Cygnet74

an international trailer was released. [TRAILER]

it seems Van Sant is adhering to the aesthetic he adopted for Gerry and Elephant. i had never held his earlier films in high regard but this shift in form is intriguing to me. in examining the mystery of a person or place, the viewer is a present witness to each moment. in this interview he credits the works of Béla Tarr as the source of inspiration for this "new way of seeing".

despite being based on the death of kurt cobain, i don't expect this film will be to everyone's liking. but imo, van sant has learned a great deal (from a master filmmaker) about unearthing "the truth" of things and i look forward to seeing this.

Squirrel God

I cursed Van Sant for Gerry. Worthy material for a short film extrapolated into sustained ennui.

Elephant, however, I adored. It's genius, for me, lay in its ability to make you notice very small details at the start without making you aware that you had noticed them until much later on.

As long as Last Days is not in the same ballpark as Gerry, I will give it a go.

PopcornTreeCt

a Kurt Cobain movie but not about Kurt Cobain..I dislike it already!

meritocracy

It was only recently that I discovered Asia Argento is starring in this. Ironic when one considers in her directorial debut, Scarlet Diva, there's a scene with a far from flattering portrayal of a directer who's based on Van Sant. Additionally, in an interview accompanying the DVD, she pretty much vivisects him as a complete and utter hack.

RyoHazuki

Damn I came into this thread thinking he was dying. Oh well.

Squirrel God

Your day will come, Ryo. Patience

Buford T Pusser

Strong agreement. I also thought he had died.

wendersfan

I'm seeing it in an hour. If you're (un)lucky I'll post a review.

scott shelton

She's barely in this. Just a scene or two.

And if anyone was bothered by ELEPHANT or GERRY, I would suggest to stay far away from this.

PopcornTreeCt

I really liked Elephant. I'm going to check this out.

Frank TJ Mackey

Am I the only surprised Asia Argento is in a mainstream-esque movie that doesn't border on soft porn? or have something to do with Marilyn Manson...


should be a cool movie though

PopcornTreeCt

She was in XXX.

scott shelton

And LAND OF THE DEAD.

wendersfan

If it's any consolation, her bare ass has more screen time than her face in the movie...

alessandro

scott shelton

Some might say her ass has more artisitic merit than the film itself.

MartinBlank

Just so long as it's as sweet as PSYCHO!!!!

PopcornTreeCt

That bad, huh? Sucks, at least it wasn't a movie about the real Kurt Cobain.

cupcake jesus

Wendersfan, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the film. Personally, I'd like to see VanSant return to traditional narrative, but think Gerry and Elephant are brilliant. Is Last Days in the style of his last two pictures? If so, does that detached, third-person style work for what seems like a story about personality?

cheers,

-the Jesus

wendersfan

It's very much in the style of his previous two films. There's practically no dialogue through most of the movie, and not a lot of editing. He continues the long take aesthetic, with many, many Steadicam shots. He also uses the same editing style as in Elephant, where the same event will be seen twice, from two different viewpoints. I've forgotten the name of that technique. I'd rate the movie 4 stars (out of 5), and I should have a review up at my site by early next week.

scott shelton

Do you feel the film requires a basic knowledge of Cobain to even be comprehensible?

EDIT: Oooh, oooh...and what about the Boyz II Men shot? Thoughts?

Cygnet74

does this mean Van Sant has turned a corner for you? it had been my impression that you didn't hold his Béla Tarr inspired aesthetic in high regard. or were you speaking relatively?

ps - don't know if i ever told you but i bought werckmeister harmonies on your recommendation some time ago and it devastated me. watched it with my girlfriend and some close friends i often invite over for living room screenings on my 9 ft screen. normally, we like to chat about the films afterward. but that night, we were speechless. so, thank you.

wendersfan

It probably had more to do with specific complaints about Elephant, which at the time was the only "Tarr-inspired" van Sant film I'd seen. My complaints about that film had less to do with the style, and more to do with some specific plot issues and possibly even that I had inordinately high expectations of a film that had just won the Palme d'Or... Having now seen both Gerry and Last Days I have a fuller appreciation of what van Sant is trying to do.

You had mentioned that you liked it, yes. It's really an extraordinary film, IMO head and shoulders above anything else released in the last five years.

wendersfan

The Boys II Men thing was great.

I don't know how to answer your first question, since I am pretty familiar with Cobain's career and story, so it's hard to extrapolate ignorance. I would imagine a very rudimentary knowledge of the guy would probably help.

PopcornTreeCt

I heard this was the final part of Van Sant's "Young Death" trilogy (Elephant, Gerry). Has anyone else heard that before or is it just some internet thing?