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In Reply to: Can't Resist - I thought American Beauty was Brilliant posted by Jim Susky on February 04, 2002 at 23:10:02:
Which Russian word was that?As far as the AB, I honestly have not given it much thought at all.
Movies produce two impacts. One is immediate and is indicative of certain aspects of film.
But more important is the long lasting effect or lack thereoff. Good movies keep lingering in your mind for long time... years, decades. I still remember everything associated with the first time I saw the Wild Strawberries - the setting, the company, the mood and the impression. You keep coming back to them, to scenes, images, to general moods and impressions. That is true of many great films.
The problem with AB is that besides being weak, it was also immediately forgettable. Like having a bad steak - you simply move on, as there is nothing to dwell on.
I usually say: why waste time with mediocre and bad films when there are soooooo many good ones still unwatched? To me there are so many better ones out there that again, no thought about the AB ever crosses my mind unless someone brings it up. I would much rather talk about something that touches me deeply.
Follow Ups:
Exerpted from earlier Victor post:
***In my opinion American Beauty is far from being as weak a film as you repeatedly call it. How exactly did it offend you? Do tell, I am really curious.
(Victor replies)
This is not all that easy to explain. There are things that we feel immediately, but it takes long time to explain clearly.Perhaps here I shall borrow from Nabokov. In his lectures on Russian literature he tried once to explain to the American students the meaning of the word "poshlost'". There is no equivalent word in English, and it is a VERY important word, as I am sure you know (although due to your rather short term in Russia you perhaps have not had enough chance to trully absorb it - I am guessing here...). That word has many flavors, and the most pedestrian translation would be perhaps just "poor taste", but it is much more than that, of course.
Anyway, Nabokov struggles with that definition for at least a couple of hours. And he too mentions that it is easier to feel than to relate certain things. Needless to say, I am no Nabokov.
So in the nutshell the film is "poshlyi". Very...
I started watching it actually expecting to love it, because so many good words have been spent on it in the press and by some people whom I actually respect. But very quickly my reaction started being that of severe irritation. It is the same irritation at being taken for a fool that I experience when looking at certain artist's work, the ones done by throwing paint from a balcony on the canvas. We all know the name of that highly respected "artist".
In almost every film there will be scenes where you cringe and say to yourself: "I wish that one was not there!" In this one it was scene after scene that left that sensation in me. All the while being done very professionally. Perhaps the most irritating scene was the one where the hero undresses the young girl. I though it was absolutely tasteless, all the irony and satyre of that film not helping it at all. As you know, I am not a prude.
It is that kind of unique "poshlost'" that I think only exists in certain American films of the later years (decades?). At least I don't recall seeing it in any other country's films - but of course my exposure to those is perhaps restricted. In that respect it is, as I said before, VERY American. Unfortunately so.
Since you are willing to dig deeper into that subject, I would strongly recommend that you find that lecture and read it - it is extremely interesting. I believe it was one of the lectures on literature he gave in American, but I could check on that for more detail maybe over today's lunch break.Anyway, indeed this is a very common and powerful word in Russian locution, and I miss not having it here. Often I am surprised it doesn't exist, as the need for it IS there.
But going back to the film, I don't feel like repeating the same arguments, and as I said, I was predisposed to like it. But its means were primitive and oversimplified. The subject of obsession is as old as the world itself, and there have been many wonderful films dealing with it in the world cinema.
Sure, if it's in english, I'll bite.Please reply with the reference.
We have it at home and it IS in English.I think it is one of the two on the bottom, not sure which one.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/102-4963024-6052120
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