Day of Wrath, I Am A Sex Addict, Film Fest, etc.

BMcCauley | 4/12/2007 4:19 pm | Cinematerial

So, I got back from New York on Saturday, hence no posts. It was Spring Break. I had a glorious time. There are many film theaters in the NYC. I did not go to any...but I did watch two films on DVD that I had not seen before. One was CT Dreyer's 1943 film, Day of Wrath. What a film! It was like The Crucible, only less heavy-handed. It actually gave me the same vibe as Bergman's The Virgin Spring, a film I enjoyed. Maybe it was the Scandinavian language and the old-time religous themes. I mean, there weren't that many similarities. Both are beautiful films. I really thought Day of Wrath was beautiful. I remember most the beauty of the lead actress, and how she so quickly turns from her complete innocence to a seductive fearlessness. That was conveyed so well, yet so subtlely. Everything about this film was subtle. I can't believe I hadn't seen it before. The lighting worked so well. Everyone's faces were covered in shadows. And it was actually a scary film. Except the horror arose out of the specter of religion and not any spook in a visible form. Definitely worth a watch.

Another film I saw was Caveh Zahedi's "I Am A Sex Addict". I'd been intrigued by Zahedi for a long time. I hadn't seen any of his work but the premises of his films A Little Stiff and I Don't Hate Vegas Anymore sounded really good. "I Am A Sex Addict", a sort of documentary-fiction film hybrid, was a look back at his lengthy struggle with sex addiction which ended up ruining many of his romantic relationships. I really did not know how to feel about the film. It was strange. Cartoony at times. This is a man who is obsessed with himself and how candid he can be. And candid he was in this film, talking about his visits to prostitutes and the various fantasies he had. In scenes involving drug use, he insisted on taking the actual drugs - in this case, Ecstasy and Mushrooms - before shooting the scenes. I think he's a filmmaker with a lot of energy which is good. I even think he has control. He seems to know what he's doing. But there seemed to be something off about the execution. But maybe not. I mean, I can't cite specific examples of what was wrong with the film, except that apparently this guy is a huge jerk. Should a film be hated because its subject matter was reprehensible? I don't know the answer to that.

Also, in New York, I got my hands on Bazin's What Is Cinema? Volumes I and II. These, supposedly, are crucial books regarding film theory. While in New York, I managed to read the first essay, "The Ontology of the Photographic Image", on the subway, and then drunkenly tried to explain the contents of this essay to my friend Justin that night. It didn't go so well. I really had no idea what I was saying. The next day, I gave the essay a closer reading.

Now, on to the film festival, beginning tonight, I guess. I don't have much to say about these films. I haven't seen any of them and a lot of the films are made by up and comers. Though, the new Lars Van Trier film will be here. Anything by Van Trier, a Dreyer disciple, is worth seeing. I'm most intrigued by the film by Francois Dompierre, All the Days Before Tomorrow, showing on Saturday at MMoCA, at 7:45pm.

So, check it out.

Love,
Brendan

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