Another Doyle-lensed movie I love is Chen Kaige's Temptress Moon.
Friday Feb. 25th
Sergei Eisenstein's October
http://www.filmwurld,com/forums/show...=9123#post9123
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Another Doyle-lensed movie I love is Chen Kaige's Temptress Moon.
Friday Feb. 25th
Sergei Eisenstein's October
http://www.filmwurld,com/forums/show...=9123#post9123
Saturday Feb.26
Bashu (Iran, 1986) on import dvd
Playwright/university dean/director Bahram Beisai directed this drama, the only Iranian film I've seen that deals with racism. Bashu is a 10 year old whose village is under bombardment during the Iran/Iraq war. His family perishes. He manages to escape by hiding on the bed of a truck going north. When he wakes up, he finds himself in Northern Iran where the language and the culture are different. He meets a woman, who's husband is away, living in a farming village with her two small kids. Bashu is much darker than everybody else there. Reluctantly, the woman (Susan Taslimi) shelters him despite the negative reaction of most in the village. Gradually her maternal instincts assert themselves over the uncharitable, racist villagers who call him "charcoal". Social Realism except for the traumatized boy's visions of the ghost of his mother. Doing research on this film, I learned that Ms. Taslimi was a major star in Iran, who wrote the script for Bashu but did not get credit. She was forbidden by the Islamic government to collaborate again with Mr. Beisai and moved to Sweden, where she had a career in television. In 2002, Ms. Taslimi directed her first film: Hus i helvete (All Hell Let Loose), starring Melinda Kinnaman (the "boxing girl" from My Life as a Dog).
You don't have to of course but I would like it if you told whether you have purchased or rented the dvd's you report watching. I assume in this case purchased, since "import dvd" implies (perhaps?) not watchable on standard US dvd players?
Up to now you can assume that when I write "import dvd" it's a purchase. But today I joined nicheflix, an import dvd rental site. From now on, I'll specify "rental" when it's an import from nicheflix. Bashu is on NTSC format (like ours). Like many Asian discs, the box says "region 3" but it's actually "all region". So this import is watchable on standard US players.
Sounds like some of us might want to know about Nicheflix but not, so I'm glad I asked. Do many of their offerings require an all region player? I'm assuming that your reason for subscribing to Nicheflix is that it has offerings not otherwise available e.g. not on Netflix?
Works exactly as Netflix. It's based in the US. They have some NTSC region 1 discs, but most of their discs require a "universal player" that can handle both NTSC and PAL formats. Just joined, hope it's worth it. On my queue: Resnais' Melo, Bresson's Mouchette, Mizoguchi's Lady of Musashino and Life of Oharu, Welles' Chimes at Midnight, Tati's Jour de Fete (color version)...
I take it the reason you have joined (and it is more expensive) is that you get quite a few films not available on Netflix--not available in fact on US dvd's.. And since you have a universal player (I still don't--though I find I can watch European code dvd's on my computer) the other codes aren't an obstacle for watching chez Jubis.
Computers play anything. Nicheflix cost for 3 discs at a time: $25 for 6 weeks, $25 for 4 weeks thereafter. Three discs mailed today (will likely receive on Thursday): Samuel Fuller's 40 Guns, Their First Films: Resnais/Rivette/Godard/Leconte/Melville/Pialat, and Jean Genet's Un Chant d'amour(1950), the first truly gay movie?
I guess you've exhausted the possibilities of Netflix, or did you never use it? (I haven't--exhausted; hardly used.)
I prefer to patronize local rental shops, especially an independent one in my neighborhood. When they don't have a region 1 disc I want, my brother Eduardo gets it for me from Netflix (I'll be asking him to put Munchhausen on his queue soon). I still have over 100 discs on my shelf I haven't watched though.
Monday February 28th
Ma 6-T va Crack-er, translated as "Crack City" but the most direct and appropriate translation would be: "My Gun goes Bang" on Import dvd.
Jean-Francois Richet (not the sensitive teacher from Truffaut's Small Change but the banlieu-raised French director of De L'Amour and the recent Assault on Precinct 13) directed this cult film released in 1997 and quickly "banned from French screens as a danger to public safety" (Rosenbaum). Documentary-like film follows the daily routine of two trios of "banlieu" residents, most of Arab or African descent. One trio of high school teens who get into fights, steal cars, rob liquor stores, deal small amounts of drugs, try to get laid; and a trio of unemployed 20-somethings who follow a similar lifestyle but also find themselves in a serious turf war with a rival gang. They come together for a riot and a brutal confrontation with mostly white cops. The film is bookended with a hip-hop video in which Virginie Ledoyen carries a big red flag, cradles a baby girl, and handles weapons. The closing credits give thanks to Marx, Engels, and Lenin, among others.
Author and Cinematheque Francaise programmer Nicole Brenez:
"A masterpiece of that most perilous kind of cinema, namely militant, political cinema. Richet finds the means to fundamentally reconcile Renoir and Eisenstein, Max Ophuls and Public Enemy. A call to revolt that returns us to the radical bases of the 1791 Republican Constitution."
Viennesse author Christoph Huber:
"Powerful piece of Marxist propaganda aired here on tv once and is otherwise unavailable. Compared to this, Kassovitz's acclaimed La Haine looks like a feature for The Disney Channel".
The film is bookended with a hip-hop video in which Virginie Ledoyen carries a big red flag, cradles a baby girl, and handles weapons. The closing credits give thanks to Marx, Engels, and Lenin, among others.
So you're seen it. So are you implying you got this from the local video shop, or from Netflix via your brother?
The formatting sounds like the most blatant "radical chic" -- but also like Godard in his heyday, Godard when he was elegant, provocative, and exciting; an updated hiphop Godard. I certainly want to see it.
"Compared to this, Kassovitz's acclaimed La Haine looks like a feature for The Disney Channel".
Maybe Kassovitz is better as an actor. But he got good publicity with La Haine. A career-maker? And "Ma 6-T va crack-er" got Richet the publicity he needed too.
Instead of just quoting the two critics, why didn't you say how the film struck you? Your description as always is excellent, but this time too neutral.
*Bought the Hong Kong dvd for $8.99. The French one doesn't have English subs.
*The film seems to discourage viewer identification with any single protagonist ("banlieu" kids playing themselves, by the way). Richet regards them as members of an oppressed class and most specifically, as victims of the police. All four features directed by Mr. Richet portray the police as either racist or corrupt, or both. In De L'amour, which I haven't seen, Ledoyen and her Arab boyfriend take revenge on a sadist cop. His debut, Etat des Lieux has a similar bent. (According to Rosenbaum, Richet raised its $20,000 budget by gambling his unemployment check at a local casino).
*Not a single commentary from the pundits I quoted or viewers (IMdb) disagrees with the fact that the film promotes violence as the only solution. Before the final credits appear, article 35 of the Republican Constitution is quoted, which basically states the right of oppressed people to resort to violence. I have a personal reluctance to accept violence as constructive, particularly when these projects where the boys live and schools they attend appear to provide a better environment than their American counterparts. Also, there's evidence here that these kids are at least partly responsible for their plight. The film's stance and its conclusion ignore this evidence. That said, Ma 6-T va Crack-er has value as a document of life in the "banlieu" and features expertly staged action sequences of urban violence.
Tuesday March 1st
Dog Days (Austria,US Theat. dist. in 2003) rental dvd
"Get down on your knees and sing La Cucaracha, you bastard!"
Documentarian Ulrich Seidl's fiction move is a cruelty exhibition involving residents of a suburban community in Austria during a heat wave. One poignant moment_an estranged couple sit on their deceased daughter's outdoor gym under the rain_stands out among a series of acts of abuse and humilliation. A dog and a mentally ill woman amongst the victims. Lots of naked old folks. Non-actors improvised their own dialogue after Seidl provided sketchy scenarios. I know there's an audience for it out there.
Adoption (Hungary, 1975) on region 1 dvd.
A Golden Bear winner at the Berlin Film Festival, Adoption was directed by the prolific and still active Marta Meszaros (the Diary trilogy), who was once married to the great Miklos Jancso (The Red and The White, Red Psalm, Elektra, My Love). Interview with Meszaros: http://www.sensesofcinema.com/conten.../meszaros.html
Interestingly, Meszaros claims in this 2002 interview that Adoption was nominated for an Oscar and that she could attend thanks to money donated by some Hungarians living in L.A. My research indicates that Adoption was NOT nominated for an Academy award.
Widowed, financially secure and involved with a married man, 42 y.o. Kata yearns for motherhood. Though having little in common, Kata meets Anna, a rebellious teen now confined to a nearby "institute" after years of parental neglect. With some difficulty, a bond grows between them. Kata allows Anna to use her house to meet with the nice 22 y.o. she loves. They want to marry and Kata intercedes on their behalf. But fulfillment won't come easy for either woman. Meszaros' film is a poignant and candid examination of yearnings for intimacy and self-realization, and a nuanced depiction of a stagnant society. She favors facial close-ups and emotionally intense exchanges reminiscent of the films of Ingmar Bergman. Meszaros is said to be the most prolific female director in cinema history. Her Adoption is a must-see.
So you bought the Hungarian film dvd? Apparently issued on US dvd recently? Nothing on it on IMDb except two brief viewers' comments. How did you know about this film -- with its difficult to spot title (there are many "Adoptions", if few Örökbefogadáses) -- and why do you say (using Rosenbaum's terminology) that it's "a must-see"? It isn't clear from the description what's special about it, or how it becomes one of her best, if she made so many, or should we see more of them, also?
Thanks for the further detail on this one with some of your personal feelings, which often you seem to omit. Would you say this has more redeeming social value than City of God? YOu didn't respond to my Godard suggestion so I guess that doesn't relate, for you, and this is far more gritty and "vérité" in its way than any Godard?Quote:
Ma 6-T va Crack-er has value as a document of life in the "banlieu" and features expertly staged action sequences of urban violence.
Originally posted by Chris Knipp
So you bought the Hungarian film dvd? Apparently issued on US dvd recently? Nothing on it on IMDb except two brief viewers' comments. How did you know about this film -- with its difficult to spot title
Yes. IMdb not always reliable. Viewers not quite discerning. http://half.ebay.com/cat/buy/prod.cg...1877&meta_id=3
East European Cinema has traditionally been ignored in the West, especially USA. Blame the Cold War? I do research. In the process, I learned this Berlin winner was released on disc so I bought it. Will continue to seek out other titles.
why do you say that it's "a must-see"?
"poignant and candid examination.....reminiscent of Bergman"
Thanks for the further detail on this one with some of your personal feelings, which often you seem to omit.
Thanks for your interest, CK. You may be the only person here interested in films/directors few are familiar with. It's hard sometimes given the volume of film I watch and the limited time. But I appreciate and will respond to any prompting from you or others.
Would you say this has more redeeming social value than City of God?
Salles wants to entertain, his City of God involves much younger kids (at times) in showy, gorier scenes that titillate. Salles has no political agenda in mind. Richet's in wrong-headed, in my opinion. Both Richet and Salles ignore the kids' families and the larger social context. Richet's film may more accurately depict the kids' day-to-day routine, but City of God is more fun.
You didn't respond to my Godard suggestion so I guess that doesn't relate, for you, and this is far more gritty and "vérité" in its way than any Godard?
Yes, more gritty and verite, and more agenda-driven, more tendentious. "Richet's kids" don't know who the fuck is Marx or Lenin. What specific Godard film advances the point of view that violence is the only solution to the plight of underclass youth? Maybe I can provide a better answer to your inquiry if I have a clear memory of the specific film you have in mind.
Actually I was curious not about how you found the dvd of Marta Meszaros' 1975 Adoption but was seeking further insight into your "process" as a sophisticated student of world cinema -- how you found out about this director in the first place, and where. I know you're under pressure just to get the information out because you cover so many films: you need a staff of assistants. (Chelsea may be busy. Other family members otherwise occupied.) Sorry if I seem to keep prodding you, but you see I am paying attention.Quote:
(Originally posted by Oscar Jubis)
Yes. IMdb not always reliable. Viewers not quite discerning. http://half.ebay.com/cat/buy/prod.c...=1877&meta_id=3
East European Cinema has traditionally been ignored in the West, especially USA. Blame the Cold War? I do research. In the process, [Italics mine--CK.] I learned this Berlin winner was released on disc so I bought it. Will continue to seek out other titles
Also sorry, I overlooked your phrase "poignant and reminiscent of Bergman" which certainly justifies (if telegraphically) a "must-see" rating.
Hardly; but thanks anyway. I do follow this thread closely but I notice it's become the most viewed, so others surely are interested too -- notably the very well informed arsaib4. I am slowly trying to get to know just a few directors Americans barely know but others on this site recommend such as Hou, Tsai, Kiarostami, that Thai guy and those new Latin Americans. I am sometimes resistent: Kiarostami still hasn't grabbed me; Hou has, and Tsai already had, if fleetingly. I'm probably behind others here in actually seeking them out and appreciating them. Your taste and curiousity are more comprehensive than mine and I value those qualities.Quote:
](Originally posted by Oscar Jubis)
Thanks for your interest, CK. You may be the only person here interested in films/directors few are familiar with.
Clear and sharp comparison of City of God and Ma 6-T Va Crack-er. Thanks.
About Godard -- I don't know if I had any film in mind though I was vaguely thinking of the politically provocative La Chinoise. Needless to say, Godard doesn't advocate violence. Notre Musique powerfully affirms that. Shall we connect the dots and note it's "interesting" that a director like Richet would go from agit-prop to Assault on Precinct 13? Does he think he's doing good by going mainstream and injecting some subversion into an American actioner remake? What's he doing for the banlieu now?
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Actually I was seeking further insight into your "process"
I have a modest cinema library, and I frequent sensesofcinema and mastersofcinema on the web. Sometimes I browse through ebay for foreign dvds and come across an unfamiliar item and that will spark my research. I learned about Meszaros while reading about her well-known ex-husband Jancso, whose The Red and the White I own and will be watching soon. I liked Adoption a lot and found out a couple of her other films are available on vhs, so I will look for them at my hood's video store. If not there, I'll check if any is available on the web at a reasonable price...
Shall we connect the dots and note it's "interesting" that a director like Richet would go from agit-prop to Assault on Precinct 13?
Yes. What Assault has in common with Richet's French films is the theme of police corruption and the well-done violent scenes. I have no idea about his upcoming projects.
Wednesday March 2nd
Les Choristes at SoBe Regal
Chelsea and I enjoyed it very much. I will never want to become the type of person who can't be entertained by a film like this. I'll point out its limitations only if someone calls it a masterpiece. I'm actually glad it didn't win the Oscar. Chris Knipp's reviews and comments about this film are on-the-money.
La Devoradora (The Man-Eater)
Fernando de Fuentes was the first great Mexican director of the sound era. This 1946 release is not one of his best, but it's still well-done melodrama featuring Maria Felix (French CanCan, Dona Barbara, Enamorada). She is Mexico's most famous actress. Ms. Felix received many offers to work in Hollywood but she turned them down. She said she didn't want to learn English. She is absolutely marvelous in the femme fatale, bad girl parts she usually performed. I rented this at the public library, an under utilized resource for the cash-deprived cinephile.
...I learned about Meszaros while reading about her well-known ex-husband Jancso. . .
Where? Thanks for the reminder to "frequent" Senses of Cinema and Masters of Cinema online. We should all do that.
I feel you neutralized my remark about Assault rather than ran with it, but it's you who've seen them both, Ma 6-T Va Crack-er and it.
Thanks for backing my up on Les Choristes. I still think there's more to it than American reviewers seem to see. I wish the song had won the Oscar, but, agreed, not the film.
I got my first Hou Hsiao Hsien dvd, Goodbye, South, Goodbye, from the Concord, MA public library while visiting my goddaughter Tanya. A friend of mine gets videotapes at the SF library every week and they have upped the number that you can take out at one time to six. I used to do it too. Have you had trouble with rental dvd's being dinged and having glitches that sometimes stop the film in its tracks? I have.
Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Thanks for backing my up on Les Choristes. I still think there's more to it than American reviewers seem to see.
Reviews have been mixed. Favorable ones: LA Times, Chi. Tribune, Seattle Post, Toronto Globe, USA Today, Christian S. Monitor. I understand the negativity as a reaction to its submission to our Academy over better films. But I'm not fond of "extremist" criticism that fails to acknowledge the film's modest attributes, and that most readers are likely to find it at least "worth-watching". It's the type of practice that turns casual moviegoers off film criticism.
I got my first Hou Hsiao Hsien dvd, Goodbye, South, Goodbye, from the Concord, MA public library. Have you had trouble with rental dvd's being dinged and having glitches that sometimes stop the film in its tracks? I have.
I've been stopping myself from watching Hou's films over and over again_they give me so much pleasure_ in order to have time to watch films from countries/directors new to me.
I've had that problem you describe with both rental dvds and even a few new discs imported from Asia.
What do you do for the dvd glitches? Does cleaning the disc help? It did for laser discs, a lot, and does with any where the problem is some object on the surface. But on new Asian ones, are these inbedded glitches?
I think the nasty reviews of The CHorus came in before the Oscar nomination, actually; I agree with you that there is no call for vicious attacks on ANY movie, unless it's really pernicious or monstrously awful. A little film about choir boys? Please. It's not to my mind at all saccherine. These are knee-jerk reactions; and the US readings of foreign films are rarely to be trusted. Even when they're in the ballpark, they contain little perception of all that's there.
*Cleaning the disc only helps when the problem is dust or dirt, not when it's caused by scratches.
*The "nasty" reviews of Les Choristes came before the film's nomination by the Academy but after France designated it as the French submission to the Academy awards. Over 100 films are submitted, one per country.
Thursday March 3rd
Oriana, a Venezuela/France co-production won the Camera d'Or at the 1985 Cannes. It was directed, written and co-produced by Fina Torres (Celestial Clockwork, Woman on Top). I rented the dvd from my public library. Released by Facets video in May, 2004. IMdb (yet again) provides wrong info: the disc is not pan-and-scan but conserves the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and there is no dubbed English track. It's a very good transfer befitting such a glorious-looking film lensed by Jean Claude Larrieu. The framing and lighting of the scenes are reason enough to watch it. The cast is uniformly excellent. The plot has been labeled "latin Gothic" before. Maria's aunt Oriana dies and she inherits the hacienda she visited one summer when she was 12. Maria travels to Venezuela with her French husband intent on selling the place. As she walks through the rundown estate, memories of her visit are evoked. The film flashes back to Maria's visit and to Oriana's childhood and adolescence. A story of forbidden passion and tragic denouement emerges reluctantly, almost as if Ms. Torres was reticent to reveal Oriana's secrets. A solemn and oblique telling of a not unfamiliar story.
YOu can, of course, submit corrections to IMDb pages but may not think it worth the bother. I nonetheless despite your disappoval "yet again" think IMDb invaluable as a ready reference on movies and responses to them.Quote:
IMdb (yet again) provides wrong info: the disc is not pan-and-scan but conserves the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and there is no dubbed English track.
Friday March 4th
I just wish IMbd was better, that's all. The film I watched today on a PAL region 2 came out on NTSC region 1 three months ago. Not according to the "invaluable" IMdb. It was released by a company called Alpha Digital.
Quien Puede Matar a un Nino? (Spain, 1976)
Who Can Kill a Child? apparently had a limited release in the US under the title Island of the Damned. It's acquired cult status among horror film aficionados because it's simply outstanding in every respect. It was directed by Chicho Ibanez from Uruguay and lensed by the great Spanish DP Jose Luis Alcaine (Bad Education, Tasio, Belle Epoque, The Dancer Upstairs). The opening credits alternate with historical footage from Auschwitz, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and other places where millions of children have perished from hatred, war, famine and disease. Then we join Brits Tom and Evelyn on vacation on the coast of Spain. Two corpses are found mysteriously floating near the beach. Tom and Evelyn, who's expecting their third child, sail off to an island in the Mediterranean Sea. The small island is supposed to be tranquil but it seems deserted, except for kids who behave oddly. But, where have the grown-ups gone?
Who can kill a Child combines elements of The Birds and Village of the Damned (an inferior film) and adds subtext that doesn't detract one iota from purely horror genre pleasures. The pace escalates gradually as the film builds up tension. This film is now among my favorites in the horror genre, which include Nosferatu, Dr. Mabuse, Rosemary's Baby, Freaks, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Bride of Frankenstein (horror comedy actually), Vampyr, Kaidan, Audition...
By the way, the original version of this movie is mostly in English because most of the dialogue is between the British couple. The producer, against the director's wishes, released it in Spain with their dialogue dubbed into Spanish. The dvd includes both versions. Horror fans must to watch this film.
Que Puede Matar a un Niño?
Sounds very good. We can all become horror movie fans when there's an excellent example of the genre.
I understand, about IMDb; I don't think you can rely on it for this sort of information. There is nobody to keep updating it. What I like about it is the ready availablity and cross referencing of large quantity of basic info about movies and movie people, and the highly unreliable but representative opinions of general viewers from all over the world.Quote:
I just wish IMbd was better, that's all. The film I watched today on a PAL region 2 came out on NTSC region 1 three months ago. Not according to the "invaluable" IMdb. It was released by a company called Alpha Digital.
I saw Koreeda's Nobody Knows tonight (Mar. 4, 2005) and it made a strong impression. Was reminded of Do-des-ka-den; Ladri di biciclette; Clément's Jeux Interdits.
I agree with your comments about IMdb.
Saturday March 5th
Cachorro (Bear Cub) at SoBe Regal
This 2004 Spanish film returns for a commercial run eleven months after its American premiere at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Pedro and his friends are "bears", gay men who refuse to shave, diet or exercise. Pedro gladly agrees to care for his 9 year old nephew Bernardo while his hippie sister realizes her lifelong dream to visit India. Bernardo misses his affectionate, flaky mom but gets along splendidly with his uncle. Pedro learns that his sister got arrested in India on a serious drug offense. Suddenly he is forced by circumstance to parent the child and guide him through a difficult period. Complications arise when Bernardo's estranged grandmother, who's son died of a drug overdose when the boy was 4 years old, insists she'd be a more appropriate custodian. Sensitive, gay-positive drama with some very funny moments from director Miguel Albaladejo, fleshing out the short of the same title he directed in 1996. Just like the adult protagonist is not a stereotypical gay character, the issues and themes are developed from a fresh perspective.
Since Cachorro had its official US premiere in November 2004, it qualifies for inclusion in my 2004 Foreign Lang. film. Since, by personal rule, I cannot list over 30 films, this film's inclusion means Sokuro's Father and Son (the 30th film listed) will be edited out.
Sunday March 6th
Conrad Rooks's Siddhartha, his faithful adaptation of Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse's novel, is now available on dvd. Disc features a state of the art transfer of the widescreen film and an informative, recent interview with Mr. Rooks, who never directed another film after this 1972 release. The beautiful cinematography comes courtesy of Sven Nykvist, taking a break from lensing Ingmar Bergman's films. Siddhartha was a box office success in India, where it was filmed, but failed commercially in the USA. Shashi Kapoor plays the titular young man who abandons the privileged lifestyle he knows to search for enlightment and inner peace.
Also rare and I think more unusual than the 1972 Siddhartha is Rooks' 1966 Chappaqua, the drug story with Burroughs, Ginsberg, et al. I briefly compared them and wrote a review of Siddhartha on IMDb which you may find interesting:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070689/...mments?start=1
I liked Siddhartha more than you, Chris. I watched it when I was very young and read the book a couple of years after the film came out. It had a formative influence on me. Content-wise, it's a simplification and its vision is generalized, as you state, but it does convey some of the basic concepts of Buddhism. I found the experience of watching it intoxicating_the locales (some later destroyed during the Indian-Pakistan conflict), the music, the landscapes, the attractive actors, the use of color, the art direction in general. You also find the film "lovely" and "beautiful" but give these aspects less weight than I do.
What I didn't like about your post is the comparisons. I found most of them irrelevant. Basically I don't care that Steppenwolf is "trippier" or that Arabian Nights is more "exotic", because I don't value those attributes for their own sake, and because I don't think they relate to Siddhartha's aim and purpose. I also don't think Rooks was attempting rural naturalism a la Pather Panchali. I'd have to seek out Meetings with Remarkable Men, which you regard as a "more original depiction of a spiritual quest". Dave Kehr calls it "dull, hermetic and not fun" but I've disagreed with him before. The one film that seems more relevant to compare and contrast would be Why has Boddhi Dharma Left for the East?, a Korean film released in the late 80s. I'm currently watching it for the second time and will post about it tomorrow.
Indeed you did like it more than me, and I don't want to spoil it for you by my, to you, off-the-wall comparisons that show I'm seeking something more that isn't there, but the few reviews I can find of the movie indicate those who weren't enchanted find it vapid and pretty rather than enlightening. Mind you, this review of mine is an earlier effort and I might have put my point accross better today. Of course Rooks may not have been seeking rural authenticity -- he probably couldn't -- but if he had achieved it, wouldn't that have made a better film? My feeling was and still is that the conditions under which Rooks worked in India had a neutralizing, standardizing effect on the very unique style and outlook he shows in his earier, rougher, but more unique film, Chappaqua. The Korean film (which I have seen) is another example, and certainly relevant. I'm glad that you enjoyed the filmed Siddhartha, which is worth watching for Nykvist's cinematography (I saw it in a theater by the way) and which faithfully evokes its literary source using authentic locations.Quote:
(Originally posted by Oscar Jubis)
I liked Siddhartha more than you, Chris. I watched it when I was very young and read the book a couple of years after the film came out. It had a formative influence on me. Content-wise, it's a simplification and its vision is generalized, as you state, but it does convey some of the basic concepts of Buddhism....Basically I don't care that Steppenwolf is "trippier" or that Arabian Nights is more "exotic", because I don't value those attributes for their own sake, and because I don't think they relate to Siddhartha's aim and purpose. I also don't think Rooks was attempting rural naturalism a la Pather Panchali.
My review again http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070689...omments?start=1
Roger Ebert seems to express a not uncommon view in finding Saddhartha "too pretty" and "too long for the very thin material in the Hermann Hesse novel" and feeling that the actors act too much as if they know they're in a movie http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/...301010329/1023
*I didn't find it "enlightening" either,... perhaps instructive. I see that you find it "worth-watching", if only because of Nykvist. I think Ebert's 2 1/2 stars also translate to a mild "thumbs-up". I think you were already a good writer on cinema back in '02. We're just bound to disagree on form and/or content at times. Couldn't access your Bodhi Dharma comments.
Monday March 7th
Lorna Doone (1922) on TCM
Only the second film directed by Maurice Tourneur (Jacques' father) that I have watched. Recently restored to full length, about an aristocratic girl kidnapped and raised by a gang of thieves who falls in love with a country bumpkin. Not far below Tourneur's The Last of the Mohicans quality-wise. Makes me wonder about his numerous lost and unavailable films of the silent era.
Why Has Bodhi Dharma Left for the East? (South Korea, 1989) on dvd
Art teacher turned filmmaker Yong Kyun Bae did everything except act and compose the score of this film. It had a commercial run in NYC four years after playing at Cannes and Toronto in 1989. Bodhi Dharma had a long gestation period, reports vary between 5 and 10 years. A Zen fable about an old monk (Kiegok) living at an isolated temple in the mountains, the abandoned boy (Haejin) he picked up five years earlier (the last time he visited "the world"), and a young man (Kibong) who abandons his blind old mom to seek peace and enlightment. The languorous pace, the images, the evocative soundtrack, the skeletal narrative, and the riddles and pronouncements work together to induce a state of meditative contemplation and a search for meaning. Rosenbaum states that those looking for drama "will have to find it internally". Certainly your enjoyment of it will depend on what you bring into the experience and your willingness to interpret/translate the images into something of value to you. Plot-wise, we have an old monk making preparations for his death and ensuring his knowledge is passed on to the next generations: a young adult dealing with ambivalence about abandoning his mother for the sake of a personal quest, and a boy learning about life and death, and what to do with feelings of guilt caused by his killing a bird. You provide the rest.
First of all, have you seen Kim Ki-duk's Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring? If you have, couple of people have brought up Why Has Bodhi Dharma Left for the East? as the film Kim was possibly "inspired" by (although I don't believe that SSFW&S was simply a profound Buddhist tale if that's in fact what Bodhi is), do you see any similarities?
Yes, arsaib. I watched Spring, Summer... twice. I posted a review of it as part of my coverage of the 21st Miami IFF (Feb 2004). I watched it again three months later after both Chris and Howard posted negative reviews here. Howard called it "a bad movie about spirituality". Chris pointed out the director was raised Christian and doesn't "get" Buddhism. He stated that it was a movie about ideas but "the ideas are ersatz". I mounted my defense of the film (in two separate posts) as a reaction to this last comment. Some quotes from my posts:
"A neatly structured, messily ambigious but engaging story illustrating the tension between morals and instincts."
"The resolution seems to imply that isolation and estrangement from the world are not conducive to a good life"
Another central idea of the film is that "the animal within us is ancient and resistant (the power of instincts), especially if the pupil is to be taken as a representational character (representative of the human race)"
I can see how Ki Duk could have been inspired by Bodhi Dharma although perhaps tales about monks and their pupils isolated from the world in lush settings abound in Eastern folklore. The main difference would be the amount of narrative detail and specificity in Ki-duk's compared to the langurous, sketchy, mystical Bodhi Dharma.
Tuesday March 8th
Samuel Fuller's 40 Guns (1958) on rental dvd (PAL)
"This is direct cinema, uncritizable, unreproachable, given cinema, rather than assimilated, digested or reflected upon. I always come away from Samuel Fuller films both admiring and jealous. I like to take lessons in filmmaking"
Francois Truffaut, 1960.
Barbara Stanwyck stars as an authoritative rancher who rules an Arizona county with her private posse of hired guns, hence the title of this 80-minute western from the maverick director. A new marshall arrives, accompanied by his two brothers, to set things straight. The cattle queen develops passionate feelings for him, but her hothead brother and their differing purposes stand in the way.
What an exciting film to watch. Fuller knows how to utilize the CinemaScope frame for maximum artistic expression. Several scenes are unforgettable, such as the one in which the protagonists bond through a tornado. All the evidence needed to explain Nouvelle Vague directors' devotion for Fuller is here. I am convinced Sergio Leone copied his trademark widescreen close-up of a duelling man's eyes from 40 Guns. Fuller eschews voice-overs and expository scenes causing some viewers to feel temporarily "lost" or to feel Fuller favors style over narrative clarity. For instance, it's not immediately apparent that the men riding into town with the marshall in the opening scene are his brothers, and only mid-way through the film do we understand the extent of Stanwyck's control over what goes on in the town. This information is never spelled out and underlined for the viewer, but I don't mean to imply it's a puzzle or a head scratcher. I can't wait to watch The Big Red One at a theatre, and 10-12 other Fullers I have never watched.
I never even heard of this one. Again you didn't say how or where you watched it, rental or purchase at home I assume? Is The Big Red One actually coming your way? I don't know of a distribution schedule and thought it was gone from screens.
Yesterday on dvd I saw on dvd two movies you recommended and gave my reactions -- "Last Film You've Seen" thread p. 7, bottom.
Jean Genet's Un Chant d'Amour (1950) rental dvd (PAL)
Jean Genet was born in 1910 and abandoned by his mother. He lived with foster parents in a small rural village. His status was changed to "domestic servant" at age 13 and removed from school. He spent his adolescence in and out of prison and institutions. In his early 20s, he traveled through Europe living as a thief, beggar and prostitute. A crucial moment in his life and his artistic development was the support and patronage of Jean Cocteau, who proclaimed him a literary genius. Genet wrote many renowed plays and novels during the 40s and 50s. During the 60s and 70s he focused on political activism, including support of the Black Panthers and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Several of his plays and novels have been adapted for film and television. Two notable films based on his works are Fassbinder's Querelle and Haynes' Poison.
Un Chant d'Amour is the only film written and directed by Genet. It's only 25 minutes long and packs a punch. It recapitulates some of his literary themes and symbols. The film takes place in a prison, each prisoner has his own cell and there is one guard. Un Chant d'Amour focuses on two prisoners: a young French one and an older Arab prisoner. In the opening scene, the Arab fails to pass flowers by attaching them to a cord and swinging it through the window. Each prisoner is seen exploring his body and finding pleasure in self-absorption, but the Arab one strives to make contact and succeeds by passing cigarette smoke through a straw into the young Frenchman's cell. These activities are turned into a peepshow for the guard who gets aroused. He opens the Arab's cell, points a gun at him, beats him with a belt and forces him to perform fellatio. This provokes the Arab to have a rather playful, romantic fantasy in the woods with the young prisoner. The guard's fantasy has a more violent quality to it. At the end, the Arab finally manages to pass flowers from his cell's window into the reaching hand of the younger man. A homoerotic poem stylistically indebted to Cocteau, but the content is Genet's own.
*This dvd was released in the UK (PAL region 2) by The British Film Institute. It includes biographical information about Genet and a running commentary.
I rented these PAL discs from Nicheflix. I received an e-mail on 3/1 stating they had been mailed. They arrived, from Indiana, yesterday 3/8. If discs will take this long to reach me, it's probably not worth it to renew membership at $25 for 4 weeks, after the initial $25-for-6-weeks introductory offer.
*I get the impression that The Big Red One has a type of "gradual", "specialized circuit" distribution. I'll talk to the programmer at the Cosford Cinema, a likely venue for this film. They're showing some Sirk classics later this month, including the seldom seen Tarnished Angels.
*Have you seen Chant d'Amour?
*I'm very happy you watched Los Lunes Al Sol, another example of the excellent films coming out of Spain that deal with social issues: Mar Adentro (euthanasia), Cachorro (Gays raising children), Dame Tus Ojos (domestic violence), etc. I do get the impression that the subtitles fail to translate the brilliance of the script.
*You liked Japon much more. Does the region 1 dvd have the "making of" featurette and interview with Reygadas that are extras on the PAL disc I own?
That is one of the reasons why I left Nicheflix after a couple of months. Also, I eventually got sick of watching bad Korean films since most of the items at the top of my queue took a while to get to me, if at all. Overall it wasn't a satisfactory experience so I haven't mentioned the company very often.Quote:
Originally posted by oscar jubis
I rented these PAL discs from Nicheflix. I received an e-mail on 3/1 stating they had been mailed. They arrived, from Indiana, yesterday 3/8. If discs will take this long to reach me, it's probably not worth it to renew membership at $25 for 4 weeks, after the initial $25-for-6-weeks introductory offer.
Disappointing, eh? Let's see if I get to watch Melo and Mouchette before the 6 weeks are over. BTW, I responded to your question about Spring, Summer... on previous page. Wondering about your take on it.
Oscar: Responses to your questions and comments:Quote:
Originally posted by oscar jubis
*I get the impression that The Big Red One has a type of "gradual", "specialized circuit" distribution. I'll talk to the programmer at the Cosford Cinema, a likely venue for this film. They're showing some Sirk classics later this month, including the seldom seen Tarnished Angels.
*Have you seen Chant d'Amour?
*I'm very happy you watched Los Lunes Al Sol, another example of the excellent films coming out of Spain that deal with social issues: Mar Adentro (euthanasia), Cachorro (Gays raising children), Dame Tus Ojos (domestic violence), etc. I do get the impression that the subtitles fail to translate the brilliance of the script.
*You liked Japon much more. Does the region 1 dvd have *the "making of" featurette and interview with Reygadas that are extras on the PAL disc I own?
*I wish distribution plans were made more public -- assuming the distributors even know what they're doing in advance!
*No, I haven't seen Chant d'Amour. I'm not a fan of Jean Genet, though I loved Edmond White's wonderfully informative biography (http://www.edmundwhite.com/html/genet.htm), which explains all the background of, for example, Genet's early upbringing in Le Morvan.
*I'll watch for the other two Spanish social-issues films (have seen Mar Adentro).
*I didn't check to see if the NTSC Japón dvd contained the "making of" featurette or not, because I was in a hurry to return the Netflix dvd (I'm sharing a friend's Netflix, so I don't want to hold things up), but I think it may have done.
Apropos of the slowness of NicheFlix, Netflix has an especially fast turnnaround if you live in Northern California because the mailing and receiving point is close by in San Jose.
P.s. I sent you a personal email. Did you get it? If not I can resend it. Maybe that email address is dormant.
*Glad you asked, please resend e-mail. Thanks.
*Found out, no thanks to IMdb :) that Japon's NTSC disc contains same extras as the PAL disc. I was actually wrong in calling it a "making of" doc, it's actually Reygadas returning to the village where it was shot. He looks for everyone involved in the film and invites them to the first screening of the film al fresco on a nearby bkb court. Many there have never seen a movie. The doc captures the reactions of those watching the film.
*The director's new film, Battle For Heaven was invited to Venice but "governmental entities" (reports I found were a bit vague) prevented the film from traveling to Italy. Alfonso Cuaron was mighty pissed. The film takes place in Mexico City and depicts three major characters dealings with a corruption so prevalent it's no longer considered immoral. It's been normalized.
*Don't like Genet, uh? I've been wondering whether Chant(1950) is the first openly "homosexual film". It's not an easy term to define. I wouldn't characterize Dreyer's silent film Michael as a gay film for instance. Anger's short film Fireworks (1947) consists of sailors forcibly having sex with Mr. Anger and I read that the title refers to the erect penis. The commentators on the Genet disc made reference to it as perhaps the first.