June Film Journal
Shansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954)
Mrs. Miniver (William Wyler, 1942)
The Young Girls of Rochefort (Jacques Demy and Agnès Varda, 1967)
The Cranes Are Flying* (Mikheil Kalatozishvili, 1957)
Vanilla Sky (Cameron Crowe, 2001)
Can't You Hear the Wind Howl?: The Life & Music of Robert Johnson (Peter Meyer, 1998)
The Spirit of the Beehive* (Víctor Erice, 1973)
Shopgirl (Anand Tucker, 2005)
Bedazzled (Stanley Donen, 1967)
Sherman's March: A Mediation to the Possibility of Romantic Love in the South During an Era of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation (Ross McElwee, 1986)
Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985)
La Jetée* (Chris Marker, 1962)
Goodfellas* (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
*repeat viewing
Labels: film journal (2007)
posted by Diane @ 8:45 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
Diane, did you have any particular responses to any of these movies? Of them I've only seen Beehive and Custer's March, but I saw them in college when I was stupid so it doesn't count.
You're the second person in the past couple of weeks to mention Young Girls of Rochefort to me.
I saw it during it's theatrical re-release in the mid-to-late 1990s, and found it delightful, if slight.
I trust you've seen "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg"?
Any titles in particular that you're interested in, Aaron? The only one I saw all month that made me feel as if I'd totally wasted my time was Vanilla Sky, though I wouldn't rush to strongly recommend Shopgirl. Many of these films are excellent.
Christian, yes, I have seen Umbrellas. It's my favorite Demy so far--a great and moving film that I need to see again before long. Are there other Demy films you especially like? I've not seen many but will certainly watch more.
I'll be away for several days, and I need to wrap up some stuff here before I go, hence the rushed post. I'll try to post more next week.
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Since I commented you've added Goodfellas and la Jetee, both of which I've certainly seen. They're both examples of good films which rely heavily on voiceover narration; I can't think of too many others, Casino, Last Year at Marienbad and Two or Three Things I Know About Her aside.
I don't have questions about any film in particular. Just wondered which you liked. Of my recent viewing I've enjoyed Lovers of the Arctic Circle, a virtuoso bit of Hollywood-style romance with an artsy prankishness, and The Man Who Fell To Earth, but I have so little time for movies lately...
I'm back, and I'm planning to come back to this with more comments, but I have Demy's Donkey Skin on the way from Netflix now.
Also working on another film-related post.
And that new post will have to go up sometime early next week (hopefully).
In the meantime, Stef, are you going to show your face around here again? Just because you went and got yourself in the Danielson film, don't go thinking you're too good for this place. ;) Seriously, how fun is that? I will look for you when I rewatch the film, but you must tell me when.
15:26-15:29.
That's me on the bottom right. Short guy, blonde, I smile and look at the camera and then back to the stage.
Hilarious. But why couldn't it have been Brother Daniel found on a documentary of one of my rockin' 90s gigs? :)
Terrific, Stef. So I saw you on the big screen and had no idea. Was this at Cornerstone?
OK, I'll say a few words about some of these.
If you're looking for tragedy, Sansho the Bailiff is a very worthy viewing. It's incredibly sad but quite lovely, and the ending is very touching and transcendent. And amidst all the horror and loss, there's quite a bit of inspiration--a push toward the good and noble.
I've been a big fan of The Cranes Are Flying since I first saw it last year. My reaction wasn't quite as strong this time (one overly dramatic scene in particular grated even more), but the cinematography was still stunning and I still loved the two leads. And the ending really got to me.
Sherman's March was very good in that "can't-make-this-up" kind of way. (See the moment when McElwee's crush, the girl who wants to be an actress, tells him the very elaborate plot she's come up with for a film.) And then there's the added bonus of Charleen Swansea, who's in so many of McElwee's films and is quite the character. But this film isn't only funny--it's painful, awkward, and poignant at times.
One quick thing about The Young Girls of Rochefort: Why am I just now discovering that Francoise Dorléac was Catherine Deneuve's sister? I'd heard Deneuve had an older sister who died at 25, but I had no idea that was her in Young Girls. Guess I am the last to know.
Nope, I had no idea about the sisterly connection. So it is I, not thou, who art the last to know.
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