Review of 2010 Chungmuro Film Festival

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/09/07/in-review-chungmuro-international-film-festival-in-seoul/

VAGABOND (Agnes Varda, 1985)

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/08/14/in-review-vagabond-agnes-varda-1985/

THE LAST METRO and THE STORY OF WOMEN

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/08/06/in-review-late-films-by-new-wave-directors-on-vichy-france/

Article on STREET SCENES 1970

I have just published an article on the 1970 collective film STREET SCENES 1970, which was produced and edited by Martin Scorsese while he was a part-time professor at NYU. STREET SCENES has been a largely forgotten piece of Scorsese's career, and this is the first full-length piece on the film and its production and reception. The article is in the latest issue of FILM HISTORY. It is available for download but only if you have a subscription. The journal is also found in most libraries.

The link is available here.

SECRET SUNSHINE

My article on Lee Chang-dong's SECRET SUNSHINE is currently available in the new issue of the on-line journal JUMP CUT.

http://www.ejumpcut.org/currentissue/RaymondSecretSunsh/index.html

Arthouse Momo

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/06/14/arthouse-momo-in-seoul/

Federico Fellini Retrospective at Seoul Cinematheque

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/06/07/federico-fellini-retrospective-at-the-seoul-cinematheque/

Korean Film History, Written and Filmed

A review of Darcy Paquet's book "New Korean Cinema: Breaking the Waves" and Jang Sun-woo's documentary The Cinema on the Road (1995):

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/06/04/in-review-korean-film-history-written-and-filmed/

THE HOUSEMAID (Im Sang-soo, 2010)

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/05/20/in-review-the-housemaid-im-sang-soo-2010/

POETRY (Lee Chang-dong, 2010)

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/05/17/in-review-poetry-lee-chang-dong-2010/

This Week in Cinema

Two posts about screenings this week in Seoul:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/05/13/oscar-season-in-korea/

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/05/11/this-week-at-the-cinematheque-jiff-in-seoul/

Jeonju Film Festival Part Two

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/05/09/in-review-last-days-at-jeonju/

Jeonju Film Festival Report

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/05/04/in-review-weekend-screenings-at-jeonju/

Preview of Jeonju Film Festival

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/04/29/11th-jeonju-international-film-festival-april-29th-may-7th/

PAJU (Park Chan-ok, 2009)

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/04/18/in-review-paju-park-chan-ok-2009/

Article on THE KING OF COMEDY in FILM CRITICISM

In the current issue of FILM CRITICISM, I have an article on Martin Scorsese's THE KING OF COMEDY: "Too Smart, Too Soon: The King of Comedy and American Independent Cinema." The full article is only available in print version, but you can check out the abstracts of the current issue here.

Elia Kazan Retrospective

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/04/04/in-review-elia-kazan-retrospective/

The 12th International Women's Film Festival in Seoul

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/03/28/the-12th-international-womens-film-festival-in-seoul-april-8-15/

BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE (Bong Joon-ho, 2000)

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/03/21/in-review-barking-dogs-never-bite-bong-joon-ho-2000/

UP IN THE AIR (Jason Reitman, 2009)

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/03/15/in-review-up-in-the-air-jason-reitman-2009/

New at the Cinematheque

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/03/13/two-korean-films-this-week-at-the-seoul-cinematheque/

In Review: Paris, South Korea - The Influence of French Cinema on Korean Auteurs

New post at the oneonefour.com:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/02/19/in-review-paris-south-korea-the-influence-of-french-cinema-on-korean-auteurs/

A GOOD LAWYER'S WIFE (Im Sang-soo, 2003)

New review:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/02/11/in-review-a-good-lawyers-wife-im-sang-soo-2003/

THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (Charles Laughton, 1955)

New Review at theoneonefour.com:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/02/04/in-review-the-night-of-the-hunter-charles-laughton-1955/#more-5669

HAPPY END (Chung Ji-woo, 1999)

Review of Happy End at the oneonefour.com:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/01/20/in-review-happy-end-chung-ji-woo-1999/

Friends of Cinematheque Film Festival

Link to a preview of the upcoming Cinematheque Friends program:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/01/13/the-5th-friends-of-the-cinematheque-film-festival/

3 IRON (2004); THE CASE OF ITAEWON HOMICIDE (2009)

An article discussing two Korean films at theoneonefour.com:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2010/01/06/in-review-korean-cinema-high-and-low/

THE HUSTLER (Robert Rossen, 1961)

When I first became interested in film, I would routinely watch my favorites many times. This was the mid-90s, and thus most of the films I've seen dozens of times come from this era: Miller's Crossing (1990), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Heat (1995), Casino (1995), etc. But there were also many classic films that obsessed me, usually noir, Hitchcock, or Bogart: The Third Man (1949), Rear Window (1954), The Maltese Falcon (1941), etc. Since coming to Seoul, I've had a few occasions to revisit these old VHS memories on the big screen, which can be like experiencing them for the first time. On Sunday at the Seoul Cinematheque, I was able to revisit another of my old beloved classics, Robert Rossen's The Hustler (1961). It was easily one of the best experiences I've had at the theatre, and vaulted the film to near the top of my best films list. I thought I would try to articulate both my passion for this film and try to defend my high esteem for it. (SPOILERS ahead)

In terms of context, The Hustler was made in 1961, at a time when the old studio system was fading, and bares the marks of this period. Although essentially a gritty noir drama, it is shot in widescreen, making great use of this extended frame. In terms of its content, it is highly doubtful the movie gets made under the more strictly enforced Production Code of the 1940s. There is a greater frankness here, a feeling that this is an adult drama but still as subtle and restrained as classical filmmaking at its best. Furthermore, 1961 marks the year after Dalton Trumbo was the first blacklisted writer to officially return to Hollywood by receiving writing credit for Exodus (1960) and Spartacus (1960). This is significant in terms of the thematic harshness on display in The Hustler. It is not overtly political, but certainly would have cast suspicions on its director had it been released in the 1950s. In fact, director Rossen was called before HUAC before eventually "naming names" in 1953 in order to return to work. Viewed in this light, The Hustler is both a return to the social realm of Rossen's earlier work (particularly 1947's Body and Soul, another noir film using sports as metaphor) and even a self-critical comment by Rossen on his betrayal. This is why the blacklist context increases my appreciation of this film, as compared to Elia Kazan's self-justifying On the Waterfront (1954).

The story of The Hustler is structured into a very tight, very classical progression while feeling very loose and rambling, conveying an art cinema level of verisimilitude. After a seven-minute cold opening, itself a characteristic that marks it as slightly post-classical, we get the title sequence and then enter the Ames poolroom. The next 30 minutes, consisting of the first act, is made up of a pool match between Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) and Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason).


This is the most extended sports scene in the film, and, unusually, it takes place as the first act rather than the conclusion. Following this, the second act shows Eddie living in the transitory noir spaces of bus stations, bars, pool rooms, and seedy hotels (all filmed on location in New York City).


He meets the damaged and alcoholic Sarah (Piper Laurie) and develops a romance with her. For many, this romance is the major weakness of the movie, even amongst its admirers, but I enjoy this aspect as much as the rest. Laurie's performance here is right on the edge, at times heavily melodramatic and thus potentially off-putting but ultimately exactly the kind of high emotion needed. The theatrical gestures can seem overdone, especially in the close-up lens of the camera, but Sarah is herself a performative character acting a role while also trying to live it.


At the mid-point of the second act (and of the film as a whole), there is a turning point. Eddie rejects his old partner Charlie, fights with Sarah, rejects a business offer from the gambler Bert Gordon (George C. Scott), and gets his thumbs broken after hustling money in a back alley pool game. In this castrated state, Eddie starts to become more thoughtful and reflective, no more so than in a picnic scene in the country with Sarah. After explaining how he was bothered by being called a loser by Gordon, he goes on to explain his love of the game. However, he still hasn't achieved any self-knowledge at this point, continuing to allow others, especially Gordon, determine his value.

After recovering, he agrees to work with Gordon, beginning the final act as Eddie, Sarah and Gordon travel to Louisville during Kentucky Derby weekend so Eddie can play a billiards match with the aristocratic Findley. It is here where the climax occurs, as Eddie is losing to Findley and begging Gordon to keep playing.

Sarah tells Eddie not to beg him, but Eddie coldly rejects her. After this display of "character", Gordon tells Eddie he can keep playing, and he easily defeats Findley. Back at the hotel, Sarah degrades herself with Gordon and then commits suicide in his bathroom.


The denouement finds Eddie back at Ames to defeat Minnesota Fats and confront Gordon. In contrast to the opening, the pool game is almost perfunctory, with Eddie now easily winning. He rejects Gordon's offer to keep playing pool for him, and leaves he game completely.

But not before a memorable exchange with Minnesota Fats:

Eddie: Fat man, you should a great game of pool.
Minnesota Fats: So do you, Fast Eddie.

The Hustler is very much a character study of Felson, and it is difficult to imagine anyone else playing the role more effectively than Newman,. In later years, in interviews, Newman admitted to disliking the performance, finding a lack of the kind of understatement that would more and more define with later career. And while that subtlety works with the characters in The Verdict (1982) and Nobody's Fool (1994), I disagree with Newman and think it would not work at all with this film and this character. I think Newman's reservations, like those critics who dislike the character of Sarah, revolves around the distrust of the large emotions of melodrama. This is a film of large gestures and large themes that seem to clash with the more realistic elements that most critics tend to valourize. For example, take the following shot of Eddie just before he collapses after his loss to Minnesota Fats.

Both the scene and Newman's performance can appear, as Newman put it, as someone playing the violin too hard and producing a shriek. But so few films try for this type of intensity that I admire the film all the more for it, especially since the moments are earned and take place within a believable if stylized world.

If some criticize Laurie and Newman, no one I know has anything but positives for the third lead, George C. Scott, an actor often seen as "too big" for the movies and thus most effective when given scenery to chew (Dr. Strangelove, Patton). This is a magnificent performance, big and broad and yet utterly grounded. Maybe his best moment is his most atypical, as he tries to explain to Eddie about Sarah's suicide and then sobs in tears as Eddie attacks him.


The final confrontation between Gordon and Felson thus already feels like a more equal grounding, as if Eddie has learned something and Gordon has finally felt something. Equally good in this final scene, and throughout, is Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats. Although it is never explicitly stated, both Gleason's performance and Rossen's direction tell us an entire back story to this man.

Clearly, he has sold out to Gordon and recognizes everything Eddie says to Gordon to be accurate. By situating a sitting Minnesota Fats between the two men, Rossen is making the stakes involved for Eddie very clear. Thus the final great exchange between Fats and Eddie cited above is not only redemptive for Eddie, but for Fats as well, and Gleason's look and gesture convey this beautifully.

I want to conclude by recalling the political context and also remembering that this is a sports movie. I would call it maybe the greatest movie about sports, even if pool is not usually considered a sport but rather a game. I think it is a great sports movie because it gets at something at the heart of competition and its relationship with masculinity and capitalism. The desire to win, the desire to prove one's manhood, and the desire to make money are all corrupting of human relationships and corrupting of whatever value sports can have (if there is any, which is debatable). Eddie's speech about pool is touching not because he talks about winning, but because it is about "playing the game right" and earning self-respect. Eddie's tragedy is not realizing this until he has lost everything. Perhaps Rossen identified with this himself, having sold his soul to the Bert Gordons of HUAC and the studios to keep making money. He spent the 50s making largely forgettable spectacles. Now that the blacklist had started to clear, making The Hustler proved a certain redemption for him as well.

2009 In Review

Normally I wait until March to compile a review of the year's movies, since by January I normally haven't enough films. But thanks to festivals and the internet, I have already seen over 40 films this year. So although there are a few prominent omissions, most notably Jason Reitman's Up in the Air, I thought I would rank the films I have seen so far.

5 Stars

The White Ribbon
Face
Lost in the Mountains

4 1/2 Stars

Dogtooth
A Lake
Like You Know It All
Inglourious Basterds
The Hurt Locker

4 Stars

Humpday
Drag Me to Hell
District 9
Adventureland
Butterflies Have No Memories
The Cove
Daytime Drinking
In the Loop
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Girlfriend Experience
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Goodbye Solo
Mother

3 1/2 Stars

Funny People
The Brothers Bloom
(500) Days of Summer
Thirst
Persecution
The Hangover
World's Greatest Dad
Avatar
Night and Fog
Bruno
I Love You Man
A North Chinese Girl

3 Stars

Tyson
Anti-Christ
Hierro
Closer to Heaven
Koma

2 1/2 Stars

Halloween II

2 Stars

Where Are You?

1 1/2 Stars

Dust

Classic Hollywood at the Seoul Cinematheque

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/12/20/hollywood-classic-special-at-seoul-cinematheque/

Jean Cocteau/ Jean Genet Special at the Seoul Cinematheque

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/12/15/jean-cocteau-jean-genet-special-at-the-seoul-cinematheque/

MY DEAR ENEMY (Lee Yoon-ki, 2008)

New Review:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/12/13/my-dear-enemy-lee-yoon-ki-2008/

DAYTIME DRINKING (Noh Young-Seok, 2008)

New review here:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/12/04/daytime-drinking-noh-young-seok-2008/

What's New in Film

New post at the One One Four:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/11/30/whats-new-in-film/

Style, Popular Cinema and INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Another take on Quentin Tarantino's latest film:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/11/26/in-review-style-popular-cinema-and-inglourious-basterds/

BEST OF THE DECADE

Here is the link to my "Best of the Decade" list:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/11/19/in-review-best-of-the-decade/

French Cinema Now and Review of ROAD TO THE RACETRACK

Two links to columns at the One One Four:

Preview of the French Cinema Now program at the Seoul Cinematheque here.

Review of Jang Sun-woo's ROAD TO THE RACETRACK (1991) here.

IN REVIEW: LEONE'S LEGACY

Review of ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, and THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE WEIRD now available here.

THE DAY A PIG FELL IN THE WELL

New review at the oneonefour.com:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/10/29/in-review-the-day-a-pig-fell-in-the-well-hong-sang-soo-1996/

PIFF Overview

I have just published an overview of the 13th Pusan Film Festival, which consists of a conversation between myself and William Empey, who also attended a number of screenings. It can be found here.

More PIFF Reviews

Here are some more reviews from the Pusan Film Festival:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/10/13/day-five-at-piff-in-review/

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/10/15/day-six-at-piff-in-review/

Reviews from PIFF

I've been posting some quick reviews from the Pusan International Film Festival at the One One Four:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/10/11/piff-day-two-in-review/

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/10/12/piff-day-three-in-review/

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/10/13/piff-day-four-in-review/

CLOSER TO HEAVEN and Melodrama in Korean Cinema

A discussion of melodrama and Korean cinema:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/10/01/in-review-closer-to-heaven-park-jin-pyo-2009-and-melodrama-in-korean-cinema/

In Review: THIS CHARMING GIRL

I have just posted a review of Lee Yoon-ki's first film, This Charming Girl (2004). It's available here:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/09/24/in-review-this-charming-girl-lee-yoon-ki-2004/

Review of THE HOUSEMAID

I have just posted a review of Kim Ki-Young's The Housemaid (1960), along with an overview of theauteurs.com. You can find it at theoneonefour.com.

PIFF Top Ten

I have just posted my preview of the Pusan Film Festival. You can check it out here:
http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/09/15/the-most-anticipated-screenings-at-the-2009-piff/

Review of MOTHER and MEMORIES OF MURDER

New review of Bong Joon-ho at theoneonefour.com

MADE IN USA (Jean-Luc Godard, 1966)

For many years, one of the more difficult to see of Jean-Luc Godard's 1960s films was Made in USA, a film Godard makes in between a number of what I feel are among the greatest in film history. It is made after Pierrot le Fou (1965) and Masculine Feminine (1966) and before Two or Three Things I Know About Her (1967). This run of films by Godard, and in fact the whole decade of his 1960s filmmaking, mark one of the most incredible runs in film history. This is not to say that Godard has not continued to make great films. Rather, this time period allowed for the unique convergence of experimentation taking place by a highly visible celebrity artist (Godard's celebrity in France at the time was rather enormous). The fact that Godard had the ability to act as a public intellectual while continuing to make aesthetically dazzling work remains one of the great achievements in cinema history. And, luckily, the Criterion Collection has gradually been releasing many of these works on high quality DVD packages over the last number of years. Most recently, Made in USA and Two or Three Things I Know About Her finally made their appearance on the Criterion label, and as usual the quality of the productions in great, both in terms of the image and the supporting extras.

Seeing Made in USA for the first time was quite a surprising experience. Being made after the essay-like Masculine Feminine and before the even more anti-narrative films like Two or Three Things, La Chinoise, and Weekend, I was expecting Made in USA to be something similar. However, with Godard, it shouldn't have been a shock that it didn't fit into my expectations. Made in USA is more in line with something like Pierrot le Fou or Alphaville, or even the much earlier A Woman is a Woman. It is a genre piece, a detective story, and is filled with a huge number of references to Classic Hollywood. Old actors and detectives dominate the character names and dialogue to a very blatant degree for any cinephile, and it is clear where Tarantino gets his influence. Of course, the similarity between the two stops there. As the excellent Criterion supplemental reference guide points out, the cinema references are only one context of allusion: there is also literature and, most critically, politics. And while I got most of the cinema references, the politics of the period were less familiar. What this did was make me learn this context, which Criterion helps provide, at least as a starting point.

Now, the question arises as to how "entertaining" all of this is, and it is a legitimate question to try to answer. But it is not one we should answer uncritically. Most younger film fans, when asked about whether they prefer Godard or Tarantino, would answer Tarantino, provided they even heard of Godard, because Tarantino gives a much easier access to cinematic pleasure. Tarantino does not want to question, at least on any fundamental level, the dominant mode of cinematic address. Godard clearly does, but I would maintain that he does so in a highly entertaining manner. The images of this film are incredibly pleasurable and arresting. The problem lies in Godard's lack of interest in telling generic stories. Unlike Tarantino, he was unwilling, almost from the start, to play the game. He does not want to break expectations as much as destroy them from the start and have the audience approach the film in a radically different way. In another of the extras from the DVD, Godard biographer Richard Brody states that Made in USA, despite being dedicated to Nicolas Ray and Samuel Fuller, does not show the influence of either Ray, Fuller, or the whole film noir tradition. This is true narratively, but certainly not in terms of the actual dedication, which is to the sounds and images of the two directors. Looking at Made in USA, the work of Ray in particular cannot be ignored. If Godard was willing to give in to audiences in terms of story, I'm convinced his images would be capable of mass appeal.

But I hardly think we should want this kind of concession from Godard. And I'm not trying to simply dismiss Tarantino (whose work I very much like) or popular narrative in general. But I do feel someone like Godard, given the rather easy acceptance of the cultural industry given by most fans and even many scholars, is still very valuable and needs to be seriously considered in today's cultural world. This is why I highly recommend checking out his work on these Criterion DVDs, which really provide a wealth of additional material that properly contextualizes Godard and can lead to greater enjoyment of his very challenging and still important work.

The Battle for the Soul of Jesse Eisenberg

I recently watched Adventureland (Greg Mottola, 2009), newly released on DVD, an indie romantic comedy that I really enjoyed. It stars Jesse Eisenberg, who is also the lead of two other very good comedy-dramas, Roger Dodger (Dylan Kidd, 2002) and The Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach, 2005). These three films have a great deal in common, especially in terms of the characters that Eisenberg plays. In all three, Eisenberg is positioned between different concepts of masculinity, especially in relation to women. Eisenberg's characters are all very similar, sensitive young men who want to respect women and find romantic love. They are in many ways post-feminist young men who want to join in rejecting traditional masculinity. However, in each film, there is an older male character who tempts the character into rejecting their sensitivity and embracing their "natural" sexual urges. Of course, these natural urges involve viewing sexuality in a physical rather than idealist light.

This biological argument gets expressed in the great opening scene of Roger Dodger, with Roger's opening line: "What's happening right now is important only in the context of our continuing evolution as a species." Roger (played by Campbell Scott) explains to his colleagues that man is only useful as long as he has a utility to women. Once that function ceases, which he believes is coming in the future with technology that will allow procreation without men, the result will not be "equality" but rather "natural selection"; the role of the male gender will thus become first servitude and then elimination. It is a dazzling speech and performance, as indicated within the film by the applause he is given by his colleagues after he concludes, and sets up Roger as a seducer, not only or even primarily of women but of his young nephew (played by Eisenberg). It clearly sets up the character's hatred of women as being intimately linked to his vulnerability. But this vulnerability is actually not biological in any way. It is primarily social and cultural, a result of Roger's own difficult relationship with his father. This scene sets the stage for the drama not only of Roger Dodger but of the later films as well. Both the father in The Squid and the Whale (played by Jeff Daniels) and the carnival maintenance worker in Adventureland (played by Ryan Reynolds) make similar arguments about sexuality being something that is a physical need in order to justify their own behaviour, and Eisenberg in each case is lured into rejecting his former values and following this path. By the end of each of these films, however, the character comes to a better understanding of the jaded and rather pathetic nature of these characters (only in Roger Dodger does this character also come to some self-realization) and rejects them.


Adventureland is especially interesting because Eisenberg's character is now older (post-graduate) and in many ways the battle is not as difficult. He easily rejects Connell for the loser that he is, and even forgives his girlfriend for cheating on him. This is why I think the most interesting character in the film is actually Em (played by Kristen Stewart), who is also torn between two different types of masculinity and has difficulty rejecting the older form. Again, this is less biological than social, given the difficulty she has in her own family situation. Still, although it is about slightly older characters, Adventureland still has a youthful idealism and concludes on a beautiful shot just before Eisenberg enters into the world of sexuality. What will be interesting will be if Eisenberg continues to get cast as similar characters as he gets older. Because in many ways the battle he will face going forward will be much more internal, an attempt to maintain a certain idealism in the face of social reality.

Overview of Chungmuro Film Festival at The One One Four

I just completed my first assignment working as a contributing editor for Film at the One One Four website, a English language blog covering the arts and culture scene in Korea. Most of my writing will now appear here, although I will occasionally post items that may be outside of their concerns on this website. And I will continue to link to my pieces at the One One Four here as well.

My article on the Chungmuro Film Festival can be found here:

http://www.theoneonefour.com/2009/09/02/news-and-reviews-from-the-chungmuro-film-fest/#more-4140