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Writing Desk » THE ABUSE OF BEAUTY

Back to Home Written on 13-Jan-2009 by patencia

For a film buff and pie lover as I am, Wong Kar Wai's My Blueberry Nights couldn't look more appealing. Yet, as it turned out, it was all about looks and appearances; the film is like an irresistible looking pie but tasteless once you bite it.

As in 2046 and In the Mood for Love, the visual composition of almost every shot is exquisite. Yet, unlike in those previous films, in My Blueberry Nights one has the feeling of all that visual beauty being somehow gratuitous, whimsical and shallow. Every element of the film seems to be there just for the sake of making it pretty. The film is supposedly a road movie, but it is really just a postcard of it; a slideshow of a refined tourist's trip; a vain, if beautiful, visual shortcut. The sudden appearance of Chan Marshall (Cat Power) as the russian ex-lover of the main character, seems as pure unjustified fetishism, even for those like me, who like her almost as much as her music. Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Norah Jones and Rachel Weisz, in turn, strive to give some body to their characters and detach them from the gravity of the alluring scenery. But the truth seems to be that they are there because they are beautiful.

Of course, beauty has never been a problem for artistic works as being sweet is not a problem for pies. Yet, eating a spoon of sugar alone is not so tasty.

Arthur Danto held that beauty is not a necessary condition for art: as the 20th century avant-garde showed us, there are ordinary even ugly art works. Now, what Wong's film makes me question is whether beauty is a sufficient condition. Perhaps sometimes it is: in purely decorative works, for instance. So, perhaps, looking at My Blueberry Nights in the way one looks a wallpaper would be more recommendable; because if one does it, no doubt one's going to get a rewarding experience.

The problem is that I was promised a blueberry pie, and I only got a spoon full of sugar.

[Rqgb has a more positive opinion on the film]

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Tags: films,beauty,wong kar wai

Comments

written on 13-Jan-2009
Franco [http://frangopeixe.blogspot.com] says:
I wish Christopher Doyle were the sufficient condition... But he has done some bad deeds too...
written on 13-Jan-2009
young says:
I agree 100%. As an antithesis to Wong Kar Wei's 'beautiful' movies, watch a movie by Hong Sangsoo, something like 'Woman is the Future of Man'. He is the most original "Korean" director since Im Kwon-taek ("Seopyeonje").
written on 28-Feb-2009
laila [http://www.aralai.co.uk] says:
Im not korean but i loved the film, im not even a big fan of war films but that was awsome.
written on 02-Mar-2009
patencia says:
I guess one of the assets of this film is that it succeeds at engaging the audience at a very basic "sensible" level. Regardless of whether you like it or not, you cannot help (i guess) but to 'feel' something.
I personally think that WOng took the fast, naive and tricky way to get this feelling out of people; and I think that was a bit "cheap". Yet, I know many many people who have reported to have LOVED the film and I think that counts as evidence of Wong's having succeed with his film (despite what others, such as me, can think)
written on 14-Jun-2009
Nachi says:
First time i "drop by," amiga. I browsed your posts, and my eyes laid on this one. As a pie-lover myself, I could not resist. Nice to see we had (extremely) similar reactions to this movie. Besos, muchos, N.

Writing Desk » THE ABUSE OF BEAUTY

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