EUR, ROMA

I went to see EUR, suburban area of Roma reachable  by Metro, because Michelangelo Antanioni filmed L'eclisse  here. EUR water reservoir or  “fungo” of this upper class neiborhood was present in many scenes and stuck in my head.  Obviously that M. Antanioni chose this location for unique look and feel.  I wanted to see and explore area for myself.  it was raining.  I have intended to  spent  a couple hours, look around, snap a few pictures, homage way. The moment got out of strange Metro station painted in Yves Klein blue it felt not like an ordinary place. Big and deeply dug in  construction project next to the station emanated quite subtle industrial soundtrack consisting of power tools and truck engines noise coming from depths of concrete orchestra pit. Audience consisted from two middle aged man with umbrellas observing action from the street level. Il Fungo was visible behind artificial lake and tall trees. It's look slightly changed  by presence of mobile communications antennas and by not working electronic clock display. Rain made streets almost absent of human presence, eerie Chirico like urban landscape. Monoliths of office buildings and modernist residential towers cut by park, private estates and various embassies behind the gates. Architecture here is very interesting expensively build modern of 50's and 60  surrounded by pine and cedar tree green.

While taking pictures across the street I have noticed tall woman dressed in long black coat and light beige shoes who was smoking a cigarette. She looked like someone waiting or have nowhere to go.
It seemed odd, somebody standing in the rain and place like that. She had big grotesque looking pale face. I was continuing shooting. Smaller ratty looking woman joined woman in coat across the street. They exchanged a few words, smaller one started walking to me obviously not very happy, since by talking picture of crossing I have pointed my camera at them. I realized that to woman are  prostitutes, and the big one most likely is a trannie. No wonder she looked so odd. I didn't expected to see them here in the early afternoon. The small one started bitching about me taking pictures and that she needs to work to feed her children. They mistook me for journalist, they don't want publicity. I explained that I didn't really took picture of them, but architecture, buildings. It why I'm here for. Not I'm not from the newspaper, I'm just curious tourist. She calmed down, I started walking away. She followed me just to be sure that I leaving her territory. I was moving towards Mushroom on the hill, structure surrounded by posh fenced residencies, and park. Here again I have noticed Middle Eastern looking youth in late 20's dressed in track suit aimlessly wondering among the trees in the rain. Most likely male prostitute. Destitute and void of the place just got stronger.

There is a restaurant at the top of water tower. Expensive, and I got impression,  not very welcoming one. I have trying to imagine what kind of clientele dines here. In the parking lot of establishment I found half bottle of red wine. I took a swig out it. Wine was sweet and cheap tasting. I wonder who drinks this kind of wine in Italy? Took bottle with me to the park to finish for the sake of experience. It was revolting sweetness, but I poured it down to my throat.  Took some more pictures and started walking back. Smaller prostitute was still at her street corner. I waved her good bye, she waved me back. Transexual was gone.

Werner Herzog needs to eat too

I'm glad that Werner Herzog gets directing movies in Hollywood with their star cast. Hopefully he gets paid for his engagements and some money will be left for his personal projects. His latest film Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call: New Orleans is more like work to pay bills than one of real Werner's creations. Films in Hollywood are made by producers and technical people, very little left to directors input. W. Herzog's touch in this case was to get job for Brad Dourif to play bookie (single interesting character here) and Peter Zeitlinger to put his name on credit roll as DP. Movie itself looks like directed by any nameless LA director, overproduced, simplistic a moralizing script. Camera man Peter Zeitlinger managed to snuck a couple more organic visuals with alligators, but movie has TV show look. Nicolas Cage tries to act and overacts like Robin Williams. Good movie associated with N. Cage name is a rare accident to happen, not this time either. Script idea ripped from gritty Abel Ferrara's 1992 film The Bad Lieutenant. In order to look more original Port of Call: New Orleans was added. Total lack of imagination. Besides a couple exterior shots and flooded prison scene rest of the story has nothing to do with New Orleans or Louisiana. What the point to use 50% of name for location then.

Beauty of the Yasujiro's Ozu frame

Film director Yasujiro Ozu known for his distinctive visual style. Use of normal lenses, static low angle camera placement, geometrically balanced compositions and subtle color coordination creates beautiful images. They can live itself outside of film's context and carry strong emotional and aesthetic energy projected by master filmmaker.

This Rugged Land

I and my friend Saulius did a weekend road trip to Pennsylvania. Our main destination was small town Ehrenfeld in coal-mining area of Scooptown not too far Pittsburgh. Birth place of Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky, Lithuanian name Karolis Bučinskis). He was the 11th of 15 children born to a Lithuanian Tatar immigrant father and a Lithuanian-American mother. His father was from the Lithuanian town of Druskininkai.
Charles Bronson known for "tough guy" roles who starred in such classic films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape and the Death Wish series.
We expected to find depressed mining town, but instead we saw very well kept pleasant place set in beautiful fall forest collors. Some mines got reopened lately, jobs coming back.
We met old time Ehrenfeld resident here, who owns local convenience store. He told us many stories about Charles young days here. Stuff like starting fights and letting others to finish them, knocking down outhouses and other innocent pranks. Local people have a bit of resentment at Charles Bronson for not doing anything good for town, beyond being only one famous person who was born here.

Empty Barrels

Some actors, the older they get the better they are, but some just become screaming parodies of themselves.

No Excuses Not to Make Films

Many the best movies in film history was made by talented and driven people who had insatiable urge to create and express themselves in the language of moving image. They had no excuses not to make films. Movies were made without bloated crews by group of friends. If they needed equipment they stole it. Films were made on real locations without permissions, with plenty creativity and passion instead of special effects.
Today, despite affordable digital technology we live in not a very creative and visually sophisticated time. Something was lost or pushed aside. It's not bad or good, just a fact we need to deal. Pencil and sheet paper was available for ages, but worthy masters of word can be easily counted. May be we just learning a new language, may be we are a little disoriented, and intoxicated by mass culture.

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

I was always telling that Golden Age of American film making was in 70s, and most likely never will be surpassed. I'm completely ignoring cinemas lately, just because I don't want to feel cheated by half cooked products of recent film industry.
As The Guardian blogger Jonathan Jones rightly points in his recent post: "What these films lack, in comparison to the golden age of American cinema, is ... well, pretty much everything that matters. Their morality is shop-bought: it doesn't feel like it was worked out on the streets. Most of all there isn't the sense of life, the spontaneity and improvisation, that you get in a truly great film like Robert Altman's McCabe and Mrs Miller. Watching such a film is like encountering a new city, a real living place: it has longueurs, bagginess, loose ends, because these are life. By comparison, the vaunted new masterpieces of American cinema are just not baggy enough. They are only half-alive."

Wristcutters: A Love Story

Everything I told about "My Blueberry Nights" is opposite when I talk about Croatian director's Goran Dukic first feature length film, "Wristcutters: A Love Story". Recent discovery, joy and fresh gulp of fun. Movie makes you pee to the pants from laugh. It's a true road movie set in "hot as balls" desert environment of parallel universe inhabited by victim's of suicide and accidental death. There no aggression and screaming here, no smiles either. Plenty of beer and gas probably for free. Superb music by Russian Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello from NY serves as the sonic background in the car of Eugene (Shea Whigham), character based on real life lead of this musical combo, Eugene Hütz. The passengers Zia (Patrick Fugit), Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon) cuddly and lovable in search for something to make their lives have meaning again. Trio makes a pit stop at Kneller's (Tom Waits) Happy Campers community of retired corpses. Of course this a happy end story.

Abel's Go Go Tales

I just walked in to the Apple Store Soho other day and it happen that Abel Ferrara was presenting his new movie Go Go Tales and talking about technology. New Yorker to his bones, Abel directed the best films about this city: King of New York and Bad Lieutenant. The Man is real dynamo with the great sense of humor, fun to listen and watch him bouncing on the stage. Even in NY I don't see many characters like him. He even looks a bit out of place these days.
Abel Ferrara working on documentary about Chelsea Hotel, which is about to be transformed to another luxury condo.