Smooth_J Blog

Under discussion:

Naked Lunch  (1991)

I somehow discovered this movie on Amazon a few weeks ago, and after reading up on it, I bought it out pure curiosity, and based on the fact that I had loved all the criterion films I had bought before this one.  I’m still amazed at how much I liked this movie.

I would like to start off by mentioning that William S. Burroughs is one of the most interesting people I have ever heard of, and I plan on reading his work very soon.  What is most fascinating about him is trying to decipher what about is actually true, and what about him is myth or fiction.  He actually reminds of a more literary Hunter S. Thompson, one of my favorite characters in writing (or even history).

However, it was not only these few reasons that I found the movie so exceptional.  The exposition is especially well-done, introducing you to Peter Weller’s Bill Lee character and his deadpan delivery of exterminator lines.  Even when the film is anchored in reality, it has a strange, surreal feel to it, heightened by awesome saxophone work by Ornette Coleman and a quietly strange score by Howard Shore.  Soon after Bill Lee utters the line “Exterminate all rational thought—that is the conclusion I have come to”, which acts as self-explanatory advice to the viewer, the film dips into the surreal and haunting world of a writer struggling with a near impossible work to finish.

Peter Weller is outstanding.  I have never seen such a perfectly deadpan performance that still contains so much depth and undertones in the right parts of his portrayal.  Judy Davis is also very good as his unfaithful, drug addled wife (and later lover?).  Most of the other performances are pretty much bit parts, shown to heighten the insignificance of normal human contact in the writing process.  There are a couple characters, however, to pay attention to—Ian Holm plays a fellow writer in “Interzone”, who lends Bill his cherished typewriter, only to have it be labeled as an “enemy agent” by Bill’s typewriter and destroyed.  Roy Scheider very effectively plays the role of a drug manufacturer in Interzone, and also seems to have a lot of fun with the part, hamming it up near the end of the final act.

It is also important to note that most of the occurrences in the film are in fact happening, but the way they are portrayed is through Bill Lee’s hallucinatory visions, as he believes that everything is assignment from a secret organization, and his writing is merely “reports.”

What is remarkable about the film is that it never delves into bizarrity without making you genuinely care what happens to Lee.  You watch his deliriums and dependencies spiral out of control, but he always retains his main character traits, though they may not be all that likeable.  It is difficult to watch sometimes, as it is often graphic and disturbing, but in the end, it is an extremely rewarding, yet puzzling, experience.

All in all, it is a meditation on the difficulties of the writing process, and the effect that drugs may have on a writer in the middle of it.  Burroughs really struggled with similar hallucinations and difficulties while writing the novel in Tangier, giving the film a very credible stand on the subject matter.  It was very effective that Cronenberg included not only events from the novel, but various happenings in Burroughs’ life and even some parts of his other books.  He even uses the William Tell routine to demonstrate what Burroughs said, in his own words, “Inspired him to be a writer.”  The significance of including it again after finally leaving Interzone is very simple—the “accidental” murder of his wife got him there, got him into writing; and now it is ultimately what will help him to finish his novel, and leave Interzone.

Under discussion:

Manda Bala  (2007)

As it was a documentary, I held off from watching Manda Bala for a pretty long time, despite the intriguing cover art and synopsis.  I am sort of mad that I held off for so long, since I was surprised to find that it was really quite good.

In Brazil, especially the Sao Paulo district, political corruption runs rampant, as do the equally powerful kidnapping and crime rings in the city slums.  The film begins by introducing a frog farm owner, who claims he would “never harm frogs in the wild”, but harvests them for various reasons at his business.  The scenes and descriptions of how the farm works are extremely well-done, and are the most stylistically done sequences of the film.

In the beginning, it’s hard to figure out just where the film is going, since so many different themes are presented, and it’s difficult to tell how they’re tied together (such as a woman describing her experience in being kidnapped in contrast with the frog farm).  However, once the film gets into full swing, and it’s revealed that the frog farm was in fact part of a money laundering scheme by fraudulent government officials, there are some powerful and eye-opening statements made.

One of the major and most interesting sub-topics shown is of a plastic surgeon, who in wake of the influx of ear-severing occurring during kidnappings, has developed a revolutionary new way to rebuild the ear.  It is fascinating, yet at the same time frustrating, seeing this man set to work, when in reality he is merely making profit off of other people’s suffering.  Because on one hand, he is helping them fix their deformities and help them out after such a traumatic experience, but in the other hand, he is making them pay immense amounts of money to get it done.

The film as a whole is extremely stylized, with perfectly timed ironic jibes and the metaphorical use of the frogs in representing Brazilian society.  It is often hilarious to see the film-makers begin their interviews so friendly and casual, and then ask a blunt, precise question that renders the subject speechless.  The best is when they get to interview Jader Barbalho, the maestro of the most diabolical of the money embezzlement schemes.  The interview begins with friendly questions as to his policy—and ends with Jader walking out of the room after being asked about a certain frog ranch.  The film-maker’s sense of irony and darkly exploitative humor is what makes the movie so compelling as a whole, and so powerful in the end.

Some of the subjects that Jason Kohn managed to talk with are extremely impressive, and one of these is a kidnapper/bank-robber from the Sao Paulo slums.  Some of the things revealed in this interview are the most disturbing yet overwhelmingly moving things said in the film.  It is amazing that one cannot bring themself to hate this man that is so clearly ruthless and would kill most people without a thought, because he is so oblivious to the wrong that he is doing.  The only reason he does it is because he has to in order to survive—and help his entire neighborhood to survive.  His final lines are profoundly emotional and eye-opening.

Manda Bala is a very good documentary.  It is very easy to see why it garnered such apparent acclaim, and won the Sundance best documentary.  Not only is its subject and ideas important, but it is carried out in a way that is fresh, stylish, and entertaining.