He and Pacino are transplants from a different movie I would have enjoyed more. It was okay, just not what I wanted I guess.
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A Grin Without a Cat is a Chris Marker film. Its French title could be translated as āThe essence of the air is red.ā Itās subtitle is āScenes from the Third World War.ā I watched a version he edited after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but it was originally composed in 1977, ten years after Franceās New Left seemed to be on the eve of something special.
It is a wide-reaching survey of socialist movements from around the world, covering ten years of events. The general sense is that, as much passion as there was in demonstrations, speeches, and fighting, few practical actions or permanent ends were achieved. The montage of movements and speeches from various political actors and intellectual actors leave the greatest impression that this ineffable thing called socialism was always slightly out of grasp.
Watching it after The Battle of Chile, a project that Chris Marker personally provided 43,000 ft of film toward, I think I am only just beginning to scratch the surface of this politco-historical period. I am dispirited, but each film leaves space for a sliver of hope. I like Marker. Heās clever, but always trying to make a point. His movies are illuminating without being pedagogical. I imagine that even he would learn something new by re-watching something he had made. Theyāre like kaleidoscopes that you can twist around and try to reexamine the world through viewing.
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Scorpion Jailhouse 41 is much extremer in color than the first one.
Consider itās the second of scorpion series, I still surprise shunya ItÅās potential and taste scene at his early ages.
Itās far beyond the first, high contrast in lights, a structure able to depicting the patriarchal society hell for women. The story itself also from a revenge B movie to highly symbolic.
The end is the most feminine moment I have ever seen.
10/10, canāt wait the third.
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Makes sense, after 40 movies youāre bound to want to change things up
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I watched two French-directed, 70ās era, Arthurian legends: Lancelot du Lac and Perceval le Gallois. In both stories, there is a great treasure that cannot be had. It is impossible to find, the chance has been missed, or strength and virtue has finally run out. Given the many breakdowns in relationships and organizing in Paris since 68, I can see why ChrĆ©tien de Troyes became en vogue. Bresson and Rohmer take very distinct approaches but I think succeed in their own ways.
Lancelot du Lac is filmed in Bressonās typical austere style. The violence is brutal, especially when words do the cutting. Most scenes take place at my favorite time of day, just before the sun has fully risen. The soundtrack is all bagpipes and the clanking of armor. Iām grateful for SBās collective recommendation.
Perceval le Gallois has a purposefully plastic presentation*. The sets are simplified to the point of abstraction. A chorus narrates the events and characters talk about themselves in the third person and speak out loud what thoughts are going through their head. Perceval is ignorant to the point of comedy. When he first sees knights traveling through the woods, he assumes they must be demons. Out in the open, he corrects himself to say that they must be angels and that God himself has come. Throughout the story, he nearly immune to the consequences of his ignorance while others suffer for it. Because he misunderstands the world, he causes a woman to endure shame and humiliation. He kills and wounds knights that take offense to his manners. Puzzling and surreal, the film will remain in my mind for some time.
*I will not apologize for excessive alliteration.
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the Rohmer movie has been on my watchlist for too long a time, iāll have to rectify that
At a time when I have less going on, I would like to go in-depth on why I like Perceval most of all the arthurian characters. A goodly part of it is the comedy-of-errors nature of the character that feels like a subversion of chivalric romance.
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Would you believe me if I told you it is on Tubi?
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Iāve had a fancy high-res transfer of it pirated for years, so it isnāt even lack of access lol
Iām just bad at making time to watch good things
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It doesnāt help that itās over two hours long. Itās kind of episodic in structure, so if you want to split it up, you can.
btw, I highly recommend seekin out and reading the mabinogion (welsh) version of Perceval, Peredur, son of Efrawg, as it tends to emphasize many of the comedic elements of the narrative and the fantastical elements are far more fantastical than Chretienās rendition.
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Only a version le Gallois for the boy le Gallois.
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I often feel bad that I have the time to watch important serious movies but donāt have the energy or will to watch said movies.
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I am a goddamned moron and AMC offered the first month of my return to A-List for 99 cents, so now that Iām stuck with a minimum of three months of 3 movie tickets a week, I am seeing movies around actual other living, breathing people again
Ghostbusters Afterlife - 75, apply yourself
Encanto - I have a lot of effusive praise swirling around in my brain for this movie
but first let me tell you how many beautiful brown women with stunningly black curly hair are featured
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The songs were Extremely Bad which is not a good foundation upon which to build a movie musical. I guess the moral was nice and the ending didnāt involve fighting the Evil House Spirits with Power Lasers or whatever but I couldnāt really separate it from the treacle of any other modern Pixar movie. Looked real nice though. I mean except for the faces. I am so god damn sick of those faces.
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The next few days are gift wrapping days, which means that I need something on the tv when doing that so I decided it would be a good time to knock out the two most recent ārealā Star Wars movies after catching Force Awakens for the first time on tv a month or so back (I know we have a Star Wars topic, that feels like deep waters). This means I caught Last Jedi today and likeā¦ it seemed surprisingly good for a Star Wars film? Iām not sure Iād say I liked any of the prior Star Wars movies I saw (the original trilogy seemed alrightish at times?) and Force Awakens seemed like it started with a decent set-up before deciding to just be Star Wars Again. I know Star Wars fans apparently hate the movie and I wouldnāt argue it was flawless but by modern blockbuster/Star Wars standards I thought it zigged enough times when I expected it to zag with at least some sort of idea behind it so I honestly donāt grasp why itād have such a poor reputation. Maybe this means thatā¦ whatever the third one is called wonāt be that bad either?
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oh you sweet summer child
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I agree that 8 was pretty decent, you will be despondent by the disaster that is 9 which was seemingly tailor made to appeal to the sociopaths who loathed 8
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itās telling that instead of only pissing some people off, Rise of Skywalker pissed everyone off
maybe you guys shouldāve had a retreat to hash out a coherent three film arc
then again, Iām seemingly on the outside looking in w/r/t neo-SW opinions (I just cannot get into Rogue One but I found TLJ and Solo enjoyable)
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Solo was probably my favorite nu-Star Wars movie it had cool costumes and aliens and shit
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