Luke
Savisky's "Film Action IV"
(Presented
Wednesday 6/21/2000 at the Alamo Drafthouse. With live
musical accompaniment by The Golden Arm Trio featuring
Tosca String Quartet).
It's too
bad that the most exciting, interesting, beautiful and
innovative moment in local film presented in Austin
had to be ruined for me by 4 people. Yes, I had the
severe misfortune to sit next to four drunken off duty
Alamo Drafthouse employees during Mr. Savisky's "Film
Actions IV" when it was presented. These four inebriated
college aged morons proceeded to yell, talk, giggle,
wriggle, and annoy me before and during the presentation.
The females of the quartet got up and down more times
than a 2 dollar whore. They truly pissed me off.
It's sad
because the presentation that night was a mind- boggling
and phenomenal work of multi-media art that was purely
a treasure. It's a sad thing for me because my $10 and
my time were totally wasted. I did not get my money's
worth due to these clods. My money could have been refunded,
sure. But that would have just taken more funds out
of Mr. Savisky's deserving pocket. I could have got
some free passes or something. Nope. I did get an apology,
which was sincere and nice, but that hardly makes up
for my times wasted on an event that will never be repeated,
on time I can never get back.
Okay. I
had to get that off my chest. I have been to the Alamo
a lot and have always, ALWAYS! had an enjoyable experience.
I drove there tonight jubilant that I lived in Austin
and was about to attend what I perceived was going to
be one of the most awesome events of the year for film
lovers. The Alamo is the perfect venue for these kinds
of experimental events and it continues to be my favorite
place in Austin. I guess every place is allowed one
bad night and I will return to the Alamo with no hard
feelings. Still, they'll probably spit in my food because
I complained to the owner.
Enough
about that. I have to tell you about the presentation.
It was awesome. It started late due to a problem with
the prior showing (I went to the 10pm, there was also
one at 8). I had arrived to see a lot of the Cinemaker
Co-op folks in the lobby. Barna Kantor, the founder,
tried to sell me one of their new videos. Jen Proctor
and Aaron Valdez (the latter surely Savisky's most obvious
successor in town) were also in attendance.
There were
several screens set up in the Alamo, so the first few
rows had no room for seating. The place was packed.
They surely violated several fire codes by allowing
a plethora of folks to sit on the "stage" by the band,
behind the screens. I bet the visuals from that vantage
point were quite unique. At first, I thought these were
people who were going to be involved in the presentation
but I realized afterwards that they were simple spectators
like myself.
The piece
began with "Wait," which, according to the program,
was supposed to include the waiters. That didn't happen
as far as I could see. Savisky began with several segments
of a woman teaching sign language in black and white.
These were images that seemed to be culled from some
sort of 60's instructional tape. It was edited and repeated
to an amusing and interesting effect.
The band
soon joined in as a scene of a woman dancing was repeated
and evolved. The musical accompaniment for this piece
was simply gorgeous. I am assuming Graham Reynolds,
of the Golden Arm Trio, wrote the music. Whatever this
piece was called, it was simply wonderful. The music
for the night continued to be some of the most beautiful
and mesmerizing music I have ever heard. Reynolds along
with his collaborators swept the films into the stratosphere.
Savisky uses music so wisely. His films, accompanied
by Golden Arm, became pure ethereal magic. Poetry in
motion. You are whirled into another level of consciousness.
(Unless, of course, there are drunken frat boys next
to you, in which case, you begin to get whirled and
then are interrupted and annoyed). Perhaps it was because
Reynolds appeared without a horn section that his music
was so much more serene - and fitting. Assisted by Tosca,
a string quartet, and Buzz Moran, who provided odd instruments
like electronic noises and percussion, Reynolds' work
was not as harsh and dissonant as it has been when the
"Trio" plays with a horn section.
This beautiful
film event continued to evolve as we watched. Soon the
loop of trees which Savisky used to open Cinematexas
last fall appeared on the screen. These lush images
continued for several moments before, for a while, the
film got a bit too obvious. Savisky soon presented the
images of falling coins superimposed over pictures of
American life: traffic, the flag. The jingle-jangle
percussion of the musicians only overstated the obvious
here. This was one of Savisky's most prominent flaws.
Obviousness. I still liked it. I am a fan of obvious
symbolism but there is a point where the obvious becomes
cliche. This happened here, but only for a few moments.
The presentation,
which lasted only about an hour, wrapped up with what
appeared to be an essay on existence. Savisky mixed
images of water, fire, flowing lava, and flowing mud
with stark images of existence. A man's leg's dangle
into the screen symbolizing both birth (a baby's legs
coming through the birth canal) and death (the dangling
legs of a hanging man). There were images of hands doing
elaborate lace work juxtaposed with images of hands
scrubbing dirty clothes against a washboard. Here, again
in his obviousness, Savisky contemplates the intricate
nature of existence against the harsh reality of daily
drudgery. His images here do not judge or present a
message of enlightenment, they simply expose, perhaps
question, and allows us to judge. After several minutes
of this, he finishes with images of clouds and water,
one expressing the divine, the other, the basic component
of life on Earth. The filmmaker again express birth/rebirth
with an image of a woman submerged in water. The cycle
continues. No, Savisky's work doesn't question existence
per se, but rather seems to celebrate the incomprehensible
beauty of it's eternity.
Luke Savisky
is, without a doubt, the most interesting and visionary
filmmaker and artist that Austin has to offer currently.
His work in the experimental and avant-garde are generally
works of unique beauty and joy. Rarely does he present
harshness or sophomoric themes. His films/ presentations
are graceful examinations of nature and existence. And
they are breathtakingly beautiful.
Pure ethereal
cinematic bliss!
Notes:
The films
presented were listed in the program as:
Wait (video
projection with waiters) Inny or Outy (deteriorated
16mm and 35mm) Mr. and Mrs. F. Take a Long Holiday (uncut
double 8 films and loops) 3rd Degree Stan Burns Vs.
Lady Burn Johnson (a meeting) All Things... (multiple
16mm loop projection) Chores and Joys of the Urban Life
a) Your Liquid Assets b) illusion of confusion c) invitations
to linger: destiny floats
The screen
used were fabricated by Laura Maclay
Made possible
in part by the D. Montgomery grant from the Austin Film
Society
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