Leonora Carrington: 'Down Below' (1943, 1987, 2017)

In Down Below (1943, 1987, 2017), Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) provides a vivid and harrowing account of the artist's descent into madness in the wake of the German occupation of France in 1940, which also brought about the end of her most intimate time spent with German artist Max "Loplop" Ernst (1891-1976), who in the middle of all this ditched his wife and her and the oncoming Nazis for Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979) and New York City. Leonora eventually settled in Mexico, where she expanded her surrealistic vision. 

"Note on the Text" (page 69). Carrington wrote up the original draft in 1942 in New York City; the draft, apparently lost or destroyed, was first translated into French by one person and then translated back into English by another. Finally, in 1987, this third variation of the original text was "reviewed and revised for factual accuracy by Leonora Carrington . . ." 

Down Below, at 68 pages, is a fast and furious read -- just what the Surrealist doctor ordered. It should be noted that Carrington's ordeal was made much more agonizing by the treatment she received at the hands of various and sundry "mental health workers." 

Leonora Carrington, Down Below. Introduction by Marina Warner. New York: New York Review of Books, 2017. 

Today's Rune: Journey. 

Lisboa / Lisbon: Alfama 2015

Alfama district, Lisbon, Portugal -- white buildings, tiled rooftops, bright blue water of the Rio Tejo. This area has been continuously inhabited in "modern times" for more than 2500 years.  

Lisbon during a frightening time: the Second Crusade and the Great Siege of 1147 A.D. -- 868 years later, it still resonates. In this 1917 picture by Roque Gameiro from Quadros da História de Portugal, the Moorish defenses are situated on the heights, where all the other pictures featured in this post emanate from. The Crusaders broke their surrender guarantee to the defenders as soon as the gates were opened. Shudder at the thought of what followed.  

Close-up of Saint Lucy tiled on an outer wall of the Igreja de Santa Luzia e São Brás, Lisboa, of the Order of Malta. Besides her halo, notice her extra pair of eyes displayed on a plate in her left hand. 

Lucy = Light, a sight seen round the world, as far north as Sweden, as far-flung as Dallas, Texas and St. Clair Shores, Michigan, over in the Philippines, yonder in Manhattan -- maybe even on Mars at this point. Santa Lucia is a mystery without end. 

Another tiled scene, here a close-up depiction of the 1147 A.D. fighting between Moorish defenders and attacking Crusaders. 

Igreja de Santa Luzia e São Brás in the year 2015 A.D., in the month of June (Junho in Portuguese). A more peaceful vibe these days. 

Today's Rune: Wholeness. 

Lisboa: Down on the Street Where the Faces Shine

Darkness and light in Lisbon. People. 

Lisbon: "Down on the street where the faces shine" ~ Stooges (1970). Same spot, different light. 


Today's Rune: Movement. 

Lisboa, Portugal: Lisbon Signs and Wonders

Lisboa / Lisbon is a nifty place. Up on one of the overlooking hills, there's a trading post or small settlement excavation dating to 2,700 years ago. I can dig this kind of history -- puts things in perspective. And, I love architectural detail such as in the above image of a particular street corner.  

Lisboa: Rising from street level, the Elevador de Santa Justa or do Carmo, a mechanical wonder dating to 1902 and earlier. A real beauty -- and quite a strange sight coming around a corner.

The population of Lisbon proper is about 550,000 -- for comparison, somewhere between New Orleans and Detroit. All of Portugal has about ten point five million people. 

Today'S Rune: The Mystery Rune. 

'Orpheu Revista Trimestral de Literatura' / 'Orpheus Quarterly Review of Literature:' 1915-2015

Picked this up in Lisboa / Lisbon: a colorful Portuguese postal remembrance of little journals such as the original Orpheu that came and went during the period of the Great War of 1914-1918 and thereafter, then as now. A salute to them all, beyond the odds of normal artistic endurance, hither, thither, and yon. 

Orpheu Revista Trimestral de Literatura / Orpheus Quarterly Review of Literature -- one hundred years on. 

Today's Rune: Joy. 

Valeria Sarmiento: 'Linhas de Wellington' / 'Lines of Wellington' (2012)

Valeria Sarmiento's Linhas de Wellington / As Linhas de Torres Vedras / Lines of Wellington (2012), set in 1810 during the Napoleonic wars, shows the mass upheaval across Portugal, as Anglo-British military forces led by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington (1769-1852),* are falling back to the Lines of Torres Vedras. Practically the entire civilian population is fleeing with them before the advancing invasion forces led by André Masséna (1758-1817), Maréchal de France. The natural landscape, meanwhile, is laid to waste. 

As a film (and mini-series), Linhas de Wellington was a labor of love, in that Valeria Sarmiento completed this project that Raúl Ruiz (1941-2011), her husband, was working on when he died. Ruiz had earlier directed a lavishly appointed adaptation of Marcel Proust's Le Temps retrouvé / Time Regained in 1999; this Napoleonic era film has similarly impressive period details set across the entire socio-economic spectrum.  

Linhas de Wellington begins on September 27, 1810, just as the Battle of Buçaco is ending, with scavengers picking over the dead and wounded.

Linhas de Wellington often takes on the look and feel of a Goya print, such as this one from Los Desastres de la Guerra series: depicting people in hideous situations, committing savage acts, and victims of such acts.  

Linhas de Wellington also has good gender balance for a war movie: fans of Jane Austen will find multiple mini-dalliances and plenty of interesting social manners on parade despite the wastelands of war.

Here, Masséna and his paramour (dressed in a hussar's uniform) consider new temporary quarters among the French officer corps. 

Today's Rune: Signals. *Not yet the 1st Duke of Wellington; that title would date from 1814. Played by John Malkovich. 

Bille August: Night Train to Lisbon (2013)

Bille August's Night Train to Lisbon (2013) takes on the difficult task of translating Pascal Mercier's densely packed novel Nachtzug nach Lissabon into a 111-minute movie. The result is good, if not great: good enough for me, at any rate. From this film, I learned something about modern Portuguese history, particularly about the effects of the Estado Novo, or de facto dictatorship under António de Oliveira Salazar (1889-1970) and Marcello José das Neves Alves Caetano (1906-1980), an oppressive status quo that was dismantled by the Revolução dos Cravos or Carnation Revolution beginning on April 25, 1974 (Freedom Day in Portugal).

The catalyst for the film's plot arrives quickly when a woman looks about to jump from a bridge in Switzerland; soon the Jeremy Irons character, who "saves" her, walks out of the middle of a class he's teaching and, before you know it, takes the night train to Lisbon. An exhilarating idea for many people, no doubt -- in that way, not unlike John Updike's 1960 novel Rabbit, Run.  

The strong international cast of Night Train to Lisbon ranges from Jeremy Irons as a sort of Mr. Chips professor to Christopher Lee as a hoary priest; from Mélanie Laurent as a tough resistance coordinator to Charlotte Rampling as Amadeu do Prado's slightly barmy sister; from Jack Huston as Dr. Amadeu do Prado to Bruno Ganz as his grizzled friend looking back; from Martina Gedeck as a sharply observant and sympatico eye doctor to Lena Olin as Estefânia in the present. Flashback is utilized as a connecting thread, so many characters have double actors playing them.

Finally, Lisbon provides a colorful, light-suffused backdrop for much of the film. 

Today's Rune: Harvest.

Margarethe von Trotta: 'The Second Awakening of Christa Klages' (1978)

Margarethe von Trotta's Das zweite Erwachen der Christa Klages / The Second Awakening of Christa Klages (1978) is a beautiful gem of a film. First, it captures the Zeitgeist of the 1970s -- the spirit of the times: think Patty Hearst and the Baader-Meinhof, for example. This spirit pervades a crisis framework for the characters to move within, but the more surprising aspects of the film arrive through interdependent character development and social interaction that is refreshingly different from the more typical "buddy movie." 

Barely before The Second Awakening of Christa Klages is underway, two young men and the title character rob a bank in a most foolhardy manner; their ill-conceived notion is to help fund a sort of hippie school for little kids where Christa worked and has left her daughter for safekeeping. 

From this strange beginning, everyone is figuratively off to the races. One of them makes it to an idealistic collective in Portugal, but things don't end there. 

The strongest and more interesting characters in The Second Awakening of Christa Klages are three women and one man. Christa (Tina Engel) befriends the kind and thoughtful Pastor Hans Graw (Peter Schneider) and she also finds solace with Ingrid (Silvia Reize), a friend from the past. Finally, the mysterious Lena (Katharina Thalbach) works at the exchange bank Christa robbed and appears to be stalking her. 

Das zweite Erwachen der Christa Klages was director Margarethe von Trotta's first feature-length contribution to Der Neue Deutsche Film / the New German Cinema movement. The film print of the version I saw was washed out; it would be nice if this movie could be added to the Criterion Collection and given full honors. This is a cool indie film, different from most up to its time because of its special consideration of female characters. 

Today's Rune: The Self. 

Farewell, 2014!

Did a fair amount of walking the Earth in 2014, plus travel by air, rail and four-wheeled automobile. No ships this year, no bus, but one horse and buggy team. Madrid was a highlight, plus around Spain by rail and via London and New York City by jet. Walked Center City Philadelphia in cold weather in January (including Northern Liberties -- great name), plus visits to New Britain and Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania; afterwards, Memphis and Shiloh, Tennessee; Corinth, Mississippi; Hot Springs, Arkansas; North Carolina's Research Triangle area (where I began the first day of the year), plus Greensboro and Fayetteville; and New Orleans for quick sorties (much easier to fly in and take a taxi than drive, I've learned). Wanting to get to back to Detroit and Spain and also on to Cuba for the first time, maybe even Portugal. Interesting year, for sure. Got to spend time with lots of family and friends along the way, another benefit of traveling.

Saw many things while walking, and took photographs from time to time. One of the gifts of pictures is being able to see details that may have been missed or overlooked in person. The little red and gold hammer and sickle symbol embedded in this scene, for instance: it must have caught my eye, but if so, I would have forgotten were it not for this image. Turns out that it's the logo for el Partido Comunista de los Pueblos de España (PCPE). Probably wouldn't see that in Kansas -- which is just another excellent reason to see places far from home base. Finally, people and places change with time, so return visits are equally eye-popping.

Happy trails, y'all! A salute to 2014!

Today's Rune: Fertility. 

Imanol Uribe: El viaje de Carol / Carol's Journey (2002)

Imanol Uribe's El viaje de Carol / Carol's Journey (2002), based on Ángel García Roldán's 1988 novel A boca ne noche, takes us to 1938 Spain and the last full year of the Spanish Civil War via its protagonist, Carol (Clara Lago). Carol's mother has returned to her Spanish home from New York City to die bringing her in tow, while her father, an American anti-fascist volunteer fighting in the war, is separated from them both by the war zone. Carol's Journey, filmed in the area of Cantabria in the north of Spain and partly in Portugal, features lush green trees and fields, hills and mountains and hoary, well-maintained architecture. The tone is gentle and compassionate. However, the situation is actually quite grave, an eerie calm before full frontal fascism sweeps into town. Already, most of the local powers that be are pro-Franco, a threat, therefore, to Carol and her "free thinking" grandfather, Don Amilio (Álvaro de Luna), and other locals.      

Carol's befriends Tomiche, one of the town scamps (Juan José Ballesta), whose father has been executed by pro-Franco falangists. Tomiche is one of the most pitiful boys you can imagine this side of Charles Dickens, a true waif. Luckily, they have other friends as well. The war's end looms bigger than all of them, though. A beautiful indie style film -- "a little gem," as a blurb on the DVD cover observes. 

For more on Film Movement, here's a link. 

Costa-Gavras: Amen. / Der Stellvertreter

Costa-Gavras' Amen. / Der Stellvertreter (2002), based on Rolf Hochhuth's 1963 play Der Stellvertreter: Ein christliches Trauerspiel / The Deputy, a Christian tragedy / The Representative, delves into human responsibility and complicity in modern society, in this case during the Nazi period in Europe. In a sense, everyone in it is trapped in an ongoing life-crisis, forced to make primal existential decisions. Those finding themselves at the decision-point are not only an SS officer involved in perpetrating the Holocaust but also a Jesuit priest, Protestant and Catholic leaders, members of neutral powers and policymakers in the United States and Britain. It is grim and thought-provoking. In 2011, one must also wonder how Twitter and Facebook would have changed the socio-political dynamics of the 1930s and 1940s. 

Costa-Gavras seems to be suggesting that we know so very little about anything, even things we thought we did. Here, that which is called "World War II" or "The Second World War" or "The Great Patriotic War:" When did it begin? Where? How? Why? Did it end?  What was it about? Who suffered? Who didn't? Who gained? Who became rich because of it? How many countries in Europe managed to remain neutral, and how? The answer to the latter question, so far as I know, comprises a list of predominantly Protestant, Catholic and Islamic nations: Vatican City, Irish Free State, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Sweden and, until 1945, Turkey. In Amen., Costa-Gavras inspires us to think about these things and learn more, a laudable goal. 

Today's Rune: Partnership.  

The Freewheelin' Rodrigo, Pope Alexander VI

He had mistresses, girlfriends and children. Supporter of the arts, defender of Jews expelled from Iberia, and aribitrator between Portugal and Spain in the newly invaded Americas.  Let us now remember Rodrigo Borgia (1431-1503), Pope Alexander VI from 1492 until his death in 1503! 

Sadly, the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter Reformation turned the papacy into a more dour institution.  The Protestants ushered in a real drag of a time for Christians.  Could anything be more prim and joyless than Calvinism, Lutheranism and Puritanism?  I particularly loathe the doctrines of Puritans and Baptists and their legacy of idiotic "blue laws." Even now in 2010, blue laws cling to parts of the modern USA like self-inflicted chancres -- centuries later.  

One would think it obvious we could use another rockin' pope, one who would embrace earthly realities again; free the priests, too -- at least the parish priests. For God's sake, let your rarefied people live fully, out among the common people and not behind closed doors only.  What do you think: let priests marry again?  Free the papacy? And how about nuns?

Today's Rune: The Messenger.

Mass Myopia

The news, dear readers, is myopic. Take one variable: population. The following are sample national estimates for 2003 (in millions) taken from UN sources and from The Economist. How should we suppose these estimates will change over say, the next fifty years? It's good to keep some perspective for our viewfinders.

China 1,304.2
India 1,065.5
USA 294.0
Brazil 178.5
Pakistan 153.6
Russia 143.2
Egypt 71.9
Turkey 71.3
Ethiopia 70.7
Iran 68.9
France 60.1
United Kingdom 59.3
Italy 57.4
South Korea 47.7
Spain 41.1
Sudan 33.6
Algeria 31.8
Canada 31.5
Morocco 30.6
Uzbekistan 26.1
Iraq 25.2
Saudi Arabia 24.2
Afganistan 23.9
North Korea 22.7
Taiwan 22.5
Yemen 20.0
Syria 17.8
Kazakhstan 15.4
Portugal 10.1
Somalia 9.9
Tunisia 9.8
Israel 6.4
Libya 5.6
Jordan 5.5
Georgia 5.1
Lebanon 3.7
West Bank and Gaza 3.6
Armenia 3.1
Kuwait 2.5

If one glances at the bottom of the list and compares the figures with recent headlines, one can see that when the Israelis lose nine killed in action in one day of fighting against Hezbollah guerillas, it is comparable to the U.S.A. losing about 450 troops K.I.A. in one day. So far, the U.S. has suffered about 2,570 K.I.A. and nearly 19,000 W.I.A. in Iraq in the last three years. The Israeli Army is facing an intense foe and are finding themselves in a nasty little war. The Lebanese have suffered worse than the Americans did during the 9/11 attacks by far in the last couple of weeks, proportionally. We'll see what happens next; but meanwhile, let's not lose sight of the rest of the world. There's a lot more going on than Israel and Lebanon. And just wait until 2025 or so, if we make it!

Hasta La Vista!