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3 articles
Once Upon A Time: Alessandro Comodin Discusses "Happy Times Will Come Soon"
12 hours ago
The woods hold an unmistakable allure, familiar yet unknown, idyllic, yet fraught with peril. They are the heart of Happy Times Will Come, shot in natural light, which often means that viewers are abandoned in darkness to develop our senses. Indeed, the film thrusts us into the stark indigo night where a pair of fugitives scurrying up a steep hill are long heard before they are seen. Once the sun peeks out, dappling everything in its midst to beguiling effect, it’s not difficult to acclimate to the sights–the crooked crags aside a crisp brook or a verdant curtain of trees. Meanwhile, the young men, peculiarly unplaceable in time, forage for mushrooms or tussle in the high grass. Combining personal history and fabricated folklore, Italian director Alessandro Comodin imbues the alpine setting, already easy on the eyes, with a spectral glow and timelessness. The effect extends to a brief interlude of talking head interviews, »
The Ultimate Crossroad: The Trouble with "Silence"
16 hours ago
She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.—Flannery O’Connor The mist uncovers Japanese soldiers as well as the grim sight of severed heads by the side of the hot springs where Catholic priests are being tortured. A priest kneels down in horror, almost catatonic, unable to bring himself to believe in the evilness of these men, the men of the Inquisitor. Why are these priests, who came to this “swamp of Japan” to spread the Word of the Lord, suffering so immensely on the hands of these soldiers?To the modern, secular audience, the theme of Silence (2016) is of great irony: the all-powerful Catholic Church, the institution that spread terror across Europe for 700 years with her bonfires and witch hunts and enforcing an almost maddening outlook at faith and personal behavior, comes to an unconquerable land where »
Welcome to Twin Peaks: A Place Both Wonderful and Strange
27 March 2017 6:59 AM, PDT
To celebrate the release of Notebook contributor Clare Nina Norelli's book for the 33 1/3 series, Soundtrack from Twin Peaks, the following is an excerpt from its introduction. A bass sounds a twangy, resonant low F accompanied by a barely there, quarter-note cymbal ostinato. An F(add2) chord follows on Rhodes, warm and inviting, like a secret confession. Straining for resolution, the chord descends to settle on a straight F chord, its downward trajectory forming the musical approximation of a lovelorn sigh. The pattern is repeated, but two steps lower, beginning on a D in the bass. Suddenly, a wash of synthesized strings and French horn pours over the mix accompanied by a cool wave of guitar tremolo, oscillating between B-flat(sus2) and B-flat major chords and then sliding up to C(sus2) and C major. The melody in the synth-strings and French horn swirls, as if caught in a whirlwind, and then begins to rise, »
3 articles