This had most of the elements i like a film to have to draw me in: central characters who are isolated loners and socially inept; self-effacing acting; understated emotion; oddball sensibility; a low-key plot with gentle narrative; quiet feelings being sensitively explored; no grandiose transitions, no exaggerated pretensions; an overall sense of something sad but [...]
Three times i’ve seen this without being able to write about it. Watching it feels as painful as the pain its trying to show. “It hurts when we love somebody. Because loving is a painful thing. That is its nature. Our loving is hurting us” reads dumpy adolescent Gail (what is the book? My guess [...]
A Daily Telegraph freebie this Dvd. Which would probably make Alan Sillitoe turn in his freshly dug grave at such a filthy Tory rag trying to profit from him. But Arthur Seaton wouldn’t care less; he’d laugh, take the money, bugger off down the pub. Albert Finney is our Arthur. Apparently Sillitoe didn’t want or [...]
This was the first subtitled film i ever saw; back in 1977 or 78 i think it was. I remember watching on BBC2 till about 2 in the morning and pissing my dad off (cus he needed me to go to bed for some reason) It obviously made a big impression; soon after I was [...]
I marvelled at this film when i first saw it. Such a surprising but delightful discovery – a Tarkovsky from Turkey!. I immediately watched it again. Then a few months later again. Of course i know and have watched more of the director’s – Nuri Bilge Ceylan – films now. This will be my 4th [...]
In the picture above you’ve got 2 Jewish guys: drummer boy Robb (on the left) and lead singer/guitarist Lips. Best Buddies since adolescence they’ve stuck it out together, kept their band “Anvil” going for over 35 years. Both of them are now in their 50′s, losing their hair (Robb hides his bald patch under caps [...]
I was wondering whether to bin the vid this film was taped on. Glad i didn’t. It starts off slow but gets intense and intenser. And red. And then redder. The clocks tock. Two sisters – Maria and Karin – sit around watching and waiting for 3rd sister – Agnes – to die of cancer. [...]
A chronicle of the difficult early relationship of Ingmar Bergman’s parents – Henrik and Anna – in Sweden a century ago. Anna’s mother intensely dislikes Henrik and wants to prevent then seeing one another: “You have deep and early wounds, beyond healing or consolation” she slams him with. Henrik’s mother loathes Anna: “Lord forgive me [...]
A documentary by Werner Herzog about Timothy Treadwell, a wild-life bear enthusiast and self-claimed “kind warrior”. Treadwell lived with wild grizzlies up in Alaska for 13 summers. He claimed to be protecting them. He got up close and personal, gave them cute names like “Mr Chocolate” and “Sergeant Brown“. He also befriended wild foxes; he [...]
This is the 6th Mike Leigh i’ve seen in the last 3 months (5 of them off of YouTube) It’s got all the usual bittersweet Pathos. But it’s also got an edgy kind of street-corner “nous”. Phil Daniels is what gives it edge; he’s the levva jacketted Cockney wide-boy older brother of dim younger bro [...]
