Hello

Hello All,

I’ve been lingering around, for what seems a good 4 months, reading up, and I have to say there are some very interesting opinions being shared here. :)

I’m Parth, 22 y.o. journo student from Mumbai, India. I’ve always had more than a fleeting interest in films, but its quickly becoming something much much more than that. I’ve been watching a lot of movies off late, almost 3 a day. Been watching virtually what I can get my hands on really, watched all the Kubrick’s, Decalogue, Colour Trilogy, Amator- Kieslowski, all Jim Jarmusch’s (one of my favourites), all of Bergman’s, watched some Western’s, some Goddard’s, and virtually whatever I could get my hands on- chick flicks, comedy, art house, anything. Some of them I loved, some of them it was a task sitting through. Anyway, I’m majorly inclined towards Jarmusch, Kubricks, Arofonsky (sp?), Bergman, Theo Angelopoulos, Fellini.

Based on the what I’m stated are my preferences, do you guys have any suggestions on what I should watch?

I’m currently watching Linklater, but his movies seem a little too pretentious. :-l

I’m sorry if I’m coming across as anything other than someone seeking some help; no such intentions.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks :)

Dazed and Confused pretentious? Nawww.

But welcome to theauteurs, which has been my own personal film school for the past year. It’s really an amazing site.

Type these into the search box to find some amazing films, as well as conversations about them:

“Auteurs World Cup”
“Cinema 21”
“Garage Screening Room”

J

ASIDE: If I never hear the word ‘pretentious’ again, I will be a happy mang.

I’m touched to know that there are people who actually lurk this forum. :)

Hey,

Thanks :)

I’ve not watched Dazed and Confused yet. Will give it a shot.

And yes, this site is quite amazing; an absolute heaven for people like me. :)

I am a big fan of Jarmusch too. I would suggest checking out the films of Nicholas Ray, Aki Kaurismaki and Wim Wenders. They Live By Night, Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana and Alice in the Cities are my respective favourites from each of them. The works of these directors share many similarities with Jarmushchs’ work. I especially adore Kaurismaki. (The Finnish segment of Night on Earth had many references to Kaurismaki’s films.)

Have you watched anything by Nicholas Ray? Bigger Than Life, Rebel Without a Cause, Bitter Victory?

And the correct spelling is Aronofsky, but you were close.

Edit: Ah, Law beat me to it.

Thanks, all of you. :-) Will check out these guys, haven’t heard of any of them.

Terrence Malick—based on the fact that many of the directors you mentioned are very strong visually. Tarkovsky would be another good one. (It will be interesting to see if you consider him pretentious or not.)

What Linklater films have you seen? Dazed and Confused is a good film about the 70s in America. Also, Before Sunrise/Sunset happen to be some of my favorite romantic films.

Anyway, welcome and aloha! I’m glad you finally posted.

Terrence Malick—based on the fact that many of the directors you mentioned are very strong visually. Tarkovsky would be another good one. (It will be interesting to see if you consider him pretentious or not.)

What Linklater films have you seen? Dazed and Confused is a good film about the 70s in America. Also, Before Sunrise/Sunset happen to be some of my favorite romantic films.

Anyway, welcome and aloha! I’m glad you finally posted.

P.G., have you access to a good cinema in Mumbai? Please tell us what the cinema circuit is like in your city. Is there a cinema that plays old movies? Movies from different parts of the world?

Here in Melbourne, Australia, I have noticed Greater Union cinema plays a new release Bollywood film on the big screen every now and again, and they seem to be the ONLY cinema in Melbourne that does this. Given the large Indian population in Melbourne, one must guess these are very popular otherwise they wouldn’t keep importing them (it may interest you to know, I live a stone’s throw away from the largest Sikh temple in the southern hemisphere, but I digress).

I absolutely must suggest two films I really cherish, both from screenwriting legend Paddy Chayefsky: “Network” and “The Hospital”.

I think “Network” is one of those strange classics that arguably works better on television than the big screen.
Please don’t get me wrong, I would drop everything to see this at the cinema, all I am saying is because the film is “a television show within a movie”, those scenes with Howard Beale telling you to switch off your television set, et cetera, take on a different quality when viewed in your lounge room on your 21-inch screen.

“The Hospital”, although I haven’t yet viewed it at the cinema, also doesn’t seem like a film that loses much impact, if any, on the small screen.

These films are dialogue-driven (and those performances!) and if you are studying journalism, you simply MUST check out “Network”.

Also, I recommend “Sweet Smell of Success” (1950s classic about tabloid newspapers) and the underrated “Switching Channels” (1980s film about network television, featuring Ned Beatty who was also in “Network”).

Don’t forget about the Germans! These should be easy to find pretty much anywhere in the world…

“Run Lola Run” (although REALLY recommended on the big screen)

“Goodbye, Lenin!”

“Sophie Scholl: The Final Days”

“The Lives of Others”

“The Edge of Heaven”

Have you seen any Wong Kar-Wai yet?

@ Jazzaloha- Hey, Thanks. :-) I totally forgot about Before Sunrise. And I absolutely loved it. I guess I shouldn’t be so judgmental after all heh. Haven’t seen the sequel yet, but will soon.

The films I was referring to when I called Linklater pretentious were Slacker and Waking Life. Slacker was still okay, Waking Life I couldn’t stand. I guess I get what he was trying to do, but just don’t like the style, strictly from a screenplay point of view, or the way the whole movie progresses. Although, the work on the animation’s quite good.

Will check out Mallick, and Tarkovsky (have heard a lot about him), and post my opinions, for whatever they’re worth.

Cheers.

@ Mark- Access to a good cinema here- Well let me describe the whole cinema circuit here. Probably give you a better idea. See, there’s mainly all these multiplexes which show, for majority of the year, Bollywood/ Hollywood blockbusters, the latest films basically. Except ONE, which has film festivals going on all year around. 4 screens, devoted entirely to world cinema (barring Bollywood/ Hollywood). Then there’s loads of other small film societies where screenings of films, old and new, regional and international, art house and commercial, are held throughout the year. You need to know the right people and places, and there’s plenty access to good cinema. But it’s still not as easy and convenient as one would like it to be; especially for someone who’s not in any way associated with the film circle here.

Bollywood/ Hollywood blockbusters- the hot cakes- some of them have as many as 12 shows in A multiplex (and there’s loads of multiplexes congregated in different parts of the city) a day, that’s how popular they are.

But there’s a changing trend in Bollywood off late, which is quite nice to see. From slapstick, it’s moving towards intelligent cinema. As in, intelligent cinema’s becoming more mainstream. Don’t know what this can be attributed to, perhaps the population as a whole’s growing smarter.. heh! :)

And thanks a tonne for all the movies you mentioned. Will watch them soon. Have only watched Run Lola, Run from the lot that you mentioned. :-)

If you like Before Sunset, I further recommend the films of Eric Rohmer and Hong Sang-soo which are heavily dialogue-driven.

P.G., I notice you’ve seen the “Three Colours Trilogy” by Kieslowski. I’ve only seen two of the three…I find them overrated to say the least. I mention this because Kieslowski did an earlier film, “Blind Chance” (filmed in 1981, barred for several years by the Polish government), which I liked much better. “Blind Chance” is similar to “Run Lola Run” in the sense it deals with “small movements” having a major impacts upon everyday life. However, it’s not non-linear in the sense of “Run Lola Run”. It’s a somewhat obscure film, but I do believe it’s available on D.V.D.

@Parth

Your reaction and assessment of Waking Life is almost exactly the same as mine. (The pseudo-philosophical conversations is what I found pretentious.)

Slacker is not so pretentious, imo. It may not be a great film, but I really do think it captures a certain time period in America (the 90s), specifically Generation Xers. Being a Gen-Xer myself, I think it’s an authentic depiction of people of my generation (at least certain Gen X-ers).

Please do post you comments about Tarkovsky and Malick after you see the films.

I really liked the trilogy, blue and white more so than red. Haven’t watched Blind Chance though, will do.
Another director I really like and I forgot to mention is Kim-Ki-Duk.