George Washington (2000)

Spine # 152

George Washington is a simple, but visually stunning story of a group of inner city kids that live in a rundown town in North Carolina. You are first introduced to the kids through an amusing, yet beautiful conversation between Nasia (Candace Evanofski) and Buddy (Curtis Cotton III) who are discussing their relationship struggles. Nasia is also the Narrator telling the story. At first I was displeased with the look of the film because I felt it too closely resembled a film I have mentioned in a few earlier posts; Gummo (1997) the cinematography, grittiness, location, narration, and characters do somewhat look similar to Gummo but George Washington redeems itself in the end, no pun intended (you'll know what pun I'm talking about once you've seen the film).

The first six and a half minutes are filmed in a subtle, slow-motion fashion thats gorgeous and immediately sucked me into the story for the rest of its duration. The only time I grew a little weary was a few scenes that attempted to pull intense dialogue out of some of the child actors, one scene in particular between Vernon (Damian Jewan Lee) and Nasia. They were arguing in a kitchen and Neither of them could hold their own, especially Nasia. Aside from the characters that were lacking proper acting skills, there were a few brilliant performances, specifically that of Buddy, who delivers a speech on an abandon "auditorium like" stage while wearing an alligator mask, this was by far my favorite scene in the film.



To my surprise Paul Schneider (from the show Parks and Recreation, which is hilarious and I watch weekly) played an important roll in the film as "Rico Rice". I also found that the director of this film; David Gordon Green, last two films were "Pineapple Express" and "Your Highness"... stoner comedies just don't do it for me... Although he did direct "Snow Angels" which I loved and own  on DVD, so I guess  he's broke even in my book.

As a whole the film begins as a tragedy and ends up being an uplifting story of redemption, its refreshing to see independent films of this quality and I wish there were more like it.

IMDB:******** 8/10

NETFLIX:***** 5/5

Claire's Knee (1970)

Spine #:347

This is the second film of Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales I viewed and I must admit, I went into it expecting to be disappointed. The reason for the pessimism was the first film I watched in the box set, a short entitled; The Bakery Girl of Monceau (1963, Spine #: 343). The 22min. long short is filmed in black and white and I found it to be bland and uneventful. Its a simple story of a man who runs into a woman, who he then asks out, she agrees then disappears so he searches for her everyday stopping at a bakery for a cookie to replace his lunch which he has sacrificed for the cause.

He ends up becoming familiar with the girl that works at the bakery and must choose between the two of them when the woman that he was searching for initially finally returns. Maybe it was the mixture of how subtle the film was with the shortness in its length that made me unable to be drawn in toward the characters or story, but Rohmer certainly rebuttals with Claire's Knee.



Claire's knee is the charming tale of a soon to be married man Jerome who happens to run into an old friend Aurora and gets talked into staying at a lake house with her for the month of July. Aurora's landlady's daughter Laura, develops a crush on Jerome but she is far to young for him to act upon it and thankfully avoids intimacy with her. Once July 10th comes around Jerome learns that Laura's half sister Claire is expected to arrive with her boyfriend Gilles.

When she arrives there is little to no interaction between Jerome and Claire until the next day (the 11th) when Jerome spots her and her boyfriend ascending a ladder to pick berries. This is where his infatuation for her begins... but this no typical attraction he has developed towards her, although Claire is a gorgeous young woman, surprisingly Jerome does not desire to sleep with her, he desires to caress her knee which he claims will be more difficult then attempting to sleep with her.

After sometime of pondering and scheming a strategy to accomplish his goal, Jerome with a helping hand from Aurora, manages to finally touch Claire's knee. This however does not completely satisfy his desire for Claire to willingly allow him to caress it though so he presses on. He begins to despise Claire's boyfriend Gilles and tries to sabotage there relationship, which causes Claire to break down. While Claire is sobbing, Jerome goes in for the kill and using the illusion of consolation he caresses her knee. After this mission was accomplished Jerome bids them all farewell and fortunately Claire and Gilles relationship survive the whole ordeal. In all its glorious sensuality, this film is a real gem and will prove an enjoyable viewing experience for most.

IMDB: ******** 8/10

NETFLIX: ***** 5/5

Criterion Art Smartphone (Iphone, Android) Wallpapers

I have a collection of about 500 Criterion Wallpapers that fit the IPhone/Android perfectly, so I thought I'd share them. The link is below the examples and you can download the entire album if you wish.

LINK:


http://s1139.photobucket.com/albums/n545/doliver21/Criterion%20Art/

The Plumber (1979)

Spine #: N/A

One of the few made for television movies in the criterion collection directed by the Australian filmmaker Peter Weir, The Plumber could be described as a psychological thriller/dark comedy, but as a whole I would say it is the definition of 1970's cult horror. Following his other three criterion thrillers; The Cars That Ate Paris,The Last Wave, and Picnic at Hanging Rock, Weir takes us into the cosy apartment of Jill Cowper (Judy Morris) an Anthropologist, and her husband Brian (Robert Coleby).

What begins as a normal day takes an unexpected turn when while her husband is out at work, Jill answers a knock at the door. The man at the door claims to be the plumber responsible for all of the pluming duties in the entire apartment complex, the plumber informs Jill that he was sent there to check her pipes and introduces himself as Max (Ivar Kants). Jill hesitantly allows him in the house and this is where The Plumber's relentless reign of terror begins.

Ivar Kants delivers a brilliant performance as a mentally unstable (borderline psychopath) stalker that does everything in his power to make every scene uncomfortable and at times horrifying.

It seems that no matter what Jill does to try to get rid of him she does not succeed, even when she reaches out to her best friend and husband she cant rid herself of this maniac. The Plumber is quite obviously the origin of The Cable Guy (Jim Carey, 1996) but is done better and much more effective.

The film will give you an uneasy feeling in your stomach from beginning to end due to a pair of outstanding performances from the terrified Judy Morris, and the relentless Ivar Kants.

IMDB: ******** 8/10

NETFLIX: **** 4/5



Off Topic: The Future (2011)

I was lucky enough to catch one of the first screenings of "The Future" by Miranda July at the Independent Film Festival Boston. This is Miranda's second film, her first being "Me and You and Everyone We Know" (2005) which happens to be one of my all time favorite films. With only two films under her belt Miranda July has become one of two directors without a Criterion film that I can honestly say are my personal favorites, the other director being Harmony Korine (known for; Gummo 1997, Julien donkey  boy 1999, Trash Humpers 2009).

The Future is a Hilariously quirky film that deals with the perception of what the future holds and time itself through the minds of the main characters Sophie (Miranda July), Jason (Hamish Linklater), and Paw-Paw the Cat (Voiced by Miranda July).There are several scenes that are nothing short of brilliant and as a whole the film in perfectly paced.

The Future is part of a hip new era of artistic films and I hope to see it as well as July's previous film someday be part of the Criterion Collection (also, Korine's Gummo should have been in there years ago in my opinion).

The only way I can describe the experience of viewing a Miranda July film is the feeling of being wrapped in blankets. To me its a warm, safe, delightful feeling and I would recommend anyone to see her films. She was there for an amazing Q & A after the film which I recorded on my IPhone so you can watch it if your interested (apologies ahead of time for any shaky camera work).

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Spine #: 62

Legendary director Carl Th. Dreyer’s silent epic completely caught me off guard and blew my mind. I've heard an endless amount of praise for this film over the years but put off viewing it assuming it was just another important yet prehistoric, dragged out, bland silent film with no depth or feeling to it whatsoever.. Boy was I wrong.

 Renée Falconetti as Joan of Arc is considered to be one of the greatest (if not THE) greatest performance ever captured on film and I couldn't agree more. I 100% bought every tear she cried and every look of emotion she held during the film, never have I seen an actress give a more convincing and gripping performance.

To me, the most powerful scene in the film is one that can be seen in Godard's film; Vivre sa vie (1962). Godard pays homage by having The Passion of Joan of Arc playing during a scene in a theatre, it is when Joan finds out how she will be executed and its incredible.

Without question:

IMDB: ********** 10/10

Netflix: ***** 5/5

Chantal Akerman in the Seventies

Eclipse Series 19

I've been on a major Chantal Akerman (most critically known for Jeanne Dielman...) kick lately and I think it may be developing into an obsession.  Akerman has to be one of the most important experimental film makers of the seventies. I'm not familiar with her more recent work but I have seen everyone of her films from the seventies without being disappointed once, so I look forward to seeing more from her. Another thing that's beginning to trouble me is The Eclipse Series. I'm finding them to be equally as excellent as the spine numbered films in the collection, so I've been watching alot of them which makes me feel like I'm sitting idle when it comes to the mission.. *sigh* but i digress..

Another example of this conundrum:

Now back to the films at hand....

La Chambre (1972)

A "super short" film only running ten minutes long but somehow being just as mesmorising and effective as the other four. Akerman has her camera set up in the center of her apartment getting a single ten minute long shot of the entire place by rotating around in a circle. She is the only person in the film and can be seen eating apples on her bed for the ten minute duration.

Hotel Monterey (1972)

An hour long silent short film comprised of stunning real life shots of The Hotel Monterey in California. Its interesting to see people moving about the hotel with looks of confusion on there face wondering why a random lady is filming them for no reason, but the most effective shots are the ones with no one in them.

I, You, He, She (Je Tu Il Elle, 1975)

One thing that should be noted about Akerman besides her raw filmmaking talents is the fact that shes got more "balls" (for lack of better terms) then most of the male experimental filmmakers of this era. For instance, Akerman stars in this film and bares all during most of it, finishing with an extremely intense lesbian sexual encounter at the end.

News From Home (1976)

To add to the statement I made previously, she "bares all" even more personally in News From Home. Over beautiful shots of New York Akerman can be heard reading letters her mother has sent her over the years that shes has been traveling making films. Some letters being happy, others being sad or angry, I saw this to be a pinnacle in unique and creative filmmaking which appears to be Akerman's aim for the decade she made these in.

 The Meetings of Anna (Les rendez-vous d’Anna, 1978)

Like her other films, The The Meetings of Anna contains long, slow shots that can be draining to the viewer, but if you hang in there it is handsomely rewarding. Anna is a young filmmaker who arrives in Germany to show her newest film. While traveling about she makes several encounters with people who interact with her and tell her stories. My favorite interaction is that of Anna and her significant other once she returns home to Paris.

In closing, Chantal Akerman has become one of my new found favorite filmmakers and its a shame that she doesn't get the recognition she deserves here in the states.

Dillinger Is Dead (1969)

Spine#: 506

 

**Minor Spoilers**



A strangely unique experimental film directed by Marco Ferreri, Dillinger is Dead shows a day in the life of Glauco, your ordinary, everyday, hard working gas mask designer... That is, until he gets a gun out of his closet, disassembles it, marinates it in lemon juice, uses the lemon juice in the meal hes preparing, reassembles the gun and paints it red with white polka dots.

After all that takes place, things start to get weird.. A few things in particular stood out as outstandingly beautiful and original to me; one being the use of full length American pop songs to make up most of the score, giving the film an eerie, unsettling feel and the other being the scenes between Glauco and his projector screen. This colorful, beautifully shot, work of art is a must see.. Oh, and it has one of the best endings out of the 120 Criterion's Ive seen.

IMDB: ********* 9/10

Netflix***** 5/5

Jacques Tati's Hulot Trilogy

 

Mr. Hulot's Holiday(1953)

Mon Oncle (1958)

Play Time (1967)

Following in the footsteps of comedic geniuses like Chaplin and Keaton, Jacques Tati writes, directs, and stars in a trilogy following a clumsy character named Monsieur Hulot. Hulot is a joyful, care free character that means well but happens to always get himself into troubling situations that he must (through silly gag comedy) get himself out of. Tati's comedic style is similar to that of Chaplin's, but I would argue that it lacks the same level of effectiveness and humor Chaplin was able to create.


The trilogy begins with Mr. Hulot's Holiday, a film with little to no dialogue and would be almost silent if it wasn’t for the cheesy score and sound effects. Hulot decides to go on vacation to a beach resort/hotel and this is where the supposed "hilarity" ensues. With the plot lacking any real follow-able direction the film turns in to a gag real made of randomly strung together scenes that attempt humor that feels too forced and poorly executed. I chuckled probably two or three times during the entire duration of the film and found it to be the worst of the three. It baffles me that this film was nominated for an Oscar, but what’s more absurd is that the sequel following it; Mon Oncle, won one. In Mon Oncle Hulot returns from vacation to find that his nephew and brother in law live a modern home full of state of the art devices and gadgets. Hulot being not fond of this discovers common ground with his nephew who also has a dislike for the gadgetry that his father has installed in the house. To avoid Hulot influencing his son, Hulot’s brother in law gets him to work at a factory that he happens to run; this is where the "hilarity" ensues. The gags are strenuous, dragged out, and extremely repetitive which made the film hard to get through in one sitting, but I managed. Though Mon Oncle was visually better and slightly funnier I still feel its grossly over-rated. The third and final film in the trilogy; Play Time, follows Hulot while he aimlessly wanders around a technologically modernized Paris with a bunch of American Tourists and this is where (you guessed it) the "hilarity" ensues. Like the two prior films, the clumsy moron known as Hulot causes chaos by painfully engaging in (repetitive) gag after (repetitive) gag. Although equally as tiresome as the previous films, I must admit it is the most technically well done and the most beautiful of the trilogy.


My view on the trilogy may seem harsh but I just could not bring myself to understand the reason why they are considered unrivaled Masterpieces by much of the film community. I did however like the way Tati took the “Anti-Technological” approach in the films, I thought that was interesting and original but besides that, maybe I’m missing something? Maybe they went over my head? Maybe I need to watch them more than once? I'm not sure, but if I do and in some sort of epiphany my opinion changes, I will re-review them.



IMDB:***** 5/10
NETFLIX:** 2/5

IMDB:****** 6/10
NETFLIX:** 2/5

IMDB:****** 6/10
NETFLIX:** 2/5

A visual ode to Lars von Trier

Lars von Trier

I'm posting some beautiful shots from three of Lars von Triers masterpieces; Europa (1991), Dogville (2003), and Antichrist (2009). In my opinion Lar's is one of the greatest living directors among those who are still active and may possibly be the greatest (it could be argued that Herzog would have to retire before making that statement).

Europa:

Dogville:

Antichrist:

I'm also anxiously awaiting the opportunity to view a screening of his new film; Melancholia. It looks like it is going to be just as brilliant as his prior works.

Melancholia: