Man on Wire

I guess I'm not the only one who gets a little tingle from seeing the twin towers in pre 2001 New York film scenes. I particularly like seeing footage of the construction of the towers in the early 70's. It's a time that's of interest for me because it seems to resonate so strongly from the screen. I chose this Italian trailer with the Eric Satie piano piece because it's infinitely more delicate than the over the top editing for the the U.S market trailer complete with basso profondo voiceover.

I've had this story on my radar for quite some time. I'm not really sure if there was a transition from knowing about the story to being aware of the documentary but for some reason I couldn't imagine it being any more interesting than a long news clip or a very short film. I couldn't have been more wrong. There's a bunch of stuff going on in this extraordinary documentary film. There's no way of anticipating the kind of details that always emerge during the act of doing something dangerous over a period of time. The close scrapes. The near misses. The ominous omens. On their own they are reason to believe it's worth an hour and a half of your time.

But there are other dimensions that caught me by surprise. The incongruous sentiments of detailed planning worthy of a bank heist, flying back and forth between New York and Paris over and over again, combined with a sort of physical poetry of performance, and an essential ability to inspire or seduce all around him into collaborating. It's an ability that falls apart too quickly to be left unmoved by the tears of his best friend on one or two occasions.

The last time I saw something this creative was back in Beijing with the Parisian Ballet company protesting in mid act to the intelligentsia and elite of Peking (and a white boy in baseball cap) over the knee jerk sentiments of blind Chinese nationalism to Olympic torch protests in France. 

This is a moving piece of film with unexpected dynamics and curious details that I can't imagine ever being done any better. Most striking for me is the interstitial editing of film sequences of a younger Philip Pettit practising in France. There was no way of knowing it would be used for a film many years later but it's done so elegantly that the juxtaposition is fused with a sense of poetic connection. Much like the wire across those twin towers.

Sunflower Seeds

Ai Weiweis's Sunflower seeds is exhibiting at the Tate. Here's a short film about the production of the 100 000 000 hand painted porcelain seeds. During the cultural revolution Chairman Mao referred to himself as the Sun and the people as sunflowers with their faces turned towards him. I think it's one of those ideas that transfers it's poignancy well in this video without necessarily missing anything if a visit to the Tate isn't possible.

Ai Weiwei is China's greatest living artist.

Slow The Fuck Down

Last year in Hong Kong one of the projects I started sniffing around was an anti Red Bull concept. A chill out and calm down RTD (Ready to drink). I liked it immediately and felt that it was a massively powerful rejection of all that bigger, better, faster, stronger nonsense that has it's foot slammed to the floor on the accelerator peddle just so we can hit the brick wall and get it over and done with already. 

The Slow Food movement were the first people to articulate and champion against this thinking and I think there are some good links with Via Campesina that I talked about back here.

Ace of Spades by Motorhead is a track that gets a periodical playing in my life and is always cranked up to the max. I love it and and feel calmer after playing it a few times. If Kronenberg can really walk the walk on Slow the pace, I'd walk an extra block or two to buy it. I don't mean by advertising. Though this execution is what I like to see. I mean what else can they do that is meaningful and shows commitment? They can take their time about this. I'm in no hurry to walk that extra block. But  walk it I will if they deliver.

Of course Lemmy Kilmister is notorious for living a fast and furious life of Rock and Roll,  vodka and amphetamines, which may explain the updated lyrics in a little edited cut that's over here. He sings "I don't want to live forever...... but apparently I am". 

It's a little touch of authenticity that if it didn't exist would suggest that Lemmy has sold out. So I'm cutting him some slack. Just like with Kronenberg.