The Marx Brothers

“I’ve worked my way from nothing to a state of extreme poverty” Groucho Marx

For those of you who are unaware of the Marx Brothers, I have placed a few short films so you can get a feel for their unique breed of comedy. The Marx Brothers were four brother comedians from New York, and particularly famous in the 1920s. They were known for their sharp, improvised humour, which was well ahead of its time; watching one of their films is amusing as it ever was.

Groucho Marx seldom ventured any comment on his own comic style. He felt that humour, like romance and sex, loses its magic if examined too closely: “If you talk about those things, they go away.” When asked why he thought he was funny, he would answer simply, “I'm a funny-looking jerk”. He did believe, however, that all great comedy is based on character.

The on-stage personalities of Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo are thought to be based on their character in life. In some ways the Marx Brothers have become caricature of themselves, with Groucho sporting his trademark greasepaint moustache, cigar and stooped walk. Harpo, completely mute with curly hair communicates only with a taxi horn. Chico adopts a fake Italian accent that he learnt off the ‘tough guys’ living in his neighbourhood in New York. Zeppo was the romantic of the group, always ending up falling in love.

The Marx Brothers have become one of America's all time favourite theatrical acts. With their sharp and bizarre sense of humour, they satirized institutions such as high society and human hypocrisy. They also became famous for their improvisational comedy in free form scenarios.

I love the Marx Brothers witty humour, as well as their talented music, with all brothers being able to sing, Chico plays piano and Harpo plays the harp. To me, they are completely unique and as relevant to our culture and comedy as they ever were.

“Go and never darken my towels again” Groucho Marx

Coffee and Cigarettes

11th July 2007
Coffee and Cigarettes
Jim Jarmusch, 2004

Coffee and Cigarettes is a black and white movie comprising of eleven short films with nothing in common except they somehow involve coffee and cigarettes. The film came out in 2004, but the first few scenes were filmed as far back and 1986. When I saw this film a few months ago, I was drawn to its monochromatic, vintage look and its well-observed humour in a myriad of different conversations with often very dissimilar and conflicting characters. This film points out the social event that has sprung from spending time drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes and it becomes immediately apparent to the viewer that these two things serve a purpose far more cultural than nutrition or addiction.

The film boasts an eclectic cast of high calibre actors and musicians from Roberto Benigni, Cate Blanchett and Steve Buscemi to The White Stripes, Iggy Pop and Tom Waites, and even though some scenes may appear unremarkable, all capture Jarmusch’s, well-observed realism and gritty wit as shown in films such as 'Broken Flowers'.

Storylines vary from the humouress to the banal. We see an overly caffeinated Robert Benigni, with his coffee cup shaking in his hand, Steve Buscemi tells an uninterested brother and sister his twin-Elvis theory and Bill Murray drinking coffee straight from the pot after being told that it causes delirium.

As well as the natural dialogue, what really appealed to me about this film was its sense of style. The black and white nature of the film gives it an almost classic feel. An effect I particularly liked was the use of ariel shots of the different coffee tables in each scene, creating an interesting comparison between how different people experience this social event.

After watching this film I feel encouraged to create work that reflects this sense of gritty realism. When experimenting with creating films, I will take into account how the very ordinary yet well-observed aspects of day-to-day life is what can often be most compelling. Coffee and Cigarettes has shown me that it is attention to detail is what counts.

Belleville Rendez-Vous

24 June 2007
Belleville Rendez-Vous
Les Triplettes de Belleville
Sylvain Chomet, 2003

Belleville Rendez-vous is one of the most enthralling, most bizarre film I have ever seen. It is an eighty-minute animation by French comic book artist, Sylvain Chomet. It is richly detailed, highly amusing and when it comes to characters, extremely well observed.

The rather unusual plot involves the tiny, club-footed Madame Souza preparing her orphaned grandson, Champion, to compete in the legendary Tour De France. However, while racing in the Alps, Champion is kidnapped by the French mafia and taken by sea to the city of Belleville. The story follows grandma Souza and pet dog Bruno in their daring, dangerous rescue, helped by the Belleville sisters, an aged musical trio who once performed with Fred Astaire.

A unique feature of this film (as well as its bizarre storyline) is that there is virtually no dialogue. Chomet claims that because of this, music and sound was a vital instrument in the film, with composer Benoit Chores creating music from the most unlikely everyday objects, including a Hoover!

What I found particularly engrossing about this film was the visual style created by the hand drawn animation, which seems almost antiquated. The use of colours varied from nostalgic sepia tones when showing Champion as a little boy, contrasting with the dark and cold look of Paris suburbia. We see the bright oranges of hot sunshine at the Tour de France conflicting with the ominous, dark greens of Belleville at night.

The characters themselves are extremely appealing and almost loveable, Bruno the dog is extremely overweight with skinny legs, the tripplettes are tall almost witch like and Champion has the typical look of a French cyclists, tall and thin with exaggerated, protruding muscles. Exaggeration seems to be a key style in Chomet’s illustration, with characters having a clearly identifiable shape. For example, the French mafia are so square that when they walk together they become a rectangle of black with moustaches and galloisse cigarettes. This exaggeration of geometric shape may be a way in which the illustrators have made it easier for the audience to identify characters in a film that has no dialogue.

Belleville has been expressed in extreme detail. Art director, Evgeni Tomov, was asked by Chomet to make the city of Belleville a combination between Paris, New York and Montreal. We see high-rise skyscrapers, an obese statue of liberty (eating a hamburger) and an eerie green tinge to the buildings, perhaps to reflect night time lighting in cities such as Toronto and Montreal. The key theme of Belleville is the idea of over consumerism, with the city being full of extremely obese, wealthy looking characters. There are 1200 scenes in the film, and 900 original backgrounds were drawn which gives it an enthralling sense of detail

This film is full or extremes and an exaggeration of stereotypes, from Champions oversized hooked nose, to the triplettes obsession with eating frogs in as many different forms as possible (they even eat frog lollypops).

This is the kind of film, which encourages me to want to become a more competent illustrator. The characters in this animation are so full of life that you almost believe they are real people with real lives. When we see a pan shot across a young Champion’s room we see boyhood images of newspaper cuttings and posters of bicycles, we see photographs of Champion with a bucket and spade at the beach, we see a picture of his late parents on a bike. The characters in this film have a story, they are fragile, which I feel makes the viewer warm to them and in return makes Belleville Rendezvous an engrossing and emotional film.