Kazhes pierakstu burtnīca

This film has nothing in common with "Unce Upon A Time In America", which on the other hand isn`t the same film as "Once Upon A Time In Mexico". This film is a story about an Irish family that moves to the States. The family consists of Johnny - the father, Sarah - the mother, and Christy and Ariel - the daughters. Inside all of them carry Frankie - the son who died at the age of five. Christy, the elder daughter, is the central figure in the film, because we partly see everything her way. She believes that she has three wishes from Frankie which will be fulfilled. The family struggles for the parents can`t find work as actors, Sarah is pregnant with another daughter but there seem to be medical problems with the unborn child, and none of them has got over Frankie. They encounter a strange artist named Mateo who becomes very much attached to the family. And then there`s E.T. from the film E.T., who`s also a symbol in the film. The film is a moving one, it`s not about surviving in America or the American dream, of course, it`s about grief, about loss and about love.

Žaks Tatī (kā šodien atklāju un kā iepriekš nenojautu) ir viens no sava laikmeta (pirms jaunā viļņa) franču nozīmīgākajiem kino režisoriem. Tā kā viņš pats jaunības dienās piestrādājis par mīmu (lūk, viena īsteni franciska profesija), nav brīnums, ka arī viņa filmas īpaši neizceļas ar lielu runāšanas daudzumu. Filmas galveno varoni - Ilo kungu - atveido pats Žaks Tatī. Filmas sižets ir ļoti nosacīti izsakāms: Ilo kungs ieradies Francijas dienvidu kūrortpilsētiņā, lai tur pavadītu savu vasaras atvaļinājumu. Ciematiņā notiek daudz visādu muļķīgu un vairāk vai mazāk komisku notikumu, kas lielā mērā man atsauc atmiņā mēmo kino (kas šajā filmā tiek vēl papildu stiprināts, izmantojot klavieru plinkšķināšanu un mazliet paātrinātu filmas tempu. Nekā īpaša, ko filmas sakarā atstāstīt, man nav, skatījos to pavirši, īpaši nebēdājoties, ka franču valodu nezinu un subtitrus nedabūju - tā kā Ilo kungs visas filmas garumā pasaka labi ja pāris sakarīgas frāzes, bez valodas zināšanām te var visnotaļ labi iztikt. Laikam varētu teikt, ka Tatī iet pa Bastera Kītona pēdām (nevis Čārlija Čaplina uz 100% fizisko joku), taču es personīgi neesmu šāda veida kino mākslas cienītājs. Un vispār - reti kura vairāk nekā 50 gadus veca filma spēj mani ieinteresēt, "Ilo kunga brīvdienas", nav viena no tām.

Reizēm gadās man pieredzēt kaut ko tik šokējošu, ka to nav viegli pārdzīvot. Šī Veras Hitilovas filma varētu būt viens no šādiem gadījumiem. Tā mani pārsteidza patiesībā tikai ar vienu lietu - ar savu eksistenci. Kā tas principā ir iespējams, ka 1966. gadā komunistiskajā Čehoslovākijā varēja radīt šādu kino? Pirmkārt, filma ir nesaistītu un visnotaļ psihodēlisku epizožu virtene, kas aktīvi izmanto dažādus krāsu filtrus, dīvainus efektus un tās galvenās varones - divas jaunas meitenes vārdā Marija - nodarbojas ar vecāku vīriešu pavešanu un apčakarēšanu. Vēl viņas tusē savā istabā, kas ir iekārtota visai dīvaini. Vēl pa brīžam filmā parādās pilnīgi absurdas epizodes - tā kā sākumā, kad viņas kustās ar čīkstēšanas skaņām un viss notiek kaut kā dīvaini manierīgi. Šī filma ir avangardiska, simboliska, pa brīžam smieklīga, pa brīžam nesaprotama (vismaz man čehu valoda ir pārāk vāja, bet nenoņemami franču subtitri īpaši skaidrāku situāciju arī nedara), mazliet bezjēdzīga un galvenais - eksistējoša. Kā jau minēju, tieši pēdējais aspekts mani pārsteidz visvairāk.

In terms of popularity Coldplay is one of the biggest bands in the world. In other terms it isn`t. Coldplay`s music isn`t overblown, on the contrary it`s a bit too slow and silent for me. With their new album they try to adjust to the modern world, but I can probably say that it`s not a thing they do particulary good. "White shadows" for instance is a bit too 80`ish for my taste, and on some other tracks silly synthesizers can be heard as well. Basically it is an album with no highlights, probably except for "What if", which isn`t that staying either. That doesn`t say that the record is bad, it`s just a bit too "nothingish" to be really good.

Torntons Vailders līdz nesenam laikam man bija gluži svešs putns. Uzvārds, protams, dzirdēts, bet neko no viņa darbiem lasījis nebiju. Kā izrādās, šis formāli 20. gadsimta pusei piederošais rakstnieks savas 78 gadus ilgās dzīves laikā bija paspējis uzrakstīt vien 7 romānus, kas gan, protams, nav neko brīnumaini, ievērojot to, ka pamatā viņš ir pazīstams kā dramaturgs. "Marta īdas" hronoloģiski ir viņa piektais darbs un es pagaidām nespēju noteikt, vai tas viņam skaitās viens no labākajiem - vai otrādi. Slavenākais viņa romāns neapšaubāmi ir "Svētā Ludviķa tilts", bet vismaz savā grāmatu krājumā līdz šim tādu atrast neesmu spējis, līdz ar to tieši "Marta īdas" ir mūsu pazīšanās sākums. Tas ir atkal jau kārtējais romāns vēstulēs. Šīs vēstules raksta virkne vairāk vai mazāk vēsturisku personāžu, kas dzīvojuši Cēzara laikmetā Romā un tās teritorijās. Apskatītie notikumi - Cēzara dzīves pēdējie gadi, kaut kādas intrigas ap viņu, Cēzara dzīves panīkums, attiecības ar dzejniekiem, Kleopatru un galvenokārt - Cēzara iekšējās pārdomas. Līdz ar to nav brīnums, ka vairumu vēstuļu raksta pats Cēzars, apcerot dažādus savas pasaules trūkumus un dažādus trūkumus sevī. Pats Cēzars Vailderam padevies pat ļoti simpātisks, tāds gudrs, sirms vecis, kas gan mazliet dumjš palicis savas kaisles dēļ, kas apzinās to, cik daudz viņa impērijā ir mīnusu, tomēr zina, ka reti kurš varētu tajā valdīt labāk par viņu, vīrietis, kas šaubās par jebkādu dievu eksisteni utt. Pāris citāti romānā ir patiešām kolosāli - piemēram, Cēzara apgalvojums, ka ja viņš nebūtu Cēzars, viņš kļūtu par Cēzara slepkavu. Augstāko aprindu intrigas man gan īpaši interesantas nešķiet, daļa no vēstulēm man šķiet visai garlaicīgas, taču kopumā šajā romānā var just ģēnija dzirksti, vienīgi tā patiešām ir dzirksts un nevis spoži apgaismots viss romāns.

If Umberto Eco is to be trusted, this will be the last of him I`ll be reading. On one hand I can understand his position - he`s 73 now and you rarely write your best work when you`re beyond such age. Since 1983 when "The name of the rose" came out Eco has been loved and respected in the world of the reading public. He has also enjoyed quite a lot of success as a historian of the Middle Ages, so he has nothing to regret about. Yet his decision can do nothing but make me sad. When one of the greatest voices of a generation decides to write no more, it is always sad. And if it`s one of your favourite writers of all time, you can only regret it.

Max Frisch is one of my favourite German-writing authors, especially some of his plays and the novel `Mein Name sei Hantenbein` have found a key to my soul. And in this book here there are two of his best plays - `Tryptichon` (about dead people who talk about their lives) and `Biography: A Game` (about the direction ones life might have taken if he had made different choices). Those are really good, so is a long story entitled `Bluebeard` about a man who supposedly has killed his wife (which is told entirely in shifts between a monologue and dialogues). What I didn`t enjoy was a story about a man who cuts information from a book and attaches it to his wall - including loads of useless information. Also I didn`t particulary enjoy Frisch`s non-fiction work - a few essays and speeches which are certainly not bad but the author isn`t an idol of mine therefore I can live without reading all of it.

A fun record that was my first taste of The Pogues. Listenable although I wouldn`t listen to it on a daily basis (contrary to `Fairytale of New York`).

A musical! Oh, luck, oh joy! Oh-bi-van-ke-no-bi! This musical is a parody, so they say. I`m not really sure parody for what, but a parody nevertheless. And it was made back in 1975. There`s this guy Brad Majors and his fiancee Janet Weiss that have to stay a night in a strange castle where weird things happen. Most notually - strange people happen. First, there`s the host Frank-N-Further a mad scientist who happens to be a bisexual transvestite from a galaxy named Transylvania. And he creates Rocky - a perfect loverboy for himself. Except for that Frank seduces both Janet and Brad - turning the first one into a sex-crazed person. And the action goes on. The plot is silly, of course, and it`s what you could have expected from a film like this. Sadly the music is also quite bad, and the singing - dull, like in most musicals. Frank himself is probably ok - his transvestite looks don`t really bother me, but this film may be funny as a historical document but a value as itself it doesn`t have.

A very nice and quiet film about a girl who worked as a maid for Johannes von Vermeer. As a matter of fact this film has very little to do with "Diary of a chambermaid" but I somehow thought it would be appropriate to mention this film right now. Anyhow, Scarlet Jochansen and Colin Firth play the lead roles in this film. You can`t expect too much going on in this film, because the Netherlands wasn`t exactly a very much fun place back in the 16th century. Or at least we`re lead to believe that it was that way. What`s weird about the whole thing is that Mr. Vermeer don`t do no kinky stuff with his maid although a love story surely exists between them it doesn`t end up in hay, on the molbert or somewhere else. The film itself is like an art piece, like a painting. By the way, Scarlet really does look like the girl in Vermeers painting - that`s a huge plus for the film. You probably shouldn`t watch this one in a loud company, but together with your loved one it will be a real treat (by the way, I watched it alone, poor me...).