Wanda

There is a scene, near the beginning, that shows our main character from a distance walking through mounds of coal to get to her father to ask him for some money. The shot stays on her for what seems like several minutes. The camera simply and slowly pans forwarded as she progresses. Some may say this is boring, others the work of a amateur that doesn't know when to cut. Yet this is a very brilliant shot that shows the true essence of what this film is about and the plight of our character. In life she is constantly walking. Unable to fully grasp the true dissolution of her existence she continues to search for something, anything. She is the victim of life's cruel riddle. A riddle that has no answer.

This is a very sad movie, probably one of the saddest movies you will ever see. It is sad because Wanda's condition is not unique and probably makes up more of the working poor than we care to think. It helps clarify the desperation that people in these circumstances both live and feel. It also helps explain why they will get into such stupid situations and at times make such dumb and illogical choices.

Here drifter Wanda meets up with a two bit crook named Mr Davis. The two create a very odd relationship and actually prove beneficial to each other. She brings out his long dormant tenderness, while he, in one truly touching moment, actually gives her some confidence. Of course it doesn't last, but it is an inspiring piece nonetheless. It shows that even the most pathetic of people, in the most bleakest of situations, can still transcend themselves.

This is actually quite a powerful film. It's very stark, grimy, almost home movie look is actually an asset. No stylized interpretations here. The dingy bars, restaurants, homes, hotels, and factories are all very, very real. You start to feel as trapped in their grayness as the characters. This is a far more billiant and manipulative film than one might initially believe.

Saw 3/13/17, TCM on demand. Robert Bresson/Chantal Akerman/Frederick Wiseman come to the Pennsylvania coal country. "Wanda" prophetically showcases a world inhabited by a class of people Charles Murray would write about forty years later, as neglected and marginalized then as now. Maybe it's not a film for everybody, but I found myself involved in Wanda's story, a tale of drabness set in a world in a state of persistent, low-energy panic. Loden placed supreme confidence in camera, microphone, story, and her people. And the movie worked for me. The film TCM showed had been lovingly restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive in 2010.

Not sure if I heard about this from the UCLA Film School (it has a sort of "Killer of Sheep" at the start) or was it in connection to Chopin's "The Awakening" which maybe Loden was going to try to film.

Anyways, the film does launch with a scene that feels like Kiarostami transplanted to coal country in Pennsylvania. The coal oppressively comes right up the characters' doorsteps. The film does have 70's gritty verite vibe, and is definitely distinct from say "Bonnie and Clyde" or "Natural Born Killers" despite sharing a sort of "meet brute" crime spree.

The character of Wanda is sort of a tumbleweed, rootless and and renounced by everyone including herself. Weirdly, Mr. Dennis is a very very misguided way sort of builds confidence in her, but it may be a con man's confidence.

So while I'm kinda fond'a Wanda it is a despond'a - well-suited for my Sunday evening blues watch. Despite a relatively simple story, it is somehow a compelling watch. And not just for the old cars and hairdos.

There is an unshakeable sense that there might be more to Wanda then meets the eye.

And maybe that's where Barbara Loder steps in. The end credits, I did not know the multiple nature of Loder in this. And listening to the supplemental DVD items, she puts Dick Cavett in his place gently but firmly. Now diving into the "I am Wanda" documentary, and reading about Elia Kazan and other family facts.

However vulnerable Wanda may have seen, I am impressed by the strength and resolve of Barbara Loden. Sure wish she had lasted longer, but would welcome hearing about her off off broadway plays in her latter years. I will look for her two other short films.

I expect elements of grace under pressure and neglect.

I do think Ms Loden was in multiple ways Wanda, although on the surface the role was lifted from an old newspaper crime report of a woman who was arrested as a criminal accomplice and given 20 years in prison and thanked the judge. Wow.

Maybe there is a divide of Wander / Wonder - the portrayed character her certainly is a wanderer while the creator of this remains quite a wonder. RIP 9/5/1980.

Please do seek out the documentary if you at all are drawn to the main film.

Sheez, what a depressing film. I think a lot of people can identify with it. A woman has no direction and no hope. She just sinks lower and lower without anyone to help her.

The film is slow and has quite a few unneccesary scenes, just like Wanda's life.

It is amazing a woman got this project made and was allowed to direct. I'm glad it exists as tribute to her. She passed away far too young. I hope her life wasn't as bleak as this story.

Barbara Loden, the wife of film director Elia Kazan, wrote, directed and stars in this portrait of a born loser in blue-collar Pennsylvania. Wanda is the perfect bad example: she's poorly educated, unemployed, a doormat for any available man...and when she walks into a bar one night to use the bathroom, she has no idea the lone man inside is actually robbing the place. Loden, who looks like a bedraggled version of Joanne Woodward in some of her hick roles, also helped to raise the funds for this picture, which played film festivals and garnered good critical buzz yet wasn't widely distributed. The uneven sound is fuzzy, the camera-work is all over the place, and the lenient editing allows scenes to ramble on far longer than necessary (also the baby screaming during the film's opening five minutes was a big mistake). However, despite these serious faults, the movie has a realistically squalid, hopeless ambiance that is, at times, touching, pathetic, ingenuous and very natural. A bumpy ride, but worthwhile for fans of character studies. **1/2 from ****