BazFest
January 9, 2002
7:27 a.m.
Yes, we finished the BazFest (as Caroline called it in an e-mail conversation we recently held) last weekend with the watching of Strictly Ballroom this past weekend. It's another good story told in an interesting way. This one had less flash, and watching them in backward order you can get a real sensation of how Baz Lurhmann's storytelling skills and stylistic techniques developed. Or, as Lisa noted, you could see how his budgets increased at each step. I've been thinking a lot about two comments made by recent DP readers. The first is one by Thomas, who said that he saw Words as the easy thing to learn, and Story (defined by other writers as Vision) as the ephemeral item. This struck me because I've always been of the totally opposite mind. I see his point, and still, several days later, I find myself thinking about this. In the end, I think there is a level of artistry associated with each of the components. And also, there is an element of artistry associated with putting each of these components together in the right way to fit the story. Perhaps the only important thing is to keep finding ways to enjoy something about the process of doing it. The other item I've been thinking about have been the comments on the lack of quality of the story in Moulin Rouge. I have been thinking a lot about this, not because my beloved considers this the only real movie in existence and has stated that all other movies were made in order to lead us to Ewan McGregor's portrayal of Christian, but because I see the story as quite classical in nature. I see it as very Shakespearean, actually. Lovers struggle to be together amid corporate feuding and jealous manipulation. Yada, yada, yada. And yet, two separate people commented that they thought the movie was pretty much an exercise of style over substance. Now, I'll not argue their opinion of the story. Everyone is a critic, after all. You are allowed our opinion, despite the fact that I am the one who is always right. [grin] But, it makes me wonder if this is really more of a case of grandiose style overwhelming a classic storyline for some people. Think about it this way. If that same story had been set in the year 2002 and Tom Hanks played Christian and Meg Ryan (or maybe Julia Roberts) were playing Satine, how would the story play out? Personally, I think it would be fine--especially if they find an appropriate way to provide you the emotions currently embedded in the music in some way that doesn't have Tom, Meg, or Julia breaking out in song. Let's face it: Boy meets girl, falls in love, relationship gets torn apart by the outside world, and eventually ends in eternal love, is a damned fine underpinning to a story. Of course, you lose a lot of value in boiling something down to that level of analysis. It's like saying basketball is ten guys in shorts throwing a ball through a hoop. It's right, but not complete enough to provide any real idea of the experience of either watching or playing. The case of Moulin Rouge is interesting to me, because I did see a lot of people walk out of the film. (Take that with a grain of salt ... when you see the film 902 times, there's a lot of opportunity for that). They walked out before the story even really got underway. They walked out because they couldn't handle the style. On the other hand, this is the only film I've ever walked out of and heard several people say "Hey, I want to see this again right now" without it being a joke. I mean, people actually went back to the ticket window to decide if they wanted to see it again. This story clicks, folks. It's the story at the heart of probably every romance novel ever written (though I'll admit to not having read all of them, I think I'm pretty safe in this assumption). [grin] It's at the heart of fairy tales, and legends, and classical literature, and every date movie every made. (Okay, Greg, Heinlein was right). Still people I respect say MR had a weak story. After thinking about it, however, I don't know that I believe them. I think the story of Moulin Rouge stands completely on its own, but that the style it is told in is so colossal that it steals away attention. This is the beauty of style and voice. And it is also its problem.  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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A life lived in fear is a life half lived My only love sprung from my only hate The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return. |
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