And the Theme for February's Marco Movie Night is....
Escapism
Friday February 25th at Chez Noyola
7:00 - 7:30 -- 30 minutes of trailers, interviews, film clips, parodies, etc. inspired by tonight's film selections.
7:30 - 9:45 -- Le Trou (1960) / Dir: Jacques Becker
Marco Movie Night has been on hiatus for a while but after serving three months of hard time, I've been released on good(ish) behavior. In honor of the event, I'm resurrecting my monthly movie night with one of the best prison break films ever made: Jacques Becker's Le Trou (The Hole).
Inspired by an actual prison break, Le Trou details the escape plan of five convicts, each facing long sentences and possibly even the guillotine (France's official method of execution up until 1981!) Determined to make the film as realistic as possible, Becker chose non-professional actors for his leads, including one of the actual participants from the real prison break. Eschewing a musical score and frequently utilizing long takes, Becker generates a high level of suspense while retaining an almost documentary level of realism. Step by painstaking step, his observant camera records the prisoners' resourcefulness, ingenuity and patience; a testament to the lengths men will go in order to regain their freedom.
Originally released in America as The Nightwatch, Le Trou was one of Becker's few films to be screened outside of his native France. Unfortunately, he died shortly after completing Le Trou and never got to enjoy the film's critical reception abroad. Thanks to art house retrospectives and Criterion DVD Becker's work is finally becoming better known and now, over five decades later, Le Trou is recognized as a masterpiece.
I will provide snacks but you are welcome to bring your liquid party favor of choice. Regular attendees of Marco Movie Night know that I usually try to have some kind of themed food and/or beverage. While a batch of prison pruno would be an appropriate choice for this month's entry I've opted for freshly made piña coladas instead. After all, what pairs better with a grim, French, prison thriller than a frosty, tropical flavored beverage?
In 1979, one-hit wonder Rupert Holmes unleashed "Escape" better known as "The Piña Colada Song" on an unsuspecting public. It's an infectious pop ditty that worms its way into your brain until you want to ram chop sticks into your eardrums. For those of you who have never heard the song or never bothered to listen to its insipid lyrics allow me to recap it for you: the narrator complains about how he and his "old lady have fallen into the same old dull routine". As his wife sleeps (clearly tired from a long, passionless day devoid of meaningful contact or piña coladas) the narrator reads the newspaper and spots a personals ad that intrigues him:
Woman seeks Man (Marital Status Unimportant)
Turn ons: Pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, making love at midnight on the dunes of the cape.
Turn offs: Health food, guys with less than half a brain, faithful husbands.
Without giving his wife a second thought (which, the narrator concedes, "sounds kind of mean.") he replies to the ad and insists that:
I've got to meet you by tomorrow noon (which doesn't sound pushy or creepy at all)
And cut through all this red-tape (apparently there are all sorts of forms you have to fill out before committing adultery)
At a bar called O'Malley's where we'll plan our escape.
He arranges the rendezvous only to find out, in an O'Henryesque twist, that his date is none other than his own wife! Seriously, "The Piña Colada Song" is like Gift of the Magi for adulterers. As it turns out, she's as fed up with their marriage as he is. You might think such a scenario would lead to counseling, a messy divorce, possibly even a guest slot on the Jerry Springer show but you'd be wrong. Instead, both spouses laugh it off and the marriage is saved when they realize they share a heretofore unknown fondness for tropical mixed drinks, sex in public places and a mutual desire to cheat on one another. Clearly this is a healthy relationship destined to last - they might even make it to last call.