Sunday, August 30, 2015
La Cérémonie Turns 20
La Cérémonie Turns 20
Friday, August 28, 2015
My Father's Glory Turns 25
My Father’s Glory is a near perfect example of cinema as escape, escorting its viewers to a distant time and place through a rich feast of sensory delight. Its free flowing charm and graceful good humor will seduce even the harshest cynic, and soon have you believing in this old fashioned story of the world's wonders seen through a child’s innocent eyes. And we should believe it, for Pagnol’s real life closely mirrors the events in this film. His family did indeed spend their summers at a cottage in this area, and the prolific Pagnol set many of his works within a few miles of La Trielle. While he lived most of his adult life in Paris, Pagnol was buried in La Treille’s village cemetery in 1974, not far from the remains of his childhood friend David Magnan, the inspiration for the character of Lili, who was killed in battle during World War One.
My Father's Glory Turns 25
My Father’s Glory is a near perfect example of cinema as escape, escorting its viewers to a distant time and place through a rich feast of sensory delight. Its free flowing charm and graceful good humor will seduce even the harshest cynic, and soon have you believing in this old fashioned story of the world's wonders seen through a child’s innocent eyes. And we should believe it, for Pagnol’s real life closely mirrors the events in this film. His family did indeed spend their summers at a cottage in this area, and the prolific Pagnol set many of his works within a few miles of La Trielle. While he lived most of his adult life in Paris, Pagnol was buried in La Treille’s village cemetery in 1974, not far from the remains of his childhood friend David Magnan, the inspiration for the character of Lili, who was killed in battle during World War One.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
News and Notes for August 2015
It's almost time for TIFF! The program, er, programme can be found HERE, along with lots of other useful info. And here's a sneak preview courtesy of Rolling Stone.
Ballet fans! Lincoln Center at the Movies has announced a series of live dance performances coming this autumn to a movie theater near you. Shows include Romeo and Juliette, Carmen and more. Full details HERE.
Thinking about your Fantasy Football draft? You'll want to check out Fandom, a new direct-to-consumer film narrated by Christian Slater. Fandom explores the tremendous growth and power of the fantasy football phenomenon through the lives of players, fans, celebrities, pro athletes, and fantasy experts. Check it out HERE
News and Notes for August 2015
It's almost time for TIFF! The program, er, programme can be found HERE, along with lots of other useful info. And here's a sneak preview courtesy of Rolling Stone.
Ballet fans! Lincoln Center at the Movies has announced a series of live dance performances coming this autumn to a movie theater near you. Shows include Romeo and Juliette, Carmen and more. Full details HERE.
Thinking about your Fantasy Football draft? You'll want to check out Fandom, a new direct-to-consumer film narrated by Christian Slater. Fandom explores the tremendous growth and power of the fantasy football phenomenon through the lives of players, fans, celebrities, pro athletes, and fantasy experts. Check it out HERE
Monday, August 17, 2015
Today in Bunched History: Pauline at the Beach (1983) ✬✬✬✬½
Originally posted August 17, 2009
Eric Rohmer's commentary on the perils of summer romances starts with the opening of a gate, as recent divorcee Marion (Airelle Dombasle) and her 14 year old cousin Pauline (Amanda Langlet) escape Paris for a brief holiday - brief by French standards anyway - at the shore near Mont Saint-Michelle.
Marion, who cuts a stunning figure in a swimsuit, soon finds herself pursued by a sensitive and earnest graduate student (Pascal Gregory) and by Henri (Feodor Atkine), a charming, globe-trotting sophisticate, who also happens to be a total dick. Budding Pauline, on the other hand, refuses to rush into womanhood, as she makes it clear that she will lose her innocence at a place and time of her choosing, despite her cousin's urging and questionable advice.
Pauline takes a refreshing responsibility for her own life and actions, and often emerges as the wisest and most mature of this motley band of vacationers. Fittingly, her harmless fling with a hormonal teenage blockhead (Simon de la Brosse) serves as a catalyst for a bit of deception that ultimately reveals the true natures of Marion and her suitors.
While there are a couple of talky scenes, the film is much less dialogue-driven than is typical for this director, and he keeps the pace lively and engaging without sacrificing the relaxing Rohmer ambiance with which we've grown accustomed. The film ends with the closing of that gate from scene one and the characters amusingly disperse; each of them having gotten exactly what they deserve.
More Info
Today in Bunched History: Pauline at the Beach (1983) ✬✬✬✬½
Originally posted August 17, 2009
Eric Rohmer's commentary on the perils of summer romances starts with the opening of a gate, as recent divorcee Marion (Airelle Dombasle) and her 14 year old cousin Pauline (Amanda Langlet) escape Paris for a brief holiday - brief by French standards anyway - at the shore near Mont Saint-Michelle.
Marion, who cuts a stunning figure in a swimsuit, soon finds herself pursued by a sensitive and earnest graduate student (Pascal Gregory) and by Henri (Feodor Atkine), a charming, globe-trotting sophisticate, who also happens to be a total dick. Budding Pauline, on the other hand, refuses to rush into womanhood, as she makes it clear that she will lose her innocence at a place and time of her choosing, despite her cousin's urging and questionable advice.
Pauline takes a refreshing responsibility for her own life and actions, and often emerges as the wisest and most mature of this motley band of vacationers. Fittingly, her harmless fling with a hormonal teenage blockhead (Simon de la Brosse) serves as a catalyst for a bit of deception that ultimately reveals the true natures of Marion and her suitors.
While there are a couple of talky scenes, the film is much less dialogue-driven than is typical for this director, and he keeps the pace lively and engaging without sacrificing the relaxing Rohmer ambiance with which we've grown accustomed. The film ends with the closing of that gate from scene one and the characters amusingly disperse; each of them having gotten exactly what they deserve.
More Info
Friday, August 14, 2015
New on TV: August 2015
PBS
Ian McKellen and Derek Jacoby star in this hilarious Brit-com about an aging, and quite bitchy, gay couple. The show feels wonderfully old-fashioned - shot with 3 cameras in front of a live audience - and is reminiscent of the great classic BBC comedies of the 60s and 70s.
Orange is the New Black (2013-) ✬✬✬✬½
Netflix
I swore I would never watch this show. The idea just didn't appeal to me. Women in prison, yuk. Well what do I know because it's simply terrific. Netflix has done it again.
Ian McKellen and Derek Jacoby star in this hilarious Brit-com about an aging, and quite bitchy, gay couple. The show feels wonderfully old-fashioned - shot with 3 cameras in front of a live audience - and is reminiscent of the great classic BBC comedies of the 60s and 70s.
Orange is the New Black (2013-) ✬✬✬✬½
Netflix
I swore I would never watch this show. The idea just didn't appeal to me. Women in prison, yuk. Well what do I know because it's simply terrific. Netflix has done it again.
New on TV: August 2015
PBS
Ian McKellen and Derek Jacoby star in this hilarious Brit-com about an aging, and quite bitchy, gay couple. The show feels wonderfully old-fashioned - shot with 3 cameras in front of a live audience - and is reminiscent of the great classic BBC comedies of the 60s and 70s.
Orange is the New Black (2013-) ✬✬✬✬½
Netflix
I swore I would never watch this show. The idea just didn't appeal to me. Women in prison, yuk. Well what do I know because it's simply terrific. Netflix has done it again.
Ian McKellen and Derek Jacoby star in this hilarious Brit-com about an aging, and quite bitchy, gay couple. The show feels wonderfully old-fashioned - shot with 3 cameras in front of a live audience - and is reminiscent of the great classic BBC comedies of the 60s and 70s.
Orange is the New Black (2013-) ✬✬✬✬½
Netflix
I swore I would never watch this show. The idea just didn't appeal to me. Women in prison, yuk. Well what do I know because it's simply terrific. Netflix has done it again.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Alamar (2009) ✬✬✬✬½
In many ways. Alamar represents cinema in its purest form, telling a simple visual story that requires no explanation or augmentation. It delivers its exposition in a clear, spartan and direct manner, with nary an extraneous shot or superfluous moment. It also does what cinema does best: transporting viewers to another time and place, far beyond the boundaries of typical experience. With a concise running time of 73 minutes, González-Rubio has created not so much a poem as a beautifully filmed haiku, rife with pertinence and meaning while refusing to fill in every blank. And it is what Alamar leaves unsaid that gives the film its deep satisfaction and haunting presence in the soul. This film not only makes you think, it makes you better person.
Alamar (2009) ✬✬✬✬½
In many ways. Alamar represents cinema in its purest form, telling a simple visual story that requires no explanation or augmentation. It delivers its exposition in a clear, spartan and direct manner, with nary an extraneous shot or superfluous moment. It also does what cinema does best: transporting viewers to another time and place, far beyond the boundaries of typical experience. With a concise running time of 73 minutes, González-Rubio has created not so much a poem as a beautifully filmed haiku, rife with pertinence and meaning while refusing to fill in every blank. And it is what Alamar leaves unsaid that gives the film its deep satisfaction and haunting presence in the soul. This film not only makes you think, it makes you better person.
Friday, August 7, 2015
A Thousand Times Good Night (2013) ✬✬✬✬
Although it appears Rebecca is adjusting to her new domesticity, she is soon offered an opportunity to cover a story in Africa that reignites her journalist’s fire. But just as it seems the story is done and dusted, Poppe introduces a new theory, a new perception, into the relationship between photographer and subject that causes Binoche to question her mantra and methods. And just as he did in his excellent Troubled Water (2006), Erik Poppe raises just enough questions to leave us thinking and postulating. A Thousand Times Good Night doesn’t just resolve; more accurately it transcends, and leads us ever closer to the truth.
A Thousand Times Good Night (2013) ✬✬✬✬
Although it appears Rebecca is adjusting to her new domesticity, she is soon offered an opportunity to cover a story in Africa that reignites her journalist’s fire. But just as it seems the story is done and dusted, Poppe introduces a new theory, a new perception, into the relationship between photographer and subject that causes Binoche to question her mantra and methods. And just as he did in his excellent Troubled Water (2006), Erik Poppe raises just enough questions to leave us thinking and postulating. A Thousand Times Good Night doesn’t just resolve; more accurately it transcends, and leads us ever closer to the truth.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Quickies for August 2015
Stop the Pounding Heart (2013) ✬✬✬
DVD
European filmmaker Roberto Minervini looks at red state America and finds the lifestyles of his subject Texans as strange as a lost aboriginal tribe. Scenes of home schooling, bull riding, pistols, religious cults and cross burning are all served up with a perplexing lack of context. It's interesting to see common good ol' boy rituals through fresh eyes, but the story interjects its own melancholic twists and that weakens the film's integrity.
Netflix WI
Yôjirô Takita's film is beautiful, poetic and, yes, a little emotionally manipulative, but with the very best of intentions. Highly recommended.
Quickies for August 2015
Stop the Pounding Heart (2013) ✬✬✬
DVD
European filmmaker Roberto Minervini looks at red state America and finds the lifestyles of his subject Texans as strange as a lost aboriginal tribe. Scenes of home schooling, bull riding, pistols, religious cults and cross burning are all served up with a perplexing lack of context. It's interesting to see common good ol' boy rituals through fresh eyes, but the story interjects its own melancholic twists and that weakens the film's integrity.
Netflix WI
Yôjirô Takita's film is beautiful, poetic and, yes, a little emotionally manipulative, but with the very best of intentions. Highly recommended.
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