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Daisies 1966
The hijinks of two nihilists. These characters believe themselves to have no future, so they yuck it up and revel in the present. While they still can. This is, unfortunately, a very real phenomenon.
But Daisies as a film is clearly invested in and concerned with the future. If it were all truly a lost cause, why experiment with new formal approaches? Why look forward to what film can be?
It makes for an interesting disconnect with the Maries’ fatalist outlook. I read this as a lot more critical (and bleaker!) than everyone else, apparently.
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The Dumb Girl of Portici 1916
Anna Pavlova throws her entire body into every gesture. Her physical performance here is unlike anything else I’ve seen. It’s incredible.
With all due respect to the Neapolitan Revolt of 1647 and Italy’s rejection of Spanish rule and whatnot - I did not care about the narrative at all. It was late and I was totally checked out. But Pavlova lends a sense of momentum to the entire film just in how she carries herself.
I know I bounced between “herself” and “her entire body” here. This raises questions far, far outside the scope of this little capsule review.
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A Whole Night 1982
akerman was so good at recognizing and rendering onscreen the enormous weight of every moment - waiting, watching, meeting and parting and reunion and separation, the significance of each movement in relation to another person’s presence or absence. connection and disconnect and reconciliation, all scored by the footsteps that can bring people together or create distance between them, by the opening and closing of doors and windows, by the sounds of the city, by the music we listen to with…
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Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart 1985
i didn’t know anything about wayne wang going into this because i am, unfortunately, neither smart nor knowledgeable.
don’t be like me please. this is a great movie. someone seated near me at bampfa turned to their neighbor and helpfully declared “like ozu!” after some dialogue alluded to ozu, to the awe and delight of all nearby.
dim sum might be “like ozu*” to some extent, in being a study on the generational/familial push-pull dynamic, and in the establishing of…
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