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A few movies that
make me think of Dionysos...
The Witches of Eastwick
In fact, through a good portion of it, Jack Nicholson is totally
Dionysos. He pulls the women from their mundane, unfulfilling lives
into a world of magic and ecstasy, he is often at the center of several
female revellers, and there are rumors of wild orgies going on at his
place. But especially that first part. The way he seduces each woman,
particularly Alex, is so very Dionysos.
"You've done your
best, Alex. You've done the wife bit, the motherhood bit.The car pools,
the vegetable garden...needlepoint, the macramé
potholders...a cup of coffee with a neighbor in the morning...a couple
of drinks, a couple of pills...a little psychoanalysis....Where are you
now, Alex? Pretending to be somebody else... to be half of what you
are. How long can you last like that? The world keeps growing, and you
feed it. But it doesn't feed you, does it? It washes through you, down
the drain, wasted. A woman is a hole, isn't that what they say? All the
futility of the world pouring into her. How much can you take, Alex?
How much can you take...before you snap? Lying on your bed, looking at
the ceiling...waiting for something to happen. And knowing all the time
you were meant for something better. Feeling it. Wanting it.
Use me, Alex. Use me. Fill me up. I can take it. Make it happen. Don't
wait. Time is the killer. Make it happen. Do it, Alex. Do it now."
Oh yeah. That's Him.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
A man with an extraordinary sense of smell becomes obsessed
with capturing the scent of a woman, learns the art of perfume, and
then becomes a serial killer in his quest for the scent. This is not
your average killer flick, not even your average artsy killer flick -
it is almost meditative, spiritual. The main character has pure
motives, he does not rape women, he does not even really want to hurt
them, it's just that there is no other way he can find to capture their
scent, than to do certain procedures to their lifeless bodies. Yes, he
lacks any empathy, of course, but it's an interesting take on an
unusual mind. There's a part in the middle of the movie, during his
pilgrimage to a city famous for its parfumiers, that is unlike anything
I've seen before... he finds this little cave that is almost without
scent (a big deal for him, since he is constantly bombarded with scent
due to his sensitive nose), and sort of incubates there, dreaming or
hallucinating, with no food or water (for what might be an unrealistic
amount of time, but then again that just adds to the mystical,
fantastical quality of it), until he comes upon an important
revelation. And then there is the ending, which is unlike anything you
could expect, and thoroughly Dionysian.
Stage Beauty
In 17th century England, only
men can take the stage. One man is quite well known for his portrayal
of female characters - although his technique is very melodramatic and
unrealistic, but that's how they like it. However, a young stage
dresser defies the king's law and starts acting herself, which
eventually leads to the king overturning his own edict. Now that women
can play women in the theatre, the actor is out of a job, no longer
adored, basically in the gutter. But there's a twist - the actress
isn't really very good, and she ends up asking him for help with an
upcoming production of Othello, where he decides, for the first time
ever, to play a male character. Together, they take Shakespeare to a
new level. The scene they do together, towards the very end of the
movie, is the most chilling, powerful performance of Shakespeare I have
ever seen. It gives me shivers just thinking about it. It's worth
watching the whole film just for that scene. Also, the odd, confusing
relationship that grows between the two main characters (especially
since his character is otherwise gay) is quite well done. Theatre,
ambiguous sexuality, passion, it's all Dionysos.
The Ballad of Jack and Rose
I can't possibly describe this movie well, because what makes it so
special is the acting and a certain atmosphere, not so much the
specific storyline. A dying man lives on an island with his
daughter in the remains of what used to be a hippy commune. Trying to
help their situation, he invites his girlfriend from the mainland, and
her two sons, to come live with them. Things do not work out well at
all though. One of the sons is shy, overweight and gay, the other is
just a creep who is all too happy to help the young Rose discover her
burgeoning sexuality. Meanwhile, developers are coming onto the island,
building terrible suburban type houses and ruining the beauty and peace
there, which the father means to preserve any way he can. The
relationship between the father and daughter is complicated, intense
and strange. The ending is tragic and beautiful. Rose is in many ways a
little maenad - she is free, and yet she longs for the freedoms she
doesn't have even more. She is just discovering sex and drugs and the
world. And in the end, she must forge her own path.
The Libertine
Theatre, debauchery, wine, women, poetry, satire (which comes from
satyr, after all), and liberation, all extremely Dionysian themes
brought to life by a magnificent actor (Johnny Depp) in a fantastic
period movie. An especially great theatre scene includes a number of
giant phalloi.
The Doors
Due to the connections between Jim Morrison and Dionysos, this one is
obvious. And it's a pretty wild trip.
Gothic
Imagine a night that Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and Mary Shelley got
together, the night birthed the idea of Frankenstein. This is total Ken
Russell madness - the strange, discordant soundtrack, the hallucinatory
cinematography... They take laudanum and summon spirits, have sex and
run naked on the rooftops, tell ghost stories and then meet those
stories in the flesh. They are possessed. It is very much like a
bacchanal.
Dangerous Beauty
Fight Club
Dead Poets Society
The themes of poetry and theatre, freedom and pursuing one's passions,
all very Dionysian concepts. A heartbreaking tragedy, and yet
inspirational as well.
American Beauty
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