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:



Night and Fog (1955)

Spine #: 197

When I read Hulu's description of this film I expected to see a well done thirty-one minute educational short on the holocaust. Well, what I didn't expect was what I was about to see... The film is made up almost entirely of actual footage of the horrors that took place in the death camps and the little that wasn't, gives the viewer a tour of the camps that were still standing post WWII. During the introduction, the narrator explains how these camps were built like hotels, all having different "styles" for instance; Swiss, Garage, Japanese and some even having zoo's and orchestras. This blew my mind, I would have never imagined that concentration camps were put up like restaurants, needing contractors, estimates, and bid wars... But that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the devastation that Night and Fog reminds us of, your taken on a journey with the innocent prisoners from when they are captured, until there deaths. Your exposed to the "endless un-interrurpted fear" they suffered through daily, the illusions used by the Nazis to deceive their victims, the experiments/methods of torture implemented and much more.. I must forewarn the horrifically graphic nature of this film, there are some images that are very hard to watch, especially with the knowledge that everything you are viewing is reality and not just a fictional movie. The only flaw in this film is the notion that parts of the victims body's were turned into soap and distributed... I found this idea so appalling that I researched it and found it to be a commonly believed myth. Still in actuality this is not a film at all, it is a historical record of actual events that were infinitely devastating.

Note: The picture above is an inmate that passed away in the middle of the night with his eyes open.. which was a common occurrence.

Sweet Movie (1974)

Spine #: 390

After viewing this film a third time in my life, I decided I was ready to write about it. The first thing anyone should know before seeing Sweet Movie is that it pulls absolutely no punches and requires an open mind to see it for what it really is. If I was asked to explain what it was about in one word that word would be sex, but that wouldn't be completely accurate. The basic story goes as follows; There are two women, one is in the process of going bat-shit crazy, while the other is the captain of a boat/candy dungeon that she uses to get men/little boys to participate in conversation, sexual acts, and eventually their own demise. Without giving too much away, when it comes to bazaar fetishes this film has most of the bases covered. Although you are witnessing all this chaos it is still impossible to be distracted enough not to notice its visual perfection as well as its beautiful and at times haunting score. For example there is a flawless scene that involves an interaction between the woman on the boat and several little boys, where satanic hymn like sounds echo while she "works her magic". Although Sweet Movie is strange and controversial, I wouldn't dare call it an exploitation film... Its far too important/influential to be labeled as such.

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

Netflix:*****5/5