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SCREENING LOG
-11/08-11/14, 2004
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I Vitelloni (1953, Federico Fellini)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046521/
YES (#8 for 1953 between THE BIGAMIST and THE BIG HEAT) -
story is kind of discursive and anecdotal, but some of the
moments in here are unbelievably beautiful, quintessential
Fellini. For its precise capturing of an age and a way of
life, it's possibly my favorite Fellini film.
Moana (1926, Robert Flaherty)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017162/
YES (#4 for 1926 between SCAR OF SHAME and MOTHER) - fiction,
documentary, any way you cut it, it's gorgeous.
Le Trou (1960, Jacques Becker)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054407/
yes - Bresson's A MAN ESCAPED kind of made it hard for me
to appreciate this film for what it had to offer, a staid
study of cellmate relationships, bound together in a collective
striving for freedom. But to me it seems to slip into the
prosaic once too often -- detail is so literal (a five minute
uninterrupted shot of a wall being chipped at) to be mind-numbing
and somewhat uninspiring. It really has more in common with
JEANNE DIELMAN than MAN ESCAPED.
Submission, Part I (2004, Theo van Gogh)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432109/
no
Birth (2004, Jonathan Glazer)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337876/
mixed - an odd film, sort of a cross between Dreyer and Polanski.
Has great moments that linger on dead spaces and haunted faces,
which add intrigue to an otherwise ludicrous plot.
Porto of My Childhood (2001, Manoel de Oliveira)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0296809/
yes - having now seen three de Olivera films, I've come to
appreciate how he infuses the mundane with a sense of the
magical, and the mortal.
A Talking Picture (2003, Manoel de Oliveira)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0296809/
yes - seems like it was meant to be a response to 9/11 -
contrived but charming - de Oliveira's no-nonsense framing
gives each moment a compelling gravity.
Ford Transit (2002, Hany Abu-Assad)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375761/
yes - highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more
about life in Palestine.
The Kids Are Alright (1979, Jeff Stein)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079400/
mixed - for diehard Who fans only.
Finding Neverland (2004, Marc Forster)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308644/
mixed - a bit too by the numbers for me, but enjoyable nonetheless.
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