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Go North, Young Woman

5/1/2020

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#54 - Long Way North
2015, Rated PG
Gather round and I’ll tell you the tale of a young aristocrat determined to follow in the footsteps of her grandfather, a brave Arctic explorer.
(5/1/20)

​The following recording is edited from its original 15-minute version due to copyright restrictions. To hear the full version, tune in or stream at the scheduled times on ktwh.org, or download on AudioPort.
I’d like to begin this one by talking a bit about the Bechdel Test. Named after American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, it measures the representation of women in fiction, particularly film. Its typical primary requirement is that the piece tested must include at least two female characters with actual names who converse with each other about something other than a man. For many years this has helped those in the film industry point out and reevaluate the stereotypical depictions of female characters in movies and the resulting negative effects they have on real women. While not without its flaws and criticisms, the Bechdel Test has paved the way for future films to bring audiences stronger, more realistic female characters in order to discourage gender inequality in real life as well as in fiction. I think it’s safe to say that this French animated film passes with every flying color under the sun.

Ever since she was a child, 19th century aristocrat Sacha Chernetsov has idolized her beloved grandfather, Oloukine, who embarked on the unsinkable icebreaker, the Davaï, to fulfill his dream of claiming the North Pole in the name of Russia. He tragically never returned, and the Davaï has remained missing ever since. Nevertheless, Sacha, now a teenager, is proud of her grandfather’s achievements as an explorer. Wandering through his study one night, Sacha stumbles upon his itinerary and is shocked to discover that the crew sent to locate the Davaï had searched in the wrong location! However, Oloukine’s posthumous praise does not sit well with Prince Tomsky, who views the expedition’s apparent failure as an insult to himself and to the empire. The prince uses his influence to not only ruin Sacha’s chances of getting help from the Tsar of Russia, but to disgrace Oloukine’s legacy and the Chernetsov name in high society along with it. Having nothing more to lose now, Sacha determines to find the Davaï herself. With the hard-won help of Captain Lund and his rowdy crew, she must brave the harsh Arctic wilderness to learn the fate of her grandfather’s voyage and restore her family’s honor.

The French title of Long Way North, Tout en haut du monde, literally translates to “At the Very Top of the World.” Its plot was partly inspired by director Rémi Chayé’s reading of Sir Earnest Henry Shackleton, an explorer who attempted to cross the South Pole and who was a major figure in the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, between the ends of the 19th century and WWI. According to Chayé, in the heart of Shackleton’s exploits of sailing ships, towering glaciers, and stormy seas is a story of human spirit and perseverance, qualities Chayé sought to bring to his film. There was also an underlying desire to bring to new, younger audiences a classic adventure story in the vein of those written by such epic authors as Jack London and Jules Verne.

I think this historical aesthetic is well reflected in the animation style. The entire movie is like a museum oil painting come to life, with the colors being very stark and solid. Backgrounds may seem simplistic at first glance, but can be appreciated as the masterpieces they are when observed as a whole. In a manner highly reminiscent of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Samurai Jack, there is little to no mixing or blending of one color to another. Most colors aren’t separated by any lines, and the lines that do exist for detail’s sake, like for facial features, are seldom black. Moreover, the character designs feel very deliberate in artistic emotional tone. The females and younger men—from the lovely, steadfast Sacha and the burly, but compassionate inn-keeper Olga, to the cunning first mate Larson and the mischievous ship’s apprentice, Katch—have rounder, fuller faces, accentuating their vivacity and openness:

SACHA: (Fervently to her best friend Nadya.) A real daddy’s boy. Who does this Tomsky think he is? If the Davaï was worthless, the Tsar wouldn’t have offered a million roubles to find it.
______

OLGA: (Confidently to Sacha.) You know, Lund is a good sailor. He can take you to the Davaï. And 30 days is nothing. With the work I’ll be giving you, you won’t get bored!
______

LARSON: (Smoothly.) Captain Larson, at your service. Can I accompany you somewhere? It’s not very safe here.
SACHA: Maybe you can help me, Captain. I’m looking for a ship to take me to Franz Josef Land.
LARSON: (Curious.) Franz Josef Land? Why would such a pretty girl want to go all the way up north?
______

KATCH: (To Sacha as they peel potatoes.) Did you really work at the White Bear for a month? (Grins.) And I thought you were a real snob.

The main older males, in contrast, are sharp and angular, complimenting their positions of power and authority; the resilient Oloukine, the severe Count Chernetsov, the pitiless Prince Tomsky, and the brusque Captain Lund all seem to have been chiseled out of stone with personalities to match, ranging from proud and strong to cold and unrelenting:

YOUNG SACHA: (Eagerly.) So, where is the North Pole?
OLOUKINE: (As they both gaze at the snow as if it were the Artic.) On the top of the world. It’s very cold there like a white desert. You have to walk for miles and miles on ice fields, with sleighs and dogs. But it’s so beautiful . . .
______

COUNT CHERNETSOV: (Letter in hand.) Good news, my dear. Prince Tomsky will be attending the ball. My nomination for the Embassy of Rome is certain. He wouldn’t be coming if I didn’t have the Tsar’s favor.
COUNTESS CHERNETSOV: (Sensibly.) Don’t forget that this is also your daughter’s first ball.
COUNT CHERNETSOV: (Unsmiling.) I know. I hope will be worthy of her rank. She’s been unpredictable lately.
______

PRINCE TOMSKY: (Refusing to listen to the Count’s plea to stay at the ball.) Enough. We’ll settle this tomorrow. 10 am, the Palace. (With some spiteful humor.) You know, Chernetsov, I wonder if the Tsar can still trust a man who is not master in his own home.
______

CAPTAIN LUND: (To the crew.) Get in position. We cast off in 15 minutes.
LARSON: (Surprised.) But that’s earlier than planned.
CAPTAIN LUND: (Firmly.) Larson, brother or not, you should still be on time.
LARSON: You could have warned me.
CAPTAIN LUND: The weather is changing. We have to leave!
LARSON: But I was doing some important business.
CAPTAIN LUND: (Fiercely.) I don’t have time for your schemes!
LARSON: (Angrily.) This ship is as much mine as yours! Father gave it to us both.
CAPTAIN LUND: (Cuts him off, unimpressed.) You think that’s enough to make you a captain? Learn how to be a first mate.

Getting back to my original point: to give you an idea why I find Sacha such an admirable female protagonist, let me explain at the same time what she is not. First, she is NOT dissatisfied with her upper-class life or ashamed of her heritage. It’s all well and good for girls to challenge stifling social norms, especially with regards to their futures, but listening to them complain (or sing) about how “tortured” and misunderstood they are beforehand can get real old real fast. Grief and unfulfilled pursuits aside, Sacha still acts according to her station. Though unafraid to speak her mind, she is never moody, selfish, or immature. She is resolute in her beliefs while still remaining dignified and respectful of others, no matter how it may clash with her own wishes.

SACHA: You wanted to see me, Papa?
COUNT CHERNETSOV: Prince Tomsky is honoring us with his presence tonight. Your opening dance will be with him.
SACHA: (Nodding.) Very well.)
______

PRINCE TOMSKY: (To the Count and Countess.) Charming. (Offers his arm to Sacha.) Young lady.
SACHA: (Accepting his arm politely.) Prince, I’m delighted to be opening the ball with you.
______

COUNTESS CHERNETSOV: (Sighing to Sacha as she trims her flowers.) I had such hopes for that evening. Your debutante ball. Such a pity.
SACHA: (In dismay.) Mother, forgive me. I didn’t realize.

Second, she is NOT an awkward tomboy. OR a “Mulan” rip-off. Consider how many girls in movies have had to effectively sacrifice their femininity or even their very sex (by means of disguise) in order to be taken seriously by men. Sacha is perfectly comfortable in her own skin. She strives to prove her worth and help the crew—who know exactly who and what she is—for the sake of their mission and their survival, without said mission devolving into some juvenile “battle of the sexes” cliché:

SACHA: (To Briscoe after he tends the badly wounded Lund.) Well?
BRISCOE: (Grave.) He’s in bad shape. And we lost all our penicillin. I don’t know how we’re going to make it.
SACHA: We must find the Davaï! There’s surely medicine on board.
[. . .]
SACHA: (Looking over the maps with Larson.) The only solution is to reach the Davaï by foot. Look, we found their lifeboat here. (Points with a pencil.) They must have left the Davaï and headed south. We need to find their route and head north from that spot.
LARSON: (Skeptical.) We don’t know that for sure. We should wait for another ship to come.
(The two pause as Lund groans in severe pain.)
SACHA: (In a low, anxious voice.) We can’t afford to wait.

Third, she is NOT a dated millennial in a “backwards” era. If you’re going to create an unironically smart, respectable female character for a period piece, realistic or fantastical, at the very least, for Pete’s sake, MAKE THEM FIT THE TIME PERIOD! A confident young woman does not have to sound like some American twenty-year-old socialite from a 90’s chick flick in order for modern girls to relate to her. Sacha’s intelligence and boldness come not from a wise-cracking attitude and a petty contempt for those who would look down on her, but from a genuine thirst for knowledge and a sincere passion for the vocation of geographical exploration:

SACHA: (Pointing to the map accordingly.) So if we follow the navigation chart Oloukine passed by the extreme north of Novaya Zemlya. But then, instead of heading east as was expected through the Kara Sea, he tried his chances going west through the Barents Sea. He must be there, between Franz Josef Land and Spitsbergen, blocked by the ice.
CAPTAIN LUND: So, assuming that your report was written by Oloukine, assuming that he’d thought of another route to get to the Pole, a route that crosses the Barents Sea, what proves that he actually took it?
SACHA: (Earnestly.) He didn’t have the choice. Two years ago, in July, the weather on the Kara was disastrous. I checked. Force 10 winds . . . no ship could sail there. I assure you, Captain, the Davaï has not sunk. (Hits the map with a firm finger.) It’s waiting for you here. With the million roubles promised by the Tsar.

And speaking of fitting the time period, I was surprised at how a certain music choice actually works, considering how obnoxiously jarring it could have been. The soundtrack was composed by Jonathan Morali, front runner of the French indie rock band, Syd Matters, two of whose songs are featured in the film. Despite the contemporary edge, their music has a very introspective sound which compliments the organically emotional highs and lows Sacha experiences without being a distraction to either the historical setting or the pragmatic tone. But undoubtedly the film’s symphonic highlights occur for me during the silent moments within the heart of the Arctic: a cello solo – slow, soft, and heartbreaking – over the awe-inspiring sounds of rumbling glaciers, shifting ice fields, and mournful winds, to a visual backdrop of the purest white as magnificent as it is desolate.

As Long Way North is a drama as well as an action-adventure, its music is equally subdued and somber, moods which Morali pulls off beautifully. And like the aforementioned painting to which I made a comparison, here is a powerful representation of humanity humbled before the devastating forces of nature that could easily be pondered for hours . . . or eternity.

With elegantly solid animation to compliment an exciting and poignant story with a healthy appreciation for nature’s wonders and dangers, Long Way North is a cinematic love letter to the epic exploration adventures of old. But as much as it is a throwback to the past, it also offers a refreshingly different kind of heroine for contemporary young audiences to look up to: a sensitive and sensible young woman and a brave and honorable human being, rather than an exasperating wide-eyed idealist or a walking “man with boobs” trope. In all honesty, I believe its feminist message is all the stronger for focusing less on lofty ideas of girl power and more on the strength of the human spirit, a theme much more inclusive and universal, because of what real use are gender labels when you’re aiming for the top of the world?

CREDITS:
Special thanks to KTWH 99.5 Two Harbors Community Radio. All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.

MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund

https://www.briandmorrison.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BriandMorrisonGuitar/
https://www.youtube.com/user/briandmorrison​​​​​​
EPISODE SONG:
“Long Way Ahead” - Sean Zarn

https://www.facebook.com/sean.zarn
All other music and sound clips are from the English dub of Long Way North (produced by Sacrebleu Productions, Maybe Movies, France 3 Cinema, 2 Minutes, and Nørlum; distributed by Shout! Factory).

OST SONGS:
“Hi Life” and “To All of You” - Syd Matters

Download the full 15-minute episode here!

Long Way North on Wikipedia

Long Way North on Shout! Factory's Official Website

Long Way North on IMDb

Long Way North on Rotten Tomatoes

Long Way North on Metacritic

Long Way North on Common Sense Media

Long Way North on Tv Tropes

Long Way North at Barnes & Noble

Long Way North on Amazon

Long Way North on eBay

​^^ Back to Movies, Short Films, and Other Works of Cinema
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Ebeneezer Scrooge McDuck

11/1/2019

1 Comment

 
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#51 - Mickey's Christmas Carol
1983, Rated G
Gather round and I’ll tell you one of the greatest Christmas tales ever written, re-enacted by the great ensemble of Walt Disney.
(11/1/19)

​The following recording is edited from its original 15-minute version due to copyright restrictions. To hear the full version, tune in or stream at the scheduled times on ktwh.org, or download on AudioPort.
Rare is the power of an animation company that can adapt classic books into films and make those adaptations so memorable that they come to mind long before the source material does. Such is the power of Walt Disney. And even as an adult who by now has read and studied many of these books, I am most certainly no exception. I still can’t read stories like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, or The Little Mermaid without thinking of their Disney counterparts for at least a moment, no matter how different they are. Heck, it wasn’t until I reached my high school and college years that I learned at all that 101 Dalmatians, Winnie the Pooh, The Great Mouse Detective, The Black Cauldron, and even the effectively disowned Song of the South weren’t technically original Disney creations! I think for many of us, Disney has been the gateway through which we’ve been first introduced to numerous iconic books. One of the first in my own childhood was this rendition of this timeless holiday staple by Charles Dickens.

It’s now Christmas Eve, and the inhabitants of a little village in Victorian England are abuzz with preparations and aglow with the holiday spirit, even the severely overworked and underpaid accounting clerk, Bob Cratchit. The one exception is Ebenezer Scrooge, Cratchit’s bitter and stingy boss who views Christmas as nothing more than a nuisance at best and a money-waster at worst. But Scrooge gets a rude awakening when he is visited by the ghost of his late business partner, Jacob Marley. He explains that due to being greedy and selfish while alive, he is now eternally condemned in the afterlife, and unless Scrooge changes his own ways, he will suffer the same fate. Being warned that the three Ghosts of Christmas will come to him later that night, Scrooge must heed their advice, or risk losing everything and being forever alone in life and in death.

Now I know that most if not all of you are already quite familiar with this synopsis. That being said, there are some points that I can’t explain without giving spoilers for this particular adaptation. So, please consider yourself warned.

In addition to Dickens’ 1843 novella, Mickey’s Christmas Carol is also based on a 1974 Disneyland Record audio musical entitled An Adaptation of Dickens’ Christmas Carol. It debuted in the US alongside a Christmas re-issue of Disney’s 1977 feature film, The Rescuers (incidentally, also based on a book. Go figure). It was the first Disney animated theatrical short to both feature Mickey Mouse since 1953’s The Simple Things, and to garner a Best Animated Short Film nomination since 1948’s Mickey and the Seal. It also marked the debut of Alan Young as the voice of Scrooge McDuck, who would be played by Young up until his death in 2016.

The title itself is a misnomer, as the real star of the show is not Mickey; I’m sure you can guess who is. It goes without saying that Disney’s Scrooge got more than just his name from Dickens’ main character. Created by Disney comic artist Carl Barks in 1947, he was originally meant to be an antagonist for Donald Duck, just as much of a spiteful penny-pincher as his namesake. But his growing popularity over the following years has caused him to be increasingly shown in a much kinder and more generous light, even to the point of his becoming a canon member of the Duck family, as seen in the Ducktales T.V. series of the late 1980’s and its 2017 reboot. I think it could be argued that here, not only is Scrooge brought back to his miserly roots, but is therefore a “living” example of metafiction in his own right.

SCROOGE: (Writing in his book, thinking aloud.) Let’s see now, fifty pounds, ten shillings from McDuff. (Begins handling and clinking his gold coins cheerfully.) Plus his 80% interest, compounded daily. (Scoops his gold up in his arms, laughing gleefully.) Oh, money, money, money!
[The shop’s bell rings; Scrooge’s nephew Fred steps in.]
FRED: (Happily declares with his arms outstretched.) Merry Christmas!
CRATCHIT: (Jumps out of his chair as he greets him.) And a Merry Christmas to you, Master Fred!
SCROOGE: (Looks up, frowns, and continues writing as he mutters under his breath.) Bah, humbug.
FRED: Merry Christmas, Uncle Scrooge!
SCROOGE: (Slams his book shut peevishly and marches toward the two.) What's so merry about it? I'll tell you what Christmas is. It's just another work day, and any jackanapes who thinks else should be boiled in his own pudding!
FRED: (Hangs his head in disappointment.) Oh. . . .

Now obviously, there have been tons of film and T.V. adaptations of A Christmas Carol over the years before and after this one, many of which have also featured characters from well-established franchises aimed for and beloved by younger audiences: The Flinstones, The Jetsons, Mister Magoo, The Smurfs, Looney Tunes, Sesame Street, The Muppets, you name it! In my experience, these specials tend to present one of three scenarios:

#1) The franchise characters put on a play of A Christmas Carol and the episode’s story proper occurs literally behind the scenes within their own respective universe.
#2) A particular character who is already disagreeable in accordance to his franchise finds himself in a situation that mirrors the Christmas Carol plot, sees the error of his ways and learns to show his softer side by the end (though he usually remains disagreeable overall.)
#3) The characters reenact the story within a Dickens-style universe, but still act like their natural selves, utilizing any or all of the contemporary language, slapstick, running gags, quirky personality traits, etc., that they may be known for.

Mickey’s Christmas Carol does none of those things.

This is a genuine “real life” Victorian setting, not a stage set, and the Disney characters act and address each other according to the specific roles within Dickens’ story. There are some funny moments, certainly, but no in-jokes, pop-culture references, or fourth wall breaks of any kind. I find that pretty unique, especially considering these are cartoon characters that don’t typically specialize in olden day drama or tragedy. Even more impressive, though, is how tailor-made they feel for their parts. Mickey Mouse, as Bob Cratchit, retains his warmth, sincerity, and high spirits despite Scrooge’s ill treatment:

CRATCHIT: But sir, Christmas is a time for giving . . . a time to be with one's family.

[. . .]

SCROOGE: [. . .] You may go now.
CRATCHIT: Ah, oh thank you, sir! (Leaps off his stool.) You're so kind!
SCROOGE: Never mind the mushy stuff, just go! But be here all the other early the next day!
CRATCHIT: I will, I will, sir! And a Bah Humbug—(Catches himself just in time.) I mean, a Merry Christmas to you, sir!

Donald is still Scrooge’s nephew, only he goes by Fred now; he’s as stubborn as he ever was, but that just makes him and his enthusiasm for the holiday all the more endearing, even while he’s taking a beating:

SCROOGE: I say, Bah humbug!
FRED: (Resolutely.) I don't care! I say, Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas!

[. . .]

FRED: I've come to give you a wreath and invite you to Christmas dinner. [. . .] Will you come?
SCROOGE: (Yanks open the door in his outrage.) Are you daft, man? You know I can't eat that stuff! Here's your wreath back. (Shoves the wreath over Fred.) Now, out, out, OUT! (Kicks the squealing Fred out the door and slams it after him.) Bah, humbug.
FRED: (Comes back opening the door.) Merry Christmas! (Hangs the wreath on the doorknob then leaves.)

Goofy plays Jacob Marley; a decade before A Goofy Movie and he could still be serious (albeit a bit melodramatic), with his menacing, ghostly wail and his dignified tone of voice. But, of course, he could never get away with not showing off his typical clumsiness and hilarious trademark squeal:

MARLEY: Ebenezer? Remember when I was alive I robbed the widows and swindled the poor?
SCROOGE: Yes, and all in the same day. Oh, you had class, Jacob.
MARLEY: (Proudly.) Ha-yuk, yup! . . . (Catches himself.) Er, no, no! I was wrong! And so, as punishment, I'm forced to carry these heavy chains through eternity! (Pauses briefly.) Maybe even longer.

[. . .]

MARLEY: [. . .] Farewell, Ebenezer. Whoop! (Chuckles as he narrowly misses slipping on Scrooge’s discarded cane a second time, before gliding safely away through the door.) Fareweeeellll . . .
SCROOGE: (In sudden alarm.) Marley! Watch out for that first--
[We hear Marley’s squealing cry as he crashes down the stairs.]
SCROOGE: (Lamely.) —step.
[Bang]

Even the Three Ghosts of Christmas feel authentic without their Disney character actors being a distraction. Jiminy Cricket, in a manner of speaking, reprises the conscience role he played in Pinocchio (complete with a gold medal engraved with his official title—a very nice throwback) as the Ghost of Christmas Past, guiding Scrooge with wisdom and reason belied by his small stature:

SCROOGE: (Sighs happily.) Ah, I remember how much I was in love with [Isabelle].
(A wind blows and the lights inside go out.)
GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST: In ten years time, you learned to love something else. [. . .] You loved your gold more than that precious creature, and you lost her forever.

[. . .]

SCROOGE: (Distraught.) Please, spirit, I can no longer bear these memories! Take me home!
GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST: (Candidly.) Remember, Scrooge, you fashioned these memories yourself.

Willie the Giant (who first appeared in the Mickey and the Beanstalk segment from the film Fun and Fancy Free), is the Ghost of Christmas Present, oafish and dimwitted, but also good-natured in a way that reflects his compassion and love for life’s gifts:

SCROOGE: (Stammering.) Please, let me go! Don't eat me!
GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT: Why would the Ghost of Christmas Present—that's me—want to eat a distasteful little miser like you? Duh, especially when there are so many good things to enjoy in life? See? [. . .] It's the food of generosity, which you have long denied your fellow man.
SCROOGE: (Scoffs.) Generosity? Ha! Nobody has ever shown me generosity!
GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT: You've never given them a reason to. (Plucks a grape off Scrooge’s foot and gulps it down.) And yet . . . (grabs Scrooge from inside his robe.) There are some who still find enough warmth in their hearts even for the likes of you. (Drops Scrooge into his robe pocket.)
SCROOGE: Hmph! No acquaintance of mine, I assure you.
GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT: You'll see.

And as the Ghost of Christmas Future, I think this is the closest we will ever come to seeing Pete as not a mere inconsiderate jerk, but an actual evil villain, sinister and frightening:

SCROOGE: (Peers nervously into the grave.) Spirit, whose lonely grave is this?
[The Ghost flicks a match, revealing Scrooge's name on the tombstone; he removes his hood and reveals his face as he lights his cigar.]
GHOST OF CHRISTMAS FUTURE: Why yours, Ebenezer. (Knocks Scrooge into the grave.) The richest man in the cemetery! (Laughs evilly as Scrooge struggles frantically to climb out, away from the hellish flames that spew from within the coffin below.)

Along with the main cast, half the fun of this movie comes from the additional cameos offered. From brief unspoken appearances of others in the original Disney roster, like Chip and Dale and Huey, Dewey, and Louie, to the inclusion of far more obscure members, like Mickey’s twin nephews, Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse (the former of whom plays the short but pivotal role of Tiny Tim), to even a nod to characters from some of Disney’s previous feature films like Robin Hood and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Whether major or minor, they each add some Christmas cheer in their own special way.

For anyone looking for an entertaining but faithful and palatable adaptation with which to introduce children to Dickens’ illustrious story, in my opinion, you really can’t go wrong with Mickey’s Christmas Carol. Of course, as is true in other family-friendly versions, a lot has been changed, glossed over, or omitted from the original source material, and Mickey, Scrooge, and the rest of the gang naturally inject this retelling with the typical humor and silliness we’ve come to expect from a Disney animated short. And yet they still succeed beautifully in treating the darker and more solemn moments of said source material with respect through their performances, keeping its splendor, spirit, and even the whole world of its author alive and intact, while never dismissing the cartoon qualities we all know and love. In essence, a timeless holiday classic from the past, brought to new life by a timeless animated cast to create a new timeless holiday classic for the present and future.

CREDITS:
Special thanks to KTWH 99.5 Two Harbors Community Radio. All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.

MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund

https://www.briandmorrison.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BriandMorrisonGuitar/
https://www.youtube.com/user/briandmorrison​​​​​
EPISODE SONGS:
“Scrooge’s Heart” - Alex Nelson

https://www.facebook.com/alex.j.nelson.7
“We Wish You a Merry Christmas” - Alex Nelson
All other music and sound clips are from Mickey’s Christmas Carol (production by Walt Disney Pictures; distributed by Buena Vista Distribution).

Download the full 15-minute episode here!

Mickey's Christmas Carol on Wikipedia

Mickey's Christmas Carol on Disney Wiki
​
Mickey's Christmas Carol on IMDb

Mickey's Christmas Carol on Rotten Tomatoes

Mickey's Christmas Carol on Common Sense Media

Mickey's Christmas Carol on Tv Tropes

Mickey's Christmas Carol at Disney Movies
​
Mickey's Christmas Carol on Amazon

Mickey's Christmas Carol on eBay

​^^ Back to Movies, Short Films, and Other Works of Cinema
1 Comment

A Groovy Odyssey

7/5/2019

0 Comments

 
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#49 - Yellow Submarine
1968, Rated G
Gather round and I’ll tell you the tale of the greatest rock band of all time in all its psychedelic cartoon glory.
(7/5/19)

​The following recording is edited from its original 15-minute version due to copyright restrictions. To hear the full version, tune in or stream at the scheduled times on ktwh.org, or download on AudioPort.
I’m sorry to say that I lost my dad’s VHS copy of this movie as a kid. He has told me that he couldn’t care less about it now, and of course, I believe him. Still, I do feel a sliver of guilt about it every now and again. So . . . yeah. Sorry, Dad. :/ In another example of five-year-old mistaking on my part, by the time I saw this movie, I had already been on a long and steady diet of Disney fare, resulting in the misguided belief that anything animated was exclusively for kids and therefore fun, while anything not animated was exclusively for grownups and therefore not fun. While certainly not family unfriendly by any stretch, this was one of the first films I saw that began to subtly chip away at that belief, for which I am now eternally grateful. And as an added bonus, I don’t think I could have had a better introduction than this to the immortal musical movement that was The Beatles.

Eighty thousand leagues beneath the sea lays (or lies, the narrator’s not too sure) the beautiful utopia known as Pepperland. In this paradise full of light and color, and under the protection of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the gentle, peace-loving inhabitants spend their days creating music with which to entertain and bring joy to one another. But the hairy, long-nosed blue meanies decide they are fed up with such cheerful sounds and attack with all their music-hating might, reducing Pepperland to a gray and silent wasteland. At the behest of the elderly Lord Mayor, the only slightly less elderly sailor, Old Fred, takes the titular yellow submarine and travels up to the surface to seek help. He ultimately finds himself in 1960’s England, where he comes across a bored and depressed Ringo Starr wandering the streets of Liverpool. Touched by Old Fred’s story, Ringo takes him to meet his band mates: the charismatic John Lennon, the spiritual George Harrison, and the nonchalant Paul McCartney. And so the Fab Four agree to accompany Old Fred in the magical sub through bizarre and dangerous waters. Armed with nothing but the powers of music, peace, and love, the Beatles must face off against the spitefully insane Chief Blue Meanie and his oddball minions in order to save Pepperland and restore its people to their former happy and harmonious selves.

The film is based on the song of the same name, written by McCartney and Lennon and first released on the Beatles’ 1966 album, Revolver. It was originally intended as a nonsense song for children, but over time has been increasingly believed by adults to carry social and political symbolism. I personally see it as a song best enjoyed with a bunch of friends of any age who couldn’t care less how long it goes on or whether they or anyone else can carry a tune to begin with. And no, you don’t have to be either drunk or high to get the full, delightfully silly effect:

We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

And speaking of trippy states of mind, this is the movie that set the standard for me when it comes to animation that’s a combination of explosively colorful and weird to the point where you start to wonder if the creators weren’t on something themselves. Anime like Mononoke and Catnapped! and obscure pre-90’s movies like Fantastic Planet and Twice Upon a Time spring to mind. Though primarily 2-D animated, Yellow Submarine cranks the eye-candy level up to 11 by utilizing a variety of animations and art styles. Among others, there’s rotoscoping, Andy Warhol-esque Pop art, and cut-out imagery reminiscent of Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

Moreover, though made when the Beatles were at the height of their popularity, Yellow Submarine still looks and feels like a high-quality animated musical with real artistic effort put into it rather than just an hour and a half worth of Beatles songs strung together by a series of random acting scenes. (Magical Mystery Tour, I’m looking at you.) Not only are the song segments fun music videos in their own right, but the classic Beatles tunes peppering the film (pun intended!) blend seamlessly with the narrative and help to move it along. “Eleanor Rigby” is played as the yellow submarine flies over Liverpool, with “all the lonely people” going through the motions of their seemingly unfulfilling day-to-day lives:

Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
In the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face
That she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

In the much more upbeat “All Together Now”, our heroes have just entered the sub and are now learning, or rather playing with, the controls, and having a grand old time doing it:

All together now
All together now
All together now
All together now

And the crew perform “When I’m Sixty-Four” while traveling through the Sea of Time, after first shrinking down into children, and then literally being buried in piles of their own whitening hair as they age into old men:

“When I get older losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a Valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine
If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four”

There are also strong elements of Alice in Wonderland, but not just for the obvious reasons, like the weird landscapes and the crazy creatures. The protagonists act not like they’re on not a rescue mission, but rather a self-guided tour: they encounter some curiosity, have an experience with it, and then move on to the next one. As a matter of fact, the Beatles don’t react half as strongly to their adventures as Alice does to hers, and what they see is way freakier than anything Carroll ever came up with. But this actually makes them even funnier to watch because of how utterly dorky they are. Whether they’re stumbling from one fever-dream situation to another—and surviving through nothing but sheer dumb luck—or bantering in their thick British accents about some pseudo-philosophical gibberish like lazy college buddies, sometimes they just make you want to shake your head in a mixture of aggrieved pity and barely-suppressed exasperation, even when their lovably goofy charm makes you laugh:

PAUL: Do you ever get the feeling . . .
JOHN: Yeah?
PAUL: . . . that things aren’t as rosy as they appear to be under the surface?
GEORGE: What’s happening, John?
JOHN: Well, in my humble opinion, we’ve become involved in Einstein’s space-time continuum theory.
GEORGE: Oh, aye.
JOHN: “Relatively” speaking, that is.
GEORGE: Of course. Maybe time’s going on strike.
PAUL: What for?
GEORGE: Shorter hours.
RINGO: I don’t blame it. Must be very tiring being time, mustn’t it?
OTHERS: Why?
RINGO: Well, it’s a 24-hour day, isn’t it?
JOHN: You surprise me, Ringo.
RINGO: Why?
JOHN: Dealing in abstracts.

Not to mention their puns so embarrassingly lame they make Looney Tunes humor look sophisticated:

OLD FRED: (Amazed, as he and Ringo approach a table on which the Frankenstein monster lays sleeping) Frankenstein?
RINGO: Oh, yeah, I used to go out with his sister.
OLD FRED: His sister?
RINGO: Yeah, Phyllis. (Sees a lever and goes to grasp it) Hey. I wonder what would happen if I pull this lever?
OLD FRED: (Waves his hands at him worriedly) You mustn’t do that!
RINGO: (Unperturbed) Can’t help it, I’m a born “Liver-pooler.”

[. . .]

OLD FRED: (After examining the yellow submarine’s motor) By Neptune’s knickerbockers! She’s puttered out.
JOHN: Well, maybe we should call a road service.
PAUL: Can’t. No road.
RINGO: And we’re not “sub-scribers.”
OTHERS: (Groaning and face-palming with visible pain) Sub-scribers. Oh.

The original characters are even less complex in terms of motivation and personality, but in such a bonkers world they really couldn’t be any other way, nor should they. The Chief Blue Meanie is like Gonzo the Muppet with the body of a life-size Chia Pet, and the “manners” of the Queen of Hearts: calm and collected and agreeable one moment, screaming like a psychopathic toddler at the slightest provocation the next:

CHIEF BLUE MEANIE: (Completely relaxed as he is carried in by his minions) Pepperland is a tickle of joy on the blue belly of the universe. (Gets out of his carriage, and bears his claws at his lackey, Max) It must be scratched. Right, Max?
MAX: (Saluting with a goofy grin) Yes, Your Blueness!
CHIEF BLUE MEANIE: (With sudden rage) WHAT? (Grabs Max by the ears) We Meanies only take no for an answer! (Drops him back down and looms menacingly over him) Is that understood, Max?
MAX: (Salutes again, still grinning) No, Your Blueness!
CHIEF BLUE MEANIE: (Immediately calms down) That’s better.

Old Fred is a brave and true sailor man, but also kind of a melodramatic twit. Granted, his people and homeland are in danger, but his childish pleading and one-track mind seldom encourage the rest of the cast to take him very seriously:

OLD FRED: (Bangs on Ringo’s front door) Help! Help! Help!
RINGO: (From inside his house) Thanks, I don’t need any.
OLD FRED: (Clasps his hands together, begging) Help! Won’t you please, please help me!
RINGO: (Through his mail slot) Be specific.
OLD FRED: (Flails in front of the door) [incoherent babble] Music! [More incoherent babble] Blue! Blue! [More incoherent babble] The submarine—Explosions! Blue Meanies!
RINGO: (Closes the slot, muttering) What you need is--
OLD FRED: (Continues flailing) “H” for Hurry, “E” for “ergent”, (drops to his knees) “L” for love me . . . and “P” for please help!

But my favorite is one Jeremy Hillary Boob, Ph.D. With a rabbit-like body, pink monkey ears and fluffy tail, the face of clown, and a habit for perpetually speaking in rhyme, Jeremy has an insatiable passion for knowledge and scholarly endeavors. The epitome of the absent-minded professor, he often forgets his own facts, contradicts himself, and fixes broken objects a bit too well, but he’s just so adorable in his enthusiasm as well as his appearance you can never stay mad at him for long:

JEREMY: Medic, pedic, zed oblique. Orphic, morphic, dorfic, Greek. Ad hoc, ad loc and quid pro quo! So little time, ha ha, so much to know!

Having said all that, if there is anyone here who does display any real character development, it’s Ringo. He’s easily the kindest and most sensitive of the quartet, even to the point of making the other three look like jerks. While John, George, and Paul tend to tease him and show a sort of “just along for the ride” kind of attitude throughout, Ringo actually stops and thinks about his place in the world (or lack thereof), and cares about the feelings and well-being of others, even a so-called “Nowhere Man”:

JOHN: (Pointing back at the sub) Okay, men, all aboard. Let’s go somewhere.
RINGO: (Points at Jeremy, who’s crying) What about him?
JOHN: (Wiggles a finger in Ringo’s face) He’s happy enough going round in circles.
RINGO: (Watches Jeremy with sympathy) Oh, poor little fella.
PAUL: (Shrugging) I don’t know. Ringo’s just a sentimentalist.
RINGO: Aw, look at him. Can’t he come with us? (Runs over to Jeremy) Hey, uh, Mr. Boob, you can come with us if you like.
JEREMY: (With surprise and delight) You mean, you’d take a nowhere man?
RINGO: (Takes him by the hand) Yeah, come on. We’ll take you somewhere.

In hindsight, if not for Ringo, there wouldn’t even be a story, never mind the deliverance of a civilization. I might be over analyzing a tiny detail in a movie better known for random madness than logic or drama. But I feel that Ringo in particular is the one Beatle who seems to get anything personal out of the entire adventure. And to their credit, the other three do learn to better appreciate this, and him, by the end.

Being only a casual Beatles listener myself, I can’t say for certain exactly how much the Beatles of Yellow Submarine resemble their real life counterparts. Plus, there are a few jokes and references here and there that only hardcore fans/historians are going to understand. Even so, I do know from personal experience that you don’t have to know anything about the Beatles to have a complete ball with this movie. With its colorful visuals, creative absurdity, and offbeat humor, the idea of Yellow Submarine is not to be challenged by a complex story, but to have a fun and groovy experience while rocking out to some of the Beatles’ greatest hits. It may very well be a product of its time, but its joyful aesthetic, just like their song, “All You Need is Love”, will remain universal.

CREDITS:
Special thanks to KTWH 99.5 Two Harbors Community Radio. All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.

MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund

https://www.briandmorrison.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BriandMorrisonGuitar/
https://www.youtube.com/user/briandmorrison​​​​
EPISODE SONGS:
“Beatlesque” - Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund
“Blue Diamond Sky” - Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund
All other music and sound clips are from Yellow Submarine (production by Apple Films, King Features Syndicate, and TVC London; distributed by United Artists).

OST SONGS (by The Beatles):
“Yellow Submarine”
“Eleanor Rigby”
“All Together Now”
“When I’m Sixty-Four”

Download the full 15-minute episode here!

Yellow Submarine on Wikipedia

Yellow Submarine on The Beatles' Official Website

Yellow Submarine on IMDb

Yellow Submarine on Rotten Tomatoes

Yellow Submarine on Common Sense Media

Yellow Submarine on Tv Tropes

Yellow Submarine on Barnes & Noble

Yellow Submarine on Amazon

Yellow Submarine on eBay

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Too Rich for Blood

5/3/2019

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#47 - Antiviral
2012, MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY
Gather round and I’ll tell you the tale of a corporation that exploits society’s insatiable obsession with celebrities in a sick fashion—literally.
(5/3/19)

​The following recording is edited from its original 15-minute version due to copyright restrictions. To hear the full version, tune in or stream at the scheduled times on ktwh.org, or download on AudioPort.
WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF BLOOD, GORE, AND VIOLENT ILLNESS. LISTENER/RESEARCHER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

In the Spring of 2017, my sister and I attended MantiCon, the official convention of military sci-fi author, David Weber. I wasn’t as interested in him as she was, but it was still a great chance for us to spend time together, and there were plenty of other writers for me to chat with and books and memorabilia for me to geek out over. When I asked her later how she liked meeting one of her literary heroes, she told me that he was actually a really nice guy and a joy to talk to. I felt some relief at this because, to be honest, I had been a bit worried. I couldn’t help thinking that this whole trip could have been ruined for her had Weber treated her or his other fans poorly. It really is incredible how easy it is to forget that the celebrities we idolize are just as human as anyone else. So just what on earth is it that makes a person want to pay $31,000 for John Lennon’s tooth, or $28,000 for a grilled cheese supposedly bearing the image of the Virgin Mary? (I wish I was making that up.) Sad enough this happens in real life. But if the technology represented in this film actually existed—Heaven PLEASE forbid—, would it really be that surprising if somebody out there wanted to take advantage of it, depraved though it is?

In an alternate near-future America, celebrity mania has reached unprecedented heights as advancing technology has allowed the public to indulge ever more in the lives of their idols. Now a new industry that profits off this obsession has established itself in the mainstream. Whenever a celebrity falls ill, trained individuals from specialized corporations, like the Lucas Clinic, harvest their infected DNA and then inject it into the bodies of paying customers so that they may suffer as their icons do. Enter Syd March, one of the Lucas Clinic’s finest employees. When not pitching the hottest and latest viruses to eager clients, he’s busy making extra cash on the side by smuggling samples within his own body and selling them on the black market. And so, when Hannah Geist, the most popular and lucrative host in Lucas’ collection, contracts a never-before-seen disease, Syd loses no time in infecting himself with her tainted blood. To his surprise and alarm, this one proves deadly, absolutely ravaging his body with its excruciating and horrifying symptoms. But Syd’s true suffering is only just beginning when he learns that Ms. Geist has apparently died from the illness, making him the next best thing available to the masses ravenous for her now priceless samples. Now the target of business rivals and piracy groups alike, Syd must solve the mystery behind the virus and cure himself before he is consumed by either it or the ruthless entrepreneurs on his tail.

The film’s director, Brandon Cronenberg, may not be familiar to mainstream audiences, but his father very much is. One of the pioneers of body horror cinema, David Cronenberg’s best known films, though highly controversial due to their excessive gore and violence, explore numerous mature and visceral topics through the science fiction and horror genres. For example: the fear of the human and/or female body in The Brood; the devastating mental and social impacts of media consumption in Videodrome; and the terrifying inevitabilities of disease, terminal illness, and old age in his 1986 remake of The Fly, just to name a few. His son’s directorial debut similarly makes biting commentary on a less-than-savory aspect of modern American culture, an issue that’s become more relevant than ever in the 21st century as internet and social media have exploded in scope and popularity.

Brandon’s inspiration for Antiviral came in two parts. The first occurred during an intense fever dream brought on by a viral infection. In a state of delirium, he obsessed over the idea that what was now inside his own body came from inside another person’s body and thought of the strange intimacy of such a connection. Afterwards he realized that celebrity-obsessed fans actually epitomize this idea in the way they fetishize the body. He was further inspired by an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, in which actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, who was ill at the time, remarked during her interview that she’d infect the entire audience if she sneezed, resulting in said audience bursting into applause.

Just think about that for a moment.

SYD: (As he prepares the injection for Edward Porris.) Which side do you want it on?
EDWARD: (Uncertain.) I haven’t decided.
SYD: (Conversationally.) Most people want it on the left side. If she kissed you, it’d be on the left side.
EDWARD: If she kissed me?
SYD: (Leans in toward Edward and points to his right lip.) Ms. Geist is infected here, to the right of her mouth. (Points and moves his finger at Edward’s lips as he goes on.) Now, if she kissed you, it’d spread to your left side, around here. On the left, it’d be like she gave it to you in person.
EDWARD: (With breathless excitement.) Oh, yes, I’d like the left side.

Brandon incorporates this distorted point of view into numerous aspects of the film. Take the visuals. The coloring is pale and washed-out, adding to the lifeless tone. Moreover, the clinics are a spotless, almost painfully blinding white, mixing the unnatural sanitation of a hospital with the cold chicness of a fashion industry office building. The only color that really stands out at all is red; shades that aren’t bright and vivid, like for the blood, are often brownish and muddy, emphasizing the ugly reality of filth underneath the “clean” façade of fame. Another important symbol is the flower, particularly the tulip, the logo of the Lucas Clinic. There is a real-life phenomenon in which tulips, normally solid-colored when healthy, are infected by a virus and “broken”, resulting in a streaked multicolored appearance. Far from being rejected as a biological mutation, their attractiveness has since prompted flower enthusiasts to intentionally breed them to this day, though they are much more fragile. This is not unlike the film’s consumers “breaking” themselves with human pathogens for the sake of superficial beauty, no matter how fragile they become:

LUCAS: (Holds up a yellow tulip whose petals are streaked with red.) Did you know that healthy tulips have solid-colored petals? The stripes on this flower are caused by a viral infection.
SYD: I’d heard that, yes.

In this universe, bodily fetishism is not only advertised as a pleasurable pastime, it’s justified as a state of transcendence to the point of being its own religion. Much like how we are taught to take the universal teachings of bible stories or fairy tales to heart in order to lead fruitful lives, so too do these otherwise rational, law-abiding people glean their own meaning according to the will – and appearances – of their favorite superstars. That being said, we never learn how or why these celebrities are famous in the first place. This blatant lack of depth brilliantly mirrors our sad reality that many people don’t care about a celebrity’s actual talents and achievements (assuming they have any), regardless of their genius or their stupidity, so long as the stars keep shining on camera:

T.V. HOST: We’re talking to Mr. Dorian Lucas, founder of the Lucas celebrity services clinic. Mr. Lucas, how do you respond to critics who say the disease you’re really selling is a cultural one?
LUCAS: That’s ridiculous.
T.V. HOST: Do you not agree that the mania surrounding celebrity is reaching an unhealthy level?
LUCAS: (Shrugs.) No, I don’t.
T.V. HOST: So these people are really so deserving of our attention? In your opinion, does Aria Noble deserve to be famous?
LUCAS: Let me stop you right there. Deserve to be famous? What does it mean to deserve to be famous? Anyone who’s famous deserves to be famous. Celebrity is not an accomplishment, not at all. It’s more like a collaboration that we choose to take part it in. Celebrities are not people, they’re group hallucinations.
T.V. HOST: Surely it’s naïve to imagine that your clients think the same way.
LUCAS: Really? Naïve? My clients are intelligent adults from all walks of life, all ages, and they find meaning in all the stories around them. They choose to come to me because they want to feel more connected to those faces, to those people that they see in the magazines and on television, and their lives are much richer for it.

Such is the case of our antihero. If the public are the disciples of this church of glamor, then Syd is its high priest. Like any good businessman, Syd is smart, cool, and confident, taking his work very seriously while clearly enjoying every minute of it. But he puts a whole new spin on the concept of working oneself to death. His apartment, though not as fancy as the clinic, is just as disturbingly white. He often has a thermometer in his mouth and his refrigerator has literally nothing in it but prepackaged egg salad sandwiches and bottle upon bottle of orange juice, all traditional means of healing that seem strangely feeble and laughable considering he constantly exposes himself to multiple diseases much more serious than the common cold. But even before he’s reduced to using a cane just to walk, he is an old man, frail-looking, with pasty skin and dull eyes, an appearance and role very well executed by actor Caleb Landry Jones, who was only twenty-two at the time. Syd seems all the more zombified and oppressed whenever he is all but swallowed up by the enlarged, looming photos of Hannah Geist that take over every shot they share, like a fly before a god. Nevertheless, he has no regret whatsoever in devoting his very being to her; his voice, already soft and raspy, becomes even more so when he delivers his sales pitches, an edge to his speech that borders on lust:

SYD: (As he and Edward Porris watch silent video of Hanna Geist.) Breathtaking. I understand your fascination with her. I understand completely. (Sighs.) She’s perfect somehow, isn’t she? More than perfect. More than human. Her eyes seem to reach . . . right beneath your skin and touch your organs and touch your stomach, your lungs. Gives me the shivers.

I once read a very intriguing Youtube comment for the film’s trailer that said Hannah Geist’s full name roughly translates to “Holy Spirit”. Further research told me that the name “Hannah” means “favor” or “grace” in Hebrew, and “Geist” in German can be translated into such words as “ghost”, “mind”, or “spirit”, depending on context. (The only more appropriate surname would be “Zeitgeist”, but that would be way too obvious.) Interestingly, the context in which Edmund Spenser uses the word geist in his 1590 epic poem, The Faerie Queene, is suggestive not so much of a ghost or apparition as the latent mind of one still alive.

Compared to the works of his father, especially those of the 1980’s, Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral isn’t as over-the-top in its gore or as trippy in its visuals and effects. But I think this works in its favor, because nor is it as far-fetched in its plausibility. Its use of believable science and violence that’s somehow both extreme and subtle at the same time to offer intelligent insight on people’s already very real and unhealthy infatuation with the rich and famous makes this film all the more ominous. And there are times, in fiction and otherwise, when the only way to make a point and make it stick really is to get right in people’s faces . . . or maybe even deeper than that.

CREDITS:
Special thanks to KTWH 99.5 Two Harbors Community Radio. All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.

MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund

https://www.briandmorrison.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BriandMorrisonGuitar/
https://www.youtube.com/user/briandmorrison​​​
EPISODE SONG:
“Hypodermic” - Sean Zarn

https://www.facebook.com/sean.zarn
All other music and sound clips are from Antiviral (production by Alliance Films, Rhombus Media, Telefilm Canada, and TF1 International; distributed by Alliance Films [Canada])

OST SONG:
“I’ll Do Anything You Say”

Download the full 15-minute episode here!

Antiviral on Wikipedia

Brandon Cronenberg on Wikipedia

Brandon Cronenberg on IMDb

Antiviral on IMDb

Antiviral on Rotten Tomatoes

Antiviral on Metacritic

Antiviral on Tv Tropes

Antiviral on Amazon

Antiviral on eBay

​^^ Back to Movies, Short Films, and Other Works of Cinema
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Suffering in Silence

3/31/2019

0 Comments

 
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#44 - The Seventh Seal
1957, Ages 17 and Up
Gather round and I’ll tell you the tale of a disenchanted knight desperate to hold off death long enough to find one last bit of meaning on Earth.
(2/1/19)

​The following recording is edited from its original 15-minute version due to copyright restrictions. To hear the full version, tune in or stream at the scheduled times on ktwh.org, or download on AudioPort.
I don’t shy away from dystopian fiction in general, but some—especially movies—that feature apocalyptic plots or backdrops can often leave me feeling bored, depressed, or both; think zombies, epidemics, global catastrophes, and the like. Some I have enjoyed more than others: Children of Men had an intriguing end-of-the-world scenario and was actually pretty exciting. These are few and far between for me, though. Upon watching this film, however, I realized that part of my aversion was due to the head-bashing reminder of the seemingly inherent ugliness of humanity that such stories seldom fail to bring up. While that implication isn’t absent here either, it’s made more bearable not only by a setting more aesthetically interesting, but by the fact that its protagonist has far more on his mind than just “Eat, sleep, have sex, kill, live another day, repeat.”

Antonius Block, a Swedish knight, and his squire, Jöns, have fought ten long, grueling years in the Crusades, and are now at long last journeying home. But the Sweden they return to is not the one they remember. As the Black Plague ravages the land, most of those still alive are half-mad with terror and despair, crying out to God for relief and mercy. Made all the more morose by such bleakness, Antonius finds temporary solace only in the chess matches he plays with himself. One night, during one such game, he is approached by a pale figure in a pitch-black cloak, none other than Death himself. Unwilling to die just yet, Antonius strikes him a bargain: they will play a single round of chess, allowing Antonius to live for as long as it lasts. But should he lose, he must surrender his life without question. And now, with those few precious days he has bought for himself, Antonius fights to find answers to theological and existential questions that haunt him, before he leaves this hellish world for good.

Having formally studied more literature than cinema, I was previously unaware of how influential this film is to this day. While it didn’t get nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 30th Academy Awards, it has still had an enormous impact on numerous filmmakers and actors alike, from Woody Allen to Monty Python. Considered by many critics to be on par with such greats as Citizen Kane, The Godfather, and Gone with the Wind, it not only cemented Ingmar Bergman as a legendary director, but has since become a staple in critical analysis and film study the world over.

Many historians have noted The Seventh Seal’s historical inaccuracy. For example, flagellation, in which people would brutally whip themselves in penance for their sins, was never practiced in Medieval Sweden, nor large-scale witch persecutions there in the 14th century. But this really doesn’t matter, nor should it, because the plot of The Seventh Seal is intended as an allegory, an experience, its symbolism a reflection of our own modern lives and points of view. As a matter of fact, this movie feel less like a movie than it does an olden stage play. Incidentally, Bergman had directed some Shakespearean plays before making this film. What really stood out to me was the dialogue. Though not as heavy as that of Shakespeare, it is still very dramatic and poetic, delivered with so much beauty even when the words are at their most serious and dismal. So even if the lines feel scripted and unrealistic, the conviction behind them does not:

ANTONIUS: Who are you?
DEATH: Death.
ANTONIUS: Have you come for me?
DEATH: I have long walked at your side.
ANTONIUS: Yes, I know.
DEATH: Are you ready?
ANTONIUS: My flesh is frightened. My heart is calm.

(Antonius stands up; Death sweeps out his right arm and approaches, preparing to take him.)

ANTONIUS: Wait just a minute.
DEATH: You all ask that, but I give no reprieve.
ANTONIUS: (Conversationally.) You play chess, I understand.
DEATH: How do you know?
ANTONIUS: (Smiling.) Oh, I know it from poetry and from old legends.
DEATH: (With no vanity whatsoever.) If I may say so, I am considered an excellent player.
ANTONIUS: (Confidently.) You cannot be more skilled than I.
DEATH: Why do you want to play chess with me?
ANTONIUS: (Shortly.) That’s my affair.
DEATH: (Unruffled.) As you wish.

The film’s title is particularly significant: derived from Chapter 8, Verse 1 of the Book of Revelation:

“And when the Lamb had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven which lasted about the space of half an hour.”

And it is this theme of silence that accounts for much of The Seventh Seal’s power. Not solely the absence of sound, though Bergman does utilize that very effectively. There is no music during the opening or ending credits, for example, in order to set the tone of solemnity. And in one of my favorite segments, Jöns tries to rouse a man lying against a rock in order to talk to him, only to find he is actually shaking a hollow corpse; upon Antonius’ questioning, Jöns never tells him straight out that the man is dead, but instead—and quite calmly—answers by complimenting the man’s “eloquence” despite his “story” being “most depressing”:

(Antonius and Jöns continue riding side by side on horseback.)

ANTONIUS: Which way is [the inn]?
JÖNS: I’ve no idea.
ANTTONIUS: (Puzzled.) What did he say?
JÖNS: He didn’t answer.
ANTONIUS: (Even more puzzled.) Was he mute?
JÖNS: Well, you couldn’t call him mute, sire. In fact, just the opposite. If anything, he was very eloquent.
ANTONIUS: Oh!
JÖNS: Yes, extremely so. But the story he had to tell was most depressing.

But the more crucial type of silence being addressed here is the perceived absence of God. Namely, the idea that God ignores humanity, or worse, doesn’t exist at all. Every person who has ever lived on this earth has wondered what the meaning of life is, and our protagonist is no exception. Though he is a valiant knight with his heart in the right place, Antonius feels no stronger, wiser, or purer than any other human being. Far from it. Having fought so long and so hard, having seen so much agony and death, he feels cold, bitter, and empty. Exacerbating these feelings is his desire to find some kind of meaning, however small, almost as though his existence up to now has been devoid of it. Never once has God appeared before him or given any other physical sign that he is indeed listening. This, according to Antonius, begs the question: Because Man is so weak and blind and confused, why can’t God show himself and actually give answers, instead of forcing Man to struggle in body and in heart in trying to follow Him?

ANTONIUS: (Kneeling before the confessional.) Can it really be so terrible to want to know God with the senses? Why must he always hide behind unseen miracles and vague promises and hints about eternity? (Looks up heavenward.) How can we believe in those who do have faith when we’ve lost our own? What will happen to those of us who want to believe but cannot? And what of those who neither can’t believe nor want to?

[. . .]

ANTONIUS: (Grasps the bars of the confessional, sounding desperate.) I want knowledge, don’t you see? Not faith, not legends, not blind acceptance, but—I want God to give me his hand, to show me his face, to talk to me.
DEATH: (Posing as a priest.) But he is silent.
ANTONIUS: I cry out to him in the dark. But sometimes it seems as if there is no one there.
DEATH: It could be no one is there.
ANTONIUS: If that is true, then all of life is meaningless. Nobody can live with death before his eyes if he thinks oblivion lays at the end.

Touching back on the “play” comparison, I believe some of the characters represent a specific religious point of view, which drives their motivations and defines their personalities. In this sense, I’m reminded of characters from traditional legends and fairy tales, whose traits are meant to symbolize and thereby teach us about some aspect of real life. Though this may paint them as somewhat one-dimensional, their traits are similarly symbolic in ways that virtually any modern audience can understand and relate to, socially and psychologically. This is especially intriguing and illuminating when juxtaposed with Antonius’ doubt and aching desire for spiritual truth. Jöns, though a loyal servant and friend to his master, is cynical and filled with contempt for the church, the atheism to the knight’s agnosticism. Just the concept of God strikes him as nothing but ludicrous crap, fallen for by the gullible and desperate, manipulated by the pompous and greedy, and misconstrued by the sadistic and mentally unstable:

JÖNS: (Completely disgusted.) All this talk about damnation. What kind of fools do they think we are? No one in his right mind would swallow that.
ANTONIUS: (Scoffs.)
JÖNS: Go on, sneer at me. But I know what I’m talking about. You’ll see. I’ve heard all the nonsense that people babble at each other.
ANTONIUS: (Smiling dismissively.) Yes, yes . . .
JÖNS: (Mimicking him scornfully.) Yes, yes! All the stupid stories about Our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ and the angels and the Holy Ghost—I was never convinced.

At the other end of the spectrum, we have Jof, a traveling juggler. Though childish and naïve, he is a kind and devoted family man to his wife, Mia, and infant son, Mikael. I think part of Jof’s optimism stems from the fact that he has loved ones to return to and that he knows will be there to support and comfort him, and vice versa, unlike Antonius, whose own wife may or may not still be alive. But Jof also has the mysterious ability to see deities, like Baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary, as they walk upon the Earth. Or so he claims. Regardless, his unwavering belief in these visions strengthens his faith and inspires his dreams, no matter how far-fetched they may seem, and tells him that there is indeed both a point to life and life after death:
MIA: (Wistfully.) I want Mikael to have a better life than ours.
JOF: (Confidently.) Mikael will be a great acrobat when he grows up. Or else, a great juggler. He’ll perform a trick that no one has ever done.
MIA: (With a little exasperation.) What trick are you talking about?
JOF: (Matter-of-factly.) To make one of the balls stand completely still while it’s up in the air.
MIA: No one can do that!
JOF: (Undaunted.) You mean that we can’t do it. But one day, he will.
MIA: (Lays in Jof’s arms comfortably.) Another fantasy.

[. . .]

(Jof and Mia laugh together playfully; Jof begins to practice his juggling.)

MIA: Jof?
JOF: Heh?
MIA: Stay right there. Don’t talk.
JOF: I won’t say a word.
MIA: I love you.

(The two gaze at each other lovingly.)

But even though Antonius has little to look forward to even without Death literally waiting to take him, I don’t find him as depressing as he could have been. Bergman provides him—and us—with some uplifting moments as well without being overly silly or sentimental, or ruining the film’s somber atmosphere. There is a beautiful sequence in which Antonius and his party are offered strawberries and milk by Jof and Mia on a grassy hill. Partaking in this humble but pleasant meal, surrounded by the warmth of friends and summer, he holds up the bowl of milk in both hands and drinks from it as if receiving Holy Communion, and makes a heartfelt speech to match the reverence of the gesture:

ANTONIUS: I shan’t forget this moment. The stillness of the twilight. The strawberries, and the bowl of milk. Your faces lit up by the sun. Mikael sleeping in the wagon, Jof sitting there, strumming. And I won’t forget what we’ve been talking about.

(Mia passes him the bowl of milk.)

ANTONIUS: I’ll bear the image between my hands, as carefully as if it were a shallow bowl filled to the brim with fresh milk. (Takes a long, satisfying drink.) And this shall be to me a sign . . . and of great sufficiency.

This is an extremely rare moment of the entire movie in which Antonius shows any genuine happiness; for all the sorrow in his heart, he has not lost the ability to appreciate the beauty and joy that life has to offer even in an era of such horrific tragedy. Accordingly, he is deeply grateful to be a part of such a wonderful and precious moment.

On the surface, The Seventh Seal may look like one of those high-brow artsy films that can only be enjoyed by the scholarly or the pretentious. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Bergman uses religious allegories, heavy and complex though they may be, to reach audiences on a more universal and human level. I see it as neither a glorification nor a condemnation of Christianity exclusively, but rather as an exploration of spiritual crisis and how faith may or may not guide people in their personal walk of life. Though we will all meet Death someday, how willingly we go in the end is as much a mystery as the Holy Spirit itself.

CREDITS:
Special thanks to KTWH 99.5 Two Harbors Community Radio. All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.

MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund

https://www.briandmorrison.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BriandMorrisonGuitar/
https://www.youtube.com/user/briandmorrison​​
EPISODE SONGS:
“No One Escapes” - Sean Zarn

https://www.facebook.com/sean.zarn
“A Final Triumph” - Sean Zarn
All other music and sound clips are from the English dub of The Seventh Seal (directed by Ingmar Bergman; distributed by AB Svensk Filmindustri)

Download the full 15-minute episode here!

The Seventh Seal on Wikipedia

Ingmar Bergman on Wikipedia

The Seventh Seal on Ingmar Bergman's Official Website

The Seventh Seal on IMDb

The Seventh Seal on Rotten Tomatoes

The Seventh Seal on Common Sense Media

The Seventh Seal on Tv Tropes

The Seventh Seal at Barnes & Noble

The Seventh Seal on Amazon

The Seventh Seal on eBay

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Meta-Meow-Phosis

3/31/2019

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#36 - Catnapped!
1995, Ages 7 and Up
Gather round and I’ll tell you the tale of two children who must travel to a realm of magical cats in order to rescue their lost dog.
(6/1/18)

​The following recording is edited from its original 15-minute version due to copyright restrictions. To hear the full version, tune in or stream at the scheduled times on ktwh.org, or download on AudioPort.
I swear, to this day, the irony of where I learned of this movie makes me smile.

Years ago, I was a student in the Vet Technology program at the Duluth Business University. During a break in between attending to the resident dogs and cats one evening, I was browsing through some random YouTube videos, mainly ones involving cartoon characters transforming into animals or vice versa, just because I felt like it. At one point, I came upon a fifty-second clip from a fairly old-looking anime film. It depicted a little human girl changing into a cat, or rather, a cat-person, with an older human boy falling backwards in horror at the spectacle. After the girl marvels at her new form, she laughs at the boy as she points out the same thing is happening to him. Sure enough, he, too, develops feline features before promptly passing out from the shock. I watched with a mixture of fascination and bemusement as the clip ended with two adult cat-like figures looking on as the cat-girl prances with glee on all fours while the cat-boy lay on his back, completely out cold. The $70 price tag on Amazon was a strong indicator of how rare this film is. Back then, I had nothing but that one clip and a few reviews to go on when deciding whether or not to buy it. But in the end, it was a gamble that paid off wonderfully.

The family dog, Papadoll, has been missing for days and days, but the reactions of his two young owners couldn’t be more different. The hyper and overly imaginative Meeko is beside herself, thinking he was abducted by aliens, while her cold and ill-tempered older brother, Toriyasu, couldn’t care less. In reality, however, Papadoll isn’t even in the children’s dimension anymore. This is revealed by three feline scientists: the cantankerous Henoji, the easy-going Suttoboke, and the enthusiastic HoiHoi, who whisk the siblings away to Banipal Witt, a world inhabited by anthropomorphic cats capable of working powerful magic. There, Toriyasu and Meeko learn that Papadoll was brought there by DohDoh, the demented servant of the tyrannical Princess Buburina, who terrorizes her subjects with her Midas-like ability to turn anyone and anything she touches in a balloon. Moreover, having been over-exposed to the supernatural light of this world’s sun, Papadoll has now mutated into a giant, rampaging monster, who Buburina intends to use in her ultimate plan to solidify her rule over Banipal Witt forever. And if that’s not enough, the sunlight has now also transformed the two human children into cats themselves, and should the sun shine on them for more than a day, they will become monsters as well, a dilemma made all the more serious when Meeko is taken hostage and imprisoned in Buburina’s palace. And so, at the behest of the scientific trio, Master Sandada, the good wizard, and the tomboyish fighter, ChuChu, Toriyasu must change his selfish ways and pluck up his courage in order to rescue his sister, break the spell upon his dog, and thwart Buburina’s plot before the next sunrise.

As I’m sure you’ve gathered, this is one bizarre movie, even by anime standards. In fact, one reason I initially hesitated to buy it was because its writer/director, Takashi Nakamura, was also an animation director for the famed 1988 cyber-punk anime film, Akira. At the time that was a bit too much for me in the disturbing and gross body horror department. However . . . had I given into that fear, I wouldn’t be talking about this movie now :)

To make a more apt comparison, in terms of character design, I often find myself reminded of another anime cat film, The Cat Returns. The felines in that story, though they speak and think like humans, are made to look and feel natural, retaining the physiology of ordinary cats; the ones in Catnapped!, on the other hand, are humanoid in a more literal sense, from the elaborate clothes and hair styles to their paws functioning more like hands with claws. Seriously, just take a human face, stick a pair of cat ears and a nose on it, and voila! But what really rounds out the outlandishness is the primary setting, Banipal Witt. The term “eye candy” is brought to a whole new level here, an almost psychedelic blend of buttery yellows, bubblegum pinks, dream-sickle oranges, and rich, blueberry indigoes. What’s more, the place looks like a playpen, a carnival, and a toy store all rolled into one: the building-block landscape, the clock-work machines (there is one even responsible for shooting the sun into the sky like a firework every morning—genius!) and the architecture that looks like it was built from preschoolers’ drawings rather than blueprints. Speaking of artwork, the rampant cat-themed statues, paintings, and, of course, balloons, can admittedly be a bit much at times, especially when the rendered felines in question have the type of fast-food animatronic smiles that make the Cheshire Cat look stable. But don’t worry, these are mainly for backdrop purposes. Plus, though technically real and not a work of art, one of the most beautifully-designed cats in the entire movie, in my opinion, is the Sleeping Cat, the colossal two-headed beast on top of which the whole of Banipal Witt rests, much like the World Turtle from Hindu and Chinese mythology. Overall, this playful and vibrant aesthetic, accompanied by a particularly catchy parade-like theme song, crafts for us a domain positively brimming with the promise of fun and adventure.

That being said, there are some narrative elements that I think could have done with a little bit more polish. For example, there’s a reference to what seems to be a Romeo-and-Juliet-esque tale of the doomed love between a cat and a mouse. The sequence where they are introduced is quite lovely, the female cat watching sadly as her beloved, a male mouse, leaves his cage to fly away heavenward, toting the full moon into the night sky. But there is no further elaboration upon this, and other than leading rather jarringly to some brief additional bickering between Toriyasu and Chu Chu, it is never brought up in any way again, diminishing the poignancy it seems to be striving for.

HOIHOI: (Gently reproachful): Toriyasu, don’t tease [ChuChu]. That moon holds a special meaning.
TORIYASU: Huh?
SUTTOBOKE: (Wistfully): It’s a sad story. About a mouse, a cat, and a love they could never have. It took place long, long ago, at a moment when time stood still . . .
TORIYASU: (Killing the moment): But that’s a fairy tale, right? Cats and mice don’t mix!
CHUCHU: (Angrily): What do mean, ‘don’t mix’? Where’d you get that idea?
TORYASU: Because, cats eat mice where I come from!
CHUCHU: But we’re not in your world now, you fool!

And then there is Buburina’s take-over-the-world scheme. Even for a film as absurd as this, almost nothing in her plan makes any sense whatsoever. Then again, she does treat her balloon ability—utterly silly in and of itself—like a cool superpower rather than a curse of being unable to touch anything without effectively losing it. So . . . yeah. In the end, I think all one can do is just chalk this all up to her demonstrable insanity and move on.

BUBURINA: (Patronizingly to her long-suffering parents, the King and Queen): Let me tell you something. I don’t believe that my power is some kind of punishment. Being able to turn things into the balloons is just great! (Claps her paws in delight.) Yes!
[. . .]
(Grinning evilly at Meeko and the terrified citizens.) Hmph! I can’t wait for tomorrow. DohDoh, let’s begin! (Runs around scratching the all the screaming citizens, laughing maniacally as they each inflate and float about in terror.)

There are some other inconsistencies, but I really don’t want to spoil or harp on these too much. And it is possible that I’m missing something even after all the times I’ve watched this movie, so I’ll just leave it up to you viewers to decide. But whatever this film may lack in logic, it makes up for with what I think is a very sincere moral about the ramifications of forgetting the good in one’s past and letting the bad shape one’s present and future.

MASTER SANDADA: (To Toriyasu): The one who has lost and forgotten his true self must have bright and pleasant memories to help find and remember himself again. Toriyasu, the only person who can give Papadoll these memories is you.

This is explored quite well through multiple characters and in multiple ways, some over-the-top, some internal and heartfelt. One of the more obvious examples is Papadoll, whose transformation into a monster confuses him and muddles his recollection of his owners, exacerbated by his being neglected in the human world.

MEEKO: (In protest to Buburina): We raised that dog, he’s not yours! Why do you make him do such bad things? He never used to run around being terrible to people and scaring them! (Pauses in thought.) Although, Papadoll has been lazy lately because we hardly ever play with him.

DohDoh, Chu Chu’s brother, has fallen prey to a curse that made him fall madly in love with Buburina, rendering him a mindless drone that exists only to fulfill her wishes.

CHUCHU: (Shouting): DohDoh, how long are you going to be a puppet of Buburina’s? Wake up and think for yourself for once!
DOHDOH: (Mockingly.) Oh, if it isn’t my little baby sister! (Serious again.) No one insults Lady Buburina, not even my own family! (Makes Papadoll lunge at ChuChu, knocking her painfully backwards.)
CHUCHU: (Waving a fist at DohDoh furiously.) Idiot!

Though this is only hinted at, Buburina may once have been a good person, but was then spoiled rotten by her lavish and pampered upbringing:

MASTER SANDADA: To be honest, I don’t believe that Buburina cast a spell for others do her bidding simply out of malice. I suspect there’s a deeper meaning. If we can discover what it is, perhaps it will change Buburina.

Where this idea really shines, though, is through Toriyasu. Without spoiling anything, Toriyasu epitomizes someone who has been disheartened by life’s unfairness. Regardless of how minor that unfairness may be in the grand scheme of things, it is still enough to turn this once starry-eyed boy into a callous jerk who can only deal with it by either making others miserable in turn:

MEEKO: (Adamantly.) Don’t be so sure [aliens are] not real, ‘cause maybe, just maybe, they are!
TORIYASU: (Scoffs, unimpressed.) Or maybe, just maybe, you’re a gullible dork! (Smacks Meeko on the head.) The only weird life forms that are gonna stop by our place are the gas man, the newspaper boy, and people like that.
MEEKO: (Explodes tearfully): TORIYASU, IT’S YOUR FAULT!

Or just running away:

TORIYASU: (Frantically reacting to the idea of becoming a monster) No way, not me! No way! Take me home now! You hear me?! I wanna go home now!
CHUCHU: (Shaking him roughly) So you’re just gonna run home and leave us to deal with your dog? What about Meeko, were you planning to leave her behind, too? How nice! Then we’ll have two monsters to cope with!
(Toriyasu grabs his head in his hands, moaning in terror.)
SUTTOBOKE: (Pleading) Toriyasu, you have to help us! And you’re the only one who can save your sister!
(Toriyasu continues moaning, running his clasping fingers down his face in horrified defeat.)

But sometimes there’s nothing like the threat of magical curses and world destruction to make someone get their butt in gear and their priorities straight. In all seriousness, though, while some of these characters exhibit deplorable behavior, making us love to hate them, it’s always reiterated that they have the potential to change for the better. There are those who take that opportunity when it comes, and there are others who refuse, preferring to wallow in their own misery or delight in the misery of those who can’t fight back. Still, I think kids can take a great lesson out of this, that anyone mean and miserable should be reached out to, rather than condemned, because maybe all they are looking for is a friend.

It’s possible that very young children might find this movie a bit intense and/or creepy, and even older viewers who enjoy anime might see it as just a little too weird. But for anyone else, Catnapped! is an whimsical, energetic romp with a highly creative story, full of entertaining characters, exciting visuals, and wild imagination. Give it a watch for yourself and let it brighten your mood, so you can brighten other moods, too - human and otherwise. :)

CREDITS:
Special thanks to KTWH 99.5 Two Harbors Community Radio. All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.

MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund

https://www.briandmorrison.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BriandMorrisonGuitar/
https://www.youtube.com/user/briandmorrison​
EPISODE SONGS:
“The Ready-Set Parade” - Paul Gutmann

https://www.facebook.com/paul.gutmann.77
“The Ready-Set Parade (Piano and Guitar)” - Paul Gutmann
All other music and sound clips are from the English dub of Catnapped! (Totsuzen! Neko no Kuni Banipal Witt) (directed by Takashi Nakamura; produced by Triangle Staff; distributed by T&K Telefilm)

Download the full 15-minute episode here!

Catnapped! on Wikipedia

Catnapped! on IMDb

Catnapped! on Rotten Tomatoes

Catnapped! on Anime News Network

Catnapped! on Fandom

Catnapped! on Tv Tropes

Catnapped! on Amazon

Catnapped! on eBay

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Nightmares By Daylight

3/31/2019

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#31 - Ink
2009, Ages 16 and Up
Gather round and I’ll tell you the tale of how a man’s tragic actions and some all too real nightmares lead to the theft of his child’s soul.
(1/5/18)

The following recording is edited from its original 15-minute version due to copyright restrictions. To hear the full version, tune in or stream at the scheduled times on ktwh.org, or download on AudioPort.
For as long as intelligent life has existed, or maybe even longer, so have those elusive enigmas we call dreams. I once read in a book that the mind is like a room, and the process of dreaming is the mind’s way of “cleaning” or reorganizing this room, to look through our subconscious and reassess our thoughts and memories in a new light. Whether you believe this particular analogy has merit or not, there is no denying that dreams—and nightmares—are extremely powerful things, tools for inspiring us and teaching us about ourselves. And this film shows us a fine example of exactly that.

John Sullivan is a man whose purpose in life has become increasingly nonexistent: his wife is dead and his young daughter, Emma, is in the custody of her grandparents due to his grief-induced alcoholism and drug abuse. Now all he has left is his business job, selling bonds and keeping all the rich investors happy, even at the expense of what little compassion—and sanity—he has left. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him and everyone else on earth, two great forces battle every night for the souls of mankind through the power of dreams: the Storytellers, who give joy, hope, and strength through good dreams, and the Incubi, whose nightmares fill the mind and heart with fear, pain, and despair. But the entire game changes when Ink, a disfigured creature covered in a robe of chains and black rags, appears. Despite the Storytellers’ best efforts to stop him, Ink kidnaps Emma’s soul, putting her real body into a deadly coma. But even this tragedy isn’t enough to take John away from his work, or make him face the grief of his past. Now Storytellers Allel, Gabe, Sarah, Liev, and their blind eccentric ally, Jacob, must not only find a way to rescue Emma before Ink sacrifices her to the Incubi, but help John find his humanity before it is consumed by darkness forever.

If films like Napoleon Dynamite and The Blair Witch Project have taught us anything, it’s that even with little money and resources, a bit of imagination and perseverance can go a LONG way in creating a high-quality movie. And Ink is no exception. Husband and wife duo Jamin and Kiowa Winans took on many roles in the creation of Ink: besides both of them executive producing, Jamin was its director, writer, editor, and score composer, and Kiowa was its art director, consume designer, and sound designer. Now that is some serious skill and dedication. Still, they were unable to find a big studio to pitch the film, so they decided to pitch Ink directly through their own independent film company, Double Edge Films, and see to the theatrical and DVD distribution themselves. Word soon spread—as did the online piracy of the film. But the Winanses couldn’t have been happier, as it’s given the film all the more “unprecedented exposure” to wider audiences, most of whom have praised it highly.

The idea of sentient beings being responsible for humans’ dreams isn’t a new one, but this is the first time I’ve seen it presented in a way that’s so . . . well, cool. This story takes place in 21st century America, and has a very dark, urban aesthetic. Likewise, instead of juxtaposing this with medieval wizards or demons or anything traditionally mythical as is often the case in stories like this, both dream-giving races have also been designed to be contemporary in appearance and character. But this creative choice goes even further. According to the DVD commentary, in designing the Storytellers and the Incubi, the Winans’ used as inspiration a quote by Narnia author C.S. Lewis: “How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been; how gloriously different are the saints.” The Storytellers look and act like the kind of people you’d see on a college campus or in a coffee shop, or maybe even babysitting your own children: young men and women of every ethnicity, attired in jeans, leather, shades, and piercings, smart and confident in their individuality, and yet as warm and comforting as their name.

LIEV: (Curiously.) Why do you want to go home?
EMMA: (Afraid.) I’m scared.
LIEV: (Frowning thoughtfully.) That’s strange. I didn’t think a lioness could get scared. [. . .] Don’t tell me you don’t know.
EMMA: Know what?
LIEV: . . . In this world, you become something else. And as soon as you came here, you started to turn into a lion.
EMMA: A lion?
LIEV: Well, you used to look a little girl, but you started turning into a lion as soon as you woke up here.
EMMA: (Touching her face in confusion.) I did?
LIEV: (Earnestly.) Yeah. You see, that’s why I’m so surprised. Because usually, lionesses are big, brave suckers. I’m sure you can tell.

But the Incubi are like a hospital patient’s worst nightmare (no pun intended): each covered in black smocks and gloves, smug but lifeless grins forever plastered on their bespectacled faces, which flicker in a painful monochrome behind a sheet of glass like a broken T.V. screen; much like the demons whose name they share, they delight in the psychological raping of their victims, a weak heart cowering behind a façade of power.

KEY MASTER INCUBUS: (Coolly.) Are you a failure, Ink?
INK: (Chastened.) No.
KEY MASTER INCUBUS: Because failure is not an option with us, Ink. Only perfection. [. . .] Would you like help, Ink? You need it. (In a mocking drawl.) With that shame, that stench. . . . You only have one opportunity, to become numb.

It’s also worth noting that the dreams and nightmares shown throughout the film depict not the fantastic, like gaining superpowers or seeing monsters, but much more realistic or down-to-earth events. Now, before you start thinking how dull that sounds, let me ask this: if you were to experience a wonderful surprise like reuniting with a lost loved one or winning the lottery, or a horrific tragedy like attempting suicide due to bullying or enduring a spouse’s verbal abuse, would you truly feel any less emotionally or spiritually affected than by anything bizarre or impossible?

The visual effects also give Ink a unique look that I’ve rarely seen in film. The lighting is unusually bright, almost blinding in daylight scenes, as though to blur the line between realities even further, and to remind us of how the protagonists may—or may not—be seeing what’s right in front of them. And much of the editing, namely of the more distressing scenes, is reminiscent of that of the Saw films: rapid cuts from one shot to another (often alternating between past and present events) combined with frantic fast-forwarding, all serve to emphasize the characters’ chaotic desperation to escape their suffering.

Even with all the supernatural elements, this is still a very realistic portrayal of self-destruction. John believes he must maintain perfection and an almost cutthroat detachment in order to feel safe and at ease, to pretend he no longer has a family in order to not feel the pain of that loss.

JOHN: I’m asking you, Ron, what can I do now? I’m good enough to be [Emma’s] father now?
RON [Emma’s grandfather; John’s father-in-law]: (Struggling.) We have to let that go. It’s in the past now.
JOHN: (Angrily cutting him off.) Is it? . . . You know, you convinced the world I’m the Antichrist and you take her from me, you can’t throw that in the past, Ron! ‘Cause that’s where I live now!
RON: I know that you’ve suffered with this. We all have.
JOHN: (Rolling his eyes.) Oh, no . . . please. I don’t want to hear it . . .
RON: (Desperately.) Look, I am pleading with you--
JOHN: (Yelling.) I don’t want to hear it! (Quietly.) I don’t even have a daughter . . . anymore . . . remember? (Dully, watching Ron’s stricken face.) Those words ring a bell?

Ink, likewise, desires nothing more than to become an Incubus, free from emotion and immune to empathy so that he needn’t ever face heartache again—a desire that fuels his paranoiac rage while deepening the shame behind his appearance.

INK: (To Liev, enraged.) Why are you here?
LIEV: What do you mean?
INK: (Snarling, pointing his knife at her.) I know who you are, Storyteller! This is a trap! You set me up!
[. . .]
LIEV: (Sadly.) You’re confused by your own paranoia.
INK: Who is this girl? Why do you care about this child?
LIEV: (Calmly.) You are in complete control. What is it you’re so afraid of?
INK: (Roars as he lunges at Liev, only to back off in panic when his hood falls back, revealing his face.)
LIEV: (Watching Ink with pity.) Why the scars, Ink? Do you even remember how you got them, or did you lose your memory when you came through?
[. . .]
INK: (Softly, his back to her.) You can see nothing. They’ll be gone soon.
LIEV: (Disappointed.) At the assembly. . . . When you become one of them? You’ve been given promises of beauty and bliss in exchange for your soul.

In fact, Jacob, with his quirky, unruffled humor, illustrates this hellish trend in a literally and allegorically beautiful manner. Sporting a tattered hoodie and thick black X’s taped over his eyes (an absolutely brilliant touch, by the way), Jacob is a Pathfinder, who is able, unlike other spirits, to physically affect the human world. It is not only due to his blindness that he constantly counts under his breath. He is listening for the rhythm that can only be made by an entire world, the “sound” to which everything in creation “dances” without even realizing it. He compares man’s destruction to a chain reaction, a “downward spiral”, one that can be stopped only if and when one listens for the cues and moves accordingly. And the sequence in which Jacob “conducts” this “music” is accompanied by smooth notes and a gentle, echoing beat, a seamless blend of the urban edginess of hip-hop and the spiritual comfort of New Age (like much of this film’s masterful score.)

JACOB: (To Allel, with forced patience, as if to a child.) One thing begets the next. A man has a weakness, he’s flawed. That flaw leads him to guilt. The guilt leads him to shame. The shame he compensates with pride and vanity. And when pride fails, despair takes over and they all lead to his destruction. What will become his fate. (Nods as if it should all be obvious.) Something’s got to stop the flow.

It is often circumstances beyond control rather than any inherent evil that drives one down the path of hostility and sorrow; but here we see that these feelings are what makes these supposed antagonists all the more human—the very part of themselves they want to destroy, no matter how heinous the method or how steep the cost. Their greatest fear is the belief that all their misfortune is their own fault, and if that is so, how, they wonder, can they ever hope to be redeemed when all they’ve ever received from the world is damnation?

Whenever I can actually recall my dreams upon waking, it’s rare that I have one I truly feel is trying to tell me something about myself . . . but I never stop trying to understand. If there’s one story that shows how dreams are more than just images in our brains, it is Ink. This cinematic labor of love is too visceral not to invoke heart-wrenched tears or long, hard thoughts on how depression and loss can turn even the best people into monsters, and how they can be healed by kindness and understanding. A true mirror to the soul, if ever there was one.

CREDITS:
Special thanks to KTWH 99.5 Two Harbors Community Radio. All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.

MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund

https://www.briandmorrison.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BriandMorrisonGuitar/
https://www.youtube.com/user/briandmorrison​
EPISODE SONG:
“Between the Shadows” - George Ellsworth

https://www.facebook.com/GeorgeLEllsworth
All other music and sound clips are from Ink (directed by Jamin Winans; produced and distributed by Double Edge Films).

OST SONG:
“Alone”

Download the full 15-minute episode here!

Ink on Wikipedia

Jamin Winans on Wikipedia

Jamin Winans' Official Double Edge Films Website

Ink on IMDb

Ink on Rotten Tomatoes

Ink on Tv Tropes

Ink on Amazon

Ink on eBay

​^^ Back to Movies, Short Films, and Other Works of Cinema
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The Commercial of the Dead

3/30/2019

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#28 - Halloween III: Season of the Witch
1982, Rated R
Gather round and I’ll tell you the tale of a man who must stop a business tycoon from bringing the scariest time of the year back to its more wicked roots.
(10/6/17)

​The following recording is edited from its original 15-minute version due to copyright restrictions. To hear the full version, tune in or stream at the scheduled times on ktwh.org, or download on AudioPort.
Oh, man. Where do I begin with this one?

Unlike many of the other stories I’ve recited here, this one is no masterpiece—nor am I going to try to fool anyone into believing otherwise. Inane characters and campy acting aside, the plot of this film, despite making an attempt at the seriousness that the horror genre demands, is utterly absurd even by 1980’s standards. Having said that, however, much like what I talked about regarding Twice Upon a Time, it was this film’s production history that attracted my attention, as well as its story line, which is still interesting despite its illogical silliness. More specifically, it was that in relation to the immortal horror franchise of which it is technically a part. It is the third film, in fact, though there have been many viewers both then and now who firmly wish that this was not so. But I especially wanted to talk about this movie because of what the creators had intended. Even though those intentions failed miserably along with the movie, I give them kudos for wanting, among other things, to create something new rather than simply rehash what fans wanted.

Despite failing to stay in the good graces with his ex-wife and their children—and lighten up on the drinking—Dan Challis’ life and work as a doctor in a local hospital is more or less decent until one night, a week before Halloween. A new patient is brought into his care: an elderly man, hysterical and barely coherent. Before blacking out, the man leaves Challis with an ominous warning: “They’re going to kill us. All of us.” Just hours later, a man in a business suit walks into the hospital and assassinates the patient before committing apparent suicide himself. Deeply disturbed and guilt-ridden that such a crime occurred on his watch, Challis teams up with the patient’s daughter, Ellie, who is determined to solve the mystery behind her father’s murder. Their investigation leads them to the tiny town of Santa Mira. There, they meet the generous and jovial Conal Cochran, head of Silver Shamrock, a toy/novelty company famous for its Halloween masks, which have become immensely popular among children all over America. Challis is quick to learn, however, that behind his grandfatherly façade Mr. Cochran has sinister plans in store for those wearing his masks on Halloween night, and Challis must race against time to stop him before death reigns down on the entire populace.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m not a fan of slasher flicks. And I do admit, except for some bits of #4 and #5, this is the only film of the franchise that I’ve actually seen (as if the time of this writing). While I don’t deny the “psycho serial killer” concept is frightening, I don’t consider that alone a sufficient enough basis for a story. I also don’t religiously follow the word of professional critics. For instance, I will readily admit that I enjoyed M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water in spite of the scathing negativity it still gets even today. Yes, I can see how many of the creation choices for it were indeed a mix of dumb, confusing, badly-executed, and infamously egotistical on the director’s part. But I did find the protagonist likable, the creatures creative, the make-up and effects solid, and soundtrack phenomenal. But most importantly, I liked its intended message and the sincerity with which its creators tried to convey it. This is the feeling I have regarding Halloween III.

Believe it or not, John Carpenter and Debra Hill, the writers for the first two Halloween films, didn’t want to be involved with a third unless Michael Myers was absent from it, as his story should have been officially concluded at the end of Halloween II. Their idea for the franchise moving forward was to make it an anthology series similar to shows like The Twilight Zone; each film—released every Halloween—would feature a different plot but always revolve around the titular holiday. This was the first—and ultimately the only—such film to ever be made, being both a critical and financial flop. Aside from the usual complaints (plot, acting, etc.), the biggest problem according to the fans was, ironically, the absence of Michael Myers. In fact, Halloween III treats its predecessors as though they themselves are works of fiction, as bits from those films are shown on T.V. throughout. Though, it is peppered with some fun little cameos and easter eggs for the fans, one of my favorites being this: that female voice behind the unseen phone operator and curfew announcer? None other than Jamie Lee Curtis, the original Halloween heroine herself.

The fact that many people didn’t like this just because there is no Michael Myers, and the subsequent—and forced—continuation of his story in Halloween IV and beyond, feels especially tragic to me as it severely limited potential for creativity in this franchise. I mean, say what you will about Halloween III, but at least IT WAS ORIGINAL!!! Unfortunately, that did it no favors. The ideas used, though not terrible, do seem random at best. But combined, they feel almost slapped together, for lack of a better description. Consider these:

Androids:

ANDROID: (Sneezes.)
COCHRAN: Bless you. (To Challis.) Convincing, aren’t they. Loyal and obedient, unlike most human beings.

The successful theft of a pillar of Stonehenge (yeah, the Stonehenge):

BRITISH T.V. REPORTER: . . . leaving British authorities still baffled, and without any substantial clues nine months after the theft. [. . .] It weighs more than five tons, making its disappearance a mystery indeed.

And a CEO who may or may not be a witch who plans to revive the Samhain tradition by sacrificing children via killer Halloween masks.

Yeah, I got nothing either.

On the plus side, though, it’s been re-watched and re-evaluated over time and many viewers and critics have since begun not only to appreciate its emerging cult status, but to dig deeper into the surprising intelligence very few people believed it had.

The way each character views the titular holiday offers audiences some provocative commentary on the state of Corporate American culture. (I bet many of you adults out there see Halloween as just another excuse for candy companies to make a quick buck, right?) Challis is your typical drinking, smoking, sports-loving guy, only indulging in the holiday for his children but otherwise finding it about as fun and relaxing as babysitting a room full of sugar-high monkeys.

CHALLIS: (Drinking at a bar; watching a silly Halloween cartoon on the T.V. behind the counter.) Hey, Charlie. Can we have another station?
CHARLIE: You got it. (Switches channels.)
T.V. ANNOUNCER: (Over the title for the original Halloween film.) The immortal classic. Followed by the big giveaway at nine. Brought to you by . . .
(The Silver Shamrock commercial comes on; the jingle starts playing.)
SINGERS: Two more days ‘till Halloween, Halloween, Halloween . . .
CHALLIS: (Irritably.) Come on, come on, come on!
CHARLIE: (Smiling as he switches the T.V. to a baseball game.) What’s the matter? Don’t you have any Halloween spirit?
CHALLIS: (Flatly.) No!

Ellie laments how her father, who loved children, saw his small but beloved toy shop fail due to the construction a new mall.

ELLIE: (Wistfully to Challis, as they walk through her late father’s store.) Papa really loved this place. But business was getting bad. I suppose you shopped at the new mall like everybody else, huh? The kids were keeping him going. They’d come in after school, he’d let them play with the stuff right in the aisles like I used to when I was little.

Marge Guttman is a disgruntled client, seemingly preferring local mom and pop shops over large corporations, as she believes the latter’s success comes at the expense of one-on-one conversation and decent customer service.

MARGE: (To Ellie.) Uh, you picking up an order?
ELLIE: Huh?
MARGE: Are you picking up an order at the factory?
ELLIE: (Comprehension dawning.) Oh . . . Yeah!
MARGE: Ah, I figured. There’s no other reason to be in this god-forsaken place. (Sighs.) All I can say is, good luck to both of us. They may make great masks but ever since they started doing big volume business, the little guy has to stand in line, you know what I mean?
ELLIE: (Nodding.) Hmm . . .
MARGE: I gave up ordering by mail, but I hate trying to deal with them in person. (Laughs.) You can’t win.

And the Kupfers, while not evil, paint an unflattering, though not totally inaccurate, portrait of the American middle-class family: Buddy is an over-enthusiastic salesman, naively fawning over the ever-charismatic Cochran for his success; Betty is a pampered, nagging wife, seemingly baffled by the idea of masks being so profitable; and their son, Little Buddy, epitomizes the modern-day greedy, obnoxious brat. (By the way, ‘Buddy’, ‘Betty’, and ‘Little Buddy’? Seriously?)

BUDDY:
- (To Rafferty.) Oh, that’s great. (Yelling at Betty from a distance.) HEY HONEY, IT’S A FREEBEE!
- (To Challis, grinning, over applause to Cochran.) Is he incredible or what?

BETTY:
- (Scolding BUDDY in their RV.) Watch your driving, honey, you could have killed that man!
- (To Ellie about Cochran.) Do you know he’s one of the richest men in the country? And he got that way selling cheap gags and Halloween masks. (Wistfully, with her hands clasped together.) Oh, god, there’s hope for us yet.

LITTLE BUDDY:
- (Angrily over his fallen bike.) Is it busted?
- (Seeing the masks inside the factory.) Oh! I want a mask! Can I have a mask?
- (Whining.) I have to go to the bathroom!

Charming.

But the best illustration of this trend—and what many remember most about this film—is that relentless “Silver Shamrock” jingle. And boy, do I mean relentless. Not only is it annoyingly catchy, with its “London Bridge” tune, repetitive lyrics, and carnival aesthetic, but the song is played no less than fourteen times over the course of the movie. Fourteen times.

Happy Happy Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.
Happy, happy Halloween, Silver Shamrock!

Happy Happy Halloween, Halloween, Halloween.
Happy, happy Halloween, Silver Shamrock!

And if the idea of this hypnotizing children into screaming for televised, mass-produced merchandise wasn’t unsettling enough, just wait until you hear it during a highly graphic death scene—and of a child no less. Speed up the tempo just a bit, slowly raise the pitch half a step, and BOOM: a whole new meaning to the term, “brainworm.”

And all this under the watchful eye of Cochran and his emotionless minions, with their security cameras all over the town and the T.V. monitors inside their fortress-like factory, in a manner reminiscent of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Here is a frighteningly direct metaphor for large companies manipulating and “owning” consumers with a face just as deceptive as the masks they sell.

Now, everyone is more than welcome to take everything I say with a grain of salt. Maybe the later Halloween films with Myers are better made then this entry, and maybe I’m just grasping at straws as I list this movie’s supposed good points. Regardless, though, I’d like to leave listeners with this thought. Just as studio intervention can spell death for a movie, fan intervention can be just as bad if not worse. Halloween III is a sad example of how it might have been better to leave the creators alone and let them pursue their own ideas, rather than let their art be dictated by what fans said they wanted. As painful as it is to say, it’s entirely possible for the latter to yield results more frightening than one expects—and not in a good way.

CREDITS:
Special thanks to KTWH 99.5 Two Harbors Community Radio. All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.

MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund

https://www.briandmorrison.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BriandMorrisonGuitar/
https://www.youtube.com/user/briandmorrison​
EPISODE SONGS:
“OCT Main Theme” - Briand Morrison
“OCT End Credits” - Briand Morrison
All other music and sound clips are from Halloween III: Season of the Witch (directed by Tommy Lee Wallace; production by Dino De Laurentiis Corporation and Debra Hill Productions; distributed by Universal Pictures).

OST SONG:
“Halloween Montage”

Download the full 15-minute episode here!

Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Wikipedia

Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Fandom

Halloween III: Season of the Witch on IMDb

Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Rotten Tomatoes

Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Metacritic

Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Tv Tropes

Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Bloody Disgusting

Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Nerdist

Robert Ebert's review of Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Shout! Factory

Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Amazon

Halloween III: Season of the Witch at Barnes & Noble

Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Ebay

Halloween III: Season of the Witch novelization on Goodreads

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A Sealed Fate

3/29/2019

0 Comments

 
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#19 - Song of the Sea
2014, Rated PG
Gather round and I’ll tell you the tale of a young Irish boy who must help his sister use a magical gift inherited from their mother to save a dying fairy world.
(1/6/17)

​​The following recording is edited from its original 15-minute version due to copyright restrictions. To hear the full version, tune in or stream at the scheduled times on ktwh.org, or download on AudioPort.
Tomm Moore is the co-founder of Cartoon Saloon, an animation TV and film studio stationed in Kilkenny, Ireland. Some works from Cartoon Saloon that Americans may be familiar with include the briefly aired Cartoon Network series Skunk Fu!, and the more recent Netflix series for younger children, Puffin Rock. Of course, the piece that really brought Moore attention in this part of the world was his first film, the 2009 Oscar-nominated The Secret of Kells. Those who follow this blog may recall that I talked about it back in November 2015; it is still one of my all-time favorite animated films—and I am still personally disappointed that it didn’t win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. But in any case, after seeing the artistic splendor that is The Secret of Kells, you can bet that I was most definitely psyched to see what Mr. Moore would come up with next.

Ten-year-old Ben lives in a small lighthouse in Ireland with his family, which is in ruins due to the disappearance of Bronagh (Bro-na), his mother. Heartbroken and depressed ever since, his father, Conor, now gains joy only from the presence of Ben’s mute younger sister, Saoirse (Seer-sha). This has severely strained his relationship with his son, who consequently not only hates his sister for the attention she receives, but blames her for Bronagh’s absence, as Saoirse was born that same fateful night. But then, an ancient shell flute which only Saoirse can play, and a pure white seal-skin coat that fits her perfectly, lead both siblings to an amazing discovery: Saoirse is, in fact, a selkie, a creature of Irish lore whose coat allows her to change from human to seal at will. This, however, causes her to be relentlessly pursued by the owls of the Celtic witch and goddess, Macha, who wants to turn her and all the remaining faeries of Ireland to stone by locking their feelings away inside her enchanted jars. Worse still, Saoirse falls deathly ill when she is separated from her magical coat, by Conor getting rid of it and by the strict Granny forcing the children to move with her to the city. Now, Ben must set aside his hatred and face his fears and his past in order to help his sister recover her coat and, from there, her long-suppressed voice, so that her singing can free the faeries from Macha’s spell and return them to their home beyond the sea.

Not unlike its predecessor, this film draws heavy influence from the mythology and ancient culture of Ireland. For those unfamiliar, one of its most famous and tragic stories involves a fisherman who comes across a selkie removing her seal-skin coat to enjoy a brief respite from the water in human form. Entranced by her beauty, the fisherman steals the coat and hides it, forcing the selkie to stay with him. They live peacefully and even raise a family together, until one day. Whether by the selkie herself or by one of her unsuspecting children, her coat is found where the fisherman had hidden it, whereby she promptly takes it in order to reclaim her seal form. Many versions even include a heart-rending conclusion of the selkie watching her human children from afar as they roam the beach, wondering in vain where their mother has gone.

In the Song of the Sea Artbook, Moore explains the importance of preserving the old stories in contemporary times:

“. . . A Seanachai [My note: Shan-a-kee] is a traditional storyteller in Ireland. He is someone who learns the stories from the old generations and passes them on to the next one. It’s a tradition that is fading here like it is everywhere. But one Seanachai that I grew up listening to on Irish TV is Eddie Lenihan. He continues the tradition to this day. He often mixes up his stories with characters from other legends or reinterprets the old stories with a modern twist. When I asked him about this he said something interesting to me; ‘that the stories will die if they become canonical and fossilized and sacred. We own them as much as the previous generations did and we can adapt them to our audiences to keep them alive.’” (Pg. 23)

The dignity and splendor of these stories are apparent even in scenes with no words. Easily one of the best of these is when Saoirse changes into a seal for the first time. As she is led to the water by faery lights, the other seals wait patiently for her. They greet her with some happy barks; she “barks” back as she dives down to join them. As the seals tenderly surround her, “singing” their own song, Saoirse is enveloped in a bright light, her transformation into a beautiful baby seal as graceful as her new form itself. Her white coat shining like a beacon in the dark water, the other seals follow as she swims through forests of swaying kelp and ornate coral, gliding fish and blooming jellyfish, a huge and majestic whale silently hovering above them like a benevolent guardian.

Now, it would be very easy to want to root for Saoirse and not her big brother in that clichéd “child/animal=good, older/human=bad” sort of way, and not only because he is the ordinary kid in the family. Ben appears at first to be little more than a bully, not to mention a buzzkill, as he is unable to understand at first why both humans and faeries think his sister is so special.

SPUD: (Enthusiastically to Saoirse.) Tell us your name, selkie. So we can sing of your adventure.
BEN: (Sighing in annoyance.) Her name’s Saoirse.
. . .
LUG: (Happily.) . . . Time for the selkie to sing her lovely song.
. . .
BEN: (As if it should be obvious.) She can’t sing. She can’t even talk.

But it is grief and not spite that fuels his anger and jealousy. Saoirse is the one that fills the void in Conor’s life, while Ben seems to have no such comfort to offer his father, which leaves him lonely as well since his own longing for the one he loves goes unrequited:

BEN: (Angrily as he aims his toy gun at Saoirse, who has her hands up.) Dad, [Saoirse] went into the water and nearly got me killed! . . . (Conor doesn’t respond.) Dad!
CONOR: (Finally stirs from his sad reverie.) What? Are you playing cops ‘n’ robbers?
BEN: Are you going to give out to her?
CONOR: (Smiling as Saoirse comes into his outstretched arms.) Ah! Here’s the birthday girl. (Lifts her up.) Come up here to me.
. . .
BEN: (Softly and sadly calling after Conor, who completely ignores him.) Dad?

As a matter of fact, loss is the underlying theme that gives Song of the Sea its poignancy: the way one does or does not accept it, and the devestating effects the latter can have on one's relationships and future.

In the artbook’s foreword, Moore had this to say on the subject:

“. . . ‘These stories arose at a time when there was much more of a connection to the environment. There wasn’t the concept of taming nature we have today; people lived within it, and that life must have been brutal. When I re-read the stories, I realized they were metaphors for death or dealing with loss: The wife that disappears after seven years to go back to the sea and become a seal. I wanted the main character in the film involved in that story.’” (Pg. 8)

Going off of this, there is one specific creative choice that is as symbolically brilliant as it is masterfully executed: many of the actors provide voices for both a human and a faery character which parallel each other in appearance and temperament and provide a foil for one another. This serves to make their influence on Ben’s journey and personal growth all the more meaningful.

The local ship driver, Ferry Dan, and the Great Seanachai, a wizened faery whose strands of hair each contain a story, are voiced by Jon Kenny. Both are friendly, lively, and more than a bit eccentric, but they act as grandfatherly figures to the children, the former siding with Ben against the uptight Granny as the latter does against the ominous Macha. (Quick side note, listen to the way Ferry Dan calls Granny “old witch” behind her back: doesn’t it sound like “owl witch” due to his thick Irish accent? Foreshadowing, anyone?)

FERRY DAN: (To Ben.) What’s the matter with you, Ben?
BEN: (Sobbing miserably.) Granny wouldn’t let Cú [the family’s sheepdog] come with us.
FERRY DAN: (Frowning in sympathy.) Ah, the old witch.

[. . .]

BEN: What’s wrong?
GREAT SEANACHAI: (With great concern.) Macha has [Saoirse] now. She’ll be turned to stone soon, no doubt.
. . .
(Giving Ben a strand of his hair to guide him.) Macha has lost all hope. And she will try and make you lose hope, too.

Brendan Gleeson (who had previously played Abbot Cellach in Kells) voices Conor and Mac Lir, both of whom have suffered an agonizing blow to their hearts. Mac Lir cried so hard that his tears threatened to flood the world until he was turned into a mountain by Macha. Conor screamed Bronagh’s name as he raced after her into the sea, but to not avail; now his sorrow entraps him in a figurative but no less crippling “stone” prison.

Which brings me to perhaps the most significant pair, Granny and Macha, both played by Fionnula Flanagan. Their intentions, while noble, are severely misguided: they believe that the best way to deal with inner pain is to not face that pain at all. Granny constantly complains about how unsavory the lighthouse is. But her opinion stems not so much from her being a stuffy old woman as her acute awareness that the island is a continual reminder to her son of the night he lost the one he cared for most; plus, despite Ben’s fierce protests, she takes him and Soairse away to the city, prioritizing their physical safety above their childhood happiness.

GRANNY: (To Conor.) You’re better off not thinking about that night, you know.
[. . .]
(Firmly to Ben as he is crying softly in the backseat of her car.) Ben, there will be no tears in this car, or in my house.

Similarly, Macha feels that taking away her own son’s feelings is preferable to seeing him grieve, even if it means rendering him a stone monolith. Now, she has become obsessed with doing the same to others, and even to herself, believing that she is healing when, in fact, she is all but killing.

MACHA: (In a comforting tone.) I see it, Ben, your pain. You’re so full of emotions. (Brings Ben closer to her.) I can see them in your face. Nasty, terrible things. . . . Now, if someone said that they could take that pain away, would you let them?
BEN: (Pauses as he considers.) I suppose.
MACHA: (Reasonably.) That’s all I do, Ben. I take away the pain.

Though all of the characters all often hinder each other, they are far from being evil. Here is an honest portrait of real, flawed people reacting to real, flawed life, utilizing supernatural settings as both a backdrop and a means for encouraging nostalgia and self-exploration.

BEN: (To a sick half-stone Saoirse as they are trapped by Macha and her owls.) It’s okay, Saoirse. We don’t have much time. I shouldn’t have been so mean to you. It’s not your fault, it never was. (Saoirse wheezes painfully.) I should have been a better brother to you. I’m sorry.

In a time when many animated children’s films are all about wacky characters, loud music, flashy colors, and pop culture/adult jokes, I find this is very refreshing. It plays out very much like a cinematic lullaby: vivid without being gaudy, fun without being obnoxious, and melancholy without being depressing. Song of the Sea has a timelessness that is sure to resonate with a deep part of ourselves even in the contemporary world, just as both nature and the best bedtime stories have done for centuries.

CREDITS:
Special thanks to KTWH 99.5 Two Harbors Community Radio. All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.

MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund

https://www.briandmorrison.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BriandMorrisonGuitar/
https://www.youtube.com/user/briandmorrison​
EPISODE SONG:
“Codladh Sámh” - The Curellis

https://www.facebook.com/JakeSearlMusic
All other music and sound clips are from Song of the Sea (directed by Tomm Moore; produced by Cartoon Saloon, Melusine Productions, Big Farm, Super Productions, and Noerlum Studios; distributed by StudioCanal, O’Brother Distribution, Haut et Court, and Svensk Filmindustri).

OST SONGS:
“Dance With the Fish” (Film Version)
“Sadness”

Download the full 15-minute episode here!

Song of the Sea on Wikipedia

Tomm Moore on Wikipedia

Cartoon Saloon on Wikipedia

Cartoon Saloon's Official Website

Song of the Sea on Cartoon Saloon

Song of the Sea on IMDb

Song of the Sea on Rotten Tomatoes

Song of the Sea on Common Sense Media

Song of the Sea on Tv Tropes

Song of the Sea on Amazon

Song of the Sea at Barnes & Noble

Song of the Sea on eBay

Song of the Sea Art Book on Amazon

Song of the Sea Art Book at Stuart Ng Books

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Coming in for a Spell

3/28/2019

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Picture
#17 - The Good Witch
2008, Ages 9 and Up
Gather round and I’ll tell you the tale of how the luck of a small town’s citizens changes for the better after the arrival of a lovely and mysterious young woman.
(11/4/16)

​​The following recording is edited from its original 15-minute version due to copyright restrictions. To hear the full version, tune in or stream at the scheduled times on ktwh.org, or download on AudioPort.
Now, I know this movie may seem more suited to be in honor of last month’s signature holiday, but it has such a pleasant autumn vibe that I feel it’s a good pick for any post-Halloween blues out there. If there is one magical being that has adapted and evolved fairly well in the modern world—both in fiction and in real life—it is the witch. “Witchcraft”, for lack of a better word, is widely practiced in many forms by people all over the world today. Of course, it goes without saying that there are those who shun and disapprove of these practices, claiming them to be “nonsense” at best and “devil-worshiping” at worst. As for me, I’ve always been fascinated by the more god-like powers witches are said to possess and that have been presented in rather colorful fashion, from the “Wizards’ Duel” in Disney’s The Sword in the Stone; to the evil child-hunters in Roald Dahl’s The Witches; to any fairytale and piece of folklore involving flight, potion-making, and transformation. In my older years, however, while I am by no means an expert on the subject, I feel that I’ve come to better understand, or at least appreciate, the subtleties of a true witch, good or evil, supernatural or otherwise. And if you recall my LIMBO episode, you already know my stance on subtlety.

Police chief Jake Russel divides his time between protecting the citizens of the small town of Middleton and trying to stay connected with his family, who are each struggling in their own way to cope with the loss of Jenny, Jake’s late wife and the mother of his children. His older son, Brandon, is bullied at school and buries himself in video games; his younger daughter, Lori, suffers from frequent night terrors; and his father-in-law, George, wants to help all of them but just doesn’t know how. But one day, while investigating reports of strange activity at Grey House, a local mansion said to be haunted, Jake is surprised by the appearance of Cassandra Nightingale, the secretive raven-haired new owner of Grey House. Soon after, unusual—and unusually good—things begin to happen, as Cassie utterly fascinates those she meets with her knowledge of herbs and folklore, while offering them much more than simply a hot meal, a kind word, and a listening ear. But there are some residents who take umbrage to Cassie’s eccentricity, like the mayor’s bossy and meddlesome wife, Mrs. Martha Tinsdale. Whichever side the people take regarding their opinion of Cassie and her spiritual ways, one question ultimately remains: is Cassie a real witch?

In the spirit of stories like Frances Hodgeson Burnett’s A Little Princess, this is a special tale that strives to inspire its audiences with the belief of true magic without a single use of the supernatural. But this is not achieved only by the presence of the traditional but otherwise ordinary witch-like paraphernalia that the title protagonist surrounds herself with—a spooky house, a black cat, an old-fashioned broom, and the like. (And even these elements, thankfully, are never overplayed to the point of corniness.)

Cassie exudes a sort of down-to-earth motherliness and a childlike love and trust in the world around her that many of us often lose as the duties and hardships of real life take over our minds and hearts. One of her greatest charms (no pun intended) is that she is sensible without being . . . well, sensible. For one, she almost never gives commonplace answers to questions or comments that we all typically take for granted; her words are always refreshingly sage, whether for their kind of truthfulness that we’ve come to forget:

JAKE: Yeah, uh, yesterday, downtown; was that you that I saw walking into the alley?
CASSIE: (Gently reproaching.) Chief Russel, how would I know what you saw yesterday? Only you know what you saw yesterday.

[. . .]

MARTHA: (Proudly.) We hold tight to our traditions here in Middleton.
CASSIE: (Thoughtfully.) Sometimes if you hold on too tight to what you have, you end up choking it.

Or for the way they do more than exceed expectations and kindle the imagination.

CASSIE: (Whispering to Attila, a Doberman, to calm him.) Hey, listen. Now, I know you’re a good dog, it’s your master that’s the beast.
[. . .]
BRANDON: (Amazed.) How did you do that?
CASSIE: Oh, I’ve always had a way with the fur people.

[. . .]

CASSIE: (Announcing to a tour group that’s come by Grey House.) And if you’d like, you can stop by my new shop on Main: The Bell, Book, and Candle.
[. . .]
NANCY: What do you sell?
CASSIE: (Smiling.) Infinite possibilities.

More than that, she doesn’t just help others in need, she gently gives them direction so that they can help themselves. We tend to focus so much on finding practical reasons for doing or not doing something, due to some kind of inner fear. But Cassie seems to know exactly what everyone needs and how to put them at ease enough to utilize it, whether it’s to help a child with her bad dreams:

CASSIE: (To Lori.) Well, after you put this [dreamcatcher] over your bed, I need you do something very important. You mustn’t, under any circumstances, dream of bunnies tonight.
LORI: Bunnies?
CASSIE: (Seriously.) That’s right. [. . .] You must not dream about soft, furry, cute little bunny rabbits.

An old man yearning for his homeland:

CASSIE: (Holding out to George a beautiful pendent with a four-leaf clover/shamrock inside.) A shamrock, from the Emerald Isle. [. . .] Now do yourself a favor. Hide this away. (Places the pendent in George’s breast pocket.) Bring it out again when there’s a full moon.
GEORGE: A full moon?
CASSIE: Yes. That’s the time to reconsider your impossible dream.

A woman whose love life wants a “boost” (if you know what I mean):

CASSIE: (To Nancy as she’s smelling a fragrant oil.) Yeah, that’s an, um, aphrodisiac. It’s my own little mixture. [. . .] Yeah, you put a few drops on your husband’s collar before dinner time, and by desert he’s primed and, ready to go, shall we say.
Nancy: (Stammering.) Does, uh—I mean . . . does it really work?
CASSIE: Why don’t you give it a shot? [. . .] Just consider it a fun little experiment.

And a boy troubled by a nasty bully:

CASSIE: (To Brandon.) So, then, uh, this goat/frog thing is flexible, so long as [Kyle’s] turned into something less threatening.
BRANDON: Yeah, I guess.
CASSIE: Well, it’s not going to be easy. I’m going to need your help.
BRANDON: My help?
CASSIE: Yeah, in order for this to work, I need you to do four things.
[. . .]
BRANDON: (Confused.) What—How am I supposed to do all that?
CASSIE: (Sympathetic.) I don’t know, I don’t make the rules. I realize it’s going to take some courage.

Now, of course, it can be argued that, realistically, Cassie’s methods are only plausible at best, as they and their outcomes are highly romanticized for storytelling purposes and could have each gone in myriad directions, if not failed entirely; this is especially true in the sequences involving Brandon facing the boy who bullies him. That said, though, I don’t think that knowledge should deter our attention from the fact that this is meant to teach compassion and empathy for others, as they may be quietly struggling with their own personal demons.

And then, there is Martha. You know those people who preach what sound like noble intentions on paper, but who are so darn self-righteous about it that it makes you want to do the exact opposite? Martha is one of those people. Annoyingly paranoid and the epitome of the nosy neighbor, Martha disapproves of anything she believes doesn’t follow the traditions and moral standards of Middleton and will do virtually anything to stamp it out as if it were a disease.

MARTHA: (To the Citizens’ League.) She is scaring away every last hope this community has of attracting investors! Her black magic shop is a dagger through the heart of our lovely business district. [. . .] These are the dark arts that she’s practicing and selling right under our noses! [. . .] My own two sons, Dylan and Michael, tell me that at school they call her the “witch woman”—and for very good reason. She makes strange potions, she converses with animals, and she has that drunken Walter Cobb living under the same roof with her! Now, is this really the sort of thing that we want here in Middleton?

One of the best technical ways the film accentuates the differences between these two women is through its soundtrack. Whenever Cassie is on screen, viewers hear an elegant theme set in Minor, of soothing pipes and gentle harp and violin strings, and adorned with the sound of chimes blowing in a soft wind, all of which create an atmosphere of comfort as well as natural beauty. The sound of Martha’s presence, on the other hand, is almost laughable in its banality: a pretentious Staccato piece punctuated by deep blasts from the tuba, with a clarinet and flute that swirl in and out of earshot as though they themselves feel awkward in her presence. The second it begins playing, you know she’s coming, on the prowl for something to pounce on and nit-pick about.

And stuck in the center of the debate is Jake. I think, in a way, the character of Jake is meant to represent viewers: a reasonable person with sometimes unreasonable problems who nonetheless always strives to do what is right for those around him. In the case of Cassie, however, this unfortunately leaves him torn between pacifying the deeply suspicious citizens, including even the mayor:

MAYOR TINSDALE: (To Jake.) I want you to find out everything you can about this Cassandra Nightingale. The ownership of Grey House has always been . . . murky. Now that developers are interested in the property she arrives one day, out of the blue, with the deed. You don’t find that a little suspicious?
JAKE: (Conceding reluctantly.) It-It’s unusual.
MAYOR TINSDALE: Jake [. . .] All I’m asking is that you do a little digging. Aren’t you a little curious about her? (Firmly.) I am.

And spending time with Cassie, toward whom he grows increasingly attracted, for her beauty, kindness, and acceptance of others for themselves, no matter what their background, their mistakes, or their past:

JAKE: (Pointing to a bottle of wine on Cassie’s kitchen counter.) I’d hide that wine with Walter around.
CASSIE: Oh, I’m not worried about Walter.
JAKE: (In wonder.) You are very trusting.
CASSIE: (Smiling.) I’ll take that as a compliment.

But in spite of all that, though serious and strict when the situation calls for it, Jake’s mind and heart are open to new people, new things, and, most importantly, new ways of thinking, allowing him to realize—and showing the audience in turn—that if something, however unusual, heals and inspires people in the end, why does it need to be questioned or destroyed just for the sake of our own conventional comfort zone?

MAYOR TINSDALE: (Trying to keep things calm.) Now, Jake. Stop a minute and think. You know and I know what it means if you go through with this.
JAKE: (Resolutely.) Yeah, I know what this means, I know exactly what it means. Ms. Nightingale didn’t do anything wrong, your boys did. Because someone put in their heads that everyone in this town needs to act the same, and look the same. But Cassie’s different . . . and we’re all the better for it.

Since its debut, The Good Witch has become so popular on Hallmark that it has spawned numerous sequels, my personal favorite being the third film: The Good Witch’s Gift, which features Cassie working her positive “magic” during the Christmas holidays. There is now also a spin-off T.V. series simply entitled Good Witch. But I really don’t want to spoil any of them here when I’m only talking about the first movie ;)

The Good Witch is less about witch stereotypes and more about ordinary people given new ways to see the extraordinary in the world around them. The true strength of this gorgeous film is its humble yet transcendent moments meant to revive the desire for new adventures and new chances to change one’s life, its primary message being that with enough faith, both in oneself and in others, anyone is capable of working miracles. And who knows? You might be amazed—and enchanted—by what you find in return.

CREDITS:
Special thanks to KTWH 99.5 Two Harbors Community Radio. All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.

MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund

https://www.briandmorrison.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BriandMorrisonGuitar/
https://www.youtube.com/user/briandmorrison​
EPISODE SONG:
“Anomalous Peace” ​- The Curellis

https://www.facebook.com/JakeSearlMusic
All other music and sound clips are from the film, The Good Witch (directed by Craig Pryce; produced by Whizbang Films and Lee Distribution; distributed by Hallmark Channel).

​Download the full 15-minute episode here!

The Good Witch on Wikipedia

The Good Witch on the Hallmark Channel's Official Website

The Good Witch on IMDb

The Good Witch on Rotten Tomatoes

The Good Witch on Common Sense Media

The Good Witch on Tv Tropes

The Good Witch on Amazon

The Good Witch at Barnes & Noble

The Good Witch on eBay

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