Cinema Canada (Dec 1974-Jan 1975)

GS At the Tenth International Film Festival in Stratford, festivalgoers found themselves face to. face with two ebullient and expressive young filmmakers: Jerry Bruck Jr. and Michael Barry. Bruck came with I. F. Stone’s Weekly, a 62-minute, black and white documentary, and Barry with The Second Coming of Suzanne — a 90-minute colour feature. They shared striking similarities in outlook and approach both filmmakers are actively (almost obsessively) involved in making films they want to make, yet they have two remarkably diverse approaches and vastly different film styles. Jerry Bruck is a documentary filmmaker working in black and white out of choice. A Canadian from Montreal, Bruck’s third film concerns U.S. activist journalist I.F. Stone, yet he deals with a universal subject — the right of every individual to have access to the truth and the right to express the truth. ery ruc Other films by Bruck: Celebration: The Counter-Inaugural, 1969, a 59-minute black and white documentary completed in 1970 dealing with former U.S. President Nixon’s first inauguration. (A re-release is planned). The Old Corner Store Will Be Knocked Down By The Wreckers, (1970) a 22-minute b/w film available through the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre, Toronto. From noted urbanologist Jane Jacobs: “Jerry Bruck’s film on a Montreal corner store telis more about city neighbourhoods and city life than whole textbooks on sociology and planning. It is also funny, surprising, tragic: in sum, a piece of real truth.”’ I. F. Stone’s Weekly — Photographed/edited/written/produced/directed by Jerry Bruck Jr. Narrated by Tom Wicker. Location sound by Brian Fergusan and Nancy Firmin, Robert Leacock, Curt Wittig, Mark Woodcock, Gerardine Wurzburg, Sarah Yardley. Re-mix Engineer — Paul Jaeger. Distributed in 16mm and 35mm by the I.F. Stone Project, P.O. Box 315, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, USA 07417. Focussing on I.F. Stone and the newspaper he researched, wrote, edited, proofread, published and mailed out for 19 years after being blacklisted by the establishment press during the infamous McCarthy era, the film’s vitality is irresistable and stimulating. All one’s mental faculties come alive as the factual material is conveyed in a fast-paced blend of original footage, videotape excerpts, newsfilm, interviews, and “‘Izzy’s”’ words both spoken and superimposed on the screen. The result is a fleeting, vivid glimpse into the world of I.F. Stone, writer and truth-seeker extraordinaire. A fine documentary. 34 Cinema Canada CONTR TL LAR Michael Barry, an American from Los Angeles, was specitically inspired by the writings of Canadian poet Leonard Cohen yet he also deals with a universal subject the destruction of innocence by negative forces fostered in modern society — ina style Barry terms “surreal American fantasy”’. Jerry Bruck, Michael Barry and their films provided a memorable lesson in the universality of filmmaking. Their presence also underlined the essential stupidity of insular nationalism (or, in Canada, anti-American sentiments) especially as they relate tothe arts, for their work has. greatly benefited from a thorough cross-pollination of cultures. The following portraits include excerpts from the discussion periods held during the Festival as well as from interviews with the writer: Laurinda Hartt cnael Larry The Second Coming of Suzanne, 90 minutes, 35mm, colour. Written and directed by Michael Barry. Production: The Barry Film Company, 1901 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles. Executive Producer: Gene Barry. Producer: Ralph Burris. Photography: Isidore Mankofsky. Editing and Montages: Frank Mazzola. The song “Suzanne” written and performed by Leonard Cohen (courtesy of Columbia Records). Original Music: Don Caverhill. Art Director: Elayne Ceder. Leading Players: Sondra Locke (Suzanne), Paul Sand (the Artist), Jared Martin (Logan), Richard Dreyfuss (Clavius), Gene Barry (TV Commentator), Kari Aualos (the Child), Gloria Stockton (the fat lady). The Second Coming of Suzanne is Michael Barry’s first feature, a fantastical commentary on the state of American society, inspired by Leonard Cohen’s song/poem ‘“‘Suzanne’’. A vivid collage of symbolic images meshed with deliberately overdrawn characterizations and a minimum of plot, this volatile mixture has elicited both enthusiastic praise and violent anger from viewers. Though the flood of symbolism threatens to overwhelm genuinely haunting imagery, frequent passages of brilliance and an overall tone of gentle humanism make it impossible to dismiss this fikm lightly. One cannot deny the fascination for its ability to evoke intensely personal and unpredictable responses in each viewer.