Ikiru
Stalker
Grand Illusion
Daybreak
A Single Man
Honorable Mention: Frankenstein, High School, Le Corbeau, Blue Vinyl
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Twelve Months
That's it, the project is over. Reflections and new parameters for a new year to follow. Top five of the month in no particular order are:
Friday, August 20, 2010
Stalag 17
IMDB #213 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046359/]
The Gist:
Interesting to see another POW film so quickly after Grand Illusion, here a POW film that comments via voiceover that no one's made a POW film before and what an awful shame that is. I guess the guy doing the voice over doesn't watch much French film, neh? Anyway, with this film's position on the IMDB list I thought I might see another enjoyable classic like Great Escape and what I got was a film that took a while to grow on me. I think this is primarily because all the characters were caricatures and frankly unlikable. I did end up liking William Holden's character, but that took a while to take too. Anyway, once the film got into its intrigue of the informant was, its pace improved considerably and I forgave the two-dimensional characters. Maybe I'm too hard on it because I had just watched Grand Illusion and that film mopped the floor with this one. Maybe that's not fair, but so it goes.
Daybreak
Daybreak (1939)
The Gist:
Carne's film Daybreak is drenched in atmosphere, dark Parisian streets filled with fog, slow dissolves into romantic flashbacks, cigarette smoke, gunshots, snappy French dialogue. What I enjoy most, however, is that it's just a great set-up. Half of the film takes place in a room where a man has a stand-off with the police after he is found murdering another man. Then through flashbacks we slowly piece together how he has come to this point. If I had a complaint, it's that the film feels a little too conscious of its mood at times, too aware of itself. But that's a complaint I can level at a lot of my favorite films so I'll let it go.
Le Corbeau
Le Corbeau (1943)
The Gist:
Le Corbeau, or The Raven, is a fascinating film made in the midst of nazi-occupied France. It is apparently based on real events, where a "poison pen" sends hundreds of anonymous notes informing dark secrets on his fellow man, causing an uproar. In the film, the protagonist is a self-righteous doctor accused of being an abortionist, and the letters are purposed towards removing him from the town. Eventually hysteria builds to such heights that an innocent woman, who is thought to be the poison pen, is chased through the streets in a mob scene recalling Frankenstein. Likewise, the police try to ensnare the doctor in a set-up abortion as to finally be rid of him and consequently rid of the letters as well. Within the running time of the film, the morality of man is called into question, the idea that there is a clear right and wrong, good and evil. The film itself stands up well, but it's also a curious study in touching a sensitive nerve at a sensitive time. Essentially this film was denounced and banned by nearly every place of authority in France both during the occupation and following France's newly won freedom afterward. The Nazis didn't like that it spoke ill of informing, the French underground resistance movement felt like it worked against unifying the French people, the church cried "Blasphemous!" as usual, and so on. What's most curious is how the government after the occupation continued the ban on the film, almost embarrassed at the film's window into their country's darkest moment.
Blue Vinyl
Blue Vinyl (2002)
The Gist:
This was a pleasant, indie documentary about the evils of vinyl. It strikes that same cord of evil corporation responsible for cancer, cover ups, greed, so on. Basically if you've watched Erin Brockovich you can get the idea. Thankfully it approaches everything with a sense of humor, which I find is the only real way to tackle these subjects since they are so innumerous that I can't help but be depressed every time I see another documentary about how we're poisoning ourselves and headed towards a general path of self-destruction, only to have some tacked on resolution that we can really make a difference though sometimes I have a hard time thinking its anything but a losing battle. Oh well.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Week Forty-Eight
New Queue:
Daybreak (1939) - check
Le Corbeau (1943) - check
Blue Vinyl (2002) - check
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Avant-Garde Short Films
I started an Avant-Garde cinema class, so I'll be posting a collection of the shorts I haven't seen before as an entry (it's allowed in my arbitrary rules, ha). This week:
Maya Deren - Ritual in Transfigured Time (1946)
Maya Deren - Study in Choreography for the Camera (1945)
Kenneth Anger - Fireworks (1947)
Kenneth Anger - Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954)
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