Stenberg Brothers's Art Vol. 1

Amazing 1920's Russian art deco paintings:

"A Bout De Souffle" (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)

Jean-Luc Godard's first film - a revolutionary, jazzy manifesto that can be seen as a tribute to the American B-Noirs of the 40's and 50's - is perhaps the greatest first film ever made, and - like "Citizen Kane" - is one of the most influential first features of all time. In other words, when one makes a first feature, it is a key goal to have their film in the same league as "A Bout De Souffle" - although that is nearly impossible. Godard breaks rules here - in fact he smashes them, pours gasoline over them, and then throws a lit match on them. He tests us - trying to see what works and what doesn't work. And believe it or not - 95% of what he tries works completely. From his odd music cues to the pioneering, yet infamous jump cuts (which has only been 'mastered' in film once, and that film was "A Bout De Souffle") which are seen throughout the entire duration of the film.* It's funny, sad, sexy, savage, and yes - a masterpiece.



Jean-Paul Belmondo, exemplifying the 'cool', plays Michel Poiccard, a man on the run after killing a motorcycle cop. Jean Seberg plays opposite him as Patricia Franchini - a sexy American working in Paris as a newspaper seller. They get back together, having been one-time lovers. But the law soon closes in on Michel and leads to a deadly end. Yet the plot isn't important. In fact, Godard seems to discard the plot - only using it so he has an end to the film. The character interaction is much more important. Through the fractured storyline and editing, you feel for the characters, yet feel detachted from them as well. You find similarities between them and yourself. The books they've read, and the books you've read. The movies you've watched, and the movies they've watched. Yet you also feel alienated from them. You're not able to tell if Michel is good or bad - a hero or a villian. The film is pure Godard - inventive and full of dark humor (e.g. Michel smokes his 'cig' even once he's been shot). Not to mention the multiple mentions of American cinema, such as Michel's fascination with Humphrey Bogart.



"A Bout De Souffle" stands the test of time. It was wonderful seeing it on the big screen in its original glory. If one wanted to see what modern cinema started with, I would show them this film. From the beginning in which we see Belmondo looking at a woman on a newspaper and smoking to the final eerie image of Seberg doing the Bogart lip motion - we are fully enthralled and amazed at the wonder that is Godard.

FOOTNOTE -

* Supposedly Godard decided to use this technique after realizing that "A Bout De Souffle" was running too long. He didn't want to edit whole scenes out, so he just cut certain parts of each scene to give it its very unique look.

"Vivre Sa Vie" (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962)

"Vivre Sa Vie" may very well be Godard's greatest film and it is without a doubt the most serious of his early 60's films. Our main character Nana (played by the rare beauty that is Anna Karina) changes from selling records to selling flesh. Over a short period of time, she changes from resisting to kiss a client to practically throwing herself onto them. She works her way up until ultimately being killed by some thugs, after wanting to leave 'the business'.



The story sounds cliched, but is actually quite different from any film I've seen (though I was reminded slightly of Pabst's "Pandora's Box"). "Vivre Sa Vie" is almost not a film, but rather a novel (which in fact makes sense, as it is split into 12 tableaux - or 12 chapters). Film wise, it employs all the great trademarks of a Godard film - from the type of dialogue the characters use to the odd, yet genius music cues.



Seeing Rialto's new 35mm print (which I saw on the big screen at SIFF's Godard's 60's series) makes Raoul Coutard's cinematography on "Vivre Sa Vie" even more beautiful to look at. When Criterion releases this in the near future (which I know they will as you can already buy the poster on their website), I will buy it the day it comes out.

Vintage Ads Part II

"Koroshi No Rakuin" (Seijun Suzuki, 1967)

"Koroshi No Rakuin" (a.k.a. "Branded to Kill") is Seijun Suzuki's magnum opus - as it tops everything the director had done before and after. It is many things - in other words, it doesn't fit into one neat little package. It is both real and surreal. A stylish crime picture and dark comedy. The main character, Goro Hanada (played by the always cool Jo Shishido), is the no. 3 killer in all of Japan. He is rough, suave, and - need I say - deadly. He also has an odd fetish for boiling rice. The film is about him trying to become the no. 1 killer. Along the way, we'll be engrossed in a world where one wrong turn costs you your life. A world where women are either deadly and hate men or deadly and like to sleep around with men. The raw, black and white, nightime cinematography, the jazzy soundtrack, and the stylized violence all add to the 60's coolness that emanates from every single frame.

Perhaps "Koroshi No Rakuin" is special to me because it was one of two films (the other being "Alphaville") that really got me hooked on foreign films. It also - to me, at least - is an example of cinema at it's best.

Vintage Ads Part I

"Une Femme Est Une Femme" (Jean-Luc Godard, 1961)

The second feature film of Jean-Luc Godard's oeuvre is also his first film shot in color. It is both an experiment in style and a tribute to the American musical. At the very beginning, as words - such as "EASTMANCOLOR", "GODARD", "MUSICAL", and "CINEMA" - flash on the screen for just a moment each, we are fully aware that we're in for something we have never seen before. As our first scene begins, we - for the first time in any Godard film - see the beauty that is Anna Karina. Anna Karina's character Angela roams the streets of France before finally arriving at the place she works, a strip club. The main problem for Karina's character in "Une Femme Est Une Femme" (a.k.a. "A Woman Is a Woman") is that her love, Emile (Jean-Claude Brialy), refuses to have a child - she, of course, wants one.

The reason I love "Une Femme Est Une Femme" so much is probably because of its energetic spirit. It feels like the cast and crew had a fun time making it, and - as a result - I had a fun time watching it. It is a very fast-paced and short (only a mere 84 minutes or so) film that goes by so quickly that I actually wanted it to last longer. Also it is a cinephile's treat with numerous pop culture references (e.g. Belmondo's character asking Jeanne Moreau how "Jules et Jim" is doing).



This is possibly the most underrated Godard film I've seen. I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Godard or who just enjoys the cinema. It has a little bit of everything - it's funny, musical, sad, cinematic, romantic. To sum it up, it is a masterpiece - in every sense of the word.

"Shoot the Piano Player" (François Truffaut, 1960)

While Truffaut's debut feature "The 400 Blows" is generally considered his greatest achievement, I prefer the film he did right after that - which I am reviewing now. "Shoot the Piano Player" is an incredibly inventive ode to the American B-grade crime pictures of yesteryear. The story revolves around a piano player - named Charlie (played by Charles Aznavour) - who needs to help his brothers out, as they ripped off two gangsters by taking all of "the loot". Of course we also have a tad bit of romance, which in this case is between Charlie and a woman name Lena, who works at the same club he does. Really though - like many French New Wave films - the plot isn't the important part of the film. The element that makes "Shoot the Piano Player" different from many other films with similar stories is that it uses cinematic tricks that you won't find in say a 1930's Warner Bros. gangster picture (e.g. shots that aren't in linear order).

"Shoot the Piano Player" is a definite buy for all fans of French cinema. It has everything you could want in a film of its kind and more.

Jazz Soundtracks Part I

The following is a list of some of the greatest Jazz albums ever produced, for you fellow hipsters out there:



Jazz at Massey Hall - Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, et al. (released in 1953)


The greatest live album I've had the pleasure to hear.

Birth of the Cool - Miles Davis (released in 1957)


Miles Davis at his best. Based on the first track alone, "Move", this is a must buy.






Giant Steps - John Coltrane (released 1960)


The track for which this album is named from is one of the top 10 greatest jazz pieces of all time. Needless to say, this album should be on every jazz collector's shelf.






Time Out - Dave Brubeck Quartet (released in 1959)

Includes the legendary "Take Five", which includes a solo by one of the great drummers of jazz, Joe Morello.







Bitches Brew - Miles Davis (released in 1970)

My favorite Avante-Garde jazz album of all time,

"Pierrot Le Fou" (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965)

Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 masterpiece "Pierrot Le Fou", can't be easily confined to one genre of film. But if I had to, I would put it under the "lovers on the lam" category, a sub-genre of the crime picture, as it has all the hallmarks of such a film (e.g. the femme fatale who ends up double crossing the main male character). Perhaps a comparison is better, though. It is like a pop-art version of "Bonnie and Clyde". Think of an ultra-stylized "Double Indemnity" directed by "Tokyo Nagaremono" director Seijun Suzuki. The story isn't anything new, but - as we expect from Godard - bursts of originality are obvious from the very beginning, in which we first meet the two main characters, Ferdinand (played by the ultra-cool Jean-Paul Belmondo) and the woman Ferdinand and his wife hired to be their childrens' babysitter, Marianne (played by the sexy and swanky Anna Karina). Once Belmondo returns home from a shag party (which is attended by none other than the great Samuel Fuller), he gets Marianne in his car and drives her to her house. On the drive there, we'll learn that the two were former lovers. Naturally (since the story needs to progress), they get back together. In order to escape some gangsters that are following Marianne, the two run away in hopes of escaping - which in turn leads us to the main bulk of the film.

"Pierrot Le Fou" - with its luscious cinematography by Raoul Coutard, incredible performances by Karina and Belmondo, and the master direction by Jean-Luc Godard - is a film that should not be missed by any cinephile. I for one was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to see it on the big screen, which was an experience I'll never forget. But for those of you are unable to do so, do yourself a favor and buy the 2-disc Criterion edition immediately (it's a great set that I display proudly on my shelf), and sit back and enjoy one of the all time great films.