NP-Nicholas Winding Refn

[rich]

it is very far from the romantic dreams of anarchist uprisings and
resistances in late Pynchon thats for sure

On Fri, Jun 28, 2019 at 1:33 PM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:

> I don't think I have the patience, much less the appetite.
>
> On Fri, Jun 28, 2019 at 12:15 PM rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> it can be frustrating viewing at times but I saw it through till the end.
>> at times the thought in my head while watching was a quote from the
>> introduction of Hitler: A film from Germany: "who would want to make a film
>> about that?"
>> a doubt many will watch it. the subject matter being what it is but I
>> think its worth it
>>
>> rich
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 28, 2019 at 11:48 AM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Did you watch the whole thing?  Does it grow on you?
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jun 28, 2019 at 9:44 AM rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> amazon prime
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Jun 28, 2019 at 10:33 AM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Where can this be found?
>>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, Jun 28, 2019 at 9:11 AM rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Refn has a new series (or a 13 hour movie if you like) called Too Old
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> Die Young. Ostensibly a simple tale of a bent LA Sheriff and a up and
>>>>>> coming Mexican cartel boss it has wide and seemingly encyclopedic
>>>>>> references and influences: breaking bad, twin peaks, no country for
>>>>>> old men
>>>>>> (I think Refn could direct a version of Blood Meridian--more on that
>>>>>> later), Kill Bill/Reservoir Dogs, James Ellroy, Taxi Driver, Kubrick
>>>>>> (many
>>>>>> scenes are shot Barry Lyndon style--one in a Mexican whorehouse
>>>>>> resembled
>>>>>> scary paintings of Franz Von Stuck or Otto Dix). There are probably
>>>>>> many
>>>>>> others.It's Weimar on the Best Coast, the end of the world, with
>>>>>> something
>>>>>> coming in the night i.e. fascism
>>>>>> The acting is stiff, with many long pauses. this is not a show for
>>>>>> dialogue
>>>>>> but of impressions, individual scenes are given their full time to
>>>>>> flower
>>>>>> (Refn and those he chooses to work with are masters of color, music,
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> sound from insects at night, to rippling waters, to the scrape of an
>>>>>> axe on
>>>>>> concrete. the long pauses accentuate the violence and I'll warn all
>>>>>> that
>>>>>> this is one of the most nihilistic shows out there--rape, incest,
>>>>>> folks
>>>>>> burned and buried alive, mass murder, torture. one character surmises
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> rise of eroticized violence. there's plenty
>>>>>> I mentioned Blood Meridian--there is a character called the High
>>>>>> Priestess
>>>>>> of Death, born out of the desert, who becomes an integral part in the
>>>>>> rise
>>>>>> of the young cartel boss. She is the Judge-like character, the seed of
>>>>>> destruction and the central pivot. everything revolves around her.
>>>>>> she is
>>>>>> frankly terrifying, even to those she's in with. Women sing
>>>>>> narcocorrido
>>>>>> type praises to her as a defender of women. It's hard to take your
>>>>>> eyes off
>>>>>> her.
>>>>>> There are many wtf moments in this show--the denouement of a pair of
>>>>>> New
>>>>>> Mexican pornographer brothers, in particular. Barry Manilow plays a
>>>>>> part.
>>>>>> Some of these scenes with these guys are hard to watch, but there's
>>>>>> many of
>>>>>> them I'm afraid.
>>>>>> Not many in this show is even vaguely sympathetic or honorable:The LA
>>>>>> Sheriff's office are fascist keystone cops, fathers lust after
>>>>>> daughters,
>>>>>> brutal mothers cocktease sons, women are brutalized, men take
>>>>>> advantage of
>>>>>> the weak or other men, women entice men to commit murder justified or
>>>>>> not,
>>>>>> men's lives are forfeit for a few thousand dollars.
>>>>>> In a nutshell, it all leads to the belief that only through
>>>>>> catastrophic
>>>>>> violence will innocence be born. and while one cringes from much of
>>>>>> what is
>>>>>> depicted over these 13 hours, the slow pace, the dismal
>>>>>> circumstances, the
>>>>>> at times half-assed buffoonery, flippancy of style and wealth, I do
>>>>>> have to
>>>>>> admit it makes its points well. Let's hope it isn't our future
>>>>>>
>>>>>> rich
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>>>>>
>>>>>