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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
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Now, going through youTube recommended lists of "Films that you should see that nobody else has". A must-see list of undiscovered masterpieces. Sitting in a hotel in Kelowna, waiting for the dentist the next day, and so I watch.
The weather, cool, rainy, outside cloudy and grey, the drive - autumn colours and the immanence of winter, all made for the perfect viewing conditions.
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This, a black and white film, filmed in 1990 but set (?? Maybe the 40's, 50's ??) - about a detective on the trail of a serial killer, pedophile who's' murdering children in rural Hungary. It's atmospheric as hell, long takes of the forest, autumn, when panned overhead the trees have their leaves, when filmed on the ground the trees are all bare.
The dialogue, sparse, the soundtrack - haunting and familiar - Kate Bush is listed on the credits, but - I've heard this music before, only where...
The plot, about how when evil, in human form, comes among us how ill prepared we are to recognize or deal with it. Phrases like “Sociopath” or “Pychopath” or “Narcissist” hide it, give it an air of psychological legitimacy…to what most of us must be unknowable and unimaginable. Claustrophobic, haunting, disquieting, a morally grey landscape in which it's always cold and raining, in which the detective is always searching, not only outwards but in himself, in which...well, a few things. That rare combination of a film that makes you think as well as feel (perhaps more the latter.) I'll note this is not a happy or cheerful film, so, perfectly paired for the weather but probably not for everyone.
Link: https://rarefilmm.com/2017/12/szurkulet-1990/
Note, this version is unrestored, so poor resolution and a crackle in the audio. If anything to me it lends it that air of veracity. There are other versions that have been cleaned up and restored, to me it made no difference.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 241
This, a peculiar Polish masterpiece from 1973. Based upon Bruno Shulz's "Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass.", which I'm not sure I have or haven't read; but the story revolves loosely around a man going to visit his father in a Sanatorium where the ordinary rules of time don't apply. Fantastical sets, Art-Nouveau in ruins, covered in spiderwebs and dust, the halls of memory, tied up trunks and bureaus, a graveyard with ravening wolves, examination rooms in surreal decay, inexplicable incidents...it becomes a parable of memory, the pretext of visiting his father leads him to relive and reexamine various stages of his life, the aesthetic alone makes it worth the watch, the opening train ride (a conductor leading any number of lost souls), the crowds of people - active or silent, frozen in time, it reminds you of a live action version of The Quay Brothers "Street of Crocodiles" (also by Bruno Schulz), or a darker, more surreal Jodorowski; rooms (memories) are entered, left, and then sealed behind, doors opening up to surreal tableaux, his father surrounded by bare-breasted flappers and prostitutes digressing upon Steak and Mushrooms, the stuff of indigestion and bad dreams...
A surreal masterpiece. You can read the wiki here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hourglass_Sanatorium
or watch it on YouTube here (for free!!!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8nHhstKtEA
Note: The YouTube version is low res and the colours are so-so. This could benefit from a restoration.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 221
Pretty sure I reviewed this before, only I can't seem to find it...
Anyways, I watched this again. And I remembered most of it, forgot some of it, but I was as impressed as when I saw it the first time.
He's absolutely brilliant. And - I love the fusion of magic & stagecraft, of a narrative built around special and practical effects, I love how there's really only him on stage, maybe a sound and a lighting guy, and certainly a few backstage helpers, but he delivers.
It's theme is on identity, and the emotional resonances he strikes with the audience, well, there were a few times when I was wiping a tear from my eye. This I would have flown to New York to see. And consider his audience included Bill Gates, Jon Lovett, David Blaine, Marina Abramović, Susan Sarandon, etc, etc.
You can download it, or find it somewhere to watch online. Please do, you won't be disappointed.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 210
So finished up the Binge watch on this. Better than expected, some original interpretations and an appropriate amount of justifiable confusion.
Good, in the sense that I'm looking at old material through new eyes, good in that I suspect it might be somewhat a satire on the current state of affairs, with the Gods of Olympus replaced by tech bros Bezos, Musk & Zuckerberg (or not?) - it's openness to interpretation is a strength, not a weakness. The tragedy/comedy of Gods in our own image, played out upon the screen, a subject I'm surprised Yorgos Lanthimos didn't undertake - although if he should choose to I would definitely watch.
I was surprised that Eurydice didn't love Orpheus, it had occurred to me, a long time ago, and then again I had dismissed it as inconceivable, in that same voice from "The Princess Bride", and then again and perhaps it is true?
And while I have my own interpretations that is not what I'm getting, and being challenged is always a good thing.
So, very good, curious, interesting, a surprise as far as Netflix goes...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 189
This, a new series that contemporizes Greek Mythology (sets it in a current-day parallel universe), starring Jeff Goldblum as Zeus and narrated by Prometheus (Stephen Dillane).
Amusing, very well done, not the "10 Stars" the reviews have been giving it - It kind of is impossible to contemporize ancient beliefs and Gods, but it presents it in a way that is probably more accessible to a less classical audience.
AN episode and a half in, I'm not sure I'll stick out the whole series but we'll see.