Ham on Rye is a 1982 semi-autobiographical novel by American author and poet Charles Bukowski. She was 12, and now shes 18 going on 19 The fun little tidbit I like to say about working with her on these projects is that I only realized during the rehearsals, which was a months-long process, that the character of Haley in, is actually the same character as Poll Flowerpot from, , her curiosity always brings her closer to other peoplethats what her youth afforded to her. She flees. The Review of Contemporary Fiction. Now, as a memory growing more distant every day, all thats left is the dreamlike impressions of these places Ive loved so much and then abandoned. The next negative influence that Henry faces is from his mother since she is never really there for him and has no real connection with Henry other than being her offspring. Fontana, Ernest. Like for instance, one boy carries around this strange pig toywhich of course aligns with the films title as well as with another scene where someone refers to porking [as] the ultimate purposethat eventually lands in the hands of an older character, who discards it with some disgust. . This deliberately coy prologue begets the opening credits sequence (introducing characters with more close-ups of little details, like a tie being fastened or a nail being painted), which then feeds directly into the films real first section, where for about 20 minutes small cliques of seemingly high school-aged kids walk through various neighborhoods on their way to an unspoken happening thats eventually revealed to be a literal ceremony at the center of Taorminas debut feature. Ham on Rye makes no such assurances which of course makes it more honest, even if its oblique lessons will be heard by a tiny, tiny fraction of the number who navigated adolescence by the. I doubt if it would be published in modern times (first published in 1982). While its eventually seen that some of the kids have mobile phones, Taormina purposefully dresses his cast and designs their environment in a way that throws them into a sort of temporal never-never land. The unease is existential, as the fates of some of the couples make clear. The Dig - Greater Boston's Alternative News Source, Written by JAKE MULLIGAN Posted December 1, 2020 Written in Bukowski's characteristically straightforward prose, the novel tells of his coming-of-age in Los Angeles during the Great Depression. However, this thread would be disingenuous if I did not say that I identified so strongly with Hank. Taormina sets us in suburban America, among high school students, walking through a social ritual of conversation, dance, and food at a local deli. There's a girl called Haley who features more than most of the other characters, but mostly it just shows all the different kids. The rest of the movie wanders among townsfolk later that night, fixing our gaze on empty strip malls and loose social gatherings. Anyone can read what you share. You might even feel the anticipatory dread of the familiar: oh no, not another prom movie tenderly observed, with just enough acne-ridden raunch to give a little edge to its otherwise placid, complacent lament for childhoods passing not again. In my opinion it was like a "time to grow the fuck up" wake up call for Charles. "Ham on Rye" can be taken as an allegory for middle-class suburban life in America, but it's got added value as a potent mood piece, accomplished with a bare minimum of means. To most patient eyes, it will look like a gentle ode to those who seemed part of the crowd in high school, then simply didnt transform into the kind of adults their peers chose to be. 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Like his previous works, Ham on Rye is set in Los Angeles where the author grew up. Does Massachusetts Underestimate Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions? The air is often dead, even when people are ostensibly being social: Asking a question or making an observation is no guarantee anyone will say anything in reply. [2] The story takes place at home, at his different schools, at the doctor's office (for his never-ending acne treatments) and at various other locales around town. Its kind of about how you grow up and curiosityespecially curiosity about systems and societal functionsis not welcomed. 6 reviews. One also notices that while before the dialogue was ambiguously foreshadowing, now its ambiguously looking backwards (the way Lund put it is, in the second half the dialogue becomes more textural than expository.) And this all leads to a backyard cookout populated by a large group including some faces at least vaguely familiar to viewers of the millennial demographic: Lori Beth Denberg of All That (1994-98), Danny Tamberelli and Aaron Schwartz of The Mighty Ducks (1992) and The Adventures of Pete & Pete (1992-96), and Clayton Snyder of Lizzie McGuire (2001-04). His young people reveal themselves in their dress and facial expressions. And then some of them are magicked away, a process that happens here with a crude, pencil-eraser-style effect the whole film is drenched in old-fashioned stylistic flourishes, that somehow manage not to foreground themselves but create a mood of heightened ambiguity: long, slow-fading dissolves; abrupt sound edits; janky close-ups; and sudden, non-sequitur inserts, like of a father giving his son a manly, go-get-em pep talk. 49 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Ham on Rye. 4 [deleted] 2 yr. ago 5 (3): 6. 5 (3): 48, Fontana, Ernest. , and a screenplay that he co-wrote and hopes to direct sometime in the near future. Following a nocturnal tour of the now much-less-populated location (in a scene that for me betrays Lund's appreciation . Like a hoagie sandwich filled with meat and lettuce, thats a quintessential American suburban item., Over 100 Cast Members and No Permits: How I Shot, in Los Angeles, the films faceless neighborhood locations were stolen from various spots across that cityso for example. We learn more from the young peoples dress, groupings and actions than from the sparse and often inaudible dialogue. Discomfort rises to terror as Louisa meets Jakes parents, played intensely by Toni Collette and David Thewlis. But now, you see her curiosity throughout the first act of Ham on Rye, and what does it give her? Without giving away too much, lets say the rest of the plot recalls the great Shirley Jackson story The Lottery. But theres no overt horror element, or violence, here. Its late spring in the suburbs, and boys and girls of high-school age are dressing up not quite in prom wear, but in sundresses and ties and jackets, headed to some kind of event. Chinaski has been compared to both Frankenstein's monster and Kafka's Gregor Samsa, because of his alienation and outcast resulting from his "monstrous" appearance. However, he rarely is completely confident with his own abilities and often second-guesses himself. This interview with the Ham on Rye crew was facilitated by Lund, whose byline you might recognize from DigBoston itself. Enjoy them. When you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Bukowski's Ham on Rye and the Los Angeles Novel. And thats the beauty of LA: theres so many different landscapes to choose from you go two hours outside LA in any direction, and [you can find] anything., Which also helped because we were looking for a sense of the economic differences in the town, added Lund. As a prequel to Bukowski's previous novels, Ham on Rye depicts the origin and development of many of the reoccurring themes of his work as well as the persona of Henry Chinaski. Now, as a memory growing more distant every day, all thats left is the dreamlike impressions of these places Ive loved so much and then abandoned. Football is difficult for him, but he enjoys the violence that comes with it. Can anyone with expertise or understanding please explain? Jake tries to persuade Louisa to spend the night at the house. Inside the shop, the boys form one line, the girls another, music begins and, with hand gestures for language, the kids pair off into couples. Twayne Publishers, New York, 1997. p. 36, 39, 40. I dont get it. My writing partner Eric Berger was very, very keen on being as cryptic and removed as possible from mentioning what is essentially the basic premise of the film, explained Taormina, whos from Long Island and based in Los Angeles, during a zoom call that also included the films producer/first assistant director David Croley Broyles and its cinematographer Carson Lund. Filed Under: A+E, Film Tagged With: arts, Film, slider, https://digboston.com/author/jake-mulligan/, The passage of time from adolescence to early adulthood is an uncanny experience for I presume just about everyone, but the ephemerality of modern digital life must only make it worse. Twayne Publishers, New York, 1997. p. 36, 42, 43. He achieves a number of other startling effects in this impressive movie, which sheds its naturalism slowly as it embraces a surrealism thats both disquieting and poignant. Its kind of about how you grow up and curiosityespecially curiosity about systems and societal functionsis not welcomed. . Though of course Taormina can pull the episodes whenever he wants, or Youtube or Vimeo could take them down for any reason including none whatsoever, and then theyd be left to a small handful of hard drives, at most, where a random crash might erase them on any given sunday. I think in the first half the film is trying to make that same impression for the viewer a little bitall of this excess, all of this gravity thats applied to the mundane but ends up meaning so much [later on] that attention to the details of mise en scne was part of what made me interested in working on it. Director Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) ratchets up American gothic to psychological horror as he distorts time, place and relationships, scattering uneasy references to the musical Oklahoma, the film Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and poetryIntimations of Immortality. Louisa may be thinking of ending itbut Jake may actually be the one to end it after all! but that said, it doesn't really matter. As recently as four years ago the films now-29-year-old director, Tyler Taormina, maintained a website for his then-new webseries. Were not told when the film is taking place, or where the film is taking place, or even whats the deal with this big local event all the kids are moving towards. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Love all Bukowski work. Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions, and General Tales of Ordinary Madness, The Captain Is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship, Portions from a Wine-stained Notebook: Short Stories and Essays, Charles Bukowski: Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ham_on_Rye&oldid=1056996657, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 November 2021, at 20:05. As Mass Reconsiders Life Without Parole For 18 To 20-year-olds, Will Race Matter? By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. I think you could read Ham on Rye along those exact linesits not cute anymoreand come away with a pretty fair understanding of the film. Like Henry, the rest of the Chinaskis are modeled after Bukowski's own family. 0:00 / 1:45 Ham on Rye Theatrical Trailer Factory 25 618 subscribers Subscribe 247 Share 33K views 2 years ago "Ham on Rye has the uncanny echo of a disturbing real-life dream. , . The grotesque-looking boils of his acne vulgaris will eventually turn their excuses for hating him into an ostracizing trifecta. Its depiction of the American Suburbs feels less like a screenwriters nostalgia trick and more like the visual translation of a genuinely mental image, rich with detail and specificity. And then, also being from the suburbs myself, youre dealing with these signifiers that are very familiar to me. Ham On Rye was an absolutely enthralling experience and taking this journey with Henry "Hank" Chinaski was nothing short of a delight. Charles Bukowski. At the age of three, he came with his family to the United States and grew up in Los Angeles. Were not told when the film is taking place, or where the film is taking place, or even whats the deal with this big local event all the kids are moving towards. As recently as four years ago the films now-29-year-old director, Tyler Taormina, maintained a website for his then-new webseries Suburban Legends, which starred Haley Bodell as Poll Flowerpot, a 12-year-old cynic [who] discovers the absurdities of the world; the site is down now, but if you search around you can still find all three episodes on certain video-uploading hubs. I'd read Ham On Rye, Post Office and Women in that order. Mexicos president under attack from neoliberals at home and in U.S. Trail of Tears Walk commemorates Native Americans forced removal, California Nurses recharge their fight for Medicare For All, China calls for Ukraine ceasefire and issues 12-point peace plan, Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons as Jake in 'I'm Thinking Of Ending Things.' He attended Los Angeles City College from 1939 to 1941, then left school and moved to New York City to become a writer. This is a confusing taboo that weighs very heavily on mein fact, I feel it may have in a way forced me away from home. As they wend their way through more or less quiet streets, the boys talk, crudely but with awkward innocence, about sex. I trust that I am in honest company when I confide this, but still I am tentative to say it. with miners, and was an officer of SEIU. thats eventually revealed to be a literal ceremony at the center of Taorminas debut feature. The vista of the road was super important, or houses that were pushed far back from the curb, said Taormina. First published in 1982, Ham on Rye is Bukowski's fourth novel, and now makes its first UK appearance under the auspices of Scotland's canny independent press, Rebel Inc. Tracing the youth and . Cast: Haley Bodell, Audrey Boos, Gabriella Herrara, Luke Darga, Sam Hernandez, Blake Borders, Cole Devine Ham on rye ending explained - international conference on. Raw, simple, nihilistic hedonism with a great dash of bitterness and violence. But things like that were very important [to me]. Brewer, Gay. 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