Anyways, I still love this film so much and really, Daalder's name should be much bigger because the man is brilliant. If this film does not convince you, then locate yourself a copy of MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH. I digress. Below is my original review, so read and enjoy!
The death of the American dream is a
black cloud that has loomed over many a weary mind, but never has it
been explored in such a vivid and surrealistic way than in Rene
Daalder's brilliant POPULATION 1. Imagine a collage art film with
melded imagery from a rustic, pie-eyed America, musical numbers
utilizing influences ranging from Rene Magritte to the German
Expressionists and a post-punk video art sensibility, then you would
be somewhere near the ballpark of POPULATION 1.
In a surprise move, this was the first
finished project Daalder made after helming the cult classic,
MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH. The latter is more traditional on the
surface, but has a sad-eyed cynicism towards humanity and a streak of
uncompromised intelligence that marries these two seemingly
different films together. In lieu of a passive Andrew Stevens, we get
Tomata Du Plenty (best known for being the front man for the
synthpunk group The Screamers) as the last surviving man after
nuclear holocaust. He is America's son, literally, as we get to see
him lose his mother, a ruddy-cheeked rural Statue of Liberty (Maila
Nurmi), to a giant flood. Along his journey, he becomes a matinee
idol and falls in love a gothic 20's vamp (Sheela Edwards). The Great
Depression hits, splitting them apart, when she is forced to become a
taxi dancer for money. Their paths continue to diverge and cross
throughout WWII, where she becomes a popular pin-up and USO singer.
Love's bloom never fades, even after she is ultimately robbed from
him, along with the rest of the population. Tomata is left amongst
the rubble, dancing and singing in his red walled bunker, never
wavering in his optimism and patriotism. All this despite him being
surrounded by his twin ghosts of America and Sheela. But the darkness
of the human condition will always bleed through when things are at
their worst and the ending of POPULATION 1 is no exception.
Saying a piece of art is unlike
anything one has ever seen is about as cliché as your drunken
Uncle's stash of nudie playing cards. But for this instance, I feel
like it can be 100% accurately written. It is rare for something so
experimental to have such a cohesive heart. This is even more amazing
when delving into the films origins, which go back to an unfinished
project in the late 1970's called MENSCH. A good portion of the
musical numbers, especially those utilizing a large, impressive
looking sound stage, is from MENSCH. At that stage, there was little
to no narrative and more of an emphasis of an old school musical
sensibility, albeit one put through a post-modern art blender. The
funding eventually ran out and with that so did access to the sound
stage.
Cue up a few years later, with Daalder
and company coming up with the a well-fitted narrative skeleton to
gel perfectly with the visual muscle that was MENSCH. The sound stage
being no longer an option, they managed to build a great post-nuclear
bunker set within Tomata's apartment. What started off as a free form
video project in one decade became a truly innovative cautionary tale
in another. The use of chroma key in particular, while taken for
granted now in the digital age, still looks incredible. The whole
film is ripe with layers upon players of imagery, mixing old public
domain westerns and burlesque shorts into Tomata's apocalyptic world.
The pioneering spirit that went into this project, along with the
wholly successful merging of the actual story along with the
experimental visuals is something that every budding artist/filmmaker
should instantly take to heart.
Another great brush stroke is the use
of animation mixed with the live-action performers, often looking
like a cross between rotoscoping and pop art. Nowhere is this used
better than in the “Jazz Vampire” number. This is the first real
introduction to Sheela, who is already looking like an art deco
horror hostess, but then is further vamped out through some stylish
animation. She's given big canine fangs, gets surrounded by black
bats and then finishes the song with spitting up a small gush of red
cartoon blood onto the screen.
Performance wise, it would be near
impossible to think of a more perfect vehicle for the multi-talented
Tomata Du Plenty. Small and almost frail looking at times, his big
energy and ebullient charisma is in full bloom here. Looking like a
young Sinatra, Du Plenty is a figure you cannot take your eyes off of
and will instantly fall in love with. His character has all the pluck
of a Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland “let's put on a show” film mixed
with a true chaotic crackle. His character is someone who loves
what's best about their country and yet gets lost in the rubble of
bad humanity decisions. It's a gift to have this film in print,
especially given how little footage exists of Tomata, save for a
handful of Screamers live footage (some of which is on this set) and
an even smaller amount of interviews.
Right along side Tomata, is Sheela
Edwards, a raven haired force of nature who also happened to briefly
be a member of the Screamers. There is very little information about
her, which is a real shame because she is fantastic here. Distinctive
looking, gorgeous and with a volatile voice that is harsh, edgy and
yet, really lovely, she is a huge stand out. The entire “Taxi
Dancer” number alone should have made this girl a star.
The rest of the cast is pretty
colorful, with Fluxus artist and overall genius Al Hansen and Carel
Struycken, whom would later on get some bigger recognition for his
work in TWIN PEAKS and the ADDAMS FAMILY movies, being stand-outs in
their small roles. In more bits of casting weirdness, Avengers singer
Penelope Houston is briefly featured, as well as the Mentors front
man Il Duce, looking surprisingly halfway healthy and humanoid.
(Anyone familiar with the Mentors and their GG Allin-esque work will
understand exactly where I am coming from on this. For anyone who
isn't, feel free to check out the episode of Jerry Springer where he
and members of GWAR have a debate. It's brilliantly ridiculous.)
Music wise, POPULATION 1 is like if
Berthold Brecht put on a post-apocalyptic Broadway show with a punk
rock DIY ethic. The concept of the musical number is generally an
artificial one. Nine times out of ten, most people are not going to
randomly break out into song. However, with the emphasis on wild
visuals and experimental video techniques, the musical numbers here
feel as natural as a heart beat. Having such energetic and
kinetically charismatic performers like Du Plenty and Sheela don't
hurt either.
For a relatively obscure film that has
been resting in the weeds of cult film for the past few years, Cult
Epics has done an absolutely stellar job here. Just having it legally
available at all is sweet, but there is so much icing with this
release. For starters, the print looks incredibly bright and crisp.
Given that a bulk of the media here is based in video, not film,
makes it even more amazing. The 1.33.1 aspect ratio is pristine, as
is the audio, boasting a Dolby digital 2.0 stereo sound. All and all,
it's a near perfect presentation.
But to keep the viewer feeling
spoiled, there are more useful extras here than you can shake a
post-punk stick at. Disc One features the original trailer and a
re-cut one that is concurrent with the DVD release. There's also a
great clip of the Screamers doing their song ,“Vertigo,” live at
the Whiskey from 1979 and some rare audio tracks featuring Tomata and
Sheela performing some of the songs from the film. The real gift here
is the clips from the unfinished MENSCH. Not only do you get to see
some of the genesis of POPULATION 1, but you also get an extension of
Penelope Houston's scene, including a song that didn't make the
director's cut. There's also a whole scene with Al Hansen singing and
playing the accordion that definitely should have made the cut.
There's also a still gallery and the trailer for the “Palace of
Variety” multimedia art performance, which was coincidentally the
Screamers' last live show.
Disc two features the Frans Bromet
short mockumentary, JE MAINTIENDRAI, with the director visiting his
old friend Daalder in Hollywood. Featuring POPULATION 1 co-stars
Hansen and Carel Struycken, with the latter wearing his costume from
his role as “the Brute” in the SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB
movie, the loose plot is centered on Daalder making a slavery film
set in the urban decay of Los Angeles as the background. It's cute
and features some amazing footage of a now long gone LA.
There's an entire Screamers live show
included, which is incredible. Despite their big cult status in the
West Coast punk scene, there is not a lot of documentation, video and
otherwise, of their performances. So this is fantastic, as is the
recent and fairly comprehensive sit-down interview with Daalder
himself. He gets to talk about his time apprenticing Russ Meyer,
leading to him contributing to the Sex Pistols film, THE GREAT ROCK &
ROLL SWINDLE, he briefly talks about MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH and of
course, POPULATION 1.
In addition to that, there is a sweet
tribute to Tomata, focused mainly on the paintings he created after
his work with the Screamers. There's a tasty sample of a documentary
about Al Hansen entitled THE MATCHSTICK TRAVELER and some outtakes
from the VAMPIRA documentary. To finish it all off, there's a never
released music video for Penelope Houston's song “Girls,” capping
off one sweet-sweet set.
POPULATION 1, in an age of hyper-scare
about the end of the world, whether it is from a millionaire
religious fundamentalist or a state of perpetual war, still holds a
power wrapped in a startling and beautiful visual skin.
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