tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30125703652642275832024-03-13T03:46:01.918-07:00Cinephilia 101Cinephilia 101 is a source for information on rare cinema. This site is the offspring of the Classic Cinema group on MySpace (groups.myspace.com/cinema101). Our main goal is to shine light on films that receive little critical or popular attention.Jose Gabriel Angeleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11755136834354267320noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-3190281863232327142015-04-23T15:31:00.001-07:002015-04-23T15:33:12.510-07:00Narcissus and Psyche (Gabor Body, 1980)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqS4v6v2HPSEvaM3i-_Owb_kMT5moo4KcyVEXonzbIT3jOej4Yfc6NbyZfXTtTbFmH351Bd6QnMPBj_j-YM8anTDbMR9rnZ58e5V1iEc7IFxakF92FYog9rKKcyaBgBEFG7FPMRt3b9nk/s1600/231697984_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqS4v6v2HPSEvaM3i-_Owb_kMT5moo4KcyVEXonzbIT3jOej4Yfc6NbyZfXTtTbFmH351Bd6QnMPBj_j-YM8anTDbMR9rnZ58e5V1iEc7IFxakF92FYog9rKKcyaBgBEFG7FPMRt3b9nk/s1600/231697984_640.jpg" height="148" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">One of the towering masterpieces of the Hungarian cinema, along with 'Mephisto' and 'Satantango'. </span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">It's a 4 1/2 hour, avant-garde period piece, full of occult metaphor and bold formal experimentation. </span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">Using the myth of Narcissus and Echo as inspiration, Udo Kier plays the introspective romantic and man of reason, Laci Tóth (Nárcisz), incapable of consummating his lov</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 18px;">e for his childhood friend, Erzsébet Lónyay (Psyché), due to his physical condition and his disdain for the Austro-Hungarian aristocracy, which Psyché is a part of, but from which she is shunned because of her gypsy ancestry.<br />Psyché's libertine ways seem to be a reference to Flaubert's 'Madame Bovary', which she conceals from Laci, but he tolerates it, preferring to lose himself in his studies and in scientific investigation. Her affairs with various lovers across Central Europe create a portrait of a society and a way of life in slow decline due to the advent of democratization and modernization.<br />Directed by Gábor Bódy, a seminal figure in the socialist-era Hungarian art scene, and who also was instrumental in producing some of the first video art in Hungary.<br /><br />Watch here:<br /><br />Part 1: <a href="https://mega.co.nz/#!q0pzSSJL!ngZprhUmSE6EsGP5gDvGLh6ADYFQyWsOV0tHWKOOp1Y" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://mega.co.nz/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>#!q0pzSSJL!ngZprhUmSE6EsGP5<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>gDvGLh6ADYFQyWsOV0tHWKOOp1<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>Y</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: black; display: inline; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;"><br />Part 2: <a href="https://mega.co.nz/#!H1hgEC5K!-WqI8hi-ysnur-Ri0b-ps-x9UAzxEKZvhivUeCkxSYg" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://mega.co.nz/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>#!H1hgEC5K!-WqI8hi-ysnur-Ri<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>0b-ps-x9UAzxEKZvhivUeCkxSY<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>g</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: black; display: inline; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: black; display: inline; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">Part 3: <a href="https://mega.co.nz/#!z5JUAT5b!ERAgtbKpx3NnUOUDa_0fMVVFx_rlmYKfiedzRh82vnA" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://mega.co.nz/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>#!z5JUAT5b!ERAgtbKpx3NnUOUD<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>a_0fMVVFx_rlmYKfiedzRh82vn<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>A</a></span></span>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-54710124739959157092014-12-01T10:40:00.000-08:002014-12-01T10:42:20.473-08:00Mermaid Legend (1984)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoiN0XsCo1-oyQAPinKf4QR8ZJvQlet9bwbyBPTTSncfM6F-k03d3AuzRPK9q5FuNu8LpWRLxvYvCe9Xt3kW3YYRoEC7iRJbCxnqE9skcpR85l_7AJhAcK08PntFFICY_gQzNqLGGUQg/s1600/jni0048k_l.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoiN0XsCo1-oyQAPinKf4QR8ZJvQlet9bwbyBPTTSncfM6F-k03d3AuzRPK9q5FuNu8LpWRLxvYvCe9Xt3kW3YYRoEC7iRJbCxnqE9skcpR85l_7AJhAcK08PntFFICY_gQzNqLGGUQg/s1600/jni0048k_l.png" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">This revenge thriller caught me off-guard. Sometimes, you expect to watch a decent film, then you get one that's quite good, maybe even great. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This one opens with a husband and wife who make a living off pearl diving. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It was very common in East Asia for women to be the sole gender responsible for pearl diving (and most other kinds of diving, in general), so the wife dons the deep sea gear, while the husband steers the boat and reels in her lifeline. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Early on, while on a pearl hunt, the husband is murdered, and the assailants make an attempt at the wife too. After making it to shore safely, the wife (Migiwa) seeks out help, but everyone, including the police, seem to infer immediately that she must have murdered her husband. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Trusting no one, she seeks out her husband's friend, the son of a local businessman, but even he seems unwilling to help, and asks her if she is responsible. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The story unfolds into a political cover-up, as her husband witnessed some murders earlier that are connected to business monopolies operating in the area and their yakuza contacts.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">***SPOILER ALERT***</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What starts with distrust and confusion ends in a brutal, yet satisfying "kill them all" scene, when the wife discovers the culprits, and takes them all out with a fishing spear. Maybe two dozen or more men are impaled at a business banquet. Seeing salarymen meet their demise in this exaggerated fashion was even more satisfying than the many revenge killings of Mifune in Kurosawa's slightly less violent, though theatrical 'The Bad Sleep Well'.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">***SPOILERS DONE***</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I recommend this for fans of J-cinema, or someone looking for a film with political depth to write about, talk about, watch.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">directed by Toshiharu Ikeda</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">starring Mari Shirato</span>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-9010967762760391522014-03-06T18:17:00.000-08:002014-03-07T19:00:49.351-08:00John's Holy Grail: Top 100 Films (One Per Director)<i>a personal list: </i><br />
<br />
1) <i>The Mother and the Whore</i> (Jean Eustache, 1973)<br />
<br />
2) <i>L'Eclisse</i> (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)<br />
<br />
3) <i>Hitler: a film from Germany</i> (Hans-Jurgen Syberberg, 1977)<br />
<br />
4) <i>West of the Tracks</i> (Wang Bing, 2003)<br />
<br />
<i>5) </i><i>Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles</i> (Chantal Akerman, 1975)<br />
<br />
6) <i>Zero for Conduct</i> (Jean Vigo, 1933)<br />
<br />
7) <i>The 400 Blows</i> (François Truffaut, 1959)<br />
<br />
8) <i>Pickpocket</i> (Robert Bresson, 1959)<br />
<br />
9) <i>Le Trou</i> (Jacques Becker, 1960)<br />
<br />
10) <i>Battle of Chile</i> (Patricio Guzman, 1975)<br />
<br />
11) <i>Death in the Land of Encantos</i> (Lav Diaz, 2007)<br />
<br />
12) <i>Les Cousins</i> (Claude Chabrol, 1959)<br />
<br />
13) <i>L'Amour Fou</i> (Jacques Rivette, 1969)<br />
<br />
14) <i>Perceval le Gallois</i> (Eric Rohmer, 1978)<br />
<br />
15) <i>Veredas</i> (Joao Cesar Monteiro, 1978)<br />
<br />
16) <i>Anatomy of a Relationship</i> (Luc Moullet, 1976)<br />
<br />
17) <i>Seyyit Han </i>(Yilmaz Guney, 1968)<i> </i><br />
<br />
18) <i>Mandara</i> (Akio Jissoji, 1971) <br />
<br />
19) <i>Eros Plus Massacre</i> (Yoshishige Yoshida, 1969)<br />
<br />
20) <i>Nanami: Inferno of First Love</i> (Susumu Hani, 1968)<br />
<br />
21) <i>Pastoral: To Die in the Country</i> (Shuji Terayama, 1974)<br />
<br />
22) <i>The Face of Another</i> (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1966)<br />
<br />
23) <i>Vengeance is Mine</i> (Shohei Imamura, 1964) <br />
<br />
24) <i>A Fugitive from the Past</i> (Tomu Uchida, 1965)<br />
<br />
25) <i>Noisy Requiem</i> (Yoshihiko Matsui, 1988)<br />
<br />
26) <i>March Comes in Like a Lion</i> (Hitoshi Yazaki, 1991)<br />
<br />
27) <i>Tokyo Decadence</i> (Ryu Murakami, 1992)<br />
<br />
28) <i>The Sting of Death</i> (Kohei Oguri, 1991)<br />
<br />
29) <i>Picnic</i> (Shunji Iwai, 1996)<br />
<br />
30) <i>The Rebel</i> (Nagisa Oshima, 1962)<br />
<br />
31) <i>Dersu Uzala</i> (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)<br />
<br />
32) <i>The Cremator</i> (Juraj Herz, 1969)<br />
<br />
33) <i>On the Silver Globe</i> (Andrzej Zulawski, 1988)<br />
<br />
34) <i>Valley of the Bees</i> (Frantisek Vlacil, 1968)<br />
<br />
35) <i>The Hourglass Sanatorium</i> (Wojciech Has, 1973)<br />
<br />
36) <i>The Red and the White</i> (Miklos Jancso, 1967)<br />
<br />
37) <i>O Megalexandros</i> (Theodoros Angelopoulos, 1980)<br />
<br />
38) <i>Three Days</i> (Sharunas Bartas, 1992) <br />
<br />
39) <i>Days of Eclipse</i> (Aleksandr Sokurov, 1988)<br />
<br />
40) <i>The Thrushes are Still Singing</i> (Nikos Nikolaidas, 1979)<br />
<br />
41) <i>Idlers of the Fertile Valley</i> (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/john-calvin-story/johns-holy-grail-top-100-films-one-per-director/10150387887869975#" role="button">Nikos Panayotopoulos</a>, 1978)<br />
<br />
42) <i>Black God, White Devil</i> (Glauber Rocha, 1964)<br />
<br />
43) <i>Stalker</i> (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)<br />
<br />
44) <i>Hardcore</i> (Paul Schrader, 1979)<br />
<br />
45) <i>Entr'acte</i> (Rene Clair, 1924)<br />
<br />
46) <i>Return to Reason</i> (Man Ray, 1923)<br />
<br />
47) <i>L'Age d'Or</i> (Luis Bunuel, 1930)<br />
<br />
48) <i>Lot in Sodom</i> (James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber, 1933)<br />
<br />
49) <i>Satantango </i>(Bela Tarr, 1994)<br />
<br />
50) <i>The Conformist</i> (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)<br />
<br />
51) <i>Arabian Nights</i> (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1974)<br />
<br />
52) <i>La Belle Captive</i> (Alain Robbe-Grillet, 1983)<br />
<br />
53) <i>Van Gogh</i> (Maurice Pialat, 1985)<br />
<br />
54) <i>Du Cote d'Orouet</i> (Jacques Rozier, 1973) <br />
<br />
55) <i>Moon in the Gutter</i> (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1983)<br />
<br />
56) <i>Geography of the Body</i> (Willard Maas, 1943)<br />
<br />
57) <i>Invocation of My Demon Brother</i> (Kenneth Anger, 1969)<br />
<br />
58) <i>Pink Narcissus</i> (James Bidgood, 1971)<br />
<br />
59) <i>Sebastiane</i> (Derek Jarman and Paul Humfress, 1976)<br />
<br />
60) <i>Wife to Be Sacrificed</i> (Masaru Konuma, 1974)<br />
<br />
61) <i>Woods are Wet</i> (Tatsumi Kumashiro, 1973)<br />
<br />
62) <i>Secrets Behind the Wall</i> (Koji Wakamatsu, 1965) <br />
<br />
63) <i>Black Snow</i> (Tetsuji Takechi, 1965)<br />
<br />
64) <i>Effi Briest</i> (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)<br />
<br />
65) <i>Young and Healthy as a Rose</i> (Jovan Jovanovic, 1971)<br />
<br />
66) <i>Men and Women</i> (Walter Hugo Khouri, 1964)<br />
<br />
67)<i> The Unscrupulous Ones </i>(Ruy Guerra, 1962)<br />
<br />
68) <i>Away with Words</i> (Christopher Doyle, 1999)<br />
<br />
69) <i>Autumn Moon</i> (Clara Law, 1992)<br />
<br />
70) <i>An Amorous Woman of Tang Dynasty</i> (Eddie Ling Ching Fong, 1984)<br />
<br />
71) <i>Still Life</i> (Sohrab Shahid Saless, 1974)<br />
<br />
72) <i>Close-Up</i> (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990)<br />
<br />
73) <i>Lies</i> (Jang Sun-woo, 1999)<br />
<br />
74) <i>Green Fish</i> (Lee Chang-dong, 1997)<br />
<br />
75) <i>Branded to Kill </i>(Seijun Suzuki, 1967) <br />
<br />
76) <i>Funeral Parade of Roses </i>(Toshio Matsumoto, 1969)<br />
<br />
77) <i>Ghost in the Shell</i> (Mamoru Oshii, 1995)<br />
<br />
78) <i>Akira</i> (Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988)<br />
<br />
79) <i>Castle in the Sky</i> (Hayao Miyazaki, 1986) <br />
<br />
80) <i>Our Sunhi</i> (Hong Sang-soo, 2013)<br />
<br />
81) <i>Camel(s)</i> (Park Ki-yong, 2002)<br />
<br />
82) <i>Eureka</i> (Shinji Aoyama, 2000)<br />
<br />
83) <i>Maboroshi no Hikari</i> (Hirokazu Koreeda, 1996)<br />
<br />
84) <i>A Brighter Summer Day</i> (Edward Yang, 1991)<br />
<br />
85) <i>The Boys from Fengkuei</i> (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1983)<br />
<br />
86) <i>The Goddess</i> (Wu Yonggang, 1934)<br />
<br />
87) <i>Harmful Insect</i> (Akihiko Shiota, 2001)<br />
<br />
88) <i>The Long Darkness</i> (Kei Kumai, 1972) <br />
<br />
89) <i>Tree Without Leaves</i> (Kaneto Shindo, 1986)<br />
<br />
90) <i>Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise</i> (Hiroyuki Yamaga, 1987)<br />
<br />
91) <i>Star Spangled to Death </i>(Ken Jacobs, 2004)<br />
<br />
92) <i>The Double Life of Veronique </i>(Krzystof Kieslowski, 1991) <br />
<br />
93) <i>M/Other</i> (Nobuhiro Suwa, 2001)<br />
<br />
94) <i>Visage</i> (Tsai Ming-liang, 2009)<br />
<br />
95) <i>Post Tenebras Lux</i> (Carlos Reygadas, 2012)<br />
<br />
96) <i>Badlands</i> (Terrence Malick, 1973) <br />
<br />
97) <i>At Land </i>(Maya Deren, 1944)<br />
<br />
98) <i>Frozen</i> (Wang Xiaoshuai, 1996)<br />
<br />
99) <i>The Youth Killer </i>(Kazuhiko Hasegawa, 1976)<br />
<br />
100) <i>Fireworks</i> (Takeshi Kitano, 1997)JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-67248269652010168272013-12-28T11:33:00.001-08:002013-12-28T11:33:18.619-08:00Gushing Prayer (Masao Adachi, 1971)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1BoL0y9heoYxNSDOZcKrDSnbrppUJ-SsaIRbS8UnhBU8FP-V_7rXK95f9ei4KSP1bqsLEV1cGDxCjAKCOOJz8xIwA2-CdVfKL4mr1j6C_59Ewpf1i8ctcruog4myAypuEnn_tu704lQ/s1600/2013-04-30.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1BoL0y9heoYxNSDOZcKrDSnbrppUJ-SsaIRbS8UnhBU8FP-V_7rXK95f9ei4KSP1bqsLEV1cGDxCjAKCOOJz8xIwA2-CdVfKL4mr1j6C_59Ewpf1i8ctcruog4myAypuEnn_tu704lQ/s200/2013-04-30.png" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Gushing Prayer (1971)<br /><br />dir: Masao ADACHI<br /><br />I have not been this floored by a film since seeing Walter Hugo Khouri's Antonionian masterpiece, Men and Women ('Noite Vazia', 1964). <br />Sometimes, you see a film so groundbreaking, so radical, that you're in disbelief that you've even seen it, or that it was even made. This is the case with both, and only a few lucky others.<br /><br />'Radical' sums up the director quite well too. He was one of the 'pink film' directors, artists who made super low-budget, softcore films that were shot in two weeks or so, and quickly released to make profits.<br /><br />Producers cared little for what the content was (unlike the big studios), as long as there was an ample amounts of skin. There was actually a certain ratio, as well, for how much nudity had to be present--approximately a third or so of screen time had to have t&a.<br /><br />Despite such seemingly lowbrow goals, this sandbox soon become a space for work of radical aesthetic and political experimentation. <br /><br />Koji Wakamatsu is the most well-known name to come out of this environment. And in fact, his work inspired Stanley Kubrick, and SK admitted to this publicly.<br /><br />The director of the film in question, Adachi, had worked for several years in this workspace, also doing documentary, but came upon trouble when his political activities ran afoul with the ruling order. <br /><br />Adachi, like most filmmakers and artist, was caught up in the massive anti-militarist student movements of the 50's and 60's. And in the early 70's, he had already traveled to Lebanon and Palestine to make a documentary about the Popular Front for Palestinian Liberation ('Red Army-PFLP: Declaration of World War'), and soon became involved with the Japanese Red Army, a group that was more or less affiliated with the PFLP, though independent of its goals and leadership.<br /><br />When the JRA had become implicated in terrorist attacks, his passport was revoked, and he was unable to return to Japan for nearly 30 years. <br />Though he is back in Japan now (after having served a short sentence for passport violations), this background is important to understand the director. <br />'Gushing Prayer' was made right before his departure from Japan, and represents the artist at the prime moment of clarity, radicalism, and austerity.<br /><br />It follows four teenagers who embark on a quest of discovery. They observe the world of adults, and with some awkwardness, propose that they can 'beat sex', meaning that they can engage in this new, unexplored territory without feeling an emotional response.<br /><br />This theme of self-control is of course an Eastern cultural theme. It is essentially the Buddhist philosophy, and the rigid, austere lifestyle of the samurai. But here, Adachi moves it away from the traditional, and instead defines this personal questioning as the very moment of developing political consciousness. The teenagers only come to know the world through engaging in what they perceive as 'adult behavior', but they do not examine the consequences of it. <br /><br />In a sense, they move from innocent figures to units of exploitation. They, for the first time, develop a 'public life', and go into society/the capitalist system/reality, etc...<br /><br />This is doubled by the four also deciding that one of them must engage in prostitution, since anonymous sex would be the best opportunity to discover whether or not the body can actually resist carnality, and if humans truly have control over their lives. Prostitution also provides a means of being, as an economic unit (literally and figuratively), you are then 'within' society. <br /><br />The following investigation is where the film has the bulk of its value, as the teens, through eloquent dialogue and voiceover, relay the problems that they face in understanding this world and their bodies. It is, in a sense, one of the most cerebral and deliberated coming-of-age films, but done in such a way that it is more real than going the prosaic motions of 'maturation'. Through the showing of, and also through their critiquing and recreating of each pertinent moment, the teens, and we, the audience, come to a very high level of awareness. In fact, maybe we learn too much by the end. <br /><br />link: <br /><br />01101000011101000111010001110000001110100010111100101111011101000111010101110010011000100110111101100010011010010111010000101110011011100110010101110100001011110111001101100010001100000011001100110110011110100110010101100100011010010110001101101100011110010010111101000111011101010111001101101000011010010110111001100111010100000111001001100001011110010110010101110010001011100110110101101011011101100010111001101000011101000110110101101100</span>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-47879055122561858692013-08-29T23:14:00.001-07:002013-08-29T23:14:32.680-07:0010 Reasons Why Film Isn't Dead<i>It's not something I hear as frequently as a few years ago, but
there still persists this notion among the film community that "cinema
isn't what it used to be," mostly among stuffy academic types. </i><br />
<br />
<i>I
really take offense to this, because there's a whiff of racism behind
it. Since the late 1980's, the greatest star in cinema has been the
Middle East and East Asia.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Most who wail about
the "death of cinema" tend to champion the Western European and
Hollywood classics ONLY. When I have heard this opinion, they always say
"Fellini, Antonioni, Godard, Truffaut, Renoir!"</i><br />
<br />
<i>Not
to take away from those greats, but that represents a VERY SMALL
portion of the world, and a specific historical era influenced by
certain conditions. It shouldn't be seen as the "end-all, be-all" of
cinema. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>And it really insults so
much of the great work from Brazil, Senegal, Algeria, China, South
Korea, Philippines, Serbia, Czech Republic (and the former
Czechoslovakia), Kazakhstan, Mali, Burkina Faso, Poland, Argentina, and
so many more nations. </i><br />
<br />
<i>But I don't assume
that everyone watches what I watch, so I've thought to make a short list
with examples of films that I think are as strong as anything from a
Western European-Hollywood studio canonical list (like say... the
'required' viewing list that Spike Lee presents to his students).</i><br />
<br />
<b>10 Films Made in the Past 10 Years That Are as Good as Anything You'll Find</b>: <br />
<br />
(not in any particular order)<br />
<br />
<b>1) </b><i><b>The World</b></i><b> - Jia Zhangke</b><br />
This
film is important, literally and figuratively, as it's astounding, but
also reflects the rise of China, as an economic, geopolitical, and
cultural center in the world. The film's title comes from a theme park,
which may not represent the entire world, but the best of it - the
landmarks. Some touching, memorable scenes are when a plane flies over
head, and one of the workers (who make up the cast) says, "Who do you
think flies on those?" <br />
Also, scenes between the troupe of
Russian theme park workers and their associations with the local Chinese
(who come from all over China) provide for some measured, but sincerely
done approaches towards international friendship. The film is one of
the best to represent changes in culture due to globalization, and the
shift in values due to East Asia's industrial renaissance. <br />
<br />
2) <i><b>Visage</b></i><b> - Tsai Ming-liang</b><br />
Second
is another film from East Asia, from Tsai Ming-liang, the openly gay
and one of the more Westernized of the Taiwanese New Wave (which
includes Hou Hsiao-hsien, Wu Nien-jen, and the recently deceased Edward
Yang). <br />
Tsai takes his love of the French New Wave (and his
repeating cast) to Paris, to film the story of a Taiwanese director
attempting to make an art film in the city of lights.<br />
The film is
a tour de force of aesthetic mastery. It is filled with early 20th
century Chinese songs, some sung by the beautiful model/actress Letitia
Casta, and each frame could be a standalone painting. <br />
There
is not a "plot" per se, but more of a tour of Paris, a slow reminiscence
on the state of film, and a threnody to the old masters (via one scene
starring Nouvelle Vague poster boy, Jean-Pierre Leaud).<br />
<br />
3) <i><b>The Weeping Meadow</b></i><b> - Theodoros Angelopoulos</b><br />
The
first entry from the Greek director's unfinished trilogy is just as
exciting as any of his work from the past three decades. Angelopoulos
shows such an ease in his style, and his near-endless steadicam/crane
shots feel completely natural. <br />
His historical competency is
just as lucid as he takes us through the usual familial memories of war,
political upheaval, and colonization.<br />
This film follows Greek
refugees from Odessa after the Bolshevik Revolution, and continues in
part two of the trilogy, Angelopoulos' last film unfortunately, <i>The Dust of Time</i>.<br />
<br />
4) <b><i>Lady Chatterley</i> - Pascale Ferran</b><br />
I
was hesitant to add this entry, but it really shows a continuation of
some of the best traditions in French cinema: naturalistic
cinematography, good scriptwriting, a character-driven narrative, rich
dialogue, a sense of economy, and well-paced timing. I was never able to
watch the television version, which runs about an hour long than the
theatrical cut, but its a nice take on D.H. Lawrence's well-known story
of a relationship crossing class and marital boundaries. <br />
None
of the English names are changed for the French-speaking cast, but it
all comes off very naturally, and some of the most memorable and
well-executed scenes are the ones between the eponymous lady and her
beau, the gamekeeper, as they sneak away from the lord of the estate and
engage in their love affair.<br />
<br />
5) <b><i>Star-Spangled to Death</i> - Ken Jacobs</b><br />
Not
long ago, I finally embarked on this long journey, experimental
luminary Ken Jacobs' near-seven hour rumination on American media,
psychology, and well... just any topic imaginable.<br />
It is the most
avant-garde of features in that it is entirely composed of found
footage. None of pieces really go together--he takes scenes from racist,
ethnographic pieces of African villagers shot during colonialism,
scientific films featuring animal testing, Richard Nixon's apology
speeches, sound clips of protests, some footage from his early shorts,
along with speeches from Black Panther members. Coalesced together, it
becomes a mental journey through America. It comes off more as thought
than visual storytelling. It could also be thought of as stream of
consciousness editing. All of it comes together to maybe be an analysis
of Jacobs' head than anything else, but it is an experience that cannot
be missed and one of the most unique works of art from the United
States.<br />
<br />
6) <b><i>West of the Tracks - Wang Bing</i></b><br />
Back
to China! This nation really is producing some of the strongest work
today, though it may be getting ignored (at least in America), due to
cultural unfamiliarity. But this documentary, clocking in at a running
time of nine hours, is one of the best in cinematic history. I would say
that maybe the film I feel was the strongest of the postwar period of <i>Hitler: a Film from Germany</i>,
and certainly, the only thing made since to match that epic experience
is this, Wang Bing's analysis of social decay after the closing of a
state-run factory in Shenyang.<br />
For the first hour, we get the
sense that something is amiss. Workers in a locker room (gleefully
unashamed!) argue furiously with each other over nothing. I wondered
whether or not the footage was staged, but it seemed it might be too
hard get such detail and accuracy in the arguments, so began to accept
it as a documentary. That feeling kept going throughout the film. If it
was a documentary, it was incredible, but could I also be watching the
best fictionalized drama ever? <br />
Maybe this questioning of
reality stems from the fact that the 20,000 or so members of the town
also have their lives in question. Little by little, the men in the town
begin to lose their factory jobs, and we see the decay. <br />
The
film is divided into three distinct sections: Rust, Remnants, and Rails,
and by the end of it, the factory has closed and families are in
question as we see the teens wander the streets aimlessly or chat up
shopkeepers or try to coax young women into sex. <br />
Being an
outsider to Chinese society and never having had the opportunity to
visit China, I can't affirm how accurate it is to Shenyang, or whether
it truthfully portrayed the industrial decay of that city, but it was an
experience I was more immersed in than any other. A film with no equal.<br />
<br />
7) <b><i>Death in the Land of Encantos</i> - Lav Diaz</b><br />
One
of the greatest gifts of the 21st century and the best result of
digitization in cinema is sudden, meteoric rise of cinema in Southeast
Asia. There has also been a second boost in West Africa, after the
collapse of state-funding during the socialist period, but those films
have gone below my radar. <br />
Anyhow, countries like Malaysia,
Vietnam, Thailand, and especially the Philippines have had a liberation
through the cheap access of digital technology. <br />
In fact, there's an interview with Lav Diaz titled, "Digital is liberation theology."<br />
I
love the title for the double meaning it has. As cinema has been used
to oppress the third world through negative media representation, yet it
also has the capacity to liberate them through equal access.<br />
And
directors like Lav Diaz, Raya Martin, and Sherad Anthony Sanchez are
doing just that all with the new opportunities through equipment.<br />
There
really is no way to not to stress enough the fact that we are seeing a
CONTEMPORARY RENAISSANCE in the Philippines. Countries who did not have
open cinemas before tend to make nationalistic works in attempt of
self-definition, and this is what Diaz and others have done. Encantos,
the first in Diaz' trilogy and Martin's A Short Film About the Indio
Nacional continue this tradition of national reassessment and
re-orientation after a legacy of European colonialism and a following
period of dictatorship by militarism and a comprador bourgeoisie.<br />
But what about the film?<br />
Due
to its richness, it could be easy to do an entire dissertation on this,
Diaz' third entry in a trilogy, but to remain brief and allow room for
other titles, it follows a group of three artists, focused on Hamin, a
poet, as they traverse the Philippine jungle after the devastating Super
Typhoon Durian.<br />
The three engage in long, fulfilling discussions
on the state of art, the meaning of it, the role of the artist, and the
position of the Philippines in the world.<br />
Never before has a
director attempted to sum up the zeitgeist of his nation, and the world
by extension, and so successfully nailed it at each step. The gargantuan
running time (9 hours and 5 minutes) is just a requirement for all the
work that Diaz must do. He is building up a new national cinema, by the
way. Though the Philippines has been making films for decades, this is
the first time that we have seen so many working in a time of general
political freedom and able to work outside of commercial demands. <br />
<br />
<i>8) </i><b><i>Last Life in the Universe</i> - Pen-ek Ratanaruang</b><br />
This film isn't one that particularly needs promotion, but is tremendously important in the soup of titles.<br />
The industrial essentialism of the Japanese meets the languidness of Thai culture in this Asian mashup. <br />
World
favorite actor Tadanobu Asano stars as a man with a mysterious past who
arrives in Bangkok and tries to revive some sense of normal through his
routine. <br />
His hopes are soon shattered after he views a Thai
teenager jump over a bridge next to a car crash. As a way of
consolation, and through circumstance, he stays with the girl's older
sister, and falls into the Thai way of life. Pot-smoking, staying up all
night, leaving dishes unwashed, and other behavior ensues.<br />
The
highlights of this self-consciously arty film are the soundtrack from
Small Room and the many oneiric scenes, such as the house cleaning up
itself or some of the (rarely) well-done slow-motion shots.<br />
Like some of the best films, but not enough of them, this one is more about the art then about the "what happens next."<br />
<br />
<i>9) </i><b><i>Syndromes and Century</i> - Apichatpong Weerasethakul</b><br />
It
would seem incredibly unfair to construct any list of 21st century
favorites and leave out "Joe", the boy wonder from Thailand.<br />
I
never feel that I understand his films or his directorial choices, but I
do enjoy them and always look forward to the next one. Maybe it's
because his style is just so personal and unique that I don't have an
"in". But you never can quite forget a film by Joe after you watch it.<br />
It
also was irrelevant which one I choose either. They are all EXTREMELY
avant-garde, and it seems that somehow, he's found a place for himself
within the international arthouse scene without conforming to any
previously established expectation for cinema. <br />
For this
reason, I have to mention him though I typically feel a bit lost during
his films, except the recent Uncle Boonmee, which was more
straightforward.<br />
One the face of it, this is a remembrance of
Joe's parents, both doctors in Thailand during the 70's. That is what is
in the synopsis at least, but the film becomes many things. It has an
appearance by a Buddhist monk who wants to become a DJ (which is why the
film had trouble with Thai censorship). It jumps to the modern era with
robotic equipment and some beautiful, though unmotivated shots of new
hospital equipment, and has new doctors take the place of the old.<br />
I
would more classify Joe and his cinema in the place of the fine arts.
His films are easy to enjoy, but they are not pieces to understand. Only
to have impressions of when they are over. The best thing I can say is
that an image of his "gave me this one feeling," or "reminded me of one
time..."<br />
<br />
10) <b><i>Crimson Gold</i> - Jafar Panahi</b><br />
There
are several reasons for the international hostility towards Iran--some
geopolitical, some because of its defensive stance against Israel and
Western globalization after the '79 revolution, some unknown to
everyone, and while I tend not to jump into the popular 'anti-Iran'
protest that's promoted in the Western media, I was upset to find out
that the regime had repressed some of my favorite filmmakers, even going
so far as to place Jafar Panahi on house arrest and briefly imprisoning
Mohamad Rasoulof.<br />
This film does not resist the religious Shiite
system that the nation is currently structured under or the lack of
political options, but rather, the entrenched class system that exists
in Iran.<br />
Hussein, a deliveryman, seems to be born into a world
that is set against him. He makes deliveries to an expensive jewelry
store that contains not a single item that he can afford on his meager
salary.<br />
His conservative wife complains about bills and how he cannot pay them. <br />
He spends much of his time stuck in traffic in the rush to make deliveries so he can barely keep things together.<br />
And then what happens?<br />
He snaps and robs the jewelry store that stands as an eyesore and a reminder of his poverty.<br />
From
that theft, Hussein becomes a frequent criminal, with an amazing
finally in the penthouse of a young millionaire high above Tehran. <br />
To see this film is to know the economic oppression that exists in much of the world.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>These
aren't all the films that mean cinema isn't dead, but just a taste. I
tried to be as international as possible while remaining true to works
that deeply affected me. I regretfully was not able to list any titles
from South America or Africa, but this is also due to the fact that
there is so much more to see. But I was able to add some titles that
probably don't get a fair amount of attention as well as some that did
well on the international film circuit. This list should just be seen as
a starting point to why cinema is still strong, not as a new canon.</i>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-44719812998968895852013-08-29T23:08:00.001-07:002013-08-29T23:08:13.727-07:00My Response to Paul Shrader's Film CanonSo, I finally read this<span style="color: red;"> <span style="color: red;"><a href="http://paulschrader.org/articles/pdf/2006-FilmComment_Schrader.pdf">attempt</a></span> </span>at creating a film canon by Paul Schrader.<br /><br />I thought I had read it years ago, but hadn't. Once I sit down to read it, it's like this verbose, yet erudite confirmation of everything I'm tired of in academia and film criticism.<br /><br />Schrader parrots up all the old musty names from the Catholic Church, even goes back to definitions by Dante, Plato, and Kant as to what art is. <br /><br />Not that there's a problem to that, but... Really, the old school again?<br /><br />He then strangely enough, bashes Marxists and feminists, repeating another scholar's view of them as the "School of Resentment."<br /><br />Following this he throws up all his heroes, the ones you were forced to watch in film class--Ford, Welles, Renoir, and Hitchcock.<br /><br />These guys are certainly masters, no one rejects that. But isn't it curious enough, that Schrader spending so much time to construct a rubric by which to judge films, and then only repeating the most hallowed, widely known, "acknowledged" masterpieces of the 20th century, kind of reek of exclusion and privilege.<br /><br />To me, this also ties into the exclusion of the film industry. He may categorize my comments as the "school of resentment," but what other response can there be to an industry that did and still, continues to reject authentic views of minorities?<br /><br />Does Schrader, who fails to mention a single title made outside the rigid demands of the studio system (Masculin, Feminin is a close exception, but not really) even stop to think of the system of privilege that IS studio filmmaking, yet also how this system rigidly stifles personal expression as a capitalist enterprise?<br /><br />He kind of follows that French theory of auteur--that the studios sucked, but there were a few guys--Wyler, Wilder, Hawks, etc... who were successful in pushing some sort of personal vision, hence the auteurs. <br /><br />But the period following the collapse of the studios, or rather, the weakening of their influence, DID SEE artistry return with the art film.<br /><br />The art film was present since festivals such as Cannes and Venice since the 50's, but some of my favorite works were by those who were given full creative expression such as Angelopoulos, Eustache, and Tarkovsky, just to name a few. <br /><br />Anyway, I really feel this is a marker of Schrader's age and his conservative upbringing. But then again, it's not. Because in the article, he even slams Jonathan Rosenbaum, who has done so much to promote overlooked films, by saying that Rosenbaum doesn't explain why they're good.<br /><br />So, in turn, he presents a very unoriginal list, preceded by lots of bloviated talk about the "masters" and "classic aesthetics," but why does this not show up in his own cinema? <br /><br />Why is a film like Light Sleeper fairly sleep-inducing?<br /><br />Granted, there's some value to that film, but it hardly reaches the halcyon levl that Schrader's talking about.<br /><br />Instead, let's think of the words of an artist who did live up to his expectations. Not an obscure name, by any means, but one who fits: Andrei Tarkovsky. <br /><br />Shortly before his death, while location scouting for Nostalghia, Andrei filmed a documentary with Italian scriptwriter Tonino Guerra called 'Voyage in Time'.<br /><br />There are many great lessons from this interview film, but one of the best, and one which I try to remember (paraphrased) is this:<br /><br />Tarkovsky: "My problem is, I keep meeting directors who are nothing like their films. Your film should be an extension of yourself."<br /><br />I'm not projecting this as a rule for film. Star Wars: A New Hope is a great movie, but George Lucas was never a jedi in real life. But I'm sure Lucas, in his fantasy, was that film.<br /><br />Tarkovsky preaches for simple honesty in expression. I try to always remind myself of this while I'm making shorts, and some of the ones that turned out better are the ones where my ego, or some "idea" didn't get in the way. The ones where I was just trying to represent a personal experience or emotion were much better than anything intellectual. <br /><br />And intellectualism is all Schrader has to offer. Why are his films so different from what he has to say in this article? That's the only question I pose. I think the answer is obvious. JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-43485896484712787922013-08-02T00:55:00.003-07:002013-08-02T00:55:17.368-07:00Walter Hugo Khouri - Men and Women (Noite Vazia, 1964)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnsx3wxwjQHt36y4WQAzWj1KxSCd8HDZ58I8IlJuhGSDSq29-99rJte1qW9JJApdONyx2f-FBJY4sDyaTm07IvO5nH7QfdNUVsgFEhVjiiD1y2WpgmQZAgS8bqVMeFNEDorOJ9-X6xUyY/s1600/NoiteVazia2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnsx3wxwjQHt36y4WQAzWj1KxSCd8HDZ58I8IlJuhGSDSq29-99rJte1qW9JJApdONyx2f-FBJY4sDyaTm07IvO5nH7QfdNUVsgFEhVjiiD1y2WpgmQZAgS8bqVMeFNEDorOJ9-X6xUyY/s320/NoiteVazia2.jpg" width="219" /></a> <i>Men and Women</i> (1964)<br /><br />I'm really in pure disbelief that something this definitive in its subject matter (the old battle of the sexes) could have been made 50 years ago. It's one of the strongest statements on society's deeply rooted sexism and the complicity on both sides that perpetuates it. <br /><br />In it, two married men prowl the streets of Sao Paulo looking for sex. They turn down some advances at a couple of bars, preferring something "unfamiliar". They finally find two prostitutes at a teahouse, and bring them back to a 'communal apartment'.<br /><br />The two men, one a little older, fatter, insecure, and ragingly sexist, the other, younger, more handsome, and reluctant, then begin the game with the women. They swap partners, watch porn, even pay the two women to have sex with each other, ever seeking the more out-of-the-ordinary thrill.<br /><br />The drama progresses as both parties, so strongly willed, engage in a game of progression and resistance/acceptance.<br /><br />This is the first film by Walter Hugo Khouri, and something that I could only imagine would have had its actors and director alike arrested in the United States if it were even attempted to be filmed here when it was made. It would certainly never have been approved within the Hollywood system, and judging by the reaction to the tame <i>Lolita</i> by religious groups, surely, the Right's collective head would have exploded if it were ever shown here. And on top of that, the sex and nudity that's present isn't even explicit, but just too . . . honest.<br /><br />I could never, ever recommend a film more highly than this one. JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-38944307695075714262013-07-19T03:04:00.002-07:002013-07-19T03:05:18.643-07:00Bring Back Cinema!<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: small;"><span class="userContent"><i>Please share on social media or something similar if you agree: </i></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}" style="font-size: small;"><span class="userContent">When
will cinema come back? More and more, the masses of people are being
sucked into television and the most routine genre pictures. These are
nothing more than scripted dramas, a simple logical unfolding of events
that bores in its predictability. When will we get back to something
more subtle and abstract . . . i.e. the universal, the metaphorical? How
much more beautiful is the face of a woman from the countryside or a
certain sunrise than another formulaic celebration of the careers of
lawyers, junior executives, or stockbrokers? Audiences are so submerged
in these topical dramas that they are taught to hate cinema, and love
the most rushed, poorly crafted entertainment. 'As long as there's a
story, and it has a surprise!' some say. I hope the art won't die along
with its audience.</span></span></h5>
JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-86041752070788331802013-07-05T02:16:00.001-07:002013-07-05T21:31:05.105-07:00The Girl Who Picks Flowers and the Girl Who Kills Insects (2000)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDTon4N6BnTE4GlrVgO-Y8djHPyOIzyiPyYq1RW0XWIXiC2U-PKCmrUcpqrWBs4UdRA1pNOeBOGsDLf1qGhyYoNwlZIzw0W0E20uPyYjkNLV3C4nD9OYr3byh5G30Zi_eEoWNLfDtrKU/s700/hanamusi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDTon4N6BnTE4GlrVgO-Y8djHPyOIzyiPyYq1RW0XWIXiC2U-PKCmrUcpqrWBs4UdRA1pNOeBOGsDLf1qGhyYoNwlZIzw0W0E20uPyYjkNLV3C4nD9OYr3byh5G30Zi_eEoWNLfDtrKU/s320/hanamusi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When I first heard of Hitoshi Yazaki, I, as usual, perused his filmography on iMDb. I think it was <i>Strawberry Shortcakes</i> that was the first film of his I had seen, then <i>March Comes in Like a Lion</i> (aka flat-out masterpiece), and later, <i>Sweet Little Lies</i>.<br />
<br />
The one elusive feature that seemed to stray away from me was the one that had the longest running time, <i>The Girl Who Picks Flowers and the Girl Who Kills Insects</i>, a feature of roughly four hours.<br />
<br />
It wasn't until yesterday that I once again thought about this film. It's still on my list of must-see's from 90s/2000s J-cinema masters, including Makoto Shinozaki's <i>Okaeri</i>, Kaizo Hayashi's <i>Circus Boys</i>, and Naomi Kawase's <i>Hotaru</i>. All four have completely eluded attempts to locate them, despite what seems to be some rare VHS copies in the University of California System.<br />
<br />
After being reminded of it yet again, I decided to dig up some information, if possible, on this very long Yazaki film. Searching the film's title in kanji, and then using Google Translate to decipher whatever info was written, proved fruitful indeed.<br />
<br />
According to one website, the picture is about a group of people whose lives intersect around a ballet school in London. Two of them love a central character, a dancer, and there is also a Japanese visitor, as well as a black Londoner, in this tale that turns out to be a love triangle, or parallelogram of sorts.<br />
<br />
That was about as much as I could decipher from the machine translation, but it was enough to keep me going. Other websites claimed that it was screened once at Keio University, with the director present. I'm also aware that the Japan Society had Yazaki present at a screening of <i>Sweet Little Lies </i>once, during which he wore his trademark shades and hat (this video is available on YouTube).<br />
<br />
The other film by the director that is difficult to locate is <i>Afternoon Breezes</i>, but I have a hunch there is a copy floating around somewhere. Independent films from Japan are particularly hard to find because like America, there is hardly any distribution channels for them. The studios there are more interested in spewing out these below par manga adaptations that seem to be flooding the film radar, instead of taking a shot on unofficial talent<br />
<br />
Experience also tells me that longer films tend to be better. This isn't always the case, but I have certainly found that films exceeding the 3-hour mark have the time, and therefore the ability, to get into all those details of character that I find interesting. One reviewer referenced it to <i>The Mother and the Whore</i>, but in running time and pacing only. There are a few films, of course, that manage to get into such depths as the ones that take their time, but I've only found this with the most precise and sparing of directors. Rohmer and Bresson come to mind as an example.<br />
<br />
Regardless if this will ever turn up or not, I'd like to think it should something of an important film, maybe even a gem, because Yazaki is very talented. In one translation, a person likened something to "the masterpiece . . . " and referred to Flowers/Insects, so it leaves me hopeful.<br />
<br />
I also feel that in putting info out there, or at least trying to dig up info, on films that haven't yet come to the English-speaking world, will help them to do so. After writing about how much I wanted to see them, several of Jissoji's Art Theatre Guild features became available online, with subtitles, no doubt. So in short, I think I'm helping.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Ht40CzJgqw_eEmL1aPcdqZmZ7id3ZkY7W5JtWUaeaOia08yJdgTQz2zo4Vo4DompUfc3uXBip99rIZ-mDxS5g3c5X0EsDpqElG5lBdTRFt-CMR3MIQyvxoiZ14DKFKJuHpedLrugNNc/s1600/hana2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Ht40CzJgqw_eEmL1aPcdqZmZ7id3ZkY7W5JtWUaeaOia08yJdgTQz2zo4Vo4DompUfc3uXBip99rIZ-mDxS5g3c5X0EsDpqElG5lBdTRFt-CMR3MIQyvxoiZ14DKFKJuHpedLrugNNc/s1600/hana2.JPG" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhneaejwexGKL0AzNyf-vPDTMrDmV4fGkqBlzBncFCLhbiYEQbzQLKAQmYqyN6ZZK0V4Cvv95sNrr0ujEVA04lCh3I_XUxzZg6oe9wo2xrY_VDtZZIlmgWJXCeuVWBy81x2LfH6SshgiXA/s1600/hanamusi002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhneaejwexGKL0AzNyf-vPDTMrDmV4fGkqBlzBncFCLhbiYEQbzQLKAQmYqyN6ZZK0V4Cvv95sNrr0ujEVA04lCh3I_XUxzZg6oe9wo2xrY_VDtZZIlmgWJXCeuVWBy81x2LfH6SshgiXA/s1600/hanamusi002.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLH8Aj7nhrzrwf0msYDECXkHSzPG66eWp4xmhTxhT7dvH6r1yvj1tFPO4LbmhpphUvjo4ISdG3hqyVQhQMQoiOXvGpaiWcvo6z6MXxovneU0V_wx8feMgScdVvRyWKMt9o0zvFL1HEeM/s1600/hanamusi010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLH8Aj7nhrzrwf0msYDECXkHSzPG66eWp4xmhTxhT7dvH6r1yvj1tFPO4LbmhpphUvjo4ISdG3hqyVQhQMQoiOXvGpaiWcvo6z6MXxovneU0V_wx8feMgScdVvRyWKMt9o0zvFL1HEeM/s1600/hanamusi010.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYigNL3ZdG0AGBgL5QevGTAB1E79I1rL4D-TBZa887Q2218d_SwXGZa9UftjtnCj0RW3zUnpH76KR-GHxADNeYyoDovWnTmiwCCAaGGon9YtDi2xHPRLmVC15np3hcAvLlCFfDy53af8I/s1600/hanamusi011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYigNL3ZdG0AGBgL5QevGTAB1E79I1rL4D-TBZa887Q2218d_SwXGZa9UftjtnCj0RW3zUnpH76KR-GHxADNeYyoDovWnTmiwCCAaGGon9YtDi2xHPRLmVC15np3hcAvLlCFfDy53af8I/s1600/hanamusi011.jpg" /></a></div>
JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-16942313993198667242012-06-27T15:44:00.001-07:002012-06-27T15:45:32.213-07:00JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-60373430699414849542012-06-25T03:02:00.002-07:002012-06-25T03:22:07.227-07:00Hana-bi (Takeshi Kitano, 1997)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-FjWWnGWOF6h8yXbpJJZPGZ6IsZUmZwQn1JPoWbB7RWHlZs9ZcOI4MlZXteOrOvsw4V0JoU6AQn8rXIdsa4s631aLGMDHUZIVlH2oY8CN7CvWXGz5TkdEu_g1cL_LQHzWO0snGWRF7s/s1600/img_587130_18289511_0.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-FjWWnGWOF6h8yXbpJJZPGZ6IsZUmZwQn1JPoWbB7RWHlZs9ZcOI4MlZXteOrOvsw4V0JoU6AQn8rXIdsa4s631aLGMDHUZIVlH2oY8CN7CvWXGz5TkdEu_g1cL_LQHzWO0snGWRF7s/s320/img_587130_18289511_0.gif" width="231" /></a></div>
It took some time for me to catch up with Takeshi Kitano. For the past five years now, I've been an avid fan of Japanese cinema. The first works which grasped me were the radical visions of the Japanese New Wave, the most inventive directors of which were Shuji Terayama, Susumu Hani, and Yoshishige Yoshida. It was these works which planted my feet in that country's cinema and culture. Like most Americans, I had been first exposed to Japan through their electronic exports, mostly in the form of Sony and Nintendo products. Then the early 2000's came, and a flood of new anime and manga titles came with it. Though I had been familiar with anime from some of the Saturday morning releases on the Sci-Fi Channel, which introduced me <i>Akira</i>.<br />
<br />
So here come the 1990's. At first glance, there seems to be little from the 90's in Japan to be desired from, at least cinematically speaking. Even for a hunter like me, I cannot come up with a bevy of works to boast the strength of the 90's. While the work then was strong, it was not the steady torrent of mind-bogglingly good features from the 60's which seemed to end as the Art Theatre Guild caught on commercially and studio directors like Kaneto Shindo and Yasuzo Masumura were invited to produce features for it (<i>Kokoro</i> and <i>Ongaku</i>). Of the 90's pictures I have seen, the ones which immediately stand out are Hitoshi Yazaki's <i>March Comes in Like a Lion</i>, Ryu Murakami's <i>Tokyo Decadence</i>, Kohei Oguri's <i>The Sting of Death</i>, and of course, Hirokazu Koreeda's <i>Maboroshi no hikari</i>. These are all spaced about three or four years amongst each other, so it seems as if the early 90's had something of a force behind it. And while I do count Shunji Iwai as a favorite, his film <i>Swallowtail Butterfly</i>, the favorite of mine, did not leave as much of a strong impression upon me as the ones mentioned above.<br />
<br />
And now comes Kitano. With this background in J-film (excepting the pre-war, 30's films, which I'm not well familiar with), I may have had something of a bias against Kitano, who I knew frequently delved into the world of yakuza, and held immense popularity in his country. The yakuza aspect must have inferred that he used violence as a cheap thrill, which had been a firm no-no in my book. And being American, and having to suffer under Hollywood, I was always suspicious of a filmmaker who seemed to get too much critical and popular praise.<br />
<br />
Well, now here comes <i>Hana-bi</i>. It was a great film, of course, and shattered all my prejudices. Like <i>Violent Cop</i>, which <i>Hana-bi</i> is something of a reworking of, it is a meditation on the effects of violence. My biggest problem with some filmmakers, and this especially goes to Sam Peckinpah, is the lenient handling of violence, often to a titillating, near pornographic effect. This is the great flaw of Hollywood as well. No maturity in handling life-altering actions.<br />
<br />
I recall something Alfred Hitchcock said in an interview, that if you filmed a man walking down the street, and ahead of him was an open manhole pit, that if you showed him fall into the sewer, and cut to the next scene, then it would be funny. But if you showed him fall, then cut to him inside the pit, screaming in pain with a broken leg, then it would not be funny. So the director's attitude can be surmised from what details he is willing to omit.<br />
<br />
The whole course of <i>Hana-bi</i> follows the suffering of a few people after a random violent act. When a stakeout goes wrong, Horibe (Ren Osugi) is paralyzed from the waist down, and Nishi (Takeshi Kitano) quits the force. The two go their separate ways, Horibe taking up pointillist illustrations from his wheelchair (as Kitano did three years prior when he was in a motorcycle accident), while Nishi takes care of his sickly wife, Miyuki (Kayoko Kishimoto), and deals with his creditors, who happen to be yakuza. The two men try hard to rebuild their fractured state of their affairs, and only time will tell if these new lives of peace are salvageable.<br />
<br />
The thing that elevates the picture above that of Kitano's previous six are a resolution, maybe a compromise, of two driving forces within his cinema. One, is clearly the legacy, the emotional baggage and societal engineering that growing up in poverty in Japan must have placed on him. This manifests itself as hyper-masculinity, violence, aloofness, and anti-social behavior (like the youths in <i>Kids Return</i>). This burden has been transformed by Kitano into the cold, stone-faced policemen and yakuza characters that we see in his oeuvre. And because he has been able to master it, to fictionalize it, it has become a tool of the artist.<br />
<br />
The second current is the inner, Kitano's artistic sensibility and his sensitive nature, also an influence of the Japanese culture, but here being the calming effect of its arts heritage. This operates in his narrative work as a close attention to detail and an acute eye for composition. This impulse came fully realized in his first film, <i>Violent Cop</i>, as it was a strangely lyrical yakuza shoot-em-up piece.<br />
<br />
Some critics have said that Japan constantly struggles between these two poles, the militaristic impulse, the masculine, and the love of nature and beauty, the arts, the feminine. The former drove it to war against the Allied Powers, and the latter is responsible for world-famous representations like <i>The Tale of Genji</i> and woodblock paintings. It was the first impulse, which unfortunately, drove Yukio Mishima to suicide, unable to cast away or master that burden.<br />
<br />
Kitano, however, is under full control of it. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have an artist who he admires, like Nobuyoshi Araki, who has completely thrown himself into the feminine artistic current and produced the beautiful, erotic, sometimes death-like photographs that he is known for. A man like Araki, to his credit, holds no guilt whatsoever, and this explains his rambunctious, charming, dirty-old man personality. Yet, unfortunately, this persona cannot operate within society the way Kitano has to. Araki does not hold the rational impulse that is expected of men, and especially of film directors, being stewards of millions of dollars of financiers' investments. And while I once strayed away from Takeshi because of his popularity, I now realize that part of it is dependent upon the burden which he has consciously chose to uphold, working in the commercial industry, something of a proper face that he must have to parrot around for the moneyed class.<br />
<br />
Araki, I think, can more devote himself to his artistic pursuits, as he is usually just dependent upon models, lighting technicians, and costume/makeup girls, and not a studio infrastructure. In an interview about Araki in Travis Klose's<i> Arakimentari</i>, Kitano said something to the effect of this, "My art is painful, while he just seems to be having fun."<br />
<br />
-mmxiiJCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-70586581928413934732012-06-24T20:07:00.002-07:002012-06-24T20:07:20.835-07:00Johnny Depp: Fail.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDmbQi5qeX854WOdCPlyOPfq-0NyAMYFfWKCZKIQLfm0erCZ5y8vooWfwcaVXQRg0dxNJGLRvEItj4yxO-Pdhg0zrOXttj4Jl-HV1Kc692POC1sxBcs7vXjtlm7l6c_g1unkpjLKJh_I/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-06-24-19h59m47s151.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDmbQi5qeX854WOdCPlyOPfq-0NyAMYFfWKCZKIQLfm0erCZ5y8vooWfwcaVXQRg0dxNJGLRvEItj4yxO-Pdhg0zrOXttj4Jl-HV1Kc692POC1sxBcs7vXjtlm7l6c_g1unkpjLKJh_I/s320/vlcsnap-2012-06-24-19h59m47s151.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Scene from The Ninth Gate: Corso gets hungry so he takes a TV dinner from the freezer, and what??? Puts the whole thing, box and all, in the microwave, and then walks away like nothing happens? Who put that in the script?JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-21883336952817998252012-06-17T02:00:00.004-07:002012-06-17T02:25:06.525-07:00The International (dir. Tom Twyker)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDuO7IsXA2vPXN5XzL3MG1Y3OzcYMy8l_aNt2Xf7HsZDepfE3NJ0GkhZqVKSm7so5RjUOxc0PaGyiNvI-fMbVshS-PnQFBXgGjV_gD1xyAVzEJFDyLYHjDXCbFphRt-P7EXCTpgQQEBPA/s1600/the_international_poster1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDuO7IsXA2vPXN5XzL3MG1Y3OzcYMy8l_aNt2Xf7HsZDepfE3NJ0GkhZqVKSm7so5RjUOxc0PaGyiNvI-fMbVshS-PnQFBXgGjV_gD1xyAVzEJFDyLYHjDXCbFphRt-P7EXCTpgQQEBPA/s320/the_international_poster1.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">I yearn for good spy films. Maybe it was because of my father's obsession with 007 (except for Timothy Dalton!), that I learned the rules of the genre from a young age, got so into these pictures, and even at one point wanted to apply to one of the intelligence services. The films still remain a hit with me. The spy thriller, especially one like <i>The International</i>, has the potential for speaking to larger concerns. Many of these films tend to deal with global politics from the European perspective (at least the English language ones like this, <i>The Bourne Identity</i>, and in some respects, <i>The Constant Gardener </i>even has elements of the genre). They also tend to star Clive Owen, who has established himself as a man's man, looks great with a gun, and has this mix of world-worn resolve, masculinity, and a sense of experienced-based intuition that makes him a great choice for these roles.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The script deals with the role of international banking organizations in the 21st century. It is one of the first works of cinema I have seen that tries to reconcile the current political situation with the one that just passed. After communism was undermined and eventually destroyed by the Western powers, there has been a loss of direction in the world. Leftists, Rightists, and even observers seem to be at a loss as to who is the enemy, or who is in charge. Even Desert Storm, the ousting of</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span dir="auto"> Milošević, and similar 90's conflicts seemed to have little cause or purpose in the newly "globalized" world. Society no longer had a leader. Long gone were the absolute monarchies and the evil "dictators", whether of a right or left persuasion, who seemed to imitate them. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span dir="auto">Even Francis Fukuyama, in a bold move, said we had reached "The End of History." And while this is obviously a stupid comment made by an intellectual in need of vitamin D, his sentiments do have some reverberation as to the sense of society having no center, because, well, it just doesn't anymore. Meaning, there is no longer, <i>one</i>, central institution that determines what will happen on the global scale.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span dir="auto"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span dir="auto"><i>The International</i>, I feel, more importantly than it being a visually appealing and well-made piece of cinema, tries to offer up some answers to the suffering in the world. It is the sensitive people who, concerned with suffering, become political, turn to art, and tend to watch movies to gain alternative perspectives and wider understandings, and this film offers answers to the questions.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span dir="auto">"The world is an international system of financial interdependency."</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span dir="auto">This is not a quote from the film, but the logical answer I can gather from watching it play out. Clive Owen plays Louis Salinger, an agent for Interpol, who, along with Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) is investigating the </span></span>International Bank of Business and Credit<span style="font-size: small;"> (IBBC). The IBBC is modeled after many of the large international banks existing these days like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, who loan money to needy, developing nations. However, quickly into the film, we find out that the IBBC has shady dealings. Their executives are loaning money to countries and militias who are seeking to overthrow governments, and their activity goes completely unchallenged, mostly do to the string of bodies that have come up after any investigation into the matter has been attempted.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">That is where our heroes come in. Louis is the muscle, and Eleanor, though her role is brief, is interested in finding the truth. It will be the former, the agent, who sees to it that the right people are brought to justice for immoral and illegal activity. Being the Assistant District Attorney of Manhattan, Eleanor has an interest in justice, but her character (one of the flaws of the film as she is not fully fleshed out), is first and foremost looking for scientific evidence to prove what is going on. After Umberto Calvini, a politician and anti-IBBC ideologue, is assassinated mid-speech in public, the game turns deadly, and the search for his killer, and the larger concerns of the bank, initiates.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">What is most appealing about the film, again, are its political answers (or its attempts at them---who knows what the motivations are except the people pulling the strings). No one in cinema, to my knowledge, has attempted to create some understanding of global politics after the Soviet Union fell. No one has tried to find the "bad guy", but that is just the thing, because there is no bad guy. It is a large group of international bankers, CEO's, politicians, and arms dealers who have organized themselves into a system of economic control. The old distinctions, according to this film, and I think these are applicable to our world, are totally obsolete. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">It does not matter if a group or individual is black, white, Asian, communist, socialist, gay, Muslim, or any "other". The only concern today is whether or not certain countries and individuals are within this system of interdependency, and that is it. Actually, the dream of Kant, in wanting to make a "universal morality", and the theories of social contract, <i>à </i></span><i><span class="st"><i>La France révolutionnaire</i></span></i><span style="font-size: small;">, in trying to include everyone into a political system by giving up some minor rights, at least in the sense of the universality of these ideas, has been completed. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Whether or not a country wants to offer voting rights, women's rights, free market capitalism, social democracy, Shariah law, Marxist-Leninism, or economic protectionism is all irrelevant. It is only relevant that they buy into the system of credit that has been established and become one with the economic structure of debt, borrowing, and repayment. With the loan money, certain goals can be met, but once the money has been taken, the bank's goal is completed. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Business is good. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">It is a system without an ideology, really, which is why it was so strange and difficult, for me initially, to understand. It does have its benefactors (all of which attend the World Economic Forum), but gone are the cultural or ideological dreams of colonialism (early capitalism's world-plan) or communism (socialism's endgame). This is the future, and also the present: the world of finance capital. </span>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-21088478750629733232012-04-29T21:11:00.004-07:002012-04-29T21:13:20.950-07:00Bedtime Eyes ベッドタイムアイズ (1987) / directed by Tatsumi Kumashiro<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/09/ciu/dd/76/1fc0a1909fa07e6c0cf1b110.L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/09/ciu/dd/76/1fc0a1909fa07e6c0cf1b110.L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/09/ciu/3b/40/00f8a1909fa07e6c0cf1b110.L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/09/ciu/3b/40/00f8a1909fa07e6c0cf1b110.L.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/09/ciu/79/a8/09f1a1909fa08e6c0cf1b110.L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/09/ciu/79/a8/09f1a1909fa08e6c0cf1b110.L.jpg" width="225" /></a><br />
<a href="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/09/ciu/e0/84/0fb631e29fa00ccc5f8ba110.L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/09/ciu/e0/84/0fb631e29fa00ccc5f8ba110.L.jpg" width="179" /></a><br />
<a href="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/09/ciu/af/52/26f3a1909fa08e6c0cf1b110.L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/09/ciu/af/52/26f3a1909fa08e6c0cf1b110.L.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.d-ichiba.jp/pimage/B023/024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://www.d-ichiba.jp/pimage/B023/024.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/09/ciu/4a/df/d78531e29fa0fbcc5f8ba110.L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/09/ciu/4a/df/d78531e29fa0fbcc5f8ba110.L.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
A few covers and screengrabs from the 80's adaption of Amy Yamada's controversial first novel, Bedtime Eyes, which I'm reading at the moment. It features a trio of mismatched relationships between black men (mostly G.I.'s) and Japanese women. The men tend to be simplified and infantile, but the women love them still the same. It's very racy content, so it makes sense that Kumashiro would be asked to direct. Also, I had the chance to view his <i>Twisted Path of Love</i> today, and love the way he employs a handheld camera in his features. Here's some media:JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-27775641705153491702012-04-23T01:44:00.001-07:002012-04-23T01:44:14.580-07:00Dendera (2011) / directed by Daisuke TenganTrailer for Daisuke Tengan's new film, Dendera. It picks up where his father's (Shohei Imamura's) film, <i>The Ballad of Narayama</i> (1983), left off and depicts a group of elderly women, who, as according to village ritual, have been left to die atop a mountain, yet defy convention and create a settlement called Dendera where they resolve to continue their existence. The film is adapted from a novel by Yuya Sato.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dVkg6IBdQT8" width="560"></iframe>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-27120340634881366952012-04-23T00:13:00.003-07:002012-04-23T00:23:46.426-07:00Hakuchi: The Innocent (1999) / directed by Macoto Tezuka<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/563215_3637108090592_1360934446_33454794_308512022_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/563215_3637108090592_1360934446_33454794_308512022_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<span class="hasCaption">Hakuchi (1999)<br /> <br /> A little Eastern gem by
Osamu Tezuka's heir, Macoto. He shows the same compositional eye as his
father and has the love of the fantastic that permeates so much of manga.
Yet, he stays true to cinematic conventions by aligning his story within
classical structure and psychological believability. <br /> <br /> Isawa
(Tadanobu Asano) is a young journalist in a Japan plagued by war,
and subsequently dumbed down by the flamboyant media broadcasts of the TV station that he
works at. Ginga (Reika Hashimoto) and Sayo (Miyako Koda) are the two
women occupying his life, one who's a mass media starlet, and the other
who is loving yet mentally challenged. As he navigates this shattered
world, he comes into himself as an individual, all the while not fully
committing to either woman, by hiding Sayo in his room, away from his
nosy landlords, and shunning the childlike and conceited advances of Ginga.
On top of this is his draconian boss, played by an always-welcome Yoshio
Harada, and the general living situation, where it appears that all,
even so-called privileged people like Isawa, who don't have to fight in
the war, live in a state of poverty. Of particular note are the scenes
between Isawa and Ginga, and the power struggle that takes place between
them. Reika Hashimoto ought to be commended for holding her own at age
19 against Asano, who had by then already made a firm place in the hip
Japanese cinema, like this film.<br /> <br /> Coda:<br /> <br /> The picture
works well as a "world-portrait" more than the Western convention of
understanding the motives of one character. This is a very unique film
among many, and for those who enjoy it, like myself, it should spur them
on to visit more of Tezuka's work, and even read his father's comics to
see how deep the heritage goes. He seems to have delved into genre
film-making with 2004's Black Kiss, but judging by this entry, it ought
to be more than a play on the expectations of a scare-picture.</span>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-63500901098356416552011-05-06T10:11:00.000-07:002012-04-23T01:22:09.172-07:00Oniroku Dan, 79, RIP (Video NSFW)<span style="font-size: 130%;"><a href="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/P/416322730X.09.LZZZZZZZ.jpg" style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/P/416322730X.09.LZZZZZZZ.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 261px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 180px;" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">Oniroku Dan, the celebrated author, well-known for his bondage-themed novels, many of which were adapted by directors such as Masaru Konuma, Koyu Ohara, and Katsuhiko Fujii, has died. His stories, and the films made from them will especially be remembered for bringing actress Naomi Tani into the spotlight. She was the most famous actress of adult-themed, "pink films" in the 70's.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">More recently, after a brief retirement and business ventures, he has returned to the writer's chair, with more books in Japanese and the first </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Season-Infidelity-Tales-Classic-Master/dp/1934287369/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304702670&sr=1-1" style="font-family: verdana;">English translation</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> of his stories. Director Ryuichi Hiroki, who started out in pink cinema, made an indirect biopic of him,</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/I-Am-S-M-Writer/dp/B000KGGIQE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1304702312&sr=8-2" style="font-family: verdana;"> I Am an S&M Writer</a><span style="font-family: verdana;">, detailing the problems his work must have caused with his wife. The author and the era, will surely be missed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">R.I.P. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">(below is the film, Rope and Skin, uploaded onto Video Google by a user––it has adult content, NSFW)<br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-6706102644803948189&hl=en&fs=true" style="height: 326px; width: 400px;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed> </span></span>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-67965627437949898092011-05-01T14:43:00.001-07:002011-05-01T14:44:23.262-07:00Cherry Blossoms (1988)<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">The second film by HK director Eddie Ling-Ching Fong, husband and collaborator of Clara Law. This is a biopic of the youth of author Yu Dafu, whose stories also inspired Lou Ye's Spring Fever, released in 2009.</span><br /><br /></span><embed style="font-family: verdana;" src="http://player.youku.com/player.php/sid/XMjIyODgwNDA=/v.swf" quality="high" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" width="480" height="400"></embed><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n631/alienator13/Whentatfu.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 397px; height: 273px;" src="http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n631/alienator13/Whentatfu.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-30002897445720062512011-04-30T14:33:00.000-07:002011-04-30T16:25:22.852-07:00Farewell China (1990)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2275/farewellchinachinesecdc.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 162px; height: 109px;" src="http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2275/farewellchinachinesecdc.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Clara Law's third feature film.<br /><br /><a href="http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjAyNTYxMzA0.html">Trailer</a>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-21277599308501562892011-01-28T11:19:00.000-08:002011-01-28T11:39:51.427-08:00Book Report: "Korean Film Directors: Jang Sun-woo", by Tony Rayns<span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNyooKWCFqtmNytBqMitiDTB8DskcTBZvWRDbafXB9vNAVQLXoM710yx9we3XyxKGY_mShMVfqvK1cJBo59eiLe7IsxXodp_Ra27DyhNorxerPMJMWzDwQLZfJDNhLS94pzZNl96IBV24/s1600/SCAN0024.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNyooKWCFqtmNytBqMitiDTB8DskcTBZvWRDbafXB9vNAVQLXoM710yx9we3XyxKGY_mShMVfqvK1cJBo59eiLe7IsxXodp_Ra27DyhNorxerPMJMWzDwQLZfJDNhLS94pzZNl96IBV24/s400/SCAN0024.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567318898029483666" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Tony Rayns, the leading English-language critic on East Asian cinema, in collaboration with the Korean Film Council, has presented this introductory volume on the work of director Jang Sun-woo, the so-called Bad Boy of Korean Cinema. It is one of many books in the series "Korean Film Directors": slim volumes meant to introduce the English-speaking world to the best film makers in South Korea. Each volume is presented by a different critic. Rayns has separated the book into three distinct sections: his opinions, presented in the book's most lengthy single article; the opinions of Jang Sun-woo, being excerpts from interviews with Jang, taken from Rayns' documentary "The Jang Sun-woo Variations"; and the opinions of others, segments from English-language articles, and translations from noteworthy Korean critics, such as director Lee Chang-dong's insightful reaction to "Lies".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Even though we are very lucky to have these English translations of Korean film articles available, I cannot give it a 5 out of 5 because there really should have been more discussion on "Bad Movie", which is one of his very important works, the crux of his trademark nihilism. A lot more time seems to have been given to "Passage to Buddha", "To You, From Me", and "Lies". While I don't mind this at all, it would have been more enjoyable had it been balanced. Giving a little more analysis to "A Petal" would have been beneficial as well, since I think that an English-speaking audience would not have the background in Korean history to dissect it. But overall, this is a MUST-HAVE book if you are even slightly interested in Jang Sun-woo. The info and analysis on his early films, "Seoul Jesus", "The Age of Success", and "The Lovers of Woomuk-Baemi" is much-needed as well, since all but Seoul Jesus (which has recently turned up on the web) seem to be completely missing from market circulation. While I have been able to locate VHS copies of these films, including To You, From Me, sans subtitles, the sites which they are available on are unreliable.<br /><br />In the introduction, and throughout the book, Rayns and others suggest that while this director may bring controversy everywhere he goes, he exists because he brings to light the many contradictions of modern Korea, which even the amnesiac consumer culture cannot ignore (the book's very self-critical tone of society and the individual within it are welcome and quite needed today). Yet, his real reason, of course, for being in the industry, and not an outsider in the underground/experimental realm, is the fact that his work is profitable. So, it is very understandable that he, like many Korean directors, it seems, is punished with silence when he is not able to make a commercially successful work (the new censorship). The financial failure of "Resurrection of the Little Match Girl" is reflected on in the book's most memorable article, an interview with Jang on his Elba, of sorts, the mythic Jeju Island, where he appears to be regretful of artistic mistakes (which I don't think are as grave as he or others believe), but hopeful to re-enter the industry with something better. He has yet to make another feature after his big-budget, wire-string sci-fi Match Girl, but is still trying. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">* 4.5 out of 5</span><br /></span>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-61844973981870118352010-09-18T11:21:00.000-07:002010-09-18T11:22:49.122-07:00The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (1989)<div style="font-family: verdana;" class="content"> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Hatred. Fear. Jealousy. Scorn. Anxiety.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">The intellectual often feels these emotions when asked to be a participant of bourgeois society, for the shallow, commercial culture of the global order pleads that he cast away his mind which he so cherishes. It tells him to love his slavery, and take the pleasures of the flesh and the transience of laughter for comforts. In time, he finds such aversions dissatisfying and continues on in anomie. He fights the world through scientific method and literary analysis, hoping that triviality and banality will not infect him, that somehow stupidity and acquiescence will not pollute his cerebral fortress.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">But soon, he finds himself forlorn. Loneliness is no longer a sanctuary, but a prison. And as society provides no support for his development, he seeks the thing that is most socially encouraged: a relationship. After observation, it discourages him at first, the lowly state to which women have been forced into. Many of them, through the industrial precision of patriarchy, have been reduced to little more than showing concern for the material comforts of the day. This depresses him. Love, he thought, was one’s last chance. It is the way to integrate into the fold, to no longer be outside.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">But he shortens his chances, as many do. If (as many of his kind are), he is a thinker from the middle classes, he may come to shun the hypocrisy, the complacence, the lifelessness of the women of his station. And though the working classes, as he observes, are still imbued with the lifeforce and creativity that drives mankind, they are lacking in traditions, devoid of the elegance which he detests, but secretly admires. Looking further into society, he finds his object: the bourgeois woman. Her qualities show that the petit bourgeois of his class are nothing but imitations of their masters.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">His mind, of course, loves this new woman for her well-payed-for education and sense of leisure. From the comfort of her class, the world becomes still for him. It is temporarily no longer a chaos in his thoughts. Yet, there is another wall between him: class boundaries. he could attain his object in mere enjoyment, but feelings of possession take hold of him.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">However, she cannot have him, as she is, rather. Upon scrutiny, he understands that what he is facing is a whole system. She does not belong to her class by choice, but by forces, and these influences made and continually reinforce her character. What he loves was made by design. And the small emoluments that sustain him cannot alter her inclinations. To have her, as she is, she must provide what she is accustomed to, or instead risk a change. It is, in a simple term, preservation. And for this, he grows more and more unfit for the world, more willing to change it. Desire drives his dream of overthrow. But the dream of owning factories or investment banks is an inconceivable as the Christ myth to him. And his hatred for the figureheads of patriarchy couldn’t possibly lead him to mimic the very system which chokes out his existence. So he decides to make the world go upside-down. He cannot beat them, and certainly will not join them. He will, rather, make them obsolete.</span></p> <span style="font-size:130%;"><img src="http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/661/vlcsnap80121.png" style="max-width: 810px;" /></span><p><span style="font-size:130%;">It is this impetus which I feel drives <i>The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover</i>. While my introduction heavily politicizes the film, behind Greenaway’s baroque adornments lies a direction towards the radical. The man I described, in his acumen and uncertainty, is Michael, the Lover. Though he is portrayed as a victim of a raving lunatic’s brutality, his crime is that he sought to upset the order through the sexual act.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">He cannot, in this world, engage in free love and have the bourgeois woman he so desires. She is, for the restaurant owner and the higher classes he represents (think of the building’s interior opulence and Georgina’s deluxe, ever-changing wardrobe), part of an exclusive society, in so much as this social unit views her as property, that is, more specifically, reproductive property. Her main function, in the eyes of the husband, Spica, is to abide in his home, represent him and stay faithful to him, thereby preventing her from fornication, and hence, humiliation for him and the further matter of ambiguous parentage.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Michael has a firmly rooted position as a thinker by his actions. While Spica and his minions are gorging themselves, Michael is seen reading (with no coincidence) a book on the French Revolution (subversive ideas are always on loan from foreigners). He probably prefers revolution in its French incarnation and not its Russian one, as he is not quite ready for full equality. And for this breach in expectations, the husband disrupts his book reading (for the model citizen should be frivolous, not brainy), throwing the book on the floor and cursing him.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">The husband, Spica, is seen through Michael’s eyes, and not Georgina’s. Western film is often more manipulative than its Eastern counterpart. The Occident is concerned with identification, while the East prefers observation. In the West, Christian concepts of good and evil influence choices in narrative. Michael is good, for he is a martyr. Jesus against Rome. The husband, the bad one, is executed for his sins. And his barbaric behavior and personification of all things evil is represented by his red and black raiment – purely diabolical.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Given the timing of the film’s release, there can be speculation that the thief, the husband, is a stand-in for the UK’s corrupt, Thatcherite dictatorship. This follows the same line as my argument and is useful, but the cultural specificities of the UK and Margaret Thatcher are not. I see the film as expressing the eternal theme of the pre-revolutionary stage: corruption.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Corruption is the by-product of stagnation, when normal, decent democracy must be perverted to keep the ruling classes happy. Life as they knew it can no longer be replenished through legal means, for there are too many barriers. It is here that we see power encroach itself further into private life by means of the state (i.e… wiretapping, deregulation, police repression, the ramping-up of the criminal codes [such as the 10-20-Life policy in the state of Florida], and stricter drug laws). Now, corruption, in the common sense, is seen as a private matter, being that of markets, business, and industry, yet it can be traced back to the state. Once the state, in its Engelian function, fails to keep class antagonism from volatile levels, and starts to support power to the detriment of the governed, then it opens the doors for the abuse of power, by power – for corruption.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">The world saw a crucial moment in the 1980’s with the rise of a new Conservatism, seen in Reagan and Thatcher, here in the West, and the subsequent attack on progressive gains, most notoriously displayed during Reagan’s first few months in office, when he gave a crushing blow to the strike of the government-employed, air traffic controllers. In the U.S., the governed were also sold out by the state which protects them from power. Tax incentives given to megacorporations, which then used the new boon in capital to penetrate foreign markets, assisted in the deindustrialization of the U.S., and the mass layoffs in the labor market.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Further encroachments on liberty had to be made, abroad and at home, as Reagan and U.S. power sought to defeat their existential enemy, the USSR. Greenaway’s film was made at the horizon of this victory. For America, and its bulldog Britain, no longer would there be a Red, second world to protect the vulnerable third world. And it is at this stage, when the West could still profess itself as having a destiny, that it can be, to its citizens, admirable. Manifest Destiny (here transposed to the entire globe) was complete, and the U.S. (Britain too) had no more future to sell to its children. And with “smooth” world, and the opening-up of previously unpenetrated markets, the population could experience a new, undreamed of decadence. But with no goal in mind, the need for great diligence and obedience was no longer necessary. Social liberalism can thrive. And the world as it was, was a completed construct. The ousting of “bad guys” like Milosevic and Saddam is not an expeditionary, imperial campaign, but rather, a disciplinary action. No other nation can fall out of line in this fixed world.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Therefore, Michael’s sexual defiance, is more intolerable in this stage in history, than were he to diddle Spica’s wife once the mission had been completed (when it’s time to <i>laissez les bon temps rouler</i>). Such trangressions are expected, but not encouraged, once an era of enjoyment falls upon the earth (such as the world of the flapper and the petting parties of the Roaring 20’s).</span></p> <p class="last"><span style="font-size:130%;">The wife, while seeking a more meaningful love, is still part of these historical forces. Helen Mirren, not as personality, but as an object (she is the only woman seen in the nude, the only one that desire is focused upon), is completely necessary. She represents a dying class, one that is about to see its success (world domination). Death, also, is a theme in this film. Richard, the cook, gives a speech on how black foods represent death, and in consuming them one can conquer mortality (from keys to the quiche). And it is around so much death, from Michael’s, to Spica’s, to the hapless employees’, that we must surround ourselves with life. A restaurant, fine dining in particular, is a celebration of life and sensuality (something the English should learn more of). Eating, like sex (seen in the film expressly) remind man of his impermanence, which reinvigorates his sense of life. Only in realizing death can we start to truly enjoy life. The set designers, knowing this, draped the restaurant’s interiors in warm, yonic reds, representing sex, the flesh, and ultimately, demise. It is in this coming end (so quietly suggested in Mirren’s, or Greenaway’s, refusal to let Georgina use the makeup brush – an aging woman belonging to a soon-to-be obsolete class), that the film so lavishly gorges on all things representing life, whether destroying it or attempting to create it.</span></p> </div>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-59635702905605436272010-08-30T13:15:00.000-07:002010-08-30T13:34:20.508-07:00Lakeview Terrace (2008)<span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIcTISPw5z62P-s9nkLBCknuTI-KoEpIFd14u1N4nO0vWhCEfyJlRPsmQdHqOxviwR7crmQCvTgZEqtbsTnPlWDdqczQBrFtbyrLELi7qRaasAyXj3S8-A0p1ksEgcjkPSzjRrDcpaIl0/s1600/lakeview_terrace.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 269px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIcTISPw5z62P-s9nkLBCknuTI-KoEpIFd14u1N4nO0vWhCEfyJlRPsmQdHqOxviwR7crmQCvTgZEqtbsTnPlWDdqczQBrFtbyrLELi7qRaasAyXj3S8-A0p1ksEgcjkPSzjRrDcpaIl0/s400/lakeview_terrace.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511303766327511154" border="0" /></a><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Lakeview Terrace (2008)<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">This was on Starz or one of those movie channels when I got up this morning. I had seen a few scenes from the middle of it before, but never had a chance to view the whole picture. The writing was above par, so I stayed tuned, but it ended in a predictable way based on mainstream American beliefs about race relations.<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">As one would expect, the picture, though dealing with the race problem, was made by a white guy, Neil LaBute, who has done commercial pictures for fifteen years.<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">The premise is enough to spawn a mixed reaction: Samuel L. Jackson plays an older police officer who soon grows jealous, or rather hostile, to the interracial couple next door, played by Kerry Washington, who is in fact, in an interracial marriage with a Jewish man, I believe, and the stud-looking guy from Little Children, Patrick Wilson.<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">Within about thirty minutes, Sammy tells the couple that he doesn't feel right with them "doing whatever they feel like" in his neighborhood. Meaning that he doesn't want to see a seemingly happy black/white couple just prancing around his ville.<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">Now, right here, at this moment, lie all the film's deficiencies. We are basically witnessing the postmodern miracle: reverse racism. Something, which really doesn't exist in this country, as all the chips are still in the same hands as they were before the Civil War.<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">Throughout the film, the director posited that Jackson was the main source of the conflict in the film, and I agree that he is, but through its duration, LaBute had no interest in broadening his character to help understand his impetus. He did what is normal for a modern thinker: to make an individual out of his actions. Samuel L. Jackson's actions are seen as having no connection to the world around him, or the world that was around him. He is just seen as someone having crazy ideas that seemingly came from no place. This is what America does to flush out its critics. It calls them madmen, pushes them out by exclusion, and of course, the system remains in tact, but behind the walls, the invaders multiply.<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">To have a wider understanding of America, one must know that a large reason why the upper class is so successful in keeping power is that they keep us ignorant. The main concealment of knowledge is in the field of history. As long as Americans are encouraged to forget, and "get over it," then the populace can be more easy to control. And this urge to forget has been pushed upon the blacks with the most force. The very race that built this country, literally from the ground up, since before independence, has been told that it has to let go of its grievances, and join into the white system which was basically constructed based upon their degradation. So, still America is doing what it has always done, and can revert to so easily: pointing the finger at the black man, while holding the black woman in the other arm.<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">Samuel L. Jackson is seen as the bad guy, but his feelings are really part of a specific, generational ideology. Black people his age lived through segregation as children and young adults. They were the last generation to witness America's violent policy of division. And their anger is even more intensified as we moved out of the age of segregation in the 60's, and now are in the era of nationwide, de-facto discrimination. Now, racism is a private matter. The government has left it up to Wall Street and the Fortune 500. It no longer enforces it.<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">So, a director who is Neil LaBute's age, now about 47, is actually young enough to be uninformed about the past. He is, and I may trademark this, part of the Obama generation. The rise of Barack Obama marked an era of a new rewrite on racial ideology, but it is still one that leaves the blacks out, but only this time it is willing to absorb more of the good ones into its net. Though this term and this theory were being cooked up long before Obama came on television, he preached the message for the layman, and it made it understandable. Today, we are in an era of color-blindness, but the standards that apply to this new, blind judge don't really take black history into account. For instance, if a black person, like Jackson in this movie, still had grievances about the very history that drives social life today, then he would be considered a reverse racist, or called childish (what they've always been calling us), and told to get over it. So how is it possible that such an ideology could have been created but by the very people who have sought to dominate since the Shot Heard Round the World?<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">But the movie ends, unsurprisingly, with Jackson, the Bad Negro, being taken away, and the otherwise happy, status symbol-seeking mixed couple can be left to their good, productive lives. It may be an improvement that at least a movie can be made about race and still be mainstream, but I think this one points us in the wrong direction (which is really, in the end, a direction that evades criticism and makes it so that whites can still stay on top... of many things), but of course, by saying this, this means that I myself, am a black racist. :P</span><br /></span></div>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-88570865194171757852010-07-04T23:37:00.000-07:002010-07-08T11:43:15.143-07:00Girlfriend: Someone Please Stop the World (2004)<span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0CEu8Y-TaEPqMbFgZn7YPQAwsXxWh0BkrmDgBorrDCPjY_wNz9ag-0PPhhLhBYGIIKSH5uPV9q_jykfQ1CzoNvIU8wnwVAP9nv9cdbWNZwcI6IB4JdvaLI0XQo7XxhBhvC_uZhE0MwgY/s1600/gffil8.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0CEu8Y-TaEPqMbFgZn7YPQAwsXxWh0BkrmDgBorrDCPjY_wNz9ag-0PPhhLhBYGIIKSH5uPV9q_jykfQ1CzoNvIU8wnwVAP9nv9cdbWNZwcI6IB4JdvaLI0XQo7XxhBhvC_uZhE0MwgY/s400/gffil8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490307952788933922" border="0" /></a><br />Girlfriend: Someone Please Stop the World (2004)<br /><br />It started with Vibrator, then Tokyo Trash Baby, now this!<br /><br />Ryuichi Hiroki, who started out in the pink film industry to learn his craft, is now making some of my favorite pictures from Japan these days. Each of the Hiroki films I've seen deal with people who aren't very much represented in cinema: the powerless, the ordinary, the outsiders. And this picture, like the others, shows how these people can reconnect with society through positive relationships.<br /><br />The beautiful Aoba Kawai, playing the character of Miho, is very much this type of person. Beneath a pretty exterior, one can see a persistent sadness. Her glum face is very much like the look Aoi Miyazaki donned in Harmful Insect. Her problem in the film is the lack of a relationship with her father (Tomorowo Taguchi), who left the family when she was an adolescent. Drowning herself in her work, as a hairdresser, or surrounding herself with her three roommates, cannot quell this problem. She tries to deal with it on her own, but to no avail.<br /><br />Miho one day unwittingly runs into the quirky, short-haired Kyoko (whose reminiscent of Mami Nakamura's character in Tokyo Trash Baby, as both are so peculiar), played by Kinuwo Yamada, who asks to take her picture. Kyoko is a professional photographer and Miho is the only person who accepted to model for her photos, in the nude. Miho accepts as a way to release her anger over her father. The two women, completely unalike, slowly bond over their problems with men, and attempt to resolve them. Kyoko finds artistic inspiration in Miho's complexity, and together, they seem to act as a positive and negative part of a whole.<br /><br />Hiroki's films show a maturity that is direly missing from a capitalist cinema, geared to entice our basest emotions. His work in pinku eiga may have been necessary as he fully understands the role that sex and relationships play in empowering, damaging, even ostracizing individuals. While he has received critical acclaim, despite the appearance of a few DVD's in Region-1, I don't think his films have yet to find a wide audience, just mostly the cyber-fed cinema geeks like myself and festival insiders. But in a way, I almost prefer for Hiroki to work as he does, away from the glaring lights of international stardom. He certainly has no place in the Academy, making national epics or bolstering the egos of a few star actors. His work is more what art should be: personal expression, not cultural/national justification. His characters are ones that I always tend to connect with, people whose personalities highlight the contradictions of modern society.<br /><br />Japan, at this stage, has acquired many features similar to America, especially in the urban context, and it is this newer form of social relations that Hiroki sees and understands, despite the fact that he doesn't write his own scripts. It is very fitting that a white character, played by Jason Gray, is portrayed alongside the Japanese without much ideological emphasis through the use of cutting techniques or by giving him some exaggerated character traits. What I'm saying is, because at this stage, since Japanese life is not too different from life in other imperialist nations, we see an even deeper similarity in narratives. These young, highly urban characters come with all the sexual hang-ups, family troubles, economic restraints, vanity, shallowness, and ennui of any figure in a modern film from the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, etc...<br /><br />Chinese film, especially the recent Lost in Beijing, is taking the same route. The way people live determine the way they think, and the way they write and express themselves. With this new connectedness, reinforced by an ever-entangling global financial system, I tend to wonder just how much one country or another can attest to having traits distinct to its "national cinema".<br /></span>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-20614135182261124262010-05-04T15:27:00.000-07:002010-05-04T16:22:36.689-07:00Tokyo Trash Baby 東京ゴミ女 (Tokyo Gomi Onna, 2000)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZEv6PyzdZWsykfJoXR4JMD-egHS2rEPqHTwKIjP1VTuyCGFiOpxroBrSUJVH3dlI9arVfng_SqCa2mfe4GNYM6AzMCAFD3PaOTqMKhn0mYiIhl5TQgctRayxz5_dqaonl86q42UlzM8/s1600/232-453.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZEv6PyzdZWsykfJoXR4JMD-egHS2rEPqHTwKIjP1VTuyCGFiOpxroBrSUJVH3dlI9arVfng_SqCa2mfe4GNYM6AzMCAFD3PaOTqMKhn0mYiIhl5TQgctRayxz5_dqaonl86q42UlzM8/s400/232-453.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467545418409880130" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Ryuichi Hiroki is quickly becoming an international star for his intelligently-written romances. Well, as far as I know, he hasn't written a single film (none of which I've seen), but each one delves into the specifics of urban relationships. This film is a tale of obsession </span></span></span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">and timidity that seems to accompany the experience of living single in a megalopolis. Miyuki, played by NAKAMURA Mami, is a waitress at a nondescript Tokyo café, who finds it easier to rummage through the trash of a guy she likes rather than talk to him. How she reached this point is not given, but it is certain that Miyuki lives in a world of her own. She's a very cute and quirky girl, but somewhat childlike (not altogether different from the American hipsters). As she collects the guy's trash, a musician that lives on the floor above her, she slowly begins to think that she knows him, and uses his scraps to create an idealized image of him. Writer OIKAWA Shotaro has made a very unique film on how we misunderstand the people we fall in love with, and the portrayal of Miyuki, as a girl who cannot quite fit in, hence her being alone most of the time, is very convincing. Her fixation on the guitarist eventually leads to a meeting at one of his gigs, where her ideal may not meet his reality.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; font-size:13px;"><span class="UIStory_Message"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br />Miyuki acts as a foil to her co-worker, Kyoko, played by SHIBASAKI Kou, a woman who appears slightly older and is more integrated into social norms, hence her daily boasting at work of her rampant sexual encounters. It is strange to say that this is a gem in the film world for its originality: it is a film about normal people in normal situations. No one is exceptional, talented or special. Though Miyuki is the type of girl who one would imagine as the black sheep in a traditional family, being the self-absorbed, creative one, she is presented as trying to reconnect with the world through love, and her persona is not so extraordinary as to negate her existence in a real, ordinary setting. She's the "weird girl" that you went to high school with.<br /><br />This film was the first entry of six DV features in the 'Love Cinema' series, which also includes SHIOTA Akihiko's Gips, and MIIKE Takashi's Visitor Q.</span></span></span></span></span></h3></span></div>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3012570365264227583.post-69310104051576300692009-07-14T19:28:00.000-07:002009-07-14T19:37:40.874-07:00Runin: Banished るにん (2004)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAG1RdatIdm2SgXGsUTISgTwNukmgchpUCofl-aV0cuB5sUzbx23g-g4uxp7L3MV0zpJYkwhoZk4TeFLK3CKzsGfhrD8IRQRLyu3ED3MHRanynpQCs_kd15i2Rf5w2zcCSKiWRuRBvn_0/s1600-h/Runin-_Banished.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 284px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAG1RdatIdm2SgXGsUTISgTwNukmgchpUCofl-aV0cuB5sUzbx23g-g4uxp7L3MV0zpJYkwhoZk4TeFLK3CKzsGfhrD8IRQRLyu3ED3MHRanynpQCs_kd15i2Rf5w2zcCSKiWRuRBvn_0/s400/Runin-_Banished.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358509686349096978" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:verdana, arial, sans-serif, helvetica;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Runin: Banished</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> - was a bit maudlin, but enjoyable. I like films about people at the bottom of the barrel. Eiji Okuda impressed me with </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Shojo</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and I knew that he would create something great with time. I love when filmmakers build upon older works, and here he expands the legacy of Shohei Imamura. It’s about that lowest tier society. The characters in question are assorted criminals who have been banished from Japan and sent to a small island to fend for themselves. Like in an Imamura film, there is a lot of sex, and all emotions in general run wild. The performances are so impassioned, similar to the older films. One truly gets a sense of the strength of humanity, as these people who have nothing use all they have to survive, sometimes destroying, sometimes saving each other. It’s not flawless by any means, but this is a special moment in world cinema. There is a certain freedom of expression here that is so often stifled in the larger market. In time, it will be valued tremendously.</span></span>JCShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17466563468740859632noreply@blogger.com0