HOLLYWOOD
heavy verbs
like a rocky coast, slowly shedding into the
ocean wet
pronouns sand of adjectives
scattered
on the side of the road, a
small world devouring the motorists
why write well?
buy
what you need to achieve just
change the
bitter subtext of other
people’s
misdirected words
against me us him you
our group
I’ll fight
fire
with fire twist & churn
that false overcoat of language
into
kind a
of
sustained narrative
of
your
life will
it play in
pas
a
de
na
?
26 October 1999
Stalker [1979]
1. Train passes by. The drinking glass jitters on the seat of the chair.
2. A tableaux of bits and pieces of a broken civilization, frozen in time, lying just beneath the water’s surface.
3. Next, she concentrates on the jar. It begins to slide across the tabletop.
Mostly definitely Tarkovsky’s best film. Truly, utterly mesmerizing. For me, it just blows SOLARIS out of the water. And there’s only one more screening at the Siskel! Tuesday night. Don’t miss it.
Happy-Go-Lucky [2008]
1. This movie gets bonus points for a Paul Auster reference. Mr. Vertigo.
2. Her catchphrase: “Isn’t it just.”
3. While walking down the hall, the schoolteacher pauses to practice a few flamenco steps.
Wings of Desire [1987]
1. At the library, the old man sits in a room surrounded by globes of various sizes. He watches a small model of the solar system, the planets orbiting the sun.
2. They shake hands without touching.
3. From a balcony a group of girls chant, “Columbo! Columbo! Columbo!”
Goldfinger [1964]
1. He emerges wearing a waterfowl headpiece.
2. “Auric Goldfinger? Sounds like a French nail varnish.”
3. Soldiers falling, falling, falling.
Wild Grass [2009]
1. All in the same shot: red hair, purple shutters, yellow car.
2. Suddenly he heaves his bare foot onto the table, displaying his bruised big toe. The policemen examine it discreetly.
3. “After the cinema, nothing surprises you. Anything can happen.”
Dunno why, but this strongly reminded me of Claire Denis’ FRIDAY NIGHT. Equally slippery. They’d make an interesting double bill.
L’Atalante [1934]
1. By the scruff of its neck, he hoists the kitten onto his shoulders. And there it stays, even when he begins to dance around.
2. He uses his finger as a stylus and plays the record.
3. She slowly twists in bed, her right hand creeping towards her breast.
Dark City [1998]
1. The dining room table lengthens and grows plates, food platters.
2. Hmm. Spirals like in Saw?
3. Shell Beach is rather narrow.
The Adventures of Prince Achmed [1926]
1. The princess in her canopy is oddly reminiscent of H.R. Giger.
2. Achmed climbs out of the gorge using the snake as a rope.
3. The magician hunches over, transforming into a bat.
Total Recall [1990]
1. He shoots her in the forehead and says, “Consider that a divorce.”
2. The pill. Later lifted for The Matrix.
3. Spots of rust on the reactor.
