Saturday was Detroit Symphony Live night once again. Superstar violinist Nemanja Radulović gave an energetic and lively performance of the Katchaturian Concerto in D Minor. A superb violinist, he actively listened to the orchestra as he played, giving them much credit at the end for their own hard work in this monstrously difficult piece. After intermission the orchestra tackled Strauss's Alpine Symphony. Their numbers had swollen to nearly 120 instrumental performers on stage, up significantly from their usual 80-90 players. This is quite an amazing piece, describing a hike in the Alps to a high summit, and back down again. 22 micro-movements describe the adventure in detail, including a storm on the descent. The piece begins with night, followed by sunrise, followed by the hike and its return at sunset, followed again by night. This might be the only piece by Richard Strauss that I really like.
In film news, there are three to report. It's Deb's festival weekend, so she gets five picks in a row. So far so good with her picks. My two picks before hers were lumped into one gigantic film, lasting 7 hours and 19 minutes. Yup. This is a film that scores 9.2 on IMDB. Don't let that fool you into thinking you are seeing a great film, my friends. Satantango is from 1994, directed by Bela Tarr, a Hungarian. The film describes the dismal life during the autumn rainy season of the inhabitants at a farm collective. The very thin plot actually makes very little sense. The essence of this film is its photography. The landscape is flat and nearly featureless, the farm buildings are badly run down, and it is constantly raining and muddy. Life goes on, if this is life. It seems more like Hell itself, especially after we see the title dance not once, but twice, in the pub. But the everlasting camera shots grow wearisome very soon. Watching a person walk down a straight road into the distance, in real time, and then walk back again, is hardly wonderful cinema. There seems to be no editing in the picture. Cutting it down to two hours, the film still would not make much sense, except that the farmers are tricked out of all their money by one of their own. I won't even talk about the most controversial part of this film, the infamous cat torturing and cat poisoning scene, which the director insists was necessary to the film (it wasn't). There are no really decent characters in the film; most of them live closer to the animal kingdom than the human one. I may be the only one saying so, but avoid this film if at all possible. Do not get fooled into thinking this is some kind of cinematic masterpiece of art; it isn't. Rather I'd say the director has pulled the wool over many eyes (like a certain past president of the US).
The film has now left Mubi.
Deb's first three choices were as follows. Seeing The Lunchbox right after Satantango was like restoring my faith in film as an art form, and clearing my head of the mud it had accumulated during the previous screening. From 2013 and directed by Ritesh Batra, the action takes place in Mumbai. The system of getting lunch boxes from the cook to the intended person involves an intricate system that flawless delivers food day after day. The film opens showing a lunch being cooked, packaged, sent out for delivery, the journey it takes and who gets involved, and the successful appearance on the right desk just before lunch. When a woman's cooked lunch meant for her husband is delivered to the wrong man, the film really begins. This is a totally entrancing comedy, featuring mostly the two people. "Auntie", the older woman in an upstairs apartment, is always heard by never seen. It is her secret recipe that is supposed to win the day, helping the young wife get back her husband's interest. Instead, it goes to an accountant who is just about to retire after 30 years. Though the two characters never actually meet during the film, by the end we know that they will, soon. A life affirming film, this one is a joy to watch.
Though falling far below Lunch Box (though far above Satantango), Flight of The Red Balloon still has some very fine moments. Directed by Taiwanese auteur Hou Hsiao-hsien, it all takes place in Paris. From 2007, it is a slice of life film that shows the struggles of a single mother trying to raise her young boy. Her schedule is so busy that she hires a Chinese nanny to help out. As the red balloon bounces about town, it (and we) follows the daily routines of the boy and his adult caregivers. It's nice to see a young boy depicted in films who isn't a holy terror. The boy is quiet, sensitive, and besides playing piano he enjoys pinball and his Gameboy. The two bedroom flat is a highlight of the film, crammed as it is with books, records, and cds. The film does not promise to deliver more than it gives. It is a kind of film I would imagine French people might enjoy seeing. Juliette Binoche gives a winning performance as the mother who occupation is to supply the voices for puppets during performances. The red balloon significance comes from the Chinese girl who babysits the boy; she is studying film in Paris and is fascinated by the 1956 French fantasy film The Red Balloon. This can be considered an hommage to that film.
In astronomy news, it's been pretty cloudy and rainy this cycle. I have had one very fine night so far, but that may be it. And piano practice is ramping up, as I try to prepare for some upcoming performances. Nearly there.
Mapman Mike
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