Hi! I’m Mark Olsen, your regular guide to a world of Only Good Movies.
This weekend in Los Angeles, Nicole Kidman will be honored with the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award, in a ceremony set to be broadcast in June.
Kidman recently had a phone conversation with Glenn Whipp, not for an overall career review, but to discuss her role in the 2004 film “Birth.” Directed by Jonathan Glazer, who recently won the Oscar for international feature for “The Zone of Interest,” the movie was initially dismissed by critics and audiences. However, its eerie atmosphere and disquieting narrative have gradually earned it recognition as a noteworthy accomplishment.
In “Birth,” Kidman portrays a widow still mourning the loss of her husband ten years prior, when a 10-year-old boy shows up at her apartment claiming to be the reincarnation of her late husband. The story grows increasingly unnerving from there.
“I don’t consider it odd, but perhaps that makes me odd,” Kidman said. “I never thought it was strange. I found it profound, in the way it addresses grief and how people will fill gaps to make sense of things, needing to make sense of things and then being incredibly open to all possibilities when you’re in a deeply vulnerable state.”
Glazer, via email, stated that he chose Kidman for the role knowing she had experience working with directors such as Lars von Trier and Stanley Kubrick. Despite her superstar status, there was an edginess to her work.
“I was anxious to cast her,” Glazer said. “I shouldn’t have been. I underestimated her ability to disappear into a role. To fully immerse herself. I’d seen her in ‘Dogville.’ I loved that she did that. And ‘Eyes Wide Shut.’ It’s that boldness which attracted me, seeking out filmmakers who would challenge her.”
Sommaire
A weekend with Patricia Rozema
The Academy Museum and the UCLA Film and Television Archive will jointly present a weekend program dedicated to the work of Canadian filmmaker Patricia Rozema.
Raised a Calvinist, Rozema did not watch a film until she was 16 years old (the first being “The Exorcist”). After attending Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan — also the alma mater of Paul Schrader, more on that later — she moved to Toronto and ultimately made her feature debut with 1987’s semi-autobiographical “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing,” about a young queer woman and aspiring artist trying to navigate the world.
In his initial review of “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing,” Kevin Thomas wrote that the film “is as unique and captivating as its title. Swift, witty, and intimate, it is a remarkably confident first feature that humorously and compassionately exposes the pitfalls in a relationship between two drastically different women. Beyond this, the film also satirizes the risks and pretentiousness of the art world.”
Following the success of her innovative debut, which won the Prix de la Jeunesse in the Directors Fortnight section of the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, Rozema went on to create the genre-defying “White Room,” the queer romantic drama “When Night Is Falling,” the Jane Austen adaptation “Mansfield Park” and the theatrical adaptation “Mouthpiece.” Rozema also co-wrote the screenplay for an adaptation of “Grey Gardens.”
Rozema is expected to be present throughout the weekend. At the Academy, a Q&A moderated by writer-director Semi Chellas will follow the screening of “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing.” A 35mm screening of “Mansfield Park” will be followed by a discussion led by “Carol” screenwriter Phyllis Nagy.
At the Hammer Museum, I will be leading a discussion with Rozema after a screening of “White Room.” Prior to the series, she joined me on Zoom to talk about her unpredictable career.
As you have revisited your films for this retrospective, has anything been a surprise to you?
Definitely. I’ve even shed tears a few times discussing this. The truth is, my second film, “White Room,” was universally dismissed as a failure. I accepted this and believed I had made a terrible mistake. But now I’ve spoken to about four young critics who were unfamiliar with my work, and that’s the film that stood out for them.
It critiques celebrity culture in a way that wasn’t really part of the conversation at the time. I think critics may have felt I was complaining about being famous, despite my own minor level of fame. It may have seemed offensive. And it was also a drastic tonal shift from my warm and welcoming “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing.” The consensus was that it was terrible and it was largely ignored. It had a short-lived existence, but hardly anyone actually saw it.
I was devastated and thought, “I’m not sure I’m strong enough for this game.” But now, looking at it, I find it truly beautiful, odd, and original, and I’m proud of it. Now I want to cry. Apologies, I’m usually very composed. I’m a Calvinist, after all. But it’s been a kind of a blessing for what was considered one of my weakest moments as an artist. And it’s been very moving for me.
Your films seem so diverse, but is there something that for you ties them all together?
I like to think I have many colors in my palette, and I love playing with tone. I’m not just aiming for one thing. I’m drawn to experimentation. If I’ve mastered something, why would I do it again? The goal is to never be bitter, never be bored, and never repeat yourself. Life is just so wildly amusing, beautiful, dangerous, and varied.
I once heard Paul Schrader speak at the Santa Barbara Film Festival when we happened to be there at the same time. He attended Calvin College too. I have a photo of the two of us as young students there. He was visiting to give a talk and we both had been the editor of the school newspaper, so he wanted to visit the office.
His talk about wanting to change everything all the time was really exciting to me because it resonated with me. Perhaps it comes from being raised in a rigid environment and knowing that you’re somehow outside of it. That once you step outside this very rigid belief system, anything is possible, all rules are questionable.
There’s a surreal aspect to a religious upbringing. Maybe coming from a world where you’re constantly exposed to quite dramatic, mythical images makes you play more audaciously. I didn’t have a film education. I studied philosophy at Calvin, so I didn’t have preconceived notions of what film should be.
At this stage in your career, what keeps you going? Do you feel like you’re the same independent filmmaker that you were when you made “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing”?
I feel like I’m really getting the hang of it now, partly because I’ve tried so many different things. I’ve tried more arch approaches and television as well. I don’t care whether it’s streaming or feature films, it’s the story. The intention is everything for me. I feel like the next ones could be better. I’m afraid of what this will look like in a newspaper, but I’m just going to take a chance anyway. When did I ever hold back?
But at a certain point you just tell yourself, just make it good. And I feel like I can get to that faster now that I’ve made some things. I can get to the point more quickly. I feel like I’m just getting started. Many filmmakers just make another film because they can. And that’s nonsense. I would rather go for a walk.
40 years of ‘Desperate Teenage Lovedolls’
On Monday night, the American Genre Film Archive will conclude its 15th-anniversary series at USC with a 40th-anniversary screening of “Desperate Teenage Lovedolls” with filmmaker Dave Markey and cast members Jennifer Schwartz, Tracy Lea Nash and Redd Kross’ Stephen Macdonald all present. (I’ll be moderating the Q&A.)
“Desperate Teenage Lovedolls” was filmed on Super-8 with a total budget of $250, with many scenes being edited in-camera during production. (The end credits acknowledge that Thrifty Drug, Sav-On, and Fotomat processed the film.) Later this year, AGFA will release a five-film Blu-ray set of Markey’s restored early works, including “Lovedolls.”
The movie is in line with other titles of the era that captured a rebellious rock ’n’ roll spirit, including “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains,” “Times Square,” “Foxes” and Markey’s acknowledged influences of Russ Meyer’s “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” and the early films of John Waters.
The film is decidedly of its time — “Our production design was the era,” Markey said in an interview this week — with movie theater marquees and posters in the background featuring “Flashdance,” “Yentl” and “Star 80.” The dialogue includes references to “Risky Business,” Boy George, and Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx.
The narrative is a irreverent satire of show business, centering around three teenage runaways who form a band called the Lovedolls and achieve stardom, all the while dealing with sleazy managers, a rival girl gang, and various other hurdles.
“We were all kids that grew up in front of a TV set,” said Markey. “We are the generation, the latchkey kids, the TV set was our babysitter. So we were receiving for many years this kind of programming. And it wasn’t just the movies or the TV shows, it was the commercials, it was the culture that was being fed to us in this way.
“To me, that film was just like a giant zit that built up, so to speak. And then the film was a release, a popping of that zit, everything just sort of coming right back out,” said Markey. “Especially in those teenage years where you’re trying to make sense of the world, it helped to try to understand it through making films.”
The hit song within the movie is a cover of the song “Legend (Come On Up to Me),” originally by the all-girl L.A. band Backstage Pass, here performed by Redd Kross with original singer Joanna Spock Dean on vocals. Redd Kross also contributed the theme song “Ballad of a Lovedoll,” which would appear on their 1987 album “Neurotica.”
Markey followed up “Desperate Teenage Lovedolls” with the sequel “Lovedoll Superstar” in 1986, made with the considerably larger budget of $10,000. Both “Lovedolls” movies became cult hits once they were released on VHS. Markey would achieve his greatest success with the tour documentary “1991: The Year Punk Broke,” which inadvertently captured Nirvana just as the band was rocketing to fame.
But the moment captured by “Desperate Teenage Lovedolls” will always be special.
“For me, it’s kind of special because imagine if you could have your teenage years documented in such a way that it’s just kind of preserved,” said Markey, who was 19 when he began making the film. “And with time stuff just takes on different meanings, different contexts, stuff becomes history. There’s not a whole lot of Super-8 filmmakers that have the opportunity to have their works preserved. It’s like looking back at a window of my youth in a unique way.”
Other points of interest
Funny Girls
With a touring production of the revival of “Funny Girl” just finishing its run at the Ahmanson Theatre, it’s fitting that the Academy Museum will screen William Wyler’s 1968 film adaptation. Barbra Streisand originated the part on Broadway and won an Oscar for her debut film role.
In his original 1968 review of “Funny Girl,” Charles Champlin wrote, “Miss Streisand as Fanny Brice is one of the great performances, one of the great congruences of personality and role, an interpretation perfected over the months onstage and enriched by the resources of the screen. The limitations of the vehicle are still there, but the lady at the wheel has got to be seen to be awestruck by.”
Champlin had spoken to Streisand a few months earlier. Ahead of making her movie debut, Streisand expressed some anxiety, saying, “It’s true, a film is the only thing that makes you immortal. Of course, if it’s bad, that’s not too good. You’re stuck with it forever.”
The Academy has built a strong program around “Funny Girl,” which screens in a 4K restoration next Thursday, by highlighting Jewish female talent both in front of and behind the camera.
“The Great Ziegfeld” will screen in 35mm, as will the double feature of “What’s Up, Doc?” (also starring Streisand) and “Clue,” featuring Madeline Kahn and Lesley Ann Warren.
Other titles will include Elaine May’s feature directing debut, “A New Leaf,” on a double bill with a 35mm showing of Joan Micklin Silver’s “Crossing Delancey,” starring Amy Irving. Sandra Bernhard gives an astonishing performance in “The King of Comedy.” “The First Wives Club” and “Kissing Jessica Stein” also will screen in 35mm.
The series will conclude with two of the most innovative comedies of recent years, Emma Seligman’s “Shiva Baby” and Janicza Bravo’s “Lemon.”
Revisiting Lee Chang-dong
The American Cinematheque is hosting a series of films by South Korean writer-director Lee Chang-dong, several of them presented in new 4K restorations. The series, running through May 19, begins on Saturday with “Burning” at the Egyptian Theatre, with actor Steven Yeun present for a Q&A. (The event is already sold out, but there will be a standby line.)
At the Los Feliz 3, there will be screenings of “Secret Sunshine,” along with restored versions of “Peppermint Candy,” “Green Fish,” “Poetry” and “Oasis.”
In his 2018 review of “Burning,” former Times critic Justin Chang wrote, “With unusual rigor for an artist working in a visual medium, Lee explores the boundaries of what can and cannot be seen. In his emotionally shattering dramas ‘Secret Sunshine’ (2007) and ‘Poetry’ (2010), the director turned everyday images, such as a sunbeam striking a wall, into luminous existential riddles, challenging his characters to study them and glimpse the possibility of transcendence dwelling within. ‘Burning,’ Lee’s sixth feature and this year’s South Korean entry for the foreign-language film Oscar, continues this thematic investigation with extraordinary lucidity and intelligence, but also an abiding respect for its own mysteries.”
In other news
Lourdes Portillo dies at 80 Filmmaker and activist Lourdes Portillo passed away this week at the age of 80. Born in Mexico, Portillo received an Oscar nomination for her 1985 documentary “The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo,” about a group of Argentine women attempting to discover the fate of the thousands of people who vanished under a brutal political regime.
Portillo, whose other works include “The Devil Never Sleeps” and “Corpus: A Home Movie for Selena,” was the focus of a retrospective and gallery exhibition just last year at the Academy Museum.
“The reality of living in the United States as an immigrant, it’s very painful, because the first thing that happens to you is that you realize that everybody’s trying to crush your sense of can-do,” Portillo told the Academy Museum in an interview. “Your sense of really being important in this society, having something to say. You’re already diminished.”
‘Challengers’ finally hits cinemas After having its release delayed from last year due to the actors’ strike, “Challengers” is finally in theaters. Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes, the film is stylish, complex, and sensual in its portrayal of a tale of jealousy and power among three tennis players whose lives become intertwined. The movie stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist.
In a review for The Times, Amy Nicholson called the film “a lean, mischievous, superbly acted trifle.” Nicholson also noted that, with its rapid
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My name is Alex Carter, a journalist with a deep passion for independent cinema, alternative music, and contemporary art. A University of California, Berkeley journalism graduate, I’ve honed my expertise through film reviews, artist profiles, and features on emerging cultural trends. My goal is to uncover unique stories, shine a light on underrepresented talents, and explore the impact of art on our society. Follow me on SuperBoxOffice.com for insightful analysis and captivating discoveries from the entertainment world.