for music as far as I’m concerned. Lots of good releases from old and new artists. It feels like the best year in a long time, but perhaps it was just that I was more active in looking up new music this year? I say this because this was the year I realised the potential of sites like Last.fm. While the music press seems ever so busy hyping promising artists to self-implosion, I find that these places are much more useful for finding new music. By looking at what my “neighbours” listen to, I’ve found lots of new stuff, two albums of which have made their way onto my list of this year’s best albums (at #6 and #1). I have a feeling I will be using that site a lot more in 2007. Anyway, here’s my list of the top ten albums of 2006; entirely subjective and probably very different from yours. I’d love to hear other suggestions, though, so if I missed something you think I might like - or not - feel free to leave a comment! I’ll provide links to samples or videos when available. Some only have amateur-made videos, but put to high quality audio, so just ignore those videos and listen to the music. The point is to give those of you who are unfamiliar with an artist a chance to hear it.
#10
Laibach - Volk
I’m somewhat ambivalent about putting this one on the list, as it’s not really an album I can listen to like I would any other album. The best way to describe it is probably as an exhibition of political art in music form, and as such, it requires a lot more brain activity than “normal” music does. Thirteen national anthems have been interpreted in more or less typical Laibach manner, and each track appears to be a deconstruction of the current political state of the nation in question. The anthems’ actual lyrics are mixed with Laibach’s own additions which often appear to aim for drawing out the true, underlying meanings of the original anthems. It’s often confrontational, which should be of no surprise to anyone who’s ever heard of Laibach, but there’s no reason for anybody to be offended by their country being one of the targets of Laibach’s cold satire. This isn’t the place to do into detail on the political philosophy of this album, but it is a relevant commentary on how we live today; united in and divided by nations. The Slovenian industrial pioneers have created an album that is so much more than music, and for that, Volk (”people” in German, “wolf” in Slovene - both are appropriate titles) deserves to be mentioned among the best albums of 2006.
This was a really hard album to get into. I don’t know why, because I had a great time listening to several of these songs at a concert last year. Feeling bored during my first listen, I let it be for a couple of months, and it took a few more tries to really get into it. It’s still not often that I’m in the mood for Dylan’s new retro country blues, but when I am, it’s a glorious album to listen to. The old man still has it in him, but somebody should really tell him he needs to stop pretending he isn’t political. Working Man’s Blues #2 should be proof enough.
#8
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
As one who really enjoys the more electronic and experimental Radiohead of recent years, how could I not enjoy this as well? I grew up listening to electro and ambient techno long before I became interested in guitar-based music, so I’ve had no reason to join in the rock crowd’s whining about Radiohead “not writing songs anymore”. Having said that, The Eraser is not nearly as good as Radiohead’s latest, but it’s still a pretty interesting solo effort. Analyse is definitely one of my favourite songs from this year, but the album does have a few weaker tracks as well. It’s an album that requires a certain mood to be enjoyable, but the same goes for most of the stuff on this list.
Video: Analyse (amateur video, but the clips from Requiem for a Dream fit rather well)
#7
Stuart A. Staples - Leaving Songs
Probably one of the most overlooked albums of the year. Staples is more commonly known as the singer of Tindersticks, and considering how much this sounds like a Tindersticks album, it’s almost weird that he made it under his own name (as far as I know, the band is still together). In any case, this album features some really good songs, and the epic opening track Goodbye to Old Friends sounds like classic story-telling a là Tindersticks. Other highlights are the duets with female guest vocalists, including Maria McKee. If there’s anything that betrays this as not being a Tindersticks album, it’s probably the relative lack of strings in favour of more “country feeling”.
The most unexpected album of the year? I would think so. Beirut, or Zach Condon, has taken the best parts of my favourite folk music, the Balkan/Romani kinds, and created his own somewhat poppier version. It’s a lovely sound he has created here, and a little more easy listening than the “genuine” folk I’m used to. As if the music isn’t enough to take me back, reading the story (at 4AD) of how Condon fell in love with this type of music while travelling in Europe as a teenager, I’m reminded of my own first encounter with the Balkans and its culture about a decade ago. For me, that was the start of a still ongoing love affair, so it’s easy to sympathise with Condon’s ambition. The only thing I don’t get is why on earth he calls himself Beirut with such obvious Central and Eastern European influences. But I suppose that’s just another ironic touch. I sense a lot of those on this album.
This Swedish sibling duo was one of the critics’ favourites this year, and this album certainly is an excellent piece of electronic pop music. While I found their previous albums a tad too poppy at times, this slightly darker (some have said it’s very dark, but I wonder what else those people listen to) album is a real gem. Hard beats and soft melodies meet in alternating harmony and dissonance. Not much else to say but that this is a smart reinvention of 80s esque synthpop.
#4
Siddharta - Petrolea
Ok, so it’s a pretty straightforward alternative rock album, but it’s a damn good one at that. It’s less experimental than their last two albums, but all the energy is still there. Siddharta have been able to enjoy some success outside of their homeland in recent years, but, thankfully, this album is all in Slovene. I’ve never liked the English versions of their songs, as Tomi M’s voice sounds too hard and forced in English, not to mention that the lyrics are better and more complex in Slovene. It’s a beautiful language, so there’s no reason why people around the world with open minds shouldn’t be able to enjoy the music anyway. By the way, Plastika has what is probably the silliest video of the year, but it’s nice with a band that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Of all the countless Current 93 albums released over the past twenty or so years, this one is definitely in my top three. Black Ships Ate the Sky revolves around an 18th century hymn, Idumaea, which is featured no less than eight times on the album, each time performed by a different vocalist. Now, in any other case, it would probably be a bore to have eight out of the album’s 21 tracks being versions of the same song, but that’s part of the genius of this album; every interpretation is so different that you could hardly tell they’re based on the same hymn had it not been for the lyrics. I probably like Baby Dee’s harp version the best, but they’re all good. Other guests include, among others, Marc Almond, Will Oldham (Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy), Antony (…and the Johnsons) and Cosey Bella Tutti (Throbbing Gristle). Still, my favourite parts of the album are the ones featuring David Tibet himself. His lyrics are as mystical and captivating as ever, and I still love the way his vocals sound more like he’s telling a story or reciting poetry than singing. Can’t say I’m too fond of this term, but Black Ships Ate the Sky really is “apocalyptic folk” at its best.
#2
Woven Hand - Mosaic
This is Woven Hand’s most intense album yet. The incredibly suggestive Winter Shaker makes me shiver of delight and uneasiness at the same time, and the mix of folkish arrangements give the album a very special atmosphere. David Eugene Edwards’ introspective lyrics dwell in the same realms as usual; salvation and damnation, hope and despair, faith and love. Split up into separate tracks, it feels like there are less real “songs” on Mosaic than on Edwards’ previous albums, but the album as a whole creates a tiny folkloristic world of its own, full of mystery. Gloomy as it may be, it’s a place I find myself wanting to return to often.
Video: Dirty Blue (live footage - unfortunately without the folk arrangements from the album)
#1
Asobi Seksu - Citrus
Two weeks ago, I had never heard of Asobi Seksu (which I hear translates into something like “playful sex” or “sex for fun”), and while making this little list I thought a lot about if I could really bring myself to put such a newly discovered album as number one. Novelty sometimes wears off quickly. The thing is, though, that it’s such a rare occurence for me to hear something for the first time and think to myself “holy shit, this is good!” right away. The first song (not counting the 17-second intro track) already had me spellbound with its nostalgic sounding shoegaze, and it only got better from there. Sure, it can be argued that their sound isn’t very original as it’s very reminiscent of old shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, but I love those bands, and Asobi Seksu feel to me like they’ve taken all the good things from their influences and created a faster-paced update of a genre I thought was long dead and forgotten. It also doesn’t hurt that Yuki Chikudate has the voice of an angel and blends in some Japanese vocals now and then. In fact, the only thing that could possibly make this album any better is if all the lyrics were in Japanese. I just love the sound of it. To sum things up, this is a brilliant collection of well-written songs with dreamy pop melodies. While most of the other music on this list is rather melancholic and, as such, quite reflective of my general mindset and personality, Citrus makes me happy. I thank the Internet community for my discovery of it - to think that I found such a gem just by poking around in one of my Last.fm neighbours’ playlist!
Video: Thursday (dull video, but the song makes up for it)
Honourable mentions (albums that were either in the running or that I would need to listen more to):
Tom Waits - Orphans
Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Lisa Gerrard - The Silver Tree
Das Ich - Cabaret
Six Organs Of Admittance - The Sun Awakens
There’s so much I would like to say about this travesty of democracy, but since I’m too annoyed right now to be the slightest tactful, I suggest you go read what someone smarter than me has to say about this sad ordeal instead. Hats off to Robert Fisk and Glenn Greenwald for expressing what I feel but lack the skill to write. Oh, and thanks to Vash, of course, for pointing me to their articles in the first place.
Just one thing, though; I’m not one to sympathise with dictators, but those morons on CNN and their endless gloating make it pretty hard not to. This isn’t the first time they’ve made me feel bad for the guy, either (the link I intended to put here didn’t work for some reason, but I’m referring to the humiliating cavity search footage). I was rather happy to see Pinochet go the other day (apart from the fact that his crimes were never officially recognised), but then again, he wasn’t murdered in the name of this so-called democracy we’re all supposed to worship unconditionally.
If this really was a murder to end all murders, I could possibly let it slide, but I think we all know that this is not the case, nor will there ever be such a case.
I’m just going to have to accept the fact that I won’t have time to keep this thing updated for the rest of the month, so this is where I say Merry Christmas and all that. No matter how you celebrate it, if at all, I hope you’ll have a good one. As for me, I’m just going to my parents’ house for a nice old secular dinner, hopefully without any major conflicts. Like most Swedish holidays, Christmas, or “jul” (as in Yuletide) as we call it, is more pagan than Christian. At least it has always been so in my eyes.
I’ll return around new year’s with a bunch of “best of 2006″ lists. Speaking of which, I think I actually may have stumbled upon the album of the year today. Fucking awesome.
Woven Hand at Debaser Medis, Stockholm, December 4. (photo from rockfoto.nu)
It’s a rare but wonderful thing when you can see the same band several times and yet be offered very different experiences every time. The first time I saw Woven Hand, it was just David Eugene Edwards alternating between a guitar and a banjo. The second time, he had found himself a drummer, and now, the third time, he was accompanied not only by his drummer and a second guitarist, but also by bassist Pascal Humbert from his old band 16 Horsepower. So as an old 16HP fan, I was in for a treat. And they didn’t disappoint. The sound was heavier than ever before, which gave the highly suggestive songs from the latest album a real edge. The only downside was that the massive sound drowned out Edwards’ vocals at times, and the real highlight for me was, after all, the first encore with just Edwards on stage, playing a couple of 16HP songs. The photo above does well to capture the mood of that part of the show. The only thing that bothered me was that some people got the idea to clap their hands through the intro to Black Soul Choir. I mean, seriously, despite the relative catchiness of that tune, this is not the kind of music you clap along with. Somebody posted a video of that first minute on YouTube in case you’d like to have a look. Anyway, all things considered, this was a terrific gig. I’ll be eagerly awaiting their return.
If you’re not already familiar with Woven Hand or 16 Horsepower, you’re missing out on some of the best music made since Joy Division were around. And don’t let yourself be put off by Edwards’ deeply religious lyrics. His approach is entirely different than that of any other Christian musician you’ve ever heard, and even I - the ultimate atheist - think it adds to the experience. For an introduction to 16HP via YouTube, check out this and this.
Sorry about the long silence. Two essay deadlines are fast approaching, plus I have a bunch of other stuff to finish. So, you can expect more posts some time next week. In the meantime, I would like to offer you a little taste of what I’m going to see on Sunday. That’s right; it’s concert time. Haven’t been to one since the Bob Dylan gig last year, I think. Anyway, enjoy:
