I feel that life is divided into the horrible and the miserable. That’s the two categories. The horrible [would] be like, I don’t know, terminal cases, you know, and blind people, crippled. I don’t know how they get through life. It’s amazing to me. And the miserable is everyone else. So you should be thankful that you’re miserable, because that’s very lucky, to be miserable.’ ’Woody Allen

Here the horrible includes the persecuted and the diseased. It is a rough ride watching these two fight against their adversities, but it is also uplifting when contemplating their inner strength and determination. In the end these two very real characters were true to themselves despite everything. Bask in their glory and be thankful that you are probably only miserable.

The Passion of Joan of Arc

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s, The Passion Of Joan Of Arc is a landmark silent film, produced in 1928. The film was thought to have been lost forever after the master negative was destroyed in a fire. Miraculously, a print was discovered many decades later in the janitorial closet of a mental institution in Oslo, Norway.

The film is based on the actual trial records of Joan of Arc. The camera-work is magnificent. Dreyer relied on many close-ups, especially that of Ren’e Maria Falconetti, who masterfully, and convincingly portrayed Joan of Arc. This film leaves no one untouched.

Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist

Sick: The Life And Death Of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist is directed by Kirby Dick, and was released in 1997. Robert Flanagan was born with cystic fibrosis, a horrible and incurable disease. Very few of it’s afflicted ever survive past childhood. Bob found that applying pain to various parts of his body helped him to cope with the far worse pain imposed on him by his condition.

Albeit hard to watch self-mutilation and sexual masochistic torture in the graphic sequences, it is much more difficult to watch his painful deterioration. The reward for watching is a powerful affirmation of the human spirit. The film successfully conveys Bob Flanagan’s triumph, because it is Bob Flanagan living and telling his story for the camera.

Not for the weak, this film also leaves no strong viewer untouched.

Until next time, I hope you have a great viewing experience. Comments are welcomed at cinespire@gmail.com.