venerdì 19 dicembre 2008
sabato 15 novembre 2008
"Stranded", Tale of Survival
'Stranded: I've Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains': A compelling tale of survival
By Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
"Stranded: I've Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains" is an exceptional film, at once disturbing and elevating, deliberate yet powerful. It takes a story that we all think we know, one of the 20th century's most familiar tales of resilience and survival, and demonstrates that we haven't really known it at all.
"Stranded's" narrative is familiar because, under the title "Alive," it was both an internationally bestselling book and a Hollywood movie starring Ethan Hawke. Who doesn't have at least a vague knowledge of the story of the Uruguayan airliner that slammed into the Andes in 1972 and of the 16 young men who survived an unheard-of 72 days in part because they did the unthinkable and ate the flesh of those who died?
But it is only now that all the people who made it out alive agreed to talk on camera with breathtaking candor and startling detail about the nature of their experience, about what they went through and what their thoughts about it are today.
These stories do not shortchange the horror of the situation, but under the direction of Gonzalo Arijon, "Stranded" understands that out of disaster can come the purity of transcendence. Against all expectation, the survivors' experience turns out to have been a surprisingly spiritual one.
As "Alive" author Piers Paul Read noted in the book's acknowledgments, some survivors have felt that "the faith and friendship which inspired them . . . do not emerge in these
pages. . . . Perhaps it would be beyond the skill of any writer to express their own appreciation of what they lived through." Now, with this film, that appreciation has taken tangible form.
One reason these men felt safe unburdening themselves was that veteran documentarian Arijon, born in Montevideo but a resident of Paris for nearly 30 years, was a boyhood friend of many of those who got on that plane on Friday, Oct. 13, 1972.
And what persuasive, articulate talkers the "Stranded" survivors turn out to be. We hang on their every word as these voices combine to remember every moment with a vividness and an immediacy that is overwhelming.
In addition to doing the interviews, director Arijon had other ways of making his narrative especially effective, starting with using the film's delicate, otherworldly score by composer Florencia Di Concilio-Perrin to add a disturbing air to the proceedings.
Since no film exists of the "Stranded" experience (with the exception of newsreel footage of the rescue), Arijon made the risky decision to use re-creations to help tell the story.
Although this technique can be heavy-handed, as shot by cinematographer Cesar Charlone (Oscar nominated for "City of God" and, unbelievably, nearly a passenger on that plane) the scenes are quietly effective.
Quiet is the operative word here: Because no one in the re-creations talks on camera, the sequences come off as dreamlike and haunting, which is as they should be.
The re-creations are also an effective companion piece to "Stranded's" contemporary footage, which follows the adult survivors as they take a summertime trip back to the Valley of Tears in the Andes, the crash site, and try and convey to their children the nature of the experience.
These men were just 19 years old themselves in 1972, members of a rugby team associated with a Catholic school, headed for a game in Santiago, Chile, and what they thought would be a weekend "full of adventure and excitement"
The crash itself killed 12 of the 45 passengers, and numerous others gradually died from injuries and starvation. When those alive heard on their still-functioning radio that the search for them had been abandoned, they came around with tremendous reluctance to the notion of what they had to do to survive.
"Stranded" emphasizes that what kept this deeply Catholic group together was its "strong sense of unity and solidarity" and that the decision to eat human flesh was done in the respectful spirit of the most serious religious ritual. Instead of feeling exploitative, the scenes in which the decision and its consequences are discussed are the most deeply moving of the film.
Also stirring are the descriptions of how the group was finally rescued, how two of their number walked for 10 days before reaching help, going so far (44 miles over peaks that reached 13,000 feet) that the rescue helicopter pilots they guided back to their friends thought they couldn't possibly have covered so great a distance.
By Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
"Stranded: I've Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains" is an exceptional film, at once disturbing and elevating, deliberate yet powerful. It takes a story that we all think we know, one of the 20th century's most familiar tales of resilience and survival, and demonstrates that we haven't really known it at all.
"Stranded's" narrative is familiar because, under the title "Alive," it was both an internationally bestselling book and a Hollywood movie starring Ethan Hawke. Who doesn't have at least a vague knowledge of the story of the Uruguayan airliner that slammed into the Andes in 1972 and of the 16 young men who survived an unheard-of 72 days in part because they did the unthinkable and ate the flesh of those who died?
But it is only now that all the people who made it out alive agreed to talk on camera with breathtaking candor and startling detail about the nature of their experience, about what they went through and what their thoughts about it are today.
These stories do not shortchange the horror of the situation, but under the direction of Gonzalo Arijon, "Stranded" understands that out of disaster can come the purity of transcendence. Against all expectation, the survivors' experience turns out to have been a surprisingly spiritual one.
As "Alive" author Piers Paul Read noted in the book's acknowledgments, some survivors have felt that "the faith and friendship which inspired them . . . do not emerge in these
pages. . . . Perhaps it would be beyond the skill of any writer to express their own appreciation of what they lived through." Now, with this film, that appreciation has taken tangible form.
One reason these men felt safe unburdening themselves was that veteran documentarian Arijon, born in Montevideo but a resident of Paris for nearly 30 years, was a boyhood friend of many of those who got on that plane on Friday, Oct. 13, 1972.
And what persuasive, articulate talkers the "Stranded" survivors turn out to be. We hang on their every word as these voices combine to remember every moment with a vividness and an immediacy that is overwhelming.
In addition to doing the interviews, director Arijon had other ways of making his narrative especially effective, starting with using the film's delicate, otherworldly score by composer Florencia Di Concilio-Perrin to add a disturbing air to the proceedings.
Since no film exists of the "Stranded" experience (with the exception of newsreel footage of the rescue), Arijon made the risky decision to use re-creations to help tell the story.
Although this technique can be heavy-handed, as shot by cinematographer Cesar Charlone (Oscar nominated for "City of God" and, unbelievably, nearly a passenger on that plane) the scenes are quietly effective.
Quiet is the operative word here: Because no one in the re-creations talks on camera, the sequences come off as dreamlike and haunting, which is as they should be.
The re-creations are also an effective companion piece to "Stranded's" contemporary footage, which follows the adult survivors as they take a summertime trip back to the Valley of Tears in the Andes, the crash site, and try and convey to their children the nature of the experience.
These men were just 19 years old themselves in 1972, members of a rugby team associated with a Catholic school, headed for a game in Santiago, Chile, and what they thought would be a weekend "full of adventure and excitement"
The crash itself killed 12 of the 45 passengers, and numerous others gradually died from injuries and starvation. When those alive heard on their still-functioning radio that the search for them had been abandoned, they came around with tremendous reluctance to the notion of what they had to do to survive.
"Stranded" emphasizes that what kept this deeply Catholic group together was its "strong sense of unity and solidarity" and that the decision to eat human flesh was done in the respectful spirit of the most serious religious ritual. Instead of feeling exploitative, the scenes in which the decision and its consequences are discussed are the most deeply moving of the film.
Also stirring are the descriptions of how the group was finally rescued, how two of their number walked for 10 days before reaching help, going so far (44 miles over peaks that reached 13,000 feet) that the rescue helicopter pilots they guided back to their friends thought they couldn't possibly have covered so great a distance.
martedì 11 novembre 2008
EXTREME CHANNEL on Yahoo Eurosport
Mpora.TV to launch extreme channel on Yahoo Eurosport
by Tristan O'Carroll, mediaweek.co.uk
LONDON - Online sports channel Mpora.TV is to launch an extreme sports section on joint venture sports portal Yahoo Eurosport.
The extreme sports section will form part of the broader Yahoo Eurosport offering, with exclusive footage from the extreme sports calendar. Content will include video highlights packages, daily news and features. Users will be able to watch highlights from key extreme sports events, including the Billabong Air and Style in Innsbruck in January and the Vans Triple Crown of surfing in Hawaii this December.
The content will be delivered by Mpora.TV, which claims to be one of Europe’s leading extreme sports online channels. It is owned and operated by Factory Media, the online sports broadcaster.Darryl Newton, managing director of Factory Media, said: "Extreme action sports no longer only appeal to a niche audience, but are becoming part of a mainstream lifestyle as more and more people get into snowboarding, surfing and skating."
sabato 8 novembre 2008
Surfer takes on 41-foot wave!
The moment surfer takes on 41-foot monster wave... and lives to tell the tale
By Wil Longbottom
A daredevil surfer is pictured tackling a giant 41 foot wave in a bid to win himself a prestigious award.
Kerby Brown took on the monster during a session at a top secret reef, and nearly didn't live to tell the tale.
Moments after these pictures were taken, he suffered a devastating wipeout which nearly killed him.
The big one: Kerby Brown starts his run with his brother Courtney looking on from his jetski as the wave gathers momentum
He said: 'Usually the wave never steps out or goes evil like that one, but it just went dry - the hardest wave I've ever had to surf.
'I went straight over the lip and did about 10 backflips and then pulled a muscle in my shoulder.
The daredevil surfer is dwarfed by the giant wave
'It felt like I ripped my arm out of its socket, my leggie snapped and then I felt like I was the deepest I'd ever been.'
The unbelievable pictures have been entered into the prestigious Oakley Surfing Life Big Wave Awards, which rewards the riders of the biggest waves in Australasian waters.
Wipeout: The massive wave begins to break and Kerby is seconds away from his biggest ever wipeout which left him with torn shoulder muscles
By Wil Longbottom
A daredevil surfer is pictured tackling a giant 41 foot wave in a bid to win himself a prestigious award.
Kerby Brown took on the monster during a session at a top secret reef, and nearly didn't live to tell the tale.
Moments after these pictures were taken, he suffered a devastating wipeout which nearly killed him.
The big one: Kerby Brown starts his run with his brother Courtney looking on from his jetski as the wave gathers momentum
He said: 'Usually the wave never steps out or goes evil like that one, but it just went dry - the hardest wave I've ever had to surf.
'I went straight over the lip and did about 10 backflips and then pulled a muscle in my shoulder.
The daredevil surfer is dwarfed by the giant wave
'It felt like I ripped my arm out of its socket, my leggie snapped and then I felt like I was the deepest I'd ever been.'
The unbelievable pictures have been entered into the prestigious Oakley Surfing Life Big Wave Awards, which rewards the riders of the biggest waves in Australasian waters.
Wipeout: The massive wave begins to break and Kerby is seconds away from his biggest ever wipeout which left him with torn shoulder muscles
lunedì 3 novembre 2008
domenica 2 novembre 2008
Iscriviti a:
Post (Atom)