Friday, September 23, 2005
The Ninth Gate
We just saw via Netflix The Ninth Gate, Polanski's 1999 movie. If you haven't seen it and plan to — I would recommend it myself — don't read on, I'll be talking a little about plot.
The movie is about a bookseller who gets involved in the pursuit of a book that will call the Devil. The focus on the puzzle presented by the woodcut illustrations in these old books was satisfying for anyone involved in the visual arts (17th Century books would more likely have etchings). Johnny Depp as usual was very good; the way Polanski directed, with his trademark unease percolating just below the surface, was perfect for the genre. What made it better than the usual horror flick was the stately pace and the sumptuous set production. It was just beautifully designed by the team that did the Godfather movies. You felt you were watching a Caravaggio in motion, but with a gothic comic book tilt.
Polanski has said that he was reacting to the fast cut default of modern movies in the long loping pace he established. It worked. The story had a Borgesian sheen: outside of time, indeterminate of place, a book obsessed atmosphere.
In the commentary Polanski said that American and English actors are more disciplined than European actors. He also said that his crews in Europe want to knock off after four hours while in the States they work 14 hours straight. Polanski tried to turn it into a positive: the crews were so “enthusiastic”. Big surprise that Euro-French film crews would be slackers.
Today in the NYT A.O. Scott reviewed the new Polanski movie Oliver Twist. Another perfect vehicle for his talents and life — Polanski was running from the terror of human depravity through his entire childhood. Of course, percolating still deeper, under all this, was yet another unease — Polanski's fleeing the US to avoid prosecution for alleged misdeeds with a minor — that's why he makes his movies in Europe.