FITZCARRALDO

Movie of the week:
FITZCARRALDO

That idea is so crazy, it just might work.

When I first started writing about these movies, there were literally just three people on my distribution list. It was easy. They were personal friends of mine, and I could target the sort of films I knew they might like - that I knew would appeal to them. Now, there are so many of you, that is almost impossible. Hence my common qualification, "this movie is not for everybody" or, "you need to have a certain sense of humor to enjoy this film" or, "most of you will HATE this movie".

Now, I think I've finally found a movie that will appeal to almost everyone! You won't need to be jaded against the Hollywood junk machine. You won't need to be desperate for something that's so different that no one in his right mind would otherwise watch. You won't need to suspend disbelief at any time. Everyone will love this movie. You just have to be willing to read subtitles.....

OK, so maybe it doesn't appeal to everyone.

Director, Werner Herzog made two films based in the Amazon jungle of South America. The first, Aguirre: The Wrath of God, was about a conquistador, played by Klaus Kinski, who broke rank and led his men on a search for the legendary El Dorado - and instead found madness. In FITZCARRALDO, also played by Klaus Kinski, a very determined man follows his dream.

The story: Klaus Kinski plays Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald - 'Fitzcarraldo', a man who ekes out a meager living making ice in the Peruvian jungle of the early 1900’s. Fitz has one love in his life – opera. His dream is to build an opera house there in the jungle - but it costs money, more money that can be had making and selling ice. The only known way to make that kind of money is (no – not cocaine, this is early 1900’s) to harvest the indigenous rubber trees from the jungle. Sounds easy enough, but the only unclaimed rubber trees are located up a section of the river that is not navigable by boat. But nobody is going to tell Fitzy what he can’t do.

The result is an adventure on an epic scale. Fitzcarraldo is a very likeable character because he truly believes in what he is doing. It’s the same reason that we like Don Quixote. He’s crazy – but in a good and interesting way. In the same way, we like Fitzcarraldo because he doesn’t let anything deter his quest – like physics.

Here’s some interesting FITZCARRALDO tidbits.

1. There are no special effects in this film. What the characters did in the movie, the actors actually did. No miniatures were used. The ship was moved with a hand winch just as you see it. When the ship encounters the rapids, the ship encounters actual rapids (six actors and crewmembers were injured during that scene).
2. Klaus Kinski and director Werner Herzog independently plotted each other’s murder during the shooting. What the hell, it’s the Amazon jungle – who’s going to know?
3. This actor and director made several films together. Their friendship and intense hatred for each other is legendary in the film industry and is chronicled in the documentary Klaus Kinski: My Best Fiend (not misspelled).
4. Actual native Peruvians were used in the jungle scenes. They came to Herzog at the end of shooting to thank him for hiring them and for his friendship and generosity. As a token of friendship, they offered to kill Kinski for him. He told them he’d think about it.
5. Kinski, who was notorious for being difficult to work with, continuously threatened to walk off the set. Legend has it that Herzog held a gun to his head and threatened to fire unless he finished the film.
6. At the beginning of filming, the movie starred Jason Robards as Fitz, and also featured Mick Jagger. When Jason got ill (it was a jungle after all), Kinski came in. This was good because Robards would be playing a madman, while Kinski was just playing himself. I don’t know what happened to Mick.
7. For that matter, what ever happened to Mick? Does he do anything these days? He better be doing something – he’s got a lot of alimony to pay.
8. This film makes Steven Jay Schneider’s book, “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die”. In fact, it makes most film critics’ “must see” list.
9. This is one of film critic Roger Ebert’s favorite films. You can read his review here.
10. Opera – schmopera. If he wanted it that bad, why didn’t he just move to where the opera was?????

I know I recommend a lot of really funky films – especially lately, but all kidding aside, this is one hell of a movie. If you make the effort to read the subtitles (or learn German), you’ll be treated to an unforgettable cinematic experience. Besides, there’s nothing good on TV tonight – so what the hell?

FITZCARRALDO
Enjoy

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THE HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS

This week's movie
THE HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS

This movie deserves it's own article.

In last week's movie recommendation for Happiness, I threw this out as a possible second movie in a double feature. I suggested it be cause it served as a good counterpart to Happiness, whereas that is a serious intense emotionally draining film, while HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS (HOTK) is light and funny and the exact opposite of serious. But mostly, because it has the word "happiness" in the title. Then I thought, "This movie deserves it's own article."

Let me say this right up front. If you are the type of viewer that doesn't like strange insane freaky movies, then for the love of god, don't watch this one! This is one of the strangest, insan-est, freakiest movies I've ever seen - and for me, that's saying a lot. However, this film is strange insane and freaky in a quite amusing and endearing way.

If, on the other hand, you are jaded with the cookie-cutter Hollywood film machine and really want to see something strange insane and freaky - for a change, then BOY, do I have a movie for you! But you REALLY got to want something REALLY REALLY different to go this far. The IMDB movie site for this film had a tough time determining the genre. Under "genre", they list "Comedy / Horror / Musical / Romance / Thriller"

Yes! I did say "Musical".

If you look at the list of plot keywords, it includes such things as: surrealist; absurdism, family life; black humor; dancing; death; food; dog; grave-digging; suicide; sumo wrestler; claymation; and volcano. Yes - it's about a lot of things. I'm trying to give you some sense of what this film is like. However, I don't have an adequate frame of reference because there's no other film like it. So, maybe I can create a new frame of reference based on a movie you've probably seen - let's say, The Sound of Music. Therefore, let me present

HAPPINESS OF THE von TRAPP's
The von Trapp family, having eluded the Natzis in Austria, escape to America and open an inn in the mountains of Vermont. They didn't escape with their fortune, so they were hurting financially. Finally, a Trappist monk checks into the inn. During the first night of being alone in his room, the monk suffers a deep depression due to the confluence of conflicting karmas of being a Trappist monk in the von Trapp lodge, commits suicide by leaping off the bed to his death (he has to do this a lot of times until it works). The von Trapps are shocked when they discover the body and begin to sing the disco version of "Do, a deer, a female dear, ..." They certainly can't afford the negative publicity, and so they cut up the body to make jelly - hence the origin of the Trappist Preserves. The next couple to check in, Betty and Authur Hill, are killed when, while watching Leno on cable, laugh so hard that they can't catch their breath - and suffocate. At the shock of discovering the Hills' bodies, the von Trapps begin to sing "The Hills are alive with the sound of music ....", but to no avail - they're still dead. They prop them up in the front lobby with fresh flowers tied to them, in order to pass them off as vases. The following succession of guests find unique and exciting ways to kill themselves - innkeeping is hard work after all. Suddenly a huge alavanche races down the side of the mountain and they all turn to clay models of themselves (special effects are expensive, you know) as they try to escape their fate, singing "Climb every mountain, ford every stream, ....".

So

So far, it's a family horror romance musical comedy. If not for all the dying, it'd be suitable for the whole family. But since it's sooooo outrageous, it may not be suitable for anybody not equipped with an absurd sense of humor. By now you should have a clear sense of whether this film is for you. However, in case you're still on the fence about this one, here are a few more things to consider.

1. The film is directed by the famous Japanese film maker, Takashi Miike. If you're familiar with his work, you'll note that this is a huge departure from his usual stuff. In particular, he made one of FranksFilms recommended films, Audition. Now, before you throw your hands up in horror, I assure you that HOTK is not even remotely as disturbing as that classic.
   
2. If you're not convinced by my assurance in #1, there have been other examples in which a film maker departs from his typical fare to try something different. Robert Rodriguez, who made such great movies as From Dusk Till Dawn, Sin City, and Grindhouse, also made Spy Kids. David Lynch's The Straight Story is a huge departure from his usual stuff (Mulholland Dr., Blue Velvet, and Eraserhead).
   
3. On top of everything else, it's a romantic comedy.
   
4. If you're not totally receptive to it's dark surreal humor, you may end up throwing an ashtray or a flower pot at your television. Wait until you're in a more open mood before viewing - or at least until large screen television prices come down a bit.
   
5. The claymation is actually one of the more disturbing elements in the film. That effect was also used to creepify another of FranksFilms movies, Little Otik. But, of course, that wasn't a musical.
6. Look for "Little Otik - the Musical" in summer of 2009.
   
7. Look. Really, I was just kidding about "Little Otik - the Musical". No need to panic - honest!
   
8. Tell you what. If you can get through the opening sequence without getting angry, or afraid, or jittery - you'll probably do alright.
   
9. Don't worry if this film doesn't sound right for you. I suspect that perhaps less than 20% of you (those with a particularly black sense of humor - you know who you are) would enjoy it. But if you do, I want to know about it!
10. In the larger scheme of things, watching this film would not be as bad as , say, being killed in an avalanche, or eating Trappist preserves. In fact, you may find that's it's much much better than either of those things.
    

Watch HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS. It'll make you giddy with fright (just kidding).
Enjoy.

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