The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

During the week-end I viewed again, 'The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes' (2005) directed by the brothers Quay.

The Pennsylvanian-born twins, Timothy and Stephen Quay (b. 1947 ) are best known for their short-length, highly original animation films. Since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1969 they have been based mainly in London.

The sources of the brothers Quay's influences and references are diverse and esoteric, including much from East European culture, in particular originating from the art, film-makers, graphic designers and writers of Prague, such as the film-maker Walerian Borowczyk (1923-2006), the authors Bruno Schulz (1892-1942) Franz Kafka (1883-1924) and animator Jan Svankmajer (b.1934).

In their short animated film 'The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer' (1984) homage is made to the Czech pioneer of stop-start film animation. It also features a re-construction of a fantasy character by the illusionist painter, Archimboldo (1530-93) entitled 'The Librarian'. Archimboldo was a favoured Court painter of Rudolph II (1552-1612) the Holy Roman Emperor who was fascinated with alchemy and whose Imperial court attracted talents such as the English occultist John Dee.

The curious artifacts in museums such as Rudolph II's 'Wunderkammer', along with medical collections and psychiatric art-work as well as obsolete mechanical contraptions also feature as inspiration at the court of the Quays. Lesser esoteric artistic projects have involved their creativity in the world of television advertising in which their distinctive animation is instantly recognizable.

The brothers Quay second full-length film incorporates all the strangeness of their peculiar and bizarre automaton with a fine supporting cast and a near surreal plot. The film opens with a quote by the Roman historian Sallust: "These things never happen, but are always." Its an enigmatic and multi-layered story which concerns the fate of a famous opera singer Malvina van Stille (Amira Casar). On the evening before her wedding to Adolfo, (Cesar Sarachu) whilst singing an aria from Vivaldi's Nisi Dominus entitled, 'For so he gives his beloved dreams',  she seemingly dies and is abducted by Doctor Droz to his remote Mediterranean villa, cum sanatorium, where she is revivified. Near-mute, veiled and hypnotized, she remains under Dr. Droz's spell. The mysterious character of Dr. Droz has echoes of Prospero, Svengali, Caligari, Mabuse and Frankenstein all rolled into one. Acted by Gottfried John, a German actor who frequently appeared in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's films, the mad genius of Dr. Droz is portrayed with a droll, dry sophistication. Dr Droz is also the sinister master of a small gang of robotic odd-job men at his villa who at turns are gardeners, henchmen and stage-performers. Droz invites a piano tuner named Filberto (Cesar Sarachu in a dual role) to his Villa, to inspect his seven hydraulically operated automata, while also preparing to stage a 'diabolical opera' unlike any other with Malvina performing.

Early in the film there is an allusion to the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, a force of nature which rumbles ominously in the back-ground to the disturbing automata Filberto is challenged to maintain. The piano tuner is distracted from his task by the seductive attentions of the beautiful maid, Assumptia (Assumptia Serna). It is however Filberto's fatal attraction towards Dr. Droz's silent, veiled patient, Malvina which proves to be the nemesis of his eventual, astounding fate.

As ever with the brothers Quays rich pot-pourri of sources and references are involved. The plot of Adolfo Bioy's novella, 'The Invention of Morel' and Jules Verne's story, 'The Carpathian Castle' are both cited as literary influences upon the plot. However, like the Surrealists before them, the brothers Quay exploration of the workings of the unconscious psyche, along with show-casing their highly-original creativity is foremost among their artistic preoccupations. The crowning artistic glory of 'The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes' is that the clockwork, cogs and strings of the Quay's strange automata and puppets feature as an integral part of the film's story.

In a short scene featuring one of the brothers Quay marvellous automata, the grinding teeth and writhing tongue of a grotesque figure occurs in Filberto's dream, a highly suggestive allusion to the distorted and unconscious perspective of the senses whilst asleep. In fact 'The Piano Tuner Of Earthquakes', like several of the Quay's animation shorts, contains a succession of dream-like images which can react upon and disturb the complacency of the viewer's unconscious psyche.

Described as 'a hermetic vision which is as beautifully seductive as it is chillingly inaccessible, with mise-en-scene like a baroque painting by an Old Master', by one film critic, don't expect to see a film with lots of action, dialogue and a simple plot to follow. Do however expect an exquisitely photographed, rich in tonal palate, well-acted film in which fascinating animation is featured, all conjured by the brothers Quay. It's a film which may well leave you wondering about the nature of illusion and dreams and which may engender a fascination, not unlike one of Dr.Droz's automata which compels one to return to view its surrealistic tale again! In brief, as time will surely demonstrate, a 21st century master-piece of cinema!

The City of Lost Children

'The City of Lost Children' (1995) is a highly imaginative blend of fantasy, science-fiction and fairy-story by the French film-makers Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro. Set in a dystopian world of steel-grey docklands and a phosphorescent green sea, the action involves a semi-robotic gang of one-eyed henchmen called Cyclops who kidnap children for the evil Doctor Krank (Daniel Emilfork) to 'feed' upon their dreams. The crazy doctor Krank is the resident of a sea-rig laboratory along with Uncle Irvin, a disembodied brain who floats in an aquarium and six identical cloned brothers, amazingly filmed and acted by Dominique Pinon.

When Krank's hench-men the Cyclops, kidnap the young brother of circus strong-man One (Ron Perlman), he unites with Miette (Judith Vittet), the ring-leader of a gang of children who are the enforced subjects of sadistic and conjoined school-mistresses, to rescue him. The blossoming romance between the adult strong-man One and the nine-year old orphan heroine Miette is particularly touching, challenging and transcending taboo notions of relationships between child and adult.

Together Jeunet and Caro conjure up an imaginative and claustrophobic landscape in which sets, special effects, photography, fast narrative pace and performances equally contribute to a brilliant film. It's a self-contained world in which lugubrious fog-horns, low-tech mechanisms and humorous sequences of cause and effect occur. Among the many inventive special effects throughout the film the sight of a Titanic-sized ocean-liner crashing through dock-lands, is particularly stunning.

Not unlike Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil' (1985) and their earlier collaboration, also set in a dystopia, 'Delicatessen' (1990) Jenet and Caro's artistic agenda is in essence a discourse upon the world of appearances and the loss of soul in the modern world. As the credits roll the sound-track features the distinctive voice of Marianne Faithfull singing, 'Who will take your dreams away?'

Plums

Plums are just about ripe now. They are another fond memory of childhood summers spent with my Grandmother.

My garden still has the statutory two fruit trees planted by a progressive City Council for every tenancy almost nearly 60 years ago. The pear-tree is a bit decrepit now, but one can't imagine social-housing planning planting fruit-trees for tenants anymore. However the Norwich Labour Party's fruit-tree scheme was more of a remedial measure to ease the malnutrition and poverty of the working population. For although the City of Norwich can boast of being England's second City circa 1400-1700, historically it has also for centuries been recorded as one of the lowest paid regions of the UK.

Peacock and Speckled Wood

After a month of overcast, rainy weather, summer and butterflies return! The gaudy and gorgeous peacock Inachis io loves to feed on buddleia.

In contrast to the peacock's bold markings the camouflage of the speckled wood Parage aegeria tircis, snapped in my garden today.

Browne miscellanea

In addition to the major works of Sir Thomas Browne (1605-82), namely Religio Medici, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, the 1658 two-in-one Discourses, 'Urn-Burial' and 'The Garden of Cyrus' and the posthumously published 'Christian Morals', there are a number of minor and miscellaneous writings by Browne.

Foremost amongst his minor writings are the 12 miscellaneous tracts. Topics as diverse as botany in the Bible, the Saxon language, ancient earthworks, a Nostradamus-like prophecy on the world's future as well as an inventory of lost and imaginary books, pictures and objects, constitute the bulk of the 12 miscellaneous tracts available on-line.

The collected miscellaneous writings of Sir Thomas Browne are a detailed portrait of the learned physician and his many hobbies and interests; they also give a unique insight into life in 17th century Norwich and Norfolk. Browne's notes on the Natural History of Norfolk in particular remains a valuable and fascinating record. Reprinted as a separate volume in 1905, it was considered worthy of study by the renowned Naturalist Ted Ellis. Browne's descriptions of rural Norfolk in the 17th century read as a much wilder habitat, densely populated with all manner of bird-life. His occasional usage of the phrase 'Broad waters', from where the very term 'Norfolk Broads' originates is of particular note.

Browne describes Norfolk bird-life and his witnessing of bird behaviour against a predator thus-

Teale, Querquedula, wherein scarce any place more abounding. The condition of the country & the very many decoys, especially between Norwich and the sea, making this place very much to abound in wilde fowle..........Divers sorts of Eagles come over & are seen in the winter, & especially such as pray upon fowle in broad waters & marshes.......Fulicae cottae, cootes, in very great flocks upon the broad waters. Upon the appearance of a Kite or buzzard I have seen them unite from all parts of the shoare in strange numbers, when if the Kite stoopes neare them they will fling up and spread such a flash of water up with their wings that they will endanger the Kite, & so keepe him of agayne & agayne in open opposition;

Falconry terms are not only alluded to in Religio Medici (Part 1 :10)  as well as  a short tract on Falconry among the miscellaneous tracts (tract 5), the question as to how much Browne was a keen bird-fancier and a participant in the gentleman's sport of hawking is made clearer through a perusal of the miscellaneous writings.

Some fenne Eagles shott in the wing, I have known kept a year or 2 after & fed with guts, fish herrings, or any offell; very tame and inoffensive. An Aquila Gesneri, or of the great sort, was given me in this countrie which I kept 2 years feeding it only with cats, puppes, and rats, without any water all that time. I offered it a gentleman to make a flight at the Bustard, butt it succeeded not. It was presented at last to the College of Physitians at London, where it perished in the common fire.

Far from a puritan in his tastes, Browne was  perhaps an epicure in his dining habits. In an age of few pleasures its amusing to read in his Notes on the cookery of the Ancients

I wish we knew more clearly the aids of the ancients, their sauces, flavours, digestives, tasties, slices, cold meats, and all kinds of pickles. Yet I do not in dining know whether they would have surpassed salted sturgeons’ eggs, anchovy sauce, or our royal pickles.

Browne's gourmet tendencies are confirmed in this commonplace notebook entry -

Take a Legge of mutton, roast it gently & slash it that the gravie may come out & so agayne till it will runne: then take the gravie & lett it seperate the fat by cooling, then put thereto a quarter of a nuttmegge, a small sprigge of Rosmarie, & a little Thmye: set it upon a gentle fire and add unto it 2 spoonfulls of claret & a little salt. You may if you please beat up the yelke of an egge therewith & take x or xii spoonfulls. 2 neat pickles may bee contrived, the one of oysters stewed in their owne liquor with Thyme, Lemon pill... olive, onyon, mace, pepper; adding Rhenish wine, elder vinegar, 3 or 4 pickle cowcumbers. Another with equall parts of the liquor of oysters & the liquor that runs from herings newly salted, with the former Ingredients, adding upon occasion, dissolving anchovie therein, or pickling therin a few smelts, or Garlick, especially the seeds thereof. High esteem was made of Garum by the ancients, & was used in sawces, puddings, &c. If simply made with Aromatic mixture, as is delivered, it cannot butt have an ungrateful smell, however a haut goust & appetisant tange, for it was the liquore or the resolution of the gutts of fishes, salt and insolated. This way may bee tried by us yeerly, & is still continued in Turkey. And may bee made out of the entralls of mackarel, the liquor that runs from the herings, wh. may dissolve Anchovies other Apnia's, & with mixture of oysters & Limpetts & testaceous fishes,....whereof every one makes his one pickle varieth the taste of sea water. The neatest way is to have pickles always readie, wherein wee may make additions at pleasure, or use them simply in sawces. The ancients loaded their pickles with cummin seed & the like, distasteful unto our senses.

Meticulous attention to detailed description in Browne's cookery notes is equally evident in his 'elaboratory' operations. Indeed some alchemists even likened the art of alchemy to cookery. Not only is alchemy discussed in Religio Medici, but many esoteric authors are listed as once in his library. There's also the fact that the 1658 Discourses are constructed upon esoteric schemata, employing highly-original symbolism of considerable psychological depth; as well as his recording of many experiments in his 'elaboratory' such as -

Take 2 ounces of purified sylver and with twice or thrice as much of the best aqua fortis dissolve it in a boltshead. Then poure your solution into a glassse body covered with his Alembick, and so upon sand drawe of about half the humidity of the Aq. fortis. Let your vessells coole, and you will find you have obtained a substance somewhat like salt, which putt into as good a crucible as you can gett, lett your fire bee gentle at the beginning least your matter boyle over; and so encrease it by degrees till it commeth to bubble, and looke like an oyle at the bottome of your cruicible. Then you may pour it out into such a pot as is used for Regulus antimonii or any other as you shall thinck more convienient. This is the sylver caustick.

Although he heartily recommended William Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood to his disciple Henry Power, and is credited in the OED for introducing words such as 'medical' 'pathology' and 'hallucination' into the English language, Browne also entertained some ideas on medicine which are nowadays considered bizarre by modern sensibilities. His medical credentials, like his scientific credentials are Janus-like and float between the rational, modern world and the older, esoteric tradition of correspondences. His medical recommendation for gout, a common consequence for members of the English gentry who lived a leisurely life with a rich diet.

If you have a mind to proceed farther, you may trie amulets & transplantation: may trie the magnified amulet in Muffetus of spiders leggs worne in a peece of deeres skinne, or tortoyses or froggs leggs cutt of alive and wrapt up in the skinne of a kid: may give pultisses taken from the affected part of a dogge & lett a whelp lay in the bed with you. And may also consider the Sigill of Paracelsus.

A great deal of original eye-witness material upon the social life of Norwich can be found in Browne's miscellaneous writings, especially in his letters and note-books. Always interested in the human aspect, in particular the unusual element, a short note exists on a 'binge-drinking' session in seventeenth century Norwich. With the preciseness of a reporter and without any moralizing on the matter, doctor Browne writes with evident interest -

Rob. Hutchinson at the Wheatsheaf in St. Peters in Norwich dranck a gallon of Brandie burnt & sweetend in the month of June 1675 in the space of 14 howers. Hee drank it hot, fell into a fever & complained of an extra-ordinarie burning in his stomack, butt recovered in 7 dayes, with a great loathing for Brandie after. He is aged 56. Another man who drank with him dranck also a gallon of burnt brandie for his share & road home into the countrie after it, and seemed not to suffer any more then a burning heat in his stomack for some days. Hee dranck a good quantitie of beere after hee made an end of his gallon of brandie.

And finally, just occasionally, whenever the demands of his profession abated, his duties as head of a large household eased and upon completion of religious worship and prayer, Browne somehow found time to jot down the odd philosophical aphorism, some of which were later used into his literary works. These little-known aphorisms are an assortment of curious psychological self-portraits, occasional prophetic remarks, witty aesthetic judgments and tiny gems of wisdom. Such examples include-

* I attained my purpose and came to reach this port by a bare wind, much labour, great paynes and little assistance.

* I cannot fancy unto myself a more acceptable representation or state of things then if I could see all my best friends, and worthy acquaintance of fourtie yearres last past, upon the stage of the world at one time.

* Hee that found out the line of the middle motion of the planets holds an higher mansion in my thoughts then hee that discovered the Indies, and Ptolomie that sawe no farther then the feet of the Centaur, then hee that hath beheld the snake of the southern pole.

* The rationall discoverie of things transcends their simple detections whose inventions are often casuall & secondaries unto intention. Many things are casually or frequently superadded unto the best authors & the lines of many made to contain that advantageous sense which they never intended.

* In a peece of myne published long ago the learned Annotator/commentator hath paralleled many passages with other of Mountaignes essays, whereas to deale clearly, when I penned that peece I had never read 3 leaves of that Author & scarce more ever since.

* If the substantial subject be well forged out, we need not examine the sparks, which irregularly fly from it.