future Le Pen voters. ambiguity breeds fear breeds ... in some cases ... vapid nihilism breeds anti-climatic death. the Bresson acting method works particularly well here, all characters behave as if stunned in their complete and utter social paralysis. very upsetting. reach out for one another.
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The Battle of Chile: Part I 1975
some strong secondhand catharsis being felt. through this: a very angry popular movement of common people yelling in a microphone in the middle of the street. against social grievances and U.S-sponsored state corruption. If you don't jump, you're a mummy.
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The Phantom of Liberty 1974
a playful satire on owning-class social codes and established order of the 1970s. the elusive nature of freedom. Even if you're not completely enamored by the guy, I'm amazed and envious that there once was a popular filmmaker, like Buñuel, who could synthesis a surrealistic storytelling style with astute social observations, as exhibited in Phantom. I am trying to imagine a luis buñuel movie in the present day. I can only imagine.
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Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis 1990
takes the body places you didn't even know they could go. corpus-spirit.
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The Exorcist III 1990
Demons of an all-American guilt. Absolutely spellbound by the calculating adherence to expressionistic form for this film — I’ve never seen a narrative film sustain such a creepy-ass atmosphere for so long. absolutely evil energy. the opening credits sequence, for instance, all atmosphere. utter insanity. an accomplishment in Gloom.
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Faust 1926
Can I live in the minds of these set directors omg. Faust as written by Goethe, with all its manic happenings and Shakespearen rip-offs, starts off with a bang of hermetic questioning and existential despair before withering away into a love story pivot I’m still baffled by as a reader. Thankfully didn’t stop production on Murnau's Faust, although it bares The Curse of Goethe by peaking early about a quarter of the way in. As usual, things don’t pick up…
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The Innocents 1961
trouble in Eden. The use of windows and mirrors here for paranoia-induced shadows in the night. Love. Gotta love a commitment to elusive storytelling. The dysfunctional governess in all her quiet, unsettled frame of mind. Feels a bit like a distant childhood event you never really remember every frame of. really like an apparition. not the red baron.
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Love Me Strangely 1971
Sympathy for the devil. I wish they'd explored some of the subjective underpinnings of Berger's psyche a bit more but alas. It is enough to live in their swanky French apartment for two hours. Earth-toned velvets, baroque decoration, conversation pits and porcelain tea cups, oh my.
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Damned in Venice 1978
Mostly unassuming but, man, can some visionary location scouting take a Gothic Venetian Anti-Christ story far. Excellent use of a spiked wall disguised as a modernist sculpture.
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