Sinking and Spinning

Majorly major things are happening in my neck of the woods. I've quit my job after 13 years in the drug trade, and I'm planning to take my man Horace Greeley's advice and go to the west. Things are still developing, but I'm excited as all get out and taking advantage of some prime free-time before the relocation. This summer just keeps getting crazier and crazier.

Ow! Two Points!

After a fuming exit from work on Tuesday -- my antepenultimate day on the job -- I swung by the Michigan to take advantage of an opportunity to see Vertigo, part of their Summer Classics Film Series. This marks the fourth time I've seen Hitchcock's masterpiece but the first on the big screen and it was well worth it. The restored transfer was absolutely gorgeous. The colors were extremely lush and vibrant, crucial for a film so steeped in the symbolic use of reds and greens.

Despite its lofty acclaim, this is not my personal favorite Hitchcock. In fact, I would probably list North by Northwest, Psycho, Rebecca, and Rear Window in that order before getting around to Vertigo. The deliberate pacing can be a bit of a drag at times, and to be honest I have a hard time accepting the love connection between Scottie and Madeline/Judy. When his repeated makeover efforts cause her frustration to reach a breaking point and she finally concedes

Judy: If I let you change me, will that do it?
        If I do what you tell me, will you love me?

it diminishes the scene into a moment of hysterics and out-of-time feminine weakness that elicited quite a bit of laughter from the modern audience, and I was cringing and laughing right along with them.

That said, there's no denying the lasting impact of Vertigo, as Hitchcock uses every visual trick in his arsenal, From the dizzying opening credits and the harrowing interstitial sequence, to elaborate circling tracking shots with disorienting background changes, and of course the the revolutionary contra-zoom. Even the simple compositions are downright majestic.

A Separation (2011) --92/100--

Director: Asghar Farhadi

I’d been waiting not-so-patiently for this to finally get a local release and when it finally came along this weekend I’m happy to say that it did not disappoint. It is a master course in artfully unraveling the mystery of events that occur just out of frame or just beyond a carefully chosen cut in the scene. Piecing together the snippets of heated testimony, sorting out the lies, half-truths, and shadings of memory until the truth is finally confessed. It truly does bring to mind the best of Hitchcock in that sense (namely Rear Window, The Wrong Man), but it is working around a completely different set of circumstances.

The separation in question is a split between Iranian couple Nader (a superb Peyman Moadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami; absolutely breathtaking), who love each other but cannot reconcile a rift in their obligations: she wants to take their daughter, Termeh, out of the country to have better opportunities for success and happiness; he would go if he could, but he cannot leave behind his father, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s and requires daily care. When she moves out, a caretaker with her own daughter is brought in to help, and the difficulties begin to twist out of control.

These are people striving for happiness, to raise their children with a sense of decency and responsibility, and the film shows them in a very human light, emotions laid bare. The story has universal appeal, but is colored by some very specific issues dealing with religion, reconciliation, righteousness, justice, and guilt, that not only deepen the story on the screen but also work as commentary to broader cultural issues.

I often found myself utterly lost in supremely skilled, subtle artistic composition, though it must be easy when starting with such a strikingly beautiful face as Hatami’s. The shock of red hair peeking out from under her hijab gives her a unique, memorable dash, and makes a provocative statement about the ever-evolving role of women in the Arabic world.


Farhadi makes wonderful use of compressed space and architecture, dividing with walls and doors, peeking around corners, and utilizing windows in a number of creative ways (look for a repeating broken-glass motif.) It is not just a matter of cleverly blocking a scene and shaping the manner in which the story is told, but also serves as an outward manifestation of emotional resonance for the characters. A Separation also contains of the most stunning two-shot/close-ups I’ve seen since I was going through my Bergman phase, enhanced by the movement of a descending elevator.

This is not an “anytime” picture; it takes a certain frame of mind to experience a film like this that requires attention to detail and puts you through an emotional wringer,
but it is without a doubt one of the best films of the year and more than worthy of that level of attention.