a new direction

Today I was thinking about the lack of effort put into this project. I have come to view a 'review' of a film as more of a burden than a pleasure and think that it is time to add another layer to The Movie Club for Kids Who Can't Read Good. I think we should make it a group collaborative effort. I propose, in addition to what we are already doing, we get together and all watch a film together and then discuss the film immediately after. This requires each of us to gather information before viewing the film to create the most knowledgeable and intelligent discussion. We have all gone in different directions and I know mine is aimed at film, but I think all of us would have great insight on each film and cause each other to defend and alter our own view of a film. It would be cool if we could each then contribute to a full synopsis of the film and, maybe I am going out on a limb here, post it on this site. Tell me your thoughts.

Kicking and Screaming (1995)

As a college student hoping to never enter the real world, Noah Baumbach’s directorial debut speaks directly to me. A Generation X comedy, Kicking and Screaming, follows the four postgraduate friends contemplating the next steps. Grover’s plans are pulled out from underneath him as his girlfriend decides to study in Prague, Otis finds himself incapable of flying to a Milwaukee grad school only one time zone away, Max cannot find anything better to do than crossword puzzles and sleeping with Skippy’s girlfriend and Skippy, completely lost, returns to school for another year but cannot bring himself to do any of the work. Chet, a tenth year permanent student, only imparts paraphrased wisdom upon the four lost postadolescents as a roaming camera smoothly captures the actors’ witty conversations; Baumbach has identified influence in the loose and experimental Jean Renoir. Lacking a strong narrative web, Kicking and Screaming relies more on the characters and subtleties which is evident in Criterion’s supervised release that includes a crossword puzzle of notable quotes from the film. The connective tissue of this film is the relationship between Grover and his girlfriend, Jane. Suitably, the film uses five strategically placed flashbacks instigated by black and white stills of Jane which prompts the action. The final scene, stylistically intact with the rest of the film, resolves the narrative beautifully as each enters the world, kicking and screaming.

8 - steven

Viridiana (1961)

Luis Buñuel’s Viridiana was a controversial, irreverent vision of a group of beggars exploiting a vacant manor owned by a virtuous, novice nun. Viridiana leaves her Catholic convent in order to visit with her remaining family member, her forlorn, fervent uncle played by Fernando Rey. After a failed seduction, drugging and rape, the dejected uncle hangs himself with his adopted maid’s daughter’s jump rope and the estate is inherited by a contemplative Viridiana. In fear of losing her Catholic values, Viridiana cares for beggars in an effort to change the world around her despite her callous brother. "You can't save everyone," he tells her after purchasing an abused dog from an oblivious owner which is proceeded by another equally abused dog. An instinct to do good is inevitable vain and calamity certainly overwhelms. In one notorious scene, the rampant beggars indulge in a feast accompanied by Handel's "Messiah" and reenact Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” After destroying the dining hall, the beggars attempt to rape the hospitable Viridiana and, ultimately, a wager is needed to remedy the situation. Long-exiled Buñuel creates a sly ‘fuck you’ to his native Spanish government and the Catholic Church. Although banned in Spain, Viridiana gained worldly recognition and went on to win the prestigious Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Viridiana is not so much an attack on religion as an institution, but, rather, an indirect attack on its futile functionality in connecting repugnant souls.

10 - steven