GOTTA SEE IT # 25 - "THE STRAIGHT STORY"

"THE STRAIGHT STORY"

Starring: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Joseph A. Carpenter, Jane Galloway Heitz, Donald Wiegert, Tracey Maloney, Dan Flannery, Harry Dean Stanton.
Written by: John Roach, Mary Sweeney
Directed by: David Lynch
Colour – 1999
112 mins
U.S.A.

The snow is falling here in Toronto and the 25th is but a mitten full of dreams away. So, I’ll tear away the figurative festive paper and unwrap this special Christmas edition of “Gotta See It” a little early. I hope you don’t mind.

There are many yuletide films, some of which are too obvious to mention, but I’m going to be a bit of a left of centre Santa this year and give you a Christmas “Gotta See It” that has absolutely nothing, at least on its’ surface, to do with that very special annual seasonal celebration.

The great Richard Farnsworth acted, for the very last time, in, this, one of Lynch’s "normal" films and, in doing so, left us with an aching and genuinely moving performance. It’s the true story of a man named Alvin, who, unable to drive his car due to health problems, takes his riding lawn mower cross country in order to patch things up between he and estranged brother.

No snow, no reindeers, no jolly fat man with his sack full of goodies – none of that. Yet, TSS is a quiet, gentle, emotionally mature and naked film about family, friends and the lengths one will go to prove one’s love to another. Now, if that doesn’t qualify it as a Christmas movie, then nothing will. ‘Cause, you see, if this time of year is about anything, it’s about love. And love, as I have heard it and seen it and felt it, needs no ho, ho, ho or thumpty-thump-thump.

During his very slow journey, Alvin stops off along the highway and camps out under the stars, meets folks – some lost, some not, some hurting from the same wounds as him. He talks, says little, but means much and, generally, gets to know his country and its’ people just a little bit better. TSS is a gentle breeze of a film, a soft landing, a warm bath of wisdom, an unexpected phone call from an old friend.

So, bake some cookies, make some hot chocolate, curl up on the couch and let the Christmas spirit find its’ way into you through the sunny, snow-less images of Richard Farnsworth motoring down the shoulder of a rural highway, headed to his brother’s place, to give him the only gift that’s ever counted and ever will.

GOTTA SEE IT #24 - "SEDUCED AND ABANDONED"

"SEDUCED AND ABANDONED" Starring: Stefania Sandrelli, Saro Urzi, Aldo Puglisi, Lando Buzzanca, Lola Braccini, Leopoldo Trieste, Umberto Spadaro, Paola Biggio, Rocco D’Assunta, Oreste Palella, Lina Lagalla,Gustavo D’Arpe, Rosetta Urzi, Roberta Narbonne, Vincenzo Licata
Written by: Luciano Vincenzoni (story and screenplay), Pietro Germi, Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli (dialogue)
Directed by: Pietro Germi
B & W – 1964
115 mins
Italia

Honour - some will do anything to hold on to it, even when it’s just an illusion. Scratch that, especially when it’s just an illusion. Take a dish of honour and toss in a dash of family and sprinkle some rural Italy over-the-top and you have one hell of a meal on your hands. A master of social comedies, Director Pietro Germi exposed the lunacy and hypocrisy of Italian society with wit and wackiness to create some dizzyingly funny films, such as this brilliant, spot-on send up of la famiglia circa 1964.

When the cowardly Peppino (Aldo Puglisi) deflowers his fiance’s sister (the ravishing Stefania Sandrelli) all hell breaks loose as patriarch Don Vincenzo (the remarkable Saro Urzi) barks and bullies his way towards his own strange conception of restoring honour to his family. Full of sly observations and sloppy laughs, S&A is a brilliant example of comedic escalation and a hilarious illustration of what happens when a society lives two different realities - the fake one that exists as an outward illusion, maintained by all, and the real one that happens behind closed doors but is never acknowledged.

Now, I’m Italian, so, I have first hand knowledge of the rural, Catholic Italian mindset. Let me assure you all, S&A rings true, as a comically exaggerated (just slightly so) take on the importance of appearances - whether it be an immaculately kept home or an immaculately kept reputation. Whether the literal or figurative sweeping under the rug has the edge, I cannot say.

Photographed in beautiful, glowing, high contrast black and white by Aiace Parolin (The Birds, the Bees, and the Italians), S&A is that rare breed of comedy – hilarious, well acted and directed and shot by an artist.

The whole cast is a screaming, shouting, gesticulating mass of energy that doesn’t peter out until the final frame fades from the screen. Every one of them deserves a tip of the hat, but Saro Urzi walks away with the picture with his artfully manic turn as the hypocritical oaf of a father, Don Vincenzo Ascalone. Like all great film comedians, Urzi has an elastic face and uses every part of his body in his performance. He manages the impossible by giving a great, broad comedic performance while also investing Don Vincenzo with a real humanity. He is a fully realized character, not just some lazy, one note caricature.

Goofy, wacky, sharply satirical and all pulled off with style and flair, S&A is a marvel to behold.