The Lord of the Rings in Iran

I obviously don’t have much to say on the events in Iran, leaving such things to the experts and those with the contacts, other than to note how affecting, yet also perverse, watching the events unfold has been.  (This Daily Show clip hit hard for some reason).  But I feel the urge to note just how bizarre I find Iranian television broadcasting Hollywood films to mollify the masses.  So many assumptions frame such a decision, discussed endlessly by cultural critics.  The Iranian government as Frankfurt School?  But also, as the Time piece on The Lord of the Rings notes, an implicit subversiveness, a particular choice that lends itself to individual interpretation.  Tolkien himself always claimed that his stories were not allegory, but should instead be considered “applicable.”  How appropiate, then, to take the seemingly hopeless struggle that succeedes in The Lord of the Rings and therin find solace for the protestors and their lost comrades.

OSS 117: Rio ne répond plus

I had a very lovely evening last night that included seeing OSS 117: Rio ne répond plus the second film in a French series that spoofs James Bond. Think Austin Powers, less campy, more French. Obviously, I didn’t catch all the gags, but my favorite scenes — of course — involved the main character (Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, working under the pseudonym Noël Flantin) talking with a CIA agent (Bill Trumendous), who speaks French with the thickest American accent imaginable, while interspersing his remarks with insults in English, not understood by the chauvinistic OSS 117.

I was happy to see that my favorite scene was included in one of the previews online:

Remembering the moment when Bill hisses “you’re so French” made me laugh the entire way home. If only because, when running into those who stick their noses up at my accent or my mistakes (this past week was pretty good [or bad depending on your perspective] for that), I’ve started grinning and saying the same thing to myself as a coping mechanism.

Ponyo

I haven’t seen too many films since arriving in France, mostly due to cost, but also just because I haven’t had that much time (why spend two hours in a dark movie theatre that could be spent in a café?  Noone knows!).  I did, however, have to rush out to see Ponyo sur la falaise (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea), the new Hayao Miyazaki.  Certainly continuing his return to more children-oriented themes that we saw with Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo is almost too cute.  You squirm in your seat its so cute.  You wring your hands.  You squeal.  And it’s absolutely brilliant because despite being totally saccharine, it still manages to take its intended audience — children — seriously, by continuing to resist replicating Disney worlds of black and establishing a level of empathy with animated characters that only Pixar films usually manage to achieve.  Interesting to note that Pixar is a subsidiary of Disney, while Disney handles the international distribution of Miyazaki’s films.

I still wish Miyazaki would make a return to the straight adventure telling of his first film, The Castle of Cagliostro, not coincidentally the only feature-length Lupin III story I’ve yet enjoyed (the original television show, however, being well worth viewing).  But for now, Ponyo will do.