I Don't Want To Be An Albino Alligator

As I mentioned in my last post, I like to think of Gravity as a story that acts as a portrait of where America stands culturally, the film grapples with the need for building and working to exist for good regardless of our ends or means. After some worry that I expressed on the blog about not enough artists really taking on these types of social issues I was so relieved to see two films this past weekend that did just that, even though one is by Werner Herzog and he is pretty much beyond human so I don't know if he can fairly fit into my call to arms...? Maybe he can be our leader from the future? He is from the future, right?

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (in 3D!!!!!!!Wah???!!!See I told you he is the future!) is a new Herzog documentary about the unseen Chauvet cave in Southern France. When an expedition uncovered the sealed off cave in 1994 it had been preserved unlike any habitat before with the remnants of bears, gorgeous geological formations and, the focus of this film: 33, 000 year old cave drawings. Like every Herzog film he narrates the beauty of these wonders with precise contemplation, passionate interviews, humor and lush images & movement. He muses on the birth of culture, form, survival and human history and, as always, tries to provide a sense of hope for mankind's abilities not in the name of progress alone but in the name of good, a mission statement he fulfills with every film he makes.  If you only see one film this year I think it should be this one.

I also (finally!) saw Kelly Reichardt's newest film, Meek's Cutoff. In the spirit of Gravity, it is a story loosely based on true events about Stephen Meek who lead a group of American pioneers into the wilds of Oregon providing an "alternate route" to a fecund future. Throughout the film issues of trust and communication are key which only become more tense as the settlers capture a Native American. In huge, intense landscapes Reichardt also portrays the extremely hard lives of women in a time of man's word, more specifically white man's word- a truth that, unfortunately, can still be considered timely. I love the slow, painstaking beauty of all of Kelly Reichardt's films, her meditative cinematic vision is one of a real auteur and I cannot wait to see more- see this film, support this vivid filmmaker!

In other news...Gravity just screened at IndieLisboa where Brent is...not reporting from...? He is there I think? Or at least he got on a flight to go to there? We'll hear about it when he (hopefully) returns, or at least is able to get on the internet! They have internet there, right? Here are some photos of New York I took while I was there to see these films. And to see Brent off to the airport to fly to (maybe?) Portugal. Hmmm....