"In this world, one finds friends in the strangest places."
seven samurai

europa film treasures

Maman Colibri
1929
Director: Julien DUVIVIER

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Any film history buffs here?
If so, do not, I repeat, do not click on this link to europafilmtreasures.eu if you have any pressing work to finish.
I can see a large portion of my life disappearing there.
I will put a permanent link to site on links page later.

blood tea and red string

I will preface with the fact that if you are not a big fan of stop motion animation, you should run away screaming - a minor in adult fairytale fan-hood is also recommended.

Blood Tea and Red String, 2006 by Christiane Cegavske has it's own pace.

I first watched it very out-of-sorts in the middle of the night. I watched it the second time - again in the middle of the night - two nights ago. The DVD sits, un-returned to Netflix, as I contemplate a third viewing. There is something to be learned here. Although rough around the edges, it is meticulously detailed where fitting. Although long and windy, it never loses itself.

I need this lesson somehow. I plan to watch until I figure out exactly what it is trying to tell me.

I had begun to get off track with my work, almost apologetically. If I am looking for aesthetic absolutes, I should program my computer to draw a perfect circle, close the shop and dedicate the rest if my life to drinking very bad wine.

rescue from gilligan's island

In Rescue from Gilligan's Island, (1978), we see a continuation in a series dedicated to studying the Hellenistic search for the 'Ideal Male'. A society-within-a-society, the 'male hut' provides us with the two facets of the 'perfect male' study.

In Gilligan, we have the younger ideal: the bright-eyed, androgynous student, subservient to the older and wiser 'alpha-male'. Although somewhat the bumbling fool, we observe, time after time, the young understudy both stumbling into, and actively building a better future - albeit a mistake-prone exercise. This is represented, for example, by Gilligan naively starting a dangerous cooking fire on the raft deck; this youthful, impetuous act turns out to be the life-saving rescue signal for both the inner male society, and society at large.

We observe both the initial conflict with, and gradual acceptance by the elder 'ideal' counterpart, as it becomes a passive observer into this evolving 'brave new world'.
to be continued...

More in this series:
Goddess Torn Asunder - the Ginger / MaryAnn Paradox, or The Athena Duality, Armless and Overboard

i am a girl

The wife and I are halfway through watching Julie and Julia, a film I would describe as somewhere between the dated 'You've Got Mail', and the chick-film 'Fried Green Tomatoes'. There is no other single element that would make a guy less attractive than for him to have J. Childs as a hero.

There are three things that come to mind as to why I am reluctantly enjoying this film:

1) At one time I was a kitchen manager of a restaurant. The movie reminds me of a time when my cooking was less 'curried' and/or 'stewed'. A time when I knew the excitement of getting a Hollandaise sauce perfect.

2) It is tap-off day for the cider keg, and I drink too much.

3) I am a girl.

In short, Julie and Julia is a biopic estrogen-fest, written and edited by a discordant committee, that the whole family will enjoy, or not.

roads to koktebel

This movie crushed my expectations at every single turn. When I expected to cry, I laughed. When I expected to laugh, I cried. Life is not even this real. Absolutely unpredictable and perfect movie by Russian writer/director team, Boris Khlebnikov and Alexei Popogrebsky.

journeys and ruins

I watched two short films from Alexander Sokurov this evening, "Elegy of a Voyage" and "Hubert Robert, A Fortunate Life".
(It is now technically morning, I suppose.)

These are precious films for me as I am no longer able to travel to museums - one of the few pleasures that once tempted me far from home.

damnation

The bar scene from Tarr's 'Damnation'.

The outside-the-wish-room scene from 'Stalker'.

Bittersweet, delicate Monkey - Zone color against the monochrome landscape.

werckmeister harmonies

It is easy to forget how formulaic movies have become until we see the hand of genius sweep away - in broad and simple strokes - our preconceptions of film-making. There were only 39 shots in Werckmeister Harmonies, quite a small number for a 2.5 hour film. It would be difficult to forget a single, drawn out one.

Director Bela Tarr has succeeded in taking my perception of the world, shifting it on it's axis a degree or so, and returning it a bit richer.

whisper of the heart

Watched Whisper of the Heart (Mimi wo sumaseba) this evening. I have watched more than my share of movies targeting a young audience, but this movie was the first I can recall that dealt seriously and accurately with the creative process. It is a gentle, moderately paced story about first love, and first honest looks at oneself.

dialog on the mind of lynch

A: So...   wait,...   does John Merrick go to the doctor's house before or after he was kidnapped?

M: Before,... I think... I don't remember... I don't think it would have mattered. Maybe Lynch is less interested in telling a story from start to finish than he is at showing these scenes that he has sketched out in his mind. With Inland Empire he finally chooses to do what he does best: reality, fantasy, perspective, past, present, future, curve back on each other as he lays out these individual 'mind scenes', manipulating the audience, allowing the viewer to connect the dots...like reading a blog.