Mike and George Kuchar Programme 2 reviews
Review by on 28 Sep 2009
The second programme of the Kuchar Brothers’ fine masterworks set sail with a collection of joyful, rambling student films and finished with the wonderful TEMPLE OF TORMENT, based on one of George Kuchar’s video diaries. MIDSUMMER'S NIGHTMARE is a silent piece filmed in a bright, lofty forest inhabited by masked, drunk, tormented Wonderland characters. A WIDOW'S WEB is a delightful soap opera reminiscent of the glossy first act of MULHOLLAND DRIVE. A FATEFUL DESIRE is a relentless cautionary tale whose leading lady, channelling Wendy Robie and Gloria Swanson, becomes embroiled in a pernicious world of sinister meteorologists and depraved nightclub hounds. George plasters the film with layer upon layer of post-production, but in the hands of a Kuchar, excess always leads to success. The lavatory, rarely featured on screen outside a Farrelly Brothers film, is used as a universal visual metaphor: blocked and gushing, presenting us with our own daily unspeakables or merely and mutely gaping. George’s classroom productions are charming, articulate and great fun – he describes them as “moving yearbooks that should be delivered in plain, brown wrappers”. In contrast, TEMPLE OF TORMENT is truly moving. It’s a perfectly pitched record of everyday life, patchworking a mischievous tribute to the preachings of Mother Angelica together with portraits of New York weather and glimpses of George’s home life.
The third programme comprised two of the brothers’ earlier works, and it was interesting to see in retrospect how vividly the spirit has endured, spanning the decades and drawing in new generations of kook. Both films are riddled with ingenuous adolescent soliloquies and ingenious one-liners. A REASON TO LIVE(1976) featured regularly at London’s long lost Scala cinema and has actually been released on the BFI’s "Colour Me Lurid" video in the early 90s. This marvellous monochrome melodrama features some amazing SFX from Mother Nature herself, and some characteristically crafty remarks: the wild-eyed heroines clasp each other and welcome the “joyful fog”. LUST FOR ECSTASY has an equally eloquent, relentlessly witty script: a lovesick nurse tells her friend how she longs to tear the scrubs off Doctor Adonis (the beautiful, gangling young Mike Kuchar) and is advised: “Wash your mouth out and find a hobby”. Even the stage names are funny – whatever happened to Dick Chambermaid and Budgy Sharfman?
A DVD collection hasn’t been released, which is a terrible shame but possibly an impractical proposition – the Kuchar filmography is gargantuan. Everyone should have the chance to see these films. The brothers aren’t afraid to show you their hearts and bums, and both should be at the top of your see-before-you-die list. The world’s greatest blues musicians might have faded into obscurity had their more prestigious successors not advertised their influences. The Kuchars inspired some of our favourite cult auteurs, and yet a grand total of seven people turned up to watch their films on Friday night. Shame on everyone else, who missed out on something unique that the handful of lucky viewers will never forget – even the one who branded it “bullsh*t”.
ROSY HUNT
The second programme of the Kuchar Brothers’ fine masterworks set sail with a collection of joyful, rambling student films and finished with the wonderful TEMPLE OF TORMENT, based on one of George Kuchar’s video diaries. MIDSUMMER'S NIGHTMARE is a silent piece filmed in a bright, lofty forest inhabited by masked, drunk, tormented Wonderland characters. A WIDOW'S WEB is a delightful soap opera reminiscent of the glossy first act of MULHOLLAND DRIVE. A FATEFUL DESIRE is a relentless cautionary tale whose leading lady, channelling Wendy Robie and Gloria Swanson, becomes embroiled in a pernicious world of sinister meteorologists and depraved nightclub hounds. George plasters the film with layer upon layer of post-production, but in the hands of a Kuchar, excess always leads to success. The lavatory, rarely featured on screen outside a Farrelly Brothers film, is used as a universal visual metaphor: blocked and gushing, presenting us with our own daily unspeakables or merely and mutely gaping. George’s classroom productions are charming, articulate and great fun – he describes them as “moving yearbooks that should be delivered in plain, brown wrappers”. In contrast, TEMPLE OF TORMENT is truly moving. It’s a perfectly pitched record of everyday life, patchworking a mischievous tribute to the preachings of Mother Angelica together with portraits of New York weather and glimpses of George’s home life. The third programme comprised two of the brothers’ earlier works, and it was interesting to see in retrospect how vividly the spirit has endured, spanning the decades and drawing in new generations of kook. Both films are riddled with ingenuous adolescent soliloquies and ingenious one-liners. A REASON TO LIVE(1976) featured regularly at London’s long lost Scala cinema and has actually been released on the BFI’s "Colour Me Lurid" video in the early 90s. This marvellous monochrome melodrama features some amazing SFX from Mother Nature herself, and some characteristically crafty remarks: the wild-eyed heroines clasp each other and welcome the “joyful fog”. LUST FOR ECSTASY has an equally eloquent, relentlessly witty script: a lovesick nurse tells her friend how she longs to tear the scrubs off Doctor Adonis (the beautiful, gangling young Mike Kuchar) and is advised: “Wash your mouth out and find a hobby”. Even the stage names are funny – whatever happened to Dick Chambermaid and Budgy Sharfman?
A DVD collection hasn’t been released, which is a terrible shame but possibly an impractical proposition – the Kuchar filmography is gargantuan. Everyone should have the chance to see these films. The brothers aren’t afraid to show you their hearts and bums, and both should be at the top of your see-before-you-die list. The world’s greatest blues musicians might have faded into obscurity had their more prestigious successors not advertised their influences. The Kuchars inspired some of our favourite cult auteurs, and yet a grand total of seven people turned up to watch their films on Friday night. Shame on everyone else, who missed out on something unique that the handful of lucky viewers will never forget – even the one who branded it “bullsh*t”.
ROSY HUNT
Film details
Mike and George Kuchar Programme 2
KUCHAR BROTHERS
Director: George Kuchar
Director: Mike Kuchar
Director: Mike Kuchar
USA, 2008.
82 mins.
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