Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 17:47:34 -0800 (PST)
From: rutger h cornets de groot <cornets-AT-yahoo.com>
Subject: too long or too fast?


It seems that the worst thing that can be said about a
movie nowadays is that it is too long or to slow. For
years, I used to object to that notion, simply because
there are many excellent movies that are long and
slow. Seeing some of these classic movies again for
the second or third time, however, I find I have to
admit to a certain kind of discomfort. They actually
*do* take long! And I am not just talking Bergman or
Antonioni here, I'm talking Taxi Driver, The Shining,
and many other great movies that had me poised on the
edge of my seat when I first saw them. Paradoxically
said, I can't keep up with that pace anymore. If you
can't believe me, go check for yourself.
It's not that these movies are no good anymore, they
can still be watched and enjoyed. They're great
movies. It's just that you can't make movies like that
anymore. There is a need for speed.
Last night at the Film Festival in Rotterdam, I've
found that this need for speed has brought about a new
way of film making altogether. In Miike Takashi's
latest, the action packed 'City of Lost Souls',
virtually every scene is interrupted, even before we
know what's going on. Men approach each other, they
take out their guns, start shooting and <CUT!> it's
time for another scene again. It's like we don't even
want to know anymore.
The style of shooting and editing is called Manga and
it's very much like Oriental cooking: a lot of
preparation and only a few seconds of actual cooking
in very hot oil. I will admit that I liked it a lot.
It is wild. It's like a drug. But I also regret not
being able to appreciate the old tempo anymore. And I
am wondering where this is going to end. How fast can
we go? Soon, we'll wind up having an essentially empty
screen, a blur, a painting. Then, finally, time, that
silly factor that cinema is so dependent of, will play
no role anymore.
Comments?

====APROPOS - Rutger H Cornets de Groot, Writer, Translator
English-Dutch Freelance Translation Services
Essays on Film, Art, Literature, Philosophy
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"The quality of a good translation can never be captured by the original".

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