Been meaning to watch this for a while. I know folks were pretty mixed on this when it came out. I suppose the folks still are, though I don't hear a lot of discourse about it lately. One of my friends had the experience of seeing a screening of it (maybe at Music Box?) right before or when it came out. My memory is that he saw it on 70mm but I guess it doesn't matter. I'm sure that was a fun experience, the Music Box always is.  

Babylon is an incredibly pretty film with incredibly pretty people... with a sprinkling of revolting behavior and images. I suppose that is the point. Excess all around. Coming hot off of my Blood Meridian experience I was slightly surprised to have enjoyed this as much as I did; certainly more than i was expecting. Perhaps I am the demographic for this.... The demographic for the magic hour light filled indulgent pseudo-history of Hollywood that this film presents, and most other folks don't care(?). I don't know.

The first half of the film definitely gripped me more than the second half which turns into more of a depressing melodrama (not in the Douglas Sirk way) and includes the eventual and obvious decline of our (pro?)tagonists.

I'm happy I sat through it and it is definitely worth watching for the spectacle alone, especially if you enjoy Hollywood stories. Watching the technical wizardy of both the first party sequence and the next filming sequence in the desert was like discovering you enjoy getting slapped by your partner. Shocking, slightly painful, and thrilling. 

I had been interested in watching this one for years. I'm not sure I have sorted my thoughts about it yet but I haven't posted in a bit so figured I'd at least mention it with some scattered thoughts. 

The opening of this film, in the dingy downstairs nightclub, with dingy downstairs people is truly one of the most beautiful sequences I've seen in a while. A hell of a way to open a movie, letting the audience know everything about the world these two mermaids inhabit. The music is hit or miss but absolutely service the film beautifully... and the literal translations are quite a bit of fun. The Polish title of the film is bit better but more on the nose, "Daughters of Dancing",  and has nothing to imply the aquatic motif so I guess thats why it was Americanized in the US release. 

I didn't adore the second half in the same way as the explosive opening but all the actors are perfect in their roles. The music and set design is flawless. Overall a really fun 92 minutes. 

I think I've mentioned it here before that I really love melodrama. My enjoyment of it has mostly been limited to US melodrama, with a smattering of Fassbinder. I'm sure I could pluck out some other memories of non-US films if pressed but the point is my focus has been primarily on the BIG classics of the US, my favorite being All that Heaven Allows. I had seen that criterion put this edition out last year and, while judging a book by its cover is something one is explicitly taught not to do... I'd guess exceptions can be made when its as sick as the cover above.

The movies starts with some poor dancer (implied prostitute) returning to The Changoo cabaret to plead with her lover to take her and their baby. He quickly dismisses her and the child and wants nothing to do with her. (Knowing nothing about this movie in advance, the inciting plot element here was pretty shocking.) Anyhow, she begs him to take her back and claims she'll abandon the baby if he'll take her back. He's sort of like, "yeah ok, I guess" (clearly not that interested). So then she promptly goes outside to do just that. Even today this is a visually shocking moment.

Alternating moments with the familial disintigration scenes we are introduced to Violeta, the up and coming dancing sensation played by a really incredibly magentic Ninón Sevilla. We get a few choice numbers throughout the film but I'm partial to a call and response number where the crowd (knowing all the words) shout "I want clams, serve me some clams!" and she dances her heart out having a blast. There is also a great one where she kind of just dances in a circle with some tiny steps (potentially due to the tight dress) kicking and smiling and really going for it. She really looks like she's having fun. 

Violeta learns of the baby abandonment and runs out into the night and immediately finds him! Which always tickles me, when they find the thing right away (spoofed in The Jerk at the end... one of my favorites jokes... "How'd you find me?" "I dont' know. First place we looked.") She is down and out a bit, gets fired by the Don of the Changoo which then epically goes out of business because the other matron leaves as well. Right before this she has a wildly suggestive song all about 'dancing'. Good stuff.

Rodolfo (baby daddy) finds Violeta on a street and wants her to be with him. He sees the baby in the corner just chillin and tries to once again do away him him. :( Then he is equally bogus to Violeta but she is saved by the other "dancers" who are on her block. They take him to night court(!), or something, and he gets thrown in jail for six years.

Visually this film is also a wonder. All dark and smoggy. It seems that most was shot at a studio in Mexico City but there are some exteriors that are really striking. Especially by the La Machina Loca club where she later is installed as a "dancer" and then an actual dancer a bit later. She takes up with the owner of this club and he seems ok! and they are happy... for a while, even getting the child baptized. 

Fast forward six years and guess who is getting out of prison? From here it goes from bogus to bleak as hell. All in all a really great film.

A few years back I went with two friends to see The Heartbreak Kid at the (completely packed) Music Box in Chicago. Caring about Chicago and Chicago history, as I do, I knew who Elaine May was. The Compass Players... Nichols and May... The Birdcage... Mikey and Nicky (which I should rewatch because all my friends love it and I didn't really like it the first time... 😬) etc. I knew of her but really didn't have an understanding the level at which she operated.... which is basically just higher than everyone else, effortlessly. Chicago comedy owes much of its success to her and Nichols.

In her first outing as a director, she cast Matthau as the bumbling rich person who never had to work. This is punctuated by a great scene of confusion with a banker, displaying just how little he understands money. There are some great jokes in the first third of the movie between Matthau and his butler, including a running gag about "Carbon on the valves..." Movies should really employ running gags more.

But once Elaine May shows up, the film is elevated beyond the typical bumbling male-centric comedy (No shade... sometimes those are great). May is adorably and clumsily introduced with a spill and a Matthau speech about the hosts rug perversions. Throughout May is hilarious with her subdued demeanor ("Heavens..") and physical comedy. Alone in my living room I laughed out loud when a waiter pulled a table back and she's covered in crumbs. Precursor to Charles Grodin disgusted by Jeannie Berlin eating in Heartbreak Kid. This gag is hilariously called back later in the movie when Walter Matthau declares "She has to be vacuumed every time we eat!". 

Matthau's scheme in the second half is pretty dark but the writing and repartee soften all of this... It is pretty easy to see how the film will resolve but knowing where it is headed takes nothing away from the journey of getting there. 

Movie club and book club ended up being back-to-back this month. It's been tough to find time to jot some notes down in this season of so many social obligations and so many beverages.

I Hadn't seen this one in many years (maybe since it came out!). Even if I do remember it fondly... I'm not sure 16 year old Nick could appreciate the craftsmanship. 

Seeing it now, after years of nurturing a love for cinema and literature, I am truly impressed at how well crafted this beautiful movie is. Each shot is gorgeous, revealing glimpses of the plot in a methodically blunt succession. Wonderful Christmas-time movie club choice on Mikes part.