The Battle Of Algiers and Number 75

About twenty years ago, I saw a series of movies in film class that really broadened for me what movies could do. Before the class, movies had three classifications for me: Violent action, funny, and boring. The film class I took showed me a series of movies that included Los Olvidados, Woman In The Dunes, Samurai I, Memories of Underdevelopment and the movie I watched last weekend - The Battle Of Algiers.

The Battle of Algiers is a powerful film brilliantly shot in black and white with a documentary style that includes handheld cameras, swishpans and sudden zoom ins that temorarily lose focus. The movie centers on the struggle of a terrorist group (the FLN) to remove the French government from their land. Primarily, it focuses on a specific terrorist named Ali. The movie was commissioned by the Algerian government after the French were forced out of the country.

In terms of filmmaking, the style of narrative (the visual style adds to the realism while a narrator illustrates the finer points) and raw acting (unprofessional actors) create a hard hitting experience for the viewer. The movie portrays the aftermath of violence somberly for victims on both sides (unless it's depicting murdering French policemen, in this movie apparently that's OK) and the French are not portrayed as evil caracatures. Despite some evenhandedness in the approach to the subject matter the movie sides with the terrorists, which can make the movie a little hard to take at times.

Still, there is enough objectivity in the movie to keep it from being like Triumph Of Will or Birth of a Nation to me. While I don't agree with terrorism, the movie does give some understanding as to what factors could cause it to exist because it illustrates how a terrorist may feel. Seeing how the historical events depicted in this movie made in 1966 resembles the current situation in the middle east was a bit depressing. There are definite differences in the two situations, but a lot of similarites as well. The fact that this movie is as relevant now as it was forty years ago is a testament to the filmmaker Gino Pontecarlo's talent and how we may not have progressed as a global society in that time.

I didn't plan on seeing this movie around September 11th which came about as coincidence. Given the timing, I could have found a more patriotic film to watch which would make me feel less guilty. Another coincidence is Number 75:

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication (1999)

The reason I call this a coincidence is because all Red Hot Chili Peppers albums seem like they happen by accident to me. It seems like they're in a cycle where they clean up from drugs, record an album, tour, lose control of their drug habit and then clean up again. So, the only time they can record is when they're not smacked out of their minds. It was this cycle that made Californication a real surprise.

At this point in their career, it looked like RHCP was on their way out. They had peaked with the taut funk rock of Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) and had to change guitarists because of drug problems. They recorded one mediocre album with guitarist Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction, TV show Rock Star, former Mr. Carmen Electra) and seemed about ready to drift into the alt rock twilight. But guitarist John Fruciante returned and reinvigorated the band.

Californication didn't just reestablish the Chili Peppers, it expanded what they could do musically. My favorite moments are still when they bring the funk ("I Like Dirt" and "Get On Top") that allow Flea to pop his elastic bass lines all over the place. John Fruciante's guitarwork became more textured during his absence, bringing slide guitarwork to the hit "Scar Tissue" and measured, emotional playing to ballads like "Californication". Anthony Kiedis is still at his best when he sounds over caffinated, giving out almost stream of consiousness rants over drummer Chad Smith's solid backbeat.

What expanded their sound was a more developed ability to deliver straight pop and ballads. "Otherside" was a somewhat sad song (about death) but had an engaging melody complete with background vocals. In ballads, "Porcelian" was extremely soft and slow while "Road Trippin" had a string section to back it. The fact that these songs didn't suck gave RHCP their most well rounded album that delivered top notch music no matter what genre they touched on.

My favorite song is "Around The World", a song that illustrates their newfound maturity. The song is anchored by a scratchy funk riff and slamming drums but the chorus is almost crooning and cushioned by a bed of sighing background vocals. The song sizzles and comforts at the same time!

No guilty feelings about this album, Californication stands as a modern classic.

Tokyo Drifter and Number 76

On Turner Classic Movies, I recently watched Tokyo Drifter which is a Japanese film made in the 60's. The movie told the story (or saga it seemed like) of Tetsu the Phoenix, a hitman who loves his boss that is trying to go straight. But, the old mob gangs won't leave Tetsu and his boss alone and rival gangs claim Tetsu is the reason why. So, Tetsu goes on the run across country to make his boss safer and still try to go straight. Tetsu gives up his lifestyle and girlfriend in the name of honor and duty, which are the guiding principles of his life. The mob still pursues Tetsu while he is running led by Tatsu the Viper. Fortunately, he receives help from a former rival hitman named Shooting Star who has become disillusioned with honor and duty in the gangster life. Tetsu's principles are put to the test by what happens afterward.

It's an interesting story, but the actual story isn't quite the point of this movie. Tokyo Drifter is a visual flambe' of eyepopping technicolor, arty set design and stylistic direction. The use of color and set design was reminiscent of the Batman tv series, garish loud colors on the sets and clothing. Tetsu spends much of the movie in a bright light blue suit walking into nightclubs that with Purple walls and plexiglass floors. A different nightclub has a set of stairs, a piano, about four roman pillars and a table with two chairs.

What's both engaging and offputting about Tokyo Drifter is the direction. The camera framing is incredible, with excellently composed wide shots to capture character movements and dialogue. Great use of lighting alternately keeps the characters in the shadows or in bright day light. An amusing choice is to make the movie into a one song musical, the theme song is played, sung or whistled repeatedly by the soundtrack, Tetsu's girlfriend or Tetsu himself. The offputting parts were the action sequences. Drifter is a violent movie in terms of story, but much of the actual violence takes place off screen. Outside of fistcuffs, just when you expect someone to be shot or killed the scene will end and a different one will begin.

In the end, the movie is about the importance of honor and duty to oneself versus another person, group or collective. It uses brilliantly staged visuals from director Seijun Suzuki to get its point across about the loneliness and cost of it's story in an effective fashion. I can't say this is the greatest movie in the world, but I found it original and intriguing.

While not quite original, an intriguing album comes in at Number 76:

The Strokes - Is This It (2001)

When I first heard about the Strokes, I didn't quite know what to expect. They had a huge buzz about them as the band that would bring back rock n' roll, saving us from the repetitive rap rock that permeated the late 90's. When I first heard Is This It, I was amazed. There were...songs! And guitars!! And guitar solos!!! While the influence was obvious (if Lou Reed had recorded the album and let other people take the credit for it, the sound would be the same) it came at a time when rock was just so dead it hurt.

Still, I couldn't stop playing the disc no matter how guilty it seemed of musical theivery. Low slung bass lines , angular guitarwork and mumbly, tired vocals marked this debut album. The highlight, "Last Nite" aped Tom Petty with slash and burn rhythm guitar and enervated singing. "Hard To Explain" and "Take It Or Leave It" post punked things up a bit. "Someday" had a basic midtempo rock sound while the title track and "The Modern Age" captured the post modern ennui.

Is This It is careful not to go on too long (it's about a half hour) and hits hard and fast with its 21st century take on the classic Velvet Underground sound with Television style guitars. The Strokes followed up with a strong second album (Rooms On Fire 2003) and a solid but unspectacular third album (First Impressions Of Earth 2006). Is This It may be the definitive moment for The Strokes, an effortless piece of New York attitude and hipster rock ingenuity.

In The Mood For Love and Number 77

Well, right now my wife is sick, I'm drinking a beer and a police chopper is flying overhead probably looking for a fugitive hiding in my trailer park. This is the perfect time to blog! And what better to blog about, than Wong Kar Wai's recent film In The Mood For Love. This is the first Wong Kar Wai film I've seen and I have to say I'm impressed. It is a slow moving, atmospheric movie about two people whose mates are having an adulterous affair which tempts them to do the same.

Set in 1950's Hong Kong, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung play the husband and wife to their cheating spouses. The two couples live next to each other in the same building and their spouses are gone for long periods of time under the pretense of working in Japan. The two spouses in Hong Kong begin to spend time together to nurse each other's hurt feelings and try to control their attraction to each other to avoid being like their spouses. It's a beautifully acted film with Leung and Cheung giving carefully modulated performances. Much of the movie is carried by movement and physical expression rather than dialogue. Both actors portray sadness, desire and resignation with realism and depth. I still can't believe this is the same Maggie Cheung who I saw in one of my all time favorite movies, Jackie Chan's Police Force. Cheung displays an aloof attractiveness and maturity in complete opposition to the physical comedy of the Jackie Chan movies.

But, it's Wong Kar Wai's movie and he never lets you forget it. Dimly lit passages, camera framing that consistently obscures the actors and slo mo dominates the film. And rain. A lot of rain in this movie. It also has an interesting use of color, which are muted throughout the film. The slow pace drags a little bit towards the end, but the rhythm of the editing is important to this movie because the two characters "dance" around each others shared but anguished feelings. Some may find this slow and ponderous, but I definitely recommend In The Mood For Love.

An album that can never be described as slow and ponderous is Number 77:

X - Los Angeles (1980)

I must admit, for the most part I missed the punk movement. It didn't make any sense to me at the time, the playing was not very technical and the songs were not melodic. It seemed out of tune, sloppy and incoherent. As I've gotten older, I've found a lot of emotional content in the sloppy punk rantings of bands like X.

X's Los Angeles album is a nihilistic trip through the LA underground of the early 80's. A strong shot of droning vocals, rockabilly guitar and punk rhythms mark the album. Although there are nine songs, they are all cut from the same cloth and hang together thematically. Lyrically facinating in decribing "The World's A Mess, It's In My Kiss" while "Sex and Dying In High Society" with "Nausea". The opening track "Your Phone's Off The Hook, But You're Not" is my personal favorite with its bopping beat and the intertwined vocals over the overrevved guitar riff make the song exciting. John Doe and Exene's vocals have the right tone of jaded detachment and sleazy energy. Guitarist Billy Zoom brings character to his punk rock via his 50's rockabilly influence. DJ Bonebrake's drums holds down the beat for the group.

Los Angeles illustrates the flip side to Southern California's fantasy land of sex, surf and sun. X shows in the land of the rich and beautiful, there's a lot of room for outsiders looking for kicks and ignoring the mainstream. Like an annoying friend that is fun in short bits but you don't want to get too close to, X hits you with their attitude and then conveniently leaves before you get tired of them.