Geometric Cosmologies This is so beautiful, it hurts. Tender. It is a lacy filigree in what it is, essentially a story about longing, urges and space. But that filigree extends to the nature of the space that surrounds the story on screen. And the motion of weaving extends further to the shape of the narrative… Continue reading Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998)
Month: May 2022
To Sleep So As to Dream (1986)
Mysterious Silences As my readers know, I study folding in film; when films have parallel positions for the viewer as supported by the construction of the thing. Usually, this is a fluid contract between filmmaker and viewer that requires deeper engagement. I like these in part because I literally fold my life into certain films,… Continue reading To Sleep So As to Dream (1986)
Aunt Peg’s Fulfilment (1981)
Unfulfilling Classic porn, the kind celebrated in “Boogie Nights”, cannot be avoided if you are serious about studying film. An amazing number of these, mostly from the 70s, have pretty cleverly engineered contexts. It is completely different than the porn of today, where there is no attempt at story. Often, those old films stretched for… Continue reading Aunt Peg’s Fulfilment (1981)
War Games (1983)
Winken and Blinken There is less reason to see this now than when it was made, except for the lesson that is more clear here than in current filmdom: how do you cinematically convey concepts that don’t fit our fairly limited vocabulary? The lesson here is stark, only because we have greater familiarity with computers… Continue reading War Games (1983)
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
The Women This is an amazing experience, becoming more so the further we get from it. When I see “Apocalypse Now, or even “Mosquito Coast” I see this. In fact whenever I see both an actor and a director/writer risking all in a coordinated way, I see this. And when I see a combination of… Continue reading Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
The Hottest Show in Town
Seurat meets Welles There are a few things everyone should do, and one of them is to visit the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. But first, I see I am the initial commenter on this little film. So let me describe it because you are unlikely to find it. It is ostensibly a porn film, somewhere… Continue reading The Hottest Show in Town
Heart of Glass (1979)
The Heart of the Film Soldier Some films come wrapped in their own skins — distinct beings, which can be taken as they are. But many films come with connections to their context, usually in the distraction of seeing a familiar actor. Cinephiles follow certain filmmakers and develop certain expectations and understandings over a career.… Continue reading Heart of Glass (1979)
The Sinister Monk (1965)
4 Conspiracies In the heyday of mystery writing, we had Sayers, Christie, Chesterton and a dozen others who were artists of narrative curves. The game was to create a world, but us in it and only later let us know how wrong we were. And then we had formula pulp writers, many of whom had… Continue reading The Sinister Monk (1965)
Japanese Summer: Double Suicide (1967)
Solid Shadows with Death Wishes I know a few of this man’s films. They are among the richest experiences I know, but I was surprised at how deeply this one worked on me. The surprise comes in part from knowing how specific his target audience was. I am the right generation but the wrong decade… Continue reading Japanese Summer: Double Suicide (1967)
Exodus (1960)
Stalled Ship I wonder what damage we are doing to ourselves by writing false history. All history is fictional. It must be because it abstracts single narratives from the hubbub of life. We hope that the narrative models something that can be traced back to facts, can be proved to be what we call true.… Continue reading Exodus (1960)