On Modernism

Modernism, from the French word “moderne” or the newest, modern, was a general name for the cultural and art-aesthetic movement beginning at the end of the 19^th and progressing into the 20^th century. In many respects, Modernist thinking has paved the way for the development and practice of the modern art. Modernism unites a set of independent art directions, such as expressionism, cubism or futurism, on both the social scale and its cultural and creative value. Those separate art movements, although all original and revolutionary in their opposition to the traditions of Academic art and restrictive Victorian code of conduct, often contradict each other in their creative ways of expressing reality. However, what unites them is the philosophical outlook on the truths and realities of the world that is emerging in philosophical inquiries of their contemporaries. Modernism becomes the culture of denying previously presupposed truths, anti-traditionalism that went against the norms of the previously admired academic style of painting. There is an overt split from the previously moral and historical, from “preaching” and educating and, instead, a major refocus on finding new ways of perceiving and expressing reality.

            

Sharply experiencing the disharmony of the world, expressed in Nietzsche’s proclamation that the God is dead with moral compasses abandoned to the state of chaos and no truth to be taken as certain (Wood 203-204), Avant-gardists and later Modernists are facing the world as severe, absurd and alienated. Since many previous notions of reality are no longer valid, questioned by Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard and Freud, Modernist artists have to find new order and language to express art as both a way of self-expression of the artist and a hypothesis of the world truths as well as their continuous transformation. The artists search for answers in the present and try to glance into the future instead of reminiscing and rehearsing the events of the past. The departure from controlled structure and rigid moral undercurrents, let the philosophers, socialists and artists express their individuality and open their minds to possibilities unrelated to the past historical experiences. It allows them to go deeper, into discovery of true human self with its sensibility and, often, its agonizing irrationality and chaos. The thinking becomes fragmented as reflection of human unconsciousness and the state of events is less idealized and often presents itself realistically bleak and disappointing. The conceptual thinking becomes an inseparatable component of creative process making art a reflection of both the artist’s creative and spiritual process as well as the viewer’s reaction to it. In his essay “A Model of Modernism” Norman F. Cantor ascribes several defining characteristics of the Modernist movement, among which are the focus of disharmonious and fragmentary, functionalism and sexual openness (Cantor 45-47).  

 

 Pablo Picasso "Man with Violin"

Pablo Picasso "The Poet"

Pablo Picasso’s work, such as “Man with Violin” and “The Poet”, is highly fragmented, made out of fractions that separately could be identified but put together do not add up to an objective totality. By looking at “Man with Violin,” we see the nose of the musician, his mustache and a fraction of the violin but they do not add up to create his comprehensive portrait. Similarly in “The Poet,” the portrait once harmoniously combined seems to be like a mirror smashed against the concrete floor, its pieces scattered then put together at random, with the “scroll of paper” and the eyes and mouth of the poet placed at logically incomprehensible positions. There is no longer a predetermined pattern but a disharmonious composition lacking conclusive finish. However, the totality is not nonexistent but, instead, it is transferred from individual identities to relationships of multiple facets, their unique interaction and unity. Although we are not sure what to look for as totality we can still identify the fragments and process them as part of the reality seeking interpretation. Since there is no specific order in which fragments should combine in order to be perceived and understood, the elements of the cubist work become interchangeable and its composition becomes a link holding disassociated fractions. The fragments are put together by the mind of the cubist and processed by the mind of the viewer, thus, rendering the work highly subjective to interpretation.

 Giacomo Balla "Dynamism of the Dog on a Leash"

Marcel Duchamp 

"Nude Descending a Staircase No 2"

Giacomo Balla’s “Dynamism of the Dog on a Leash” is a great example of futurist work and its fascination with speed, power, machines and technology. The concern with simultaneity of movement in time is recorded by divisionist method of painting and interpretations of the abstract effects of light on the moving objects. The dog appears to be multi-legged with the image smudged and the leash appearing as forming a cone instead of a single line. The painting escapes its two-dimensional frame and introduces the concept of time as a new dimension. The speed as well as movement are closely analyzed and their function is broken up into fragments in order to be analyzed and understood from a scientific perspective. “Nude Descending a Staircase No 2” by Marcel Duchamp is another great example of fascination with how things work in motion set against the increment of time. The figure is fragmented and extended in time as though it was photographed at a very high speed smudging the movement in the air or simply recorded and put together as a continuous progression in time placed on a continuous line of action. The

beginning of 20^th century and Industrial revolution brought many developments to the inquisitive eye of both the scientist and the artist. The machines were studied with precision that transferred to the same scientific and physiological fascination with the movement of the human body in space, its function.

 Edouard Manet "Olympia"

Egon Schiele "Standing Nude Young Girl"

Edouard Manet’s “Olympia” is a new take on female nudity and sexuality. The academic tradition held that nude was a goddess and in her lack of clothing reflected purity. The nude was always a creation of imagination, referring to mythology or historical event. In Manet’s painting, however, the woman, who is no longer a creation of artist’s fantasy but an actual courtesan named Victorine Meurent, is not a nude but a naked temptress boasting sexually alluring boudoir mules and a red flower in her hair. She gazes at us with her shameless fearless eyes. The flowers in the hands of her servant and the hissing cat acknowledge a presence of the stranger in the room. Since the cat is directed at the viewer and so is the gaze of Victorine, there could be a logical connotation that the viewer becomes Olympia’s next trick. Egon Schiele’s “Standing Nude Young Girl” shows another side of exploration into the realm of sexuality. It no longer focuses on the beauty of the female form but, on the opposite, Schiele’s method of depiction, ascribed to the Expressionist style of painting, is harsh and almost repulsive and, instead, gives his subjects a soul full of vulnerability, insecurity and painful air of loneliness. Where depiction of “Olympia” is marked with artistic precision and vividness of color and shades, “Standing Nude Young Girl” looks like an unfinished sketch boasting little decorative elements besides the fragile naked frame of the girl and her helpless gaze.

             

The end of 19^th and beginning of 20^th century showed many new philosophical and cultural trends as well as forms and styles of creative expression, yet what united this time period under a single name of Modernism is dynamism of inquisitive search for new reality, innovative norms of perceiving and processing the world and pressing social responsibility for the community that was once rigid and highly divided but now, with technological innovations, is pressed closer together needing new strategies of communicating and coexisting.

Bibliography:

Wood, Robert E. Nietzsche’s Horizon. Placing Aesthetics. Ohio University Press, 1999

 

Cantor, Norman F. Modernism. The American Century. HarperPerennial, 1998

Great Minds: Honore de Balzac

"All humanity is passion; without passion, religion, history, novels, art would be ineffectual"

The King's Speech

A magnificent gem that disappoints with the slow beginning yet simmers to perfection at finale. I am a bit at odds with this film and I will not pretend to claim it as my favorite movie of the year. I was intrigued by «The King's Speech» due to its rare 95% rating on the often capricious Rotten Tomatoes website as well as its impeccable reputation for gathering four Oscars at the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony. As I sat before the screen, I was overwhelmed in anticipation of the cinematographic magnificence that was to challenge and amuse me, surprise and make me think. All I have to say is that I remained in this state of awaiting till the final «speech» rolled in. I was, indeed, tantalized by the incredible performances of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush who showed great range or acting depth and conviction to the characters. Was the film inspirational? Yes, it was uplifting and encouraging in its focus on endurance in the face of drastic setbacks and personal inadequacies. It also showed a kind and supportive bond between the timid yet powerful king and a daring and witty commoner. The movie was good but, for me, it was not excellent. It was, at times, unbearably slow and uneventful with most plot turns rather predictable and dull. However, I will repeat myself, the acting is worth checking out and finishing the movie to form your own opinion. Afterall, four Oscars must be worth a try : )

My Throne

That is quite a chair to say the least and I would not mind seating in it…in a stark white dress, sipping a glass of bubbly…nah, this chair demands a man’s drink – make it a whisky then!  

Sophia Loren

"I was born wise. Street-wise, people-wise, self-wise. This wisdom was my birthright. I was also born old..." - Sophia Loren

If you are fascinated with the life of the intriguing Sophia Loren, you must read her one and only autobiography “Sophia Living and Loving: Her Own Story” published by William Morrow & Co in 1979. Loren is a renown cinema star, who has made her name starring in “Two Women” and “ Marriage Italian-Style” as well as over 90 other films, winning 50 international awards, including seven Golden Globe Awards, Grammy Award and two Oscars. Sophia Loren has been voted the most beautiful and desirable woman in the world and now basks in the luxury of her achievements surrounded by the loyal family. However, her life has not always been a passage of rose petals and Damiani diamonds. The autobiography is a sincere collection of memories, starting in the slumps of Napoli at the time of war, where little Sophia had to sleep in the tunnel, hiding from air bombs and unable to eat for days. Her marriage to Carlo Ponti was a struggle as well, given his marriage to Giuliana Fiastri in a country where divorce was unheard of and strongly prosecuted. I do not want to give any details away... The book is both charming and inspirational in its sincerity and the strength of the woman much admired but little known for who she truly was and is – a survivor full of passion, conviction and female wisdom. 

Enjoy:

Carmen

I am a convert! To the magic of opera that is. If you asked me just a few days ago how the gradation of arts desirability worked for me, it would look like that: 1) Ballet 2) Symphony 3) Opera. Most likely the opera was lagging behind because I was traumatized at the tender age of eight when my mother, insired to enlighten me, dragged me, kicking and screaming, to the Bolshoy Theater for a 4–act Nikolaj Rimsky-Korsakov's opera «The Tsar's Bride». Let me just say that the experience was not appreciated and for the most part of the masterpiece I ended up dangling from the balcony of our designated seats making silly faces at the annoyed members of the audience. 

But as with most things, one thankfully outgrows this stage and starts to look at past occurances at a slightly different angle. A few years ago I have seen a higly successful production of NY Metropolitan Opera's «War and Peace» but still have been foresaking my outings to the opera house for ballet performances. Alas, I hang my head in guilty aprehension of the mistakes past. On a recent Sunday, I have finally made my way to the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco Civic Center for Jean-Pierre Ponnele production of «Carmen». Everything from Georges Bizet's  music, decoration, acting and breathtaking voice of Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili have touched me deeply and made me vow my loyalty to the opera world. 

I will not attempt to voice any sort of reflection on the opera performance having no background in this area – all I can say, try to experience its magic while it lasts from November 6 through December 4. 

Some books to put on your reading list : )

Who? Ayn Rand

What? «The Fountainhead»

Why? For its sharp reflection on the architectural development of the begenning of 20th century, complex characters and affairs with philosophical undertones that just might make you question your ideology.

Who? Milan Kundera

What? «The Unbearable Lightness of Being»

Why? For Kundera's incredible play with words and sharp analysis of character's psychological set-up, the delicate love triange and existential questions that beg to be answered yet remain open to interpretation.

Who? Mikhail Bulgakov

What? «Master and Margarita»

Why? Because I love Russian literature and I said so!!! But for those rebels not yet persuaded, for its grand satire on the Soviet bureucracy and atheism, comical characters and quote worthy statements. Devil trying to beat some sense into the Soviets with the scenes alternating between the streets of Moscow and psychiatric ward… 'Nuff said!  

The Kid with a Bike (Le Gamin au Vélo)

Cyril (Thomas Doret), an innocent hope thrusted upon the egocentrism and coldness of ignorance. The coldness that alienates the pure and gentle heart trying to extinguish the flames of the passionate spirit of youth, its gentle inexperience that will not last. It is impossible to hold back tears watching this boy's trusting eyes aimed at his father's (Jérémie Renier) indifferent face. «The Kid with a Bike», a film by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, is a treasure of great social impact, shining the light on the issue of immaturity in parenthood, shunning responsibility and lacking concern. Samantha (Cécile De France) is the only adult symbol of loyalty persevering  in dealing with complexities of the adolescent search for freedom and adventure in the environment of urban foster care and separation trauma. Antoine de Saint Exupéry famously noted in The Little Prince: «You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed»...so let us think of our children and treat then with gentleness and respect their growing minds deserve : )

Goodbye First Love (Un Amour de Jeunesse)

The French Festival has arrived and it is hard to believe that a year had already passed since I stood in Embarcadero Center Cinema, in a line pouring onto the outdoor garden full of anticipating faces. The seasonal short festivals presented by San Francisco Film Society are always a treat that unfortunately often goes unnoticed by the people who would loyally frequent the International Film Festival in the spring. I genuinely believe that there should be more attempts at getting the word out to the general public via fliers or posters. But that is just my modest opinion…

“Goodbye First Love,” my first film this October, is a charming drama by Mia Hansen-Love, featuring two young lovers who over the course of eight years struggle to find connection and maturity to hold onto their tender yet fragile first feelings. Is it love, you may ask? Infatuation? Whim of burgeoning sexuality?

The characters of Camille (Lola Creton) and Sullivan (Sebastian Urzendowsky) are touchingly real giving the movie both inspirational qualities as well as cringe-worthy episodes. Although Camille annoys with her passivity and helplessness to forsake the romance that could as well have been an illusion all along, her character is what gives the film its tragically realistic touch. Camille is flawed because she is human. She is at moments weak and powerfully persevering at the same time. She is a touch of innocent conviction that is so close to every woman's heart. Camille is a part of woman that is left behind with the teddy bears and first hesitant kisses but emerges spontaneously as a glint of vulnerability that is pure and undeniably true.

An Evening with Ludovico Einaudi

Ludovico Einaudi’s concert in San Francisco left me earning for more…more of that magic music… more of the lulling peacefulness that envelopes your whole being making you forget that you are seating in the crowded Herbst theater and not on your windowpane, wrapped in a plush sweater, looking at the raindrops in mid-air… more of the serenity with which maestro utters a few words to get back to the intricate yet natural movement of his gentle fingers on the piano keys. The evening of November 7 was a transformative two hours where the face was finally put on the art and the music sounded with the purest voice of live performance. Thank you, Ludovico Einaudi!

Colorful sorry

It has been a long time of silence and my apologies go to the loyal readers of this blog as well as any curious passerby. There have been a lot going on – relocation to a new dwelling and a few changes in my life that are positive and exhilaratingly exciting. Change is always welcome since it brings growth and new potentials. I have come across a quote by Antoine de Saint Exupéry which sums up my feelings as of lately: «A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born». I am open to discover all the fragments of this stranger's character but now, as with any delay, I am ready to post and share all the recent discoveries in film, art and culture that make everyday a uniquely colorful one! And on the note of color – a round of applause for this outrageously gorgeous video that put a big silly smile on my face:

Thank you, Kate Spade New York – you colorized us once again!

Deux de la Vague

Emmanuel Laurent’s “Two in the Wave” is an eye opening treat of behind-the-scenes introspection into the world of the French New Wave. The documentary follows the creative collaboration of Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard from their first attempts at killing the “false myths” that were guiding the often archaic system of French Cinema to their inevitable separation over film perspectives after May 1968, Godard going for highly radical films carrying political message and Truffaut staying loyal to his classical genre.

When we look at film now we can no longer perceive how much of what we find irreplaceable in its genre and stylistic perspective is the result of radical changes in the film industry beginning in late 1950’s with Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” and Godard’s “Breathless.” To preserve their creative ideals and integrity, they were breaking the rules, performing a sort of artistic terrorism, blowing away the restrictions of stuffy academic Cannes, bringing a breath of fresh air, often deemed inexperienced by critics yet searching, creative and true. The Young Turks (Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer) were out to search for new ways of cinematic representation, the new cinema for the young based on seeking the truth in reality and depicting it in the most unobstructive way. I believe that this quote my Jean-Luc Godard summarizes the theory behind the New Wave movement and speaks for this documentary at large:

 “Cinema is what brings art close to life. Painting or sculpture is art, because it’s clear things are not like this in life. It’s a transposition, an even if it imitates life, if it recreates life… Life, it’s the subway, the Galeries Lafayette, cars…Cinema brings both together, what we film is life and the camera is art. Or…or the opposite…”

I found “Two in the Wave” to be a great introductory guide into the vision of the masters of La Nouvelle Vague and a must-see before indulging in the films of that time period. I have recently purchased a wonderful book by Richard Neuperton on the French New Wave and hopefully it will guide me through a marathon of films I am planning to enjoy, including Godard’s “Jules and Jim” which I saw before and failed to understand in its full potential. 

Park Avenue pop-art extravaganza

Aww I love this teddy in Park Avenue!!! On my recent trip to the glorious NYC (before I brought them an earthquake from San Francisco and a subsequent hurricane) I have stumbled upon this treasure making my way east to the Museum of Modern Art. Swiss artist Urs Fischer has erected this giant yellow teddy bear sculpture sitting under a lamp right between 52^nd and 53^rd Streets in front of the Seagram Building on Park Avenue. It measures 23 feet in height and, made of bronze, weighs 35,000 pounds. The amazing button-eyed teddy is on display until September 30. So hurry up and see it in person until it is auctioned off on Christie’s in early May!

Picasso exhibition

Picasso exhibition at De Yong is a must see before its closing day on October 10. Unless you want to jump on the plane at your earliest convenience and see it as a part of permanent exposition at Musée National Picasso in Paris, you have two more weeks to enjoy it in San Francisco. More than a hundred mesmerizing masterpieces that make you question what is art, how do we define it? What makes good art and what makes bad art? How subjective should it be? Even though it was rainy and cold in Golden Gate Park, the colorful art adventure was a true joy. The exhibition is extensive covering the works of Pablo Picasso's Expressionist, Blue and Rose Periods, Neoclassical, Surrealist and Cubist movements.  I would say it was an excellent cultural experience for all of us eager to learn a few things about art of the 20th century. My favorites were the bronze «Goat» (1950) and «Cat Catching a Bird» (1939) – I guess I like Picasso animals… 

de Young Museum: 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

on the loss of trust

I had recently met a lot of people who were afraid of love. They were women and they were men, successful in every other way yet utterly afraid. They were adults acting like children, covering their eyes and minds from the fear of being exposed, vulnerable and hurt. Kids, however, grow by leaps and bounds and at a moment's notice forget their terrors where my acquaintances were resistant to taking even a few steps in that direction...onto the path of complete subordination and reverence for that moment of freedom that inevitably brings peace and calm once the battlegrounds are surrendered. My friends, the ones I knew and the ones who are still close to me, I leave you with these words:

Love can swallow us whole where we lose our identity to the source of passion...it can also chew us up and spit us out, leaving us disoriented and abandoned. However, no matter how blissful or painful the experience, it has one grand positive note: transformation. Once entered, you are forever a changed man, marked, enlightened, tarnished or lifted...yet never the same as before...and, in many ways, it is a beautiful thing…

Media Essay

The academic life has finally arrived in full force and most free-spirited summer pastimes I had so fully enjoyed were abandoned with a sigh of regret. To make up for it, I have been trying to merge together as well as juxtapose as many of the current studying activities with the creative musings I wholeheartedly enjoy. Without further ado, I include an essay of mine, part-private musings and part-reflections on the recent work and experiences:

The media occupies an unquestionably significant position in the modern society. It has many faces and can be generally described as a tool to deliver and store information. Fine art, advertising, news and print are only a few descriptive adjectives that can come in front of the malleable word “media.” Media is as much an artistic self-expression of a director playing with a blend of French New Wave and a musical comedy in creating a new film genre as it is a political article dealing with voting system tampering in the developing countries. Why are two seemingly distinct concepts similar? 

What unites an artistic film and politics here is media. When we watch a movie, we learn the plot of the film as well as the vision of the director who expresses a certain view of a time period, an event or a concept. Where the movie, unless a documentary, relates its information in a symbolic and wrap around way, the news are made to deliver a strong message clearly and without bias. Media often claims to be transparent and dispassionate, however, it is often skewed by the government and accepted cultural preferences. More often than not rather than seeking out and reporting the truth to people, the media itself has the tools to actively influence and mold the public opinion. Therefore, media has the power to enlighten but also the power to deliberately mislead its consumers and undermine their trust. Moreover, today, with an ever-increasing instant stream of information via youtube.com and various blogs, the excess of unregulated media has multiplied, lowering not only the credibility of its informative sources but also questioning the journalistic integrity in general. “Mediascapes,” a term coined by Arjun Appadurai and referring to the landscapes of information in the scope of transnational media sharing is extremely relevant now. In the modern time with rocket-fast connectivity, the accountability of media is at its lowest point and consumer must use his critical thinking when accessing the information and analyzing its actuality. 

As a response to all the various thoughts on the subject of media that have been occupying me lately, I chose to make a collage. In my mind it speaks on several levels just as the layers of mixed media piece are combined to create a single but multidimensional structure. My work, called “Mind Games” is a diptych, consisting of two separate unattached panels. The first panel is a 15’x30’ canvas with four smaller canvases symmetrically layered on top. The canvases are painted in black and gold acrylic and feature an animal skull, metal pins, cutouts from vintage record illustrations and copies of old black and white photographs of films. One of the smaller canvases in the bottom right corner contains a poem by the 13^th century Persian theologian and mystic Rumi. The second larger panel of 30’x30’ also contains several canvases but, as opposed to the first work, the three canvases are layered on top of each other like a pyramid. The base canvas layer features a nude color along with black and gold. In addition to pins, photos and illustration clippings, the panel displays newspaper clippings, an image of a woman holding a baby and lyrics to a rock song.

“Mind Games” is a critical study of media. According to Arjun Appadurai, “‘Mediascapes,’ whether produced by private or state interests, tend to be image-centered, narrative-based accounts of strips of reality, and what they offer to those who experience and transform them is a series of elements.” “Mind Games” feature an abundance of media sources presented by the published world (newspaper clippings, poem, written lyrics), visual arts (posters, illustration cutouts) and film (black and white photography from the film sets). My collages, however, do not only reflect on the multifaceted plethora of media elements centered on images but also highlight their significance and potential danger through symbolism. For example, the obvious visual reference of the nurse woman to Virgin Mary highlights the religious cult-like status of information gathering today. Most people cannot phantom their lives without constant updates from various media sources online and in print. We are the generation who constantly feeds their minds and feels lost and isolated if the stream of information is interrupted due to a technical difficulty. The golden handprint, in its play on meanings, can both signify the human “imprint” and possible bias on the produced information and the media “imprint” on the minds of its consumers. Poem by Rumi is an example of yet another form of ancient media. Back in the day most historical events, current and considered news at the time, were passed on to the new generations via poems, fables and fairy tales. An excerpt from the poem here tells a personal story and an exquisitely subjective one, which begs a question – how objective is all media?

The skull is the most controversial part of “Mind Games” as it signifies a mind that is both alive and dead. It is alive because it is a real skull and not a plastic replica, yet it is dead because the animal it belonged to is obviously no longer living. Symbolically, the mind would reside in the brain inside the skull, yet the skull is empty signifying our brains’ vacuum in absorbing information without questioning it. It also signifies death of trust and death of selectiveness. Police separator reading danger and on/off signs go along with the skull symbolism and its mind connotations. Although you can turn the source delivering the message on and off, you can never completely mute your mind to it once you are subjected to its information and subjectivity. While according to Marshall McLuhan media can give “the global village” a voice and identity, in my opinion it can also be overpowering to the point where it develops a life of its own mutating the minds of people coming into contact with it.

To sum it all up, the pins sequence reading “Sinful Delinquency” once again emphasizes the information following “cult” and its possible misdemeanors on the minds of its loyal listeners and observers. “Mind Games” is not an all-negative critique of the modern media but a warning sign to keep one’s mind open to challenges and capable of selective analysis. The movies taken to extreme challenge our notions of beauty and already show great influence on the self-esteem of the growing generation of girls. Music and fiction can inspire and relax but also instill radical ideas. News channels, often claiming their unbiased standpoint, promote governmental preferences and propaganda. All of my examples are taken to extreme on purpose to highlight the possible influences of media on the minds of consumers, challenging them at best and altering them at worst.

What “Mind Games” call for is a diversity of media that like a jigsaw puzzle has many elements that go together to create an environment of growth cooperation and increasing knowledge and self-awareness. Just like the “global soul” of Pico Iyer, the global media should sum up its collection of separate sources into a new harmonious and more advanced whole. 

Bibliography:

Appadurai, Arjun. Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy. The Globalization Reader. Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2000

Iyer, Pico. The Global Soul: Jet Lag, Shopping Malls, and the Search for Home. Vintage, 2001

Brigitte Bardot Collection

So what have I been up to lately? To be absolutely frank, I have been shamelesly satisfying a clandestine film-romance with no one else but my all time favorite Brigitte Bardot. On my birthday, which for my love of 1960's films and fashion had turned into a thematic extravaganza, a dear friend has given me a 5-film Lionsgate production collection of B.B. For the last few months I have been travelling on and off and having safely returned home I now finally got a chance to indulge and dedicate a few consequative evenings to this gem of cnematography ranging from 1956-1969. Having recently finished Roger Vadim's autobiography, a big chunk of which captured the life of excuisite Brigitte, I was eager to catch up on as much of her work as physically possible! The verdict is the following: although, I will always draw tremendous pleasure from watching graceful Brigitte and the impeccable dresscode of the 1960's films, I must attest that the movies themselves are a hit or miss. Don't get me wrong – they were all incredibly enjoyable and inspiring in all their femme-glory but cinematically they were pretty flat and fading in comparison to their famous New Wave counterparts of the same era. However, I don't believe those films should be weighted as heavily or on the same scale - just simply enjoyed. 

My favorite film from the set was «Le Repos du Guerrier» (Love on the Pillow», simply for the fact that Brigitte Bardot exposed more acting range and showed deeper emotions than in her usual and much admired sex-kitten repertoire. I still have a lot to learn about Bardot's work but in my eyes her best movie up to date remains the one that made her famous – «And God Created Woman» for its liveliness, barefoot charm and seductiveness. Oh no, I almost forgot, I did love «Les Femmes» which was included in the set but since I have seen it many times before, I totally blanked! It is a must see! The first time I enjoyed the film, I could not stop thinking that it looked like a series of incredibly beautiful photographs. It celebrates the beauty of women in their differences and passions and leaves you begging for more of that joie de vivre…

P.S. All the films are in color even though the pictures I found are misleading : )