As "Death," Dennis Hopper Rants on Film Versus Digital Photography

bmattock

bmattock

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BERLIN & BEYOND '09 Review: Wim Wenders' "Palermo Shooting"

http://justpressplay.net/movies/mov...09-review-wim-wenders-qpalermo-shootingq.html

Palermo Shooting is one of those films that has a premise describing the entire film. Finn (played by punk rock star Campino) is a discontent photographer looking to get back to his artistic roots. He goes to Palermo, Italy, where Death (Dennis Hopper) hunts him down. So they sit down and talk about it. The end.
....
It spews plenty of gobbledygook about life and death and loneliness and the nature of time—which are all, admittedly, delivered like the guy who writes computer manuals translating a Deepak Chopra book—and yes, it has that fun-to-make-fun-of scene where Death argues the merits of digital photography vs film photography, in the best way one Dennis Hopper can deliver; but while it’s easy to assume that the photography discussions are metaphors for the big idea regarding death, I’m convinced it’s the other way around.
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Honestly, I didn't have much interest in this, until I read this bit:

Near the beginning of the film, we’re introduced to Finn’s artist-at-work process when we see him commanding a team of Photoshop experts to construct his latest photo by piecing together several old images. Later, he shoots Milla Jovovich (playing herself) in a huge and elaborate fashion shoot. Finn’s “art” is tainted by artificiality, thus his fear of the coming death is, bewilderingly, just a metaphor for his fear of killing his own authenticity. “There is nothing but surface,” Finn tells another photographer when asked what his photos are all about. His colleague disagrees, arguing that if there’s nothing to discover underneath, then why bother taking pictures at all? The film is Finn’s unearthing of his “essence,” if you will—a self-discovery of the artist within. To this end, throughout the film, Finn is haunted by “manipulations,” be it CGI arrows attacking him or the holographic ghost of Lou Reed quoting fortune cookies. Yes, it’s all very silly, but it works.
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Yeah, sounds like it could be fun for photographers who like to argue about the 'soul' of digital photography and whether or not it has any...
 
Peter_Jones said:
Milla Jovovitch is in it - That's all that matters to me :D
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Unlike you, I had no idea who Milla Jovovitch was till I just googled her.
I'm in complete agreement with you on this.
However, I'm thinking that this movie may be best watched with the sound turned off. Provide your own sound track :D
 
Ugh or double ugh, just shoot your images. If they come out great, do something with them, if not, junk them. I spent too many hours trying to make an image GREAT in PS (when I went though my DSLR phase), or in my case which is probably better in PSE3. So then, shoot your film, use the film you like for the image you are trying to produce, use the camera that optimizes this film or your desired outcome, develop it the way you have determined is the best for this lighting, and then look at the image and say this is worth it or put it in the garbage. If you are digital well, good luck. I really don't think the major photographers in the world at this time are too concern about anything but the final product, THEY are not trying to get GETTY-FLICKR to sell their images. So, maybe I agree, but in a different way.
 
Peter_Jones said:
Milla Jovovitch is in it - That's all that matters to me :D
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man...

nobody that is as talented as that girl is should ever ever ever be as cool as she is. coolest girl in the universe, more or less. completely redefined for me what the scope of "supermodel" could really encompass.
 
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