Tuesday, March 12, 2013

I listen to the wind: the music in Wes Anderson films (part 2)


Rushmore (1998)

The music of the 60's is Wes Anderson's big love. Its frequent use in his films lends at his characters an air of nostalgia and innocence. 
Nowhere this is more evident than in Rushmore, arguably Anderson's most revered film; the music is such a vital element on it that apparently in certain cases Anderson had already chosen the music he wanted for specific scenes prior to the finalisation of the scene itself. 
The main music concept is quintessential 60's Britain: Stones, Kinks, Who, Faces. 
The songs in Rushmore work as a mirror revealing the personality of teenage protagonist Max Fischer (played wonderfully by Jason Schwartzmann); he definitely could be a textbook character out of a Ray Davies song. 

"Making Time" - The Creation
This is history-making stuff. The now famous "extra-curricural activities" sequence uses the psych-pop 1966 track from the relatively unknown English band to introduce wunderkind schoolboy Max Fischer. 




"A Quick One While He's Away" - The Who
An excerpt from The Who's first foray into rock opera, this is as classic Wes Anderson as it gets: the masterful "revenge" sequence where nerdy, quirky Fischer faces his arch rival Herman Blume (a spectacular Bill Murray - his career resurrection really started here). When Fischer comes out of the elevator in slow-motion full of teenage braggadocio, it seems to echo the legendary entrance of De Niro in the bar in Mean Streets with the Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" playing. It's that good.  
 


"Ohh la la" - Faces
The last song on the last Faces album is a bittersweetly funny tale about the futility of the belief in romantic love, as told from a sensitive male's perspective: "I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger / love is blind and you're far too kind / don't ever let it show" sings the late Ronnie Lane. 
And what a fitting song to end this similarly bittersweet gem of a movie: Max Fischer, though still hopelessly in love with his schoolteacher (a never-more-beautiful Olivia Williams), has realised the sad truth that he cannot be with her and so he's ready to move on with his life. But there is a price to pay: in a way he has become more emotionally mature now, but he has lost his innocence (or naivety) in the process. This is a sad message of the film, in that in order to move on you need to leave your silly, naive teenage romantic notion about love behind. The song starts at the three-minute mark but the scene must be seen from the beginning. 
One of the complaints in Anderson's body of work is that he seems to opt for style over substance; this scene is a glorious proof of the opposite.






Sunday, March 3, 2013

I listen to the wind: The music in Wes Anderson's films (part 1)


Bottle Rocket (1994) 

Wes Anderson tells unconventional stories about quirky, idiosyncratic characters who somewhow find themselves in uncomfortable situations. He came fully formed in his debut - his directing style is already recognizable here. 
Two seemingly directionless friends decide to do a robbery after one of them helps to rescue the other from a mental hospital where he is in following a nervous breakdown. They find another friend who will help them. One of them also falls in love. In the end comes the robbery. That's pretty much it.
Luke and Owen Wilson started here their steady collaboration with Anderson (in acting and writing). James Caan is the father figure of the boys, a motif appearing in other Anderson movies as well. 
A total flop commercially upon its release, Bottle Rocket was surprisingly selected by Martin Scorsese as one of his ten favourite films of the 90's.

"2000 Man" - Rolling Stones 
The Rolling Stones are Anderson's favourites: they are present in almost all his films. This psych-pop masterpiece is off 1967's Their Satanic Majesty's Request, Rolling Stones' spectacularly failed effort to outdo Sgt. Pepper's. "2000 Man" is the soundtrack to the climactic scene as the friends attempt to flee after their planned robbery goes wrong. 




"Alone Again Or" - Love 
In Bottle Rocket Wes Anderson opted for the more psychedelic side of 60's music. "Alone Again Or" is the crown jewel of one of the greatest, most exceptional albums of all time, Love's Forever Changes from 1967. 
Anderson went on to use "Alone Again Or" as the soundtrack of the love scene of the movie. After his best friend finally gives him his approval to go after the girl he's in love with, Luke Wilson hurries to find her in the hotel she works as a maid.
The song's arrangement is a thing of beauty: plucked acoustic guitar arpeggios, airy strings and flurry Mariachi brass provide an uplifting, celebratory feeling which has remained age-defying. The lyrics, though, tell a different story: "You know I could be in love with anyone / I think that people are the greatest ones / and I will be alone again tonight my dear", making "Alone Again Or" a brilliant contradiction of music and lyrics. This criticism has been bestowed on Anderson as well, in that he cares mainly to match music to film without much regard for the lyrics themselves. 
The scene could not be found on the internet so please jump straight at the 37th minute mark.

Saturday, March 2, 2013


MOVIES LAST SEEN

Lawless (2012) - 7.0
Cosmopolis (2012) - 5.0
Haywire (2011) - 6.0
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) - 9.0
Woody Allen: a Documentary (2012) - 8.0
Jagten (2012) - 8.0
The Squid and the Whale (2005) - 8.0
Dazed and Confused (1993) - 6.0
Bottle Rocket (1996) - 7.0
Hit and Run (2012) - 6.0
Hard Eight (1996) - 8.0
Interiors (1978) - 9.0
Alpeis (2011) - 7.0
No Country for Old Men (2007) - 8.0