Before Sunrise introduced Richard Linklater to me. I watched it 8 years back by the time I
started to break free from mainstream movies and delved into foreign films,
period films, Art and Independent cinema. Actually, Mr. IMDB recommended it to
me (People who liked Notting Hill also like Before Sunrise and Before
Sunset). It was unlike any other films that I’d seen. Yes, I’d seen our Woody
Allen’s films where he always talk and talk and blabber and talk right from psychology
to nature to religion to relationship to ‘men are from mars and women are
from venus’ to communism to world war to dating to French women to Italian
artistry to film making to smoking to claustrophobia to kids to anarchism to narcissism
to nihilism to New York to Manhattan till life. Either Woody or his lead actor/
actress will be dominant on-screen and make the other party numb/
dumb/ weak in the conversation. Here, in Linklater’s films, two lives talk
their heart and soul out. This is what makes his movies (Linklater’s artistic
works aren’t just movies, but yeah, I don’t have a term to suit up for this argument) a special one.
A man and a woman just don’t talk about love and relationship. They talk life
itself.
Now, my fellow movie buffs will wage
a war against me for leaving out the films of Jean Luc Godard where the
male-female conversation has always had a huge part. The conversation between the Hero and
Heroine, right from the road to her apartment room in Breathless (1960), the
silent stands scene of the trio from Bande à part (1964) and Post-sex/
sleepover conversation between the writer and his girlfriend in Le mépris (1963) are classic without a doubt. On a deeper perspective, the dialogues, conversation
and the theme of their speech would be way too abstract, sketched, impulsive, highly
cerebral, Kafkaesque or tough to connect. I feel, maybe, the French-to-English
subtitle translation of Godard films might’ve lost/ added a different context
to the narration. Isn’t it? But we all owe a big time to these French folks for
many things. The Inception of subtitling, Coffee& Cigarettes combination, new cinematic
frames, wonderful filmmakers and last but not least their film noir.
And then his Tape, a
typical high school reunion of three friends that builds up to heated,
traumatic conversation and drastic actions. It’s similar to the
type of domestic trauma, tension and heat that develops amongst the characters from
Asghar Farhadi’s films like A Separation, About Elly, Fireworks Wednesday and
The Past.
Next comes School of Rock,
which I’d seen on HBO and thoroughly enjoyed. It made me to watch Linklater and
Jack Black combo again in Bernie, a wonderful ‘based on a true story’, black
comedy about a charming criminal and a murderer. Bernie is Linklater’s
take on black comedy at its best. I progressed to Waking life, next. Even
though it was thematically, philosophically, morally inclined at heights beyond
my consciousness and understanding, the grasp and sniff of it, like a dope,
made me go high and elated. Must re watch it again, someday.
All this led to my 5-year hunt
for a good print of Slacker (1991), the film that mapped Linklater at
Sundance and the film world, which was unavailable for years, until our dear,
beloved, doer of good deeds, grand Uncle Mr. Criterion Collection restored it
in a gorgeous Blu-ray. Sudden encounters, hookup, walk
by, pop-in, drop-in, checking up, going-out etc…happen amidst the Texan population
and the characters discuss right from poop to weed to accident to love to death
to science to Scooby Doo to Meta physics to mattress to burglary to world war
to what not. Slacker is a full course meal which will make your stomach and
mind full for months.
Coming to Boyhood, 12 years in
the making, it traces the life of a boy from age 6 to 18. We witness not just
this boy, but his father, guardian, mother, friend, sister, grandma, grandpa
and various important folks in the boy’s life, for the entire 12 years. Like
us, he experiences everything that one needs to experience in their 6 to 18s.
Right from pestering elder sister, childhood friend, new school, shifting
homes, first crush, mom-dad fights, first porn, kiss, night out, party,
inspiring school teacher, finding the true calling and passion, junior school,
senior school and college etc... Linklater loves to play with them.
Unlike the movies where we
witness characters unfolding over time (In films like Cameron Crowe’s Almost
famous, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights, Bergman’s Scenes
from a Marriage, Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, Anurag Kashypa’s Gangs
of Wasseypur, Jim Carrey’s Truman Show, to name a few) in Linklater’s
films we see time unfolding the characters. Time revolves at the apex of
his narrative content and everything / everyone ( including the plot / story )
around it. All his films are such a piece of art.
One might say that Boyhood doesn't have a proper story, but yo!, the movie unfolding right in front of your eyes and
trailing these characters life itself is a one helluva story, I say. Right from
the Coldplay track, Beatles reference, life lessons from father Hawke, emotional
outburst of busy/ working mom, Gameboy, Nintendo, Wii, Big ass desktop
computer, flip mobile phones, long hair style, retro t-shirts, film roll camera, faded
denims, art obsession, the traces from his life’s early 2000 till 2013 were aesthetically
captured.
Being a late 80s kid, I would
already feel nostalgic with 90s reference, but Linklater made me even more sad
and nostalgic by showing early 2000s and 2010s as a flash of sweet memory and dejavu.
This make me wonder, yell and ask myself ‘Man, Am I getting fucking old and aged?’
Dammit. Fuck You Linklater. I am in my prime 25s and your films makes me to
feel old already and think like mid-30s. Fuck you, seriously.
One must see Boyhood as the
gateway to Linklater’s films. Watch it first and then move on to his other
films. As discussed above, Linklater has a foot print in coming of a̶g̶e̶ life, romance, Life
philosophy, dark comedy, animation (A Scanner darkly & Waking life) and
what not. So enter Boyhood and pick your favorite department/ DVD later on. I would like to discuss more and more about
Boyhood and the profound impact it had on me, but at the same time I don’t want
to spoil your movie watching experience.
Boyhood is a new landmark and a remarkable
achievement, not just in film making, but on the whole cinematic process itself.
There is a little piece of life in every poem, art, essay, music and movies.
And there is Richard Linklater's Boyhood as the collective sum. Experience this
delicatessen that will serve you the real meaning of existence with a cocktail blend of time,
life and emotions, unveiling right in front of your very eyes and get lost in
its serenity and gargantuan beauty.
Not really, but miiiiiiiiild mild
plot spoiler alert, in the following lines. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt your
morale so read on.
Now that I’d seen Boyhood from 6
to 18 and the frames ceased out right when he enters the college, 2 decades
from now I would love to sit in front of my home theatre and watch Boyhood
sequel that traces his life from college to adult to relationship to marriage
to kids. Oh wait. I’d already seen that in his Before Sunrise, Sunset &
Midnight Trilogy. Holy, You fucking Linklater. What, man? Is this a prequel
to Before trilogy?
And Hey, the only thing that I’d missed
witnessing or I would’ve loved watching in Boyhood is his pet and a death of his closed one. Had Linklater touched upon the Pet and human/animal loss, would that
have been even better or worse or Clichéd?... And that’s how I start/ strike a random conversation,
with you, my stranger/friend/reader, like a character from Linklater’s films.
