Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey battle their memories in ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Michel Gondry, 2004)
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Wednesday, May 9, 4:00, and Saturday, May 19, 1:30 Series runs through May 20
Tickets: $12, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk beginning at 9:30 am
212-708-9400
www.moma.org
www.eternalsunshine.com
This brilliant work comes from the warped mind of Charlie Kaufman, the sensational scribe behind Being John Malkovich, Adaptation., and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. (Chris Elliott fans will get a kick out of knowing that Kaufman was a writer for Get a Life, one of the great warped series of all time.) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as a couple looking to erase each other from their memories by . . . ah, don’t worry what it’s about. The less you know, the better. Just be prepared for a visual, metaphysical spectacle that will both exhilarate and depress you, filling you with wonder and amazement. The only thing keeping it from perfection is the ordinariness of the subplot involving Elijah Wood. Kaufman and director Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep) mix in a little Punch-Drunk Love and Groundhog Day, both of which also featured former television comedians in more serious roles, but end up with something wholly original and, quite simply, one of the most romantic movies we have ever seen.Eternal Sunshine is screening May 9 and 19 at MoMA as part of the series “Focus Features: 10th Anniversary Salute,” which pays tribute to the New York-based distributor responsible for such cutting-edge independent films as Gus Van Sant’s Milk, Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right, Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, and David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises, all of which are part of this festival, which runs through May 20.
“Now look, you cats may know more about junk, see,” square film director Jim Dunn (William Redfield) says midway through The Connection, “but let me swing with this movie, huh?” Adapted by Jack Gelber from his play and directed and edited by Shirley Clarke, The Connection is a gritty tale of drug addicts awaiting their fix that was banned for obscenity after only two matinee screenings back in October 1962. It opens in a sharp new fiftieth-anniversary print on May 4 at the IFC Center, beautifully restored by Ross Lipman of the UCLA Film & Television Archive. In a New York City loft, eight men are waiting for their man: Leach (Warren Finnerty), the ringleader who has an oozing scab on his neck; Solly (Jerome Raphael), an intelligent philosopher who speaks poetically about the state of the world; Ernie (Garry Goodrow), a sad-sack complainer who has pawned his horn but still clutches tight to the mouthpiece as if it were a pacifier; Sam (Jim Anderson), a happy dude who tells rambling stories while spinning a hula hoop; and a jazz quartet consisting of real-life musicians Freddie Redd on piano, Jackie McLean on sax, Larry Richie on drums, and Michael Mattos on bass. Dunn and his cameraman, J. J. Burden (Roscoe Lee Browne), are in the apartment filming the men as Dunn tries to up the drama to make it more cinematic as well as more genuine. “Don’t be afraid, man,” Leach tells him. “It’s just your movie. It’s not real.” When Cowboy (Carl Lee) ultimately shows with the stuff, Bible-thumping Sister Salvation (Barbara Winchester) at his side, things take a decidedly more drastic turn. Mixing elements of the French New Wave with a John Cassavetes sensibility and cinema verité style, Clarke has made an underground indie classic that moves to the beat of an addict’s craving and eventual fix. Shot in a luridly arresting black-and-white by Arthur Ornitz, The Connection is like one long be-bop jazz song, giving plenty of time for each player to take his solo, with standout performances by McLean musically and Raphael verbally. The film-within-a-film narrative allows Clarke to experiment with the mechanics of cinema and challenge the audience; when Dunn talks directly into the camera, he is speaking to Burden, yet he is also breaking the fourth wall, addressing the viewer. Cutting between Burden’s steady camera and Dunn’s handheld one, Clarke adds dizzying swirls that rush past like a speeding subway train. A New York City native, Clarke made such other films as The Cool World and Portrait of Jason and won an Academy Award for her 1963 documentary Robert Frost: A Lover’s Quarrel with the World. This new print of The Connection is part of Milestone Films’ Shirley Clarke Project, which will preserve and restore a quartet of her best work, with the 1985 documentary Ornette: Made in America up next.
>In the summer of 1963, two cowboys head up Brokeback Mountain in Wyoming to watch over a herd of sheep. Ennis Del Mar (an outstanding Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) have never met before, but it doesn’t take long for them to jump into each other’s arms when it gets mighty cold up there. Their brief but powerful affair haunts them when they each return to their lives — Ennis marries his fiancee, Alma (Michelle Williams), and starts a family, while Jack settles down with Lureen (Anne Hathaway) in a clearly loveless relationship. As time moves on, their desperate need to be together only grows stronger — and more dangerous. Based on Annie Proulx’s New Yorker story and directed by Ang Lee (Hulk, The Ice Storm, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Brokeback Mountain is an emotional tale of forbidden love that will break your heart. However, it’s not quite as great as you’ve heard; Ennis and Jack’s physical relationship starts way too soon, without enough buildup, and Lee doesn’t quite know how to end it (it’s at least twenty minutes too long). But he gets one heckuva wrenching performance from Ledger as a tough man afraid to let go of traditional values and follow his dreams. Brokeback Mountain is screening May 3 and 6 at MoMA as part of the series “Focus Features: 10th Anniversary Salute,” which pays tribute to the New York-based distributor responsible for such cutting-edge independent films as Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Gus Van Sant’s Milk, Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right, and David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises, all of which are part of this festival, which runs May 3-20. The May 3 screening of Brokeback Mountain will be followed by a Q&A by longtime Lee producer and Focus Features CEO James Schamus.
