The Great Beauty.

“This is how it always ends. With death. But first there was life, hidden beneath the blah, blah, blah... It's all settled beneath the chitter chatter and the noise, silence and sentiment, emotion and fear. The haggard, inconstant flashes of beauty”.

One of the films mentioned in passing on my list of top bedbound viewings was the aptly-named feature entitled The Great Beauty (La Grande Belleza in Italian). I watched it way back when my toes had not yet touched the ground since the accident, but it has stayed with me in numerous ways beyond that single experience. 

Without going into its entire long list of accolades, Paolo Sorrentino's film secured the crème de la crème of foreign film laurels at the Golden Globe, BAFTA and Oscar Awards in its year of distribution, 2013. Although not a current theatre release, I write this as a post-dated appreciation in the off-chance that it has somehow passed under your radar. This ambitious and enthralling work of art provides an insight into the human condition and the world in which it inhabits with a vision that is somehow simultaneously opulent and understated. The director and cinematographer encapsulate both the smallest detail and the most overt statement of beauty and grace - from the introspective contemplation of fear to the extravagant classical Italian architecture, we are coaxed into revelling in life's passions and regrets with every turn of the protagonist through the rapturous crowds and tranquil courtyards of Rome. 

Jep Gambardella, an ageing socialite and celebrity writer of a single novel decades previously, reaches his 65th birthday with all the grandeur and debauchery expected of society's most seasoned party-goers. Yet behind this electric revelry is not only the desire to live but the desire to be valued; approaching their own irrelevance these sixty-somethings are desperate just to matter. The film follows Gambardella's own journey, via art, music, saints, parties and philosophies, in coming to terms with his past and his future, his friends and his foes, in order to free himself from the anxieties over his own destiny. With bitterness-tinged passion The Great Beauty follows an often surreal, dreamlike logic, which, combined with the glaring glamour and magnificence of each framed shot, regales a strange, vivid and eloquent tale of one man's search for himself.

NB: if you are in need of some inspiration for your next European city break, then watching this film will leave you itching to visit Rome and explore its decadent palazzos and hushed, hidden cloisters. Whet your appetite with some of the most iconic locations from the film here.  

Figure of skate.

With my confinement to six weeks of bed rest, I have seen my fair share of films. One which stands out is Dogtown and Z-Boys, a 2001 documentary directed by Stacy Peralta recommended to me by fellow mending friend Gerry (as many of my viewing choices are). The film traces the roots of skateboarding and its mastery as we see it today back to an area of Santa Monica called Dogtown, where a group of kids formed the Zephyr skate team (aka Z-Boys). Starting out primarily as surfers, they translated their passion onto the streets each day once the waves subsided and eventually took to illegally skating empty swimming pools in upmarket LA neighbourhoods. This spawned the style, outlook and techniques of skateboarding that we see today. 

As the director was part of the original crew, he combines footage and photographs from the late 60s/70s with conversations with his fellow team members 25 years later, as they explain the seismic effects their simple hunger to ride had on the action sport. They created cutting-edge moves, travelled the world, and sparked an entire cultural craze which is palpable in the vibrant footage and evident passion of this motley crew of street mavericks. It has a raw, infectious sense of attitude and innovation that bursts through the grainy but vivid photographs taken at the poolside, with boards and bodies twisted into elaborate shapes reminiscent of their surfing predecessors. Dogtown and Z-Boys presents the birthplace of a relentless urge to skate and create, and its transformation from subculture to lifestyle. 

"The greatest thing about it was that we were not the valedictorians of the school,  we were the guys who would have been chosen last to succeed. For some reason, by doing something that everyone said was a waste of time we ended up influencing kids all around the world." - Stacy Peralta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stills from Dogtown and Z-Boys

From these stills you can see that not only is their trailblazing obvious in the sport as it appears today, but also that the popularity and cultural clout of skateboarding continues to resonate in other areas - particularly fashion. Oversized tees, denim (ripped or otherwise), snapbacks, tube socks and trainers bring a little Californian culture from their streets to our shores to influence our style pretty much all year round.

 

 

We even see it in the less obvious details and hints of the grungy street vibe, including my go-to combination of sailor stripes, knee holes and kicks.

 

 

Photos via Tumblr, Pinterest

Seeing this skater influence in both candid street style and more subtle sartorial nods, it's also repeatedly relevant all the way through to ads and editorial.  

Daria Werbowy in Céline's Spring 2011 campaign by Juergen Teller

Aymeline Valade for the Icons Issue of Antidote by Jan Welters, 2012

Barbara Fialho for The Wild Magazine by Jeffery Jones, 2013

 

Kate Kondas for Elle Hungary by Zoltan Tombor, 2013

  

Miranda Kerr for Vogue Korea by Eric Guilleman, 2013

 

 

Photos via fashiongonerogue.com

From the humble beginnings of a few street punks to the feature pages of high fashion magazines, the style sparked by the Z-Boys' unwittingly powerful cultural influence reverberates in one way or another throughout many a discerning publication, wardrobe and fashion week photo op - whether you own a skateboard or simply a pair of tube socks.