Art & Authenticy

I looked at Michelangelo’s first painting and said to myself: “Thank God, he didn’t start out as a genius.”

It is clear that Michelangelo’s “The Torment of Saint Anthony” cannot (and should not) be compared to his much later work like the “Sistine Chapel” or “David.” It lacks the technical skill and the refined style that belong to an older and more mature Michelangelo. This first painting, however, brought out a whole new dimension to this brilliant Renaissance man that many overlooked. If  “The Torment of Saint Anthony” achieves anything, it definitely succeeds in portraying Michelangelo as an authentic and genuine person, simply because his first work is not a masterpiece.

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When one first looks at Michelangelo’s First Painting, it is evident that it holds two different scenes. The first scene, which is the background, appears to be a perfect utopian world placed in a serene environment. This contrasts with the second scene, which is at the forefront of the painting. Saint Anthony, the demons, and the rocks are all painted with more vibrant colors creating a chaotic image, which is juxtaposed with the calming background. Continue Reading »

Although Michelangelo Buonarroti‘s “The Torment of Saint Anthony” was based on Martin Schongauer’s engraving, I took away more from the painting than the engraving about good and evil. I see that even though both good and evil coexist simultaneously, as long as people remain confident and calm and resist all temptations, God, represented by nature in the painting, will help them. Looking at Schongauer’s engraving does not convey that feeling because it does not have a peaceful background and the calm expression of St. Anthony like Michelangelo’s. The contrast of the warm and cold colors in Michelangelo’s painting also contributes to the idea that horrible things can happen hiddenly and simultaneously even when the world seems so peaceful.

Michelangelo’s “The Torment of Saint Anthony” is much more than a colored version of Martin Schonaguer’s “The Temptations of Saint Anthony”. Key alternations and added elements allow Michelangelo’s painting to convey a feeling completely different than the one delivered by the engraving that it was based on. Continue Reading »

Souleymane Cisse’s “Min Ye…Tell Me Who You Are” is a rather repetitive film where the relationship between Mimi and Issa goes back and forth for 2½ hours. Mimi had shown a very interesting personality, which demanded the attention of both men in her life. However, her unfaithfulness had made me lose sympathy towards her throughout the film. Issa has become more of a hopeless romantic as he has given Mimi more than enough chances. I think of Mimi as a stubborn fool because even as others persuade her not to have a divorce and warn her not to play around, she continues her relationship with Abba. Even with Mimi’s strong character, the lack of something new throughout had me questioning what’s the point of this. Every twenty minutes of the film felt like dejavu. With just a difference in characters (addition of servants then lawyers then officials etc), the constant need for Mimi to cheat has been shown more than enough times.

So Souleymane’s Cisse’s “Min Ye…” was a production that destroyed all stereotypes I have ever made about independent film. It was long. I’m talking 2 1/2 hours long. That’s even long for a regular movie. Aren’t indie films supposed to be under-funded? How did Cisse have the resources to make the movie go on, and on, and on… Continue Reading »

Souleymonne Cisse’s stunning portrayal of the social instability in Mali truly captures the chaos of an unstable relationship between Issa and Mimi. Although both of them are liable for disloyalty and lechery, social pressures in addition to the insatiable desire for sex on Mimi’s part is what ultimately makes this relationship one-sided.  Social pressures in Mali are favorable for men. In the film, we can tell that no matter how wealthy and affluent Mimi is, Issa is still the alpha male of the household.  When you factor in Mimi’s adulterous mindset, the relationship truly spirals out of control and it will only be inevitable until that balloon will burst…

The complicated relationship in Souleymane Cissé’s Min Yè… (Tell Me Who You Are) between Mimi (Sokona Gakou), Issa (Assane Kouyate), Abba (Alous Sissoko), and Nassoun, which serves as a miniature of the polygamy system in Mali, leaves the audience an impression that the many problems caused by polygamy have no solutions. Mimi, the 52-year old rich woman, and the other wives of Abba fight over him just like a group of immature girls fighting over a dress. Continue Reading »

Min Ye (Tell Me Who You Are) opened to a colorful foreign setting. Because of this, I guess I had anticipated that there would be more substance in the plot. What I got was a redundant plot with shallow, one-dimensional characters. It was hard to see the focus of the play, is it feminist, or is it just another melodrama? The main character was trying to make a point about the injustice of polygamy by having a lover but her character became so childish that her argument was no longer credible. The ending to the 135 min. feature was what I had expected to happen an hour ago. What did the title have to do with the film? Min Ye was long enough to explain its title and its characters, so what happened?

Souleymane Cisse

While “Tell Me Who You Are” revolves around interesting topics pertaining to polygamy and feminist ideas, the writing made it difficult to understand the point. The movie was much too long and circular. It was impossible to feel one way towards the main character, Mimi, because she was made into an incredibly irrational character. In the beginning we feel very sympathetic towards her, because she seems hurt by the polygamist marriage she is in and she is attempting to assert herself against her husband. However, then she keeps going back and forth, crying consistently, screaming, and acting very childish overall. The amount of times that she left and went back to her husband, Issa, made it too dragged out and annoying because the movie could have been ended so many times and yet it didn’t. Lesson learned: longer isn’t always better.

New York Film Festival