River of Fundament

Last updated
River of Fundament
River-of-fundament.jpg
Film poster
Directed by
Written byMatthew Barney
Based on Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPeter Streitmann
Music byJonathan Bepler
Production
company
Laurenz Foundation
Release date
February 12, 2014 (United States)
Running time
330 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

River of Fundament is a 2014 operatic experimental film written and directed by American contemporary artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney, and co-directed by longtime collaborator Jonathan Bepler. It was produced by Barney and the Laurenz Foundation, and is loosely based on American author Norman Mailer's 1983 novel Ancient Evenings . The film features Barney, Dave Bald Eagle, Milford Graves, John Buffalo Mailer, Ellen Burstyn, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Madyn Greer Coakley, Paul Giamatti, Shara Nova, Joan La Barbara, Elaine Stritch, Debbie Harry and Aimee Mullins.

Contents

Background

River of Fundament was produced over 2007 to 2012, being the final product of a series of performances that accumulated into becoming the film's narrative. The film follows Norman Mailer (played by three actors over the course of the film) as he travels through three reincarnations, enduring the seven mythological states of his soul, loosely based on his own novel, Ancient Evenings (1983). [1] Along with the main narrative, it includes other elements from performance, sculpture, and opera. It has been described as a "eulogy for Mailer". [2]

The film was released on February 12, 2014 in a limited theatrical release and through exhibitions at museums in several countries.

Narrative and cast

Writer Norman Mailer, becoming a protagonist of his own, reincarnates three times during and after his wake into three separate bodies, each portrayed in succession by Dave Bald Eagle, Milford Graves, and Mailer's son John Buffalo Mailer, the last failing to survive through the womb and body of his wife, Hathfertiti (a character in Ancient Evenings). With each reincarnation, he wakes up in a river of feces running beneath his Brooklyn Heights apartment, where a funeral gathering is also being hosted. [1]

Simultaneously, Mailer's body is represented as three generations of American cars: a 1967 Chrysler Crown Imperial (referencing Barney's Cremaster 3 ), a 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am and finally a 2001 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. All three cars are transmogrified through modern industrial processing and recycling to symbolize the regeneration and reincarnation of Mailer. [1] Through this, the narrative also incorporates American car dealerships, drum and bugle corps, "stomp teams", American performance artist James Lee Byars' piece "The Death of James Lee Byars", Los Angeles culture, the Brooklyn Navy Yard and alchemy. [1]

Hathfertiti is variously portrayed by Ellen Burstyn, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Madyn Greer Coakley at different stages of her life. Paul Giamatti portrays Ptahhotep (another character in Ancient Evenings). Joan La Barbara portrays Mailer's real-world widow. Elaine Stritch portrays a eulogist, while Debbie Harry portrays a singing guest at the wake. Shara Nova portrays Lieutenant Worden. Aimee Mullins and Barney portray the Egyptian Gods Isis and Osiris respectively. The pornographic actor Bobbi Starr appears as a garage manager, and Lila Downs appears as a ranchera singer. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalai Lama</span> Tibetan Buddhist spiritual teacher

Dalai Lama is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso, who lives as a refugee in India. The Dalai Lama is also considered to be the successor in a line of tulkus who are believed to be incarnations of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pembrokeshire</span> County and historic county in Wales

Pembrokeshire is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park occupies more than a third of the area of the county and includes the Preseli Hills in the north as well as the 190-mile (310 km) Pembrokeshire Coast Path.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doppelgänger</span> Person who very strongly resembles another

A doppelgänger, doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Mailer</span> American writer (1923–2007)

Nachem Malech Mailer, known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, playwright, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least one in each of the seven decades after World War II.

<i>Maude</i> (TV series) American television series 1972–1978

Maude is an American sitcom television series that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972, until April 22, 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Llorona</span> Ghost legend in Latin American folklore

La Llorona is a Mexican mythical vengeful ghost who is said to roam near bodies of water mourning her children whom she drowned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Gyllenhaal</span> American actress, producer, and director (born 1977)

Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal is an American actress, director, writer, and producer. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Achs, and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

<i>The Cremaster Cycle</i> 1994 American film

The Cremaster Cycle is a series of five feature-length films, together with related sculptures, photographs, drawings, and artist's books, created by American visual artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney.

<i>The Naked and the Dead</i> 1948 novel by Norman Mailer

The Naked and the Dead is a novel written by Norman Mailer. Published by Rinehart & Company in 1948, when he was 25, it was his debut novel. It depicts the experiences of a platoon during World War II, based partially on Mailer's experiences as a cook with the 112th Cavalry Regiment during the Philippines Campaign in World War II. The book quickly became a bestseller, paving the way for other Mailer's works such as The Deer Park, Advertisements for Myself, and The Time of Our Time. He believed The Naked and the Dead to be his most renowned work. It was the first popular novel about the war and is considered one of the greatest English-language novels. It was later adapted into a film in 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Barney</span> American contemporary artist

Matthew Barney is an American contemporary artist and film director who works in the fields of sculpture, film, photography and drawing. His works explore connections among geography, biology, geology and mythology as well as themes of conflict and failure. His early pieces were sculptural installations combined with performance and video. Between 1994 and 2002, he created The Cremaster Cycle, a series of five films described by Jonathan Jones in The Guardian as "one of the most imaginative and brilliant achievements in the history of avant-garde cinema." He is also known for his projects Drawing Restraint 9 (2005), River of Fundament (2014) and Redoubt (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elaine Stritch</span> American actress (1925-2014)

Elaine Stritch was an American actress, known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, musicals, feature films and television series. Stritch was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1995.

James Lee Byars was an American conceptual artist and performance artist specializing in installations and sculptures, as well as a self-considered mystic. He was best known for his use of personal esoteric motifs, and his creative persona that has been described as 'half dandified trickster and half minimalist seer'.

<i>Presumed Innocent</i> (film) 1990 film by Alan J. Pakula

Presumed Innocent is a 1990 American legal thriller film based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Scott Turow. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, and written by Pakula and Frank Pierson, it stars Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raúl Juliá, Bonnie Bedelia, Paul Winfield and Greta Scacchi. The film follows Rusty Sabich (Ford), a prosecutor who is charged with the murder of his colleague and mistress Carolyn Polhemus (Scacchi).

<i>An American Dream</i> (novel) 1965 novel by Norman Mailer

An American Dream is a 1965 novel by American author Norman Mailer. It was published by Dial Press. Mailer wrote it in serialized form for Esquire, consciously attempting to resurrect the methodology used by Charles Dickens and other earlier novelists, with Mailer writing each chapter against monthly deadlines. The book is written in a poetic style heavy with metaphor that creates unique and hypnotising narrative and dialogue. The novel's action takes place over 32 hours in the life of its protagonist Stephen Rojack. Rojack is a decorated war-hero, former congressman, talk-show host, and university professor. He is depicted as the metaphorical embodiment of the American Dream.

<i>The Western Lands</i> 1987 novel by William S. Burroughs

The Western Lands is a 1987 novel by William S. Burroughs. The final book of the trilogy that begins with Cities of the Red Night (1981) and continues with The Place of Dead Roads (1983), its title refers to the western bank of the Nile River, which in Egyptian mythology is the Land of the Dead. Inspired by the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Burroughs explores the after-death state by means of dream scenarios, hallucinatory passages, talismanic magic, occultism, superstition, and his characteristic view of the nature of reality.

<i>Maidstone</i> (film) 1970 film by Norman Mailer

Maidstone is a 1970 American independent film drama written, produced and directed by Norman Mailer. It stars Mailer, Rip Torn and Ultra Violet. The film concerns famous film director Norman Kingsley, who runs for president while a group of friends, relatives, employees and lobbyists gather to discuss possible assassination plots against him. While producing his latest film about a brothel, Kingsley's brother Raoul continues to cling to him for his money.

<i>Ancient Evenings</i> 1983 historical novel by Norman Mailer

Ancient Evenings is a 1983 historical novel by American author Norman Mailer. Set in ancient Egypt and dealing with the lives of the characters Menenhetet One and Meni, the novel received mixed reviews. Reviewers noted the historical research that went into writing it and considered Mailer successful at conveying the nature of ancient Egyptian life. However, they also criticized the novel's narration and questioned its literary merit. Ancient Evenings has been compared to the work of the poet James Merrill and the novelist Thomas Pynchon, as well as to Mailer's novel Harlot's Ghost (1991). Some have suggested that its opening passage is its strongest part. Ancient Evenings served as an inspiration for the artist Matthew Barney's operatic film River of Fundament (2014).

Iron Jacket (Puhihwitsikwasʉ) was a Native American War Chief and Chief of the Comanche Indians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harap Alb</span>

"Harap Alb" or "Harap-Alb" is the protagonist as well as the title of a Romanian-language fairy tale by Ion Creangă, known in full as Povestea lui Harap Alb. He is the youngest of three princes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Atkinson (actor)</span> English actor

Frank Atkinson was an English actor and writer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Barney, Matthew. "Synopsis". River of Fundament. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  2. Benns, Sway (September 16, 2015). "This 6-Hour Film Will Test Your Patience, Thirst, and Expectations for Art". Vanity Fair . Retrieved May 21, 2018.