Deb's September Movie Pics

It's the end of a month, and that means movie festival time here at the Homestead.  As it is Deb's turn to choose, she gets four pics in a row; her regular weekday one, and three for the festival.  First, some news from around the Homestead.  My most recent Meniere's attack is the fourth in a very short time period--usually I would get one or two a year, at most.  But the disease seems to have entered a new phase, one I could do without.  Awaking at 4 am with the room spinning madly is not pleasant.

 

In more happy news, we had a visit last Saturday from Amanda L., the first time we have seen her since last Christmas.  We sat outside talking and sipping ales for four hours, and it was fun.  Cathy, her mom, stayed for the first few hours, but had to return home to see how her five new kittens were doing.

 

Today Deb had her regular echo cardiogram.  On the same outing we picked up four pounds of green coffee beans from Colonial.  Three of them are fair trade organic, from Nicaragua, Peru, and Sumatra.  The fourth was from Papua New Guinea.  We did a triple roast yesterday, nearly finishing up our old supply of beans.  Wednesday, being a full moon day (the first of two for October), will be a roast day, too, one of the new ones.  I like having 7 different roasted beans on hand, one for each day of the week.  We roast 1/4 pound at a time, and they are kept in small jars, awaiting their day of being ground and consumed.

 

And, in final news before switching over to movie talk, I am using a larger font on my posts.  The excitement seldom stops around here.

 

All movies discussed below were viewed on the Criterion Channel, through Roku and screened on our big screen.  First up was Kaisha Monagatari: Memories of You, from 1988 and directed by Jun Ichikawa.  The film details the final few working days of a retiring Tokyo business executive, a man whose life has been given to his work.  His family life is dismal: his daughter is separated and living with her parents along with her young daughter.  The son is bi-polar and not a joy to have around the house.  The father seems to have no relationship at all with his wife.  The office workers don't really want to give him a farewell party, and no one wants to organize it.  However, he is saved by his love of jazz, and the fact that he used to play drums when was young.  A small group of dedicated company men get together and form a band, which will play at the party.  The movie is quite mysterious for the first half, as we watch this unhappy robot of a man approaching the end of his tenure. The second half adds nice doses of sweetness, as he begins to bond with the group of elderly jazz musician buddies.  Well worth watching.

Now showing on Criterion.

Second was Tony Takitani, a Japanese film from 2004.  Also directed by Jun Ichikawa, we have now seen the only two movies of his on Criterion.  Tony Takitani is based on a short story by Haruki Marakami, and is a truly wonderful cinema experience.  It deals with loneliness, love, art, and shopping in a very unique way.  The film is riveting from start to finish, even though the storytelling is as much cinematic as it is literary.  Not to be missed, and the author should be checked out, too.

 

                                                        Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Third came an experimental film from 1964, the black and white Black Sun, directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara.  Featuring a loud jazz score and over the top performances from the two lead characters, this is not one for all tastes.  An eccentric young Japanese man, a lover of jazz and all things from Black America, has an encounter with a black marine stationed in Japan, who has killed another soldier in a shoot out and is wounded and on the run.  He ends up hiding in an abandoned, mostly destroyed Catholic church, which is where the Japanese boy lives.  The Japanese boy makes a good substitute for Hanuman, the monkey god, whose mind is never still and calm, but always churning and getting into mischief.  There are many times when the movie is hard to take, and I am amazed it is still shown at all, let alone on Criterion.  But overall it is worth a view, just for the fact that there is nothing like it anywhere else in the repertoire of film.

Now showing on Criterion.  

Lastly comes the winner of the top Cannes prize in 1961, Chronicle of a Summer.  Another black and white experimental film, this was a collaboration between John Rouch, an anthropolist and filmmaker, and Edgar Morin, a sociologist.  It is labelled by the makers as cinema-verite, and consists of interviews with Parisians, simply asking men and women off the street questions such as "Are you happy?" and progressing to political discussions.  If you have an interest in Parisian thinking from this era, then this one is for you.

Now showing on Criterion.  

Coming soon to this blog is the highly anticipated September reading summary, and another work of art from the DIA collection.

Mapman Mike

 

Meniere's, Western Smoke, and Clear Nights

It's been a long time, fellow readers.  Things have been a bit busy around the Homestead of late.  Most recently I am just coming down from the high of having five superbly clear nights in a row. That's ten hours of driving and set up, plus more than 16 hours of observing time.  And the notes that go with that.  Usually time and schedules go out the window during such a week, and that is exactly what happened.

Before that we also had some clear nights, but the sky was pale with smoke from western wildfires (as it is again today), so astronomy was not an option.  I thought for certain that I would miss the month, but it miraculously cleared out for those five spectacular nights.  I am able to begin observing now by 8:30 pm EDT, so I usually wrap up around midnight or shortly thereafter.  Thus my sleep pattern was not greatly altered, and it is now coming back into alignment.  However, during the smoky sky period I also had three attacks of Meniere's, two of them very debilitating.  I have been 98% deaf in my right ear for several months now, and it was only a matter of time.  I'm sure other attacks are forthcoming.  But at least the Meniere's and the smoky skies coincided, and by the time skies grew black again, I was ready!

Today was Deb's infusion day, plus we had to take our car in to have a rattle fixed.  The rattle is in the rear view mirror, mounted on the front windshield, and the repair is so extensive that we were given a loaner vehicle until it can be repaired ( a part had to be ordered).  After Deb's infusion we got a take away lunch from a new vegan fast food place nearby.  We took our lunch down to a park with picnic tables along the shore of nearby Lake St. Clair, and enjoyed the 80 F temps and hazy sunshine (that smoke again).  After that we went shopping for groceries for the week, then headed back home.  More astronomy notes awaited to be written up, as well as a book review, a really fun but devastating one by Barry Malzberg called Cinema.  Now it's time to practice piano again!

We got through a few film screenings, and this weekend is Deb's choice for a festival.  My two recent picks were Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (#12, from 1965) and another Japanese film called A Colt Is My Passport.  The Zatoichi film came close to being an art film, with some amazing wide screen photography, some of the cruelest fighting wounds yet seen in the series, and a story that went well beyond the usual type, involving a mother and her very cute little girl.  Best of all, I had never seen this one before!  There is some broad comedy, though a tad on the sadistic side, and the usual high quality sword fight scenes.

 

                                                Now showing on Criterion Channel.

A Colt Is My Passport is from 1967, directed by Takashi Nomura, and is a violent tribute to American 40s noir films, with a nod given also to spaghetti westerns.  It is short and highly entertaining, starring Joe Shishido, the man with chipmunk cheeks.  The hero is an assassin who completes his job as ordered, is paid, but is then unable to leave the country.  When his crime boss joins forces with the enemy gang, everyone turns on him and tries to kill him.  He has to try and outwit and out shoot both gangs.  Action packed, though there is some nice down time, too.

                                                 Now showing on Criterion Channel.

Deb's pick last week was The Card, from 1952.  Directed by Ronald Neame and starring Alec Guiness, Glynis Johns, and Petulia Clark, it is a wickedly funny film depicting the hero's rise to power and riches from the lowest end of the class system (his mother is a washer woman).  Guiness is in top form and seems to enjoy the role of a lifetime.  Fun to watch!

Now showing on Criterion. 

In other news, we are expecting an afternoon outdoor visit from Amanda later this week.  Our social calendar is suddenly full.  Until next time, enjoy these early autumn days (and nights).

Mapman Mike

 

 

Summer Weeding

 Yes, we finally finished the great summer weeding project.  We've had cool weather almost the entire month so far, so there is no excuse for not getting outside and trying to keep up with mother nature.  She likes to prove she is the boss, at least at our location.

We are now six days in to the new astronomy session, and guess what?  It's been cloudy.  Sunny today, but rain coming overnight.  However, next week is promising, and I am certain to be shifting my body clock.  I can now begin observing before 9 pm, however, which is welcome news.

There were two exciting outings for me this past week; groceries on Tuesday, and bringing the car to Windsor for its annual service.  I am happy to stay home this weekend, as a result.  Despite staying home, we managed to attend two new live DSO concerts.  The orchestra is doing something pretty interesting this fall, with audiences banned from Orchestra Hall.  They are doing a Thursday night-Friday night series of shorter concerts, called DSO digital.  You have to purchase a ticket to watch, or have purchased any season ticket for 2021 concerts (which may or may not happen).  Essentially, for $75 I have access to about 20 performances.  We just watched the first two concerts, with our brand new Italian music director.  Instead of having the full orchestra on stage performing the old chestnuts, he has really come up with refreshing ideas for programming, with the brass section performing some pieces, then the strings alone, then the woodwinds, etc.  So we are hearing a wealth of small scale works that we would not otherwise have heard.  The camera work is pretty awesome, and the microphones are providing wonderful sound.  I even shaved for the concert!

In movie news, Deb's choice last weekend was a pre-code Hollywood film starring James Cagney and Joan Blondell called Blonde Crazy.  It also stars a very young Ray Milland.  Mildly entertaining, Cagney gets slapped a lot.

                                        Showing on Criterion Channel until September 30th. 

I chose another film from the World Cinema Project, headed by Martin Scorsese.  From 1973 comes A River Called Titas, a film from Bangladesh made in 1973.  It is in black and white, and directed by Ritwik Ghatak, once exiled from his country but then invited back to make this film.  Based on a novel, it follows the doings in a small riverside fishing village, focusing on Bismati, a widowed childless woman.  Though the narrative is a bit wonky at times, the characters are powerfully drawn and expressive, and the cinematography alone makes it worthwhile watching the film.  Restored in 2010 from numerous incomplete and differently tinted prints, it is a marvel to behold.  this is the second feature from this Project we have seen.

                        Now showing on the Criterion Channel.  A River Called Titas, from 1973. 

Piano practice has been going well, and the pieces are more or less in a holding pattern right now.  They are about two weeks away from readiness, but until I decide when readiness shall be, they are just simmering.  Work on one of the major pieces for my next concert is proceeding in the meantime.

Deb is at work on her newest short film, an animated version of an old folk tale called King of the Cats.  I see her once in a while.  We have played two recent games of Tokaido, and one of Akrotiri.  A collectible card game is coming up soon, and another round of Akrotiri.  We continue to be busy and active, though it has now been more than 6 months since I have been to Detroit.  It begins to feel strange.

Mapman Mike
 

August Temps

In June we had 11 days of 30C or higher, and in July we had 19.  In August we had 13, with the highest temp being 34.  In July we hit 35, for the highest of the summer.  So with a total of 43 days above 30, it was probably an average summer, on the warm and dry side.  We spent much of it indoors, thanks to the treadmill and other equipment we've been using to exercise.  I made a significant reduction in the size of my stomach, but it took a lot of work.  With much cooler weather now in place, we should be returning outside again soon.

Kids are going back to school full time on the 14th, with a majority of them returning to the classroom.  I have a student I might take on later; she is remaining home for on-line schooling, and would pose less of a threat to students who are returning to the classroom.  Covid cases have been steadily rising in Ontario (and Quebec), mostly due to socializing at bars, private parties, etc.  Many people just want to pretend that everything is normal again.  So I am expecting all hell to break loose once universities, colleges, and grade schools are back full time.  We will do our best to remain in our small bubble throughout the autumn.  As bad as the disease itself is, it is the lingering after effects that are particularly worrisome, including enlarged hearts, pain for months afterwards in joints and muscles, and the very real potential of catching it again.

I haven't decided what to do with my piano pieces yet.  I could record them, which is a really difficult chore (they must be note perfect, which a live performance doesn't).  Or I could give "bubble" concerts, inviting a few people at a time.  I ended up doing that in January anyway, giving three smaller audience performances instead of one larger one.  And I wonder what Philip is doing with his next all-Beethoven recital.

In movie news, I recently watched part 11 of Berlin Alexanderplatz.  I'm nearing the end!  Only 3 1/2 hours to go!  And about ten hours of extras to watch, too.  My movie choice for this week was another Fassbinder film, this one called The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (1972). It stars an all female cast, and is a pretty intense melodrama, all shot inside a single room of a house.   It's hard to say that one ever really enjoys a Fassbinder film, at least his early ones so far.  But they are often riveting to watch and suffer through, as is Berlin Alexanderplatz.  Bitter Tears runs just over 2 hours, and there were enough watchable extras to double that viewing time for one movie.  Deb has chosen a pre code Joan Blondell/Jimmy Cagney feature for tonight, so it should make for a nice break from Tarkovsky and Fassbinder.

 Now showing on Criterion Channel.

In art news, we'll take a peek at a watercolour by Lovis Corinth.  Called Pink Clouds, Walchensee, it is one of those works with personal meaning for the artist, rather than being executed with the intent of selling it.  It was a gift to his wife, and shows a lake near Munich, near the Austrian border where they had a holiday home.  I never used to like this piece very much, but I have come round to its charms, and wish that I owned it.  It is seldom on display.

Pink Clouds, Walchensee, 1921.  Lovis Corinth, German (1858-1925).  Water colour and gouche on off white wove paper.  14" x 20".  Collection Detroit Institute of Arts. 

We are now four nights past full moon.  In three more nights I can look forward to the start of the September session of observing.  Crisp, cool nights, a sky that is dark by 9 pm (instead of 10:45 pm), and enough planning and prep work to last me into my 90s, at least.  Ideally we would have a home in a dark site, where the scope could be placed in a dome, for year round comfort and no travelling.  Some day. 

Mapman Mike

 

Tarkovsky Weekend; August Reading

The famous Russian film director is not a great teller of stories, but he is a supreme poet of cinematic imagery.  We watched Nostalghia, The Sacrifice, and Directed by Andrei Tarkovski, a documentary on the filming of The Sacrifice.  All three films were leaving the Criterion Channel at midnight Monday, so we were on a deadline.  We have seen the two films a long time ago.  Nostalghia was filmed in Italy, and in Italian, while The Sacrifice was filmed in Sweden in Swedish.  Of the two films I much prefer Nostalghia, which has always been my favourite film by the director.

 From 1983.  Possibly his best film.

 From 1986.

 A documentary from 1988.

Though any Tarkovsky film is worth watching, usually many times, Nostalghia is one that really stands out.  The theme of water is prevalent throughout, though the climax switches to fire (as it does in The Sacrifice).  The entire film is mesmerizing from a composition standpoint, and includes the most wonderful images ever put on film.  Both it and The Sacrifice deal with mental illness, though in very different ways.  The final image in Nostalghia is the most brilliant thing I've seen since discovering the paintings by Caspar David Friedrich.  I don't like talking about Tarkovsky's films; they are too visual.  But I love seeing them.  We saw The Mirror awhile back, and will soon review the rest of them, including Stalker, Solaris, and Andre Rublev and Ivan's Childhood.  Thank the gods for the Criterion Channel, and modern restoration of great films!

The documentary really gave a close up view of how the director worked.  Basically he had his hand in every single frame of the film, and must have been hard to work with.  He sees himself as a collaborator with his team, but his dictatorship is on display for all to see.  How else could these films have been made?  This is one man's vision, not from a team.  There are quotes from his diary, and interviews with his wife. 

Last week, Deb's choice was a 1982 Australian film directed by Gillian Armstrong called Star Struck.  It is an amusing but very light weight tale of a brother sister team entering the entertainment business, and in the process trying to save the family pub from bankruptcy.  Pop music and lots of dancing all through it.  Not my cup of tea, but it is watchable, thanks to the energy of the lead teenage actress.

 From Australia, 1982.  Now showing on Criterion.

August Reading

I read ten books related to Avon/Equinox authors, and one unrelated.  The unrelated one was by Angela Carter, called Heroes and Villains.  A post-apocalyptic tale in the tradition of Davy, by Edgar Pangborn (a much superior volume), it describes the life of a young girl who abandons the safety of her tower and village of scholars after the death of her father.  She is thrust into a cruel world.  Whereas Pangborn tells his tale of woe with some humour and much warmth and affection, Carter's story is all hardship and cruelty, and a bit hard to take.  I think it is an allegory of when a girl leaves home to follow the guy of her dreams, and what usually happens to those dreams once reality bites.  Very depressing reading.  Next month I hope to get around to reading The Time Machine, by H. G. Wells, as my non Avon/Equinox book.


I began the month by reading Harry Harrison's 4th instalment of his wonderfully quirky and very funny series, The Stainless Steel Rat Needs You.  The Rat is a reformed master criminal, now used by the galactic police to catch crooks just like he used to be.  Aided by his equally clever and resourceful wife, also a formal mastermind criminal, they make an unbeatable pair, in the tradition of Myrna Loy and William Powell.  In this latest story, they are also assisted by their twin teenage sons, two chips off the old blocks.  The opening scene, where Pappa must get the boys out of school a few days before graduation is classic Harrison at his funniest.


Next came The Diamond Contessa, the concluding book in Kenneth Bulmer's Keys To The Dimensions series.  It is a fitting conclusion, though in the end the series was all just a bit too hectic for me, with too many worlds in too short a time, and too many heroes and villains.  The first book remains the best of the bunch, but Contessa makes a worthy ending to it all.


Pawn of the Omphalos, by Tubb, is a rousing sword and sorcery tale wrapped up in a SF package.  I really liked this little masterpiece, though I would have taken the opening idea and gone somewhere totally different with it.  Definitely worth checking out.  And Jack Williamson came through with a great work entitled Trial of Terra, four interlinked stories pitting the survival of Earth against a superior race that wants to use Sol as a space flight beacon, thus wiping out the planets.  When Jack is in the groove, there is no one better in the genre.


I had one novelette left to read by Hal Clement.  Hot Planet, an early work, is classic Clement and worth a read.  This one takes place on Mercury, and is a rousing tale from the early 1960s.  It's Earthmen against an alien environment once again, and |Mercury can really dish it out.  I am finished reading all of Clement's available works, and will sadly miss him in my roster.  I am now down to 10 remaining authors.  Moorcock's The Champion of Garathorm is the 2nd book in his Castle Brass series, or 6th in the Hawkmoon series.  It is a first class story, and really gets us involved in the whole multi-verse thing for which Moorcock became famous.  So far this is an excellent series of SF/Fantasy.   One book left to go.


Rushing To Paradise is J. G. Ballard's take on the summer beach novel, a murder/mystery that takes place on the Costa del Sol in Spain, in a community of English expats.  Despite knowing it was inevitable, I hated the ending but loved the book.  This is by no means a summer beach novel; merely Ballard's take on such a thing.  It is a masterpiece of literature, a supreme bit of craftsmanship, and a tour-de-force retelling of the modern crime novel.  Not to be missed.


Malzberg's second novel, Screen (1968), has long been unavailable.  It was just re-released in July of 2020.  It was first published by a porno book company who tried out a more upper class style of x-rated book.  Needless to say, Screen met with scathing reviews and much hatred and lots of censorship.  It's really a great story, about a young man who goes to the movies and gets completely enveloped; not in the actual movie, but in imaginary relationships with the stars.  He becomes Marcello, married to Sophia, and their relationship is a total hoot to watch.  He has affairs with Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot, and many others, in his fantasy world.  His real life girlfriend is trying to save him and his job, but he turns out to be a hopeless case.  Available on Kindle, and a real gem.


From 1962 comes The Night Shapes, James Blish's take on Tarzan and the works of H. Rider Haggard.  Sadly, nothing new is added to the genre, and I felt quite disappointed in the story.  That completed my newest cycle of books, and it was then I read the book by Angela Carter mentioned at the beginning.  It was time to begin a new cycle.


The Time Hoppers, by Robert Silverberg, is a complete novelization for 1967 of a story he wrote in the 1950s called Hopper.  While I did not like the short story at the time, this novel is quite good, and though the basic story is intact, there are now enough details and character development to turn it into a very readable story.  Someone in the 2400s is sending men back to the 1970s and beyond, due to overcrowding and high unemployment in the current time frame.  The government wants control of the device, and agent Quellen is given the mission.  This is a very original and dark view of the future, and an extremely clever dip into the whole time travel can of worms.  Very well done and worth a read.


Mapman Mike