(Glenn O'Brien, USA, 2000, 72 minutes)
Two weeks ago, while prying open an Amazon package, my right middle finger contracted and wouldn't reopen. Fortunately, I live two blocks from Virginia Mason where they took a couple of x-rays and diagnosed me as having had a dislocation. They shot the finger full of anesthetic, pried it open and splinted it up. A week later I visited an orthopedist who informed me that the finger hadn't been dislocated at all and that the splint had been wholly unecessary. Instead, I had developed a bit of tendonitis which had lead to something called 'trigger finger.' They injected the finger with cortisone and said it would take effect within a few days.
Oh, and that package. It contained a DVD of Downtown 81, a film I had been curious to see since seeing TV Party at the Northwest Film Forum. For those of you who don't know, it was a film directed by Glenn O'Brien starring Jean-Michel Basquiat. It was a lot of fun to watch with O'Brien's commentary and, as I had lived in New York during that period, it brought back some memories [most notably, just how much parts of the East Village resembled Beirut back then].
Anyway, I have now regained a good deal of motion in that finger, but it will be months before it goes back to being normal, and I would like to think of it as the moment when I gave my all [or at least my finger] for film.
Two weeks ago, while prying open an Amazon package, my right middle finger contracted and wouldn't reopen. Fortunately, I live two blocks from Virginia Mason where they took a couple of x-rays and diagnosed me as having had a dislocation. They shot the finger full of anesthetic, pried it open and splinted it up. A week later I visited an orthopedist who informed me that the finger hadn't been dislocated at all and that the splint had been wholly unecessary. Instead, I had developed a bit of tendonitis which had lead to something called 'trigger finger.' They injected the finger with cortisone and said it would take effect within a few days.
Oh, and that package. It contained a DVD of Downtown 81, a film I had been curious to see since seeing TV Party at the Northwest Film Forum. For those of you who don't know, it was a film directed by Glenn O'Brien starring Jean-Michel Basquiat. It was a lot of fun to watch with O'Brien's commentary and, as I had lived in New York during that period, it brought back some memories [most notably, just how much parts of the East Village resembled Beirut back then].
Anyway, I have now regained a good deal of motion in that finger, but it will be months before it goes back to being normal, and I would like to think of it as the moment when I gave my all [or at least my finger] for film.
oh, man! Trigger finger sucks. My wife has had it on and off for years. Get a scrip and enjoy what you can.
ReplyDeleteI scored a bottle of Vicodin for my troubles, but haven't experienced enough pain to take one. Maybe they'll come in handy during some of the SIFF screenings!
ReplyDeleteOuch. That is a lot of pain to go through for a film, but at least it was worth it!
ReplyDeleteAnd man, yeah. I bet that vicodin will come in handy.