Heaven on our minds

 JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (1973)

An Appreciation by Jerry Saravia

The "Jesus Christ Superstar" double LP soundtrack album with astounding photo stills from the 1973 film production was one of my fondest memories from the 1970's, and it was the first major musical I adored and revisited and listened to over and over. The film itself always seemed more obscure than the album to me and, when I saw the film during that period, it struck me with its electric energy and even more energetic songs that pulsated and rocked with such verve that their lyrics never quite escaped me. 2023 will be the 50th anniversary of this film and, though I can't say I remember the Tim Rice lyrics with the same clarity I once did, I still was put in that ethereal groove I felt back then watching yet again. 

I am not sure it is the best musical ever made but it is the most emotionally sound, heartbreakingly memorable musical I've ever seen. It is so memorable that I can't imagine this fervent rock opera working in any other way other than being sung yet it strangely never feels like the heartfelt lyrics are being sung, rather they are being performed with the soulful purpose of reaching out to the most jaded person and making it a spirited spiritual experience the likes of which I have not seen since. The atmosphere of its Israeli surroundings with its rocky formations, mountainous regions, outside temples with just a few barren columns and cave dwellings with a single shaft of light makes everything breathe cinematically - there are no fabricated stages with sunlit or sunset backgrounds colored in. Everything in this film feels real and in the spur of the moment as if we just happened to catch these Biblical figures in action while the story of Christ unfolds. 

Sure, there may be minute flaws. Perhaps Ted Neely as a passive, shouting Messiah is not everyone's cup of tea though his anger at the money changers in the temple is understandable. The modern day trappings of Roman guards with machine guns aimed at the Apostles, who look like hippies wandering in from Woodstock, may strike some as anachronistic though levelling such a charge at the film is silly when you see they are all actors arriving by bus from the start and putting on a helluva show. There is also a comical showstopper that teeters on the edge of burlesque with Josh Mostel's flamboyant King Herod. But these are such trivialities because the whole film is a towering spiritual experience that will likely make you appreciate Jesus Christ so much more. Between Carl Anderson's Judas as the betrayer with a far sympathetic soul than we have seen before to Yvonne Elliman's amazingly transformative Mary Magdalene whose very voice carries such beauty and becalming power to Barry Dennen's somewhat sympathetic yet vicious Pontius Pilate, "Jesus Christ Superstar" also frames director Norman Jewison as one of our best directors of musicals as well having previously directed the rousing "Fiddler on the Roof." It is a shatteringly emotional and deeply electrifying experience and renews one's faith in the power of music as soul-enriching, leaving heaven on one's mind.  

Family unit resonates over Spielberg's early filmmaking days

 THE FABELMANS (2022)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

It has been over 20 plus years now since Steven Spielberg found new ways of involving and engaging his audience without underscoring every moment with tear inducement; that is to say, tearjerking them by manipulation. It is obvious in "E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial" which might be his first major genuine tearjerker where the tears flow thanks to his astute direction and John Williams' sonic, overpowering score. Yet such manipulation never felt like I was being jerked around (the sole exception is the overstuffed, heavily maudlin "Hook"). "The Fabelmans" is Spielberg's own personal take on his childhood, the dreamer who saw a world of movies below his feet yet it is no tearjerker. "Fabelmans" is Spielberg at his most restrained with a far more reflexive bone in its narrative body - a way of looking in without feeling like you need to be jerked around. It can be frustrating but it is never less than compelling. 

Cecil B. De Mille's "The Greatest Show on Earth" was the young Sammy Fabelman's kid first cinematic attraction and what astounded him was the horrific train collision in that film. This is a different kind of manipulation - jerking us around with action-filled, dramatic scenes. This kid wants to make his newly acquired electric train set to endure the same chaotic crash as seen in the film and the mother, Mitzi (Michelle Williams), wants to film it. It is filmed once, twice, all with different angles. Sammy Fabelman has learned the tools of the trade and the most principle one - an editing strategy. Later on, there are other events that certainly mirror Spielberg's cinematic epics such as a tornado that leads to a scene where a few shopping carts ride by the street in unison - an echo there of Spielberg's remake of "War of the Worlds." Only Sammy is not capturing these moments with a camera, only with his own amazed eyes (and seen from his mother's point of view). There are many moments in Sammy's life that are not captured with an 8mm camera or a 16mm Bolex camera or whatever he can get ahold of. Young Sammy is often witnessing life through his own lens. 

The Fabelmans move from Arizona to California with the quirky, depressed Mitzi wishing her best friend could be with them, referred to as "Uncle" Benny (Seth Rogen, who has never been more lovable on screen). The Fabelman Father (Paul Dano) is on a career path as a computer engineer who goes where the money is, regardless of what the family wants. Mitzi loses control of herself, unable to get out of bed or cook or shop for the family (in all fairness, Mitzi can't wash dishes either because of her piano-playing hands which is why they all eat with paper plates). She misses Benny yet no one is aware of her attraction to him until Sammy discovers the truth through the filmed excerpts of the family's last camping trip. This creates discord between Sammy and Mitzi, and eventually causes the breakdown of the family. In other words, we are seeing the themes of an absent dad and an impending divorce as we often saw in Spielberg's own films (Footnote: it wasn't revealed until very recently that his dad was not the reason for the actual divorce, the mother wanted out and we also see how that plays out here as well).

"The Fabelmans" is not a typical coming-of-age movie but rather a coming-of-age-and-understanding-of-the-family-unit kind of movie. Not that we have not seen the parental discord leading to divorce drama before but this is Spielberg's firsthand account of it, and a lot of times it felt more raw than sentimental, more nakedly emotional and understated than manipulative. The scenes of a seeming familial bliss and the emotional turmoil that follows are nothing new either but they are adapted very strongly (Sammy's sisters get their scenes in there as well). Michelle Williams is something of a revelation as Mitzy, a woman fighting her depression for wanting to be with the man she loves yet still maintaining her love for her children (don't be shocked if she wins Best Actress Oscar). Paul Dano is more straight-arrow than I've ever seen before and does a commendable job as the busy father, Burt, who doesn't approve of his son's filmmaking skills as anything other than a hobby. I also found Gabriel LaBelle quite appealing and honest as our future popular film director who stands up for himself and sees a future in filmmaking, especially in knowing how his audience of friends and family react to them. The scene where he convinces his dad that the passion for the work they do is similar is exemplary. Even more gratifying is a powerful cameo by Judd Hirsch as an actual uncle who warns Sammy that art will supersede family, it always does ("You love this more.")

Still, something nagged me about "The Fabelmans" - it left me feeling a little cold despite how absorbed I was by it. The movie is Spielberg's most confined, most closed-off film in terms of emotions and perhaps I was not expecting that from the Spielman. The emotions are apparent yet they are far-reaching - you kind of have to reach from within yourself to grasp what is at stake with the Fabelmans. In many ways, this is Spielberg aiming more for the reserved, cooly depicted emotions of John Cassavetes (the astounding image of Mitzi in front of a car's headlights as she dances to her heart's content reminded of Gena Rowlands, Cassavetes' wife). That is not to say I was not moved by the film but I still felt at a bit of a remove from it - it is more moving in reflection than while you are watching it. Spielberg has been more reserved with emotional climaxes for the last twenty years or so, finding restraint to be his mantra. It is a film of measured resonance and we never quite feel the flight of fancy of Sammy's triumph of spirit over making movies as his camera slowly becomes the observer and not just a spectacle imagemaker - he feels joy only towards the end after meeting the eyepatch-wearing director of westerns, John Ford. Is Spielberg suggesting that he felt no exultation from his early filmmaking days? Still, I came away with a better understanding of Spielberg's loving family unit than his filmmaking obsession. Maybe Spielberg is suggesting that he was not as obsessed over the art form as he was over his mother's happiness and finding it was all too difficult since he couldn't comprehend complex adult emotions. The last scene between mother and son is not captured with Sammy's film camera (he does show her the film of her private moments with Benny early on) but instead Spielberg's - as I stated earlier, Sammy is not filming every moment of his life. Maybe it is Spielberg's attempt at understanding himself. I just came away with a better understanding of his mother.

Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody has been Ruined

GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF (2015)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia 

The real question in "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief" is if Scientology is a religion or a cult, or both. I would say both, but I beg to differ that it is much of a religion. Alex Gibney's forceful, scarily provocative documentary "Going Clear" sees Scientology as a tax-exempt institution of physical and emotional abuse, neglect, and downright stupidity. One can argue that the religion offers comfort for those who want a world of joy and no war, and one can also argue that its stringent methods against those who wish to leave or stay are of a cult of personality.

The late science-fiction author, L. Ron Hubbard (who wrote "Dianetics," the foundation behind Scientology), is depicted as an abusive lout of a man who threatened suicide if his first wife left him. During his tumultuous marriage where he even kidnapped their baby, he decided to create a religion that would be tax-exempt, thus allowing him to charge people high rates for joining the religion, The Church of Scientology (which had its roots in Camden, New Jersey). Eventually, the church grew and expanded to Los Angeles and around the world, attracting many people including celebrities such as John Travolta and the virtual spokesman himself, actor Tom Cruise. 

People who are indoctrinated are subjected to audits where they are interviewed in a therapy session and their emotional responses are measured by an "E-meter." Any traumatic past memories are brought to the table and examined, and re-examined and re-examined, until the subject is free and "clear." What is noteworthy is that, according to actor Jason Beghe, an ex-Scientologist, these audits would continue on and on. When a Scientologist would reach a certain level called an OT level, a briefcase would be deployed containing references to Xenu, the galactic overlord of 75 millions years ago who had brought alien souls to Planet Earth and that humans inhabit their souls, or some such thing. It is what I always thought - aliens have always been here and Tom Cruise is a supernatural alien being indeed.

Based on Lawrence Wright's book, there are sections of "Going Clear" that made me laugh and other moments that made me cringe and feel a tinge of horror. Watching Tom Cruise in an audience of thousands salute a picture of L. Ron Hubbard is both laughable and scary at the same time - what is with this military salute? Even the top-level Scientologists are shown in military uniforms that look like they are ready to conquer Poland. Ex-top-level Scientologist Marty Rathbun explains the torment he had to suffer by the hand of David Miscavige (the current leader), how he had to spy on the SP's (Suppresive Persons, those who leave and criticize the religion), set Tom Cruise up with a girlfriend (that remains the creepiest episode) and even tap Nicole Kidman's phone! Most telling is writer-director Paul Haggis ("Crash") who had been a member for 35 years yet when he learned of the mythology surrounding it, he laughed and could not take it seriously. Still, during those 35 years, how long did it take to reach that OT level where you say, "What in God's name is going on here?" 

"Going Clear" has already been deemed as anti-Scientology propaganda by, you guessed it, spokespersons of the Scientology movement (no current members were interviewed for the documentary). But it is hard to believe that ex-Scientologists, who have decided to take a stand and inform the public of this pseudo-religion, are untrustworthy or have an ax to grind. How can one disbelief that members perform menial jobs for 40 cents an hour? How can one disbelief that people who leave the religion are spied on, and for what purpose exactly? How can one disbelief that Travolta and Cruise are two superstar celebrities who are in too deep to ever just willingly walk away, thanks to endless audits that are far too personal and possibly damaging to their reputations? One aspect I walked away with from this stunningly edited and extremely eerie documentary is that if you are going to start a religion, make sure you fight tooth and nail to keep the IRS out of your backyard. The war is over for them, but the war on this most damaging religion has just begun. That, and now this film has ruined Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" for me. 

No Free Ride

 TO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMS (2012)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

A movie about a young woman cutting herself to feel something, or to escape from her own fake reality, might be not be fitting for average viewers. I always preferred Roger Ebert's truthful statement about cinema where the most depressing movie is usually a bad one. Surprisingly, for a gritty independent film, "To Write Love On Her Arms" is not a depressing movie and hardly an unremittingly bleak one. It is not exactly upbeat but it does have the spunky attitude of Kat Dennings to carry the movie on her shoulders and give it a piercing heart. 

Based on the true story of Renee Yohe and the global movement her story spurred, Dennings tackles the Renee role, playing a woman who has two close, devoted friends, Jesse and Dylan (Juliana Harkavy and Mark Saul) who watch over her. Sometimes, Renee is sucked into the world of partying with people who do not have her best interests at heart. She ingests cocaine, ecstasy and imagines a creative world where a drug dealer is sprouting wings! She envisions wondrous sights and has pastoral visions and imagines high-school students dancing and singing along to her favorite songs - any and everything to demolish her inner demons. Renee is sometimes photographed as an princess with a glow to mask her darkness, and other times she is reclusive, hiding beneath her hoodie and her headphones in a cold, brutal harsh world. 

"To Write Love on Her Arms" eventually segues into the rehab world where Renee has to struggle with ending her drug addictions and making the right choices. Can she lift herself up from her doldrums, from her inability to cope with what's gnawing at her? Remarkably, and thankfully, the movie never settles on a resolution nor is she willing to accept that her story should have initiated a movement. Jamie Tworkowski (played with a winsome beat by Chad Michael Murray) sees Renee as a dominant force that others can look up to. He writes a blog about her story and a movement is born. In a tricky and powerful scene, we see Renee's confusion after getting out of rehab and seeing Jamie again who now has a girlfriend - one surmises that she hoped for a romantic relationship with Jamie. The scene does not end the way we expect - Kat Dennings consistently keeps us on our toes and we hope she doesn't keep injuring herself when things don't go her way.

The film ably swings from dark tones to far darker recesses of Renee's fantasy world (she imagines cracks forming in her bedroom mirror) to a supposedly sunnier disposition, at least visually when Renee is shown in sun-drenched, rosier images. Dennings starts to look less inhibited and less willing to hide from herself but these are still baby steps. Swiftly directed by Nathan Frankowski, the film never sugarcoats rehab or addiction. When Renee can't work up the enthusiasm to read emails from those who have suffered like her, she is more willing to help another recovering addict, David (Rupert Friend), a stressed-out band manager who lets her stay in his loft provided she stays clean for five days prior to rehab entry. The heartbeat and soul of "To Write Love On Her Arms" is that a recovering addict with bipolar disorder has looked outward as well inward. Renee develops compassion and freedom and it isn't a free ride. 

"To Write Love On Her Arms" occasionally preaches its message with religious underpinnings. Dennings makes it down-to-earth and real. It is a struggle for the movie, but definitely a struggle we can stand to hear about more often.

I can win this case!

 THE VERDICT (1982)

An Appreciation by Jerry Saravia

"The Verdict" is Sidney Lumet's greatest film, an absolutely keen, sharply observed and absorbing character study of a troubled man who is ready to give up. It takes a lot for this drunk pathetic man, Frank Galvin (Paul Newman), to finally call it quits. He was once a prominent Boston lawyer who became an alcoholic ambulance chaser. The alcohol from day to day is all it takes for him keep living, not necessarily to keep living with any purpose. Frank frequents the same bar every day, has a beer with an  egg in it and keeps moving, but to what end. It isn't clean living.

What is of paramount greatness in "The Verdict" is that the court case itself, which is a stunningly layered, fascinating case, could have been excised from the David Mamet script and just have focused on Frank Galvin. Frank's life is one of ruin, working out of a disheveled office with gray, scratched walls, an old burgundy red couch he can sleep on, and a desk with filing cabinets. His home life is not without discoloration or messiness - bars are on his windows, as if to keep himself shut out of life's miseries. Frank frequents a bar and plays the pinball machine and, in the opening title sequence, he is practically shrouded in darkness with the daylight barely illuminating him or the machine. An outside park is shown with few pedestrians (a similar shot later on where Frank is victorious at the pinball shows one person walking by). Director Sidney Lumet intended on having a Caravaggio-based, chiaroscuro look with a single source of light filling in the interior rooms such as the bar, the courtroom, etc. But whatever victory is in Frank's life involving the case of a comatose woman who was given the wrong anesthetic by two different doctors may be short-lived. Frank is a bit scared, a little unprepared for this case and rather than taking an enormous payout from the Archdiocese, he opts to go to trial and go up against the wealthy defending attorney Ed Concannon ("The Prince of Darkness" as played wonderfully and wittily by the great James Mason). Concannon plays tough, utilizing media and newspapers at his disposal along with a major research team of lawyers while Frank only has  his former legal partner/mentor, Mickey Morrissey (absolutely brilliant and sympathetic work by Jack Warden) to help win the case. This dichotomy shows that finances have little regard when it comes to the little guy who can stand up for what is right. 

The ending can be seen for miles but it is not just a victory for Frank as an able lawyer again, it is a victory for him to rise above his liquor-drenched ashes and return to his former glory (his past was already tainted when he allegedly was involved with jury tampering). Frank is like a phoenix rising yet writer Mamet and director Lumet never stray from his alcohol-binging - a drink and a smoke at his favorite bar is his pastime. When he confronts the seductive Laura (Charlotte Rampling, alluring as a quietly effective femme fatale of sorts) who has an affair with Frank and he ends it (after finding out she works for Concannon) with physical violence, it is further proof that he is reawakened to how many lies there are in the search for justice - never trust anyone and that is his true redemption. Frank still believes in justice and we still believe he may have a drink in the future but he will try to remain sharp, hopefully avoiding funeral homes for potential clients. Justice may be blind but he's not. 

Charming with a well of tears to fill Niagara Falls

 SNOOPY COME HOME (1972)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Watching the Peanuts gang, including Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, Linus with that silly blanket and everyone else, cry with repetition at the prospect of losing Snoopy, their precious beagle, to his former owner is a bit of an endurance test for the average viewer. Kids will still enjoy because Snoopy and Woodstock make a good pair.

As an animated feature, "Snoopy Come Home" is not as much fun as 1969's "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" yet there's still sufficient enjoyment to be had. Snoopy is who he is, always sleeping belly up atop his doghouse as opposed to sleeping in it - he loves to play on the beach and loves to annoy his owner, Charlie Brown, whom he communicates via his typewriter. After our trusty beagle receives a letter from his previous owner named Lila (this always came as a shock to me), who is sick in the hospital, Snoopy takes off with the ever-trusting best friend, a tiny yellow bird named Woodstock of course (this was his film debut). Meanwhile Charlie Brown, Lucy and the whole gang wonder where Snoopy is, and they mope around waiting for his arrival.

My one gripe is that the Peanuts gang are not as well-characterized as they were previously in "A Boy Named Charlie Brown." Snoopy and Woodstock are the stars of this film, and there are several humorous touches such as Snoopy getting into some ruckus with a girl named Clara who wants him as a pet! They run around, back and forth, as they enter and exit several rooms in her house. I also love how Woodstock is somehow obsessive-compulsive about walking on each divider of a subway grate. Snoopy and Woodstock steal the show yet we are then saddled with the gangs' crying fits and excessive sobbing about Snoopy leaving Charlie for Lila (of course, you know this will not stand for long) and the beagle receives many parting gifts. This section simply goes on for too long - their tears would fill the Niagara Falls. Still, "Snoopy Come Home" is such a charming film with so much humanity and love that it is easy to see why we all love Peanuts.  

Sahara via Mayan Myth

 FATA MORGANA (1971)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Expansive, repetitious and sometimes mind-numbingly dull, "Fata Morgana" is not for all tastes nor will it be for all Werner Herzog devotees. An experimental film dealing with Mayan-creation myths coupled with the vastness of the Sahara Desert could have worked but I find Herzog doesn't have the knack to know when to quit. There are flashes of brilliance though.

Separated in three sections accordingly, the first is "Creation," the second is "Paradise" and the third is "The Golden Age." Peculiarity doesn't begin to this describe this visual odyssey of desert landscape, some of it quite breathtaking. However, I could have lived without the narration by Lotte Eisner (a German film critic and Herzog's mentor) to bring forth what was initially a science-fiction story that looks mostly like a travelogue of the Sahara and other parts of Africa. There are shots of mutilated animals, half-eaten remains of camels, kids dragging small dogs with a rope leash and posing for the camera or pointing to the sand by the beach, half-finished construction sites, sea turtles, hungry lizards, and many mirages of vehicles and buses and people in the horizon. 

The "Creation" episode is soporific without enough spatial desert scenes beyond endless tracking shots. In fact, this section starts with planes landing in an airfield, one after another until they become "mirages." Once we get past this major lull, "Paradise" and "The Golden Age" become far more engaging because we see the inhabitants of this arid region amidst broken down cargo planes and cars. The narration carries on and most of it is not analogous to the images, perhaps purposefully so (“In Paradise, you quarrel with strangers to avoid making friends.”). A brothel stage with a man humming a tune wearing goggles while the madam is at the piano feels like something out of a David Lynch film (no context is provided for this scene, which is only something I came across in my research. For all I knew, this could have been some musical act at a ramshackle bar). 

I wish Herzog let the images speak for themselves rather than choosing a religious context but one has to remember that he shot what he could for a different kind of film and chose another avenue. I have no idea what any of it means (and I much prefer Godfrey Reggio's "Koyaanisqatsi") and, though it can be a tough slog to get through its 79 minutes, I still found it sort of semi-alluring.