Film: Le Cercle Rouge (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970)

(video source nwatts88)

Uri Klein, the film critic of Ha’Aretz chose to open yesterday his short presentation of Jean-Pierre Melville‘s Le Circle Rouge (The Red Circle) with a short appearance of the director in Godard‘s Au Bout de Souffle. Melville is in this sequence Parvulesco, an exiled Romanian writer, answering in the Orly airport to questions posed by journalists among which young and beautiful Patricia (Jean Seaberg). We see him as maybe he was in real life, detached, amused, preoccupied more by the pleasures of life and by women than by existential questions, a little bit like a visitor playing a role of observer of the world around.

(video source francoisXIV)

Melville whom we can see in a real interview in the sequence above talking in 1970 about his fascination for cinema was indeed a strange appearance in the landscape of the French cinema. Born in a Jewish family he got his first camera at the age of six. He fought in the Resistance and the period of the war was one of the two big themes of his cinema.  The other one were his gangster movies, which included the classic Le Samourai, maybe Alain Delon‘s best role, film which inspired Gost Dog, the film I love most in Jim Jarmusch’s cinema until now. Melvilled died at a relative young age, and left only 12 movies, but many of these were exquisite. He brought to the French cinema the shady and ambiguous atmosphere of the great American thrillers of the 40s and 50s, bringing the gangster movies at the same level as the traditional French art cinema. He led a lonely life, he at some point in time he bought a studio in which he not only made films but he also lived, film-making being not only his profession, but also his way of life and his permanent obsession.

source www.imdb.com

Le Cercle Rouge is a typical story for Melville’s cinema. His characters are gangsters and policemen, who while fighting the eternal wars one against the other share the same behavior and honor code, with rules of themselves, rules out of the books of rules, rules which do not request many words to be explained and followed. They also share the same dressing code, wearing the same trench-coats borrowed from the requisite of  Humphrey Bogart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAWnRWlhhRA

(video source ceer)

Le Cercle Rouge brings to screen one of the exquisite teams of actors that could be gathered in a French film at that time. Alain Delon is in his natural element in the role of the gangster Corey, who just released from jail is dragged in a sophisticated jewelry theft. Delon is paired with Gian Maria Volonte who is in this film Vogel, the gangster on the run, whom Corey will recognize and who he will recognize as a fellow that destiny decided to meet together on the Red Circle (a Buddhist concept all invented by Melville for people that fate decides to put on the same track). They say that Volonte did not really cope well with the freedom that Melville used to give to his actors, I do not know if this is true, but nothing is to be seen on screen, and the Italian actor fits perfectly in the dynamics and relations of the film. Yves Montand completes the trio on the bad side of the law with a role which is smaller in words and screen time, but extremely exact and with a performance to remember. It is in the role of the cop that Melville made his most daring casting, selecting one of the greatest comic actors of France ever – Bourvil – in a completely dramatic role. This role was even more memorable taking into account that this was the last in his career.

(video source pipeoxide)

Le Cercle Rouge is a well told story which survives well the four decades since its making due to the consistent art of the director, and to the remarkable acting of its stars, who meld well into the film, playing their characters and not themselves. At a time when the American genres like the westerns and the gangster movies were making their way into the European cinema, Melville and his film are almost typical examples of the moment. A few years later it was the European art cinema which made its way back refreshing the themes and the genres in Hollywood. The dialog between the two cinema schools continues, to the delight of the film fans from all over.

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Film: Le Concert (Radu Mihaileanu, 2009)

This is the first film of Radu Mihaileanu that really did it to me. It is moving, I resonated with the subject, I laughed when it was funny and I was close to tears when it meant to be emotional. Yet, as his previous films, it is not a masterpiece just a good film to remember. Which is no small matter either.

source www.imdb.com

Mihaileanu’s previous films were each of them based on original and different ideas. in each of those the ideas hold above the execution. Train de vie was one of the first films to deal with Holocaust from a comic perspective, and maybe the most interesting idea of all, better even as Begnini’s maybe. Les pygmees de Carlo dealt with the communication between cultures in an unusual way.  Vas, viens, et deviens is the only movie until now to deal with the Ethiopian immigration to Israel. Here, in ‘Le Concert’ two main ideas dominate the action. One is about the new culture of vulgarity and mediocrity that dominates the life after the fall of the Communism. The main hero (wonderfully acted by Aleksei Gluskov) is a great conductor. His life and career were broken during the Communist rule for having opposed the regime of Brezhnev. Yet, the change of the social order did not put him back in place, as the collaborators of the old regime and the new oligarchs took the place of the rulers, siding the real values.  The second idea is that music redeems, transcends politics, and is worth any risks and sacrifices.

(video source OptimumReleasing)

‘Le Concert’ is correspondingly divided into two parts. The first one is a brilliant comedy, one of the best that I have seen lately. It is based on stereotypes one may argue, the stereotype of the Russians and French, of the Jews and Gypsies, of musicians and impresarios, Communists and oligarchs, but in these case they work, and the result is true and funny. The Russian orchestra of former musicians, sided away by the new times makes it to Paris under the label of the Bolshoi to give the concert of their lives, the proof that Tchaikovsky, and Russian music, and value are still there despite all. Then the second part begins, the one in which all becomes personal, with a seemingly love story which turns to be something completely different, a much more dramatic story in which music is not only revenge but also personal redemption, is not only survival but also coming from beyond the graves of a tragic history.

(video source port375)

(video source port375)

This is were the strength and the weakness of Radu Mihaileanu’s art meet. All the film converges to the final scene, the one of the concert in Paris, we know it from the beginning. All the explanation will be present in that scene, and this is the bet and the risk of any music film in the history of cinema. The result is only a partial win. Tchaikovsky’s Concerto for Violin provides the appropriate background, and the emotional result is immediate. The doubts start after the screening ends. The situation is certainly less than credible, from an intrigue and musical point of view. Mihaileanu’s execution is too direct, he plays too much on short term emotions, tears are too apparent. He has huge ideas, and one day he may turn them into one or more great movies. ‘Le Concert’ is too explicit, it lacks the patience and the sophistication to be that one .

More about the film at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1320082/.

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In the Heart of Europe / 1 – The City of Maastricht

The 78th meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force was hold in the heart of Europe – in the city of Maastricht, the Netherlands.

the IETF at the MECC

The venue of the meeting was The Maastricht Exhibition & Congress Center (MECC) not far from the place where in 1992 the treaty that defined the European Union and the creation of the Euro currency was signed. The location is a little remote from the center of the city, but frankly speaking the 20 to 30 minutes walk at night after dinner from the center to the nearby hotels did us just good, and the free pass that was granted to the IETF participants on buses during the week helped the lazy ones.

one shore of the Maas ...

The name of the city derives from the Maas (Meuse) river that crosses the city. The place is inhabited at least from the times of the Romans.

... and the other

The history of the city includes several interesting episodes. Good chances are that you have read about it during your childhood if you have read Alexandre Dumas’ novels. The death of d’Artagnan – the hero made immortal by Dumas happened during the siege of Maastricht by Louis XIV’s armies. The story is told in Dumas’ novel The Vicomte of Bragelonne.

the city seen from above ...

The city has many beautiful churches and at least two of them are outstanding. I will tell more about them and also bring up some pictures in one of the coming episodes.

... and down in the streets, at day ...

I love wandering on the streets of European cities like Maastricht.

... and at night

They are beautiful at day and at night.

terraces in the Vrijthof square

The week I spent in Maastricht was a pleasant summer week, following a wave of heat which had made the atmosphere challenging they week before (as we were told). The few showers were short and just cleaned the air. We could spent some of the evening dinners on terraces like the one in the Vrijthof square …

the Town Hall in Markt Square

… or the ones in the Markt Square.

a city of statues

Adding beauty to the picturesque streets are the statues that can be found in Maastricht at the crossroads or even on the sides of the streets. Most of them are not big in dimensions, in many cases at human sizes and proportions allowing for an feeling of intimacy and belonging to be established between the statues and the street walker.

Johannes Petrus Minckelers

One of the few that look at visitors from a pedestal is the statue in Markt Square of Johannes Petrus Minckelers, the inventor of the illuminating gas, who holds an eternal flame in his hand reminding all about his invention.

bycicles, bycicles

As in many other places in the Netherlands bicycles are a preferred means of transport. Locals are bicycling to work, to recreation, or to their commuting train stations.

the police orchestra plays for the IETF

The social event is the one moment of recreation that happens on Tuesdays of the IETF meetings allowing for a change of atmosphere and pace for the big heads who build and run the Internet.

rocking the boat at the IETF Social

The social at this meeting was organized on the boats near the river (who are used during the day for the tourist rides on the Maas). We had fanfare music, we had rock music played from the high deck of the boats, we had even tribal drums by the end. Food, wine and especially beer ran free, but beer will be the subject of a dedicated later episode.

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Film: Zohi Sdom (Israel – 2010)

‘Zohi Sdom’ which is translation means ‘That’s Sodom’ deliberately places itself at the intersection between the very popular Israeli TV show ‘Eretz Neederet’ (Wonderful Country) and the big screen British Monty Python movies of historical and Biblical inspiration. The Israeli weekly shows are a local version of ‘Saturday Night Live’ bringing at their best some of the sharpest political, social and typological satire in a country that provides endless sources of humor and badly needs laughs to cope with a myriad of problems and conflicts that seem to be unsolvable other than in a comical fantasy. A permanent team of actors usually play all the roles in the show, in a collection of sketchers interleaved with permanent features, which were abandoned here, as was the newsreel format in the favor of the Biblical story parody. The British show was starting with the end of the 60s the source of inspiration of all other comical and satirical TV series all over the world (including the American SNL) and also pioneered the transcription to the wide screen with anthology successes that seldom have been equaled by other similar shows world-wide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ0xVAx1eQQ

(video source rsaker14)

The too close following of the sources of inspiration may be the cause for which the big screen movie does not really work. Although the idea is quite cool (the TV anchor in the original show is a cynical God attracting patriarch Abraham into the trap of the Holy Contract while preparing the destruction of the sin city of Sodom) and the story works better that you would expect, there are many laughs during the screening, but none is hysterical. The TV stars do in the movie of the same that they do in the TV show, just the screen is bigger, and some of them do not look as well on the big screen as in the TV box (the otherwise beautiful and talented Alma Zack for example, or Orna Banai who gets a very insignificant role and little screen time). Best are the street scenes depicting the life in Sodom, and here the references to reality nowadays work well. However, the exaggerated adherence to the Monty Python formula (including the insertion of music and dances) provide a (maybe unintended) air of detachment and diminish the acuity of the social and political comments which make the original show interesting for the majority of its viewers.

Released at the pick of the summer season ‘Zohi Sdom’ will certainly be a huge hit in Israel this year. I am less convinced that it will survive as an outstanding movie beyond this summer.

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Geneva fara minarete

Am avut ieri cateva ore libere pentru cutreierat prin Geneva. Am inclus o vizita la libraria Payot (prima intr-o librarie de carte in limba franceza in ultimii doi sau trei ani) si o scurta trecere prin muzeul de arta si historie la care nu reusisem sa ajung in vizitele anterioare.

Geneva mi s-a parut intotdeauna (din perspectiva vizitatorului grabit si superficial desigur) un oras mai putin elvetian si mai mult gazda a sediilor diferitelor organizatii internationale si dormitor pentru slujbasii lor si slujbasii slujbasilor lor. Doar limbile vorbite pe strada sau in tranvaie par sa se schimbe. Franceza ramane una dintre limbile vorbite in Geneva, dar din ce in ce mai mult i se adauga chineza – proportia de chinezi pare sa fi crescut enorm, si nu este vorba numai de muncitori, ci (mai ales) de oameni de afaceri sau poate functionari internationali. Fizionomiile de pe strada sunt de toate rasele si culorile, si daca par sa fie ‘europeeni’ sanse bune sunt ca sa ii auzi vorbind ruseste.

Sediul organiatiei internationale care se ocupa de standardizarea comunicatiilor se afla in zona in care in anii 20-30 ai secolului trecut se afla Liga Natiunilor si Crucea Rosie internationala isi are pana astazi sediul. In vecinatate se afla dintotdeauna un sediu al organizatiei internationale a refugiatilor, acum a rasarit si un lagar de ceea ce in Israel numim ‘caravile’ – caravane dotate cu un nivel decent de confort – asta la 200 de metri de Place des Nations! Refugiatii care le locuiesc sunt africani, poate somalezi sau sudanezi.


Faimoasa promenada de la marginea lacului, cu hotelurile celebre si de mare lux si traditie, cu balustrada, felinarele si vederea spre lac si fantana emblema a Genevei este napadita de un fel de balci ambulant, cu zeci de corturi si tarabe de vandut bazaconii si distrat copiii in vacanta. O fi si asta un semn al diversitatii culturale.


Minarete desigur ca nu am vazut. Poporul elvetian a decis ca nu le doreste in cadrul unui mult discutat referendum. Am vazut in schimb turlele aurite ale unei biserici rusesti, sclipind in soarele verii, in plin centru istoric, vis-a-vis de muzeul de arta si istorie al orasului (care isi sarbatoreste doua secole de existenta si care pe placa de marmora il include pe Napoleon I drept unul dintre binefacatori). Despre muzeu insa poate alta data.

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dr. Gica Manescu – Reparatorul

Aduc cu placere si cu multumiri o noua contributie a prietenului meu din Bat-Yam, doctorul Gica Manescu.

Pentru cei care intreaba, ma aflu intr-o calatorie profesionala la Maastricht si Geneva si din aceasta cauza nu am avut timp sa scriu pe blog in ultima saptamana si nu voi avea timp probabil nici in saptamana care urmeaza. Sper sa reintru in ritmul ‘normal’ in jur de 4-5 august.

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‘Ticuncic’ este expresia scoasa candva de cineva, pentru cineva, care stie de toate.Este “Reparatorul “.Nu e instalatorul,  sau electricianul. Este persoana multitalentata si multistiutoare, care soseste fara amanari si zile de asteptare. Locuieste prin apropierea Bat  Yam-ului,  la Hulon. E si modest la pretz. Un prieten bun , mi l-a recomandat, cunoscandu-se de 30 ani . E Beny.  Aveam un  necaz cu un arc de la patul din dormitor, cu lada care nu se inchidea bine. Beny mi-a telefonat, i-am dat adresa s-a suit in masina, dupa lucru, si a venit. Un barbat de vreo 60 ani, simpatic, alura frumoasa, maini puternice.

(source  weirdworldblog.blogspot.com)

S-a uitat, a examinat situatia si a coborat la masina parcata in strada, sa isi ia niste unelte. Revenind, a ridicat, a miscat, s-a intins pe podea. Facea parca o echilibristica. A batut, a intors, a sucit si a rezolvat. Multzumit el,si  eu am ramas fara cuvinte. Dar mi-am revenit, si la revedrre, pentru nevoi. N-a trecut multa vreme, si ingrijitoarea mea pentru curatzenie, ma cheama sa-mi spuna si arate ca aspiratortul nu mai functzioneaza. Adica nu mai absoarbe ce era pe covoare. Un telefon lui Beny. Nu stia si trebuia sa plece  la atelierul respectiv. A plecat in afara de Hulon, la Azur  si specialistii au constatat ca trebuiau filtre noi. Le vor pune, costa atata ( nici nu era ceva scump) si sa vina dupa doua zile. S-a dus, a platit si a venit, cu factura. I-am platit drumurile si ce era pe nota de plata. Cine putea sa-mi faca mie serviciul asta?  Imi vine sa cred ca nimeni, dintre cunoscutzi. Iar eu,imposibil. Nu de mult imi facuse un specialist pentru usile special de intrare in apartament, o reparatzie, si a zgaltait putzin usa, care s-a deplasat probabil cu catziva mm, din balamaua de sus. Nu mai puteam inchide cu broasca speciala, din  partea de sus. Specialistul ,un smecher, mi-a cerut 280 NIS. Am lasat-o balta. Incuiam numai partea de jos. Ce cauta hotzii, nu am in apartament. Nici bijuterii, nici monede de aur, nici rezerve de Euro sau dolari. Doar sekeli, si nu multzi. E aproape automatul, Bankomat-ul, cum se spune.  Aveam greutati de a misca masina de spalat rufe, pe placile terasei, unde e locul ei.In afara de asta,desi o fixam, la viteza mare in rotirea tamburuluui, o pornea intr-o parte. Credeam ca o placa de pe podea, nu sta bine si trebuie aranjata. A venit unul sa repare. A intors masina, dar era vorba de o rotitza, ne fixata bine sau defecta. Nu  a luat nimic, era un vecin care se ocupa cu lucrari de constructie. Stia dn trecut, ca la mine nu face munca pe gratis.Telefon lui Beny. I-am explicat pentru ce trebuie sa vina. Din auto  a adus un ciocan puternic, s-a uitat la broasca,si a batut balamalele, cand in jos, cand in sus, iar o ochire la broasca si dupa 4 minute, gata. La masina de spalat, dupa ce a intors-o, a bagat mana la rotzi, a sucit si invartit, si nu mai aluneca.Am facut proba, spaland. Sta fixa si n-am de ce s-o misc. El luase o suma derizorie. Vreau sa sper, ca nu va trebui sa-I chem in curand. Dar stiu ca nu numai eu am imbatranit.Ne-am despartzit cu                                                                 

     Shabat shalom, ca era vineri dimineatza.

                                              ___________

Dr.G. Manescu

Iulie 2010                                                                

__._,_.___

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Otto Dix (again) and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Browsing on YouTube after I have seen a documentary on the two faced paintings of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner I discovered this film that catches the war lithographs and more works of Otto Dix inspired by his trauma during and after the First World war.

(video source artpopulus)

The series ‘War’ was part of the exhibition at the Neue Gallerie in New York that I wrote on the blog about a couple of months ago. In this video we get some more of the works in which Dix saw a way of putting behind him the experiences of the war, in order to open what will become the most proliphic period of his career in the 20s years of the last century.

Kirchner reaction to war was different. He found refuge in Switzerland, abandoned his style and themes inspired from the Bohemian life of pre-war Berlin and Dresden and started to exorcise himself by painting landscapes and sliding into morphine addiction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPky4e7_NXY

(video source lucilleetjeanne)

The two German painters will share the ‘honor’ to be included later in the category of authors of degenerated art by the Nazi regime.

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The Maltese Week / 17 – Mdina and Rabat

The last episode of the Maltese travel notes is dedicated to the former capital of Malta – Mdina and the adjoining village of Rabat. We visited them in our last full day on the island.

the old city of Mdina

Mdina was populated as early as the year 700 BC and may have been founded by the Phoenicians. It was the capital of the island until after the Grand Siege, when the knights moved their principal institutions in the fortified city of Valletta.

Mdina Main Gate

The city today has no more than 300 inhabitants, but the surrounding Rabat has a population of 11,000. The entrance to the city is made through a spectacular gate, more beautiful than the access gate in Valletta.

in the streets of the old city of Mdina

The old city offers the traditional views of narrow streets in former medieval city. A tourist accustomed with the old city of Jerusalem will not feel displaced here at all.

knights are still walking the streets

There is a lot of tourist exploitation going on in the old city. Photo opportunities with armored knights is one of them.

St. Paul's Cathedral

The most important building in the city is the imposing Cathedral of the Conversion of Saint Paul. Saint Paul is the patron of Malta. Arrested in Jerusalem in the year 60 for preaching the new Christian faith through the Eastern part of the Roman empire he was sent to trial to Rome, but on its way to the capital of the world at that time the ship was wrecked and Paul saved himself on the island, living according to the legend in a grotto in Rabat. He converted the governor and thus introduced Christianity to the island, but later was captured again and sent to Rome to be killed during the reign of Nero.

interior of the St. Paul's cathedral

The current impressing building was built in Baroque style by the end of the 17th century, after an earthquake destroyed a previous church built by the Normans on the same place. Here took place the inauguration ceremonies of the Grand Masters of the knights Order of Saint John.

floor of the St. Paul Cathedral

We had the last opportunity to admire here the tombs on the floor of the cathedral, specific to the religious art of Malta.

dome of Saint Paul's Cathedral

The decoration of the church is due to a large extent to the Calabrese painter Mattia Preti, among other beautiful frescoes depicting episodes from the life of Saint Paul.

Madonna and Child icon (13th century)

An old icon of Madonna and Child is one of the beautiful objects of art saved from the previous church destroyed in the quake.

Mosaic in the Roman Domus

another Mosaic in the Roman Domus

Out of the city of Mdina we visited the principal objectives in Rabat, the adjoining village. One of them is the Roman Domus, actually a 20th century reconstruction of a Roman villa, hosting a beautiful museum on the ruins of a 1st century townhouse built during the Roman epoch. The mosaics are exquisite, with both decorative motives as well as figurative symbolic representations.

statue of Claudius - Roman Domus

Among the statues a splendid statue of emperor Claudius.

theatrical masks - Roman Domus

Theatrical masks remind one of the favorite pastimes of the Roman inhabitants of the place.

Saint Paul's Catacombs

Saint Paul's Catacombs - 2

One almost mandatory stop in Rabat are the Roman catacombs, named somehow inaccurately Saint Paul Catacombs. They do not have too much with Saint Paul, in reality they were the burial places of the city of Mdina for a few centuries, as Roman law forbid burial inside the city. Today they are well within the streets of Rabat, but then they were safely remote from the walls of Mdina.  The underground labyrinth of corridors and burial chambers may have some macabre fascination, but it’s not my preferred kind of visiting objective.

the train does not come today

We did not miss the touristic minicar train ride of the city, which took us around the whole Mdina and Rabat and allowed us a few spectacular photo angles. One of the interesting objectives was the deserted train station. There is no train service today in Malta, and no need for one on an island whose diameter is 40 or 50 kilometers at most. Yet the British tried to build one during their rule, but it proved to be totally uneconomic and was abandoned after the second world was.

That was our last day in Malta. Early next morning Mr. David, the hotel driver took us back to the airport, to start our way home via Athens. It was the end of a visit in an interesting place, very much worth visiting once, probably not more than once.

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dr. Gica Manescu – Semn de Carte

O noua contributie a doctorului Gica Manescu ne aduce de aceasta data o emotionanta marturie personala si o ocazie de a-l cunoaste mai bine pe acest minunat prieten si coleg de liste internetice, tanar in spirit si totdeauna dornic de comunicare si de impartasirea amintirilor si trairilor vietii sale.

sursa teosimhouseart.blogspot.com

Nu de azi, de ieri,imi place sa citesc. La Biblioteca oraseneasca de langa mall, am gasit si gasesc multe romane, istorie, povestiri, de diversi autori, in limba originala sau traduceri. In rafturi se gasesc cartzi in ebraica, pentru adultzi si copii, in franceza, engleza si de catva timp, in ruseste.

Era intr-o zi de joi si teminasem ultima din cele trei cartzi, la care am dreptul ,o luna, daca nu prelungesc. Cum zilele ce urmau trebuia sa ma duc acolo, apoi vineri si sambata e inchis,le-am pus de o parte si am pus semnul de carte, intr-un volum imprumutat de un prieten. Dupa cateva zile, am venit acasa cu 3 volume noi. Am intrerupt cartea pe care o citeam, si am pus semnul. Nu era ceva de uitat inceputul. Ce semn de carte voi folosi  acum? Stiam ca am undeva, unul de carton, primit de la o librarie. Deschizand un sertar, intr-un coltz,  am dat de cel folosit al sotziei mele, Paula,decedata in urma cu aproape 3 ani. Surpriza, bucurie, amintiri. In 1969, proiectam in septembrie,un concediu in Israel. Eram in corespondenta cu Paula si sotzul ei, Puiu, medic stomatolog. Ne-au invitat sa locuim la ei. Cand am stiut data plecarii, primitul pasapoartelor se facea fara dificultati si repede, i-am anuntzat, stiind ca fiul lor, student la Politehnica din Haifa, era concentrat  la armata, pentru o luna.Ei erau cei mai buni prieteni ai nostri. Beatrice, prima mea tovarase de viatza ( din 41 pana in 85) se cunostea cu Paula de la varsta de 10 ani. Ambele erau eleve la Notre Dame . Eu am cunoscut-o in 37, odata cu altzi adolescentzi, fete si baietzi, care veneau la Beatrice si in cercul carora, intamplator, m-am alaturat. Pe Puiu, l-am cunoscut mai tarziu   -1939- cand “ se tzinea” de Paula ,ca mine din 38, de Beatrice. Dar nici domnisoarelor nu le-a displacut. Ne-am casatorit in 1941, noi in aprilie, ei in  iunie. A venit urgia, pogromul din Iasi, ( tatal Paulei ,decedat in “trenul mortzii ) si vietzile noastre s-au despartit, pana dupa razboi. Ei  la familie la Craiova, noi, la Focsani. In 45, ne-am reintalnit in Bucuresti. Am fost mereu unii cu altzii, si mai apoi in concedii, si cu baietzii nostri. Fiecare cuplu cu cate un copil. Si asa a ramas. In 1962, ei au emigrat in Israel si i–am condus la gara. Ne unea corespondenta. Banalitati si povestiri anoste. Stiam unii de ceilalti. Am sosit in Israel, intr-o seara placuta si asteptati la gardul de despartzire. Ne-am revazut si imbratzisat cu caldura prieteniei vechi.  Locuiau in  Bat Yam , intr-unul  din blocurile pentru noi veniti. Erau multzi “ romani “ in vecinatate. Printre ei o matusa de a mea ( sora mica a mamei mele, cu sotzul, parintii muzicologului ( nu stiu daca este si un feminin), Dr. Ruth ben Zvi- Gutman. Mai erau farmacistul Carniol, ziaristul Randa,s.a.  Cladire simpla,  locuiau la parter, si au avut de facut unele adausuri : usi intre camera, ceva la baie,si altele. Erau 3 camere si anexele necesare. Dupa 1-2 ani, au cumparat un apartament, dupa planuri,cu modificarile dorite, intr-un bloc mic, la 5 minute de mare. Revin la povestire. Intr-una din zile , barbatii la mare, nu era la doi pasi, si doamnele acasa, la palavre, amintiri, fara sfarsit. S-au asezat pe canapeaua din salon ( mi-a povestit ulterior Beatrice) ,cand  cartea ce o avea Paula in mana, s-a deschis unde era un semn de carte. O frumusetze, De vreo 20/4  cm., din fire de atze multicolore, impletite si niste franjuri subtziri, pa marginile inguste. Paula ii spune, ca in 67, dupa Razboiul de 6 zile (n-au fost 7,ca atunci Dumnezeu se odihneste si cei ai lui ), au plecat la Ierusalim, Capitala intregita, si l–a cumparat, cu o nimica, in bazarul arabesc. “Ti-l daruiesc “ ii spune. Imbratzisari, sarutari, multzumiri. A avut semnul, pana cand m-a lasat, ducandu-se cred eu intr-o lume mai buna.L-am luat sa-l folosesc. Cand in 1986, Paula cu mine, ne-am apropiat si am facut planuri de viitor, ca parteneri de viatza si a vazut la mine semnul de carte, l-a primit inapoi, cu bucurie si dragoste. Nu s-a despartzit de el, pana in preajma mortzii. Acum il folosesc eu. Deschid cartea, si am amintirile din anii de fericire, bucurii si placeri, cu doua femei, exceptionale, pentru mine, mame exagerate pentru baietzi si prietene sincere pentru cei apropiatzi. Uitandu-ma la fotografiile lor si cu semnul de carte, ros,decolorat cu franjurile mititele si totusi prezente, mi-au dat lacrimile. Gandul la cei  65 de ani petrecutzi cu ele, si la bine si la rau, gandul ca fiecare dintre ele, mi-a spus, la nevoie “ Gica, sa nu ma parasesti “, am avut, ca sa spun asa, ,multzumirea ca nu le-am parasit , le-am indeplinit dorintzele si ambele au plecat, dupa ce le dadusem sarutarea de “  Noapte buna “ . E greu pentru mine, dar sunt constient, ca ele mai suferinde, s-ar fi chinuit. Invidia este felul cum s-au stins. E un noroc al soartei.

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Dr.G. Manescu

Iulie 2010

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Film: The Chess Players (Satyajit Ray, 1977)

It is my friend Pierre who introduced me to the work of Satyajit Ray. Charulata (The Loney Wife) was the first film of him that I saw, at Pierre’s recommendation. Then I fell recently on an article written in one of my preferred magazines History Today by Andrew Robinson, author of Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye: The Biography of a Master Film-Maker about Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Player). It opened my interest, and I started to look for the film. Luckily I found the subtitled version on youTube.

source www.imdb.com

The Chess Players is the only film of Ray which ventures deep into a different culture – the one of the Muslim kingdom of Oudh, and is spoken in the Urdu language. Filmed on location in Lucknow it describes the end of the last Muslim fief in India in 1856, going deep into the social and cultural causes of the fall of the kingdom. It is a work of great psychological and cinematographic beauty, also the most expensive film ever made by Ray. The famous Indian writer V.S. Naipul was quoted comparing this film with a Shakespeare play, and the comparison is not exaggerated.

There are two apparently distinct threads in the film. One is the historical story of the deposing of the last king of Oudh, Wajid Ali Shah (played by Amjad Khan). He is described in the film as a fascinating mix of corruption and sensitivity, of debauchery and resignation. Ray had ambivalent feelings to this character, which is on one side a symbol of the decay of remains of the Mogul empire, but on the other side has an internal dignity and continues a tradition and a way of life which is misjudged and completely mis-understood by his enemies. The opposing camp of the British is represented by general Outram (Richard Attenborough), the archetype of the colonial conqueror, misjudging and downplaying the culture of his opponents. The dialogs between the two are fascinating. They use a translator, and the translation is rigorously accurate. Yet, the true meaning gets often lost in translation. The dialog between cultures needs to take place much above the dictionary.

The second thread is the one of the chess players. Two friends, belonging to the aristocracy of the kingdom spend all their time, days and nights playing chess. They play it the old way, they are proud that the game invented in India (and not in Persia!) spread all over the world, and although they hear that the British had changed some rules they ignore the changes. By love for the game they ignore everything around – their affairs, their wives, the dangers that threaten their kingdom and mode of life. Chess becomes the central obsession of their lives and the central obsession of the film, a symbol of the tradition and refinement of their civilization, but also of the obsession and refuse to face the reality that leads to its loss. While spending time in fighting each others king, they fail to protect the real king and his kingdom. Sanjeev Kumar as Mirza Sajjad Ali and Saeed Jaffrey as Mir Roshan Ali are perfect in the two roles.

The cinematography of Ray is beautiful and refined as is the world that it describes. Many of the scenes are beautiful compositions, and when music and dance mix as it does in many Indian films it fits perfectly in the story and the ambiance of the court. The story of the takeover of the last Muslim kingdom of India by the British, with the passive complicity of the local nobility too busy to live its life of luxury and enjoy its preferred pleasures is forever cast in the images of this wonderful film.

(video source bensundartube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdgs1uUk5Xg&feature=related

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsSDitFK5R0&feature=related

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm4HVqAkeZs&feature=related

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By4y7XqDUzg&feature=related

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz6eJ2nBXd4&feature=related

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Utj9wOlY9Yg&feature=related

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBGef3bCazU&feature=related

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvZWSwmctVA&feature=related

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6oM7YrVryg&feature=related

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97DPfCU3tvc&feature=related

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBcVVOGv4TM&feature=related

(video source bensundartube)

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