2 posts tagged “atom”
i dug up an old book (and an old jacket that i'm guessing inspired helmut lang's thumbloop phase) i bought in new york back in 1998 at maybe the hippest store i've ever shopped: 'hotel of the rising star' at 13 prince st (probably the original five green inspiration), run by a bunch of architects who sold their ORFI label (organization for returning fashion interest) and a wonderfully carefully curated collection of things including event horizon, edited by michael tarantino and inspired by a michelangelo antonioni essay (event horizon was a series of exhibitions organized by the irish museum of modern art exploring the european identity). the fifth artist page is an essay on 'calendar' by atom egoyan:
"The idea of a nation is something which fascinates me. If we are to presume that a nation is the result of a collective projection, then it is clear that the idea of national territory is more of a pyschological concept than it is a definition set by physical borders."
...
"In conceiving 'Calendar', I wanted to find a story that would deal with these three levels of Armenian consciousness: Nationalist, Diasporan and Assimilationist."
...
"The metaphor of seperation in the film ... is intended to emphasize the precarious nature of national identity."
...
"Taken outside of its source, national identity can become contrived and absurd. Yet what is the 'source' of something so complex and profound? Is it limited to a physical dimension? Can it be defined by other means? These are questions which I am still asking, and I'm excited that 'Calendar' has helped me to begin to answer."
A. Egoyan
it's a testament both to the astonishing power of film as a medium as well as to the talent of armenian-candaian director atom egoyan that the long shots of 'monumental' flocks of sheep in calendar (1993) are so affecting. egoyan's no-budget film about a woman (the devastating arsinée khanjian, egoyan's wife) who leaves her photographer-husband for their driver / guide on their trip to Armenia where they are photographing stunning churches (for a calendar) is bewitching.
the photographer obsessively plays back his video footage of the trip over and over trying to reconstruct his wife's falling for another man right in front of his lenses. in parallel he has a series of (mostly middle) eastern women (perhaps escorts) over to his place for what seem like auditions to replace his ex-wife.
as the photographer (played by atom) talks and questions over the video footage, he is at turns cold and distant then jealous, confounded and hurt. as we watch over the footage with him we realize the relationship is broken much earlier than he does, but we learn of her falling in love with the guide with and through the photographer (with some help from messages left on his answering machine by his wife). it surprised me. so much so that i re-watched the movie immediately looking for hints of the burgeoning relationship. the photographer's wife and the guide are on screen together for most of the film and yet their relationship struck me as secondary while initially watching.
familiar egoyan themes of loneliness, miscommunication and video-voyeurism appear with his very distinct 'cold' (chillingly so) and 'distant' approach that paradoxically produces deeply moving films.
haunting musical support from djivan gasparian.
seek this out.
