The Basket

It’s October in the US, and that means Oktoberfest is in full swing here. This month there are two ethnic holidays, Columbus Day, intended to celebrate the discovery of the New World, and German-American day was on Tuesday, October 6. While Columbus Day was made national in 1934, German-American Day was made national in 1983.

What a good time of year to watch 1999’s “The Basket” starring Peter Coyote and Karen Allen. The title refers to two basket themes used in the film’s plot:  one, the basket used in basketball, and the basket referred to it Gerhard Muller’s opera, the Basket (Der Korb).

The story takes place in Waterville, a farming town just outside Spokane, Washington. Not much has changed in this town–there are about six families who all know each other, there’s  a central store run by Mrs. Haines, and the preacher, Rev. Simms, doubles as the town doctor.

The 20th century has brought rapid change even to these remote parts. WWI is underway. The Emery’s oldest boy, Ben, has just returned from the war with one amputated leg; any hopes his father had of his helping out on the farm are dashed. Rev. Simms has adopted two war orphans who had been living in a destitute refugee camp in Europe–Brigitta Brink, a lovely teenage brunette, and her younger tween brother, Helmut Brink. As you may have guessed, these children are German, and are trying to adjust as best they can to life in America and life without parents; this experience is not without its recurring bad dreams, loneliness, and guilt for surviving. Martin Conlon is the new schoolteacher, a Boston native who brings new traditions and interests to town.

The class is rowdy on Conlon’s first day. He soon realizes he can motivate this class, ages 8-18, by promising to teach them basketball and provide daily installments of his record Gerhard Muller’s opera Der Korb (The Basket). As the opera is sung, he describes what each character is saying; each day he plays about ten minutes, and always stops the story at a dramatic point to keep the sstudents eagerly anticipating the next installment. Given the limited entertainment in this farming town, this story captures the students’ imaginations, and outside of class, they can’t  help talking about it with their parents and other adults in the town, who talk about it amongst each other as juicily as town gossip. Some adults are excited and receptive to the story in spite of its origins and current world affairs; others are not so open-minded.

The main antagonist in the film is Mr. Emery, a farmer and father of four boys–Ben, of course, then Tom, Nathan, and Sam.  Seeing Ben return home handicapped was a crushing blow to running his farm;  understandably, he is very bitter. He takes his hostility out on the new orphans, Conlon, for his influence on Emery’s children and wife, and the fascination everyone in town has with basketball and this German opera story. Karen Allen  plays Mrs. Bessie Emery. While she is equally torn up by Ben’s wound and illness, she doesn’t retaliate by rejecting and hating everything German.  Ben and Nathan share their father’s attitude, Tom and Sam share their mother’s. This leads to many conflicts, within and with out this family.

Conlon learns about a basketball tournament against Spokane’s pro players with a huge cash prize; all he has to do is train the teen boys in his class to play in several months time.  Since there isn’t much to do other than farmwork, the teens don’t have a hard time breaking away to run to the schoolhouse and practice with a wire basket tacked to the side of the school building. But can they really beat the pros? Can it be that Conlon honestly wants to help the town out, or is he up to something?

This film does a great job of depicting an earlier, seemingly simpler time in American history, without glossing over its hardships and controversies.  It also deals with ethnic bigotry experienced by children (“of the enemy”)  in America, and illustrates the positive difference a teacher can make in children’s lives, especially children who do not have an easy time being accepted among their neighbors.  While the  story starts from Helmut’s perspective, that stops after the first few scenes, the story unfolds from no particular persepective from that point on. In additon to being a theme in the story, the opera’s soundtrack is used to mirror the Fluctuating emotions of the families and other characters.

Other Movies about inspiring teachers,  coaches, and other school staff include:  Dead Poets Society(1989)*, Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995)*, Stand and Deliver (1988)*, Mona Lisa Smile (2003), Remember the Titans (2000), Dangerous Minds (1995), Music of the Heart (1999), Emperor’s Club (2002), The Freedom Writers (2007), and Lean on Me (1989). I’ve starred a few of my faves in this list.

TRIVIA: The pledge of allegiance is recited in this film without the phrase “under God”, as was the case up until the 1950s.

When Brigitta goes to buy a basketball, Mrs. Haines refers her to the “amazon.com” of that era in the West, the Sears Roebuck Catalog.

STARS OTHER PROJECTS: If you wonder where you’ve heard Peter Coyote before, he has narrated a number of PBS specials and series, including the recent Ken Burns release, “National Parks: America’s Best Idea”,  in addition to acting.  Karen Allen was Marion Ravenwood, the bartender/love interest from the first Indiana Jones film; she was brought back for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls. She was also in The Perfect Storm, Animal House, and East of Eden.

Julie and Julia, Babette’s Feast

I had the privilege of seeing Julie and Julia the night it opened here in the States. I enjoyed it,  I was hoping to see more from the book make it to the screen that did not.  There’s a lot to cover in 2 hours–I guess involving all the people in the book would be far too many introductions to make, and the story centers on the two heroines. The language in the movie is much cleaner than the book, unless they redid the book to better match the movie. [As far as I know, they did not.]  I was glad they didn’t omit 9/11 references in depicting Powell’s job.

Anyway, as part of this new series on the Filmrelics blog, I searched my film memories for a wonderful older picture with a food theme. And that film would be Babette’s Feast. Directed by Gabriel Axel, released in 1988, Babette’s Feast is a Danish film with subtitles available in English, French and Spanish. The teaser info the premise centers on Babette’s arrival. But as I recall, the story starts at the home of two sisters, daughters of a puritan minister, who live modest lives together. One is very beautiful, the other a very talented singer.  Both women  have lived lives of self-denial as good Christians they feel they are expected to be–suitors and an opera company called, and the sisters declined.

Babette comes from revolution-weary France, seeking a more peaceful existence.  Again, being good Christians, the sisters oblige her. At some point, Babette wins the lottery and it is decided she  will return to France; her last night at the sister’s home, she cooks a lavish French dinner, far more elegant than the simple fish platters the sisters eat every day of their lives. The sisters aren’t sure they approve of this extravagance, but Babette really wants to thank them for taking her in in her time of need.

I won’t share anymore because I don’t want to spoil the whole story, but you see there’s a intriguing predicament there.  The story for Babette’s Feast came from the imagination of none other than Isak Denisen, who gave us  Out of Africa.

Other movies that deal with food and human conflict that I’ve enjoyed  are Like Water for Chocolate, The Joy Luck Club, Woman on Top, Chocolat, and Pixar’s Ratatouille. I know there are many more out there, but I haven’t seen them just yet.

For more information on any movie mentioned in this post, see the following links:

Julie & Julia http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135503/

Babette’s Feast http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092603/

The Joy Luck Club http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107282/

Chocolat http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241303/

Woman on Top http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206420/

Like Water for Chocolate http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103994/

Ratatouille http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382932/

I Love You, Beth Cooper and Say Anything

Recently, in the United States a teen romantic adventure film called “I Love You, Beth Cooper” was released, starring classic all-american beauty Hayden Panettiere, and many actors I am not that familiar with. The film appears to take Coen Bros.-style wacky scenarios and pair them with “clash of the high school social classes”, a love theme that’s a little Austen-Wharton in its origins.  First, boy learns his crush isn’t a goddess, she’s human, then they both learn they aren’t that different, though they mingle in different circles. Could this happen at a real high school among graduating seniors? Possibly, once you’re graduated, you don’t necessarily have to try to make it work among the old crowds. But eventually, I think the two would find it hard not to go back to their old lives because it was comfortable and predictable, or because after graduation a person has a whole new life to try to figure out.

But I digress. My point in blogging is, I couldn’t help but recall “Say Anything” from 1989 when I saw the trailer for this new film. “Say Anything” involves a girl valedictorian from an upper middle class home, Diane Court (played by Ione Skye), and a boy from the fringes of her class, Lloyd Dobler (played by John Cusack).  Diane appears to have it all, and an even more promising future ahead of her. Lloyd, who meets her after graduation at a class party, seems like just the sort of guy to get in the way of that promising future, especially in the eyes of Diane’s dad, James Court (played by John Mahoney).  But not everything is as it seems, whether you’re talking about Diane’s image, or Lloyd’s for that matter.

The story has a happy ending, but it does involve Diane having a rude awakening and having to grow up from the idyllic, almost “modern princess” life she’d known up until her graduation.

I highly recommend this movie, and I’d like to think it wasn’t a story that you’d have to be a 80s kid to understand; and it’s not exactly like John Hughes Brat Pack work from earlier in the decade, though the characters are forced to confront reality, and learn to love it or just accept it.

For more information on both these pictures, see the websites that follow, and be all means, check out the films themselves.

“Say Anything” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098258/

“I Love You, Beth Cooper”  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032815/

TRIVIA:  “In Your Eyes” was the love song Lloyd plays on his boombox for Diane, standing outside her window, wearing his trademark raincoat. This image has been imitated in all sorts of movies, tv shows, etc. The song itself is the work of Peter Gabriel, and was allegedly written about Rosanna Arquette.

Ione Skye is the daughter of 1960s Scottish musician Donovan Leitch. His greatest hits include  “Sunshine Superman”, “Mellow Yellow”,  and “Hurdy Gurdy Man”. One of his songs used in a couple US commercials lately is the love song “Catch the Wind”.  Wind energy, catch the wind, wow–clever, marketing guys! It is actually a lovely song, though.

The Good Wife (1987) aka The Umbrella Woman

The back of the DVD box read something like this: What will this sweet housewife  do when she finds herself lustful for the new town bartender?

The above description missed the mark, to me,  about what the real themes of the story are: appreciating what you have versus what you don’t, appreciating what you have versus what you think you’re missing or have missed in life by making commitments when you did, and with whom you did. These are internal conflicts anyone can feel once they’ve made a commitment, for love or for money.  And in a marriage, if one partner reveals their doubts, whether discussing them openly, or behaving unusually, where does that leave the other partner? Is the relationship forever changed? Is that change for better or for worse?

The story takes place in Corrimandel, Australia, 1939. This is an area of flat land and a fairly sunny climate. There are small farms as far as the eye can see. Corrimandel  is a town of less than 1000, everyone knows each other’s business and casts judgement accordingly. Not much changes here. When it does, it can sweep some people up in its wake.

Sonny (played by Brian Brown) has a pretty  good life –a house, steady employment, and a beautiful, sweet-natured wife, Madge (Rachel Ward). His only stressor is his rebellious younger brother, called Sugar (played by Steven Vidler), who works with him and resides at his home.

Sugar , by contrast,  has a lot of growing up to do. He used to live in a boardinghouse downtown, but it didn’t last. Sonny let Sugar move in with the hopes that his example could rub off on the young man, but it doesn’t really work. Sugar sees his older brother as a boring, lackluster example to follow. Sugar wants status, the good life, women, but he expects to get away with reckless behavior and he squanders opportunities.

Sugar runs errands and helps with housework in addition to working as a lumberjack. Madge soon becomes his first crush. One night he spies (through the porch curtains) Sonny and Madge making love. Within days, Sugar boldly asks Madge why can’t they do the same? Madge coyly responds with another question, but knows exactly what he’s asking about.  She may even be a little gleeful that someone besides Sonny finds her attractive. She tells Sugar that he should ask Sonny if it’s okay for their rendezvous, she’s indifferent, and that all men are the same, they like to think their different, but they aren’t. (These ideas come back later).

Sugar confronts Sonny a minute later, Madge follows him.  Sugar asks if he can have sex with Madge. Sonny asks how Madge felt, Madge claims to have said nothing. Sugar counters, Oh no she didn’t, she said all men are the same.  Sonny, not visibly angry or disturbed by this conversation, tells Madge that if that’s the way you feel, then go ahead and find out if that’s true. She steps into the bedroom with Sugar. Once they are undressed, he reaches climax almost immediately.

Madge talks with Sonny after her encounter.  He asks well, what do you think now? She admits it wasn’t that great, and she still loves him (Sonny) more than anyone else.  There’s the false assurance that this disappointment may have taught her something, but it didn’t. Sonny can tell Madge has grown dissatisfied with her current life, and he lets her make her own mistakes. He is a steady presence, is truly dedicated to Madge, and doesn’t react violently to her wandering. Madge admits later that she doesn’t deserve Sonny’s love, he reminds her that he has no one else to give it to.

Unlike his brother and her husband, Sugar feels no loyalty or sense of obligation to anyone but himself. Sugar publicly lets it slip that he’s seen Madge nude and they had sex at least once.  The first time it happens, Madge is there and instantly humiliated, she runs out of the ladies store where she was trying on dresses.  Unfortunately, it becomes an endless topic for ridicule among townsfolk. Townsfolk who turn out to be hypocrites with their infidelities, but the point driven home is this–you can misbehave, but as long as its not publicized, and its not with another town  regular, its allowable. No one’s talking because chances are, they’re in on the same game.

A new bartender arrives in town to work at the hotel bar. This man, Neville Griffith (played  by Sam Neill), is an object of fascination for both Madge and Sugar. Both are very naive and not the best judges  of character; their relations with Neville reveal that. Madge’s first meeting with Neville occurs when he arrives at the train station. She happens to be walking by; she is carrying her parasol and looking elegant. Neville embraces Madge forcefully and tells her to meet up with him later at the hotel. Madge rejects him.  Neville accepts a car ride from his new boss, the hotel owner, and tells Madge she only gets one chance with him. This plants a seed in Madge’s mind that she might have another chance, when Neville meant quite the opposite. She starts dressing sexier, wearing more bold colors, and going to town more, and drinking alcohol. If Neville appears anywhere, she sees him, then pretends not to notice. Neville, meanwhile, is busy trying to seduce every 18-35 year old in town, married or not. He becomes a bit of a celebrity, and is amused by it.

One afternoon, Madge is waiting at the hotel door to watch him.  Neville, sauntering in with his latest conquest, tells her–”I told you. You aren’t as special as you think you are.” Madge is undaunted, she doesn’t seem to grasp the karma in this statement: Neville’s told her what she basically told Sonny (via Sugar) that night awhile back. It isn’t until Neville is forced out of town and she attempts to follow that Madge is forced to accept the life she has instead of one that seemed so tantalizing.

Neville also became on object of fascination for Sugar. His romances, his stories, and his fistfighting skills with drunks made him a legend in the younger man’s eyes.  Neville is amused by Sugar’s admiration. Sugar is amused to hear Neville call Madge a *itch and an object of pity for being obsessed with him. Sugar learns later that he too is seen as pathetic by this hero of his, and that stings. Sugar, never really loyal to anyone but himself, decides to foil Neville’s final and biggest conquest yet: Mrs. Fielding, a rich man’s wife.

Sure enough, Mr. Fielding shows up that same evening to retrieve his wife  and inform Neville he has a paid one way train ticket out of town.  Neville knows exactly who tattled, but lackadasically brushes the local dust of his feet. He heads to a new town and surely, a new set of women seeking his charm and affections.

Sugar goes home to Sonny and reiterates, verbatim, what Neville said about Madge. Sugar naively talks to his brother as if he were Neville, and gets a rude awakening. Sonny gives his brother the beating of his life, and throws him out on his ear, he tells Sugar he never wants to see him ever again and doesn’t care what happens to him. Sugar disappears into the darkness with only the clothes on his back.

Additional notes: The only reminders that it is the 1930s is the ladies fashion, their wavy bob hairdos, and the jazz music played when the family heads to the town hotel for a night out. The rest of the soundtrack is sci-fi sounding keyboards. Perhaps it is meant to hint at Rachel’s inner wistful world, not happy with her life, yearning for the future.  (The shopgirl featured in the movie seemed to be wearing more eye makeup, which was contemporary for  the 1980s.) Or, the music was intended solely to create mood for the story, without adhering to what music was available or popular at the time of the story. Ideally, a film picks one music concept and commits to it, though. Case in point: Dirty Dancing, great film, awesome soundtrack of 1960s oldies. Except it wasn’t 100% oldies–”Time of My Life” and “Yes!We’re Gonna Make Love” were contemporary tracks, not even trying for a retro 1960s sound. It can really annoy music buffs to fast forward 2 decades in a matter of minutes.

Other films that explore the unfulfilled housewife and how she reconciles these feelings (or not): The Bridges of Madison County, The Hours, Far From Heaven, Pleasantville. Foreign Films: Belle du Jour (France), Dark Night (Taiwan). This is by no means a complete list.

Pure trivia: Brian Brown and Rachel Ward are married in real life, and have been for years.

The USA also has a contemporary show called “Desperate Housewives”, the first six seasons are available on DVD, this spawned reality series like “Real Housewives of (insert county).”

The Saddest Music in the World, the “Australia” release

Some time ago, I watched this film, “The Saddest Music in the World”, from the rummage pile. It takes place in Canada, in the depths of the Depression. A beer heiress announces over radio, the medium of the day (‘dat’s right, Biden!), to the farthest reaches of the world, that they are holding a contest to find the saddest music in the world. People come from all over and compete, but it turns out the whole thing is not a fair contest. Even the heiress, who thinks she’s in on the gag, turns out to be deceived.

After mulling this one over way too much, I can only say it’s so avant-garde and “trying to be quirky”, that I can’t recommend it, really. So I won’t list who’s in it, I am not out to bash anyone’s career here. I don’t expect to find all winners with this blog, it’s the chance of the thing and the hopes of finding some hidden gems.

In other news, it is holiday movie season out there, and there’s a lot to choose from here in the States. I saw that the epic “Australia” is out, the costuming and the cast are high-profile and gorgeous. (Sidenote: Sometimes historic movies are kind of funny–everyone is so clean and dentally perfect to seem like ‘real people’ from way back when. I don’t know how things went for the Australians, but people didn’t bathe regularly here in the States until after WWII. And there was no assumption that average people could make it to a dentist regularly back then, either.)

“Australia” ’s release made me think of an older film I caught on Masterpiece Theatre as a young child in the early 1980s, “A Town Like Alice” (1981). Alice as in “Alice Springs”. I mean to pick it up or find it online, and rediscover it as an older person. I will be sure to share it here. Australian Bryan Brown is in it, and from what I understand, a lot of his other early projects were also about his homeland. I also have another Aussie film on my to-watch list from the bin: “The Good Wife, ” and he is in it too.

If you wonder what a good Australia story is, whether you see this new one out in theaters or not, I suggest looking at Bryan Brown’s body of work.

PS-The less well-known people (to Americans) have pretty cool projects, whether they garnered Oscars, BAFTAs, Cesars, etc. or not…

Related trivia: Australia Day is January 26. The constellation graphically represented on the Australian flag is the Southern Cross. And it really is possible to eat something called a vegemite sandwich.

Saint Ralph (2005)

Saint Ralph is an inspiring and comical tale of fourteen year old Ralph Walker (Adam Butcher). Growing up in the innocent 1950s of post-WWII Canada, Ralph has grown up in the shadow of a deceased war hero dad. He is a precocious charmer, not particularly ambitious about his schoolwork, and frequently the focus of school pranks. In his small hometown, everyone knows about Ralph’s homelife–they know his dad was a hero, his mother (Shauna MacDonald) has been in the hospital for years being treated for cancer, and he lives with his grandparents, or at least, stays at their house and that’s all anyone cared to know.

The headmaster of Ralph’s school, Father Fitzpatrick(Gordon Pinsent), makes the perfect bad guy. He is an old curmudgeon determined to break Ralph’s spirit. Ralph frequently finds himself in the headmaster’s office, responding to the older man’s rigid statements with unshakeable optimism and confidence in himself.

Two crises in Ralph’s life happen to shape the story: one, he has an embarrassing moment at the community pool. It is sort of a ’scarlet letter issue’ meant to shame Ralph. It is brought up by nearly everyone Ralph encounters for the rest of the film. The event and people’s failure to ‘let it go’ would devastate a more sensitive child, but not Ralph. Fitzpatrick requires Ralph to join the running team to deal with his excess energy. Ralph begrudgingly complies. Father Hibbert (Campbell Scott), the running coach, is not impressed with Ralph’s athletics, but he is much less reluctant to give up on the boy altogether.

The second crisis is far more grave and does impact Ralph forever: his mother slips into a coma. Ordinary touching, talking, or other efforts cannot wake her, as Nurse Alice (Jennifer Tilly) tells Ralph again and again. Fitzpatrick does some investigating and realizes Ralph could be sent to a state orphanage should his mother die–there are no grandparents to be found. A classmate, Chester (Michael Kanev), had been forging all of Ralph’s report cards and notes home for years.

Ralph, meanwhile, is scared straight and more attentive in school. In one particular class, he learns about miracles and employs some logical reasoning:

• Miracles make the impossible happen.
• It would take a miracle for his mother to wake up.
• A boy winning the Boston Marathon would be a miracle.
• Therefore, Ralph is going to train for the Boston Marathon of 1954 in order to wake his mother up.

Ralph tells everyone about his goal; he is frequently met with initial skepticism. Ralph is seen training and preparing though, and the people around him have a change of heart. Ralph has dogged determination and a sense of purpose his life never had before, and it inspires them all. Except Fitzpatrick, of course. Fitzpatrick tells Ralph repeatedly he will not be able to skip school to make the run, he will be expelled for trying, and most importantly, there is nothing Ralph can do to change what’s happening to his mother. He has to grow up and accept limitations. Ralph doesn’t listen and goes to Boston, aware of all the risks but knowing he has to go for it anyway.

I won’t spoil the ending about Ralph’s performance or his mother, just conclude that the ending is very good. Ralph’s story is a smalltown allegory to Joan of Arc’s. Naive optimism is a part of any child’s youth, but it becomes miraculous when it expands the realms of possibility for other people. If you take nothing else away from this great coming of age story, there is that great theme.

This film was written and directed by Toronto’s Michael McGowan. His current project is One Week. Previous projects he wrote and produced include Henry’s World and My Dog Vincent. More information is available at the movie indexes and by using search engines online.

Hi, world! A movieblog with a backward glance has arrived…

A post about a film from the recent past will appear here in the next couple days. In honor of the Olympics, it will be a film about sports.