the mill and the cross

A few weeks ago I saw Lech Majewski's film, The Mill and the Cross - quite simply, a masterpiece.  The film is based off of Pieter Bruegel's painting, The Way to Calvary, and follows the story of 12 of the 500 or so people in the painting.

It's not your traditional film, though.  The Mill and the Cross, despite having characters, does not have a particular story line as in Girl with a Pearl Earring or other films that are based on works of art.  In fact, the dialogue is sparse (the first spoken words are half an hour into the movie, and even then the man speaks to the audience, not to his wife, who instead sits and reads her book, oblivious to his words).  The emphasis instead goes on the sounds in everyday life - a servant clomping up the huge flight of stairs in the mill, the thunder of horses' hooves as the red-caped Spanish military men ride into sight, the rustle of papers as the artist looks through his sketches.

The lack of words also has another effect - an unnerving one.  As the Spanish beat up a guy on his way to market, strap him to a wheel, raise that wheel several meters into the air on a pole, and leave his eyes to be eaten by the ravens, they do not speak.  And neither does the victim.  It's an incredibly powerful and cringe-worthy scene of cold detachment on the soldiers' end and hopeless submission on the man's end.

Cinematographically speaking, the balance (and ambiguity) between reality and painterliness is mesmerizing.  Majewski actually used a blue screen for some key scenes - like the beginning.  He painted the backdrop (the skies and landscape) and added that in later.  Crazy, huh?  The result is that of seeing people moving around inside the painting.  It's not necessarily stepping into the painting - but rather seeing the painting coming alive...and trying to swallow us up.

So basically...the movie is a must-see, perhaps even for those who are not art enthusiasts.  It has some very powerful scenes, and really gives you an appreciation for the artist (and the Dutch who lived through Philip II's inquisition).

photos courtesy of kino lorber, inc

There's also a lot of cool stuff on the film website, http://www.themillandthecross.com/.

betsey johnson in boston - time is of the essence...timing, too.

I've been excited about this Betsey Johnson show ever since I found out about it (and got a press pass) a month ago.  So excited that I somehow got it into my head that it was yesterday, not today.  Yup, that was interesting.  Going through the rain in really painful flats, getting there dry but slightly out of breath...and walking into some sort of arts awards ceremony/reception (I thought it seemed a little to tame for Betsey Johnson...).  Whoops.

Today it was far more festive at the Cyclorama, Boston Center for the Arts.  First off, I hate to make the comparison, but I felt like I was at a more commercial, less posh (but still posh) version of the pink party in last season's Gossip Girl.  Of course, I wasn't one of Them, a special Upper East Side trust fund baby.  Rather, more like a Brooklynite (albeit a far less cool one).

Speaking of fitting in, here's a word about fashion at fashion shows.   (Based off my one experience, haha).  Seriously, unless you want to be Seen, and want to actually take pictures with your besties there and try to take a picture with Betsey just to show how awesome and posh you are, you don't have to dress up ridiculously.  And if you are one of those press people, then just wear whatever is most comfortable.  People will ignore you anyway.  I know it pains our fragile egos to think that, but it's true.  I wore black skinny jeans, black boots, a silky t-shirt type top, short leather jacket, and black and white polka dot/leopard dots scarf.  I ditched my cutesy little jumpsuit in favor of a-little-better-looking-than-everyday-comfort (the jumpsuit's fine, but the shoes are not), and didn't regret it a bit.  Of course, men are safest with a blazer etc.  Unless you are the type to go in drag (yes, there was one of those).

Once I was there, I forgot about all my fashion dilemmas and began to focus on my camera.  Yes, intelligent me has not used this new fancy schmantzy camera enough to have it completely mastered, and it took me a while to figure out how to switch between different modes.

Before the show - retro models pose on blocks as people mingle around drinking drinks and eating hors d'oeuvres.

So there I was, looking ridiculous as I started messing with the buttons on my camera.  It got worse when the show started.  I totally didn't realize that the runway would be THAT bright, so I had to change modes again, several times, during the show (all while standing on tiptoe behind a crowd of other media people).

It was during this time, and after I got into the rhythm of CALM DOWN, STOP PRESSING DOWN THAT SHUTTER BUTTON LIKE AN IDIOT BEFORE THE MODEL IS AT THE END OF RUNWAY that I realized that a fashion show looks much different through the lens of a camera.  You watch the models come down the runway through your little digital screen, then you wait for them to get to the right place so you can snap the picture, put your camera down and rest your arms for a few seconds.  Only then can you see the runway with your naked eye, so to speak, and see that the models are so much closer than they were when you had your camera up, and notice all the little details that you missed on the screen.

To clear things up, my press pass was not for this blog (I'm not cool enough for that yet, probably).  I promise that I did actually take some really good pictures, I just can't put them up here.

thoughts on a viking movie

I'm taking a class on the Vikings this semester, and it's definitely one of my favorites.  A few weeks ago we watched the 1958 movie The Vikings (pretty corny, but an entertaining watch).  Today, as we were talking about ideal Viking men and women, we started thinking about what actors and actresses we would cast in a Viking movie.  I couldn't really think of anyone right then, so naturally I'm still considering the question.  If I were to remake The Vikings - a grittier version, obviously - who would be my leading men and ladies?

Then I realized that I would probably end up picking half the cast of King Arthur, just because it's easier to visualize Vikings when they're already in medieval getup.  Not to mention Stellan Skarsgård, who actually does play a Viking in the movie.

pretty scary stuff, huh?

Second realization: everyone else would have been in Lord of the Rings (i.e. Viggo Mortenson and Miranda Otto), or at least of Scandinavian descent.

My conclusions?  There's a reason why I'm not in the film industry.  But I do want to see King Arthur again (along with Robin Hood, Kingdom of Heaven, Lord of the Rings...)

turn-of-the-century color

I've recently discovered the work of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, a Russian chemist and photographer who developed a technique - in the early 20th century, no less - to produce color photographs.  He used a camera that took a series of three monochrome images, using red, green and blue filters; later, these images could be recombined and projected with filtered lanterns to show near-true color images.

Thanks to the Library of Congress (beginning in 2000), and photographer Walter Frankhauser and computer scientist Blaise Aguera y Arcas, we can now see composites of the original surviving negatives provided by Prokudin-Gorskii's heirs.  It's simply astounding...

Bashkir switchman near Ust-Katav, 1910

Mid-18 century Trinity Monastery in Tyumen, ca. 1912

Young Russian peasant woman in a rural area along the Sheksna River near the small town of Kirillov

(source - Wikimedia Commons)

Antonio Marras RTW, Spring 2012

I love this collection - absolutely brilliant.  I can't believe this designer hasn't been on my radar before!

On the fashion note, I get to see Betsey Johnson's show in Boston next month!! So. Excited.

more aprons

The last two aprons I finished this summer.  There won't be any more or another year, I promise.  (I think...)

The black and white with pink one is my favorite, obviously.

summer movies

LAST WEEK was the week of catching up on random movies (in between doing touristy stuff in LA).  We ended up not going to the Natural History Museum/La Brea Tar Pits, or to LACMA, but some other time, I guess.  It was simply too hot to leave the house!!

Did You Hear About the Morgans - cute, but I probably wouldn't choose to see it again.  Sarah Jessica Parker does not play the most likeable character, and Hugh Grant, while funny, is better in movies like Notting Hill and Music & Lyrics.

Last Chance Harvey - very well done.  Dustin Hoffman was kind of annoying in the film (or rather, his character had quite a few wince-worthy moments and characteristics), but I love Emma Thompson.  Quite simply, she is such a fantastic actress who can make anything worth watching.

The Last Legion - yet another King Arthur-themed alternative prequel, featuring an Indian master warrior from Constantinople (seriously. that in itself was just awesome)...There's also Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, and the ever-adorable Thomas Brodie-Sangster.

The Visitor - easily one of the best films I've seen this summer.  I hadn't seen any of the actors before, but they were all incredible. It's one of those films that's sad and happy at the same time, and it opened up my eyes to a world that I know little about...

Breakfast at Tiffany's - a classic, of course, and the first time I've seen it!  Shame on me, I know.  Admittedly it did not quite live up to my expectations.  Besides the really awkward parts with the Caucasian guy depicting (in quite an uncomplimentary way) the angry Asian neighbor (though I suppose that's just how it was in the movies those days), I feel like the movie just dragged.  There were just too many ridiculous scenes showing how ridiculous Audrey Hepburn's character was.  The first group of scenes that I really liked was when Holly and Paul go out in the city and take turns doing things they've never done before.  The scene with the sales clerk at Tiffany's was pretty funny :)

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story - one of those feel-good, kid-overcomes-odds-to-become-rich-and-famous stories, except better, because he becomes a neurosurgeon!  Outstanding performances, especially by Kimberly Elise as Ben Carson (Cuba Gooding Jr)'s mother.

Annie Hall - admittedly, another classic I only just saw for the first time....I loved it, although it was funniest in the first half hour.  After that, Alvy's pure neuroticism started to become a little less funny and and little more frustrating.