Japanese Story (2003)

The Broken Hill This is a simple project, executed flawlessly. As with most films that bring you into human emotions, this uses an external reference. The gulf between two souls is referenced by cultural differences. The opening of the inner emotional fountain is folded into profound Australian landscapes, opened for mining. Our woman is a… Continue reading Japanese Story (2003)

Amateur (1994)

Abstract Porn Hartley is one of the most interesting directors working. Many associate him with French auteurs, but I think his experiments are more intellectual, more New York. His films are not only about other films, but exist in a world abstracted from them where almost everyone else insists on wallowing in the same space… Continue reading Amateur (1994)

All the Real Girls (2003)

Diversions Warning, if you watch this on DVD, avoid the commentary at all costs. This is a case where the creators are inarticulate nitwits, but what they have created has a particularly intelligent design. Superficially, this is the simple formula: boy meets girl; boy loses girl; boy gets girl back. With this edition, the two… Continue reading All the Real Girls (2003)

3 Idiots (2009)

Five Lives and a Funeral The structure is a compelling nesting. We have the linear story of two school chums plus one who search for a lost third buddy. There are a number of twists in this that make it more than just a framing device. We get a lot of storytelling craft in how… Continue reading 3 Idiots (2009)

All About Eve (1950)

Fabrications I admit, I find the story of the Mankiewcz brothers to be one of the most interesting in all filmdom. Part of the allure is their experimentation in narrative perspectives and the nature of fabrication. Here, the fabrication is extra sweetly dimensional. We have a movie about movies, actresses portraying actresses with resonances among… Continue reading All About Eve (1950)

Jewel Robbery (1932)

Sex, Drugs and Crime William Powell is responsible for a huge element of our loves, the smoothness that has comic irony behind it. He invented it. There are a few of his movies that are essential viewing, but those are after the government thugs decided what movies should be like in “moral” terms. So you… Continue reading Jewel Robbery (1932)

Danish Pastries (1973)

Timothy Leery I was exceedingly happy to be able to find this old gem. In the early 70s, there was brief window when porn was where many cinematic experiments were happening. Some of them actually had some promise for being important. Perhaps the oddest is the porn musical. This is the most interesting from a… Continue reading Danish Pastries (1973)