I’m a sucker for well-cut, blissful teasers that promise indie pop amour. In this case, anti-rom com and post-modern loving — whatever that means. And that damn song by the Temper Trap is so catchy. It seems like the hip trailers of today can’t help but borrow some of the youthful and cool playfulness of Godard’s Masculin Feminin. Anyway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of my favorite young actors and Zooey Deschanel (♡All The Real Girls) is so pretty; they make a perfect movie pairing! Summer, please come soon!
Happiness is the path
Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)
The beginning of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker suggests a meteor crash or an alien landing on a wilderness site that is now cordoned by the military. Not to be mistaken by the harassing act of following another person, the film is named after expert guides who lead individuals into the Zone to find the room where all of one’s deepest, innermost wishes become reality. Two men known simply as Writer and Professor are carefully directed to this mysterious place by a Stalker of whom has no ulterior motives. Though Writer and Professor share opposing viewpoints on the meaning of life along the way, their conscious search for satisfaction and happiness is plagued by their subconscious desires.
It’s a miracle this film was even made. After filming for a full year at deserted power plants in Estonia, Tarkovsky discovered the experimental Kodak stock he used was defected. Instead of abandoning the film outright, he refocused his energy and re-wrote the script and re-shot almost all of the film. The end product is vastly different from the original, but more true to his vision.
Methodical in pace and enthralling with moments of sheer, sublime beauty, Stalker is an exhausting yet rejuvenating sojourn into the fragility of the human spirit. There is a masterful dream sequence and panning shot that displays Tarkovsky’s stern attention to detail and his natural ability to establish compositions that stimulate the mind with wonder. As a collection of his trademark long takes, the film can seem overwrought and tedious for some, but the director’s intention was to evoke a sense of continuity within the frame where time, space and action become uniform and altogether fluid with the narrative. Tarkovsky’s goal was to film Stalker as if the whole film was made in one shot. In this shot, Tarkovsky captures more than images and sounds; he captures life.
(via bebelestrange)It’s Valentine’s week (whatevs).
Sweet poster.
Starring Al Pacino? Screenplay by Joan Didion? Why haven’t I heard of this movie! Must add to Netflix queue.. I guess my plans for Valentine’s Day are set. God help me.
via bowfolk
There will be blood (and lots of it)
Tokyo Gore Police (Yoshihiro Nishimura, 2008)
The film begins with a young woman, Ruka (Eihi Shiina), who witnesses the assassination of her father, a charismatic police chief in Tokyo. Meanwhile, a mad scientist known simply as the “Key Man” creates a virus that mutates people into “Engineers”, killing machines that after each severed limb sprout grotesque weapons of destruction, capriciously resulting in blood splattered anarchy. Tokyo is thus in a state of emergency and the city is forced to combat this bizarre threat by privatizing the police force. The vengeful and somewhat subdued Ruka joins this team of misfit officers and later finds out the truth behind the monsters and her troubled past.
Yoshihiro Nishimura is a master when it comes to constructing blood drenched splat fests. After his work on The Machine Girl, Nishimura decided to film a remake of Anatomia Extinction, an independent film he made over ten years ago. Tokyo Gore Police was then filmed in a two-week span and released in the same year as The Machine Girl. But instead of looking clumsy and rushed, the film tackles the perverse subject matter with unassuming detail. It is a remarkable social satire of unabashed violence and gore. The action rises above the typical camp that exploitative films tend to exude. Each shot of blood and mutated growth is meticulous in its conception which makes the carnage a harmonious exercise in creativity and force. Thrilling and unnerving, Tokyo Gore Police astonishes with bewildering flurry.
I had my share of exploitation flicks and extreme Japanese cinema (Audition, Ichi the Killer, Battle Royale, etc.), but honestly there is one scene in this movie I cannot shake out of my head (it’s been over a couple weeks now). I won’t spoil anything.but the thought of someone even thinking yet alone writing and filming a scene like that is what frightens me the most. Usually I have a high tolerance when it comes to cinematic violence since most of it is fake. Even in the context of this film, it was just demented on a level I could not begin to comprehend. If this piques your interest in any way, I would definitely recommend adding this to your Netflix queue. All the hype is surely warranted.
I’m getting the hang of this reblog tool. Amazing poster. Stolen Kisses (1968) is possibly my favorite Truffaut. I just love the clumsiness of Antoine as a young adult and his steamy yet uncomfortable and wholesomely comedic interactions with Mme. Tabard, who is played gracefully by the timeless Delphine Seyrig.
via bowfolk
São Paulo photo by Jan Egil Kirkebø. Moleskine-inspired image by Lost in Scotland.
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