ISSUE #69
BEAM FROM THE BOOTH | GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY
[EDITED BY: GRIFFIN SHERIDAN & SPENCER EVERHART]
Hello and welcome back to an all-new installment of BEAM FROM THE BOOTH brought to you by GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY.
Our September programming continues this week with two exciting screenings...
First, TONIGHT (9/16) at 8:00pm, we’re screening Claudia Weill’s GIRLFRIENDS!
Then, this SATURDAY (9/21) at 8:30pm, we’re helping to bring you all the GRAND RAPIDS PREMIERE of Joel Potrykus’ latest film: VULCANIZADORA.
Check out a preview for each film below from our own Breana Malloy and Potrykus himself, respectively!
THE GIRLFRIENDS FOREWORD
[BY: BREANA MALLOY]
When I think of someone’s favorite movie, I think of a comfort movie, something they’ve seen dozens of times; a movie they know by heart. Yet whenever I am asked about my favorite film, I say Girlfriends — a movie I have boasted about for years, and I have only seen it a couple of times. With this in mind, I started to ponder why it was one of my favorites. After watching it again for the first time in over a year I realized that, for me, Girlfriends is a film that marks the various seasons of life, specifically for women. As I view it through the years, it brings out new meanings — it grows with me. It is not a high-concept film, it isn’t full of big camera movements, a plethora of cuts, or extravagant sets. It's understated. In an interview with the Criterion Collection, director Claudia Weill says that the film is all about body language and watching how characters interact within a space. Watch the minor transgressions and interactions, just as you do in your everyday life. You may not like it for this reason...or you may love it for this reason.
The first time I watched Girlfriends was when I was still in school studying film. I was going through Criterion’s website looking for something new to watch, something about which I had no preconceived notions. I don’t remember where I was, or much else of that nature, but I remember feeling lost in my life. I felt so confused, lonely, and directionless. My friendships were changing, evolving, and ending. I wasn’t sure where my career was going after college. I was worried. At this time, I related closely to Susan in the beginning of the film. She lives with her good friend, working a job she tolerates, just trying to make it. When I came back to Girlfriends over a year later, I didn’t like it for the same reasons as before. I saw a young woman on her own, her best friend was now married leaving her alone in her home with her thoughts. She was still looking for purpose in her work, dating around, and learning to live in the world. I felt seen: I related to Susan at the midpoint of the film. Now watching it again in preparation for the GRFS screening (two years later), I relate to the Susan that exists in the latter half of the film. The one who is finding her way after stumbling for so long. She takes chances, opens herself up to love, and accepts her friends for who they are.
This movie means a lot to me. As the credits rolled during my viewing this past week, it brought tears to my eyes. It reflected my journey and self-discovery. It is a film grounded in the lessons I learned throughout my 20s. It showed me who I have been and who I am still to become. I am reminded that it’s okay to be lonely, it is okay to feel lost and to embrace the mundanity of life. This isn’t a movie with car chases, shootouts, huge romantic gestures, or tragic endings. It is a reflection of life as a woman. It is the coming of age after the coming of age.
AN INTRO TO VULCANIZADORA FROM DIRECTOR JOEL POTRYKUS
As with most filmmakers, I steal from other films and filmmakers. I’m just lifting shots, dialogue, character beats, and cuts from what I’m inspired by and what turns me on. Then I try to hide it and pretend it’s from me. Vulcanizadora is no different. However, the more films I make the more I realize these things aren’t really a pastiche of my favorite films or the work of my favorite directors, but what I had watched while I was writing...or just before I started writing.
I barely remember seeing Gus Van Sant’s Gerry when it came out in 2002. It’s a cast of two, Casey Affleck and Matt Damon, wandering aimlessly through the desert. I think I got bored and tuned out. I was younger and didn’t click with what I thought was mostly a Matt Damon vehicle. To me, it was very much the lesser of Van Sant’s ‘Death Trilogy’ (Gerry, Elephant, and Last Days). But a couple of years ago, I was on a major Van Sant kick and re-watched it. I got all worked up. I saw new possibilities in what Van Sant is doing in that movie. He makes a huge, empty, breathing space for surprise. It might as well have been like I’d never seen it. I couldn’t wait to see where it went. The entire time I thought these two guys were on an unspoken mission, talking around the bad thoughts in their heads, and afraid of freaking each other out. And when it finally gets ugly, I wasn’t sure if their mission had worked or if I was watching a botched escape plan. Then, right after the bad thing happens, the credits roll. I wasn’t sure what to think. Was I wrong about what had been happening the entire movie? Had I just spent an hour and forty minutes totally missing the point? Were they just lost the whole time? Why didn’t it commit to its misery and deal with the repercussions of that bad thing? I started to realize it wasn’t as great as I thought it had been. Gus tricked me.
That week I talked with everyone I knew about Gerry and how almost-great it is and how close Van Sant came to making something with something to say. I blabbed about how my misunderstanding was the better version of that movie. I said I wanted to remake it. I wrote all my thoughts down, put them in chronological order, and made an outline. Once I figured out who my Matt Damn and Casey Affleck would be, it started to become a very different, angry monster. I knew exactly what my two guys were up to and why they’d be doing it at that point in their lives, and why they want to go where they go. All the gunk I’d thinking over the last few years went into their heads. I didn’t include much of the good stuff. That’s no fun. The outline turned into a screenplay — easiest one I’ve written. By the time my scared and confused men had said and done everything they needed to say and do, it didn’t have much in common with Gerry anymore. It’s a couple of dudes out on a hike, there’s lots of rambling, and that’s about it. Not a remake, maybe a de-make.
(Also, this is all right around the time of Zach Cregger’s Barbarian. Again: my biggest influence is usually the last movie I’ve seen.)
UPCOMING EVENTS
GIRLFRIENDS (Weill, 1978)
WHAT: A photographer is stuck with small-change shooting jobs and dreams of success. When her roommate decides to get married and leave, she feels hurt and has to learn how to deal with living alone.
WHEN: TONIGHT! Monday, September 16th, 8:00pm
WHERE: Wealthy Theatre
VULCANIZADORA (Potrykus, 2024)
WHAT: GRAND RAPIDS PREMIERE! Two friends take a trip through a Michigan forest, intent on carrying out a disturbing pact. When their plan fails, one confronts unsettling repercussions at home.
Presented in partnership with the Grand Rapids Film Festival!
WHEN: Saturday, September 21st, 8:30pm
WHERE: Wealthy Theatre
RUSHMORE (Anderson, 1998)
WHAT: A screening of Wes Anderson’s prep school romantic comedy, AND a school supplies drive! All supplies are donated to Campus Elementary. Plus, folks who attend and donate supplies will receive $1 off popcorn!
WHEN: Monday, September 30th, 8:00pm
WHERE: Wealthy Theatre
And so we’ve arrived at the end of another BEAM FROM THE BOOTH! We appreciate you taking the time to read it and truly hope you’ll continue to do so. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to get each issue in your inbox every week, and stay up-to-date on all things GRFS.
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Until then, friends...
