“Lover For A Day”– Movie Review

This week, I attended the opening of the new French drama “Lover For A Day” at The Film Society Of Lincoln Center.

Synopsis

When a young woman is dumped by her boyfriend, she moves in with her father – but after learning his new lover is her own age, what will this do to their relationship?

Story

When Jeanne (Esther Garrel) shows up at the front door of the apartment belonging to her father Gilles (Eric Caravaca), it’s not for a friendly visit.  Jeanne is moving in with him because her boyfriend just kicked her out of their apartment.  While Gilles is happy to see his daughter, the living arrangement causes something of an awkward situation:  he’s now living with Ariane (Louise Chevillotte), a former student at the university where Gilles is a professor.  Making matters even more uncomfortable, it turns out that both Jeanne and Ariane are the same age.  

Despite the unease that the two young women feel at each other’s presence, they manage to bond due to shared frustrations over their various romantic involvements.  Jeanne is so distraught over her break-up that she is constantly bursting into tears and even attempts suicide.  Ariane, on the other hand, is beginning to question her pursuit of Gilles; while she is comfortable in the constancy of their relationship, she wonders what sexual adventures she may be missing in her youth.  Has she made a huge mistake in taking up with an older man?

Although Gilles has opportunities to cheat on Ariane with other university co-eds, he nevertheless remains steadfastly faithful to her.  Ariane, on the other hand, is being increasingly tempted by the young men she meets in chance social encounters.  All the while, Jeanne is now trying to socialize again with the hope of not only forgetting her ex-boyfriend, but also jumping back into the dating pool.  Soon, she becomes aware that her ex has apparently had a change of heart and is now trying to woo her back.  Meanwhile, Gilles is becoming increasingly suspicious of Ariane’s mysterious behavior.  Will the two remain lovers as Jeanne must decide if she’s still in love with her boyfriend?

Review

Keeping it short and sweet is usually a good tactic – but at less than an hour and a half, “Lover For A Day” is surprisingly short, suggesting, perhaps that the director didn’t have too much to say with this movie.  If that’s the case, it’s understandable as to the reason why:  neither the characters nor the story go very far by the film’s conclusion.  In fact,“Lover For A Day” doesn’t really have an ending – it just stops.  There is precious little in the way of a resolution; instead of going from Point A to Point B, the characters go full circle.

It seems that the director may be trying to make a point not only about relationships (that they are inherently unstable because they have a life of their own) but also trying to show the immaturity of young women.  While the females in “Lover For A Day” come off as emotionally erratic, the character of the father seems more disciplined and serious in terms of how he views his familial and romantic obligations.  In that regard, viewing the movie is almost uncomfortable because it feels like the director as father is trying to lecture the actress as daughter. 

Following the screening was an interview with the film’s star, Esther Garrel, whose father, Philippe Garrel, directed “Lover For A Day”.  She said that his directing style requires a considerable amount of rehearsal; the cast rehearsed on a Saturday afternoon (once a week) for 30 weeks before shooting.  This winds up saving a considerable amount of time and money as the shoot is usually pretty quick – most scenes are done in only a single take.  The real work between the director and cast is done during the rehearsal; once the director is on the set, it’s all about the technical crew, getting the lighting and camera set-ups correct. 

“Why I Am Not A Christian”– Book Review

During my recent vacation, I read “Why I Am Not A Christian” – a collection of essays by philosopher, writer and teacher Bertrand Russell.

Summary

Probably the people most in need of reading this book will never do so and the people who cleave toward Russell’s viewpoint will make up the majority of its readership.  In that regard, perhaps you could say that Russell is preaching to the choir.  Yes, that was a pun and no, I’m not apologizing.  The essays in this book were all written decades ago, which is part of what makes it all so interesting.  We don’t often think of discussions of atheism, divorce and birth control from our parents or grandparents generations.  It is therefore refreshing to read the essays with that perspective in mind.

The reason for the whole “preaching to the choir” issue is due to the fact that many people do not like to have their belief system questioned.  Often, this is because they fear that they can’t articulately and logically defend it in the first place.  This obviously begs the most necessary question, “Perhaps if you can’t defend your belief system doesn’t that seem to suggest that your belief system is of questionable value?”.  Unfortunately, people usually respond to this emotionally rather than rationally; they are infuriated by the thought that what they were taught by their family, their clergy and their school growing up was all untrue or unhelpful.

As you might expect, many of the views set forth by Russell are quite similar to those of the late Christopher Hitchens.  That said, however, Hitchens’ work is a more entertaining read; by comparison, Russell’s essays, despite the fact that they all have a sound basis in thinking, can be a bit of a slog – at least at times.  Many of these chapters are somewhat dry and you almost get the feeling that you are reading an undergraduate-level philosophy textbook.  It’s not an easy book to get through, especially given that Russell’s background is as an academician and he is prone to using language that doesn’t sound particularly natural. 

There is an essay titled, “Do We Survive Death?” where Russell almost predicts the terrorism that we are seeing today.  He says that nothing productive would come if we stopped fearing death – thus, this fear of death is mostly useful.  Having read that, consider how today’s terrorists – especially the suicide bombers – who give little or no regard to the thought of death because they are focusing on the afterlife where they will be greeted by 72 virgins (although I’m not sure how much fun just one virgin would be, much less 72). 

In “A Free Man’s Worship”, Russell almost foresaw climate change, by stating that natural physics leads to the destruction of man.  Additionally, there is the rather provocatively titled essay, “Sexual Ethics”, where the author discusses birth control, infidelity and how theology determines our attitude toward sex rather than our attitude toward sex determining our view of religion.  Consider two men:  one a pastor, the other a layman.  The pastor has 10 children with his wife, who dies from exhaustion.  The layman has sex with a woman he is not married to and uses birth control to ensure they don’t have any unintended children.  Which man is the more moral of the two?

One thing that might be seen as a serious flaw in the book has to do with the organization of the various essays.  Specifically, the fact that the essays are not presented in chronological order may pose something of a problem.  It might be better to read them in the order in which they are written.  Doing so would allow us to see how Russell’s views evolved, matured and refined over time.  Arguably the best part of the book is its Appendix; it deals with the 1941 court case in which Russell was involved resulting in a judge deciding that Russell was unfit to teach philosophy at the College at the City Of New York.  

Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects: Bertrand Russell, Paul Edwards: 8601421562652: Books ISBN: 0671203231 ISBN-13: 9780671203238

“On Paris”– Book Review

On my recent winter vacation, I read “On Paris” by Ernest Hemingway.

Summary

When the 20th century was in its early 20’s, so was Ernest Hemingway.  After his service as an ambulance driver during World War I, he lived in Paris with his wife Hadley and worked as a journalist for the Toronto Star.  Periodically, he would file pieces on a wide variety of topics – political, cultural, sports-related, you name it.  As a nascent writer, this young man was all over the place. While some may find these writings rather inconsequential, Hemingway devotees might in fact get a kick out of it because it shows the master as he’s figuring out how to perfect his craft.

This is a short, easy book to read, especially if you’re on vacation.  However, do note that if you’re on vacation in Paris (or are planning to go there), keep in mind that the places the author references in his florid writing may no longer exist since these articles are nearly a century old.  That said, it’s rather entertaining to see the references to prices with a favorable exchange rate between French Francs and U.S. Dollars (ah, the pre-Euros days).  That said, his love for the city of lights will still ring true for its most ardent fans. 

His view of French politics is particularly interesting, especially given the fact that the memories of The Great War are still fresh among its citizens.  What’s amusing, though, is the twenty-something Hemingway railing against the “old” politicians remaining in office.  He gives a peek behind the curtain of journalism describing the trials and tribulations of being a newspaperman.  The story related is about the installation of a new Pope and how the Vatican (like the politicians) didn’t trust journalists.  An appreciation of French History and world politics is not necessarily a pre-requisite for this book, but if you have this knowledge, it’ll certainly come in handy.     

In contrasting the way we currently express ourselves now as opposed to then, text dripping with racism was rampant.  As an example, there was an author of African-American descent who was notorious for writing a controversial novel.  Having met the man, Hemingway not only mentioned the man was Black, he went on to try to describe exactly how Black by comparing his skin color to that of a known boxer of the day who was also African-American.  Reading this particular piece, it is hard to imagine it being written in this manner today.

One of the funnier items is “American Bohemian”, where he writes about American artists (or artist wannabes) who come to Paris seeking networking with other such artists and, hopefully, to be discovered and get a shortcut to fame and fortune.  Hemingway describes these people as “the scum of Greenwich Village”.  He also writes harshly of the tough, gritty nightlife of the real Paris where you can be robbed by a waiter just as easily as you can by a young street thug with a weapon (although the latter method will induce considerably more physical pain). 

Besides writing about dilettantes, Hemingway also notices that Russians abound in Paris and they seemingly are able to get away with anything because the French are so gullible.  He also complains about how absinthe was outlawed and how Berlin tries to compete with Paris in terms of its nightlife (he says that Berlin is overrated because of the abundance of cocaine there, which is readily available almost everywhere you go).  The French themselves don’t get let off the hook quite so easily; Hemingway whines about how rude they are and that everywhere you go, they will harass you for tips. 

On Paris (On Series): Ernest Hemingway: 9781843916048: Books ISBN: 1843916045 ISBN-13: 9781843916048