I watched two films i love this week, Zach Braff’s Garden State (2004) and Luca Guadagnino’s I Am Love (2009) with Tilda Swinton. I’ve watched these films many times before but never within the same short time frame. It’s such a stretch to have both works somehow hit a similar emotional string with me given that they’re both so magnificently different, worlds apart really, culturally, linguistically, leading man, leading woman…but they did. They merged in my mind because they both explore what happens to anyone who isn’t loved, who doesn’t know who they are until they’re loved and embraced for who they are, the good and the bad, the easy and the difficult, the spoken and the unspoken. Beautiful cinematography helps too of course, and both take a passionate bite out of two clear editing choices film makers rarely (in my humble opinion) consistently follow through with: visually cutting scenes to highlight a specific human sensory experience and cutting to a specific soundtrack. Zach Braff paid homage to and developed his characters to the distinct musical feel of The Shins (amongst others) and Guadargnino’s extraordinary tale was strictly cut to composer John Adams’ orchestral genius. Both Zac and Tilda’s characters come alive sensorially as the story unfolds and as I said, the editing in both films, the actual choice of framing and transitions is sensorial, cut to the beat of emotional unravelling. Strange Parallels to make but so happy to have experienced these two narratives in the same week.
What’s the latest on my end? Feeling very blessed to be off to shoot a guest starring gig on CBC’s Republic of Doyle this week in St-John’s Newfoundland. Never been to that part of my country and grateful that work is taking me there to meet more of my talented Canadian peers on set.
Bonsoir and Goodnight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWaQz9lJb3I&feature=related