Unutterably powerful performances in a film of equal weight. I did find myself wondering, about an hour or so into it, if I would be able to endure the entire thing. More than once I had to willingly unsuspend disbelief and remind myself that these were actors and it was all special effects and make-up. Every major character was full-rounded -- even the minor characters were more than two-dimensional -- so much so that, at the end, I felt ashamed and guilty for being relieved and happy that Northrup was rescued. What about all of the others?
What struck me most, living here in Louisiana now, is how slavery not only privileged, but normalized sadism, dehumanization and violence -- and how the effects of that normalization are still felt in southern society. How slavery pitted working-class whites against enslaved blacks in a competition that continues today, and how the oligarchic control of the planters is reflected in the stranglehold that the oil and gas industry has on southern society, and the almost-worshipful attitude of so many toward that industry. It is an attitude that incorporates a great deal of fear as well as envy.
More than half of the large-for-the-early-show audience was African-American, primarily women, which made watching the film an experience in itself. Their reactions were much more personal and also more cultural, providing a Greek chorus of murmured, "Uh-huhs," "Lord have mercies," and "Yes, indeeds" to loud exclamations of, "Oh, no, she did not!" and "Oh, yes, she did." And numerous calls to "Give it to him -- give it to him now!" "Someone shoot that man. Just shoot him."
We bought the book a few years ago when the Dr. Sue Eakin spoke about her work in authenticating the narrative at the Louisiana Book Festival, but haven't read it yet. I was astonished to learn that this work, which was so well-known in its day, was all-but-forgotten in the 20th century, but admit that even I have been put off from starting it due to the 19th century phraseology.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
The Harmonists vs the Saphhires
Coincidentally, we have watched two modern movie musicals in the past few months based on "true stories" of musical groups, and they couldn't be more different. The first, "The Harmonists," a German film released in that country as "The Comedian Harmonists," is a relatively faithful story of the career, life, and loves of the group of the same name in pre-WWII Nazi Germany. The original recordings of the group are used as the soundtrack, which adds to the authenticity of the piece and avoids any sense of parody, which is always a temptation with music from that period. The performers lipsyncing is perfect and they also flawlessly incorporate the physical mannerisms that would have accompanied the pieces in concert.
A bit of a spoiler here -- none of the characters is killed or sent to a concentration camp. Which is not to say that the politics of the time are not a major issue in the movie. The script moves seamlessly through the social and political changes between 1928 and 1934, and demonstrates with subtle, yet chilling, effect, how German society, becomes ever more anti-Semitic, almost without recognizing it. The legal restrictions that are put in place are so very gradual that individuals are able to justify and rationalize them and ignore the warnings of those with a clearer vision, until it's literally too late. More than once, a Jewish character insists that Germany is too civilized, too modern, too rational, to be going down the road that it has clearly embarked upon. Contemporary parallels were, in some cases, almost too easy to draw, particularly in regard to the rise of extreme nationalistic sentiment and vilification of "the other."
The characters in the film are extremely well-rounded; we see their strengths and weaknesses, their flaws and their finer points. Even the Nazis are shown as human beings, albeit morally and emotionally deformed ones. The movie is in no way predictable, although some of it is inevitable. We see the Jewish characters struggling with their own sense of identity, as what they consider an ethnicity, if they consider it at all, becomes an uneradicable stigma, while the "Aryan" members of the group are forced to confront the racism at the heart of "their" society. Highly recommended.
The contrast between this film and "The Sapphires" could not be stronger. Other than the setting and the name of the group, "The Sapphires" has nothing in common with the "true story" on which it is based. This would not be an issue, except that the deviations are all in the direction of cliche, formula, and sexism. The original group had made a name for itself singing in various locations in Melbourne -- they were not "discovered" in an outback talent show by a down-at-heels male musician who would become their manager and lead them to success. They were invited to sing in Vietnam; they did not have to compete with other groups. Obviously, as there was no man in the picture, there was no "Taming of the Shrew" love story. The script was written by the son of one of the original Sapphires, and, as is frequently the case, suffers from a lack of objectivity. There are far too many "lessons" being taught -- the Lost Generation, Australian racism, the horrors of war -- and the Aboriginals and their society are romanticized.
Because the characters are stereotypes and the storyline is cliched, the film drags whenever the focus moves away from the musical performances. The mildly erotic interludes are just embarrassing because they are predictable and formulaic and there is no real chemistry between the couples (well, maybe between Mailman and O'Dowd). Worse, one of the girls is made out to be something of a slut, cheating on her fiance back home. The characters are so under-developed and the plot so thin, that it is a shock when one girl accuses another of having been attracted to a soldier only because he provided her with alcohol and drugs. We never see any of that, nor is there any evidence provided for her rebuttal that all of the soldiers are stoned most of the time. While that was undoubtedly true, the line is just thrown in there to try to provide some sense of the period, without spending the time to show us.
The film is set in the early 60s, during the Vietnam Era, which makes the anachronisms -- "Cajun blackened catfish," Tupperware of the wrong period, among others -- glaringly obvious to anyone over the age of 40.
On the other hand, the music is very good and the costumes are fabulous!
A bit of a spoiler here -- none of the characters is killed or sent to a concentration camp. Which is not to say that the politics of the time are not a major issue in the movie. The script moves seamlessly through the social and political changes between 1928 and 1934, and demonstrates with subtle, yet chilling, effect, how German society, becomes ever more anti-Semitic, almost without recognizing it. The legal restrictions that are put in place are so very gradual that individuals are able to justify and rationalize them and ignore the warnings of those with a clearer vision, until it's literally too late. More than once, a Jewish character insists that Germany is too civilized, too modern, too rational, to be going down the road that it has clearly embarked upon. Contemporary parallels were, in some cases, almost too easy to draw, particularly in regard to the rise of extreme nationalistic sentiment and vilification of "the other."
The characters in the film are extremely well-rounded; we see their strengths and weaknesses, their flaws and their finer points. Even the Nazis are shown as human beings, albeit morally and emotionally deformed ones. The movie is in no way predictable, although some of it is inevitable. We see the Jewish characters struggling with their own sense of identity, as what they consider an ethnicity, if they consider it at all, becomes an uneradicable stigma, while the "Aryan" members of the group are forced to confront the racism at the heart of "their" society. Highly recommended.
The contrast between this film and "The Sapphires" could not be stronger. Other than the setting and the name of the group, "The Sapphires" has nothing in common with the "true story" on which it is based. This would not be an issue, except that the deviations are all in the direction of cliche, formula, and sexism. The original group had made a name for itself singing in various locations in Melbourne -- they were not "discovered" in an outback talent show by a down-at-heels male musician who would become their manager and lead them to success. They were invited to sing in Vietnam; they did not have to compete with other groups. Obviously, as there was no man in the picture, there was no "Taming of the Shrew" love story. The script was written by the son of one of the original Sapphires, and, as is frequently the case, suffers from a lack of objectivity. There are far too many "lessons" being taught -- the Lost Generation, Australian racism, the horrors of war -- and the Aboriginals and their society are romanticized.
Because the characters are stereotypes and the storyline is cliched, the film drags whenever the focus moves away from the musical performances. The mildly erotic interludes are just embarrassing because they are predictable and formulaic and there is no real chemistry between the couples (well, maybe between Mailman and O'Dowd). Worse, one of the girls is made out to be something of a slut, cheating on her fiance back home. The characters are so under-developed and the plot so thin, that it is a shock when one girl accuses another of having been attracted to a soldier only because he provided her with alcohol and drugs. We never see any of that, nor is there any evidence provided for her rebuttal that all of the soldiers are stoned most of the time. While that was undoubtedly true, the line is just thrown in there to try to provide some sense of the period, without spending the time to show us.
The film is set in the early 60s, during the Vietnam Era, which makes the anachronisms -- "Cajun blackened catfish," Tupperware of the wrong period, among others -- glaringly obvious to anyone over the age of 40.
On the other hand, the music is very good and the costumes are fabulous!
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