Sadly I'm no longer a member of the European Union thanks to 17.4m twats, but I can keep pretending that I am one if I watch enough movies from the 27 member states, right?
Short-term watchlist (i.e. stuff on my hard drive):
Belgium
Les lèvres rouges (Harry Kümel, 1971) 8
De zaak Alzheimer (Erik Van Looy, 2003)
Finland
Mies vailla menneisyyttä (Aki Kaurismäki, 2002) 8
Sensuela (Teuvo Tulio, 1973)
France
2 Days in Paris (Julie Delpy, 2007)
Chocolat (Claire Denis, 1988) - re-watch
Gueule d'amour (Jean Grémillon, 1937) 7
Jeux interdits (René Clément, 1952)
Le Joueur d'échecs (Raymond Bernard, 1927)
Le fantôme de la liberté (Luis Buñuel, 1974)
La haine (Matthieu Kassovitz, 1995) - re-watch
La nuit des traquées (Jean Rollin, 1980) 8
La rose de fer (Jean Rollin, 1973) 9
Germany
München-Berlin Wanderung (Oskar Fischinger, 1927) sh 9
Der schöne Tag (Thomas Arslan, 2001)
Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo (David Hemmings, 1978)
Supermarkt (Roland Klick, 1974)
Italy
8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963) 8
Allegro Non Troppo (Bruno Bozzetto, 1976)
Bandidos (Massimo Dallamano, 1967) 6
Così dolce... così perversa (Umberto Lenzi, 1969)
Identificazione di una donna (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1982)
Poland
Bez konca (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1985)
Spain
La caza (Carlos Saura, 1966)
Sweden
Det sjunde inseglet (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) 6
EU Project
Re: EU Project
Medium-term watchlist:
Austria
Haneke trilogy / Revanche
Lithuania
using this thread + Bartas' work
Portugal
Gomes / Costa / Monteiro / de Oliveira / A Zona / A Woman's Revenge
work in progress...
Austria
Haneke trilogy / Revanche
Lithuania
using this thread + Bartas' work
Portugal
Gomes / Costa / Monteiro / de Oliveira / A Zona / A Woman's Revenge
work in progress...
Re: EU Project
Walking from Munich to Berlin (Oskar Fischinger, 1927) sh 9
I've known and liked Fischinger's abstract/animated work for years but happy to discover this one thanks to Resources and the 1927 Poll. It packs the lyricism of Dovzhenko/Davies/Malick, the insane amount of cuts of Maddin, and the personal / reminiscence aura of Mekas into 4 minutes, which is mind-boggling. Re-watched it as soon as I finished it, wanna do it again.
I've known and liked Fischinger's abstract/animated work for years but happy to discover this one thanks to Resources and the 1927 Poll. It packs the lyricism of Dovzhenko/Davies/Malick, the insane amount of cuts of Maddin, and the personal / reminiscence aura of Mekas into 4 minutes, which is mind-boggling. Re-watched it as soon as I finished it, wanna do it again.
Re: EU Project
Condolences on leaving the EU. I was extremely disappointed the way that happened, and I hope to see Britain someday reunited with its neighbors. It might happen in pieces though: Scotland first, then Northern Ireland, etc.
That's a nice eclectic watchlist. I'll be watching Supermarkt later this week. If you want a film obliquely about the EU, I highly recommend In the City of Sylvia.
That's a nice eclectic watchlist. I'll be watching Supermarkt later this week. If you want a film obliquely about the EU, I highly recommend In the City of Sylvia.
Re: EU Project
I liked In the City of Sylvia! Didn't love it (from memory, I just couldn't really get behind how much of a creep that dude was) but it showed Strasbourg very beautifully. I like your thinking, though. Another film that's by no means a masterpiece but certainly an EU film and quite enjoyable is L'auberge espagnole. Gonna try to think of some others to put in this thread, it would be a nice add-on.Umbugbene wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 7:35 pm Condolences on leaving the EU. I was extremely disappointed the way that happened, and I hope to see Britain someday reunited with its neighbors. It might happen in pieces though: Scotland first, then Northern Ireland, etc.
That's a nice eclectic watchlist. I'll be watching Supermarkt later this week. If you want a film obliquely about the EU, I highly recommend In the City of Sylvia.
Re: EU Project
Lady Killer (Jean Grémillon, 1937) 7
Goes from screwball to noir via melodrama and while it does all three decently well, it doesn't do any of them brilliantly. Wish it had picked one mode and just stuck with it. It's also quite misogynistic. Gabin and the cinematography are great, though, and I liked the homo-erotic slant well enough, even if René is a bit of a limp character, too chirpy for the film's dark third act. I could've sworn I'd seen Gabin in something else but apparently it's my first film of his, so will have to delve into his filmography now.
Goes from screwball to noir via melodrama and while it does all three decently well, it doesn't do any of them brilliantly. Wish it had picked one mode and just stuck with it. It's also quite misogynistic. Gabin and the cinematography are great, though, and I liked the homo-erotic slant well enough, even if René is a bit of a limp character, too chirpy for the film's dark third act. I could've sworn I'd seen Gabin in something else but apparently it's my first film of his, so will have to delve into his filmography now.
Last edited by MrCarmady on Sun May 17, 2020 8:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: EU Project
Oh, you hadn't logged it on Letterboxd so I thought you hadn't seen it. At least the poor fellow has the decency to be embarrassed, n'est-ce pas? Besides the symbolic placement in Strasbourg, I love the irony of which character represents the EU. I won't say who because it's obvious once you think of it, if you remember the movie. I'll definitely try to watch L'auberge espagnole when I can access it... thanks for the rec.MrCarmady wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 9:58 pmI liked In the City of Sylvia! Didn't love it (from memory, I just couldn't really get behind how much of a creep that dude was) but it showed Strasbourg very beautifully. I like your thinking, though. Another film that's by no means a masterpiece but certainly an EU film and quite enjoyable is L'auberge espagnole. Gonna try to think of some others to put in this thread, it would be a nice add-on.
Re: EU Project
Bandidos (Massimo Dallamano, 1967) 6
"You can have Bastard Sam, too. They wanted to lynch him, 'cause he shacked up with a 10-year-old girl."
"Wasn't my fault, I thought she was 12."
Exceptionally nasty and brutal, even by spag western standards. Visually it's terrific, unsurprisingly given Dallamano's roots, but the plot and the characters are B-grade if not C-grade. Works as a precursor to absurdly bloody action thrillers you get from time to time - in the opening 13 minutes we see a massacre of a whole passenger train with dozens of innocent people dead, and it continues in the same psychopathic vein. People get killed with no apparent rhyme and reason and yet sometimes they choose to keep each other alive with even less reason, somehow. I like the Karate Kid-type relationship it has going between two of the central characters and the final showdown is pretty great as well, but overall it's minor and a bit of a disappointment after What Have They Done To Your Daughters?
"You can have Bastard Sam, too. They wanted to lynch him, 'cause he shacked up with a 10-year-old girl."
"Wasn't my fault, I thought she was 12."
Exceptionally nasty and brutal, even by spag western standards. Visually it's terrific, unsurprisingly given Dallamano's roots, but the plot and the characters are B-grade if not C-grade. Works as a precursor to absurdly bloody action thrillers you get from time to time - in the opening 13 minutes we see a massacre of a whole passenger train with dozens of innocent people dead, and it continues in the same psychopathic vein. People get killed with no apparent rhyme and reason and yet sometimes they choose to keep each other alive with even less reason, somehow. I like the Karate Kid-type relationship it has going between two of the central characters and the final showdown is pretty great as well, but overall it's minor and a bit of a disappointment after What Have They Done To Your Daughters?
Re: EU Project
The Man Without a Past (Aki Kaurismäki, 2002) 8
Having seen a few Kaurismäki films already, with a recent fruitful re-watch of Shadows in Paradise, and a great first-time watch of Le Havre, there weren't many surprises here. It's maybe a little bit more on the absurd side, but still deadpan, beautifully cold in terms of the visual palette, and beautifully warm in terms of the empathy it has for its characters and the interactions between them, mining their hardships for humour and showing how people can make the best of their circumstances, with 50s rock music, cigarettes, and beer to help them through their day. The only things that set it apart are the amnesia plot and a cute dog, but maybe that's enough. Would recommend it to anyone, it's a delightful way to spend 95 minutes, with one of the funniest bank robberies in cinema.
I wonder what Finns think of his movies, he seems to be selling an image of the country to the festival circuit that just leans into certain cultural stereotypes I have of it (my memories of my only visit as a 10-year-old aren't much help), but there's also a Kafkaesque tone here of absurd power structures that I think Ayoade cribbed (quite successfully, I might add) in The Double. Trouble is that he could just make up a name any time so it doesn't really feel that oppressive or desperate a situation to be in, he's just the same competently cheerful/stoic/sad sack depending on how you read his facial expression as any other Kaurismäki protagonist.
Having seen a few Kaurismäki films already, with a recent fruitful re-watch of Shadows in Paradise, and a great first-time watch of Le Havre, there weren't many surprises here. It's maybe a little bit more on the absurd side, but still deadpan, beautifully cold in terms of the visual palette, and beautifully warm in terms of the empathy it has for its characters and the interactions between them, mining their hardships for humour and showing how people can make the best of their circumstances, with 50s rock music, cigarettes, and beer to help them through their day. The only things that set it apart are the amnesia plot and a cute dog, but maybe that's enough. Would recommend it to anyone, it's a delightful way to spend 95 minutes, with one of the funniest bank robberies in cinema.
I wonder what Finns think of his movies, he seems to be selling an image of the country to the festival circuit that just leans into certain cultural stereotypes I have of it (my memories of my only visit as a 10-year-old aren't much help), but there's also a Kafkaesque tone here of absurd power structures that I think Ayoade cribbed (quite successfully, I might add) in The Double. Trouble is that he could just make up a name any time so it doesn't really feel that oppressive or desperate a situation to be in, he's just the same competently cheerful/stoic/sad sack depending on how you read his facial expression as any other Kaurismäki protagonist.
Re: EU Project
Finally watched 8 1/2, and I enjoyed it but feel like there's nothing I can really say about it that hasn't already been said - I would side with the detractors as far as Fellini's misogyny and narcissism are concerned, but there's passages of great lyricism and beauty there which amply compensate.
Kael's takedown of it is very funny, though:
“Accept me as I am” is Guido’s final, and successful, plea to the wife-figure (although that is what she has been rejecting for over two hours).
https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/2017/05/1 ... line-kael/
Also:
Kael's takedown of it is very funny, though:
“Accept me as I am” is Guido’s final, and successful, plea to the wife-figure (although that is what she has been rejecting for over two hours).
https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/2017/05/1 ... line-kael/
Also:
Re: EU Project
Daughters of Darkness (Harry Kümel, 1971) 8
So beautiful and sensuous, this film positively drips with atmosphere. The only thing that mars it is that scene with Stefan's 'mother', while it's gratifyingly camp it doesn't lead anywhere and detracts from the hermetic nature of the film in that beautiful abandoned hotel. But that's just a small gripe - Seyrig is magnetic, the soundtrack is terrific, and there's some fantastic gore. Also, the whole exploration of sadism is chilling, sexy, and funny at the same time, which is quite something.
So beautiful and sensuous, this film positively drips with atmosphere. The only thing that mars it is that scene with Stefan's 'mother', while it's gratifyingly camp it doesn't lead anywhere and detracts from the hermetic nature of the film in that beautiful abandoned hotel. But that's just a small gripe - Seyrig is magnetic, the soundtrack is terrific, and there's some fantastic gore. Also, the whole exploration of sadism is chilling, sexy, and funny at the same time, which is quite something.
Re: EU Project
The Night of the Hunted (Jean Rollin, 1980) 8
What a treat - a great premise with even better visual and atmospheric execution, slow, sad and haunting. Worth the price of admission just for that final shot alone. Has something of The Twilight Zone about it, if The Twilight Zone had gore and softcore scenes in it.
What a treat - a great premise with even better visual and atmospheric execution, slow, sad and haunting. Worth the price of admission just for that final shot alone. Has something of The Twilight Zone about it, if The Twilight Zone had gore and softcore scenes in it.
Re: EU Project
The Iron Rose (Jean Rollin, 1973) 9
Wow, didn't expect to love this that much. It cuts through all the bullshit from La vampire nue, refusing to explain everything and maintaining that half dream / half nightmare sense throughout, aided by absolutely incredible visuals and a very sparing use of the score. Darkness and fog, drabness and colorfulness, night and day, sex and death. Oh, and it's 75 minutes so the glacial pace actually helps extend the runtime in a strange way, completely absorbed me into its strange world without any real plot or characters.
Wow, didn't expect to love this that much. It cuts through all the bullshit from La vampire nue, refusing to explain everything and maintaining that half dream / half nightmare sense throughout, aided by absolutely incredible visuals and a very sparing use of the score. Darkness and fog, drabness and colorfulness, night and day, sex and death. Oh, and it's 75 minutes so the glacial pace actually helps extend the runtime in a strange way, completely absorbed me into its strange world without any real plot or characters.
Re: EU Project
The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) 6
Nice performances and visuals, but didn't do enough to overcome the pressure of expectations combined with my general antipathy for Bergman. It's half goofy/circus-y/sexist and half 'why hast thou forsaken me', the two halves not meshing well in my opinion and neither that great on its own. At least it's short.
Nice performances and visuals, but didn't do enough to overcome the pressure of expectations combined with my general antipathy for Bergman. It's half goofy/circus-y/sexist and half 'why hast thou forsaken me', the two halves not meshing well in my opinion and neither that great on its own. At least it's short.