Elegant encounters 201801

Dear Eleanor,

I´m not surprised you do not like the film Night train to Lisbon, It´s a heavy film in a way, like you said.

Can we call music elegant? You asked me.

That is a question I asked myself a lot, too. Usually when we think of elegance, we think about something visual, a figure, a dress, a painting, a vase or a facade of a building, something with grace, proportion and simplicity. But why not audio elegance? A piece of music, a song, or even someone´s voice, when it has that sonic grace, rhythmatic proportion and compositional symplicity, melts in your ear, or synchornizes with your heart beat, not a note should be changed, not a tone should be adjusted, isn´t it elegant?

But I will not try to define or describe these audio elegance, at least not for now, I will just write them down.

One piece of music: songs my mother taught me by Anthonin Devorak

It´s composed for voice and piano in 1880 by Antonin Dvorak, here performed by Renee Fleming, but I think it´s even more sublime without voice.

One film: The Europeans 1979 directed by James Ivory

It´s an adaptation from a short novel of same title written by Henry James. But the title is misleading. It is not a story about any Europeans, but rather two Europeanized American siblings come back to visit their Boston relatives whom they have have never met before, both with the purpose of improving their future.

James Ivory has tried too much to literally interpret it, it becomes a moving illustration of the book rather than an organic film, a carefully mounted slideshow of Thomas Gainsborough´s pastorial landscapes alternated with Thomas Lawrence´s life portraits. Not a single character has any depth or dimension, and almost no character is being revealed, except Gertrude, after falling in love with Felix, her Europeanized cousin, confesses to Mr Brand, the unfortunate clergy in love with her, that she is not at all interested in those greater questions as she has made him believe, all she cares about is pleasure.

wooded landscape with a waggon in the shade by thomas gainsborough

portrait of 2nd baron bloomfield by thomas lawrence

And thus, the film does not stir, provoke or touch, it makes one feel completely detached about the relationship and destiny of all the characters. On itself, the experience is more like visting a museum than watching a film, as if you were walking into a visual spa with a sun-bathed brain, slightly dizzy and half functioning, you could not think and there is no need to think, just relax, as your eyes move from the delicate table setting with red grapes, the curious hair styles of the women, the elegant tailcoats of the men, and the glorious autum landscape of New England......

In fact, it´s so emotionally unengaging that you can watch it anytime, even very late at night, and still have the most peaceful sleep afterwards.

But in the world attacked so visciously on a hourly basis by the faces of Lady Gaga and Megan Markle, the bodies of Kim Kardashian and beckham, it serves as a wonderful reminder that once upon a time, we did treasure beauty more than......

Have a good night,

Wooded landscape with figures, cottage and a pool by Thomas Gainsborough