Oltre il giardino

Peter Sellers should have taken home the Academy Award for his role in Being There. A lifetime of comedies behind him, Sellers ended his career as an actor and a comic legend with this classic. Hard to believe that this was made over 20 years ago, it is still as funny as ever. Since then, no other comedian has captured the raw talent of comedy that Sellers could create. The silent comedy and the physical comedy that Sellers made was not only timeless but funnier than most of the comedy we see in film today. Second to maybe his role in Lolita and in the Pink Panther series, Sellers is not only funny, but gives his best performance in Being There. A terrific story with interesting and real characters, Being There is a delight.

Peter Sellers last and arguably his greatest performance. He died, aged 54, in 1980, the year the film was released. This is one of the best films I've seen in a long time. I taped it some time ago from television and recently saw it for the third time and it keeps fascinating me. The film has a beautiful dream-like atmosphere - dark, moody, absolutely mesmerizing! Many of the proceedings might be a little improbable but it shouldn't be viewed to rationally.

The plot is quite simple with Sellers playing the main character, Chance (or "Chauncey") Gardener, who becomes homeless, when the master of the house he lived in and for whom he maintained the garden, dies. He is a grown man with the mind of a small child who lead a cocoon-like existence during his whole life, isolated from the outside world. His sole interests are gardening and television, which he frequently expresses with "I like to watch". After a small accident with a limo, he winds up staying at the mansion of a rich tycoon (Melvyn Douglas) and his wife (Shirley Maclaine), who are close to the president. He befriends the couple and slowly becomes acquainted with the higher circles in Washington.

Because of his slowly mannered way of speaking, his politeness, neatness and impeccable dressing, he is somehow mistaken for some lost professor. In a hilarious meeting, when he first meets the president, he's asked for his opinion on the weak state of the nation's economy. Off course, he doesn't know anything about the subject, so he starts reflecting his visions upon gardening, "Spring and summer, fall and winter, it's all a cycle and everything starts to grow again", which are conceived as brilliant metaphors for explaining economic cycles. Chauncey Gardener is so disarming with his simplified views of life, he is celebrated as some kind of genius. His response to he question "What newspapers do you read?" is "I only watch TV", which instantly turns him into a hero for admitting he gets his information solely from television and in the eyes of the general public makes him the most honest man linked to The White House in a long time.

The reputation of this film has risen steadily over the last years and rightfully so. Jerzy Kosinski's novel is transferred to the screen into a dark (literally down-lit) and sombre comedy by director Hal Ashby, who managed to make an expertly paced film, consistent in tone and mood. The film boasts great performances by veteran Melvyn Douglas and Shirley Maclaine, who even does a masturbation scene! But it's Peter Sellers who enters the pantheon of the all-time legendary performances with a simply magnificent portrayal of Chance Gardener. For long this was his pet project and for over nine years he tried to get it filmed. When it was finally green-lighted, he painstakingly researched and prepared for the role. The voice in particular demanded his attention as he listened to his own voice on a tape recorder and endlessly compared one sound to another. Forget about comparing his role to Tom Hanks with "Forrest Gump", the other mindless observer of American society. It doesn't even come close. Tom Hanks got the Oscar but Peter Sellers gives his character an unmatched complexity in a far superior film, that if anyone should get the Oscar, he should (he was nominated, though).

Even after repeated viewings, it not only holds up, it reveals something new and adds a new layer. A rare achievement. In a few weeks time, I'm in North-Carolina and hopefully will manage to make a visit to Asheville and get a chance to visit the Biltmore Estate (the estate of the Vanderbilts), where most of the film was shot. A beautiful movie, something to behold.

Camera Obscura --- 10/10

To learn that Peter Sellers spent the last ten years of his life dedicated to producing this film, reluctantly taking parts in the Pink Panther series to gain enough money to do so, is dedication enough to tell you that this film meant a lot to Sellers.

It is sad that Sellers died just one year after completing the film, which to me stands as a testament to his talent.

Being There was not a successful film, indeed many people have never heard of it. If you haven't seen it, track it down. It is one of the most touching films I have ever seen.

The original "Forrest Gump" came out in 1979 when Hal Ashby's "Being There" was first released. A quietly brilliant, hilarious, heart-wrenching and heart-warming motion picture that showed how great Peter Sellers (Oscar-nominated) was and how limitless his range was. He stars as a gardener at an old mansion in Washington, D.C. who has never been outside of the owner's small piece of property. When the owner dies, he has to leave the only home he has ever known. Sellers has no knowledge of anything except what he sees on television and he has a strange sort of child-like innocence that endears him to all he comes into contact with. After a minor accident, Sellers is taken to the home of a ridiculously wealthy political lobbyist (Melvyn Douglas in his second Oscar-winning performance) who is literally being kept alive as he has a rare form of cancer. Douglas immediately takes a liking to Sellers and so does his much-younger wife (Shirley MacLaine). Sellers is now in the spotlight though as he gets to meet the president (Jack Warden) and slowly starts to gain popularity and political support from those around him. Of course Sellers does not realize any of this as his understanding of such things are beyond his somewhat limited mental capabilities. A simply brilliant film that is carried by Sellers' amazing personal best performance. Everyone else is adequate, but this is Sellers' show. Douglas won the Oscar mainly due to sympathy votes, but surprisingly Sellers would die before Douglas as he passed away less than six months after receiving his Oscar nod of a massive heart attack. As good as Dustin Hoffman was in "Kramer vs. Kramer", I still wish that Sellers would have won the Oscar for this role which is one of the finest performances ever throughout the entire history of the cinema. 5 stars out of 5.

Even as a kid I loved this movie and upon seeing it again as an adult I found much to re appreciate in this marvelous sleeper of a film. Sellers is in top form as are the supporting cast--the shear farce of it all makes the improbable seem probable--and as a vehicle for political/social commentary it ranks as one of the best dark comedies ever made. The inclusion of all the 70's TV clips make Being There an invaluable period piece and provide the film with some of it's funniest scenes. The movie also provides an interesting portrayal of the trappings of the super wealthy and it's portrayal of the workings of power and money are reminiscent of some of Kubrick's better work. Check out the all seeing eye of the Illuminati on the apex of the pyramid of "Rand's" mausoleum during the funeral scene. Pretty powerful stuff--makes Being There all the more an important and revealing work--as well as spiritual. Like the protagonist, Chauncey Gardner, there's something about this film that makes you feel better about life and , yeah, even about death. Kosinski's, Ashby's and Seller's gift to us all.