Saluting is like pointing, kinda. Steven Boone on SpoutBlog.
by Ryland Walker Knight
So my buddy Steven Boone has been writing for Spout Blog every Friday for a little more than a month, in case you had yet to see. You can check his archive here. But last week's "Felon Fest: Notes on Camp" is my favorite so far. And not just because he references a favorite film at the close of the piece but for Steve's careful, yet lively, prose. I told him via email that I want to read more of this kind of writing from him, that incorporates narrative into the criticism; if you can call this criticism. I guess this is closer to the Phillip Lopate personal essay. Which, I guess, is where Steve is going with his work for this column (and beyond; but I'll leave that to him to disclose). In any event -- not that it needs my recommendation -- I simply want to salute my friend. And point anybody who visits this blog (if there are some who still check in here) towards his recent output.
I also wanted to say that, like Steve, I'm always blown away by the encounters between Jim Caviezel and Sean Penn in The Thin Red Line. Those scenes are the heart of the picture. Trying to see what spark is left in the light of the world. Or how we may rekindle.
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Hey, thanks for the love/props, brother. I just now caught this. Yeah, your emails get me amped to try stuff, stretch out. A recent post entitled Margeurite the Whore is the direct result of something great you said to me in an email. The result may be bizarre or wack, but the inspiration was priceless.
ReplyDeleteYes, the magic hour convo between Caveizel and Penn and the one down in the warship are what the movie's all about. I didn't grasp that the first time I saw it in '98, but the film grows deeper with repeats.