dan2100 Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Avoid the ashes and bricks,don't linger near merchants stallsor smell that odor you shouldnot breathe or name aloudand look away when the sceneconjures too clearly the past –yesterday when high walls hida palace and tented bazaarfrom sand, sun, and armies;when pilgrims would pray loudlythen sip tea or sleep next tonomads dreaming of the doomyou always believed would betomorrow not yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Engle Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 (edited) Purty. I like it! It kind of reminds me of the Police song "Tea in the Sahara."rde Edited May 12, 2010 by Rich Engle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan2100 Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 Purty. I like it! Thanks. I think it still needs some work, but I wanted to see if I'd get a positive response anyhow.It kind of reminds me of the Police song "Tea in the Sahara."rdeI'm not familiar, but is that a reference to the Paul Bowles novel? I read that a few years ago and saw a (or the?) movie based on it. I recall the novel having a section called "Tea in the Sahara." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Engle Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 (edited) Yeah, that's it, Dan. Pretty fine flick, too. Sting wrote a lyric/song. He uses a lot of literary references, what with being a rock star that can read, for whatever reason. The content is different, but the feel/imagery stuff kind of came to mind. It's on the "Synchronicity" album, which is pretty deep, artistically speaking. He has done a great many versions of it over the years. Also, if you read this one you will see another Bowles reference built into it: "Beneath the Sheltering Sky." "Tea In The Sahara"My sisters and IHave this wish before we dieAnd it may sound strangeAs if our minds are derangedPlease don't ask us whyBeneath the sheltering skyWe have this strange obsessionYou have the means in your possessionWe want our tea in the Sahara with youWe want our tea in the Sahara with youThe young man agreedHe would satisfy their needSo they danced for his pleasureWith a joy you could not measureThey would wait for him hereThe same place every yearBeneath the sheltering skyAcross the desert he would flyTea in the Sahara with youTea in the Sahara with youThe sky turned to blackWould he ever come back?They would climb a high duneThey would pray to the moonBut he'd never returnSo the sisters would burnAs their eyes searched the landWith their cups full of sandTea in the Sahara with youTea in the Sahara with youTea in the Sahara with youTea in the Sahara with you Edited May 12, 2010 by Rich Engle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan2100 Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 (edited) Yeah, that's it, Dan. Pretty fine flick, too.I actually didn't like the movie. The novel I found okay. I wasn't blown away by it... While watching the film, I had the suspicion that this was not the best novel to adapt for the film.Or maybe it's just Bertolucci. I've seen a few of his films and none of them really hit me. This isn't to say there weren't fine moments in any of these films. In "The Sheltering Sky," I really liked the scene at the port -- with the gigantic crane.Oh, well, chalk it up to tastes.Sting wrote a lyric/song. He uses a lot of literary references, what with being a rock star that can read, for whatever reason. The content is different, but the feel/imagery stuff kind of came to mind. It's on the "Synchronicity" album, which is pretty deep, artistically speaking. He has done a great many versions of it over the years. Also, if you read this one you will see another Bowles reference built into it: "Beneath the Sheltering Sky." "Tea In The Sahara"My sisters and IHave this wish before we dieAnd it may sound strangeAs if our minds are derangedPlease don't ask us whyBeneath the sheltering skyWe have this strange obsessionYou have the means in your possessionWe want our tea in the Sahara with youWe want our tea in the Sahara with youThe young man agreedHe would satisfy their needSo they danced for his pleasureWith a joy you could not measureThey would wait for him hereThe same place every yearBeneath the sheltering skyAcross the desert he would flyTea in the Sahara with youTea in the Sahara with youThe sky turned to blackWould he ever come back?They would climb a high duneThey would pray to the moonBut he'd never returnSo the sisters would burnAs their eyes searched the landWith their cups full of sandTea in the Sahara with youTea in the Sahara with youTea in the Sahara with youTea in the Sahara with youYeah, I see the reference. Doesn't seem to have as much as I thought to do, though, with the novel. Not that it has to! Edited May 12, 2010 by Dan Ust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Engle Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 (edited) I agree with you, generally, about the film. And I paid to see that thing in a theater. But I will say that I thought it had moments that were (visually) very powerful. It was uneven, which is typical of Bertolucci--you get that a lot, but the thing is you just want to see what he's going to do next; how he will handle something. The camera shots tend to prevail nicely, though. rde Edited May 12, 2010 by Rich Engle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan2100 Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 I agree with you, generally, about the film. And I paid to see that thing in a theater. But I will say that I thought it had moments that were (visually) very powerful. It was uneven, which is typical of Bertolucci--you get that a lot, but the thing is you just want to see what he's going to do next; how he will handle something. The camera shots tend to prevail nicely, though. rdeYeah, I think that's how I feel about his films too. I think I've seen four or five of them. They have some really powerful moments, but the rest of them are blah. This is, for me, unlike, say, many films by Ingmar Bergman or some films by Michelangelo Antonioni, where there's more consistency overall. It's kind of like the difference between reading a so so novel that has a few scattered passages of great prose versus reading a novel that's well written and enticing throughout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Engle Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 Right. I get the distinct feeling that he started phoning them in after he got a bit of fame. It's either that or he just knows that people get impressed when they see an Italian filmmaker name. He's no Federico Fellini, that's for sure. But, a dynasty nonetheless. rde Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan2100 Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 Right. I get the distinct feeling that he started phoning them in after he got a bit of fame. It's either that or he just knows that people get impressed when they see an Italian filmmaker name. He's no Federico Fellini, that's for sure. But, a dynasty nonetheless. rdeI don't know. I'd have to see more of his films, and probably revisit the ones I have seen, to see if there's a pattern. I actually didn't mind his 2003 film "The Dreamers." I saw it a few months ago and thought it was okay. So I'm not sure I'd say he started out strong and then decided to rest on his laurels.Like you, too, I rate Fellini higher than him -- though I'm not sure one must compare either to the other. In many ways -- not just quality or my overall feeling about their work -- I find them very different directors -- even if they're both Italian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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