Pune International Film Festival has come to represent a cinematic orgy of sorts and the aftermath always leaves me faintly overcome and dizzy. This years edition, though extremely disappointing vis-à-vis the selection of films, the schedule and the completely abysmal lack of crowd, all of which served more as discouraging factors in the aim of catching as many films as possible, still served to arouse the intellectual processes at least a little though not as much as the previous editions, particularly that of 2006 where I emerged from the week having been exposed not just to excellent cinema but also a wealth of knowledge to which I’d hitherto been blind. My choice of films, as usual, leaned towards the dark and depressing, that which forced me to step back and think and probe deeper into the ways of the world, in the vain attempt at understanding it better…the films of Spanish director, Pedro Almodovar, did precisely that and have left me questioning much about the way relationships work and far more significantly, how many of us realize that we really stand no chance in escaping the screwed up schema of the cosmos of relationships!
Live Flesh (Carne Trémula), apparently inspired by a Ruth Rendell novel, is a dark, yet hopeful tale of a series of relationships that took off one tragic night that marked the lives of all the characters. Entwined almost excruciatingly, the lives of the six characters take a steep turn onto a path that leads them to much pain and amazingly freedom. Victor, visiting a junkie, Elena, with whom he’d had his first sexual experience, is wrongly convicted for having shot an officer when the police arrive to investigate. Several years later, when Victor steps out of prison burning with the desire for revenge, he finds the Elena married to the injured officer, David, and leading an apparently fulfilling life. The steps he takes to ensure that he is firmly implanted in her life, not only pull the other characters, Clara and Sancho into the plot, but also eventually lead to redemption for all of them.
While there is no obvious similarity, Live Flesh, like Closer, forced me to think about relationships, their foundations and our reasons for entering them and staying there, often at a very high price. The film is definitely worth a watch, for sheer cinematic brilliance, powerful performances and above all for its ability to screw up your mind so completely. Sensual, dark, compelling - each frame of this film speaks volumes. The attention to detail, the symbolism, and the brutal honesty is remarkable. Almodovar won my loyalty with the very first film I saw – nothing like a mindfuck (pardon my language) to make you sit up and think…and what is cinema if it doesn’t make you think?
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4 comments:
The movie seems to have a fasscinating plot, and so are your annual posts on the PIFF :-)
Hi Gee,
In these and other posts, I see that you intuitively "get" what the moviemaker has to say. Does it come naturally, or is that an acquired skill?
That might sound like a silly question, but I've often felt 'lost' in the world of Art. I've started blogging again and one of my recent posts is about the frustration of not "getting" what is going on.
Do take a look at the blog (http://www.csc.kth.se/~behere) and let me know your thoughts.
Sagar
Hmm... I came upon your blog while doing a blog search for this year's PIFF (an ego trip, just to find where my own entry was ranked :)). But I was directed to an older post of yours, and so missed this one until now. I guess Google must also be disappointed by this year's PIFF! :)
I loved the PIFF (being my first ever film festival, I have no frame of reference, admittedly). And Almodovar was the chief reason. I watched 10 movies of his (it would've been 12 had they not decided to show 2 of them without English subtitles).
Fascinating stuff. His plots are so melodramatic that they would put even some Indian films I've seen to shame. Wildly improbable, yet deeply touching. So much so that, from having barely heard of him a little over a month back, he is now in my list of must-watch-whatever-movies-I-can-find-of-him directors. And this is from someone who used to proclaim himself allergic to melodrama, thanks to horrifying childhood memories of Doordarshan Sunday movies!
I loved "Live Flesh", but my favourite was "Talk to Her". The "betrayal" of the lead character, and then the way his motives are so compassionately explained later on. Whether you agree or not with what is being shown on the screen, "mindfuck" is certainly the best way to describe it. :) (And that outrageous "silent film" sequence alone would've justified the price of admission!) And above all, for the way he was able to involve me so deeply, in spite of the fact that what is being shown on the screen is so strange and unlike almost anything I've ever watched.
"All About my Mother" and "Bad Education" were brilliant, too. Especially loved the lines displayed just before the end credits for the 2 films.
That's the last Almodovar movie I saw. Did you also see 'Talk to Her'? I liked that too, but my personal favourite was 'All about my Mother'.
Talking about 'scewing up the mind', have you seen 'Eyes Wide Shut'. That's some movie.
Madusa
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