Black Swan

[mickey]

Greetings,

At the suggestion of doug maverick, I saw Black Swan. I was expecting to see a twist on the classic film, "The Red Shoes", as was mentioned by some movie critics. What I saw was an incredibly dark movie that, by being such, shared more truths about the frailties, the ambitions, the jealousies, and the frustrations associated with performance entertainment, as well as with any competitive discipline that requires absolute dedication. Unfortunately, the movie was structure in such a way that really could not give these aspects depth (if so, it would be one freaking long movie). The part that pulled me into the movie lasted less than 30 seconds. It was where the dancer was preparing her shoes for practice. It was completely nonverbal and it just said so much about what the dancers had to give to their practice.

The acting was excellent. It was a great ensemble effort. It would not surprise me if it got a Best Picture nomination and win.

This movie is not for everyone. It definitely has some edges.

Overall, I enjoyed it.


mickey

[doug maverick]

told ya!!!i saw this movie at a pre-screening at purchase college here in ny where much of the film was shot. and i was once again blown away by darren aronosfky.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Two words:
Carpet munching.
Enough said.
;)

[mickey]

Greetings,

Speaking of femmes, I am finding myself strangely attracted to the sistas coming out of the Ukraine.

Mila Zunis is freaking hot.


mickey

[mickey]

Greetings,

Black Swan got 5 Oscar nominations which includes Best Picture and Best Actress.


mickey

[doug maverick]

but mila kunis got the screw job in best supporting... they also screwed nolan for best director.

[mickey]

doug maverick,

I think Mila kunia will have her day. Don't worry. She has talent.

I thought the guy who played the dance choreographer should have been nominated. He was really good. Then,again, being an ensemble effort. they were all good in that movie and, in agreement with you about Mila Zunis, all should have been nominated. It does not make sense for a movie nominated for Best Picture to have only one performer nominated for acting.

mickey

[GeneChing]

Natalie Portman Suffers for Art: Dance Movies as Kung Fu Movies (http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/scocca/archive/2011/02/28/natalie-portman-suffers-for-art-dance-movies-as-kung-fu-movies.aspx)
Posted Monday, February 28, 2011 3:46 PM | By Tom Scocca
So now Natalie Portman got an Oscar for starving and shuddering her way through Black Swan, a movie so textually fatuous (it was only a dream—oh, and that other part, also only a dream!) that its real dramatic arc was built entirely of subtext: can "Nina" dance the "Black Swan"? Meaning: can Natalie Portman act?

And now it's over. The off-screen narrative, which was the story, is a wrap. Natalie Portman has the statue that says, yes, she did act. The acting was a work of pain; the performer must suffer. There is no performance without suffering. "You are constantly putting your body through extreme pain," Portman said, promoting the movie.

It is the dance-movie star's job to be authentic, beyond the bounds of the movie. That's what elevates a dance drama—that girl-friendly tale of self actualization, of becoming the prettiest and most enchanting sylph on stage—into important artistic work, or work that can be regarded as artistically important. "I was dancing 8 hours a day and then not sleeping, and taking pain pills," Neve Campbell said, recounting how she carried a broken rib through the filming of The Company.

Secretly, the dance movie is the shadowy mirror rival of the martial-arts movie. There is no performance without pain, even if the flying leaps don't end with a foot landing in someone's windpipe. Eight hours of training a day? That's what David Carradine said he did for Kill Bill—three straight months, eight hours. Donnie Yen spent late nights hitting a wooden dummy with his bare hands, mastering the specific Wing Chun technique he needed for the title role in Ip Man.

If you see enough dance movies and kung fu movies, each genre begins to look like the shadow of the other (also, eventually, you end up watching Kung Fu Hip Hop). In a mass of young aspirants, the protagonist catches the teachers' eyes by showing extraordinary skill—but also a passionate, nonconformist streak. There will be a training montage. A rival whose arrogance (and abilities?) may surpass the hero's or heroine's. Possibly there is Vincent Cassel.

There will be a setback, forcing the protagonist to consider the him- or herself, and the craft, in a new way. To loosen up: Jackie Chan gets drunk; Natalie Portman learns to masturbate. Then comes a discovery. Jet Li, in Twin Warriors, goes mad and discovers tai chi; Amanda Schull, in Center Stage, sneaks away from classical ballet for theater dance. The final show (or showdown) will shock everyone.

Both are built around the promise of kinetic spectacle. The star must do something difficult, but make it look easy, while still reminding that audience that it is difficult, after all. If the big dance or the big fight is no good, there is no movie. This can make the less ambitious genre movies, and their respective faithful audiences, seem undemanding: devotees of dance and kung fu cinema will accept lower standards for acting, for dialogue, or for originality of plot—but they won't let you cheat the physical stuff.

So directors make tradeoffs between casting people who are good at acting and casting people who are good at dancing or fighting. Sometimes, they mix and match (Center Stage, House of Flying Daggers); sometimes they use experts at the physical skills and hope for the best (Mao's Last Dancer, Fist of Legend). In some lucky cases—Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jackie Chan—the physical performer goes on to be a real actor.

Then come the cases where the filmmakers are aiming for more than a niche audience. They stick an actor in there, put out the stories about the training regimen, hire a stunt double, and hope it works. Quick cuts and close-ups create the impression of something physically exceptional, even if the aficionados gnash their teeth. For all that talk about training, Black Swan's tight, hysterical framing meant that Natalie Portman really only had to impersonate a dancer from her collarbones on up.

Enter the metastory. The makers of dance and kung fu movies want to convey, above all, that what you're seeing has a reality that transcends the screen. The actress turned dancer lost 20 pounds. The actor got a bloody nose in the big fight.

Is it art? Dancing, as constituted in film, corresponds exactly to an artistic activity that people do in the real world. The very best dance movies are documentaries.

Martial arts on film, contrarily, has nothing to do with actual combat. It is its own native genre of movie activity—not fighting, but a stylized representation of a fight, in which each move and countermove has been predetermined. The people who design the action are called "fight choreographers."

Yet Bruce Lee became a movie star because people believed they were seeing the authentic Bruce Lee—even as he ran around fighting against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or a one-handed villain with a choice of claw prostheses. It was impossible, but its impossibility made it seem honest. Natalie Portman was nowhere near as convincing.
When will martial arts films rise to Oscar level again? We can only hope.

I'm so glad this thread is now martial arts relevant. I'm eager to see this film.

As for Mila, I have a real problem getting past that 70s Show. I had that issue with her in Book of Eli (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55834). Maybe after BS, I'll change my opinion.

[MasterKiller]

When will martial arts films rise to Oscar level again? We can only hope.

I'm so glad this thread is now martial arts relevant. I'm eager to see this film.

As for Mila, I have a real problem getting past that 70s Show. I had that issue with her in Book of Eli (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55834). Maybe after BS, I'll change my opinion.

Once you see her oral sex scene, you will definitely change your mind.

[mickey]

Greetings,

Trying to get a rise outta me, Gene? :)

Black Swan/Crane is a legitimate style according to the authors of The Shaolin Grandmaster's Text!!!!

This thread was always MA relevant.

.


mickey

[MasterKiller]

http://i55.tinypic.com/358xc77.gif

[mickey]

YESS MasterKiller!!!

That is a seldom revealed Black Swan technique. It is called "Searching Heavens for the Jade Elixir". I am surprised she allowed this technique to be filmed.


mickey

[GeneChing]

Looks like MK is trying harder to get a rise out of you than I am.

I must see this film soon.

[mickey]

Hi,

There's nothing on this planet like a Marv Albert exclamation.

Yea, MK got me.


mickey

[mooyingmantis]

I thought the film was great! My daughter danced (ballet) for fourteen years. It is hard work. And knowing what she went through gave me a greater appreciation for the film.

[Shaolinlueb]

i want to see for the lesbian scene. is that so wrong of me? i could care less about the rest of the film.

[David Jamieson]

I saw it.

I don't share much enthusiasm for it.
I reviewed it as 80% :zzzzzz and 20%: wtf?

The lesbian scene isn't much really and neither is the masturbation scene. Certainly not worth the price of admission for those alone.
Story is a jumbled mess in my opinion.

Just not my thing I guess. :)

[GeneChing]

Still haven't seen this film....soon come.

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/188610_827623773214_5313762_43942377_619922_n.jpg

[GeneChing]

I liked how it darted in and out of hallucination and delusion and in the end, wasn't fully resolved - it's very Buddhist. As for Mila, I'm still not that impressed. Maybe I just watched too much of That '70s Show (and preferred Donna). Natalie was great though. She's come a long way from Padme.

[Jimbo]

Still haven't seen this film....soon come.

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/188610_827623773214_5313762_43942377_619922_n.jpg

LOL!!

I also liked the girl who played Donna on That '70s Show better than Mila Kunis. I wonder why only Mila and Ashton Kutcher's careers have actually gone anywhere since the show ended.

I still have yet to see Black Swan, but will soon.