Re-cap-ola

I thought I would jump on the list-journalism band-wagon that rolls around the world at this time of year and offer a list of films that have left a big impression on me in 2011.  In no particular order (of course)...

Mr. Thank You - Hiroshi Shimizu

God's Country - Louis Malle

Wagon Master - John Ford

Xiao Wu - Jia Zhang-ke

Werckmeister Harmonies - Bela Tarr

The Green Ray - Eric Rohmer

The Last Holiday - Henry Cass

Uncle Boonmee who can Recall his Past Lives - Apichatpong Weerasthakul

Through the Olive Trees - Abbas Kiarostami

In Vanda's Room - Pedro Costa

Notre Musique - Jean-Luc Godard

The Seahorse - Jean Painleve

The Hole - Tsai Ming-Liang

The Human Condition - Masaki Kobayashi

I'd love to hear some titles from all of you.

Hazy Malaisie

Hou

Flowers of Shanghai

After watching Flowers of Shanghai this week, I've been thinking a lot about Hou Hsiao-Hsien.  The first film of his that I saw was Cafe Lumiere, which is sort of a tribute to Ozu, and I've slowly grown more and more interested and become more and more impressed.  Initially I liked the way that he dealt with time and pace, but it took a long time for me to get comfortable with it.  They aren't movies that you rave about, they are movies that you want to spend time with.  I'm not sure it is about 'getting' them, as much as just getting in touch with what you are actually seeing and hearing, maybe finding your spot in the scene or waiting for something in you to be triggered.

Millenium Mambo

To me what is special about his films is the way that it feels like you are experiencing it yourself, but with some indefinable extra sense.  Sometimes you aren't even sure that a scene or a film showed you anything significant at all, but then it pops up in your mind days or weeks later and won't go away.  I wish I could find a clip that would do some justice to what I'm trying to talk about, but maybe my lack of success in finding one is all too appropriate for this post.  So here are some stills instead.

Cafe Lumiere

Goodbye South, Goodbye

In limbo

Jean Painleve

I've been studying Painleve for an assignment lately, he is one of those individuals who seemed to take on all of life at the same time and somehow make it work.  He was into everything, always on the periphery of important political, scientific, and cinematic projects.  He was very close friends with Jean Vigo and Eisenstein.  Founded the worlds first diving club.  Filmed the liberation of Paris from the street level.  Managed to disgust Luis Bunuel with footage from eye surgery.  Had a penchant for auto racing.  Escaped from the nazi occupation with diving equipment that he made himself.  And most importantly made a huge number of glorious nature films.

The Seahorse

Scratch

I love this...

It's a little bit earth-shattering to actually see the atmosphere that some important recordings were born in.

Off the hook

Last week during a discussion about Altman's Nashville, a professor said that the character Haven Hamilton looked at his audience as if he was putting them under surveillance.  I liked how he used that word 'surveillance.'  There is something really interesting to me about seeing someone intently watch a group of people that is watching them, I'm always dying to know what is going through their minds.  Are they thinking about what it's like to be there at that moment performing, wondering if this performance is special while they are still in the middle of it?  Are they trying to read the crowd's temperament and respond to it accordingly?  Or maybe they feel totally present and aware of the moment and they just want to take it in.

No matter what is going on, there is something enticing about this kind of stage presence.  I tried to think back to places that I've seen it before.  I remember a few times in person, but most intensely I remembered this Rolling Stones footage...

And here is the Haven Hamilton number...in all it's glory.  The song begins around the 1:20 mark of the clip, but if you haven't yet seen Nashville, I insist that you do so at your earliest convenience.