By: Patrick

It’s great when you see a movie that made a really deep impression on you and then you watch it again and realise that it was not just the mood you were in first time round but that it is a really fabulous piece of art that will be a trusty companion for a long time to come. Such is my feeling having watched 35 Shots of Rum on DVD tonight. It is a very slow movie, not much of a plot, very little dialogue. It is ultimately a meditation on loss – possible losses, inevitable losses and how we deal with them. Do we use this fear to bring those we love closer to us or do we let this fear push them away? It is one of those movies where certain scenes stay with you: the scene where the 4 main characters are in a bar late at night dancing to ‘Nightshift’ by the Commodores is one of the most powerful scenes I have watched. There is no dialogue but entire histories and hopes and fears unfold for us. It is achingly moving. The director Claire Denis also touches on solitude. Why are so many people lonely nowadays? Maybe, as one character suggests, we are all afraid of suffering. We know that sooner or later those closest to us will leave us, so why bother? Why not just avoid painful attachments? One of the characters finds his cat dead – died in its sleep after 17 years. He responds by putting it in a bin bag (along with its toy). And why not? It’s dead – why mourn for it? We all die, we all lose those closest to us. These are the big questions that Denis poses. The characters in the movie provide a range of answers, including suicide. How are we to live? This movie does not shy away from such questions, but addresses them subtly and profoundly. It is an absolute gem.

By: Patrick

I watched this documentary from 2007 again at the cinema the other night and it reminded me of why it had moved me so profoundly when I had first watched it on DVD. Daniel Johnston is something of a cult phenomenon who temporarily entered the limelight as a result of Kurt Cobain repeatedly wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with some Daniel Johnston artwork. So, in sum, Daniel Johnston is a singer-songwriter who writes very simple, very honest, childlike, naive songs about love and what is going on inside his head. Many people call him a genius on a par with Bob Dylan. I must admit that I have never really listened to his music. For now I am more interested in his story. Because sadly, Daniel has suffered for many years with a psychotic form of bipolar disorder which tends to manifest itself in the form of delusions of persecution by Satan.

One of the things that makes this incredibly special documentary extra special is that his childhood is not exclusively recounted by either himself or those that knew him – Daniel himself filmed much of his life and recorded much of the rest on tape. From this archive, his childhood growing up as an artistic outsider in a very religious family and all the troubles this caused become an obvious theme and it would be hard to believe did not in someway contribute to the forms in which his psychosis would later play out – his Mum is frequently heard referring to him at the Devil Child (or something similar). Daniel comes across as a painfully naive person who is suddenly thrown in his teenage years into the big city (Austin, Texas) to pursue his dreams of musical stardom. He appears to be making quite a success of it as well. Until he starts taking acid and ending up in rivers screaming that Satan is after him. It is incredibly sad to hear his messages from mental hospitals, to see his weight ballooning as a result of the anti-psychotic medication and to hear him bemoan the loss of his songwriting abilities due to the side-effects of the medication. Interspersed within this story is an unrequited love that seemed to sustain the emotional content of his songs for many years as well as major record deals brokered within the walls of a psychiatric institution.

Despite all this, he is still with us and indeed is touring the UK right now. In addition, his artwork is hugely sought after – it is a fascinating insight into his mind with the mixture of superheroes and downtrodden outsiders reflecting perhaps the two poles of his condition. I have a flyer for an exhibition of his artwork in Newcastle last year. In the picture, the main character stands in a deserted spot with the sun beating down on him. Behind him, a duck is laughing at him. Next to him, a tape recorder is announcing: ‘You wanted to be somebody but you ain’t nobody.’ Alienation at it most raw and honest. It is his honesty that shines through – it is naked, often embarrassingly so. Yes it is this that is liberating in art and it is this that remains amidst all the horrors that he has had to face. Maybe one day I will get his music; this documentary has given me enough inspiration for now.

By: Alex

This is a top five film for me. Without a shadow of a doubt. I also think it is Audrey Hepburn’s best film too. I am sure you are all familiar with the film; it has entered popular culture in the way of many classics; quotes and misquotes finding their way into other movies, TV and song. It is referenced in various places, Mancini’s soundtrack is well known and countless students have posters of Audrey gazing out with her perfect face over their activities in a million dingy flats. Much has been made about her role in the film but I would like to say a word for George Peppard, admittedly better now known as Hannibal from the A-team. His performance as Holly Golightly’s foil is the best in his career and without him it can clearly be argued the film would suffer.

I think the thing I love about this film so very much is the fact it differs from a classic Hollywood love story. There is a pervasive undercurrent of darkness throughout; Holly is essentially an escort (in the novella it was implied she was a call girl) and Paul is a kept writer, everything paid for by an older woman, in exchange for what is never made clear but certainly alluded to. For the times this was quite risqué, perhaps made more so by implication rather than if it had been more explicit. The darkness in Holly’s life and her attempts to try and suppress certain emotions (whilst perversely also being an emotional extrovert) are heartbreaking at times, as are Paul’s stoical attempts to try and break down her walls and enter her life more fully. The ending, although I will not give it away, always mists my eyes.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one of those films I return to again and again in my life, I have recommended it to countless friends and often find myself thinking about it’s implications for my own life. Sometimes when I start watching it I feel like I can’t go on, even though I know exactly what is coming, yet each time I am left with the same feeling of satisfaction. I don’t want to dictate your viewing preferences, but I have yet to find anyone who doesn’t like the film, indeed most of my friends now own their own copies. It is truly a gem with stellar performances, characterisation at its best, a script to die for and music to sway the emotions. If you haven’t already, watch it, please.