Saturday, September 30, 2017

MOVIE NIGHT IN ARGENTINA



I had a Filmstruck Friday night after another pretty long work week, and watch La Cienaga, (The Swamp)from the Criterion channel, which is included in the premium subscription.  It was a story of stagnant Faulknerian misery with a lot of sadness, anger, and control constellated around awful alcoholic parents, in a fallen province.  Pretty much everyone in the film was dying for love, and it felt like transgression and violence could erupt at any moment.  But it was more than just a psychological potboiler, it had beautiful cinematography, and a slow, languid, naturalistic vibe.  These characters were deep in the weeds of dysfunction and the camera showed the process of survival in real time, with love and respect, especially for the female characters.  It's not comfortable, but if you can sit with it, it's human.

I also checked out Adventures in Moviegoing with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in conversation with the director Philip Kauffman.  I would definitely put Kareem on my personal council of really cool people, along with Jimmy Carter and Mike Watt. 

*****

Tomorrow we say goodbye to the Royals core that gave us so much joy, and a World Series championship in Kansas City.  It is hard to say who will be back, and there is much that could be said about this season and different choices that could have been made.  I anticipate some of the old disgruntlement from the Jeff Francoeur era, when I think of a corner outfielder with a massive contract hitting .215 next year with no intention of changing his approach at the plate.  And there are what-ifs about our continued use of a couple of relievers this year, when improved options emerged in the second half of this season.  Nevertheless, I bleed blue, and am grateful for the team.