Art Films, Cows, and yet more Snow
As I said, there was heavy snow over Montreal, the night my friend and I went to the Fifa (Festival International du Film sur l'Art) at the Fine Arts Museum. The bronze cow outside the museum was embedded up to his neck. Lots of people were taking cell phone pictures of it. I had forgotten my camera, so I contented myself with later making this drawing:
Two films that night, both documentaries, but very different.
The first was called Notes on Photography, not the most stimulating title, by Jan Knutzen. Narrated in Norwegian by the filmmaker, and with English subtitles, it was an unpretentious series of almost still shots made with a DV video camera, mixed with photographs from the filmmaker's own collection and famous photographers, such as Eugene Atget.
With very little movement of the camera, and quiet words from the narrator, it invites you into Knutzen's thoughts, and before you know it, you are sucked into his world where photographs are numinous, and are a means of letting you travel back though time.
The next film was Achever l'Inachevable (Achieving the Unachievable), by Jean Bergeron. This was made for North American TV, possibly the same market I write for. Much flashier, this documentary uses computer graphic special effects to untangle some of the mysteries behind the lithographs of M.C Escher. Why, it asks, is there an empty space in the middle of one of his pictures, Print Gallery?
The computer graphics are well-suited to explore Escher's world of distortion and optical illusion. But the film is compromised by its concession to the TV market, such as a young "Escherian" host, (maybe the filmmaker. UPDATE: No, according to my friend, it's this guy) who doesn't seem to be much of an authority on Escher, only a pretty face, and by interviews with Quebec art celebrities who seem to have little to do with Escher. Their inclusion undoubtedly brought the project funding. I would rather have heard more from the experts and seen them help with the demonstration, but they were overdubbed, and only talking heads. I have to admit my enjoyment was curtailed because of my lousy French, and the fact there were no subtitles.
If you skipped over all of that, here's a last drawing of a guy in the bar where we stopped off. Behind him are a bunch of kids, laughing and dancing, undoubtedly cheesing him off, or perhaps making him feel envious:
Two films that night, both documentaries, but very different.
The first was called Notes on Photography, not the most stimulating title, by Jan Knutzen. Narrated in Norwegian by the filmmaker, and with English subtitles, it was an unpretentious series of almost still shots made with a DV video camera, mixed with photographs from the filmmaker's own collection and famous photographers, such as Eugene Atget.
With very little movement of the camera, and quiet words from the narrator, it invites you into Knutzen's thoughts, and before you know it, you are sucked into his world where photographs are numinous, and are a means of letting you travel back though time.
The next film was Achever l'Inachevable (Achieving the Unachievable), by Jean Bergeron. This was made for North American TV, possibly the same market I write for. Much flashier, this documentary uses computer graphic special effects to untangle some of the mysteries behind the lithographs of M.C Escher. Why, it asks, is there an empty space in the middle of one of his pictures, Print Gallery?
The computer graphics are well-suited to explore Escher's world of distortion and optical illusion. But the film is compromised by its concession to the TV market, such as a young "Escherian" host, (maybe the filmmaker. UPDATE: No, according to my friend, it's this guy) who doesn't seem to be much of an authority on Escher, only a pretty face, and by interviews with Quebec art celebrities who seem to have little to do with Escher. Their inclusion undoubtedly brought the project funding. I would rather have heard more from the experts and seen them help with the demonstration, but they were overdubbed, and only talking heads. I have to admit my enjoyment was curtailed because of my lousy French, and the fact there were no subtitles.
If you skipped over all of that, here's a last drawing of a guy in the bar where we stopped off. Behind him are a bunch of kids, laughing and dancing, undoubtedly cheesing him off, or perhaps making him feel envious:
Labels: film reviews
posted by Jack Ruttan at 4:10 PM
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