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Intacto (2001)
Some are born with luck. Others gamble for it.

An enigmatic tale of four people whose lives are intertwined by destiny are subject to the laws of fate. They discover that luck is something they cannot afford to be without as they gamble with the highest stakes possible in a deadly game from which only one of them will emerge intact.

Shoot the Picture are a few good filmmakers alive now, ones I credit. Mostly they are distributed in accidental pools of the industry, a couple in Hong Kong, a master in Amsterdam, a few passing through Hollywood it seems. Singles here and there. But there...


Published January 30, 2024
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Amores Perros (2000)
Love. Betrayal. Death.

A fatalistic car crash in Mexico city sets off a chain of events in the lives of three people: a supermodel, a young man wanting to run off with his sister-in-law, and a homeless man. Their lives are catapulted into unforeseen situations instigated by the seemingly inconsequential destiny of a dog.

Panting Astrology believe that the future of film is now firmly in the hands of Spanish-speaking filmmakers. Not that they make the best films, but that they have the current crop of ideas. We saw Italians introduce us to the notion that a camera can...


Published April 1, 2023
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Arabian Nights (2000)

Targeted for assassination by his first wife and his evil brother, a young sultan must marry by the next full moon or he will lose his kingdom. His uncertainty over his newfound bride causes her to stall the sultan with a series of fantastic stories to ease the tension and stall her impending execution.

In the Lamp key to master storytelling is the art of folding. That includes all sorts of techniques of overlapping narrative, spanning from overarching metaphor to stories within stories. It is an ancient technique, as old as any story we know. It is especially present...


Published May 1, 2023
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Gladiator (2000)
What we do in life echoes in eternity.
Filmmaker(s): Ridley Scott

After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, his devious son takes power and demotes Maximus, one of Rome's most capable generals who Marcus preferred. Eventually, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and battle to the death against other men for the amusement of paying audiences.

The Illusionist and the Ventriloquist things about this film intrigue me: the novel integrated talents of Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe. We are creatures who depend on idea fragments in everything we do. Virtually everything is a rehash, sometimes creative but mostly not. When someone or...


Published November 30, 2024
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Go (1999)
Life begins at 3am.
Filmmaker(s): Doug Liman

Grocery store clerk Simon occasionally sells drugs from his cash register at work, so when soap opera actors Adam and Zack come looking for Ecstasy on a quiet Christmas Eve, they are surprised to find Ronna covering his shift. Desperate for money, Ronna decides to become an impromptu drug dealer, unaware that Adam and Zack are secretly working for obsessed narcotics officer Burke.

Unbearable Lightness of Going and commentors have beaten to death the Pulp Fiction' comparisons. Yes, this has parallel stories, time folding (but not the time shuffling of Pulp'), black and white shuffling, guns drugs and ironic violence, diner scenes and a hip perspective. But to...


Published May 13, 2022
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Audition (1999)
She always gets a part.
Filmmaker(s): Takashi Miike

Seven years after the death of his wife, widower Shigeharu seeks advice on how to find a new wife from a colleague. Taking advantage of their position as a film company, they stage an audition. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu is enchanted by the quiet Asami. But soon things take a twisted turn as Asami isn’t what she seems to be.

Simple Folding of a Love Story forget that ‘Casablanca’ was a B-movie, made quickly and cheaply. Its success depended on its unimportance -- several modern trends were being followed by the various artists involved and they had the freedom to go a little further...


Published October 26, 2022
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Archangel (1990)
A Tragedy of the Great War
Filmmaker(s): Guy Maddin

At the height of the October Revolution during the 1919 allied intervention in Arkhangelsk, the exploits of one-legged Canadian soldier Lt. John Boles are told, after he is taken in from the cold by a dysfunctional Russian family and mistakes a local woman for his presumed dead lover.

Eisenstein’s Smooth Stones of Forgetfulness only know a few of Maddin’s projects. This seems to be the earliest available. I’m really beginning a deep appreciation of this man’s visual soul. While this project didn’t change my life, it demonstrated the power to do so, like a...


Published May 16, 2023
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Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill (1999 Video)
Filmmaker(s): François Bouvier

Dress To Kill is the title of a performance by Eddie Izzard, and is a continuation of the British comedian's surrealist, ideas-based comedy. The VHS was recorded during a performance in San Francisco, California, United States. However, the tour was a global one. During this tour Izzard also wrote the book Dress to Kill with David Quantick, which was published by Virgin Books in hardback in 1998 and in paperback in 2000. Izzard's humour includes observations on the American concept of history, beginning with his throwaway line "I grew up in Europe, where the history comes from" and continuing through diversions about the belief that all Europeans live in castles and the attitude of Americans toward historical landmarks. Additionally, Izzard takes time to explain his background as an executive transvestite and how it affected his desire to join the military. This is explained through a proposal for the Army's "first battalion transvestite brigade...with fantastic makeup and a fantastic gun." The centerpiece of the performance is a retelling of British history from Stonehenge through to the Reformation. This is done with Izzard adopting a very Italian accent to signify the Pope talking to Henry VIII and explaining that he can't marry as many wives as he wants to. This is set against the backdrop of Martin Luther pinning his 95 Theses on the door of Wittenberg Cathedral, a paper that reads "Eine Minuten bitte. Ich habe einen kleinen Problemo avec diese Religione." "He was from everywhere," explains Izzard to great cheers from the audience. Similar to his use of Sean Connery as the voice of Henry VIII, he uses the voice of James Mason as the voice of God.

Mr Stevens a break from long form narrative, I have been watching a lot of films of standup comics. It is one of the most puzzling things I have done recently. Nothing tells you more in a short time about someone than what they find...


Published February 19, 2024
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The Girl on the Bridge (1999)
Filmmaker(s): Patrice Leconte

It's night on a Paris bridge. A girl leans over Seine River with tears in her eyes and a violent yearning to drown her sorrows. Out of nowhere someone takes an interest in her. He is Gabor, a knife thrower who needs a human target for his show. The girl, Adele, has never been lucky and nowhere else to go. So she follows him. They travel along the northern bank of the Mediterranean to perform.

On and Off main character here is played by a young woman who we discover in an extraordinary opening sequence, an interview placed outside of the film proper, where we learn her character and her way of carrying it. This scene is memorable, because of...


Published February 22, 2024
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The Limey (1999)
Tell them I'm coming
Filmmaker(s): Steven Soderbergh

The Limey follows Wilson, a tough English ex-con who travels to Los Angeles to avenge his daughter's death. Upon arrival, Wilson goes to task battling Valentine and an army of L.A.'s toughest criminals, hoping to find clues and piece together what happened. After surviving a near-death beating, getting thrown from a building and being chased down a dangerous mountain road, the Englishman decides to dole out some bodily harm of his own.

Proustian Out and Back deserves respect, as much for his failures (‘Brokovich,’’Traffic') as his successes (this, ‘Sight,’’Videotape'). When he experiments, it is with simultaneous layers of different kinds involving the eye, the mind, time, remembrance. Here he works on small, intimate layers, small visions of the...


Published December 9, 2024
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