Steven Spielberg's DISCLOSURE DAY

  

Thus far, the Donald Trump administration decision to release previously classified information about UFO (or UAP as we are calling them now) sightings have turned up nothing more than black and white footage of fast moving points of light in the sky. It's true that the movements of these objects shatter our laws of physics, and personal, mystified accounts by pilots who have been eyewitness to these events makes us all ponder what the heck is out there. It's no wonder that the eternal question of "are we the only ones" in this vast universe keeps coming back to the forefront. Since these latest "disclosures" have done a pretty bad job of clarifying long-held secrets, and a great job of raising even more questions, it is up to Steven Spielberg to set the record straight. 

Listen, you unbelievers: Yes, there are beings out there who have visited the Earth! And yes, even some have crashed landed (despite their supposed superior aeronautics); and yes, the United States government has recuperated the bodies of extraterrestrials in Roswell in 1947; and YES, the government has also done a whopper of a job denying it all. In essence, this is the premise of Steven Spielberg's latest film Disclosure Day, a rollicking adventure chase thriller that explores the mythology of UAPs. What makes the movie irresistible is that this time around he never lifts the foot off the gas pedal. Luckily, the latest governmental releases may have incidentally drummed up business for the film. Trust me, it didn't need it. When Spielberg makes a movie about aliens you run to the theater to see it on the big screen. You don't wait for it to stream at home.

At the risk of giving away too much of the plot, the movie opens with Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor), a kind of whistle blower who has in his possession video drives of many UAP sightings and actual evidence of aliens. He is being chased by Noah Scanlon (a bearded, memorable Colin Firth -- looking a bit like an older Orson Welles) who heads the Wardex Corporation. He and his men are all dressed in black. That's all you need to know. They are, undeniably, the bad guys. 

When it comes to exploring the flying saucer mythology Spielberg, throughout his career, places its visual landscape right along Catholic iconography. You see it in the Sacred Heart of Jesus transformed into the glowing chest of the lovable alien in E.T. The Extraterrestrial, and in the welcoming spread arms of an alien in Close Encounters of the Third Kind -- a kind of redemptive crucifixion. In this film he continues this theological imagery through the character of Daniel's girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson) who is, not only a former nun, but during a memorable interrogation scene by Noah, she takes off her crucifix necklace and holds it so tightly that it cuts into the palm of her hand giving herself a stigmata worthy of St. Catherine of Siena or St. Francis of Assisi.

 At the heart of the story we find further religious allusions through the character of Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), a Kansas City TV weather announcer who one morning, after a Northern cardinal flies inside her apartment window, she begins talking in tongues (Russian? Ukrainian?).  In Catholic theology this red bird represents the blood of Christ, and is traditionally thought of as a messenger from heaven and a bridge between the earthly and spiritual realms. When she suddenly begins talking in an unknown language on live TV like Christ's apostles did on the Day of Pentecost, she becomes a wanted person by Noah, and thus ignites her run for her life.

But don't get the wrong idea: Disclosure Day is by no means a mere treatise on the mystical aspect of extraterrestrials. It is an exciting pre-summer movie in which Spielberg uses his mastery of pacing and slow disclosure to guide us through a story that visually contains many throwbacks to his past films, and even includes a train crash as a homage to the one in Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth, one of Spielberg's childhood favorites as we are led to believe in his autobiographical The Fabelmans.  

What about the aliens? Oh, they are there, but you'll have to wait a while to see them. Everything is explained, especially the mysterious Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), who throughout the movie is seen surrounded by people building what looks like a theatrical set for a suburban middle-class home.

The film concludes with a one word imperative. Maybe it's not the word I would have chosen, but it is clear that the meaning it tries to convey is that we must demand integrity and transparency from our government. Spielberg has always been a believer, and his films have shown just that, and he knows that his audience share in his search for the truth. 

Believe! At the risk of sounding like a Christmas advertisement for Macy's, maybe this should have been the last line of this exciting film. 

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE at the MET

Tristan und Isolde might be Richard Wagner's greatest work for the stage. A work inspired by the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer and his writings about mankind's insatiable striving. Since its creation, it is his most talked-about, most written about, and most dissected creation. The opera was born out of Wagner's ideas about transcendental love beyond death, and an episode of infidelity (Wagner had an affair with Mathilde Wesendonck, the wife of his Swiss benefactor). Its pioneering soundscape, so vastly different from the conventional opera of his time, led to countless volumes written about the dissonant chord found in the third measure of the prelude -- the so, called "Tristan Chord," -- a deviation from the traditional harmonic practice of Wagner's day that many scholars argue eventually led the way to the dissonance of 20th century music.

At a time when the Metropolitan Opera is facing a financial crisis, this new production is the kind of event that is actually filling the seats. The matinee performance I attended yesterday seemed to be sold out, and there was an energy in the house which has not been felt in quite a while.The source of that energy is soprano Lise Davidsen, who is singing the role of Isolde for the first time at the MET after taking it "on the road" singing it for the first time at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, a performance I also attended.

American director Yuval Sharon is responsible for the new production which is filled with perhaps too many complex ideas. It attempts to be a visionary look at the work, and oftentimes it succeeds brilliantly, while at other times you question his directorial decisions. One thing is certain, like the best in theater, less is more, and Mr. Sharon's best moments are when he keeps things simple.

 

At the center of his production is a tunnel, a kind of vortex where the main action is played. Aside from the fact that it is aesthetically beautiful and complex in all its permutations, it also serves as a kind of funnel-like speaker which throws the voices back to the house. Not that Ms. Davidsen needs any amplification which this set might give her, but it really helped tenor Michael Spyres in the Act II love duet, and in the difficult music of Act III. The same can be said about Ekaterina Gubanova, who plays Brangäne. Hers was the smallest voice in the entire cast.

At times, the vortex breaks into two parts, separating the main characters from each other -- perhaps foreshadowing the events to come, or maybe it's just an example of the technical wizardry the MET can pull off and Mr. Sharon is showing off.

Throughout the production there is a long table on the stage. Here, silent doppelgängers of the characters silently mimic the action that is being sung inside the vortex. For the most part, I found this multiplication of characters distracting during the first two acts. But in Act III it suddenly worked. On the stage lies the dying Tristan, being attended by Kurwenal (a rather boisterous and vocally strong Tomasz Koniezny), and inside the vortex Mr. Spyres sings his mournful longing phrases for the return of Isolde. These are the inner thoughts of a dying man, and the audience is made witness to his last moments.

The other trick in Mr. Sharon's magic bag are projections which fill the entire proscenium of the house -- and that's a really tall proscenium! I must say that the resolution of these projections are not the greatest. Perhaps in the future the projections of live events can be improved. Although when pictures are projected, the image is quite sharp. Sometimes the pictures can be outright silly. When Isolde and Brangäne discuss potions a projection of an elegant feminine hand holding an alluring vial appears. The image is right out of Coco Chanel or Cristóbal Balenciaga -- you pick your favorite perfume ad! 

But when the projections work dramatically, they are memorable. During the confrontation between Tristan and Isolde in Act I, the characters appear to be walking the razor's edge, a powerful image that brings back the violent back-story of this tale: the slaying of Morold at the hands of Tristan.

It is a production not to be missed, filled with interpretive ideas that makes for a rich evening at the opera. It is also a harbinger of things to come: Ms. Davidsen is slated to sing the role of Brünnhilde in the MET's new Ring production which will also be directed by Mr. Sharon. Let's just hope that the MET gets its finances in order so that these wonderful future events can happen.