Bigger Pen

So I went out to the dollar store and got a bigger pen, plus a bag of chips. Both about the same price. I think the more white you leave, the better the drawing. (the pen looks like something ladies buy in one of those specialty shops in downtown Montreal!)



Was watching this film called People I Know, with Al Pacino. It was made in 2001, but not released until 2004, because it said uncomplimentary things about the mayor of New York.

It's a movie about a wheeling and dealing press agent (Pacino), who get enmeshed in a silly, by-the-numbers thriller plot. More interesting than that is the work of a publicist, glad-handing, and begging people to appear at benefits. All of that was quite convincing in the film.

Odd Drawing, and a Lot of Poorly-Edited Writing.

Since I do a lot of this drawing while watching DVD movies, and I’m trying to get back into typing more (funny for a writer, but typing in a long-winded computer “journal” was another form of relaxation for me, akin to these sketches.) But lately, I’ve been only writing notes in my book, and typing for work. And also, leaving comments in other people’s blogs.

I’ve decided, at least for now (because these decisions don’t always take), to try more written material. Don’t know if the few visitors who come here to look at pictures will want to read. I usually don’t want to read long articles in other people's blogs, unless something is absurdly entertaining. Here, at times, I feel, this blog is anti-entertainment: look at the effort I put into an unpleasant drawing, for instance, rather than trying to please the eye.

This is a long way of saying, I want to try more film reviews. Believe it or not, I used to be a professional reviewer. Back in the day, in the Calgary Sun, and numerous book and art magazines. The review below is very rambling, but maybe I’ll sharpen up. That feels a lot like work, however. On to the film:

Watched the movie Stoned last night, about the late Brian Jones, founder of the Rolling Stones. Kind of a wasted opportunity, in that it was mainly a dragging tale of dissipation, on the order of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” when it could have shown more of what made the man an artist. The only hint of that we get is the bit in Marrakesh, when he’s listening to the pipes which sounds like the ones in “Paint it Black.”

But they don’t play that song, and you have to figure that out yourself, and pick up on the dozens of references which are apparently scattered throughout the film. What we see on the screen seems to be the same, and more of the same. Some very obvious lines from characters explain things, but that only makes it more stupid. There was interesting interaction between the builder and Jones (gay? Repressed? – that would be too simple!), but I wish they had gone into it more. As it is, it only seems that the drugs take a toll. Maybe he’s jealous of the girlfriend. Anyhow, the stupid, obvious parts push you away from it, like the symbolism of the house falling apart as the builder’s life goes downhill. And, he didn’t seem terribly affected by it all. The murder seems to be a bit of bullying and homophobia, which wasn’t prepared for by the story.

Interesting how completely forgotten Brian Jones is, even though he basically put together one of the most famous rock groups in history. The Stones go on, but there isn’t even some sort of mythology about him. The deleted scenes on the DVD show him with a little bit of talent, and I liked the aspects of surrealism, the actors, and the art direction.

American Psyche

Paul van den Boom's film, American Psyche, is playing in Montreal this Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 9 pm at the Cinema du Parc. Good for him. It's been shown at film festivals in Valladolid, Spain, Sao Paulo, Brazil, also Italy, and Istanbul, Turkey, but so far hasn't had a showing in Quebec. So this is effectively the Canadian premiere.

It's a serious piece of work. Back in 2004, when George W. Bush won his second term in office, van den Boom and co-creator François Le Goarant took off across the United States to interview all kinds of Americans, and see how they were feeling about the direction their country was taking. Now, in 2008, when the effects of Bush's rule have taken hold, what they had to say then takes on discomforting new meanings.

We get a full spectrum of voices: teenage girls in Ohio who are enthusiastic for Bush, wealthy artist/professors who are more guarded; a fundamentalist doctor, surrounded by his many daughters, warning that most of us are going to Hell. Also Native Americans and the homeless, all articulate, and eager to talk about America and leave a message on the record.

What's interesting about this film is that it comes from an outsider's point of view, almost without any preconceptions. His subjects are happy to explain themselves and their country to a stranger.

Filmgoers might want more context to go with the talk. The structure of interview after interview coming after various chapter headings makes the film a little slow going. Still, by the end it builds a fascinating cumulative picture of the American Psyche at a crucial point in time. Viewers will leave the theatre enlightened and moved, and maybe worried at what is ahead.

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: