1. Werckmeiser Harmonies
2. Naked
3. Last Year in Marienbad
4. Faces
5. A Woman Under the Influence
6. Au Hasard Balthazar
7. Jules and Jim
8. Hiroshima Mon Amour
9. Wings of Desire
10.Wages of Fear
I love this thread. Films that make me ambivalent in terms of sympathy/antipathy for the characters give me the best filmexperiences of all. When a character in a film alternate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sides in him- or herself is when the character comes across as ‘real’. Not when he or she is ‘all good’. That’s putting the character above us all as humans. Ideally, that may be the way we should, or want to, see ourselves, but let’s face it – not many of us can honestly say we are just one or the other. People have flaws. Haven’t met one yet who doesn’t. As for the character Nick in ‘A Woman Under the Influence’ I would say that when I saw the film I went from wanting to marry the guy to wanting to kick his ass, and back again, several times. He loves his wife and family so much he doesn’t know what good he can do for them. I did not see him as weak at all, but incapable of handling the situations that arose – mostly due to his wife’s (in his mind) irradic bahavior. Which I think is the very thing he loves her for – her different and unconventional outlook on life and playful approach to what she appreciate in life. But when Nick is confronted with Mabel’s ways in a social setting that sees her as ‘weird’, he belongs so much to that social structure himself that he feels embarrassed for her and tries to ‘put her in place’. And when Mabel really can’t take the conflict of her own nature vs. what’s expected of her and loses it a little, Nick feels helpless, then frustrated an finally angry. He just doesn’t know what to do. And that is a common enough human reaction for most of us to recognize. So I sympathize with him, even though I don’t agree with his way of dealing with it. Nick is a man that really cares for and loves his family but doesn’t have a clue of how to handle the chalanges he’s facing. He’s clueless when it comes to taking care of children. He has never learned how, and as a man of his own period, that was something he considered a woman’s domaine. Well, so much more could have been said about Cassavets’ insightful film of how people manage their lives on an everyday basis, but I’ll leave it at that.
Other characters that came to mind which evokes both sympathy and antipathy in me are Kinskis’ performance as Nosferatu when he said to Adjani that the absence of love is the most abject pain. How I felt for him at that moment. And I saw him as a lonlely creature in need of love and acceptance for who he is, that is the very same thing that keeps him from ever getting just that. And that made me think that films that show us the human in the inhuman, and the inhuman in the human has an important thing to teach us. There are a lot more characters to mention, like captain Willard in Apocalypse Now, even Kurtz himself, but the one character that really got to me must be Johnny in Naked. Such a scum, but still – he’s got that little something that enables you to see something decent in him. I really love that character.
Finally – an embarrassing question: can someone, in short, please explain the terms ‘protagonist’ and ‘antagonist’ as used about characters in films? No need to hide the fact that I’m a novice when it comes to films and talking about them as you guys are doing here, and English is also a foreign language to me, so I have a lot to learn yet. And what better place to start expanding my horison of filmappreciation and understanding than the Auteurs?
Thank you Josh. That clarifies the matter for me. I saw an interview with Bela Tarr where he called the rain a protagonist, the scenery a protagonist, etc. This was Damnation he was talking about. I like the thought of that. Thank you again for your answer.:-)
When you seriously consider learning hungarian just so you can get even more into Werckmeister Harmonies. I’m sure some things are ‘lost in translation’.
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom
Remember us – if at all – not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.
II
Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death’s dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind’s singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.
Let me be no nearer
In death’s dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat’s coat, crowskin, crosses staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer -
Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom
III
This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man’s hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.
It is like this
In death’s other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.
IV
The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms
In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river
Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death’s twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.
V
Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o’clock in the morning.
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
For thine is the Kingdom
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the respons
Falls the Shadow
Life is very long
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
This poem is read by Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. And it is one of my favourite poems.
I’ve just seen Salo, and I don’t know if it is the most disturbing film ever, but it’s the most disturbing film I’ve seen so far. I found it a bit dull too, Miss J, but never the less disturbing. Now I will put on a Woody Allen film and try to get some of those images from Salo out of my head….
Mostly I watch films at night. Sometimes I watch in the morning, and I like that, being more alert then. I never eat during a film, because I find it a bit distracting. I like to give the film my full attention. I always have a bottle of water at hand, and I don’t mind a glass of wine when I watch at night. When you watch a really great film, life is about as good as it gets, and I like to share that with a friend or my children. But most of the time, I watch my films in solitude. What films I choose are mostly random, based on mood, recomandations and/or previous films that I’ve liked from an auteur. And I love to rewatch films, and I do that after watching a few new ones. I also make sure I have quite a few films I haven’t watched yet in my collection, so I always find something to watch regardless of the mood I happen to be in. Very few to lift my spirit, though. Not many light comedies to be found in my dvd-collection…
As I lay dying – Faulkner
Waiting for the barbarians – Coetzee
Crime and punishment – Dostoyevsky
The sheltering sky – Bowles
Steppenwolf – Hesse
Heart of darkness – Conrad
And a few others I don’t know the translated titles of.
To Josh S.: good luck with getting into philosophy. It’s so interesting.:-)
It depends on how you feel about film whether it is ok to watch ‘trash’ or not. People who enjoy mainstream Hollywood movies are, in my experience anyway, not passionate about films like the people in here seem to be. They find watching movies that tell them what to feel, how to feel, when to feel it, make them fell good for an hour and a half. Most of us have been there – where movies was just for entertainment – at least for a short while. So many children’s movies are like that. I have been one of those who watched ‘trash’ and was liking it to some extent. But I was also open for new kinds of experiences, and found myself curious of films outside mainstream Hollywood. And when I tried it, there was no turning back for me. Now I wouldn’t dream of wasting time on watching ‘trash’. Unless a friend of mine really wanted to share a movie-experience with me, and I felt that it was important to him or her. But generally I don’t watch ‘trash’ just because my friends wants me to. The people I know who call me an elitist and a snob, are ALWAYS the same people who never would consider watching one of my films unless at gun-point. So I have come to the conclusion that it is the narrowminded people who are judgemental towards those of us with a passion for films that are so much more than pure entertainment. People who like to watch ‘trash’ and who give other films a try and find they don’t like it, well – they at least tried. I respect that. What I don’t respect is the people who just give other people a hard time for having a fine taste i films. Most of us have wacthed ‘trash’ at one time or another, so we know we don’t like it, and why. But those who calls us elitists, rarely have seen a great film and understood it.
Ellie: a pretentious snob is not someone who have excellent taste in something. A pretentious snob is someone who thinks he or she is better than people with a taste for simpler things. And also someone who ‘gets off’ on having a lot of knowledge and educated oppinions rather than being passionate about the subject itself. Someone who’s a little high on themselves. Narcissistic. (Probably not spelled right). At least that’s what I think. I wouldn’t call you a pretentious snob for having excellent taste.:-)
David Ehrentstein: I do not have a lot of knowledge about film. I have a passion for film, and that’s why I’m here. Seems like a great place to both learn about films – seems to me there are quite a few people who knows a lot – and to hear about what others who share my passion for film think about this and that. As I understand it, this is a forum where people can talk to others who share their interest. I don’t think that excludes all talk that isn’t about film or analyzing films – that would be more like what Woody Allen called an intellectual wank (I’m sorry if that is a misqoute. I remember it like that.) – and comments like yours would be something I’d say come from a pretentious snob. If you are or not, I don’t know. If you feel you have more knowledge than most people here, then please share. I would definately be interested to learn more, as I am interested to know what other people with the same interest as me are like. And that’s why I find threads on subjects not quite to do with film interesting to read as well. There are so many interesting people in here, and there are a lot of funny coments around. That you can find elsewhere, but the point is that it comes from people you share something genuine with in the first place. There are conversations going on in here that I otherwise woudn’t hear any other place. I don’t know many cinephiles. So I’m interested in the people here, not just films, because we share a passion. Many of you have experiences I can relate to. It’s not always fun to be looked down upon for something that is so important to you, and that happens a lot to people with this interest, it seems. So let’s not be too hard on people in here for not being what you want them to be. But speak your mind though. That shows who you are. I’m sure this forum is big enough to avoid what you don’t find up to par, and check out what is.
By the way, I rather watch Tarr than Tarantino. So unless Bela Tarr tells me to slice my wrists, I’ll be aroud a little longer.
I’m laughing out loud here. Always a fan of straight talk and it’s always a good thing to know oneself. ‘…false modesty is my greatest failing.’ Love that.:-) Like I said, there are a few funny comments to be found here. I think you just topped them all:-)
Fandorini-san: Ha,ha, maybe it is.;-) I do know a lot, though, but when it comes to films, I have just started getting in to it. Maybe I’ll wacth a TON of films and give David a run for his money.:-)
What about The Free Will/Der Freie Wille? That raises the question of free will and determinism. I’m about to write a paper on free will and I plan on defending compatibilism from a naturalistic point of view. Although that might change – I still have a lot of reading to do before I start writing. It would be interesting to hear from those of you who have seen The Free Will – and others of course – what you think of the film and/or subject. The film will not be the subject of my paper, so I’m not fishing for ideas here:-) I’m just generally interested in the subject, and The Free Will is such a thought provoking film, as well as being emotionally hard to watch.
Flemmon: your thesis sounds very interesting. I’d love to hear more about that. I just finished a course in organism and consiousness this spring, and the phenomenology of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty was drawn into that in an interesting way. I must say though – Husserl is not the easiest of philosophers to get a grip on. But the book we read, written by Evan Thompson, tried to naturalize their phenomenologies and used that as a basis for claiming there is a strong continuity between life and consciousness.
And Dimitris: ‘’Philosophy, the mother of all arts.’’ Love that.
If I remember correctly, Nietzsce’s nazi-link is due to his sister’s completion/editing of some of his work. She was a nazi-sympathizer, and twisted her brother’s philosophy in that direction after he went mad or died. I can’t remember excactly whitch.
I really like the poem you posted too, Kim. This is really an enlightening thread for anyone who’s looking to get into poetry but doesn’t know where to start.
‘’I shop therefore I am’’ is definately an allurism, used to make a point. I agree. That makes me think of perspectivism in Nietzsche, any thoughts on that? I’m absolutely not too confident when it comes to his philosophy, but a friend of mine is doing her MA on Nietzsche, and I have picked up a thing or two during our debates.
‘’I shop therefore I am’’ is definately an allurism, used to make a point. I agree. That makes me think of perspectivism in Nietzsche, any thoughts on that? I’m absolutely not too confident when it comes to his philosophy, but a friend of mine is doing her MA on Nietzsche, and I h……
I might want to get my dictionary for that one.:-) ‘’I think therefore I am’’ turned into ‘’ I shop therefore I am’‘. Using a well-known statement/saying to make a point by changing it a little. (It’s in the middle of the night here and I’m not that used to writing in English.) I see what you mean, though. A lot of great thinkers/artists have been misused in deception of the masses, I gather. Use what fits, do whatever works, seems to be the idea when you want to manipulate ‘the herd’. Machiavelli understood that, didn’t he?:-) In my opinion, he was being sarcastic, not ‘prophetic’.
After. I like to experience the film on my own terms first, and then I may watch the extras, interviews, etc. It’s easier making up your own mind about the film that way, and still it can bring something extra to the reviewing or retrospectively. I don’t do it with every film though, but I’ve had some positive experiences doing this.
what did you watch today? almost 3 years ago
Werckmeister Harmonies, Husbands and Wives, Annie Hall. It has been a good day for watching films…
Go to Comment
What do you believe is the most visually impressive film of all time? almost 3 years ago
Werckmeister Harmonies, The Man from London, and Last Year in Marienbad. They are absolutely beautiful.
Go to Comment
The Auteurs 'Cinetech' Poll. almost 3 years ago
1. Werckmeiser Harmonies
2. Naked
3. Last Year in Marienbad
4. Faces
5. A Woman Under the Influence
6. Au Hasard Balthazar
7. Jules and Jim
8. Hiroshima Mon Amour
9. Wings of Desire
10.Wages of Fear
…not necessarily in this order though.
Go to Comment
Are you able to sympathize with "evil" characters? almost 3 years ago
I love this thread. Films that make me ambivalent in terms of sympathy/antipathy for the characters give me the best filmexperiences of all. When a character in a film alternate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sides in him- or herself is when the character comes across as ‘real’. Not when he or she is ‘all good’. That’s putting the character above us all as humans. Ideally, that may be the way we should, or want to, see ourselves, but let’s face it – not many of us can honestly say we are just one or the other. People have flaws. Haven’t met one yet who doesn’t. As for the character Nick in ‘A Woman Under the Influence’ I would say that when I saw the film I went from wanting to marry the guy to wanting to kick his ass, and back again, several times. He loves his wife and family so much he doesn’t know what good he can do for them. I did not see him as weak at all, but incapable of handling the situations that arose – mostly due to his wife’s (in his mind) irradic bahavior. Which I think is the very thing he loves her for – her different and unconventional outlook on life and playful approach to what she appreciate in life. But when Nick is confronted with Mabel’s ways in a social setting that sees her as ‘weird’, he belongs so much to that social structure himself that he feels embarrassed for her and tries to ‘put her in place’. And when Mabel really can’t take the conflict of her own nature vs. what’s expected of her and loses it a little, Nick feels helpless, then frustrated an finally angry. He just doesn’t know what to do. And that is a common enough human reaction for most of us to recognize. So I sympathize with him, even though I don’t agree with his way of dealing with it. Nick is a man that really cares for and loves his family but doesn’t have a clue of how to handle the chalanges he’s facing. He’s clueless when it comes to taking care of children. He has never learned how, and as a man of his own period, that was something he considered a woman’s domaine. Well, so much more could have been said about Cassavets’ insightful film of how people manage their lives on an everyday basis, but I’ll leave it at that.
Other characters that came to mind which evokes both sympathy and antipathy in me are Kinskis’ performance as Nosferatu when he said to Adjani that the absence of love is the most abject pain. How I felt for him at that moment. And I saw him as a lonlely creature in need of love and acceptance for who he is, that is the very same thing that keeps him from ever getting just that. And that made me think that films that show us the human in the inhuman, and the inhuman in the human has an important thing to teach us. There are a lot more characters to mention, like captain Willard in Apocalypse Now, even Kurtz himself, but the one character that really got to me must be Johnny in Naked. Such a scum, but still – he’s got that little something that enables you to see something decent in him. I really love that character.
Finally – an embarrassing question: can someone, in short, please explain the terms ‘protagonist’ and ‘antagonist’ as used about characters in films? No need to hide the fact that I’m a novice when it comes to films and talking about them as you guys are doing here, and English is also a foreign language to me, so I have a lot to learn yet. And what better place to start expanding my horison of filmappreciation and understanding than the Auteurs?
Go to Comment
Are you able to sympathize with "evil" characters? almost 3 years ago
Thank you Josh. That clarifies the matter for me. I saw an interview with Bela Tarr where he called the rain a protagonist, the scenery a protagonist, etc. This was Damnation he was talking about. I like the thought of that. Thank you again for your answer.:-)
Go to Comment
Recent Acquisitions. almost 3 years ago
Duck soup
L’Avventura
L’Eclipse
Wild Strawberries
A few days ago I also bought Naked, The Lives of Others, The Tin Drum, and got as a bonus Pulp Fiction and Cinema Paradiso for free.
Go to Comment
What's your favorite David Lynch film? almost 3 years ago
Inland Empire. So far. Haven’t seen them all yet.
Go to Comment
what did you watch today? almost 3 years ago
Inland Empire, Naked, A Woman Under the Influence and The Man From London.
Go to Comment
Best film about never getting the girl? almost 3 years ago
Annie Hall.
Go to Comment
You know your a cinephile when? almost 3 years ago
When you seriously consider learning hungarian just so you can get even more into Werckmeister Harmonies. I’m sure some things are ‘lost in translation’.
Go to Comment
Our Favourite Poems- for a site anthology almost 3 years ago
The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot.
IWe are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
IIWith direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom
Remember us – if at all – not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.
Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death’s dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind’s singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.
Let me be no nearer
In death’s dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat’s coat, crowskin, crosses staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer -
Not that final meeting
IIIIn the twilight kingdom
This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man’s hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.
It is like this
IVIn death’s other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.
The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms
In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river
Sightless, unless
VThe eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death’s twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.
Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o’clock in the morning.
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
For thine is the Kingdom
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the respons
Falls the Shadow
Life is very long
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
This poem is read by Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. And it is one of my favourite poems.
Go to Comment
Most Disturbing Film Ever (strictly speaking) almost 3 years ago
I’ve just seen Salo, and I don’t know if it is the most disturbing film ever, but it’s the most disturbing film I’ve seen so far. I found it a bit dull too, Miss J, but never the less disturbing. Now I will put on a Woody Allen film and try to get some of those images from Salo out of my head….
Go to Comment
what did you watch today? almost 3 years ago
Wild Strawberries. Loved it. And now: La Dolce Vita
Go to Comment
Write a poem almost 3 years ago
I got a call from Nowhere
a voice I didn’t know
whispered softly
words of no meaning
in my cut-off ear.
Tears ran down my face
acid
burning brooks
giving away
my shame.
I hung up too late
all exposed
the throbbing
in my vains
subsided.
I went back home
to Nowhere
and knew
my name
was Nobody.
Go to Comment
Film watching habits almost 3 years ago
Mostly I watch films at night. Sometimes I watch in the morning, and I like that, being more alert then. I never eat during a film, because I find it a bit distracting. I like to give the film my full attention. I always have a bottle of water at hand, and I don’t mind a glass of wine when I watch at night. When you watch a really great film, life is about as good as it gets, and I like to share that with a friend or my children. But most of the time, I watch my films in solitude. What films I choose are mostly random, based on mood, recomandations and/or previous films that I’ve liked from an auteur. And I love to rewatch films, and I do that after watching a few new ones. I also make sure I have quite a few films I haven’t watched yet in my collection, so I always find something to watch regardless of the mood I happen to be in. Very few to lift my spirit, though. Not many light comedies to be found in my dvd-collection…
Go to Comment
Favorite Books almost 3 years ago
As I lay dying – Faulkner
Waiting for the barbarians – Coetzee
Crime and punishment – Dostoyevsky
The sheltering sky – Bowles
Steppenwolf – Hesse
Heart of darkness – Conrad
And a few others I don’t know the translated titles of.
To Josh S.: good luck with getting into philosophy. It’s so interesting.:-)
Go to Comment
When you're with people who don't know that much about film.... almost 3 years ago
It depends on how you feel about film whether it is ok to watch ‘trash’ or not. People who enjoy mainstream Hollywood movies are, in my experience anyway, not passionate about films like the people in here seem to be. They find watching movies that tell them what to feel, how to feel, when to feel it, make them fell good for an hour and a half. Most of us have been there – where movies was just for entertainment – at least for a short while. So many children’s movies are like that. I have been one of those who watched ‘trash’ and was liking it to some extent. But I was also open for new kinds of experiences, and found myself curious of films outside mainstream Hollywood. And when I tried it, there was no turning back for me. Now I wouldn’t dream of wasting time on watching ‘trash’. Unless a friend of mine really wanted to share a movie-experience with me, and I felt that it was important to him or her. But generally I don’t watch ‘trash’ just because my friends wants me to. The people I know who call me an elitist and a snob, are ALWAYS the same people who never would consider watching one of my films unless at gun-point. So I have come to the conclusion that it is the narrowminded people who are judgemental towards those of us with a passion for films that are so much more than pure entertainment. People who like to watch ‘trash’ and who give other films a try and find they don’t like it, well – they at least tried. I respect that. What I don’t respect is the people who just give other people a hard time for having a fine taste i films. Most of us have wacthed ‘trash’ at one time or another, so we know we don’t like it, and why. But those who calls us elitists, rarely have seen a great film and understood it.
Ellie: a pretentious snob is not someone who have excellent taste in something. A pretentious snob is someone who thinks he or she is better than people with a taste for simpler things. And also someone who ‘gets off’ on having a lot of knowledge and educated oppinions rather than being passionate about the subject itself. Someone who’s a little high on themselves. Narcissistic. (Probably not spelled right). At least that’s what I think. I wouldn’t call you a pretentious snob for having excellent taste.:-)
David Ehrentstein: I do not have a lot of knowledge about film. I have a passion for film, and that’s why I’m here. Seems like a great place to both learn about films – seems to me there are quite a few people who knows a lot – and to hear about what others who share my passion for film think about this and that. As I understand it, this is a forum where people can talk to others who share their interest. I don’t think that excludes all talk that isn’t about film or analyzing films – that would be more like what Woody Allen called an intellectual wank (I’m sorry if that is a misqoute. I remember it like that.) – and comments like yours would be something I’d say come from a pretentious snob. If you are or not, I don’t know. If you feel you have more knowledge than most people here, then please share. I would definately be interested to learn more, as I am interested to know what other people with the same interest as me are like. And that’s why I find threads on subjects not quite to do with film interesting to read as well. There are so many interesting people in here, and there are a lot of funny coments around. That you can find elsewhere, but the point is that it comes from people you share something genuine with in the first place. There are conversations going on in here that I otherwise woudn’t hear any other place. I don’t know many cinephiles. So I’m interested in the people here, not just films, because we share a passion. Many of you have experiences I can relate to. It’s not always fun to be looked down upon for something that is so important to you, and that happens a lot to people with this interest, it seems. So let’s not be too hard on people in here for not being what you want them to be. But speak your mind though. That shows who you are. I’m sure this forum is big enough to avoid what you don’t find up to par, and check out what is.
By the way, I rather watch Tarr than Tarantino. So unless Bela Tarr tells me to slice my wrists, I’ll be aroud a little longer.
Go to Comment
When you're with people who don't know that much about film.... almost 3 years ago
Dimitris: Learning all the time:-)
Go to Comment
When you're with people who don't know that much about film.... almost 3 years ago
I’m laughing out loud here. Always a fan of straight talk and it’s always a good thing to know oneself. ‘…false modesty is my greatest failing.’ Love that.:-) Like I said, there are a few funny comments to be found here. I think you just topped them all:-)
Go to Comment
When you're with people who don't know that much about film.... almost 3 years ago
Fandorini-san: he probably does. I’m a novice, and have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to films. I’m working on it though.
Go to Comment
When you're with people who don't know that much about film.... almost 3 years ago
Fandorini-san: Ha,ha, maybe it is.;-) I do know a lot, though, but when it comes to films, I have just started getting in to it. Maybe I’ll wacth a TON of films and give David a run for his money.:-)
Go to Comment
how movies lie almost 3 years ago
With a distinction between a movie and a film, I agree: most movies lie.
Go to Comment
Philosophy and films almost 3 years ago
What about The Free Will/Der Freie Wille? That raises the question of free will and determinism. I’m about to write a paper on free will and I plan on defending compatibilism from a naturalistic point of view. Although that might change – I still have a lot of reading to do before I start writing. It would be interesting to hear from those of you who have seen The Free Will – and others of course – what you think of the film and/or subject. The film will not be the subject of my paper, so I’m not fishing for ideas here:-) I’m just generally interested in the subject, and The Free Will is such a thought provoking film, as well as being emotionally hard to watch.
Flemmon: your thesis sounds very interesting. I’d love to hear more about that. I just finished a course in organism and consiousness this spring, and the phenomenology of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty was drawn into that in an interesting way. I must say though – Husserl is not the easiest of philosophers to get a grip on. But the book we read, written by Evan Thompson, tried to naturalize their phenomenologies and used that as a basis for claiming there is a strong continuity between life and consciousness.
And Dimitris: ‘’Philosophy, the mother of all arts.’’ Love that.
Go to Comment
Philosophy and films almost 3 years ago
If I remember correctly, Nietzsce’s nazi-link is due to his sister’s completion/editing of some of his work. She was a nazi-sympathizer, and twisted her brother’s philosophy in that direction after he went mad or died. I can’t remember excactly whitch.
Go to Comment
Our Favourite Poems- for a site anthology almost 3 years ago
I really like the poem you posted too, Kim. This is really an enlightening thread for anyone who’s looking to get into poetry but doesn’t know where to start.
Go to Comment
Philosophy and films almost 3 years ago
‘’I shop therefore I am’’ is definately an allurism, used to make a point. I agree. That makes me think of perspectivism in Nietzsche, any thoughts on that? I’m absolutely not too confident when it comes to his philosophy, but a friend of mine is doing her MA on Nietzsche, and I have picked up a thing or two during our debates.
Go to Comment
Philosophy and films almost 3 years ago
‘’I shop therefore I am’’ is definately an allurism, used to make a point. I agree. That makes me think of perspectivism in Nietzsche, any thoughts on that? I’m absolutely not too confident when it comes to his philosophy, but a friend of mine is doing her MA on Nietzsche, and I h……
Damned slow computer, I ended up posting twice..
Go to Comment
Philosophy and films almost 3 years ago
I might want to get my dictionary for that one.:-) ‘’I think therefore I am’’ turned into ‘’ I shop therefore I am’‘. Using a well-known statement/saying to make a point by changing it a little. (It’s in the middle of the night here and I’m not that used to writing in English.) I see what you mean, though. A lot of great thinkers/artists have been misused in deception of the masses, I gather. Use what fits, do whatever works, seems to be the idea when you want to manipulate ‘the herd’. Machiavelli understood that, didn’t he?:-) In my opinion, he was being sarcastic, not ‘prophetic’.
Go to Comment
best British films of the last 25 years almost 3 years ago
Naked and Whitnail and I.
Go to Comment
Do you watch the interview & other materials before or after the film? over 2 years ago
After. I like to experience the film on my own terms first, and then I may watch the extras, interviews, etc. It’s easier making up your own mind about the film that way, and still it can bring something extra to the reviewing or retrospectively. I don’t do it with every film though, but I’ve had some positive experiences doing this.
Go to Comment