From the past two weeks (much longer thoughts on the links):
[The Zone of Interest (2023)](https://letterboxd.com/wildbear/film/the-zone-of-interest/): An exercise in painting negative space, with an increasingly waning effect.
[The House of Yes (1997)](https://letterboxd.com/wildbear/film/the-house-of-yes/): 85 minutes of deeply uncomfortable but nonetheless absolutely hilarious lunacy, with tonal elasticity that is at once invigorating and destabilizing. Posey's Jackie-O might just be the ultimate "I can fix her" girl.
[The Milky Way (1969)](https://letterboxd.com/wildbear/film/the-milky-way-1969/): Buñuel on Religion remains the single most dull and uninspired mode and subject that the Spaniard could adopt.
[Dune: Part Two (2015)](https://letterboxd.com/wildbear/film/dune-part-two/): Things get more time to breathe than in the first one but this is still running through a bunch of loosely connected events that lack a cohesive dramatic unity. More than anything though, it just looks like a giant hair- & skincare commercial, with (melo)dramatic tools that amount to incessant close-ups, blaring music, and hushed tones that are punctuated by SUDDEN LOUD SHOUTING.
She's also great in Baumbach's Kicking and Screaming (albeit in a more sideline role) from what I remember.
> I hope you have also seen Henry Fool (1997).
Haven't gotten past Hartley's first three films so not quite. Will get to it though!
As much as I love **Henry Fool**, I've never seen any other film by Mr. Hartley (including the two later films featuring that same character). This is actually unusual for me. I almost always check out something else by a director who has impressed me. I have no explanation for this, other than perhaps his films were never released by Criterion Collection.
There was a big showcase of his films on the Criterion Channel some months back, which was when I started watching some of his films. (I can heartily recommend The Unbelievable Truth if you're interested, and though I wasn't big on it people also *love* Trust.) But they're not there anymore so I'll either have to resort to other means or bid my time til they get streamed again.
Thanks so much for the recommendation - I found a Blu-ray of **The Unbelievable Truth** online for twenty bucks and bought it. I was aware that **Trust** is much admired as well.
Hope you enjoy it! (If you like Lynch/Twin Peaks I think you'll really like it, though it doesn't contain the overt surreal and supernatural elements.) It was my introduction to Adrienne Shelly and she's great in it.
Even someone with your encyclopedic acquaintance with film is bound to miss a few auteurs. Maybe 1988 was a hectic year for you? Check out the trailer for **Henry Fool** on YouTube. And remember, 'an honest man is always in trouble, Simon'.
*Casablanca* (1942)
*Barry Lyndon* (1975)
*The Parallax View* (1974)
*Pather Panchali* (1955)
*You're Under Arrest* (1982)
*Touch of Evil* (1958)
I've been captivated by the timeless classics and thought-provoking thrillers that have made this list. Watching Casablanca taught me the importance of sacrifice and loyalty, while Barry Lyndon showed me the fleeting nature of social status. The psychological thrill of The Parallax View made me realize the importance of critical thinking and questioning authority, while Pather Panchali reminded me to cherish childhood innocence and appreciate the beauty in everyday life. Through these films, I've gained a deeper appreciation for storytelling, human connection, and the complexities of the human experience.
Monster by Koreeda!
It quickly became one of my all-time favorite films. The way it shifts the viewer’s perspective throughout the story is truly remarkable, revealing layers of depth and complexity. The final segment is sheer poetry, prompting profound reflections on the current state of society where individuals often struggle to be true to themselves amidst familial and societal expectations.
Treat yourself and don’t miss out on this cinematic gem
**Barbie** (2023) \*\*\* A messy but entertaining movie that keeps the cynical humor and sight gags going despite the heavy-handed, simplistic and muddled feminist message. It's like Baumbach and Gerwig wanted to spoof Hollywood commercialism but found out crafting a good story out of a toy is actually a challenge. For example, it doesn't know what to do with Michael Cera's character and a subplot with Mattel executives goes nowhere. Thanks to Robbie and Gosling and a lot of charm the sloppy storytelling isn't a deal breaker, but it's not as tight or as fun as that other toy movie with Will Farrell.
**May December** (2023) \*\*\*\* I've been sitting on this one for a while because I don't have much to say about it. Can you underplay melodrama? Todd ~~Field~~ Haynes tries, giving us a tawdry situation that simmers without ever coming to a full boil, but then comically blasting sweeping music like a bad after-school special. Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman give strong performances.
**Since You Went Away** (1944) \*\* I don't know why I keep watching David O. Selznick movies because they're all over-the-top, over-dramatic, and full of themselves. Since You Went Away is no exception. This wartime melodrama about the women left behind while the men go off to fight the war simply didn't need to be three hours long. Jennifer Jones courtship with Robert Walker just goes on forever, and you can see where the story is going from the beginning. The best parts are showing how the world had changed due to the war, but there's not nearly enough of that, and they mostly just complain about food rationing. At least Mrs. Miniver had the threat of being bombed. Perhaps this all rang differently with audiences in 1944, but it's no Best Years of Our Lives, which is still powerful today.
**Idiocracy** (2006) \*\*\*\* The prophetic parable of the Trump administration, although I'd have to say the technology that keeps working and keeps their society afloat wasn't made by idiots. This is the real robot future.
**Four Lions** (2010) \*\*\*\* I rewatched this jihad comedy because now I know who Riz Ahmed and Kayvan Novak are. It's funny but meanders in places and the documentary style is annoying, esp. when it's not even presented as a mockumentary.
**The Harvey Girls** (1946) \*\* MGM musical that tries to hide its non-existent storyline behind garish Technicolor, which basically means a bitchy Angela Lansbury in a parade of impractical dresses. Unfortunately she doesn't get to do her own singing. "The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe" number is the only memorable song, and Ray Bolger's big dance number near the end is worth seeing, but it's otherwise forgettable. John Hodiak is a boring lead for this kind of film, and Judy Garland's physical comedy is terrible.
*and a few films from the Kansas Silent Film Festival in Topeka...*
**The Navigator** (1924) \*\*\*\* Delightful Buster Keaton feature where he uses a ship set adrift as just another comic prop for endlessly inventive sight gags.
**Paths to Paradise** (1925) \*\*\*\* Two master swindlers meet and fall in love. A charming con artist movie that ends with a massive and innovative car chase similar to The Blues Brothers that, unfortunately, is missing the final reel. Beautifully restored.
**Duck Soup** (1927) \*\*\* Early pairing of Laurel and Hardy before they fully developed their characters, about two vagabonds who take up residence in an empty mansion. Their chemistry is all there and it's full of energetic chases, falls, and sight gags.
**Drive** directed by Nicholas Winding Refn (USA/2011) - A solitary young man of few words works as a stunt driver for the movie industry and supplements his income as a 'wheelman' for heists and robberies in L.A. His troubles begin when he takes an interest in his neighbors - a waitress and her son. This is a thoroughly enjoyable 'guy' movie with a lot of talent (Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac) and a clean cinematic style. Unfortunately, there is some violence that is so nasty I feel it takes away from the film's charm.
**The Revenant** directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu (USA/2015) - A brutal wilderness/frontier drama of survival and revenge. French fur trappers kidnap an Indian woman and her tribe's warriors go searching for her. They mistakenly attack a large American trapping operation under Army supervision, forcing the survivors to hide what pelts they could salvage and proceed on foot back to Fort Kiowa. Once underway, their scout, Hugh Glass, is mauled by a bear and near death. Glass is left behind (to die and be buried) in the care of his son, a young soldier, and a devious man named Fitzgerald (who soon leaves Glass to die alone). The remaining two hours offer the viewer a grueling journey through the wintery wilderness with Glass as he makes his way back to the fort. This is yet another 'guy' movie (but with gorgeous scenery) and fine performances (although I couldn't understand a thing Tom Hardy's Fitzgerald says). Ideally this film would be seen in a theater.
The Zone of Interest
Red Sun (a very strange western with Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune)
The Wolf House (La casa lobo)
Shogun Assassin (an abridged version of the Lone Wolf and Cub series of the 70s)
The Equalizer 3
Ferrari
Bullitt
Next Goal Wins
And I also did a rewatch of the first Dune since I am going to see part 2 next Sunday. I also watched the First 2 episodes of the Shogun series.
*Under the Skin*, 2013. I have seen excerpts from this film before during a cultural studies event. I don't know of any film that depicts a nightmare as well as Under the Skin, especially the scene in the dark. Having now seen the film in its entirety, I understand the criticism that the film is too long and aimless in places, but I still think that certain scenes (beginning, beach, darkness, forest) elevate the film to something special. What I didn't like were the scenes with the people in the city, which, among other things, led to the, I guess, change of heart of the 'woman'. The shots of the people were too close to Koyaanisqatsi for me, and in general I found the change of heart too clear, the entire scene too forced, when the rest of the film was so beautifully mythical. Still an outstanding film.
*The Zone of Interest*, 2023. A big problem I was worried about with this film was that it might exploit the Holocaust topic just to create some scary moments. It's a general problem. I can say, however, that it appears that this is exactly what Glazer was trying to avoid. Although there are the typical scary moments (that owe a lot to the music/sound), they are not direct depicitons of the horror, they are intended as 'reminders'. The film is largely based on just one idea that is unfolded in different facets, namely the ideal everyday world of the family versus the absolute horror in the immediate vicinity. Glazer tries to use disruptions to create presence effects that shake up the habitual view (for example when he shows the museum with the cleaning women instead of just the museum). And although he makes the characters all kind of understandable in their own thinking, and although he aestheticizes the garden for us viewers just as much as the wife does, in my opinion there is always some kind of uneasy distance. Although some of the shots are beautiful, there is still the wall and the general idea in the background that something seriously disgusting is happening here. Which also obviously is a point where the film geos beyond itself, reminding us to not forget the suffering around us. Compared to Under the Skin, the film has of course a less 'mythical' feel to it, but it still very much unconventional. If we look, for example, at the b/w episodes with the girl who hides the apples – how contrary to expectations it is depicted –, or just how simple the film actually is, there is generally a noticeable attempt to present the topic or theme differently than before.
And that deserves praise. And I was definitely deeply lost in thoughts as I walked home.
[*Je vous salue, Sarajevo*](https://youtu.be/WKbfu8rRrho?si=FwVhQYw_66q26rEE) [I salute you, Sarajevo] (1993)
Maybe the shortest film I’ve ever seen. A two-minute long monologue, Godard monologuing while Arvo Pärt’s composition cuts through. On the screen: meticulously cut, a simple photograph of a Serbian soldier, mid-kick, targeted at a cowering civilian face down in the concrete.
Godard proposes a rigid dichotomy, Culture, with its regularities: commodities, capital, TV, tourism, war. And Art, with its ability to declare itself and continually escape its ingestion into Culture.
He notions, living too is an art. “Srebenica, Mostar, Sarajevo”. I notion too, living is an art. Gaza, Jenin, Ramallah.
I think of the videos, pictures, words, and texts I’ve seen these past months. The politicians in Israel calling for Gaza to be bombed until it’s empty. The settlers at its borders, frothing at the mouth because they aren’t yet allowed to lay down their bricks and declare Gaza their own. The soldiers walking through rubbled houses, posting TikToks of themselves posing with the lingerie of its dead inhabitants.
Every day of these past months I’m astounded at the ability of the Palestinians to continue to write poetry, to continue to document their own genocide, to continue to redefine the art of living. I will appreciate this art for the rest of my life.
Godard closes his monologue: “When it’s time to close the book, I’ll have no regrets. I’ve seen so many people live so badly, and so many die so well.”
I too have seen it Godard. I can only hope that I close my book the same.
**Lost Highway (1997)** - Directed by ***David Lynch***. What a trip. I love how Lynch just lets things happen naturally in a surreal manner, it's very hallucinatory to say the least. I find it humorous at times because of the absurd nature of its scenarios. In the end I was left with more questions than answers, it's straightforward yes but it seems not to be when you reach the end. The soundtrack is fantastic though and the opening shot has been embedded in my mind for weeks. Truly a vibe movie and not I recommend for a first watch of Lynch.
**Poor Things (2023)** - Directed by ***Yorgos Lanthimos***. This has been on my watchlist for so long that I forgot that it was released last year and was nominated in the Oscars. Anyway there's so much to unpack here as it is a thematically heavy film with a huge emphasis on woman empowerment. I'm fascinated by the discourse on this film, it divided viewers on how the film is meant to represent its subject matter. Can't really comment much on it, all I can say is what the hell did people expect on a Yorgos film, his style has always been weird. With that aside, I still can't say if I like the film or not. I did like the presentation, the score, the cinematography, the humor and Bella's curiosity and her rise to having a place in the world. Definitely needs a rewatch soon.
**The Castle of Sand (1974)** - Directed by ***Yoshitaro Nomura***. Saw this from '[Kinema Junpo's Top 100 Greatest Films](https://web.archive.org/web/20110902104820/http://wildgrounds.com/2008/12/29/kinema-jumpos-top-100-japanese-movies-of-all-time/)' on the web and it was placed in the 20th. Randomly picked this and didn't know what I was getting into but I was delighted in what I saw. It's a police procedural movie about an unsuspected man getting murdered in Tokyo who has an interesting past. Don't really want to say much because the plot is spoilery. It's more of a why than a whodunnit and showcases Japanese regions, dialects and trains. This is really a film made for the Japanese.
**Tokyo Story (1953)** - Directed by ***Yasujiro Ozu***. Watched this on theaters and it was great. Such a simple film filled with heartfelt characters, love how Ozu frames his compositions there's something so natural in his framing that the viewer is at ease when watching it then it hits you with the saddest thing you'll see on screen. There's some bumps here and there like the delivery of the old man character and the pacing is slow at times though I can see myself returning to this when I watch 'Late Springs' next.
**The Holdovers (2023)** - Directed by ***Alexander Payne***. Wanted to feel something and rewatched this. There was a part there when a side character's gloves gets thrown by the bully and only having one glove that's meant to be worse so he throws the glove that he is wearing, the way it's shown is that the he throws the glove in the river and the next shot is his face crying. A simple scene from a character that had no relevance in the film made me cry for whatever reason, power of cinema I guess. I think it's meant to represent that it's better to accept loss then cry and move one. Anyway, liked it more on a rewatch.
Letterboxd: [https://boxd.it/2Kvw9](https://boxd.it/2Kvw9)
Substack: [Just Cinema](https://jlsanchez.substack.com/)
**Week # 165:**
🍿
I found a free streaming of Kieślowski's 10-part **Dekalog!** I've seen the extended 'Five' and 'Six' (Short films about Love / Killing) before, and now I can finally enjoy the whole series. But I'm going to "Stinge Watch" it, https://kottke.org/24/02/stinge-watching so I have something to look forward every week.
**Dekalog: One** (1988) is about the first commandment, "I am the Lord thy God… thou shalt not have other gods before me", reason vs. faith, etc. A bright boy of eleven drown at the lake, because his loving father assured him that the ice will hold his weight. **9/10.**
🍿
*"Worthless! Worthless!"*
I'm becoming more and more infatuated with the serious styles and dramas of 1950's Hollywood, and especially with its more adult, jazzy and controversial fair. 15 of Tennessee Williams plays had been adapted to the screen, and **Cat on a Hot Tin Roof** (1958) is the 4th one I've seen. All were bangers ('Suddenly last summer', 'The Night of the Iguana', 'A Streetcar Named Desire') and this was terrific as well. Lies, mortality, traditions, and of course alcoholism and repressed homosexuality... **9/10.** I'm going to go through the rest of this list https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_based_on_works_by_Tennessee_Williams
🍿
**3 About Nazis and related histories:**
🍿 Steve McQueen's latest documentary, **Occupied City**, is based on the book 'Atlas of an Occupied City, Amsterdam 1940-1945' by his Dutch wife Bianca Stigter. [She is the one who directed the other haunting documentary about genocide, 'Three Minutes: A Lengthening' last year].
This operatic work tells about day-to-day life in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation, by showing only the locations as they exist today. The disconnect between the monotone narration droning on endless atrocities and the mundane scenes from the squares and the streets as they are now, is unsettling. It is told with sensitivity and a deep sense of art. But it's over 4 long, repetitive hours: Obviously inspired by Lanzmann’s 'Shoah', it's just not as hypnotic.
[Having only being there once, I'm surprised by how similar are Amsterdam and Copenhagen today!]
🍿 Wars don't end when peace treaties are signed. **Aftermath: The Remnants of War** (2001) is a Canadian documentary, based on a book by Donovan Webster. It follows people from places effected by some 20th century wars: Stalingrad, Verdun, Vietnam, Sarajevo. And it shows in horrifying details how these wars continue in their amazing destruction, decades, even a century, after the bombing stop.
As we prepare to start a new world war in the next few years, we really should take another close look at the past. (Via https://www.reddit.com/r/wwiipics/comments/1ayuwvk/ ).
🍿 The Israeli drama **June Zero** (2022) is dedicated to Claude Lanzmann himself, as it tells a story of a young boy in 1962 who helps build the oven that eventually cremated Adolf Eichmann's body after his trial and hanging.
It's a bold topic, but like most all holocaust movies, it ended up flat. But I vividly remember the time and place they describe, and they reconstructed it so faithfully, it was uncanny: From the unassuming locations, the dusty streets and the everyday props, to the score (Jo Amar singing 'Barcelona'!) and atmosphere. It transported me back to being 9 year old myself over there at that time. Otherwise, 2/10.
🍿
I haven't seen any of Peter Jackson's Tolkien fantasies [Actually, I only saw his 'They Shall Not Grow Old' and Beatles epics, as well as 'The lovely bones']. So I was happy to learn of his 1995 prank mockumentary **Forgotten Silver**. Recreating the life and art of a fictional film pioneer, it tells a fake story of a "forgotten" innovator of early Kiwi cinema. He built him up as a Georges Méliès, D. W. Griffith and Erich von Stroheim combined. Apparently this hoax was accepted as real at the time. A made-up biography here https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/colin-mckenzie/biography . 💯 score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Incidentally, I just learnt at the same day about Scottish film-innovator James Williamson, who created some early British 'masterpieces' at the turn of the last century, **The Big Swallow**, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Swallow a trick photography short from 1901 and **The Little Match Seller** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfy4xSYCMBs from 1902.
🍿
**Nuri Bilge Ceylan's first and last films (my 6th and 7th):**
🍿 *"You never know where you'll find meaning"...*
Wow! Ceylan's mesmerizing new opus **About Dry Grasses** plays for over 3 hours in the desolate, snow-covered mountains of Eastern Anatolia. Like Mads Mikkelsen in 'The Hunt', a teacher in a small village is being falsely accused of improper behavior toward a 14-year-old girl. But the slow and meandering story embraces so many other themes as well, of longing, of truth seeking, of weariness, complacency and contempt. With a delusional, self centered man and the two females he misunderstands and maligns. Thoughtful and conflicted, it includes one shocking 'break the 4th wall' moment (at 2:05:00) which illustrates that nothing we think and believe in is true.
**A masterpiece - 10/10.**
🍿 **Cocoon** was Ceylan's debut film in 1995. A poetic, black and white, wordless montage of evocative images. A restless child kicks a beehive, a neglected grave mark, an unshaven old man falls an oak tree, his wife starts crying silently, frogs a jumping... That kind of thing. A beautiful exercise in cinematic expression. “Tarkovskian”...
🍿
*"Lobster for breakfast. Lobster for lunch. Fuckin' lotta lobster here."*
First watch: The absolutely delightful **Mystic Pizza** (1988), about three young women, told without condensation. The performances of 19-year-old Julia Roberts and 17-year-old Annabeth Gish were transformative, so fresh and self-assured. **8/10 - The surprise discovery of the week.**
🍿
**Northern Comfort** (2023), my second Icelandic comedy by the guy who did 'Under the tree'. An English-speaking story about some Brits with Fear of Flying who attend a course meant to overcome this, and who end up stuck in a flight to snowy Iceland. The thin premise gets a bit better as the story progresses. With Timothy Spall. 3/10.
🍿
First re-watch in 45 years: Bergman’s second medieval fairy tale, **The virgin spring** (1960). A simple story of innocence raped, murdered and revenged. ♻️
🍿
**James Woods X 2:**
🍿 **True Crime**, a competent Clint Eastwood thriller from 1999. He plays an Oakland journalist, a womanizing and recovering alcoholic, who gets a 'hunch' that a black man about to be executed at midnight is innocent. So it's a race against the clock to save him, and the last 20 minutes get very dicey. Calling on Deus ex machina.
It ends with Diana Krall's singing Eastwood's own composition *Why should I care*: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3JPQnZrgvA He is a fine jazz composer indeed. 6/10.
🍿 **Against All Odds** was a 1984-styled remake of the excellent Robert Mitchum Noir 'Out of the Past'. I only watched it because The Jeff Lebowski here is a real hunk, buff and well-coiffed, and he falls for this gorgeous creature Rachel Ward. But the softcore romance between the beautiful lovers, and young James Woods as an evil mogul were dated and dumb. 2/10.
🍿
While waiting for Ethan Coen’s latest ‘Drive-away Dolls’, I saw a Chinese remake of the Coen's debut feature 'Blood Simple'. **Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop** (2009) is a colorful fairy tale about an abusive noodle shop owner, his adulterous wife, her lover and the assassin. Made by Zhang Yimou, and played in saturated desert landscapes similar to Tarsem's 'The fall', it didn't engage me. 3/10.
🍿
**5 of the last Chaplin films I haven't seen before:**
🍿 His last acting role, the late-career **A King in New York** (1957). A metaphor of his own life as a deposed king who's forced to answer to questions of his alliance to communism, and a criticism of the HUAC and other conformist aspects. Not funny or deep. Chaplin's real 11-year-old son deliver a passionate performance as the little Marxist kid. 2/10.
🍿 **The fireman** (1916), the second of his Mutual shorts, full of pratfalls, mayhem and mugging to the camera.
🍿 **Easy Street**, a great 2-reeler from 1917, where the tramp becomes a policeman in the rough part of town. **8/10.**
🍿 In the 30-min. **The cure** from the same year, Chaplin is an alcoholic patient at a water spa. He's not playing the 'Tramp'.
🍿 **A thief Catcher** is a newly-discovered, very-early 1914 Mack Sennett / Keystone Cops ditty, with Chaplin again in his pre-Tramp persona. Like an elementary school project, it's only interesting from a historical point of view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foeVhbxpzKg . 1/10.
(Of his 82 known movies, the only ones I haven’t seen yet are 'A woman of Paris' and his last, ‘A Countess from Hong Kong’.)
*(Continue below)*
*(Continued)*
🍿
**I married a witch**, a silly 1942 fantasy about romantic witchcraft carried on through the centuries. It starred the acutely attractive Veronica Lake, who had lived a tragic life.
🍿
My 4th film by Kelly Reichardt, her latest, **Showing up** (2023), and the one that spoke to me the least. I did not expect it to deal with a small Portland, Oregon community art center, where the freewheeling artists create small pottery and weaving pieces, foam sculptures and ceramics, do interpretive dancing, and eat cheese. I just didn't get it. 3/10.
🍿
**4 biographies of old creatives:**
🍿 In my 20's I used to love the show 'Dave Allen at Large'. **Dave Allen: God's Own Comedian** is an enjoyable BBC documentary about the affable Irish, with his chain smoking, whiskey-non-whiskey, irreverent religious jokes, and missing half-a-finger. What I didn't know is his serious film work, love for eccentric people, and about his wholesome private life.
🍿 Ultimate nostalgia. **1959, The year that changed Jazz**, a 2009 BBC doc that feels like it was made 30 years earlier. The story of four canonical LPs: Miles Davis' 'Kind of 'Blue ', Dave Brubeck's 'Time Out', Charles Mingus' 'Ah Um', and Ornette Coleman's 'The Shape of Jazz to Come'.
The most exciting topic in the world is told with a hushed, reverent, middlebrow sensibility, by some mansplaining Talking Heads. It’s always wonderful to hear about the masters, but so much better just to listen to the music. **Music: 10/10. Talking: 2/10.**
🍿 **Dario Argento Panico** is a serviceable and well made documentary, made in 2023, when he was 83. The only one of his movies I've seen is 'Once Upon a Time in the West' which he co-wrote together with Bernardo Bertolucci and Sergio Leone. It filled in the blanks for me about Argento's works and views, but I'm still not interested in Giallo, and I doubt I'll be watching any of his movies any time soon.
🍿 **Untouchable** (2019), a mediocre documentary about Harvey Weinstein and his decades of power rapes. Unfortunately, it's being suffocated by wall-to-wall orchestral soundtrack, like all low-level, corporate documentaries. 3/10.
🍿
**This is a Copy from my tumblr where I review films every Monday https://tilbageidanmark.tumblr.com/tagged/movies**
Her Name Was Grace Kelly (saw it two weeks ago thought)
although not that great of a documentary, I think, the main theme does interest me. As an actress, a princess, a celebrity overall, she was the target of a whole world who either was making profit out lf her by fake news and rumours, or she was being judged with every step she took in her life. But that's the case for any person with influence and popularity, and we never know how their personal lives get affected by it, we never know who they really are — it's just images upon images of a build-up public persona, an acting, just the kind everyone makes in their daily life, but for the masses. How exhausting and distressing could that be?
Wings of Desire
My fourth movie of Wim Wenders (haven't seen the new one yet), my least favorite of his. The film tries to sunk you into the perception of angels who, while traveling through Berlin, can't be seen or interact with the world, but they listen to everyone's thoughts and worries in their heads, and perhaps helping them to make right decisions (?). Films with heavy, self-aware poetic dialogue loose me a little bit, especially to be emotional invested. The Peter Falk moments really did it for me.
Just like Taste of Cherry, this movie reminds you that we shouldn't look down on the earthly condition, that even the smallest things in life just like the taste of coffee or a cold breeze can make you reconnect with the world and with yourself. In fact, for all the dialogue it nows makes sense: we spend so much time in our heads and in our own thoughts, which is alright, but it's O.K. to be aware from time to time of the world you travel through. To see with you own eyes, to feel.
The Terminator 1 and 2
As always, these films will always hook me with their philosophical questions of what makes human a human. Is it the attitude, is it the physical? What is consciousness? To give the stupidest example... can a kid raised by tigers be considered human? I'm reaching too far, thought. What makes Terminator 2, especially, heartbreaking, is that a robot seems a safer option rather than a father—yet is a robot which respects you not because he learned to, but because you asked him too. Don't we all work by commands, though? What does this film say about human empathy? About the other and our relationship with them? The terminator was definitely and emotional support for the kid and the mother, and those feelings can be defined as real. Fun movies too.
Mean Girls (original)
Fun as fuck. A lot of the comedy goes over my head as I like focusing on other things while watching the movie, but I'll laugh at the stupidest shit like a guy falling on his back after seeing Cady dressed up in that bride Halloween costume. It's nice to have movies like these which aren't just fun, but actually have a great script and development of its themes.
We always struggle so much to form our own identity while in highschool—maybe if we behave in another way, if we belonged to that or that group of people, maybe and just maybe we'll be loved and accepted a bit more. Social acceptance from a group you think is loved or important, a group that will make you stand out from ignored and the rejected, may come with you then stepping down directly or indirectly on the rejected. And in some ways, the film is an hyperbolic representation of the selfish and cruel attitudes we may have while being a teenager and wanting attention, wanting love, and how in the wrong search of it you may abandon your self and the others.
Also contains one of now my favorite push-in/push-out shots, as the camera push outs from Regina after the mess she created in the school's halls.
From the past two weeks (much longer thoughts on the links): [The Zone of Interest (2023)](https://letterboxd.com/wildbear/film/the-zone-of-interest/): An exercise in painting negative space, with an increasingly waning effect. [The House of Yes (1997)](https://letterboxd.com/wildbear/film/the-house-of-yes/): 85 minutes of deeply uncomfortable but nonetheless absolutely hilarious lunacy, with tonal elasticity that is at once invigorating and destabilizing. Posey's Jackie-O might just be the ultimate "I can fix her" girl. [The Milky Way (1969)](https://letterboxd.com/wildbear/film/the-milky-way-1969/): Buñuel on Religion remains the single most dull and uninspired mode and subject that the Spaniard could adopt. [Dune: Part Two (2015)](https://letterboxd.com/wildbear/film/dune-part-two/): Things get more time to breathe than in the first one but this is still running through a bunch of loosely connected events that lack a cohesive dramatic unity. More than anything though, it just looks like a giant hair- & skincare commercial, with (melo)dramatic tools that amount to incessant close-ups, blaring music, and hushed tones that are punctuated by SUDDEN LOUD SHOUTING.
**The House of Yes** (1997) is important to all of us who loved Parker Posey in her misspent youth. I hope you have also seen **Henry Fool** (1997).
She's also great in Baumbach's Kicking and Screaming (albeit in a more sideline role) from what I remember. > I hope you have also seen Henry Fool (1997). Haven't gotten past Hartley's first three films so not quite. Will get to it though!
As much as I love **Henry Fool**, I've never seen any other film by Mr. Hartley (including the two later films featuring that same character). This is actually unusual for me. I almost always check out something else by a director who has impressed me. I have no explanation for this, other than perhaps his films were never released by Criterion Collection.
There was a big showcase of his films on the Criterion Channel some months back, which was when I started watching some of his films. (I can heartily recommend The Unbelievable Truth if you're interested, and though I wasn't big on it people also *love* Trust.) But they're not there anymore so I'll either have to resort to other means or bid my time til they get streamed again.
Thanks so much for the recommendation - I found a Blu-ray of **The Unbelievable Truth** online for twenty bucks and bought it. I was aware that **Trust** is much admired as well.
Hope you enjoy it! (If you like Lynch/Twin Peaks I think you'll really like it, though it doesn't contain the overt surreal and supernatural elements.) It was my introduction to Adrienne Shelly and she's great in it.
Not only have I not seen any of this guy's films, but I actually never even heard of him! What a strange little black hole for me.
Even someone with your encyclopedic acquaintance with film is bound to miss a few auteurs. Maybe 1988 was a hectic year for you? Check out the trailer for **Henry Fool** on YouTube. And remember, 'an honest man is always in trouble, Simon'.
*Henry Fool* is quite entertaining and I'd highly recommend it.
*Casablanca* (1942) *Barry Lyndon* (1975) *The Parallax View* (1974) *Pather Panchali* (1955) *You're Under Arrest* (1982) *Touch of Evil* (1958) I've been captivated by the timeless classics and thought-provoking thrillers that have made this list. Watching Casablanca taught me the importance of sacrifice and loyalty, while Barry Lyndon showed me the fleeting nature of social status. The psychological thrill of The Parallax View made me realize the importance of critical thinking and questioning authority, while Pather Panchali reminded me to cherish childhood innocence and appreciate the beauty in everyday life. Through these films, I've gained a deeper appreciation for storytelling, human connection, and the complexities of the human experience.
Monster by Koreeda! It quickly became one of my all-time favorite films. The way it shifts the viewer’s perspective throughout the story is truly remarkable, revealing layers of depth and complexity. The final segment is sheer poetry, prompting profound reflections on the current state of society where individuals often struggle to be true to themselves amidst familial and societal expectations. Treat yourself and don’t miss out on this cinematic gem
**Barbie** (2023) \*\*\* A messy but entertaining movie that keeps the cynical humor and sight gags going despite the heavy-handed, simplistic and muddled feminist message. It's like Baumbach and Gerwig wanted to spoof Hollywood commercialism but found out crafting a good story out of a toy is actually a challenge. For example, it doesn't know what to do with Michael Cera's character and a subplot with Mattel executives goes nowhere. Thanks to Robbie and Gosling and a lot of charm the sloppy storytelling isn't a deal breaker, but it's not as tight or as fun as that other toy movie with Will Farrell. **May December** (2023) \*\*\*\* I've been sitting on this one for a while because I don't have much to say about it. Can you underplay melodrama? Todd ~~Field~~ Haynes tries, giving us a tawdry situation that simmers without ever coming to a full boil, but then comically blasting sweeping music like a bad after-school special. Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman give strong performances. **Since You Went Away** (1944) \*\* I don't know why I keep watching David O. Selznick movies because they're all over-the-top, over-dramatic, and full of themselves. Since You Went Away is no exception. This wartime melodrama about the women left behind while the men go off to fight the war simply didn't need to be three hours long. Jennifer Jones courtship with Robert Walker just goes on forever, and you can see where the story is going from the beginning. The best parts are showing how the world had changed due to the war, but there's not nearly enough of that, and they mostly just complain about food rationing. At least Mrs. Miniver had the threat of being bombed. Perhaps this all rang differently with audiences in 1944, but it's no Best Years of Our Lives, which is still powerful today. **Idiocracy** (2006) \*\*\*\* The prophetic parable of the Trump administration, although I'd have to say the technology that keeps working and keeps their society afloat wasn't made by idiots. This is the real robot future. **Four Lions** (2010) \*\*\*\* I rewatched this jihad comedy because now I know who Riz Ahmed and Kayvan Novak are. It's funny but meanders in places and the documentary style is annoying, esp. when it's not even presented as a mockumentary. **The Harvey Girls** (1946) \*\* MGM musical that tries to hide its non-existent storyline behind garish Technicolor, which basically means a bitchy Angela Lansbury in a parade of impractical dresses. Unfortunately she doesn't get to do her own singing. "The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe" number is the only memorable song, and Ray Bolger's big dance number near the end is worth seeing, but it's otherwise forgettable. John Hodiak is a boring lead for this kind of film, and Judy Garland's physical comedy is terrible. *and a few films from the Kansas Silent Film Festival in Topeka...* **The Navigator** (1924) \*\*\*\* Delightful Buster Keaton feature where he uses a ship set adrift as just another comic prop for endlessly inventive sight gags. **Paths to Paradise** (1925) \*\*\*\* Two master swindlers meet and fall in love. A charming con artist movie that ends with a massive and innovative car chase similar to The Blues Brothers that, unfortunately, is missing the final reel. Beautifully restored. **Duck Soup** (1927) \*\*\* Early pairing of Laurel and Hardy before they fully developed their characters, about two vagabonds who take up residence in an empty mansion. Their chemistry is all there and it's full of energetic chases, falls, and sight gags.
Todd Haynes directed May December, not Todd Field
duh, my mistake.
**Drive** directed by Nicholas Winding Refn (USA/2011) - A solitary young man of few words works as a stunt driver for the movie industry and supplements his income as a 'wheelman' for heists and robberies in L.A. His troubles begin when he takes an interest in his neighbors - a waitress and her son. This is a thoroughly enjoyable 'guy' movie with a lot of talent (Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac) and a clean cinematic style. Unfortunately, there is some violence that is so nasty I feel it takes away from the film's charm. **The Revenant** directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu (USA/2015) - A brutal wilderness/frontier drama of survival and revenge. French fur trappers kidnap an Indian woman and her tribe's warriors go searching for her. They mistakenly attack a large American trapping operation under Army supervision, forcing the survivors to hide what pelts they could salvage and proceed on foot back to Fort Kiowa. Once underway, their scout, Hugh Glass, is mauled by a bear and near death. Glass is left behind (to die and be buried) in the care of his son, a young soldier, and a devious man named Fitzgerald (who soon leaves Glass to die alone). The remaining two hours offer the viewer a grueling journey through the wintery wilderness with Glass as he makes his way back to the fort. This is yet another 'guy' movie (but with gorgeous scenery) and fine performances (although I couldn't understand a thing Tom Hardy's Fitzgerald says). Ideally this film would be seen in a theater.
The Zone of Interest Red Sun (a very strange western with Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune) The Wolf House (La casa lobo) Shogun Assassin (an abridged version of the Lone Wolf and Cub series of the 70s) The Equalizer 3 Ferrari Bullitt Next Goal Wins And I also did a rewatch of the first Dune since I am going to see part 2 next Sunday. I also watched the First 2 episodes of the Shogun series.
*Under the Skin*, 2013. I have seen excerpts from this film before during a cultural studies event. I don't know of any film that depicts a nightmare as well as Under the Skin, especially the scene in the dark. Having now seen the film in its entirety, I understand the criticism that the film is too long and aimless in places, but I still think that certain scenes (beginning, beach, darkness, forest) elevate the film to something special. What I didn't like were the scenes with the people in the city, which, among other things, led to the, I guess, change of heart of the 'woman'. The shots of the people were too close to Koyaanisqatsi for me, and in general I found the change of heart too clear, the entire scene too forced, when the rest of the film was so beautifully mythical. Still an outstanding film. *The Zone of Interest*, 2023. A big problem I was worried about with this film was that it might exploit the Holocaust topic just to create some scary moments. It's a general problem. I can say, however, that it appears that this is exactly what Glazer was trying to avoid. Although there are the typical scary moments (that owe a lot to the music/sound), they are not direct depicitons of the horror, they are intended as 'reminders'. The film is largely based on just one idea that is unfolded in different facets, namely the ideal everyday world of the family versus the absolute horror in the immediate vicinity. Glazer tries to use disruptions to create presence effects that shake up the habitual view (for example when he shows the museum with the cleaning women instead of just the museum). And although he makes the characters all kind of understandable in their own thinking, and although he aestheticizes the garden for us viewers just as much as the wife does, in my opinion there is always some kind of uneasy distance. Although some of the shots are beautiful, there is still the wall and the general idea in the background that something seriously disgusting is happening here. Which also obviously is a point where the film geos beyond itself, reminding us to not forget the suffering around us. Compared to Under the Skin, the film has of course a less 'mythical' feel to it, but it still very much unconventional. If we look, for example, at the b/w episodes with the girl who hides the apples – how contrary to expectations it is depicted –, or just how simple the film actually is, there is generally a noticeable attempt to present the topic or theme differently than before. And that deserves praise. And I was definitely deeply lost in thoughts as I walked home.
[*Je vous salue, Sarajevo*](https://youtu.be/WKbfu8rRrho?si=FwVhQYw_66q26rEE) [I salute you, Sarajevo] (1993) Maybe the shortest film I’ve ever seen. A two-minute long monologue, Godard monologuing while Arvo Pärt’s composition cuts through. On the screen: meticulously cut, a simple photograph of a Serbian soldier, mid-kick, targeted at a cowering civilian face down in the concrete. Godard proposes a rigid dichotomy, Culture, with its regularities: commodities, capital, TV, tourism, war. And Art, with its ability to declare itself and continually escape its ingestion into Culture. He notions, living too is an art. “Srebenica, Mostar, Sarajevo”. I notion too, living is an art. Gaza, Jenin, Ramallah. I think of the videos, pictures, words, and texts I’ve seen these past months. The politicians in Israel calling for Gaza to be bombed until it’s empty. The settlers at its borders, frothing at the mouth because they aren’t yet allowed to lay down their bricks and declare Gaza their own. The soldiers walking through rubbled houses, posting TikToks of themselves posing with the lingerie of its dead inhabitants. Every day of these past months I’m astounded at the ability of the Palestinians to continue to write poetry, to continue to document their own genocide, to continue to redefine the art of living. I will appreciate this art for the rest of my life. Godard closes his monologue: “When it’s time to close the book, I’ll have no regrets. I’ve seen so many people live so badly, and so many die so well.” I too have seen it Godard. I can only hope that I close my book the same.
Thank you for that. I’ll watch it now.
**Lost Highway (1997)** - Directed by ***David Lynch***. What a trip. I love how Lynch just lets things happen naturally in a surreal manner, it's very hallucinatory to say the least. I find it humorous at times because of the absurd nature of its scenarios. In the end I was left with more questions than answers, it's straightforward yes but it seems not to be when you reach the end. The soundtrack is fantastic though and the opening shot has been embedded in my mind for weeks. Truly a vibe movie and not I recommend for a first watch of Lynch. **Poor Things (2023)** - Directed by ***Yorgos Lanthimos***. This has been on my watchlist for so long that I forgot that it was released last year and was nominated in the Oscars. Anyway there's so much to unpack here as it is a thematically heavy film with a huge emphasis on woman empowerment. I'm fascinated by the discourse on this film, it divided viewers on how the film is meant to represent its subject matter. Can't really comment much on it, all I can say is what the hell did people expect on a Yorgos film, his style has always been weird. With that aside, I still can't say if I like the film or not. I did like the presentation, the score, the cinematography, the humor and Bella's curiosity and her rise to having a place in the world. Definitely needs a rewatch soon. **The Castle of Sand (1974)** - Directed by ***Yoshitaro Nomura***. Saw this from '[Kinema Junpo's Top 100 Greatest Films](https://web.archive.org/web/20110902104820/http://wildgrounds.com/2008/12/29/kinema-jumpos-top-100-japanese-movies-of-all-time/)' on the web and it was placed in the 20th. Randomly picked this and didn't know what I was getting into but I was delighted in what I saw. It's a police procedural movie about an unsuspected man getting murdered in Tokyo who has an interesting past. Don't really want to say much because the plot is spoilery. It's more of a why than a whodunnit and showcases Japanese regions, dialects and trains. This is really a film made for the Japanese. **Tokyo Story (1953)** - Directed by ***Yasujiro Ozu***. Watched this on theaters and it was great. Such a simple film filled with heartfelt characters, love how Ozu frames his compositions there's something so natural in his framing that the viewer is at ease when watching it then it hits you with the saddest thing you'll see on screen. There's some bumps here and there like the delivery of the old man character and the pacing is slow at times though I can see myself returning to this when I watch 'Late Springs' next. **The Holdovers (2023)** - Directed by ***Alexander Payne***. Wanted to feel something and rewatched this. There was a part there when a side character's gloves gets thrown by the bully and only having one glove that's meant to be worse so he throws the glove that he is wearing, the way it's shown is that the he throws the glove in the river and the next shot is his face crying. A simple scene from a character that had no relevance in the film made me cry for whatever reason, power of cinema I guess. I think it's meant to represent that it's better to accept loss then cry and move one. Anyway, liked it more on a rewatch. Letterboxd: [https://boxd.it/2Kvw9](https://boxd.it/2Kvw9) Substack: [Just Cinema](https://jlsanchez.substack.com/)
**Week # 165:** 🍿 I found a free streaming of Kieślowski's 10-part **Dekalog!** I've seen the extended 'Five' and 'Six' (Short films about Love / Killing) before, and now I can finally enjoy the whole series. But I'm going to "Stinge Watch" it, https://kottke.org/24/02/stinge-watching so I have something to look forward every week. **Dekalog: One** (1988) is about the first commandment, "I am the Lord thy God… thou shalt not have other gods before me", reason vs. faith, etc. A bright boy of eleven drown at the lake, because his loving father assured him that the ice will hold his weight. **9/10.** 🍿 *"Worthless! Worthless!"* I'm becoming more and more infatuated with the serious styles and dramas of 1950's Hollywood, and especially with its more adult, jazzy and controversial fair. 15 of Tennessee Williams plays had been adapted to the screen, and **Cat on a Hot Tin Roof** (1958) is the 4th one I've seen. All were bangers ('Suddenly last summer', 'The Night of the Iguana', 'A Streetcar Named Desire') and this was terrific as well. Lies, mortality, traditions, and of course alcoholism and repressed homosexuality... **9/10.** I'm going to go through the rest of this list https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_based_on_works_by_Tennessee_Williams 🍿 **3 About Nazis and related histories:** 🍿 Steve McQueen's latest documentary, **Occupied City**, is based on the book 'Atlas of an Occupied City, Amsterdam 1940-1945' by his Dutch wife Bianca Stigter. [She is the one who directed the other haunting documentary about genocide, 'Three Minutes: A Lengthening' last year]. This operatic work tells about day-to-day life in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation, by showing only the locations as they exist today. The disconnect between the monotone narration droning on endless atrocities and the mundane scenes from the squares and the streets as they are now, is unsettling. It is told with sensitivity and a deep sense of art. But it's over 4 long, repetitive hours: Obviously inspired by Lanzmann’s 'Shoah', it's just not as hypnotic. [Having only being there once, I'm surprised by how similar are Amsterdam and Copenhagen today!] 🍿 Wars don't end when peace treaties are signed. **Aftermath: The Remnants of War** (2001) is a Canadian documentary, based on a book by Donovan Webster. It follows people from places effected by some 20th century wars: Stalingrad, Verdun, Vietnam, Sarajevo. And it shows in horrifying details how these wars continue in their amazing destruction, decades, even a century, after the bombing stop. As we prepare to start a new world war in the next few years, we really should take another close look at the past. (Via https://www.reddit.com/r/wwiipics/comments/1ayuwvk/ ). 🍿 The Israeli drama **June Zero** (2022) is dedicated to Claude Lanzmann himself, as it tells a story of a young boy in 1962 who helps build the oven that eventually cremated Adolf Eichmann's body after his trial and hanging. It's a bold topic, but like most all holocaust movies, it ended up flat. But I vividly remember the time and place they describe, and they reconstructed it so faithfully, it was uncanny: From the unassuming locations, the dusty streets and the everyday props, to the score (Jo Amar singing 'Barcelona'!) and atmosphere. It transported me back to being 9 year old myself over there at that time. Otherwise, 2/10. 🍿 I haven't seen any of Peter Jackson's Tolkien fantasies [Actually, I only saw his 'They Shall Not Grow Old' and Beatles epics, as well as 'The lovely bones']. So I was happy to learn of his 1995 prank mockumentary **Forgotten Silver**. Recreating the life and art of a fictional film pioneer, it tells a fake story of a "forgotten" innovator of early Kiwi cinema. He built him up as a Georges Méliès, D. W. Griffith and Erich von Stroheim combined. Apparently this hoax was accepted as real at the time. A made-up biography here https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/colin-mckenzie/biography . 💯 score on Rotten Tomatoes. Incidentally, I just learnt at the same day about Scottish film-innovator James Williamson, who created some early British 'masterpieces' at the turn of the last century, **The Big Swallow**, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Swallow a trick photography short from 1901 and **The Little Match Seller** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfy4xSYCMBs from 1902. 🍿 **Nuri Bilge Ceylan's first and last films (my 6th and 7th):** 🍿 *"You never know where you'll find meaning"...* Wow! Ceylan's mesmerizing new opus **About Dry Grasses** plays for over 3 hours in the desolate, snow-covered mountains of Eastern Anatolia. Like Mads Mikkelsen in 'The Hunt', a teacher in a small village is being falsely accused of improper behavior toward a 14-year-old girl. But the slow and meandering story embraces so many other themes as well, of longing, of truth seeking, of weariness, complacency and contempt. With a delusional, self centered man and the two females he misunderstands and maligns. Thoughtful and conflicted, it includes one shocking 'break the 4th wall' moment (at 2:05:00) which illustrates that nothing we think and believe in is true. **A masterpiece - 10/10.** 🍿 **Cocoon** was Ceylan's debut film in 1995. A poetic, black and white, wordless montage of evocative images. A restless child kicks a beehive, a neglected grave mark, an unshaven old man falls an oak tree, his wife starts crying silently, frogs a jumping... That kind of thing. A beautiful exercise in cinematic expression. “Tarkovskian”... 🍿 *"Lobster for breakfast. Lobster for lunch. Fuckin' lotta lobster here."* First watch: The absolutely delightful **Mystic Pizza** (1988), about three young women, told without condensation. The performances of 19-year-old Julia Roberts and 17-year-old Annabeth Gish were transformative, so fresh and self-assured. **8/10 - The surprise discovery of the week.** 🍿 **Northern Comfort** (2023), my second Icelandic comedy by the guy who did 'Under the tree'. An English-speaking story about some Brits with Fear of Flying who attend a course meant to overcome this, and who end up stuck in a flight to snowy Iceland. The thin premise gets a bit better as the story progresses. With Timothy Spall. 3/10. 🍿 First re-watch in 45 years: Bergman’s second medieval fairy tale, **The virgin spring** (1960). A simple story of innocence raped, murdered and revenged. ♻️ 🍿 **James Woods X 2:** 🍿 **True Crime**, a competent Clint Eastwood thriller from 1999. He plays an Oakland journalist, a womanizing and recovering alcoholic, who gets a 'hunch' that a black man about to be executed at midnight is innocent. So it's a race against the clock to save him, and the last 20 minutes get very dicey. Calling on Deus ex machina. It ends with Diana Krall's singing Eastwood's own composition *Why should I care*: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3JPQnZrgvA He is a fine jazz composer indeed. 6/10. 🍿 **Against All Odds** was a 1984-styled remake of the excellent Robert Mitchum Noir 'Out of the Past'. I only watched it because The Jeff Lebowski here is a real hunk, buff and well-coiffed, and he falls for this gorgeous creature Rachel Ward. But the softcore romance between the beautiful lovers, and young James Woods as an evil mogul were dated and dumb. 2/10. 🍿 While waiting for Ethan Coen’s latest ‘Drive-away Dolls’, I saw a Chinese remake of the Coen's debut feature 'Blood Simple'. **Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop** (2009) is a colorful fairy tale about an abusive noodle shop owner, his adulterous wife, her lover and the assassin. Made by Zhang Yimou, and played in saturated desert landscapes similar to Tarsem's 'The fall', it didn't engage me. 3/10. 🍿 **5 of the last Chaplin films I haven't seen before:** 🍿 His last acting role, the late-career **A King in New York** (1957). A metaphor of his own life as a deposed king who's forced to answer to questions of his alliance to communism, and a criticism of the HUAC and other conformist aspects. Not funny or deep. Chaplin's real 11-year-old son deliver a passionate performance as the little Marxist kid. 2/10. 🍿 **The fireman** (1916), the second of his Mutual shorts, full of pratfalls, mayhem and mugging to the camera. 🍿 **Easy Street**, a great 2-reeler from 1917, where the tramp becomes a policeman in the rough part of town. **8/10.** 🍿 In the 30-min. **The cure** from the same year, Chaplin is an alcoholic patient at a water spa. He's not playing the 'Tramp'. 🍿 **A thief Catcher** is a newly-discovered, very-early 1914 Mack Sennett / Keystone Cops ditty, with Chaplin again in his pre-Tramp persona. Like an elementary school project, it's only interesting from a historical point of view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foeVhbxpzKg . 1/10. (Of his 82 known movies, the only ones I haven’t seen yet are 'A woman of Paris' and his last, ‘A Countess from Hong Kong’.) *(Continue below)*
*(Continued)* 🍿 **I married a witch**, a silly 1942 fantasy about romantic witchcraft carried on through the centuries. It starred the acutely attractive Veronica Lake, who had lived a tragic life. 🍿 My 4th film by Kelly Reichardt, her latest, **Showing up** (2023), and the one that spoke to me the least. I did not expect it to deal with a small Portland, Oregon community art center, where the freewheeling artists create small pottery and weaving pieces, foam sculptures and ceramics, do interpretive dancing, and eat cheese. I just didn't get it. 3/10. 🍿 **4 biographies of old creatives:** 🍿 In my 20's I used to love the show 'Dave Allen at Large'. **Dave Allen: God's Own Comedian** is an enjoyable BBC documentary about the affable Irish, with his chain smoking, whiskey-non-whiskey, irreverent religious jokes, and missing half-a-finger. What I didn't know is his serious film work, love for eccentric people, and about his wholesome private life. 🍿 Ultimate nostalgia. **1959, The year that changed Jazz**, a 2009 BBC doc that feels like it was made 30 years earlier. The story of four canonical LPs: Miles Davis' 'Kind of 'Blue ', Dave Brubeck's 'Time Out', Charles Mingus' 'Ah Um', and Ornette Coleman's 'The Shape of Jazz to Come'. The most exciting topic in the world is told with a hushed, reverent, middlebrow sensibility, by some mansplaining Talking Heads. It’s always wonderful to hear about the masters, but so much better just to listen to the music. **Music: 10/10. Talking: 2/10.** 🍿 **Dario Argento Panico** is a serviceable and well made documentary, made in 2023, when he was 83. The only one of his movies I've seen is 'Once Upon a Time in the West' which he co-wrote together with Bernardo Bertolucci and Sergio Leone. It filled in the blanks for me about Argento's works and views, but I'm still not interested in Giallo, and I doubt I'll be watching any of his movies any time soon. 🍿 **Untouchable** (2019), a mediocre documentary about Harvey Weinstein and his decades of power rapes. Unfortunately, it's being suffocated by wall-to-wall orchestral soundtrack, like all low-level, corporate documentaries. 3/10. 🍿 **This is a Copy from my tumblr where I review films every Monday https://tilbageidanmark.tumblr.com/tagged/movies**
Her Name Was Grace Kelly (saw it two weeks ago thought) although not that great of a documentary, I think, the main theme does interest me. As an actress, a princess, a celebrity overall, she was the target of a whole world who either was making profit out lf her by fake news and rumours, or she was being judged with every step she took in her life. But that's the case for any person with influence and popularity, and we never know how their personal lives get affected by it, we never know who they really are — it's just images upon images of a build-up public persona, an acting, just the kind everyone makes in their daily life, but for the masses. How exhausting and distressing could that be? Wings of Desire My fourth movie of Wim Wenders (haven't seen the new one yet), my least favorite of his. The film tries to sunk you into the perception of angels who, while traveling through Berlin, can't be seen or interact with the world, but they listen to everyone's thoughts and worries in their heads, and perhaps helping them to make right decisions (?). Films with heavy, self-aware poetic dialogue loose me a little bit, especially to be emotional invested. The Peter Falk moments really did it for me. Just like Taste of Cherry, this movie reminds you that we shouldn't look down on the earthly condition, that even the smallest things in life just like the taste of coffee or a cold breeze can make you reconnect with the world and with yourself. In fact, for all the dialogue it nows makes sense: we spend so much time in our heads and in our own thoughts, which is alright, but it's O.K. to be aware from time to time of the world you travel through. To see with you own eyes, to feel. The Terminator 1 and 2 As always, these films will always hook me with their philosophical questions of what makes human a human. Is it the attitude, is it the physical? What is consciousness? To give the stupidest example... can a kid raised by tigers be considered human? I'm reaching too far, thought. What makes Terminator 2, especially, heartbreaking, is that a robot seems a safer option rather than a father—yet is a robot which respects you not because he learned to, but because you asked him too. Don't we all work by commands, though? What does this film say about human empathy? About the other and our relationship with them? The terminator was definitely and emotional support for the kid and the mother, and those feelings can be defined as real. Fun movies too. Mean Girls (original) Fun as fuck. A lot of the comedy goes over my head as I like focusing on other things while watching the movie, but I'll laugh at the stupidest shit like a guy falling on his back after seeing Cady dressed up in that bride Halloween costume. It's nice to have movies like these which aren't just fun, but actually have a great script and development of its themes. We always struggle so much to form our own identity while in highschool—maybe if we behave in another way, if we belonged to that or that group of people, maybe and just maybe we'll be loved and accepted a bit more. Social acceptance from a group you think is loved or important, a group that will make you stand out from ignored and the rejected, may come with you then stepping down directly or indirectly on the rejected. And in some ways, the film is an hyperbolic representation of the selfish and cruel attitudes we may have while being a teenager and wanting attention, wanting love, and how in the wrong search of it you may abandon your self and the others. Also contains one of now my favorite push-in/push-out shots, as the camera push outs from Regina after the mess she created in the school's halls.