Page 2 April 2, 2020
Entertainment
Film Review
Stream Netflix’s Musical Short Anima,
a Dream For These Modern Times
By H. Nelson Tracey for cinemacy.com
Marianne (Noémie Merlant), a young
female painter, is escorted to a remote
French island with an impossible task: she
must paint another woman, Héloïse (Adèle
Haenel), without her knowing that she is
Marianne’s muse. Héloïse is to be married,
and this portrait will be what seals the future
relationship. For Marianne to accomplish
this, she must befriend Héloïse and conceal
the true assignment at hand. This is just the
beginning of one of the most spectacular
and mysterious movies of 2019, now streaming
on Hulu.
One of the most exciting components of
Portrait is that the story invites the audience
to participate in the character’s goals. We often
watch characters in movies try to overcome
an insurmountable obstacle and vicariously
cheer them on without having any ability to
be in their shoes. In the case of this film, the
protagonist is tasked with a straightforward
yet challenging goal: study a woman close
enough to be able to paint her accurately.
With this premise and an excellently paced
reveal of information, we too join in on this
quest. When we see Héloïse for the first
time, we are also studying every possible
detail; every glimpse aids us in being able
to imagine what the portrait would be like.
Director Céline Sciamma cleverly points us
toward what to observe: her ears, her eyes,
every possible detail that will help to make
an accurate portrait.
Of course, this premise is merely the
surface: the film runs rich with subtext and
endlessly stunning layers underneath the
primary conflict. The four elements of Earth,
Wind, Fire, and Water each find their way
into play consistently. The film essentially
only has four characters, which in some
interpretation could align with each element.
Like great visual art, there is a clear story
to be told upon first glance, but with further
scrutiny, more significant themes continue to
bring themselves to the forefront.
Fire is the most ostensibly visible element,
especially given the title. In this pre-electricity
era, nearly every shot has some fire lit,
and Marianne’s arrival on the island sparks
both a literal and metaphorical flame that
burns through the rest of the movie. There
is a visual warmth here that absorbs us
for the entire runtime. And yet, I would
argue, the three other elements must exist
in tandem for the others to thrive, and here,
they do.
Winner of Best Screenplay at last year’s
Cannes Film Festival, Portrait of a Lady on
Fire is a cinematic treasure to be remembered
in film history. •
Portrait of a Lady on Fire courtesy of NEON.
Your Neighborhood Therapist
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H. Nelson Tracey.
Dear Neighborhood Therapist,
I am struggling with how to fit in in my
middle school class. I’m a pretty normal person,
and always kind to others, but for some
reason people just don’t want to include me
in their plans. What am I missing?
- Confused in Middle School
Dear Confused in Middle School,
Oh no! Confused, you’ve made a huge
mistake from which you may never recover:
always being kind to others. I can remember
a humid Louisiana afternoon in the late 1980s,
eighth grade baseball practice, coach once again
scolding all of us for our sloppiness. We had
just run sprints and the dust still lingered in
the air, when one of my teammates - not one
of the better or more popular players - jumped
up and started desperately scratching his back
and legs. It was obvious what had happened
- he had stood in an anthill, and the fire ants
were crawling up his back.
He was standing next to me and so I did
what I thought was right: I grabbed a t-shirt and
slapped the ants off his back and legs until they
were gone. It seemed like the right thing to
do at the time - the time being the very moment
it was happening until the very moment
it was over. Then it seemed horribly wrong.
The coach was obviously annoyed. None of the
other players moved a muscle. They just stared.
I personally value helping others, so I would
expect to feel proud of helping my teammate. But
the reason I remember this incident is because
I felt something different: shame. Especially if
you were a teenage boy, it wasn’t cool to be
kind. Many of us never realize it until years later,
but the unwritten rules of being cool - or even
simply not being ostracized - in middle school
often require us to perform toughness, or cruelty,
or indifference. I’ll let you in on a little
secret: most of us do not enjoy being tough,
and even fewer people are cruel or indifferent.
We all have to perform sometimes, but
what happens when we are not forced into the
spotlight, for example when we can turn off the
camera and exercise more control over what
others see? Might we spend less time doing what
we think others think we should be doing, and
instead doing what we feel is right and good for
ourselves and the world? Is it possible to imagine
a world where the first thing we think of
is how we can help others, instead of what they
have, or what their job is, or what they look like?
In other words, can anyone think of any circumstances
where it might be possible to imagine
a situation where kindness is actually… cool?
If you need help, or have the ability to help
others, please reach out and I will coordinate.
If you or someone you know needs to talk to
someone, please reach out and I will take
as many people as I can during this crisis,
regardless of ability to pay.
Please write to tom@tomandrecounseling. com
or text to 310.776.5299 with questions about
handling what is affecting your life, your family,
the community or the world. Tom Andre
is an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist
(AMFT96089) supervised by Chris Thomas
(MFT78020). The information in this column is
for educational purposes only and nothing herein
should be construed as professional advice or
the formation of a therapeutic relationship. •
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