Sunday, April 30, 2006
NOSTALGIC
Today, another film that is not on the NYTimes Best list.
It just came out on DVD after 'disappearing' for many years.
We saw this when it came out, or soon after.
It would be the year before John and I met. We both remember standing on-line at the old art cinema on Arlington Street. At different times. There is a café there now.
On line, because the film was a sensation. To be honest, I am sure that we were drawn by the fact that it was one of the first explicitly gay non-porno films made.
People are naked and play together and make love quite incidentally and un-self consciously. It is, in its way, satisfyingly pedestrian in this respect.
In addition, we were just beginning to understand that David Hockney was the next, lasting, new artist to appear in some time. It is interesting to see it now from the perspective of 30 years.
For example, we have seen many of the paintings in museums and reproduced over and over again.
The film is a semi-documentary/biopic which depicts the period right before Hockney moves to the US and, eventually, Southern California.
Hockney's lover Peter Schlesinger had left and he was blocked. He spent almost a year painting the now famous A Bigger Splash. We see the painting take form as the 'plot' unfolds.
What is amazing about this is that the 'cast' is made up of all the people who were involved with Hockney during this time including Schlesinger and others who were deeply affected by the move to the US.
It is interesting that no one has written about this film. It comes up virtually Google-less.
I did find the original review in the New York Times.
It was great seeing it again.
Every inch of the film is calculated and composed and yet it flows calmly from one scene to another. It is a bit abstract but easy to catch on to.
The interesting thing is that we see many of his paintings with the real-life counterparts standing around them.
The paintings are so alive that they make the action seem drab by comparison. This is enhanced by the quality of the DVD restoration.
This is noted in the brief Times review and I think that it is intentional.
If you watch it, be careful to watch and even make note of the slides that state the date and year. That way you will be able to piece it together better.
I think that this film is a document of its time as well. It is the end of the 60-70s in London. The high old times.
It is also way ahead of itself in such a way to make it a unique film experience even today.
And some of the boys are beautiful.
I will give it a 5 out of Netflix5 of course.
