A Taste Of Cherry
The Mike and Nirav Show
A little explanation (which I am normally loath to give). This is the unedited transcript of a conversation between my friend Mike and I. We're both going to NYU in the fall. We're both film geeks (although this is the only context in which Mike is a geek...otherwise, he's the paragon of cool). Carlyle is the name of the dorm I'll be staying in. Mike is 'jcuervo23' and I am 'Icefactory37'.
jcuervo23: carlye is far away from the school
IceFactory37: indeed.
IceFactory37: only like 10 blocks though.
IceFactory37: it'll be good for the waistline.
jcuervo23: my building's like across the street
jcuervo23: all my classes are at 721 Broadway
IceFactory37: yow.
IceFactory37: in the Tisch building?
IceFactory37: I've got 2 classes next door, at 719 Broadway
jcuervo23: i'm not sure what it is
jcuervo23: in fact, i believe the building is actually called "721 Broadway"
IceFactory37: yeah....it's the Tisch building.
IceFactory37: you can always tell because of the cloud of cigarette smoke that's in front
jcuervo23: he he
jcuervo23: everyone in the village smokes
IceFactory37: indeed.
IceFactory37: gawd...it's crazy.
jcuervo23: my roommate is from PA
IceFactory37: oh...all 3 of my suitemates are filmstudents
jcuervo23: i guess I should give him a call sometime
IceFactory37: have you been in contact with him?
jcuervo23: instruct him on what I want him to bring
IceFactory37: maybe...I wish they'd include email addresses.
jcuervo23: seriously
IceFactory37: lol...show him who's boss early on.
IceFactory37: did you check out Begotten?
jcuervo23: what are you doing tomorrow night?
jcuervo23: i have
IceFactory37: don't know yet.
jcuervo23: pretty much the day after you gave it to me
IceFactory37: what did you think?
jcuervo23: I have been meaning to get it back to you
jcuervo23: pretty wierd I'd say
IceFactory37: it's really interesting...that cat's from New York
jcuervo23: CUNY, right?
jcuervo23: not NYU
IceFactory37: I think so
jcuervo23: i am interested in seeing shadow of the vampire though
IceFactory37: I've heard conflicting things about it, but I'd like to see it too.
IceFactory37: saw The Score yesterday.
jcuervo23: but anyways, tomorrow night, i was thinking we'd watch some films
jcuervo23: Katie bought me Battleship Potemkin on DVD
IceFactory37: sounds like a grand idea.
IceFactory37: yeah...she told me (-:
IceFactory37: we could watch that, along with 'Touch of Evil'
jcuervo23: that;s cool
jcuervo23: have you seen 400 blows?
IceFactory37: yes, but the print that the video is from was pretty shabby.
IceFactory37: it's fantastic.
jcuervo23: yeah, I have that one too
IceFactory37: oh...I'd love to watch a good print of it.
jcuervo23: but it has some sort of commentary on it, I thought we may watch that
IceFactory37: that'd be cool.
IceFactory37: have you seen 'Jules et Jim'?
IceFactory37: I've been meaning to see that one, along with 'Stolen Kisses'
jcuervo23: no
jcuervo23: but
jcuervo23: the blockbuster on 520 has a new "World Cinema" collection of DVD
jcuervo23: i saw Wild Chil
jcuervo23: Child
jcuervo23: Bagdad Cafe
IceFactory37: the library has 'Jules et Jim'
IceFactory37: nice...don't know Bagdad Cafe.
jcuervo23: Satellie?
jcuervo23: it's considered Avant-garde
jcuervo23: i also saw Bannanas by Woody Allen
jcuervo23: I love Woody Allen
IceFactory37: probably Cocoa Beach....but you can have reference bring it to whatever library you're at.
jcuervo23: most people don't like it
IceFactory37: I need to see more Woody Allen stuff, esp. Manhatten
jcuervo23: but i think he's funny
jcuervo23: have that too
IceFactory37: really?
IceFactory37: I need to check that one out.
IceFactory37: brb
jcuervo23: i think Manhattan so far is my favorite
IceFactory37: oh....the Vero theater is showing a film by Jafar Panahi called 'The Circle'
IceFactory37: Panahi did a film called 'The White Balloon
IceFactory37: ', which I dearly love
jcuervo23: hmm
IceFactory37: he's part of a new wave of really interesting Iranian directors.
jcuervo23: what else did he do
jcuervo23: that name sounds familiar
IceFactory37: I think that's pretty much it...have I sent you the list of interesting movies at the library?
jcuervo23: the mirror
IceFactory37: that's Tarkovsky
IceFactory37: that's a fucking *amazing* movie....god, I've never seen anything like it.
IceFactory37: how much Altman have you seen?
jcuervo23: Dr. T and the Women
IceFactory37: what did you think>
jcuervo23: ok
jcuervo23: oh and the Player
jcuervo23: which I thought was really good
IceFactory37: I haven't seen anything....I really want to see 'Nashville' and 'McCabe + Mrs. Miller'
IceFactory37: a teacher at Satellite really recommended The Player
jcuervo23: film books talk about it all the time
jcuervo23: oh, get this
IceFactory37: aha...you
IceFactory37: 're right...Panahi did do a movie called 'The Mirror'
jcuervo23: I was looking through my childhood film collection and I found transformer the movie
IceFactory37: nice....
IceFactory37: I remember that that movie made me cry...can't remember why.
jcuervo23: Orsen Welles, Lenard Nimoy and Judd Nelson were in it
IceFactory37: whoa.
jcuervo23: i never realized that
jcuervo23: have you ever seen Big Trouble in Little China
IceFactory37: nope.
jcuervo23: that was my all time favorite childhood movie
jcuervo23: i watched it everyday from the ages of 3 to 7
IceFactory37: really? yeah...I missed out on a lot of kids films
IceFactory37: gawd.
jcuervo23: i just found out it was directed by John Carpenter
IceFactory37: that's a lot of watchining...
jcuervo23: it's not really a kids film
jcuervo23: more like fantasy action
jcuervo23: it's very comic book
jcuervo23: the lines are cheesy
jcuervo23: but I think it's great
IceFactory37: I haven't seen any of the John Hughes stuff....Sixteen Candles, all of that buisness.
jcuervo23: neither have I
IceFactory37: lol....I thought I was the only one.
jcuervo23: I just spent 7 hours watching Seven Samurai
IceFactory37: did you watch it twice through?
IceFactory37: man...I need to see that one too...along with Rashomon.
jcuervo23: well, it's a 3.5 hour long movie and then there is a commentary
jcuervo23: very interesting commentary
IceFactory37: who does the commentary?
jcuervo23: some japanese film aficianado and distributor
jcuervo23: but it told me a lot about japanese culture
IceFactory37: oh....if you get a chance, check out this Japanese film called 'Branded to Kill'...it's one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen.
jcuervo23: and how meticulous Akira Kurosawa was
jcuervo23: that's a great name
jcuervo23: i want to name my kid Akira Kurosawa
IceFactory37: I want to name my kid Alexander the Great.
IceFactory37: they'll have a dog named Bucephalus.
jcuervo23: or Dante: Destroyer of Cities
jcuervo23: the epitaph is included with the legal name
IceFactory37: yeah....that or Faust.
IceFactory37: it has to be, there's no other way.
jcuervo23: I am William Blake
IceFactory37: 'I am William Blake, have you read my poetry?'
jcuervo23: names are so great
IceFactory37: yes!!! That's my favorite part of that movie!
jcuervo23: i think it defines the character
IceFactory37: very much so...I think that moment is very complicated...I don't know if I've got to the bottom is it.
IceFactory37: I think that line is related to the one where Nobody tells Blake, that if he uses the gun too much, he'll lose his ability to write poetry
jcuervo23: i told you about the indian in Ghost Dog, right?
IceFactory37: the moment where Blake says 'I am William Blake, have you read my poetry?' is a realization that gun violence *is* the American form of poetry.
jcuervo23: definately
IceFactory37: i think that entire movie is a complex critique of American culture set in the model of the western...I love Jarmusch twists this model, of the Western we have.
IceFactory37: Gary Farmer...yeah....'Stupid Fucking white man' is another great line....it comes up again in Ghost Dog, right?
jcuervo23: he always does great pieces on culture like that
jcuervo23: yep
IceFactory37: I love it. the Satellite blockbuster has a DVD of Stranger Than Paradise.
jcuervo23: so does 520
IceFactory37: have you watched it?
jcuervo23: it was the first DVD i rented as an employee
jcuervo23: it's funny
jcuervo23: right after Seven Samurai was released in Japan
IceFactory37: it's great...all of the Beach stuff was filmmed in Cocoa Beach I think.
jcuervo23: we come out with the Magnificent Seven
IceFactory37: no...I think it's Melb. Beach.
jcuervo23: Melbourne Beach
IceFactory37: it's funny how cultures feed off each other.
jcuervo23: in the seven Samurai, a farming village hires seven samurai to protect the village
IceFactory37: I want to see all of Seizuki Seijin's (Branded to Kill) movies
jcuervo23: in Magnificent seven, a mexican peasant town hires seven gun fighters
IceFactory37: the Indian film industry does a LOT of that...Raj Kapoor (I think it was him) created a very Chaplin-esque charcter in Shree 420
jcuervo23: if I ever get a chance to do a film thesis, I would like to compare and contrast Seven Samurai with the Magnificent Seven
IceFactory37: that'd be a great idea.
jcuervo23: in fact, I should have done that for my extended essay
IceFactory37: have you seen the new version of Psycho?
jcuervo23: but I doubt anyone would understand
IceFactory37: yeah...what did you end up doing yr extended essay on?
jcuervo23: nah, I heard it was lousy so I naver bothered
jcuervo23: The McClellan Commitee and the motivation of RFK to Persue Jimmy Hoffa
IceFactory37: nice.
IceFactory37: where'd you get the idea?
jcuervo23: divine intervention
IceFactory37: awesome.
IceFactory37: hey...would you mind if I post this conversation on Ink19 as my column?
jcuervo23: actually, I was going to do how the change of america's society (blue collar to white collar) caused the demise of organized crime
jcuervo23: sure
jcuervo23: do you think you should organize it a bit
IceFactory37: that's a pretty broad subject...
IceFactory37: naw...it's interesting as it is.
jcuervo23: well
IceFactory37: I might...I owe Matthew a column, and it's been hard to find time to finish this Brando thing.
IceFactory37: oh....did you see The Score?
jcuervo23: i trashed my original topic since I had theories but not much evidence
jcuervo23: with brando and DeNiro?
IceFactory37: yep.
jcuervo23: no
jcuervo23: and I am upset that I have not
jcuervo23: i completely forgot about it until you reminded me it existed
IceFactory37: it's pretty interesting...I enjoyed it....Edward Norton is allright in it.
jcuervo23: I saw it on a poster and said "I need to see that movie"
IceFactory37: see...I would have figured you'd have seen it by now...Brando's great in it.
jcuervo23: I like it when Mentors and disicples act together
IceFactory37: a lot of people knock Brando, but I still think he's amazing.
jcuervo23: and I love Edward Norton
jcuervo23: he pretty much started the idea of method acting
IceFactory37: he does a good job here.
IceFactory37: he really popularized it.
IceFactory37: have you seen 'Streetcar Named Desire'?
jcuervo23: of course
jcuervo23: from that movie, since Brando didn't wear an undershirt in it, undershirt sales dropped 40%
jcuervo23: and pretty much went out of style
IceFactory37: it's so great....you've got both acting styles in it...the very classical, theatrical acting of....fuclk...forgot her named...and then the hyper-naturalism of Brando.
IceFactory37: that's too bizarre...I head that when Jackie Chan married, 30 women in China kille themselves
jcuervo23: I think I liked the film version of streetcar better than the play
IceFactory37: I
jcuervo23: now that is unusual
IceFactory37: 've never seen it on stage.
IceFactory37: that's only what I've heard...it's probably grossly exaggerated.
jcuervo23: no body yells "Stella" like Marlon Brando
IceFactory37: lol...very true.
IceFactory37: what a voice!
IceFactory37: allright man....I've gotta split...I'm hitting the gym with some friends soon...give me a call tomorrow, and we'll see what's going on.
jcuervo23: you know what movie I am suprised never really hit it that big, Keeping the Faith
jcuervo23: sounds good
jcuervo23: don't hurt yourself
IceFactory37: I
IceFactory37: 'll try not to.
IceFactory37: Take care!
jcuervo23: bye bye
Nirav Soni is 19 and spends more time watching/listening/reading than he should. He'll be an NYU film student in the fall, and is excited about not having to drive 1 1/2 hours to see a good movie. Struggles with ethics, honesty and integrity. Is hopelessly devoted.
