On the subject of rants…
This one has to rank up there, for sheer righteousness and unfuckwithable passion. Point by point, the inertia of Cassavetes’ convictions build into a kind of rambling logic, that place one can arrive at only when it’s felt on the deepest of levels (often aided by inebriation).
Here his verbal momentum leads him to what I consider a sacred space between the head and heart, that empathetic zone of compassion. His films always sought to inhabit this realm, each one acting as an offering … of sensitivity, of vulnerability, of living at the highest pitch of awareness, to experience onscreen how we strive to experience our daily life.
It’s because he knows what he’s offering that he pleads for people to come see his films. And during his lifetime not many people did. This is a man who put his life on the line every time he went to make a picture. Financial ruin, family ruin, career ruin, he took chances most filmmakers today would consider insane. And for what? For, as he puts it, “the blessing of expressing oneself.”
Damn near heroic.
what a great clip. thanks so much.
also very well put words of your own.
apart from the pure joy of reading the term”unfuckwithable passion”,
this may be the best blog post ever.
John raises his glass and says..
“yeah baby..that’s it!”