The Spirit of our Cinema

As you know from these pages of my journal and my Facebook posts, I have been actively working on his new music album. But now I give my Musician-self a day-off, and let my Actor and Writer incarnations step forward, which already cannot wait to tell you what fills me now as a Human. And so, I begin.

I first met with actor Samvel Tadevosyan in the Summer of 2016. He was playing together with Aram Karakhanyan in the "Я здесъ" ("I am Here") play. The performance was notable for his original stage direction, design and the main character performance by Aram. Samvel complement everything well and perfectly played his supporting role. The play was played several times with different actor, but I was unable to visit the Puppet Theatre on those evenings, where the play is being staged. Therefore, I remembered Samvel Tadevosyan like that – an assistant director. When I saw his face on the posters announcing the upcoming premiere of «Կյանք ու կռիվ» ("The Line", 2016), I was curious to see him in one of the main roles of a new Armenian film.

I did not go to the cinema. I did not really believe the fact that I would not blame myself for time lost, which was the least of the reasons for not going to the cinema. Some personal experience also spoke for that: even when you see yourself on the big screen, but do not get pleasure from what you see, you begin to involuntarily think about the lost time and lost opportunities, to say "the whole country is in a similar situation, so what could one expect from a movie", and joking when your friends tell you, "we have seen you there!". Also, I happened to participate as extras in a movie directed by Mher Mkrtchyan, but I did not get to the final cut of the film. "Well, I’m not alone whose career began with deleted scenes," I kept on joking off. And a few months later posters appeared in the city to promote the second part of the film. "It’s all plain to me," I said to myself, and continued to live quietly.

But on the 28^th of January, the sensational film was broadcasted on our First Channel. On that evening I made significant progress in recording demo versions of the songs for my new album, so I decided to make myself some snack, to bring a cup of coffee and to try this new production of our national cinema.

...

No, you won’t hear me retelling the story in the movie. Instead, I will say that exactly two hours later I was watching the same movie for the second time, but already necessarily accompanied by someone who invisibly and constantly keeps me up to date with the interests, aspirations, ideals, and experiences of the progressive part of today's youth – my eldest daughter. I knew that she... that they all need such a Movie. It tells them not only about the generation of their parents who lived in those years, but it also carries the meaning of something bigger, something more generic and valuable, so that that very quarter of the century that separates the events of both movies would require to explain it.

Direction, script, actors, musical design, camera work and lighting – everything is in harmony here. The historical events do not dominate over the personal lives of the characters in the movie, so you cannot definitely say that the movie is about the war. Anxiety is always implicitly present in scenes that show relationships between characters and their drama, and in the battle scenes increasingly reveal the personal qualities of the characters. Laughter and tears, pain and joy, resentment and pride – everything is just like in the real life, and most importantly – everything is not like in middling movies made in “anyhow” genre.

Many of us enjoy watching the annual ceremony of one of the most prestigious awards in the world cinema – The Award of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, or simply Oscar Award. Each of the contenders for the title of best film of the year is presented by a short fragment, for which this film is remembered, even if you won’t be watching the whole movie. Those fragments are able to catch potential viewers, to deliver or to convince them in something that is sometimes much bigger than just "Imagine how good is this movie!". In my opinion, the fragment below is worth representing the movie, even at the most prestigious festivals.

I’ve already lost the count of how many times I have replayed this scene, but there are so many great episodes in the movie. We see people with both their weak and strong points: friends, putting a spoke in wheel, love expressed in the form of hatred, betrayal built upon brotherly love. All of this exists in our daily lives, and nothing of it is to be judged categorically. It can happen to anyone of us.

The creators of this movie need to know that they did something very important, extremely necessary to all of us, and they did it so good. Very good! So good that I did not want to go to the cinema to watch the second part of which I had heard a couple of scrappy but consonant comments, the basic meaning of which was: “It’s not the same already”. But I watched the first part once again yesterday, this time accompanied with representatives of the older generations: my mother with whom I discuss theater and cinema topics quite often, and my grandfather who had long lost his normal hearing and hardly understands the Armenian speech, yet who watched the whole movie through. Two hours after the movie started playing, it was decided that we will go to the cinema today in the morning to watch «Կյանք ու կռիվ 2: 25 տարի անց» ("The Line 2: 25 Years Later", 2017).

Common in that pair of the unflattering comments were "not that spirit" and " disharmonious casting". I am already able to leave my own comments about what I saw, but they will sound different. Not that spirit? Yes, the Armenia 1991 has changed significantly over the past 25 years. People have changed, their attitude to life too, so did the balance of power, but the main component did not change: the human essence. Wrong faces? A just remark. Yes, faces are different. And if in the cases of Anna, Eduard and Levon casting team still coped well, I myself cannot imagine if it is possible to make Sophie (played by Ellen Sargsyan) look old, who sheds youthful energy both on screen and in the real life. I think the producers have decided when casting actors for the roles of grownup Sophie and Arman, betting not on their appearance but on something else, most likely on their experience and acting skills. It seems to me that they were right in their decision. After all, the actors team worked perfectly, like everything else.

"Isn’t there anything negative I could mention here?", you may ask. I can note the dinner scene filmed taken “from the shoulder” which added undue walking frame effect, blurred sound of quiet low voices, and, maybe, glued piercing, if it actually was so. That's all.

However, by the end of the movie when I’ve got the overall impression from the movie already, I was still missing something that could make me applaud. Still, I was waiting for something; still I could not give my laconic "Yes". Everything was clear, somewhat predictably, plain as life itself. And here, close to the end, rather in the penultimate scene, we hear (in the case of Sophie – see) the conversation of four, at the end of which one phrase is sounded, which not only adds bold exclamation point to my laconic "Yes!" and bursts my applause out, but also puts the cinematography of my country far ahead of where it stood a year ago.

We were able to make movies, and we were making great movies. Times were tough, so we changed cameras, clapperboards, pens and microphones on car wheels, tradesman bags, carnival costumes and guns. Life forced us to. We had to fight – so we fought. You can fight the whole life through and still did not get what you want. But 25 years passed, and some of us were able to look around and see the way that we have already passed, look forward again and say, "Ready! Camera! Action!".

And then we hear the sound of shot...

... But we continue to live. We can fight, and we can and know how to speak, write or sing about war, but at some point we just want to start to live again and  to love this life (by the way, a literal translation of the movie title is "Life and War"). And we will be able to sing of life and to choose hope instead of despair. And again, like it or not, give it or take it, call it whatever you like and however would you renounce it, the ground for everything is Love!

Was that a miracle or just the result of realization of someone's dream, today we have a small collection of our modern cinema of a high quality. Even in the most difficult times, we did not stop laughing, and it is not surprising that one of the first successes in the Armenian cinematography we got really successful comedies, for example, «Ալաբալանիցա» ("Alabalanitsa", 2011) and Poker.am (2012). Now it's time to show ourselves in serious movies, during which you will be thinking, worrying, crying, certainly laughing, but you will definitely not be losing your time in vain! Here it is, the main merit of our producers and directors, writers and casting professionals, cameras and lights, composers and sound designers, make-up artists, costume and production designers, and of course, actors and actresses. United by the idea, they are able to lead the next generations and give hope for the future. They just need a little support, we should not hinder them, or tell them "how to live" – just what we all need today. I think, we have already learned so much, and are now returning to our path to, for the journey upon which we have come into this world.

So let's all unite in that Love, in creativity, in mutual understanding, just like all of those in the audience today – of all ages, who packed (!) the cinema hall for the earliest (!!) Sunday (!!!) show in the "Moscow" cinema today to view together all two hours through, who suffered together, laughed together and gave standing ovations...

Who they applauded? Actors, directors, script... Oh, come on, what I am talking about! They applauded not someone or something, but that same Spirit, the meaning of which they can comprehend, but which does unite them!

So if you ask me now about the film, I will tell you: "The Spirit is still there!"

We Are One

Some five years ago remus pleased DENNIS by finding information on the performer of "My Love, We Are One" from the movie Orca (The Killer Whale), and the lyrics. Today it is me who was pleased with that.

Artist: Carol Connors
Music: Ennio Morricone

I will bring the sun through darkened clouds
And I will live with you rainbows for your eyes
Rainbows for your eyes

Now, my love, we are one
We are one
We are one, cried my love
Let me lead you where the moonlit waters fall
Shadows softly call
My love, we are one
We are one
We are one, cried my love
Let me lead you where the stillness of the night
Delivered dawn’s first light
My love, we are one
We are one
We are one
We are one

The Promised Album

So, the album "Love yourself in Art, not Art in yourself!" "Vise versa!" "Oh, but who cares?" that I promised today to upload is about to be launched. You asked me to "friend", so bear with it :-) [why should only me care about cleaning the mailbox from all that flood of notifications?]

The album contains photographs from different years, where I caught playing in different bands with different line-ups, starting from 'Breeze' (1992) through to recent performance with 'The Kings' Cross', dedicated to John Lennon's 72-nd anniversary. I tried so hard today to reconstruct the dates, but not all of them went successfully. I need to dig into the tapes searching for the exact dates. If anybody can adjust or add whichever of the dates - please do it!



The album is almost filled. A couple of commentaries to be added - and here we go! Meanwhile (as the result of discovering the materials found during my "excavations") some idea came to me, ready to grow up into some small project. Later on this.

Should this link work?

Positive

Probably this is the most positive thing I've seen in this month.... or season..... or maybe year?

One thing I am sure of is that she would not reject the Nature's calls, like practically all people here do.

I've just seen a Face....

What a beautiful face I found on Portishead's website at Noche 1, Poble Espanyol, Barcelona page today ! Here, and also here. Or should I say here

and also here

Such faces should be seen, not just linked.

And she lives somewhere in this big big world and probably makes her friends and lovers happier every day. Who knows where she is from.... And while Barcelona was the place where these pictures were taken, this should not be considered as a ground to be sure that she actually lives in Barcelona. My Love also has such a picture with herself standing in the same place in front of the stage, taken one year ago by Portishead in Poznan, Poland, but she is not from Poznan, is she?

The frames that add to my world - 3

In the death of mere Humans Life shall start!

The frames that add to my world - 2

Here is another wonderful frame from a wonderful scene from a wonderful animated movie "Tangled" (2010).

The whole movie to be watched. Well, or at least the whole scene.

Timeless

On the pages of the Book of Revelation we are promised another life, a better one and incomparable with what we currently carry on with. It's hard to believe sometimes, I understand. That's why I post here this video clip from a film by Terrence Malick "The Tree of Life". This is the Formation Scene. Music composed by Zbigniew Preisner.

Having seen this part for the first time I was frightened with the scenes, and captured with the voice and the music in the background. All of the subsequent views of this part of the movie carried me away, to unachievable far distance, in the centre of the Universe, and when I, breathless and cold, see those Horsehead and Crab Nebulae, when I feel roaring sea waves unseen in the black of the sunless Void, when I confirm my insignificance in the face of the Eternity and when I want to cryyyyy out as I just try to imagine my Home, my Mother Earth lost in those pictures of the Universe, and when those pictures roll on with the divine background - either harmonic sounds of nature or a human-created eternal music - I BELIEVE that a better life can be gained. If only knew my soul will be taken there afterwards....

But I won't be able to stay there eternally. Those visions are unbearable expressions of LOVE. Who would dare to see THIS forever?

Only tears in my eyes....

The frames that add to my world

It happens to me that when I watch movies I meet some frames that by some hidden means are immediately being fixed in my consciousness like some small masterpieces. They contain something I have not yet conceived, and inspire me each time I see them (naturally, I go over those movies frequently).

Finally, I picked out yesterday all the movies I could recall, and found those frames. I also made some other favourite screenshots, but then decided to pick only one for this page, the most stunning representatives. To be honest, I made some exclusion, and provided additional commentaries.

This collection may look strange, inconsistent and mixed, hence – non-standard. Thanks God if it is so!

And so….

Thinking about how to start, I decided for the frame that, as far as I remember, appears to be the first “my” frame.

Stallone-Cobra. Calm in waiting, confidence, master of his job…. What else could I have seen in this frame then, in 80’s, while being a teenager? Stallone “came” to me earlier than Schwarzenegger did. The latter is highly respected by me, but I would hit “6” out of 10 if you would start asking me about his works. Some of his characters are ultimate, like Conan the Barbarian.

The new conan lack that charisma and brutality, like schwarz’s one does, hence starts with small “c” here.

Since we started discussing the superheroes, I am going to follow this thread and introduce my favourite comic book hero – Batman.

I am not fond of comics per se, but those installments that touched me found their place in my world. With a help from my friend I played all the contemporary Batman movies and checked the “done” box somewhere. However Christopher Nolan’s Batman played by Christian Bale captured me. This is exactly “my” type of Batman, the Dark Knight who “can stand it”! Maybe sometime in the future other superheroes will be revealed for me but today they are silent.

The “true superhero” topic has been touched in “Kill Bill, Vol.2” movie. However, Russian-speaking people accepted the official version of the title, which means “to kill Bill”, not the “list of those who must be killed”. So, Bill (David Carradine) presents Superman like the only true superhero. And despite Batman is my superhero, I really love his monologue! However the frame I chose from this movie comes from completely different scene, and does not show Bill. Oh, here it is.

Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) occupies only one-third of the frame, but the way she does it is magnificent! Looking over her shoulder with the “farther” eye, impale with her sight and pre-celebrate the victory of calculation over the confidence, not even showing the pupil of her eye…. Of course, this frame was seen, selected and kept for the movie by Tarantino, for which I would like to thank him! And for everything he did. Here is another example from his “Death Proof” (officially translated like “The Proof of Death”)

The following frame takes his special place.

I saw “Keoma” on video when I was a teenager, on VHS, of bad quality, but that all does not affect the contact of a person with a newly arrived small portion of his inner world that finds him. Lion-like Keoma (Franco Nero) fighting for justice, breaking the limits of the normal understanding of life (“Keoma, the [newborn] child will die [all alone]!”, “No, he will not die! He is free, and those who are free can never die!”), dying and being saved by the weird intervention of the same matter – all this is wonderful to me. And the songs! By the way, the scene from where this frame comes must be watched together with its soundtrack! Here is another frame, dull without music, but filling eyes with tears and throat with lumps with it. 

Standard shapes of absolutely unique people, gradually blackening in the deep of the military airship that should take them far away from home to meet their death. People losing their identities and becoming cannon fodder…. Oh how much does this world lose in such moments!

There is another frame in my collection requiring its music in the background.

“Repo: The Genetic Opera”. In my opinion a much underrated movie, lost behind other Repo-creations. Many people consider this movie being muddled for the mixture of metal music, sinister screens from the creators of “The Saw”, the Alexa Vega’s character and Sarah Brightman’s vocal, but I love the suddenness and bold ideas, I love music, I love beautiful scenes, and I liked this movie. And I liked this music too. I usually do not listen to the music of the presented music style (sorry for this word), but this doesn’t matter already – the movie became a part of my world.

I often being impressed with how do the actors play, with their faces. Here are some of them.

Leader William Wallace ruined by the treason brought about by friend

Soldier Michael (Robert De Niro) playing for life and standing all possible humiliation acts

Criminal Benjamin 'Lefty' Ruggiero (Al Pacino) finds himself deadlocked

Junior sergeant Varvara Sinichkina has just found lost hope and love

Open-hearted Bernard (Gérard Depardieu), puzzled but suspected of nothing at all asks his wife: “Qui est cette fille?” (“Who is this girl?”)

Doctor Levan Tsintsadze (Sergo Zakariadze) in peace with the world, people and himself says farewell to his life.

Pure Juliette (Olivia Hassey) in love

Inspired by her faith, Joan of Arc (Milla Jovovich) lets her emotions out

Count Nikolay Rezanov (Nikolay Karachentsov) has instantly raised above all the reasonable obstacles in his love.

Wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) exposes all his terrible ideas by one elusive motion of his brow

One frame with two faces. Guard Brutus 'Brutal' Howell (David Morse) refers to his colleague Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) saying: “Paul, you have to say it, you have to give the order.”, although both do not want this to happen.

Here is, of course, the duel between a bishop (Peter Vaughan) and a criminal Jean Valjean (Liam Neeson) that in several seconds turns into the scene of the salvation of a human soul. Two faces, two fates, two lives meet together in time and space. It is probably impossible to show them together in one frame, like in the previous example. We need to see both faces in full. Naturally, I put two frames here.

All those frames are staggering in themselves, but I believe they will have much more sense when those sequences are watched on the screen, with dialogues, with music…. After all, you better watch those movies in full.

There are frames I would happily hang on my wall, because they are beautiful, actors also play brilliant, and given the context finalizes the connection, although many of them are literally torn out from those seconds of motion that affect me in the known way.

Romantic Ostap Bender (Andrey Mironov), not sparing his *life in the name of his Dream (Rio de Janeiro)* with the objective reality provided for his sensation.

President Walsingham (Alexander Trofimov) and Mary (Svetlana Pereladova), bravely looking into the face of the Plague surrounding them with the dawn sky in the background.

Murdered John Doe (Kevin Spacey) has risen in his madness and envy above everything and even has extinguished the sun.

DJ Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman), accepted challenge, and now is standing on the top of the mast high above the sea and looking into his fear’s eyes, saying “A-Wop-bop-a-loo-lop a-lop-bam-boo!”

No comments

Another example of a hopeless hope, an unexpected help, and harmony between internal and external, a union of a human being and the world – Captain Boromir recovered (Sean Bean)

Yes, here I used two frames from “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”. Let’s assume I am allowed doing this because the three movies of the trilogy were release on two discs each (the shortened theatrical version is not considered in principle). Here is another pair from the third installment of the trilogy.

Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and hobbit Peregrin Took (Billy Boyd) approaching the White City in Gondor

The Ride of Rohirrim through the Sauron’s army in Battle of the Pelennor Fields

Another return of a king. Odysseus (Armand Assante), suddenly appeared in the centre of his wrecked but not demolished world, and his son Telemachus (Alan Stenson) meet the hour of their wrath.

Leaving his past in the past, armed with the present, and with a help of his student Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) believing in future Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) finds his place in this world.

The second (promised) frame from “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”. Gandalf the White (Ian McKellen) brings down the riders of Rohan on the horde of orcs, thus giving victory.

Teacher Justin McLeod (Mel Gibson) is shaking farewell. He was the only man who was near and made a man out of a boy Chuck (Nick Stahl). In the finest sense of the word and not in the one the vicious society thought of.

Oh, maybe I will dedicate a special essay to this actor somehow. Now he is a lifetime reality-show object Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey), who has just finally understood the meaning of what is going on all around him and stops with a wave of his hand not only a bus….

It turns out that there are four things one can look at forever: fire burning, water flowing, choose the third thing for yourself, and the fourth – those several seconds from the life of Alice Harford (Nicole Kidman), by which Stanley Kubrick opens our eyes wide.

Erotism in cinema – this is a separate topic. You can discuss it, argue, but it is impossible to deny it. It exists in everything, so why can’t it be in movies as well? Here is one of my favourite frames from the latest movie of Maestro Tinto Brass “Monamour” (I intentionally do not translate it as “my love”)

By catching her hand, Leon (Riccardo Marino) catches Marta (Anna Jimskaia) unawares in the middle of an official party and makes her follow him

And one more frame “taken” from two perspectives (i.e. two frames). When there is no hope but some close soul is near you – take each other’s hands. Salvation comes in such moments.

Finally, one more frame.

Everything is there: a suddenly-found-new-peace of my world, one more hero of mine, and a nice frame too, and the actor born-to-play-this-role, and a picture of I-would-like-to-see-it-hung-on-my-wall kind, picture/sound harmony, and “must see in action”.

In addition, yesterday we finished another round of going over all the parts of the cycle in series. There are four so far, and I truly hope for more.

And I truly hope for more frames that will add to my life and will give me more energy.