The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, March 3, 2009 -- 5
Raining on my
own parade
Josh Bayer wishes he could be this sad.
H Veay
Award-nominated French
melodrama is as engaging
as it is confusing
By BLAKE GOBLE
Daily Arts Writer
Last year's French melodrama "I've Love
You So Long" is difficult to understand with
out being a parent.
The film's plot revolves
around the death of a young
child and its resolution is so
contentious it's difficult to I've Love
say if the movie is any good
or not. The film is hard to YOU SO LON
understand, as it is driven At the
by complicated, parental, Michigan
chain-smoking, progressive
main characters. French Sony
theatrics sure are tough,
eh? But maybe that's not the purpose of thi
film.
"I've Loved You" contains a fascinatin
argument that falters only under its own pre
tenses and first-timer direction.
From what can be understood, the plo
goes like this: Juliette Fontaine (Kristin Scoi
Thomas, "Confessions of a Shopaholic") ha
just been released from prison after a 15-yea
stint. Juliette's much younger sister Lea (Els
fa ily n
Zylberstein, "Modigliani") uneasily takes her
big sis in, which casts a lingering pall that
hangs over her estranged family. Lea has a
husband and two adopted daughters who
meet Juliette with equal parts curiosity and
crossness. And from their familial interac-
tions, we gather Juliette hasn't spoken to her
parents in a long time, as they taught Lea to
pretend Juliette never existed. Why, exactly,
d has Juliette been outcast?
- Juliette killed her 6-year-old son.
The remainder of the film is a kind of
delayed aftermath where scenes and circum-
stances come to fruition as Juliette struggles
to get back to "normal" life. Colleagues judge
her for what she's done, but Juliette bites her
tongue harder than any other person has in
9 his or her life, holding herself back from tell-
ing others about her past. These reactions are
contained 'in a series of moments. But these
moments bring to life an array of conse-
quences and decisions.
"I've Loved You" concerns itself with
is redemption and moving on. It's also about
making choices, understanding your fam-
g ily and, most importantly, being a parent and
- taking that responsibility. Maybe this is why
college students might have trouble under-
at, standing this film.
tt Parents and future parents might find the
is film more interesting, since it provides fine
ir practice in polemics. Why did Juliette kill her
a own child? Can a death ever be justified? What
can we understand about this woman? Shades
of gray, indeed. At first, the film's weakness is
that it has no real goals. But that issue becomes
"I've Loved You's" strength. Through it's open-
ended scenes, the film offers few answers, but
still raises interesting questions. .
One scene in particular, which contains
what might be the most uncomfortable dinner
table ever filmed, shows Juliette making a joke
of her prison sentence as Lea's literati friends
pound her for answers. The party wonders
where Juliette has been for such a long time,
and her shame is apparent as she's forced to
make light of it. Scott Thomas is devastating,
and the scene is just one of many standouts.
The acoustic soundtrack to the film doesn't
always fit, some dramatic beats get screwed
by overacting and the way the film blocks
together the scenes occasionally hurts. Still,
"I've Loved You So Long" is a strong film, with
a stronger lead.
Scott Thomas has been making the rounds
for the last two months as an indie darling.
Nominated everywhere from the BAFTAs to
the Golden Globes, there was soft dismay at
her Oscar snub for this film. She certainly out-
performs Angelina Jolie ("Changeling") in a
similarly maudlin mother role. Mothers must
have it hard, but Scott Thomas excels in her
role with greater responsibilities.
But who cares about the Oscars atthis point?
Scott Thomas is truly affecting and worthy of
praise. Just don't bring kids to this one.
am a poser. As great as being
sad is, faking "sad" while I'm
actually quite happy could
easily be one of my favorite pas-
times. Music can
be a vital acces-
sory for this sort
of psychologi-
cal slumming.
There's some-
thing especially
cathartic about JOSH
sloshingdown
South University
Avenue in the pouringrain (without
a hood on, of course) while listen-
ing to Elliott Smith, assuming the
role of the doomed romantic from
the cozy vantage point of mental
stability. It's a little hobby Ialike to
call "safe depression," offeringbthe
nostalgic wallowing of bleary-eyed
heartache minus all the messy bits.
Likewise, music can be just as
deft at romanticizing actual, honest-
to-God, I-never-want-to-get-out-of-
bed-again misery. Listeningto Jim
Reid of The Jesus & Mary Chain
plaintively croon, "You cut me dead
/you nail me down and kick my
head" can make one's post-breakup
trauma seem significantly less
trivial. Knowing that there's a whole
subculture of open-heart suffering
going on out there mightcmake you
feel like you're part of an elite clique
of broken-down dreamers. This
sonic support system can transform
your achy discontent into something
poetic, lettingyou floatunfettered
in a womb-like void of shared mel-
ancholy. Certain musicians can take
pain and whittle it into something
beautiful and empowering, crafting
bittersweet songs that allow you to
take a step back and view yourself
as the tragic protagonistthat every-
one's rooting for.
So, in the spirit of waning sea-
sonal depression and post-Valen-
tine's Day angst, I have compiled
a completely non-comprehensive
list of songs that perfectly straddle
this happy/sad dialectic. They are
songs that pluck the sweet spot on
your heartstring between euphoria
and hopelessness. Whether you're
happy or sad, these tunes are guar-
anteed to make you feel exactly the
opposite (and then swing you back
around, full circle).
"These Days" - Nico
Although essentially any song
from "The Royal Tenenbaums"
soundtrack could have made it onto
this list, this one is particularly
precious. As Nico spins failure and
stasis into something emotionally
purging, the listener is swept up in
conflicting sentiments of vulnerabil-
ity and invincibility. The rainy-day
twang of the acoustic guitar, swirled
with sweepingstrings and her
inimitable alto, lends the track an
uncanny magic that makes you feel
like you're perched on the edge of
the world, readyto tackle anything.
"When You Sleep" - My
Bloody Valentine
This is shoegaze at its woozi
best; listeningto this song is like
driftingthrough a pastel fever
d'vm- Hm-ail--nMnarin-
and whistle, free-floating around
a sweet tooth melody, perfectly
capturing the half-awake swoon of
puppy love (or its untimely demise).
If you like your exaltation a bit
messy and art-damaged, then this
is your song.
"She's A Jar" -Wilco
As Jeff Tweedy's endearingly
grizzled voice rolls out non-sequi-
turs over a bittersweet stew of
heart-on-sleeve organs and synths,
you'll have to forcibly will your-
self not to get the shivers. With its
evocative free-association lyrics,
the song is like an emotional thrift
shop, shifting meanings to suit the
listener's current plight or day-
dream. During the chorus, when
Tweedy beckons "watch me float-
ing inches above the people under
me" and a wistful harmonica hook
materializes out of the blue, it's
hard not to feel like you're floating
right up there with him.
"Autumn Sweater" - Yo La
Tengo
"Autumn Sweater" could be the
poster child for the tear-blurred
line between happy and sad that
this list is attempting to address.
With his sparse but powerful lyr
ics, Ira Kaplan chronicles three
stages of a relationship in haiku-
Making myself
sad, song by song.
like fashion, jump-cutting from
the disbelief triggered by a knock
on a door to images of forced
smiles and yearning for "the
beginning." And Kaplan's fragile
vocals are sure to prod your nostal-
gia gland, regardless of what stage
of the romantic washing-machine
you're spinning in.
"Here" - Pavement
"I was dressed for success /but
success, it never comes." No band
captured the breezy apathy of'90s
slacker culture as poignantly as
Pavement, but "Here" is frontman
Stephen Malkm'us at his most ten-
der. While he rambles incoherently
about bad jokes and Spanish can-
dles during the verses, the refrain
of "everything's ending here" never
fails to strike a chord.
"Motion Picture Soundtrack"
- Radiohead
This may be simultaneously
one of the saddest and most uplift-
ing songs ever written. It's almost
uncomfortable to listen as Thom'
Yorke warbles, "Red wine and
sleeping pills / help me get back to
your arms / Cheap sex and sad films
/help me get back where I belong"
over a lonely pump organ. But when
the tricklingharps chime in and
Yorke unexpectedly announces in
waif-like falsetto, "I will see you in
the next life," the song crescendos
to an otherworldly optimism that
defies human emotion.
Bayer could really use anumbrella
for those rainy days. If you have one to
I"nr P--mamA rnv"-oi miar "
bingly agic tgain
By SARAH CHAVEY matic, an abundant amount of con- an example of when Morrissey's to raunchy ("All the gifts that they
Daily Arts Writer fidence (which is abhorrent trait proud ego outwears its allure, gave can't compare in any way
for anyone but a rock star) and leading itself to hollow kitsch. He / to the love I am now giving to
Nostalgia's a bitch. If you have a penchant for engaging in con- tepidly announces, "You don't like you right here right now on the
too much of it, you're punch-drunk flict with, well, everyone. Years of me / but you love me / Either way floor").
and the warm Refusal is a musical manifestation you're wrong / You're gonna miss Despite these notable tracks,
sentiment hazes * of all these elements. me when I'm gone." the album itself lacks an ebb and
all reason and Morrissey's voice is his most One of only two true ballads flow of energy. Years of Refusal
judgment. In the recognizable quality. His strong, on the album, "It's Not Your doesn't fall flat - the majority
world of music, melodic tone and marked British of the songs throb with a brash
such nostalgia- Years of accent have long worked wonders, - vigor fashioned by eager drums
induced beer Refusal ' lending just the right amount of and garage-rock guitar - but
goggles make Attack/Lost arrogance to maintain his musi- The ever-woeful the energy level is at a constant
it all too easy Highway cal allure. This time around, throughout the album's entirety.
to become con- his vocals are more punctuated, M orrissey is And by the fourth track, those
vinced that less-than-genius music though. Where there used to be 0 drums and power chords have
is classic. Butthe hard truth is this: undertones of annoyed detach- - Impotent this pounded any apt ,eardrum into
What once was perfection might ment, there now lies degrees of numbed boredom. There is no
not remain great forever. For, as full-frontal aggression. time around. progression or variation of verve,
Robert Frost once said, "nothing This is befitting to the album's and, while individual songs suc-
gold can stay." largely heavy subject matter. His ceed, the album lacks dynamics.
On Morrissey's Years ofRefusal, words are clipped as he takes ven- Years of Refusal brings Morris-
it's tempting to hear his cool, cocky geance against ex-lovers, drugs, Birthday Anymore" begins with sey's outspoken and salaciously
voice - the once-signature sound alcohol and human mortality. He enough cymbal swooshing and arrogant voice back onto the scene
of The Smiths - and declare the takes on drug addiction in "Some- pitch bending to cause some seri- and dishes out a refreshing dose
album a triumph by default, stellar thing Is Squeezing My Skull," ous indigestion. But the chorus of good old fashioned rock'n'roll.
by association. But while distinct - which he sings in true to form, soars with Morrissey's powerful- There's a fine, line between the
tracks are successful, the album over-the-top fashion. In the song, ly emotive bellows coupled with throwback album of a seasoned
doesn't quite reach the soaring he punches with lines such as classic power chords, saving him musician and that of a washed-up
heights where Morrissey's icon "Diazepam, Valium, Tarmazpam, from sounding top much like a rock-star.Yearsmanagestoachieve
perches on its pedestal. lithium / ECT, HRT, how long Robbie Williams clone. Lyrically, the former, but flounders in piecing
One of the world's more forth- must I stay on this stuff? / Please the song goes from nonsensical together a moving, complete album
right and controversial rock stars, don't give me any more." ("Your voice it might say 'no' / but up to the caliber of Morrissey's for-
Morrissey has a flair for the dra- "All You Need Is Me" provides the heart has a heart of its own,") mer band.
ARTS IN BRIEF
Film Review
Fighting to survive
"Street Fighter:
The Legend of Chun-Li"
20th Century Fox
At Showcase and Quality 16
"Street Fighter: The Legend of
Chun-Li" is about Chun-Li (Kristin
Kreuk, TV's "Smallville"). The movie
showcases the same kind of banality
and repetition found in that state-
ment. On top of a horribly uninterest-
ing storyline about a 'girl looking for
her kidnapped father (think "Taken,"
but vice-versa), it uses the franchise
name of "Street Fighter" for a movie
with none of the high-energy action
or character-driven stories associat-
ed with the classic video game. That
is a serious crime. The few fighting
scenes in the movie are trite and per-
functory, dialogue is long and campy
and famous "Street Fighter" charac-
ters are introduced just for the hell of
it with no accompanying background
information.
If this is Capeom's plan to rein-
troduce the franchise to the movie-
watching public, then "Street Fighter"
might be in trouble. In fact, the 1994
"Street Fighter" big-screen adaptation
with Jean-Claude VanDamme is actu-
ally far more entertaining to watch
than "Chun-Li." And that says a lot.
Anyone who remembers the cheesy
fighting sequences and over-the-top
acting from the 1994 film knows that
the producers were at least having
some fun with the material, The same
cannotbe said with "Chun-Li." It's not
fun to watch. It's just sad.
HANS YADAV