![]() He joins the family at the table, as Willis did for Coppola. “It’s like an act of faith,” Gray said, about granting Khondji the permission (and space) to work in this deeply personal realm. Both are part of a 20th century continuum, in which Gray placed his trust in Khondji to bring his and his family’s memories to life. The latter is even more personal to Gray, who based much of it on his own childhood upbringing in Queens in the early 1980s. ![]() That sense of the familial is something with which avowed Coppola admirer Gray imbues many of his stories - particularly, “The Immigrant” and “Armageddon Time.” The former was sketched from the memories and journal entries of Gray’s grandmother, who immigrated to the United States in 1923. The highest rating on this scale? A “Godfather II.” Coppola’s films are often family affairs, whether they’re about blood relations or their productions felt like family gatherings. An “Apocalypse Now” is an acquired taste. In a 2019 profile, Gray’s wife Ali explained that he often rates family meals in relation to Francis Ford Coppola filmography. “The Godfather Part II” sits close to Gray’s heart - and his stomach. Shades of this palette can be found in Gray and Khondji’s collaborations too: “Part of what Darius and I love to talk about is what part of the set not to light,” Gray said. Willis’ work on “The Godfather Part II,” in which he enveloped warm tones with striking darkness, springs to mind first and foremost. “We try to summon other works of art, and not try to verbalize it so much when we discuss it,” Gray said. “He’s like a friend you bring with you,” Khondji said.Ī layperson might categorize Willis and the aforementioned artists as the duo’s “influences,” but they don’t quite see it that way. Their common touchstones include 17th century portraits by Caravaggio and Rembrandt, the 19th century opera of Giacomo Puccini, late 20th century Polaroids by Carlo Mollino and, perhaps most vitally, films shot by Gordon Willis, who Khondji calls less of a direct blueprint and more of a guiding spirit. And it was really that way from the beginning.”īefore each film they work on, Gray and Khondji visit museums in whatever city they happen to find themselves London’s National Gallery, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and so on. So, painting is really the direct way to his heart, I found. And I think with him, the language always has to be as visual as you can get it. ![]() And composition of course, but color and, and light. “And then I wandered into the other side of the loft, and he was just sitting there staring at a Delacroix painting postcard that he had, literally just staring at it.”Īt this point in the anecdote, Gray affected Khondji’s French accent and thoughtful drawl - “ ‘Oh, James, hello, hello!’” - and remembered asking the cinematographer what he was looking at: “He said ‘Delacroix! Delacroix!’ Because he has a fantastic sense and eye for color. I don’t think he knew I was in the apartment,” Gray recalled. “I came up in the elevator, which was one of those lofts where the elevator opens into the apartment, and he was playing music. Rather than arriving at this process gradually, fine art was a key reference point from the moment they began to prep “The Immigrant.” While Gray ascribes great emotional weight to their partnership, his recollections of its genesis are amusing - in part, because he does a spot-on impression of Khondji. I wanted to share images,” Gray said of the duo’s collaborative process. They dream together, often without words, in order to lure the past into the present. Gray and Khondji have collaborated on three films to date - “The Immigrant” in 2013, “The Lost City of Z” in 2016, and “Armageddon Time” this year - but they don’t just shoot movies together. “I remember saying to Darius, the movie should be like a two and a half hour long dream sequence,” Gray recently told IndieWire. Rather, it’s an ethereal scene in which the father-son duo seems to float on air, becoming one with the great mystery. ![]() ![]() However, director James Gray and cinematographer Darius Khondji don’t present this climax as tragic. In “The Lost City of Z,”, British explorer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) spends decades searching for the fabled Amazonian “city of gold.” When the film reaches its crescendo, he and his son Jack (Tom Holland) are carried away by an indigenous tribe, presumably to their deaths. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |