Last night I rented The Tracey Fragments (2007), a film by Canadian director Bruce McDonald (of Hard Core Logo fame).

The film follows Tracey Berkowitz through two or three days of her troubled teenage life. McDonald offers the viewer touching and troubling insight into Tracey’s reality, crafting the story by overlaying screen atop one another to give the film a mosaic quality (like the photo I included here). The effect is beautiful and, at times, rightly overwhelming.
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A quick note. After another busy week with ChristmasFuture, I had a great day yesterday—goodness to goodness. Sushi for dinner with a cold beer. For dessert, a milkshake at Boogie’s Burgers followed by a high score on the Ms.Pacman game. After, I spent some time writing at a coffee shop. When I returned home, a friend called me and invited me to see Broken Social Scene at the Sled Island mainstage. Not only was their performance excellent, but somone else gave me a ticket for the Saturday mainstage! Needless to say, I had a huge smile on my face biking home in the dark after the show ended.

Looks like it will be a great weekend.

There was some discussion with my friends about a number of elements in The Darjeeling Limited, including the role of Bill Murray’s character (simply called “The Businessman” in the closing credits). The Businessman appears twice in the movie: once, at the beginning, and then later in the train-metaphor scene (where he is reclining, drinking sweet lime, with a package of Darjeeling Limited savoury snacks on the table beside him).

The Businessman not only symbolically represents the father of the Whitmans, but his appearance and failure to board the train prefigures one of the final scenes in the movie: the releasing of the father’s baggage by all three sons.

Beyond the similarity of The Businessman and luggage not boarding the trains, there is a parallel between the way that Peter looks back at the businessman (he removes his father’s glasses to have a better look at the person left behind) and the way the Whitman’s look back at the released luggage. I find that both scenes bring to the fore a present moment consciousness—a reflection on the self in the world—in the characters. I interpret this both from the expressions on their faces and by reading symbolically the scene.

To be clear, the present moment consciousness is represented by the scenes where the brothers look backwards, even as they are moving forwards and away. They reflect on that which is left behind, as they stand in their choice to move forward. These scenes disclose that the Whitman’s familiarity of the past and the known requires pause and reflection, even as they journey into what comes next (homecomings, reconciliations, relationships, and fatherhood).

The final scene of the movie—where the brothers go for a drink and a cigarette (exactly as they do at the beginning of the movie)—does not testify to an absence of personal and relational change in the Whitman’s: rather, that inner reshaping of a person is not always cataclysmic, but incremental and unvarnished.

These scenes support a hopeful interpretation of Anderson’s representation of people: humans can change and experience personal transformation, albeit slowly. Or, to return to the specifics of the film, the Whitman’s will leave behind their father’s baggage throughout their journeys; the process is life-long and ongoing.

I have already noted that I approach The Darjeeling Limited as a story about the spiritual journey. Through this lens, I see that every journey presents an opportunity to surrender the past—and the self associated with it—and become.

I have yet to investigate the connection between Rudyard Kipling’s Kim and The Darjeeling Limited. I am particularly interested in the use of the spectacles that characters acquire to change perspective on the world.

I eagerly anticipate evaluating The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Into The Wild, and Margot at the Wedding, however here are the top 2007 films I’ve seen:

1. Atonement
2. Once
3. The Darjeeling Limited
4. I’m Not There
5. Across the Universe
6. No Country for Old Men
7. The Bourne Ultimatum
8. The Great Debaters

Until I actually saw the film, I thought Atonement would be a typical love story about some wartime couple; how wrong I was. I have not had such a strong emotional reaction to a story all year. While I find Ian McEwan’s novel, you should seriously consider making plans to see Atonement.

Once crafts a story about love and human connection between two musicians in Dublin. Unlike most musicals where people randomly burst into song, Once weaves the music seamlessly into the lives of its characters. This styling, as well as the digital filming, create a sense of authenticity and closeness as the story builds. The soundtrack for this movie is worth your time.

The Darjeeling Limited . . . I’ve already said much on this film. More will come.

Although I’m Not There has a few weaker moments, it has strong artistic and stylistic vision. This poetic film invites many interpretations because the characters and stories are episodic, unique, yet connected. Added bonus: Cate Blanchett as a Dylanesque figure—wonderful.

Across the Universe is a musical where people randomly burst into song; however the tunes are almost all Beatles music reimagined in ways that are familiar enough to enjoy yet capture the interest of people who’ve heard The Beatles (and covers) for more than a couple decades. The movie contains vibrant colours and sets. Although the storyline wears thin in many places, I take the film as a snapshot of the movement that is the 1960s—the characters are simply lenses to provide understanding of everything that was happening.

No Country for Old Men has topped the list of most reviewers . . . For me, the reflections on the fallout of the world changing makes this movie great. The unresolved ending—despite theater goers incredulity—closes this feature perfectly.

A great action movie, with some substance and good plot twists, that even Laura liked: The Bourne Ultimatum.

An “inspired by a true story” film about black students from Texas in the 1930s that Oprah produced and Denzel Washington directed, The Great Debaters surpasses the expectation of the inspirational movie genre. Beyond reminding me of the long and difficult (and ongoing) struggle for racial equality, the movie tells an inspirational story about the importance of education and the mind, as well as the importance of rhetoric. The movie hits it out of the park on the final scene.

Edit: Writers at The Village Voice (see article) and NY Times are heralding the late-coming There Will Be Blood as the best film of 2007! So … I may revise my list if I get the chance to see it.

As you may know, I find Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited (which includes Hotel Chevalier) to be his best and most artistic film to date. The film offers fertile ground for interpretations, observations, and discussion through its masterful use of ambiguity and understatement.

For me, the movie is, first and foremost, about the realities associated with an intentional spiritual journey:
() the decision to undertake a journey
() gestures of spirituality
() failure/absurdity
() moment of transformation and/or enlightenment
() the question of what, if anything, has actually changed in the journeyed person

The latter point/question haunts me, although I take courage from this: Failure, disconnection, and suffering do not abate; however, the person who seeks to embrace life, face the self, and connect with others, despite these challenges, seems to gain access to a kernel of goodness that is at the centre of being/being human. Simply put, I see that, although they continue to suffer, the Whitman’s are transformed by their journey (albeit incrementally).

On a more general note, there are some elements in The Darjeeling Limited that could have been treated more subtly (father’s baggage, “I guess I have some more healing to do”), however for me these elements do not detract significantly. They are the raw in the raw and the cooked.

The writers seem to address these elements by simultaneously pointing to them and joking about them. Example: the scene where the train is lost. Francis says “Isn’t that symbolic?! We haven’t located us yet. . Where are those feathers at? . . . ” Being lost on the way allows the Whitman’s another attempt to confront themselves and one another, as well as their past and their fears—and their hopes. Regardless of how awkward the symbols are, they contribute to the spiritual journey of Francis, Peter, and Jack. The obvious, the awkward, and the mundane—not only the cataclysmic—play a role in changing a person.

We haven’t located us yet.

I’ve now seen The Darleeling Limited three times. In fact, talking about that piece of artwork is part of the inspiration to begin this blog. Unfortunately, it is late and I suspect Laura will beckon me to bed in short order. So . . .

Jack: Wouldn’t it be great if we heard a train go by in the distance?
Peter: No.
Francis: It’d probably be annoying.