From the Heart of the Crowd (Rough Cut)
Similarly to the second feature of his I saw (“Someone Else in the Evening”), Edgar Muniz’s “From the Heart of the Crowd” is about a woman in the middle of a creative and spiritual dilemma. This time, the woman is an author who is frustrated with the dog-and-pony show of giving interviews and trying to explain her work. For her next writing project, she goes to an isolated area to try and work, but as countless other films have shown us, it’s never as simple as all that.
With this fourth film of his I’ve seen, Muniz has continued to explore a subject that he’s finding countless variations on: the emotional journeys of people who are in the middle of a malaise in their life. That two of his films have centered on the creative struggles of individuals is perhaps inevitable; after all, the filmmaking process is all about struggle. Struggles to find the money to make a film. To schedule filming dates with actors. To find an outlet to reach people. And most importantly, to connect with audiences on an emotional level. It’s all about ups and downs that, in their own way, mirror the ups and downs of life.
The life going through ups and downs in “From the Heart of the Crowd” is Nina Wyeth (Cassie Ann Ross, who co-wrote the script with Muniz), an author and teacher. We first meet her at a Q&A session for her latest book, and the questions challenge her on her work, which is described throughout the film as “nihilistic” and “a downer.” She doesn’t see it that way; in fact, she’s very evasive when it comes to discussing her process, and the themes in her work. All she does know is that the interpretations of her work by others challenge her own. She appears to be a pessimist in a world of optimists; her work isn’t connecting the way she thinks it should. However, as she finds herself opening up to a stranger she meets as she jogs (Buddy, played by Muniz), one feels like she might be opening up for the first time to other points of view, and a more honest view of herself.
“From the Heart of the Crowd” may hit a lot of the same intellectual and emotional beats as Muniz’s previous films, but it feels very different from those films (“Rocks & Pebbles & Happiness,” “Someone Else in the Evening,” “On Parade”). His earlier work seems rooted very much in the style and tone of modern American independent cinema, but “Crowd,” which Muniz shot in black-and-white, feels closer to the European cinema of the early ’60s; namely, the French New Wave. (I also felt a little bit of “8 1/2” come through.) It’s a very drastic shift, but makes all the sense in the world for this particular film. Muniz really takes some cinematic strides as a filmmaker with this film, making me curious to see where he goes next.
The film isn’t entirely successful; there are times when it seems to meander narratively, which is especially problematic for an 81-minute film (at least it was that long in the rough cut I watched), but Muniz and Ann Ross drive the film through its lulls, and turns it into an enriching, rewarding experience.
**After watching the film, I wanted to get some insights from its co-writer/director, Edgar Muniz, whom I’ve become friends with beyond simply watching his films for Sonic Cinema. You will find his answers below, and he’s got some fascinating ones.**
Brian Skutle: One of the things I’ve noticed in each of the four films you’ve sent me is that they all seem to center around individuals going through a period of malaise in their lives. Of course, we all go through such times, but has it been a conscious decision of yours to focus on such moments, and how much of your own life has influenced such stories?
Edgar Muniz: All of my films are definitely personal. The period of malaise that you point out, in regards to the characters in my films, is very interesting to me. It’s obviously nothing new to personal cinema, but I never feel compelled to make anything that isn’t an honest and personal expression. I’ll admit that this approach doesn’t always make for very interesting or entertaining cinema and it can seem very indulgent, but I’ve learned to come to terms with that. I don’t have the natural talent to make one single masterpiece into which I can imbue all of the things I want to explore and say. I always remembered how Robert Altman said that his favorite filmmakers will spend their entire career essentially making one film. That always stuck with me because I felt the same way, and while I can’t compare myself to any of those guys I feel that this method suits my compulsive approach to filmmaking. If I’m not making a film that is emotionally difficult and brutally honest about any kind of malaise that I’m personally going through, I feel disinterested and phony. With Eva in Someone Else in the Evening and Nina in From the Heart of the Crowd I wanted desperately to expose my own fears and feelings of inadequacy. In On Parade, it was important to me that I be truthful about how presumptuous, arrogant, selfish, childish, and full of shit I can be as a man. As a filmmaker, I had no conscious interest in creating sympathetic characters or fully preconceived story arcs. I only wanted to be honest and I wanted to work with people that were also willing to expose those truths.
B.S.: As I point out in my review, your first three films seem very much rooted in the style of modern American independent cinema. However, what struck me about “From the Heart of the Crowd” is how a more European “New Wave” style came through, from the black-and-white cinematography to the use of music. What inspired this change in tone and style for this particular film?
E.M.: In On Parade, Someone Else in the Evening, We All Failed Daisy and other movies I made, I was only concerned with chasing performances; I didn’t want to risk missing a moment in the performances by dwelling on visuals, set-ups, and compositions. I naively compared myself to John Cassavetes and adopted the aesthetics of the early Ken Loach films, but that started to change pretty quickly. Even though I didn’t suddenly want to start making experimental films or slasher movies, I did want to grow somehow. When I was planning to make From the Heart of the Crowd, I thought I might try a less frenetic approach – seeing as how it’s the story about a novelist taking a break. And I completely trusted my cast to create their characters based solely on a loose outline and a few sides – so I made some time to think about how to convey – visually – the inner life of Nina. But you’re completely right – the French New Wave and the films of Fellini were a huge influence – but I thought it’d be even more appropriate to emulate the styles and tones of those films because of Nina’s particular way of looking at the world and herself. I thought about the choices she might make if she could interpret her own story. I think she’d see herself as the Nana character from Godard’s Vivre Sa vie, or the Cabiria character from Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria, and even the Maria Wyeth character from Joan Didion’s novel Play It as It Lays – all romantic, desperate, but ultimately tragic characters. The black and white choice also came from thinking about how she’d see herself and the same way that Woody Allen’s character in Manhattan opens the film describing how he romanticizes New York and still thinks about it and sees it in black and white.
B.S.: In all of your films, Woody Allen has seemed to be quite influential. What other filmmakers, writers, etc. have inspired not just this film, but the ones before it?
E.M.: Woody Allen is definitely a humongous influence – not only in his themes but in approach and work ethic. I absolutely love his films! Even his worst films are more interesting to me than most films out there. Other really big influences are John Cassavetes, Mike Leigh, Chantal Akerman, Lynne Ramsay, Maya Deren, Hong Sang-Soo, Michael Winterbottom, Gus Van Sant, and Eric Rohmer. It’s always so fun to list people like that, but then immediately I feel anxiety about having listed their names in reference to my own films! Ha!
B.S.: Thank you very much, Eddie, for continuing to share your art not just with me, but with my readers who might begin seaching out films like yours after reading these reviews. I look forward to the next film from you.
E.M.: Thanks for this opportunity, Brian. I’d also like to publically express my gratitude to you for having been so supportive and honest with me about my movies. I highly respect your opinion and commend you on your talent. You’re one of a kind! Thanks.
