Film & Philosophy

“Film has become such an integral ingredient in our motley recipe of mass art and pop culture entertainment that we often overlook its potential for stimulating serious reflection and speculation. The visual immediacy of cinematic art appeals to our receptive curiosity in the same way that paintings and natural landscapes often captivate our perceptual and emotional attention. However, our intellectual engagement with film has been minimized more and more with the proliferation of movies that cater simply to the passive sensory networks of spectacle-obsessed viewers rather than to the active reflection of thoughtful inquirers.”

- Kevin L Stoehr

TOP 5 | Films of September

Intouchables

Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano | 2011 | 112 min | Col | France | Biography, Comedy, Drama

This is one of the best films I've seen in a long time, and as a box office phenomenon in France, apparently the french thought so too.  It's a moving story of a superrich quadriplegic (Francois Cluzet) that hires a brash French Senegalese hustler from the projects (Omar Sy) as his new carer.  He was warned by a friend not to do this, that "these street guys have no pity," but he replies, "That’s what I want. No pity." The film shows their friendship that develops, as they both glimpse into each others worlds, and the story generally follows the conventional Hollywood "buddy love film" template with great flare.

Opening scene.  Big fan.  I think it's the best opening scene I've ever seen in a movie.  Could that be true?  Really?  I'm racking my brains - hmmm, well I do love the beginning of the Royal Tenenbaums, okay, and there is A Clockwork Orange, and Manhattan, of course Once Upon a Time in the West, Patton...... but rather than being visually dynamic or moving, this scene is just downright funny.  Instantly entertaining.  I felt completely engaged with the characters. And now as I type this I have Earth, Wind and Fire's 'September' in my head!

Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson | 2012 | 94 m | Col | USA | Comedy, Drama, Romance

I was very excited to see this film - Wes Anderson being one of my favourite directors.  Probably not my favourite, but definitely worth watching - it's romantic, nostalgic, quaint.  The film follows the adventure of two young lovers in 1965, that run away from home together.  Various authorities join forces to apprehend the young lovers, as a violent storm is brewing off-shore.  It triggers my own fond memories from childhood - whole days explorations in the bush, or on the beach, and seeing life as a great expedition, and also some not-so-warm memories: feelings of isolation and seclusion, and realising that adults are not quite as smart and perfect as you once thought.  This re-evaluation of 'the world of adults' is visualised beautifully through the unforgiving perspective of Suzi's binoculars.  Of course, the film also boasts Wes' trademark warm colours, immaculate symmetry, distinctive characters, and whimsical humour.

The film opens as 12-year-old Suzy (Kara Hayward) and her siblings listen to Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra - this music of midcentury classical composer Benjamin Britten is the central motif of the film.  And just as the Young Person’s Guide reveals the interplay between differing musical instruments, so too do the broad array characters of the film, to create this symphony of a film.  I would have liked it if they took it a step further, and actually identified each character with an instrument or variation, (Peter and the Wolf style) - or perhaps they did and I just didn't notice?


Barcelona

Whit Stillman | 1994 | 101 m | Col | USA, Spain | Comedy, Drama

I saw this film probably 10 years ago, and it was a pleasure to watch again now, having grown up a bit, and having actually been to Barcelona.  I love this style of film.  This style of dialogue.  These characters.  It's an urban comedy of manners, set at the tail-end of the Cold War when there was rising anti-American sentiment in Barcelona.  The film's protagonist is Ted (Taylor Nichols), an American salesman, is visited out-of-the-blue by his cousin, Fred (Chris Eigeman).  I love Fred.  He is what makes this film so interesting.  He has no loyalty to his cousin, or when he tries to, it's much to Ted's detriment.  He's acidic and dry, a textbook "vulgar American" that saunters around in his army uniform, impervious to the constant taunts of "Fascist!"  It's a brilliant commentary on cultural identity and perception.  I wish I made this film.


Das Leben der Anderen - "The Lives of Others" 

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
2006 | 137 m | Col | Germany | Drama, Thriller | TSPDT C21st #36

"In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives" - IMDb.

I have been meaning to watch this film for so long and I'm glad I finally did.  Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck - I gotta say, what a name!  This film made me realize that I've watched so many other films located behind the iron curtain, but never any located in Berlin itself.  It reminds me slightly Coppola's 'The Conversation', the voyeurism, and the transformation that can take over people as they observe a subject for extended periods.  The character arc of the protagonist is most enchanting - so moving I feel it in my chest.  I don't want to give to much away, but as Jeffrey Overstreet said: "The Lives of Others illustrates, with only a dash of sentimentality, the truth that integrity leads to vulnerability and sacrifice."  This is one of my favourite messages of all.

Bernie

Richard Linklater | 2011 |  104 m | Col | USA | Comedy, Drama

If you didn't see this with me, you're lucky.  I roared with unrestrained laughter during this film - probably much to the chagrin of the more restrained Danes sitting around me.  And my boyfriend.  Poor thing.  I honestly couldn't help it - Jack Black just cracks me up.  He is so fucking funny.  He lifts an eyebrow and I laugh.  I admit, I'm completely ridiculous when it comes to this.  He's the theatrical version of that situation where you start laughing even before a person begins to tickle you.

But it wasn't just Jack Black that made this film worth watching.  The film concerns locals from East Texas, in fascinating detail.  Indeed, it celebrates American small-town life, showing it as rich, warm and complexly layered.  The film also deals with how one can justify a crime when one holds a sturdy moral code.  I had so much fun watching this film, and definitely recommend it to all.  I'm so happy that Cinemateket offered this to members as the free film of the month, otherwise I think I would have missed it!

Here's a funny segment from the film, where a Carthage, TX resident describes the '5 States' of Texas...

Honourable mentions:

• Dead Man
• Coffee and Cigarettes
• Stranger Than Paradise
• Limits of Control (although probably not worth mentioning, it tested the limits of my control for sure)
• In The Name of the Father
• My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown
• Rachel Getting Married
• Beau Travail
• Dancer in the Dark
• Shaun of the Dead
• Religulous
• Bernie
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
• The Wicker Man

TOP 5 | Films of August

Tiny Furniture

Lena Dunham | 2010 | 98 m | Col | USA | Comedy, Drama

It depicts ordinary urban life so well - that's why so many people (me included) can relate to it.  But I did find it hard to warm up to the protagonist in some ways, as she allowed so many of her love interests to walk all over her.  She also complains a lot, but eventually I thought this was more funny than annoying: "Aura would like you to know that she's having a very hard time."

I was inspired to watch this after watching finishing the first season of Girls, written and directed by Lena Dunham.  My friend Chelsea recommended that I watch girls, and also read this article from the New Yorker, which she said "discusses how some of the greatest romances in life/ relationships in life are friendships between women - and how little they are captured accurately in the arts."


Hable con ella (Talk to Her)

Pedro Almodóvar | 2002 | 112 m | Col | Spain |  Comedy, Drama | TSPDT C21st #10

Natural acting.  Heartfelt performances.  Dynamic pacing.  It's the story of two men that share an odd friendship while they care for their girlfriends who are both in deep comas. The protagonist was loveable, and expressed himself in such a 'normal' fashion, but the thing he actually did were completely mad.  The plot rolls on in a pretty incredulous fashion, but it's believable somehow.  The futura chapter markers that pressed forward reminded me of a Wes Anderson film, but I dare say the influence was from Almodóvar.

Johnny Guitar

Nicholas Ray | 1954 | 110 m | Col | USA | Western | TSPDT #210

This month was Nicholas Ray month at the Danish Cinemateket.  I only saw The Live By Night, and Johnny Guitar (I skipped Rebel Without a Cause because I've already seen it on the big screen twice, and reviewed it here).

It was beautiful to watch this classic on the big screen - my jaw actually dropped for the first five minutes because the picture and colours of the western landscape were so dazzling.  It felt completely immersed in what felt like a three-dimensional space.

I love a "hidden identity" in a film, and Johnny provides this, as he is in fact Johnny Logan,  one of the fastest to draw the gun in the West.  I loved watching the characters reaction to him change as they gradually found out the truth.

Joan Crawford plays Vienna: owner of a saloon with a shady past, who's calmed by the clinking sound of the spinning roulette table: "Spin the wheel, Eddie!"  She is kind to her employees, graceful as a ballerina, yet ballsy as hell when faced with her enemies.  When enraged, her thick eyebrows and prominent lips generate more fear than the guns she wields.

One couldn't help by be thoroughly impressed with the costumes - as the villains wear funeral clothes for the second half of the film, contrasting so brilliantly in the landscape.  And look out for the dazzling white frock that Joan wears as she tries to express her innocence.  Unfortunately, pulp culture has tainted my perception of Joan Crawford's yellow and red number at the end of the film, I think she looks like Ronald McDonald.  Isn't that silly?  Otherwise I think I'd love it.

Emma, played by Mercedes McCambridge, stands out as one of the meanest, bitchiest villains I have seen on the silver screen.  I really do hate her.  I still do.  She's a nasty, nasty, mean, mean bitch.  This, combined with Joan Crawford's formidable stature leads one of the most memorable showdowns between the two women.  Although the film is named after Johnny, the women of this film hog the limelight.  Vienna says earlier in the film: "A man can lie, steal... and even kill. But as long as he hangs on to his pride, he's still a man. All a woman has to do is slip - once. And she's a "tramp!" Must be a great comfort to you to be a man."

The script was beautifully written - so many one liners and quiet but powerful reflections on life.  This is probably the reason I look forward to watching this film again in future.

Terms of Endearment

James L. Brooks | 1983 | 132 m | Col | USA | Romance, Comedy, Drama

Terms of Endearment is a film that follows the relationship between a mother and daughter, both strong-willed and marching to different drums.  It is a classic tear-jerker.

Debra Winger plays the daughter, Emma, and boy is she an incredibly talented actor.  I hadn't seen her in many films before, although I now realise she was a big name in the 80s and 90s.  She also starred in Shadowlands, a biographical film on C. S. Lewis which I saw this month.

Shirley MacLaine plays the barking mad mother Aurora.  I love seeing how the mother's criticisms  just bounce off her daughter.  This really stayed with me:

Aurora: I just don't want to fight anymore.
Emma: What do you mean? When do we fight?
Aurora: WHEN do we FIGHT? I always think of us as fighting!
Emma: That's because you're never satisfied with me.

Emma's best friend Patsy (Lisa Hart Carroll) plays a wonderfully dedicated friend in the film.  Aurora's lover is played by Jack Nicholson, an ex-astronaut, with Jack's usual drawl that suits his character to a tee.  His character arc is surprising uplifting, given he is generally such an cad for most of the film.

The film is mainly dialogue based, and reminded me a little of 'Love Story'.  Given that the film stretches over a couple of decades, it made me reflect on my own life and the decisions we all make.  I would definitely enjoy watching this film again - I'm inspired mostly by the dialogue and acting.

Elizabeth: the Golden Age

Shekhar Kapur | 2007 | 114 m | Col | UK | Biography, Drama, History

I thought the cinematography was incredible, so much so I couldn't help but take constant screen shots on my computer.  I loved the high angle shots, and Queen Elizabeth's bright costumes that contrasted so much with her surroundings.  I wasn't as thrilled with the script as the last film.  And I think that the closing notes of the film were a little misleading: from memory I don't think that the rest of her time on the thrown was smooth sailing like the text purports.  Cate Blanchett was enchanting as always, she really makes acting look so simple.

           

Honorable mentions:

• Ratatouille
• The Right Stuff
• Klovn: The Movie
• Hugo
• Tonari no Totoro
• The Live by Night
• Brutility in the Stone (short)
• Philadelphia
• Shadowlands
• Validation (short)

Film | That moonglow

“The Glow and the Gloom” showcases the most stunning garments of S/S 2011. It combines elements of performance, music and light design. A suggested narrative creates a loose structure around our heroine within a sinister yet beautiful world. Guided by a never revealed power, our heroine moves around her surroundings, revealing a dark and brooding world.

I think this is the best lighting design I've ever seen in a film. It was inspired by Henri-Georges Clouzot's unfinished film L'enfer, starring Romy Schneider (below).

Film | Hell and Back Again

Unless you have a personal connection, the war in Afghanistan is an abstraction. After nearly ten years since the initial invasion, the daily bombings and ongoing violence has become mundane, almost ordinary. It is tempting to become indifferent to the horror and pain. It is much easier to look away from the victims. It is much easier to lead a life without rude interruptions from complex insurgencies in distant lands. But it is when we take this easier path, the suffering becomes of no consequence and therefore meaningless. The anguish becomes invisible, an abstraction. It is when society becomes numb to inhumanity; horror is allowed to spread in darkness.

- Hell and Back Again

Scary.

Film | Isle of Flowers

I just realised that I haven't put my favourite short film of all time on this blog, enjoy!

Photographers in Film

   BLOW UP   

   CITY OF GOD   

   CLOSER   

   EYES OF LAURA MARS   

   FUNNY FACE   

   BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY   

   HARD CANDY   

via FashionIndie

The Talented Mr Ripley

I'm going through a two-fold obsession with The Talented Mr Ripley - the fashion, and the premise.

Tom Ripley, like many of Highsmith's characters, is a very credible sociopath, coldly capable of disposing of anybody who gets too close to his secrets. It is easy for him to kill, and the fact that he does so while living the haut-bourgeois life in an elegant French house adds to the fascination we have for him.

Of course we know that it all started with the murder of Dickie Greenleaf, and as we see his life unfold over the series of novels, we may cherish hopes that sooner or later Ripley's criminal past will catch up with him. But it does not, and after several novels I suspect that many readers are actually unwilling for that to happen. Why? Because we are fond of Ripley? That is hardly likely -- Tom Ripley may be charming and urbane, but he is not really very likeable.

Perhaps we merely want his story to continue because we are enjoying it so much. If Ripley had been arrested, or disposed of by somebody he had crossed, then that would have been the end of the series, and that would have been a disappointment. As it happened, Ripley survived his creator, and is still presumably living in Belle Ombre, his house in France, awaiting some author to approach the Highsmith estate with a request to continue to record his dubious doings.

-- from The Wall Street Journal

Short film | L'homme qui plantait des arbres

Exquisite. "The Man Who Planted Trees".  By many considered to be the best short film of all time.  If you have a spare 30 minutes this week I encourage you to watch this, it's in four parts:

Film | Cracks

Not sure of the release date in Australia yet, but I'm really excited to see this film: Cracks.  It stars Eva Green and was produced by Christine Vachon.

Looks to be a hybrid of Heavenly Creatures and Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Another film cliché

Auto Death Knell
If a character dies in a car crash, he will do so in a way that causes the horn to blare continuously.

Automatic Customer Bell
All establishing shots of small town Main Streets are inevitably accompanied by the sound of a bell ringing as a customer opens a door.

Awake and Ready to Scare
When a character touches another to check whether theyre sleeping or dead, the immobile person inevitably wakes up and grabs him in tune with a strong musical note.

Bartlett's Law
Whenever one character recites a quote from memory to another, the second person already knows it, and tells him or her the origin. If it is from the Bible, the second person always knows which chapter and verse.

Doing Radio
A characters lines describe what we can see happening on the screen. Critic Rich Elias tags an all-time classic when he observes that Jack, in "Titanic," says, "Lets get out of here! This place is flooded!"

Ali MacGraw's Disease

Movie illness in which the only symptom is that the sufferer grows more beautiful as death approaches. (This disease claimed many screen victims, often including Greta Garbo.)

Music | This time tomorrow

From the film 'Les Amants Reguliers' (Regular Lovers) by Philippe Garrel: This Time Tomorrow by The Kinks. This song was also in Wes Anderson's 'The Darjeeling Limited'.

If you have time to do one thing today, watch this: