kagablog

Anna, Grace and SELENE represent three aspects of the ANIMA and centrally the ANIMA is personified as DIANA the Roman Goddess.

Diana in fact means Goddess.

Diana: Roman Goddess of Light, Moon Goddess, Queen of Heaven, Lunar Virgin (note that to the Romans, “virgin” meant a woman who had never been married or pregnant, not a woman who had never had sex), Goddess of Wildwood, Divine Huntress, Protector of Animals, Lady of Beasts.

Kaganof is not questioning the moral (social) standing of these women as prostitutes. And yet, while presenting them within a narrowly defined context he nudges the viewer to look behind the facade:

“This is Grace….she thinks she’s a man…..”

“I’m not a woman, I’m a cat…..”

“This is Anna, my favourite Sugar….”

If anything (in this film and possibly for Kaganof generally) prostitutes represent an extracted poetic link to a vital Dionysian energy which gains strength through not only a belief in its own inherent dynamic prowess, but also from the empowering results of its actions. This aesthetic approach reverberates within the psychosexual/cosmogonic role that prostitutes have performed in our society at large: the oldest profession in the world.

As such these three character portrayals represent an authentic dynasty which resonates and refocuses female mythology. SELENE is the Moon Goddess and Grace the Warrior Goddess. Anna represents the Lunar Virgin aspect of Diana.

Both Leigh Graves as Grace and Deja Bernhardt as SELENE meet the challenge of representing these underlying mythologies with performances that are nothing short of a tour de force. Further, it is the chemistry of these two women that drive and magnify the narrative inexorably, enhancing their on-screen presence and thereby the depth and import of SMS Sugar Man, the film. It is Deja who perfectly captures the poetic power of Kaganof’s text, and Leigh who perfectly demonstrates the many sides of Diana: vixen, goddess, protector, man hater. In this sense it could be argued that Leigh’s role is the more challenging of the two. However, the roles are so perfectly counterbalanced, so equal in gravitas, that this distinction would become a meaningless exercise. It is fitting and exactly correct that they should express their ‘oneness’ in a hedonistic surge of erotic (never pornographic!!) sexual abandonment. This scene ramifies deep with the echelons of goddess mythology and is absolutely true to its cosmology within a thoroughly modern context: hence the appearance of Anna within the layering collage of the filmography within this scenario. They all stem from the same archetype, and as such they demonstrate the unifying power of their ‘single-mindedness’ which stands in direct contrast to Sugar Man’s dissolution.

The power of this scene is further enhanced by the Tuxedomoon penned track “In a manner of speaking”, here presented with the poignant Nouvelle Vague cover version.

For further enlightening input on the role of DIANA go to:

www.covenofthegoddess.com

p.s.: I find it a little disturbing (sometimes) as to how far one needs to ‘explain’ things in a South African context because all too often one is surprised at how ‘impressed’ South Africans are, and how beguiled they are of surface reality - a condition possibly more evident in Durban than other parts of the country??

Perhaps this is all just another layer in the destruction that has been wrought by apartheid where people obtained an education without having to be intelligent and who now (sadly) occupy positions in our society where they feel threatened by (and therefore block) anything they cannot understand?

I therefore find it necessary to state that in my opinion Kaganof is not ‘using’ mythology as in ‘name dropping’. If anything Kaganof is doing the opposite: he is ‘using’ surface reality to unveil (trigger) undercurrents of meaning, the pursuit of which is not absolutely essential to the enjoyment of film itself, but which is there never-the-less for those who wish to delve deeper. It is this deeper reality which makes the film an extremely satisfying one and which is sustained at every level of analysis. I feel completely the opposite about the disastrously titled film by del Toro “Pan’s Labyrinth” (please refer to my review on my site under ‘reviews’ - the Devil’s Labyrinth) where a deeper analysis defies logic and one is only left with the veneer of a ‘beautifully costumed’ film.

The more I delve into SMS Sugar Man the more it becomes evident that this film is possibly Kaganof’s magnum opus.

this review first appeared on helge’s website