abraham zebra


I want to say something about Claire Denis's Trouble Every Day, but seriously: what? All I can say is, if you can handle being disturbed, and you're patient, watch it. Once you've watched it, read this article for perspective on it, if you like that sort of thing. Scenes from this will stick with me. It's a sneaky film, because I didn't think much was happening, and less was sinking in, and then suddenly there I was, disgustipated/awestruck gaze, unable to look away, pulled in not only by the left-field action (which you know is coming) but by the whole world and story and why it's all happening. Bold, strange film. Very glad they didn't give a single word of exposition or quasiscientific backstory. What it is actually is as oblique and open-ended as what it means metaphorically, and once again the power of tasteful ambiguity wins out over tacky concrete lameness (midi-chlorians, anyone?).

Met with Kelly tonight about taking on a serious role ("Taskmaster") on a documentary she wants to be serious about. I'm happy to help, I'd love to, as long as she's serious about it. So far so good. More on that later, maybe.

I feel slightly fatigued from lack of sleep and having successfully dodged a cold -- and even though I had the time tonight to work out, I didn't feel up to it physically. Instead, I forced myself to write something. I squeezed out a complete, very ugly, very unsatisfying three-act structure around the other night's dream. Finding three act structures in that sort of thing is damn hard, especially when you're setting up a story where everybody has secrets and I have no intention of bothering to divulge them all -- so nobody's motive is as plain as day. But, something's written down. The hotel of ghosts story is getting some attention.

Honestly, sorry to keep bitching (it is my livejournal, after all), but this is ridiculous. I started Every Room is Empty to distract me from Open and now I have to start this -- something else, anything else -- to distract me from Every Room is Empty. God, I just want to shoot the motherfucker. I'm pretty upset about it. Grar. (See?)

Well, good night. Another French thriller gets the push-play-then-pass-out treatment. One movie was all I could muster for the night.