Remembering 'The Glimmer Man'

 

I watched the Steven Seagal and Keenen Ivory Wayans movie 'The Glimmer Man' (1996), at the cinema (Elite 400, in Bulawayo), about 22 years ago. That was the last time I watched it. To this day, I remember a scene where Seagal and Wayans go into a small, dimly lit alternative medicine store in Chinatown, following a lead in their investigation. An old Chinese woman running the store, offers ginseng to Wayans, in Chinese, and Wayans says to her, sort of jokingly, "Do you know I'm black? I have no idea what you’re saying". I had to look up that bit of dialogue to make sure that there actually was something of the sort. I had it in my memory as "Does she know I'm black?" That would have been Wayans talking to Seagal. This scene is just about the only one I remember somewhat clearly. I'm not sure why; perhaps it's the comedic element in it; perhaps humour, even subtle humour, makes us remember things a little better. Another thing I remember about 'The Glimmer Man' is how intensely atmospheric it was. There was something about its cinematography that stood out, I can't describe it though, as it's been such a long time.

I think I explored more back then, than I do now. I could go to a movie I'd never heard of and have a good time, even if the movie itself was awful. The theatrical experience, taking in a movie projected on film, the medium it was shot on, was sheer magic. The experience of sitting in the dark, in an optically and acoustically controlled space, and looking at huge images flickering before me, was enough. I think I've lost that innocence. I've become very calculated in my viewing. I follow certain directors' work; I seldom go to movies (especially not since COVID-19 started) or pick up a movie, on a whim. Perhaps there's a way to recapture that innocence. I don't know. But I digress.

I've just had a noteworthy thought, so I'll continue digressing, bear with me. Perhaps the theatrical experience isn't quite what it was before, for me anyway, not because of something as abstract as losing one's innocence, but because of a shift in technology. Du-uh! Nowadays most, if not all movies, are photographed and projected digitally, as opposed to being shot on actual film, and projected on film. Because I swear, taking in a movie, in a theatre, in the '90s, had a visual and aural ambience, that you don't get today. I strongly suspect that that shift from film to digital is what changed everything for me; what my senses picked up on. I'm not knocking digital, it works, but film has a feel that is all its own. For the first time, I think I'm starting to understand why filmmaker Christopher Nolan insists on shooting on film. End of digression.

Wayans' wisecrack in 'The Glimmer Man' is etched in my memory.

Note: Take 99% of the filmic reminiscence above, with a grain of salt. To borrow from Neil Gaiman, memory is gloriously fallible. Plus, I didn't watch the movie discussed, to verify my recollection of it. "Why?" You might ask. Well, perhaps to preserve the purity of this particular memory, errors and all.