MY VIEWING DIARY: PART THREE

"Smithereens" (1982)

Gritty, raw and very low-budget, "Smithereens" is the feature film debut of Susan Seidelman who takes us on a darkly comedic journey through the '80's punk rock and nu-wave scene in a grungy New York City that does not exist anymore. 

After leaving behind a dull life in New Jersey, Wren (Susan Berman) has come to New York with dreams of becoming a rock star. But with more ambition than talent, she spends most of her time on the hustle, scamming and using people in order to try and get somewhere. Wren aligns herself with two very different men; Paul (Brad Rijn), a clean-cut, nice guy from Montana living in his van in the middle of the East Village (!) with plans to head on to New Hampshire and Eric (musician, Richard Hell), a former member of a punk band, Smithereens trying to get to LA to restart his music career. While plotting to tag along with an aloof Eric to Los Angeles, Wren runs back to a smitten Paul whenever it's convenient to help fill her needs. 

With "Smithereens" (which was the first American indie to be selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival), Ms Seidelman displays a vibrant energy and confident film-making style here which she would put to even greater use (along with more funds) in her follow-up feature, "Desperately Seeking Susan". 

As for Wren, I'm not sure what to make of her. The aggressive self-delusion might seem somewhat charming at first but by the time we reached the end of our time with her, Wren's obnoxious behavior only left me feeling annoyed and exhausted. Also be on the lookout for a brief appearance by a young Chris Noth (later to be better known as "Mr. Big" on "Sex and the City") as a cross-dressing prostitute.



"The Passion of Joan of Arc (La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc)" (1928)

"The Passion of Joan of Arc", a French production that was one of the first films to ever tell the story of The Maid of Orléans during the Hundred Years' War between France and England, is a beautifully rendered work of cinema made even more impressive due to the profound drama and emotion that is captured completely without sound. This was accomplished by the masterful vision of the director, Carl Theodor Dreyer, inventive camerawork by Rudolph Maté and Renée Jeanne Falconetti (a stage actress in her only major screen appearance) who delivers one of the greatest performances ever captured on film. 

Based upon the ancient transcripts of her trial, Joan (Falconetti) has been captured, imprisoned and forced to be judged before French clergymen who are loyal to the English. Insisting that she was delivered a message from God to drive the English out of France, the clerical judges relentlessly try to get Joan to recant her declaration. Only after severe, mental torture and underhanded deception does the teenage girl finally break down, agreeing to sign a document renouncing her claims. Yet fearing that she has betrayed her God and faith, Joan insists on retracting her confession which ultimately leads to her execution. 

After the French premiere of "The Passion" in 1928, the film was cut due to pressure by the Archbishop of Paris and government censors. Fires would later destroy the master negative and the second version negative but a copy of the original film was found at a Norwegian mental institution in 1981. I saw a Criterion Collection restoration version which was crisp and absolutely stunning. If you only see one silent film (but you really shouldn't), I would highly recommend "The Passion of Joan of Arc" for it's magnificent visual artistry and Mlle. Falconetti (with deeply felt anguish and despair shown on her face in tight close-up throughout the film) for her astonishing performance.



"A Matter of Time" (1976)

I had wondered why "A Matter of Time", the final film from director, Vincente Minnelli, the grand master behind some of Hollywood's greatest musicals, comedies and melodramas like "An American in Paris", "The Band Wagon", "The Bad and The Beautiful" and "Gigi", had not received more attention over the years especially since it features the inspired pairing of Oscar-winners, Ingrid Bergman and the director's daughter, Liza Minnelli. But after finally seeing the film, I now understand completely why this dramatic musical-fantasy has been long forgotten. Mr. Minnelli had attempted to infuse "A Matter of Time" with his legendary visual style but the film is dragged down by an incoherent story and muddy camerawork. 

Nina (Minnelli), a small-town country girl, comes to the big city of Rome following the advice from her cousin (Tina Aumont). She helps Nina get a job with her as a chambermaid at a one-time glamorous but now run-down hotel. One of the residents of the hotel is the eccentric Countessa Sanziani (Bergman), once an alluring muse and temptress but now has fallen on hard times due to aging and failing mental health. Nina and the Countessa develop a close bond, guiding and helping each other as we watch the young girl gloriously blossom, while the older woman sadly fades. 

There isn't much to recommend here beyond seeing Bergman deliver another captivating performance and the opportunities to hear Minnelli sing including the popular Gershwin tune, "Do It Again" which she does with a jazz band in the ballroom of a Venetian palazzo. And to be fair, the problems with "A Matter of Time" are not entirely the director's fault. Mr. Minnelli had turned in a three-hour version but since he did not have final cut, the project was taken away from him with almost half the film trimmed away. The French actor, Charles Boyer (who co-starred with Bergman in 1944's "Gaslight") makes his final screen appearance as the estranged husband of the Countessa while Bergman's daughter, Isabella Rossellini appears briefly near the end to make her film debut.