Things That Will Change You Forever

One thing surely was watching The Seventh Seal as an impressionable young college student right off the farm. I doubt I've ever been the same since. Then again, every Friday night for years was Film Club night at the College of Knowledge. For someone who could barely get to class most of the time, I never missed a free Friday night Film Club offering. I didn't have a whole lot of dates, but I had the best film education anyone could want when I saw, savored is more like it, the greatest movies ever that way, everything by Kurosawa, Hitchock, Bergman, Fellini, Goddard, Truffaut, Lean, Wells, Kubrick, Capra, Kazan, Sturges, well... you-get-the-picture.

But I wasn't unusual, in the big scope of things. Steven Holden of the NYT writes about the passing of Ingmar Bergman in absolute, revered tones here. As well he should.

Acting Politically

Is Sean Penn the worst actor in America because of his face? Or is he the worst actor because of that contrived explosive-emoting thing he does over and over?

Is Sean Penn the worst lefty-spokesperson because of his face? Or is he the worst lefty-spokesperson because of the contrived explosive-emoting thing he does over and over?

Not only does Penn look like a greasy angry troll, he behaves like one too, reminding the world that his last moment of genuine expressiveness came in 1982 while acting the part of a stoner.

I tried to watch Sean Penn on Larry King last night as he snorted and snarled and grunted his way through a litany of personal efforts and alleged global compassions on the part of oppressed people everywhere, but by the time he got to pushing his unattractive way through Iran, I had to shut the whole painful process down.

There was simply never a flicker, not one moment, of humanity in the dude's face. Penn’s contorted, Rumpelstiltskin-like visage betrayed not a moment of genuine compassion or concern for whatever he was spitting and snapping about. He seemed an ugly, affected bundle of scorn and contempt for not only the current administration, but for life in general.

The face is where human beings wear their humanity, should we be inclined to have some. Thank goodness then that Ugly Penn was followed by George Clooney's quietly urgent and considerate comments to the U.N. and to John Roberts of CNN (no longer CBS) on behalf of the crisis in Darfur.

Now there’s a face that can radiate the beauty and depth of a man's convictions and concerns. There is a genuine quality of honesty in Clooney's eyes. No doubt there is a small chance that I am dulled and dazzled by Clooney’s sheer physical beauty, by that classic timelessness he radiates with the rugged tan, glossy black hair and proper suit, but it's pretty damn hard to fake genuine compassion. Then again, he gets paid the ludicrous bucks to do just that - to act. (All this remind you of anyone? Hint hint. As in a former White House res/pres???)

The problem with celebrity causes is that they're so extreme they give the impression that one must have Hollywood-levels of resources to even get on the helpful-radar. Do you need Gulfstreams full of cash and influence to do anything about Darfur? The horror in Sudan seems oblivious to money and influence. Indeed, it seems oblivious to George Clooney. Who are the people who can really "do something," and does the average American even factor into the assistance equation?

I think Clooney, by appearing before the U.N., is telling us that the U.N. can do something. In fact, he said, "If not the U.N., then who?" But what about the audience watching at home? What about the celebrity spokesperson's fans, the people who might want to actually do something to help? What is it that these celebrities are trying to tell them when they appear on TV?

Honestly, I don't have a clue. Once you rally the troops, what do you do then? A few email addresses or wwws could be a start. Or maybe they left that part on the edit room floor.

Went To Rome

Rome, Georgia that is. About an hour and a half north of Atlanta for the Rome International Film Festival. Found indie filmakers roaming loose in the streets:

While in Rome, I saw a lefty documentary, a grownup ham, enjoyed good company, delicious appetizers, and a coupla really nice cosmos. The doc viewed was Sacco and Vinzetti, a film co-produced and (online) edited by friend Tom Roche. It was very nicely put together, given Tom's long, hard work on cleaning-up the historical footage. The film hit the audience over the head with the obvious (contemporary political implications) only briefly. Chiefly, Sacco and Vinzetti was made compelling via (likely) never-before-seen historical footage of huge rallys across the U.S. (other than the South of course) in support of the doomed immigrant duo.

The ham was the woman who played the beloved Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird. (She always enters my mind as the ham rescued by Boo Radley/Robert Duvall.)

Mary Badham (her real name unfortunately) is all grown-up now with kids of her own, and making a career of fielding questions at film festivals it seems. After a screening of her classic movie Saturday night, Ms. Badham answered all the earnest Q's with tidy stories and southernesque anecdotes I suspect were well-rehearsed.

Below, Cheryl Roche, Tom's wife and my choice for Queen Mum of the Roadtrip, consults a guide to where we shall follow, the local BBQ joint being a typical first stop.

Below, Jay Edwards, creator of Stomp, Shout, Scream!, the first in his SkunkApe trilogy, gets direction from Tom on where to stand for his GPB podcast interview.

Less than 24 hours later, it was right back to the ATL, where a host of interesting offerings are on tap for the coming week, including Cat Power, Judith Owen and a theatrical offering about a true Southern frump, Celestine Sibley.