Saturday Night And Sunday Morning (Karel Reisz, 1960)
There are many films that touch on the concept of a rebellious man that falls in love with a beautiful woman that makes him see the error of his ways, but there are not many that touch on that concept in the same personal and realistic level that SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING does. Many times, British films approach subjects in a way that appears foreign to many American viewers, however, SATURDAY is as accessible today as it was in 1960.
Jack is a hard-working, lawless factory worker who enjoys to fool around with women and booze on the weekends. His careless ways lead him into an adulterous relationship with a married woman, Brenda, who ends up pregnant with his child. Prior to this, he ends up meeting a beautiful woman, Doreen, at a pub who treats him in a way that he isn’t used to, seeing him eye-to-eye on his shenanigans. He attempts to fix the situation that he brought upon Brenda while keeping Doreen out of it, until an untimely climax at a carnival that the two both end up attending.
The script reads in a familiar tone that does not leave the viewer questioning what is being said, and the characters are brought to life in a humanistic manner, without a great deal of romanticism.
Trash Humpers (Harmony Korine, 2009)
To understand TRASH HUMPERS is to admit that there is a concept that is intended to be understood, and that is not an easy rationale to make after a viewing of this film. The “story” begins with a few, short, handheld camera shots of disgruntled vagrants committing some truly disgusting acts. There is not much of a narrative present, save for a few spoken-word monologues that are uttered by some of the supporting characters in scattered scenes, including one “poem” which details how life would be if humans were born without heads.
Is there supposed to be a type of story present here? If so, it’s certainly hard to follow, with random acts of lewdness strewn about in various scenes. I’d say that it’s more likely to be intended as a type of “found footage” piece, taken from the point of view of the bums themselves, detailing their everyday lives and experiences, however crude they may be. The characters are not defined, and you do not learn much of anything about them over the course of the film, and there certainly is no story line to follow. It is certainly not an easy viewing either, unless you’re accustomed to exploitation flicks in general. All in all, your enjoyment of the film completely balances on how you perceive the piece to be. If you attempt to view it from a standard perspective, looking for a three-story arch with characters, resolutions and denouement, you will be let down. However, if you attempt to venture beyond a regular viewpoint and take the film for what it is, you may gain a different understanding of it altogether.
One cannot easily argue whether or not Harmony Korine is a “good” filmmaker or whether or not his films have merit, however, they certainly do make good talking points of the exploitation genre and “weird” culture in general. So either Korine is attempting to create some form of art with this exposé, or he’s just filming a bunch of random trash on a old VHS camcorder with expired film. Your call.
A new year, a new set of horizons in the film world for me.
Hi, it’s Jeremy. I’ve started this blog to allow me to focus more on my passion for film and to motivate me to immerse myself like I should be. I’m going to attempt to watch a flick a day or so and post my thoughts here. Feel free to follow this blog for solid recommendations and warnings to stay away from the bad seeds. I’ll also post things I’m working on as well on here and perhaps news about cinema, etc. Overall, it should be a fun time. I hope you enjoy the movies and my thoughts!
