The era of endless analysis - A substitute for quality film-making

Back in the good old days, early 2005 to be precise, when Bruce Hodsdon and I did a submission  to some long forgotten review of Government assistance to the Australian film industry we said : Over the last decade there have been no more than a handful of films accepted for the competitions conducted by the three A-list European film festivals in Berlin, Cannes and Venice. By comparison, many more films from other countries in the region (Thailand, Korea, Taiwan especially) are annually accepted for places in the elite competitions. The films from those countries outshine Australia’s best despite far more taxpayer’s money being spent by Australia on film production. 

It's been ten years since then, another billion or so has been expended, and you could say the same thing for the decade that followed. Australia is on a twenty year lack of the highest quality films as measured by our success in getting into the three toughest international competitions. The artistic successes such as they have been are modest. Mad Max Fury Road, two films by Rolf de Heer, both on indigenous subjects, Warwick Thornton's Samson and Delilah and some of the other films by Aboriginal film-makers. Struggling, struggling..... Did I overlook anything?

I know you can harp on this forever or until we win another Palme d'Or. As I speak, an Australian film has got itself selected for Venice, the first film to go up against the A-graders of international competition for some little time. Screen Australia's latest paper looking at the current features and difficulties in local distribution can be downloaded here

   

It has some interesting thoughts:  

.           We want to ensure that our local films continue to resonate with audiences and to create a cultural legacy for future generations.

.           These are challenging times for independent film. In order to maximise opportunities for Australian films in the current environment, our screen industry will need to be ever more strategic. All players will need to maintain a strong focus on the audience through all stages of production and release. As an industry, we will also need to be prepared to innovate around certain kinds of films and to take some risks. 

And then there is this, which suggests that some at least are looking a gift horse in the mouth....

.           Through the Multiplatform Drama program Screen Australia invests in the production of narrative projects that take risks and push the envelope of fiction storytelling on traditional and non-traditional platforms. Applications may be for any amount up to $500,000 per project. To date, Screen Australia has received no applications for low-budget feature films through this program. 

Truly astonishing....and apparently unreported upon as well.

Screen Australia's CEO makes some interesting remarks about the future of local film production

A little while ago I mentioned that Screen Australia announced it is workshopping some new approaches to building pride in Australian film. I had a further email exchange. One element was that a PR consultancy had been hired to help. The chosen firm advertises on its website that it is “for shaking things up. Disrupting industries, creating new markets and new companies. We're for culture that fuels creativity and innovation. We help build trust and get teams to work harder and be happier. We're for new models, new theories, new ways of working for this century, not the last one.” ...and on it goes.

 

So onward. SA’s Chief Executive has just spoken about the future and released a new discussion paper which you can find here. He didn’t seem to go to building pride in Australian film. Here’s part of what SA’s press release said. Local independent films are facing an increasingly tough, and crowded, marketplace. Audience expectation of where and how they see these films is changing rapidly. The benchmark for specialist film box office has been drastically lowered. We are not alone here, these trends are international.” ...: “Long-heralded transformations wrought by digital disruption are well and truly upon us. Blockbusters dominate an increasingly crowded theatrical environment while the traditional DVD market is in sharp decline. Newer ancillaries, like VOD platforms, are yet to deliver back recoupment dollars into the ecosystem. It is becoming harder for independent films to find their audiences amidst an avalanche of content, and it is harder for them to attract marketplace finance.” A key part of Screen Australia’s role is to assist screen businesses to navigate these changes and to take advantage of the opportunities they present. - See more 

 

I cant help wondering just what is meant by "the benchmark for specialist film box office has been drastically lowered". That's an interesting development....

 

On DVD (9) - Two recent films by the Italian master Ermanno Olmi

Olmi in the 60s

Ermanno Olmi began making feature films in 1958 at the age of 27. As of now he has made sixteen dramatic feature length films including two that won the top European festival awards first at Cannes (The Tree of Wooden Clogs, 1978)  and then Venice (The Legend of the Holy Drinker, 1988). Back in the early 80s, The Tree of Wooden Clogs was a major art house hit. It ran for months at Melbourne's Longford Cinema back in the days when a film like that would have distribution limited to just a couple of prints and the art houses around the country got in a queue. I dont think his Venice prize winner had many, if any screenings here. I saw it in an out of the way repertory cinema in Paris years after it had been released. I'm not aware of any local sightings of his films since The Profession of Arms (2007) which I think was screened in that year's Italian Film Festival. I may be wrong about that too. I saw it first on World Movies and it played on SBS.

All of which is to say that Olmi was rarely a fashionable film maker. For a straightfoward explanation as to why  may I refer you to a piece written a decade and half ago by Deborah Young and published in Film Comment This and a set of notes for a season of Olmi's films at the University of California was all I could find in English from a quick Google search. In brief, he has a conservative Catholic view that puts him, and the subjects he chooses to film, frequently at odds with the prevailing Italian and world tastes.

I'm relying on more memory to get to this point. My memory says that Olmi announced he was giving up making dramatic feature films and proposed that any future work would be confined to documentaries. This occurred after One Hundred Nails (Italy, 2009) another of his films with a Christ-like figure at its centre. It was thus a surprise to come across two recent features out on Italian DVD. (A day spent hunting through the racks of Italian cinema in the back room of Florence's wonderful Alberti Dischi store on Borgo San Lorenzo always produces treasure

Olmi in 2011

So what have we here. Il Villaggio di Cartone premiered out of competition at Venice in 2011. If there was any fuss about it, it passed me by. Produced by RAI Cinema the impetus for the film would appear to have come from the UN High Commission for Refugees. They couldn't have found a more sympathetic director to fashion a work which picks apart the issues facing Italy today as it tries to deal with a continuing influx of African refugees. 

The film opens with a priest (Michael Lonsdale) facing the closure and deconsecration of his church. A team of workers in fluoro vests march in like a conquering army behind a set of lights which hide the fact that this is a giant set. (The 'Making Of' extra shows the construction of all this in detail.). The action takes place entirely within the church. That night a group of a dozen or more Africans, some refugees, some locals assisting them, invade the property and set up a tent city inside the nave. This is the cardboard village of the title. They are a mixed bunch with mixed ambitions and the priest is forced to deal with their demands as well as those of the authorities who want to as they say, enforce the law. One of the refugees is carrying explosives and harbours ambitions to be a suicide bomber. 

Olmi's mise-en-scene privileges nobody. Neither the priest nor the refugees are shown in any saintly manner and the drama which works its way out over a very short time contains all the wild contradictions that accompany any consideration of refugees anywhere. But its low key by any standards and notwithstanding the presence of Londsdale and Rutger Hauer as an official of the church tasked with carrying on its business with ruthless efficiency it has no obvious selling points that might have got it front and centre at any of the festivals. 

Three years later, at the age of 84 Olmi's latest film Torneranno I prati (translated on the subtitles as Greenery Will Bloom Again). Made in 2014 it premiered at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival and has yet to be selected for any local event. Maybe the Italian Film Festival starting in September might pick it up. We'll see. Set in the first world war the story concerns an Italian outpost high in the mountains between Italy and Austria. Near to buried underground a small group of Italian soldiers is battling to halt Austrian aggression. Lonely, sick and depressed the soldiers have lost the heart for battle and their situation is complicated by an apparent breach in their security. Alternate plans are hatched, all of them seemingly doomed. The talk is of honour and duty and there are some ghastly and abrupt moments down in the bunker. 

Olmi films all this by reducing most of the colour to black and white. There are spectacular images as well in the few exteriors. The film takes 71 minutes to get through the drama which includes a newsreel coda. 

The great discovery on the disc is a 50+ minute 'Making Of' which I dare to say is the best such example of this little byway of the modern cinema that I have ever seen. We see Olmi's working methods, the actual construction of the set which takes place in autumn so that it is ready to be snowed under for winter. The craft of the Italian on-set constructors is shown to be remarkable. Olmi explains the themes he is addressing (abdication to military rules, learning and hallucination) and gives the view that despite the realism of the location he is wishing to be evocative. As part of his mise-en-scene, Olmi is given to prepare quick little drawings on a notepad as to what he wants to be in the scene. These are all-encompassing and look to show camera positions, the movement of the actors and more. The filming which takes place in the depths of a mountain winter is rugged as well. Olmi, who seems jittery on his feet, has to be physically assisted around the location.His voice is now reduced a raspy little whisper and most of his directing takes place in a tiny confined space in which he watches the action on a small screen. The Making Of  is directed by Fabrizio Cattani.

With the possible single exception of The Legend of the Holy Drinker Olmi's ambitions have always been tempered, his filming done without flourish. His Catholic conservatism, amply set out in the aforementioned Deborah Young piece, always a key thematic behind his subjects. These two DVDs, both with excellent English subtitles, are a reminder of a career that deserves to be called that of a master.

Bringing back the Past (2) - Not so easy for the local little guys but they battle on

Following on from the previous post, Leth Maitland the Secretary of the WEA Sydney Film Society has been in touch to advise that for the smallest among us who like to get together, watch and discuss movies and who for decades have relied first on the National Library and later the National Film & Sound Archive to supply classics old and new, rarities, otherwise unavailable Australian films, experimental work and more, things are getting increasingly difficult in very practical ways. 

Leth writes to show how sometimes it’s not made easy at all for enthusiasts.  "The WEA Sydney Film Society wanted to screen THE 39 STEPS (Alfred Hitchcock, UK, 1935). The NFSA however cancelled the booking because they had let the rights lapse. The local art film distributor Madman  has released the film locally on DVD, but said they had no non-theatrical rights. NFSA had originally directed would-be borrowers to Madman, but if not, Park Circus,  the Glasgow based company which controls the world rights should be contacted. Park Circus responded very promptly and courteously, but in answer to our request to license a screening for likely to between 10 and 20 people, the answer was 250 Australian dollars payable by Paypal. 

Films from European sources are even more problematic.

The exception is Goethe-Institut. It is coming to our rescue by still licensing titles worldwide but they are kind of the last in what was once a significant source of programing for film societies in Australia. 

Finally, the NFSA is now not licensing Australian titles if they are "commercially available" which is a bit of a movable feast.

Leth has just sent round the WEA Sydney Film Society's fortnightly program for August to December 2015. If you would like to receive a copy by email setting out all the details and accompanied by some excellent program notes contact leth_maitland@hotmail.com   

Bringing back the past - Bologna and Catherine Deneuve

Deneuve at Cannes in 2014

When you come through the week at Bologna’s Cinema Ritrovato you start to have dreams of only attending festivals of films made long ago, that have as they say, stood the test of time and now warrant a new place in the sun via new prints or, even better, digital restorations performed by geniuses like Sony/Columbia’s Grover Crisp. Theirs is the work that brings movies back to that moment of their premiere screening. You cant watch a film like Charles Vidor’s Cover Girl (USA, 1944), starring a pre-MGM Gene Kelly  and the scrumptious, luminous Rita Hayworth without the additional modern day awe at the skills employed by Grover and his team. One critic has even gone so far as to suggest that the cinema might be a better place if all new movie-making ceased for a decade and we all had a breathing space simply to catch up on the 100+ years of what’s already gone. At Bologna this seemed like a very good idea.

Expanding way beyond privileged access at Bologna and elsewhere in the new digital world, where you can see wondrous things you never thought you would ever see or see again, things are changing rapidly. Making restoration copies is now all the go. Cable TV stations and companies like Netflix have insatiable desires for more and more movies (though you might not sense that if you are a subscriber to the Foxtel movie package) from more and more sources and the digital age enables all the work to be done – restoration followed by circulation.

That ‘circulation’, access if you like, is the key word. 

And, just as an example of what might happen more and more, there is one thing interesting happening via the major distributor Studio Canal. In conjunction with the Alliance francaise, they have selected a half dozen films featuring Catherine Deneuve and will be presenting them at GU’s Event Cinema in George Street and the Cremorne Orpheum over a weekend in September.  I assume its going round the nation as well. Not a bad selection either -  The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Belle de Jour, Un Flic, Young Girls of Rochefort, Indochine and Potiche. Two, maybe more, masterpieces there. I’m not listing years and directors  but close to fifty years of the great lady’s career is covered. (I’m happy to hear from anybody who might like to suggest another four to make it up to ten. My choices would be Vadim’s Vice and Virtue, Varda’s Les Creatures, Truffaut’s Mississipi Mermaid  and another Demy, Peau d’Ane . That leaves 111 films to choose alternate titles To get help if your memory needs a jog you can go here.) 

So as I despair at the selection that makes up the Alliance francaise's annual festival of new films, endlessly veering away from quality towards mediocre comedies and routine dramas, almost entirely ignoring the works of major film-makers year after year, suddenly the Alliance pops up with this event. Its thanks to the new digital technologies that it can happen of course. The ease of sending round DCPs around the world makes sure of that. And we are prmised that this is to be annual event - Bardot, Gabin, Moreau, Delon, Belmondo, Marcel Dalio, Julien Carette, ....that list is endless too to say nothing of Ophuls, Renoir, Gremillon, Clement, and Duvivier, all of whom have had major films restored in recent times. Endless, endless...a vista leading to our own Cinema Ritrovato sometime somewhere,maybe even starting small just like this bit of outreach.   

An email exchange with Screen Australia

Following my outburst about a proposal whereby Screen Australia announced it is  workshopping some new approaches to building pride in Australian film, I sent in some questions about what might be happening. Here's the reply I got.

Hi Geoffrey

Thanks for your email. You can find the news item here: http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/news_and_events/2015/gn_150708_prideAusfilmcampaign.aspx

We aren’t yet at a place to talk about plans – because we are still in the scoping and discussion stage.

I will come back to you about your specific questions shortly.

Best wishes

Imogen

To which I responded

Dear Imogen

Thank you for your reply. I must say that since I posted my piece I have been told that Michael Bodey also made some uncomplimentary remarks about your plans. It’s not enjoyable to be lumped in with a Murdoch press maven, particularly weeks later, but that’s what happens to people who have made a lifetime vow to avoid that arm of the media. Oh well....

If indeed this exercise is to be conducted in any public way I’d be most interested to follow what’s happening. I’m of course still somewhat bemused that Screen Australia would be hiring PR people for it but if there is to be any further reporting or public consultation then that’s something I’d like to pass on to my devoted reader.

Best wishes

Geoff Gardner 

Movies from the Sub-Continent expand - Adrienne McKibbins reports

Its interesting that we had no less than 7  films from the sub-Continent showing in Australia over the weekend. Six from various parts of India and one Pakistani film.

There were three Tamil films. Suddenly we are getting more Tamil films than we ever did in the past, 2 Punjabi films ( which always seem to find an audience even though most of them are not cinematic masterpieces.  But Hindi films still tend to do better BO wise. They also tend to have more screens.

Salman Khan the star of Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Bajrangi Bhaijaan has now entered the 100 Crore club as they call it in India, and it has become Salman Khan's biggest opening ever. (NB Wikipedia advises that a crore (/ˈkrɔər/; abbreviated cr) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to ten million (10,000,000; in scientific notation: 10⁷), which is written in these regions as 1,00,00,000 with the local style of digit group separators. It is equal to a hundred lakh (a lakh is equal to one hundred thousand and is written as 1,00,000). It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. The Indian numbering system is used when writing Marathi, Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Nepali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.)

Australia

Rank	Movie	Weekend	Weekend Gross (A$)	Screens	Total Gross (A$)	Total Gross (INR)
8	Bajrangi Bhaijaan	1	560,016	28	560,016	2.61 crores
17	Maari (Tamil)	1	65,548	10	65,548	30.63 lacs
20	Bahubali (Tamil)	2	54,939	8	194,405	90.86 lacs
47	Papanasam (Tamil)	3	3,035	4	122,130	57.08 lacs
50	Hero Naam Yaad Rakhi (Punjabi)	2	1,825	10	72,945	34.09 lacs
77	Sardaar Ji	4	145	3	641,526	3.00 crores
83	Bin Roye (Pakistan)	1	40	1	40	1,871/-

I suspect very few people knew that Bin Roye was actually on, as its release date was supposed to have been delayed.

But it has had a positive response, the lead actress has recently gone to India to star in a film with Shah Rukh Khan

Adrienne