2000
Seen By (aka 2000 Par Vu)
(Includes "The Book of Life" and "The
Sanguinaires")
"2000
Seen By" was a cinematic experiment where 7 films
by 7 international filmmakers were presented on one
program. These filmmaker's were asked to make pieces
on their vision of "the last day of the millennium,"
so the films are all set on or around 12/31/99 and/or
1/1/2000. When I saw the contributions, the program
was split into 4 segments. I did not see all of them.
The first one consisted of Hal Hartley's "The Book
of Life" and a French short film by Laurent Cantet
called "The Sanguinaires." These "shorts"
were about 1 hour each.
Hartley's
film is about a sharply dressed Jesus (Martin Donovan
of Hartley's "Trust," "Amateur"
and others) coming back to New York on December 31,
1999 for the apocalypse. He is accompanied by Magdalena,
played by rocker PJ Harvey. (Apparently Adrianne Shelly
is busy with other project or she and Hartley have had
a falling out). Meanwhile another Hartley alum, Thomas
Jay Ryan ("Henry Fool"), also comes forth
as Satan and visits a bar where he wagers the soul of
an innocent (played by Hartley's Asian wife who appeared
in "Amateur") in a game of chance with a compulsive
gambler. In a lesser role, the other "Henry Fool"
star James Urbaniak opens the film by repeating a line
that sets the religious tone of the piece. He appears
later for a moment as well. His character is named the
"True Believer."
Hartley's film is exactly what you would expect given
the plot. His playfulness with words and ideas grooves
harmoniously with the religious theme of the film. Hartley
is as insightful and as amusing as ever. While this
may not be new territory for the auteur, it is nonetheless
captivating
and intriguing.
What Hartley does instead, to open up the piece, is
play with the technology of filmmaking, using what seems
to be digital video and digital effects and editing
to make the film. Why wouldn't he? Not only is it provocative
and budget conscious, it also ties into his themes and
discussion about the progression of the human race.
In the film, Jesus and Satan both love the human race
for it's unhindered exploration of existence. Our grappling
with science, cybernetics, cloning, DNA engineering,
religion, ethics, kindness... these are all viewed with
wide-eyed wonder by God's son (part flesh
and part God) and by the fallen angel, Satan. The digital
video appearance of the film only serves to remind
us of the progress of man's technology. It's a constant
reminder of man's promise and man's future.
This "religious" theme is perfect for Hartley
because it gives him ample opportunity to flex his wit
and intellect. But it is also a wonderful theme for
a film about the coming of the year 2000. What could
be a more American view of the coming of the millennium
than a religious film contemplating the apocalypse?.
Haven't the naysayers and moralists among us made prophecies
about Jesus' return at the year 2000? Isn't the coming
of this year biblical? Hartley taps into this very American
myth and pumps it for all it's worth.
"The Book of Life" will probably not win Hartley
any converts, but those of us enamoured with his work
will rejoice in it's keen and insightful banter and
it's reverence for the inexplicability of the human
race.
Meanwhile, the French short "The Sanguinaires"
is a seeming opposite to Hartley. This is a simple and
straightforward tale of an extended family coming to
grips with the turn of the century in an unusual way.
Lead by the unflinching Francois, this group of 12 or
so rent out a island hostile for the arrival of the
millennium. Disgusted with modern technology and the
talk of the arrival of the year 2000, Francois makes
a vacation home for his family and friends that is supposed
to be free from technology... from TV and radio and
cell phones and such. The adults seem happy for this
escape. But the teens in the film feel a loss, with
no tether to the outside world, and begin to wish to
become a part of the communal act of worldwide celebration.
When the adults in the group begin to agree with the
teens, the stoic Francois becomes bitter, sulking and
introspective.
Cantet crafts a wonderful and straightforward film here.
The characters and story are captivating.What is so
amazing and beautiful is the simplicity of the plot
which almost hides it's much deeper ideas and themes.
Instead of the year 2000 bringing the end of the world
and Cantent bringing us a story about a family who survives
this holocaust and must live on, he instead brings us
a family in self-imposed exile. They try to bring about
the end of the world as we know it for only themselves.
Instead of suffering the end of the technological world,
Cantet's clan suffers the end of one man's hopes
and dreams, the frustration he has with modern life
and modern progress. Francois doesn't pontificate about
simple times, he just wants a break, a moment of simplicity
that returns to a simpler time when there weren't worldwide
countdowns and televised celebrations. Francois doesn't
want a communal experience with the world, he wants
a communal experience with his family. In this way,
he becomes thematically the last man left on Earth.
Cantet's millennium doesn't signal the end of mankind,
simply the end of man. Individuality seemingly goes
by the wayside and in Francois worst nightmare, the
world celebrates together. It is not that we celebrate
that Cantet truly opposes here, but that we celebrate
together, to the beat of the same drummer, to the countdown
of the same worldwide televised synchronized clocks.
"The Sanguinaires" is a beautiful film unfurled
by a master director who has crafted a wondrous and
subdued script as his guide. He also peoples the film
with actors of rare talent, who seem to belong together
without actually understanding each other, much like
our own families. What Francois doesn't know, and what
Cantet seems to understand, is that this family IS made
up of individuals. They have much going on in their
world. There is drama and trauma and beauty and sadness
and light going on all around them. But none of it is
new, or bold, or unique. Still, to them it is and thus,
although the plot twist here are relatively typical,
Cantet makes them unique by giving us a group of characters
we truly like and understand. When they stray or question,
it isn't interesting to us because we have never seen
it before - we've seen it a million times before. We've
all experienced it. When the teenaged boy here expresses
his desire to sleep with a girl, it isn't shocking or
bold, it's typical. He is every teenage boy. When Francois
wife begins to flirt with the caretaker of the house
where they are staying, it isn't interesting because
it's unusual - we see it coming a million miles off.
It's interesting to us because we can relate to it and
for exactly that reason and we care about how it affects
these characters simply because we feel an affinity
to them. Francois is just too wrapped up in his own
myopic vision of what the world should be to see that
we don't have that far to go to get to his ideal. His
vision is flawed because in seeking out (i.e. demanding)
the individuality of his family, he quashes that same
said individuality. He doesn't want them to be individuals
as much as he wants them to be "like him."
For all his subtle posturing about the influx of technology
into our lives and the implied feelings of the lack
of individuality, Francois misses the rare treat that
is his family and friends, that is their individuality.
Luckily, Cantet exposes them to us, so that we may agree
and disagree with Francois and, in the process, gain
an understanding of the beauty that stems from the simplicity
of times past and the wonderment of the future to come...
"The Sanguinaires" wants to do more than bemoan
the seeming loss of our individuality. Sanguine means
both the color of blood and optimistic. Cantet's film
is both as well. It celebrates the pursuit of individuality
while realizing that there is also something to be said
of being just like everybody else. The individual's
desire to be like everyone else is central to that person's
individuality. That our human desire to be both unique
and part of the crowd is the wondrous key to individuality.
On the surface, Cantet protests the loss of "the
last man," but under the layers, he shows us that
no such loss truly exists, except for those who refuse
to see...
Notes: Harvey sings some songs in the film. Hartley's
band
Ryful also does some of the music.
Williams S. Burrough's voice is heard as the preacher
on the radio. I believe Hartley used preexisting audio
to achieve this.
|
The
Book of Life
Report
Card
Script:
A
Acting: A-
Cinematography\Lighting: B-
Special Effects\Make Up: A
Music: A+
Final
Grade: A-
|
The
Sanguinaires
Report
Card
Script:
A+
Acting:
A+
Cinematography\Lighting:
A+
Special
Effects\Make Up: A+
Music:
A
Final
Grade: A+
|
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