El Cant Dels Ocells

I am trying to stick to favorable critiques in this blog, but I must write about the bizarre experience I had with this film even though I am NOT recommending it. I do actually want to review the movie first and then I'll get to the weird part.

A screening of an independent film from an up-and-coming Catalan director (Albert Serra), followed by a Q&A with the director himself, was too much to resist even though warning signs crept into the back of my mind when I saw the invitation. As the screening began, it all hit me: I have seen Albert Serra's first movie, Honor de Cavalleria - two summers ago, at the LA Film Festival - and it was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Sparse would be an understatement. Barely anything happened at all from beginning to end. It was supposed to be an artistic remake of Don Quixote de la Mancha, but instead it was a series of meaningless vignettes about an old man in his garden. He wakes up, he walks around, he eats an apple, and then he goes to sleep. Rinse and repeat. The theater emptied out at about the halfway point, including the group of Catalans I came with. In retrospect, the idea of a bare-bones, existentialist film that defies all convention and does not string viewers along like they themselves expect - indeed, dares them to give up - is an interesting experiment. But it was not easy to enjoy in the moment.

El Cant Dels Ocells opens, and it's Serra exactly as I remember him, right down to the same actors from his previous film. Three men mope around a forest, doing such exciting activities as dawdling, sleeping, and washing. As the movie painstakingly unfolds, it becomes clear that the three men, who wear hooded robes and crowns, are the biblical Three Wise Men - in Spanish, "los reyes," or "los magos." They do reach their destination and deliver their gifts to baby Jesus. All this takes place in only 85 sequences, 3 of which were long-distance night shots where the characters could neither be seen nor heard at all. As with Honor de Cavalleria, there is no soundtrack. The only accompanying sounds besides ambient noise are when Pau Casal's "El Cant del Ocells" plays - for a full 5 minutes, during which the characters do not move or speak - upon the magos reaching the foot of Mary and Joseph's home.

The movie was hard to stomach, and yet I do believe it was an improvement on Honor de Cavalleria for three reasons. First, the scenes were varied enough to engage the audience, particularly an underwater shot of the 3 magos tugging their sailboat to shore. Second, the dialogue, when there was any, was actually very funny - surely Honor de Cavalleria's greatest shortcoming given the characters who were involved. Here, the magos have an animated discussion about dreams and angels, and they constantly match wits as they try to foist responsibility for leading the group on one another. Third, the use of symbols was at once provocative and bizarre. The magos journey to Jesus but also talk about reaching the sun. Another girl in Mary's village cradles a lamb as if it were her child (though the original "Mary Had a Little Lamb" has no religious meaning).

If my experience with the movie doesn't seem so bizarre yet, it's because the punchine does not begin until Serra gets up to to talk about how El Cant Dels Ocells was filmed. "My sets have only three rules," he says: "never talk back to me, never look at me, and NEVER stop acting." He works with amateur actors and puts them in situations where they're forced to make human decisions on their own volition, even though they are ostensibly in character. For instance, for several scenes he sends the 3 magos a distance away and shouts nonsense instructions at them through a walkie-talkie. "Fetch the cinnamon! And the gasoline!" The gesticulations and disagreement are the actors themselves trying to figure out what's going on. Those long scenes when the magos approach, then turn back, then approach again? That's the actors trying to decide how to respond to Serra's intentionally confusing directions.

More examples of Serra's planned anarchy on set: The script, to the extent that there is one, does not distinguish between the three kings. It just says, "one king goes off, another king speaks," and the actors decide who does what. Another of his tricks is to prompt one actor to ask another a question, without warning the latter what's coming, so the response is pure invention.

And so it turns out that the exchanges between the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph were to terse because Joseph speaks in Hebrew and Mary in Catalan, and there is no mutual comprehension. The Hebrew itself fits the biblical motif but is really only an afterthought, a suggestion from the actor after shooting began with his character speaking English; real life Joseph is the son of a Canadian journalist who picked up Hebrew as a boy. He happened to be around as shooting began and Serra asked him if he'd like to be in a movie.

My conclusion here is mixed. Albert Serra is nuts, and I like that. Still, his movies are unbearable. Better to stay away and not get caught up in Serra's claim that both of his movies are infinitely better than the entire body of Spanish cinema for the last 30 years.

Paulinho Mosca - Tudo Novo De Novo

Surging forth from the fertile sands of Rio de Janeiro, Paulinho Moska is the quintessential Brazilian singer/songwriter for the 21st century. The "novo som" (new sound) that he introduces on Tudo Novo de Novo reflects on Brazil's bossa nova heritage while steering clear of the usually-cheesy MPB (música popular do Brasil). Tudo Novo de Novo is optimistic, rhythmic, infectious, and original.

Standout cuts on the album are "Lágrimas de Diamantes," "Pensando em Você," and the title track, with its cresting and deeply satisfying "ah's" following the first chorus. "Bilhete no Fim" probably has the strongest bossa nova backbeat but Moska excels in drawing on many influences without overpowering the listener or distracting from the direct message of his songs.

Jorge Drexler makes two appearances here: the first is a very warm collaboration with Moska on Drexler's song, "Dos Colores: Blanco y Negro." The second is an authorship credit for Moska's cover of "Idade do Ceu" (Spanish: Edad del Cielo; English: The Age of Heaven), where he takes a decent song from deep in Drexler's catalogue and gives it a gorgeous new identity.

Youtube links:
Moska performing "Idade do Ceu" with Zelia Duncan from Os Mutantes -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlmfg81dHZY&feature=related
"Tudo Novo de Novo" from the DVD for this album's tour -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXwFZ_xeVHw

Tu Vida En 65 Segundos

"Tu Vida En 65 Segundos" is an insanely affective story about love and life from Catalan director Maria Ripoll. It won the Barcelona Film Award in 2006.

Three friends gather at the park on a lazy Sunday (Dani, Nacho, and Paco). They read that a classmate, Albert Castillo, has shockingly passed away and agree to go to his funeral. There, they meet his older sister, Cristina, who immediately connects with Dani after he shares that his own father died when he was only 12. The boys are invited to a memorial gathering at Albert's house, only to realize that the Albert Castillo they knew has not passed away, that this is a bizarre coincidence of name and age.

Far from a comedy (though the ensuing tension hits some funny notes), the movie is a chronicle of Dani and Cristina falling in love despite the undercurrent of her grief and his initial duplicity. The title comes from an activity Cristina says her brother did in high school English class: write about a feeling or a story in just 65 words. "Son pocas, o son muchas?" Dani asks Cristina. (Are they a lot, or a little?) "Depende de lo que quieras decir." (Depends what you wanted to say.) When Dani bursts into Cristina's apartment in the wee hours of the morning to read her a frantically composed love declaration - "por que te quiero, en 65 palabras" - life's sensations and fleeting moments are put in perspective.

Beyond the captivating story, the film is also an outstanding montage of a city and a set of powerful emotions that Ripoll's characters feel. I caught the first half hour at a friend's flat in Barcelona a while ago, was completely mesmerized, and finally got my hands on it a few months later.

Youtube link:
Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3MEfc1vSho

Jorge Drexler - 12 Segundos de Oscuridad

It seems only fitting to introduce Jorge Drexler in my first blog post, since his work references and links to so many of the other outstanding projects I will be talking about here.

Drexler is a Uruguayan singer/songwriter who was formerly a doctor before trying his hand at music. His work has progressed from low-budget, unornamented affairs to progressive bossa nova masterpieces that are the talk of the Rio de Plata region and Spain. He won an Oscar for his song "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" on the soundtrack for the Motorcycle Diaries.

12 Segundos de Oscuridad is Drexler's third project with DJs/instrumentalists/producers Juan Campodónico and Carlos Casacuberta. Is is notable among his catalogue for several reasons - the rapidfire beat-poet "Disneylandia," the sparse and ethereal "Sanar" and the astounding cover of Radiohead's "High and Dry." My favorite is "Transoceánica," which is probably his boldest rock arrangement to date. It's a shame to mask his excellent guitar work but I like how the heavy drums work with his sound.

Drexler is a wonderful musician and I'll surely write about his other albums in future posts. I had the opportunity to see him live in 2008 in a small town outside of Barcelona. It was unforgettable. His previous CD, Eco, is another great starting point.

Youtube link:
"Transporte," solo acoustic - from the album Eco.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycs48Y1PYPQ