Today, live, right here in class, we are going to be watching some movie. No idea what it is. But supposedly, it's a movie about a photographer or something. That means, no typologies today. So that will have to wait until next week. Again.
So sit back and relax as I give play-by-play thoughts of what I think of...whatever this is I'm about to see.
Paul Strand! That's his name! That's who this documentary is about. Paul Strand...in a dark room.
Judging from the fact that they're talking about how "photography at that time needed to be shown it was an art" that pretty much means that Paul Strand is old. Good use of context clues!
So here's something difficult I'm realizing about talking about a live movie about a photographer. See, they show lots of photos, and since it's a movie I don't have, I can't really say "Hey, look at this picture" 'cause you know, it's on a projector, not a computer. Thus, I will have to just talk about the picutres
Like this one right here. It's a guy that is standing against a brick wall. It's black and white. He's got a mustache. And a hat. And a fancy old timey jacket. How do I know all this? The movie appears frozen. Either that, or this is a really dramatic pause. This is going on for about a minute now. I also wouldn't be surprised if it was a screamer. Those always get me.
With this break, I can now research Paul Strand. He died in 1976. So my original conclusion of him being old was slightly correct. It's just that he's also dead.
Oh! It's back! With a picture of Oddjob from James Bond!
What?! It's changed to video now?! What is this demonry!? Oh. Wait, Strand is still photographing. It's just his friend that has the camera. They're making a film. With very scary music. And lots of trains and cars.
Here we go! The love story is coming out! Rebecca somebody! And she looks pretty old. And she likes rocks.
Now we're getting...plants. And leaves. These pictures are about are exciting as a Chris Hesser advertising shot! Oh! BURN!!!
We also get close up details of the plants. It's like the movie Powers of Ten...but with plants and rocks, and no outer space.
Also, for some reason, Rebecca's interview is taking place in an MRI room.
Onto portrait shots done artistically. And boy, let me tell you, that girl has fingers that would rival Salad Fingers.
Meanwhile in Canada! The narrator uses the word "landscape" so that means we are switching to yet another genre of pictures. Narrator talks about the problems with telephone lines and white skies...can you imagine the days back when Photoshop didn't exist? So primitive!
Uh oh! Rebecca is starting to move away! ...And the old lady who I thought was Rebecca now referred to Rebecca. So either she's really lost it in old age, or she's not Rebecca.
...Honestly, not sure.
Meanwhile in New Mexico! The light is different down there. At least, that's what they say. I ain't never been there, but it seems logical. I mean, aliens crashed there, so maybe they got confused by the light. The light, that makes the churches purple when photographed by Strand! See? I make connections.
Awww...I just thought we had an awesome picture of an old cowboy, but it was just the MRI Lady. She still looks tough enough to win in a shoot out duel.
1932, Strand leaves Mexico and goes to "Old Mexico." I can see someone like Glenn Beck interpreting that as Strand sensing the outbreak of a war and getting ready to draft dodge. Come on Fox, hop on this story!
Paully is now trying to show social art in Mexico. Now he has emotional reason to do it...and got hired to do a film. Movie film, for clarification. So he's taking shots of clothes on a clothes line. Unless the Three Amigos appear, I have a feeling he won't be winning an Oscar anytime for that.
Oh, he's trying to get mood and light with his film, and he's looking at it through a photographer view and not a film maker....He should stick to his day job after seeing the results. But to be fair, were there really any good movies back in the 1930's, save for Wizard of Oz?
I'm fairly certain Ed Wood used a lot of this footage for some of his films. Very stock-y-ish with the waves crashing on the shore.
Ok, I'm figuring that pretty much nobody is going to read this. It's quite boring. So even though there's like, 30 minutes left...I think I'll just....not write anything but give some closing thoughts later on. Because now we're getting war planes and facism in Spain. So I'm guessing Paul Strand is like, an old Forrest Gump....nah, Forrest Gump was good. He was more of an old Benjamin Button.
Wait, I just have to say that this voice they just used was about as creepy as the Max Headroom Hoax video.
Warning: Disturbing Video
Very quickly, another note, they have a new old lady. She looks like Eloise Hawking from Lost. Here's a picture I stole from the youtube video of the movie.
You may be saying: Chris, how can you get that screen grab of her, but nothing else? Well, I decided that of all the frames in the movie that would be worth it to find on youtube after I saw the movie originally, that was the one. Besides, I can't honestly go and get every single piece of grass, can I? So just pretend I had that picture ready the whole time, and that this whole blog wasn't written during the moving, and that this paragraph wasn't written four hours after the fact. Although, now would be a good time to mention that if I made an incoherent sentence above, well, that's to be expected. I can't multitask. I'm a man. Ok, I'm going to end this paragraph. Not that it matters. None of you will read it...unless of course, I put a gif in, that won't segue into the next, and final, paragraph in the slightest!
Ok, this movie is never ending. It's longer than the Never Ending Story. So basically, Paul went around the world and took pictures of stuff. Mexico. Africa. Plants. Leaves. Picasso. And then I think he died. So let's end this. Turn off the blog now!
