By Alan Rogers in London
I used to work with someone who lamented time between beers by saying ‘A man is not a camel’. A very different inference to your analogy.
The reference to ‘Snitch’ (Notes from a Funeral) first had me puzzled. I tried to find these plausible titles to no avail. I was guessing it was a poem you had published; You have mentioned (before) drug dealers in your town (one of which was your father), you have mentioned his rival being a pedophile that (I think) you said you had sex with? I might be wrong. I think I remember you saying about people who were in jail and due for parole before… I might be adding two and two and making five here, we never knew why the man/men were in jail, surmising on my part being something to do with pedophilia or drugs. You have mentioned that you kept the police busy at times but again this was hinted at being a sexual thing. Keeping secrets is a repeated paradigm. There have been falling out with girlfriends. Chairs thrown. Arrests made. I am a useless archivist. I have nothing to index events here in my brain.
Then (without wishing to provide spoilers) you hint this is a future episode.
Your self confessed ‘non-linear’ storytelling can do this to me at times. I struggle with the whole ‘Pulp Fiction’ style narrative. Starting at the end and working towards the beginning before concluding with a reprise at the end. But your films are not episodical. There can be (understandably in some cases) many weeks or even months between updates. The tales when we get them are small windows into a clearly very vast world, and sometimes the steaminess of your art gives an opaqueness to the window too.
I have commented on the change in style of your films before. This is a good thing; you have evolved as a filmmaker, and the journey has been rewarding. However the narrative sparks between sexual confessions, tributes to your heroes, fighting to keep the project alive, and stories of the dark underbelly of society from which you emerged. To keep all that in mind when first tuning into your films requires a recollective mindset far superior than mine, but this is clearly an ‘underbelly’ story.
The film itself bristles with nervous energy almost normalising the violence it hints at.
ROLL FILM
Film starts with an unseen hand writing on paper using an ink pen. The words ‘I fucking…..spongy toad….spotted measle’ , followed by ‘you big smelly bitch’, followed by ‘rabbit fuckers’ (underlined), and finally ‘piss’ and some words that are blurred and indecipherable along with the word ‘whore’ being written, all seen without context as to what they refer to in quick succession. Although they are being written by an adult hand, the words are perceptively childish insults.
In the background we hear a clock ticking.
We see a letter being dropped into a UK style postbox, and through a UK style letterbox in a door onto a waiting mat indoors. Then we see a woman staring at a front door with the words ‘Die Slut’ written on it. Followed by the ‘Australia Post – proud sponsors of Missy Jubilee films’ clip.
The inference here is that someone is writing insulting letters to Missy who is the victim of abuse.
A woman calls ‘in three….two…one…action’ and the opening of ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’ by Bon Jovi starts to play.
We see a man in silhouette framed between red curtains against a bright sunlit window he is topless and smoking a cigarette.
We see a woman standing unsmiling having her mug shot taken at a police station.
We see a body being put into an ambulance. The body is covered meaning the person is dead.
We see a coffin covered with flowers, seen from above moving on a conveyor belt towards presumable cremation.
We see a rave with young people dancing looking and smiling at a man in day-glo jacket and hat. We see a man with capped silver teeth putting on sunglasses.
An unseen woman says the words: ‘He’s got himself involved with some shady people’
We see an old fashioned analogue telephone, the music stops and we hear it is ringing. The ringing stops. Fade to Black.
We hear David Bowie say the words:
‘Never play to the gallery (laughs). I think. But you never learn that, until much later on I think. But never work for other people, in what you do. Always, Always remember that the reason you initially started working was there was something inside yourself that you felt.
I KNEW SOMETHING THAT I SHOULDN’T, BECAUSE OF THAT, I HIDE
YOU WERE BORN TO BE BAD, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, YOU ARE DEAD
I DON’T THINK IT’S WORKING WELL FOR EITHER OF US
-MISSY JUBILEE ‘SNITCH’ (NOTES FROM A FUNERAL)
TITLES
DAVID BOWIE ON CAREER CHOICES
Cut to David Bowie being interviewed, colour washed, slightly grainy, Bowie looks younger here. I would say it was recorded in the 1980 to 1990 period: he continues…
‘That if you could manifest it in someway you would understand more about yourself, and how you co-exist with the rest of society, and if…the other thing I would say is that if you feel safe in the area that your working in…your’e not working in the right area.’
This seems like a reference to the early films of your project where you made a similar statement saying that the project was to discover who you really were, and try and resolve your own questions on the decisions that took you to where you are now.
Cut to view of woman seated at a dressing table the mirror of which is surrounded by lights (as in a theatre dressing room) the backdrop is a huge red curtain in an arched alcove. The shot is from behind and there is a Wes Anderson style symmetrically framing. The woman plays with her hair as the camera zooms towards the back of her head.
Cut to the word ’SNITCH’ stencilled in grey on black and a crashing sound.
Cut to view of hands chained to a ceiling. We hear the muffled discomfort of the woman in chains, she is obviously in pain. The chains rattle as she struggles. The colour palette is greenish.
AN UNDERCOVER ODYSSEY INTO A VERY UNSAFE WORLD
COMING SOON
Cut to view of ceiling. We see fluorescent light going past. The colour palette has not changed.
Cut to trousered feet dangling a few inches above the ground. They wave around showing the person is struggling.
Cut to black.
Unseen woman: ‘Is this real?’
Unseen man: ‘This is real’
DO NOT CARRY A BIG STICK
UNLESS YOU’RE EXPECTING TO MEET AN ANGRY CAMEL
-OLD ARABIC PROVERB
Unseen woman (whispering): ‘how can I be sure?’
Cut to handheld shot of Missy Jubilee. She is dressed in a flying jacket and baseball hat over Red T shirt and jeans. The camera zooms into her unsmiling face as she looks away. We see here nervously moving about, stealing sometimes nervous glances at the camera. Her eyes dart as if she is processing thoughts. The following dialogue has been lip-synched to make as if it is Missy talking, although it is not in her voice:
MORE TITLES
Woman: ‘you can’t keep blaming yourself what happened’
‘Somethings happening that I don’t understand’
(Nervous panting)
‘I keep having these dreams’
‘These dreams are so vivid’
‘And yet, they’re connected to something real’
‘Something in me’
‘Those people, things, they’re getting worse’
Man: ‘How come, everyone’s turning except you?’
We see a gunshot effect showing Missy’s eyes exploding.
Cut to desert scene
Unseen man: ‘life is a series of little loyalty tests…you have to make a choice…who to follow…and who to trust….’
PART 1: THE STORY BEHIND ‘SNITCH’
Unseen Woman: ‘You ok?….is something else going on?’
‘They’re all hiding shit’
IF ONE COMMITS THE ACT OF SODOMY WITH A CAMEL
THE CAMEL’S MILK IS THEN CONSIDERED TO BE IMPURE
IT MUST BE KILLED AND BURNED
AND BURIED IN THE DESERT
I have questions. The milk production would insinuate the camel is female, so why sodomy? Also, surely camels are a huge commodity, why would you fuck it and then kill it, then burn it? Is this an Australian thing? I know there are camels in the Australian desert.
We see a man in a white jacket, shirt and black trousers. He is wearing sunglasses. He looks to be around 50 to 60 years old. He looks out of place in the desert. He lights a cigarette, then glances at a camel shaped mound covered in scrub nearby.
Man: ‘meeting in the middle of the desert always made me nervous. It’s a scary place. I knew about the holes in the desert of course, and everywhere I looked there could have been a hole.’
Cut to Naked Missy. Renegades by X Ambassadors starts to play. Missy’s naked torso is seen but not her face. Orange palette. Blinded by the sun until Missy leans forward to create shade through her long blonde hair.
FILM 214 ‘SNITCH’ IS BASED ON TRUE EVENTS
THOSE EVENTS SPAN 20 YEARS, ENDING IN 2024
’SNITCH’ IS A STUDY OF HOW LOOSE ASSOCIATIONS
CAN MORPH AN EROTIC FILM PROJECT
INTO A PSYCHO SEXUAL CRIME DOCUMENTARY
You have set the scene nicely here.
I WROTE DOWN A LIST OF THINGS I WOULD NEVER DO
BECAUSE IT IS POSSIBLE THAT NEXT YEAR
I WILL DO THEM
I WROTE DOWN A LIST OF THINGS I WOULD NEVER BELIEVE
BECAUSE IT IS POSSIBLE THAT NEXT YEAR
I WILL EITHER BELIEVE THEM
OR BE FORCED TO BELIEVE THEM
Veiled insinuation.
THERE ARE ONLY 8 PEOPLE
THAT KNOW THERE WAS A CONNECTION
BETWEEN THE MEETING IN THE JUDGE’S CHAMBERS
AND WHAT HAPPENED ALL THOSE YEARS AGO
FOUR OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE DEAD
THREE ARE IN PRISON
ONE IS HIDING IN THE DESERT, BECAUSE IN THE DESERT YOU CAN’T REMEMBER YOUR NAME
Quick maths, you are the one hiding in the desert.
ALL THREE MEN IN PRISON WILL BE PAROLED IN 2024
THERE ARE MANY THINGS I DON’T KNOW
BUT I KNOW A GREAT DEAL ABOUT IMPRISONMENT
EVERYONE HAS A PRISON THEY ARE STUCK IN
KNOWLEDGE IS MY PRISON
You know something about the crime that they do not want you to know.
THESE WERE MEN WITH A HARD-ON FOR VIOLENCE
AND NO SENSE OF RIGHT AND WRONG
I AM JUST A WOMAN WITH INCRIMINATING MEMORIES
THAT IS A CHASM
THAT NO AMOUNT OF SENTIMENTAL CHIT-CHAT
ABOUT SHARED IMPRISONMENT CAN OBSCURE
It is best that they do not find you.
KNOWING THIS, I AM DELPHIC IN MY SOLITARY CHIC
MY HAT IS TIPPED TO THEIR RESOLVE
TO DO WHAT WAS PERCEIVED AS NECESSARY
I AM COMPLICIT WHEN I ACKNOWLEDGE
THAT YOU CAN’T BE NEUTRAL WHEN FUCKING A CAMEL
NO-ONE SAW IT COMING
BUT WHAT THAT MEANS IS,
THEY CONSIDER THE PERSON WHO SAW IT COMING TO BE NO-ONE
Another veiled insinuation. I take this to mean that they may not see you as a threat.
I BECAME A PERSON
FOR WHOM THE EXECUTION OF A FRIEND
WAS NOT AN UNFATHATHOMABLE HORROR
BUT PART OF A PERSONAL BACKSTORY
Unveiled insinuation; the men killed your friend.
IT IS A TERRIBLE FEELING TO SENSE A THREAT COMING
THE NIGHTMARES I HAVE HAD
FENDING OFF THESE THOUGHTS
HAVE PROVED FECKLESS
You think the men will come after you.
THESE MEN WERE CRIMINALS
AND CRIMINAL ADJACENT PSYCHOPATHS
WEARING UNIFORMS AND TITLES
ALL LINKED BY HOSTILE INTENTIONS
AND THEN THERE WAS ME
Cut to black
RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS SHIT
The uniforms bit makes me think these were police officers….
Unseen man: ‘how do you think this ends?’
‘Not well’
Silence
Cut to desert scene again. The man is still there smoking his cigarette. The shot is from further away now and we see mountains in the distance. The man looks to his right. We see Missy laying naked on her stomach on a blanket.
PART 2: INVITATION TO A BEHEADING
‘Anew’ by Hollow Coves starts to play
THE EVENTS PORTRAYED IN ‘SNITCH’
ECHO THE THEMES OF THE NOVEL
‘INVITATION TO A BEHEADING’
BY RUSSIAN AUTHOR ‘VLADIMIR NABAKOV’
He of Lolita fame.
IT WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 1935
THE NOVEL TAKES PLACE IN A PRISON
AND RELATES TO THE FINAL TWENTY DAYS OF CINCINNATUS
WHO IS IMPRISONED AND SENTENCED TO DEATH
FOR GNOSTIC TURPITUDE
Not a crime, but a belief and moral compass. Nabokov is making a statement here.
CINCINNATUS IS DESCRIBED AS
‘A LONE DARK OBSTACLE IN THIS WORLD OF TRANSPARENT SOULS’
HE IS UNABLE TO BLEND IN
AND BECOME PART OF THE WORLD AROUND HIM
I feel you relate to this man.
ALTHOUGH HE TRIES TO HIDE HIS CONDITION
AND ‘FEIGN TRANSLUCENCE’
PEOPLE ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH HIS EXISTENCE
WHILE CONFINED,
CINCINNATUS IS NOT TOLD WHEN
HIS EXECUTION WILL OCCUR
THIS TROUBLES HIM
AS HE WANTS TO EXPRESS HIMSELF THROUGH WRITING
IN THE DEFIANCE OF ALL THE WORLDS MUTENESS
TO THE EVENTS THAT ARE UNFOLDING
What events? I have not read the book, sorry.
BUT HE FEELS UNABLE TO DO SO
WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW LONG
HE HAS TO COMPLETE THIS TASK
IGNORING THE ABSURDITY
AND UNCERTAINITY AROUND HIM,
CINCINNATUS STRIVES TO FIND HIS TRUE SELF
IN HIS WRITING,
WHERE HE ATTEMPTS TO CREATE
A BETTER VERSION OF HIMSELF
Echo’s of your project?
THE DAY OF CINCINNATUS’ EXECUTION
FINALLY ARRIVES
CINCINNATUS IS TAKEN BY CARRIAGE TO THE SQUARE,
WHERE THE TOWNSPEOPLE HAVE CONGREGATED
HE MUSTERS ENOUGH STRENGTH
TO CLIMB THE SCAFFOLD ON HIS OWN
IN THE ENSUING MOMENTS,
THE EXECUTIONER DONS HIS APRON
AND DEMONSTRATES TO CINCINNATUS HOW TO LIE ON THE BLOCK
CINCINNATUS BEGINS COUNTING BACKWARDS FROM TEN
IN PREPARATION FOR HIS BEHEADING
I can imagine the terror in the words.
AS THE AXE FALLS
HIS FALSE EXISTENCE DISSOLVES AROUND HIM
AND HE JOINS THE SPIRITS OF HIS FELLOW VISIONARIES
IN ‘REALITY’
HE HAD LEARNT A VALUABLE LESSON
THE STRONGEST PRISON
IS THE ONE YOU ARE AFRAID TO LEAVE
EVEN THOUGH THE DOOR IS OPEN
For who can escape what they desire?
‘SNITCH’ IS A PERSONAL HISTORY
OF MY TROUBLED TIMES
TIMES WHEN I WAS UNABLE TO BREAK FREE
FROM THE IMPRISONMENT OF EVENTS
IT HAD ME FACE THE ESSENCE OF ME,
AND I REALISED…
I HARBOUR GRUDGES, AND I AM OK WITH THAT
‘It had me face the essence of me’ – brilliant.
AN EYE FOR AN EYE. A PARABLE
I LEAN FORWARD
“YOUR EYES…THEY’RE SO PRETTY” I SAY
HE LEANS IN CLOSE
“DO YOU LIKE THEM?”
“THEY’RE SPECIAL PRETTY EYES” I SAY
HE LOOKS DOWN
“I’M GLAD YOU SAID THAT, BECAUSE THEY’RE YOURS”
I BLANCH “WHAT?”
“THEY’RE YOURS”
“THEY’RE MINE?”
“THEY’RE YOUR EYES”
“MY EYES? YOU HAVE MY EYES?”
“YES. DO YOU WANT YOUR EYES BACK?” HE ASKS
I THNK FOR A MOMENT
NO. YOU HOLD ON TO THEM. FINDERS KEEPERS.
Does this describe the fabled soul mate?
EYES WERE CREATED TO SEE EVERYTHING
BUT SOMETIMES
THE HARDEST THING TO SEE
IS THE TRUTH
IN A WORLD WITH ONLY ONE RULE,
THE STREETS OF MULLUMBIMBY
HAVE A WAY OF DEALING WITH SNITCHES
AND IT IS’NT AS PRETTY
AS BUTT-FUCKING A CAMEL
One wonders if you are the snitch or the snitch is buried in a hole in the desert…..???
Colours become inverted.
WERE ALL GOING TO DIE. ALL OF US. WHAT A CIRCUS
AND YET WE ARE TERRORISED BY TRIVIALITIES
AND EATEN UP BY NOTHINGNESS
-CHARLES BUKOWSKI / AMERICAN POET
Camera suddenly backs up, we see a cage, and finally the camera points at decking.
TO SOME PEOPLE,
BUKOWSKI IS AN OFFENSIVE ALCOHOLIC
BUT TO ME, HE WAS A LITERARY INSPIRATION
AND ONE OF THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The camera suddenly focuses on some driftwood, then someone’s hand and finally a blurred side of a face. It could be Max.
CHARLES BUKOWSKI ON DYING, DRINKING AND WRITING
Fade to black.
Fade to black and white grainy shot of Bukowski:
Interviewer: “You’re not afraid about death?”
Bukowski: “No…in fact I almost feel good at the approach of death”
Interviewer: “Why? You have a nice life”
Bukowski: “All thats ok, but you see as you live many years, things take on a repeat (to camera) is that ending?…(to interviewer)..are you ending?”
Intervewer: “no, no, that’s ok”
Bukowski: “Things take on a repeat… you understand?…It keeps seeing the same thing over and over again…the same substance….the same action… the same reaction..so you you get a little bit tired of life…so if death comes you almost say…ok baby it’s time…it’s good….so I, no, I have very little fear of death”.
Interviewer: “hmm”
Bukowski: “In fact…I almost welcome it”
Bukowski (animated): “It’s nice to die of alcoholism, it’s very glorious…but if you write dull shit, it doesn’t matter what you die from…(calm now)…alcohol is not a great thing…because you die from alcohol doesn’t mean you’re any good..you’ve got to leave some words behind…when you write, your’e words must go like this…bim bim bim…bim bim bim…bim bim bim…bim bim bim…each line must be full of a delicious little juice…flavour…there must be full of power…they must make you like to turn a page…each line must have it’s own power, it’s own feeling, it’s own juice, it’s own flavour….writing must never be boring…it must not bore the reader…the writer…it must not bore…anybody…you have to have juice in each line…each line must be an entity unto itself. Next question. For christ sake do you have another question?….(smiles)…drink some more scotch.
Intervewer: (laughs)
Bukowski: “it’ll cheer you up…enjoy yourself!…man….forget this interview….(reaching for glass of wine)…I like you as a person by the way….my buddy…you’re dutch or whatever you are..(clinking glasses)…or Belgian….we’re tough men together…through the horrors of life
Seems like a bloke you would want to share a whisky with.
Cut to black
Horse With No Name – by America starts to play
I’M NOT AFRAID OF DEATH
I JUST DON’T WANT TO BE THERE WHEN IT HAPPENS
-WOODY ALLEN
END
Are you scared? It seems a pointed question, but there is fear in some of these words. It is either your skill as a writer that you can create this illusion, or it is not an illusion at all and you write from a standpoint of insecurity.
The immortal character of Peter Pan says at the end JM Barrie’s novel ‘to die will be an awfully big adventure’ and I like the headspace where that comes from, but do not seriously believe in an afterlife. My gut instinct is one of a switch going off in the brain. If I am honest I prefer the analogy that Ricky Gervais makes in that he spent millions of years not existing before he was born, and that was alright, so what is the problem of not existing for millions of years after his death?
We are a product of nature, nurture and our own discoveries. Some light the world by giving us art (such as yourself). I am happy to point that out to you. Life is precious. You are precious. Do not give in to terror.
Look forward to the next instalment, remember… bim bim bim,