‘BOB DYLAN HAS ALWAYS REJECT ED HIMSELF'

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Just like a woman

All the big stars want to be in his films, and in his newest work, a Bob Dylan biopic, of sorts, he lets them. Kaleem Aftab meets American auteur Todd Haynes

odd Haynes is an artist who knows about shedding skirts. The director originally came to prominence as part of the New Queer ('inema movement. a group that reacted to the arrival of AIDS by making films that investigated its itnpact on gay America. Now. two decades on from his outrageous debut. .S'upers'lur: ’l‘lte Kore/t (or/renter .S'roijv. Haynes has established himself as one of the most intriguing of US directors with filtns. l'elver (iolr/mote. Sole. Poison and For From Heaven. The 46—year-old has just created his most ambitious

project to date. a biopic (if it can be called thatl of

Bob Dylan called I’m Not There. The title is a

reference to the bootleg recording of the l‘)(i7 song of

the same name as well as the iconic folk singer. who is not seen in the film but heard on the soundtrack. Instead actors Ben \Vhishaw'. (‘hristian Bale ttw icel. Richard Gere. Heath Ledger. and. most memorably. Cate Blanchett portray interpretations of [)ylan from different periods of his life. .-\dding conl'tision to perplexity. none of these characters is called Bob Dylan and the stories are woven together in a non-

linear fashion. lt's likely that not even Dylan himself

would get all of the references (cinematic or otherwise) that Haynes brings to his work and life. All this makes it all the more remarkable that Haynes has fashioned such a line film that is in the traditions of late btls and early 7()s cinema from Godard's .lluseuliit Feminiit to .\'ic Roeg's Performance. Haynes argues that it's not important that everyone gets all the references and that audiences are far more sophisticated than they‘re

50 THE LIST 13 Dec COT—J Jan 33%?

given credit for. ‘:\udiences are alwa}‘\. even on cable TV. flipping around and looking at pieces of things. little fragments of this movie or that moy ie. and they can read these fragments very quickly.‘ he says. ‘l’eople know what hit of the movie narrative they are in by jttst seeing a sliver of the action.‘

He goes on: ‘We're reading culture in a very different way v there is no beginning and end anymore. Things are scrambled and the internet has

only" intensified that potential and the ability for

people to be canny readers of culturef :\s for Dylan. Haynes argues he was the perfect

candidate for this jumping montage style of lilmmaking. ‘I think that Dylan‘s luckier than a lot of

people because he allows himself to reject himselff posits Haynes. ‘He allows himself to reject who he w as yesterday. That is hard for people to do. but ultimately l)ylan is confronted with the same human failings and romantic disappointments and ft'tistrations that everybody does experience.’

.-\ lift of the press for the film has littc‘tlsctl on the fact that it is a woman 7 (’ate Blanchett lpicturedl who most looks like Dylan. Haynes claims he was not trying to simply grab headlines w hen choosing actors: ‘I picked some great actors to be in the film. but in

some cases I also picked movie stars. That was part of

it. because I was dealing with someone who is intensely famoUs. who belongs to the old school and who is this larger than life figure. so it all made sense to use different people and stars like Richard Gere.’

I’m Not There, selected release from Fri 21 Dec.

* Silent Light Austerity and madness make perfection in Mexican filmmaker Carlos Battle in Heaven Reygados’ religious community saga. Cameo. Edinburgh, out now; GFT. Glasgow, from Fri 28 Dec.

* I’m Not There Todd Haynes' much antiCIpated film about Bob Dylan. See interview. left and Also Released. page 54. Selected release from Fri 21 Dec.

* The Kite Runner Engaging coming of age stOry set in Afghanistan based on Khaled Hosseini's bestselling novel. See review. page 52. General release from Wed 26 Dec.

* The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Brilliant epic Western. General release. * It’s a Wonderful Life Evergreen Christmas classic gets a digital re-release. See review. page 51. GFT. Glasgow, from Fri 74 Dec Cameo. Edinburgh, from Fri 21 Dec.

=i< Princesses Gritty. unsentimental but humorous drama about the lives of two prostitutes eking out a living in Madrid from Spain's answer to Ken Loach Fernando Lebn Aranoa (Mondays in the Sun). See review. page 52. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 14—Mon 17 Dec. * Les Chansons d’Amour Christophe Ma Mere Honore‘s postmodern take on Jacques Demy's classic musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. A delight. See review, page 51 and profile. page 53. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh and selected release. * Once Lovely Dublin-set musical comes back by popular demand. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 14-Wed 79 Dec.

* Society Brian Yuzna's insane satirical 1989 horror gets a decent DVD release. See review, page 55. Out now (Tartan).

* Breaking News Rip-roaring 2004 Hong Kong-set thriller from master action director Johnnie To finally surfaces in the UK on DVD. See review. page 55. Out Mon 1 Jan (Tartan).