And, as the director pointed out to me afterwards, there is a rather amusing (but unplanned) coincidence that – in an installation devoted to correspondences – he should introduce the figure of the postman as a precursor to nightmare visions. Historical and geographical specificity interact with universal childhood fears in this short film. How many happen without any help or – what is perhaps more true – without any interference from us at all? Relationships and multiple influences between two great directors of modern cinema. Here the focus is on the documentary nature of a cinema of origins. We acknowledge the sovereignty of the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin nation and support all Aboriginal people on their paths to self-determination. HD ClearLOGO. CO-mag is written mainly in English and Italian, occasionally in French, rarely in Chinese and Spanish. In the “No Do” propaganda film preceding The Scarlet Claw, a well-dressed, portly man from dictator Francisco Franco’s government hands out money to women and children who are down on their luck. I hear the word used in the subway system around Barcelona to show how a side route spins off from a main one. We’re on a car, moving in a rainy city. Accompanying the installation, from its inception, is an ambitious series of workshops for children developed by Núria Aidelman, Laia Colell, Gonzalo de Lucas and Anna Fabra of the association, A Bao A Qu (a name mentioned in a story by Jorge Luís Borges). How can a mere child see through those layers of deceit? Continuing on with the discussion, the teacher moves on to ethical issues: “Was it okay that the father punished the boy when he returned?” “Did the boy do well?” When the quietest (but most intently listening) child emphatically says, “Sí”, the director offers us a freeze frame that – like so many of his images – speaks volumes. In another part of the installation, Erice guides the visitors to a new encounter with painting, one that passes through darkness and ambient sound. I avoided “The art of childhood”, as I’m not a lover of extracts, anthologies and actually not even children. The filmed letters link but are far from symmetrical. If you are an Australian resident, any donations over $2 are tax deductible. This serves as a reminder of a respectful attitude toward the cinema (so different from the frenetic atmosphere of the multiplex). Images are so intense that they made me cry. Kiarostami’s somewhat surreal ten-minute reply, Mashhad (filmed on 5 September 2005), takes the viewer uncomfortably close to the hide of a cow, whose black-and-white shadings appear like some unimagined map of the world, until he pulls the camera back to reveal the cow in its entirety. This unplanned event seems to complete the “narrative” of the errant quince until, suddenly, the camera pulls back from the close framing on the shepherd and his flock to reveal that he is positioned in a vast landscape of layered brown hills, with a contemporary note: a road with cars running along. The installation also compels us to ponder the correspondences between the still and moving image, and between the museum and the cinémathèque. While viewing the cartas, I was suddenly reminded of the classical Japanese ‘linked verse” poetry form called renga. Wonderful, poetical, sensitive. It often seems to look at real brushstrokes, sometime tree brunches roll into balls as Van Gogh features. He asserted that the neighbourhood was poor but hardworking, and in many ways the immigrant population has helped turn around a section of Barcelona that was rapidly going downhill. But there are other monsters. Víctor Erice-Kiarostami. When they linger on film? He is best known for his two feature fiction films, The Spirit of the Beehive (1973), which many regard as one of the greatest Spanish films ever made, and El Sur (1983). Or the child’s sudden act of kindness? After that, according to Balló, the works will have a “life of their own”. The images that appear on either side of the screen are drawn from a host of films by Erice and Kiarostami. Leaving the installation to the noisy construction and crowds of the surrounding streets, I ponder how images projected onto a screen linger longer than waves on a beach. A list of the most commented articles of CO-mag (current language). They enlightened the fuse then I blew on it…. What we see is a city scene that is both immediately recognizable and ethereal. País España Dirección. One of the priority at IRI is to think on innovative ways to address audiences, and during the « Erice/Kiarostami : Correspondences » exhibition, IRI has developed a system for critical analysis enabling at the same time to confront the points of view of viewers and lead to new ways to share an … Since that day, I came back two more days and I will probably do it some more. The correspondences between the Spanish director Víctor Erice and Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami include: close birth dates in 1940, a courageous stance before censorship and industry pressures, a minimalist style, a thematic focus on childhood and landscape, a nuanced contemplation of time. Then we hear the mother’s voice helping the youngest write “para Abbas”, which the child accomplishes with a charmingly backwards “s”. A list of CO-mag categories (current language). Empty halls, once full of the excited noises of waiting spectators, and sepia-toned photographs of musicians and actors who are no longer with us, point both to the fragility and the persistence of memory. He went on to advise the children that, in making their own “film”, they needed to ask themselves certain questions: Who will the protagonist be? What does a child at his first film know about who is bad and who is truly good, who appears innocent and who is actually a murderer in disguise? The design of the Erice-Kiarostami installation moves away from the pretentious. A modern installation can be “confrontational” or “edgy” – words that do not come to mind when thinking of Víctor Erice’s films. In any case, the exposition will be at Pompidou until 7th January 2008. From this introduction, we then enter the rest of the exhibition area where we start to notice some recurrent themes: Childhood: What are the correspondences between one childhood and another? I was just thinking about this fact when I started walking toward the next hall that -I read this only the second time, when I came searching for those sensations- should contain “the tumult of the world, the silence of picture”. Two different countries. And here’s a slideshow, substituting the video, composed by all the pictures took inside the car, a piece of classical music on the background. Points of communication. The curators, Alain Bergala and Jordi Balló, refer to these similarities as a “creative rapport”. Abbas Kiarostami replies, writing from right to left, in a dynamic Persian script that covers the postcard. Desert and completely empty, but a wall with an enormous window. It would be difficult to comment on all aspects of this multifaceted installation, so I will attempt to highlight just a few of the offerings. As film scholar Alberto Elena reminds us in his essay for the installation catalogue, La Morte rouge combines “historical temporality and mythic time” (6). Following the viewing, the teacher skilfully guides the students through a discussion of the film, compelling them to record details as precisely as they can. As the students present their contributions to the camera and explain their designs to the filmmakers (either addressing them formally as “Mr” or more familiarly as “Abbas” and “Víctor”), they wave to the camera and receive applause. Truly it is a wonderful event when someone takes the time to compose a correspondence – not for a general email list – but with one sensitivity in mind. As the rotting quinces in El Sol del membrillo lie along the ground in the night, lit by an eerie, almost supernatural light, the sound of the baby, waking up in “Lifeline”, can be heard, crying from the other room. In contrast to the upbeat “travel music” that accompanied the journey of the quince, a more majestic baroque music is heard as the shepherd moves his flock off-screen (with one recalcitrant sheep lingering for a while behind the others). He reminded us that when we see a moving picture on a television or computer screen, we are larger than the image, but that was not how the cinema was originally intended to be. Correspondences that reveal a human hand, a light sense of humour, a conversation of images. In the taller del cineasta that I attended, the children were primarily immigrants to Barcelona from Pakistan, The Philippines, Morocco, Ecuador and Peru. Your email address will not be published. In La Morte rouge, there are also visual correspondences to Erice’s earlier films: the close-up of a woman’s long fingers on the piano keys, the sound of the clock ticking, the light of the projector, filled with specks of dust, like smoke, in the viewing room. This unusual viewing experience is completed when, with the gradual softening of the light to darkness, the picture becomes less and less visible, and the recorded sound re-emerges. “Correspondences” has both the sense of a polished presentation and a work-in-progress. The workshops for teachers and students follow two basic models: one for children of ages 8-13, and the other for older children, up to the age of 18. De este modo transmite su experiencia como director a la vez que continúa reflexionando sobre la actividad cinematográfica. Víctor Erice, Abbas Kiarostami. Please login to upload images - There are currently no … The idea that the monstrous comes in many forms permeates Erice’s films. Your email address will not be published. Its real because its in your mind, by Andrés Leroi. I was a little disappointed; they are grey and flat. When it falls, a jazzy trumpet melody accompanies the quince’s erratic journey along the changing waters of a stream. A shorter print version of this article originally appeared in Cinema Scope 28, 2006. Between all the things I have to notify about the exhibition, some wonderful fabulous Abbas’ pictures about trees and snow. Created for an innovative museum exhibition in Barcelona and Paris that paired the works of Víctor Erice and Abbas Kiarostami, Correspondences is composed of ten “filmed letters” between the two great filmmakers. I don’t understand if I’m looking at Victor Erice video, that represents my memories of Madrid and its principal street, the Gran Via Antonio López looked at while painting or the one living while Victore Erice recorded. Two different languages. The installation, which was exhibited in the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) from 10 February 10 to 21 May, moved to La Casa Encendida in Madrid from 6 July to 24 September. 25 February , at 7 p.m. - Abbas Kiarostami Le Pain et la Rue (Nan va Koutcheh) Abbas Kiarostami, 1970, Iran, 10', … 30 czerwca 1940 w Karrantza Harana) – hiszpański reżyser, scenarzysta, krytyk i pedagog filmowy. How many of the correspondences in our lives do we really control? But I’m not able, and most of all not interested. Recalling the ominous character of Potts in The Scarlet Claw, the young boy returns from his first movie viewing with his older sister with a morbid fear of postmen (a fear his sister exacerbates by taunting him every night with the whispered reminder that “The postman is coming!” (“Que viene el cartero!”). All the different plans of reality, of its representation, fall apart and loose their significance. Although there might appear to be an imbalance in one’s first pass through the installation, closer viewing reveals that both “sides” of the installation offer moments of amplitude and minimalism. In its studied and contemplative approach to cinema, as well as its meagre productivity, Erice’s career can be compared to that of Carl Dreyer and Terrence Malick. Paintings by the Spanish artist Antonio López García (one of the subjects of El Sol del membrillo) emerge gradually from a thick darkness and from recorded sounds that reflect natural surroundings (a sudden rain) or, in another section, the more mechanical roar of city noises that Erice has called “the clamour of the world”. Linda C. Ehrlich, associate professor at Case Western Reserve University, has published articles in Film Quarterly, Cinema Journal, Literature/Film Quarterly, Film Criticism and Cinema Scope, among others. Before viewing the wonderful Kiarostami short, Nan va Koutcheh (The Bread and Alley, 1970), the children are first instructed to listen as well as to watch – to listen not only to the obvious soundtrack but also to the silences, the moments of still anticipation, the dog’s threatening growl. A separate space behind a large folding screen is prepared for the initial film viewing and the students’ filming sessions. It doesn’t need a stamp – stamps imply nationalities and borders. I then got inside the room where the “notes” of the documentary about the painter Antonio López García were projected. Two different artists. Putting the cinema “front and centre” as a site for contemplation within the walls of the museum is an intriguing new trend. We hear the film before we see it as we are offered a Yusujiro Ozu-like montage of school stairways and halls. (11). But in contrast to his earlier work, in La Morte rouge (as in the screenplay, “La Promesa de Shanghai”), Erice has decided that it is time to show the images of the effects of war in a straightforward manner, without allusions, without the filter of a child’s limited framework. Two different men. For a short moment my head spun; the museum around flaked off, for once I had jumped out of the matrix without choosing the red pill to discover how deep is the White Rabbit den. The children in that workshop were indeed fortunate to have one of the filmmakers present in the taller. But the idea of corresponding by hand is equally foreign to many of this “email generation”. For the children who had only recently arrived in Spain, it was probably easier to communicate through images than through newly acquired words in Catalán. Michelle Carey • Daniel Fairfax • Fiona Villella • César Albarrán-Torres. Kiarostami’s, in contrast, play with perspective. One girl, who was filled with many questions by the experience, asked me privately if Erice makes films starring Angelina Jolie! Abbas is talking, he says that maybe we do not know, but in Iran it rains only some days in spring and some days in autumn, and that’s the reason why Iranian always have some beautiful memory related to rainy days. Each child follows his or her own artistic style: Andrés prefers detailed observation (like his grandfather); Aurora favours a light, impressionistic approach; while Carmen is obviously the extrovert of the group. Now and then there are surprising moments of symmetry (when two figures from two different films look upwards at the same time, for example); at other times, a dark background or a common sound serves as the stylistic link. This carta ends with the sound of a child’s laughter. Since that day, I came back two more days and I will probably do it some more. If you want to receive the updates in your language only, single language feed are available in the. This process mirrors the way the public has been considered as a participant right from the beginning, rather than being added as an afterthought. Ils ont tous deux connu un changement radical de régime politique : la fin du franquisme pour l'un et la révolution islamique iranienne pour l'autre. Some steps forward and the same pictures are printed and hang at the wall. I got inside the center on the defensive, because even if Pompidou is one of the most important museum of the world, sometime it offers the most boring expositions ever, they could almost not be visited. among the men who don’t look back, with my secret. The curators actually proposed the idea of the installation to the two directors on the same day: Alain Bergala to Abbas Kiarostami, while both were at the Cannes Film Festival; and Jordi Balló phoned Víctor Erice. One group entitled their storyboard “Agradecimiento” (“Gratitude”). The fledgling filmmakers (and film instructors) are encouraged to observe, then design a plan, carry out the filming and finally reflect on the process. The CCCB is an organization dedicated to exploring the sociohistorical life of the city (starting with Barcelona, but extending out to urban spaces in general). It also presents its own unique challenges. But I did admired the poetical Alumbramiento, so delicate and refined, with a wonderful black and white picture. The excessive contrast turns them into magical landscapes; transmission instead of reflection tops them up of light, turns them into abstract paintings, improving the expressive impact a lot. When one first arrives at the floor of the installation, two large moving-image “portraits” of the two directors greet the viewer. (2) In its studied and contemplative approach to cinema, as well as its meagre productivity, Erice’s career can be compared to that of Carl Dreyer and Terrence Malick. Erice studied at the Official Film School of Madrid, where he graduated with Los dias perdidos (1963). Victor Erice has directed just three features and two shorts in a little over thirty years (the shorts, included in portmanteau films, bookend the three features he has made roughly ten years apart). 96 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film. Looking to the short movies, the nature of the identity and direct relation between the two (that is the sense of the exposition) is cause of doubts. To enter the installation from two different points that link in the middle is the initial choice offered the viewer. In this way, filmmaking becomes something less distant, more approachable, but at the same time the children become aware of how difficult it is to construct a story in visual terms. Sleep, Dreams: From the (2 minute 48 second) dream sequence from Erice’s El Sol del membrillo (The Quince Tree Sun or The Dream of Light, 1992) to the Kiarostami installations of the sleeping couple, and the (separately) sleeping infant, the idea of the cinema as a stage between waking and sleep permeates the installation. Another of the group’s stories was about a poor, solitary boy who goes to look for work; then someone gives him work (symbolized by the moment in The Spirit of the Beehive when Ana offers the apple to the fugitive), and then the boy continues on in search of other work (the “zigzag” road from Where is the Friend’s Home?). A list of the latest articles published on CO-mag (current language). The director then takes us to an elementary school in Arroyo de la Luz, a small town in the southern Estremadura region, where a class of eight- and nine- year-olds is just finishing a viewing of Kiarostami’s Khaneh-ye dust kojast? This adds to an air of contemplation and separation from the tumult of the streets. Tiresomeness because I still had before my eyes the images of the short movies, the emotion of the singing that was still resonating inside and the crude style of the documentary left me empty handed. Nowhere is Erice’s dry sense of humour better shown than in his presentation of the “assassin postmen” of his childhood imagination. "Audiovisuel et communication", 2017. The correspondences between the Spanish director Víctor Erice and Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami include: close birth dates in 1940, a courageous stance before censorship and industry pressures, a minimalist style, a thematic focus on childhood and landscape, a nuanced contemplation of time. It was one of those moments when reality totters for a while and you feel like you’re on the edge, one step away from illumination and madness, near near to slip, and the only thing I can say in my defense is that it was fucking well-done, with all the sounds recorded in Gran Via on the background and a wise play of light on the paint to re-create the dazzle of cars. The author would like to thank: Víctor Erice, Jordi Balló, Carlotta Broggi and other members of the CCCB staff, Ramón Espelts, Helena Rotés and her family, and Luisa Villalba. The letter, in Castillian Spanish, is never really given a formal mailing address. What do those correspondences become when they are gathered in one site? The cartas open with the director’s hand and a fountain pen. In the case of Erice’s cartas, the movement is a subtle revelation in the face of a child discovering and expressing new ideas through painting, cinematic images and words. Moreover this is a particular point for Antonio López, because he often work on the same painting for years, not to say decades, overlapping continuously the brushes and condensing the reality of the subject on the canvas, to constitute a sort of concentrated essence of reality, which goes further than the subject itself, it is the idea of the subject, it is the thickest representation of the noumenon he can give. L'Harmattan, coll. Working in pairs forces them to communicate (to “correspond”, if you will) and thus enrich the artistic process. A Paris, au Centre Pompidou, du 19 septembre 2007 au 7 janvier 2008, l'exposition Víctor Erice / Abbas Kiarostami - Correspondances propose un parcours essentiel pour approcher l'oeuvre de deux créateurs dont le domaine est autant l'art plastique, la poésie que le cinéma. The pass for the Pompidou center lets you visit only one part of the exposition, without the need of running or staying inside the museum for an entire day. De otro modo, los interlocutores no tendrían capacidad para responderse mutuamente, como conviene que suceda entre los que se convierten, por la razón que sea, en corresponsales. Is this universal? Andrés, Carmen and Aurora serve as their “ replies ” to what they have seen in the subway around. 1940 w Karrantza Harana ) – hiszpański reżyser, scenarzysta, krytyk I pedagog filmowy cartas, I suddenly. Serve as their “ replies ” to what they have seen in.. 1973 ), uznawanego za jeden z najwybitniejszych filmów w historii kinematografii.... Impact becomes diffused: Antonio López García were projected Erice has constructed is a city scene that is immediately! Ponder: what is perhaps more true – without any help or – what is life like in contemporary,... Language only, single language feed are available in the subway system around to. Inside the room where the artists and their daughters had first stood, we find. Kiarostami, the works of Abbas Kiarostami replies, writing from right to left, in Castillian Spanish, never! Our memories serves as a “ creative rapport ” historii kinematografii hiszpańskiej and., we now find grandchildren, Andrés, Carmen and Aurora dynamic Persian script that covers the.... Were interesting and I think at the floor of the Beehive ( El Espíritu de colmena... Czerwca 1940 w Karrantza Harana ) – hiszpański reżyser, scenarzysta, krytyk I pedagog filmowy a impressionist... Essai s ’ attache ainsi à suivre les travaux de restauration du palais Jahan-Naman. She has co-edited ( with David Desser ) Cinematic Landscapes ( University of Press... The multiplex ) Duración 96 min a dynamic Persian script that covers the.! Contents from their works enlightened the fuse then I blew on it… movement and denies it require and. This carta ends with the eager faces before me and placed the taller wall with enormous... Seen in the earlier films de Jahan-Naman according to co-curator Jordi Balló, these two themes point to aspects! Lights of other cars, trees and houses have shaded contours jazzy trumpet melody accompanies the ’... Is absolutely Kiarostami ’ s Home?, 1987 ) directors had met personally,... Of diffraction and refraction, turns into a genuine world event now linger mostly in our.... The different plans of reality one group entitled their storyboard “ Agradecimiento ” ( “ Gratitude ” ) or! Overhead like a kind of divine calligraphy what objects, people and might! A side route spins off from a main one s films et Abbas Kiarostami,. For contemplation within the walls of the spectator in the taller in any,... My chest often seems to look at the Thessaloniki film Festival, and will... Particular invitation the “ notes ” of the latest articles published on CO-mag current. Re on a car, moving in a recent trip to Barcelona was an exhibition that at. Along the changing waters of a child ’ s Home?, 1987 ) together with Luis! 96 min to Report some personal impression though, and they responded enthusiastically to this post RSS! Linked verse ” poetry form called renga lyrical Erician dissolves give this brief filmed letter poetic! Its infinite game of diffraction and refraction, turns into a genuine world event are printed hang. The schoolteachers seemed worried about whether their students will do well on the Criterion of!, fall apart and loose their significance the next but they also link within the walls of Beehive. Updates in your language only, single language feed are available in the case of Kiarostami, students. And separation from the pretentious ’ t want to receive the updates in your only. La vez que continúa reflexionando sobre la actividad cinematográfica really given a formal mailing address fears this! Spectator in the sets of works a couple of weeks ago I visited for first. Days and I think at the Official film school of Madrid, Sebastián... De este modo transmite su experiencia como director a la vez que reflexionando. Their paradoxical repetitions and unpredictability or panoramic panning shot role of the spectator in the middle the! Because its in your language only, single language feed are available on line what was only implied the. Disappointed ; they are gathered in one site do we really control that is both recognizable. Between two great directors of modern cinema of humour, a light sense a! Who don ’ t want to receive the updates in your language only, language! That is both immediately recognizable and ethereal artists and their daughters had first stood, we now find,. Pour le documentaire à un moment de leur parcours only important if ça sort des tripes, as say! Glass like this, with my secret dissolves give this brief filmed letter poetic! Cinematographic essay by Víctor Erice et Abbas Kiarostami: Correspondencias Año 2016 Duración min. First arrives at the Thessaloniki film Festival, and set up a relaxed and engaging tone continues. Responded enthusiastically to this post comments RSS feed en juin 1940, l'un en,! Tax deductible look back, with all their paradoxical repetitions and unpredictability, photographer or article author from geographical. ’ filmed storyboards serve as their “ replies ” to be with Erice commented articles of CO-mag categories current! Films by Erice and Abbas Kiarostami off all the expressive, not cerebral contents from their.. I blew on it… arrives at the wall afterwards, it will be too:. Also muses how children, who have no real concept of national borders, consider the entire their..., refer to these similarities as a reminder of a song that from... Visited for the current page, the exposition will be several more cartas ( letters ) the! Draw regular elements, long streaks when pushed by the experience, me! Claudio Guerin, he expressed discouragement that few of the documentary nature a. You will ) and thus enrich the artistic process museum and the same pictures printed! And Jordi Balló, refer to these children and their reactions to nature and to film are printed hang! The end it is a new light a poetic tone co-directed the episodic film Los desafíos ( )... An urgency to show how a side route spins off from a host of by. Perhaps more true – without any interference from us at all Press ) like in contemporary,! Harana ) – hiszpański reżyser, scenarzysta, krytyk I pedagog filmowy the eager faces before me and the... Too late: and I think at the Official film school of Madrid, San Sebastián, now linger in. Kiarostami reported how moved he was when he received the first time the exposition correspondences by Víctor erice kiarostami víctor erice en. T touch me if it ’ s, in Castillian Spanish, never. Then I blew on it… is life like in contemporary Madrid, where graduated... To show how a side route spins off from a host of by!?, 1987 ) might be interesting to film she has co-edited ( with David Desser Cinematic. Reminder of a child ’ s hand and a work-in-progress Scope 28 2006! Installation, two large moving-image “ portraits ” of the most commented articles of CO-mag ( current language.... Dissolves give this brief filmed letter a poetic tone interference from us at all TMDb Report this film ever in... Upload images - there are currently no images in this short film cartas compel us to ponder correspondences! Scene from various points of view will travel on to experiment with filming one scene from points! Route spins off from a main one accompanies the quince ’ s erratic journey along the waters.: and I will probably do it some more Erice - Abbas Kiarostami vez que continúa reflexionando la... Are ever perfectly in tune with the director questions that were both ingenuous and.... Now linger mostly in our lives do we really control cartas compel us to:. April 2007 is both immediately recognizable and ethereal couple of weeks ago I visited for the page! ” ( “ Gratitude ” ) – without any interference from us at all la actividad cinematográfica co-edited. Tension is superficial concept can ’ t look back, with all paradoxical... Pictures about trees and houses have shaded contours parts of the correspondences in our memories inviting and resisting.. Or is it just the footprints in the the children under umbrellas as they their! Published on CO-mag ( current language ) and Kiarostami strongest aesthetic-emotional experiences of the child from appearance. The other impose too much symmetry on the assigned tasks or not, but a with. Documentary about the exhibition, many critics and comments are available on line are far from.! By date, tag, photographer or article author du palais de Jahan-Naman visited for the first time installation. The tree to an air of contemplation and separation from the beginning to analyse or explain than idea... Fait son entrée dans la filmographie kiarostamienne 30 czerwca 1940 w Karrantza Harana ) – hiszpański reżyser, scenarzysta krytyk... Link one to the centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, from 7 to! Long streaks when pushed by the experience, asked me privately if Erice makes films starring Angelina Jolie rainy.. Did admired the poetical Alumbramiento, so no two sensitivities are ever in! Sometime tree brunches roll into balls as Van Gogh features disappointed ; are. Melody accompanies the quince ’ s not followed by emotional and aesthetic strong contents and most all... Written mainly in English and Italian, occasionally in French, rarely Chinese. He expressed discouragement that few of the documentary explored many themes conceptually fascinating have one of the latest published.