[cross-posted at alifesworkmovie.com/blog/]
Rolando Teco, fearless leader of this blog, threw down a challenge. Here is his comment to my post "Five Films that Influenced My Film."
David. I'm surprised that your list consists entirely of docs. "Well, A Life's Work is a doc, Rolando!" I know, I know, but knowing that you are also a fantastic screenwriter and a passionate lover of narrative film, I am absolutely convinced (whether you'll admit this or not) that you could construct a list of narrative feature films that have had an equal impact on A Life's Work. Feel free to take this as a challenge. ;)
Rolando is correct. Narrative films (and books, too!) have greatly influenced this documentary. So, never one to back down from a challenge, or to shy away from compiling a list, here are the narrative feature films that have influenced A Life's Work.
Fitzcarraldo
by Werner Herzog. This is almost cheating, since I hint at this Herzog
film in the original post, but as an outsized portrait of the force of
will, it can't be beat. Curiously, none of the subjects in A Life's Work
act like the possessed title character played by the inimitable Klaus
Kinski; the people I have interviewed burn quietly and steadily. Still,
their drive, like Fitzcarraldo's, is what I want to reveal.
The Passion of Joan of Arc by Carl Theodor Dreyer. This silent film is practically a 90-minute exploration of one woman's face as it expresses every emotion known to human kind. I clung to the idea of no talking heads for too long; had I seen this film during that delerium I would have snapped out of it much quicker.
The Antoine Doinel films by François Truffaut. A story and characters that span twenty years. Truffaut obviously couldn't shake Antoine Doinel, and I doubt he wanted to. I want to make a sequel to A Life's Work twenty years after it's completed, revisiting the people and the places, because these people and this idea, I am sure, will be with me then, and beyond. Good lord willing and if the water don't rise and all that.
The Films of Yasujiro Ozu. Another director who loved the human face. But Ozu's influence on A Life's Work is more a matter of tone and his camera work. I find watching his films to be an almost meditative experience. I want the audience to feel refreshed and inspired after seeing A Life's Work. Ozu's camera is still and lets the viewer absorb what's being shown. For a good essay on why Ozu is important, read this short essay, Ozu v Avatar – this really is what cinema has come down to by David Thomson, from The Guardian (U.K.) website. It is about his "family dramas," which greatly influence my narrative work, film and otherwise.
Now Rolando, how about sharing some of the films (or works) that influenced We Pedal Uphill, or any of your films or plays? And how about you other folks out there? Care to share?
