Marley : A pure Gift

The trailer talks enough I guess... This documentary is just "a must see". Waow! from his birth to his death, it is very much about the character, the personality of Bob Marley... He must have been a prophet...

Samsara : Breathtaking... in so many ways...

  So naaa, 'Samsara'(roughly translated 'Cyclical existence' from sanskrit) is not a long hipster video clip but a real movie what takes its time, from the really beginning; It's almost give the impression to be  "slow"at first as we are so used to a certain type of editing I guess, but always, the cut, I mean the editing is perfect. It brings you nicely in its way with just beauty to what a disturbing feeling slowly emerges. Art is definitely what it is. Then, director / photographer, Ron Fricke with his own narrative way, "gently" attacks and it becomes just deeply sad, so sad quickly in the point that I felt sick  and the tears, gently as well, had to get out of my system... Maybe the most disturbing is that in each picture, nevertheless the tragic, there is something beautiful, it could happened because of numbers or colors or anything... But there is always beauty in the picture form...
In 1992, being an active "admirative" of  "Dead Can Dance", I saw the first screening of "Yulunga" the song and pictures extract from 'Baraka'('Breath of Life'), introducing the documentary 'Toward the Within' (produced by same team, meaning with Mark Magidson),  in the Max Linder in Paris. It was definitely a corner in my life, falling in love and realizing the power of the picture and the music. Today, at the Ritzy 'Samsara' marked another corner for me...
Of course a stunning visual, entirely photographed with Fricke's own 70mm (65mm negative) camera equipment (designed by himself for the purpose of 'Baraka' at first) associated with an important musical sense (Yes, Lisa Gerrad is still a part of the adventure), gives even more depth to 'Samsara', what talks about humanity. Definitely one of my best experience regarding movies.
Please, UNMISSABLE for sure.

Brave = Amazing :o)

After a long absence in my favourite dark rooms, for some reasons I decided to go to see 'Brave', with not much expectations, just a willing of being distracted after my return of some fabulous holiday.
Well... Waow,  definitely I wasn't expecting such a good experience driven by such a beautiful story! What a script! And the colors, absolutely  thrilling!!! And I wasn't even watching it in 3D! Petit plus, the music never really  reach the cheesy!
So no, tutu, we know the rules, I can't reveal anything as it would ruin a part of someone else experience. Big up to the trailer what respect that too, loving it! I could just say that the director being a woman, Brenda Chapman, made sense at the end of the credit. And of course Joss, it's PIXAR so it couldn't have been wrong!
In France, they title it 'Rebelle', what it is not exactly the same meaning to define the main character! Sad shortcuts somehow...
But you did understand?... Just go to see it!

'Sing Your Song', Harry Belafonte : Moving...

Monday 18:30, the premiere of 'Sing your Song' at The Ritzy, sold out. A sense of community was there with the people, brilliant, it made me feel proud to be there too.
'Sing your Song' is showing softly and honestly a cruel reality from the past 50 years what still need to be fixed. Harry Belafonte embraced, and still do, this journey : being an activist is in him. Being an actor and a singer is in him too. He knows how to tell story and use it in an amazing positive way. And that is very inspiring... Helping fixing social injustice is an ultimate reason for him.
The way he answered each question, after the projection, was very clear with a lot of consideration. He took his time to answer to any aspect of the question, and this still with a lot of humor!
A beautiful man Harry Belafonte is. A  really good documentary 'Sing your Song' is. They had to select the more relevant of his work for the film( produced by his daughter Gina Belafonte) but we know that he his behind many many more actions as he never stopped. He produced "Beatstreet" in 1984, a film what introduces the richness of the original Hip-Hop culture and talents(Africa Baambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, The Rocksteady Crew, ect...) of the east coast, USA, to the youth in the world, for example!
'Sing your Song' is released the 8th June.  

Wonderfully archived, and told with a remarkable sense of intimacy, visual style and musical panache, SING YOUR SONG surveys the life and times of singer/actor/activist Harry Belafonte. From his rise to fame as a singer and his experiences touring a segregated country, to his provocative crossover into Hollywood, Belafonte's groundbreaking career personifies the American civil rights movement and impacted many other social-justice movements. The documentary reveals Belafonte as a tenacious hands-on activist, who worked intimately with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and inspired us all to action.

PROMETHEUS : ... Grand spectacle!...

And finally, The 'Prometheus' night arrived, screening in the IMax, Sunday 3rd/Monday 4th June, 12:01am! Well, you know us, just excitement, only carambars are missing at this point :o)
Then, The 'Alien' prequel, 'Prometheus' starts... Yes, yes, yes, ok, ok... I take this information on board... Oh, a bit of non sense here but it's alright, this all this is working, hum... this robot(Michael Fassbender) is definitely terrifying... and... The film kicks off, interrupted by the final credits... What!!!! Wait a second, you just introduce the subject, 50 questions now are in the air, only 1, that we didn't ask for, or forget about by now, have been answered at the last minute of the film! I didn't see the time going, so make it 4 hours, but give me something!!!! I don't want to hear about a Prometheus 2... Aaaaargh!...
So what are we doing here Monsieur Ridley Scott? You made me feel like you try to redefine(or re-invent) a genre that you helped to define years ago( 'Alien', 1979)?! I am confused!
 My experience of 'Prometheus' leave me with that note : It is a really good film but not a good film! I know, confusing! So just go and enjoy what you can! It's all about the experience after all, isn't it?...

Yayoi Kusama : Marvel!

Sadly I am sharing this experience a bit late as the exhibition closed today Tuesday 5th June 2012...
The video, as shown at the Tate Modern in the entrance of 'Yayoi Kusama' is a good quick introduction to the artist world and dimension. The retrospective of her work through 14 rooms presents clearly and simply the different phase, obsession, construction of her art. I find each room honest and so, fascinating. But the cherry on the cake of the tour have been the last room,
" Kusama has created a new Infinity Mirror Room  specially for this exhibition. Infinity Mirrored Room- Filled With The Brilliance of Life is the largest such installation kusama has made to date."
I mean Waow! That experience touched me deeply : It allowed me to live a fantasy or a dream, I always had! Imagine that!
"Kusama's mirrored installations propose an experience of the infinite, inviting the viewer to suspend his or her sense of self and accompany Kusama on her ongoing journey of self -obliteration"
Well, I lived it like a real sharing and, at the same time, very personal experience. That was unique.

Moonrise Kingdom : Bif Bof...

Wes Anderson (and Roman Coppola!) is back! It made me very happy and joyful! The trailer shows perfectly his unique sense of making a movie... But as I was sitting there in the cinema and "Moonrise Kingdom"happening, I started to feel slightly bored!... I know!!! Very strange feeling as all the elements in the movie are delighfull : fabulous cast, fabulous acting, funny dialogues, amazing frame setting with all the details (colors, objects, ect...), perfect choice of music.... But for some reasons, I couldn't feel any interaction between all these elements... And the result was like very slow, no rhythm experience...
Well, Wes Anderson still prove he's a genuine director who enjoy inviting you in his own world setting; And that is wonderful!