The White Countess seems to have flown way under the radar when it was in theatres back in 2005. The first this author heard of it was a trailer on the Capote DVD, which itself was released in 2006. The trailer was intriguing, and since part of the purpose of this column is to bring attention to films that would otherwise be obscure, I checked out the DVD from the local library. Countess is an interesting piece of cinema. Among other things, it is the only film where you can see the late Natasha Richardson onscreen with both her mother Vanessa Redgrave and her aunt Lynn Redgrave.
In The White Countess, we find Todd Jackson (Ralph Fiennes), former idealist, diplomat, major part of the mechanics of the League of Nations, now jaded, bitter, blind (in the real, physical sense) in full retreat from the world in 1936 Shanghai. His sole remaining ambition is to open, in his words, his own “establishment”, the “bar of his dreams”, an oasis from the turbulent world outside. Also in Shanghai, but for radically different reasons, is the exiled family of the Russian Princess Vera Belinskya (Vanessa Redgrave). Their male relatives killed in the revolution of 1917, the Princess’ female relations, including one Countess Sofia Belinskya (Natasha Richardson), have been reduced to poverty. They merely try to survive, while desperately trying to find a way to obtain visas into Hong Kong where they hope to regain their former status.
The trailer for The White Countess is deceptive. It gives the impression that this film is one of those love-stories-torn-apart-by-tragedy à la Titanic. It isn’t. The real core of the film is Jackson’s establishment, The White Countess, which is both the name of the club and its ‘centerpiece’, Sofia Belinskya. While Jackson technically works as a consultant, his real profession is as an observer, a participant, and painter on the canvas of humanity in the bars and nightclubs of the city. This isn’t hyperbole. Though Jackson is seemingly unaware of it, his conception of his ‘establishment’ isn’t so much a business, but an idealized refuge from the world. A sort of utopic painting he wants to jump into for good. But paintings are static. Human beings can’t be. This is the story The White Countess is telling.
The unfortunate truth about The White Countess is that no matter how good it is, few films of this nature will ever be made. Why? No market. It’s not that films like this will have zero ticket sales. It can rack up dozens of nominations and awards (like Capote did), but by definition can’t be a blockbuster. The word ‘blockbuster’ originally meant a very large bomb that would destroy an entire city block. That’s the exact opposite of what Countess is like. Both Capote and White Countess have a subtle, understated directorial style that is the epitome of un-flashy filmmaking. They are about as un-blockbuster-like as you can get. Worse, the studios’ target demographic (teenagers and twenty somethings) typically don’t have the patience for films that one must absorb rather than watch so films like this are an acquired taste. Films like this may have a home on the art house circuit, but art house cinema often means limited rather than full release. The fewer screens a movie shows on, the less money it will make. Blockbusters mean $$$, $$$ mean studio interest. Lack of $$$, often means lack of studio interest. Sad but true.
The White Countess was the last film Ismail Merchant was involved with. Merchant was one half of the Merchant/Ivory partnership of Merchant-Ivory Productions. This production company was founded as a joint venture between filmmaker/ director James Ivory and producer/ financier Ismail Merchant. For a time the company became relatively well known for producing artsy, period pieces of which The White Countess is a typical example. Merchant died a few months before the release of this final film, so Countess was the last “true” Merchant-Ivory Productions film. The company has since been reorganized and produced two more films, but under different producers/financiers.)
The White Countess is rated PG-13 but the issue is not graphic violence or sex, but adult subject matter.
The following libraries in the Columbus area show DVD copies of The White Countess in their catalogues: Bexley Public Library, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Grandview Heights Public Library, Southwest Public Libraries, Upper Arlington Public Library, Worthington Public Library, and Westerville Public Library. Most local Blockbusters carry this title (here for more info.)
Comments