NASHVILLE (1975)

Neha says
I just didn’t feel like I was in a small town, laid back country music haven called Nashville. Well at least not at first. In fact add a few skyscrapers and people in suits and the pulsating opening of the film resembles something more like New York. Did that work for me? Yes…Yes and Yes… Why? It manages to lend a vitality and urgency to the moment and captures the chaotic minds and emotions of these 24 characters whose lives intertwine and evolve during the course of a 5 day music festival. Robert Altman in his interview said Nashville with all the music talent migrating there, trying to maintain or attain success is like a “microcosm of the Hollywood syndrome.” And while there is no denying that, I would go one step further and add that it felt more like a microcosm of the American syndrome, reflecting the political sentiment, nationalistic pride, the common man’s angst and silent rebellion, country music euphoria and the spirit of America in that space and time. I like how on many an occasion Altman manages to reflect all of the above all at once with a technical eye that shrewdly overlaps images and character insights with voice-overs of a politician’s campaign speech and media reports. The greatest and most evident challenge was to balance 24 key characters without getting overcrowded. At first I admit it did feel overwhelming but as you settle into the pace and rhythm of Altman’s narrative, as the characters slowly begin to unfold before you, as the relationship between man and politics and art and politics slowly begins to converge bringing mostly all the characters together, moving intelligently towards a conclusion that makes sense and gives each character a purpose or perspective, the 160 minutes spent with or rather at Nashville feels like an education without really trying too hard to be one. Balancing human drama with slice of country life with the comedy of life and with music that doesn’t look to spoon-feed the narrative’s subtext as much as it does to capture the beat of the people, sometimes having nothing to do with story threads seems to all come together so skillfully- increasing the momentum at will, slowing down the pace on its own accord, pausing to take stock of the moment but most importantly Altman has this sixth sense of just knowing what he needs to do when and how to keep us right where he wants us. As for the wonderful ensemble cast, they simply rise to the occasion.

There is this pulsating energy with which Nashville has both been written and edited that never feels like a western, laid back haven of country music but more like a bustling New York. There is as the title suggests a specific focus on Nashville and how the lives of 24 characters get interweaved with one another over a 5 day festival but the film manages to encapsulate a universal America of that time and space with both political sentiment, cultural fabric.

There’s something to be said about the bustling and tight energy of this film that never feels like we are in a laid back country music haven of Nashville but feels so much like a New York.

Ira says

Robert Altman’s films (MASH, THE PLAYER, GOSFORD PARK) are never as light-hearted as they appear on the surface. Widely known as an actors director and for his unique experimental technique that combines several plot lines, multiple characters and an extremely naturalistic slice-of-life style, Altman’s films require patience and often force you to pay attention to the small things. So, while its great to have lyrical moody tunes to help you along in the opening credits of his critically acclaimed, NASHVILLE, he instantly sets up the dichotomies of his storytelling right there in a recording studio where two kinds of music are being recorded; patriotic country and gospel. Altman doesn’t let you forget for a second that this is a film that’s set at a time in Nashville, Tennessee, circa 1975, where music, be it country, gospel, alternative, folk or rock isn’t just a way of life, a form of artistic expression, a cathartic release, or entertainment, it is religious, spiritual, personal, communal and most certainly, as the director intends, political. Not the kind of ‘politics’ that’s in the oval office, but the kind that’s part and parcel of everyday life for ordinary people. The kind that’s in the films visual images of American flags, in the parades and crowds gathered at concerts, the omnipresent voice of unseen candidate Hal Philip Walker on a loudspeaker emanating from an omnipresent van in the film. And the kind that’s preached by its characters like clever political strategists, or evident in the film’s mixed raced themes and characters, and its variety of music. The kind you realize, as much as the films characters do which, you cannot disconnect from.

On the surface, Nashville is very specifically about the coming together of several characters during a musical weekend where a ‘replacement’ party candidate for presidency is holding a political rally, but its also a statement on politics, its methods, role and machinations; a wonderful compilation of memorable music (‘I’m Easy’, written and performed by Keith Carradine won him and the film, several awards fro Best Original Song) and a character driven relationship story at the same time.

The film’s 24 characters, its 13 released soundtrack songs, and over a dozen more used in the film, its languid pace, Altman’s trademark overlapping dialogue, parallel stories, intertwining narrative threads and the way you sense he places his camera in situations and lets his actors do the rest, provide an authentic flavor and an absolutely realistic feel to everything that happens. Blending elements of race, (note subtle touches like the white and African American girls in the band of young female performers in the opening parade sequence), with social, cultural and religious sentiments seamlessly and without a heavy hand, Altman creates a solid fabric for his characters who use music as a release and a tool of sharp political, personal, and emotional commentary. Even as you feel not much is really happening till about halfway through, as gentle drama unravels, you are drawn into this world and feel as if you are actually getting to know its people, and in terms of plot, while nothing feels discordant, much is still surprising. Wonderfully made, this is a film that lingers with you and somehow makes you feel richer, informed and wiser.

Altman gets some superb performances out of his large ensemble cast here too. Most notable for me are debutante songwriter Ronnie Blakely as Barbara Jean, Nashville’s ethereal, fragile country music sweetheart who falls apart in more ways than one despite some beautiful musical performances, Henry Gibson as Haven Hamilton, Nashville’s most beloved, traditional and respected singer and the central force of the films political motivations, Geraldine Chaplin as a neurotic British journalist who provides an outsiders perspective and becomes a sort of narrative point of view for us in the film, Lily Tomlin as Linnea Rosse, mother of 2 deaf children, wife to Hamilton’s lawyer and a woman who has darker secrets than we first know along with Barbara Harris as Winifred, an aspiring singer and Jeff Goldblum as a hilarious silent biker who does card tricks.

DUCK SOUP (1933)

Neha says
The first image that pops up on screen is of quacking ducks, circling around in a boiling pot of water- the symbolic, literal representation of the title with a narcissistic pulse foreshadows what’s to follow as a stinging political satire. Groucho’s lyrical musings on how his character, Rufus T. Firefly’s leadership will leave Freedonia worse for wear mirrors with a twist of simmering irony how the people of this little fictional nation are like those quacking ducks and it’s the likes of free-wheeling, shrewd-thinking, money-grabbing Firefly who is going to make a fine soup out of them, dragging them even to a state of war. In the Marxian world, literal means literal, from the names of their characters like Freedonia or Firefly down to their comic set-pieces. There’s simply nothing subtle or incidental about what they do and how they do it- combining flair and centre stage antics with carefully churned, rib-ticking devices be it the sight gags, physical humor, musical routines, rapid fire one-liners, sharp delivery, characterizations or set-up. This no-nonsense, outlandish approach works miraculously because of miracle workers The Marx Brothers- a rare species of comic talent, gregarious energy and confidence. Borrowing a line from the dictionary of our cricket commentators- The Marx Brothers are cool as cucumbers and wily customers. Almost every other scene jumps out at you- Chico and Harpo, spies hired to grab some dirt on Groucho at the peanut station, testing the patience of another street food seller or the duo emulating Groucho as they break into Mrs. Teasdale’s (Margaret Dumont) home to steal his war strategy plans or even Groucho’s
showmanship in front of what he thinks could be a mirror only to discover its an equally Groucho looking Chico or maybe Harpo (still figuring that one out!!!) playing his reflection. Let me not leave out Groucho’s cunning machinations to woo Dumont or even his cabinet members. I could go on but I think you get the drift. The gags work as individual units and stitched up together get ready for a consistent stream of non-stop laughs that may be scripted but in the hands of The Marx Brothers (who clearly have their improvisational skills well manicured) it all feels so wonderfully alive, vital and spontaneous. That back-to back focused attempt at providing laughs is what separates this one from Night at the Opera, the other Marxian film on the AFI list, lower down the list. Notice how one tends to refer to the trio more often that the individuals. Maybe that’s because they collectively come together, with an equal amount of screen time and comic zeal and some great chemistry, timing and comfort with kin to give us an experience that feels very close to surreal. You can’t speak of one without talking about the other!!! The impetus is showmanship, the goal is entertainment and the process is discovery- how do we find new, creative, sharp and clever ways to involve and refresh our audience? And decades down I’m still laughing. A job well done I say.

Ira says

The place is the mythical land of Freedonia, a grand country with a far from grand financial predicament to face. So, what happens when this poor, quite literally bankrupt nation, supported only by the funds of a wealthy widow, (reliable Margaret Dumont playing Mrs. Gloria Teasdale), has to solve their problems and stay afloat? They get Rufus T. Firefly aka the indomitable Groucho Marx, local buffoon and cinematic master of anarchic, absurdist comedy, vaudeville, slapstick and satire to become their leader. All hell and lots of laughs breaks loose and while Duck Soup, the final of five films the Marx Brothers would do with Paramount and the last to have Zeppo in the team, was not a commercial success at the time it was released, it contains some of the finest comic sequences the brothers are famous for and some of the sharpest war -satire comedy in Hollywood.

If you don’t have a ‘taste’ for this sort of Marxian humor, you might find that some of the numerous one-liners, double entendres, verbal jokes, and comic antics that ridicule war (as in the final minstrel show battle sequence or in that now notoriously popular catchphrase, “This means war!”), either don’t go down so well or fly over your head quicker than you can say duck, or soup. But that’s fine. Because whether you chuckle inadvertently, guffaw and exclaim, “god, that’s so stupid”, or find you just missed one of the cleverest digs at governance and society by getting distracted by Harpo’s side-splitting silent physical comedy, you cant help but feel your lips stretched into a smile, inadvertently almost all the way through because the more you watch it and the closer you watch it, you realize, Duck Soup is funny, satirical and loaded with meaning. At a short 67 minutes, hell, you could watch it twice, get more out of it the second time and still feel like you just watched one wordy movie where you missed something!

While from the moment a grand party welcomes him in and hails him as the new leader of Freedonia, to the way he trivializes any such political clout, reducing it to a moment of classic slapstick as he announces for his car and gets tricked by Harpo who drives off with half of it leaving him behind, to his classic mirror scene with Chico in the latter half of the film, Groucho leads the ceremonies in more ways than one here. His beady eyes wildly roving, witty, sarcastic, slyly suggestive words and non-sequiters tripping off his tongue, Groucho as Firefly mocks leadership with flair, retains a clever sense of familial pride and skewed brotherhood and returns to pursuing his only earthly desire of living the good life by chasing wealthy women. But for me, Chico and Harpo playing spies for his rival, the ambassador of Sylvania (an excellent Louis Calhern) steal the show and many scenes too in this one even though they are without their famous harp and piano. (see my review on ‘Night at the Opera’) The hilarious lemonade and peanut stand war, their first meeting with the ambassador where Harpo has a fixation for ‘cutting’ everything in sight without a flicker of remorse and merely exhibiting a gleeful sense of triumph, the final war song and battle sequence and the superbly executed break in to Mrs. Teasdale’s home sparkle with superb comic timing, Chico’s drawling Italian accent and Harpo’s mesmerizing face. One of the brothers’ gems, to be watched and added to the collection. Ps: Here’s something fun; and its only a wiki search away for those who want more. The title "Duck soup" was provided by the films direction Leo McCarey for consistency with the brothers’ previous three animal title films, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers. The term is an American English slang phrase meaning something easy to do. But in true Groucho style when he was asked for an explanation, he quipped, "Take two turkeys, one goose, four cabbages, but no duck, and mix them together. After one taste, you'll duck soup for the rest of your life.”