Last Watched
Re: Last Watched
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN for Halloween, needed fun more than fear this year. It always delivers.
These matters are best disposed of from a great height. Over water.
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St. Gloede
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Dos Monjes / Two Monks (1934, Juan Bustillo Oro)
Not just visually evocative; visually daring. Faces and shapes are just not where they usually are. Sometimes it fails, and the screen feels a little crammed, othertimes it may feel a little obvious and excessive - such as an entire scene tilted to the side - but in most cases it is pure visual magic. It is almost like watching A Dança dos Paroxismos, but with sound. Two Monks is genuinely a film from the era of talkies, shot as if it was a silent. The lighting is often from below, and creates a haunting and daunting atmosphere and memory and guilt blends into a deliriously striking narrative - even utilising the --- "different point of view" narrative technique 16 years before Rashomon --- as the films trivia section tells us - and while memory, lies and exaggeration does not play into it - this is quite right.
While it is easy to see why the World Cinema Project selected it for restoration, and I agree: it should truly be held up and rediscovered as the marvel it is - I cannot quite call it a great film. The acting is not just wooden - which could have suited the style - but severely mixed. Movements in themselves are frequently "off" - perfectly suited by moments of melodramatic or overtly thin plot elements and dialogue. It is salvaged time and time again by mood, atmosphere and visual prowess, consistently overshadowing every awkward or slightly silly/thin moment. The soundscape is also not quite where it should be, but it was still the early days of sound - especially outside of Hollywood, France, etc. so this part is understandable. All-in-all a thoroughly delightful experience, I will not forget anytime soon. 7-7.5/10.
Some more visuals:
Not just visually evocative; visually daring. Faces and shapes are just not where they usually are. Sometimes it fails, and the screen feels a little crammed, othertimes it may feel a little obvious and excessive - such as an entire scene tilted to the side - but in most cases it is pure visual magic. It is almost like watching A Dança dos Paroxismos, but with sound. Two Monks is genuinely a film from the era of talkies, shot as if it was a silent. The lighting is often from below, and creates a haunting and daunting atmosphere and memory and guilt blends into a deliriously striking narrative - even utilising the --- "different point of view" narrative technique 16 years before Rashomon --- as the films trivia section tells us - and while memory, lies and exaggeration does not play into it - this is quite right.
While it is easy to see why the World Cinema Project selected it for restoration, and I agree: it should truly be held up and rediscovered as the marvel it is - I cannot quite call it a great film. The acting is not just wooden - which could have suited the style - but severely mixed. Movements in themselves are frequently "off" - perfectly suited by moments of melodramatic or overtly thin plot elements and dialogue. It is salvaged time and time again by mood, atmosphere and visual prowess, consistently overshadowing every awkward or slightly silly/thin moment. The soundscape is also not quite where it should be, but it was still the early days of sound - especially outside of Hollywood, France, etc. so this part is understandable. All-in-all a thoroughly delightful experience, I will not forget anytime soon. 7-7.5/10.
Some more visuals:
Last edited by St. Gloede on Mon Nov 02, 2020 9:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
oh i meant to watch this and i forgot! i say it qualifies for noirvember 
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Lencho of the Apes
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Maybe it deserves its own month, Monktober or something. It sure has cleaned up real pretty; someday soon I'll watch it again and throw away my shabby old tv rip.
The opposite of 'reify' is... ?
A FOOL THERE WAS -- Theda Bara vamps a diplomat, and destroys his life, and thoroughly enjoys herself. The print on the Kino DVD is a bit of a mess, but her pure malice comes shining through. I'd love to see a cleaned up and restored print sometime.
WHERE ARE MY CHILDREN? -- Lois Weber's film seems to be in favor of birth control but is squarely pro-life, and can't help but feel rather muddled and contradictory in 2020. Very handsomely made and performed, with Tyrone Power Sr and his real-life wife in the leads.
WHERE ARE MY CHILDREN? -- Lois Weber's film seems to be in favor of birth control but is squarely pro-life, and can't help but feel rather muddled and contradictory in 2020. Very handsomely made and performed, with Tyrone Power Sr and his real-life wife in the leads.
These matters are best disposed of from a great height. Over water.
martin eden, this election day. thx whoever recommended this
(greennui?)
Think it was kanafani? I watched it after hearing about it on here...I really dug Marcello's aesthetics, the blend of archival footage, wild colour palette and the lead actor had a lovely pair of eyes. The standard bildungsroman formula across 130 minutes didn't excite me quite as much though.
ahh yes i think you're right. thx kanafani!!
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St. Gloede
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Could have been me. Love it to bits. Talked a lot about it when we went over our top 5s of 2019 on Talking Images: https://talking-images.sounder.fm/episo ... ms-of-2019
I talk about it at 1:23:15.
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St. Gloede
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Ah, I was wrong - but yes, everyone, go see Martin Eden.
I will be happy to take credit! The Mouth of the Wolf and Lost and Beautiful are also wonderful.
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St. Gloede
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Agreed - and if you look at the way all 3 of these films integrate documentary footage into their narrative - especially in terms of how it is done from contextual and poetic impact in The Mouth of the Wolf and Martin Eden shows that Marcello is one of the most important voices to watch.
WAXWORKS -- Paul Leni's little bit of foolishness, where a writer comes up with some dreary tales about figures in a carnival waxworks. Some pretty sets and costumes and expressionist stuff going on, but the tales are pretty thin stuff -- the first is a sort of Arabian Nights fantasy, the second features a genuinely alarming Conrad Veidt as Ivan The Terrible, and Werner Krauss plays Jack The Ripper in the film's finale. The first tale goes on for far too long, there is one big hole in the plot of the second story (who in God's name would invite Ivan The Terrible to their daughter's wedding in the first fucking place?) and the rather abrupt ending are major marks against it. Still, Veidt's Ivan is unforgettable, and I want to get another look at that Jack The Ripper section. Ultimately, there's less than meets the eye, which is pretty much how I feel about Leni's work in general.
5/10
5/10
These matters are best disposed of from a great height. Over water.
Not last watched, but I recently watched Garrel’s latest, the salt of tears. Apparently the reaction to this film is quite hostile. Lots of angry negative reviews at letterboxd demanding the man’s immediate cancellation. I love Garrel, and though he’s made better movies in his late period, I still quite liked this one. It’s full of the usual Garrel graceful touches. The movie is essentially about a young asshole who is not aware he is an asshole. There are a few plot/script moments that are kind of eyebrow-raising though. Example: our hero, who is a handyman studying to be a carpenter, is doing some work at an employer’s house. Turns out the kids’ nanny is an old high school flame. They have not met in years. They greet each other, “it’s been so long”, etc. 30 seconds later, they’re having sex in the employer’s bathtub, with the entire employer’s family watching tv or something in the next room, we’re told by the narrator. OK. There are a few other odd moments like this, like a scene where our carpenter is in the street watching his naked girlfriend having a shower in the ground floor bathroom with the windows wide open. Who does that?
So not a woke movie. Garrel seems like an old man who is not interested in adjusting his sensibility to the expectations of the current moment. It’s a little weird, but also kind of refreshing if you ask me.
So not a woke movie. Garrel seems like an old man who is not interested in adjusting his sensibility to the expectations of the current moment. It’s a little weird, but also kind of refreshing if you ask me.
bronson (nicolas winding refn) from what little i've seen, nwr is a shotmaker, not a stylist. there's a difference. i can make sure your sideburns are even, and still fuck up the rest of your hairdo. nwr can give you a powerpoint presentation with plenty of pretty slides, but the transitions in between will be awkward and ugly and wildly inconsistent. hardy's good. imo he seems to be one of those actors that can make watchable what's in reality pretty mediocre material (think roscoe disagrees with me on this point, as he does on ddl). but i'll hand it to nwr: he doesn't make outright shite films, so much as interesting failures (though drive was decent, as a genre throwback)
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St. Gloede
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Deseos / Desires (1977, Rafael Corkidi)
Ready for iconoclastic madness? Explore the surreal, stylized and theatrical world of Rafael Corkidi - Jodorowksy's cinematographer - and a man who may just like style just a bit more than content (though aren't they really the same thing?). Stunningly shot, and freshly restored for blu-ray, this surreal trip may just be a little too sexualized - though it has a half-decent excuse: sin.
You will need to look for a story - yes, there are recurring characters - but above all there are vignettes of sin - and by sin I mean sexual sins. Made the very same year Corkidi created his equally mad, revolutionary and surreal (though less sexual) Pafnucio Santo, it is clear that he is an extremely underrated surrealist who knows how to build up mood and make all who care about pretty or trippy images happy - and while a little too vacuous and sleazy, I don't know, I just can't help it - I like trippy and pretty images - oh, what am I saying, I love them. 8/10.
Ready for iconoclastic madness? Explore the surreal, stylized and theatrical world of Rafael Corkidi - Jodorowksy's cinematographer - and a man who may just like style just a bit more than content (though aren't they really the same thing?). Stunningly shot, and freshly restored for blu-ray, this surreal trip may just be a little too sexualized - though it has a half-decent excuse: sin.
You will need to look for a story - yes, there are recurring characters - but above all there are vignettes of sin - and by sin I mean sexual sins. Made the very same year Corkidi created his equally mad, revolutionary and surreal (though less sexual) Pafnucio Santo, it is clear that he is an extremely underrated surrealist who knows how to build up mood and make all who care about pretty or trippy images happy - and while a little too vacuous and sleazy, I don't know, I just can't help it - I like trippy and pretty images - oh, what am I saying, I love them. 8/10.
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St. Gloede
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- Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 5:50 pm
I also watched 3 films by:
I think I am sensing a common theme in Ripsteins work - a depiction of life in the face of relentless and absolute doom. The exact same can be said of Castle of Purity, The Place Without Limits, and to an extent even his horror film Aunt Anjelica. In each of these films there is a surreal mix of normalcy and a threat both abstract and real - and simply observing our characters living with the same knowledge we, the viewer, share: that it will not end well. This slow-brooding pace places us in hell with the characters - and we observe wondering if there will ever be any release.
Tiempo de morir / Time to Die (1966)
Ripstein's debut is a remarkably adult and sophisticated look at the concept of honour in Mexican society - as well as being something as rare as a Mexican "western". We follow an ageing man, a gentle shadow of a past self - returning from 14 years in prison, hoping to be able to pick up his life.
However, everything has changed - the people he knew are mostly dead or changed - and the children of the man he killed are out for revenge.
If American this would clearly be called revisionist. Our hero is far from threatening and needs his small glasses to read. There is no sense of violence or bravery in his eyes - just a mournful sorrow. He does not walk tall, he does not talk back when turned away, but he can withstand the taunts and pushes to duel - and he shows a strength of character in understanding that the ways of his past were not the way to live.
Yet, at every step he is taunted, threatened - or worse - regardless of how kindly or resilient he seems to be - and yet - he does not wish to leave. All beg him to go - yet he wishes to stay. He does not want to lose more years, though there are also clear signs he struggles to live with himself.
Gently shot, with no visual bravados - yet certainly competent and well done in every way - the film's expression is almost as the man himself. Slower and more sombre than you'd expect - but with a clear edge of danger underneath. It lives and breaths in conversations and thoughts. It wants us to spend as much time as possible experiencing the situation - live and breath it - and perhaps above all - feel it - to its very last moments. 8/10.
El santo oficio / The Holy Inquisition (1974)
Even more slow-brooding and restrained, The Holy Inquistion focuses in on the frighteningly matter of fact and normalized way giving up anyone you know to torture and even execution is entirely normalised, and how far someone can go into submission while retaining their personal beliefs.
We follow a Jewish family as they attempt to live and act as Christians, in all the indignation - while still practicing their beliefs. It is distanced, yet cuts deep and touches something remarkably intimate in all its bleakest details. 8/10.
Cadena perpetua / Life Sentence (1979)
This is, unfortunately, the first Ripstein film I did not find great. It fits itself nicely in with the overall theme, showcasing an ex-criminal attempting to reform - but not quite managing to get out. However, the tension is undercut by flashbacks - and the flashbacks in question are more about clarifying his past life and actions than truly heightening the dilemma our lead is in. It also feels a little cheaper than the rest, but a perfectly good film. 6/10.
I think I am sensing a common theme in Ripsteins work - a depiction of life in the face of relentless and absolute doom. The exact same can be said of Castle of Purity, The Place Without Limits, and to an extent even his horror film Aunt Anjelica. In each of these films there is a surreal mix of normalcy and a threat both abstract and real - and simply observing our characters living with the same knowledge we, the viewer, share: that it will not end well. This slow-brooding pace places us in hell with the characters - and we observe wondering if there will ever be any release.
Tiempo de morir / Time to Die (1966)
Ripstein's debut is a remarkably adult and sophisticated look at the concept of honour in Mexican society - as well as being something as rare as a Mexican "western". We follow an ageing man, a gentle shadow of a past self - returning from 14 years in prison, hoping to be able to pick up his life.
However, everything has changed - the people he knew are mostly dead or changed - and the children of the man he killed are out for revenge.
If American this would clearly be called revisionist. Our hero is far from threatening and needs his small glasses to read. There is no sense of violence or bravery in his eyes - just a mournful sorrow. He does not walk tall, he does not talk back when turned away, but he can withstand the taunts and pushes to duel - and he shows a strength of character in understanding that the ways of his past were not the way to live.
Yet, at every step he is taunted, threatened - or worse - regardless of how kindly or resilient he seems to be - and yet - he does not wish to leave. All beg him to go - yet he wishes to stay. He does not want to lose more years, though there are also clear signs he struggles to live with himself.
Gently shot, with no visual bravados - yet certainly competent and well done in every way - the film's expression is almost as the man himself. Slower and more sombre than you'd expect - but with a clear edge of danger underneath. It lives and breaths in conversations and thoughts. It wants us to spend as much time as possible experiencing the situation - live and breath it - and perhaps above all - feel it - to its very last moments. 8/10.
El santo oficio / The Holy Inquisition (1974)
Even more slow-brooding and restrained, The Holy Inquistion focuses in on the frighteningly matter of fact and normalized way giving up anyone you know to torture and even execution is entirely normalised, and how far someone can go into submission while retaining their personal beliefs.
We follow a Jewish family as they attempt to live and act as Christians, in all the indignation - while still practicing their beliefs. It is distanced, yet cuts deep and touches something remarkably intimate in all its bleakest details. 8/10.
Cadena perpetua / Life Sentence (1979)
This is, unfortunately, the first Ripstein film I did not find great. It fits itself nicely in with the overall theme, showcasing an ex-criminal attempting to reform - but not quite managing to get out. However, the tension is undercut by flashbacks - and the flashbacks in question are more about clarifying his past life and actions than truly heightening the dilemma our lead is in. It also feels a little cheaper than the rest, but a perfectly good film. 6/10.
i love this movie
have you seen etoille violet by bozon's co-writer axelle ropert? i think that one makes the most sense as follow up to mods, another extreme small scale film with limited means and a very sustained world (and does similar if different things with music).
I have not. But I quite disliked both Robert movies I’ve seen (miss and the doctors, and la famille Wolberg), so maybe she’s just not for me.
Last edited by kanafani on Wed Nov 11, 2020 12:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
curious how you'll feel about tip top, among other things one of the most perverse policiers outside of graf and maybe chabrol's lavardin tv movies. i do think the more hermetic mods and la france are my favorite bozons but i find the very fractured quality of tip top and madame hyde fascinating
edit - i also have a huge crush on sandrine kiberlain in this
edit - i also have a huge crush on sandrine kiberlain in this
What a strange movie. Not sure what to make of it. Super eccentric take on the relation between the Arab-descendant French and a farcical police state/bureaucracy, I think? Everybody’s fucked up and compromised, but also everybody is super-passionate and brimming with love? It’s hilarious in any case. I laughed super hard in the opening ‘fake racist’ scene.nrh wrote: ↑Tue Nov 10, 2020 11:30 pm curious how you'll feel about tip top, among other things one of the most perverse policiers outside of graf and maybe chabrol's lavardin tv movies. i do think the more hermetic mods and la france are my favorite bozons but i find the very fractured quality of tip top and madame hyde fascinating
edit - i also have a huge crush on sandrine kiberlain in this
I still remember my first bozon, la France. I watched it at the MFA in 2007 with my mom of all people! She was visiting town, and I picked this one because she speaks French but not English. I remember she liked it quite a lot, so it can’t have been possibly as eccentric as this one. She is not into weird stuff. It shall forever remain my favorite bozon, in equal amounts because of its contents and the circumstances under which I saw it. It took me 13 years to watch the next one.
first reformed (paul schrader) darn. i really really really wanted this to go where it was headed after the 1hr mark. oh well. still decent
LOVE ME TONIGHT -- Mamoulien's early musical, with Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald and a score by Rodgers & Hart, and almost pure pleasure. A fine supporting cast, with C. Aubrey Smith and Charlie Ruggles and Myrna Loy, who prompted a film professor of mine to remark that there's no reason for anybody to look twice at Jeanette MacDonald when Myrna Loy is in the vicinity. I dig it, despite that Apache song which hasn't aged well.
These matters are best disposed of from a great height. Over water.