A film he made in 1969 that rarely gets discussed, and is only barely mentioned even in the monograph 2000 BC: The Bruce Conner Story Part II. This excellent tome contains close analysis by Bruce Jenkins of film-school staples like A Movie and Looking For Mushrooms as well as of later works like Valse Triste and Take the 5:10 to Dreamland. The 1969 film is called Permian Strata, a title which works in conjunction with the images and the song that makes up the film's soundtrack to form a colossal pun. So often experimental film gets pigeonholed as overly serious, boring, stuffy, or requiring an expertise in filmmaking processes to fully appreciate.
Paris 1900. Sharing a house in the Bohemian District are Roberto, a fledgling Musician, who is composing an Opera with his friend the poet Victor Duval; and the beautiful Cossette, daughter of a retired tenor, who goes up and down the stairs, taking advantage of Roberto's music to train her voice.
Neena lives a poor lifestyle along with her parents. Her marriage is arranged with a wealthy male, but the marriage could not take place as her parents are unable to provide enough dowry.
A student, tired of a too well-mannered fiancé, loses a virginity she considers very embarrassing in the arms of a forty-year-old man, before finding love with a repentant gigolo.
In all of his work, Bussotti makes frequent reference to the body, to sexuality. This to remind musicians — especially classically trained ones — that they are not body-less angels, that they are not just their musical thoughts, that they are still, in the last analysis, flesh and bones.
Chinna Durai(V. K. Ramaswamy) dislikes his brother-in-law, Kanagasabi(V. S. Raghavan) stands in the way of a marriage arrangement for his daughter Malathy(Vanisri) and Kanagasabi's son Ravi(Jaishankar).
A daring gang plans to steal priceless historical artifacts, including Tutankhamun’s necklace, that have been brought to Istanbul for a prestigious festival.
A gang of kids helps a sea captain search for a pirate’s treasure that’s rumored to be hidden somewhere in the old dilapidated inn the sea captain just inherited from his dead brother.
Comments
Have you watched Permian Strata yet? What did you think about it?
