If you’re new, feel free to make fun. But fuck you. It’s the one thing my grandmother and I did each year and I’m sticking to it. Even if she is gone.

Anyway, here’s the deal this year:

Giving Up:
Shitty food.

Starting Up:
New workout schedule.
Writing on a blog post every day.
Working on my book.

I’m also going to start thinking more rationally about my relationship.

all for now

peace

This last week, despite my best efforts I have been suffering from the darn flu that is currently going around and in between amassing a small pharmacy of flu remedies and looking for some suitable viewing while I was refusing to get out of bed, I rediscovered this film in my collection and knew that I had found my choice for this week. This weeks choice is a film which was pretty much ignored on it’s release despite receiving a lot of positive press from critics, which is only the more surprising at the time with Director Michel Gondry coming in hot after the phenomenal success of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and memorable in the conscious of the movie going public, an advantage which allowed Gondry seemingly unlimited creative freedom for this project, which would also be the first film written by him, with his previous films both being scripted by the equally visionary screenwriter Charlie Kaufman probably best known for writing “Being John Malkovich” and while “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” might have been trippy, this film would be turn out to be on a whole new surreal level.

Set around Stephane (Gael Garcia Bernal) a frequent lucid dreamer, who seemingly spends as much time in his own personal dream world as he does in the real world. Having returned from Mexico to his childhood home in Paris, following the death of his father, he takes up a job at a Calendar Company believing that it will provide the outlet for his creativity he craves, while also forming a relationship with Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg) who shares Stephane’s overactive sense of creativity.

Meanwhile Stephane finds himself frequently frustrated by the lack of creativity his work provides, aswell as from having to deal with his eccentric work colleagues which only further his jaunts into his personal dream world, as he now finds the line between the two only becoming all the more blurred.

.

Coming from a background in commercials and Music videos, much like equally visual directors such as David Fincher and Spike Jonze  who bizarly also made the transition to feature films around the same time as Gondry did, though while they may have expanded on their earlier styles, Gondry has reminded determinedly set in his own surreal world of DIY props and dream like imagery, while frequently drawing inspiration from his own dreams and has frequently used this imagery as part of  his work, which makes it only all the more sense that he would eventually make a film about dreams.

The casting is nothing short of bold, with the two leads being realativly unknowns to most movie goers, bar those with a taste for Foreign and independent cinema. Having made the pitch black “The King” a year earlier this film would be Bernal’s second film to be shot in English, having previously only being known to fans of foreign cinema for his roles in “Y tu mamá también” and the fantastic “Amores perros” this film would continue his trend for fearlessly choosing his roles, especially with a character as frenzied as Stephane. Equally inspired is the casting of the little known Gainsbourg who is equally believable as Stephanie while seemingly to genuinely believe and buy into the world which Stephane lives inside, while also being shown as the stereotypical hot art student with her personal styling and room layout, which also is hinted with the intoxicating essence of Parisian flair.

Split down the middle, the film frequently switches between two worlds, the real one and the world of Stephane’s dream and more precisely “Stephane TV” his own TV show in his mind were he frequently reflects on current events happening around him, while providing the gateway into the even more surreal parts of his mind, with Gondry frequently choosing to switch between these two worlds frequently without warning, which can be a disorientating experience upon your first viewing and it’s really only on the second viewing that it becomes easier to identify the boundary lines between these two worlds, even when those lines frequently become all the more blurred as the film goes on, especially as Stephane’s dreams only grow in intensity.

This constant disorientation is only furthered by the frequent switches in the characters speaking French and English, also like the switches in reality with little or no warning, only making it more the appropriate when this is picked up by Stephane, who complains that it is making him feel “Schizophrenic”. Still Gondry somehow manages to get the audience to buy into this style of storytelling, which is highly reminiscent of French New Wave directors such as Jean-Luc Godard and from the retro opening titles onwards I found myself frequently comparing the work of the two directors, especially with both being key in furthering the progression of visionary cinema, it was interesting to see Gondry seemingly referencing Godard’s work, while also drawing inspiration from the more established visionaries like Terry Gilliam and David Cronenberg whose Spider like Typewriter from “Naked Lunch” making a surprise appearance here.

The dream sequences are truly the main selling point of this film, as Gondry lets loose with some of his most ambitious imagery to date, as he constructs elaborate sets from cardboard and polystyrene combined with heavy use of stop motion animation, while for those familiar with Gondry’s work will recognise the now all familiar giant hands which have frequently appeared at various points in his previous music videos and films to the point were they are almost as established as his other trademarks, despite having originally been born out of a frequent childhood nightmares about his hands growing to gigantic size, to the point were his mother would have to continuously rubs his hands to assure him that it was nothing more than a dream, though for such an unpleasant childhood memory it bizarre that it would feature so frequently in his work. Still frequently these sequences often do feel like an excuse for Gondry to pull out his film making bag of tricks, especially when so many scenes seem reminiscent of his earlier work.

Ultimately this would be his most ambitious film to date and also prove to be the zenith of his creativity, as the films which followed would see him gradually toning down his vision with his follow up “Be Kind Rewind” being firmly set in reality despite the heavy use of DIY props to now an almost mainstream style of film making seen with “The Green Hornet” which lacked any of Gondry’s trademark touches, though it remains to be seen how mainstream he has become as fan’s now egerly await the forthcoming “The We and the I”.

Ultimately though this is a tale of doomed love and it’s sudden and abrasive ending will no doubt only further exclude it from the tastes of your average movie goer, while for those of you who like to be visually inspired by your film, there is much to enjoy, even if it does require your full attention to keep up with it’s continual switches, while only making you hope that Gondry returns to this style of film making soon.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Have you ever worked with someone who NEVER has anything nice or positive to say? OMG!!!!! I have one of those right now. Even if what you think you’re saying is a positive thing she takes it the wrong way. She even complains out loud in front of people about our boss. She seems to think that no one knows who or what she’s talking about but I can feel the tension in the room.

Normally I would tell people I come across that if they don’t like their jobs they should look for something else that would make them happier. But this person really wouldn’t take it very well. I don’t like to “tattle” on people to my boss either. I have this sinking feeling, or maybe gut feeling is a better way to put it, that if I did my job would become hell.

Have you had this happen? What did you do? Guess I have some thinking to do.

Because I know the North Star Roller GIrls have a bout today, I thought I’d share these brilliant photos with you from one of their last bouts… Taken by Wijadi Jodi -

Delta Delta Di (Pink) Vs. Banger Sisters (Blue)
Violent Femmes (Red) Vs. Kilmore Girls (Green)
Photos Taken By Wijadi Jodi

Don’t forget, if you’re not doing anything tonight, browse DNN for a list of bouts you can watch online…

Cheers,
Sammy Slam

And then this happened:

Mistress Meow: I need a new box.
Lucy: For what?
Mistress Meow: Babeland sends me all those sex toys to try out and the box I have to keep prying eyes out of my business is overflowing.
Lucy: Um…
Mistress Meow: I mean, my box (points at vajayjay) is fine. I just need a bigger sex toy box.
Lucy: (Facepalm)

all for now

peace