Thursday, 19 November 2015

Jazz Goes to the Movies in Ankara


Jazz Goes to the Movies, a programme curated by Jonathan Rosenbaum and I for Bologna's Il Cinema Ritrovato will be playing in Ankara and two other Turkish cities from next week.

Another jazz/film-related event would be an exhibitions of the comic illustrations about jazz films by me (as writer) and Naiel Ibarrola (as illustrator). After our first exhibition at Tehran's Aun Gallery, the Allye Berger exhibition hall in Ankara will host our work from November 26 to December 2, 2015.

Back to the screenings, the films that will be played on November 29, are free admission. These are the titles and their order of screening, starting from 14:15
(CLICK ON THE HYPERLINKS TO ACCESS THE REVIEW OF THE FILM)

Black and Tan Fantasy (1929)
Cab Calloway’s hi-de-ho (1934)
Jammin’ the Blues (1944)
Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955)
Begone Dull Care (1949)
Big Ben: Ben Webster in Europe (1967)
When It Rains (1995)
Too Late Blues (1961)

Each film will be introduced either by me or Jonathan.



Friday, 6 November 2015

Il Cinema Ritrovato 2012, Part IV

بخش چهارم و آخر از گزارش جشنوارۀ فيلم Il Cinema Ritrovato در بولونياي ايتاليا، 2012
5 توهم ابرگرفته

صبح، ضربۀ فني با شاهكاري از والش، از جنس غبار (1922) با شركت همسرش ميريام كوپر دربارۀ عشق، ايثار و تضاد طبقاتي در جامعه‌اي نوپا همراه با طنز و اقتدار هميشگي كارگردان. بعد از آن فيلم كوتاهي از لويي فوياد با نام Bébé juge (1912) و با شركت خردسالان. سپس درام احساساتي پيري‌يِف كه نوعي موزيكال هم محسوب مي‌شود و عنوانش هست Skazanie o zemle sibirskoy (1948). بعد از آن نسخۀ مرمت شدۀ صورت (اندي وارهول، 1965) كه از كلوزآپ‌ها و گفتگوهايي با اِدي سجويك تشكيل شده، تكنيكي كه از نظر سينمايي به شكلي پخته‌تر در دختران چلسي آزموده شده و به زودي در صفحۀ بازخواني‌ها به آن خواهم پرداخت.
«دستۀ جداگانه» تصميم مي‌گيرد براي شام به جايي بيرون شهر برود، اما من ترجيح مي‌دهم نسخۀ مرمت شدۀ ستارۀ ابرگرفته (ريتيك گاتاك، 1960) را ببينم، فيلمي از هندوستان در حد بهترين آثار ميزوگوچي و روسليني، از بعضي جهات، لااقل براي من، والاتر و با اهميت‌تر. شايد به اين خاطر كه من زناني مثل نيتا شخصيت اصلي فيلم - را مي‌شناسم كه تمام زندگي‌شان را وقف ديگران كرده‌اند و نصيب خودشان چيزي جز تنهايي و بيماري نبوده است. بعد از نمايش فيلم كه جاناتان آن را sublime مي‌خواند ساعت‌ها طول مي‌كشد كه چشم‌ها خشك شوند.

Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Il Cinema Ritrovato 2012, Part III

گزارش جشنوارۀ Il Cinema Ritrovato، بولونيا، ايتاليا، 23 تا 30 ژوئن 2012
بخش سوم: اسپرسو
صبح با طبل‌هاي دوردست (1951)، وسترن تكني‌كالر رائول والش، با شركت گري كوپر شروع مي‌شود. در نماهاي تمام قدِ كوپر انگار ستوني وسط سالن سينما سبز مي‌شود. فيلم والش اثري درخشان و پيشرو دربارۀ بقاي گروهي از مردان و زنان است كه از مرداب‌هاي لوييزيانا رد مي‌شوند. طبل‌ها برخلاف موجِ بيمار فيلم‌هاي انتقامي سال‌هاي اخير، فيلمي است ضدِ انتقام.
در سالن انتظار سينه‌لومير جاناتان سرحال‌تر از ديروز به نظر مي‌رسد و من را به دوستانش معرفي مي‌كند: مِرِديت برادي، جكي رِنال و دِيْو كِر منتقد 62 سالۀ نيويورك‌تايمز با موهاي سفيد و صاف، قد بلند، لبخندي آرام و نگاهي خجالتي. كمي بعد ژان دوشه، منتقد و فيلم‌ساز افسانه‌ايِ كايه‌دوسينما، با قدي بسيار بلند، صورت پف كرده، موهاي بلند سفيد و حالتي جستجوگر كه انگار دنبال كسي يا چيزي است به ما ملحق مي‌شود. جكي رنال به شوخي مي‌گويد فرق بين سينه‌فيل‌هاي قديمي و امروزي در اندازۀ شكمشان است؛ اين كم‌ترين حاصلِ سال‌ها نشستن روي صندلي، براي ديدن فيلم‌ها، خواندن و نوشتن دربارۀ آن‌هاست.
بعد از نمايش فيلمي سه دقيقه‌اي از سخنراني نخست وزير ژاپن در نمونه‌اي از تولد سينماي ناطق در سرزمين آفتاب تابان، در سالني مملو از جمعيت با مردم ايستاده در كنار صندلي‌ها و يا نشسته بر روي زمين يكي از مهم‌ترين كشف‌هاي امسال، اولين فيلم ناطق كنجي ميزوگوچي، زادگاه (1930) روي پرده مي‌رود.

Saturday, 31 October 2015

Il Cinema Ritrovato 2012, Part II


گزارش جشنوارۀ Il Cinema Ritrovato، بولونيا، ايتاليا، 23 تا 30 ژوئن 2012
بخش دوم: بيداري
تازه متوجه مي‌شوم در بولونيا هستم. نور داغِ روز از درز باريك بين پرده‌هاي ضخيم اتاق روي صورتم خط سفيدي مي‌اندازد. مثل سرباز وظيفه‌ها يك ربع بعد حاضر و آماده و مشغول ور رفتن با پنيرهاي ايتاليايي‌ بر سر ميز صبحانه‌ام. هفتۀ پيش در اين‌جا زلزلۀ نسبتاً شديدي آمده و دولت بعضي‌ها را موظف كرده كه خانه‌هاي قديمي‌شان را ترك كنند و موقتاً در هتل‌ها زندگي‌كنند. خرج از كيسۀ دولت است و بولونيايي‌ها از اين فرصت براي گپ و معاشرت استفاده مي‌كنند.
مسير روزانۀ من عبارتست از طي كردن شريان اصلي شرقي-غربي شهر و سپس انحراف كوچكي به شمال غربي براي رسيدن به ويا دله لامه كه دو سينماي بزرگ جالي و آله‌كينو با فاصله‌اي دويست متري از هم در آن واقع شده‌اند. در راه ديوارهاي بلند قرون وسطايي و مجسمه شيرها و قديسين و آبريزهاي سنگي حتي براي ثانيه‌اي به چشم اجازۀ استراحت نمي‌دهند. زير ساختمان‌هاي كهنه مغازه‌هاي لباس و غذا با دكوراسيون مدرن جا گرفته‌اند. به نظر مي‌رسد در بولونيا هيچ شتابي در كار نيست.
در راه به گيريش شامبو، سينه‌فيل هندي‌تبار مقيم آمريكا و يكي از مشهورترين وبلاگ‌نويسان سينمايي امروز برمي‌خورم كه مي‌خواهد به تماشاي مالدُن گرميون برود. من به والش مي‌روم و قرار مي‌گذاريم بعد از فيلم‌ها هم را ببينيم. بسياري از قرارها در بولونيا مثل پايان كسوف آنتونيوني به سرانجامي نمي‌رسند.

Saturday, 24 October 2015

Capsule Review of Films from the 59th London Film Festival


Kiomars Vejdani's Capsule Reviews of Films from the 59th London Film Festival



THE LOBSTER
Director : Yorgos Lanthimos
UK-Ireland -Greece 2015

Films of Yorgos Lanthimos are always odd (the good example is Dogtooth) but here he pushes the boundaries of oddity up to the absurd. The film is set sometime in the future when celibacy is condemned. Anyone without a partner has 45 days to find one. Otherwise (with advanced surgical methods of future) he will be turned into the animal of his choice. The animal that film's protagonist has chosen is lobster (hence the title of the film). The setting can be seen as a hotel or a luxury prison and residents as guests or prisoners. The rules are as arbitrary and irrational as the those imposed by the father on his children in Dogtooth. The result is an environment which dehumanizes the people. Irrational rules and absurd behaviour are at the roots of film,s dry humour. But in the end film moves towards a more serious tone and sincerity of feelings when the protagonist chooses the woman he loves against all regulations and in the process makes the biggest sacrifice of his life.


THE ASSASSIN
Director : Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Taiwan-China – Hong Kong 2015

Winner of Best Director Award in this year's Cannes Film Festival Assassin is another example of skilfully made martial art film by Hou Hsiao- Hsien. Set during the ancient dynasty of Tang in
9th century China, it revolves around the character of woman trained in martial arts and equipped with highest level of skills to act as assassin and carry out missions as commanded by her master until she is given a mission which is against her moral beliefs and personal feelings. The story of her moral awakening is told in slow measured pace against the background of classical splendour of ancient China. A visually rich and stylish film,beautifully photographed scenery and skilfully choreographed scenes of fast pace martial arts action.


CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR
Director :Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Thailand-UK-France

In the hazy heat of tropical area, a group of sick soldiers in a hospital which used to be a school, a mother visiting her son who is in coma, a volunteer visiting girl who has the power of heeling and the ability to see the past. With these elements the director creates his familiar world. In a dreamlike state boundaries between sleep and wakefulness,reality and fantasy, past and present, life and death are all blurred. People change their identity without changing their appearance. Ghosts look like living people while real environment turns into a dreamlike one with neon lights which change colour non-stop. Film ends in a cemetery which has vanished long time ago and now only exists in our memory As his usual Apichatpong Weerasethakul leaves us somewhere between dream and wakefulness


TANGERINE
Director :Sean Baker
USA 2015

A hilarious film about two transsexual hookers on New Year,s Eve are trying to find a girl who has an affair with boyfriend of one of them. In their search for the girl they go through a series of funny situations with odd characters. A fast moving film,bursting with energy, having jokes at every moment. But in the end slowing down to stress the value of true friendship.


VERY BIG SHOT
Director : Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya
Lebanon-Qatar 2015

The film begins with something like Goodfellas in Lebanon with plenty of violence. But soon it changes its tone to become a comedy about film making with the protagonist acting as the producer. But at the last few moments of the film, as the protagonist decides to enter politics,yet another another aspect of the film is introduced. So the film that started as a gangster thriller ends up as a social climbing satire.


DESIERTO
Director : Jonas Cuaron
Mexico – France 2015

Film is about a group of Mexicans being killed by a sadistic mentally deranged sharp shooter while illegally crossing the border into America. Director Jonas Cuaron uses their massacre as a basis for a thriller, increasing the film,s tension as the acts of killing progresses without much attention to dramatic depth. Despite the superficial current of excitement the plot is too incredible to be convincing and the protagonists too stereotyped to arouse our sympathy.


OFFICE 
Director : Johnnie To
China – Hong Kong  2015

The film with the help of elaborate sets,cast of hundreds, bright colour photography, and added
3D technology shows us how not to make musicals. Its only use is as a proof that making of musicals is best left to Hollywood.


THE CLUB 
Director : Pablo Larrain
Chile 2015

The film begins with a quotation from Bible stating that God after creating the light liked it so much that He decided to keep it separate from darkness. The new film of Pablo Larrain concentrates on this area of darkness. In a house by the seaside in the remote part of the country live a group of priests ( and a nun ) who because of some sinful act in their past are barred from active duties.
Pablo Larrain uses such a setting and characters to create an infernal atmosphere. Film,s dramatic tension is created out of contrast between attitude of characters and strict rules of church ( represented by a visiting supervisor, an upright priest with strong religious faith ). Larrain's priests are a mixture of evil beings committing acts of extreme cruelty,and normal human people who enjoy pleasures of life and are honest and frank about their sexuality ( the film,s dialogue is sexually very explicit ) Through their characters and the resulting moral ambiguity Larrain gives us a controversial picture of church and its rules.


YOUTH
Director : Paolo Sorrentino
Italy 2015

Paolo Sorrentino's new film, like The Great Beauty is about looking back at life after reaching the summit of one,s creative career, With the difference that here we have two protagonists. A retired composer (Michael Caine) and a film director (Harvey Keitel) Being close friends for many years they enjoy each other,s company while staying in a spa hotel in Switzerland. Like the previous film they encounter a range of colourful characters,each with their own idiosyncrasies. They go over their ups and downs of life, remember their happy and sad moments. In the end they reach to the conclusion that at the their old age there is not much more to do but to look back. One of them accepts the situation and compromises. The other does not. Another stylish film by Paolo Sorretino, as beautiful as the Great Beauty.


VIRGIN MOUNTAIN
Director : Dagur Kari
Iceland – Denmark 2015

The film takes us through stages of emotional development of a young man from a childlike existence to full maturity and total independence. Director Dagur Kari in portraying the character of his protagonist pays a great deal of attention to psychological details, taking his time to build his process of development into a mature man. A very humane and heart warming film.


LAND OF MINE
Director : Martin Zandvliet
Denmark - Germany 2015

With the liberation of Holland at the end of second world war the Allied faced the problem of a good number of mine fields in need of detonation and decided to give this task to German prisoners. Director Martin Zandvliet bases his powerful drama on victimization of German soldiers. The prisoners ( mostly teenage boys ) are treated insensitively and cruelly by Allied officers, using them as a target for aggression and to retaliate for crimes of German army while the were victorious. The film by such a reversal of roles raises the morally controversial issue of consequence of victory and its effect on victors. Our sympathy is with young German prisoners.

The film's tension escalates with each occasion that the group goes through fear of death or sorrow of losing yet another friend. The film,s change of moral tone is personified in the character of the camp,s warden and his change of attitude from hostile prejudice and angry cruelty to sympathy, affection and kindness. It is a film which by condemning the consequences of war, whether victory or defeat, puts maximum value on humanity  

Thursday, 22 October 2015

Fish & Cat (Shahram Mokri, 2013)


MAHI VA GORBEH [Fish & Cat]
Director: Shahram Mokri
Reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani

The first thing we notice about Mahi va Gorbeh is the technical challenge Shahram Mokri has taken on board. The film is shot uninterruptedly from start to finish in one long take. But film’s technical excellence is only a doorway to a dark and ambiguous world. By passing through this doorway we face a labyrinth with multitude of questions awaiting us at every corner. Within a single shot of the film we encounter numerous characters, all crammed in a limited space, their life stories cutting across each other to make a complex pattern.

Our first point of contact with the film is a crime story. Right at the beginning of the film we are informed that it is based on a true event of horrible crimes committed by owners of a restaurant in northern Iran. But despite such information, there is no visual sign of any crime within the film. It is totally free of physical violence. Mokri seems not in the least interested in crime story. His approach to film’s subject is purely philosophical. Any referral to a committed crime is indirect and nothing more than a hint like the vague cry of anguish and agony we hear from far away, or the machete Babak takes with him before going into the woods and the blood stained foul smelling bag he carries along. Any intention of crime by Babak is only implied by his way of interaction with his potential victims, either a threatening manner (like his encounter with the driver at the beginning of the film), or a cunning approach (the way he lured Parvaneh into the depth of the woods). The nearest we get to witnessing any evidence of crime is the scene of the cat holding a cut off finger in his mouth. But again instead of visually presenting such an image it is described by Mina and we only have her horrified reaction as she stares straight at us. The subjective viewpoint of camera is enough to convey her horror.

Friday, 16 October 2015

Il Cinema Ritrovato 2012, Part I

photo by Ehsan Khoshbakht

گزارش جشنوارۀ Il Cinema Ritrovato، بولونيا، ايتاليا، 23 تا 30 ژوئن 2012
والش و گِرِميون، زير آفتاب سوزان
احسان خوش‌بخت

به اندرو ساريس

1 فرود
وقتي روي اولين پلۀ هواپيمايي كه بعد از يك ساعت و نيم گذر از آسمان آلمان و بلژيك در فرودگاه بولونيا در شمال ايتاليا آرام گرفته بود پاگذاشتم، موج گرما يخِ شبِ سردِ پيشين در فرودگاه استنستد لندن را آب كرد. آفتاب با وقار بولونيا به تابستانِ خاكستري جزيرۀ بريتانيا دهن كجي مي‌كرد و شعاع‌هاي درخشان نور روي ديوارهاي نارنجي و قهوه‌اي روشن و مردم بي‌خيال در شلوارك‌ها و عينك‌هاي آفتابي كه براي رسيدن به هركجا كه عازمش بودند كوچك‌ترين شتابي نداشتند، مرز بين اروپاي سرد پروتستان و معجزۀ حرارت مديترانه‌اي و فراغ خاطر كاتوليك‌هاي جنوب اروپا را پررنگ مي‌كرد. وقتي جرج سَندرز در سفر در ايتاليا نظرش دربارۀ اين سرزمين به اينگريد برگمن مي‌گويد («مردم پرسروصدا و تنبل»)، اظهار نظرش بيش‌تر نوعي حسادت نسبت به فرهنگي كه جاي سرسام را به آرامش و جاي ادب قراردادي را به سرخوشي داده به نظر مي‌رسد.
در حين حركت به طرف اتوبوسي كه به مركز شهر مي‌رفت لازم بود كه كم‌كم لباس‌هاي اضافي را به دل چمداني كه چرخ‌هايش از ديشب چند كيلومتري روي زمين به اين ور و آن ور كشيده شده بود بفرستم. اتوبوس از ايستگاه بيرون نيامده همشهري‌هاي مسن بولونيايي همديگر را پيدا مي‌كردند و به گرمي مشغول چاق سلامتي مي‌شدند. انگليسي‌هاي مسافر گيج و بهت زده به نظر مي‌آمدند و ژاپني‌ها دوربين‌هاي گران قيمت و لنزهاي غول‌آسايشان را از چمدان بيرون مي‌كشيدند. چه كسي مي‌تواند زير اين آفتاب خيره‌كننده كه انگار از چهار جهت روي سرت مي‌تابد عكس بگيرد؟ از چه عكس بگيرد؟ از ذوب شدن تدريجي فضا در آفتاب؟

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Taxi (Jafar Panahi, 2015) - LFF Review


TAXI (in the UK: TAXI TEHRAN)
Director: Jafar Panahi; Iran, 2015
Reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani

Following This Is Not a Film and Closed Curtain, Jafar Panahi's Taxi Tehran seems to be first and foremost his reaction to imposed restriction. In his new film (winner of Golden Bear at this year's Berlin Film Festival) the restriction is a self imposed one by limiting himself to the confined space of a taxi. By playing the role of taxi driver Panahi beaks the boundary between cinematic illusion and reality of life. Although taxi runs though streets of Tehran there is nothing specific about places visited. The main purpose of using a taxi is for Panahi to express his feelings and views through encounters with a series of passengers, showing two extreme lines of thought in the society such as in the scene when a heated argument between a fanatic man and a liberal-minded female teacher is depicted. Other passengers include: a man selling copies of pirated DVDs; Two women carrying goldfish in a bowl, highlighting the grip that religious superstition can have on people; Pleasant encounter with a friend (human right lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh) voices social restrictions which Panahi himself has gone through.

But most interesting of all is Panahi's niece, a delightful little girl who is trying to make a film as a school project and is confused between restrictive instruction given by school and advice given by his uncle about how to search for reality. The film ends (or rather interrupted) by someone breaking into the taxi while Panahi is away for a short while. It is implied that it could be an act of surveillance rather than burglary. Panahi's final message seems to be he is prepared (and able) to work under any restrictive condition.

Monday, 12 October 2015

Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang (Walter Salles, 2015)


JIA ZHANGKE, A GUY FROM FENYANG
Director: Walter Salles; Brazil, 2015
Reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani

A film about a great director, made by another great. Walter Salles' documentary on Jia Zhangke is mainly made of conversation between the two filmmakers, while they visit various places from Zhangke's past life, including some of the locations used in his films. Tone of conversation is informal and friendly. Zhangke talks freely about his younger days and mischievous acts. He mentions his favourite films including some he remembers from his childhood (interestingly among them we see Raj Kapoor's Awara).  Further comments come from people in his life, including his wife and actress of his films Zhao Tao. The film gives an informative picture of Zhangke's world and the relationship between his life and his work. Walter Salles, treatment of his subject is intimate and friendly. But his affectionate respect for his follow filmmaker is felt throughout.