My day began with a tribute to filmmaker Wim Wenders followed by his new film: “Perfect Days.” Wenders has done such films as “Paris, Texas”, “Wings of Desire” and others I am not familiar with. In his interview before the screening I found his style very appealing. From the program: “ But all his wide-ranging explorations have ultimately been lit up by a profound concern with our spiritual well-being.” The film he showed was an example. It’s a simple movie, some might say boring, but I didn’t see it that way. It took place in Japan and focused on the daily routines of one man, played by Koji Yakusho, who won the Best Actor at Cannes! He was present to greet us before the film. I can see why he won that award. He gave a gentle, Zen -like portrayal of a man who appreciated the little things in his day. I found it to be peaceful and calming.
The 2nd film today was “Rustin” directed by George C. Wolfe, who also has some excellent Broadway directing credits as well including a favorite of mine: “Jelly’s Last Jam”—which I saw on NY with Gregory Hines, “Angels in America” and “Ma Rainey’s Back Bottom,” to name a few. Bayard Rustin was “the unsung hero of the civil rights era, the mastermind of the March on Washington.” His name was not credited in history as he was deemed “a liability to the movement because he was a gay ex-communist.” He was an inspiration to many and the film was uplifting. I highly recommend this one. I cried at the profound achievement that the March was, and at the same time at the reversal of civil rights encouraged by many states in the US today and provoked by horrors like the storming of the capital by white supremacists led by the criminal Trump.
The 3rd film was a documentary by Errol Morris, who interviewed the novelist John Le Carre, “ The Pidgeon Tunnel.” Absolutely a fascinating look into Le Carre’s life! It was rather dry and some others were not impressed with this one. But I found him to be very interesting. It makes me want to re-view some of the films made from his books, e.g. “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “The Spy who came in from the cold.” Etc. I recommend this to fans of Le Carre especially.
There were 2 more films I could have seen today but I got tired after 3, so I called it quits at 6 pm. An excellent day.
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