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Film: The Cranes Are Flying
Release date: 29th January 2007
Certificate: PG
Running time: 97 mins
Director: Mikhail Kalatozov
Starring: Tatyana Samojlova, Aleksey Batalov, Vasili Merkuryev, Aleksandr Shvorin, Svetlana Kharitonova
Genre: Drama/Romance/War
Studio: Nouveaux
Format: DVD
Country: Soviet Union
There has been a lot of press of late regarding the welfare of Iranian directors, especially Jafar Panahi, who was recently imprisoned for making films deemed to have an intention to incite “crimes against the country’s national security and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” This is nothing new and whilst outrageous behaviour that in no way can be condoned, there are still many who argue that this kind of government repression has actually resulted in some of the most innovative and daring pieces of films we have ever seen. Take, for example, the most popular Soviet film ever made, Battleship Potemkin, a piece of communist propaganda that, whilst heralded by many as one of the greatest movies of all time, still very much maintains a strong Stalinist message. The Cranes Are Flying was made in the old Soviet Union in 1957 (five years after the death of Joseph Stalin) and still remains very much a film created behind the Iron Curtain. Despite all this, it somehow managed to rise above all the restrictions that state governance placed upon it to win the Palme D’Or at The Cannes Film Festival the following year.
The film opens with our central characters, Boris and Veronika, two star-crossed lovers enjoying a romantic rendezvous upon a Moscow river embankment. It isn’t long, though, before the two are separated due to the outbreak of the Second World War, a war Boris feels obligated to volunteer for.
Boris is quickly rushed to the front line on the day before Veronika’s birthday, and is unable to give her the farewell he had planned.
As the war unravels, Veronika finds herself drawn into a downward spiral of events which she could never have previously imagined, yet she remains hopeful that one day she will hear from her true love…
Although The Cranes Are Flying was released in the USSR after the relaxation of the ‘cult of personality’ (an ideal that the enhancement and promotion of Stalinist political doctrines should be educated to the masses through visual propaganda and the censorship of Western media), Soviet cinema still remained property of the state, and thus heavily censored. As with modern day Iran, any film deemed politically offensive was either edited down or removed from distribution. Despite this, The Cranes Are Flying still managed to stir strong emotions from the people of the Soviet Republic.
For us, a story about two lovers separated by war is nothing original; however, for the people of the USSR, it was their first chance to grieve for those lost during the largest war of our modern history. Up until The Cranes Are Flying, no-one had dared show a realistic interpretation of the war, instead focusing on the historic victories of Stalin’s army against the evils of the fascist dictatorship of the Nazi Party. Indeed, as previously mentioned, the cult of personality determined that all films produced during this time must celebrate both Lenin and Stalin. Yet, let us not forget that during the Second World War, the Soviet Union lost more than twice the number of any other participating country (admittedly, most of these casualties were the result of unsanitary accommodation, harsh training regimes and a lack of firepower, which resulted in many solders having to wait for their comrade in front to fall before gaining access to a gun).
But enough of the history lesson, how does the film hold up by itself? First thing to mention would be the stellar cinematography. The film’s use of, at the time, groundbreaking hand-held camera work is to this day still a joy to behold. There is one pivotal scene which will stay in the memories of anyone who watches this film. It uses a montage of shots, including a spiral staircase that makes Hitchcock’s famous scene from Vertigo look like child’s play. It certainly wouldn’t be out of place in the most modern and stylish of art house films. Cinematographer Sergei Uruseveky learnt this technique of shooting without using a tripod whilst doing his national service, and obviously combined his knowledge of war with his exceptional eye for a shot and immaculate use of ambient lighting. This combination of bold shots and strong performances, especially from Tatyana Samojlova, help emphasize all the feelings of destruction, separation and hopelessness that we have all come to recognize in our war films.
Director Mikhaol Kalatozov must also be commended, if only for his daring decision to include such topics as war profiteering and draft dodging. Although issues well known to the Soviet people at the time, they had been greatly ignored in the history archives of Russian cinema.
The only criticism to aim at this film, which truly deserves to be heralded as one of the greatest pieces of Soviet Cinema, is the fact that it is still very much a piece of Soviet cinema - there is still a strong underlying current of communist propaganda throughout. The film continues to portray Russia as a great superpower, with no recognition of any of its national problems. Many issues are avoided like the spread of famine throughout the country during, and very much after the war. But could you honestly say that a film like Saving Private Ryan isn’t slightly pro capitalism and pro America?
The Cranes Are Flying is indeed a prime example of how state controlled cinema, through its abundance of government funding, can sometimes result in truly amazing and innovative filmmaking. All this whilst keeping at bay the loss of identity that mass globalization can sometimes bring. Perhaps this is an element of our flourishing relationship with America that we should not ignore. PG
Film: The Realm Of The Senses
Release date: 21st May 2001
Certificate: 18
Running time: 105 mins
Director: Nagisa Ôshima
Starring: Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda, Aoi Nakajima, Yasuko Matsui, Meika Seri
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Nouveaux
Format: DVD
Country: Japan/France
Still pushing the boundaries of sexual acceptability thirty-five years since its initial release, Nagisa Oshima’s The Realm Of The Senses still has the ability to shock even today. Set in 1930s Japan, the film is based on the true story of Abe Sada and her love affair with Kichizo Ishida.
Abe Sada is an ex-prostitute working as a servant girl in the household of Kichizo Ishida. Abe spies on Kichizo making love to his wife and becomes fascinated by him. Abe is more than willing to reciprocate Kichizo’s eventual sexual advances towards her. From this point, the two can barely be separated, and begin to take more and more risks when engaging in their ever increasing sexual encounters.
Eventually Abe is moved from Kichizo’s house to stop any unwanted intrusions from his wife, which may interrupt their incessant love making. Now unrestricted, their sexual encounters become more lurid and extreme, and little care is given to who may be present or involved. The two lovers spend more and more time together, even forsaking cleaning or eating as they become lost in the ecstasy of their lovemaking.
Abe and Kichizo become increasingly detached from the real world, only their lust remains, and their search for greater pleasure…
Nagisa Oshima takes an uncompromising look at the destructive sexual relationship between Abe and Kichizo, in all its graphic detail. One would be forgiven at first glance for believing that The Realm Of The Senses was simply a pornographic film, but this is far from the truth.
Through the unflinching camera we are privy to each and every sordid detail of Abe and Kichizo’s sexual relationship. Indeed, we are forced to watch as the cinematography is orchestrated to give the viewer nowhere else to look by its overuse of close ups and mid shots. The sets are small, cramped and have little detail in them to cause any distraction from the two naked bodies filling the screen.
It is this unrelenting and non-stop assault on the senses that makes The Realm Of The Senses such a powerful film. Whereas pornography is used for arousal, The Realm Of The Sense becomes almost too much to bear, as the audience is given no respite from the continuous lovemaking of Abe and Kichizo. The visceral and unflinching depiction of the two’s addiction to one another is similar in many ways to a film like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Requiem For A Dream, albeit passion instead of violence and drug abuse. Both film subject there audience to non-stop graphic imagery and narrative pace that leaves viewers exasperated and almost relieved at their conclusions. The audience is literally dragged along with the plight of Abe and Kichizo as they get lost in their addiction to one another, not wanting it to stop, but knowing, at some point, it has to end. This all makes for a challenging and emotionally robust film.
The performances of Tatsuya Fuji (Kichizo) and Eiko Matsuda (Abe) are both strong, especially considering the types of acts they were required to perform. They both capture perfectly the changes wrought on each of them by their constant and obsessive love making. We see Kichizo turn from a powerful and dominant male into a wraith like figure barely able to walk. His resemblance to a drug addict is poignant, as he quite clearly is a man with an addiction which he knows he can’t stop - his acceptance of his situation is one of the highlights of the film. Eiko Matsuda gives a good performance as Abe, and the character acts as juxtaposition to that of Kichizo - where he begins to fade, Abe becomes more passionate and descends further and further into her madness. However, this all being said, the characters do lack some depth, which is a result of the film’s intent to create its non-stop assault on the senses, allowing very little room to manoeuvre, less it water down the film’s overall message and impact.
We see very little of the characters outside of the small paper walled room where they feed their addiction - only Abe has any real meaningful interaction with other characters, once her and Kichizo’s relationship has started. The first of these encounters is with a local teacher, as Abe indulges in her former profession as a prostitute in order to earn money to continue her and Kichizo’s lifestyle. This again heightens the similarities of their relationship to that of drug addicts, willing to do anything to continue their lifestyle. The second encounter, and also the most controversial element of the film, sees Abe chasing with two naked children around a room. After chasing the children for some time, Abe reaches out and pulls the small boy by his penis causing him, understandably, to cry out. This scene is included in the UK release of the film in an edited form, where by the shot has been optically zoomed to cut out the bottom of the image. This optical zoom was at the behest of the then director of the British Board of Film Classification James Ferman in order to keep this pivotal moment in the film. Its inclusion lets audience knows that Abe is emotionally and mentally unbalanced as she commits an act that is appalling by anyone’s standards.
The score by Minoru Miki is minimalistic, with a lot of the film’s music coming from diegetic sources, such as the geisha’s instruments as they entertain Kichizo and Abe. This minimalist approach complements the film well, with its soft sounds and recurring notes adding to the compounding feeling of repetition, and the dependency of the two protagonists on one another.
The Realm Of The Senses is not a film for everybody, and with its unrelenting visuals and narrow characterisation, it may leave some unfulfilled and other disgusted. However, the film does deliver a powerful emotional experience – and one that is not easily forgotten.
Film: Suspiria
Release date: 18th January 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 98 mins
Director: Dario Argento
Starring: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Alida Valli, Joan Bennett, Miguel Bose
Genre: Horror/Mystery
Studio: Nouveaux
Format: DVD
Country: Italy
In European cinema, the name Dario Argento means as much to movie lovers as the name Alfred Hitchcock does to British moviegoers. In many respects, Suspiria is regarded by fans and critics alike as a renowned and heavily influential artist at the top of his game.
Suzy Bannion is an American ballet student who finds a placement at the famous Madame Blanc's respected ballet school in Freiburg, Germany. She arrives late at night in the midst of a storm and witnesses one of the students leaving the school in a state of hysteria. The girl’s screams are inaudible in the noise of the storm, and Suzy watches as she disappears into the neighbouring woods. The heroine is refused entrance to the building by an unidentified voice after ringing the doorbell, and returns the following morning to be greeted by hospitable and welcoming staff that show no hint of anything untoward.
As her first few days at the school pass, she and fellow student Sara become disturbed by a series of disappearances and unexplainable phenomenon. Maggots fall from the ceiling, footsteps are heard late at night, and the staff begin to represent a more ominous presence within the film’s narrative. The two girls attempt to explore and to discover what is really at the centre of the school and, furthermore, who it was that Suzy saw the night she arrived.
As the protagonist learns more and more about the history behind the school from a friend of Sara’s, they become embroiled in a tangle of questions regarding witches, magic and the occult…
One of the ways in which the film is most highly regarded is in terms of its aesthetic. The world Argento creates is of vibrant blues, reds, and greens, juxtaposed with skewed shadows and contrasting light. Long, empty corridors and fast paced shots confront the viewer and create an atmosphere which is both exhilarating and unnerving.
It is appropriate that the story is set in Germany, as Suspiria is heavily influenced by fairytale imagery and, in particular, the story of Snow White And The Seven Dwarves. The vision the film creates is often Baroque in style, yet it borrows heavily from the aesthetic of early German Expressionist films and folklore symbols, such as wicked witches and frightening ogres.
The gore, as you would expect, is at times incredibly graphic, and both blood and red wine are used in the film frequently, often displacing a startling white background. The first fifteen minutes of the film are particularly terrifying, as one of Argento’s most infamous murder sequences opens Suspiria with a stern indication of things to come. Often shots are epic in their symmetry and grandeur. The ballet school is presented as an almost labyrinthine structure of doorways and secret rooms, and shots are masterfully framed.
The soundtrack is provided by Goblin, who performed the music for George A. Romero’s Dawn Of The Dead. Argento has worked with Goblin for years, and their disturbing score is a crescendo of moans and chanting which works superbly well with the on screen suspense.
The acting appears at times slightly off, but this more often has to do with the dubbing of the audio soundtrack than the competence of the actors. Certainly the dialogue is engaging and continues to provide the film with a fast pace during slower scenes. Occasionally, however, the language and social colloquialisms can appear slightly dated, but the somewhat unusual nature of the characters and the way they are portrayed makes it stand out from the majority of the films in the genre. It also adds to the overwhelming feeling of unease, as the characters often appear disturbingly unfamiliar. The nature of the film is elegant and dreamlike, while at the same time increasingly unsettling.
Japanese horror films are increasingly point towards Argento’s influence. It is a testament to the director that filmmakers turn time and time again to his films for inspiration - Suspiria his most often parodied work.
A nightmarish and unsettling vision, the dream like quality of which is compounded with an expressionistic display of startling colours and sharp imagery. IT
