Pordenone Diary - Day 1
Pordenone Diary: Day 1
If all my best laid plans had panned out, I’d be in Italy right now. Probably sitting in a restaurant having a very LATE dinner and discussing the films that screened at the 39th Le Giornate del Cinema Muto. Well, I’m not in Italy thanks to COVID-19, but, today I did watch films from the festival in my jammies, in my living room. Later on, I spoke with some old friends and new friends I’ve not yet met IRL at a virtual Posta ZOOM meetup where we discussed the offerings of the day. That was grand!
The 39th Festival is a limited edition, online only and I can say without reservations for my first time I feel very welcomed and very much looking forward to attending next year. Now, if you want to be a part of this, you can. For just about $15 you can buy a full festival pass and enjoy one of the premier cinema events of the year from the comfort of your own home.
The urge to travel isn’t just the pull of new sights and sounds, it’s about returning to places we know and love. For the practiced traveler, this means more than simply admiring famed tourist destinations; it’s feeling places not our own and allowing ourselves the belief that we can also somehow belong. I hope this programme speaks to your own desires to pack your bags and charge forth, whether to walk familiar streets in other cities, frolic in the waves of beloved beaches, or glide through canals you’ve never experienced before. Michel Robida wrote a lovely article about Parisian weathervanes, and its ending is a fitting summary of what I’ve tried to do here: “A journey in one’s armchair – a journey of the mind – is the nicest kind of journey, because it’s what we want it to be, because there are no obstacles, and all our dreams are granted. – Jay Weissberg, Artistic Director Le Giornate del Cinema Muto
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| Artistic Director Jay Weissberg |
The program opened with a welcome by Artistic Director Jay Weissberg showing us where we’d start our journey in Pordenone collecting our festival pass. It was a warm, heartfelt welcome. The first program was The Urge to Travel/Voglia di Viaggire which is, of course a nod to most of us not being able to travel. Goodness knows I imagine I am not the only one suffering from wanderlust with no place to go.
Our musical accompanist for this program was the wonderful José María Serralde Ruiz and he in no way let us down. Each film accompaniment was unique and yet, filled with touches like the Chopin in the Krakow sequence and the music in the Trieste film which affected my viewing of it. (BRAVO)
The first short film on the program was UN VOYAGE ABRACADABRANT (FR 1919). Dir. Henri Monier which was a surreal animated short drawn and directed by Henri Monier. Two young boys have experimented and invented a flying house and in their travels soon come to the desert (with cactus and a lion). After pulling the lion’s tail they are chased across the sands, the house having sprouted legs and feet and it runs away. They are soon flying over water and bring some squid, whale other creatures as well as lots of fish. Flying back over a village they toss their bounty to the people below. Which the people inhale, raw and whole! Testing out their flying house they climb ever higher in the sky, through the clouds which appears to upset them. Soon the clouds brew a storm of blowing winds and lightening. Escaping that danger, they fly over a smoldering volcano to which they inadvertently sacrifice one of their air-oars, then sadly the house then explodes! A very bad end for our young inventors. The simple black and white animation is filled with movement and great perspective. It’s cheeky, surreal and quite fun.
Next is a fantastic short film from Svenska Biografteatern offering a view of in 1911 New York; the Brooklyn Bridge, paddle wheel ferries and street life throughout Manhattan. This stunning print was courtesy The Museum of Modern Art. The film starts on a steam-powered, paddle driven ferry which arrives at Battery Park, you see the tourists, workers and delivery carts disembark. We are treated to seeing the elevated railways, the streets not quite as packed as they are today. We see Chinatown, the Flatiron District, a car following the camera (which is so smooth, it must be perched on a trolly).
PLANTY KRAKOWSKIE/Panty Park in Krakow (1929) offered a view of old Krakow pre-WWI. It was wonderful to see, and later learn that much of what we saw is still extant. It was charming to travel through the park with and illustrated cartoon map and the delighted faces of so many young boys and girls who were aware they were being captured on film.
Most spectacular was a travelogue UN VOYAGE AU CAIRE/a Voyage to Cairo (1928) was part travelogue and fashion show for Madame Gabrielle Robinne and Rene Alexandre. Hand colored, in gorgeous fashion, this was a true highlight. Posing at the Heliopolis Palace Hotel (now the Presidential residence).
Madame Robinne shows off her gown before the family travels to view the Sphinx and Great Pyramids alighting from their Isotta-Fraschini. Riding camels (I give Mme. Robinne props for this in her stylish gown) and posing in front of the mysterious Sphinx. It was lush and beautiful to see this land in all this hand-colored glory.
TIEDEMANNS NATURFILM: OVER BESSEGGEN PÅ MOTORCYKKE (1932)
gave me a new and healthy respect for the brakes on a motorcycle. The terrain
covered is the Besseggen mountain ridge and it is positively frightening.
It is no wonder the cyclist treated himself to a cigarette after cresting the mountaintop. The title card said it was a stimulant, I think it was more of a calmer of nerves!
Next, we got a pretty thorough tour through parts of Belgium, LA BELGIQUE PITTORESQUE / SCHILDERACHTIG BELGIE (circa 1922-23). We are treated to a visit to the seaside complete with bathing beauties and children digging castles in the sands. We next visit Bruges and enjoy picturesque beauty floating down gorgeous canals and crossing under a multitude of bridges.
SVATOJÁNSKÉ PROUDY/Le rapide di San Giovanni/St. John’s Rapids (1912) lands us in Austria to see dramatic footage traveling down the river, canoeing and traversing the rapids on the Vltava River. Sadly, this idyllic spot is no more having been damned up post WWII, so this film is a lovely document. The film was gloriously tinted and toned.
TRIESTE, ESTATE (1939) begins driving along the coast and my first thought was imagining all this beautiful country just a few years later and how it would not be the same. The views of the happy people swimming in the ocean and having a wonderful time. Everyone looking so healthy and happy, but all I felt watching this was so much sadness.
The final film in this program was from AB Svensk Filmindustri TAVLOR FRÅN LONDON (Londonerbilleder)/Quadri londinesi/Paintings from London (SE 1922). This was a curious film; each vignette of London was framed as if hanging on the wall. You’re treated to various views including the Victoria Memoria, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Nelson’s Arch and the Thames. Lots of traffic to be seen, double-decker buses, trams, and people from all walks of life.
The feature film for today was the 1923 American feature film PENROD AND SAM which starred Ben Alexander as Penrod. In a discussion after the film, my compatriots and I all agreed that director William Beaudine gets a bad rap. Remembered as a mediocre director, except perhaps the 1926 film Sparrows starring Mary Pickford. Penrod and Sam is a beautifully directed film, alternately funny and heartbreakingly sad, it is clear that Beaudine had a way with directing children. The film is very real and accurate from the viewpoint of the kids. They’re all natural and it is never maudlin, the emotions are real and beautifully done.
Ben Alexander proves what a talented lad he was and gives a thoroughly well-rounded performance as the young, feisty Penrod. Mary Philbin plays his sister whose romantic interest is the wonderful Gareth Hughes. Mother is played by Gladys Brockwell and Father is played by Rockliffe Fellowes. William V. Mong does his part as the not quite so nice Deacon Bitts. Cameo the Dog played the wonderful Duke. This is as far as I will go in revealing any plot.
The film is a recent restoration by the Library of Congress (Yes, I cheered when the credit card showed up on screen) and it is absolutely beautiful. Very little decomposition that I noticed, a lovely sepia tone throughout and this highlighted the nice cinematography of Ray June and Edward Ullman.
All of this was supported with a beautiful score played by Stephen Horne. He always gives us a musical undercurrent that supports and never overwhelms the action. That said, it's a rare film that if Stephen is playing it, I do not end up in tears. This was no exception today. Just a beautiful job. (BRAVO)
This was Day 1 at the virtual Il Giornate del Cinema Muto and it was a very, very good day. I am filled with gratitude, there is so much awful in the world these days, this is a balm, a joy and a beautiful thing to experience. Thanks to everyone who has worked so hard to put this together to share the wonder of film with us all. The next 7 days are going to be wonderful and filled with wonder. I can hardly wait to experience every moment.
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