I was very gratified by the response to last year’s interview with Rob Tregenza, a Zelig-like figure of modern cinema. Our very long, multi-Zoom conversation covered a life in film: four features, cherished experiences with Jean-Luc Godard, and hopes he hadn’t reached the end. What I didn’t quite find time for was, and I am embarrassed to even note it, the matter of his shooting stretches of Béla Tarr’s Werckmeister Harmonies, most notably its iconic opening sequence. By any token this is a major contribution to contemporary cinema for Tregenza’s part and––by that token, at least in my estimation––a major oversight on my own.
With Criterion’s 4K Uhd release of Werckmeister Harmonies arriving this month––about a year since Janus Films’ extremely successful theatrical tour––I figured it was time to ask Tregenza about his experience shooting the film. I did not...
With Criterion’s 4K Uhd release of Werckmeister Harmonies arriving this month––about a year since Janus Films’ extremely successful theatrical tour––I figured it was time to ask Tregenza about his experience shooting the film. I did not...
- 4/29/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Some context might help. Between 1988 and 1997 the Baltimore-based filmmaker Rob Tregenza directed three features that amassed a small, enviable group of admirers. If it’s one thing to secure bookings at arthouses and galleries, it’s quite another for your debut film to be anointed some groundbreaking moment in American movies by Jonathan Rosenbaum and Dave Kehr. It is simply beyond precedent to attract the interest of Jean-Luc Godard: the two met during distribution of 1996’s For Ever Mozart and amassed enough kinship for Godard to extend favors to Tregenza’s 1997 feature Inside/Out, the sole feature he produced without directing.
What almost anyone sees of Tregenza’s work are cinematographer duties for Alex Cox (Three Businessmen) and Béla Tarr (Werckmeister Harmonies). His own films, meanwhile, struggled to endure: in all my travels he only came to attention with Godard’s passing and word of that producing credit, and...
What almost anyone sees of Tregenza’s work are cinematographer duties for Alex Cox (Three Businessmen) and Béla Tarr (Werckmeister Harmonies). His own films, meanwhile, struggled to endure: in all my travels he only came to attention with Godard’s passing and word of that producing credit, and...
- 4/11/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Gavagai Shadow Distribution Reviewed by: Harvey Karten Director: Rob Tregenza Screenwriter: Kirk Kjeldsen, Rob Tregenza Cast: Andreas Lust, Mikkel Gaup, Anni-Kristiina Juuso, Joakim Nango, Kim Robin Svartdal Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 6/3/18 Opens: August 3, 2018 in NY. August 10, 2018 in L.A. “Gavagai” is an invented word in an imagined language that is […]
The post Gavagai Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Gavagai Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 7/28/2018
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
NEW YORK -- Falling into the strange, experimental and sporadically entertaining category is Rob Tregenza's ''Talking to Strangers.'' This 1988 film consists of nine continuous-take shots, each about 10 minutes long, filmed with a continuously moving camera.
Making its New York premiere at Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater, ''Talking to Strangers'' is not as innovative as it sounds. Hitchcock beat Tregenza to the punch by about 40 years with his truly innovative ''Rope.'' Although the two films are diametrically skewed, this unusual technique makes for an equally unusual viewing experience.
Experimental cinema buffs, as well as budding filmmakers, should prove to be the best potential audience for this film. Obviously Tregenza wasn't going after the mainstream crowd, but even the majority of art-house afficionados will have difficulty getting involved in this barely connected series of stories.
The ever flexible camera follows Jesse (Ken Gruz) from one bizarre encounter to another. Aside from Jesse himself, there is absolutely no continuity between segments. The upside to this is that if one set of characters, or a particular event, turns you off, you know you only have to sit through it for 10 minutes.
On the other hand, if you're fortunate enough to like one of the ''strangers'' that Jesse meets, you might find it alienating when he or she abruptly leaves the screen, never to be heard from again.
Herein lies the inherent nature, and overall problem, of ''Talking to Strangers.'' It's not the kind of film where one can sit back, relax and become a silent participant. The erratic quality of story lines and performances throughout keeps the viewer off balance and on edge.
There is a fascination factor involved with seeing how the camera will follow Jesse into several seemingly difficult situations. And, there are some intriguing vignettes that keep us hoping for more.
But ultimately it becomes a case of ''so what?'' Who cares about Jesse and this potter (Sara Rush) with whom he just spent the night? Are we at all interested in watching Jesse annoy three nuns who are just trying to enjoy a boat ride?
The scene where a gang of hoodlums gets on his bus and gang-rapes an older woman, while terrorizing Jesse, is the only moment that feels frighteningly real in this film. There are individual moments that stand out, and a character or two who genuinely capture our interest, but the underlying problem with the whole mess is that Jesse, and his existential journey through ''life, '' are not interesting. Sorry, Jesse, but that's the sad truth.
The camerawork by Tregenza and Arthur Eng turns the camera into the most important ''character'' of all. It takes us through these occasionally absorbing scenarios, but remains a much more patient and willing observer than the viewer could ever be.
TALKING TO STRANGERS
The Baltimore Film Factory
Director-writer-camera Rob Tregenza
Producer J.K. Eareckson
Camremote-snorkel operator Arthur Eng
Color
Cast:
Jesse Ken Gruz
General Marvin Hunter
Ms. Taylor Caron Tate
Priest Henry Strozier
Angry man Brian Constantini
Slick Richard Foster
Trigger Linda Chambers
Potter Sara Rush
Running time -- 92 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Making its New York premiere at Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater, ''Talking to Strangers'' is not as innovative as it sounds. Hitchcock beat Tregenza to the punch by about 40 years with his truly innovative ''Rope.'' Although the two films are diametrically skewed, this unusual technique makes for an equally unusual viewing experience.
Experimental cinema buffs, as well as budding filmmakers, should prove to be the best potential audience for this film. Obviously Tregenza wasn't going after the mainstream crowd, but even the majority of art-house afficionados will have difficulty getting involved in this barely connected series of stories.
The ever flexible camera follows Jesse (Ken Gruz) from one bizarre encounter to another. Aside from Jesse himself, there is absolutely no continuity between segments. The upside to this is that if one set of characters, or a particular event, turns you off, you know you only have to sit through it for 10 minutes.
On the other hand, if you're fortunate enough to like one of the ''strangers'' that Jesse meets, you might find it alienating when he or she abruptly leaves the screen, never to be heard from again.
Herein lies the inherent nature, and overall problem, of ''Talking to Strangers.'' It's not the kind of film where one can sit back, relax and become a silent participant. The erratic quality of story lines and performances throughout keeps the viewer off balance and on edge.
There is a fascination factor involved with seeing how the camera will follow Jesse into several seemingly difficult situations. And, there are some intriguing vignettes that keep us hoping for more.
But ultimately it becomes a case of ''so what?'' Who cares about Jesse and this potter (Sara Rush) with whom he just spent the night? Are we at all interested in watching Jesse annoy three nuns who are just trying to enjoy a boat ride?
The scene where a gang of hoodlums gets on his bus and gang-rapes an older woman, while terrorizing Jesse, is the only moment that feels frighteningly real in this film. There are individual moments that stand out, and a character or two who genuinely capture our interest, but the underlying problem with the whole mess is that Jesse, and his existential journey through ''life, '' are not interesting. Sorry, Jesse, but that's the sad truth.
The camerawork by Tregenza and Arthur Eng turns the camera into the most important ''character'' of all. It takes us through these occasionally absorbing scenarios, but remains a much more patient and willing observer than the viewer could ever be.
TALKING TO STRANGERS
The Baltimore Film Factory
Director-writer-camera Rob Tregenza
Producer J.K. Eareckson
Camremote-snorkel operator Arthur Eng
Color
Cast:
Jesse Ken Gruz
General Marvin Hunter
Ms. Taylor Caron Tate
Priest Henry Strozier
Angry man Brian Constantini
Slick Richard Foster
Trigger Linda Chambers
Potter Sara Rush
Running time -- 92 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 12/26/1991
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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