65. Liefs Uit Londen &...

Lyrics

Van de wereld weet ik niets

(I know nothing of the world)
Niets dan wat ik hoor en zie, 

(Nothing but what I hear and see)
niets dan wat ik lees

(Nothing but what I read)
Ik ken geen andere landen, zelfs al

(I don't know other nations, even if)
ben ik er geweest

(I've been there)
Grote steden ken ik niet

(I don't know big cities)
Behalve uit de boeken, 

(Except from the books)
behalve van T.V.

(Except from TV)
Ik ken geen andere stad dan de stad

(I don't know another city)
waarin ik leef 

(Except the city in which I live)

Zij stuurt me kaarten uit Madrid

(She sends me cards from Madrid)
En uit Moskou komt een brief

(And from Moscow arrives a letter)
Met de prachtigste verhalen

(With the greatest stories)
En God, wat is ze lief

(My God, she is so sweet)
Gisteren uit Lissabon "ik mis je" en een zoen

(Yesterday from Lisbon, "I miss you" and a kiss
Vandaag uit Praag een kattebel, 

(Today from Prague, a small letter)
want er is zoveel te doen

(Because there is so much to do)
En morgen, als de postbode mijn huis

(And tomorrow, when the mailman)
weer heeft gevonden

(Has found my house again)
Dan stort ze mijn hart vol met al het

(She'll fill my heart) 
liefs uit Londen 
(With al the love from London)

Van de wereld weet ik niets
(I know nothing of the world)

Niets dan wat ik hoor en zie, 

(Nothing but what I hear and see)
niets dan wat ik voel

(Nothing but what I feel)
Ik leef van dag tot dag, zonder vrees

(I live from day to day, without fear)
en zonder doel

(And without a goal)
Verre landen ken ik niet

(I don't know faraway nations)
Behalve uit mijn atlas, die droom ik elke nacht

(Except from my atlas, I dream about those every night)
Maar ik droom alleen de landen waar

(But I only dream about the nations)
ze ooit aan me dacht 

(In which she once thought of me)
Als een mooi en groot geloof

(Like a beautiful and big faith)
Aan de muur van mijn gedachten

(On the wall of my thoughts)
Hangt een wereldkaart te wachten

(A world map is hanging, waiting)
Tot ze terugkomt

(Until she comes back)
Met haar reizen in mijn hoofd

(With her trips in my head)
Steek ik vlaggen in de aarde

(I stick flags in the earth)
Dezelfde kleur, dezelfde waarde

(Same color, same value) 

Maar zij stuurt me kaarten uit Madrid

(But she sends me cards from Madrid)
En uit Moskou komt een brief

(And from Moscow arrives a letter)
Met de prachtigste verhalen

(With the greatest stories)
En God, wat is ze lief

(My God, she is so sweet)
Gisteren uit Lissabon "ik mis je" en een zoen

(Yesterday from Lisbon, "I miss you" and a kiss
Vandaag uit Praag een kattebel, 

(Today from Prague, a small letter)
want er is zoveel te doen

(Because there is so much to do)
En morgen, als de postbode mijn huis

(And tomorrow, when the mailman)
weer heeft gevonden

(Has found my house again)
Dan stort ze mijn hart vol met al het

(She'll fill my heart) 
liefs uit Londen 
(With al the love from London)

Blof is one of the most popular Dutch bands, and they make pretty pleasant music that has no place on a list of the best songs ever made. While they are musically quite good, their lyrics are often awful. Some of the sentences I translated above don't make sense, not because I translated them badly, but because the Dutch original simply doesn't make sense. In any case, to choose a movie, I decided to focus on the line of the song claiming that the singer only knows the world because of his television.

The Movie: Being There (Hal Ashby, 1979)

Hal Ashby is considered to be one of the greatest American directors of the 70's, perhaps the golden age of American cinema. His story is quite interesting. He was born to mormon parents and as a kid was a bit of a hopeless wanderer untill he moved to California and stumbled in the film industry. He began as an editor, and even got an Oscar for his editing on In The Heat of The Night (1967). In 1970 he made his first film as a director, The Landlord and from 1970 to 1979 he made 8 films, every one of which is considered among the best and most nteresting movies of the 1970's. After that he got serious drug problems, and suddenly couldn't make a good movie anymore, before he died in 1988, at the age of 59. 

Being There is his last 'great' movie and often considered to be his best. It's the second movie of his I've seen, after Coming Home. I've liked both movies quite a lot (Being There more than Coming Home), but I don't find them really great. Still, I look forward to seeing more of his movies. His filmmaking style is quite pleasant from what I've seen. He doesn't seem to rush anything, and in two movies I haven't seen an ugly shot yet. His movies are simply enjoyable to watch, and besides that he knows how to use music well. 

Being There is a very good comedy that sometimes very much wants to be a very profound good comedy. And when it reaches for profundity, it doesn't really work to me. The premise is quite interesting. Chance (A great Peter Sellers) is a mentally retarded gardener who has worked his whole lfe for a, possibly rich, old man. He has never been out of the house, and all he knows about the world, he knows from television. He basically thinks television is reality. He speaks the way he hears people speak on television and he makes gestures the way he sees people making gestures on television. One day though the old man dies, Chance has to leave the house and ends up wandering on the streets of New York. There the car of a rich bussinessman's wife (Shirley MacLaine) bumps against his leg, hurting him. She insists to help him and drives him to their large, rich manor where there are doctors abound, because her husband is dying. This bussinessman turns out to be a 'kingmaker.' His support for politicians can have enormous influence on their political career. Unsurprisingly he is now the main, secret, advisor of the American president. Nobody in the house realizes that Chance is retarded and mistake his quite simple statements about gardening as profound statements about the American economy and political system. Soon he advises the presidents and appears on serious talk shows talking about the president and politics. 

Being There is basically one of those Frasier episodes in which everyone misunderstands each other and hears what he (or she) wants to hear, set to feature length. It leads to some very funny scenes, but it has nothing to do with realism. That is no problem at all, but the movie also wants to be a satire on American politics and say something important about human nature. It mostly works as a satire, but it doesn't really say much about human nature. It begins pretty great. The opening scenes are set exclusively inside the beautiful house of the old man. It seems to be a house of someone of great importance living in some rich, sophisticated neighbourhood. When Chance has to leave the house we find out though that the house is situated in an inner city neighbourhood, filled with poverty. When Chance is threathened by a group of black kids, he tries to zap them away with his remote control. Of course it doesn't work. All of this is played for comedy and it works. While the movie uses this concept to criticize the American political elite, it is not really interested in condemning television. Although you could wonder whether Chance was born retarded
or whether television watching has made him retarded.

In any case the satire really kicks in once Chance has started living with the rich bussinessman. The movie shows these politicians as a bunch of narcisistic fools. No one seems to realize that Chance basically repeats everything they say to him. They basically project all their opinions and ideals on him and he agrees with everything. That's not just the case with the American politicians. The Russian ambassador behaves the same way. But these people never really had a chance to realize Chance's idiocy. He has watched them on TV and around them behaves in the same way they do. These are just two examples, but the movie really does present American politics in a pretty damning view. And it would have been pretty great if the movie didn't occasionally strive for even more profundity, wanting to say something about life. Rather, the problem isn't that the movie wants that, but that it doesn't really achieve it. Another problem is also the character of Shirley MacLaine. Her Eve is at the movie's convenience presented as either dumb or smart. This leads to a rather terrible subplot in which she falls in love with Chance, eventually masturbating in front of him.

The famous last scene in the movie is perhaps the best example of the problems with profundity the movie has. After the funeral of the rich bussinessman Chance goes out for a walk, and stumbles across a large body of water. He walks on the water, and the movie explcitly shows that the water is too deep. So of course the connection to Jesus Christ is made. But there is nothing in the movie to support this connection, either at a metaphorical or literal level. The shot works best to me if it is interpreted as a visualization of the saying 'Ignorance is bliss', which does fit Chance's behavior in the movie. It also fits with the last, famous, quote of the movie: "Life is a state of mind." You could also provide this connection though via a shot that doesn't nonsensically evoke Jesus. Still, all of this shouldn't take away form the fact that Being There is a really good, often very funny movie. 

 

64. I'm Not In Love &...

Lyrics

I'm not in love, so don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)

I like to see you, but then again
That doesn't mean you mean that much to me
So if I call you, don't make a fuss
Don't tell your friends about the two of us
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)

(Be quiet, big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)
(Big boys don't cry)

I keep your picture upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain that's lyin' there
So don't you ask me to give it back
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no-no
(It's because...)

Ooh, you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh, you'll wait a long time

Ooh, you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh, you'll wait a long time

I'm not in love, so don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made, ooh

I'm not in love, I'm not in love...


After Dreadlock Holiday this is another proof of the sense of humor 10CC have. I like this song, though I never realized until now how long and odd this whole song really is. It's full of seemingly random sounds that don't seem to make much sense. It may not always work, and I would have probably preferred it if it were more conventional, but it sure is interesting. I did not choose a comic movie this time, as was the case with Dreadlock Holiday and Club Paradise. In fact I chose a very dramatic one about a man not willing to give in to his feelings and denying them. There actually is a scene in the movie which could be a lyric of the song. Our main character basically says "I'm not in love. I just read romantic books to imporve my vernacular".

The Movie: The Remains of the Day (James Ivory, 1993)

The Remains of the Day is not a movie that has a very 'sexy' reputation. I once read that when Tarantino was presenting Pulp Fiction to audiences for the first time he asked them if they had seen, and enjoyed this movie. If that were the case he told them to leave the theather. Now, this is obviously a marketing stunt and an example that despite being a great filmmaker Tarantino can sometimes be quite an ass. Still, it cannot be denied that the style of this movie is as far from Pulp Fiction as it can get. But because of that style, this becomes more than just a simple romantic drama about missed opportunies, self-delusion and self-sacrifice.

The Remains of the Day is obviously a 'quality' British drama, made in accordance with all the stylistic conventions we associate with 'quality' British drama's. They are filmed soberly, putting the emphasis on content over form. The indivual scenes take their time to unfold and are gently edited together. Of course there is an impeccable production design, with rooms full of things that imply the inhabitant has great taste. Great actors such as Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson are cast who are, above all, seen as great artists who care about their craft and therefore have success. In other words, they aren't like those Hollywood-manufactured stars like Bruce Willis. These are seen as eloquent artists doing high art and the dialogue they say befits them. They talk in fully formed sentences that show the writer's mastery of the English language, as opposed to Hollywood dialogue mostly existing of 'Fuck Off's.

All these stylistic conventions together connote things like dignity, decency and sophistication, and associate this characteristics wth 'Britishness' and the British culture, thereby implicating that it is a great, 'high' culture to be appreciated by sophisticated adults. These connotations are used to market this 'quality' British drama's to audiences, sometimes by contrasting them to Hollywood movies as if they are exculisvely vulgar, juvenile onjects. There is nothing inherently wrong with this. Using different connotations, all kinds of movies are sold this way, from indies, to Tarantino-style movies to superhero movies. And there can indeed be great movies made in this style. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't look critically at it and simply take them for granted. I think The Remains of the Day does take such an interesting critica look. The characters in the movie posses and revere these qualities both in themselves and in Brittain. Yet because of this qualities the butler played by Anthony Hopkins loses the love of his life, while his lord sends Great Brittain into war with the Nazi's. Thus this is a self-reflexive movie that also dares to take a critical look at what it means to be a Briton and what it then means to be 'sophisticated' or to have 'dignity'. It shows that putting too much importance on these qualities can make them meaningless, as these qualities can be used to excuse, (wilffuly) ignore and hide other, more problematic, characteristics.

The movie is set in 1936 at Darlington Hall where James Stevens (Anthony Hopkins) works as the butler of Lord Darlington (James Fox). As the butler he is basically the leader of the household. He is the one who interviews and hires housekeepers, cooks, cleaners, etc. He is proud of his profession and intensely loyal to his butler. He forbides anyone in the household to have love affairs and he himself has seemingly shut off all his feelings (especially those he probably has for his closest colleague Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson), in order to be the best servant as possible. When there is an important meeting of political leaders, James' father, the underbutler, is dying upstairs. Doesn't matter James continues dutifully doing his job, without showing any emotion. Stevens himself explains it best in a quote: "In my philosophy, Mr. Benn, a man cannot call himself well-contented until he has done all he can to be of service to his employer. Of course, this assumes that one's employer is a superior person, not only in rank, or wealth, but in moral stature." For Stevens 'moral stature' is the same kind of category though as rank or wealth. It is a given, unquestionable fact that his Lord has a higher moral stature, just like it's a given that he has a higher rank or wealth. For Stevens all these three categories are basically intertwined. So he doesn't ever question his Lord's decisions. 

And many of Lord Darlington's decisions are quite questionable to say the least. It is interesting that, just like Stevens, he too isn't free in his decisions. He acts according to the unwritten societal rules proclaiming how a Lord should act. Above all that means being a 'gentleman.' and the movie questions what it then means to be a 'gentleman.' Him being a gentleman is the reason for siding with the Nazi's and letting two Jewish servants go. During a conference in which Darlington persuades many European leaders to give in to the Nazi's, he is berated by an American congressman (played by Christopher Reeve!) calling him and his colleagues amateurs when the world needs professionals. Darlington is less mad for being an amateur then that he is elated and grateful that the congressman called him a dignified gentleman for having the conference in Darlington Hall. At the end of the movie we see how both Lord Darlington and Stevens's unquestioned (and unquestioning) behavior ruined their personal life and their nation. Obviously in reality Great Brittain would probably go to war whether it was for Lord Darlington (who is a fictional figure) or not, but the movie isn't interested in providing us a realistic account of how Brittain got involved in the Second World War. The movie wants us to consider how certain characteristics by which the Brits define their greatness aren't unquestionably good and can often be (consciously or not) used to hide dark truths and to excuse/validate bad behavior. As I wrote earlier James Ivory's style is an expression (or is at least marketed as an expression) of these characteristics. I am not greatly familiar with the Merchant/Ivory movies, but I think they are quite aware of that and I think that they are also aware that this movie (in)directly asks some questions about itself. What does it mean to watch a James Ivory movie? Why do we consider them good movies? What are the connotations of this movies? And Tarantino may have hated this movie, but in the way The Remains of the Day asks this critical questions about its style and itself it has some things in common with Inglourious Basterds. 

In some ways this movie also criticizes other movies. There was a bit in the IMDB trivia I found amusing claiming that this is a movie that features a Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins) a Superman (Reeve) and a Bond villain (French actor Michael Lonsdale). These are all characters from movies in genres which aren''t considered high culture. What does it mean for them to cast these actors that bring with them connotations of British sophistication and greatness? This phenomenon of casting these 'thespians' in such 'low-culture' movies has become even more obvious in regard to the many superhero movies of now. We see Anthony Hopkins acting in Thor, Ben Kingsley in Iron Man, Gary Oldman/Michael Caine in Nolan's Batman movies. Media scholars have looked critically at this phenomenon. Is this done to make the movies more 'worthy' or more 'high culture'? And does the use of Hopkins, Kingsley and co. in these movies create an illusion of sophistication, thereby overlooking the fact that the content of these movies is still fairly juvenile? Do these movies gain credibility by doing this? In other words do these celebrated British characteristics create an illusion of sophistication to validate their existence and to cloak the fact that these are pretty silly movies that shouldn't be taken all that seriously. To a certain extent I think this is all true (although probably still the main reason why these actors are cast is because they are awesome actors that do genuinely make the movie more entertaining), and my main problem with this isn't actually the fact that they want to sell juvenile content as sophisticated, but that they are ashamed that their content is juvenile and that they feel the need to elevate it. There is nothing wrong with silly, juvenile blockbusters, and certianly not if they fully embrace their silliness. Due to this too many blockbusters are now way too serious and heavyhanded for their own. It seems like every other blockbuster wants to be some epic drama. And that's why I like the Fast & Furious franchise so much, as well as Jason Statham movies.

Well, this is one of the pieces I enjoyed most writing, although I am not sure whether all of it holds water. But it certainly was interesting and unexpected to end up writing about Fast & Furious in a piece on The Remains of the Day. 

63. Paint it Black & ...

Lyrics

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

I see a line of cars and they're all painted black
With flowers and my love both never to come back
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like a new born baby it just happens every day

I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door and must have it painted black
Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts
It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue
I could not foresee this thing happening to you

If I look hard enough into the settin' sun
My love will laugh with me before the mornin' comes

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colours anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls go by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

Hmm, hmm, hmm,...

I wanna see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it tainted, tainted, tainted, tainted black
Yeah!

Hmm, hmm, hmm,...


This is quite an awesome song by the Rolling Stones. There isn't much else to say really. The timing of this post was pretty much excellent. Currently in the Netherlands there is lots of discussion about Zwarte Piet, the black (usually a white person in blackface) help of the Dutch Santa Claus. So I chose a movie about that deals with blackface and wrote something about it in Dutch for my internship at MovieScene.nl

The Movie: Bamboozled (Spike Lee, 2000)

I am not going to write again about this movie, but will just link to my piece on it. It is in Dutch though.
I'll just mention that this is not one of Spike Lee's best movies. It is watchable, because his movies are always stylistically interesting, but his satire doesn't really work and there are too many unnecessary digressions.

So here's the link: http://www.moviescene.nl/p/151366/spike_lees_bamboozled_en_zwarte_piet