Even in a movie about the pain of Alzheimer’s you manage to look smoking hot Nina Dobrev, just keep doing what you be doing!

Written By: Sarah Polley
Directed By: Sarah Polley

There’s good reason why we haven’t seen many films about Alzheimer’s, it is a hard disease to capture and its even harder to put forth a testimony on Alzheimer’s that doesn’t degenerate into nonstop sappy sentimentality. For a woman taking on her first feature film Sarah Polley certainly didn’t aim low and the results show a woman who I hope to see direct many more features in the future. I guess at this time I should declare my fandom of Ms. Polley, there hasn’t been a role I haven’t liked her in yet and now that has transferred to her time behind the camera. The combination of the subject matter of Away From Her and my fandom of Polley made me approach this film with a lot of trepidation. It’s never pleasant to see someone you like fail after all.

Enough of my Polley fandom, back to Away From Her and why it is a fantastic directorial debut from the former child star. The story in Away From Her isn’t about Alzheimer’s and that is how it avoids the aforementioned sappy sentimentality. The focus in Away From Her is on Grant and the decisions he must make in his arduous path of letting go of the woman he once knew. It is painful to watch him struggle with the loss of his wife because she isn’t really lost. Polley frames the movie so that we feel Fiona’s presence, we know that she is still around at all times, but she isn’t Grant’s Fiona anymore. The true pain and emotion comes through watching Grant deal with his loss, because while we feel sympathy for Fiona she isn’t struggling through the process like Grant.

None of what I have just written would be possible without the performances by Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent. As I have said in the past I am not the best at breaking down acting and putting into words why certain performances work for me or don’t work for me. I can tell you that I was captivated by the performances of both Christie and Pinsent, and that without them I doubt that Away From Her would have anywhere near the level of resonance.

I did struggle with Away From Her at times and that was mainly due to Polley’s odd choice of a fractured narrative. At first I was okay with this approach, thinking that it was meant to mirror Fiona’s fractured existence. As it became clear that the movie was about Grant and not Fiona, the fractured style became more distracting than anything else. If there’s one thing Away From Her is missing it is consistent forward momentum, it’s very good at contemplating but it could have used a better approach in reaching its contemplative state.

As far as first time efforts go you could do much worse than Away From Her, this is an effort that Sarah Polley should be proud of. The delivery is off in places, but this is an emotionally honest look at a tough subject that avoids melodrama and sentimentality. Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent top off a nicely constructed cast, while Polley shows a sure directorial hand for the most part. It’s not a pleasant experience, but Away From Her is honest in its presentation of Alzheimer’s and the human emotion that accompanies the disease. Sarah Polley does well in her feature film debut, hopefully she can follow it up with similar efforts.

Rating:

***1/2

Cheers,
Bill

Você conhece Larry David? Sim, você conhece Larry David. Ele é a cabeça por trás de Seinfield, o cara que criou a série junto com Jerry e que alimentava boa parte das piadas. É ele também o criador e ator principal de Curb Your Enthusiasm, série original da HBO. E é ele o ator principal do último filme de Woody Allen. Whatever Works é pra quem gosta de Woody Allen e Larry David, muito diálogo (e dons bons!) com uma história que diverte e questiona. Em minha opinião, muito melhor que Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Scoop e Match Point. E passou assim, sem muito sucesso, talvez porque não tivesse nenhuma Scarlet Johansson, Hugh Jackman ou Penelope Cruz por lá. Mas tem Evan Rachel Wood, que dá um pau na Scarlet como atriz e na beleza.

Filme de grande expectativa. Julie Christie nomeada ao Oscar (ganhou?) e direção da canadense Sarah Polley, mais conhecida por seus papéis estranhos em filmes como A Vida Secreta das Palavras e Minha Vida sem Mim. E não gostei assim tanto. Achei que era melhor. A história é boa, mas meio irreal, ia bem até os minutos finais. A interpretação da Julie Christie é realmente muito boa, mas dou mais crédito para a Sarah Polley que deu delicadeza ao filme e à doença de Alzheimer. Gosto mais dela na direção do que como atriz. Vale a pena e se você tem casos de Alzheimer na família, segura o baque que dói.

As animações têm aquele efeito comédia romântica, cheios de valores morais e personagens batidos. Sai os Pingüins de Madagascar, entra o Burro do Shrek e assim vai. Up sai um pouco desta linha, até me perguntei no começo do filme se uma criança não dormiria. Porque o começo é mais um drama do que história para criança ficar feliz. Depois do meio, o gordinho mais fofo do mundo aparece e o filme vira diversão até o fim. No final da balança é só mais uma animação, os cachorros falantes fazem o papel dos Pingüins e do Burro. Só que os caras deram um passo a mais aqui.

Uma bosta. Nem um elenco com George Clooney, Evan Macgregor, Jeff Bridges e Kevin Spacey salva o filme. Acho que é daqueles projetos que os caras topam pra fazer permuta e produzir os filmes que querem de verdade, prefiro acreditar assim.  Historinha boba, crítica superficial à guerra e piadas soltas, a cada 20 minutos você abre um leve sorriso, acha que vai dar uma boa risada e volta uma cena chata. Filme que não sabe o que quer ser, quer ser comédia, quer ser sério, mas acaba e não é nada, só um monte de ator famoso junto que a mídia soca de comercial na TV pra te fazer pensar que é a comédia do ano.

Vi o trailer de Departures e fiquei empolgadaço. Filme japonês, pensei, tem de ser bom. A história é ótima: um músico que toca violoncelo e trabalha numa pequena orquestra de Tokyo. De repente, a orquestra é desfeita e ele decide voltar a sua cidade natal. Precisa de um emprego e acha no jornal uma proposta que parece tentadora, salário bom, sem precisar de experiência. E quando chega lá pra fazer entrevista, o trabalho é limpar corpos de mortos. Uma espécie de ritual pago pelas famílias onde ele tem de limpar, maquiar e vestir o morto na frente de todos os presentes no velório. E ele pega gosto pela coisa. Lidar com a morte de perto é o que faz o personagem perceber a vida, a ausência do pai, o casamento e seu amor incondicional pelo violoncelo. E todas as razões por trás de tudo. Filme lento, mas ótimo.

Boa surpresa com Jennifer Aniston e Steve Zahn. Quer dizer, Jennifer Aniston continua a Rachel de Friends, mas tudo bem, Steve Zahn manda muito bem. Do começo ao meio, um filme de personagem Sundance: Steve trabalha num hotel à beira da estrada com seu pai e sua mãe e mora lá, num quartinho, faz o turno da noite. Num belo dia, uma executiva bem sucedia chega para se hospedar no hotel (Aniston) e uma relação meio estranha entre os dois começa. Do meio pro fim, o filme dá pitadas de pastelão quando Steve abandona o seu emprego e vai atrás de Aniston, que agora está casada com um guru dos iogurtes naturais. Mas não chega a decepcionar, depois que Woody Harrelson vaza do filme (o guru dos iogurtes), o filme retoma e termina bem.

COME TO THE CABARETS, OLD CHUMS: The Canwest Cabaret Festival, returning to the Young Centre this coming weekend, promises 60 intimate

JOHNSON: cabaret queen

concerts in five intimate clubs. And as usual the musical menu is dazzlingly eclectic. Obvious highlights include The Leonard Cohen Songbook with Brent Carver, Andy Maize, Patricia O’Callaghan, Mike Ross and Elizabeth Shepherd; a tribute to Danny Kaye by Don Francks and Albert Schultz; and solo turns by Ms. O’Callaghan, Jackie Richardson, Molly Johnson, DK Ibomeka and more. Don’t miss a beat — go to the source right here.

LITERATI: Because Douglas Coupland made such a big splash with his 1991 bestseller Generation X, I assumed his new novel Generation A was a sequel.

COUPLAND: alphabet soup?

Wrong. Coupland took the title for his new book from a commencement address delivered to Syracuse University graduates by fellow novelist Kurt Vonnegut. Said Vonnegut: “Now you young twerps want a new name for your generation? Probably not, you just want jobs, right? Well, the media do us all such tremendous favors when they call you Generation X, right? Two clicks from the very end of the alphabet. I hereby declare you Generation A, as much at the beginning of a series of astonishing triumphs and failures as Adam and Eve were so long ago.”

Incidentally, Generation A is set in the near future, where bees are extinct, until one autumn when five people are stung in different places around the world — a shared experience that unites them in a way that only Coupland could imagine.

FUNNY STUFF: Big winners at the 10th annual Canadian Comedy Awards in St. John, New Brunswick were stand-up guys (and gals) Jeremy Hotz, Debra

HOTZ: award winner

DiGiovanni and Nathan MacIntosh, TV laugh-getters Jon Dore and Wendell Meldrum, and big-screen stealers Peter Oldring (Young People Fucking) and Samantha Bee (Coopers Camera.) Longtime comedy manager Lorne Pulmutar picked up this year’s Chairman’s Award and This Hour Has 22 Minutes creator Mary Walsh added a Dave Broadfoot Award to her ongoing collection. Biggest bonus for CCA founder Tim Progosh was a request from Deputy City Manager Andrew Beckett to bring the comedy fest back to St. John next year. (Well, okay, the Gemini nomination for his 2008 CCA Best of the Fest Variety Special hosted by Shaun Majumder didn’t exactly hurt his feelings either.)

OUR TOWN: Four Seasons Centre architect Jack Diamond talks with Toronto Star business columnist David Olive about architecture that works,

MAJUMDER: Gemini nominee

tonight at 7 pm in The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library … Toronto casting director Jason Knight (Chloe, Cairo Time, Away From Her) guests at ReelWorld’s monthly mixer tonight at Harlem Restaurant … and the third CP+S (Creative Places & Spaces) opens today with Sir Ken Robinson and Richard Florida headlining more than 60 high-profile speakers including Peter Munk, Sara Diamond, Gerry Flahive, Joe Rotman, Allyson Hewitt and outgoing Toronto mayor David Miller. This year’s theme is The Collaborative City and moderators for the 72-hour think tank include Ralph Benmergui, Matt Galloway and Ana Serrano. Should be a very lively three days.

TOMORROW:

Get out your calendars. We’ve got

sneak previews of some becoming attractions.

Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent look out onto an uncertain future.

(Lionsgate) Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Wendy Crewson, Michael Murphy, Kristen Thomson, Alberta Watson, Grace Lynn Kung, Stacey LaBerge. Directed by Sarah Polley.

One of the horrors of aging is Alzheimer’s disease. The effect of the disease on the afflicted person is devastating, but the effect on the loved ones can be even more harsh.

Grant Anderson (Pinsent) and his wife Fiona (Christie) have a good life. They’ve retired to a beautiful cabin in rural Ontario and live comfortably, surrounded by the accumulations of a long life together. However, there are some disturbing signs of change coming into their lives; Fiona is growing increasingly more forgetful, and has started to do some odd things, as when they are putting dishes away after a meal and she puts the frying pan into the freezer.

Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the practical Fiona has no desire to subject Grant to the agony of caring for her while she slowly and inevitably deteriorates. She makes the unilateral decision to check out a local nursing home. At first upset at his wife for acting on her own, he bows to her strong will and sensibility and drives her to the facility.

Once there, they find a pleasant environment with a caring staff but Grant balks when the facility’s director (Watson) informs him that he won’t be allowed to see his wife for 30 days while she adjusts to her new residence. He begs Fiona to reconsider, but she is firm and with a final sweet goodbye, sends him away. When he returns, the changes in her are pronounced. She’s developed a relationship with Aubrey (Murphy), a mute patient whom she cares for as a nurse for a patient. Whether the relationship is more than that isn’t clear; Grant wasn’t faithful to her early in their marriage and he wonders if she’s taking revenge for that. Some days she seems to recognize him, others it’s clear she has no clue who he is. Devastated, Grant takes advice from a sympathetic nurse (Thomson) and Aubrey’s wife (Dukakis), a practical, plain-spoken woman who sees the inevitable but can’t quite bring herself to let go.

Director Polley, best known as an actress in such films as The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and the “John Adams” miniseries as well as an impressive roster of indie movies, proves to be a director of enormous potential. She brings a deft touch to a subject matter that could easily become maudlin in less capable hands. Her gaze is unflinching and honest but never feels forced. The Andersons are robust and handsome in their age, but they aren’t archetypes; they’re real people with flaws and no clear direction of what to do. That’s a tribute to the original Alice Munro short story it was adapted from and also to Polley’s writing for which she was Oscar-nominated.

Most of the movie takes place in the winter, but Polley resists the temptation to make the film overcast and gloomy. Instead, nearly everything takes place in bright winter sunlight reflecting off the snow that sparkles like diamonds. The winter metaphor works for that reason without becoming cliché.

Christie and Pinsent are in every scene, either separately or together, and they both deliver outstanding performances. While Christie was recognized with an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win, I found Pinsent’s performance more riveting as he captures the agony and desperation of a good man seeing the love of his life deteriorate before his eyes.

Despite the acclaim and Oscar buzz, this Canadian production didn’t receive widespread distribution here in the States. Nevertheless this is a movie worth seeking out not just for the subject matter, which may be off-putting for those with phobias about aging and the issues that the elderly face, but also for the on-screen performances which are as compelling as any you’ll see in a small film like this. You may also want to rent it if for no other reason, to mark the occasion of the emergence of a great director who is bound to release some wonderful movies as her career progresses.

WHY RENT THIS: Outstanding performances by the entire cast, particularly the two leads. Beautiful snow-covered exteriors in rural Ontario. An impressive script that never stoops to emotional manipulation or maudlin clichés.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: Subject matter may be too age-centric for some. Some of the subplots are merely touched upon without satisfying resolutions.

FAMILY VALUES: The subject matter may be a bit too intense for kids wondering why grandpa is so forgetful.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Lionsgate paid $750,000 for the rights to distribute this film.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: Nothing notable on the American release; however Canadian readers might look into the 2-Disc special edition for a short film from Polley entitled I Shout Love as well as additional film commentary from Christie.

FINAL RATING: 9/10

TOMORROW: Strayed (Les Egares)

Would I be okay if my husband had an affair with someone else? Most definitely not! That’s the quick, easy answer, however, it appears that things are not always that easy.

In the movie Away from Her, Julie Christie plays an Alzheimers patient who falls in love with another patient. Her grief stricken husband tries to reunite them after her new beau is taken away.

To be honest, I don’t know how well I would be able to deal with it if Bill were to become ill with Alzheimers or dementia and were then to find comfort with another woman. Rationally, I understand that it would be part of the disease process and that it would not be a rejection of me or of the love we’ve shared for almost thirty years. Emotionally, however, I don’t know how I would be able to deal with it.

Sandra Day O’Connor left the Supreme Court in 2006 to care for her husband after he was diagnosed with Alzheimers, and she eventually had to give her blessing to his love affair with another resident in the nursing home.

I’ve never really felt comfortable with the idea of another woman loving my husband; I thought that if something were to happen to me, I would not be one of those selfless wives who tells her husband it’s okay to find someone else. I’d be more like Lazar Wolf’s wife in Fiddler on the Roof, you know, the crazed ghost who comes back from the dead in a made-up dream to keep Tevye’s daughter from marrying her husband.

I never thought of how I would deal with such an issue if I were still alive. With Alzheimers diagnoses on the rise, more people will be dealing with this issue in the years to come. Do I love Bill enough to let him find pleasure with someone else? Hopefully I’ll never have to find out.

http://www.slate.com/id/2199606/pagenum/all/

http://nsrc.sfsu.edu/article/sex_mind_forgot

http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/features/

OUR TOWN: Still the biggest draw in the history of CBC Radio, Jian Ghomeshi and Q return for a new season this morning with special guest

DAMON: on 'Q' this morning

Matt Damon. Damon, in town for the TIFF screening of his new flick The Informant, has now been named the recipient of the American Cinemateque Award next March, following in the footsteps of previous honourees Julia Roberts and Samuel A. Jackson … French DJ David Guetta, who rocked the Guvernment on Sunday night, is scheduled to greet fans at MuchMusic today. His new CD One Love debuted here at #2 … don’t look for Tony Bennett at the opening of TIFF on Thursday. He’ll be serenading fans at Casino Rama …  sidewalk star owner Anne Murray returns to King Street this weekend to host Blue Rodeo, Kim Cattrall, Tom Cochrane, Howie Mandel and Robert Munsch, among

BENNETT: Barrie-bound

others, at the 12th annual Canada’s Walk of Fame Tribute … speaking of veteran music-makers, Loggins & Messina are set to play Fallsview Casino this coming Friday and Saturday nights. Slightly closer to home, The Smothers Brothers play Casino Rama on Friday followed by Black Crowes on Saturday … terminally gorgeous Cheryl Tiegs brightened Breakfast Television this morning in City TV’s new digs at Yonge-Dundas Square … keep wishing you could go on one of those sensational tours of Ontario wine country? Me too. Especially when I learned that more than 90 (!!) Ontario wines will be available for sampling next week at Taste Ontario, a one-night-only event at the Art Gallery Of Ontario: “Tour the best of wine country for only $45!” Hey, I’d love to! … but alas, it’s all sold out.

MS. SOMEBODY: We loved her work as a writer and director on Away From Her, but we must admit we’re really looking forward to seeing her on

POLLEY: on screen again in Mr Nobody

screen again. Sarah Polley, who seems to get better and better each time we see her, co-stars with Jared Leto, Diane Kruger and Linh-Dan Pham in Mr. Nobody, a new TIFF entry by much-admired Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael. Insiders whisper you should add it to your Must List right now … meanwhile Polley’s Oscar-nominated Away From Her leading lady, iconic British beauty Julie Christie, also co-stars in a new Special Presentation film: Glorious 39, from director Stephen Poliakoff … and TIFF-bound filmmaker Joe Dante, currently on jury duty at the Venice Film Festival, will wing his way

CHRISTIE: Polley protegee (AP)

here in time to introduce his new film The Hole as well as a special TIFF screening of the W.C. Fields classic It’s A Gift.

WILL ‘CATCH ME’ CATCH ON?: In the Good Ol’ Bad Ol’ Days, gentle reader, Hollywood took big Broadway musicals and turned them into lavish movie musicals. Now Broadway takes movies like Hairspray and Billy Elliott and turns them into lavish stage musicals. Latest casualty is Dolly Parton’s tuneful 9 to 5, which closed Saturday night. Newest pretender about to open on the Great White Way? The musical version of Catch Me If You Can, the hit Steven Spielberg drama with Leonardo DiCaprio as a compulsive but irresistible

DICAPRIO: with foxy flight attendants in Catch Me If You Can

impostor. Leo is not, I repeat, not repeating his role on Broadway. But with a book by Terrence McNally (The Full Monty) and music and lyrics by Hairspray duo Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman, the show is already creating some boxoffice sizzle.

Still to come in the new year: Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth in The Addams Family, and the $40 million musical extravaganza Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, directed by Julie Taymor.

TOMORROW:

new films for Leo,  Zach and Charlize — and 13 Essential directors

-/-

2006: Away from her di Sarah Polley

Ottimi i giudizi della stampa: “…la regista sa mantenere l’equilibrio difficile della dedizione, la forza e delicatezza dei sentimenti” (L’Espresso), “Guardandosi dal mettere sotto sequestro le nostre emozioni, questa dolceamara storia di tramonto ha il coraggio di parlarci di cose come il tempo che passa e le sue ferite, l’amore e la solitudine…” (Repubblica), “Percorso da un dolore sommesso e composto, immerso come per contrasto in una luce accecante che sembra a sua volta sfumare i contorni delle cose, Away From Her lascia segni profondi nel cuore” (Ciak) .

La canadese Sarah Polley ha meno di trent’anni ma ha già un curriculum di tutto rispetto come attrice, sceneggiatrice, regista, produttrice…
Lontano da lei è l’ultimo lavoro da lei diretto ed ha fondamentalmente il pregio di essere doppiamente coraggioso: nell’essere un film più europeo (bergmaniano quasi) che hollywoodiano, nell’affrontare una tematica (l’Alzheimer) tutt’altro che accattivante (e infatti il botteghino americano non l’ha premiato).
Un’opera asciutta al massimo (i patetismi e i facili sentimentalismi sono rigorosamente evitati) che poco concede allo spettatore. Immediato è il paragone, nell’affrontare un argomento così angoscioso, con La famiglia Savage, anche questa diretto da una donna.
Alla Polley non riesce quello che ottiene la Jenkins: emozionare il pubblico, coinvolgerlo, interessarlo al dramma dei protagonisti. A mio parere Lontano da lei (lodato e apprezzato, come detto, dai maggiori critici) ha due sostanziali difetti: centra la sua attenzione quasi esclusivamente sulla coppia colpita dal dramma (il che genera poco movimento nella storia), ritrae figure in cui è difficile identificarsi. Julie Christie (candidata all’Oscar e premiata con il Golden Globe ) è bravissima ma il suo personaggio è piatto e monocorde: sempre uguale dall’inizio alla fine, mai un dubbio o una perplessità, mai un momento di sconforto o di disperazione…
Leggermente più variegato il personaggio interpretato da Gordon Pinsent ma l’unica figura che sembra  reale, e quindi avvicinabile a noi spettatori, è quella interpretata da Olympia Dukakis: una donna che ha delle certezze, delle debolezze, determinata e indecisa nelle sue scelte contraddittorie, che combatte, che cede … un vero essere umano.
Formalmente il film è perfetto (fotografia, movimento di macchina, inquadrature, taglio di immagini, colonna sonora, ambientazione… tutto è al meglio) ma nel complesso risulta pesante e non facilmente digeribile.

Da vedere comunque, per il difficile argomento che affronta seriamente e per l’ottima prestazione dell’intero cast.

scheda

An austronaut named Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) has been living alone in the moon for nearly three years supervising the production of energy resources that originate in the moon. Two weeks before he goes home, strange things start happening. That is all I can say about moon withough giving too much away. That is pretty much someone that goes to see the movie needs to know. Also that it is great.

Production wise, Moon is an great achievement for a movie with its budget. It has good sets, good cinematography, and good visual effects. Sure, it can’t compete with movies like Star Trek or Harry Potter, but it is still visually pleasing. It is up to par with The Fountain in terms of being a low budget movie with great visual effects.

In terms of the direction, it is a solid directorial debut for Duncan Jones. It could have been the greatest directorial debut of the decade, beating Sarah Polley’s in Away from Her, but instances like allowing some flashbacks where they are not needed. That can be attributed to the screenplay, which has an interesting story and good dialogue, but it is very flawed.

There are two things that stand out the most in the movie. One is Clint Mansell’s score. Knowing that Mansell wrote the score is what got me interested in the movie in the first place. While it is not his best score, it will be hard to top The Fountain, it was still better than most movies have today. Then there is Sam Rockwell’s amazing performance. Never did I every stop to think “hey, that’s the dude from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” His performance grabbed me from the second he appears on the screen and never let go. There were moments where he could have gone into scenery chewing territory, but he never did. It is an Oscar worthy performance and hopefully he will not be forgotten by year’s end (which is what is likely to happen unfortuantely).

Moon is a rare treatment. It is a sci-fi movie that does not involve aliens or the planet’s destruction and it has something to say about how our lives today may drive the people who control the world to take extreme measures to make everyone happy. It will now be a box office champ, so far it has only made three million dollars, but hopefully audiences will discover this gem once it is released for home viewing. That is the least it deserves, to be discovered by the masses.

A cousin to 2006’s Away from Her (reviewed previously on this site), The Savages (PC rating: 4/5) deals with the suffering and ambiguity of caring for the elderly and the infirm, although here the focus shifts to the children, rather than the spouse. And that, as it turns out, makes for quite a different film, for while Away from Her is a mild, meditative movie, The Savages is more wry and ironic, observing how the children (played by arguably the two best actors in film today, Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman) struggle to move forward, even as their father’s illness forces them to look backward. In the process, it becomes clear that writer-director Tamara Jenkins does not want the story to drift into melodrama–an understandable concern–and yet her reluctance to dig into the weighty questions thrown up by the film’s plot ultimately makes The Savages less memorable than its Canadian relative.

Efter ett långt äktenskap drabbas Fiona (Julie Christie) av Alzheimers och till slut måste hennes man (Gordon Pinsent) efter mycket grubblande sätta henne på ett vårdhem. Det hela kommer att bli svårast för maken och det hela blir än värre då Fiona allt mer glömmer bort deras liv ihop och samtidigt får känslor för en annan Alzheimerspatient.

Det är lågmält, välspelat och gripande. Christie gör en strålande comeback och blir i och med rollen som Fiona både Oscarsnominerad och vinner en Golden Globe. Det vardagliga och vemodiga är ruskigt sorgligt och vackert skildrat, men samtidigt upplever jag det hela som rätt tillrättalagt.

Betyg: 3

“Nothing can take away what’s happened to you and what you’ve experienced. Even if it goes away somehow, it’s still there. It’s still what you are.”

The line comes from the film Away from Her and I think it accurately sums up every caregiver’s experience—no matter if you’re the child, husband, wife, sister, or brother coping and dealing with a demented loved one alters you—it alters your DNA. I’ve said this before and I think you can only appreciate that statement if you’re in the the throws of this disease.

I hate this disease.

I hate what it has done to my family.

I hate that it has killed the woman I once knew as my mom.

I hate that I feel completely alone and orphaned.

A recap: Mom is back home. Because she was having a difficult time adjusting to her new surroundings, the home recommended she go to a geriatric psych ward so her medication could be regulated, adjusted and a happy balance found. Four or five strong psychotropic drugs and her doctor advised us to consent to shock treatment because she wasn’t eating. My dad stood up and removed her from the unit. And here we are.

I want the ride to stop. I want to get off this vomit-inducing, roller-coaster ride called DEMENTED and run far away. After this latest incident with my family, I took a few weeks off to get a grip. Thing is, I just don’t want to do this again. I don’t want to take her to church and watch her spit or yell at other congregants to move over so she can sit in the front row. I don’t want to have to physically restrain her because she will from time to time jump out of her seat and into the aisles at church to hug her priest or try and give Communion. I don’t want to fight with her at Fry’s. I don’t want to talk to her because it is so difficult and tiring.

I don’t want to do this anymore. I just want it to stop. Now. Today.

I think I can say that I am at a point now where I have accepted and grieved the loss of my mother. I know my demented mom loves me very much—she may not know my name, but she knows that I am her daughter. What that means to her, I have no idea—and it doesn’t matter, she still loves me and I struggle with that. Some days, I wish she would just forget about me. That’s stems from my own crude selfishness. The thing is, I don’t have words for what I feel towards her. I know I am supposed to say that I love her… yet I wonder, if she died tomorrow, would I cry? If I don’t shed a tear does that mean I don’t love her? Do I love her? Would I cry? Would I mourn still? Would I regret? I can’t answer that. I think about sitting in the pew at church, looking at her coffin and hearing her friends and family cry behind me. As I observe myself in this scenario, I am just sitting there with my father on my right hand side. We are just sitting there together. Looking at the wooden box holding this woman who in the end drained us both.

I have lost of both my parents. Her to the dementia and him to the difficulties and struggles of her disease. While I am OK being alone and in my head (I’m an only child, I had to entertain myself… a line I remember my dad telling me often: “you have to entertain yourself, Kath”), there’s a part of me that craves a deeper family connection. That’s why I go to my best friend Natalie’s mom’s house on Christmas Day. One big family and they all laugh. I love to laugh. There was never a lot of laughter during the holidays at my house. Holidays typically consisted of just the three of us—and for me, there was an element of sadness attached to those days. Things were so serious and glum. I won’t get into the whys because that is an entirely different blog about another parent’s demon.

I don’t know if some of the loneliness I feel these days is curable. For me, loneliness sparks my desire to run away. Even now, I am plotting, albeit a little more responsibly, trips away to clear my head and just be. I love Europe and I want to go back—I find comfort in those old streets and buildings. I also lust after freedom, especially now when I feel bound by my role as the only daughter and child of my demented family.

And that is my constant internal struggle: freedom or family. I have no idea what I want, except that I want THIS to stop.

>>Hands image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenfernandez/2297680342/
>>Lonely girl image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dirty_dan/3377763289/

This week I recommend *Away From Her*
Directed by: Sarah Polley
Starring: Gordon Pinsent, Julie Christie, and Olympia Dukakis

In General: Very touching, taking pauses to focus on expressions and subtlety precisely when needed.

What I Like: The fluid perspectives, marked by changing colours of the film, just slightly. The multiple use of one corridor is particularly strong. I love how the film deals with human error and sin in a lighthearted yet intense way. The karma that comes around and pokes you in the ribs is fierce-faced but also smiles like a Coyote Trickster. How you deal with guilt and regret can be a stake through your heart, or the beginning to something quite beautiful. You can build your own cage or release. The use of literature partially makes the film a tribute to words.

Isn’t it true however far we’ve wandered into our provinces of persecution, where our regrets accuse, we keep returning, back to the common faith from which we’ve all descended, back to the hands, the feet, the faces, children are always there and take the hands even when they’re most terrified. Those in love cannot make up their minds to go or stay. Artist and doctor return most often. Only the mad will never never come back. [...] Lovers have lived so long with giants and elves, they won’t believe again in their own size, and the artist prays ever so gently, ‘Let me find pure all that can happen…’. -from *Letters from Iceland” by W. H. Auden

Sarah Polley should continue to direct. She’s brilliant in so many ways.

Rating: VVVV

***
image from IMP Awards.

Slings & Arrows is charming and complex and lovely. Canadians: how do they do it? (Virginia Hefferan, NY Times, 5 Aug 2005)

I had been wanting to write about this wonderful 3-season TV series from Canadian writer Susan Coyne for some time. While it originally aired on the Sundance Channel in 2003, I just saw it on DVD last year. It may have been just as well. The episodes were addictively watchable, despite the fact that the series was about the fortunes of a Shakespearean Festival in fictional New Burbage. What!?! Aren’t there enough unsavory crimes in Canada to warrant a CSI or Law And Order spin-off? This apparently distinguishes Canadian (vs. American) cinema/television, i.e., the ability to turn the ordinary into the offbeat, the everyday into the eccentric.

If Americans are in your face, Canadians are more reticent. If a lot of American movies are about wackos who turn out to share conventional values at the core, Canadian characters tend to be normal and pleasant on the surface, and keep their darker thoughts to themselves. I don’t know which I prefer, but I know the Canadians usually supply more surprises. (Roger Ebert, review of The Hanging Garden, 29 May 1998)

Everyone who reads Alice Munro already knows this. Just check out her short story Away From Her, adapted into film by Sarah Polley (who incidentally played Cordelia in season three!).

Anyway, it also doesn’t hurt that The Bard himself supplies the backbone material for the stories, as the characters’ predicaments mirror the plays in production. There are ghosts, madness, and incapacity in season one’s Hamlet; bad luck, usurpation, and more ghosts in season two’s Macbeth; delusional has-been and downsizing in season three’s King Lear. This mix of fantastic elements of Renaissance theater with the modern everyday makes for magic realism TV. Canadians: how do they do it?

One of the things I loved about the show were the barroom songs by two old codgers that opened and closed the episodes. It took some effort for me to find the compleat lyrics on the Web, so here they are:

Cheer Up, Hamlet

Cheer up, Hamlet

Chin up, Hamlet

Buck up, you melancholy Dane

So your uncle is at cad
Who murdered Dad and married Mum

That’s really no excuse to be as glum as you’ve become

So wise up, Hamlet

Rise up, Hamlet

Buck up and sing the new refrain

Your incessant monologizing fills the castle with ennui

Your antic disposition is embarrassing to see

And by the way, you sulky brat, the answer is “TO BE”!

You’re driving poor Ophelia insane

So shut up, you rogue and peasant

Grow up, it’s most unpleasant

Cheer up, you melancholy Dane

Call The Understudy

Call the understudy
I can’t go on tonight
I’m drinking with my buddy
I’m getting good and tight
Before they raise the curtain I’ll be higher than a kite
So call the understudy
I can’t go on tonight

Tell the cast and crew to break a leg (break a leg!)
Roll me out another bloody keg (bloody keg!)
I need to ease the pain that life can bring
And liquor is what will hit the spot
The play is not the thing

So call the understudy
I think it’s only right
My diction will be muddy
I’ll never find my light
Before the intermission I’ll be pissin’ on a sprite
So call the understudy
I can’t go on (he can’t go on!)
I won’t go on (he shan’t go on!)
I can’t go on tonight (damn right!)

Mackers

Call me superstitious or cowardly or weak
But I’ll never play a character
Whose name one dare not speak

I’ll play Hamlet
In doublet and hose
Or either of the Dromeos
But sorry, I won’t play Mackers

I’ll play Richard the Third
With a hump and wig
Or Henry the Eighth
That selfish pig
But sorry, I don’t do Mackers

Every soul that plays this role
Risks injury or death
I’d rather sweep the bloody stage
Than ever do
Mac-you-know-who

So gimme King Lear
Cleopatra
Romeo, Juliet
Doesn’t matter
I’ll play them all for free
But I’d be crackers
To take on Mackers
You see, I’m skittish about the Scottish tragedy

A Walk In The Rain

When life takes its toll
When fate treats you bad
You used to be king
And now you’ve been had
Alone with you’re fool
You think you’ll go mad
It’s nice to take a walk in the rain

A stomp through a storm
Is what I’d advise
When people you trust
Tell nothing but lies
And kidnap your friend
And gouge out his eyes
It’s nice to take a walk in the rain

You say your daughters
Are evil plotters
A pitter patter shower will keep you sane

When all has been said
And all have been slain
It’s good to take a walk in the rain
For several hours
Helps to have a howl in the rain
Without your clothes on
Nice to take a walk in the rain

I Played The Part

I should have been an actor

Such talent have I got

I’m brilliant at pretending

I’m someone that I’m not
When I was very small

They sent me off to school

To learn to read and write

And recite the golden rule
I wasn’t very clever nor the least bit smart

But I acted like a scholar and I played the part

I played the part (he played the part!)

To great acclaim (to great acclaim!)
I got an A on every paper

And I couldn’t spell my name

I played the part (he played the part!)

And that was it (he did his bit!)

And nobody knew I was a lazy little git (lazy git!)

When I was seventeen

They sent me off to war

They stuffed me in a parachute

And dropped me on the shore

I didn’t know a rifle from a cherry tart

But I acted like a soldier and I played the part


I played the part (he played the part!)

And gave ‘em heck (he gave ‘em heck!)

They put a stripe upon me elbow

And a medal ’round me neck

I played the part (he played the part!)

And that was that (he laid ‘em flat!)

Nobody knew I was a scaredy little cat (scaredy cat!)

I played the part of the loyal husband

While I kept a little cutie safely hid (safely hid!)

I played the part of the trusty employee
And I hadn’t the foggiest notion what I did (rotten kid!)
When I have come to pass

They’ll send me to my fates

At heaven’s pearly gates

That is where St. Peter waits

I’ve been a sneaky devil from the very start

But I’ll act like I’m an angel and I’ll play the part


I’ll play the part (he’ll play the part!)

And knock ‘em dead (he’ll knock ‘em dead!)

I’ll put a harp between my knees

And a halo atop my head
I’ll play the part (he’ll play the part!)

And do it well (he will excel!)

And I’ll be sent with the other actors straight to hell (straight to hell!)

And I’ll be sent with the other actors straight to hell (oh go to hell!)

• 867-5.3.09 http://tinyurl.com/2jmo9g10:57 PM May 2nd from web

• .centaur of a tension.5:41 PM May 2nd from Ping.fm

• .the hades ballet. http://tinyurl.com/cufq9r4:44 PM May 2nd from web

• .you carnivores deserve swine flu for dining on innocent flesh.just think a bit.remember all that bacon you ate? .guilty.now go.and die.12:30 PM May 2nd from web

• @PixiePearl .you go wrestle @MelodieGore.i will wrestle www.martingore.com …in bed.12:27 PM May 2nd from web in reply to PixiePearl

• “We’re running out of alibis On the second of May Reminds me of the summer time On this winters day” www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS8…12:03 PM May 2nd from web

• 277 SONGS is taking shape. www.vjesci.net8:37 AM May 2nd from web

• “…Looked over and overlooked, glimpsed by the fall of death, Winter’s mourning and the May’s renewal.”9:37 PM May 1st from web

• http://twitpic.com/4ch0w – .just had a wee here.cute innit?7:53 AM May 1st from TwitPic

• “Since a cold night in May, too long ago to be more than Merely a cold and vivid memory.”1:37 AM May 1st from web

• .egyptian wyntre.10:54 PM Apr 30th from Ping.fm

• @rikkisimons .forget the logga battle suit.what you should be building me is a robert loggia battle suit. http://is.gd/vN4X9:06 PM Apr 30th from mobile web

• :w:8:41 PM Apr 30th from web

• .sphere candy.spiced cube.7:02 PM Apr 30th from Ping.fm

• @tenshirei .i thought all the best cowboys have daddy issues? .i only knew that because of @SensesFail .lost is lame.watch carnivàle.2:00 PM Apr 30th from mobile web

• “And the birds… ..and they break through the screens … ..to die… ..in the bedrooms.”1:50 PM Apr 30th from mobile web

• .still use the decoder ring i traded in box tops for.to decode the gobbledeegook emanating from the vocoder ring the computerettes gave me.12:28 PM Apr 30th from Ping.fm

• “Winter, winter, go away, hurry now be on your way! The little birds are singing, with joy their throats are ringing to welcome in the May.”8:36 AM Apr 30th from web

• “Now, you stay on the back roads. And you keep your gun handy. Our country is still full of thieving, murdering patriots.”6:30 AM Apr 30th from Ping.fm

• .finally saw panic in the year zero: www.is.gd/vDpI .magnicifent.and especially better than a certain @nineinchnails record.5:58 AM Apr 30th from Ping.fm

• @whitneyBUNNIE .if you liked fresh girls you ought to read the story of o: http://is.gd/vDbh and whores for gloria: http://is.gd/vDaU5:38 AM Apr 30th from mobile web

• “Note from neon mussolini: hello there, Im trying to promote my personnal & honest electronic/acoustic music about life” .no.4:37 AM Apr 30th from mobile web

• .love me or leave me.glove me or sleeve me.5:50 PM Apr 29th from Ping.fm

• @whitneyBUNNIE .oh no.i do appreciate ballet! .even have a favourite danser.vaslav nijinksy. http://is.gd/vuXW .found a copy of fresh girls.4:54 PM Apr 29th from mobile web

• .does any one here hate ballet enough that if i built a ballet-proof vest you would buy it?8:19 AM Apr 29th from web

• .donald darko duck. www.vjesci.net7:42 AM Apr 29th from Ping.fm

• .inqvisition time again.querelle is one of my favourite films…how are the two letters on the roof in http://is.gd/vgVH related to it?7:59 PM Apr 28th from Ping.fm

• .smoking in the boise room.7:52 PM Apr 28th from Ping.fm

• @honeymanko .finally saw the million dollar hotel because of you.other hotel things: .the white hotel.horror hotel.hotel persona.hotel womb.7:48 PM Apr 28th from mobile web

• “April 29, 1992 (Miami)” http://tinyurl.com/cplpm5:15 PM Apr 28th from web

• .the people who bring knives to gun fights are not very scarce.they are the same fools who check their brains at the chapel door.7:17 AM Apr 28th from Ping.fm

• .a view to a skill.performed by napoleon dynamite.5:13 AM Apr 28th from Ping.fm

• .gobsession.4:15 AM Apr 28th from Ping.fm

• @jaybakker .one punk under god? .the lyric was i am an anti christ.not i want to be jesus christ. “You call it religion You’re full of shit”5:31 PM Apr 27th from mobile web

• “Never let a person make you feel guilty for your anger with God.”7:47 AM Apr 27th from Ping.fm

• .vexperimenting with complimentary @DIRECTV .oodles of thirties films on @tcm and an episode of cathouse. @thebrooketaylor is too cute.7:43 PM Apr 26th from mobile web

• .keys turned in a white car.gene vincent sang be-bop-a-lula from the radio.i want to crawl on top of you now.like then.i am not that baby.1:29 PM Apr 26th from Ping.fm

• “It’s like your sweet cock is talking to me when you’re inside; it’s got this little voice all it’s own.”12:59 PM Apr 26th from Ping.fm

I’ve spent most of the last hour crying like a baby.  I’ve finally watched “Away from Her”, a movie based on “The Bear Came Over the Mountain”, a  short story by Alice Munro.  (One of my favorite authors, BTW)  Written and directed by Sarah Polley, this movie was so lovely and so heart-breaking.  The central relationship is pure Munro: passionate and profane, flawed and hopeful.  Starring a luminous Julie Christie and craggy Gordon Pinsent it is a beautiful, aching portrait of love lost to misfortune, and the idea that seeing the one you love happy is worth any personal pain.    I’m not sure that I’ve ever loved anyone that much, nor have been loved that way myself.  Watch it if you get the opportunity-but have tissues nearby.

Link to the short story: The Bear Came Over the Mountain

Oh wait, I just had one.

I know, I know, I promised you (and me) a daily column, uhhh, blog, Monday thru Friday and then some.

Never did figure out when spring break was supposed to end.

Okay. My bad.

I sorta promise to never do it again.

And meanwhile, back on the ranch:

OUR TOWN: What a way to start the New Year! Theatre Passe Muraille will host the world premiere of Judith Thompson’s new play, Such Creatures, in

POLLEY: presenting

January 2010 … presenters set to assist 22 Minutes scene-stealer Geri Hall when she hosts the 2009 WGC Screenwriting Awards next week include Yannick Bisson (Murdoch Mysteries), Sarah Polley (Away from Her,) Tara Spencer-Nairn (Corner Gas), and Jennifer Podemski (Moccasin Flats.) Host Hall and 22 Minutes scribe Kyle Tingley will script the annual Writers Guild of Canada awards giveaway … and don’t say I didn’t warn you. Tickets are already selling briskly for the Toronto filmfest’s phenomenally popular annual children’s filmfest, Sprockets, which opens this Saturday April 18.

 * * *

PEOPLE: Veteran camera-huggers Kathleen Turner and Peter Gallagher are set to join the cast of David Duchovny’s hit Showtime series, Californication … Will Arnett has signed on to star  in a comic book -inspired Wild West saga, Jonah Hex, with Hollywood heartthrob-du-jour Josh Brolin 

JACK & MARGARET: odd couple

… director Kari Scogland was reportedly delighted by the reception for her film Fifty Dead Men Walking in Belfast last week. The controversial drama, which premiered here last September at the Toronto film festival, has just opened across the UK … ’70s gay porn icon and cabaret producer Jack Wrangler died last week of emphysema. Wrangler, 62, is survived by his 84-year-old wife, esteemed pop music legend Margaret Whiting, in what was one of Hollywood’s most fascinating romances … and Giancarlo Esposito will jet in this week for the Wednesday night premiere of his directorial debut, Gospel Hill, at Tonya Lee Williams’ 9th Annual ReelWorld Film Festival at the Scotiabank Theatre. Esposito’s film, the fest’s opening night Gala, stars Danny Glover, Angela Bassett, Julia Stiles, Samuel L. Jackson and Taylor Kitsch.

 * * *

BILLY BOB BLUES: By now most of the free world has viewed Jian Ghomeshi’s quixotic interview with reluctant movie star Billy Bob Thornton on CBC Radio’s Q.  Can’t say I feel sorry for Jian, because he stick-handled Billy Bob brilliantly. Can’t say I feel sorry for Billy Bob, because his arrogance clearly

THORNTON: Transplanted Texan?

exceeds his talent. But I do feel sorry for his Boxmaster band-mates. Talk about being hung out to dry! … and although Thornton is in no imminent danger of receiving honourary Canadian citizenship, Texas-born Manhattan gossip girl Liz Smith used to joke that if you even visited Texas, that was good enough for the Texas Film Hall of Fame to adopt you. Which is how Arkansas native Billy Bob became an official Texan recently, receiving the Tom Mix Honorary Texan Award from the Film Society. When Dennis Quaid introduced him a native “of Northeast Texas – that is, Hot Springs, Arkansas,” Billy Bob quickly reminded him that he once lived in Austin, Texas.  Which apparently was good enough for the Film Society. (Other ‘Texans’ honoured this year along with Billy Bob were Larry Hagman, born in Fort Worth, Texas, and Powers Boothe, a Texas State University graduate and native of Snyder, Texas.)

 * * *

LITERATI:  Giller Prize winner Wayson Choy is out promoting his new heart-stopping (literally!) bestseller, Not Yet … ditto Mark Breslin and his

LEACHMAN: telling tales

Confessions of a Porn Addict, not to mention his new audio book on Canadian stand-up comedy….  gee, she’s going to Parliament after all! Green Party leader Elizabeth May launches her new book, perhaps too aptly titled Losing Confidence, on April 26 in Ottawa at, wait for it, the Parliament Pub … also out there telling tales: Fabled Oscar, Emmy & Golden Globe legend Cloris Leachman, who collaborated with her favourite ex-husband, producer George Englund (she married and divorced him twice) on Cloris: My Autobiography … and Deepak Chopra is set to wing into our town this month to promote his new tome Why Is God Laughing? on April 27 at Roy Thomson Hall. (Gee, I dunno, Deepak – maybe He’s a fan of Billy Bob Thornton??)

 * * * 

SEE/HEAR:  His episode with mayor Hazel McCallion was a big hit with Canadians this season, but Rick Mercer’s Mississauga mischief is now a bonafide viral sensation in the U.S., with almost a million hits (at last count) on YouTube alone. To see what all the fuss is about, or just to finish reading this column with a smile, just click here.

See you tomorrow.

Les circonstances de la vie ou les actualités font qu’à un moment donné  le cinéma vous rappelle qu’il s’est intéressé à tel ou tel sujet de société et a tenté d’en transmettre les émotions.

L’Alzheimer, maladie cruelle tant dans son pronostic  d’incurabilité que dans les mystères controversés de ses origines, a fait l’objet, ces dernières années, de diverses tentatives de représentation allant du récit biographique (Iris) au polar (De Zaak Alzheimer’s , Cortex) en passant par une approche plus intime (Away from her).

Le premier film qui  m’a marqué fut IRIS, en 2001, réalisé par Richard Eyre avec Judy Dench, Jim Broadbent et Kate Winslet.

Je ne connaissais pas du tout la romancière anglaise Iris Murdoch ni son oeuvre, ni qu’elle mourut de l’Alzheimer à 79 ans avant de découvrir ce film.  Le film , usant d’allers et de retours,  entre la jeune femme, créative, indépendante et novatrice, intellectuelle de haut vol,  et la femme d’âge mur, auteur reconnu,   saisissant parfaitement la détérioration mentale vers laquelle elle s’achemine inexorablement est un touchant portrait de la lutte d’une femme (et d’un couple) contre la maladie.

Cet extrait en est une illustration :

La BA Internationale Bande-annonce internationale

Plus récemment, le film de Sarah Polley en 2006, AWAY FROM HER

avec Julie Christie, mettant en scène l’histoire d’un couple (Comme pour IRIS)  affrontant la maladie et tentant de s’adapter aux bouleversements qui s’en suivent, me ramenait à des choix essentiels, et à l’acceptation :

Dans ces deux films (nord-américains) cependant, on peut percevoir comme une vision un peu altérée, si ce n’est élitiste de la représentation de la maladie et de son environnement; Ils réunissent des personnes  venant de milieux privilégiés, avec des parents, des conjoints plutôt compatissants, comprenant la maladie, ayant tout au moins un un accès intellectuel vers elle. Une vision assez cinématographiquement idéale  au final.

Le cinéma européen à travers deux autres  films porte un regard un peu plus plus décalé sur cette maladie.  La maladie existe mais n’est pas une fin en soi;  Le malade, l’individu, sa personnalité, reste jusqu’à la fin prépondérente, s’illustrant non plus en tant que personne malade mais en tant que personne continuant à agir, doutant, prenant parti  dans la solitude de sa maladie… ;  le contexte dramatique de l’action choisie dans ces deux films est l’univers du polar, à travers ce film belge (2003) de Erik Van Looy,  De Zaak Alzheimer ou Cortex de Nicolas Boukhrief (2008)

Ces deux derniers films arpentent évidemment le même thème… la mémoire et la perte de cette mémoire. Ils la replace, contrairement aux deux autres films nord-américains, dans un contexte plus basique, plus tribal,  plus violent et désespéré parfois… La lutte organique et éternellle  contre le Mal(adie), moteur fondamental et fédérateur de toute société humaine.  La maladie sort du noyau clos des proches et se frotte à la société, non plus comme une plaie mais comme une anomalie  sacrée ayant sa place, et nous permettant de continuer à voir… Prisme ? Grââl ? A chacun son analyse.

De Zaak Alzheimer : De Zaak Alzheimer

La BA internationale :

Dans le même ordre d’idée, Cortex amène André Dussolier à lutter et à probablement trouver un sens à sa maladie en affrontant de l’intérieur d’une maison de soins un tueur en série.

La MEMOIRE est un thème qui a fait les beaux jours du cinéma, depuis Rosebud dans Citizen Kane,  jusqu’à Memento de Chris Nolan. Et il y en a bien d’autres…

En attendant, en souvenir de ces deux films :

76.

The Dame;

Olympia Dukakis.

Born in 1931, to Greek immigrants in Massachusetts, Olympia Dukakis began her career on stage, performing in Shakespeare and repertory companies, before making her Broadway debut at the age of 30. Though little success came her way at first, she found her home Off-Broadway on the smaller, more intimate stages, winning Obie and Drama Desk Awards for her work, winning acclaim in productions of  The Rose Tattoo, The Seagull and  A Man’s a Man, to name a few.  In 1973, she and her husband founded the Whole Theater Company in Montclair, New Jersey, which they ran until 1988. It was during that late 80s period, that she finally made her mark on movies. Having appeared in small parts all the way back to the early 60s, she landed the role of Cher’s mother in Norman Jewison’s  Moonstruck, beautifully, subtly underplaying the role to great impact, she won a Supporting Actress Oscar, for a breakthrough role at the age of 57. Since then, she has established herself as a regular working movie actress in projects as varied as  Steel Magnolias, Mighty Aphrodite and  Mr. Holland’s Opus, as well as a standout turn amongst the wonderful ensemble of Sarah Polley’s Away From Her. Along with her newfound cinematic success, she works regularly on TV and has never abandoned the stage, where at the age of 77, she still performs AND directs.

The Dude;

Ewan McGregor.

Emerging in the mid 90s, during the era of Cool Brittania, as emerging director Danny Boyle’s leading man of choice, Ewan McGregor established himself as a sturdy young performer in Shallow Grave, before becoming nothing less than a 90s British icon following his strung out performance in 1996s Trainspotting. The following year, director and star, along with writer John Hodge and producer Andrew McDonald, attempted to make a mark on the US, with A Life Less Ordinary, though the film couldn’t be considered much more than an interesting failure, it opened the way for McGregor to land the role of the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas’ new Star Wars trilogy, and the international recognition that brought his way. Leading roles in creatively vibrant movies like Moulin Rouge!, Down with Love and Big Fish followed, but no matter how high his star has risen, McGregor has never abandoned his roots, with films like Young Adam and Scenes of a Sexual Nature bringing him back to the small, humble roots of Britain, and his global motorcycle adventures with friend Charley Boorman, Long Way Round and Long Way Down both stand as symbols of his desires, dreams and ambition beyond the screen. McGregor is an established Hollywood leading man, not afraid to take risks, not afraid to go back to basics, and effortlessly watchable with his easy, laidback charm.

The Director;

Michelangelo Antonioni.

Discovering drawing and music as a child, Michelangelo Antonioni took up the violin and gave his first concert at the age of 9, before abandoning the instrument upon discovery in his teens…of cinema. In his early 20s he began working as a film journalist for a local newspaper for 5 years, before moving to Rome where he began writing for the nationals official fascist film magazine, Cinema. After only a months he was fired, whereafter he attended the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, studying film technique, this was another chapter of his life that never took off, withdrawing just 3 months later. Through the early 40s he worked as assistant on numerous productions, where he met Roberto Rossellini and worked with Marcel Carne. In 1950 he directed his first feature, breaking the neorealist hold on Italian cinema and portraying the middle classes of society. He was not afraid to venture outside his own nation, making films in France and in England, even tually tackling the working classes in his work, social alienation prevalent throughout his movies. In 55 he had experimented with the style that came to prove his trademark, replacing conventional narrative with sequences of seemingly unconnected events, shooting in long takes, often with sparse use of dialogue. 1960s  L’avventura played at the Cannes Film Festival to a wildly mixed reception, bringing the director to the international stage. He followed it up with the remaining two parts of a thematic trilogy, La Notte and  L’eclisse seeing him work with major stars and further establish his reputation. Following this he left mainland Europe, travelling first to Britain where he produced his ode to the swinging 60s  Blowup, signifying once more his refusal to rest on common ideas of plotting and reliance on dialogue, the film brought the director Oscar nominations for writing and directing, which saw him travel to America, where he turned out the duo  Zabriskie Point, again following his trademark style and utlizing a soundtrack of popular hits, and then Jack Nicholson vehicle  The Passenger. Afterwards he went back to Europe where he spent the rest of his careerworking mainly in his native language, producing features and segments in omnibus films. He continued working till he was 91, dying in 2007, at the age of 94.

The Picture;

Se7en (David Fincher, 1995)

At the age of 30, David Fincher had made his feature film debut as director of  Alien 3, a film in which he went to war with 20th Century Fox over script and budget issues. It was at the time, the most expensive film ever made by a first time director, and as such, the restrictions put on him, were perhaps no surprise. With his second film, Fincher scaled all that grandiosity back, focusing his film around the well established Morgan Freeman, and rising stars Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow. Built around a righteous serial killer in an age when such a thing was unseen in cinema, Fincher’s gloomy meditation on the state of the world established him as a master of creating dark and vivid atmospheres. Gripping from the first to the last, not least when the uncredited killer finally walks onto screen, Se7en took serial killer movies to another level, proving both an…entertaining viewing experience, and a provocative, thought provoking piece of cinema, finding that ideal balance between being mainstream and uncompromising,  it heralded the emergence of a major new talent at the forefront of the new wave of American moviemakers.

I just watched the most moving, beautiful film today. Have you seen it? It’s called Away From Her. I was so touched. I cried. Away From Her is about a man who reluctantly checks his wife into a nursing home after she’s diagnosed with Alzheimer’s — but it’s about so much more than that. It’s about loss, failure, memory, love…and does one ever really learn all there is to learn about love? It’s based off of an Alice Munro short story and set in Northern Ontario where Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsett grace the set, playing the main characters. Sometimes in a movie there is a star that shines, but the picture as a whole shone. Sometimes a still photograph carries so much movement and energy, but there are shots in the movie that feel so still. By itself, a single candle burns brighter than all the stars in the sky. If you get the chance when you’re in the mood, I suggest you give it two hours of your time. You might change forever.

I’m not entirely sure where February went; I think I missed it. Times are incredibly busy at the moment; the essays due in are multiplying and decisions have to be made. I think I prefer the essays to the decisions. On that note; Marble Slab, an ice cream shop, just opened in the Overgate. It is up there with Subway on my list of horrific experiences. It carries too many choices; I just couldn’t operate it. One day I may get over the inability to choose sandwiches or other food products. It also probably wouldn’t kill me to be more willing to make the wrong decision in this department one day. I guess this should be true for larger decisions too but I tend to just ignore them or climb up a hill with an ipod. The latter tends to be quite effective.

I decided not to go abroad for a year, in Australia (not convinced I actually mentioned this at all to very many people anyway). Since deciding not to go, my head has been full of confusion. I feel like I have made the right decision but there is still some part of me that is constantly seeking some sort of validation of it; rather than the “you’re an idiot” response. I am not sure why I feel like I need any clarification. Maybe there is a small part of me that thinks it wasn’t the right decision. I was going to link this into the sandwich chat earlier, but then I realised this would be a small bit ridiculous. I like to link stresses to hilarious chat, even if it is annoying.

I watched a film the other day called “Away From Her”. It is about a woman who develops Alzeimer’s and has to go into a nursing home. There is a lot more to the story but the part that I really didn’t expect was how the lady said, in the early stages of the disease, that there was a certain liberation for her that came with the illness. She could start again, without the bad memories of the past, and could be who she wanted to be to a certain extent. She could make decisions without her mind lingering in the past. I found it quite hard to understand, to be honest but triggered off some crazy chat in my head. I might have to watch it again. It is a beautiful film though, you should watch it.

I am not feeling very bloggy at the moment really but I’m sure the urge shall return…

“The Snake Pit” de Anatole Litvak (1948)

“Away from Her (Loin d’elle) ” de Sarah Polley (2006)

La  représentation de “l’infirmier psy” au cinéma (NB : J’emploierai pour des raisons de simplification le terme “infirmier” au masculin) connait un peu le même destin que celui du psychiatre, souvent réduit à des rôles de détenteur du POUVOIR tantôt gardien de prison sadique et sans coeur, ou a contrario, de figure angélique maternelle/paternelle peu nuancée dans ses intentions.

Le rôle thérapeutique de l’infirmier et la relation qu’il a avec les patients est quasi toujours limitée dans ces films à “l’enceinte” de l’hôpital psychiatrique, aux murs, à des actes infirmiers connus et agréés du grand public, (comme la prise de médicaments, les injections, la tenue rigoureuse du dossier) et à des relations très stéréotypées (contention forcée, règles institutionnelles). Bref, peu de nuance sont données aux profanes, du rôle réel de l’infirmier psychiatrique dans la prise en charge, souvent complexe, des malades mentaux.

Tout comme pour les médecins psychiatre, le cinéma contribue à la survie de certains clichés, parce qu’ils servent la dramaturgie d’un film d’une part, qu’ils cotoient une certaine réalité parfois,  mais peut-être aussi, d’autre part, parce que tout ce qui touche au monde de la psychiatrie reste un domaine sensible et lointain (terre inconnue) pour le grand public.

Les faits divers récents survenus en Belgique (Dendermonde, Geneviève Lhermitte) alimentent la polémique et donc le doute du grand public sur la capacité de ces soignants à agir et à “protéger” la société. Vaste débat, tant on sait que la majorité des patients qui partagent notre quotidien sont innofensifs, mais que l’attention toujours se porte sur des cas isolés et dramatiques.

Le cinéma se devrait-il donc de relayer un message plus positif et explicatif sur ces soignants et tout le travail qu’ils accomplissent quotidiennement ? Sans nul doute…

Mais il reste beaucoup à faire pour démonter tout ces clichés, et ce démantèlement ne peut se faire que par les soignants eux-mêmes… ILS doivent se faire connaître pour expliquer leur travail, leurs difficultés, mais aussi toutes leurs REUSSITES ! Le cinéma et les faits divers n’en parlent guère.

Un article paru voici deux ans dans la revue “International Journal of Psychiatric Nursing” sous la plume de Keri de Carlo, infirmière au St George Mental Hospital, à Sydney, Australie, m’a semblé intéressant à signaler et à illustrer par quelques clips et photos sur ce blog. L’auteure y analyse 19 films américains, sortis entre 1942 et 2005, et qui à des degrés divers présentent les clichés et stéréotypes du travail infirmier en psychiatrie.

L’article source auquel je fais référence est :

DE CARLO Keri
Ogres and angels in the madhouse. Mental health nursing identities in films.
Int J Mental Health Nurs. 2007, 16, 338-48.

Abstract/Résumé

Voici quelques uns des 19 films qui illustrent l’article  et d’autres que j’ai rajouté:

EVIDEMMENT Un des plus célèbres, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS’S NEST… Infimière psy interprétée par LOUISE FLETCHER….

Une autre représentation d’un travail qui incombe  principalement aux infirmiers, la mise sous contention : Extrait de “Frances”, basé sur le biopic de la comédienne Frances Farmer et réalisé par Graeme Clifford (1982), actrice Jessica Lange.

L’accueil et les règles… Whoopy Goldberg est l’infimière-chef dans ce film de James Mangold (1999), Girls’s Interrupted (Une vie volée), traitant ici d’une unité de soins pour adolescents.

Pour terminer sur une note plus optimiste, j’ajouterai à la liste de Keri De Carlo, le très joli film de Sarah Polley,  sur la maladie d’Alzheimer,  Away From Her, qui met un peu en lumière le travail accompli par des infirmiers en psychogériatrie. L’infirmière est interprétée par Deanna Dezmari, pas trop mise en avant dans la B.A.  mais si vous voyez le film…

Souhaitons donc que ce métier, soit dorénavant dans la vie réelle… lui aussi récompensé !

(Le patient Jack Nicholson et l’infirmière-chef Louise Fletcher remportent tout deux l’Oscar des meilleures acteurs en 1976 pour Vol Au-dessus d’un nid de coucou de Milos Forman)

AWAY FROM HER

As most of my readers know by now, I am a caregiver to my husband, who is afflicted with Alzheimers/Parkinsonism Disease.  What is means is that he will eventually not remember his past or his family.  He has Parkinson’s symptoms with it.  It includes motor skill deterioration with increasing rigidity of body movements.  Swallowing becomes a problem, as well as getting signals to the body for all functions needed to survive.  His brain has atrophied, as brain cells are dying.  It is difficult to watch as well as care for a loved one in this state.

Recently, I watched a movie called, “AWAY FROM HER”.  It is about a couple, Julie Christie & Gordon Pinsent, experiencing the very trials & tribulations, that all families are facing in this situation.  Fiona & Grant have been married almost 50 yrs.  Her forgetfulness has become a problem, to the extent that she wanders away one day & cannot find her way home.  She has forgotten where the frying pan goes, etc.  I relate to this, as my husband had put things away in the most unusual places, with no memory of ever doing it.  Cold stuff often ended up in the cupboard, only to find it days later, spoiled! 

The decision is made by both to institutionalize her.  The separation is painful, especially for Grant, who must wait a month to visit Fiona.  Those were the rules for patient to acclimate themselves to their surroundings.  When he finally returns, she does not recognize him & finds her involved with a fellow patient.  I will not indulge anymore of the story.  It is a powerful, profound story with Oscar winning performances.

The movie was adapted from the story,”THE BEAR CAME OVER THE MOUNTAIN”, by Alice Munro.

“IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO BECOME WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN,” has been one of the most memorable lines from the story.  It has particular meaning to everyone who has come to a glitch in the road of life!

parece que foi ontem que fiz o post de duetos de amor para o valentine’s day. esse ano coloco coisinhas romântchicas mil.

i love you more than…

tirinha de sam gross.

150 valentines.

beijos na campanha para a aquascutum, fotografada por tim walker.

fotos lindas de casais e coisinhas de amô no blog le love.

away from her e once, filmes pra ver com ou sem namorado. vi os dois ano passado e acho que nunca disse o quanto gostei. e não tô falando de final feliz, viu? tô falando de histórias de amor, lindas de morrer.

e pra o dia dos namorados ou qualquer dia do ano, neil young.

<3 procês.

***

tô indo ali passar férias + carnaval em recife. volto logo.

Two weeks back I was watching the movie GHAJINI, well the hero of the movie was suffering from Alzheimer and wanted to take revenage from the villian who was the reason for his condition…so I thought of googling and find out more about this interesting disease, well I have done some good amount of research and found some interesting facts.

Brain is just the central nerveous system of a human body and the most complex organ, well in terms of computer geek …I would say it is just like a server machine and every part of our body are like clients, so as usual the server has the entire control over the client…well so what is  Alzheimer , well it is a disease with a brain disorder discorved by German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. and after that is was named as Alzheimer, So what generally happens to the patient affected with Alzheimer, In the early stages, the most commonly recognised symptom is memory loss, such as difficulty in remembering recently learned facts, getting confused over things, in remembering names. Mostly this affects to older age of human life cycle.

Here is an interesting video i found in from our favorite site youtube which is self explanatory about the disease.

Some Interesting facts

• As many as 5.2 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s.

• 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s in their lifetime.

• Every 71 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s.

• Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death.

• The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer’s and other dementias to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses amount to more than $148 billion each year.

As the saying goes “Prevention is better than cure”, so my advice play lot of  jigsaw puzzle, scrabble and some online mind games..which will exercise your brain. One of my favorite site for the brain games can be found http://www.gamesforthebrain.com

Some of the favorite movies of mine made on Alzheimer are 50 first dates , Ghajini, and Away from her.

So with this I end my post on Alzheimer and waiting for your comments and do not ALZHEIMER the post after u read it….