A High Wind in Jamaica/ A Travel Movie

When I travel, I like to go to the movies. I know some say, why go into a dark movie theater in another country – you may just as well be at home? But I think being at the movie theater in another country or state is a cultural experience. I remember being in Kingston, Jamaica and listening to the loud Jamaicans caterwauling throughout the film (of course, I can’t remember what movie it was). Or being in an outdoor theater in Germany with my sister in my Mom watching West Side Story dubbed in German – that was an unforgettable experience.

Lucky for me, I was just in Paris visiting my nephew who is studying there this year and of course I wanted to go to a movie. Nick, my nephew, has been enjoying some old classic American films this year which are surprisingly ubiquitous in Paris – the Parisians, I learned, love archetypal American movies, the more iconic the better: John Wayne, westerns etc. Nick and I found A High Wind in Jamaica at the La Filmoteque Quartier Latin. This film from 1965 (the year of my birth!) has Anthony Quinn as a pirate accidentally kidnapping a passel full of children – these children turn out to be bloodless heathens and the pirates end up being the dupes. It was entertaining but kinda hokey.

There were only a smattering of moviegoers at La Filmoteque Quartier Latin, a basement theater with the smell of thousands of movie goers, musty upholstered seats, and some other odor I couldn’t quite place. Nick said Parisians don’t eat and drink in the movies (How un-American!) – so we snuck in some French cookies, some petite buerres avec chocolate or some such thing – and sunk into the familiar yet different transporting world of being in a foreign movie theater – that’s my kind of travel!

Harvey (1950)

I’m sure I saw Harvey in my youth; the classic movie with Jimmy Stewart who has an imaginary friend called Harvey. But after watching it again, it seemed completely new to me. I didn’t remember it being so good! The script is so funny and complex at the same time, and it makes the presence of this unseen rabbit, well, … present. Jimmy Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd is great and so likable that you want to just sit at the bar with him and Harvey and swap stories. The other real gem of the movie is the actress Josephine Hull who plays Elwood’s aunt, Veta Louise Simmons, who I had not heard of before, but learned that she won an Oscar for role in Harvey. She is HIGHlarious while being sweet and demure at the same time – something to see. Sometimes you see a classic and realize just why it is classic. Harvey fits the bill.
As a side note: Another reason why I wanted to see this movie again (the first was because it was at the library!) was because I heard that a remake was afoot. Stephen Spielberg, of all people, is going to try to recreate this classic. After seeing it, I can’t imagine what would be the point of remaking a near perfect little gem of a movie. But who knows.

The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

After finishing season 1 of Breaking Bad, the dark TV series on AMC, I watched the extras where the creator and writer Vince Gilligan of that well-written show, said one of his favorite classics was The Sweet Smell of Success. He extolled the movies great writing and rapid fire dialogue. Sweet Smell of Success stars Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster as ruthless publicity agent and overbearing newspaper columnist. The movie’s main conflict is about Falco, Curtis, who is trying to break up Hunsecker’s, Lancaster, sister’s relationship with a guitarist in exchange for more publicity. Yeah, a guitarist, like that is sooo bad. The movie depicts a completely different world from the modern movie where women are helpless and easily manipulated, and you can be taken down by insinuating that someone smokes “reefer.” The dialogue is definitely rapid fire, it reminds of the type of writing done on The West Wing, where you miss most of it and would like to go back to pick it up. Sweet Smell of Success is definitely an interesting slice of movie history that I was not of aware of before and am glad to know about, but did I enjoy it? Enhhhh. Somewhat, I guess.

Blow Up

I saw this 1966 artsy movie directed by Michelangelo Antonioni about a photographer because I read an article about the photographer who it is based on and heard that it was a critical favorite. (I can't remember the name of the photographer its based on if there is anyone out there who reads The New Yorker can help me with my memory). The movie shows a photographer who takes a picture a crime in action and figures it out by blowing up the photo. The action (if that's the right word since it doesn't seem like there is any action) moves at a glacial pace and the "mystery" we're promised is not mysterious. Either this movie is way too dated for my modern self or I just don't get it because, while it was cool to look at for time, it was just plain dull.

Hodge Podge 2

Death at a Funeral is a very silly British comedy with a host of well-known British actors. If you are a fan of the Masterpiece Theater-type movies, you've seen all of these actors at one time or another. The lead characters Matthew MacFadyen (Darcy in the most recent Pride and Prejudice) and Rupert Graves (The Forsyte Saga) are brothers whose father just died, and they argue about who is going to pay for it and try to manage the kooky guests that come to the funeral. It's not a great movie, but it's pretty funny at times, and it gets better as the movie goes on.

Last night I was going to go to bed at a reasonable hour when I ran across the 1958 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. Somehow, I had never seen this movie before last night, and never really wanted to, but last night it hooked me in. At first I thought cheesy and overly dramatic -- I am not really a fan of Tennessee Williams plays --they seem so overwrought--but after 10 minutes or so I became so mesmerized by both Newman and Taylor that I had to watch it until the end and stayed up until 1:30 AM. If you've never seen it, it's worth a try.



Bend it Like Beckham stars Parmainder Nagra from ER who plays the adorable Jess, a girl whose Pakistani culture conflicts with her dream of playing competitive soccer. This is another good movie for girls like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It's just nice to see a wholesome movie such as this one where girls are all about kickin' butt on the soccer field. The movie also stars Keira Knightly as Jess' very young boyish-looking team mate. The soccer coach and love interest is played by Jonathan Rhys-Myers, who I last saw in The Tudors, and he does his usual smoldering thing, but in this early version of him, he seemed kinda sissified (is that a word?)