http://www.chrismarker.org/2008/07/chat-ecoutant-la-musique-entracte/ Notes from the Era of Imperfect Memory Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:20:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.chrismarker.org/2008/07/chat-ecoutant-la-musique-entracte/comment-page-1/#comment-213 Сталкер Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:40:55 +0000 http://www.chrismarker.org/?p=149#comment-213 So it is as anticipated in the checkmate chess game of the opening (not to mention all bracketed by the conditional tense or hypothetical scenario of "another movie" that will never be realized): if they don't see happiness, at least they'll see the black. Even if the black is bled back or read back into the image of happiness itself, perhaps... What you're seeing may not be the black that he thought you might see, and bleakness may not be blackness either, granted. It is certainly, as explicitly and ironically shown in <em>Lettre de Sibérie</em>, easy to "color" the image by the commentary, and true too that the act of recording elides its own predation, tries to cover its tracks, erase its presence – which no doubt in most cases <em>does</em> have an effect on the observed (or captured, if you prefer). Stalker has negative connotations in English but I prefer to think of it as Tarkovsky's character – a seeker, a hunter yes but for the invisible. So it is as anticipated in the checkmate chess game of the opening (not to mention all bracketed by the conditional tense or hypothetical scenario of “another movie” that will never be realized): if they don’t see happiness, at least they’ll see the black. Even if the black is bled back or read back into the image of happiness itself, perhaps… What you’re seeing may not be the black that he thought you might see, and bleakness may not be blackness either, granted. It is certainly, as explicitly and ironically shown in Lettre de Sibérie, easy to “color” the image by the commentary, and true too that the act of recording elides its own predation, tries to cover its tracks, erase its presence – which no doubt in most cases does have an effect on the observed (or captured, if you prefer). Stalker has negative connotations in English but I prefer to think of it as Tarkovsky’s character – a seeker, a hunter yes but for the invisible.

]]> http://www.chrismarker.org/2008/07/chat-ecoutant-la-musique-entracte/comment-page-1/#comment-212 naldeau Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:52:54 +0000 http://www.chrismarker.org/?p=149#comment-212 That is a gem. Guillaume-en-Egypte snoozing on the DX7 keyboard listening to Mompou piano music in the safe confines of Marker's studio does seem to be a "happy" picture, with no ironic inflection at all; serene, dreamy and banal. But in spite of Marker's ironic insistence that the children in Iceland represent happiness, "Sans Soleil", with it's great introductory line, "if they don't see happiness in the picture, at least they'll see the black. . ." seems to me to be one of the bleakest openings you could imagine. How do the children in the intro shots of "Sans Soleil" represent happiness? Even though Marker's narration tells us they do, when I look closely at the children they appear to be cringing and clinging together in a bleak landscape, they look tentative, anxious if not scared, perhaps about the guy (Marker/Krasna) following them with the camera. Marker/Krasna maybe the only one happy at that desolate Iceland location. He may be happy like a stalker who has got his prey "fixed" with the camera, but the children always appear terrified to me. Perhaps I'm one of those who can't see the happiness in that picture. That is a gem. Guillaume-en-Egypte snoozing on the DX7 keyboard listening to Mompou piano music in the safe confines of Marker’s studio does seem to be a “happy” picture, with no ironic inflection at all; serene, dreamy and banal. But in spite of Marker’s ironic insistence that the children in Iceland represent happiness, “Sans Soleil”, with it’s great introductory line, “if they don’t see happiness in the picture, at least they’ll see the black. . .” seems to me to be one of the bleakest openings you could imagine. How do the children in the intro shots of “Sans Soleil” represent happiness? Even though Marker’s narration tells us they do, when I look closely at the children they appear to be cringing and clinging together in a bleak landscape, they look tentative, anxious if not scared, perhaps about the guy (Marker/Krasna) following them with the camera. Marker/Krasna maybe the only one happy at that desolate Iceland location. He may be happy like a stalker who has got his prey “fixed” with the camera, but the children always appear terrified to me. Perhaps I’m one of those who can’t see the happiness in that picture.

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