"Once Brothers", friendship, war and basketball

Once Brothers
Hard to think about something more dramatic and depressive than the civil wars on the former Yugoslavia. As a teenage naturally attracted to history and politics, I remember the need and will of being informed about that horrible conflict taking place at the heart of Europe and where mankind showed one of its ugliest faces ever. But I didn't know that many years after that tragedy ended, I was going to be so compelled by another take, intimate and very special, of the (his)story.

As a basketball fan I remember, vividly, several games from Drazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac as part of the incredible national team of Yugoslavia as well as their respective individual careers. As a Barça supporter, Drazen became the enemy being the star of Real Madrid, but it was impossible not to be mesmerized by his unparalleled talent, while Divac was always a personal favorite as part of the latest era of Magic Johnson's Lakers, plus the center of one of the most spectacular squads never played on the NBA: the Sacramento Kings. But I didn't know about their intimate bond, a friendship that together with Kukoc, Radja, made them unbeatable and brought them to the NBA, on a time European players where an exotic thing. And I didn't know about how their relationship ended either, when the war came.

"Once Brothers" is gripping, to the point of making unnecessary the gross outlining from ESPN channel (part of the “30 for 30” documentary series). The drama is the story. I do want to believe Americans are sensitive enough to understand the madness and nonsense of war to need the reinforcement of the drama with tricks like music or overcharged lines of script. Luckily the human tragedy here is too compelling to ruin the documentary because of bad direction choices.

Because "Once Brothers" is striking, utterly sad and deplorable, using the case of elite basketball players to explain the personal tragedies that war brings. Friends torn apart due to circumstances beyond their control. The love for a flag (hope that one day mankind will understand a flag is just a colored cloth) and a silly gesture on a moment of emotional burst transformed Divac and Petrovic into national heroes in Serbia and Croatia, therefore enemies while civil war exploded back home. Ethnic tensions that weren't a problem before surfaced to help ruining one of the most true and precious things we have: friendship.

Directed by Michael Tolajian, is quite remarkable how intimate the film aims to be. As a matter of fact, this is the personal voyage, emotional and physical, of Divac, also narrator of the documentary. From his perspective, we see all the meaningful places: the snowy Serbian town where he was born, the gym where the Yugoslavian national team trained, the hotel in L.A. that was his first home in the States, to Zagreb today, where Divac is still the enemy or at least a real stranger (that walk is so shocking, one of the highlights of the film). It serves well the purpose of explaining that friendship was never restored, because we all know how Drazen was killed in a car accident on 1993, just when he was achieving stardom recognition on the NBA (is also deeply touching to see how they supported each other when they were at NBA, immigrants isolated from home, specially Drazen, who had difficult seasons), and how Divac has ever come to terms with the death of a friend before they had a chance to reconcile.

Surfing the net I have realized how some wounds will never be healed. The hatred speech, from both sides, is still easy to find. The accusations and insults to Divac are recurrent. Same can be said about Drazen. Heroes and villains depending on which side are you on. Well, maybe is true. Maybe Divac made an anti-Croatian political statement with the flag on purpose. Maybe he was extremely naïve about the then exploding conflict and Drazen had reasons to be angry. But what I can see on “Once Brothers” is a grown-up man, 7 foot tall, sincerely trying to repair the bond with his friend, regretting all what happened. I also see/hear a young and then a grown-up Tony Kukoc explaining how Croatian players were intimidated, by their own friends and relatives, of the consequences of not severing all ties with Divac. Same applies to a puzzled but wise Dino Radja, admitting the fear and the damage caused as a result of it. These collection of revealing moments are better than any history lesson or detailed account on the conflict, showing the human face of the tragedy caused by war.

SCORE: 8/10

Best Books of (My) Year 2012

December has arrived. So, it's time to begin with the best-of-the-year-lists. Songs, albums, concerts, movies will follow, but I'll start with the books today. Here are my favourite 10 reads of this 2012. What a great year of literature (and music) this has been. Hope you like it!

10. Hollywood- Charles Bukowksi
The connection with the "Fantes" (John & Dan) made me come back to Bukowski. What a refreshing re-encounter this proved to be. Focused, fast-paced and amusing, his tale about the miracle that was that "Barfly" became a movie, might be, in my opinion, his best work alongside "Ham On Rye". Crazy, hilarious situations to describe the difficulties of mixing literature with cinema, portraying an industry with little glamour and much to be scared about, full of the strangest people in front of which a mature Hank can only laugh about. You'll do too.

9. Fante: A Family's Legacy of Writing, Drinking and Surviving- Dan Fante
As the prose of both writers, this Fante's memoirs will puzzle you, grab you and shake you as few literature can do. Monstrous, vitriolic reality bites, on which the heroes doesn't look too nice. A double life of self-destruction, one by selling himself, the other by trying to kill himself, that amazingly, were rescued by literature. It hurts, but it also redeems in its own, unique way.
 
8. I Was Bono's Doppelgänger- Neil McCormick
Watch the movie, but foremost, don't miss the book. Neil McCormick's biography is the story of a recurrent struggle towards an obsession: being a rock star. The failures of his bands, the Dublin and London music scenes, a pretty ugly portray of the music industry merge beautifully with hilarious situations, self-deprecating humour... always with increasing and (amusingly) excruciating shadow of U2. Fun, revealing and a must for the Irish band fans.

7. When the Nines Roll Over and Other Stories- David Benioff
The "emotional point of no return" is a recurrent, central element on literature, but there are few writers who are capable of capturing, dissecting that existential turmoil and bring it to us, readers, in the form of hilarious situations or devastating dramas. Whether the stories are, on the surface, mundane, or on the contrary, thrilling, adventurous, very peculiar, feelings and behaviours of the main characters are very recognisable. Modern adult life, in all its forms. 

6. Dreams from Bunker Hill- John Fante
A masterful writer in one of his finest hours? Indeed folks, this is the great John Fante giving us another dose of the impulsive and passionate alter ego Arturo Bandini, but this time in the form of a joyful satire of Hollywood, where our character involves himself on a never-ending collection of very fun disasters. Add an impossible love story. Add an Italian wrestler. Add the incomparably vital prose of Fante. And add the spectacular love letter to literature that is chapter nine. Precious read.

5. The Gonzo Writer- Hunter S.Thompson
The letters of one of my most beloved literary heroes? Reading was mandatory for me. But I wasn't really expecting such an absorbing reading. A person creating a character of himself while he struggles to make a living as journalist and writer, a creator of a literary style (more consciously than I thought), a father and a husband, and a politically committed person. Bitterness, wild fun, craziness, all together in a vast compendium of correspondency. This book would be topping the list, but it rates lower because Anagrama published just an anthology, a selection from the originals "The Proud Highway" and "Fear and Loathing in America". And that's is not enough for a real Hunter's fan.

4. Knockemstiff- Donald Ray Pollock
Hell on Earth could be in Ohio, specifically in this rural black hole that allows no redemption or mercy. A novel of a very specific place and a time on its own that could be anywhere. "Knockemstiff" is anywhere where there's no future, because there's zero hope for the present. Scary? It is. There are no lessons here, just the cruel and raw "reality". A mind-blowing and painful collection of stories. Read it with care.

3. A Thousand Violins- Kiko Amat
Novel? Biography? Compilation of essays? And much more. It is one of the most engaging love letters music has ever received. If your passion/obsession is music, this book is for you. This is an emotional and personal work, because that's what music is made of and produces on us, and because Amat deconstructs part of his life through songs and groups. So, even if your tastes in music are not very similar to the author's, it will connect with you. A very special one.

2. Everyone Loves You When You're Dead- Neil Strauss
More books about music topping the list. This time with an incredible, gigantic collection of interview snippets with some of the most well-known celebrities on music. Strauss makes art of every interview. "Everyone Loves You..." is not a full of surreal conversations, unbelievable situations, unexpected adventures or grotesque, absurd moments he witnesses or takes part on. Is also an outstanding task on deconstructing the minds of celebrities, showing, with very few exceptions, an amount of traumas, inner conflicts and difficulties of dealing with fame. Must-read for anyone, not just music lovers.

1. Company K- William March
And our number one is a masterpiece about the horror of war, that despite being somewhat neglected when it was originally published, and being written after WWI feels completely modern and fresh. That's because "Company K" is a triumph both in style and content, offering a devastating semi-fictionalized account of a military unit's experiences. Each chapter is a story on its own, very brief snippets of a soldier's life. And together they are the most mesmerizing account of what means being at war.

Want to check last year's books list? Just click here

"Company K", the horror of war

Company K- William March

War-books are quite a recurrent kind on American literature, a few of them being unmissable masterpieces that should be in every good bookshelf. Some personal favourites, together with the stories of Tobias Wolff, are Joseph Heller's "Catch-22", Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five", Norman Mailer's "The Naked and the Death" and Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried". And from now on, I have to add "Company K" by William March. 

"Company K" works impressively as a piece of WWI literature (seems it was very far from achieving recognition when it was published in 1933), but it cannot be constrained to a period of time. Because William March, an author who was also a veteran of the Great War, offers an outstanding, devastating semi-fictionalized account of a military unit's experiences. 

This incredible, merciless summary of war horrors also surprises in terms of structure, being a complex yet refreshing mechanism. From deployment to years after the war ended, the book is a fragmented collection of personal stories from each member of the unit (before being published as a novel, it was originally serialized in the Forum Magazine). Written in the first person, there are 113 "chapters" in which each soldier of the company tells his own story, from their very different perspectives. They are snippets, a very brief slice of their life, in their very lowest moment. But the sum of voices, together, by accumulation, creates a mesmerizing account of what means being at war. 

And the meaning is clear. War means horror. In this collection of war stories there's chaos, utter panic, desolation, stupidity, atrocities, cruelty, sadness, depression, frustration, rage, insanity. Forget about heroism, honour, patriotism or idealism. All can be summarized in the staggering final sentence of "Soldier Charles Gordon": "Everything they taught me to believe in regards to mercy, justice and virtue is a lie... But "God is Love". That's the worst lie ever invented by humans without any doubt". "Company K" shows that war is fuelled by our darkest instincts. "Each war is the destruction of the human spirit" we read appropriately from Henry Miller's quote at the very end of the book.

March's prose is straightforward, bare, visual, sometimes sardonic (and making me recall Yossarian and Snowden from "Catch-22") and always vivid. He has no time to loose in refinements or sentimentalisms, because he has so much to say, so many soldiers, humans to offer their perspective to the reader, to show how they suffered and how he acted. I'm still petrified with the unparalleled talent of March of saying so much in just a couple, three pages. And when he exceeds that length, it is just to "hit us" even harder. The "Manuel Burt" episode (which seems based in March's own terrible experience), the "Unknown Soldier", or the "Leo Brogan" ones are superb examples of writing precision as well as bold anti-war statements, so powerful and disarming as they come from the anonymous minds and throats of the ones who were there.

"Company K" is a masterpiece. A terrible one, but a masterpiece. Thanks to Libros del Silencio for "rescuing" the novel.

SCORE: 9/10

"Black Bread", the monsters of Spanish Civil War

Black Bread (Pa Negre, Catalan original title)

I had two enormous prejudices about "Black Bread".

The first prejudice was the suspicion the film was going to be another one on Spanish Civil War, a recurrent (usually bad and maniqueist, just remember who won the war) topic of Spanish filmography. But it would be a very unfair judgement to consider "Black Bread" as that. No, the film is a pretty disturbing analysis on the worst of mankind, setted in the harsh post-Civil war years' Catalan countryside. Its not about the war, but about the monsters war creates.

In that sense, the exploration of Spanish darkest hour, the film excels. The small rural town portrayed in "Black Bread", an oppresive microcosmos, is poignant, disturbing, sinister and merciless. From the brutal start (hard to remember an opening scene so shocking in Spanish cinema) to the knockout final scene, we see human beings completely carried away by the side they took during the war, with no sense of compassion or understanding. They live miserably, and behave miserably. The visuals and atmosphere director's Agustí Villaronga is capable of create are an outstanding achievement, with several powerful scenes, full of symbolism, in which he depicts brilliantly poverty, the open wounds of Spanish Civil War and the worst part of mankind. It puzzles you. It Hits you.

But then comes my second prejudice, the fear of being in front of another movie with "a kid". Unfortunately, that is the case. Because in my opinion, if "Black Bread" doesn't fulfill its promises is due to the starring character, Andreu, played with fierce conviction by Franscesc Colomer. First and foremost, because it was really hard for me to believe that such a small kid could assume and deal with everything that happens in the film, in particular with regards with his family. His knowledge, determination and quest towards the terrible revelations and lies the world of adults offers him is simply too much for a kid to understand. Won't say anything about the final scene.

And connected with the previous point, as the film is structured around Andreu's search, "Black Bread" becomes a somber, unusual, but at the same time somewhat typical (in terms of sctructure) adventure film where mistery has to be resolved. So there goes the tension scene where Andreu finds something upstairs, next scene he meets that important someone walking through the woods. The script, based on Emili Teixidor's book, at least the superficial script, is ages behind the power of visuals, the imagery, of the movie.

I understand the nine Goyas and recognize the values of subverting the usual Spanish Civil War film, and I applaud the magnificent artistical and visual work done by Villaronga and his crew. The power of "Black Bread" is unparelled in that regard. But it is an unsatisfaying work, mainly because the script wants to be many things at the same time.

SCORE: 6,25/10

"The Colour of the Earth", PJ Harvey a cappella

Ms Polly Jean Harvey keeps challenging us. Not only she has released the best album of her career, "Let England Shake", and delivered a powerful true statement about our world, even more poignant now that we are, involved in another war, but she continues to strike us with audacious videos. Directed by war photographer Seamus Murphy, "The Colour of the Earth" is a superb one. A compelling a cappella interpretation, leaving you no escape but to hear what they are singing. And it is definitely worth the hearing. The backbones of a mesmerizing song.



The colour of the earth that day/ It was dull and browny red/The colour of blood, I'd say

"Let England Shake", PJ Harvey's masterpiece

Let England Shake - PJ Harvey
NME gave the album a perfect ten. The average metascore on Metacritic (a website that summarizes all reviews made) rates the record with a phenomenal 88 (based on 35 critics right now). Its rewarding to see, for once, the majority of the "music scene" is recognizing the value of an album and an artist that restores the devalued idea that art (music in this case) should be important, should be meaningful.

"Let England Shake" its not just a new reinvention of Polly Jean Harvey, someone that simply deserves to be considered among the most important female artists music history has, due to her constant capacity of challenging herself while she creates a language of her own. Its also a reinvention of folk, connecting the traditional -"The Colour of the Earth", "On Battleship Hill"-, with the XXI Century -"Written on the Forehead"- a sound as rich as unique taken it as a whole. But its not just about what it means for a music genre. Far from it.

As the excellent review of Mike Williams on the aforementioned weekly music magazine says, on "Let England Shake" PJ declares herself as a "political animal". But she's not doing it by overexposing her opinions and sharing her vision about the current state of the world affairs. No, she does it by creating characters, stories and situations in her songs, going from a fictional individual to a recognisable universe of death, war and desolation. She brings us the past -Gallipoli- to unify it with the present -Iraq, Afghanistan- because she's not protesting against any particular crime or injustice -as all the wars are- she's revealing that England, and the whole world, has been making the same mistakes, committing the same atrocities, making violence a common pattern of world history. Take a look at news today, please.

To highlight the best moments of this record is a hard task. For me would be the desperate pledge of "What if take my problem to the United Nations?" in "The Words that Maketh Murder", the knock-out ending of "In the Dark Places", the poignant lyrics of "The Glorious Land" or the apocalyptic battleground described on "Bitter Branches". But even in the "riskier" moments -"England" goes a bit too far for my taste in the way she sings, or the reggae sampler in "Written in the Forehead"- is the record as a whole that works, is the enduring and compelling experience that "Let England Shake" provides to the listener. A genuine -and much needed- masterpiece.

SCORE: 9/10
The link to my article (in Spanish) reviewing the record, from the website I collaborate with: 
"Let England Shake", la guerra según PJ Harvey