SENTIENT TIMES • October/ November 2007
Mixed Media Reviews
Déjà Vu
Film Review by Stephen Simon
In Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, one of the most underappreciated films ever in Spiritual Cinema, the central theme emphasizes our ability and desire to retain our memories of loving another person. If a relationship ended badly, or if the memories were just too painful would we and should we erase that memory entirely if we were given such an opportunity to do so? Just hit “delete” as we would a document on a computer. If we did so, and we met that person anew, would we fall in love yet again? In essence, then, are our “soul mates” hardwired into our system so completely that any attempt to convince ourselves otherwise is the ultimate fool’s errand?
Henry Jaglom’s brilliant 1997 film Déjà Vu (now available on DVD) asks those kinds of questions and is that kind of love story. It challenges us to look at our belief systems in a very frank and some might feel challenging and even controversial way. At the core of the film, it holds up a mirror to all of us who are in relationship and shines a very powerful light on the very underpinnings of that relationship.
What happens if you meet the person of your dreams, the one you’ve always known was out there somewhere, and that person is with someone else? And, to add an Olympic degree of difficulty, so are you. Déjà Vu posits just that question, and weaves it into a brilliantly conceived and deeply spiritual love story.
To delve too much into the plot of the intricately-woven screenplay that Jaglom co-wrote with the luminescent star of the film, Victoria Foyt, would be unfair to those of you who might have missed this “hidden gem” of a film when it was theatrically released in the late 1990s. I will not, therefore, get into a discussion of the storyline here, other than to say that the film pivots around a serendipitous meeting between a woman (Foyt) who is engaged to be married and a mysterious painter whom she meets. The painter is played by the extraordinary Stephen Dillane whom many of you might remember as the husband of Nicole Kidman’s Virginia Woolf in The Hours.
Déjà Vu is an adult film about adult issues that moves our heart and challenges our minds. The kind of film that you want to see and then enjoy a long dinner of discussion and reflection after, the kind of film “they don’t make anymore.” A classic and a hidden gem indeed.
Northbound
Monte Killingsworth
Dry Canyon Press, 2007
www.drycanyonpress.com
This wonderfully enjoyable collection of original music is reminiscent of the “old days” of the back to the land movement when many of us who lived with no power or phones were blessed with lots of joyous gatherings with friends where we shared our homegrown tunes. Monte Killingsworth, a southern Oregon musician, describes his music as “songs whose roots cling to the place where I live ... these songs are not loud and they are not flashy ... these songs have absolutely nothing to do with bars or nightclubs; they are likely to be heard wafting out through the windows into my garden on weekend mornings ... I like to imagine they are akin to poetry, that a person might stop and listen to the words if he or she happened to be strolling through my canyon.” We really like it, and think you will too!
Beneath The Covers: A Rediscovery
Gypsy Soul
Beaten Track Recordings, 2007
www.gypsysoul.com
Independent artists Cilette Swann and Roman Morykit, who have recently returned to southern Oregon, have produced a wonderful collection of covers including Nights in White Satin (The Moody Blues), Blackbird (The Beatles) and Wicked Game (Chris Isaak), just to name a few. Their renditions, unique enough to call their own yet true to the originals, are exceptional. There is something so very special about hearing a familiar tune, and then even more so when done by such wonderful musicians. Also included are three of their own compositions, which round out this collection beautifully. We highly recommend this album and encourage readers to attend a Gypsy Soul concert if possible as grassroots touring is a large part of their musical expression. Their previous eight CDs, all highly acclaimed, have won many indie music awards. For those who are unfamiliar with Cillette & Roman’s sound, visit www.gypsysoul.com to hear some samples of their music.
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