Post by klep on Feb 15, 2016 11:03:40 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/15: It's Such A Beautiful Day
Don Hertzfeldt's work displays a decidedly melancholic view of life. It's like he thinks the world is beautiful and life is wonderous and it's really too bad it's all going to end, probably with a fair amount of suffering along the way. To that end, it's not really surprising that he chose to make a film that celebrates that wonder and beauty through the prism of a dying man. And not just any dying man, but one who is dying of an ailment that increasingly robs him of his ability to appreciate the world right up until the moment when that becomes the only thing he is capable of doing.
Hertzfeldt declines to use the entire frame for most of the film. Or rather, he makes use of it by blocking off most of it to restrict our field of view and keep us firmly focused on the myopic perceptions of Bill. When other bubbles open up, they generally contain only one or two figures, preventing us from taking full stock of the world. Hertzfeldt only uses the rest of the frame when Bill himself becomes more expansive or as Bill slides into delerium.
The moments of Bill's life Hertzfeldt chooses to focus on over the course of these three edited-together shorts are a mixed bag. The middle section reveals some of his childhood, but also some of his family history - enough to show us that the tragic arc of his life was to some degree predestined. But the rest of the film focuses on his period of decline. Some of the events covered are important - his diagnosis, his breakup, his remission, his relapse. But often as not these events are random and seemingly meaningless - odd bits of the fabric of life that can mean both nothing and everything at the same time. So late in the film when Bill decides to take a walk, nothing seems amiss (at least, not more than usual). It's just another random moment from his life.
Then Bill decides to take a walk, and it's a punch in the gut. By giving us these random moments Hertzfeldt has painted a fuller tapestry of life in all of its moments - big and important, small and absurd - but he has also deftly set us up for a huge emotional swing as we realize just how badly Bill is fading. Our only solace is that Bill finds his own solace on the way out.
Except that Hertzfeldt isn't quite done, providing a poignant coda to Bill's life that rages against mortality and the fading of the light. Those final minutes defy the bleakness that preceded them, boldly asserting the value of life and experience, and expressing some kind of hope - for Bill, maybe for Hertzfeldt himself, maybe for all of us. It may be denial to tell us Bill will live forever, but it's a beautiful denial that encourages us all to believe it and want it for ourselves.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/22: Punch Drunk Love
Next week we'll be discussing this film by Dissolve-favorite Paul Thomas Anderson featuring one of the rare instances of Adam Sandler putting in an effort. It is available on Netflix Instant and Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime Members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 2/16: Barton Fink
On Wednesday we'll devote the day to discussion of this Coen brothers film, which is available on Amazon Instant Video, but is not free for Prime Members.
Don Hertzfeldt's work displays a decidedly melancholic view of life. It's like he thinks the world is beautiful and life is wonderous and it's really too bad it's all going to end, probably with a fair amount of suffering along the way. To that end, it's not really surprising that he chose to make a film that celebrates that wonder and beauty through the prism of a dying man. And not just any dying man, but one who is dying of an ailment that increasingly robs him of his ability to appreciate the world right up until the moment when that becomes the only thing he is capable of doing.
Hertzfeldt declines to use the entire frame for most of the film. Or rather, he makes use of it by blocking off most of it to restrict our field of view and keep us firmly focused on the myopic perceptions of Bill. When other bubbles open up, they generally contain only one or two figures, preventing us from taking full stock of the world. Hertzfeldt only uses the rest of the frame when Bill himself becomes more expansive or as Bill slides into delerium.
The moments of Bill's life Hertzfeldt chooses to focus on over the course of these three edited-together shorts are a mixed bag. The middle section reveals some of his childhood, but also some of his family history - enough to show us that the tragic arc of his life was to some degree predestined. But the rest of the film focuses on his period of decline. Some of the events covered are important - his diagnosis, his breakup, his remission, his relapse. But often as not these events are random and seemingly meaningless - odd bits of the fabric of life that can mean both nothing and everything at the same time. So late in the film when Bill decides to take a walk, nothing seems amiss (at least, not more than usual). It's just another random moment from his life.
Then Bill decides to take a walk, and it's a punch in the gut. By giving us these random moments Hertzfeldt has painted a fuller tapestry of life in all of its moments - big and important, small and absurd - but he has also deftly set us up for a huge emotional swing as we realize just how badly Bill is fading. Our only solace is that Bill finds his own solace on the way out.
Except that Hertzfeldt isn't quite done, providing a poignant coda to Bill's life that rages against mortality and the fading of the light. Those final minutes defy the bleakness that preceded them, boldly asserting the value of life and experience, and expressing some kind of hope - for Bill, maybe for Hertzfeldt himself, maybe for all of us. It may be denial to tell us Bill will live forever, but it's a beautiful denial that encourages us all to believe it and want it for ourselves.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/22: Punch Drunk Love
Next week we'll be discussing this film by Dissolve-favorite Paul Thomas Anderson featuring one of the rare instances of Adam Sandler putting in an effort. It is available on Netflix Instant and Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime Members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 2/16: Barton Fink
On Wednesday we'll devote the day to discussion of this Coen brothers film, which is available on Amazon Instant Video, but is not free for Prime Members.