Brokeback Mountain
JT: Jack Twist.
EDM: Ennis.
JT: Your folks just stop at Ennis?
EDM: Del Mar.
JT: Nice to know you, Ennis del Mar.
Already much said. Already announced and promoted. And if it is not promoted enough…. You can always see it by your proper eyes.
What's the deal,
alors? Nothing much, as usual about the excellent movies.
Based on the E. Annie Proulx short story. Sincere, terse, not-quite-a-very-western about two cowboys, two men. About their love and their lives… in American countryside mentality of the second half of the twentieth century.
And about a love what is a force of nature. A human nature.
8 Oscar nominations, including for the Best Directing –
Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), for the Best Leading Actor –
Heath Ledger (Casanova, The Brothers Grimm), for the Best Supporting Roles –
Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) and
Michelle Williams (Land of Plenty).
The Saddest Music in The World
“If you're sad, and like beer, I'm your lady.” - says Lady Port- Huntly.
May I suggest you a completely bizarre experience? I think I can say that
The Saddest Music in the World is not just a movie but a new experience. Not only visually speaking but also in terms of the plot.
During the Great Depression, a beer baroness in Winnipeg called Lady Port-Huntly organizes a contest to find the saddest music in the world. As a result, musicians from around the world descend on that city to try and win the $25,000 prize.
Directed by the Guy Maddin,
The Saddest Music in the World is not really a drama or a comedy. A musical? It’s something else. Something that you must imagine to understand. Shot in black and white, this film presents Isabella Rosselini (
Blue Velvet), Maria de Medeiros (
Pulp Fiction) and Mark McKinney (
Falling Angels) performing very strange characters such as an amputee owner of a pub, an amnesiac Serbian and a corrupt businessman.
In the beginning of
The Saddest Music in The World you might even remember David Lynch but then you realise that Guy Maddin is even crazier than him. One interesting point in this film is the continuous messages that this Canadian director adresses against the American cultural imperialism.
“If you like to try something weird, go watch this movie.” – I would say.
Garden State - to watch and to listen to!
Just to recommend: the
film and the soundtrack!
The film Garden State: On his way to his mothers funeral does Andrew (the cute Zach Braff) forget to take his medicaments along - and feels for the first time alive...and even in love when he meets the highly unconventional Sam (the gorgeous Natalie Portman).
The soundtrack Garden State: Coldplay, The Shins, Nick Drake....really great songs and perfect for every mood!
Cahiers du Cinéma
For people that enjoy reading about good cinema:
Cahiers du Cinéma. Now this well-known magazine is also online.
Filmfestivals
Till the 13th of august takes the
Filmfestival in Locarno place. It gets more and more famous and more interesting each time. This year is additionally to the normal festival programme a big retrospective of Orson Wells part of the event. But there are as well new films to be seen...
In Germany is the
Fantasy-Filmfestival going on. At the moment it is in Munich but will move on to other cities like Cologne, Frankfurt, etc. There you can follow the steps of a serial killer who is a sadistic communist, if you like better the more 'straight' splatter films from the UK you might watch those or are you interested in a Hongkong love and action story...? Have a look at the programme and watch out for the films hoping that they will arrive one day in cinema.
And just one last comment: chances that we might see one of these films in cinema are low. In Europe but as well in the United States the cinemas are losing their audience...and therefore many have to close down - in particulare the small ones which have a less 'populare' (means less mainstream) programme. So let's take advantage of the still existing ones!
The Cave of the Yellow Dog
And again one of these wonderfull stories of a young film director who hasn't even graduated from the film school and yet made an international noticed film which was even nominated for a best documentary Oscar -
The Story of the Weeping Camel - and shortly afterwards even a feature-length fiction-documentary which gets just as populare.
Both films are directed by Byambasuren Davaa: a woman coming from Mongolia and studying at the Munich film school in Germany. Both films are made in her mother country and present us a gripping portrayal of the life of nomadics in Mongolia.
The Cave of the Yellow Dog is a story of a little girl, a dog she found and her family life... Doesn't sound exciting but is very touching and interesting to see and (once again!) makes you wonder about the world that exists outside your own environment.
Time to Choose
"Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit crushing game shows, stuffing junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose a future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that?"
in Trainspotting
