September 18
Barren Illusion
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Cast: Shinji Takeda, Miako Tadano, Yutaka Yasui, Masamichi Matsumoto, Kaxushige Inami
U.S. Distribution: none as of this writing
** / C-"If I knew this was going to be seen," remarked director Kiyoshi Kurosawa about the film Barren Illusion, which was developed in conjunction with his film school students, "I would've made it better." Characteristic modesty aside, the end result was a picture sufficiently intriguing to secure theatrical distribution in Japan and to hit the festival route, but it does seem very much like a film meant more for its creators than for the consumption of others. It's an elusive piece, conspicuously sparse in dialogue and hazy in meaning, that grows increasingly surreal as the images thrown onto the screen become more and more peculiar. The film's most memorable sequence runs uninterrupted for at least five minutes and simply features protagonist-lovers Haru and Michi frolicking in a courtyard: kicking a ball around, playing with balloons, Haru popping the balloons and then racing around with the punctured pieces of rubber towed in mock-flight. (The term 'protagonist' may be misleading here, insofar as that it generously implies some sort of prevailing narrative.) A decidedly curious sort of experimental romance, Barren Illusion is almost entirely constructed out of brief, almost random snippets from the characters' lives (and fantasies, though these are not immediately obvious) of little apparent consequence (typical dialogueless scene: one person dumps trash on floor; other person spends rest of scene picking it up). Though this may make it sound banal, it's all not exactly uninteresting; still, I found myself frequently wondering what exactly was the point of this exercise.
In attendance: director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
[Japan / 95 minutes / Spotlight / Cumberland 2]
Mr. Death: The Rise And Fall Of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.
Directed by Errol Morris
U.S. Distribution: Lions Gate
*** / BThe singlemost striking image to be found in Errol Morris' latest exploration into the realm of oddness, Mr. Death: The Rise And Fall Of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr., is the shadowy tesla coil-like headshot that serves as a backdrop to the opening credit sequence. It's obviously both a direct reference to the electrocutions which Leuchter has peripherally made his trade profession, and in conjunction with the picture's bombastic theme music, the evocative camp-sinister imagery also alludes to goofy mad scientist B-flicks of the 1950s. The predicament when it comes to addressing Leuchter's downfall is that he's neither mad nor a scientist. (It's worth noting that the title in the film's name is significantly that of Mr., not the more comfortable-sounding Dr.) Were he either of the two extremes -- spectacularly addled or learned -- the position he adopts could at least be forgivable, if not accepted. However, as it stands, Morris' picture is a portrait of hubris run amok, of a man of limited resources blindly falling into the clutches of exploitationists.
The film is split rather evenly into halves. The first introduces Fred A. Leuchter, Jr., a meek, bespectacled mouse of a man whose childhood fascination with the electric chair (he fondly recounts his first opportunity to sit in one) led him to a career as a self-styled "execution technologist", designing "more humane" electric chairs before spinning off advanced, improved methods of gassing, hanging, and poisoning the condemned. The incongruity of the cheery glee in Leuchter's voice as he discusses his enhancements to the execution process, typically a morbid subject, makes for some easy humour, and the background Morris provides on the history of capital punishment is light, breezy, and mostly redundant for those familiar with the subject. (There's a striking silent clip, unfamiliar to me, of a successful early test of the electrocution process conducted on an elephant.)
The latter half, the "fall" portion of the picture, is by far the more meaty and provocative. Leuchter, who by now has apparently become the leading figure in his, err, trade, becomes entangled with Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel, and jets off to Auschwitz (on/for his honeymoon, yet) for an unofficial investigation of the gas chambers. (The very thought of him scraping off samples from the walls of the death chambers by cover of night -- we're shown footage of him doing just that, although I'm uncertain whether this is actual home footage or merely a recreation; I suspect the latter -- is both appalling and darkly humorous.) Leuchter's conclusion: no deadly gas was used, ergo, no Holocaust. (It's unclear whether he actually grasps the implications of the ergo portion.) Of course, this is all scientifically refuted in compelling and logical fashion, yet Leuchter refuses to concede error, adamantly clutching to his original conclusion in a way that draws admiration and embracement from the Holocaust denier movement and vocal ire from Jewish groups everywhere. His business suffers. His wife leaves him.
It's impossible to discuss the picture without commenting on Leuchter himself. I've heard from those who consider him to be a despicable, contemptible individual; certainly his flawed Auschwitz investigation and discredited stance on the Holocaust is worthy of great derision, and yet I find it difficult to accumulate a great deal of bile over the man simply because, through sheer ignorance and hardheadedness, he genuinely, sincerely believes the tripe he spews. Leuchter doesn't coldly disregard moral responsibility -- he doesn't even seem to grasp the concept. (He's often positively childlike in his discourse and his frequent displays of unbridled enthusiasm.) The effects of his misinformation are indisputably harmful on a societal scale, and yet it's equally clear that he bears no malice -- when Leuchter vehemently denies being an anti-Semite despite touting his hurtful views, it rings of authenticity; his faith in his own limited analytical abilities supercede all boundaries of logic and common sense. "Arrogant", sneered one person after the film's screening. Delusional, I say. Leuchter, whose illuminating response to the only question Morris can actually be heard posing during the film -- "Have you ever considered you might be wrong?" -- was in the negative, is not even worthy of scorn: he's a pitiful figure, misguided, and ultimately tragic.
In the picture, Morris doesn't condemn Leuchter (although often capturing him in slow-motion grotesque expressions or gestures for derisive comic effect), maintaining a cool, dispassioned distance from the subject. As always, Morris' documentaries are more about what's just beneath the surface than what's on it; his films challenge and provoke thought in the audience rather than mindlessly reporting easily-digestable factoids and tidbits of information. The result here is mostly a cerebral exercise that pays greater dividends upon reflection than upon immediate viewing, although Morris' offbeat filmmaking style is always engaging and often entertaining. Aided by an invaluable score by the late Caleb Sampson, Mr. Death: The Rise And Fall Of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. is a fascinating presentation of a man whose moral void and self-deception unwittingly has reduced him into a pawn in a high-stakes game of intolerance.
[U.S.A. / 96 minutes / Special Presentation / Elgin]
Wonderland
Directed by Michael Winterbottom
Cast: Ian Hart, Shirley Henderson, Kika Markham, Gina McKee, Molly Parker, Jack Shepherd
U.S. Distribution: USA Films
** ½ / C+[U.K. / 108 minutes / Special Presentation / Uptown 1]
L'Humanité
Directed by Bruno Dumont
Cast: Emmanuel Schotté, Séverine Caneele, Philippe Tullier
U.S. Distribution:
*** / B[France / 148 minutes / Contemporary World Cinema / Varsity 1]
Random Notes:
Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca)
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