Like Anna Karina's Sweater

Los Angeles Plays (With) Itself

Even after a decent night's sleep, there's still little more than stunned silence here at Filmbrain HQ over the Crash victory. In fact, more offensive than the best picture nod was the award for best original screenplay. When judged by any standards (even in a McKee-dominated world), Haggis' screenplay is a poorly written, insulting, pedantic exercise in one-dimensionality that incorporates dramatic tricks that might be considered acceptable coming from a twelve year-old. Are we truly meant to believe that the Academy members felt that dialog such as: "But if a white person sees two black men walking towards her and she turns and walks away, she's a racist, right? Well I got scared and I didn't do anything and ten seconds later I had a gun in my face. Now I am telling you, your amigo in there is going to sell our key to one of his homies and this time it would be really fucking great if you acted like you gave a shit! was actually better than Good Night, and Good Luck, Match Point, The Squid and The Whale or Syriana? Or were Crash's wins due to the votes it received from its cast of thousands (and their friends)? And even though Crash was critically at the bottom of the list (as per Metacritic), its best picture win shouldn't come as that much of a surprise -- of the five nominated films, it is (by far) the most Hollywood of the bunch, and is as smarmy and self-congratulatory as the Oscars itself. As a means of silent protest, may I recommend renting Charles (Killer of Sheep) Burnett's The Glass Shield -- a far better film about racism in Los Angeles. Unsurprisingly, Burnett's 1994 film didn't get any recognition at awards time. But then again, he was interested in actually confronting and taking a stand on issues, rather than just fueling liberal white guilt.

Altman's Surprisingly Good Health

It's been a dream of mine for some years now to see every feature film helmed by one of America's greatest directors, Robert Altman. It's primarily the late-70s/early-80s output that's been the hardest to track down, but recent years has seen the release of several of these titles on DVD, as well as airings of some others on The Fox Movie Channel. (A Perfect Couple, one of the holy grails of my quest, is being released on DVD in a few weeks.) Of the dozen or so films Altman directed between 1973 and 1983, the two that seem to get the most abuse are Quintet and Health. Even Altman apologists I've spoken with have little good to say about these two. A few months ago I caught Quintet on Fox (my review here), and it confirmed that everything I'd heard was true. Try as I might, I just couldn't find enough about the film to like, though the experience of having finally seen it made it all worthwhile. Naturally then, I approached Health with more than a little trepidation. After all, even Altman's greatest supporter Pauline Kael didn't review it in the pages of The New Yorker -- not an encouraging sign. Yet the good news is that Health is in fact a terrific film, and while it's understandable that audiences may not have appreciated it in 1982, it truly is worthy of reevaluation. Sure, Altman is repeating himself -- structurally and technically the film is almost identical to Nashville, with its multi-threaded plotlines, cast of thousands, and clever use of layered dialog. And though it's far lighter than the 1975 masterpiece, it is easily one of the funniest films on his résumé. A biting political satire, Altman originally intended for Heath (aka HealtH, or H.E.A.L.T.H.) to be released during the 1980 presidential campaign, but executives at Fox decided to shelve the film for nearly two years. With its acronymic title (Happiness, Energy And Longevity Through Health), Health uses the microcosm of a health food convention as an allegory for the often sleazy and underhanded practices that occur during an election year, while at the same time skewering the then-burgeoning health and fitness craze. Set entirely in the Florida hotel that is hosting the convention, the film chronicles the presidential campaign of H.E.A.L.T.H., an organization whose function is never made quite clear. The two main candidates are Esther Brill (Lauren Bacall), a feisty eighty-three year old virgin who occasionally slips into a catatonic state, and humorless Isabella Garnell (Glenda Jackson), whose every utterance turns into a lengthy tirade. Co-screenwriter Paul Dooley plays Dr. Gil Gainey, an independent candidate who continually rails against the two-party system, and who also performs an amazing underwater stunt. Altman's star-studded cast also includes James Garner as Esther's campaign manager, Carol Burnett as an advisor to the White House, Henry Gibson as a political dirty-trickster (in drag), and Dick Cavett as himself. As good as all of them are, the real scene-stealer is Alfre Woodard (in her big screen debut) as the hotel manager who is none-too-impressed with the health nuts. Her lengthy (seemingly improvised) scene where she's interviewed by Dick Cavett is nothing short of absolute deadpan comic brilliance. Like Nashville, Health is strewn with various interconnected plot threads, though it's far more anarchic here. It's hard to say whether or not this is by design, but it actually works in the film's favor. The political maneuverings and underhanded tactics are mostly presented without any context, but this senselessness makes the film that much more interesting. Unlike Quintet, which took itself far too seriously, the surreality of Health has a circus-like feel to it, and it makes for an excellent companion piece to Popeye, made the same year. And like Robin Williams' nearly sub-vocal utterances, many of the funniest lines are those heard in passing, or buried within simultaneous conversations. The film's only drawback is that it is very much a product of its time, and some of its humor might not mean as much to a contemporary audience. (Some might not understand why Dick Cavett lying in bed watching The Tonight Show is funny.) Still, the film was an unexpected surprise, given how denigrated it was. Silly but often hysterical, Health finds Altman at his directorial best -- solid from start to finish, with virtually no filler, and great performances from the entire cast. Here's hoping that somebody at Fox unearths this treasure and gives it the release it deserves.

Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 7, Week 7

There were some wonderful guesses for last week's quiz, but only a relatively small number of you were able to identify a young Isabelle Huppert from Claude Sautet's truly magnificent César et Rosalie, which stars Romy Schneider and (All About) Yves Montand. Filmbrain must admit that while watching the film he had a difficult time spotting the now-redhead underneath the blonde hair and babyfat. Sautet is criminally under-represented on DVD in this country, with only two of his fifteen films available. (This one, and his last film, Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud.) The simple but moving portraits of bourgeois characters that dominated his post-1970 films are often quite brilliant, and with any luck more will be released in time. Do see César et Rosalie if you haven't -- you won't be disappointed. This week -- nope, it's not a Sunset Boulevard remake. Name the film. Submit your answers to this address. Good luck!