Sam Rasnake's Blog: words of the 10,000 things - Posts Tagged "cinéma-vérité"
Cinéma Vérité
In so many ways, the pieces in Cinéma Vérité, published by A-Minor Press (September 2013), represent my writing at its most direct. The range of forms in the book, I hope, show my eclectic nature. One way to approach the collection is to consider it a biography of a journey in/through film - and I use the term biography because the self of the writing is real and not real.
This new collection is part 3 of a planned six-part series, Tales of Brave Ulysses - poetry connecting with the creative arts - specifically, literature, cinema, art, and music.
So far -
Religions of the Blood (Pudding House Press) [an introduction]
Inside a Broken Clock (Finishing Line Press) [literature / available from FLP or Amazon]
Cinéma Vérité (A-Minor Press) [film / available from AMP, Amazon, Barnes and Noble]
~
In the works -
World within the World [art]
The Gilded Palace of Sin [music]
The Divination of Sticks [an afterword]
This new collection is part 3 of a planned six-part series, Tales of Brave Ulysses - poetry connecting with the creative arts - specifically, literature, cinema, art, and music.
So far -
Religions of the Blood (Pudding House Press) [an introduction]
Inside a Broken Clock (Finishing Line Press) [literature / available from FLP or Amazon]
Cinéma Vérité (A-Minor Press) [film / available from AMP, Amazon, Barnes and Noble]
~
In the works -
World within the World [art]
The Gilded Palace of Sin [music]
The Divination of Sticks [an afterword]
A list of twenty of my favorite films...
Most of the twenty films on this list - all but Persona, Zerkalo, L’Avventura, Dekalog, and 2001 - became the focus of works included in Cinéma Vérité. I began listing the list films I did write about, but quickly realized the list was too long. If it's any consolation to the few that didn't enter the book, I did write pieces that connected with three films by Bergman, one by Tarkovsky, two by Antonioni, four by Kieślowski, and one by Kubrick.
***
The list - more or less in order:
Persona / Ingmar Bergman, dir. (1966)
Vertigo / Alfred Hitchcock, dir. (1958)
Zerkalo / Andrei Tarkovsky, dir. (1975)
L’Avventura / Michelangelo Antonioni, dir. (1960)
Rashomon / Akira Kurosawa, dir. (1950)
Dekalog / Krzysztof Kieślowski, dir. (1989)
Fa yeung nin wa / Wong Kar-Wai, dir. (2000)
2001: A Space Odyssey / Stanley Kubrick, dir. (1968)
Ordet / Carl Theodor Dreyer, dir. (1955)
Au hasard Balthazar / Robert Bresson, dir. (1966)
~
Le Mépris / Jean-Luc Godard, dir. (1963)
L’année dernière à Marienbad / Alain Resnais, dir. (1961)
La double vie de Véronique / Krzysztof Kieślowski, dir. (1991)
Banshun / Yasujiro Ozu, dir. (1949)
Ma nuit chez Maud / Eric Rohmer, dir. (1969)
Paris, Texas / Wim Wenders, dir. (1984)
Black Narcissus / Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, dir./writ. (1947)
Chimes at Midnight / Orson Welles, dir. (1965)
La Belle Noiseuse / Jacques Rivette, dir. (1991)
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes / Werner Herzog, dir. (1972)
***
The list - more or less in order:
Persona / Ingmar Bergman, dir. (1966)
Vertigo / Alfred Hitchcock, dir. (1958)
Zerkalo / Andrei Tarkovsky, dir. (1975)
L’Avventura / Michelangelo Antonioni, dir. (1960)
Rashomon / Akira Kurosawa, dir. (1950)
Dekalog / Krzysztof Kieślowski, dir. (1989)
Fa yeung nin wa / Wong Kar-Wai, dir. (2000)
2001: A Space Odyssey / Stanley Kubrick, dir. (1968)
Ordet / Carl Theodor Dreyer, dir. (1955)
Au hasard Balthazar / Robert Bresson, dir. (1966)
~
Le Mépris / Jean-Luc Godard, dir. (1963)
L’année dernière à Marienbad / Alain Resnais, dir. (1961)
La double vie de Véronique / Krzysztof Kieślowski, dir. (1991)
Banshun / Yasujiro Ozu, dir. (1949)
Ma nuit chez Maud / Eric Rohmer, dir. (1969)
Paris, Texas / Wim Wenders, dir. (1984)
Black Narcissus / Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, dir./writ. (1947)
Chimes at Midnight / Orson Welles, dir. (1965)
La Belle Noiseuse / Jacques Rivette, dir. (1991)
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes / Werner Herzog, dir. (1972)
Three video readings from Cinéma Vérité
Three video readings from from Cinéma Vérité (A-Minor Press / https://www.createspace.com/4377102 )
"Of Koyaanisqatsi"
http://youtu.be/21oJ_K-OESE
***
"Poem to Read Aloud While Positioning a Framed Sketch of Frankenstein's Monster on a Table"
http://youtu.be/GrBm91nmX6s
***
"At the Grave of Yasujiro Ozu"
http://youtu.be/oD_Gbuiw94A
"Of Koyaanisqatsi"
http://youtu.be/21oJ_K-OESE
***
"Poem to Read Aloud While Positioning a Framed Sketch of Frankenstein's Monster on a Table"
http://youtu.be/GrBm91nmX6s
***
"At the Grave of Yasujiro Ozu"
http://youtu.be/oD_Gbuiw94A
Black Narcissus ... the world of Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
[Black Narcissus is a source for my poem "Michael Powell's Women," from Cinéma Vérité.
Watching Black Narcissus (1947), a beautiful film by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, I realize the difficult struggles between belief, commitment, and the unchangeable, deepest self. There are those places in us that demand confrontation.
The basic premise of the story is a relatively young nun is given charge of establishing a small order in a remote area of the Himalayas. All previous efforts have been unsuccessful. The constancy of the wind – a magnificent trope in this film – although a reminder of transformation – makes the viewer fully aware of the necessity for acceptance – an absolute acceptance of the self. This is illustrated in the landscape, most notably, in the old palace that resists change. The psychosexual and emotional dynamics of the former palace shadow everything and refuse the nuns’ more “noble” efforts of religious practice, medicine, and learning.
The film is quite erotic and mysterious on a very personal level – while never losing sight of its larger though more subdued political agenda in terms of culture clash. A successful work in every respect – especially the superb cinematography by Jack Cardiff. Strong performances from Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, and David Farrar.
Watching Black Narcissus (1947), a beautiful film by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, I realize the difficult struggles between belief, commitment, and the unchangeable, deepest self. There are those places in us that demand confrontation.
The basic premise of the story is a relatively young nun is given charge of establishing a small order in a remote area of the Himalayas. All previous efforts have been unsuccessful. The constancy of the wind – a magnificent trope in this film – although a reminder of transformation – makes the viewer fully aware of the necessity for acceptance – an absolute acceptance of the self. This is illustrated in the landscape, most notably, in the old palace that resists change. The psychosexual and emotional dynamics of the former palace shadow everything and refuse the nuns’ more “noble” efforts of religious practice, medicine, and learning.
The film is quite erotic and mysterious on a very personal level – while never losing sight of its larger though more subdued political agenda in terms of culture clash. A successful work in every respect – especially the superb cinematography by Jack Cardiff. Strong performances from Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, and David Farrar.
