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AT THE CINEMA
This week began my journey to become a more Cultured Person™ (as mentioned in a recent post). On Tuesday, at a small art house theater: The Beacon. My daughter and I went to see director René Clément’s 1960 noir classic Plein Soleil (Purple Noon). It’s a French film, photographed chiefly in Italy, based on an American novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith.
(As an unexpected bonus, this film didn’t only offer a cinematic education, but also lessons in ballet, art, and architecture. At one point, a character buys a book containing a collection of the paintings of early Renaissance artist Fra Angelico for his fiancé. The book is flipped through several times in the film, and we get to see his primarily religious work. One of the characters teaches ballet; we see some dancers doing exercises. Many scenes in Rome, Naples, and small Italian villages provide examples of lovely homes, churches, and even government buildings.)
It was a pretty wonderful film. American noir films tend to take place at night in big cities, often with claustrophobic settings. Much of this film was filmed on the Mediterranean during gorgeous summer days, and yet the heart of man is just as dark as in American noir.
The film is about a cavalier young playboy named Phillippe (Marice Ronet) living in Italy against his rich father’s wishes. The father sends Tom Ripley (Alain Delon) to bring his son back home to San Francisco. This was one jarring thing about the film because nothing about these two men signaled to me that they were Americans. Perhaps they were speaking French with American accents, but that’s something I sure wouldn’t catch. Once I figured out their nationalities everything became much clearer. When people started getting killed, that also made things more clear.
The plot is dark and twisted and plays out well. There is a scene that takes place after a murder that plays very much like Weekend at Bernies (another essential work for every cultured person).
Want a Quote of the Day from Purple Noon? “Why bother having money when you can spend other people’s?” Phillippe says this, but it really could be the motto of our federal government. It should be inscribed over the Department of Treasury, certainly.
AT THE CONCERT HALL
A co-worker, Daron, noticed I tend to listen to a classical music station, and he promised to take me to a concert. Last Thursday night he came through on that promise.
Beethoven’s Fifth was on the program at the Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. When I was in high school, during the Age of Disco, I had Frank Murphy’s album A Fifth of Beethoven with Ludwig’s tune put to a disco beat. (The album also had a disco version of “Flight of the Bumblebee” as well as one of the worst songs ever recorded, “You’ve Got to Be Your Own Best Friend.”) I also had an album with the original Fifth (and the Fourth) recorded by George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. This is primarily relevant because Daron is from Cleveland, and a longtime fan of the city’s cultural icons: the Cavs, the Browns, and the Indians.
The program began with an announcement that the concert hall, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, was built on the land of the Duwamish People (an indigenous tribe that hasn’t received recognition from the federal government).
I was concerned about the first part of the program. Before Ludwig V’s contribution. The orchestra was performing Art Songs by John Adams. Born in 1947, Adams is a contemporary composer from the Minimal Music school, and frankly, I was a little leery. Especially because the Adams pieces were choral as well as orchestral.
A great thing for my journey towards being a Cultured Person™ is that the libretto of Adams’ Harmonium is based on poems by John Donne and Emily Dickinson. I was learning Literature as well as Music! The poems were “Negative Love” by Donne, “Because I could not stop for Death” and “Wild Nights” by Dickinson. The words and music were both beautiful.
So, unexpectedly, the concert gave some options for a Quote of the Day. I’m going with Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death,/He kindly stopped for me;/The carriage held but just ourselves/And Immortality.” It’s such a quaint presentation of existential truth.
I found it odd to see a half dozen chorus members wearing masks. If they were sick, it seems that they shouldn’t have been there; if they weren’t sick, the masks would hamper their performance. But one has come to expect such things.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 was presented as part of the Seattle Symphony’s “Masterwork Series” because, well, it is – such a powerful, stirring work. I have listened to it throughout my life and yet still find it moving. While I was listening, I realized that I never really thought about which instruments played the various parts, so that was fun to watch.
It was a great night. Thanks, Daron!
More culture to come.
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Discussion (4)
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Babylon 5 fans know that this can be sung to the tune of "The Yellow Rose of Texas."
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I watched Purple Noon maybe two years ago when I was on an Alain Delon kick. I had vaguely remembered watching the 1999 adaptation The Talented Mr. Ripley somewhere around 1999, and mostly just remembered being bored. Not so with Purple Noon. Well done, beautifully shot and acted; the movie is besst described as the OP did - a sunny Mediterranean Noir.
On a side note, my enjoyment of Purple Noon prompted me to read the Highsmith novel. I then watched an early 2000's sequel of sorts called Ripley's Game starring John Malkovitch, which was suprisingly good. (There is a 70's German version starring Dennis Hopper titled The American Friend, which I liked less, but was still a well made and interesting film.) Finally, I went back to the 1999 version I partially remembered, and on second veiwing, liked it a lot more. It might be I got older, I got into cinema more broadly, and/or I just wasn't paying much attention the night I watched it - but i enjoyed most of the Talented Mr. Ripley. I actually got pieces of Ripley and Purple Noon slightly tangled in my head. I like the beginning of Ripley better. However, I like Delon's version of the character much more than Damon's (who I am fine with generally and thought did a credible job in his version.) The end of Purple Noon plays better and seemed to drag less.
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My favorite treatment of Because I Could Not Stop for Death:
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I also read the Highsmith book, then realized it was the first in a series of Ripley books. They are all very good, and give a slightly different picture of the Ripley we meet in the first book. He grows up, has the experiences he has in those books while occasionally reflecting back on that person he was in his callow youth, wonders at his audacity. As we all do.
But he’s still pretty audacious.