A ticket for one please

I just got back from seeing an incredible play called Midsummer and I went alone. 

The first time I ventured out alone in one of my cultural excursions (as my pretentious alter-ego would call it) it was at an art gallery. Then I started going to movies by myself, then to plays, writer's festivals, reading alone at coffee shops and so on. I have to admit at first it was kind of weird but then I just got used to it and now I actually prefer going to these things by myself. 

I like not having to worry about scheduling and then having that constant worry during the thing whether or not the other person is enjoying themselves. Plus, I get to choose when to go, where to sit and what to watch. Sometimes my friends (or mum) would insist on seeing the Katherine Heigl romcom when all I want to watch is the three hour french film. I'm not a very convincing person either (after a couple of minutes you'll get used to the subtitles you won't even know it's there, trust me). 

I made the mistake of introducing arthouse cinema to my friends by bringing them to a screening of a Michael Haneke film. Let's just say I don't think they trust my film choices anymore. I loved the film though. They, on the other hand, were traumatised by it.

I draw a line though. If it's a horror, or a big popcorn blockbuster I always go with others. Some things are still more enjoyable when you're with other people. I can't imagine seeing Paranormal Activity by myself. Who would I hold on to when I get frightened? Don't laugh. Then there are films like My Sister's Keeper in which I know I'm going to cry. And I did. And not just a single tear kind of cry or a mere sniffle, but the full waterworks. Bawling your eyes out alone in a movie theatre is just sad, and not in a good way. Plus, it's hilarious talking about it afterwards. I've never been to a concert or a music festival by myself primarily because I get drunk going to these things and I can't get wasted without my friends. It's just not fun.

Apart from that I much prefer going alone. If it's arts-fartsy, foreign, subtitled or if it's something I know none of the people I know are going to be interested in, I'm definitely just booking for one. It's actually quite fun and liberating and you end up meeting and chatting with random strangers which I normally wouldn't do if I was with other people. As much as I love my friends and family sometimes you just gotta do things solo. Try it if you haven't already.

Image edited. Original from here.

The best films of 2011

I'm two months late in compiling my favourite films of 2011 but because most films are released in Australia very late, I needed the time to get to see them first.

 I don't like arranging these in order of preference because I love them all the same so I'm just going to list them alphabetically. Without further ado here are my top ten favourite films released in 2011 (according to their American release):

Less than half of these got nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. How War Horse and Extremely Loud got nominated is beyond me. I think the Academy needs to do a yearly audit of its members and dismiss those with poor film taste. 

The Academy also needs to have the balls to recognise young, fresh talent and not just nominate the same people every single year. I'm still trying to figure out why Elizabeth Olsen wasn't nominated for Martha Marcy May Marlene or why Drive was snubbed. I feel really bad for Ryan Gosling too. He had two fantastic roles this year and he wasn't nominated for any. Let's not forget about Michael Fassbender. Argh! I could go on forever. I'm just going to stop right here.

Honourable Mentions:

Tyrannosaurus

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The Descendants

Hugo

Bill Cunningham New York

Contagion

Certified Copy

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

Trollhunter

Jane Eyre

Haven't seen but probably would have made it on the list:

A Separation

Take Shelter

Moneyball

Shame

A Dangerous Method

Young Adult

Le Havre

Incendies

Another Earth

All images are screenshots from trailers or posters.

200 Movies // One to Ten

No. 1 // The Iron Lady

Dir. Phyllida Lloyd

SYNOPSIS 

A biopic of Margaret 
Thatcher, the woman who 
changed British politics,
told in flashbacks.


I wasn't watching Meryl Streep play Thatcher. I was watching Thatcher. Unfortunately, the film doesn't quite support this stellar performance as well as it should. The entire structure of the film was annoying, the way it moves back and forth felt too jittery and restless for me. The ending is ridiculous and left a sour sentimental aftertaste instead of the complex piquancy that a biopic of a controversial political figure should inspire.

No. 2 // Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul

SYNOPSIS
A dream-like journey
into the heart, soul
and mind of Thailand

Imagine yourself taking a nap on a hammock in the middle of the quiet, Thai countryside. As you enter your mid-afternoon dream you realise you're still in the same place. There are monkey ghosts in the distance with red eyes and you follow them. You're tour guide is Haruki Murakami and he narrates your journey as you follow these strange creatures and you discover the mysteries of life and beyond, of myths and local fables, and of ghosts and strange entities. When you decide to see this film, don't expect a story but instead, expect to fall into a hypnotic dream. One that will leave you scratching your head once the credits roll.

No. 3 // Meek's Cutoff

Dir. Kelly Reichardt


SYNOPSIS
Set in Oregon in 1845,
a group of settlers find
themselves stranded in
the middle of the desert

This is one of those films I did not enjoy watching but I take full responsibility for my lack of pleasure. This is a well-made, well-acted, well-thought out film. Maybe I was just not in the right mood or I was not in the right mindset. It felt like I was watching a classic I couldn't decrypt just yet. This is going on my re-watch pile.

No. 4 // Badlands

Dir. Terrence Malick


SYNOPSIS
A story of two people
on a killing spree seen
 through the beautiful gaze
of Malick


Kit and Holly are confusing people. What they say and do does not make any sense but somehow Malick makes us fall in love with them all the same. It might be the golden hour light that they are constantly bathed in or it may be because despite the unforgivable crimes they commit together they both project a sense of childishness. One half the innocence, the other half the rebellion. 

No. 5 // Waiting...
Dir. Rob McKittrick

SYNOPSIS
Multiple coming-of-age
stories from the young
employees of a restaurant


A chance to turn off the brain after those first four films. The ensemble worked well together and I like anything with Anna Faris in it. If you have ever worked at a restaurant or anywhere customer service is involved a lot of the things here, though at times may feel cliched, will still feel hilariously familiar. Additionally, this film gives a very valuable lesson: don't mess with the people who handle your food.

No. 6 // Page One: Inside The New York Times
Dir. Andrew Rossi


SYNOPSIS
Documentary about the New 
York Time's response
to the 'death of the
newspaper'


When I told people I was studying journalism their first response is always: why? Newspapers are dying. Newspapers aren't dying. The physical object maybe but journalism and news reporting will always exist. It's just at a moment of transition right now. Page One is a timely documentary about this moment of transition. The conflict between traditional and new media. It was interesting but there wasn't all that much I got from it. The people they followed around and interviewed weren't very interesting either and I think that's the biggest downfall of a documentary.

No. 7 // Snowtown
Dir. Justin Kurzel


SYNOPSIS
Australian film about the
real life 'bodies in the 
barrel' murders


This Australian film felt like a slightly less intelligent Animal Kingdom. Snowtown is based on the real life 'bodies in the barrel' murders that occurred in Adelaide. While the scenes were clearly designed to shock and provoke, I felt nothing. Probably because the film felt unkind, like it was just there to make me feel bad. 

No. 8 // Kramer vs Kramer
Dir. Robert Benton


SYNOPSIS

A just divorced man must learn 

to care for his son on his own, 

and then must fight in court 

to keep custody of him

The french toast scene at the end of the film broke my heart a little bit. It was like watching the end of a lovely ritual between two people. It was only one out of many beautifully rendered scenes in the film. It's amazing how the writers, actors and director were able to create subtle nuances in dialogue to show little details about their characters and how that offers us a glimpse into the gradations of their relationships.

No. 9 // The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Dir. David Fincher


SYNOPSIS
A young hacker and a
journalist solve a 40-
year old murder mystery


I love what Ignatiy from Ebert Presents says about David Fincher's films. That he's interested in process and how one thing leads to another and leads to another. Think of the process of Facebook's creation in The Social Network and how that leads to lawsuits and broken friendships. How in Zodiac the processes of crime investigation and news reporting culminate to one man's obsession with finding the truth. Here in Dragon Tattoo we get a glimpse into the process of research and uncovering secrets. This may all sound boring but Fincher who is  well-known for his style he makes all these processes: programming, investigations, news reporting, and researching, seem really cool and cinematic. 

No. 10 // The Descendants
Dir. Alexander Payne


SYNOPSIS
A father struggles to
look after his family
after his wife goes into
a coma


At the beginning of the film I felt most of the characters were portrayed in a stereotypical, banal way but each one of them have this really beautiful transformation and it was like someone turned on a light. They all became real. George Clooney was great but Shailene Woodley was a standout. I am still holding a grudge towards the Academy for not nominating her. 


Links:


About the 200 Movies Challenge


Films I've seen so far








Images edited by me from screenshots of the film

Inner apocalypse and preteniousness // Melancholia

Melancholia is split into two parts titled with the names of the two protagonists, 'Justine' and 'Claire'. Justine is played by Kirsten Dunst, Claire by Charlotte Gainsbourg. Justine is depression, Claire is anxiety.

When the threat of Melancholia (an approaching planet that once hid behind the sun and may or may not collide with Earth) heightens, Justine reacts to the situation with interminable indifference while Claire responds with suffocating anxiety. 

Von Trier uses an impending apocalypse as a way to explain what depression and an anxiety disorder really feels like. Personally, I've had bouts of anxiety attacks and moments of depression and still continue to experience these. Despite referrals to therapists, I've put off seeing them (yes, I'm in THAT stage). I haven't come across a film that accurately portrays what anxiety and depression does to a person's internal and emotional state.

That intense suffocating feeling that Claire experiences during Melancholia's approach towards Earth, as if gravity itself is trying to wring the air out of your lungs, is a mental and emotional trauma that is painfully familiar for me.

Justine's persistent and frightening indifference towards the end of the world, as well as her own wedding is depicted by Kirsten Dunst in the most powerful and believable way. The hollowness of the eyes that seem to be staring at nothing and everything. The darkness that can cloud over you at any moment and the recklessness and impulsive behaviours that come about in a desperate search to keep the dark clouds at bay. The frank cruelty towards other people that seem to come out of nowhere. The mood swings. The excessive introspection that leads you to the point of self-loathing and the consequent detachment from friends and loved ones. All of these are conveyed so brilliantly and accurately in this film. 

Some found the film to be too lengthy and others deemed it as dull arthouse trash. I can see why some people would perceive it this way. If the film was constructed in the same way but instead focused on a different subject matter altogether and if the characters did not have depression or anxiety I would have probably found it very dull as well. But since the film deeply affected me in a very personal way, I did not mind its length or its slow pacing. In fact I much preferred it that way since it gave me time to assess what I just saw. 

Some found some scenes gratuitous, like an ultra slow motion shot of a horse collapsing to the ground, but I argue that these seemingly random images are not just there because of their visual beauty but are there to reinforce a certain kind of mood. Von Trier created an atmosphere to represent what it would probably feel like if the entire planet knew and are restlessly waiting for the end of everything - a combination of hushed hopelessness and violent tremors of our defeated planet. The ground shaking music of Wagner as the tremors and the isolated country house as the collective hush of our planet. 

Again, I can fully understand why people would dislike this film because of the mood, or its length or because of its dreary subject matter. What I don't understand are the people who call the film pretentious.

Pretentious is a word used to describe this film in many reviews I've read. In all honesty, I'm quite irritated having this adjective used as a go-to word to sneer at creative works that strive to be ambitious, daring or beautiful. I find it sad when writers, specifically critics, use this word. It is cop-out criticism. It is lazy because it is too definitive and delimits the opportunity for further discussion which is what art, and subsequently, criticism is really there to do - promote discussion. 

Any work of art that is brave, unconventional and new can be called pretentious and those that who do can get away with it. This is because films like Melancholia require a certain degree of pretentiousness. Any work that takes a risk need to be christened with self-importance that it initially does not deserve. If this wasn't so then the artist will never have the impetus that eventually leads to the art's creation.

What is creativity but considering what is in one's head important enough that the artist indulges himself by bringing it into the world. If artists did not give their work greater importance than what it deserves then we will only be left with art that is subpar, lacklustre and dangerously unambitious. 

I'm just grateful that von Trier was pretentious enough that he was able to make this film. 

Images are edited by me from various screenshots from the film. Note: The film is not black and white.

200 Movies Challenge

So, since I'm already doing the 50 books challenge this year, I thought hmm...might as well throw my entire social life away and also ambitiously undertake a movies challenge as well. 

Picking a number was hard but since I already see over a hundred movies in a given year, I thought I'll go with the number 200. That's 3.8 movies a week, so I would have to see about 3 to 4 movies a week. 

I'm going to be upgrading my Quickflix account and renewing my cinema club memberships so hurray! 

For every ten movies I see I will write up a post with thoughts and a mini review about each film along with a black and white film strip that I'll make for each movie. Because black and white film strips are cool.

Wish me luck.


Links:


Blog posts


List of the movies I have seen so far

Image was edited by me. Original image here.

Instagram Film Memories #4

Instagram: Film Memories are a series of posts showcasing great films I saw during a certain time period. Includes a screenshot of the film taken via Instagram.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Dir. Apicatpong Weerasethakul

Meek's Cutoff

Dir. Kelly Reichardt

Kiki's Delivery Sevice

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki

The Thin Red Line

Dir. Terrence Malick

Wendy and Lucy

Dir. Kelly Reichardt

Two-Lane Blacktop

Dir. Monte Hellman

Bubble

Dir. Steven Soderbergh

Scream 4

Dir. Wes Craven

Three Reasons: Tampopo

Three Reasons are a series of posts about films I love and the three reasons why I love them. Inspired by the Criterion Collection's own video series. I hope you check out the films in these series. If you are a lover of film, these are not to be missed!

Directed by Juzo Itami
In this humorous paean to the joys of food, the main story is about trucker Goro who rides into town like a modern Shane to help Tampopo set up the perfect fast-food noodle restaurant. Woven into this main story are a number of smaller stories about the importance of food. (Synopsis from IMDB.com)

Tampopo opens with a funny address to the audience warning us not to crumple our crisp packets while watching the movie. Food and film are meant to be given the concentration they deserve. A lovely message, they should play this clip at the beginning of every movie. I personally try not to indulge in food while watching a movie but a word of warning for this film: make sure you are within the vicinity of a ramen restaurant after seeing this. You will crave for it like nothing else. Trust me.

The majority of the film is spent in some kind of a restaurant and the scenes range from the hilariously comedic to being akin to a Western movie.

One of the final sequences is a taste test that rivals an episode of Masterchef in terms of suspense. 


What are your reasons?

The Sweet Taste of Life

Abbas Kiarostami's film Taste of Cherry leaves us in a state of contemplation - not after the film's conclusion but during. Most movies show things happening and then we reflect upon the meaning of this later on. But here, Kiarostami neglects the 'happening' (the action, the story) and positions the entire film to make his audience think. He makes us think about life and death. Actually a more accurate word would be: appreciate. He makes us appreciate life and death.

Mr Badii (Homayon Ershadi) is looking for someone to bury him. He has decided to end his life. We are not provided with his motivations to do so but we need not look far for proof. We feel it from his face, a visage with no trace of cheerfulness. 

The beauty of the film is in its respectful pacing. Kiarostami leaves room for contemplation, silence and thought. If you have read my posts on films I love, their pacing are always the same. They take their time. Even though Taste of Cherry explores the meaning of life and death, it is minimalist in its approach. Many films that try to encompass such an immeasurable subject matter with a broad, sweeping method do little to serve it. I can only think of Terrence Malick as the only filmmaker who has succeeded to tackle the subject in this manner. 

The camera spends most of the duration time inside the car, switching back and forth from the driver's to the passenger's point of view. Like a therapist session, only with a more pleasant scenery outside the window. The colour palette is more or less the same. Warm, earthy and bursting with life, this is quite an achievement since the actual environment is desolate and the tone sober.  With a restraint in visual style, a controlled sense of place, few key characters and minimal dialogue, Kiarostami lets the story breathe. Precisely what this kind of film needs.

While planning to end his life his encounters with people are the most significant. When one reaches the point when unhappiness can be quantified and suicide can be dangerously justified it is the contact from ordinary people - their soul, heart, pulse - that can hopefully breathe life into those who feel they are already dead. The people he encounters offers him tea, asks if he's sick, or simply talk with him. Simple gestures and lines that may seem trivial and banal towards an ordinary man living a content life. But when the receiver of these gestures and remarks is as sensitive and vulnerable as a suicidal man, then these small humanly motions could potentially save a life. 

In one gloriously long, unbroken scene a taxidermist tries to discourage Mr Badii from doing the deed by telling him a story of how he too wanted to kill himself once but then decided not to. I do not want to spoil it here as it is one of the most mesmerising and moving scenes of all time. All I can say is, the taxidermist's story - in all its simplicity - simply shows the taste of life. 

And it is sweet.

Original image is a screenshot from the film and edited. Do not reuse without permission.

Little White Lies

Look what came in the mail today! This is Issue 36 of Little White Lies. Yes, I know Issue 37 is already out but it takes forever to send a magazine from London all the way to Down Under. I love the films of Pedro Almodovar and I'm glad the very first issue I'm going to be reading is focused on his new film The Skin I Live In.

I have a thing for magazines with beautiful matte pages that feel more like you're holding a book than a magazine. Who likes glossy pages anyway? Not me.

On a side note, I've noticed that my blog has evolved and has turned more visually orientated so I've decided to create a Flickr account to accompany this blog.

Click here for Flickr. Add me as a contact/friend!

Make sure you catch up with the latest movie releases and enjoy your favourite movies again at lovefilm.com. Visit the site today and take advantage of a free trial when you sign up!

All images are owned by me and cannot be reused without my permission

Criterion Haul

My last Barnes and Noble box full of Criterions arrived yesterday and it's time to show you my full haul!

Unfortunately, I'm currently in assignment mode for uni and I've only been able to watch a couple but my favourites so far are Onibaba (a creepy, atmospheric Japanese film that looks incredible in glorious black and white) and Bicycle Thieves (one of the most important films from the Italian neorealist movement).

Images are all owned by me and cannot be reused without permission

Instagram: Film Memories #2

Instagram: Film Memories are a series of posts showcasing great films I saw during a certain time period. Includes a super short, two line recap (like a haiku, but not really) and a screenshot of the film taken via Instagram.

Films I saw from 16 Aug 11 - 1 Sep 11

Breaking The Waves

A film by Lars Von Trier

Husband left paralysed after an accident.

Tells troubled wife to sleep with other men.

The Son

A film by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Carpentry teacher nervous and not willing to teach a boy.

Not telling you why.

L'Avventura

A film by Michaelangelo Antonioni

Girl disappears after a boating trip.

Her lover and best friend fall in love.

Grizzly Man

A film by Werner Herzog

Bear-lover gets close and develops "friendships" with wild bears.

Not a good idea.

Vampyr

A film by Carl Theodore Dreyer

Guy checks into an inn.

Weird things start happening.

Written on the Wind

A film by Douglas Sirk

Alcoholic guy marries a girl, but his best friend loves her too.

Alcoholic guy's sister is in love with her brother's best friend.

Bicycle Thieves

A film by Vittorio De Sica

Someone steals a guy's bicycle who needs it to do his job.

Searches for the thief with his son.

The Night of the Hunter

A film by Charles Laughton

Children hide money for their imprisoned dad.

Guy tries to take it away from them.

Images cannot be reused without permission