Venice 2024 (Out of Competition): Things We Said Today (by Andrei Ujică) | Review
Director Andrei Ujică brings back the extravagant spirit of the legendary musical saga, The Beatles, back to life with his experimental intervention of their first concert at Shea Stadium in August 1965.
My mother occasionally hums a song while she cooks us dinner, and it became a habit for me to sing along with her. It was somewhat catchy, but it never crossed my mind to ask her any details until one rainy day. Her immediate response was, “Do you know the Fab Four? That’s what we used to call them at home. Google ‘Love Me Do.’” She smiled, knowing that I’d immediately conduct my research. That’s my story of discovering The Beatles, who some may even consider the greatest band of all time. Meanwhile, director Andrei Ujică has documented another story of the band with pure passion and innovation in the Venice 2024 out-of-competition selection.
TWST – Things We Said Today spotlights August 1965 in New York, a time that many consider seminal. For most, The Beatles’ first concert at Shea Stadium along with the New York World’s Fair are seen as a phenomenon. Everyone rushes toward each other, exchanging smiles and tears with each stride. An inexplicable energy permeates the crowd as they cheer, propelling them forward. It is the profound breakthrough, the buzz of the town, and feels like a coronation that has roused the people. As if a time machine had whisked us away to relive every moment, director Andrei Ujică features authentic recordings of the excitement, accentuating every component of the event. The footage produces a voice that embodies the essence of joy in music: the joyous celebration of life. At times, it gives me a similar energy to what is presented in The Image Book by Jean-Luc Godard—the breathtaking sensation that wells up in those brief moments when each shot of the film carries its own profound meaning.
The director gives us a bird’s-eye view of the previous generation of music enthusiasts through the footage, showing how their style, viewpoint, body language, and environment have faded into oblivion with little tangible proof left on Earth. The phrase “The city changes from block to block; it is a mental map of everything” holds the answer. We are transported to an era of the past through the screen, where all dimensions of the fans are on display. Their depth of affection, outlook on music appreciation through eloquent descriptions, and unique ways of exhibiting their enthusiasm for the band are all gracefully depicted. It’s remarkable to witness how various social viewpoints are assessed, with a legion of devoted followers marching in to demonstrate their love, affection, and support. This made me wonder about the current generation’s love for music, where it primarily stems from virtual hits and social media popularity, further highlighting the impact of technology in evoking shared interests and uniting people through music.
In a parallel observation, Andrei Ujică juxtaposes the band’s celebration with the Watts riots to introduce a different form of power within the nation, where racism and revolution have gained prominence. The footage clearly demonstrates the need for freedom, yet the core subject of music continues to shine brightly within the community independently, comparable to the episode of Lovers Rock in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series. By doing so, we are able to understand the vast musical landscape and all its subgenres, each of which retains its own unique history and culture while displaying an authenticity for inventiveness in its compositions and performances.
An abstract idea expands Andrei Ujică’s elaborative move. The inclusion of experimental sketched animations to form narration through several characters (Geoffrey, Judith, Shelly, and Carol) within the documentary, similar to the illustrations in the film Stranger Than Rotterdam with Sara Driver, carries additional specifics on the anticipation of fans of different social layers of admirers. I believe their assessments differ on a range of aspects, including the following: the implications of existential crises on individuals, the role of romanticism in music, the magnitude of their love for The Beatles, the potency of infatuations, the influence of poetic insights, the role model element in shaping individual characteristics, and the capacity to perceive love as a gift. The animation, with the help of VFX supervisor Olga Avramov and artworks by Yann Kebbi, has the potential to inspire the current generation of music enthusiasts with their artistic interpretation of music. Here, one line in particular stuck out to me: “I don’t know who he is, but I know where he is,” describing the extensive effect that appreciation for total strangers has on the personality of an individual.
TWST – Things We Said Today is a wholesome package that highlights the essence of appreciating the musical legend based on the core value of their influence placed in the hearts of the American people. The black-and-white backdrop exudes an invisible vibrancy, cleverly reflecting a vintage retrospective of a lost generation of The Beatles enthusiasts, the historical journey of the classics, and their ardent followers. As we witness the fans liberating themselves through the blissful music of The Beatles circulating in the stadium, the true essence of their symphony pulsates through the screen. The resurgence of the vintage aura serves as both a conventional discovery for the younger generation and a nostalgic reminder for the older one.
The memoirs of The Beatles live on in the hearts and minds of listeners everywhere through their timeless music. They have left an indelible mark on music that will never be replaced, and that slows down the earth a second later each day. With that being said, the vintage cassette of The Beatles remains in my mother’s drawer to this day.
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