Wednesday 26 October 2016

Films: Don't Know When; 2016

Of Husbands and Wives: Woody Allen

Funny as always. The professor student relationship rang so many bells. The professor knows he is wrong. Of course he knows he is wrong. Didn't like how that aerobics girl was treated as dumb. When he was fucking her he didn't feel she was a child or that she was stupid. What's wrong with women who are not Simone de Beauvoir. Why is it made to sound like 'settling for less'? Woody Allen's manipulative wife.

Ida:  PaweÅ‚ Pawlikowski


Watched again and still in love with it. The cinematography with its HUGE negative space, black and white and BRILLIANT compositions. The one tear flowing thing. Use - in after rape scene in diploma when she is crying. 1 tear drop. That's it. The way in which her aunt picks up her son's skeleton 'did i have a brother?' Ida asked in the beginning when she was shown photographs. SCRIPTING BRILLIANCE. Using objects in foreground. BRILLIANT shot taking in opening sequence especially. Ida has experienced all her aunt wanted her to experience. Ida looks at fellow nuns' breasts while they take bath after returning. Was thinking all this while that the director is female. Looks like it's a man with a woman's heart.

Ceylan's style is great. Need to copy. The frame of the ferris wheel. People going round and round excited and shrieking and characters entering.



The feather in the class sequence that Putul ma'am had shown. The socks and water dripping. Pather Panchali of Turkey. The two children in the forest. The boy runs back and upturns the turtle. The boy's dream of mother falling down - killing herself from window sill.
The creation of mood should be learnt from him. Does it so well. The boy running and coming through the window spotted by the boy who goes to drink water. The cat at the window.


Three Monkeys: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2.5 time watching. Really good. How many people will realize that the boss and wife's relationship is rape. Husband and wife relationship is abuse. Son and mother relationship is abuse. A child's hand on a big person will always be nice on screen.

Mother and Son: Aleksandr Sokurov
Watched completely this time. Cinematography. Cinematography. Cinematography. It looks as of the bodies of mother and son cannot be separated. In most frames. 

Half Moon: Bahman Ghobadi 




What a film. Think i have watched it earlier in a film screening at Bankmen's Club. This time may be after 8 years. It was amazing. Will never forget the playback kind of sequence where all the women who were banned from singing lined up and drummed in unison and Mamo led the woman out from the place and led her to the bus. The singing and the voices throughout. The bus driver who looked as if he was there for comic relief but who became very important in the story. Hiding the woman singer. The replacement woman singer who kept appearing from the beginning in Mamo's visions/dreams. That's the image you remember from long ago. Her pulling the coffin. The old man inside the coffin. Screen going completely black. 

Pi: Darren Aronofsky



It was the director's debut, just got to know. Watched it without realizing i had watched it earlier. It's not bad but not great either. Mathematician trying to draw patterns out of stock market.

Cache: Michael Haneke



 Third time. Revisit your theory/theories

Chinatown: Roman Polanski




Didn't like it. So what happened to the woman who wanted to save her daughter from her rapist father? She dies and the father gets another daughter to rape. Her character has been portrayed 'loose' from the beginning. She herself sort of admits than she can only have short affairs with men. The detective who tries to bring out the scam is also ruined in the same way he is suggested to have been ruined in Chinatown and what's with the Chinese hatred. Was this before Americans made Russia/Muslims their enemies in films? It is a thriller but i can't stand so much violence against women. Jack Nicholson beating the woman up after sleeping with her. She says 'sister' 'daughter' 'sister' 'daughter' and he keeps on slapping her in the way all male abusers do. Terrifying.

Tangerine: Sean S. Baker





Transgender film shot on i phone. 'We don't serve prostitutes' sign. The reality which is in fact very harsh. Like me and she try to make a joke out of it. In the end how she goes to a car and they throw pee at her. Taking off the wig.

The Pianist: Roman Polanski




Don't know why i was not able to like it. remember seeing the German soldiers part on TV where he is asked to play and a long sequence follows. Need to watch the film Putul ma'am asked me to watch. The one with the feminist end. Liked the pianist's sister who wanted to hide money under the plant. Liked it when the pianist told her that he wished he knew her better. I wanted to tell the filmmaker that too. I wished he showed more of her. Women and cello - why? Bechelor Party comes to mind


 The Conformist: Bernardo Bertolucci





Didn't understand much. Have issues with the way he portrays women. His shot taking, frames, cinematography - brilliant.
[While writing this post i no longer have any memory of this film even after reading the plot once again]


Aparan: P Padmarajan

Caste: Innocent to Jayaram, that he is helping him because of the name at the end of his name (caste name: Pilla).
About Sobhana Parvathy cross questions Jayaram. The last thing she asks is caste. He responds, 'our caste'.

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