dir. Ingmar Bergman
Sweden, 1966
A few notes:
Ghost story. The notion of the self. What makes it? How is it made? Differences between people. Lost.
Monday, 27 July 2009
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Beau Travail
dir. Claire Denis
France, 1998
Wonderful. Full of dance, photography, memory, bodies in motion...
France, 1998
Wonderful. Full of dance, photography, memory, bodies in motion...
Friday, 17 July 2009
Summer With Monika
dir. Ingmar Bergman
Sweden, 1953
The bit in the middle when they're running free, sailing around the archipelago is great, for obvious reasons. I suppose the fact that the audience recognises that as the heart of the film is indicative of its power, when, later on, the dream turns sour, reality bites and they sail back to Stockholm...
Sweden, 1953
The bit in the middle when they're running free, sailing around the archipelago is great, for obvious reasons. I suppose the fact that the audience recognises that as the heart of the film is indicative of its power, when, later on, the dream turns sour, reality bites and they sail back to Stockholm...
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Rewatch: Breathless (A Bout de Souffle)
dir. Jean-Luc Godard,
France, 1960
Shown at the GFT as part of their mini-New Wave series. Not the best quality print, but still great. Next week they're showing Chronicle of a Summer! So excited! Might come back from an academic conference early for it!
France, 1960
Shown at the GFT as part of their mini-New Wave series. Not the best quality print, but still great. Next week they're showing Chronicle of a Summer! So excited! Might come back from an academic conference early for it!
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Les deux anglaises et le continent (Anne and Muriel)
dir. François Truffaut
France, 1971
Strange film, seen in French with no subtitles, at the Insitut Lumiere in Lyon. Not sure I really got it all...
France, 1971
Strange film, seen in French with no subtitles, at the Insitut Lumiere in Lyon. Not sure I really got it all...
The Best Of Youth (La meglio gioventù)
dir. Marco Tullio Giordana
Italy, 2003
In an Italian film tradition that includes Rocco and His Brothers and The Leopard (and not Cold Mountain, as the ill-conceived DVD blurb suggests), this is a wonderfully sweeping, soap-operatic account of two brothers and their family stretching from 1966 to 2003.
I remember the trailers for this showing at the Watershed in Bristol. It was released in two parts (and appears as such on the DVD) of about 3 hours each. It is pretty epic. It was originally a TV mini-series in Italy shown in 4 parts. It's made by some of the people that made last year's surprise My Brother Is An Only Child and features the same natural, engaging acting and moving family dynamics, particularly in its presentation of the deep bonds and differences between two brothers.
I fear some might call it a technically conservative film because its strengths lie in classic storytelling. Whilst across the spectrum of narrative devices it may well turn out to be that, I don't think that is inherently bad. In fact the word conservative is best avoided as it has too many unwanted and unpleasant connotations. The storytelling really is, like My Brother, effortless. I am not alone in wanting to repeat the experience of watching it. Gorging ourselves on it over three nights, the only complaint was that it was too short. It draws you in, makes you care about the family, and doesn't let go.
I'm sure it will feature in my end of year "Best Of" post.
Italy, 2003
In an Italian film tradition that includes Rocco and His Brothers and The Leopard (and not Cold Mountain, as the ill-conceived DVD blurb suggests), this is a wonderfully sweeping, soap-operatic account of two brothers and their family stretching from 1966 to 2003.
I remember the trailers for this showing at the Watershed in Bristol. It was released in two parts (and appears as such on the DVD) of about 3 hours each. It is pretty epic. It was originally a TV mini-series in Italy shown in 4 parts. It's made by some of the people that made last year's surprise My Brother Is An Only Child and features the same natural, engaging acting and moving family dynamics, particularly in its presentation of the deep bonds and differences between two brothers.
I fear some might call it a technically conservative film because its strengths lie in classic storytelling. Whilst across the spectrum of narrative devices it may well turn out to be that, I don't think that is inherently bad. In fact the word conservative is best avoided as it has too many unwanted and unpleasant connotations. The storytelling really is, like My Brother, effortless. I am not alone in wanting to repeat the experience of watching it. Gorging ourselves on it over three nights, the only complaint was that it was too short. It draws you in, makes you care about the family, and doesn't let go.
I'm sure it will feature in my end of year "Best Of" post.
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