i disagree about showing ‘it’. i don’t see a cheap theatrical stunt but
as a way to cement the horror of what’s underway, taking it from the realm of
abstraction to a very real, terrible thing. taking away the remove of the cinema
and the safety of y/our distance as viewer.
I can see that. But is it not a gimmick?
i don’t know. i guess that depends on how you
define gimmick. a narrative device that exists only
to elicit reaction? i thought it was appropriate to the narrative.
i don’t think the intent was to shock for the sake
of the shock. was the birth scene in tulpan a gimmick?
hmm. good question. all i can use as a sample is my own experience, of course, and the birth scene in Tulpan felt more respectful of the audience. i saw it coming. Tulpan didn’t establish a rule that they didn’t show certain things off camera. 4 months, from the beginning established a trajectory wherein the audience had to imagine off-screen space. it makes sense to break that trajectory for narrative climax, yes, but i don’t know – the 4 months scene gave me a slight sense of cynical contempt for the audience.
it’s one thing to show me your shit. it’s another to rub my nose in it.
perhaps, it is how “it” was shown. she kneels down and looks to it off camera. we imagine it. we imagine the horror. and then it tilts down. i don’t know, that seems redundant. it would be another thing if it was shown a different way – Pixote-style perhaps. Not sure.
i see where you’re coming from on that. one can argue it would be enough w/o the tilt. i haven’t seen it for a couple yrs. i will revisit it this summer.
on a sort of related note, tulpan rules.
Tulpan rules! So extraordinary.
I’ve been meaning to watch that for forever. Glad you liked it, Moss. :)
Savvy
What a delightful list!
I envy you’ll see so many HHHsien, TMLiang and Apichatpong movies this summer, I ’m planning to make a movie retrospect in the fall, the three are included in the project
Thanks, Narda! It’s been amazing thus far going through it.
feel compelled to say that a few wks back i created my own summer list, poached in part from those on yours i hadn’t seen yet. So thanks!
Awesome, feel free to poach. I’d love to see the list – perhaps there’s stuff on there to inspire my Fall endeavor …
Just put link on my profile page
very cool. love the layout.
How are you going to see the James Benning film? I thought that he continues to resist putting any of his work on DVD. His film Deseret is one of my favorites.
good question. i tossed several onto the list blindly only to discover some are extremely hard to track down, him in particular. should i break through somehow i’ll let you know.
If you don’t already know of it, Canyon Cinema is a good resource.
excellent. gracias
I started my own private movie list few days ago: SEVENTH CONTINENT, SURVIVE STYLE 5+, BED AND SOFA. So good to see many movies in a night
infernal affairs,memories of murder,oldboy
‘old boy’ is not my thing
Jeremy Moss
THE RETURN