Seen in August

Never look a gift horse in the mouth… look in the belly.

Summer brings the sun, the lightning, the bugs, the ice cream, the hay fever, the bike rides and the movies.

The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan’s imagining of the classic 2000-year-old story of Odysseus as told by Greek poet Homer is suitably epic. It apparently took over 12 hours for Homer to recite his poem, so critics should excuse Nolan for leaving some stuff out. While the original poem touched on themes of homecoming, longing and resilience, this modern take depicts “the cunning” Odysseus (Matt Damon) as a softened, damaged war veteran. The visual experience of the film is hard to deny, but there are moments of dialogue that sound a bit like a first draught. It’s very believable that Nolan writes his film chronologically in one sitting - perhaps without rewrites. Despite that, there are scenes, such as warriors hiding in a wooden horse, the depiction of Circe’s (Samantha Morton) witchcraft, and the vision of Cyclops that were wholly new and powerful. Odysseus’ stay with Calypso (Charlize Theron), however, as others have said, felt more like a beach holiday resort. I actually prefer The Return with Ralf Fiennes as a rumination of the effect of war on those touched by it, but there’s no denying Nolan’s monumental achievement regardless of how much it may be praised or criticized.

A holiday never looked hotter.

La Piscine (The Swimming Pool)
Criterion Channel
I’m not sure a sexier cast has ever been assembled for this French thriller/sexual drama. Jean-Paul (Alain Delon) and Marianne (Romy Schneider) are enjoying a sunny St. Tropez summer holiday in a fantastic villa with a beautiful pool when Marianne receives a phone call and casually invites her ex-lover Harry to join them. Harry (Maurice Ronet) appears with his teenage daughter. The flirty interactions with Harry and Marianne put Jean-Paul’s nose out of joint. It doesn’t help that Harry’s daughter, Penelope, is the striking Jane Birkin, who draws Jean-Paul’s gaze. There are some dated sequences and maddening plot turns that may put off some viewers. Yet, it’s the measured pace that gives this film its summertime vibe and adds tension between the characters. A recent remake (or film inspired by) with Tilda Swinton and Ralf Fiennes, A Bigger Splash, injects a lot more tension and viability to the whole proceedings in my opinion, and it’s also got a great summer tone set on an Italian island instead of the French Riviera.

Pluribus S01
Apple TV+
Imagine a zombie/alien invasion film where the zombies and aliens turn out to be really nice. The premise of this series is that an alien virus has turned most of the world’s population into a very pleasant hive mind, which is to say everyone is really just one. Except for a dozen people with natural immunity, including our protagonist and the rest of Earth’s antagonist, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn). This is my favourite kind of sci-fi. There are no laser battles, lovable green aliens or artificial gravity, but the story keeps trying to address the “What if?” questions that get murkier and murkier.

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American response to Canadian government rejecting trade offer.

via GIPHY

La Agrodolce Vita

Eric Rohmer was able to capture a kind of enjoyable listliss ennui of a summer day better than anyone else. Still from The Green Ray (1986).

When I think of an ideal summer, I think of trips, but not exciting trips. No camping trips, no road trips, no paddling down white water, no arduous hikes on hot hillsides. No, I think of the little trips to go for a dip in a cool pool on a hot day, or to pick up some fresh berries at a market. My idea of summer is a lazy breakfast on the deck, a swim in an outdoor pool, a nap in front of a fan, or a meandering bike ride under a canopy of trees, the dappled light cascading over me. Since living in Ontario, I’ve found the hum of cicadas on a hot day to be the ambient soundtrack of summer.

As a kid, summers seemed eternal. As a working adult, you realize all too quickly that your summer amounts to about ten weekends and maybe a week away somewhere. It’s so easy for those few days to be wrecked. What are the slayers of summer, the flies in the sun block, encumbrances to the enjoyment? Errands, crappy weather and ill health can all combine to kill a summer.

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Seen in July

Some kinds of encounters are better than others.

July had torrential rain, extreme heat, wildfire smoke and these entertainments.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Crave
After seeing Spielberg’s latest film, Disclosure Day, I thought it would be fun to revisit his previous version of close encounters. Close Encounters of the First Kind is a classic Spielberg film full of broken families, curious kids and inquisitive adults, along with government conspiracies and car chases. The film focuses on Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss), Jillian (Melinda Dillon) and her young son Barry (Cary Guffey), who have experiences with UFOs that leave Roy and Jillian with visions of a mysterious mountain. Meanwhile, two government experts (curiously enough played by François Truffaut and a very young Bob Balaban) are chasing down connected phenomena that lead them to believe an alien race is attempting contact with humanity. The whole thing is wrapped up in human consciousness (artworks created by those who can’t get the images out of their heads), wonder (the mesmerizing special effects), and human connection (scenes of a mass gathering in India). Interestingly, Spielberg likes to recreate genuinely scientific-looking moments alongside the arts like paintings, sculpture, and music as equal explorations into the unknown. It’s not just a nostalgic trip to enjoy this older film but one that is also simply a great piece of filmmaking.

The view from the summit.

The Summit of the Gods
Netflix
A beautifully animated film of a mountaineering mystery based on a graphic novel by Jiro Taniguchi, which is based on a novel by Baku Yumemakura. The story blends the fictional with the real. A photojournalist, Makoto Fukamachi, tracks down a reclusive but talented climber, Habu Joji, who may be in possession of the camera of George Mallory. Mallory, along with Andrew Irvine, may have been the first to have reached Everest’s summit, but both disappeared and were believed to have perished during the attempt in 1924. It’s a tale of feats of daring, of man versus nature as the film attempts to capture the obsession of climbers who tackle the world’s tallest mountains. It is stunning and captivating in its beauty.

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Sit and Be Counted

Greenland sharks can live hundreds of years, presumably because they don't sit very much. Image from NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program

"Sitting for more than 30 minutes at a time linked to higher risk of cancer death"

That’s how the article on The Guardian begins. Here’s how it ends:
“There were limitations to the research, including the fact that the researchers performed a statistical analysis of an observational study, so could not prove causation.”

Everything dies. Greenland sharks, trees, and tortoises can live for hundreds of years but still shuffle off their mortal coil. Even stars die eventually. The one thing that will never die: this story that sitting for a few minutes a day will be the cause of your death.

I suppose I could do more. I could add bars in the toilet and do a few dips and pull-ups in the bathroom. I could squeeze in a few squats at the dinner table. I could forgo chairs entirely and sit, in the Japanese fashion directly upon the floor, though, that’s still sitting isn’t it? I could add weights to my knapsack to get some good old fashioned rucking in. I could ignore that brake pad squeezing awkwardly on my bike’s rear wheel rim just to have some added resistance. If I’m being honest, it wouldn’t hurt to fill my pockets with stones when I go swimming as I do tend to float a little too easily. The less said of how much more movement I should be getting while sleeping, the better.

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Seen in June

City Choir performing at Rosedale United Church

More free time has not, unfortunately led to more movies but here’s what was seen in the last 30 days.

City Choir
Rosedale United Church
There’s not much better than hearing a choir of human voices singing together in a beautiful setting on a warm June night.

I Like Me
Prime Video
This documentary about John Candy is pretty standard stuff: talking heads, archival interviews, and film clips. The problem, as Bill Murray articulated, Candy is too nice a guy to make a thrilling film about. Candy was simply a talented, amiable, family-oriented and good person, who grew up in Toronto (not far from our current home). He lost his father at a young age, which led to a lifetime of feeling responsible for all those around him. That is the suggestion here, that Candy’s anxiety, and work ethic (too many films and projects), came from the loss of his father and led to his early death from a heart issue. Too soon. We miss you John Candy.

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