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Reservoir Dogs to the rescue
By Andrew Burden
Posted Mon, 23 Sep 2002
Good to see you again! And thanks for all the hurled rocks, really it’s quite touching but I’m beginning to look like John Hurt in THE ELEPHANT MAN.
So far no more PAVAD (Prats Against Video, Art and Democracy) activity in Cape Town video shops, but stay alert – these people are cunning. Hang on, what am I talking about? They’re invertebrates – still, keep an eye out.
This week sees the opening of submissions for the world’s first Cult de S’academy Awards.
By virtue of the cycnicism invested in me I hereby declare you all members of the panel (poof!) or something like that. Anyway here are the rules. Any Cult de Sac reader can nominate and vote (even guys like you – yes you – I know you stumbled across Cult de Sac by accident!). Once the nominations have been received I’ll put them out and you can vote for them (one nominee per category). Once done I’ll tally the votes and announce the winners.
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The Awards will happen four times a year as opposed to just once so as not to overlook new and exciting films, and basically just because I can. So without any further delay get those nominees in. You have until September 30, and I’ll post the nominees as soon after that as possible. Once done you will have two weeks to vote. You can check out the categories in a sidebar near the the bottom of this week’s column, which goes something like this…
I took your advice and saw an anger management mentor this week. It didn’t exactly go very well. It started out promisingly enough, but after five minutes he was pulling his hair out and screaming something about failure (at least that’s what I think he said. It was difficult to tell with all the cups, vases and coffee tables he was throwing against the wall). Before throwing himself out of the window (which concerned me at the time as it was closed) he put me on a course of Elephant Tranquilisers, Prozac and Richard Clayderman. I told him it was okay and that I’d rather just stay angry. I suspect he heard me as he hurtled to the street below. His office is only one storey up.
I do feel better now, and every day and in every way I’m getting….
Now I’m not the kind of person who believes in ESP, or that we all emanate auras, unless of course you’ve consumed two tins of baked beans and about twelve pints of lager. It doesn’t however take a sixth sense or a Ray Bradbury fan to sense that ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes.’
The current debate (you know – “to bomb or not to bomb”) is playing out like an Ed Wood B-movie, in which the supposed good guys are chomping at the bit to beat the crap out of the supposed bad guys, with the rest of us just stuck in the middle.
But I have a possible solution. Why don’t we just sit Blair and Bush down and let them relax with a couple of movies over a bottle of Jack Daniels? They can then live out their fantasies on the screen without firing a single shot. Aha! I hear you say, but that’s idealistic and well…just stupid. So what? Whose column is this?
Personally I’d rather watch movies than schlep all the way over to the Middle East anyway, because the only thing you’re likely to come away with is a whole lot of sand in your shoes and egg on your face.
Where is this seemingly incoherent rambling going, I hear you ask? – who the hell knows. But it almost ties neatly into a Tarantino feature.
Few directors exemplify the independent filmmaking ethos better than former video shop staffer and master of seemingly inane dialogue, Quentin Tarantino, who gave us RESERVOIR DOGS [1992], one of the best crime-thrillers ever made.
It’s one of those films loaded with unforgettable dialogue and scenes. Ask anyone about the film and they’ll say ‘sure – remember the cop who gets his ear cut off?’ or ‘how about Steve Buscemi and Harvey Keitel’s Mexican stand off?’
The truth is, the film is virtually flawless and contains too many great scenes to list here. If you’ve seen it then you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?
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I don’t want to give anything away, because frankly if you’re about to experience the film for the first time then I really envy you. Suffice to say RESERVOIR DOGS is the story of a diamond heist gone wrong. It’s not a new concept and doesn’t really cover any ground that a film like BONNY AND CLYDE [1967] hasn’t already. It’s distinction lies in Tarantino’s ability to pay homage to the genre while turning it on its head. Also any film that features a believable explanation of Madonna’s 'Like a Virgin', King of Urbane Comedy Steven Wright as a DJ and narrative that doesn’t assume you’re four years old and in need of potty training, is simply refreshing.
It also creates a whole new empathy for the plight of police officers, and should illustrate to Bush and Blair that aggression is self-destructive.
And onto nihilism.
KILLING ZOE [1994] is a film that tries its damndest to be DOG DAY AFTERNOON [1975] but lacks Sidney Lumet’s social conscience, pace and wit. It also lacks Al Pacino’s memorable portrayal of Sonny, possibly film’s first gay bank-robber (correct me if I’m wrong). It is nonetheless an intriguing film.
Starring Eric Stoltz, better known for films like SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL [1987], THE FLY II [1989], PULP FICTION [1994], and THE WATERDANCE [1992], KILLING ZOE is visually mesmerising and sobering.
The film’s director, Roger Avary, used to work with Tarantino in a video shop in the 80s, and hauled him in as executive producer on this film. It’s interesting to note that Avary contributed much to the plots of films like PULP FICTION, (released in the same year) and TRUE ROMANCE, but his relationship with Tarantino has soured over the years, with Avary accusing him of leeching ideas for movies.
Avary is credited as having written the radio dialogue for Steven Wright on RESERVOIR DOGS (don’t complain – a little useless information never killed anyone!).
KILLING ZOE could be seen as Avary’s way of proving to Tarantino that he can do just as good a job as his former colleague.
Mostly he succeeds.
Like RESERVOIR DOGS, KILLING ZOE stacks an unlikely group of hoods against immeasurable odds and watches them fail. The film is engrossing but disappoints with poor character development, and drops more loose plot points than a clambering socialite drops names.
Eric Stoltz, the moral eye of the storm, is unflappable as Zed, the mysterious safe cracker who is called to Paris by Eric (Jean Hughes Anglade), to join a team of robbers who are hell-bent on taking the Parisian reserve bank.
The film predictably becomes a suicide mission with the ill-prepared gang tackling the job with hangovers, but this doesn’t really matter. The film is about making sense of the melee of life and finding a moment of clarity. It is concerned with dissatisfaction and good old fashioned nihilism, and as such is recklessly pessimistic. It does briefly sheath its cynicism at the end to point out that love can and does triumph (well in as much as dumb luck can anyway), when Zed and Zoe, his prostitute turned love interest, find each other in the chaos. But with a particularly bloody battle between Zed, Zoe, and HIV positive Eric you have to wonder what chance this relationship actually has.
Avary does for France what Tarantino did for middle America – he shoots it to shit and rolls the body over for close, gory inspection.
Once we’ve warmed the esteemed President and Prime Minister up with these offerings we’ll treat them to the self-indulgent but beautiful RUN LOLA RUN. Now I’ve seen the film on a number of your top tens, but I thought the film starred Bridget Fonda and that I’d seen it. Glad I was wrong.
RUN LOLA RUN has less in common with RESERVOIR DOGS or KILLING ZOE than it does with TRAINSPOTTING. Although similarly it does explore the ignored significance of chance meetings, a prevalent theme in KILLING ZOE.
Lola receives a call from her boyfriend who emphatically explains he has twenty minutes to live, unless they can come up with the 100 000 DM that he left on a seat on the subway. Losing the money isn’t really a problem. The fact that it belongs to his boss – a Vinnie Jones/Vin Diesel/Incredible Hulk kind of character is.
And so begins her running as she races to beat the clock and get the money. Her first effort fails and as she lies bleeding on the pavement she considers other possibilities, until she finds the solution.
Director Tom Tykwer utilizes slow motion, animation, freeze frame photographic projections to quickly chronicle the lives of subordinate characters, and elements of Expressionism to create a dream-like state that loops like a favourite song on permanent ‘repeat’.
At its heart RUN LOLA RUN is concerned with the choices we make in life and their consequences in a similar vein to films like GROUNDHOG DAY [1993] and SLIDING DOORS [1998], but it is so much more rewarding. Perhaps Bush should approach Iraq with a similar outlook.
Discounting the nefarious aims of the Video Recordings Act of 1984, (which promoted ‘video nasties’ more than it buried them), if there must be violence at all, let’s keep it fictitious and on the screen, and make the world a better place for future generations of cynics.
So how about it? Let’s end global conflict. Videos at my place – bring George and Tony. Just tell them it’s a bring your own booze deal.
If only it were that simple!
Honourable mention this week to Radio 702 for their billboard – “THE BLAIRBUSH PROJECT”. Nice one!
RESERVOIR DOGS, KILLING ZOE and RUN LOLA RUN are all available from THE VIDEO SHOP – 13 North Park Centre, 7th Avenue, Parktown North – Tel: 011 788 8613. Email: tebaldi@mweb.co.za. THE VIDEO SHOP is Cult de Sac’s video shop of choice. With a vast range of titles, especially rare and classic films and knowledgeable staff, THE VIDEO SHOP has just what you’re looking for.
Cult de Sac Avenues of Interest
Until Monday.
