kagablog

review by helgé janssen

This film is based on the 2005 novel by Cormac McCarthy. The opening scenes of a vast and expansive American landscape silhouetted against dawn become a metaphor for the film: a gothic exploration of fascism, while throwing light on the desperate need for man to collectively wake-up. All the while, narration by the local sheriff, bemoans the fact that crime is becoming more and more violent….that crime is no longer what it used to be.

Central to the story is Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a hired assassin who ruthlessly pursues his prey with singular determination. This pursuit is tinged with fatalism rather than fanaticism. He is so much imbued with his raison d’être that he becomes the archetype of Evil. In the course of his detours in pursuit of his aim, he takes out whoever crosses his path….or not….relying on the toss of a coin (Fate) to excuse his distasteful link to compassion.

For him NOT TO KILL is nothing short of a denial of who he IS.

…This clear cut understanding of who he is, enables him to carry out his executions with a mixture of irked impatience and trigger happy fatality. So his victims plea of “you dont have to do this” becomes utterly meaningless to him. In this sense he sees himself as little more than the Grim Reaper who exhibits an unexpected morality: if YOU cross his path it could only be because YOU, like HIM, are TAINTED if not directly, then by association. He is simply the magnet.

This point is deftly proven in the scintillating scene between him and a remote candy store owner whom he discovers (through pointed cross-questioning) has married money - concluding that his marriage was motivated by greed.

…All the old men he encounters (hence the title?) are blatantly ‘asleep’ which he equates as being amoral: they are standing so close to evil, yet are completely oblivious to it, to HIM, and therefore disposable. It is in these scenes that the Coen brothers juxtapose and illuminate inner and outer realities so brilliantly and echo those fascinating scenes (though for obviously different reasons and within a totally despicable context) captured in Herzogs Nosferatu with the unforgettable Klaus Kinski. (The previous Nosferatu: a Symphony of Horror with Max Schreck was equally as charismatic.) Bardem is a worthy winner of best supporting actor and it is no mean feat to have crossed this divide from ancient to modern gothic so effectively yet stripped of all romanticism.

…Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is the welder and hunter who, in following up on a wounded prey while hunting, stumbles upon a drug deal that had gone horribly wrong. Dead bodies rotting unceremoniously. He realises there must be money somewhere, and with astonishing alacrity, locates it. It is of interest to mention Moss opening scene where he is taking aim at his prey, for this surely is yet another metaphor within the film that transcends similar scenes from other films: Moss lacks a true killers instinct for he wavers slightly and thus wounds the animal. It is this lack of a killers instinct …which inadvertently steers him towards the shootout and makes him no match for Chigurh. However, he has a certain amount of street savvy, and very soon discovers the radar sensor that enables Chigurh to track him so effortlessly, stacked inside the satchel of money.

But of course it is Chigurh himself who is the radar meter whose antennae are not going to be in the least bit phased by this hiccup in consciousness.

… Bell, a Texas sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) is duty bound to pursue justice and does so without the slightest zeal. When we encounter him through his opening narrative, he quite clearly feels overwhelmed by the persistent and ever changing face of evil. He is an honourable man but not extraordinary, and has pursued justice without personal motive - he is not driven by vendetta, by righteous vengeance or any of the characteristics that seem to have become the hallmark of so many characters in cop movies.

In the context of this film he is untainted and it is therefore telling that he and Chigurh never meet. However, this latest episode proves the last straw and he resigns. In the closing narrative he relates two disturbing dreams he had to his wife ending with “and then I woke up”. There is an immediate blackout and the film ends.

To me, the ordinariness of this closing statement, probably used by every person who has ever related a dream, throws the entire audience on the spot in a brilliant coup de grâce of film making.

And, according to the Coens, if I am not mistaken, it is within the beguiling veneer of ordinariness that many people disclaim any responsibility for their part in the woes of the world.

this review first published on helgé’s great website

To be ‘waylaid by whiteness’ is my term for the fixation of blacks on colonialism and imperialism. Is it time for not only blacks but all of us, to get over this. It will not go away, anymore than one could wish it never existed. This does not mean it should be ignored. Rather blacks should see ways forward within the core issues of development, rather than in ‘deconstruction’.

“Illegal to be black”? That is a very strange interpretation.

What does this mean|?

It means that we all (not only blacks) should focus on the constitution and how that constitution could be made a living reality in the lives of those black youths at the bottom of the social ladder. Surely this should have been the aim of the new government?

Instead it was about doing what apartheid did. Grabbing money where ever possible, riding round in 4 X 4’s, hanging on to cellphones, and looking more Afrikaner than Afrikaners. And of course corruption is rampant. What legacy is there in that? It is this that makes whites feel more empowered about their silly ‘superiority’ than anything else. So while there is corruption, the spectre of colonialism and imperialism will abound!

Phase one: I would like to suggest that the anc (because they are the overwhelming majority) use their youth league meetings to educate the youth on the true meaning of democracy. Malema being all bravado and loud mouthed, which may be emotively satisfying, does nothing for democracy, empowerment in the right sense, or deliverance. The only thing this does is empower a zulu/black chauvinism to rape, steal and grab whatever they can like impetuous children who feel they have lost out on a slice of the cake. (sad but true) Yet it is silly to expect the educator in the classroom to spearhead these democratic issues. The youth are not responding to the need for education via the school system. They seem to think this is a form of imperialist/colonialist indoctrination! (The Education Department must stop their rampant exploitation of educators if this issue is ever vaguely to be addressed!) It also astonishingly naive to expect a white educator still steeped in an apartheid mindset, to teach the history of apartheid effectively.
On the other hand expecting a black educator to teach the history of apartheid without a heavy bias is also naive!

Phase two. Real concerns from the youth need to be looked at fairly and squarely. i.e. nepotism, lack of delivery, and rampant spending of money that should be used to address these issues must be rooted out immediately. The youth must feel connected to a constructive desire to make them feel, and be relevant.

Phase three. In the same way that apartheid practitioners where given the golden handshake, these corrupt officials within government structures should be given the golden handshake. New, accountable and passionate leaders, well focused on serving rather than enriching, should take their place. Urgently!!

Blacks must overcome their victim mentality by hating whites (they know how to be despicable don’t they!) while trying to be like them. This is what eventually happens to them with that silly mindset. They must look at what is ‘beyond whiteness’ such as universal issues of democracy, human rights, accountability, transparency, structure, law and order, equitability, fairness, deliverance, inclusiveness. In fact everything enshrined within the constitution and to see a united nation beyond colour!

Apartheid kept this country so far behind, that when change came an overwhelming world mentality rushed in as well. Not only did apartheid stunt the growth of Afrikaners (they were too terrified to question anything least they discovered the awful truth) but it also stunted the growth of everybody (many whites have difficulty in accepting this because they were on a roll of exploitation) including blacks. This was but just one of their ‘determinations’. The need for blacks in leadership to suddenly make huge paradigm shifts from becoming involved in liberation (and many of these had a right wing mentality) to becoming democratic ambassadors, was a bit much to expect.

At the same time the world is suffering a crisis of mismanagement. We have global warming, and environmental issues which cannot be ignored either. Many blacks (and I am referring to my experiences in the classroom, feel that environmental issues are a ‘white’ problem!)

But now 15 years on, surely there can be no more excuse of teething problems? Surely it now time for a second purge?

The revolution therefore has to get its heart back in the right place. Not by being anti white or anti imperialist. But by getting back to sound values. Not on paper. But as a living reality. Nobody wants to see this country fail more than the apartheid practitioners. In this regard the ANC are doing very well. The ANC needs to catch a huge wake-up, but certainly not along the Malema lines. He represents nothing more than a knee jerk reaction.

So yes, in fact we do need an agenda. But it not going to come from those youths who are criminalised, and jump borders. They are just as out of control as those who should know better!

We cannot ignore history. But we can grow from its mistakes.

Well now….even if I have to say so myself….remember you saw it
here FIRST. Nowhere else. Not in any fashion magazine, not in any film show, not in any stage show, not anywhere else in the WORLD but right here! NOW.
the date: 06:10:09
You would think that even with something as simple as fashion, they would get it?

Right? Wrong!

Outside of that they just cannot think, or SEE, now can they?

I have never apologised for being ahead, and am not about to do that now!!

Why are the politicians, the press, the artists, the so-called-thinkers and ‘observers’ in this funny-sunny land of ours so numb-dumb to the harsh realities? Does NOBODY understand how the psyche of the post apartheid black youth in this country has been fed by a rampant lack of reparation and are responding with unbridled violence? The pre-election press has fed into the overwhelming popularity of Zuma by doing everything to denigrate him. Does this not send alarm bells ringing in the minds of those who are supposed to notice? Who have a voice of concern? Personally, I have never had a problem with Zuma, but I certainly have been disturbed at the way in which the media has fed his popularity. Is this ‘lack of seeing’ attributed to our mainstream societies’ complete refusal to accept the basic functionality of the psyche within the post apartheid ethos? Of course the psyche is not something new, but the intransigence within the mainstream media of accepting that the psyche is a concrete reality is close to becoming self destructive. The lack of willingness and inability of our police force to quash the rapes, the hijackings etc. has long since been sending alarm signals to any concerned South African. Yet it continues unabated. Yes, there is fantastic work being done by those within certain organisations to stem this tide of belligerence, if not within the police force itself, but I do not see that they are making any headway. The new education system with its fantastic new subject of Life Orientation is not succeeding in getting through to a culture of human rights. At a Life Orientation workshop earlier this year we were told that it was now up to the Educators to become the moral voice of the country - the churches had failed, the legal system had failed, the parents had failed. Given the sway of politicians and how easy it is to stir up a vastly uneducated and emotive youth for their own gains, how can the already overburdened Educator achieve anything? Surely this is a concern of ALL stake holders?

Now I ask you: What do you think releasing the Reitz Four is going to do to the youth in the townships? There is going to be at least 400,000 more youth feeling empowered to strengthen their sense of entitlement and continue their pillage of this country in spite of the high minded ideals of some fuzzy thinking minority. Sad, shocking, but true.

Somebody please tell me I am wrong.

pass

passed

waiting in the corridors
fighting in the minds of those
identifying with the work of our
fellows

then the strange came

then the swarm swarmed
the beehive money
for the taking

the quondam regime
being so despicable
made it easy to be immune
to assume entitlement
for laws of just settlement
were wavered
in the winds

of course change has come
the change to be like them
they fell into the trap
with arms wide open

had learnt the uncorrected things
to fit into the old flake shoes
also to stomp the path well ridden

they missed an opportunity golden
they thrashed the thing they loved
where money does buy love

is only to be human

nature

they just couldn’t rise above
the dis-ease of euphoria

this is their legacy as it now bends
whether they want to stone it or not

playing pool last night

a chick was angling for any one of the two guys

and was boasting at one point how good women were at multitasking

so he turned to her and said

‘then how come women can’t have sex with a headache?’

How glad I was to have been privileged to witness this event even though circumstance conspired against me to get there on time!! In spite of the fact that the programme was curtailed (poor audience response/turnout?) it was never-the-less an inspiring evening.

Mantombi Matotiyana now about 70 years old, is one of two last surviving bow players (the other being Madonsini) in South Africa. Mantombi started playing the bow when she was four years old and the tradition appears to have died out due to lack of interest from the youth. The extraordinary lightness of her instrument was the first contrasting feature of this project that hit this viewer/listener like a ton of bricks! It is so luminous and airy, so exceptional in tone and resonance, and so much of the earth, the playing of it so organic and effortless, that one immediately feels weightless. Mantombi’s voice is so perfectly pitched, the intonation clear and ‘perceptive’, the cadence so well honed and deceptively simple, the synergy between the repetitive sound and voice so much in intricate harmony and toned nuance. Aurally healing: penetrating pores, a balm for the skin, a tonic for the soul.

While soaring to extraordinary heights, she sinks deep deep into the earth.

As above, so below.

It was fascinating then, to experience what for me was ultimately a striking spiritual distinction, laterally, across a cultural spectrum: a juxtaposition of aligned worlds continents apart yet demonstrating the equality and quality of value of culture and cultures that span this spectrum.

The undoubted expertise and virtuosity of the Nightingale String Quartet (Denmark) aside, I was struck and mesmerised by the comparative physical harshness, tautness and ‘bovver bootness’ of the violins, the viola and the cello. The complexity and intricateness of the basic construction of these instruments which I had previously seen as ‘refined’ suddenly took on a new dynamic compared to the uhadi bow. The angles of attack of the performers bows towards their stringed instruments and possible differences of resonance that each individual player manifested took on a new dimension. At some point in one of the final pieces of the evening (Blakes String Quartet No. 3 (Nofinishi) 2009) it suddenly felt as if I was listening simultaneously to each musician separately! It was an astonishing experience and I wondered if this was somehow intricately wound round, into and from the presence of Mantombi - she certainly responded with her arms and body! Four individuals bound together by an entangled weaving of musical notes contributing along a time-stream of precision and fluidity. And this was where the second ‘magic’ of the evening took on a zest all of its own!

As next to, so along.

And I think I suddenly understood the Bow Project!

(The taxis in Durban are shocking and with 2010 just around the corner I foresee a huge transport problem emerging. I eventually had to walk.)

light
helge
www.helge.co.za

inside a tightrope pulling
outside an overhang gripping
between a violent grinning
above a nailhead crashing
below a distant bell knelling

felling culling ripping thrashing
i’m nothing left
than phoenix rising

it must be

a christian thing

do whatever you like

repent on sunday

then repeat

so nice!

christianity works with guilt

by encouraging it

then to counteract that

apply punishment

we live in a guilt-ridden punishment-orientated society

and the only answer to that

is alcohol and drugs

i don’t see it changing

homophobia of course is the worst solution to sexuality - it is a scourge which runs riot with emotional knee jerk reactions: it volatility often leading to explosive acts of murder and brutality against the gay person. Emotions can never be controlled to the extent that the homophobe wishes it could be - it will always spring out in unexpected places and fester as a terrible wound. Denial rummages through the emotional landscape like a scavenger dog eating anything to stave off the hunger which can never be sated……..and the chauvinism that goes with it is just that much more taut.

virtually every queen i have ever met (with very few exceptions)
has been utterly stereotyped and conservative
insistent on behaving with clearly defined mannerisms and euphemisms
terrified of ‘how to do the right thing’
as much as they think they are getting/want to get out of the box
they slide right into it
it is THIS that I find ‘unnatural’
not what they wear or do with their dicks etc.
like the feminists (or lumberjacks for that matter!) they feel they have to ‘uphold’ some unnamed identity
and I no longer hold any interest in these issues
as they have revealed themselves to be very ordinary
the subject therefore becomes tedious in the sense that ‘queerdom’ seems
to be more a rite of passage if it is to make any sense.
for those for whom this is an end in itself they have sadly painted themselves into a corner. so good luck to them….

and then of course we have ordinary homosexuals who seem to think they are terribly interesting because they are gay

not only that

this also seems to mean they are cultured, artistic, intelligent, etc…..

again just plain boring..

i say all this of course not to undermine some serious psychological issues facing gay people
but to try an expose what
by and large has become a very very static way of life…..

sadly many parents and teachers would rather have children being homophobic
than dealing with sexual identity issues
and in durban in particular this becomes a rampant closet issue
some women here are slowly beginning to realise that they are being used as a cover
by their boyfriends….

but

this does not detract from the fact that homosexuality generally is still very misunderstood/feared…..
there is still so much undercurrent of abuse by our largely chauvinist society
and people still need to grasp that homosexuality, like heterosexuality is an

EMOTIONAL issue

not a SEXUAL issue although of course one aspect of emotion is to express itself sexually

and this is a basic human need - if not a right!

but i have always found the need for a sex change to be a sad inability to cope with one’s physical being and in many instances a sex change (male to female) represents a complete negation of masculinity - removal of penis and testicles. i have immense difficulty with the notion of a female being born in a man’s body….and this is a vexing psychological issue for which i do not have any answers….but it is interesting to note that many sex changes end up lesbian… the rejection of the penis is complete!!!

and i find many of these issues overridden with its own form of chauvinism

but the underlying obsession with chauvinism confounds the need to relate laterally, equally

non abusively!!

and how many relationships end up in abuse?

I have also often found that these issues are MAGNIFIED by queens in some bizarre way

the general public do that rocky horror thing here as well,

it has become truly embedded in the everyday

which underlines (possibly) the recurring need to explore sexuality?

exploring sexuality as i see it is a healthy dynamic that allows one to step outside of sexual identity crisis syndrome (SICS)

and attempt to relate beyond the borders of the everyday…

this of course is not for everyone….

and the beguiling rocky horror picture show seems to give people

permission

these are the play pieces

hi

the marabaraba project has been a resounding success with the learners taking to it like a duck to water

I suspect this must be a first for South Africa…..!!!

I had to paint the board in my spare time because

I could not use the learners as my timetable this year was too hectic!!

I moved across to Brettonwood today…..too chaotic….

but a new chapter whatever….

www.helge.co.za

ulton learners enjoying the game

nobody can see
it
nobody can see
light

they only see
shadow
forming
illusion

this their meter
their
undeniable
fact

first published in take that you cad #1, durban, 1981

every queen i have ever met has been utterly stereotyped and conservative

terrified of ‘how to do the right thing’

as much as they think they are getting/want to get out of the box

they slide right into it

it is THIS that I find ‘unnatural’

not what they wear or do with their dicks

like the feminists etc. they feel they have to ‘uphold’ some unnamed identity

and I no longer hold any interest in these issues

but

this does not detract from the fact that homosexuality generally is still very misunderstood/feared

there is still so much undercurrent of abuse by our largely chauvinist society

but people still need to grasp that homosexuality, like heterosexuality is an

EMOTIONAL issue

not a SEXUAL issue although of course one aspect of emotion is to express itself sexually

and this is a basic human need - if not a right!

but the underlying obsession with chauvinism confounds the need to relate laterally, equally

non abusively!!

and how many relationships end up in abuse?

I have also often found that these issues are MAGNIFIED by queens in some bizarre way

helgé was mario’s matric art teacher

it surrounds him like an urgent appointment
warms him like a moment to be memorised
riles him like a fire that won’t ignite
and while he gives it no name
it remains within him
an impassable dream
a desire, a curse
ever magnetic, ever further -
sublimated to the unconscious
relegated to the non negotiable
opening up in him somebody’s phantom taboo
which hovers, comes in for the kill -
stagnates him.

giselle stafford and helgé janssen, durban, 1982