“They Made Me A Fugitive” and “Aimless Bullet”
Noir City 21
Grand Lake Theater
Oakland
Jan. 23, 2024
Who knew watching films was exhausting?
If you’ve ever been to a double feature, perhaps you already knew. I had not, and did not. Thrillingly witty dialogue, drool-worthy costuming, and high-suspense scenes of anguish and threats of violence kept me and many others emotionally engaged, and in my case, left me physically drained.
Such was the scene at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theater Tuesday night for the screenings of They Made Me A Fugitive and Aimless Bullet as part of the 21st Annual Noir City film festival. The former is a 1947 British classic by director [Alberto] Cavalcanti (he is billed with just his last name in the credits), originally of Brazil and a part of the 1920s Parisian avant-garde film craze before settling in the UK to produce classic noir films. This one, as organizers and hosts Eddie Muller and Imogen Smith said before the films began, is an example of both the art and the people of the era.
As the program stated, “darkness has no borders,” and Muller encouraged us to “dig the darkness” of these selections, the second of which was “probably the bleakest we’ve ever screened.”
Both set in post-war times, the two films share a haunted part of humanity that still echoes today. The eponymous fugitive of the first is an unemployed veteran whose face looks far beyond his stated 27 years (he was “only” 34 at the time) played by Trevor Howard, and he is every bit the dark-horse hero we want. The women are important characters played quite masterfully by Sally Gray, (except for her final crying scenes, imho,) and Rene Ray, with very fun bit parts for Mary Merrall as Aggie and Phyllis Robbins at Olga, whose beautiful face walked so Karli Kloss’s might run. Narcy (short for Narcissus and believed by Muller and others to be connected to Churchill’s pronunciation of Nazi), played by Griffith Jones, is convincingly menacing and primping, violent and, well, narcissistic, though the actual actions of violence are heavily staged, almost pantomimed, feeling more like a theater production than the actions of truly bad man.
It was a genuine struggle to get myself back in a seat for the second act, though a trip to the bathroom (a long line for both men and women; are the men washing their hands?!) filled with chatter amongst guests (“it was so good!” “So dark!” “The aspect ratio was way off — they projected it wrong!”), and a popcorn and lemonade salt-and-sugar boost did wake me back up a bit. The first film had begun late and was listed at the wrong run time, meaning the second did not begin until around 9:45. Oof.
That said, Aimless Bullet was worth the chill and tiredness. Set in 1960s Korea, it was also focused on veterans struggling to reintegrate into society and their loved ones struggling right alongside them. As warned, it was truly bleak, but in a slow bleed kind of way — the shots are beautiful but hold darkness (and in some cases were actually a bit too dark to make out clearly for me), as do the people. All stretched to their wit’s ends, each makes choices that further derail their precarious situations and mental health, leaving devastation in their wakes. Despite the high drama and sweeping cinematography, it felt real and true, their tortures and plights and despairs universal and current sixty-plus years on. It also holds some local sentiment, as the first international screening of the film was in San Francisco in 1963.
Emerging to the street with a crowd of equally sleepy but satisfied viewers, I appreciated once more those who had taken the opportunity to dress for the occasion, as well as the large crowd committed to finishing a double feature at nearly midnight on a Tuesday.
More to come! Noir City runs through Sunday, with double features each day and multiple screenings on weekends. Tickets are $20.
