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Goltzius & The Pelican Company - Peter Greenaway
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 914
2012, classic Greenaway. From "https://www.lespressesdureel.com/EN/ouvrage.php?id=4184&menu=4"
In the winter of 1590, Duch printer Goltzius seduces the Margrave of Alsace into paying for a printing press to make and publish illustrated books. Goltzius promises him an extraordinary book of pictures of the Old Testament Biblical stories. Erotic tales of Lot and his daughters, David and Bathsheba, Samson and Delilah and John the Baptist and Salome,stories in which themes of incest, adultery, female entrapment and necrophilia abound. Margrave's court is completely seduced by Goltzius' titillating storytelling, and swiftly sinks into a pit of lechery and religious politics, until the court is forced to buy its way out, and Goltzius can begin his ambitious endeavor.
Greenaway always brilliant, but this was not to my taste - probably me more than the film. And Greenaway's films do demand a larger screen.
To see what else he's been up to (a surprising amount, really, just not all film) read the wiki on him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Greenaway
The Villainess - 2017, Jung Byung-gil, Korea
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 757
More kills in the first six minutes than the entire John Wick Trilogy. Amazing choreography (The first 6 minutes - shot as if it were from the POV of a first-person shooter game - amazing.)
The plot, a little convoluted, and I have a hard time believing that any country, let alone "gang" could reproduce as fast as the kills keep coming. Although - I'd warn you, the Korean films are substantially more graphic / bloody than their American counterparts. Amazing choreography & stunts.
Absolutely no meaning whatsoever. 5 Stars.
Imaginary Lives - Marcel Schwob
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Books
- Hits: 1049
How have I not discovered him sooner?
This is great, reminiscent of Calvino or Borges, somehow perfectly suited to my current tastes and mood. I will have to discover more books by him.
Psychomagic - Alejandro Jodorowsky
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 788
Nope. Nope, nope, nope.
I found this while searching my forgotten "Watch Later" list on YouTube, downloaded it.
I like Alejandro Jodorowski. His films are brilliant. And I'm reading his book "The Way of Tarot" and so far his interpretation is excellent.
So I was looking forward to this.
But no.
Half an hour in, when the Australian Serial killer in Paris began smashing pumpkins with his parents/sibling effigies on top, I gave up. I mean, there's nothing new here. He's reenacting scenes from his movies in the guise of "pop-psychology", or an alternative to psycho-analysis, but this has been done. Rebirthing, etc, etc, there are a hundred alternative therapies that are the same as his, offering clients/patients the opportunities to live out alternative scenarios to their upbringing, their childhood, their relationships, to help them realize who they are. And so this - despite his enthusiasm and bullshit - is nothing new. And watching these people - like yourself, like me, but with more trauma, more shit - "regain" their lives - it's just painful, voyeurism, obscene even, I wish them well, all the best, but - given the short intervals between follow-ups, I'm hesitant to class them as "successful" or even "therapeutic". Maybe. We hope so. But - all these nouveau treatments can be found under a hundred other umbrellas, and so I'm giving this a miss.
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