Eye Candy, Food for Thought and Deep Dishes: News in Literature, Museums, Cinema and More
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Bernardo Bertolucci, Still Dreaming
http://www.i-italy.org/16304/bernardo-bertolucci-still-dreaming
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Pirandello's Muse: Marta Abba Unveiled
http://www.i-italy.org/16149/pirandellos-muse-marta-abba-unveiled
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Memory, History and the Literary Conscience
Benedetta's memoir, is as the title suggests, a story about her father - but the memories, or lack there of, are hers and the voice is very much that of a daughter struggling to chart her own course. Similarly, Stefan has written a "story", a fictional account of Alzheimer's disease, but the cluster of imaginary characters and situations which range from scientific and sociological to fantastical - give voice to the inspired enquête of a young man in search of third way. Clearly marked by his grandmother's illness, he is also candid about the possible corruption of his own DNA.
Here is a link to my article: http://www.i-italy.org/15990/memory-history-and-literary-conscience
Saturday, October 9, 2010
The Secrect Life of Gabriele D'Annunzio
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Renaissance: Re-discovering Literature and Nicola
Sadly, I haven't seen much of him in the last few years - he is now a professor at Oxford - save on the happy occasions of his book presentations at NYU's Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò.
Most recently, he was in NYC (and at the Casa) to discuss a new work - conspicuously (and perhaps provocatively) entitled "Rinascimento" [Renaissance], Einaudi 2010. I reviewed the book for i-Italy.
An incredibly prolific scholar, Gardini has penned a mountain of books, essays and translations. His writing can be as colorful and diverting as his conversation and his global perspective on the Humanities makes even an elusive and daunting topic such as the Renaissance seem relevant, accessible and exciting.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Italian- American Studies?
I found myself considering the way a hybrid definition of identity - entirely removed from either national political context - presents a challenge to the idea of an "imagined community" as shaped by geographic or linguistic borders.
I wrote on a piece on the opening panel discussion for i-Italy.org.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sensual Cinema: Feminine Journeys, Eros and Otherness in Three Recent Releases
What do "Eat, Pray, Love," "Cairo Time," and "I Am Love" have in common? They all explore the universe as a feminine phenomenon: rejecting historical subject matters--business, politics, social institutions, organized religion, and even time itself--in favor of silent observation, soft silk fabrics, sensual smiles, beguiling landscapes and luscious culinary displays. The wandering plot lines of these films and the focus on a uniquely feminine approach to meaning and fulfillment give way to the kind of meditative "lenteur" Milan Kundera exalted in his 1995 novel, Slowness. The only trouble is that the search results are rather dissatisfying, leading to deserted places, unanswered questions and facile romantic solutions.
In "Cairo Time" (dir. Ruba Nadda, Canada/ Ireland/ Egypt, 2009, 90 min) a middle- aged American magazine editor, played by Patricia Clarkson, arrives in the Egyptian capital to meet her husband for a romantic vacation--only to discover that he has been held up indefinitely in Gaza. Juliette is met and then subsequently rescued by her husband's worldly former deputy, Tareq. All the while her spouse, a bleary-eyed New Yorker who runs a refugee camp for the U.N., seems to remain oblivious to the danger she faces alone in Cairo. Despite their apparent significance, the hints at political unrest are swept under the carpet of her lavish hotel room while her near affair with the dashing Tareq (played by Alexander Siddig) smothers a potential foray into Middle Eastern gender politics. Or perhaps, for Ms. Nadda, who both wrote and directed the film, all this subtlety is quite purposeful …
As the words in the title suggest, both time and place are significant themes. Juliette is suspended, not only in her waiting but also in space--as she inhabits what reveals itself to be a very foreign and mysterious city. The constraints of religious intolerance, gender inequality and child labor reach us in whispering pleas from the backdrop of an obscure otherness. The question of an intelligent order contained within the crowded markets, segregated cafés, and tidy sweatshops is left open. The honeyed waters of the Nile at dusk and the windswept dunes prove no easier to decipher. And further confounding the unsuspecting Juliette is her acquaintance with an unruly French emigrée, who appears, not only to have understood Cairo's secrets but to have, at times, embraced their treasure as well.
And yet, distinct from the characters I will discuss below, the well-behaved Juliette and Tareq, however much they are drawn to one another, keep their passions firmly rooted in the context of their love's impossibility. Tareq’s unwavering dignity, even in the face of heart-ache and desolation, stunningly evokes the archaic tragedy of his culture. Meanwhile Juliette’s trembling hold on his amulet suggests that, in the end, she may have experienced for herself the arcane ‘reasons for things’ buried within that ancient and most extraordinary place.
Juliette’s exploration of the unfamiliar, along with the unsolicited, overwhelming understanding it affords her, contrasts sharply with the idea of otherness found in Luca Guadagnino’s "I Am Love" (Io sono l’amore, Italy, 2009, 120 min). As a transplanted Russian bride in Milan, wife of a wealthy industrialist, and mother of three adult children, Emma Recchi (played by Tilda Swinton) is an uncanny mix of obliging and contemplative. She appears altogether lost in a world to which she does not belong. Carrying her sumptuous wardrobe with aristocratic grace, she also exercises extreme delicacy, as if to avoid shattering a fourth wall. In this role, Swinton's beauty is both mesmerizing and alienating; at times her face is splendid and, in other moments, frightening. The cinematography, especially of the French coastal landscape where she eventually finds love, seems to mimic an antique 8mm camera; the viewer is disarmed by attractively blurred prawns and tree blossoms, sunlight that skips and jumps and a muted soundtrack. Likewise, the camera's treatment of Swinton's strange and wonderful mutability remains intriguing throughout most of the film. However, while the actress, the Italian designers she wears, and the food she eats are deliciously engaging, the plot line leaves much to be desired. The impromptu drama which stands in for catharsis is dreadful and dreadfully unwarranted. The object of Emma’s thoughtfulness is never revealed, and both her irresponsible comportment and her daughter's blessing [of it] are contrived. The only convincingly written performance is that of the family's domestic servant--who alone seems to wade through the absurdity with appropriate concern.
Finally, "Eat, Pray, Love," (dir. Ryan Murphy, U.S., 120 min) is the least worthy of the three films insofar as the sum of its many faults equates to a rather tedious viewing experience. The adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's novel was perhaps a flawed notion from the get-go--as it would indeed be very difficult to translate the levity and irony of her "voice" into cinematographic language. I will grant that Gilbert’s box wine witticisms, regarding the long-term effects of too many boyfriends and too much carb-induced self-loathing, are as agreeable in Julia Roberts's delivery as they were in the author's prose. However, there is far too much going on for this woman's enquête to be considered serious or meaningful, and the attempt to cram it all into a feature length product merely exposes the fraudulence in Gilbert's original tale. Making love to pizza, worshiping photographs of an unknown ashram and studying toothless prophecies in tropical paradise make a travesty of Italian culture, faith and knowledge. It's fine to be ignorant of all these things, and even to profit from such egregious naiveté, but to ask your audience to imagine either a quest or certain fulfillment is somewhat preposterous. When taken as a charming woman's travelogue and the story of her discovery of true love (or more simply, a suitably dynamic mate), it is pleasant enough. In fact, the romance with Felipe (played by a ruggedly handsome yet comfortably sensitive Javier Bardem) is easily the most enjoyable part of the movie. Although, it should be noted that escaping reality is seldom as lovely and as handsomely rewarded as this movie about Ms. Gilbert’s crisis would have us believe.
The interest in a muliebral journey is a noble topic, but what is considered the domain of the feminine, traditionally speaking, is not limited to women and their dating woes. The 'feminine' carries with it a distinct kind of knowledge--irrational, spontaneous, mysterious--and yet also very real and important. Because certain things like love, faith, joy, loss and difference cannot be explained logically, does not mean they cannot be fully or sincerely explored.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Vendela Vida's The Lovers
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Vendela Vida's new novel is the title. Strangely, the only "lovers" exist either in the protagonist's distant memory of Florence or in the suggestion of her landlord's kinky affair with a French mistress. The first of these - a middle-aged, recent widow's story - is reflected in happily coupled strangers, family legends and the woman's children. The second comes to light through a few fetish objects and an ex-wife's gossip.
New York Times Review
LA Times Review
Friday, July 9, 2010
Seeing Time and Imagining the Elements: Impressionism in San Francisco
Through September 6th, 2010, The De Young museum of San Francisco is home to a sizable portion of the Musée d'Orsay's Impressionist painting collection. The first of two installments to be shown in succession, "The Birth of Impressionism" encompasses the nascent movement as it progressed toward the formation of the Societé Anonyme des artistes, peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs, etc. or the group entity responsible for launching eight independent exhibitions between 1874 and 1882. The exhibition follows the various styles and approaches which characterize some of the more famous developments and innovations in late 19th century French painting. It is best understood when viewed in tandem with "Impressionist Paris: City of Light," now on display at the Legion of Honor (through 9/26). This show provides a cultural context for the 'birth of impressionism', examining the developments and innovations that can be seen to have influenced the new style. Transportation technology, financial prosperity and general improvements to the cityscape - such as enlarged boulevards and the installation of gas street lanterns - allowed for unprecedented mobility, comfort, safety, and ultimately, leisure. The architectural overhaul initiated under Napoleon III, one of the focal points of "Impressionist Paris: City of Light,” had created a much more open and hospitable urban center - not to mention a brighter and cleaner city. These factors not only improved life generally speaking, but they also changed the shape of the world and, more importantly, the ways in which people saw and looked at the world. Finally, the documentary photographs of Paris in this period remind us of another 19th century invention which altered and expanded the ways in which reality could be seen and explored - photography.
The presence of time in the works described above, vaguely measured as a collection of intimate moments, develops into a sense of immediacy in Degas. Time is not merely the moment as static space but movement, happening: horses are neighing, young ballerinas practice and stockbrokers whisper. For Paul Cézanne, the impressions have the more enduring quality of charged emotion or of desolation: the sinking shapes and broken brushstrokes in “The Hanged Man’s House” (1873) are estranging. Further, the converging planes in the canvas offer a unique perspective, as if we were peering, with some trepidation, at an empty house.
The idea of capturing a moment in time, or the essence of something – that which might have escaped the passing glance or the untrained gaze –, is perhaps inherent to pictorial study but, theoretically speaking, it was a development of the late 19th century – one which ultimately produced many enthusiastic theorizations of photography and film in the early part of the 20th century. The notions of sincerity and frankness tentatively explored in the Impressionists’ work, are elaborated, tested and investigated with great vigor and fascination throughout the first half of the 20th century. Nonetheless, among the tableaux featured at the De Young, one already detects something beyond the carefree voyeurism generally associated with the impressionist style. The historical and political urgency in Manet’s “The Escape of Rochefort” (1881) – on display in the first gallery – reminds us that impressionism was a radical movement, inevitably inspired by a great deal of political turbulence. Henri Rochefort, heroic journalist, politician, and friend of Victor Hugo, was an important figure in the struggle for the 1st Republic of France and he famously escaped from an island prison in March of 1874. In painting that event, Manet gave historical importance to a very recent past - which was, in and of itself, a great deal revolutionary. Thus, it is important to remember that the Impressionists sought to depict not only the everyday, but also to ennoble and immortalize the present (day). Édouard Manet, passionate protector of these establishment outcasts, summarizes the movement in terms very familiar to the lover of the 20th century avant-garde, especially in photography and film: "It is sincerity which gives to works of art a character which seems to convert them into acts of protest."