Good luck with the club. I want to suggest you might want to show something entertaining and relatively easy to digest so it wouldn’t scare away some kids. I can see high schoolers come in to see Last Year at Marienbad and will have a bad taste if they have not been built up to appreciate art films before.
Herzog, Kitano, and WKW are relatively easy to digest so, in my opinion, they are ok. If you have something quirky like Itami’s Tampopo, Svankmajer’s Alice/Faust/Little Otik, Jodorowsky’s Santa Sangre, Kusturica’s Black Cat, White Cat, etc., insert them in between the more philosophical/depressing themed-ones. Some kids only watch Hollywood films in their life and to start with Last Year, Tarkovsky, Sokurov might be a bit too much for them.
Ah, Stroszek is very dear to me. I have German heritage in my family and I grew up in the Midwest. Never have both landscapes been put on celluloid in the same picture as far as I know. It’s a film that I’m very close to and it speaks in a strange way to me, but I did not see it until I was 24. If someone would have put it in front of me at 17 I might have thrown a T.V. out a window. I think this is a great idea, but I agree with Wut on starting a little slower and working into more “difficult” films. People always say to me “If I wanted to read subtitles I’d read a book instead”. One of the first films I suggest to peopel is Night on Earth. The first half is in English, the second half is subtitled. That way if they’re into the film they will want to see it through rather than becomming immediately distracted because they have to read and once it’s over they always say “I didn’t even notice the subtitles after two seconds”. It’s the sad way of the world, but it’s our duty to help our Hollywood inflicted brethren along.
We had a film club in high school, but it was mostly run by knuckleheads. We watched some good things like Pi, Requiem for a Dream, Donnie Darko, American Beauty, and Waking Life, but we also watched Battle Royale, Spaceballs, and Frailty. So take that for what it is. I’d suggest Brazil if it wasn’t so long, my favorite. There’s always M.
I teach film studies and I can tell you what high schoolers liked:
The Searchers
M
Shoot the Piano Player
Citizen Kane
Vertigo
Psycho
Bride of Frankenstein
400 Blows
Pierrot Le Fou
Rear WIndow
Buffallo 66
Overall, good stuff (with the possible exception of Welle’s “F for Fake”). But a few things you might consider:
1) Perhaps try and identify a unifying theme on which to center the screening series. This piece of advice (despite appearances) does not seek organization for organization’s sake; the idea is to subdue the otherwise unwieldy content of the works for the purpose of providing a series of films that are more accessible to audience members who are likely distracted in their roles as detectives (trying to make sense of the works) rather than allowing the films to wash over them, freeing them to analyze their responses to the films. Put another way, highlighting a theme (or set of themes) gives viewers confidence as they approach the films. Don’t worry about being reductive, either. Most will not be inhibited in forming their own, alternative interpretations of the work by the apparent rigidity of a thematic imposition; if the parameters are set right, the audience should perceive a great deal of flexibility in this regard. The others, those whose responses will be heavily influenced by the aforementioned thematic imposition, will likely not have been able to keep up with/ understand the film without the same.
2) Try finding films covering a broader range of history. Whenever I sit down with members of my own film organization (also on campus) to arrange a screening series, we ALWAYS start with a silent film (or two) and advance forward to the present. This not only shows the evolution of the medium, but also gives viewers a sense of the history of the films and (if appropriately synchronized with the first suggestion) very effectively demonstrates the universality and timelessness of the anxieties/conflicts from which the films have arisen. This is one point that has the entire group’s support, a fact which I’m sure you’d appreciate if you could be a fly on the wall in one our screening committee meetings.
3) I’m sure you’re doing it already, but make sure each film is adequately introduced and that you’re leaving plenty of time to facilitate discussion after the viewings. There’s virtually no film you couldn’t show if you do this.
That’s it, for what it’s worth. I certainly wish you well and applaud you for your passion and enthusiasm. Oh, and your taste.
Stuff by Fritz Lang, his stuff is timeless, they won’t get bored. Unless they don’t like reading and can’t be bother with subtitles :-\
Le Samourai by Melville, also.
To open their eyes?
I’d suggest LA PROMESSE and Haneke: in particular CACHE (it is after all a “suspense” film on the most basic level) and FUNNY GAMES (the English version to avoid subtitle complaints). -
I don’t know how different it is at your high school but the classmates in my grade 11 and 12 film classes would not tolerate a line up that you and even I have suggested. But let’s take into account the fact that I was (reluctantly) in an all-boys Catholic high school.
Nevertheless, I admire your efforts. Keep fighting the good fight.
BTW, are you still going to see MELANCHOLIA now that we know there won’t be an intermission?
Overall, good stuff (with the possible exception of Welle’s “F for Fake”).
What on earth’s wrong with F For Fake? I would have thought it was perfect for the club’s aims, given that it’s explicitly about keeping your eyes open and being aware that nothing is necessarily what it seems. It’s also a film that gets more and more impressive the more I watch it.
I once started a film club at my high school, but with the intention of creating a film, not viewing them. Anyway, as a Junior in high school, I suggest you throw a little Godard in there as well.
I doubt I’d be able to show Funny Games (haven’t seen any Haneke honestly) because I must show things deemed appropriate, which really makes me lose choices. I’d love to show Terayama’s Pastoral: To Die in the Country or maybe even Robbe-Grillet’s Eden and After, but there’s no way I could get those through a teacher.
Strangely, the second film we showed, Chungking Express, was much less popular than Stroszek. I think this was probably because it was during the last week of school before the break, and it didn’t have as much advertisement. The hardest part is breaking a film up, and you never know if someone is willing to “come back”. Maybe it would be best to show the films after school, but it’s people are more keen to sacrifice their lunch hours. Sometimes I just wish that I could program for something greater, not just a 99% indifferent high school!
For the rest of the year we have:
January – The Long Goodbye (co-programmers choice)
February – ? undecided
March – ? undecided
April – Sans Soleil
May – The Hole
If there were any clubs that shown films, they were usually sci-fi/Star Trek clubs or Anime clubs but no film clubs at my HS or college.
But we would have viewing parties at my home during college but it ended up being more like a regular party as people would bring a lot of alcohol, people would cook a lot and I felt I was forking too much of my own money for the food. Yeah, it would be simpler if we all chowed down on popcorn but the guys wanted to make sure our viewing parties had a lot of women attending and not having these viewing parties becoming a schlongfest.
That’s bold mate. I will be trying the same thing coming up thisseptember. I suggest Tati’s Mon oncle. I feel his films are pretty accessible. Maybe some Svankmajor shorts? Sans Soliel! My favorite doc-splotation film. Good job!
It sounds good overall, but I don’t think Last Year at Marienbad will work well in two separate sittings.
Eli Fox
I have recently begun a film club at my high school, and this week we will be showing the first film: Werner Herzog’s Stroszek. I hope it’ll be a sucess, but who can know for sure. I’ve been trying to think of the best films to show later on, and I have no set list yet. So far, we’re going one per month, and the film can be no longer than two hours (it’s spread over two consecutive lunch periods). My primary goal is to show films that will open eyes, and I even want to show a few that have not made it yet to dvd. Anyway, I would like your suggestions and feedback, it would be much appreciated!
First idea for schedule:
October – (first meeting) an introduction and a selection of short films (The Heart of the World and Rabbit’s Moon)
November – Werner Herzog’s Stroszek
December – Kitano’s Sonatine
January – Okamoto’s Sword of Doom
February – Sokurov’s Days of Eclipse
March – Welles’ F for Fake
April – Rivette’s Duelle
May – Antonioni’s The Eclipse
June – Resnais’ Last Year at Marienbad
New idea for schedule:
First idea for schedule:
October – (first meeting) an introduction and a selection of short films (The Heart of the World and Rabbit’s Moon)
November – Werner Herzog’s Stroszek
December – Kitano’s Sonatine or a Wong-kar Wai or early Hou or Yang’s The Terrorizers
January – Okamoto’s Sword of Doom
February – Sokurov’s Days of Eclipse
March – Welles’ F for Fake
April – Rivette’s Duelle
May – Resnais’ Last Year at Marienbad
June – Tsai’s The Hole
Other ideas:
Rebels of the Neon God
Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais)
The Eclipse (Antonioni)
Afterlife (Koreeda)
Lynch
Melville
Welles
Diabolique
Diamonds of the Night
Beau Travail