George Benlian on movies, books and few other things

Rick Gekoski: "Think Bill Bryson, only on books" (Tatler)

The London-based, American-born rare-book dealer, writer and broadcaster Rick Gekoski is coming back next week to Sydney as a guest of the annual writers festival and as the chairman of judges for the Man Booker Prize.

Gekoski is a tremendous raconteur. I am currently reading "Tolkien's Gown & other stories of great authors and rare books" - a book of literary anecdotes in twenty chapters each one covering twenty great works of modern literature as both texts and objects. As a prominent rare-book dealer, Gekoski has a lot to tell about his bibliophilia adventures with first editions of the works including a short-lived law suit from the reclusive american writer J.D. Salinger.

His stories are fascinating and diverse, and involve memorable encounters with, among others, Graham Greene, William Golding, Salman Rushdie, Julian Barnes and Harold Pinter. For anyone who loves books, Tolkien's Gown offers a wealth of amusement and instruction and a desire to get hooked to the strange sentiment of satisfaction that is book collecting.

Of men and Gods - What a profound cinema experience

 

 
At the recent French Film Festival, i discovered a puremasterpiece called "Of Gods and Men" directed by Xavier Beauvois.

This is a compelling and highly emotional movie of an infamous incident in Algeria in the mid-90s of a small monastery of Trappist monks elected to stay on duty, providing health care to the village where they lived, despite the rising danger all around them.

These monks — some brave, some less so — relied on the community they belong and welcomed into to protect them, even as the Algerian government was demanding that they leave. Writer-director Xavier Beauvois concentrates on their routine, working the garden, fetching firewood, providing medical help, praying and chantsing  Their world is contrasted with the sometimes noisy one outside their walls. And some of that noise is violence, which the village elders fear is headed their way.

The monks range in age from 40 into their 70s are played by wonderful character french actors some of them we may never have heard their name before. My favourite is Michael Lonsdale in the role of the exceptional Pere Luc full of optimism and wit.

 As they live, so they prepare to die. They go about their lives as usual, but with an added intensity, knowing that every day, every moment, might be their last. Every noise, every knock at the door may be the end for them. They go about their lives with tremendous dignity.

This is a rare masterpiece of immense power that has touched millions of viewers religious or not.

"Of Gods and Men" will be released in Australia on 26 May. The DVD was released last month by Artificial-eye.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xG3F-GUbnw

 

 

The Sydney Writers Festival is the annual cultural rendez-vous not to be missed

Another year of the Sydney Writers Festival means another collection of great rendez-vous between numerous writers and their readers. Curiosity is a good thing. It allows you to take a journey without knowing exactly what to expect. The rich program of the festival facilitates the individual to take this journey and a careful selection can only be beneficial.

Like every year, several international big names make the visit to our shores. They bring with them highly anticipated moments shared with the audience. As Peter Carey mentioned in his closing address, literature can be a powerful tool to a more captivating life. The presence of perhaps the most respected living australian writer who lives in New York for now two decades is an indication of how this country has complexity issues when it comes to artistic talents. A successful Australian artist can have close connections with Australia however the choice of living and working abroad is only a natural and necessary thing to do.

At writers festivals, there are always one or two episodes that remain in our mind. This year one came thanks to a Lebanese female writer by the name of Nada Awar Jarrar. Her latest novel "A good land" talks about three individuals from different age group and backgrounds. This well spoken intellectual who has an Australian mother and a Lebanese father shared her affections for a country small in size but huge in tragic past. It is difficult to dissociate the war with the writings of Lebanese authors. After all, conflicts of the past and present are a source of inspiration to express feelings that could be less intrusive in writing than in any other form.

Eric Lax is best known as the biographer of Woody Allen. He has written three books on him, the latest being a conversation covering the rich career of my favorite New York filmmaker. Lax is also an intellectual who has a thing or two to say about faith, the story of penicillin and life in a big hospital. My next reading will be the book of conversation with Woody Allen - an ideal book to devour if you are on your way to New York.

Catherine Millet is becoming a regular. She was here in 2003 for "The sexual life of Catherine M."- a mega success with five million copies sold all over the world. She is back with "Jealousy"  - a book of reflection about whether a libertine like Millet has the right to be jealous of her life partner being unfaithful. The sixty two years old parisian seems rather conservative at first view. Sex does sell but i have dubious views whether Catherine Millet intimacy is a subject to explore.

The polemicist Christopher Hitchens is here for his memoirs called "Hitch-22". Prior to this festival, i didn't know about this English-American author and journalist who frequently expresses his views via a variety of media sources and lectures. Forty years of observation, polemic and criticism have given Hitchens the reputation of a public intellectual.

Talking about politics, the writers festival at least here in Sydney has every year a number of politicians and political journalists as guest speakers. In 2010, the dialog between the ex-prime minister Paul Keating and the wall street journal chief economist David Wessel was a key event that i missed out. I also missed out on Tony Abbott, Kristina Keneally and Julia Gillard.

Back to the international big names, this year we had the pleasure of listening to John Ralston Saul, Lionel Shriver and Colm Toibin. Three writers from different horizons: the Canadian Ralston Saul apart being a well respected novelist and essayist is also the president of International Pen; the american Lionel Shriver who calls UK her adoptive home for some years now and the irish Colm Toibin who has written a compelling book about good prospects in Brooklyn in the 1950's

The main discovery of this year festival comes nevertheless from an art historian, Sarah Thornton. "Seven days in the Art world" was named one of the best art books of 2008 by the Sunday Times, the Independent and the New York Times. I haven't read it yet but i am convinced that Thornton has written this book also considering readers like myself that don't know much about the subject but who like to know more without being bored with theoretical jargon. Reading here and there few lines from the book, i can see how captivating this exercise could be. 

   

 

 

Paul Auster - A voice to listen and to reflect

A major reason of the steady growth of readers following Paul Auster's peculiar universe book after book could well be a distant recognition of life contradiction and ambiguity. Perhaps it is a common observation to have in finding Austere's imaginary world full of enigmatic characters living in precarious way. It is important to note the clarity of his language protruding an authenticity nature that will eliminate any suggestion of incongruity. A slow and natural evolution that has began thirty years ago and has made this sixty two years old New Yorker one of the most respected voice in contemporary American Literature.

I saw Paul Auster on Saturday 27 March at the "Salon des livres" in Paris. French readers consider Auster as the greatest living American writer with a strong relationship that goes back many years. The session with Auster was packed. Hard to count but for sure he attracted the biggest crowd during his speech as well as afterward during the signing of his latest book "Invisible". It is interesting to see in the index page of a french book of interviews by Gerard de Cortanze a great number of references from many french academics who have written extensively about his various books over the years. "Paul Auster Confidential" produced by Arte in the late nineties is a rare privilege to spend over two hours listening to Auster and sometime to his wife the writer Siri Hurstvedt about his childhood, baseball, his travels, the influence of the city on his work and the importance that walking holds for him.

Universally recognized as the voice who expresses minor incidences and spectacular disruptions in the same tonality, Paul Auster can be considered as a writer who is not afraid of going further than a certain comfort zone making an unexpected or even unthinkable event part of his narration. He has guts however he remains also very discreet; A strength hard to ignore.

Auster writing addresses serious issues without being pretentious. A wise approach that is not an easy thing to maintain. His creative side has a certain grandeur that attracts loyal followers always keen to find out what will be the next book from such a great writer.

Marie Darrieussecq and Monsieur Paul

In 1996, an unknown french woman aged 27 became a sudden  celebrity of the french intellectual milieu with the release of her first published novel called "Pig tales" (Truismes in french). The man behind this discovery was a discreet publisher named Paul Otchakovsky-Laurens, the founder of POL Editions - a small french publishing house specialized in quality modern literature with demanding authors in their catalogs including several big names such as Martin Winckler, Emmanuel Carrere, Darrieussecq of course and the laureate of the Prix Goncourt 2008, Atiq Rahimi.

Thirteen years later, both Darrieussecq and Monsieur Paul are in Melbourne for the release of "Tom is dead" a novel published in 2007 and recently translated in english by an australian up and coming writer, Lia Hills. Darrieussecq participated in a number of literary events including a Q&A about her writing and particularly about this new book set in Australia; a detail never seen before.

In 2007, "Tom est mort" was the subject of a breathtaking accusation of "psychological plagiarism" launched by Camille Laurens, an author also published by the same small company, POL. She attacked Darrieussecq claiming echoes of her own work being obvious specially from an autobiographical book "Philippe" being about the death of her own son. The scandal was unjustified and unfounded and Monsieur Paul remained supportive to Darrieussecq taking Lauren's accusation almost as a personal assault.

Monsieur Paul began in the publishing trade as a reader. In late seventies, he discovered Georges Perec with "La vie mode d'emploi". He founded his own publishing house in 1983 and gained Marguerite Duras fidelity with two of her books published in the mid-eighties by POL. The publishing world considers Monsieur Paul as an innovator. He reads all received manuscripts and makes his own decisions on what to publish. Once he adopts a writer, it is for life. Darrieussecq is a great example of this fidelity and in thirteen years, thirteen books were written and published by this dynamic duo.

Darrieussecq and Monsieur Paul are approachable and very friendly. We had long chat about various subjects including my origins, the Armenian people. Otchakovsky shared his admiration on Pelechian while Darrieussecq is an unconditional follower of Atom Egoyan's movies.

POL Editions is located in one of my favorite street in Paris, at 33 Rue Saint-Andre-des-arts in the heart of the intellectual milieu of the French Capital.

The Melbourne Writers Festival Circa 2009

Unlike the Sydney Writers Festival, i need to travel by airplane for about ninety minutes in order to attend the Melbourne Writers Festival. The ten days packed series of literary events finished yesterday. As usual it remains an impossible task to attend all events as all day long simultaneous sessions are taking place in and around the Federation Square. Still, by making careful choices, the result can be overwhelming and stimulus for our brain.

I did miss out the opening keynote address by Bernhard Schlink entitled "Guilt About The Past". The author of "The Reader" - a highly successful book which was recently made into a movie starring Kate Winslet, is well placed to discuss concepts of forgiving, condemning and reconciliation and challenges facing literary representations of the past. I would have loved being part of such a rare and important event of this caliber especially this well respected intellectual is known to be a discreet thinker. His visit in Sydney for a lecture at the City Recital Hall was an examination whether fiction can be dealt with sensitive historical subjects or perhaps create an intense emotion that can be seen as a crucial step of living a truer and more direct experience. I will be watching the movie soon and will for sure revisit the subject in a near future.

When i saw Antony Beevor at the french literary program "La grande Librairie", i was very much impressed by this rigorous and charismatic military historian who has published several books about important historical episodes of the last century. In "D-dAY" it is the battle of Normandy in 1944 that is meticulously depicted despite the fact that the same subject was treated numerous times before. Beevor is a master history teller that not only brings out important aspects of the twentieth century but also makes this task approachable to the general readers. I saw Beevor in Sydney during a talk about the hidden parts of otherwise the most well known day of the Second World War known as D-day.

The Second World War is the most written subject of the last sixty plus years. Both the irishman John Boyne and the Italian Vincenzo Cerami were behind two poignant stories of survival in the most horrific times of the last century. Boyne wrote "The Boy in the stripped pyjamas" about an unlikely friendship between a german kid and a jew kid and the devastating consequences of that bond while Cerami collaborated with Roberto Benigni on the screenplay of "La vita e bella" one of the most heartbreaking movies of recent years.

Young women writers are often invited to share their stories, real or fiction. Nikki Gemmell became an international best selling author in 2004 with "The bride striped bare" originally published anonymously. A book about sex viewed from a female perspective being an ideal candidate for a litterary scandal. Since then, Gemmell pursues her writing career with other fictions including her latest novel called "The book of rapture". This is another provocative tale about trust in families. A somehow grim look overall that will compel the reader for a total follow up with future books from one of the most successful english writers of the decade. Let's not forget, Nikki was born in Australia in 1966 and now lives in London as a full time writer and regular contributor of the BBC.

Speaking about successful female writers, M J Hyland is another respected names making her debut in 2003 with "How the lights gets in". This was followed by "Carry me down" in 2006 short listed for the Man Booker prize. Her latest, simply called "This is how" is about a man lost in social complexity. Hyland is far to be an easy writer. In contrary, she is austere with her character and can leave some readers disturb.

I always find a successful writers festival as a medium to enrich our own tastes and explore our sensibilities through words and ideas. I always describe events of this genre as communion of ideas and once again, a sense of inspiration is felt throughout the days.

The highlights for me were various sessions with Marie Darrieussecq. However a separate post will cover that shortly.

Israelis and Arabs do make great films together

During the last decade, viewers of quality cinema have witnessed the emergence of interesting and powerful movies made by Israeli (and in few cases by Palestinian) directors telling simple and heart-warming stories. It is always surprising to see the lack of violence in those movies. In contrary the collaboration between israelis and palestinians can be seen as a message of hope and tolerance.

Lately i was impressed by "Lemon tree", a movie i discovered late last year and wrote about it in my blog. "The band's visit" made by a young Israeli director is another cinematic gem. A charming and gentle movie about the Egyptian Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arriving to a small Israeli town to give a performance in honor of the opening of an Arab Cultural Centre. Stranded and lost they will soon find out they are expected in another town and therefore have no other choice but to spend the night with few locals including the female owner of a cafe with two-man clientele.

Do not expect heart beating scenes. You might even sometime ask to yourself if there is an actual story. A movie without a developed story may be a risky enterprise however in rare occasions, it can defies this principle and provide a well entertaining and profound cinematic experience which "The band's visit" can be considered as a great example. Good actors are always another valid reason for a film success. We have hardly heard about Ronit El Kabetz who plays Dina, the blunt owner of a cafe that will welcome the band and will even spend a candid evening with Tawfic, their head singer. She is spontaneous and brings a hint of mystery to her character. The show stealer remains however the actor who plays Tawfic. His name is Sasson Gabai. He has an intensive film actor career and has even played in several Hollywood blockbusters. Tawfic is a man of strict principles. He can be severe to his musicians but is always an extremely polite gentleman with strangers. When he goes for an unexpected date with Dina, he is utterly shy. What counts nevertheless is the true Human Being he is with his weak points and poignant past.

In one survey it was estimated 98% of critics liked "The band's visit". It is no surprise the movie won various prestigious awards all over the World 

A sunday afternoon with perhaps America's most respected living Playwright

Edward Albee is a living legend of the Theater World. The author of thirty plays including several well known classicsand for sure one very important masterpiece being "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?", it is a rare privilege to be part of an audience for an on-stage Q&A with him at the Sydney Theater Company.

"What could be worse than getting to the end of your life and realizing you hadn't lived it?" . In just one sentence, Albee has provided a pivotal platform of his work as a dramatist. It may be a disturbing one but for him "writing should be useful. If it can't instruct people a little bit more about the responsibilities of consciousness there's no point in doing it." 

Born in 1928 he was adopted at only two weeks old by a wealthy family who failed to make of him an important corporate identity. Instead, the young Albee left home for good before he was twenty and for ten years he tried without success at all sorts of writing including poetry and prose. In 1958, his first play - a one act called "Zoo story" was premiered in Berlin in a German translation. What an odd way to start a career as a playwright of english language yet be performed in a language that you don't understand.

The highlight of Albee's career remains the creation of "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" on Broadway in October 1962. A controversial piece of work on middle class American couple taking a grim yet objective view on the previous decade idealistic American family . Before Albee, both John Updike and Richard Yates treated the same subject in two important books "Rubbit run" and "Revolutionary Road" in the early sixties.

The success of this long and complex drama has made Albee an important American voice of the Twentieth and the early part of the Twenty first centuries. Over the years he has challenged audiences and his austerity has disappointed many. The principle of writing which is probably the same as any other creative art form is to stimulate the recipient. Albee has made this principle as his golden rule hencethe existence of a chaotic theatrical journey that will not leave your sophisticated theater goer indifferent.

This afternoon was also the perfect occasion to purchase a rare first edition of "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" published in 1962 in pristine condition and get Albee signed. I guess in a matter of minutes my investment doubled if not tripled in value.

A well written biography of French actor Bernard Blier twenty years after his death

If you watch French movies, chances are you have seen Bernard Blier in many of them. As for a cinema enthusiast of my caliber, Blier remains an important figure of French cinema covering a period of fifty years; from the late thirties to the late eighties.

One hundred and eighty roles on the big screen, over thirty roles in the theatre; Blier was the quintessential character actor whose popularity remained intact during all his career. At a young age, he had the great Louis Jouvet as his tutor and made a remarkable debut by playing in a number of pre-war great French classics such as "Entree des artistes", "Hotel du Nord" and "Le jour se leve".

Jean-Philippe Guerand is a journalist having written books about Woody Allen and Jacques Tati. He met Blier four years before his passing away. Twenty years later, a voluminous biography of the french actor is published by Robert Laffont with Guerand as the author of this meticulous work. The target audience is obviously readers interested about French movies. I am definitely one of them as i do enjoy reading from time to time biographies of people who have worked or still work in the  French cinema industryry. 

When an actor has played in one hundred and eighty movies, inevitably some of them are rather average however in our memories we always remember those titles who have made an impact on us. Blier in "Quai des orfevres" made in 1947 by Henri-Georges Clouzot is a good example. He was thirty when he played the jealous husband who is a prime suspect of the death of his spouse. I will be watching this movie again very soon and will very likely write about it in this blog.

Another unforgettable performance of Blier is in his son; Bertrand Blier's sixth movie "Buffet froid" released in 1979. This is a pure joy to watch especially if you like unorthodox stories.

However Blier will always be remembered as Raoul Volfoni from "Les tontons flingueurs". This popular farce thriller has become over the decades the most revered french comedy with regular repeat on french television.

His son, Bertrand is a well respected film director. Father and son did three movies together however only "Buffet froid" is worth talking about. The other two were big failures in Bertrand's career.

Blier was also a passionate book collector. His collection was sold after his death and many purchasers of numerous titles were among his friends and colleagues.  

Communion of ideas and stories at the annual Sydney Writer Festival

 

 

Every May at around this time, the annual Sydney Writer Festival takes place in the Harbour city of Australia. Every year, a rich program of more than 250 literary and artistic events brings together lovers of books and reading for four days. The success of the festival grows every year and is now considered as a highly anticipated cultural rendez-vous for Sydneysiders.

Over the years, i have been a supporter and a follower of these series of events. Over the years, i have met a large number of writers both Australians and other nationalities. I had the opportunity to have long conversations with French-Russian writer Andrei Makine who was a guest at the festival twice ten years apart. I have also listened to many well known writers such us Louis de Bernieres, Robert Dessaix, David Malouf, Alan Hollinghurst, Richard Ford, Philippe Claudel and the list continues on. It is also during previous Sydney Writer Festival that i have attended inspiring talks given by Alain de Botton.

I have to admit when the program for this year came out i was a little bit disappointed with the content. This year, a real international "big name" was missing which is a shame because you do expect to hear from some literary icons. Saying this, i have enjoyed the events i attended during the four days and for sure the major highlight for me was listening during an hour the Australian playwright David Williamson answering to Andrew Upton, the hubby of Cate Blanchett.

Indeed Williamson is a well articulate man of culture who occupies quiet a unique place in the History of Australian Theatre. In nearly four decades of drama writing with over forty plays in his credits, David Williamson remains the quintessential Australian middle class observer who has based all his creative work on human behaviours and social  encounters. An astute dramatist who will leave a rich Australian cultural legacy and most importantly future generations will continue to identify in these hundreds of characters created by him through the medium of theatre. His wife, Kristin wrote recently a voluminous and rather honest biography on him making the reading experience an intimate affair as David's life is unfold through the eyes of a woman who has shared all the ups and downs of a remarkable career and a tumulteous but successful personal life. I will be writing more about Williamson in the near future upon completing the reading of Kristin's book and maybe watching some of the iconic Australian movies that were adapted from his plays.

Speaking about Australian film and theatre, Graeme Blundell is another important figure who had an impressive acting career at the revival of Australian cinema portraying the heart-throbe character of Alvin Purple in couple of hugely successful movies. Graeme was a founder of Melbourne's theatre groups La Mama, The Australian Performing Group and Playbox. Graeme and David are issued from the same generation of hungry arty enthusiasts who made a fundamental contribution to the emergence of an Australian voice in the late sixties and early seventies. Currently, Graeme Blundell does lots of writing both as a columnist and as biographer. His memoirs "The Naked Truth" was published last year by Hachette Australia. Julia Morris is however from a younger generation. She is a voluble and funny performer who has worked greatly in Australian and British television shows.She is also a stand-up comedian touring regularly in international comedy festivals, having made appearances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for eight times. Her presence at the festival was because of her book "Don't you know who i used to be?" covering stories and memories of her life both here and abroad.

Now for something completely different; "The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House" by Kate Summerscale could be a gripping experience of a true crime story that took place in 1860 in Wiltshire. I knew nothing about the forty five years old Summerscale who comes from a literary journalism background in England. Both John Le Carre and Ian Rankin have highly praised this book that will be part of my readings either this year or next year. So i will be revisiting the subject a bit later.

Another female writer from the UK but with Bangladeshi origins is Monica Ali. The first thing you notice listening to her is the determined attitude of a woman on mission. Her debut novel "Brick lane" raised few eye browses while "In the kitchen" her latest and third book have a contemporary London setting where, in the kitchen of the imperial Hotel, a staff force whose members are drawn from all over the world will portray an existence of low-paid misery. To bring a sordid touch, a death body is found in the cellars. I guess the story is to touch important issues such as national identity and the risky lives of foreign migrants

Being able to catch up with lots of events could be an impossible task. Every year, i missed out on few of them and the question of lost opportunity of discovering a new voice or learning more about a well established writer remains unknown. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for example is a Nigerian writer who won the prestigious Orange prize in 2007 for "Half of a yellow sun". Philipp Meyer has been compared to Richard Ford and Pete Dexter with his debut novel "American Rust" while crime writer Laura Lippman is another confirmed talent of the genre coming like Meyer from the United States of America.