Veronica Guerin: by Jonas Cukierman

Veronica Guerin. Based on a true story.

by Jonas Cukierman

Journalists sometimes sacrifice their lives to protect the public; theirs is the noblest service. – Jonas Cukierman

By the mid 1990s, Dublin, Ireland was a city overrun by an epidemic of heroin the likes of which it had never seen. Ruled by cold-blooded druglords such as John Gilligan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gilligan(irish criminal)and Martin Cahill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Cahill aka the General -who would nail his victims to the floor as a way of sending a message-, the percentage of addicts in Dublin was meteorically rising until one bold woman decided to take on the drug cartels. Initially, Veronica Guerin http://www.answers.com/topic/veronica-guerin, a correspondent for the Sunday Independent http://www.answers.com/topic/sunday-independent#Content, one of Ireland’s most circulated papers, was not a crime reporter. With no lack of tenacity, she first went to the addicts for answers in order to find an informant who was directly connected to the likes of Gilligan and Cahill. Finally, Guerin found her informant in the form of John Traynor, himself a career criminal who would act as a go-between for her and Gilligan http://www.independent.ie/national-news/gilligan-was-drug-kingpin-2270968.html, but not without himself being under great pressure from Gilligan to keep things under wraps. Gilligan was after all a man who shunned the spotlight and led a very quiet life, which drew little or no attention from the Gardai http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garda_S%C3%ADoch%C3%A1nawww.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Zii_gcAUU, the national police force of Ireland. As Guerin moved deeper, Cahill was in the mean time assassinated and one would think that one of the threats to Veronica’s life was over. However, there was still Gilligan, who, although a hushed figure was as dangerous as an army on Meth. However, one of Guerin’s greatest hurdles before being able to cripple the drug trade with her effective writing was not watching children rot away with spikes in their arms. Instead, it was the super-stringent libel laws of Ireland, which greatly restricted what she could say without some serious fishing. Moreover, for this she had to go nose-to-nose with gangsters and killers and with dire consequences to her safety including being shot (surviving) and being beaten by John Gilligan while trespassing on his property. Nevertheless, Guerin was starting to make Gilligan squirm. For this reason, he offered to buy her off. When that didn’t work, he sent someone to fire a warning shot at her…literally. She was not mortally wounded, but being shot in the leg and having bullets fly through her windows at home were simply methods of intimidation, but she would not relent. Even when she received phone calls in the middle of the night from killers, Veronica continued to work with Traynor in order to peel away the flesh of the drug kingpin’s sanity. Guerin not only put herself right in the line of fire by visiting the homes of gangsters (and I do not mean with an appointment), but she received little protection from the Gardai, who trembled at the idea of prosecuting the Dublin underworld. At the core of this film are the performances of a great ensemble cast. Blanchett is perfectly suited in the title role. She portrays the selfless reporter aggressively yet with a dash of subtlety. Irish actor Cirrian Hinds is John Traynor in a present, albeit not very visible persona. However, if Blanchett represents the all-encompassing good, then Gerry O’Brien and especially Gerard McSorley are nothing short of terrifying as Martin Cahill and John Gilligan respectively. These two criminal portrayals rival anything you will see in a Martin Scorsese mafia film – in fact, McSorley was originally selected to play Queenan in The Departed. In Veronica Guerin, the good guys are good, and the bad guys are even worse. Such critics as Roger Ebert, Pete Travers of Rolling Stone and Derek Elley of Variety all panned this picture. In addition, for all the respect I have for them professionally, I must say that I disagree with their accusations of this film being a vehicle of self-righteousness and egocentrism as a means of expressing Guerin’s long-fought battle. The fact remains that like many journalists, she gave her life in order to bring about drastic changes in how Ireland punishes criminals and overrides libel laws in order to protect the innocent from the predatory. Finally, the soundtrack features three great songs including performances by Sinead O’Conner, U2 and an unknown boy by the name of Brian O’Donnell, who delivers a touching rendition of The Fields of Athenry, an Irish folk ballad perfectly suited in mood and soulfulness over the scenes directly following her brutal murder at the hands of Gilligan’s hitmen. Most sad of all is the montage, which shows the reactions of Guerin’s mother, her husband Graham Turley and her three-year-old son, Cathall as they receive the news. In fact, if you choose to buy the soundtrack, Fields of Athenry is listed simply as Bad News. For a director I have never felt was that focused, Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, 8MM, St. Elmo’s Fire) has this time made a film with an independent feel which has delivered a cry for justice, much like the people of Ireland did after hearing about the murder of Ireland’s bravest reporter. However, this film is not only about Guerin, it is instrumental in creating awareness, a reactionary wakeup call for the protection of journalists who are often being killed in the line of duty. Veronica Guerin (1958-1996) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Veronica-Guerin/105443916157091?v=desc The Irish voice of courage speaks: Veronica Guerin’s acceptance speech at an awards ceremony for journalists. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcI9JHyAuy4 Go beyond the film with this clip from 60 Minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsgcKRX8mk4&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Music and Visuals: A Perfect Marriage by Jonas Cukierman

A Perfect Marriage

by Jonas Cukierman

Part One:

There are movie stars, and then there are movie stars. The star that makes every film is not the million-dollar face, but the music. Imagine a film devoid of music, and you have a film without a very important character. And, whether consciously or not, we sense the association between the scene and the music. Some films have a background score which accentuate an episode. Such as the exciting fluctuations of Star Wars, with its soft theme of a disillusioned Luke Skywalker staring into the sunset, or the upbeat, brass-hammered chase of the Millennium Falcon through the asteroid field in The Empire Strikes Back. However, many scenes in films have music or songs that are not associated directly with the context of what’s on the screen. Nevertheless, they evoke an emotional response, and we forgive the fact that the lyrics of a song are not directly linked to what we are seeing.

Luke dreams of places far away from the dirt and dust of Tatooine. Musically, what you’re hearing is the first, and one of the most important central themes in all of Star Wars. In one variation or another, this song will repeat itself throughout the film.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEUGF3NGbPg

Watch the chase through the asteroid field: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKsVVmOGV9I

Take the film Veronica Guerin. In it, Cate Blanchett portrays the bold investigative reporter in the title role who gave her life to expose the drug cartels of Dublin, Ireland. Right after she is assassinated by the kingpin’s henchmen, we hear The Fields of Athenry, an Irish folk ballad about the potato famine, which took place in the 1840s. It is a song about a man who is arrested for stealing food in order to feed his family. And while this has nothing to do with Guerin’s death, the song mixed with the montage of a woman shot to death in her car, and then a series of quick scenes of people’s reactions as they find out what happened, especially when the news reaches her mother, husband, and little boy. And then there is the memorial service song, One More Day, performed angelically by Sinead O’Connor at the end of the film as Guerin receives a state’s procession. This music forces us to reflect on Veronica’s bravery and selflessness and is sure to jerk tears out of even the most hard-bitten person. Pass the hanky.
Listen to One More Day by Sinead O’Connor: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1-zZ-bedT8
Fields of Athenry* (as sung in the film by Bobby O’Donnell):   www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Zii_gcAUU

Fields Of Athenry:
By a lonely prison wall,
I heard a young girl calling
“Michael they have taken you away.
For you stole Trevelyn’s corn,
So the young might see the morn,
Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay.”

(chorus)
Low lie, the Fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly.
Our love was on the wing, we had dreams and songs to sing,
It’s so lonely ’round the Fields of Athenry.

By a lonely prison wall,
I heard a young man calling
“Nothing matters, Mary when you’re free.
Against the famine and the Crown
I rebelled, they cut me down!
Now you must raise our child with dignity.”

Low lie, the Fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly.
Our love was on the wing, we had dreams and songs to sing,
It’s so lonely ’round the Fields of Athenry.

By a lonely harbor wall,
She watched the last star falling,
As that prison ship sailed out against the sky.
Sure, she’ll wait and hope and pray
For her love in Botany Bay,
It’s so lonely ’round the Fields of Athenry.

Low lie, the Fields of Athenry
Where once we watched the small free birds fly.
Our love was on the wing, we had dreams and songs to sing,
It’s so lonely ’round the Fields of Athenry.

* On the movie soundtrack album, the song is simply labeled Bad News

Marie Antoinette –

Like Martin Scorsese, Sofia Copolla is a mastermind at using existing music in order to create a collage of sight and sound, which culminates in a signature of perfection. Even if the music is anachronistic (before the period), like I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow, which celebrates the fashions and insatiable appetites for French cooking. Or Hong Kong Garden by Siouxsie & the Banshees, which echoes through the salon of a masquerade party, in her film Marie Antoinette, Copolla still finds a way of molting the music into a shell of 18th century splendor, with the post punk legions of late 20th century understanding. What’s more, the songs mentioned above are only a fraction of what this film features and facilitates two realms in one. That of the French court and that of a definite sonic effect made for today, but could have been used back then, because Copolla knows how to make it fit. With Plainsong and All Cats are Grey by The Cure and Ceremony by New Order, Copolla unifies 1980s popular culture with the 1780’s unconventionality of a young queen. Most of all, Sofia Copolla is keeping the 80s alive with this film and Lost in Translation.
Listen to I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLJ1vuUWprA&feature=related
Listen to Hong King Garden by Siouxsie and the Banshees: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X9HojJ6N5I

Listen to Ceremony by New Order:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8App43SKMU
Listen to All Cats are Grey by The Cure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpgNx89B8Y4

The Thin Red Line –

To say that the 1998 film The Thin Red Line is a visual magnum opus is to put it lightly and severely out of perspective. In one part, there are Melanesian children being filmed in slow motion diving under water. At this moment, the soundtrack is playing In Paradisum (In Paradise), a segment from Gabriel Faure’s Requiem. Although this scene is no doubt filmed in paradise, and the environment attests to it, a requiem is a piece written about mortality. The segment we hear has words which are in Latin, and therefore unintelligible to most of us. Thus, the “paradise” the Melanesian children are living in and the Paradise Faure writes about are two completely different places, being that a requiem is death put to music. Yet the tone and melody of this orchestral “poem” is nothing short of demonstrative of the magnificence of life that stands warmly against the coldness of war. For this reason, director Terrence Malick creates a perfect balance of life versus death taking place in one environment. Moreover, when you see the shots of the children swimming without a care in the world, you are for a moment fooled into believing there is no war. In addition, if there is one, it is certainly the last thing on the minds of the Melanesian young.
Listen to Faure’s In Paradisum. Seventh movement from Requiem (composed from 1887-90): www.youtube.com/watch?v=82L8AaqA-Dc

Raging Bull –

When Martin Scorsese makes a film, he usually uses existing music. Be it oldies like in Goodfellas, or modern rock like The Streets that Built America, written especially by U2 for Gangs of New York, or the Intermezzo by Pietro Mascagni, from his one act opera Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry). The piece itself takes place in the countryside of Italy in days long past; to say nothing of the fact the Intermezzo itself is in celebration of Easter. So although it bears no relation to Raging Bull, it matches the slow motion of Jake LaMotta as he punches and pounds his opponents in the boxing ring. It replicates and keeps rhythm as he bounces off the mat, and while still in slow mo, plants a right hook on the face of Sugar Ray Robinson. Like many directors who are inspired by music to create images in their minds, which are dictated by the notes of such flowing compositions as “Cavalleria,” Scorsese never forgets that using this piece also bestows Italian artistry on a film about an Italian boxer. Also, this is a sure way to remind the audience that the director is very much Italian in blood and taste. Scorsese undoubtedly waves the flag when it comes to upholding the legend, the beauty, and mysticism of the Italian-American experience. If you for some reason have not seen Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Mean Streets or Italianamerican, then run before the gangsters come after you and see them. If you have seen them, view them again and again and again. Let not only the visuals sink in, but allow the music in and permit it to transport you into the scene that it accentuates. Even if the words or reasons for the song do not match, they still will.
Listen to the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana (actual opening credits from Raging Bull in HD): www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N4uXfnH2aA&feature=related

Die Hard –

In this crime caper with leader Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) being the dapper villain that he is, we needed something that would fit his megalomania and the grandiosity of an accomplishment such as stealing     $ 640 million in bearer bonds from the Nakatomi Corporation. While tediously trying to open the “foolproof” safe, the gang of well-equipped, professional robbers wait patiently and suffer a few loses while their means meet their end. Suddenly, as the safe is cracked, we see Gruber stand before it and bask in its inner light as the doors slowly open apart to reveal a cornucopia of fortunes. As the warmth of the beams soak the cold which is Gruber, Ode to Joy, from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 strikes up and we feel a monumental triumph on the part of the crooks; a triumph which is albeit temporary. Nevertheless, the scene is nothing short of emotional as such a rousing piece of music can only create. As the chorus takes over, we feel a sense of accomplishment ourselves as if the bandits are going to share the money with us. But damned if Bruce Willis will allow that to happen. Perhaps it was director John McTiernan’s idea to melt German music with the German identities of the crooks. On the other hand, if you were trying to steal that much money, and suddenly realized you’ve sprung the trap, then wouldn’t you feel overjoyed?

Ode to Joy. From Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 including manuscript: Listen to Ode to Joy: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lyr2kzE8qe4

Manuscript: www.upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Ninth_Symphony_original.png

Lyrics (in case you wish to follow along):

Freude, schöner Götterfunken*
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!
Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küße gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
Vor Gott!
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt’gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such’ ihn über’m Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muss er wohnen.
Finale repeats the words:
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Seid umschlungen,
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium,
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Götterfunken!

Translation:
Joy, beautiful spark of divinity*
Daughter of Elysium,
We enter, drunk with fire,
Into your sanctuary, heavenly (daughter)!
Your magic reunites
What custom strictly divided.
All men become brothers,
Where your gentle wing rests.
Whoever has had the great fortune
To be a friend’s friend,
Whoever has won a devoted wife,
Join in our jubilation!
Indeed, whoever can call even one soul,
His own on this earth!
And whoever was never able to, must creep
Tearfully away from this band!
Joy all creatures drink
At the breasts of nature;
All good, all bad
Follow her trail of roses.
Kisses she gave us, and wine,
A friend, proved in death;
Pleasure was given to the worm,
And the cherub stands before God.
Before God!
Glad, as His suns fly
Through the Heaven’s glorious design,
Run, brothers, your path,
Joyful, as a hero to victory.
Be embraced, millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, above the starry canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Do you bow down, millions?
Do you sense the Creator, world?
Seek Him beyond the starry canopy!
Beyond the stars must He dwell.
Finale repeats the words:
Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Be embraced,
This kiss for the whole world!
Joy, beautiful spark of divinity,
Daughter of Elysium,
Joy, beautiful spark of divinity
Divinity!

Part Two: .

Other times, there is a perfect reason why a specific song or piece of music is incorporated into a film:

The Hunger-

The Hunger was Tony Scott’s (Domino, Top Gun, Enemy of the State, Taking of Pelham 123) first feature film, and is unlike anything he’s ever done. This picture is a neo- Gothic interpretation of what two very sophisticated, centuries-old vampires do in order to feed while living the high life in Manhattan. Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie are perfect in the parts of John and Miriam Blaylock. During the day, they smoke and sleep away the hours of their vampiric rhythms. But at night, they dance away their endless supply of years at New York’s most chic clubs. While there, you can rest assured only the best Gothic music would do as they peruse the rich and beautiful men and women on the scene,  trying to decide whose blood will taste the sweetest. And believe me when I tell you, they always get their victims; for the hunger must be satisfied and the thirst quenched. In this realm of darkness where even daylight is lived in shadow, Bauhaus can be spotted performing Bela Lugosi’s Dead. A song about the world’s greatest vamp, performed by the ultimate band in vampire rock. The gods of Goth music are nothing short of pulsating in their musical masterpiece, which has become their trademark. Lead singer Peter Murphy dances in his macabre best, while lifting his jacket to resemble batwings. Furthermore, the lyrics are nothing less than poetic and ominous while being performed in the cavernous club full of dancing figures draped in black. Another song, Funtime (written by Iggy Pop), while not as dramatic as Bela Lugosi’s Dead, is also systematic in a scene where there is a constant need for fresh blood. John is beginning to deteriorate, and he must stop at nothing to feed. While a young man skates in circles while shot in slow motion, Funtime tell us about how “Last night I was down in the lab, talking to Dracula and his crew. All aboard for Funtime!” No sooner do we hear the song, when John takes the Egyptian Ankh pendant from his neck, inside of which is hidden a tiny slashing blade (these vampires don’t draw blood by biting, but by cutting the throat), and he makes an attempt to feed on the skater. Throughout the rest of the film, we hear Schubert’s famous Piano Trio , among other pieces of soft classical music that accentuate scenes from John’s past as an 18th century musician, to the love affair between Miriam and Sarah (Susan Sarandon). In addition, the music (especially classical) perfectly matches the gentle beams of golden light which silently creep through the curtains of John and Miriam’s airy and quiet mansion. As bodies are burned inside incinerators and people are seduced, the music does everything in its power to pinpoint the magnificence and splendor of this film’s atmosphere throughout.

Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Bauhaus

White on white translucent black capes
Back on the rack
Bela Lugosi’s dead
The bats have left the bell tower
The victims have been bled
Red velvet lines the black box
Bela Lugosi’s dead
Undead undead undead
The virginal brides file past his tomb
Strewn with time’s dead flowers
Bereft in deathly bloom
Alone in a darkened room
The count
Bela Logosi’s dead
Undead undead undead

For more on Bauhaus:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus_(band)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bela_Lugosi’s_Dead
Listen to Bela Lugosi’s Dead:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U1SiIWuZeE&feature=related
Bela Lugosi’s Dead (opening scenes from The Hunger):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=244qvxxy0N0
Funtime: (Originally by Iggy Pop) With clips from The Hunger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ3kj56ouIk

The Omen (1976) –

For The Omen, there was not doubt that an occult soundtrack was going to have to be composed. Jerry Goldsmith not only wrote Ave Satani (Hail Satan) to sound like a black mass, but it won him an Academy Award for best song. Although sounding similar to Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, which is a set of 12th century poems put to choral music, there is nothing else similar between the compositions. Orff’s piece is highly benign, while Goldsmith’s, with calmly rising voices, which suddenly rise to a thundering call to the fires of hell with its crashing tympanis and explosive lyrics – which induce thoughts of explosions of fire and black smoke- hits the audience with a scare the likes few films can accomplish. There is not a moment in The Omen when we do not feel under threat. And as director Richard Donner once said, it was not a horror movie he was making, but a thriller in the purest sense of the word. Moreover, while horror was perhaps not in the director’s mind of genres, the word terror does very much fit into the equation. The construction of this film is perfect; with its soft cinematography and quiet close-ups of the evil characters such as Damien himself and his governess, Mrs. Blaylock (Billie Whitelaw), who is herself an agent of evil, The Omen also has its moments of complete silence, which are a warning that something is going to happen. As an audience member, you know that feeling when you are sitting calmly in your seat and suddenly something makes you jump. It is like relaxing blissfully on an outdoor chair, enjoying the early morning mist while staring out at the countryside, when suddenly, a hand touches your shoulder, and you jump out of your skin. Those muscles, which were once at ease, suddenly tense up and your sweet reverie of peace and calm has been broken forever. This is when you go back inside the house and abandon any possibility of regaining your posture of dreamy floatation. Now then, if you multiply that a hundred-fold, then you have a film that is most effective. You see, a thriller (or a horror film) does not need to contain gore or literal interpretations of hell; neither of which The Omen really possesses. And although there are a few exceptions, the music is an ever-faithful guide to the realm of fear and dread. For even though Ave Satani is only featured in the opening, the dark and nightmarish musical score (which conjures images of batwings flapping and sharp teeth glinting out of an evil grin) strikes up at just the right times when a thematic issue arises. The music of The Omen may in fact stand on its very own as a very listenable score; listenable in that you can play the soundtrack without the movie and still be overtaken by creeping images. There are no haunted-castle organs, no anticipation of menacing werewolves, and no expectations of vampires once night falls. For Satan stands above them all, and for that, Ave Satani is not only extraordinary in its earsplitting chorus, but the fact it is sung in Latin is even more indicative of the dark arts and the trap you fall into for the next  two hours. It is not a wonder Jerry Goldsmith went on to write Alien. While that soundtrack does not speak loudly, it has the ability to make the audiences squirm. Because Alien is so quiet, it makes every other sound in the film, at home, or in the theatre stand out. And this my friends is absolutely more blood curdling than a flat out, intentional shock. You see, scaring the audience is easy, as they know there will be frights along the way. However, a higher achievement is making them constantly feel ill at ease, and achieving that balance is far more difficult. Lastly be sure not to miss the moments in the film when the soundtrack sneaks in Versus Christus, Versus Christus, Versus Christus… (Anti-Christ). The music and visuals of The Omen are one of the greatest examples of a match made in hell.

Ave Satani

Sanguis Bibimus (“We drink the blood.”)
Corpus Edimus (“We eat the body.”)
Tolle Corpus Satani! (“Elevate the body of Satan!”)
Ave! (“Hail!”)
Ave, Ave! Versus Christus! (“Hail, Hail Anti-Christ!”)
Ave Satani! (“Hail Satan!”)

For further reading on Jerry Goldsmith:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Goldsmith#1970s
Listen to original Ave Satani: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b4WaiX4A_Q&feature=related
Medley of movie soundtrack with central theme: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAFCiEFX6ag&feature=related
Listen to Ave Satani (The rock version including Gregorian chant, Metallica, Evanescence and best of all, The Sisters of Mercy): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxZMU-jV7s0&feature=related