Jane Campion Retrospective

An Angel at my Table

I hadn't seen "An Angel at My Table" since it came out (on TV) in 1990, when the deliberate rustication seemed highly contemporary and the film was full of jokes and parodies. Yesterday the grainy print and autumn palette struck some kind of silent awe into the audience so I was the solitary weirdo cackling in the dark. Jane Campion herself has been attending this Lincoln Center retrospective, giving Q and A sessions and a long "Evening with..." presentation where she accepted appropriate ovations from her public. Earlier this year I passed her in the Tropicana Caffein Sydney and gave her an involuntary glance of recognition. She returned such a hostile glare that anyone would have thought she disliked being famous. Someone told me Catherine Deneuve is the same, hates being recognized, but hates being ignored even more.

Watch the trailer:

Julia Solomonoff at Film Forum

Nobody's Watching

The NYC release of the brilliant Argentinian film, "Nobody's Watching", started this week. The characters are so richly portrayed that you feel you know all about them even when some appear for only a few minutes. I never get to talk to movie directors but at Film Forum they actually hang around after the film, inviting conversation... Julia Solomonoff said a lot about the differences between the way the film was scripted and the way it ended up. When asked about the depth of characterization, she said she cut most of the scenes that provided "back story" (after they had been shot) because context, setting, sequence and the actors' performances delivered all the nuances without requiring the actual footage. Even so, she said, she had to add a bit at the end, after the film was "locked", which she had to pay for herself, so that hurt.

Watch the trailer:

 

The Museum at FIT

Fashion Institute of Technology

FIT's current exhibition, The Force of Nature, analyses the impact of the natural world on fashion. Amongst the leopard Capri Pants and the Olympic swimsuit which simulates a shark's skin was this cocktail dress from Sak's 1953 collection, which was inspired by the 1950s' fascination with stars, constellations and space exploration. The idea was that science would bring peace and hope to a world held in fear by the threat of nuclear war. Afterwards, I walked over to Union Square to see the aftermath of Mrs. Clinton's book signing. The Hillary haters were still there, leaning over the barricades and hissing slogans at anyone walking by. 

See what's on at the Fashion Museum of Technology

The Viceroy's House

Kerry Monteen/Pathe

Who knew the public is so fascinated by the Partition, details of which are muttered by Edwina, as
she hands around the paratha, her head permanently tilted to one side as if she had picked up a twitch (not unlikely). Well, they're not. They are there to see Lord Grantham who has been chosen to sever colonial ties with India before taking his flying boat back to Barchester Towers... or wherever. Lord Mountbatten just doesn't have the same pull. But nor does he have the same avoirdupois as Grantham. As the real Lady Pamela said at the screening, "my father looked like a film star so why couldn't they find a film star who looked like him?" The reviews tend to ignore this but it really is the elephant in the room.

Watch the trailer: