Post date: 09-Oct-2017 09:35:02
Enemy by Denis Villeneuve (2013)
Let's move away from classics and get to talk about more unknown movies. This week, I am going to talk about a very unusual cinematographic object, produced by a quite popular director, Denis Villeneuve. Since Blade Runner 2049, directed by him, has just been released, it was a good occasion to come back on this discrete movie he directed between the big productions Prisoners and Sicario. Freely adapted from the book The Double by José Saramago (Portuguese Nobel Prize of Literature), Enemy tells the story of an average history teacher discovering that another man, an unknown actor leaving in the same town, looks exactly like him. I don't want to tell more as this would be a terrible spoiler. I suggest this movie as it is a very good example of radical film-making. The director approached this work as an auteur, imposing his vision and interpretation of the story, while leaving a big part of mystery to be solved by the viewer. Here, every element suggests the anxiety of the main character. The figure of the woman in this movie is extremely stressful: they are the sources of suffocation experienced by the main character. The town (which is not named for the entire movie) is literally a character of the story: the treatment of the light, yellowish, thick, concretizes the suffocating atmosphere in which the character evolves. The soundtrack, exploiting dissonant melodies, embodies this anxiety as well. While the book put the emphasis on the psychology of the main character, Denis Villeneuve chose to recreate the mindset of the character, and focused on its relationship with its environment. Ultimately, he slightly changed some elements of the story, such as the presence of the spider symbol, to vehicle another interpretation of the book (that cannot be revealed without spoilers; I would be more than happy to discuss it). In sum, after all the discussions arisen by mother! by Darren Aronofsky, I think that Enemy is finally a much better example of a puzzling and daring film, as its approach is finally much more humble and consistent. Ultimately, I have a particulate affection for the quote of the book displayed at the beginning of the film, "Chaos is order yet undeciphered", which reminds me of the role of the economist: who are we but people looking for the order behind human's chaotic decisions and social interactions?
Bundles by Soft Machine (1975)
Here as well, let's move on from famous artists to less popular bands. Today I am going to talk about one of my favorite bands: Soft Machine. Soft Machine is probably the leader of the Canterbury scene, which is a movement among progressive bands born in Canterbury, Kent, UK, recognizable by its emphasis on improvisation. Soft Machine (the name is taken from a book of William S. Burroughs) started at the end of the 60s as a threefold band (keyboards, bass, drums) with a radical approach to improvisation, delivering visionary and influential albums in this style. Third (1970), and its four 20 minutes-long improvisational pieces, is probably their masterpiece and their most important contribution to modern music. I wouldn't advise this album first to someone willing to discover the band, but rather the more approachable period of the band, in the mid-70s. Indeed, after multiple band members' changes, the Soft Machine of this period doesn't sound like the early one, but yet is one of the most savage and energetic jazz-fusion incarnation I've ever heard. This formation, led by Karl Jenkins, provided amazing albums, like Softs and this one, Bundles. Bundles is starting with a wild jam session evolving around a simple but roaring riff of Karl Jenkins (from an album of Nucleus). This first 20 minutes are astounding and are showcasing the incredible talents of the musicians. In particular, John Marshall's drums are exploding and are supporting the most amazing guitar solo offered by one of the major progressive rock guitarist of this period: Allan Holdsworth. This isn't music but a trance to get into, a trip in the world of groove and inspiring technical propositions, the kind of music that leaves you with an unstoppable motion in the ears, as if you kept the muscle memory of an instrument you didn't play. A music to be listened as a groovy and intense experience.