"Fitzcarraldo" (director: Werner Herzog)

Among Herzog's many masterpieces lies this 1982 film, starring Herzog mainstay Klaus Kinski as Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald -- a financially-troubled railroad man/opera lover who finds himself in colonial Peru, contracted to helm a steamship deep into the Amazon rainforest in search of a lucrative rubber tree forest situated in a dangerous and inaccessable location. Well, after most of his nervous and grumbly crew leaves him, the few remaining steamshipmen manage to tenuously befriend (and enlist the help of) the native Peruvian Indians, and defying all logic and odds, they manage to create a true engineering marvel and drag their steamship over a mountain in order to reach the remote rubber forest. Fitzgerald (aka 'Fitzcarraldo' to his friends) does all this in order to fund his dream of opening the first opera house in Peru. This, his true passion for the world of music and art, is what drives him to these lengths (well, this and his love interest, the beautiful and remarkably understanding Claudia Cardinale as Molly, who helps fund his seemingly mad quest).
Like most of Herzog's films, the cinematography is stunning, as he captures the grand and epic scale of remote locales (and creates amazingly dreamlike images) like few directors can. His characters are memorable and well-cast, and the scale and scope of his stories are far-ranging, unique, and very human. 'Fitzcarraldo' is a masterpiece of cinema, and here's to it getting it's due one day.

Resplandor - "Pleamar" CD

Some rather superb and deep shoegaze sounds from, of all places, Lima, Peru! Boasting of production and mixing by one Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins), these songs shimmer and drone like long-long cousins of Slowdive's prime material. And while they aren't as innovative as Slowdive (it IS 15 years later, of course), Resplandor are just about as good. Take that as some serious praise.

And, like that influential group, the vocals here are little more than a series of echoes, coos, and breathy 'baaaah's. That said, I do detect some English lyrics (maybe), but in reality, who cares? The music is simply heavenly, drifty, melodic, and soothing in a womblike way. The title track singes, sizzles, and burns with heavily-effected guitars while epic drones encase the whole sound into a cohesive whole, and the melody oozes out. This is a must-have for anyone who laments the lack of new material from My Bloody Valentine.

'Boreal' incorporates some glitchy electronics into the mix, and effectively places Resplandor outside the realm of purely 'retro' acts and nudges them into the future. I've seldom heard such a convincing melding of ambient guitar washes and swollen drone/noise. I'll be investigating this band further. I just want to turn it up loud and drift off (and away). (Automatic Entertainment)


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