There’s Room on the Mescal Trail, Sedona

Mescal Mountain is a flat top mesa about 500 feet tall located west of Sedona, AZ, from Dry Creek Road/Long Canyon Rd.  Bear and I hiked  there this morning. The trail hugged the mountain’s side and the open views and big sky were breathtaking.

   

What I appreciate about Arizona northern desert are the textures. I tried to capture some of them.

  

The junipers, cacti, the angles, the curves, the bristly, the spiky, the soft and that blue, blue sky….

 

I can’t catch the space. You can spread your arms wide and the space never ends. I like that.

 

The next bend moves into another one.

Bear and I could have walked all day, but after a few miles we turned back. This trail was not crowded and mountain bikers passed me more than hikers. A perfect way for me to spend a Saturday morning!

 

Christian Bale

Critics called it “morally obtuse” albeit a cinemagraphic, sophisticated film. What happens when you love a film and the critics pan it?

Why, nothing, of course. What am I talking about? The foreign film, the Chinese based-on-a-true-story film, The Flowers of War (2011). I thought it was marvelous, and here’s why.

Critics claimed it was maudlin or westernized or avoiding a message. The Rape of Nanjing was a horrifying, human event during World War II. Do I want a Chinese version of Schindler’s List? Perhaps that was why the critics didn’t like it. It wasn’t real enough.

Flowers of War reminded me of WWII films from the classic age of film. In other words, it was classy! Gang-rape is horrifying enough. The cinematography was outstanding in conveying the atrocities without gratuitous realism. I’m very okay with that.

The narrator was a twelve-year-old girl recounting her survival story and relationships with two unlikely heroes: a drunk, American mortician who assumed the identity of a priest within a convent of thirteen girls, and the anti-heroine courtesan with her band of prostitutes who hide in the church cellar. If you liked the book, stage, or film version of Diary of Anne Frank, you’d love this film. The costumes, music, and church were a beautiful contrast to the occupied city of Nanjing in 1937. The roots of the story were true? Even more amazing.

Bravo to Christian Bale for his choice as the lead in The Flowers of War. In 2011, he just came off a SAG and Oscar win for The Fighter.  He could have floated in the gravy of his Batman reprisal and acting reputation. Why bother playing in a foreign film? I admire Bale lots for stretching himself to director Zhang Yimou and lending his Western popularity to something outside the Hollywood machine.

The film was beautifully directed and acted. The universal story was based on the fictional recollections by Chinese-American author Yan Geling, from the novel, 13 Flowers of Nanjing.

It’s dynamic. It’s satisfying. You might think the film would follow a predictable plot–hero saves the oppressed, but the growth of the characters and their interactions were top rate. Some critics claimed the convent virgins and the prostitutes were stereotyped and fodder to the protagonists, but I disagree. The story centered around the major characters and their transformations from flawed or innocent to mature and enlightened. The disparate groups provided believable support. Like Jets and Sharks, the virgins and whores, as foils, moved in unison on an ancient stage. This was a coming-of-age story for the audience. When facing the horrors of war, what do you take from the tragedy? Yimou’s use of fog, dust, and other smudging ingredients created the essence of war. The FUBAR.

The message is clear. When push comes to shove, everyone can rise to the occasion and be noble. That’s the silver lining of war, and I think that was the mission of Zhang Yimou.  Flowers of War is a rare film that encompasses great acting, great cinematography and the blending of east and west cultures. Here you will find the virtuous in Westminster Convent, western music, and ideology married to Chinese folksongs, traditions and language. Don’t fear the subtitles!

Good for you, Christian Bale. In this film you were more the hero than that black suit you wear on other occasions. Stand in the sun and be proud no matter what the critics say.

The Color Blue in Bermuda

Is it drab and rainy on your side of the world? I hope this post cheers you up. The volcanic islands of Bermuda are 600 miles off the coast of South Carolina. It’s surprisingly affordable place to visit if you want semi-tropics and beautiful beaches.

As part of the British Commonwealth, it was fun for me to visit pubs and shops and hang around pink-powder, sandy beaches. What remains in my memory from the visit is the hue of blue that’s distinct to Bermuda. Here are some shots I took when I hiked around Horseshoe Bay.

Bermuda became a British colony following the 1707 unification of the parliaments of Scotland and England which created the United Kingdom. Bermuda is the oldest remaining British Overseas Territory and the oldest continuously-inhabited, English-speaking town in the New World. The first capital, St. George’s, was established in 1612.

I’m not a big fan of cruise ships, but I would never have gotten to see Bermuda any other way, so I’m grateful.

Have you been to Bermuda? What did you like about it?

From John Milton to Ralph Fiennes: Why Are The Crazy Ones Attractive?

BOOKS

We become mesmerized and seduced. How far do you go before you stop? Once corrupted, can you go back to a state of purity?  Nothing is more sweet than the taste of innocence.  Just ask Humbert Humbert, from that famous book by Nabokov. Temptation is a universal, evocative power. The sly villain preys on your sympathy and they are able to charm you through lies and manipulation. All the while, you marvel at their wits. The more human the villain, the more interesting the story.

      

      

John Milton, 1667, Paradise Lost. In the epic poem, Satan is majestic, intelligent, fearless, and seductive. What is it about smarts and power?  The fool is the one who believes it will set you free. The irony, of course, is the villain is enslaved to the very thing it tries to dominate. Happens all the time literature and film. It’s the Byronic hero sucking the soul out of a woman or the seductive, female emasculator. It’s the predator toying with its food, the powerful exploiting the weak, and the control-freak who needs to dominate at any cost.

FILMS

Which one of these smart, misunderstood characters do you secretly admire?

  

But would you want them to baby-sit your kids?

   

Some actors have made a career playing evil so well, I wonder if they can turn it off when the shoot is over?

      

The modern-day actor who plays evil better than anyone is Ralph Fiennes.

“Don’t hate me because I represent everything wrong with humanity and all that is inhuman, too!”

Shindler’s List, Harry Potter, Red Dragon, The Dutchess.

Clash of the Titans, Coriolanus.

 

Ralph is in my favorite dark comedy, In Bruges.

When Ralph Fiennes isn’t playing pure evil, he’s hurt and confused:  The Reader, The Constant Gardner, and The English Patient.

In order for there to be a hero, there must be a worthy adversary. Who have I left out?

Edward Norton in American History X? 

 

Or perhaps Kevin Spacey in Seven?

Johnny Depp portrays confused soul well….

Female Directors: The Very Worthy

JULIE TAYMOR

      

Across the Universe (2007). Why? Because I’m a Beatles fan? Because of cameos ranging from Bono to Joe Cocker to Salyma Hyeck?  Because it represents the turbulent 60s perfectly? Because the music and choreography and cinematography are far-out? YES.

What’s there NOT to like about Julie Taymor films? They are classy, magical, colorful, musical, sexy, and very cool.

Another OUTSTANDING Julie Taymor film is Frida (2002).

This film is a biopic featuring the surrealist Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. It stars Salyma Hyeck, Alfred Molina (Diego Rivera), Antonio Banderas, Edward Norton, Ashley Judd, and Geoffrey Rush.  Watch the film for the colors, the acting, and the history. Frida Kahlo lived from 1907 – 1954 and struggled with her identity and demanded equality and respect in a Machismo society. She was ahead of her time, fearless, and proud of her country. Julie Taymor brings to life a fabulous artist and a voice to Latin American art.

A theme of Frida Kahlo’s life was pain. In her teens a bus accident impaired her. Here’s a cool scene exemplifying the Mexican symbol, the calaca, as a way to describe Frida’s injuries.

Great cinematography!

JANE CAMPION

Another visionary director is Jane Campion. The Piano(1993)  is visual art. Set at the wild, New Zealand coastline and interior, the cinematography is top-rate. It’s difficult to personify an object and pull it off. The piano transforms into a character, a sister to the protagonist Ada. The piano is an interpreter. The piano is tattooed, stroked, mutilated, loved, cherished, used, and murdered–it is the central symbol of the story.

Holly Hunter and young Anna Paquin won best actress and supporting actress. Harvey Keitel looks awesome in New Zealand tattoos. Sam Neill is the colonial male from England in the 1860s who can’t tame the aborigines and cannot fathom his newly arrived bride from Scotland.

Her obsession with her piano is peculiar, and when she plays, it’s like “a mood that goes through you.”

Portrait of a Lady (1996). Henry James loved to write novels and stories about the super-wealthy during the Gilded Age and their cruel games of toying others for sake of amusement. Nicole Kidman is Isabel Archer, an American heiress and free-thinker who travels to Europe. She succumbs to two corrupted souls, Madame Merle, (Barbara Hershey) and  Gilbert Osmond (John Malkovich).  Jane Campion’s use of camera angles, period clothing, and her vision of this James classic was interesting.

KATHARINE BIGELOW

She makes man movies as well as any man could.

 

NANCY MEYERS  directed blockbuster  chick-flicks…

 

SOPHIA COPPOLA

She seems the one “most likely to succeed” but it’s too soon for me to accept her yet. Yes, Lost in Translation was nicely done. Are you looking forward to The Bling Ring?

Have you seen any of these well made films?

   

Who’s your favorite female director?

Film Directors: Can You Rank Them? Males First

Who wouldn’t want to be a film director? Well, I’d like to write the screenplay. It takes many people to make a great film, but the director is the one with the vision and calls the shots. Who would you want to be? Spielberg? Scorsese? Hitchcock? Lee?

The Golden Globes.  The Screen Actors Guild. The American Film Institute. Sundance, Toronto, and Cannes all offer their respected film festivals. When it comes to films, the clout goes to the Oscars.

LONGEVITY

Some directors have been around longer than others. Do you judge a director by how many wins or how many nominations they have or both?

Billy Wilder earned 8 Academy nominations and won 3 of them. (The Lost Weekend 1945, Sunset Boulevard 1950, The Apartment 1960). 

One has to acknowledge William Wyler with a fifty year career, 1925–1970. He won 3 times as director and was nominated more than any other director with 12. Is he the best director?  Certainly, Ben Hur, has remained for decades a revered Hollywood classic.

Best All Around Winner

At 73, Woody Allen has won so many awards across the board, I think one has to give him credit for his contribution to the film industry. If you are lucky enough to star in a Woody Allen film, chances are good you’ll get a nomination. Just ask Diane Keaton, Penélope Cruz , Michael Caine, and Diane Wiest. Woody Allen has been nominated twenty-three times. 7 as a director, 15 as a screenwriter, and once as an actor. Can Scorsese boast that?

What about Mr. Martin Scorsese? I love him as a director and he means more to me than Wilder and Wyler. It’s an age thing. I grew up watching his films. Robert DeNiro, Harvey Keitel, and Leonardo DiCaprio owe a huge chunk of their careers to Scorsese. I find it interesting that his parents, Catherine (7x) and Charles (8x), have starred in more films than his leading actors. Martin Scorsese has been nominated seven times for best director, and has won once for The Departed (2006).

 
Fred Zinnmann was a director in the same league as Scorsese. His knock out years were in the fifties and sixties. From Here to Eternity (1953), High Noon(1954), Oklahoma! (1955), and A Man for All Seasons (1966).

What about the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock? A personal favorite of mine. Did you know he was nominated five times for an Oscar as best director? How many did he win? NONE

He’s in good company. Here’s some more famous directors that never won for Best Director.

 

Stanley Kubrick? Nominated 4 times.  Robert Altman? Nominated 5 times. Peter Weir? 4 times.   These are GREAT directors!

Popular Contemporary Directors

Steven Spielberg: 7 nominations  – 2 wins

Clint Eastwood: 4 – 2 wins.

Oliver Stone   3 – 2 wins

Quentin Tarrantino 2- 0 wins

Ang Lee  3 – 2 wins

Joel Coen, Ethan  3 – 2 win

  

What about Peter Jackson? Sam Mendes? Darren Aronofsky? Terrence Malick? Ridley Scott? Only time will tell.

What does this all mean? Winning an Oscar is an honor, but time can award you respect and a following by movie-buffs bordering on cult-worship.

How do you rate your favorite director?

Stay tuned for the female directors….

Bavarian Castles and Alpen Views

Whenever I see Cinderella’s castle, I’m reminded of my time spent in Bavaria. I was so impressed with the beauty, I have arranged another trip for July of 2014, so I can practice my Deutsch and show my students the loveliness of Bavaria and Austria. Would you like to see how lovely?

Kommt mit mir!

Mad King Ludwig poured his Bavarian money into the construction of the Neuschwanstein castle in 1869. Twenty years later at his death, the castle was still not completed. The fairy-tale castle inspired Walt Disney and you can see a version if you go to the Magic Kingdom, but I recommend visiting the real thing.

If you’ve seen Neuschwanstein, and paraded around the grounds with hundreds of other tourists, you are awestruck by the opulence and the views from the windows.

Hot and hazy in August, 2009.

Zooming through the Austrian Alps.

Innsbruck

Hohensalzburg is a castle in the Austrian city of Salzburg, atop the Festungsberg mountain. If I could live anywhere for six months, I would choose Salzburg. Sehr schön! 

If you get the chance, choose to ride down the Danube River and watch the gorgeous country side from the ferryboat.

The varied architecture of Vienna, Austria is world-renowned and fun to explore.

Seeing these old shots remind me how blessed I am, and how much I miss Austria and Bavaria.

Thanks to my good friend, Jill, who traveled with me and took the photos.

Share with me your favorite spots….