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NEWS
- We're saddened to hear that Anna Karina, one of the defining figures of the French New Wave, has died. Though primarily remembered as the muse of Jean-Luc Godard, Karina was a remarkable actor, writer, and filmmaker in her own right. Justin Chang of the L.A. Times recalls her toughness and charm as seen throughout her expansive career.
- Courtesy of Josh Martin, the Chinese Film Bureau has shared a promising updated on the long gestating anthology film Seven-Person Band (previously titled Eight & a Half). The omnibus film is produced by Johnnie To, and features "some of Hong Kong's most renowned directors," including the late Ringo Lam.
- Alex Ross Perry is set to adapt Stephen King's 1989 novel The Dark Half, which follows an author whose literary alter ego comes to life with grisly intentions.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING
- The tense, beguiling trailer for Rose Glass’s feature debut Saint Maud has premiered. Notebook writer Kelley Dong deemed the film “a […] spiral of maroon, beige, and chestnut, a boldly crafted object that demands to be seen with eyes wide open.”
RECOMMENDED READING
Nosferatu (1979)
- Werner Herzog's Scenarios III contains four scripts for Herzog’s early films. Lithub has published an excerpt of his prose script for Nosferatu: "Dracula speaks with exceptional courtesy, all in a very soft voice. Something about it conveys menace; his very presence fills us with trepidation."
- The Brooklyn Rail interviews David Lynch, who has a new exhibit entitled David Lynch: Squeaky Flies in the Mud showing at Sperone Westwater, and examines "the complexity of Lynch’s 'anti-teleological spirit.'"
- The best undistributed films of 2019, as compiled by Film Comment, include Sergei Loznitsa's State Funeral, Abel Ferrara's Tommaso, and Miko Revereza's No Data Plan.
Anna Karina in her self-directed film, Vivre Ensemble (1973)
- In loving memory of Anna Karina, David Hudson of Criterion has provided an essential overview of Karina's career and her relationship to stardom, acting, and filmmaking.
- Helen Beltrame-Linné investigates the year in Brazilian cinema, in which "the industry [suffered] from less institutional and economic resources, [and] from a declared war of the government against the artistic class."
- Juliette Binoche's recent career-spanning conversation from the International Film Festival and Awards, Macao, includes insights into the actress's work with filmmakers from Abbas Kiarostami to Hirokazu Kore-eda, and "the spark that keeps her going."
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
- Daniel Lopatin, otherwise known as Oneohtrix Point Never, continues his fruitful collaboration with the Safdie Brothers on their latest cinematic descent, Uncut Gems. The equally riveting and disturbing soundscape is now on Spotify.
RECENTLY ON THE NOTEBOOK
- Our movie poster columnist gathers the best designs of the year in his annual round-up.
- The thirty best avant-garde feature films of the decade, as listed by experimental cinema connoisseur Michael Sicinski.
- Notebook editor Daniel Kasman reviews Terrence Malick’s latest, “ecstatically anti-fascist” film A Hidden Life.
EXTRAS
- A text by Daniil Kharms, an inspiration for the band GUO and for Peter Strickland's new short film, GUO4, currently playing on MUBI.
