A Fourth Of July Program

A suggested film program for the most patriotic time of year:

First Cow

Underground Railroad (2021)

Matewan

I'm Not There

The Fog (1980)

Do The Right Thing

And off-ramps, detours, scenic routes:

Kiss Me Deadly

God Told Me To

Moonrise Kingdom

Wild At Heart

Southland Tales

Inherent Vice

Fuller February

In celebration of the cinema iconoclast Samuel Fuller - and my pile of his movies that needed attention - this month was Fuller February! Below is what I watched:

The Baron of Arizona
It Happened In Hollywood
The Power of the Press

Shockproof
Scandal Sheet
The Crimson Kimono
Underworld USA

China Gate
I Shot Jesse James

Dead Pigeon On Beethoven Street
Shock Corridor

Notes On April Viewing 2018

The Big Knife
It’s like Sweet Smell of Success but it’s Rod Steiger and Jack Palance yelling at each other. Often in a way that sounds like they should just fuck it out.

A Pure Formality
It’s certainly one of the more interesting neonoir that I’ve seen. It’s easy to see why Polanski was cast as the cop but Depardieu puts in a lot of work as the suspect. It’s quite the dance to see Depardieu take the steps of yeah probably guilty to oh totally guilty to wait maybe he’s really an amnesiac to oh yeah writers are deeply weird people to what we get at the end. The filmmaking was a lot more interesting than the story in many ways but I’m glad that I finally saw it.

Fireworks Wednesday (Chaharshanbe Suri)

My first Asghar Farhadi film so it was great to check one out finally. The maid played by Taraneh Alidoosti was the perfect intermediary between these couples. So while I expected the usual family drama what it became through her eyes was something fresher. The outsider who learns or deduces the secrets of others is one of my favorite tropes so it was fun to see it play out here.

Elle
How close of cousins are intimacy and trauma? Or are they much closer? What about love and betrayal? What are the intimacies of betrayal? You’ve got characters here doing a lot of this at once. How do you reconcile all these differing sides of people? This is why Huppert is so fascinating: she’s well aware of what she’s doing and then sometimes not even if it’s an intuitive hunch. She’s the character through whom you see these parallels and the duality of people is the film’s big theme. I thought it worked really well. The rape scene - and flashbacks - are hardly as grimdark as I’d feared. They hit Huppert like a very intrusive thought train so content warning indeed but we’re not talking torture porn. What this says about her trauma and how it informs her sexuality is something else but there I think the film handles it subtly. But I’m not about to praise the film without offering anyone a little warning. Cos while it’s Verhoeven by way of Chabrol it’s still Verhoeven. It’s not any worse than Black Book let me say. So if you’ve seen that one you may be good to go.

Blade Runner 2049
The film’s problem in a nutshell: Deckard looks at “Rachel” in that scene where Wallace tempts him and says in angry dismissal “Her eyes were green.” By the way, we could have been spared Leto if he’d been eliminated in favor of Sylvia Hoeks as Luv as the one going after Deckard. It’d have made more sense, gave her character a lot more motivation, and spared us some truly tired visionary genius schtick.

Jem and the Holograms
The guy who wrote this needs to go back to film school and also get several drinks thrown at him. The actors try - they try - but the writing is the worst offense. So I’m not surprised the film failed. Oh, and all the goddam YouTube videos! But on top of that now we’ll never see more of Kesha as Pizzazz so thanks a lot.

Married To The Mob
The best parts: Michelle Pfeiffer, the scene where Dean Stockwell recalls how he recognizes Matthew Modine, and Modine’s cat feeding contraption. Oh, and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Mimosas
One of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen. It’s almost like the Malick version of Mad Max Fury Road but even better. It’s got wide, silent vistas - seriously, the light and space captured as the cars move through the desert is breathtaking - and an assured poetry of place and characterization that feels like a small miracle. I go to a very serene place just thinking about this movie.

Ponette
This just might be the perfect Easter movie. Also it’s kinda a documentary about children being terrible to each other but also weird anyway cos they’re all just six years old. Kids wondering about death and Jesus can’t help but be morbid at times tho. The acting feels very untutored - I can’t imagine how many takes were needed - so it stays rather unpredictable. The last scene is very Spirit of the Beehive so if you loved Erice’s film there’s a great chance you’ll find this Ponette as intriguing and moving.

Beyonce at Coachella
A pyramid full of musicians with dancers in front and then Beyonce in front of that. Busby Berkeley could only dream of this. And lord what a dream.

Lover For A Day (L’amant d’un jour)
Garrel leans on some bitches be cray storytelling unfortunately but the interrelations between the three main characters helped to distinguish it from Garrel’s usual tale of two lovers who implode.

In The Shadow Of Women (L'ombre des femmes)
This was enjoyable because the couple actually had decent chemistry. And the man’s side piece also had some personality. Also the wife had a side piece which made the story a lot more interesting than just the dude cheating. Also how great is it that they got back together because they hated the same guy?

Jealousy (La jalousie)
This works so well because you have to process Louis through his relationship with the woman as well as the young girl. And while he definitely gives off more of a cool uncle vibe than dad vibe he’s good with the girl. Also his real-life sister helps things feel a little more grounded. I think it’s better in general than some other Garrel because the dilemma with the daughter gives it some authenticity but also Garrel hits a good stride here with his son. Louis has to project an interiority here that rings true. This is definitely my favorite of recent Garrel.

Dirty Computer
If you’ve seen the music videos you know what to expect but this was so beautiful. And fun! There’s shout outs to Drive and Grimes music videos and Jodorowsky and Metropolis. It was really fun to see the music videos in their context here.

Valmont
People complain that Forman’s film lacks the bite of the Frears film but it’s more than adequate as a comedy of manners. I also like how it doesn’t have the malevolence of Dangerous Liaisons. All these characters have the foibles of real people which is really refreshing. If everyone on it acted liked it was Game of Thrones it’d be pretty exhausting. I mean, Annette Bening would totally own on Game of Thrones but that’s not who these characters are. As a fan of Amadeus and historical drama generally, I’m more than pleased.

Notes On October Viewing 2016

High-Rise
It’s like Ben Wheatley directed a season of Mad Men.
 
The Last Man On Earth
Vincent Price as a feared killer of men who in turn ends at the same fate. I think what I loved most was the understated presentation of this biological apocalypse. The empty streets, the clear and warm sunshine full of nothing, and the weary narration of a man unaware of just how doomed he is.
 
Panic In The Year Zero
Ray Milland throwing punches and grabbing guns like a drunk Trump supporter. All the paranoia on display - a film made in 1962 by the way - was all the more eerily disquieting as it looked like the same could happen today.
 
Penda’s Fen
What struck me was the intellectual and dramatic subtlety presented in how a young adult molded their identity. I loved how they addressed the mythic element in national identity as well. All in 1973 - almost unthinkable today.

Carnival of Souls
I was not expecting this to be such a knock out. First, Criterion’s presentation is excellent. Definitely one of the best restorations that I’ve seen. Second, the film was an incredibly haunting experience. The setting, the music, the acting - it all meshed so perfectly. This was the perfect Halloween movie.
 
Spider Baby
Lots of fun - Virginia and Elizabeth were especially amusing. Another perfect Halloween movie. Forever in my mind on a double bill with Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Or with Grey Gardens. 
 
Secretary
I was surprised that it wasn’t entirely about kink but also as much about mental health. Self-harm, specifically. I appreciated how the movie handled those subjects sensitively enough. She’s really just trying to find peace.
 
Sombre
There’s a social context to which the film alludes - the kids screaming at the cinema (a self-reflexive gesture, obviously) and the ongoing Tour - and then there’s the personal context to which the film is more directly involved. The woman and the killer representing two degrees of alienation - from family and from society - that somehow complement each other in the film’s outlook. A dysfunctional relationship being the best means of representing it, apparently. As a serial killer film, it’s rather pointless but leave it to the French to use any genre at hand to discuss terrible relationships. And poorly use Bauhaus cos why the hell not? Alan Vega’s unsettling piece was used effectively at least.
 
Tenderness of the Wolves
This movie on the other hand was a more straightforward take on the community delusion that keeps a psychopath in business. 
 
Scream
I had never seen this one before so I was a little concerned at how it would play after twenty years. I’ve seen plenty of Joss Whedon so why not give Kevin Williamson a try? I thought it was pretty good especially since I’d seen so much else in its wake. Plus it was nice to see Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich in something besides The Craft. My favorite scene was the big reveal in the kitchen. Craven really has a flair for shooting maximum drama in small spaces. See also The People Under The Stairs for that.
 
Scream 2
I didn’t find its self-ironic stance entirely interesting especially as it kept trying to stay a few steps ahead of itself but it was still pretty entertaining. Mostly thanks to the actors who really kept a good handle on it all. I think I liked it even more than Scream cos this one was so over the top. You haven’t lived til you’ve seen Laurie Metcalf menacing people with a handgun.
 
Halloween
Having watched Scream really made me appreciate Carpenter’s original much more.
 
God Told Me To
Deliriously unhinged.
 
The Amityville Horror
The horror comedy classic. I thought Margot Kidder was great tho.

I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House
A very slow burn with lots of stillness, natural sound, and restrained aesthetics. This is more a story about the house than the people in it. Which is an interesting idea but it sucks out a lot of the human interest. I think they could have done more with the premise but I do appreciate how they let the audience add it all up.
 
Dracula’s Daughter
You can’t escape your fate.
 
Community (Season Six)
My Mad Fat Diary (Season One)
Babylon 5 (Season Two)

Movie diary for March 2015

Mr X
I appreciate how a film documentary for once uses formal analysis to chart a director’s cinematic development. With someone like Leos Carax, it’s the only way to do it so the director certainly knew her material here. There are quite a few interviews with associates so the talking head approach certainly isn’t neglected. I could have done without Richard Brody, however.

Leave Her To Heaven
Gene Tierney as an evil sister in a Technicolor film noir is pretty much all you need to know.

Mr Turner
A darker look at the creative process than I’m used to seeing! Mike Leigh here heads out to territory trod by Pialat’s film Van Gogh rather than his own earlier film Topsy-Turvy. He goes much farther than Pialat, however. Turner is given his due as a painter of course and also actually shown to be a bad person (or a man of his time as some would more politely say), and just as quickly not denied his humanity. That is, his frailties. It’s not a pretty film, but Turner isn’t a friendly subject. He’s a genius, but not some angel or eccentric. Timothy Spall does a great job being Turner leaving Leigh free to show all of the man’s actions in context. I’m just glad someone once again made a film about an artist just showing how much work and lack of glamor goes into making art. Definitely recommended for history nerds.

Starry Eyes
Another film about how making art isn’t glamorous. In this case: the art of acting. Or breaking into the industry as this film is more about what it takes than just how good you are. Or ruthless as the gruesome murders near the end demonstrate. On the whole, I thought it was quite good. There’s a disturbing audition scene where the lead channels her inner Isabelle Adjani circa Possession warning you that this movie won’t pull its punches. There’s also an especially telling image near the end as the aspiring star looks in the mirror to reveal her new self that’s equal parts newborn, mannequin, and space alien. A new spin on an old Hollywood tale, but I recommend it. The retro score - think Chromatics - is worth it alone so take that into account as well.

The Two Faces of January
Who knew that Kirsten Dunst and Viggo Mortensen would make such a good couple? And did anyone expect so much intended sexual tension from a movie where Oscar Isaac and Viggo Mortensen are fleeing the law? The director certainly knew what to give his audience! A lot like A Most Wanted Man, it feels like an excellent TV movie. That is, a modest thriller that delivers.

Notes on Marie Menken
More of an anecdotal rather than analytic approach to her films. It was interesting to learn about the New York scene around Menken, but a more focused view of the women herself would have added better perspective.

Fellini Satyricon
There’s some gorgeous set design in this movie that I very much loved - and I guess that’s all I have to say right now.

The Madness of King George
Also known as the movie that changed my life as a history nerd. I think what’s truly remarkable about this one is how it doesn’t treat mental illness lightly at all. There’s no jokes at all about funny mad men or horny old men or anything that degrades the figure of the mentally ill. Even without the period trappings, mental illness is treated as a sad and horrifying experience that no-one can explain. Least of all in the so-called Age of Reason - another object of the film’s irony. Nigel Hawthorne’s tremendous performance - which lost to Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump at the Academy Awards, ironically - places this thematic ground in dramatic context as well as bringing perfect empathy to George the Third’s predicament as a man, husband, and king. The film’s attention to politics is also quite remarkable - the politics of family as well as state - something that I don’t often see done so well if at all in other historical dramas about royalty. Seldom have I seen a supporting cast given its own set of challenges - in this case the king’s government trying to stay in power while the Prince of Wales and his cronies try to take over - while keeping it integrated within the ongoing plot. (I have a feeling this helped prepare me for the multiple plot lines on Game of Thrones!) It’s got so much going for it and every time I see it I’m satisfied and moved by how it comes together. A perfect movie, I daresay.

Two Men In Manhattan
A gritty nocturne made even more impressive by the location shooting. This was one of the few Jean-Pierre Melville films that I hadn’t seen and I can see why it takes a lower spot in the tier of his work. It’s good in its own way and certainly more laidback than his more noted crime thrillers but I thought this change of pace from his more famous work showed the film’s strengths.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him
James McAvoy walks around a lot trying to figure out what the hell happened. He’s good and you’re also quite keen to learn what happened, but mostly he’s lost and has to deal with it all by himself. He’s got a small circle of friends and a father - Ciaran Hinds, incredibly - with whom he talks but it’s not a whole lot of emotional support. He finds closure at least.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her
I think this one was better due to the interior focus on El. Plus the way she interacted amongst her support system - friends, family, her amazing teacher played by Viola Davis - was more interesting in that her part of the plot moved forward in a more compelling manner with these people on her side. She finds peace with herself at least.

All Cheerleaders Die
Maybe it’s my love of Detention rubbing off here, but I didn’t think this was so bad. It’s a somewhat trashier film with an added slyly feminist commentary, but I think it succeeded in making it’s point. Sorry that it’s not May 2. But seriously: watch this with Detention.

Bitter Moon
The flashback structure, femme fatale, and damaged male lead gives this film a very strong flavor of the film noir. Polanski’s usual interest in corruption and innocence - see also Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, Macbeth - is given closer attention and much greater depth than in those earlier films. Peter Coyote as that damaged lead narrates his entire history with his wife Emmanuelle Seigner (who has a far better role in the similar but more ironic later Polanski film Venus In Fur) so it’s quite a long account on how one man is destroyed by his embrace of the erotic. As a novelist, he fancies himself a Henry Miller of sorts - much to captive audience Hugh Grant’s consternation. (And our amusement as the cuts to the present reveal Coyote narrating to Grant in a purple prose that clearly represents our author’s writing talents!) For awhile there, it looks like Hugh Grant will succumb to the same cycle of interest and exploitation. In fact, his wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) does so at the end as her jealousy over Grant’s continued attention to Coyote’s story causes her to make a successful pass at the wife. Peter Coyote just about saves it all as he gives life to a movie that almost collapses on its own curdled view of human sexual relations. It’s certainly not the film that will encourage anyone to give s/m a try but fans of Secretary should seek it out.

Pulp: A Film About Life, Death, And Supermarkets 
Since this isn’t a traditional approach to the live concert or the rock band documentary, I found it very helpful to have seen before The Beat Is The Law - Fanfare For The Common People which also used Pulp as a subject to speak on Sheffield. In this documentary, Pulp returns to Sheffield for a farewell concert which is the lens for looking at Sheffield today as well as the band’s continuing fame in their hometown. The whole band is interviewed in various places - such as the soccer field where the drummer, Nick Banks, is a coach. There isn’t a lot to learn about the band as it’s assumed you’re familiar with them already. But for those for liked Pulp or the earlier documentary, this is required viewing.

Guardians of the Galaxy
I still love the visual effects; the deliberate use of casual cruelty less so. I guess that’s a given for a movie about a bunch of mercenaries, but that’s what happens when James Gunn directs.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
Required viewing for all fans of Studio Ghibli. There’s a leisurely pace to the film so it really feels like a lovely day-long visit to the famed animation studio. The behind-the-scenes look at film production was very interesting, but hardly the only draw to the documentary.

Dark Touch
I think I’ve found the perfect horror film for people who don’t like too much blood. The sound design while consisting of frequently long silences is amped to provide most of the terror which complements the shadowy sets and dominant palette of blues, grays, and whites perfectly. There’s a distant quality which helps add to the isolated state of the lead. She’s very good especially in such a sensitively observed story about child abuse which locates the terror of violence squarely within the confines of the family. That it becomes a larger look at ptsd only adds to the film’s power. I’m very impressed by how well the film addresses those issues. This is certainly one of the best horror films that I’ve seen this year.

House of Cards (Season Three)
This show is too silly to over-analyze, but it was very satisfying to see Robin Wright step out from Kevin Spacey’s shadow. Her acting in the scenes with the American citizen at the Russian prison were especially excellent. This season was a lot better than season two, but really Wright getting more space is the better development.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Season One)
Another show too silly for me to over analyze so I’ll leave it to the experts: Anne Helen Petersen on race in Kimmy Schmidt.

Movie diary for May 2014

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

I expected overwrought Cold War paranoia and instead I got a modest thriller. Everything is so suburban and normal that it becomes quite unnerving by the big reveal. That the movie doesn't take itself too seriously also helped. Along with Godzilla, this was a good picture about 1950s anxiety.

Adventure Time (Season Three)

Reading the list of episodes again, I'm reminded that this was a truly bonkers season. Someone is getting threatened or almost killed every other episode. Even without the (disturbingly hilarious) Fionna and Cake episode, Ice King seemed even more unhinged than usual. Somehow even that was topped by the zombie episode. I think that's the most disturbing thing I've seen on Cartoon Network. Again, such a bonkers season. I loved how the sense of group dynamics deepened in the stories this season. Jake, Finn, Marcelline, and PBG's band, for example. "Memory of a Memory" was another and among my favorites this season.

Alien

I think I liked it better than Blade Runner. Am I allowed to say that on Tumblr? I just wasn't expecting it to be this good! Now I need to watch Prometheus again.

La Rose de Fer

Jean Rollin isn't my thing but Sarah Horrocks wrote an excellent post on this film that made me watch it. Not big on the clown or fucking atop the bones but otherwise it lived up to what I expected. This is probably the mellowest film that I watched all month.

Transport z ráje

A documentary style Czech movie about the Theresienstadt ghetto? What an excellent deconstruction of propaganda and Nazi bureaucracy. I need to watch it again as there's a lot to take in.

Berberian Sound Studio

I watch it just because it's creepy and constantly ambiguous about what's up. I recommend it to everyone as it's also streaming on Netflix.

Breaking The Waves

I first saw it on VHS so let's say it's been awhile. I fucking loved it.

Les Enfants du paradis

Here's another that I hadn't seen in awhile. I remember loving it, but now it strikes me as too sentimental. Arletty is gorgeous as usual - especially in Part Two in particular wearing that veil at the theatre - and the editing is a major asset. I'm not moved by Barrault this time, however. Maybe it's what seems to me now a lack of dynamic characterization. Especially in contrast to everyone else who acts the pants off each other. Anyway, still a classic but not the masterpiece of all French cinema. Edward Turk's book on Carne is excellent, by the way.

Party Monster

And another one that I haven't seen in awhile. That it's the polar opposite of Requiem For A Dream isn't the biggest recommendation, right? It's much more entertaining that's for sure.

Blonde Venus

It's shot like a silent film which is probably the nicest thing I can say about it because the story surely didn't do it for me. The usual glamour is here, of course. Just watch!

Shanghai Express

Sorry, but Morocco is the best Josef von Sternberg picture. Dietrich has never been more assured as a persona than here, however.

Cat People

I still don't know about this one. When they went out to the dessert, I tried to make it turn into Dune which for a movie a lot of people hate it still manages to be better than this one. And I say it as a Paul Schrader fan. I just find it lifeless in ways that take out all the drama and tension. Which is too bad because at least it tries to be interesting.

Possession

Possession is the very definition of a beautiful mess. It's not a melodrama and not a horror film despite trying to be both. It's mostly an art film by default. Until the last two reels or so when it turns into a thriller. I find it easy to follow mainly what Zulawski is trying to do, but there's a lot of potential in the emotional truth he's trying to find in all this shouting. He just obscures it by the end which makes me wonder why he bothered. Tim Lucas, of course, makes sense of much of it in this post.

Maleficent

Men will take away your wings but women will give them back to you. Being a badass loner with magic powers also helps. I wish I could be that cool.

Godzilla

The imagination of the spectacle of its disaster was great to watch. Some great kaiju fights as well. It's a lot easier to like as a summer film, but it's no Pacific Rim.

Gojira

The basic issue of survival here is the heart of the film. Unlike the remake, each character is situated by loss or potential loss. In the remake, aside from one notable exception, the son goes from one lucky break to the next.  The drama here is how one will survive the modern world. By relying on each other. A lesson picked up by Pacific Rim, of course.

Roger Ebert

He was, in short, the very best kind of middlebrow, an earnest enthusiast who took his work seriously. - Terry Teachout

I came late to Ebert's writing. In high school, I read his essay on swearing in movies - Bogie saying "fuck" after losing Ingrid - but that was it. The popular dismissal was a major factor as well. (His opinions of David Lynch's movies didn't help, either.) I was too busy reading John Simon, taking his recommendations, and watching other art films. Then reading more on film and its creators. I even bought a copy of The Great Movies and Awake In The Dark. I wasn't drawn to the man until Twitter, however. His interest in politics intrigued me then encouraged me. Here was a dimension to the man that I hadn't known existed. I read his reviews more and more. Then I read his memoir Life, Itself and it changed me. I was very impressed by his humility and curiosity. A new respect grew in me. I read his reviews for fun more often as I enjoyed his style and outlook. His evaluations were quite different to every other review that I consulted. It became a pleasure to take part in what he offered to the world. He's offered so much. Now his work awaits the rest of us too slow to sit beside him. He waited - now we can only say thank you.

My Top Favorite Movies

Andrei Rublev
Lawrence of Arabia
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
La feu follet
La mala educación
Mes petites amoureuses
Morocco
The Lady Eve
The Devils
Amadeus

A Man Escaped
Sans Soleil
Ma nuit chez Maud
Le Genou de Claire
The Insider
Jackie Brown
Seven Samurai
Chungking Express
A Matter of Life and Death
Rushmore

Walker
Carlos
Southland Tales
Reversal of Fortune
The Madness of King George
Doubt
Barcelona
Cabaret
The Wicker Man
Johnny Guitar

Le Crime de Monsieur Lange
Notorious
Scarlet Street
To Have and Have Not
Persona
Celia
The Innocents
Crumb
Stardust

Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble (1972), Maurice Pialat

This is a difficult film to discuss, much less watch. The violence of the verbal (and emotional) abuse is such that lovers of (500) Days of Summer or even Scenes From A Marriage would have cause to hesitate before proceeding. Pialat’s own A nos amours is somewhat more manageable than this film despite the former’s more explosive violence. One may have to be a masochist to watch all of Pialat’s more emotionally wrenching work, but none more so than Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble. The saving grace of the film, however, is its acting. As Pialat’s second film, the performances he elicited from Jean Yanne and Marlène Jobert – raw, focused, and intelligent – bespeak of a talented director who knows what he wants from his actors. It’s remarkable that the acting – looking ahead to A nos amours – is this good and the themes to surface in later Pialat films already so present. This isn’t a bad start for a sophomore feature effort, especially such a revealing one. Jean Yanne’s Jean is based to large degree on Pialat himself and one is pressed to think of a more unflattering portrayal of a director’s fictional self. The typical scene of the film involves Yanne’s Jean and Jobert’s Catherine conversing then falling into an argument, Jean brutally insulting Catherine (who takes the words often with little demurral), and the scene ending. Repeat this formula for most of the picture. Yanne is the most active element of the film so one can easily tire of him. He is also an asshole and his behavior is quickly alienating. The question of how and why Catherine tolerates him for so long is never answered. She has no friends in whom to confide so little insight is given to her reasoning. (Domestic abuse social workers can find much of use in this film as the question of why smart women stay with bad men puzzles society now as much as then.) The interactions between her and Jean are those of hunter and victim. (It’s almost hard to believe that the same year saw the release of Eric Rohmer’s L'Amour l'après-midi.) One could see Jean and Catherine as a commentary on the contemporary French couple, but this depressing prospect is avoided upon consideration of the autobiographical aspect of the proceedings. (That the difficult model for Jean later directed a film about Van Gogh is hardly surprising.) The depiction of Jean and Catehrine’s relationship is harrowing, but the heart of the film is Jean himself. Lashing out abusively, he is the victim of his own violent anger and looks all the more pathetic for focusing on a woman not nearly as bad as he professes her to be. Catherine takes so long to leave Jean that it becomes evident that the film has been indicting Jean the entire time rather than waiting for Catherine to finally take action. Added to this is the documentary fashion of the mise-en-scene that adds to the rawness of the picture. Yanne’s performance is so uninhibited that it eventually lacerates his character. Jean never really changes as much as he grinds down. By the end of the film, the audience is shown Catherine for the last time to resolutely indicate what Jean is missing by not having her anymore and that she has moved on to a better place in life. That the film can document the entire relationship so unflinchingly is a testament to Pialat as much as the actors. He returned to this territory again in Loulou with the more sympathetic Gerard Depardieu, but here it seems that Pialat had a major personal burden to unloose first. While the film is often difficult to watch, it has a consistent tone and impressive mastery that is sustained in Pialat’s following work. This is not a film for everyone (or even every Pialat enthusiast), but it remains an impressive chapter in Pialat’s career nonetheless.