James Ivory’s “Quartet” is a good film for those impassioned by the history of fashion, interior design and Art Nouveau in particular. As with most of Ivory’s films, each frame is a whole universe of suggestion and meaning. The fashions and interiors, carefully documented, contribute a lot to the effect.

If something is missing that would be the subtlety of Henry James or Ishiguro’s dialogues, because Jean Rhys’ novel does not go any further then the essence of the plot, which is very close to McEwan’s “The Comfort of Strangers”.

Surprisingly, Maggie Smith playes a married woman in this film, but that doesn’t make her a happier character . Attached to her character is a considerable number of mirrors, which seem to follow her everywhere she goes.

English misfits spending their life and money in Montmartre:

Nice Art Nouveau wall paper:

And Art Nouveau living:

A period dressing gown and haircut:

The couple split up by their almost cubist portrait in grey nuances:

Period bedroom accessories:

Period costumes:

A jazzy New Year’s Eve in Montmartre:

Lavishing costumes (and, of course, Lois’ mirrors):

Elegant Art Nouveau silver breakfast set. For croissants and four cakes on the breakfast plates for the love triangle’s breakfast.

Charming and typical Parisian characters in a charming and typical Parisian caffe:

The erotic photography studio:

Adjani, the poor, pale girl, in a cul de sac situation, her outfit reminds me of a painting by Hopper (a girl alone in a cafe):

Lois’ mirror, period bedroom accessories:

An old times French pub, Adjani drinks absinthe, of course:

An Art Nouveau desk:

Just a lovely scene at the zoo, could not skip it:

Vintage costumes:

Nice interior scene:

This year La France remembers la grande crue de 1910. If you like Atget’s Paris here is “the official site”, containing loads of fantastic photos. For those who don’t have patience with the slide show here are a few interesting shots:

I think this in the center is the building where Antoine Doinel lived in one of the first series (the second or the third film, I’m not sure but I’ll come back with a screen shot):

Here IT is:

I can’t remember via which site I discovered the photographer Julia Solis and her projects that seem to be centered around the idea of decay. Follow the link to the projects:

Detroit Wonderland – this shot reminds me of Romania’s “House of people”, a buliding that would look so much better if abandoned and left to decay over time:

The Prison Farm

Krankenhaus – scenes from abandoned hospitals in Germany

Southern Ruptures:

Underground series: Vienna (something tells me that she took “The Third Man” tour):

Paris (catacombes)

Abandoned theaters

Keep an eye on her blog – DARK PASSAGE TRAVELOGUE!

I haven’t searched the web for new interesting cultural links for while. Here is the latest harvest, blogs full of images and precious informations written by passionate intelligent people.
1920 A.D.

Art Deco Blog

Vitaphone

Moderna Tider

Greenbriar

All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing!

Theatre Organs

The Bioscope

Europe Film Treasures

Trove archive

David Bordwell

The Silent Movie Blog

My Silent Films

Allure

Hollywood Heyday

Jazz, Gin and the Cat’s Meow

Oscarvations

Chichi and the Greek

Self-Styled Siren

A Christmas hope is lost in time
when January’s winds reclaim
the harvest of a drowsy wine
and sorrow is again acclaimed.

But seasons pass and we reclaim
the hope that used to be our own.
December’s shiver comes again
to usher cheer on lonely bones.

© Ursulica, 2009 (strict iambic tetrameter)

After a long hot summer, it has finally snowed here in Bucharest. Not just the measly pretend snow of recent years, but the original proper snow – huge, fist-sized flakes carpet-bombing the city out of torper.

The climate change means that the snowmen have returned to the city. They had suffered so badly that they were written on the endagered species list, in city hall, next to the Bumper Book of Bribery. We coaxed one to our window sill with a copy of Finnegan’s Wake. Snowmen are all too often dismissed as dozy melters but there’s one or two sharp ones in the park and ours was glad of the chance of proper reading material.

We haven’t written a post for a long time. I’m ashamed to admit that Facebook took over, posting images/videos and short comments seemed like such an uncomplicated way of sharing information with others. It seemed lazy too, so at the end of the year I am trying to reverse the situation.

Reading: Definitely a Nabokov year and towards the end, Cheever followed. As a happy coincidence soon enough the most important publishing company in the country is going to issue anthologies of stories by both these authors.

Film
First of all, worth mentioning some series for smart people that we came across this year: “The Wire” (watch it with a native speaker of English, they might manage to get some of the slang), “The thick of it” (and the film “In the Loop”), “Mad Men”.

Speaking of Nabokov, watched Fassbinder’s exercise on “Despair” last night. While in the book you have the luxury of not knowing how far the resemblace between Felix and Hermann goes, Fassbinder choses to show that they were vaguely alike, instead of getting Dirk Bogarde to play a double role. In the same manner, while in the book the wife’s infidelity is subtly suggested, the film makes it more than clear, but this still does not upset Nabokov’s settings. The film is more politicized than the book, placing the story in a definite time, but the historical angle is not overdone, it simply adds more to the plot.

This is my favorite scene in the film:

I wasn’t surprised to find out that Dirk Bogarde was the main character, he fitted the impression that the book left on me. It was a pleasure to see Andréa Ferréol (La Grande Bouffe) playing Lydia.

It is definitely time to watch “Alexander Platz”. Unusually, in this case I prefer to watch the film before reading the book, it is a Joycean like work.
But that will happen after watching all the episodes of the Heimat saga, which, besides being stylistically extraordinary , has a marvelous soundtrack.

A small treat for those who like Bogarde, check out his website of his estate. You’ll find his sketches and illustrations.

Here is also a link to a BBC documentary about his (un(heavily)edited) life:

Music
First and foremost Ken Burns’ documentary “Jazz”, that cleared a lot of aspects of the genre’s and of USA’s history. A few interesting revelations – Sonny Rollins, David Brubeck, Billie Holiday and Lester Young… I bought the film’s book as well, give it a go, it has a lot of precious vintage illustrations besides being an excellent history manual.

Donald Fagenis another pleasant discovery that came late in the year. He is indeed what one might call “the coolest cat in NY”. I could not resist posting a couple of pictures of him surrounded by books:

Max Raabe was also recently discovered, a German singer that, together with his band the Palast Orchester play (Cabaret) songs of the 1920’s-1930’s. If you want to listen to him try directly the latest recording of his concert at Carnegie Hall, “Heute Nach oder Nie”. My interest in the German Cabaret after reading Jelavich’s “Berlin Cabaret” this summer was definitely complimented by this singer’s style.
Here is a promo video of the Carnegie Hall recording:

This was a weird one, a failed experiment in my opinion, can’t really tell what Lelouche wanted to say.
The director himself tells how he wanted to get Deneuve and Dutronc together and he failed to do so, because there was too much respect between the two actors.

The first part of the film is set up in France and has the traces of the Nouvelle Vague themes – the two misunderstood fugitives, hidden by two well intentioned old people at their farm etc.

A touch of Bunuel at some point by inserting a dream which gives an alternative solution to the end of the story.

Perhaps the second part of the film, set up in America, is more interesting. I recognized immediately the French candid vision of the USA (see “Atlanctic City”, La Nuit Americaine”).

Here is a Kubrickesque scene, in a bar of the American cold far north:

And here is the final shot, showing how one could enter New York through the back door (I’m wondering if this image is real):