LOST & FOUND

"The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude." 
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Captain Philips is a movie that deals with issues of control.
Self control, control of others, everything is under control.

A responsibility.
A ship .
A life 

On December 23 rd 2010 I fainted, convulsed and lost memory and track of time for 5 mins. It has been the scariest moment in my life. Every day we do so many things and take so much for granted. Walking, speaking, opening a door, driving to work or drinking coffee. Imagine just for a second your crossing the street and in a blink of an eye darkness. Total darkness. Suddenly light! You are laying on the side walk. 10 people around you asking you “are you are all right?”. But when you try to find an answer your brain says nothing. You have a head ache and your whole body hurts. You are completely helpess. You cannot think. You cannot remember anything. Your arms hurt ,your legs hurt. Suddenly a friendly face tells me “I called your wife she´s coming over”

For five minutes I couldn’t recall my name, my age, what I was doing there, where I was going. Nothing. My brain was blank. As a white piece of paper. Nothing. I spent a night at the hospital, feeling numb, weird, I had no strength no way of walking without aid. I couldn´t speak perfectly. Everything was "yes" or "no" I felt so trapped and alone in this foggy mind. My loved ones arrived at my aid. Believe it or not I began feeling better just watching their familiar faces. Your mind becomes this  endless passage way. Your memories are not so focused and are a little blurry. You think everything 30 times. It was a slow process to get to today. Speaking again fluently, thinking again quickly, remembering people and anecdotes. I was so hopeful of getting my strength back. Being able to do things on my own. The Horror.

I spent 2 weeks with a lot of clouds in my mind. I slept all day. I couldn’t drive or work, couldn’t drink coffee. Couldn’t remember a lot. You feel like crying all the time. I was helpless. My life had changed. What I wouldn’t give for a chance to run, to go for a walk, to grab a cup of coffee. To eat popcorn watching a movie. I couldn´t move properly I couldn’t speak correctly. Making sentences was so hard. To this day there isn’t a day I don’t cherish my wife, my parents, my sister, my brother, my friends all my loved ones. To be able to move, speak, laug, drive, being thankful for those who help me every day basically just the whole experience being alive is.  I recall the first movie we went to see was TRON LEGACY. I was so happy. I am so  happy.

Captain Philips touched something very deep inside me. It made me remember how this ilussion of control is just that. An ilussion. And how fortunate we are of being able to help others. To make the Lost... Found.

Emotional Strain

"A non-writing  writer  is a monster courting insanity"
-Franz Kafka

Everybody has two sides. One we show the world. The other side we hide. In many movies the main character is troubled with desires, power or obsessed by a terrible PAST. I love characters trapped in their DEEP minds and that the director has the ability to show us that perspective. What if we could see, for a few frames per second... what he is feeling. A soul so confused and tormented feeling no one can help.  A REGULAR person that tries to explain to everyone why life is so wrong with him. Does that make him a villain? That person is aware of the damage they can inflict on their loved ones or strangers. Some times it takes two actors to portray one twisted mind. They all have triggers that make them snap. This are  my favorites.

THE FAN (1996) Robert De Niro

For Gil Renard (a hunting knives sales man) The San Francisco Giants are EVERYTHING. Fueled by anger and solitude, De niro portrays a man hunted by mistakes and faults. He demands RESPECT from his ex wife, his little son and Bobby Rayburn the new player of the GIANTS. Gil is scary and abusive. No stranger to acting a solitaire mad man, De niro inspires true fear as an abusive dad, a terrible sales man and worst of all a true fan from hell. Waiting for that perfect moment (good or bad )when he becomes part of Rayburn´s life. Directed by Tony Scott, mixing Hans Zimmer chilling soundtrack with The Rolling Stones and Corrosion of Conformity. A very scary and real movie.
MEMORABLE QUOTE “Baseball is better than LIFE… it´s fair!”

ONE HOUR PHOTO (2002) Robin Williams

Sy Parrish (an employee of a One hour photo) is punctual, organized and must of all cordial to all customers. Specially The Yorkin family. Knows their adress & birthdays Sy is lonely and sad. Sy has been making an extra set of copies for himself. An unforgettable scary performance. Written and directed by Mark Romanek its visual orchestration of every scene is worth watching. Using colors to add textures of sadness, anger, loneliness and a dream like quality. And the soundtrack is Reinhold Heil & Johnny Klimek´s thrilling masterpiece. 
Memorable Quote “pretend... this is all pretend!”

FALLING DOWN (1993) Michael Douglas

Rules are meant to be followed. Not for William Foster (unemployed). As he wants to get to his daughter’s birthday party, he enters a strange state of mind where he suddenly has no patience and begins challenging everything. Right or Wrong, Left or Right ...He has had enough. Confused and deranged he starts a one man war against everyone. Directed by Joel Schumacher to me , this is Schumacher´s best movie and a haunting performance by one of hollywood´s best actors.
MEMORABLE QUOTE: “I´m the bad guy?”

FACE OFF (1997)
John Travolta & Nicholas Cage

In this unrealistic plot and almost a satruday nigh live skit about a detective switching faces with a serial killer. John Woo wanted both actors to SHOW-OFF how well they can imitate one another. ENOUGH SAID.
MEMORABLE QUOTE: "Interception...ball is on our side!"

MR. BROOKS (2007)Kevin Costner &John Hurt

Originally planned as a trilogy. Mr Earl Brooks is a wealthy businessman. But he hides a secret. Him and his alter ego are being black mailed by someone who knows the truth. They are ONE Serial Killer. Contrary  to what one would assume, they get along pretty well, they even laugh at the same jokes. That is what makes this movie brilliant.  Costner and Hurt deliver a twisted  portrail of a Mr. Brooks who is just unpredictable. Written and Directed by 
Bruce A. Evans.MEMORABLE QUOTE "I... love... what you are thinking"


FIGHT CLUB (1999)
Edward Norton & Brad Pitt

If you havent seen it turn off your computer RIGHT NOW and go see it. (SPOILER ALERT) Sharing is one thing but co-existing is another completely different game. In one of Fincher´s Finest Films, we see two personas The Narrator and Tyler Durden. One complaints about everything he doesnt have. Tyler  just takes what he wants. 
MEMORABLE QUOTE :"First rule of FightClub is... you! do! not! talk! about! fight club!"

A good performance is the one that is convincing. The actor(s), the stage, the props, but most important the story. Too many sub plots can lead to disaster. All together tell a tale. Even if it were dragons and dwarfs. You have to make it convincing. All this performances enhance a complex mixture of actor/mind/character. 

"the true alchemist do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words." 
-William H. Gass

Behavior over dialogue

 “Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

No facebook status, no biography can really tell us how someone really is. You can describe someone, see a picture or hear gossip. But it’s not the same as watching them behave. Behavior is our best way to explain ourselves. If we are calm or having a bad day. Human is simplicity, drama, thirst, gestures, inflections, connections, comedy, complications, exploring, ignoring, hunger. These are some of my favorite behavior-performances I’ve enjoyed at the movies. Worth watching them again.

JACK "FUCKING" TWIST- Michelle Williams - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
All lights went to the controversy this movie made. What a lot of people (myself included) missed was ALMA.  An extraordinary portrail of a woman living a mountain of lies. Broken hearted just watching her house. And how empty it is. Her life will never be the same  after finding out her husband is having an affair. That scene is so filled with emotions. You cannot describe them, except when you see her face. She is not acting she is trully suffering.  After that, every time she shares a scene with Heath Ledger they are a time bomb waiting to explode.

DOWN ON YOUR KNEES RIGHT NOW- Edward Norton - AMERICAN HISTORY X
Derek Vinyard´s life is about to change. Feeling superior and speaking racial insults has become an every day rutine. And the worst possible example for his little brother Danny. Danny becomes aware of  what a hatred driven man can do. He is speechless as he watches how Derek kills another man on the street. The police arrest him. Yelling The complexity of the scene is in Derek´s eyes a  choir chant, black and white photography and the smile in Derek´s face... unforgettable.  So proud of what he did. Until that moment, Danny realizes he is following the wrong steps.

NO! THERE IS NO ESCAPING HERE! -Woody Harrelson – NATURAL BORN KILLERS
"MICKEY AND MALLORY KILL SIX TEENS DURING SLUMBER PARTY"… reads the newspaper that Mickey is holding in his hands, while he eats pie at a local dinner. As Mallory dances, Mickey contemplates. As two men enter the dinner looking for cold beers and trouble. Mickey is one cool dude. Before engaging in a  killing conflict, he corrects one of the men by saying... “Her name, is Mallory”. Gently drinking his glass of milk (WHILE having thoughts of murder) Takes a moment to say "its not pollite to point your finger"…before cutting the man´s finger with a knife.


FOR THEY NOT KNOW WHAT THEY DO- Juliette Lewis – CAPE FEAR

Outside a Ginger bread house, It is almost inappropriate to watch Max Cady and Dannielle Bowden (Robert De Niro and Juliette Lewis) sharing the theatre scene on Martin Scorsese´s  remake of CAPE FEAR. (MOVIE TRIVIA : The two original cast members that appear are Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck) . The sexual tension caught on those frames of film are to this day, alive. A young girl in the hands of a predator. She will believe anything. He will do whatever it takes for revenge. Having scenes with ONE Robert De Niro is no easy task. Juliette owns that part. To make it believable enough to get us scared and unaware that we are just watching a movie. 

BURGLAR - Martin Freeman –THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY 

As Bilbo (Martin Freeman ) wakes up happy to find there are no dwarfs, nor Gandalf in his house. At first he is  thankful he didn’t join the adventure. But as seconds go by...we begin to see how empty Bilbo´s house is, how little he becomes. Every corridor, every corner seems LARGER and lonelier. There is no more life in there. Without saying a word Bilbo suddenly realizes that not everything unexpected is bad and that going on an adventure, might be worth the risk. 

To me the feeling you put into a scene is the most important part of film making, it might not have the best music or the best dialogue. But the emotion it transpires from filming and editing, to that unique moment when i am seated at the movie theatre, eating popcorn and believing this story i am told. If that actor can take me close to feel what he or she is going thru : fear, anger, loneliness, or happiness . That is movie magic.

“An actor’s talent lies in their choices “
-Stella Adler

A + B = C?

Born in Latvia in 1898, Sergei Eisenstein´s legacy lives to this day. In every movie ever made his influence remains. Studied architecture and engineering. Began to work on a theatre company doing set design. Then Joined the Red Army in 1918. Unlike others privileged with a movie theatre or a film school. There was no cinematic language back then he had to create it. He had to mix theatre and photography skills to reach the transmission of a message to an unskilled society (the audience). Making them a part of the movie experience. Cinematographic techniques such as the choice of shot, and camera movement, can greatly influence the structure and meaning of a film.

The massacre on the steps of Odessa
BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925)

The most celebrated scene in the film is the massacre of civilians on the Odessa Steps. This scene IS one of the most influential in the history of cinema, because it introduced concepts of film editing and montage to cinema. Shots “could be used to manipulate the emotions of the audience and create film metaphors “. In this scene, the Tsar's soldiers in their white summer tunics march down a seemingly endless flight of steps in a rhythmic, machine-like fashion. A separate detachment of mounted Cossacks charges the crowd at the bottom of the stairs. A mother pushing an infant in a baby carriage falls to the ground dying and the carriage rolls down the steps amidst the fleeing crowd. 

Eisenstein's idea that adjacent shots should relate to each other in such a way that A and B combine to produce another meaning, C, which is not actually recorded on the film. CALLED “the "collision of shots “


As in theatre, It knows no genre, its commonly an unseen prop. But not disguised. Used by many, dresses perfectly for every occasion. It is a vertical bridge that unites the plot line. As Father Merrin waits to see Regan (The Exorcist) I can almost hear Luca Brasi´s footsteps(The Godfather) waiting for Scarlett O'Hara (Gone with the wind) with my hands in the air (ROCKY) announce the Von Trapp family goodbye! (The Sound of music) All of this movies use the same dramatic device.
A staircase.

“The revolution gave me the most precious thing in life, it made an artist out of me…” -Sergei Eisenstein