I was at LACMA three weeks ago and joined about a dozen people wandering grimly through an ugly, off-putting exhibition of contemporary Korean art. I understand the rationale for the show; Koreans are a significant minority in our community and are entitled to attention from our premiere art museum.
After that, I joined about 300 others for a screening in the Bing Auditorium of "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman." As art, it was in no way superior to the Korean daubs, except that this weirdly pretentious 1950 movie is also rarely seen. And it was part of a series of films starring James Mason, now a half-forgotten actor but, as the series proves, a powerful and skillful one who deserves our awed attention.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, August 05, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 21 Editorial pages Desk 1 inches; 45 words Type of Material: Correction
LACMA film series: An Op-Ed article on Saturday about the cancellation of the L.A. County Museum of Art's film repertory series stated that the French film "Touchez pas au Grisbi" was not available on DVD in the U.S. It can be rented or purchased online.
As important, the film, however silly it was, had much to teach us about the fantasy life of the American 1950s. Louche idlers on the Spanish Riviera, a cruel and decadent bullfighter, a guy trying to set a land speed record in a wonky-looking sports car and Ava Gardner lusting after the mythically wandering seafarer of the title. I mean, really, can you ask for anything more?
And that's my point. It is the duty of museums to place before us the accumulated works of the ages, movies definitely included -- old and new; obscure and well known; good, bad and absurd -- in order to keep us in touch with the rich and ever-informative history of an ever-evolving, yes, I'll say it, art form.
Which is why the news that the L.A. County Museum of Art's director, Michael Govan, has decided to close down the museum's expertly managed film program is so dismaying -- and don't believe for a moment that this hiatus is designed to refresh and strengthen film at LACMA. As Times' movie critic Kenneth Turan observed in his angry, excellent article Thursday, that sounds like a slick rationale from a culturecrat in a smart suit.
Some simple truths need to be stated here: Film may often be marred by goofy plots and preposterous characters, but it is no less a visual art than painting or sculpture. The fact that good movies arise out of a corrupt commercial system makes it more, not less, worthy of our attention. How in the world does a "Chinatown" arise out of that unpromising soil?
For that matter, what about something like "Police Python 35"? It was for me the great discovery of the brilliant "French Crime Wave" series that LACMA film curator Ian Birnie, now demoted from full- to part-time status, mounted earlier this summer. Though I like to think of myself as a knowledgeable film historian, I had never heard of it or of its auteur, Alain Corneau.
