GHOST ALMANAC at Cinema Arts Center (and The Nitehawk Cinema August 11)

 

The duo Montopolis play live music to some silent movie clips, cartoons and the complete Buster Keaton short THE HAUNTED HOUSE.

This is a well done evening  of creepy images and music. Beginning with Disney's SKELETON DANCE and going theough a series of clips and shorts before ending with a clip from NOSFERATU, this is a performance that is like a waking nightmare. It's frequently disturbing.

As good as most of this is the one weakness is the Keaton short. Pure humor with no real spooky stuff. Everything is geared to a laugh, which runs counter to all the other clips.  The collection recovers, but the shift in gears lessens it just a tad.

My reservation aside, this is a lot of fun. It's a must see if it comes near you.

They play the Nitehawk Cinema in WIlliamsburg tomorrow.

For other shows go here

Nick Cave: THIS MUCH I KNOW TO TRUE (2022) opens today

THIS MUCH I KNOW TO BE TRUE is Nick Cave & Warren Ellis performing songs from the albums Ghosteen and Carnage. Its a performance film shot over five days before they took it on tour.

If I told you this film is a religious experience, you would think I was daft, unless you've ever seen Cave in concert. I've seen him twice and this film is kind of like that. It's the point at which music transports one to another place without the need of drugs. The visual tricks are simply the space, lighting changes, camera moves and the performers. Yes there are a few interstitals where they discuss what they are doing, but they are merely points to collect ourselves. In all seriousness moments in this film moved me to tears-the beauty of the sound and image took me to somewhere beatiful. The reason was somewhere beyond words.

What stays with me is the soundscape. This is a film I know I will watch hundreds of times in the time I have left simply so I can have the music swimming around inside me. This is a space occupied by very few films, the closest is the Sigur Ros documentary HEIMA which creates a sonic space that is pure magic.

I apologize but this film lives in a place beyond words. I can't explain it I can only feel it. And I feel it deeply in the bottom of my soul.

You must see this film with as good a sound system as possible. (I am cursing myself for not putting on headphones.)

One of the best films of 2022.

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This Much I Know To Be True (2022) SXSW 2022

THIS MUCH I KNOW TO BE TRUE is Nick Cave & Warren Ellis performing songs from the albums Ghosteen and Carnage. Its a performance film shot over five days before they took it on tour.

If I told you this film is a religious experience, you would think I was daft, unless you've ever seen Cave in concert. I've seen him twice and this film is kind of like that. It's the point at which music transports one to another place without the need of drugs. The visual tricks are simply the space, lighting changes, camera moves and the performers. Yes there are a few interstitals where they discuss what they are doing, but they are merely points to collect ourselves. In all seriousness moments in this film moved me to tears-the beauty of the sound and image took me to somewhere beatiful. The reason was somewhere beyond words.

What stays with me is the soundscape. This is a film I know I will watch hundreds of times in the time I have left simply so I can have the music swimming around inside me. This is a space occupied by very few films, the closest is the Sigur Ros documentary HEIMA which creates a sonic space that is pure magic.

I apologize but this film lives in a place beyond words. I can't explain it I can only feel it. And I feel it deeply in the bottom of my soul.

You must see this film with as good a sound system as possible. (I am cursing myself for not putting on headphones.)

One of the best films at SXSW and 2022 as well.

The Unholy Three (1925) at Town Hall

The original silent version of The Unholy Three played a couple of weeks back at New York City’s Town Hall. Normally that wouldn’t have been any big deal but the music was by Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields with assists by Daniel (Lemony Snickett) Handler and Pinkie Weitzman. It was a wonderful score that mixed ukulele, viola, and accordion with synthesizer and plastic pigs.

The night began awkwardly as the fact that Daniel Handler’s monitor went down so that time had to be filled while they got it up and running. Pinkie told some jokes, Daniel kibitzed and Stephin sang an unreleased Magnetic Fields song.

The film began with the audience participation short SISSY-BOY SLAP PARTY by Guy Maddin which requires the audiences to clap whenever anyone is slapped. This resulted in lots of laughs and what sounded like thunderous applause.

The Unholy Three is a trip. I haven’t seen this version in years and it was cool to see it scored live.

The plot has three side show performers Tweedledee a midget (Harry Earles), Hercules a strong man (Victor McLaughlin) and Echo, A Ventriloquist (Lon Chaney) setting up a pet store where they sold parrots to the rich. When the birds failed to speak they would go to the homes and case them for later burglary. Tensions within the group begin to grow as their accomplice Rosie (Mae Busch) falls for their store clerk Hector. When an act of kindness prevents the Echo from going out on a robbery Tweedledee and Hercules go by themselves. A man is killed and little girl hurt. Suspicion falls on the group because they were in the house seeing about a non-talking parrot a day or so before the killing.

A lurid melodrama that is both funny on purpose and because time has marched on since it was made, The Unholy Three is wild ride. I mean there is a killer ape in the film just because Tod Browning wanted to have a killer ape in it. There is a real sense of sleaze to some of what happens…but more importantly there is a real sense of emotion to what happens. You genuinely feel for the characters on screen. Sure Hector is nebbish, but you understand that he genuinely loves Rosie. We also bleed for Echo and his unrequited love for her as well. We know he will do anything to make sure she gets her heart’s desire, which is the love of the guy who loves the goodness he sees in her. I may have been chuckling at some of what goes on but when Echo release her from her promise at the end I got misty because Chaney was such a good actor that you could see all of the pain underneath the brave face.

It is interesting to note that McLaughlin said that he truly learned how to act from talking to and working with Chaney because he was simply that good.

The Unholy Three is a great deal of fun, more so when seen on the big screen with a killer score….

Passion in the Pit as THE PUNK SYNDROME comes to Silverdocs

We often hear talk of dysfunction amongst rock bands.  Bickering occurs and over what – having too much money? Not getting as much of the spotlight or money as one’s bandmates?  In the case of Pertti Kurikka’s Name Day, we have a band that we can truly say is dealing with dysfunction – all four of this Finnish punk band’s members have been clinically diagnosed with mental disabilities.  Yet amazingly and inspiringly, and unlike the collapsed Oasis, they have managed to keep it together and make powerful, tuneful rock music with no signs of letting up.

THE PUNK SYNDROME is a quick paced, eye opening documentary that introduces us to this enigmatically named band.  It focuses on the music, giving us plenty of well shot footage of raw live performances and the catharsis it stirs among its audiences.  Directors J-P Passi and Jukka Kärkkäinen chose not to give an account of the band’s history. Rather, we are given highly energetic look at their everyday lives and their surprisingly strong live performances in and around their native Finland, as well as on a tour of Europe.

To briefly introduce the band, there is Sami Helle on bass, Kari providing vocals, Pertti  on guitar, and behind the drum kit, Tomi.  They make simple, poppy 3 chord punk with vocals of the Norweigan “cookie monster” variety, commonly associated with death and black metal bands from the region. Their lyrics are frank and deal with matters that range from their frustration with aspects of their life being controlled by institutions, to mundane aspects of everyday life.  There is much mention of coffee.

Interesting details about Finnish culture bubble to the surface as a portrait of the band's unique situation is revealed.  Without making a big fuss over it, the film shows how supportive key people in the band member’s lives are, including  staff at the homes, family members, and Kalle, whose exact role is difficult to determine, but seems to fall somewhere between licensed caregiver and band manager.  His patient and persistent manner in dealing with the band, especially Pertti, make him one of the story’s most important unglamorous heroes.

Glimpses into the band’s creative process include imperfect practice sessions and a lyric writing session between Pertti and Kari.  These are nicely balanced by aspects of the band members’ lives outside of the music.  There is Sami Helle’s pursuit of athletic competition and interest in politics, Kari‘s increasingly serious relationship with his girlfriend, and Tomi’s anxiousness as he is faced with the possibility of moving out of his parents’ home and into an assisted living home.

Wisely, Possi and Kärkkäinen refrain from naming or detailing their diagnoses.  We learn of their symptoms by watching them interact with each other and those around them without getting bogged down by clinical talk.  And of symptoms, there are plenty.  Compulsive outbursts, uncontrollable physical mannerisms, and speech disorders are constant factors in the guys’ lives.  





The most complex and also most emotionally gripping case is Pertti’s.  The oldest member of the band, he is sometimes seen obsessively listing threats of physical harm aimed at both his bandmates and himself.  A few scenes later, he is bestowing poetic words of kindness and sharing wisdom from his years of experience with those around him.  Other times, he is appears to be afflicted by physical tics, speaking of imagined creatures that would manifest in other band member’s clothing. All the while, the audience sees him as the principle songwriter of the band, the one whom the band’s existence may well be most dependent on.

While there are awkwardly humorous moments that show things like arguments within the band or lapses in judgment, the film does not ever portray them mockingly, nor does it want us to take pity on them.  There is an upbeat progression of events that finds their experiences increasing in wonderment and live performances that keep getting better and better.  There are some amazing gifts for the audience in the form of surprising moments, ones which you wouldn’t want to have unwrapped until you are there in the scene watching the movie.
 
THE PUNK SYNDROME unflinchingly shows us some very difficult realities, without giving up a sense of fun.  It is also a great movie about music, with uplifting performances that will stick with you for a great while after seeing the film and likely send you running out to hear more of the band's output.

The Punk Syndrome will be screened at the AFI Silverdocs festival in Silver Spring, MD, on Tuesday June 19 and Wednesday June 20.  An interview with the directors of the documentary and the members of the band will appear right here in the days to come.


Me on twitter = @mondocurry