2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #38: Armenia (Beginning) vs. Lebanon (Out of Life)
Armenia (Beginning) 1 – Lebanon (Out of Life) 0
Liked the style and speed of Beginning. It seemed to be more full of life, despite its shortness.
Armenia (Beginning) 1 – Lebanon (Out of Life) 0
I would have gotten more from Out of Life if it had actually been handled as a re-enactment of Roger Auqùe’s ordeal (thus with an obligation to depict accurately what happened) with someone playing him rather than the fictional character dramatisation of Perrault. As it was, it just felt rudderless. Agree on comments re style and speed ( immediacy) of Beginning, thus my vote goes that way .
Armenia (Beginning) 0 – Lebanon (Out of Life) 1
This one was very close. Peleshian’s film is a wonderful exercise in Vertovian montage (even sampling the music from Man with a Movie Camera!) while Hors La Vie was a well-told film about the relationship between a prisoner and the very human, humane people who hold him hostage and teach him many things about the Lebanese people and their struggles with France, Israel and each other. Bagdadi’s film gets my vote for being more humanist than Beginning.
Wait, that’s the music from The Heart of the World, actually – can anyone identify that piece of music, for curiosity’s sake? My apologies if it’s canon classical and I look like a fool for not knowing it.
it’s the theme from time, forward (1965) by georgy sviridov. according to wikipedia: “Sviridov’s main theme for the film was one of the most recognizable music pieces of the Soviet era, and became a sort of calling card for the Soviet Union itself. For a long time it was used as the signature tune of Vremya, the TV news program on USSR Central Television and Russian Channel One. The theme has been used in subsequent films, most notably Theodore Ushev’s Tower Bawher and Guy Maddin’s The Heart of the World. It was performed at the close of the 2010 Olympic ceremony in Vancouver, conducted live by Valery Gergiev, to present the 2014 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Russia.” i also recognized the music so i looked it up. it’s an interesting piece. xD
Armenia (Beginning) 1 – Lebanon (Out of Life) 0
My first encounter with Peleshian. It was good, but watched more and enjoyed them more. Hors la Vie feels more like a French film set in Lebanon. Surprising that considering the director is from there. A well made film, but rather uninspired direction and camera let the down.
Armenia (Beginning) 1 – Lebanon (Out of Life) 0
Armenia (Beginning) 1 – Lebanon (Out of Life) 0
Good match, guys. Glad to be the loyal opposition on this one. No idea when I’ll be able to do another (juggling a job and several film projects right now) but the cup’s been a blast for moi so far.
Oooops! I never closed this one. Was anyone paying attention? Was Pierre’s vote in on time?
sorry Riss didn’t notice it hadn’t been closed
This one never was official closed with a final tally
VOTING IS CLOSED
Final tally:
Armenia (Beginning) – 5
Lebanon (Out of Life) – 1
The winner is:
ARMENIA!
Our Fatherland, free, independent,
That has for centuries lived,
Is now summoning its sons
To the free, independent Armenia.
Risselada
This topic is part of the 2012 MUBI World Cup. If you have not already done so, please read the first post at the topic for an introduction to and rules about this year’s World Cup:
http://mubi.com/topics/2012-mubi-world-cup-introduction-submit-your-list-of-films
Armenia (Soviet Union)
Original title: Skizbe
Directed by: Artavazd Peleshian
Approximate runtime: 10 min
Submitted by: scorpiorising
Lebanon
Original title: Hors la vie
Directed by: Maroun Bagdadi
Approximate runtime: 97 min
Submitted by: Stavrogin
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The purpose of this topic is to cast votes in the matchup listed above and also to be a forum for discussing the films in the match.
Anyone who has seen both of the films listed above may vote in this match. You must vote for whichever of the two films you personally like better. In order to vote you must post a reply to this topic containing one of the following sequences:
If you are voting for Beginning: “Armenia (Beginning) 1 – Lebanon (Out of Life) 0”
If you are voting for Out of Life: “Armenia (Beginning) 0 – Lebanon (Out of Life) 1”
Your vote must contain the names of both films with a “one” after the film you are voting for and a “zero” after the other film. If your vote is not formatted in this way it will not be counted.
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This match will end on Wednesday, June 20 at 11:30 PM GMT. No votes attempted to be cast after that time will be counted. Shortly after the match ends the votes will be tallied and a winner of the match will be declared. If the films both receive the same number of votes, the match will be considered a tie.
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http://mubi.com/lists/2012-mubi-world-cup
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