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stephrodca-blog · 4 years

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Portrait of a Lady on Fire interview with director and leading actresses, hosted by Patrick Fabre on Radio des Rues at the 2019 Angoulême Francophone Film Festival. Translation into English.

Patrick Fabre: PF

Céline Sciamma: CS

Adèle Haenel: AH

Noémie Merlant: NM

Translated by Steph RodCa

PF: We are here on the radio of the festival, and I‘m really intimidated, which doesn't happen very often, because I am with the director and the leading actresses of a film that has left me speechless, overwhelmed, thrilled. The only thing that I could think of when i saw it was: This is a masterpiece. I'm talking about Celine Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire. I'm joined by Celine Sciamma, Adèle Haenel, and Noémie Merlant. I am really happy to have you here. How are you?

CS, AH, NM: Pretty good, thank you.

PF: Was it a difficult night? Did the film screening start a little bit late? Or did everything turn out well?

CS: I think everything turned out well.

PF: Yeah, i've been told that. Spectators said that.

CS: I believe them

PF: I'm happy for you. Is this your first time at the festival?

CS: It is my second one

PF: The first time you presented…

CS: Girlhood

PF: The film was in competition, right?

CS: No, I don’t think so

PF: What is your opinion of the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival? Because everybody says is a key-event, is a must-go, you were at the Cannes Film Festival where things went well for you, so do you agree that this is a key-step?

CS: Well, it’s a key-step because we are in front of another kind of audience, a sort of “real audience”, even if I don’t know quite well what a real audience means

PF: An audience barely composed of professionals, that’s the rumors… Adèle is not completely sure of that definition

AH: I have nothing to say on that matter. Indeed, i think it is amazing there is an audience that is less related to the film industry. It’s the townspeople who come, so it’s amazing.

PF: Exactly. So, is it important to have this feedback?

CS: Of course, on the road to film release we get closer and closer to real audience so we are happy to be closer and closer to them.

PF: Both of you Adèle and Noémie, do you think likewise? Is it important to meet the audience, to have this feedback?

AH: Yes, it’s very important. It is a part of our job that may seem laborious sometimes but in fact it’s extremely important because we make films in the hope of communicating ideas, for the love of beauty, for the love of art. And this is not a one-way process, we are not the only ones who go and meet the audience, the people themselves come and meet us. So let’s say it’s the second heart of our job.

PF: What about you Noémie? Because you have already been to the festival as well. I remember that I hosted a screening of Heaven will wait, you were very moved. So, do you agree that it is important to meet the audience, to discover the film with them?

NM: Well, yeah, it is extremely important. I think we all make films to share something, a work, an experience. And yeah, I clearly remember what it’s like to meet them, to share the end of a film, to see their questions, their reactions, or just their strong words, it’s very significant.

PF: So, in the film Noémie is a young painter, Marianne, who is commissioned to make Héloïse’s portrait in order to send it to her future husband in Milan. Héloïse is played by Adèle Haenel. The story is set in 1770. It was you, Céline Sciamma, who wrote the screenplay. You were awarded the Best Screenplay at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. You went from a girlhood to another girlhood just some centuries earlier, and yet the film is extremely modern. How do you get to make a modern period film? Was that your intention?

CS: Yes, I wanted to make the subject as contemporary as possible, each one of my films has been ruled by this intention. So the time period may be ancient but the subject itself is contemporary. It seems to me that it is the same kind of energy that is present in all films, in character incarnation. To me, the significant difference is not so much the time period or even the film genre but rather adulthood, the fact of telling a past love story, and the desire to work with actresses in this business. I think that’s more what I try to do.

PF: Where did this story idea come from?

CS: From my mind. [Laughs]

PF: Which is apparently a good place

CS: Well, period films are quite particular. In general they are subject to the adaptation of a work or a historical event , which is the starting point. So there was this desire to tell an original story that had not been told yet, so it was rather wise to invent it. Then, there is the pleasure of proposing a completely new fiction, that also makes the film contemporary, by not making comments about the voices of the past, but instead by inventing them. Also, by telling the long continuity of the bodies, the hearts, the desires, even if the contexts are different, at the same time, there is a common ground because it’s a time period where progress seems linear, especially the progress concerning women, but this is not at all the case, the destiny of women and their place in the world are still adjustment variables. It was a time where there was some freedom and many women had a career but then there was a backlash and they were erased. Then, in the nineteenth century, the notion of bourgeoise women was introduced. We are going through a blossoming moment of a certain culture, a feminist counterculture that has shaped the world order, so I think this is an important moment, it’s a great moment to be alive. However,you know, you feel the violence, the backlash. Last night, there was an event around femicide, 94 women have been killed this year (in France), the numbers are increasing, it’s a higher rate compared with the same period last year. I think that constitutes a sort of backlash too.

PF: Definitely. As regards to acting in costume, at the beginning of the film we see Marianne arriving by boat to the island, there is a wooden box that fall off the boat, we don’t know yet what’s on the inside. It looks like it’s super important for your character, Noémie, and you jump into the sea wearing this dress and I was like, no way, she’s going to sink, she’s going to die. [Laughs] In that moment, do you bring out the importance of the costume?

NM: Yeah, totally. We talked about it before

CS: A lot

NM: For days and even weeks

AH: The costume was very stressful

NM: Because I don’t know what the dry weight of the dress is, several kilos ?

CS: It’s heavy

NM: Once wet, go figure! But you can do it, we did it. We also had a woman helping us, diving, but I was in the water, I swam wearing that dress and I did it. I had small buoys on the dress.

PF: For safety reasons. And it’s crazy, there are gestures in this film related to the costume that I’ve never seen before in a period film. For example, getting dressed and undressed, you observe a more practical aspect, you see the cords…

NM: The pockets, yeah.

PF: Adèle, you’re not convinced, you experienced that in a different way, didn’t you? Am i wrong and it’s not as easy as it seems?

AH: No, I mean it has to do more with the social function of people. Since we are talking about someone from nobility, it’s an object par excellence, you could say that. In this case, lacing a corset-back dress, getting dressed yourself becomes impossible. So we cannot say that independence is encouraged.

PF: Of course. But i was thinking of those petticoats

AH: Indeed. But, I don’t know, I’m not an expert on that, but based on the function of women there had to be a relatively high practical level. I think, all in all, servants were able to dress themselves, they didn’t need the help of anyone.

PF: Yesterday, I was telling Céline there is a shot in the film that overwhelms me, it’s a very simple shot, you see these three women in the kitchen. The third woman, it must be said, is played by Luàna Bajrami and she is the young maid. At a certain point, they’re left alone, the fiancée’s mother, played marvelously by Valeria Golino, is gone. You see them in the kitchen, the maid is doing embroidery, this activity is rather reserved for a noble or bourgeois person, someone having this social status, Noémie’s character is in the middle, and yours (Adèle’s) is cooking. So, there is a social role reversal. I found it a magnificent shot, it tells a lot of things without words, without dialogues. How did you come up with this? Was it something that appeared on the set or was it already written?

CS: I think films are made based on pivot scenes, scenes providing us with foundations and courage. Therefore, this image was one of these, it was one of the most precious images in the film. Besides, it’s a sequence-shot where there is a choreography between the three characters, you see Sophie doing embroidery, then there is Marianne who enters and serves a glass of wine, you see, women drink, women smoke, and then there is an aristocrat, Héloïse, cooking. So what’s interesting in this shot is not only the generation of a pleasure for spectators, this carnavalesque pleasure derived from this role reversal, but also a pleasure for the three women. I mean, the aristocrat is not cooking just because the roles have been reversed but because she enjoys it, it’s the jubilation of Adèle’s character and Adèle, she’s a part of the image’s composition, the pleasure, the incarnation, the joy, the opportunity, the meaning of having the opportunity to change places.

PF: Another strong moment is that when Adèle’s character says: “Let’s paint!”. To be represented in a reality becomes really important in this part of the film. What was your experience like in that scene?

AH: I don’t see it very different from the whole film. It’s pretty much what Céline has talked about. There is something political when we go into action but also something extremely joyful. We had essentially the same idea with Céline, we were going in the same direction, in terms of jubilation. To me, this scene is the result of connected minds, it’s not a dominant mind offering its world vision but it’s several minds stimulating each other, several sensitivities in connection and even if they remain single entities they have a decoupled strength.

PF: Group strength?

AH: Friendship strength, i would say.

PF: Is friendship strength what you need to make a good film? To be supported by a team you can trust? How important is to assemble a team before making a film?

CS: Yeah, of course. In this film there is, on the one hand, a great loyalty with my producer, with my mentor, with my music composer, even if music is sparingly used, with Adèle, and on the other hand, there is plenty of novelty, there is Noémie Merlant, cinematographer Claire Mathon. So it’s a mix of friends and meetings, as well as future friends. So I don’t believe friendship is necessary when making a good film, I think the film is similar to the way it was made and the set rules, the atmosphere, the feelings are reflected. Overall, I think if we make a romantic movie it’s okay to love each other.

PF: Noémie, this film surely means a lot to you because you are more in the spotlight, it’s one of the first films where you’re given a leading role, even if in Heaven will wait you had a leading role as well, it was kind of different since there were two parallel stories, it was hyperlink cinema, however in this one there are three characters. Besides, this film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival. Do all theses reasons make it even more meaningful to you? Or, they have nothing to do and it’s the story itself that really matters to you?

NM: Well, it’s a mix of a lot of things, what you said but also meeting the team, meeting Céline, Adèle, was really important to me. The way Céline works. The story also shows a real vision shared intensively by Céline and Adèle. They provided me and they provide me with this vision. So, to me it’s extremely important as an artist, as an actress, and as a woman. I learned and I keep on learning several things thanks to this film, so it is extremely important because of this as well.

PF: I think we can all learn a lot of things thanks to this film and I strongly recommend that you watch it. It will be released on…

CS: September 18

PF: I strongly recommend that you go watch Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire on September 18. I’ll definitely go watch it on September 18 because I’m already missing it. Then, maybe I’ll get a “page 28” tattoo. [Laughs]

#portrait of a lady on fire #portrait de la jeune fille en feu #interview #traslation #traduction #french #français #english #anglais #angoulême #francophone #film #festival #céline sciamma #adèle haenel #noémie merlant #patrick fabre #radio des rues

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liarsforxver · 4 years

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@vendettacanons || from [here]

“My blood? No, no way, it’s uh…” Quick. Think quick, Arnbjorn! A million things happened in Skyrim every day. Miracles and freak accidents, more often than not a gruesome scene to say the least in the case of the latter. He could’ve been in Windhelm and gotten into a scuffle with that butcher character that was running around. No, no, that would bring about too many questions. Why didn’t he report it, why didn’t he say anything, how did he escape. All manner of questioning and tricks of the tongue the werewolf could barely wrap his head around in thoughts, never mind in action. Let’s see uh… wait, Wolf. Wolf. No- Bear! Perfect! “I got into an argument with a bear.” He shrugged with a half-hearted grin and a nod.

“Bosmer I knew there once told me the lands around it were ripe for pickin’ deer. Figured I’d try my hand at hunting. Damn thing came out of nowhere and tore off my quiver going for my neck. Luckily I had a dagger on me. It had me pinned for a minute but I managed to take it down at the last second. Gouge to the throat took it out, but it still landed on me when it went down, so…” he gestured to the crimson stains that seeped into his clothing. Vague but exciting nonsense with just enough detail he supposed. He certainly looked the part of a mighty warrior and noble hunter- all muscle on a broad frame and armor decorated in leather now turned red from the little scuffle. But even with his noble exterior, it was a lie in every sense of the word— or at least partially. A ruse to throw them off since Arnbjorn was still working on the art of misdirection.

He wasn’t lying when he said he’d killed something, nor that it had fought back with such unrelenting force in its struggle that the extinguishing of its life was left to the last few moments possible. It just… wasn’t a bear was all. It had been a person. A contract. A paid hit from someone desperate- or foolish enough- to perform the Black Sacrament. But his company didn’t need to know that. Didn’t need to know that his leather and metal armor was just a clever disguise to hide what he really was. Who he really was. What he stood for. “Ain’t hurt either way, just need a bath and a river to get the blood outta my armor. Know any good streams around here where I might be able to do that?”

Seeing blood wasn’t anything new to the woman. No it certainly was not. But even just given the area, someone was bound to get hurt. Or die for that matter. People fought others, animals attacked, and there was who knows what lurking around every corner it seemed. Valeria eyed the man as he stood there, noticing the slight hesitation in his answer. It didn’t seem like much but she had been around long enough to pick up on certain things. A small laugh almost left her lis as he gave his answer. An argument with a bear. That’s one way to put it. She glanced around to see if there was any sight of said bear. Red eyes landed back on him and she grinned slightly. “A bear, huh? Those beasts can be pretty nasty sometimes.” Valeria mused, finally letting out a light chuckle.

She listened to his story but something about it didn’t sit right with her. Sure, bears attacked quite often and it wasn’t often someone might come back out the other side alive. But he just seemed...different. Despite being covered in the blood, she could see that he did look like hunter or something of that sort. Maybe he was telling the truth and she was over thinking things. “You sound like one lucky man.” She told him. “I can’t say I’ve seen too many people survive a bear attack. You must know what you’re doing then.” Valeria grinned a bit more as her weight shifted. She glanced back behind him again as she spoke some more. “You must have come pretty far then. I don’t see a bear around here. A dead one at least. I’m sure you’re exhausted.” She didn’t need to poke more into his story but she was curious and liked to see what would happen.

Valeria was no stranger to killing or death. Animals, people, anything really. The subject never bothered and at this point for her it was a common occurrence. But that wasn’t something someone would just know about her. Early in her life she got paid for those sorts of things. Now it was a way to survive half the time. “Well, good that you’re not hurt. You don’t have to worry about things getting infected or anything of that sort.” She thought for a moment, thinking about what was in the area. It was familiar to her and she could at least point him in the right direction. “There’s a river not too far from here that empties out into a little pond. I can lead you to it if you’re not familiar with the area. I don’t mind.” As she spoke, she pulled her hood forward to make sure her eyes stayed out of the sun. “Don’t need another bear attacking you or anything of that sort.”

#[that's okay!! it's perfect! thank you!]#[; vendettacanons ]#vendettacanons #[; Valeria // Arnbjorn ]

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jvdyy · 6 years

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— ✧SYDNEY PARK? NO, THAT’S JUST JUDITH 'JUDY' RICHARDS ! THEY’RE THE TWENTY-ONE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER OF REED RICHARDS & SUSAN STORM. I HEAR THEY’RE EFFULGENT & SAGE BUT TEND TO BE NAIVE & HASTY. HER FILE SAYS THAT HER POWER IS UNDISCOVERED (INK MANIPULATION). { kylo, est, 19, they/them }

hey, hey, hey! it’s kylo here and if you don’t know me then it’s probably because it’s my first time in this group. you guys looked all cool and i’ve never had the guts to join till now because i had this idea for a muse that i’m honored i get to play here. she’s pretty cool and i am still fleshing her out so it’ll take a bit to get all the coolness set up, but i guarentee you i’ll add it here when i find out more information. speaking of info, there’s some bullets below this along with some wanted connections and IF YOU’D LIKE TO PLOT PLEASE LIKE THIS OR HIT ME UP IN THOSE PRIVATE/INSTANT MESSAGES!

IMPORTANT PAGES

connections

statistics

ABOUT THE DORK

(pregnancy, violence tw)

so let’s bring it all the way back to when she was born since that’s a good place to start. now she’s not a spin on valeria or franklin in any shape or form, but to honor the o.g. marvel family i decided to base the birth on the comics a bit (subject to change if sue or reed is brought in and they’d prefer not to). so in the comics, it was hard for sue to give birth because her “cosmic-irradiated physiology” but she still managed to give birth to her first child (judy’s older sibling) through an adventure to the negative zone to borrow some sort of control rod. when it turned out sue was pregnant again there was a growing fear in the parents. the first pregnancy had been really challenging and going through it again would be worse.

in a way it was because this pregnancy led to some issues to the baby and mother alike. judith had many scares while in the womb, but luckily none were permanent enough to truly bother judy once she was born in some underground facility with technology even she has yet to grasp.

once judy had finally gotten home, things were a bit odd. her uncle caught on fire, her mother went invisible, and her father could cook and keep an eye on her in her crib at the same time. not to mention her own sibling had been tested and would be on the way to join them. she, as it would turn out, would not ever get on her way there and that was what was so strange. her whole family could do these amazing things, but growing up all she could do was watch from the tv or the spaceship or wherever they were keeping her safe. even her sibling got to go with them.

when judy was nine and watching her parents fight somebody she knew was trouble on the news, an ad popped up on the screen for comics of her very own parents. her eyes flicked over those and she snuck out of the house to buy an issue, changing her life forever.

she started teaching herself how to draw in ink and make it look like the books she was reading and soon enough started writing random ones based off of what her family and their friends would tell her. they started off really rough (ask uncle ben), but when she got old enough to start really working on them, she would be able to publish them.

but that’s getting ahead of myself a bit. back to when she was still in her preteens. one day when she was supposed to be following the routine, she had decided to go with her family off earth. it wasn’t fair that her sibling got to go so she decided to stow away on board the ship. it was fairly easy, she had her pen and sketch pad to keep her busy along with various snacks, but when the ship stopped she started to hear cries from her family and decided to spring into action. she ran out from the supply closet and ran outside without thinking of grabbing anything. when she did it was chaos. different species of beings all fighting eachother, guns going off, civilians running away- she didn’t know where any “good” guys were. that was until one of them were waving for her to run before everything went dark.

the next thing she remembers from that chunk of days was being told she wouldn’t be able to walk again, but she’d be alive.

since then she’d still dream of fighting the badguys with the FF or somehow being a mutant to, but she realized that just wasn’t in the cards for her.

she lived a pretty normal life from there, minus her family traveling a lot and the constant business trips she couldn’t attend. she graduated highschool at sixteen and started traveling the world and learning more about heroes. she’d learn as much as she could and basically write biographies for the stories she’d find most significant for the world to know.

in the past few months, her job had been getting a lot harder. things are more tense than before and that was when her father called her and suggested she move to paragon in case something bad happens with the changes. she hesitated, but after learning of the school and who all lives there already, she rented herself a nice apartment and moved in on may 7, 2018.

now she’s kind of chilling in town and lowkey writing what she sees, there’s plenty of drafts in her apartment but nobody can see them.

now onto the stuff that isn’t backstory! so in the future she’s going to find out she can manipulate ink and if you don’t quite get what that’d be about, superhero wiki defines it as the power where the “user can create, shape and manipulate ink, including moving ink, change the color, consistency/viscosity between solid and liquid, etc., even if the ink is printed/written/tattooed. they can write/scribe/tattoo without tools by manipulating ink.” she’ll be limited to what’s around her, but as she comes into her powers she’ll find some ways to make it more than a gimick because i’m sure the moment she does something with it, she’s going to be trying to fight crime or something since that’d still be the first thing she’d like to do. i think maybe down the line it could lead to her more broadly figuring out how to control carbon black on things like wires (engineering made easier) and such and even go broader with things with carbon since carbon black is an ink made out of it. this could be things like plants, wood, plastics. it’d take her honing the skills but practically everything can come from things ink is from and i can make it all sciencey. also i’d like to say another issue is that she wouldn’t quite mess with tattoo ink from the start since it’s iron oxides/metal salts/plastics (though the later she'd try) and it’s not necessarily very ordinary ink. that could lead to sciency stuff too. maybe she’ll be able to delve into that and then also animal ink? i don’t think i’d go that far but like squids have ink made of melanin so can she lift non-inked mammals too? i’m not sure, i think i’ll stick to natural things and skip the biological ones unless i feel silly so we’ll see.

personality wise? judy is a very bright young lady with a longing to protect people. she wants to be the hero but she has been content just admiring them from afar. she’s probably overly hyped and incessantly talking, but she is an easily excitable person. she does things without thinking them through all the way and while she is book smart, she’ll eat out of your palm when it comes to lying to her or teasing her. she believes it all because, to be honest, she’s almost seen it all. she believes in the good of people and thinks villians aren’t just villians (she has arguments in defense for the wicked witch, scar, and at least half of the supervillians she’s attempted to learn about).

oh yeah, she identifies as lesbian (though has had feelings for men once in a blue moon, kind of biromantic but she doesn’t identify with it) both romantically and sexually. she hasn’t really come out yet, but she doesn’t hide it. she just hasn’t really dated more than a person or two to give herself a reason to.

more to be added

WANTED CONNECTIONS

someone she tutors

maybe a superhero she’s highkey a fan of

a human who works with her

definitely a best friend/someone she’s known her whole life, this person would either be a kid of a family friend or someone who lived in new york and happened to go to the same elementary school

bad influence

more to be added

#sidekick.intro #( out of ink. )#this is all over the place but you get the point i think..? if not i can rewrite it or clarify #also am i already overthinking her powers? please send help. i am suffering.

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reylorabbittrail · 7 years

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Why the Trio in the Sequel Trilogy Won't Be a Trio

I’ve seen a lot of chatter and speculation over last year and a half about who the Trio™ of the sequel trilogy is. There was an assumption that Finn, Rey, and Poe would be, but look at how Rey doesn’t even meet Poe onscreen in TFA. They have a four sentence interaction in the novelization after awkwardly hugging when the map is completed. Then Rey leaves to go find Luke.

When asked point blank who the trio is in TLJ, Rian Johnson answered by asking if they meant the three on the teaser poster. Clearly, fan expectations are not quite meeting reality when it comes to character dynamics.

Now to be fair, there is a surfeit of trios running around the new trilogy. Someone compiled a list (sorry guys, I suck at searching tags or I’d link to that here) and found at least ten of them. But none of them mirrors the Original Trilogy Trio™.

“But wait!” you say, “Star Wars has always had a trio. Han, Luke and Leia. Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan. Why not now?” So, yeah. I’m going to make the argument that the prequel trio is a very different sort of trio from the OT trio. They aren’t comparable. And there is a good reason that we aren’t getting one at all in this new trilogy.

Three is a Magic Number

Literature and Film are littered with trios. Three is one of those numbers that just feels good. It can represent all kinds of things from youth, maturity, and old-age, to faith, hope, and charity. Myth gives us the Three Fates, the God-rulers of Heaven, Earth, and Underworld, the judgement of Paris between Wisdom, Rule, and Love. Within the Christian religion there is not only the trinity of the Godhead, but also Christ’s threefold temptation in the desert, and the call to love God with Heart, Mind, and Strength. Pay attention to those last two. They matter here.

In adventure stories, trios make a good party. Look at Conan the Barbarian. The 1982 movie (a pastiche of several of the short stories) has a trio of fighter-thieves on a mission to rescue a princess from the clutches of an evil cult. The trio is Conan, our protagonist, Valeria, his lover, and Subotai, his sidekick/friend. The combination of hero, love interest, and sidekick/best friend is pretty common. And in terms of symbolic significance, it basically states that our hero succeeds through the support of love, both romantic and platonic. This is Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan.

Another common trio in adventure stories is Mage, Fighter, & Rogue. Does this one sound familiar. It’s only every swords and sorcery movie ever. It’s the a Trio from Wheel of Time, Rand, Perrin, and Mat. (Significantly, the love interests are not part of this trio. It isn’t a necessary component, unlike the previously mentioned one.) And it also is one way to describe Luke the Magic Space Knight, Leia the Warrior Princess, and Han the Rogue.

The third major type of trio, and the one I want to focus on, is the Tripartate Soul Trio. You should recognize this from philosophy or psychology. Id, Ego, and SuperEgo. Intellect, Will/Spiritedness, and Appetite. Guts(Strength), Heart, and Brain(Mind). See, I told you I was bringing that one back. And the temptations in the desert? They were first to bodily needs, than political power, and finally to intellectual and spiritual pride. And four centuries before Christ, Greek philosophers were pondering the same division.

We know plenty of these, but to stick to popular fandom so, think Spock, Kirk, and Bones. Spock is the hyper rational one, always seeking the most logical solution, but not necessarily the most humane. Kirk is the man of action, acting on instinct, but not necessarily emotion. Bones is the emotional one, prone to irritable outbursts and always chafing at how unfeeling Spock is.

Another example, you ask? Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley. Hermione is the logical, intellectual one, Harry the instinctive man of action, Ron the mess of emotions. This trio does not necessitate a love interest, but if there is one it will be between Brains and Guts, the alchemical marriage that resolves opposites, leaving heart as the third wheel. The protagonist is always Heart. This is because in the integrated man (or woman), the heart is the center of action, spurred to action by the appetites, and moderated in that action by the intellect.

Funny how Han and Leia end up together and Luke is the third wheel. Yeah, that’s not by accident. Leia is the brains of the operation, Han is all gut, Luke is all heart. Even there companions reinforce this. Han’s best friend communicates in emotionally charged growls, and is a volatile, reactive creature. Leia’s protocol droid is a prissy robot that is forever spouting off the statically likelihood of actions. Luke’s astromech is a droid of action, along with being pretty sassy.

Are any of these trios showing up so far in the sequel trilogy? I mean with actual screen time together as a team. Nope. Didn’t think so.

There’s a reason for this.

Four Elements, Four Humours

The Tripartate Soul is still going to matter in a big way in the sequels. But it is not going to be represented by people. I’m working on a much bigger post on why I think that it is going to center on the nature of the force. Suffice it to say that Manichean dichotomy of the first film between good and evil is shifting to something much more nuanced.

There is another literary number that plays very nicely here though, and for which I’m seeing groundwork laid. Four. Four has its own impressive history, from four gospels to four Cardinal virtues, to the four elements. I’m going to focus on the last one.

Ancient medicine had a number of schools of thought, including one that was outstandingly bad at healing people, but pretty good at personality typing and identifying primary weaknesses and strengths. The melancholic (excess of black bile, treated with enemas) was prone to despair, the choleric (excess of yellow bile, treated with purgatives) to pride, the sanguine (excess of blood, treated by bleeding) to flightiness, the phlegmatic (excess of mucus, treated with decongestants) to disengagement. But melancholic are emotionally intuitive, cholerics are your fiercest ally, sanguines can make anyone smile, and a phlegmatic is a staunch friend and a rock of stability.

Want to guess what element they relate to? Well, Choleric is obviously Fire. Sanguine is Air, Phlegmatic is Water, and Melancholy is Earth. Now here is where I would bring in Avatar: The Last Airbender because it would be perfect, but unfortunately I haven’t seen it. So instead I will note how lovely it is that the Hogwarts houses match up with the four elements. Gryffindor, with its fiery red and gold colors and courageous inhabitants represents the best of the choleric temperament. Ravenclaw is situated in the highest tower, represented by a bird, by people who could be described as having their head in the clouds. They are Air, through and through, and have the quick wit and flitting attention of the Sanguine. (Sanguine is also classic attention deficit, either all distraction or hyper focused.) Hufflepuff is Earth, situated below ground, loyal friends, and likely the nicest people because they are emotionally grounded. Slytherin is Water. Their common room is below the lake, they are the most apathetic to concerns of the wider wizarding world, and fiercely devoted to the few friends they have.

Want another example? Try Wind in the Willows. The Water Rat, all fight and action, is Fire/Choleric, the Toad is Sanguine/Air with his never ending succession of fads and his obsession with motor cars, the Mole is Earth/Melancholy with his tendency to worry and his sensitivity to other’s feelings, and the Badger is Water/Phlegmatic with his disengagement from the world and his devotion to his few friends.

Bit far afield of Star Wars, though. I’m getting there. What if we don’t have a trio? What if instead, the trilogy begins with the elements out of balance? Fire is raging against Air, Water, and Earth. There is a major confrontation between each of our heroic characters with our primary antagonist. And all four characters happen to perfectly capture one of those elements.

Fiery Kylo Ren confronts the flippant flyboy Poe Dameron, Air incarnate. Rey not only comes from a planet that is all Earth, but she exhibits the resilience of Earth. There is a compassion in her nature that has not been stomped out by 15 years of harsh survival. And Finn is Water, loyal to his friends, but initially inclined toward just avoiding involvement.

So, if the elements are out of balance, thus being the source of conflict, resolution comes not through extinguishing fire and removing it from the picture, but from coming into balance with the other elements. If a redemption arc is in the cards, then this becomes a real possibility. And that means that the end game is ultimately a quartet working together to save the Galaxy. Not only is there the theme of balance in the force at work, but balance in the elements that are bound by the force.

The funny thing about these movies is that they didn’t start with the thematic elements. But as the stories come together, these things just start to assert themselves. It only works when the archetypes play their roles. Otherwise things feel forced. When a Tripartate Soul Trio shows up, we know which one should be the hero, and if it’s played to be Intellect, something feels off. When an elemental quartet shows up, we know the end game is for them to work together so that everyone is in good humour. It’s as fundamental as the second act being the place where exposition occurs and something happens that makes you think the happy ending can’t possibly be pulled off.

I’m not saying that Kylo Ren, or even Ben Solo, becomes besties with Poe and Finn. And this scenario doesn’t even necessitate romantic Reylo (though I’m not giving up on that just yet). She matters to Kylo/Ben’s arc immensely. But a movie where they end up platonic soulmates would not clash with this idea. Granted, I could be completely wrong and I’m ready to laugh at just how off base I might be come December. Still, I think I’m closer than trying to shoehorn any of the existing characters into a Trio that doesn’t quite fit with established archetypes.

#reylo #meta #star wars trio #rey #finn #poe dameron #kylo ren #four elements

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eddycurrents · 5 years

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For the week of 3 December 2018

Quick Bits:

Batman #60 sure is something. There’s echoes of Knightfall with Batman seemingly going off the deep end when it comes to beating up villains in search for answers about Bane. You’ve got to wonder if it’s all just misdirection, bringing about extreme alienation from Gordon all the while. The scenes of Batman running amok through his villains are illustrated by Jorge Fornés (with colours from Jordie Bellaire) and you’d swear it’s the second coming of David Mazzucchelli. Fornés’ style is perfect for Batman.

| Published by DC Comics

Blackbird #3 is still keeping us off-balance, giving us hints of the Paragon world, but still navigating the edges, leaving us almost as in the dark as Nina. There’s a revelation this issue, though, that may make everything make sense. Great art from Jen Bartel, Paul Reinwand, and Tríona Farrell. The designs for the Paragons and the “true” appearance of the city are very well done.

| Published by Image

BPRD: The Devil You Know #11 kicks off the end with the first part of “Ragna Rok”, but before getting to Rasputin’s wrath, we get Varvara’s origin story. Great art from Christopher Mitten, Laurence Campbell, and Dave Stewart.

| Published by Dark Horse

Clankillers #5 brings the series to an end as Cillian and the remaining forces confront Fin as possessed by the spirit of Balor. This is a good end that seeks to break the cycle of violence we’ve seen since the first issue. Overall a wonderful series from Sean Lewis, Antonio Fuso, Stefano Simeone, and Dave Sharpe.

| Published by AfterShock

Crowded #5 pushes us closer to the conclusion of the first arc, literally, as the narrative is hijacked by the Reapr sensation, Trotter. It’s very interesting to see how damaged overall these characters are that Christopher Sebela is giving voice to. They all seem to have some fundamental flaws that have broken them and led them into a world where crowd-funded contract killing seems like a good idea.

| Published by Image

The Curse of Brimstone #9 is one of the New Age of Heroes books I actually quite like, so of course it’s ending soon. That said, I’ll see it out to the end, even if the Doctor Fate this issue seems a bit at odds with the one in Justice League Dark. Still, Justin Jordan, Eduardo Pansica, Júlio Ferreira, Rain Beredo, and Wes Abbott give us an entertaining tale exploring the nature of Brimstone.

| Published by DC Comics

Dark Ark #12 introduces all sorts of complications as Shrae and the monsters approach landfall, ratcheting up the tensions and machinations amongst the factions, and the looming threat that Shrae and his family may not be much longer for the world as their patrons leave them. Cullen Bunn and Juan Doe are crafting an amazing story here.

| Published by AfterShock

Death Orb #3 tosses us some pretty dark humour amidst the action and ever closer threat of planet death. The action sequence between the Rider and the Ninja, though brief, is very entertaining.

| Published by Dark Horse

Deathstroke #38 gets more complicated even as it begins to untie the Gordian Knot of Slade’s insanity. The plot here from Priest is fairly intricate, but it all makes sense if we accept that everything we’ve been told by him is the truth and we just weren’t shown his trip via the Zeta Beam. It fits better with what’s been going on outside the walls of Arkham. Also wonderful artwork from Fernando Pasarin, Jason Paz, and Jeromy Cox.

| Published by DC Comics

Die #1 is incredible. It taps into the same primal childhood nostalgia present in things like IT, The Goonies, Stranger Things, and more, wrapping it in a roleplaying game in a fantasy world, but with an ever-present feeling of dread and loss because something went horribly, horribly wrong. Great work here from Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, and Clayton Cowles.

| Published by Image

Doctor Strange #9 is a wonderful single issue story dealing with an aggressive land developer trying numerous means through the years to acquire the property on Bleecker Street. It’s a different kind of adversary for Strange, but Mark Waid, Jesús Saiz, and Cory Petit make what might well be the best issue of this volume yet. It’s interesting to see a more human side of Strange here, caring for his community, but it works. Especially with the gorgeous artwork from Saiz, including some incredibly well designed creatures.

| Published by Marvel

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #2 continues to be highly entertaining as the Doctor and friends try to escape from the clutches of the Army of the Just. Jody Houser, Rachael Stott, Giorgia Sposito, Valeria Favoccia, Enrica Eren Angiolini, Viviana Spinelli, Sara Michieli, Andrea Moretto, Richard Starkings, Sarah Jacobs, and John Roshell capture the tone, atmosphere, and appearance of the television series perfectly, serving as a nice companion piece to the show and a good comic in its own right.

| Published by Titan

The Freeze #1 is a compelling debut from Dan Wickline, Phillip Sevy, and Troy Peteri. We’re thrust into a world where everyone has frozen, stopped moving, but by all appearances it’s just people, everything else is still in motion. It’s told through the perspective of the one person who didn’t freeze, Ray Adams, and the first issue raises a lot of questions as to what’s going on.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Goliath Girls #2 is a Comixology original from Sam Humphries, Alti Firmansyah, Brittany Peer, and Jodi Wynne delving into the kaiju genre with aplomb. It’s colourful and action-packed, with some great art from Firmansyah and Peer, and an interesting take on the kaiju that evokes more of the human/mech bond that we’ve seen in the robo variation on the genre like Mech Cadet Yu.

| Published by Shadow Valley

The Green Lantern #2 continues this excellent new take on the Green Lanterns from Grant Morrison, Liam Sharp, Steve Oliff, and Tom Orzechowski. It maintains the Silver Age meets 2000 AD & Heavy Metal feel from the first issue, but still feels incredibly fresh and new. The art from Sharp and Oliff is just stunning.

| Published by DC Comics

Grumble #1 is a wonderful debut from Rafer Roberts, Mike Norton, Marissa Louise, and Crank! delving into a world of magic, con artistry, and running for your life from an intergalactic authority trying to erase you from existence. And a mook who’s trapped in the form of a pug. It’s rather funny and pretty great.

| Published by Albatross Funnybooks

Hack/Slash vs. Chaos! #1 is off to a decent start with Tim Seeley back in the writer’s chair for Cassie and Vlad, joined by Rapha Lobosco, Dee Cunniffe, and Crank! to round out the creative team. I don’t have a lot (read, pretty much any) of experience with the Chaos characters, but this still works framed as a straightforward Hack/Slash tale. Lobosco’s art is very nice for the story. He’s not delivering a straight-up Risso-clone style here anymore, developing more of his own grittier tone, and it’s great to see.

| Published by Dynamite

Her Infernal Descent #5 concludes the series with the final descent into the deepest reaches of Hell. I’m not really sure what happened, but this final issue is illustrated by Eoin Marron, replacing Kyle Charles, and he does a good job of taken us that last mile. This has been an interesting series, using Dante’s Inferno as a framework for a personal tale of one woman’s reflection on grief and her own personal hell. Lonnie Nadler, Zac Thompson, Charles & Marron, Dee Cunniffe, Ryan Ferrier & Marshall Dillon gave us something very unique to comics.

| Published by AfterShock

Immortal Hulk #10 has reached the point where I think I’m running out of superlatives for this series, it’s the most incredible Hulk story I’ve read in decades. Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy José, Le Beau Underwood, Rafael Fonteriz, Paul Mounts, and Cory Petit deliver another stunning chapter, concluding the battle between Hulk and Creel in a manner even more terrifying than Creel’s appearance.

| Published by Marvel

Immortal Hulk: The Best Defense #1, along with the Namor title this week, begins “The Best Defense” event. It apparently features four lead-ins of the individual original members of the Defenders, which can be read in any order and appear independent of one another, followed by the finale in The Defender: The Best Defense in two weeks. This one is from Immortal Hulk’s regular writer, Al Ewing, along with Simone Di Meo, Dono Sánchez-Almara, and Cory Petit. It follows the same horror atmosphere and tone of the main Immortal Hulk book, presenting a mysteriously abandoned town and the desiccated corpse of Doctor Strange.

| Published by Marvel

Justice League #13 explores Joker’s recruitment to the Legion of Doom and his thoughts on their current activities in this third issue devoted to them from James Tynion IV, Guillem March, Arif Prianto, and Tom Napolitano. The art from March and Prianto is suitably dark and strange, perfectly encapsulating Joker’s madness.

| Published by DC Comics

Killmonger #1 is an interesting start, picking up an interpretation of the character similar to how he appeared in the Black Panther movie, but pushing him further. The art from Juan Ferreyra is gorgeous, running us through a variety of styles for the flashbacks, present day, dreams, and such that are just incredible, really enhancing the overall story.

| Published by Marvel

LaGuardia #1 begins a rich sci-fi tale from Nnedi Okorafor, Tana Ford, James Devlin, and Sal Cipriano. This first issue introduces us to a world where aliens of all sorts have made themselves known to humans and begun visiting, some even seeming to be living here, through the eyes of Future Nwafor Chukwuebuka and Citizen Raphael Nwabara. It’s interesting to see the sociopolitical and social landscapes of this story develop and how they intertwine with the characters, along with some gorgeous art from Ford and Devlin.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

The Last Siege #7 takes an impressive risk for its penultimate issue, choosing to go silent for the breakout of the full battle against the castle. It’s great. The storytelling through the art is wonderful, words would only get in the way. Landry Q. Walker, Justin Greenwood, Brad Simpson, and Patrick Brosseau really bring it this issue.

| Published by Image

Lodger #2 continues this incredibly unique crime story from David and Maria Lapham. It’s one part serial killer’s travelogue, one part revenge quest, and all parts compelling drama.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Low Road West #4 answers a few more questions, but leaves a hell of a lot more for the conclusion next issue. Just as we’re getting some answers, it swerves into more action as the kids get chased again by the government agents. This is weird, but good weird. The art from Flaviano and Miquel Muerto really sells how strange this world has become.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Martian Manhunter #1 contains the first depiction that I know of for green martian sex. It’s...maybe what you’d expect from a race than can change its form at will. The first issue of this 12-issue maxi-series from Steve Orlando, Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia, and Deron Bennett is unconventional, blending a procedural with a pretty brutal murder and a kind of personal history of J’onn on Mars. And it’s not at all what you’d expect. This is good. Weird, but good.

| Published by DC Comics

Marvel Knights #3 sees Tini Howard and Damian Couceiro join Donny Cates in the fun for a dive into how Frank Castle was tracking down the amnesiac heroes and watching his relationships fall apart in the process. This one feels harder, harsher, than the first two chapters, but it perfectly fits the Punisher. Also some dark humour.

| Published by Marvel

Namor: The Best Defense #1 gives us what’s mainly a political thriller mixed with a monster battle, as Namor searches for allies in the remote Atlantean colony of Vodan, in this tale from Chip Zdarsky, Carlos Magno, Ian Herring, and Travis Lanham. The art from Magno and Herring is worth the price of admission alone, but there’s also some very interesting hints at what might be coming in the new Invaders series.

| Published by Marvel

Ninja-K #14 brings the series to an end in fairly explosive style as Christos Gage, Roberto de la Torre, José Villarrubia, and A Larger World Studios tender Colin King’s resignation. The action this issue is pretty phenomenal, with some of the best art I’ve seen from de la Torre, outdoing himself very impressively.

| Published by Valiant

Prodigy #1 is another interesting new Millarworld project, introducing us to Edison Crane, a celebrity super-genius seemingly solving all the world’s problems, and he’s about to embark on one hell of one with a possible invasion from an alternate reality. In some ways, this is almost a more “realistic” take on what would happen if Reed Richards existed in our world, just slightly to the left, but it’s still a compelling story from Mark Millar, Rafael Albuquerque, Marcelo Maiolo, and Peter Doherty.

| Published by Image

Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons #3 throws Morty’s dad into the mix as the group travel to a reality where D&D is real. This continues to be a nigh perfect mash-up of the two properties as Patrick Rothfuss, Jim Zub, Troy Little, Leonardo Ito, and Robbie Robbins delve into some of the traditional elements of adventuring. Also, not talking about fourth edition is a good idea.

| Published by IDW & Oni Press

Self/Made #1 is a very impressive debut from Mat Groom, Eduardo Ferigato, Marcelo Costa, and Troy Peteri. It starts as a very well told, beautifully illustrated fantasy tale set in Arcadia of a quest to stop the evil from conquering the world, with a great character in Amala, but it becomes something so much more. Highly recommend this one.

| Published by Image

Star Wars: Age of Republic - Qui-Gon Jinn #1 is the first of this new series of one shots intent on giving more insight to the various characters around the Star Wars universe across the ages, as they fit in the new canon since Disney took over. It’s kind of weird to see this kind of thing again after the Expanded Universe already did it over decades, but I can’t say that this isn’t good. Jody Houser, Cory Smith, Walden Wong, Java Tartaglia, and Travis Lanham deliver a suitably introspective tale as Qui-Gon tries to deal with the conflict between two warring factions of a world of wood/metal and by extension the light and dark sides of the Force. There are some really nice designs and images of Coruscant and the unnamed world Qui-Gon meditates on in the book.

| Published by Marvel

United States vs. Murder Inc. #4 sees the five families send Rose and Gallo to assassinate the President. Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Avon Oeming, Taki Soma, and Carlos M. Mangual deliver more twists this issue, upheaving the status quo and sending it into yet another direction. Also further reinforcement that Valentine really isn’t suited to this life.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Venom #9 kicks off “The Abyss” with a returning Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Frank Martin. Donny Cates’ narration for Eddie really takes us inside the character here, building out his fears, grief, and history as he tries to reconnect with his father. It’s an incredible deep dive for some really well done character building.

| Published by Marvel

West Coast Avengers #5 begins the next arc, following through the team’s relationship issues and tossing them into a creepy abandoned amusement park, ostensibly following through Madame Masque’s revenge scheme from the last Hawkeye series (though you needn’t have read that, I highly recommend that you do. It’s great). Daniele Di Nicuolo joins Tríona Farrell on the art and it’s nice to see him doing some work for Marvel.

| Published by Marvel

The Wicked + The Divine #40 begins “Okay” with a very interesting structure to the story. Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matthew Wilson, Clayton Cowles, and Dee Cunniffe present this story at a distance, through various forms of cameras. It gives the story a very different kind of feel, mimicking the viewpoint from a vlog on YouTube at points, security cameras at others, and some other forms of video viewing, keeping the reader at arm’s length.

| Published by Image

Winter Soldier #1 is an interesting start to this new mini from Kyle Higgins, Rod Reis, and Clayton Cowles. They set up Bucky as a kind of extraction agent in a new plan to pull crooked cops in over their heads, Hydra agents looking to get out, and the like out of their situations and give them a second chance with a “normal life”. It’s certainly a different premise. The art from Reis is gorgeous, as usual, channelling some of his best Bill Sienkiewicz influence.

| Published by Marvel

The Wrong Earth #4 continues its very interesting exploration of these two vastly different worlds representing two ends of comics culture, showing just how ill prepared the two forms of Dragonfly(man) are to their counterpart’s world. Great art from Jamal Igle, Juan Castro, and Andy Troy. I never get tired of how the art shifts when the story switches from Earth Alpha to Omega. This one’s rounded out with a back-up spotlighting the deadly (and somewhat careless) crime-fighting of Dragonfly and an assortment of prose.

| Published by Ahoy

Other Highlights: Avengers Assemble: Time Will Tell, Barbarella Holiday Special #1, Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams #3, Black AF: Devil’s Dye #1, Border Town #4, Breakneck #1, Cinema Purgatorio #16, Curse Words #18, The Dreaming #4, Gasolina #13, Giant Days: Where Women Glow & Men Plunder #1, Infinity Wars: Infinity Warps #2, Iron Fist #3, Kick-Ass #10, Meanwhile #9, Moth & Whisper #4, Night’s Dominion: Season Three #5, Noble #14, Now #5, Power Rangers: Soul Dragon, Rise of the TMNT #3, Road of the Dead: Highway to Hell #2, Snap Flash Hustle #1, Spider-Geddon Handbook, Spider-Man/Deadpool #43, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Terra Incognita #5, Star Trek vs. Transformers #3, Star Wars #58, Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #3, Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion #3, Unnatural #5, We Are Danger #4, Welcome to Wanderland #3, Wizard Beach #1

Recommended Collections: Black - Volume 1, Chronicles of Hate, Dark Ark - Volume 2, Doctor Strange - Volume 1: Across the Universe Galaktikon - Volume 1, Goldfish, Lumberjanes - Volume 10, The October Faction - Volume 5: Supernatural Dreams, Paper Girls - Volume 5, Paradiso - Volume 2: Dark Dwellers, Rick & Morty - Volume 8, Star Wars: Poe Dameron - Volume 5: Spark Fire, Warship Jolly Roger - Volume 2: Revenge, Wayward - Volume 6: Bound to Fate, Yellow Blue Gray & White Omnibus

d. emerson eddy asks himself regularly, “How did I get here?” This is not his beautiful house. This is not his beautiful wife.

#This Week in Comics

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