Reviews

Ryuichi Sakamoto has gone a long way in his career and his development from the very synthetic pop music of the Yellow Magic Orchestra in his early days to his film scores for Bertolucci and Inarritu and to his compositions today which are very rich yet subtle, often closer to ambient than traditional composed music. Over time, he has become increasingly concerned about humanity's nuclear and environmental desasters and got involved in protest actions concerning Fukushima, where he gave a public concert on a salvaged piano having survived the Tsunami. The most fascinating part for me dealt with Sakamoto's search for the sounds of objects or of nature, of wind and water. On his travels he would record such sounds, trying to integrate or meld them with his compositions using sythesizers or his piano, creating beautiful soundscapes. He is constantly seeking to expand his concept of music, working with joy and humour and a deep craving to better grasp the aural nature of our world.

Now Laurie Anderson isn't really a musician, she is an artist using all kinds of modern media and her concerts are more impressive than her audio CDs. I wasn't really sure what to expect of this film and fortunately it isn't as artsy as many of the works of video artists often are are, where - as usually in modern art - you have to make sense of the material yourself, somehow; no, this is a very watchable film with Laurie spreading out memories and thoughts about her rat terrier Archie and her mother, both of which have passed away rather recently. Also of course, her husband, the rock musician Lou Reed, had died only 2 years ago so the topic of death seems a very natural one in those circumstances. Still, this is not a sad or bitter film but at best maybe a melancholic but often also a happy one with an emphasis on cheerful memories. It is a meditation on life and death spoken in her very soft singsong voice.

Obviously there's not much happening in that little British town. Jim tries escaping the boredom and loneliness by going to the only cinema in town where they keep playing the same old films over and over, and usually he's the only visitor. On top of that boredom he's also bullied by the other kids and, honestly, he hasn't much to offer. When that new cool American guy Dean moves in next door and tries to make friends with Jim this set-up comes across rather constructed for the sake of a plot. But the further developments seem even more unrealistic. Jim tries to come across as a "mysterious" guy but by God neither he or this film has even a hint of mysteriousness. It is one of the general challenges when depicting a boring character in a boring surrounding - the film plainly tends to get boring itself if you are not a master of subtleties or you don't bring in humor & irony. The film unfortunately lacks either of those qualities.

Let me first state: I like poetic little films without much action (e.g. by Eric Rohmer) - providing they manage to create an emotionally intense atmosphere and the story and also the characters develop a realistic, authentic complexity. This film here is plainly an inflated glimpse of a story developed around a single idea. As a little side story of a few minutes within a more complex story this might be acceptable or even an amiable detail. Here we learn nothing at all about this middle-aged and obviously unemployed man, we know nothing about his past, we only get a very vague notion of his immediate future, we never see him anywhere else but within or in front of his tiny apartment (where does he get his food or his money from?) The passers-by develop a certain sympathy for him since he is extremely friendly and considerate and is obviously seeking contact rather desperately. That's it. It's not a case of bad acting, the story just doesn't provide any inspiration or intensity or room for a personality to develop. Yes, he is a pitiful character, but the little animated scenes in between seem like cinematic études rather ridiculing the poor chaps hallucinations which in the context of the film is neither funny nor artistic nor does it reveal anything to the spectator. So what do we learn: Even a man not quite in his right mind can yet be a warm-hearted, friendly person...