Decadent Cinema

So, June 15th we began production of my third film as writer/director, Le Marquis de la Croix. Very exciting stuff. For some time now I've been planning to begin shooting in earnest, lots of films, campy films, exploitation films, serious films. Well, it looks like this is it. The time has come! With The Marquis, we're beginning a new era.

The Marquis de la Croix, produced by Decadent Cinema, is a more campy exploitation film based on the writings of the Marquis de Sade (who else?). I could go on about the post-modern need for post-modern exploitation films, a la Jess Franco, Roger Corman, Jean Rollin, etc., or I could simply say that I'm making the films that I wish I could find in the "weird films" section of my local video store.

The Marquis de la Croix will be in Spanish and English, with subtitles in several languages.

So far I'm extremely pleased with the movie as I've looked over the rushes each day. It's so amazing to have such a great team of talented people to work with. They help me to take an idea and make it a reality. An extremely beautiful reality.

The premiere of Martyr

The premiere of Martyr went swimmingly Wednesday night, April 6th. Afterward, I had a hard time shaking off the tension that I get when I see the movie. In fact, this is the fourth time I've seen Martyr, the first being in 2005 in the film festival "Diablo de Oro" in Oruro, Bolivia.

When I first saw the movie it impacted me in a way that changed the very direction of my life. I loved the story, the acting, the cinematography, the music. Really, I loved it all. I loved it so much that I decided to drop everything in my life, stay in Bolivia and make movies with the director, Jac Avila.

From this incredible movie came the beginning of my life as a film director. I saw that one could make personal movies, beautiful works of art, living paintings, and with very little money. Something that I simply didn't think was possible before seeing this movie. It was the best movie that I had ever seen that was filmed on digital, and not even HD, because HD didn't exist yet. I believe that this movie is a revolution for cinema simply from that fact, being filmed in digital video, from which the result is nothing but pure beauty.

It is a sign to all of us that one can produce movies, personal movies, movies that we care about, which before wasn't possible with 35mm. Every time I see Martyr it makes me think about how lucky I am to be working with Pachamama Films and making works of art using the medium of cinema.

And then there's the story. A story that I think is universal. Today we had a meeting of our cast/crew whom we regularly work with and one of them went on and on about how the message of the film touched him, how he respected and identified with Camille in her journey to develop this "thing" that she has inside of herself. He talked about how he knows so many men and women who have fantasies, dreams, and who don't do anything about them. Their dreams remain dreams for the rest of their lives, because they're too afraid to take them from deep inside of themselves and show them in the light of day, or to others. I hope that with us, he is able to make his hopes and dreams a reality, that we can all make our creative fantasies into realities together as a team.

There is something in the character of Camille that speaks to all of us. The fear of rejection, the need to part of something, but at the same time to feel special. The feeling that we have something to offer the world.

For me, the moral of the story in Martyr is that we should show our true selves to others, regardless of whether or not anyone likes it, because there will be some that do like you for who you are, and those are the people you want to know.

Today was a day to just sit back and see how extremely lucky I am to be in a group with such wonderful, creative, talented individuals.

And to think about my next movie...

A Critique of Martyr in English and Spanish

What follows is the first critique of Martyr. I find it insightful and very well written and think that it's my duty to share it with you.

The first presentation of Martyr was at the University of Connecticut by invitation of the professor Dr. Gigliotti. The audience were students of Cinema and literature.

On of those students sent Jac Avila a letter containing his impressions. It was the first critique that Martyr received.

Concerning the feature film you showcased for our Film and Literature class.

I thought I would give you at least one person’s humble opinion.

I am fascinated by artistic visions. An artist myself, I am always intrigued to see one’s passions brought to life, that progression of intention, strife, and outcome. Clearly, your film is a labor of love. There is a line delivered fairly early on in the movie, something to the effect, “You’ll appreciate freedom when it’s taken away from you.” The line stuck with me because, in Camille’s case, I found it to be just the opposite. Her entire journey is in pursuit of freedom, something she obviously lacks; although the methods she chooses in procuring it are certainly interesting ones: she forsakes a relationship of stability and love for one of uncertainty and torment. That these turn into a sort of liberation speaks volumes about a deeply affected psychology. She is quite the interesting character, to say the least.

Personally, I am drawn to religious commentaries and the unholy marriage of pain/pleasure, both of which are sprinkled liberally throughout your film. I feel the strongest parts of the work, however, are the ones that deal with neither. I am speaking of the one on one conversations between Dave and Julian, Camille and Tadeusz, etc.; their rumination of everyday living, love and loss keep the work grounded. (They also inject some humor into otherwise dire matter.) Here the humanity, the universality of painful existence, is allowed to shine. That isn’t to say I don’t feel the graphic scenes are unsuccessful. To the contrary, the “one on ones” are effective precisely because of their juxtaposition with depictions of animalistic impulses and cruelty. You cut from such bloody, ghastly extremes back to delicate interactions seamlessly. In short, I feel it is this balance of convention/excess, love/hate, acceptance/rejection that propels the film along.

While I am not that acquainted with the story of Eulalia, I am still able to appreciate Camille’s quest, the lengths she is willing to go to feel fulfilled. Many, no doubt, will find such lengths disturbing. I don’t see them as all that divorced from the lengths the artist takes to deliver his or her creations to the masses. Anything worth creating tends to stem from hardship, heartache, woe, and suffering. I mean, I’ve written a lot of songs and painted a lot of pictures, and I don’t recall a damn one of them coming from an abundance of happiness.

In any event, I want to thank you again for having allowed us to participate in the film’s first screening. I wish you much success with its distribution and festival showings. Take care.

Sincerely,

Joe Clifford

(Version en Español)

La primera presentación pública de Martyr fué en la Universidad de Connecticut por invitación del profesor de cine Dr. Gigliotti. La audiencia eran sus estudiantes de cine y literatura.

Uno de los estudiantes se dió la tarea de enviarme sus impresiones. Esta es la primera crítica que recibió Martyr.

Sobre la película que mostraste a nuestra clase de Cine y Literatura.

Pense que por lo menos puedo darte la humilde opinión de una persona.

Me fascinan las visiones artísticas. Como artista, siempre me intriga ver como uno lleva a la vida una pasión, esa progresión de la intentión, la lucha y el resultado. Ciertamente, tu pelicula es una labor de amor. Hay un párrafo en el diálogo bastante temprano en el film, algo así como: “Se aprecia la libertad cuando te la quitan”. Esa linea se me quedó porque, en el caso de Camille, he visto que es lo opuesto. Todo su recorrido es en busca de libertad, algo que obviamente no tiene: aunque los métodos que elige para encontrarla son realmente interesantes: deja una relación de estabilidad y amor por un camino incierto y lleno de tormento. El hecho que eso se convierte en un tipo de liberación dice volúmenes sobre una psicología profundamente afectada. Ella es un personaje interesante, es lo mínimo que se puede decir.

Personalmente me atraen los comentarios religiosos y la impia unión entre el dolor y el placer, ambos liberalmente repartidos en todo tu film. Pero pienso que las partes mas fuertes del trabajo, sin embargo, son aquellas que no tienen que ver con ninguno de esos puntos. Me refiero a las conversaciones uno a uno entre Dave y Julien, Camille y Tadeusz, etc.; sus reflexiones de la vida diaria, el amor, la perdida mantienen el trabajo bien fundado. Tambien inyectan algo de humor en un asunto terrible. Aquí la humanidad, la universalidad de una existencia dolorosa, sale a relucir.

Lo que no quiere decir que las escenas gráficas no funcionen. Al contraro. Los uno a uno son efectivos precisamente por la yuxtaposición con representaciones de impulsos animales y crueldad. Tú cortas de tan sangrientos y horripilantes extremos a las interacciones delicadas sin ningún problema. En resumen, siento que es este balance de convencional/exceso, amor/odio, aceptación/rechazo es lo que empuja al film hacia delante.

Aunque no estoy familiarizado con la historia de Eulalia, todavía puedo apreciar la busqueda de Camille, los extremos a los que está dispuesta a llegar para sentirse completa. Muchos, sin duda, verán estos extremos inquietantes. Yo no los veo tan alejados de los extremos a los que un artista llega para llevar sus creaciones a las masas. Cualquier cosa que merece ser creada, tiende a surgir de las dificultades, angustias, lamentos, sufrimientos. Me explico, he escrito muchas canciones y he pintado muchas pinturas y no recuerdo ninguna maldita de ellas emergiendo de una abundancia de felicidad.

De cualquier manera, quiero agradecerte nuevamente por permitirnos participar de la primera presentación de la pelicula. Te deseo exitos con la distribución, festivales y presentaciones. Cuidate.

Sinceramente,

Joe Clifford