tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193349412024-03-05T00:24:28.381-08:00obscure objects of desireJeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-80680640197005769142011-12-15T05:58:00.000-08:002011-12-15T11:00:26.050-08:00<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" > Assortments of Eyes: Three Examples</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMYFLZAVFh2FqtzMFCME8MrsvYo5kDxHFRLDRYFSEk0Z7EvlGtdnEYY4kho6XBBVzlNbzfvuJepFc1ffyYPEVJaDs6NIe8EyodJCumz91Wv7OMtgn49HJJN9EQ2IHvN1zg29u/s1600/tumblr_l3a1stwQjW1qznfo7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMYFLZAVFh2FqtzMFCME8MrsvYo5kDxHFRLDRYFSEk0Z7EvlGtdnEYY4kho6XBBVzlNbzfvuJepFc1ffyYPEVJaDs6NIe8EyodJCumz91Wv7OMtgn49HJJN9EQ2IHvN1zg29u/s320/tumblr_l3a1stwQjW1qznfo7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686359409149535138" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Spellbound</span> (Alfred Hitchcock / Salvador Dali, 1945)</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwgsprNw8_FNd9eb9dZWtDjA4Y-mxmcxiF-wLo_jzLnIcERd83LLyYeTblovjVEftt9I6a-cq5zCpyxvboA2rYfc43acOdguPihfAOjRf87wv_d3R-NHsZMxEP5KgoaxIFSfx/s1600/vlcsnap-2010-09-16-23h00m36s15.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwgsprNw8_FNd9eb9dZWtDjA4Y-mxmcxiF-wLo_jzLnIcERd83LLyYeTblovjVEftt9I6a-cq5zCpyxvboA2rYfc43acOdguPihfAOjRf87wv_d3R-NHsZMxEP5KgoaxIFSfx/s320/vlcsnap-2010-09-16-23h00m36s15.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686355229241604738" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Blind Beast</span> (Yasuzo Masumura, 1969)</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Lf0q0EqcFY7SY7f3eRlDb3ljpy1FUl66cqRMYJHBZklH3KbLYQaFeuosSIaaD8gyFsTogu1HAM709FMT5rmfko9YvqIMNiHkomFp0xFgIyFHE0t7EMzPz0oK5XaLDMxZVOdL/s1600/yh37.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Lf0q0EqcFY7SY7f3eRlDb3ljpy1FUl66cqRMYJHBZklH3KbLYQaFeuosSIaaD8gyFsTogu1HAM709FMT5rmfko9YvqIMNiHkomFp0xFgIyFHE0t7EMzPz0oK5XaLDMxZVOdL/s320/yh37.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686355128642196914" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family:arial;" >Your Highness</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> (David Gordon Green, 2011)</span><br /></div>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-43958237782175205192011-12-13T08:48:00.000-08:002011-12-13T08:52:10.956-08:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">squirrels in film</span></span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5R2sh6InFqXt_Fe0KcL9gsUWGubsr5uBsphy5r3rlc2Q3si7vosMK4p7JK9UykPFvX6zF39aO1ZgIsDOwFi7dTVT36jJHqnLZq9g-T3KB7LjpUqyrHop2omQnI0lQAVV54-t/s1600/n27309333_33650300_4771.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5R2sh6InFqXt_Fe0KcL9gsUWGubsr5uBsphy5r3rlc2Q3si7vosMK4p7JK9UykPFvX6zF39aO1ZgIsDOwFi7dTVT36jJHqnLZq9g-T3KB7LjpUqyrHop2omQnI0lQAVV54-t/s320/n27309333_33650300_4771.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685655982452737442" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="st"> <span style="font-style: italic;">L'Arrivée d'un Train en Gare de la Ciotat</span></span> - Auguste and Louis Lumiere (1895)<span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_and_Louis_Lumi%C3%A8re" class="l"></a></div>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-79931178731894482782011-12-12T06:33:00.000-08:002011-12-13T08:55:09.011-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpjY5K5Rw0KGGFTYEcJ1JeHHeRSmhyphenhyphenNv1_ddJChjUOHQJgUETR2QNLTkeItem8AuLIrsYg0-Lyz9cd0ZWTq2MM_wz7o9YCi3hP_b5tsHakKCoCcEy8Rd4lpc3g_59dYBA8a-A/s1600/merde.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpjY5K5Rw0KGGFTYEcJ1JeHHeRSmhyphenhyphenNv1_ddJChjUOHQJgUETR2QNLTkeItem8AuLIrsYg0-Lyz9cd0ZWTq2MM_wz7o9YCi3hP_b5tsHakKCoCcEy8Rd4lpc3g_59dYBA8a-A/s320/merde.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685621190337525810" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Reawakening</span><br /></div>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-48716829168184568482010-12-13T15:35:00.000-08:002011-11-17T08:26:16.370-08:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Lost Sondheim Film Recovered</span></span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiposYt7PwmgBsNbGXCzUwacBAr3hHnEn9PZRf3OhqZsJ2h8WV6ZmWNgsajw3wFtNGOYP0pBll4ca9n2rY8sZ7Nm46iUZRagad7Bxzx7EVg2ZJl1YPQKkZTGPPczsGODDDvA0ad/s1600/295.fi.primrose.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiposYt7PwmgBsNbGXCzUwacBAr3hHnEn9PZRf3OhqZsJ2h8WV6ZmWNgsajw3wFtNGOYP0pBll4ca9n2rY8sZ7Nm46iUZRagad7Bxzx7EVg2ZJl1YPQKkZTGPPczsGODDDvA0ad/s320/295.fi.primrose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550318332029953170" border="0" /></a><br />I was just alerted when reading Jonathan Rosenbaum's <a href="http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.com/?p=23112">recent note</a> that Stephen Sondheim's long forgotten made-for-TV musical, <span style="font-style: italic;">Evening Primrose</span> (directed by Paul Bogart and featuring a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBLhWeceLGA">singing Anthony Perkins</a>), is finally available on DVD, thanks to a newly discovered print. I've had a great desire to see this musical since stumbling across its score when I was 17, and I've always thought its duet, "Take Me to the World," is one of Sondheim's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t27aQo-DYE&feature=related">loveliest songs</a>, even if it is also one of his simplest in terms of structure. Despite the fact that Bogart's film premiered in 1966, chalk this one up as one of my must-sees for 2010.Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-53106228209331864342010-12-11T10:12:00.000-08:002011-11-17T08:26:25.610-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoiWHwHvFZLDK4Id0H8uhF5_iJhqMlCMMYftUK_cYkgGr9_txqM04ozZNX6dXmXBAaiemFMc2JLI1NFWsg5DgsVrsIqcH-3GA_jRb7AZTbvlJ31qhcFePcGeKomCGYPVNAxjy/s1600/Uncle-Boonme-Who-Can-Recall-His-Past-Lives-Film-Review.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoiWHwHvFZLDK4Id0H8uhF5_iJhqMlCMMYftUK_cYkgGr9_txqM04ozZNX6dXmXBAaiemFMc2JLI1NFWsg5DgsVrsIqcH-3GA_jRb7AZTbvlJ31qhcFePcGeKomCGYPVNAxjy/s320/Uncle-Boonme-Who-Can-Recall-His-Past-Lives-Film-Review.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549490577288639138" border="0" /></a><br />Blogger critic Michael J. Anderson just posted his top picks for 2010, the majority of which I haven't seen yet and probably will not be seeing for a good while, given my current living situation. However, considering that he includes many of my favorite directors (Weerasethakul, Kiarostami, de Oliveira), and considering how often Anderson has acted as a guiding hand in the development of my own taste in film, I have a feeling that my personal "top ten" wouldn't be too far off, provided I had unlimited access to his choices.<br /><br />Anderson's list is <a href="http://tenbestfilms.blogspot.com/2010/12/ten-best-films-of-2010.html">here</a>.Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-22427062074979063812010-12-08T07:18:00.000-08:002011-11-17T08:26:35.198-08:00<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">squirrels in film</span><br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3nbPiGMTV-gi38buBeHQM3ssC02HwMVH5BIL2vLS-O_ZDXxhwe1wKDFKJfgIlRXUlDqcAEaTWvcWuhGLJfkThHf1L3aKEn22VbmYh8IBOeQCjhvFk4WSK2fgT1LtZEemSXi0/s1600/Bergman_TSS1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3nbPiGMTV-gi38buBeHQM3ssC02HwMVH5BIL2vLS-O_ZDXxhwe1wKDFKJfgIlRXUlDqcAEaTWvcWuhGLJfkThHf1L3aKEn22VbmYh8IBOeQCjhvFk4WSK2fgT1LtZEemSXi0/s320/Bergman_TSS1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548331656800152194" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The Seventh Seal </span>- Ingmar Bergman (1957)<br />Obtained 12/08/10 by The Wienie King<br /></div>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-4860332118333616242010-12-07T08:49:00.000-08:002011-11-17T23:16:48.111-08:00<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERoEBoIw7UK9aNSrxZic0Hz5lNy1g7hAfsf_IIlJwrjGHXq6VqsZCrz8yS27CCtJ259MCBLS62ns6P_kiWSX1gp8RRv0TlCuhNhO77eiKptxDnVpYA5hPd5z_jOh8lG201_cm/s1600/The-American-10.jpg"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The American</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">(Anton Corbijn, 2010)</span></span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERoEBoIw7UK9aNSrxZic0Hz5lNy1g7hAfsf_IIlJwrjGHXq6VqsZCrz8yS27CCtJ259MCBLS62ns6P_kiWSX1gp8RRv0TlCuhNhO77eiKptxDnVpYA5hPd5z_jOh8lG201_cm/s1600/The-American-10.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERoEBoIw7UK9aNSrxZic0Hz5lNy1g7hAfsf_IIlJwrjGHXq6VqsZCrz8yS27CCtJ259MCBLS62ns6P_kiWSX1gp8RRv0TlCuhNhO77eiKptxDnVpYA5hPd5z_jOh8lG201_cm/s320/The-American-10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547983697927089458" border="0" /></a><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> 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0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">I’d be more inclined to recommend Anton Corbijn’s moody thriller if it didn’t borrow so heavily from other, greater filmmakers: nineties-era Abbas Kiarostami<span style=""> </span>(in its attention to the spatial environment of villages and long shots of cars driving on deserted roads), Jean-Pierre Melville (in its overall mood and tone, not to mention its sexist depiction of women as exclusively betrayers or whores), and Jim Jarmusch (whose underrated <i style="">The Limits of Control </i>this film essentially copies in its foreign-based geography, repressed action, and minimalist acting of its lead). To his credit, Corbijn sandwiches these second-rate derivations between a nice anti-Hollywood opening and a fairly satisfying conclusion. I also find Corbijn’s film vastly more preferable than his arty Ian Curtis biopic, <i style="">Control</i>, even if some of that film’s irritating tendencies to make a religious martyr of its self-loathing protagonist seep into this film via a series of trite conversations on sin and guilt between George Clooney and an elderly Catholic priest played by Paolo Bonacelli (an Italian actor whose past involvements in <i style="">Caligula </i>and <i style="">Salo: The 120 Days of Sodom </i>likely invest his character with more dark nuances than his performance actually deserves). Corbijn’s film is better when it stops trying to underscore itself with Big Themes and simply concentrates on the ceremonial routines of Clooney’s custom arms maker, where the clickety-clack assemblage of disparate gunnery pieces achieves a kind of aural purity. Such scenes never quite reach the sensual spirituality that Robert Bresson achieved through sound in films like <i style="">Lancelot du lac</i>, but they are nevertheless the only moments when Corbijn’s film acquires some depth and is not merely a surface-level imitation.</p>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-17151293058807359462010-12-06T08:57:00.000-08:002011-11-17T08:27:03.061-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZkoHkh0kHQ8GePPPqFmGoU2cRqN6s_0vMwWWbeAgtauGDpJOQeR59tJJ7FF9gYl4n5a9ZQxsX2cTxGSZOWIlYLp0WefFkz2uOhzy78KrEVnkbRW5ylu1ZZ_tme6HDMDsn85R/s1600/Chaplin_and_Gandhi.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZkoHkh0kHQ8GePPPqFmGoU2cRqN6s_0vMwWWbeAgtauGDpJOQeR59tJJ7FF9gYl4n5a9ZQxsX2cTxGSZOWIlYLp0WefFkz2uOhzy78KrEVnkbRW5ylu1ZZ_tme6HDMDsn85R/s320/Chaplin_and_Gandhi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547614932356891458" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Chaplin meets Gandhi: Canning Town, London, September 22, 1931</span><br /></div>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-86175485403928080342010-12-05T08:55:00.000-08:002011-12-13T08:40:01.164-08:00<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Scott Pilgrim vs. The World</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">(Edgar Wright, 2010)</span><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" 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priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]-->In this spirited adaptation of the graphic novel by Bryan Lee O’Malley, Michael Cera, parodying his now-typecast persona as insecure slacker, plays the title hero—a 22-year-old man-child who plays bass for a really terrible rock band called “Sex Bob-omb,” works as a spokesperson for the Ironic T-Shirt fashion industry, and frequents the local Goodwill and indie record store more out of what seems a civic duty than for actual pleasure. While enjoying the casual emotional abuse of a sweet Chinese high-school student named Knives Chau (Ellen Wong, cast as the only character in the entire film whose company I would reasonably enjoy in real life), Pilgrim finds his life in sudden crisis when he one day falls for the fashionably depressive-moody, multicolored-haired new girl in town (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and must engage in a series of video-game styled battles with the girl’s seven evil ex-boyfriends (the wittiest creation being Brandon Routh as a vegan rockstar whose dietary lifestyle gives him Superman-like powers). As with his send-up of/homage to the buddy-cop genre, <i style="">Hot Fuzz</i>, director Edgar Wright sometimes teeters on the fine line between satire and exploitation, but I have no real complaints with a film that is so obviously indebted to the inventive formal playfulness of Frank Tashlin, as particularly demonstrated in the polygonal Universal logo that opens the film and the shapeshifting of its widescreen format to convey Pilgrim’s emotional state. (Suggested alternate title: <i style="">Will Success Spoil Scott Pilgrim?</i>) Moreover, for once the hipster scene is justly depicted as it really is: as a self-contained fantasy world, where one’s juvenile sense of victimhood elevates others to the level of dueling antagonists, and where the desire to be socially labeled causes everything in sight to be purposelessly categorized with decorative textual graphics. Although Wright’s incorporation of the video-game aesthetic from O’Malley’s comic book is probably intended to be nostalgic and affectionate (as it certainly is), it also exposes the social limitations of its characters’ narcissistic, ho-hum attitudes.Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-25219871307812633742010-12-04T08:51:00.000-08:002011-12-13T08:42:22.850-08:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">I Love You Phillip Morris</span><br />(Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, 2009)</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHkcfvOVgPVKLKo0GWeSZwwjI4_LjSkwYjU9a7X9fPPCnhn6w74SxsDozbtOD2NBJkdirUA3epmA4tORKyv1BerYOwpoxQawj_VHcIOYqP7uIFFwIMQ7JCavXvs9bi5pzkcGo/s1600/I-Love-You-Phillip-Morris-1.jpg"><img 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Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Although I don’t recall seeing his name in the credits, the influence of Alan Ball’s feel-bad satire (<i style="">American Beauty, </i>television’s <i style="">Six Feet Under</i>) reeks throughout this bio-dramedy about Steven Jay Russell, a real-life con artist who became rather infamous in Texas for his multiple escapes from prison. Co-directed by Glenn Ficara and John Requa, the screenwriting team that penned the much better <i style="">Bad Santa</i>, this lacks the warmth that Terry Zwigoff knew how to bring to the coarsest of material and winds up being merely coarse in its equal hatred of religious fundamentalism and gay secularism alike (or at least the simplified caricatures of said sub-cultures that this film borrows from Ball’s <i style="">American Beauty</i>). Jim Carrey, playing the con artist who falls for a shy, sweet-natured inmate (Ewan McGregor, in the rather undeveloped title role), honorably tries to bring some life to the cynical atmosphere with the childish kitsch he learned in the <i style="">Ace Ventura </i>films. (I liked the playful, and likely improvised, exchange of “good nights” between him and daughter in an early scene.) The underlying problem is that it’s difficult to care about his character, much less empathize with him as much as Ficara and Requa do. It’s despicable enough that the filmmakers expect us to laugh when Carrey’s Russell has a mentally troubled inmate brutally beaten as a sign of affection for Morris, but when he uses one of his more elaborate cons to deceive not only Morris but also the film viewers themselves, it becomes clear that the filmmakers are aligning themselves with their cruel protagonist in a manner that I found condescending. By the end, the best they can offer in defense of Russell’s amoral behavior is the suggestion that his actions pissed off then-governor George W. Bush—a mundane plea for sympathy that is nevertheless guaranteed to flatter fashionable, comfortably middle-class liberals (probably the film’s target audience). Spielberg at least knew how to have fun with the mechanics of conning when he tackled similar material in <i style="">Catch Me If You Can</i>; Ficara and Requa, unfortunately, are too busy satirizing every scene with their glib worldview to even provide an interesting (much less believable) depiction of its own subject matter. All in all, one of the more unpleasant films I’ve seen in a long time.</p>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-20933054089437503452010-12-03T08:48:00.000-08:002011-11-17T08:27:29.530-08:00<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:180%;">squirrels in film<br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMv8Bilc6iNAtdK19xYv7iOlTR-M1ImuHYX2B34gHH_UCYDxQ-xcWvG-d_yB5xNWL9M6dJbtrCcQx2P5RAA4hJvC4ZJR_UBidsuuEqaZmH6jGXfPz4zXQyNCPFgYE2fgSwgu2/s1600/squirrelzodiac.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 137px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMv8Bilc6iNAtdK19xYv7iOlTR-M1ImuHYX2B34gHH_UCYDxQ-xcWvG-d_yB5xNWL9M6dJbtrCcQx2P5RAA4hJvC4ZJR_UBidsuuEqaZmH6jGXfPz4zXQyNCPFgYE2fgSwgu2/s320/squirrelzodiac.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547612282374622226" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Zodiac </span>- David Fincher (2007)</span><br /></div>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-86953987453287457872010-12-02T08:44:00.000-08:002011-11-17T08:27:40.082-08:00<div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Sarrisms</span></span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" 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name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]-->“[T]he custard-pie sequence in <i style="">The Great Race </i>transcends the psychology of slapstick to qualify as the last spasm of action painting in the Western world.” <p class="MsoNormal">“Billy Wilder is too cynical too believe even in his own cynicism.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Fuller is an authentic American primitive whose works have to be seen to be understood. Seen, not heard or synopsized.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Perhaps there is not in Zinnemann enough of the redeeming outrageousness of the compulsive entertainer. In cinema, as in all art, only those who risk the ridiculous have a real shot at the sublime.”</p>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-91156521560263213012010-12-01T07:11:00.000-08:002011-11-17T08:27:52.435-08:00<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Commentary Commentaries</span><br /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">One of my fellow film connoisseurs took unfair advantage of my near-addictive weakness for making lists and suggested that I write about some of my favorite DVD audio commentaries. Having taken the bait, here are my personal top ten, in alphabetical order by film, along with my own brief commentaries. (This is not finished, Joel!)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoctWfYbQcfEmv724wbLu0NYA1MWDqmpMFs37oMTbcvzd6hAaKzWl6k6ci6XbnDxIcg_GiY39KpeN8hx2GjaoAT3rWk4qplTsEPsyTtUKVuD8UO_hw7fvTYUqLPNTDPD4eIBaa/s1600/51UbnmWQhpL.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoctWfYbQcfEmv724wbLu0NYA1MWDqmpMFs37oMTbcvzd6hAaKzWl6k6ci6XbnDxIcg_GiY39KpeN8hx2GjaoAT3rWk4qplTsEPsyTtUKVuD8UO_hw7fvTYUqLPNTDPD4eIBaa/s320/51UbnmWQhpL.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547597302742343330" border="0" /></a><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> 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style="font-weight: bold;">Julie Jones on </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Belle de jour</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">. </span>As smart and insightful as it is, I include this commentary mainly for the way the genteel, Southern-speaking voice of film scholar Julie Jones is interspersed over some of Luis Bunuel’s most blatant depictions of his privately erotic (and male-oriented) obsessions. 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mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Roman Polanski on </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Ninth Gate</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span> Despite the lackluster critical reception it received when released in 1999, <i style="">The Ninth Gate </i>has always been one of my personal favorites by Polanski, and his commentary—a rare treat, given his admitted reluctance to revisit 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Polanski’s self-analysis highlights the meticulous (and conservatively classical) craftsmanship he brings to material that lesser directors would treat as just another money-making genre exercise. He also instructively suggests that this subtly humorous film, sometimes critically dismissed for being not as scary as <i style="">Rosemary’s Baby</i>, is probably closer in spirit to the similarly underrated <i style="">The Fearless Vampire Killers.</i></p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDqtnv5E8Pl6Mk7tXkATck6bOdqcEMLaUHKUYipIZRt1swQoV9F7r2ZxshOLP6pKbeXddNl353jg7hIKxJLH_TdXpQ7QKW0vjr289_Ynd68S1dnqs34u42sj1g5gvTiwIeMCM/s1600/rear-window.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 234px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDqtnv5E8Pl6Mk7tXkATck6bOdqcEMLaUHKUYipIZRt1swQoV9F7r2ZxshOLP6pKbeXddNl353jg7hIKxJLH_TdXpQ7QKW0vjr289_Ynd68S1dnqs34u42sj1g5gvTiwIeMCM/s320/rear-window.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547595635202052834" border="0" /></a><!--[if 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mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">John Fawell on </span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rear Window.</span> </span>Expectations are pretty high for the man who wrote the book <i style="">Rear Window: The Well-Made Film</i>, and although I’m still not convinced that this is Hitchcock’s most “well-made” feature (that would be <i style="">Vertigo</i>), John Fawell’s commentary is fairly outstanding and exhaustively researched. Fawell analyzes just about everything, and I mean <i style="">everything</i>, from the family outside Stewart’s window who often escapes his gaze (revealing, Fawell explains, Stewart’s aversion to starting a family of his own) to the symbolic significance of the various photographs in his room. Avoiding platitudes, Fawell keeps the majority of his observations centered around his simple, yet endlessly provocative, thesis: that <i style="">Rear Window </i>is ultimately a movie about movie-watching itself.</p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ZUZ4cTjsbjEoNcDXSpVNPJ7yz7AFhcApfifxtVb68xQvdFT88eSn_OFcTG5LUxDMy9OHvBQQtCJMNgSkSnIay2C2XlS87XmKrpx-fO2Q2auWoxTM4y1p4WUhorz1lyiMt2mB/s1600/sansho-the-bailiff-dvd.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ZUZ4cTjsbjEoNcDXSpVNPJ7yz7AFhcApfifxtVb68xQvdFT88eSn_OFcTG5LUxDMy9OHvBQQtCJMNgSkSnIay2C2XlS87XmKrpx-fO2Q2auWoxTM4y1p4WUhorz1lyiMt2mB/s320/sansho-the-bailiff-dvd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547595471562242706" border="0" /></a><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> 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What Angles lacks in Rayns’s cinematic eclecticity he makes up for in national specificity, contextualizing the film within a steady grasp of Japanese history, geography, literature, politics, and language. 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New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Peter Bogdanovich on </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Targets</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span> For me Bogdanovich has always been one of most aesthetically pleasing of film commentators—even when what he says is not particularly interesting or remarkable, his relaxed, old-geezer-in-a-rocking-chair manner is always agreeable to the ear and the perfect cure for insomnia. However, Bogdanovich’s commentary for his striking first feature—still one of the scariest movies ever made—is exceptional for the numerous insights it provides into the film’s conception and production, much of which is more fascinating than the film itself and serves as a final testament to the creative energy that can be sparked by studio-mandated restrictions. Particularly enlightening is Bogdanvich’s acknowledgement that Samuel Fuller had a hand in the script and, I strongly suspect, in the direction as well. </p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qx7DnzUi_rCVJ7c8TQ3B29dJTywcJZQcKFzykW0791_093nqvfHlp2hQ635Mh31NZn5LSeNMI-9aTyd_pvwUQCg6P7EoqHe95nmFzxLZf0FqVGzLa3M6IfWLp-rk9ZpAUF9_/s1600/482_box_348x490.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qx7DnzUi_rCVJ7c8TQ3B29dJTywcJZQcKFzykW0791_093nqvfHlp2hQ635Mh31NZn5LSeNMI-9aTyd_pvwUQCg6P7EoqHe95nmFzxLZf0FqVGzLa3M6IfWLp-rk9ZpAUF9_/s320/482_box_348x490.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547595209893984338" border="0" /></a><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> 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New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Adrian Martin on </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">2 or 3 Things I Know About Her</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span> You have to give Australian film critic Adrian Martin credit for simply agreeing to tackle one of Godard’s first forays into essay filmmaking that, in its encyclopedic and referential nature, is already a kind of commentary in itself. However, Martin does a capable job at juggling everything Godard’s film throws at him and, in the justly famous coffee cup scene, even helps to situate the French director as more than a mere political agitator but rather as a filmmaker whose unorthodox techniques oftentimes reach for the spiritually transcendent.</p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6g3OrZ9-WnB2I29CZBUXr7T7kSBPE-K8U2xDpkC8dN34FM1mRp1jeObyBlFxvGr98Y1_2dNUtYnqAPP1vpuf34Nq7ipxu2z-v1MXSPYDBWXG-enR5inpHPxTcQdh5oW_0UAtH/s1600/4147_carrosusados.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6g3OrZ9-WnB2I29CZBUXr7T7kSBPE-K8U2xDpkC8dN34FM1mRp1jeObyBlFxvGr98Y1_2dNUtYnqAPP1vpuf34Nq7ipxu2z-v1MXSPYDBWXG-enR5inpHPxTcQdh5oW_0UAtH/s320/4147_carrosusados.jpg" 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10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Edward Yang and Tony Rayns on </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Yi Yi</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span> I’ve always been impressed by the sheer breadth of Tony Rayns’s cinematic knowledge (he’s just as at home talking about Dreyer’s <i style="">Vampyr </i>as he is Oshima’s <i style="">In the Realm of the Senses</i>), but what makes his co-commentary with Taiwanese director Edward Yang something special—aside from the fact that Yang just recently died about four years ago—is the manner in which Rayns modestly downplays his obvious credentials as one of leading critics of Asian cinema for the sake of paying respect to the master. When Rayns, for example, asks Yang if the bright colors in the film’s opening wedding sequence are meant to be satirical and Yang replies that this is actually how Chinese weddings are decorated, it’s testimony to Rayns’s gentlemanlike demeanor (not to mention his self-confidence as a critic) that he doesn’t respond defensively at all to Yang’s correction. This and many other cases provide an exemplary model of how to be a film critic without losing one’s humility.</p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"></p>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-58518005253439999262010-06-12T22:56:00.000-07:002011-11-17T08:28:09.457-08:00<div align="center"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><strong><em></em></strong></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><strong><em><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></em></strong></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" ><strong><em>The Advantages of Remaining Parallel</em></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYIW8DMMbCkFaed5_NerDQ3TjkU4oYBInT4-DONI2S_sjFQf8Z2ZRRkPPvQ3eSHaW85xby_GDXMMztpk9jNi3ZYIDzN_j1T3W7Q0Mq85eMgKhVx-yWEeNsPAUDE0IEKgj6zD4/s1600-h/celestial-bodies.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365983696205260130" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYIW8DMMbCkFaed5_NerDQ3TjkU4oYBInT4-DONI2S_sjFQf8Z2ZRRkPPvQ3eSHaW85xby_GDXMMztpk9jNi3ZYIDzN_j1T3W7Q0Mq85eMgKhVx-yWEeNsPAUDE0IEKgj6zD4/s320/celestial-bodies.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;">In his short story “The Form of Space<em></em>," Italo Calvino describes three celestial “characters”—Qfwfq, Ursula H’x, and Lieutenant Fenimore—who find themselves falling down parallel trajectories within the infinite reaches of outer space. Qfwfq, longing for intimacy with the beautiful Ursula, laments,<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I too, naturally, dreamed only of meeting Ursula H’x, but since, in my fall, I was following a straight line absolutely parallel to the one she followed, it seemed inappropriate to reveal such an unattainable desire.</span><br /><br />Because his orbit runs parallel to the object of his love and consequently dashes any hope that they will ever intersect, Qfwfq tries to conceal his amorous affection from Ursula. Why, after all, reveal to her a wish that can never be granted, a desire that can never be fulfilled? Qfwfq cannot bear to reveal his love to Ursula, for fear of making known to her a desire that is ultimately impossible. His passion is thus disguised, masked in his belief that it is impractical and unattainable. Better, Qfwfq believes, to remain content with the parallel relationship he has with Ursula, learning to adjust his self to the continuous space that lies between their respective bodies.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;">= =</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />In <em>A Lover’s Discourse</em>, Roland Barthes remains ambivalent about the ability of the subject, through either sacrificial chivalry or masochistic impulse, to completely disguise his feelings for the object of his love, since the very act of disguising always refers to the desire itself. As Barthes himself so aptly puts it,<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Yet to hide a passion totally (or even to hide, more simply, its excess) is inconceivable: not because the human subject is too weak, but because passion is in essence made to be seen: the hiding must be seen: <em>I want you to know that I am hiding something from you</em>, that is the active paradox I must resolve: <em>at one and the same time</em> it must be known and not known: I want you to know that I don’t want to show my feelings: that is the message I address to the other.<br /></span><br />The subject, even in his repression (such as in Qfwfq’s concealment of his love for Ursula), must nevertheless make his repression known—his repression is not really an action but a sign. The subject, in other words, wants to communicate to his secret love how much he is sacrificing in not communicating his passion, as contradictory as this statement may be: </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>You must know how much I am giving up by my refusal to let you know how much I feel for you.<br /></em><br />In order to make known what is concealed, to establish a presence of love through its very absence, the subject finds ways to communicate his feelings outside of the direct route, perhaps by exhibiting a new personality or by withdrawing longer than usual from his beloved’s company. He may, for example, refuse to answer messages from his beloved, waiting to see how she will react to his absence. (Will she care? If so, how much will she care? Will it be as much as I care when she herself, out of admittedly no ill will, delays responses to my own messages?)<br /><br />Fortunately, the <span style="font-style: italic;">creative</span> subject need not go to such rash extremes—he may hide his passion in his work, his paintings, his music, or his writing. (Calvino hides in metaphors; Barthes in poststructuralism.) In this modern and increasingly indiscreet age, blogs are an agreeable choice for simultaneous disclosure/nondisclosure of one’s secret passion, since in this medium the subject may intimately address his beloved in a manner disguised as public forum: <em>I pretend <a href="http://jnyhuis.blogspot.com/2009/08/advantages-of-remaining-parallel-in.html">this</a> is merely another post in a long series of other innocuous posts, but if only you knew the truth. I put on a show as if it were intended for an entire audience, but in my performance I can never manage to keep myself from addressing you alone.</em> Or, to defer once again to Barthes:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>Larvatus prodeo:</em> I advance pointing to my mask: I set a mask upon my passion, but with a discreet (and wily) finger I designate this mask. Every passion, ultimately, has its spectator: […] no amorous oblation without a final theater: the sign is always victorious.</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;">= =</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Secretly, Qfwfq anticipates a meeting with Ursula in the distant future, believing “there was always the possibility that, if our two parallels continued to infinity, the moment would come when they would touch.” It is his longing for this glorious “touch” with Ursula that motivates Qfwfq in his present state:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">This eventuality gave me some hope; indeed, it kept me in a state of constant excitement. I don’t mind telling you I had dreamed so much of a meeting of our parallels, in great detail, that it was no part of my experience, as if I had actually lived it.</span><br /><br />Is Qfwfq’s hope for an eventual “meeting of our parallels” false? In Euclidean geometry, certainly, but subsequent mathematical theory tells us that in hyperbolic space two parallel geodesics may actually intersect as their limits approach infinity. A cause for celebration? Perhaps, but infinity is still infinity, and there is no telling how long it may take these two lovers to reach their eventual connection—it may very well last a number of human lifetimes (it’s a good thing these aren’t <em>mortal beings</em> Calvino is discussing).<br /><br />Still, Qfwfq hopes, and it is this very hope that sustains him. He anticipates the intersection, which—like the use of foreshadowing in a novel—pushes his movement forward to a predetermined ending, no matter how far away this ending may be. Qfwfq is motivated by his expectation of the intersecting climax, perhaps slightly aware of this climax’s inability to equal its own anticipation. A self-fulfilling prophecy, after all, is not fulfilled in its eventual occurrence but rather in its initial projection.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;">= =</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />In his structuralist study <em>Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method</em>, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Gérard Genette </span><span style="font-family:arial;">remarks on Vladimir Jankélévitch’s notion of the “primultimateness” of the anticipated first time:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">[T]hat is, the fact that the first time, to the very extent to which one experiences its inaugural value intensely, is at the same time always (already) a last time—if only because it is forever the last to have been the first, and after it, inevitably, the sway of repetition and habit begins.<br /></span><br />Genette applies Jankélévitch’s idea to Swann and Odette’s first kiss in Proust’s <em>Remembrances of Things Past</em>, particularly to the following passage from the novel, in which Swann briefly hesitates just as he is about to fulfill his long-anticipated desire of claiming Odette:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Perhaps, moreover, Swann himself was fixing upon these features of an Odette not yet possessed, not even kissed by him, on whom he was looking now for the last time, that comprehensive gaze with which, on the day of his departure, a traveller strives to bear away with him in memory the view of a country to which he many never return.<br /></span><br />In finally gaining the physical Odette, Swann also loses a part of the Odette he loved: the Odette whose far-reaching proximity motivated Swann to pursue her; the Odette who, in some sense, walked parallel to Swann, ever distant yet constantly near.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;">= =</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Although Qfwfq is somewhat jealous in his suspicion that Ursula and Fenimore might have once intersected in their past, he finds some relief in the geometrical relativity of the situation:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">On reflecting, however, I reasoned that if Ursula and the Lieutenant had once occupied the same point in space, this meant that their respective lines of fall had since been moving apart and presumably were still moving apart. Now, in this slow but constant removal from the Lieutenant, it was more than likely that Ursula was coming closer to me; so the Lieutenant had little to boast of in his past conjunctions: I was the one at whom the future smiled.</span><br /><br />Indeed, even if Qfwfq and Ursula are continuously parallel to one another, this will at least allow Qfwfq to retain a closer distance to his beloved than all of Ursula’s previous intersecting lovers—despite the momentary bliss of touch they felt in their direct contact with Ursula, these former lovers will overtime only drift further and further apart from her. Qfwfq and Ursula, on the other hand, although seemingly separate until infinity, will never lose the closeness they possess within their stable, parallel trajectory. By staying apart, they will remain, in a very real sense, always together.<br /><br /></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Arial;">And who knows? Maybe infinity is just around the corner.</span><br /></div>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-17246966877589150122010-02-25T21:21:00.000-08:002011-11-17T08:28:21.076-08:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" ><strong>Rohmer mon amour (éventuelle)</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">.</span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdJ-FNVAqB6mpvx5DB8W7msUMhZVl3iRfKAwjg2iGsD_HBhKSBmGM553cYnn6rY066Q-Vr8ce8MFv2AVrPeiEwC-P_-1vRgMWFBBpJ6FWETc6TZ9iwMOuV8mTh-fh8l-7zo8r/s1600-h/Eric_Rohmer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdJ-FNVAqB6mpvx5DB8W7msUMhZVl3iRfKAwjg2iGsD_HBhKSBmGM553cYnn6rY066Q-Vr8ce8MFv2AVrPeiEwC-P_-1vRgMWFBBpJ6FWETc6TZ9iwMOuV8mTh-fh8l-7zo8r/s320/Eric_Rohmer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442428830828300946" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Although I was initially going to let my “top ten” list (see below) serve as my sole acknowledgment of Rohmer’s passing, I have since found myself unexpectedly and continuously moved by the death of the great French filmmaker. Perhaps I feel this way because I am only a recent convert to this most modest of the <em>Nouvelle Vague</em> auteurs. Of the five or six filmmakers I would consider to be personal favorites today (including Alain Resnais, David Cronenberg, and Hou Hsiao-hsien), Rohmer is the one director in this list whose ranking has undergone the most drastic upheaval. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Indeed, if you had asked me my opinion of Rohmer just a little over a year ago, I would have mentioned my fondness for elements of critical favorites like <em>A Tale of Autumn </em>and <em>My Night at Maud’s, </em>especially the latter's irresistable application of statistical theory to romantic love, but then would have admitted that his naturalism on the whole rather aggravated me, particularly in what I then considered to be a frequent refusal to divert his attention away from characters who I found to be shallow and a bit bourgeois in their intellectual prattle (something I myself, in retrospect, can admit I indulge in more often than I care to admit). I recall almost turning off in irritation <em>The Green Ray</em>—today my favorite film by Rohmer—during a scene when its protagonist, played by Marie Rivière, makes a big deal about her vegetarian habits while dining with some fellow vacationers. Neither did the self-absorbed actions of the male protagonist in <em>A Tale of Summer</em> do much to alleviate my aversion to what I interpreted to be on Rohmer's part a limited perspective—one that, as I wrote in my summary of the film back in 2007, seemed (to me at the time) hopelessly uncommitted to any kind of meaningful cause, political or otherwise.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIK4JieZ_KVKfxf59LksSClyqLPs3Bcr36URHOKAXpEyntD7QeP4n0gA5n1nfhtZIvOAjoXXbmwDGvrc9gLDg5PIalSsM1CH67Akk7kz1ucHOzq2HivGxePugCVRplp83IKZzw/s1600-h/greenrayvegetarian2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIK4JieZ_KVKfxf59LksSClyqLPs3Bcr36URHOKAXpEyntD7QeP4n0gA5n1nfhtZIvOAjoXXbmwDGvrc9gLDg5PIalSsM1CH67Akk7kz1ucHOzq2HivGxePugCVRplp83IKZzw/s320/greenrayvegetarian2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442428640494110210" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRcq_1Ir0Riaa6_RGuXz4VWzty6rLACgJ9HQl_3b04Wn0pCE_JS3JJU3JzpRruPrS6omQi_7ljObDWo3xhU26gHIebIJEf_HsrzqOXMQ42BLlXTQYBxJaIyRc36xqoSMTBTFXl/s1600-h/greenrayvegetarian.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRcq_1Ir0Riaa6_RGuXz4VWzty6rLACgJ9HQl_3b04Wn0pCE_JS3JJU3JzpRruPrS6omQi_7ljObDWo3xhU26gHIebIJEf_HsrzqOXMQ42BLlXTQYBxJaIyRc36xqoSMTBTFXl/s320/greenrayvegetarian.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442428586882498290" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">If I was initially repelled by Rohmer’s characters, my feelings may only be a tribute to the filmmaker’s remarkably undetectable mise-en-scène, which formed enough of a nonjudgmental playing field for my own judgmental emotions to take free reign (often against the films themselves, ironically). Even before I realized this, however, I felt compelled about four months ago to give <em>The Green Ray</em> a second chance, despite my initial dismissal that it was a silly fairy tale for the lovesick upper-class.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> As I watched Rohmer’s film a second time, something astonishing happened: I began to develop a real compassion for Rivière’s wandering heroine, this person who had initially irritated me to no end. True, I still found some of her personality quirks a bit pretentious, but my critical opinion suddenly became beside the point. Through Rohmer’s refusal to subject Rivière to invasive close-ups or surround her with non-diegetic music, I increasingly felt that I was being asked not to identify with his protagonist <em>per se</em> but to simply observe her. Seeing</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Rivière break into tears during two or three key scenes in <em>The Green Ray</em>, my feelings for her character and my awareness of her artificiality as an actor began to come into excruciating conflict. Never had the “fourth wall” of cinema felt so invisible and yet simultaneously so devastatingly permanent, its existence only proven in my inability to comfort Rivière as she cried alone—alone, and yet observed by all, through Rohmer’s discreet, almost transparent camera lens.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-e9wHTF814Y258aGfCU11ltfMPuTwNI6JyV57ojrerYF-w5qiVkSXpY8KsbNEgR7FQ-dHrsssoI92t2B93nz5nJZXtqQiuaOJh_p4-FpqE0RgKB9DOxCxuC8xQdau5RJsPRt/s1600-h/greenray1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-e9wHTF814Y258aGfCU11ltfMPuTwNI6JyV57ojrerYF-w5qiVkSXpY8KsbNEgR7FQ-dHrsssoI92t2B93nz5nJZXtqQiuaOJh_p4-FpqE0RgKB9DOxCxuC8xQdau5RJsPRt/s320/greenray1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442428466319452530" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7sLw_a5A0K9Kf2yA_wnilOr166KnbBwCXQdWjZpZFRy6RomouPV3Fl29dNexVtkvNo8nen_icfRYTiIjOxscFOyCcfRfwhGmbCgViZP45ahKjr7bOsH_DQRv95SM4xuPgZvy/s1600-h/greenraycry.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7sLw_a5A0K9Kf2yA_wnilOr166KnbBwCXQdWjZpZFRy6RomouPV3Fl29dNexVtkvNo8nen_icfRYTiIjOxscFOyCcfRfwhGmbCgViZP45ahKjr7bOsH_DQRv95SM4xuPgZvy/s320/greenraycry.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442428411298536498" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">What my epiphanic second viewing of <em>The Green Ray</em> revealed to me was that, like Howard Hawks at his most leisurely paced (e.g., <em>Only Angels Have Wings</em>, <em>Rio Bravo</em>), Rohmer persistently—and yet with a consistent, astonishing ease—worked to chip away the formalistic self-consciousness of cinema advocated by a more Brechtian peer like Jean-Luc Godard, thereby allowing his viewers to make intimate contact with his protagonists that nevertheless enhances the distance positioned between observed and observer. In other words, Rohmer's singular ability to draw his viewers so near to the emotions of his characters signifies—by process of a kind of poststructuralist <em>différance</em>—an awareness of cinema’s artificial presence itself, one just as alienating as Godard. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Let me put it another way: In pushing his naturalism to its uppermost limits, by bringing us as close to his characters as is cinematically possible, Rohmer better alerts us to the insufferable fact that the projection screen can never be completely shattered. He essentially suggests that, like his own protagonists who often have difficulty understanding their most intimate acquaintances (particularly apparent in his wonderful "Comedies & Proverbs" series of the '80s), we as viewers can never completely make contact with these characters’ thoughts and emotions, either, no matter how much Rohmer increases our proximity to them. This fragile yet undeviating gap between spectator and spectacle thus becomes a metaphor for the gap between our subjectivity and that of other human beings, where the suspension of disbelief Rohmer perfects in his naturalism only serves as a reminder of the same suspension we perpetuate in our self-deceptive belief that we can ever fully comprehend the thoughts and feelings of another person. No matter how much we strive to signify ourselves to others through words, gestures, and expressions (like the intellectual prattle of the male protagonist in <em>My Night at Maud's </em>or the tearful breakdown of Rivière near the end of <em>The Aviator's Wife</em>), Rohmer implies that the essence of who we are will always remain unknowable to everyone except ourselves, despite others' best efforts to give us their idea of comfort and affection.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjl0Hk-f7uYdE79Ug3YUgFhF___R0RzdAZdCbm3KIwnqv7skZdCtbeZTziWvCeG74rvPXiECOeFEG2caxoYxX9600AJ7uxrhyphenhyphenyrWebfKIH0JhSQBOudBGzvic1eJJXKEWuy8hn/s1600-h/aviatorswife.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjl0Hk-f7uYdE79Ug3YUgFhF___R0RzdAZdCbm3KIwnqv7skZdCtbeZTziWvCeG74rvPXiECOeFEG2caxoYxX9600AJ7uxrhyphenhyphenyrWebfKIH0JhSQBOudBGzvic1eJJXKEWuy8hn/s320/aviatorswife.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442428344615825650" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">It is finally this separation between the audience and Rohmer’s protagonists, however, that makes the resolutions in many of his films so affecting. When the scattered lovers of <em>L'Ami de mon amie</em> or <em>A Tale of Autumn</em> find their perfect matches, when the male hero of <em>Claire’s Knee</em> makes contact with the object of his desire, when concealed identity is revealed at the finale of <em>Les amours d'Astrée et de Céladon</em>, or when Rivière finally finds true love through a kind of divine intervention itself at the end of <em>The Green Ray</em>, Rohmer is in all these instances generously offering his characters a merciful resolution that his viewers, in their permanent role as distant observers, could never grant even if they wished to. Stepping in for the presupposed benevolence of his audience, Rohmer induces a compassion in his viewers that does not depend on their direct intercession—a compassion, in other words, that delights in witnessing the joy of others without taking credit for supplying this joy. By pushing his naturalism to such a maximum value that it exposes the inevitable alienation inherent in cinema, Rohmer teaches us how to love others from afar, which in the end may be the only way we can really love others anyway. </span><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht0J58oyiO5XW6Xf0x4VimWcp-eJoMBExEypDtKmHrTlGm9yvgjqesbzwc6RKSNCkRn9N95W2bbbNq_rFmcU2W9EWGuBmRSrnItwTRSBBcxm2rWn93m78MU1qhd6gbsVGmGdsJ/s1600-h/thegreenray.jpg"><br /></a> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vyt1o-G7qwoCZd2rrWKaxaU4drDk9ovKC-w-3UhUBOcnxIDDYHb7eChCo6ZiKk9CkwSsPTPpJ4XhriVDkPkQcXL4BbWxNSFpWoE1k2-7erxtHtAUumLcPoo2JYgsYyRW70Sq/s1600-h/bise.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vyt1o-G7qwoCZd2rrWKaxaU4drDk9ovKC-w-3UhUBOcnxIDDYHb7eChCo6ZiKk9CkwSsPTPpJ4XhriVDkPkQcXL4BbWxNSFpWoE1k2-7erxtHtAUumLcPoo2JYgsYyRW70Sq/s320/bise.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442428240956361394" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOEkEMJ0t8wUQLoZW0Qa-lEyMkiwX1PeFSbOa629HFwYnDGItRplLwNdZMEAQdQvsKnEv2k0RuwsOC7-pSKDD0ujiY22bEsaTlxAn03mr1kNv60eoBokoEg_YJSXFUj1DxWKI/s1600-h/astreaceladon.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOEkEMJ0t8wUQLoZW0Qa-lEyMkiwX1PeFSbOa629HFwYnDGItRplLwNdZMEAQdQvsKnEv2k0RuwsOC7-pSKDD0ujiY22bEsaTlxAn03mr1kNv60eoBokoEg_YJSXFUj1DxWKI/s320/astreaceladon.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442428175199361634" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ofUlqojEV8dU2uIi9097EscCLwkqDzEBRWh1fCcwb-d8GUh7mJjabPH2t7-gcu0ekYVuF2Ms4exUZacHcvBeT5pBKjqp_XIkgZObs_CcIPH9Uwh4On2sgecBiUen5oNPeHWL/s1600-h/thegreenray.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ofUlqojEV8dU2uIi9097EscCLwkqDzEBRWh1fCcwb-d8GUh7mJjabPH2t7-gcu0ekYVuF2Ms4exUZacHcvBeT5pBKjqp_XIkgZObs_CcIPH9Uwh4On2sgecBiUen5oNPeHWL/s320/thegreenray.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442428099559623682" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRg8Yt2tJlmtjPV1l6Tfz5WKR8vGN7Ph66bczBYKveC6s7l26tCUDm6l2CbfQMSS4QiNzTH2rXGEePH77UFnVWHtOdZkP4pU_EAeUu6pz65c2N1HTWEiO0P9kfyP2ZgI4ml8i/s1600-h/greenrayray.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRg8Yt2tJlmtjPV1l6Tfz5WKR8vGN7Ph66bczBYKveC6s7l26tCUDm6l2CbfQMSS4QiNzTH2rXGEePH77UFnVWHtOdZkP4pU_EAeUu6pz65c2N1HTWEiO0P9kfyP2ZgI4ml8i/s320/greenrayray.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442428009822391746" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="left"></div>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-26908626315210614292009-12-30T22:15:00.000-08:002011-12-19T08:29:22.330-08:00<span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">My Top 80 + 20 Guilty Pleasures </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-size:0pt;"><br /></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:0pt;">(2000-2009)</span> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiusLsWJYm6FE6XzgmfShYHS8hC-2GWrTjoP5lP3n4s-QGMRL5Ym8H69ASPvh9OW1tHCCKzWfX0MDCzx9V8FektbOW1eq7Jv3brd6j9ES9VWBjgNvpbxPzND6vR61X2-C_lCx3c/s1600-h/gleaners+and+i.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421284716682253202" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 256px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiusLsWJYm6FE6XzgmfShYHS8hC-2GWrTjoP5lP3n4s-QGMRL5Ym8H69ASPvh9OW1tHCCKzWfX0MDCzx9V8FektbOW1eq7Jv3brd6j9ES9VWBjgNvpbxPzND6vR61X2-C_lCx3c/s320/gleaners+and+i.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >After many obsessive weeks of sorting, eliminating, and organizing, I offer you charitable readers of my blog my very own personal top films of the decade*. As exhaustive—not to mention <i>exhausting</i>—as this summary may be, you would be surprised by how many potential contenders I had to regrettably leave out. It saddens me to think that I had to limit myself from citing such wonderful films like <i>The New World, Belle toujours, Million Dollar Baby, Grizzly Man, The Pianist, 25th Hour, ABC Africa, Climates</i>, or even Martin Scorsese’s superb documentary <i>My Voyage to Italy</i>**. But such is life, at least for those who live with self-applied constraints***. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Fortunately, for my own sanity rather than yours, I did not bother to rank my choices and instead am simply listing them in alphabetical order. It would, after all, be incredibly pretentious and just plain illogical of me to create hierarchies when one is dealing with such diverse titles as Spielberg’s <i>A.I. Artificial Intelligence, </i>Brakhage’s <i>Love Song</i>, and Jia’s <i>Platform</i>—it would be so pretentious and illogical that I myself am surprised I didn't attempt to do it. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Without further introductory details, I present to you my decade of cinema.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12px;" ><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">* Well, from 2000 to 2009 anyway. Those who want to argue that the 21st century actually began in 2001 clearly do not understand how compulsive list-makers like me will look for <span style="font-style: italic;">any </span>excuse to write these things, no matter how centennially-incorrect the reasons.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12px;" ><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">** There has got to be <span style="font-style: italic;">some </span>way for me to cheat and mention these films somewhere in here.<br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12px;" ><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">*** Yes, I am indeed a masochist. </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:';font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span></span> <div style="text-align: left;" face="arial"><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwFDr6DPAwJa1IwLFS5C_ZN7w2gZqrwPw5Q4NsDTuDAZ9sPlaAzUdN1m_WI5Lh1wA0bJzIwJ2Pig_AHTGjTtuPabmtUc5tQiL_5fBT-FpCu9DRqu5gvAytdII_QN-68t5Vc-L/s1600-h/ai.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421284645276839026" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 202px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwFDr6DPAwJa1IwLFS5C_ZN7w2gZqrwPw5Q4NsDTuDAZ9sPlaAzUdN1m_WI5Lh1wA0bJzIwJ2Pig_AHTGjTtuPabmtUc5tQiL_5fBT-FpCu9DRqu5gvAytdII_QN-68t5Vc-L/s320/ai.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><div style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Completing a project originally helmed by Stanley Kubrick, Spielberg provides a complex, moving, and at times downright creepy critique of his own manufactured (i.e., artificial) sentimentality as well as his own audience's willingness to identify with it, ending in a startling (if not also extremely disturbing) epilogue that rivals the best work of Michelangelo Antonioni in its narratological audaciousness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIY6CWjA4ZD8KdbpRaomIwtqV0ajsEvntW6wsrBuk4T06D-F791HafUDQaMKhQxMTbmtGG0OvmmTIeO31WvvdN1V5G7tJpYnTTyiYFlSJLzn0b0ka-lDrcrQT_YCbZZG5NCyI/s1600-h/romance+of+astrea+and+celadon.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421284600898959890" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 197px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIY6CWjA4ZD8KdbpRaomIwtqV0ajsEvntW6wsrBuk4T06D-F791HafUDQaMKhQxMTbmtGG0OvmmTIeO31WvvdN1V5G7tJpYnTTyiYFlSJLzn0b0ka-lDrcrQT_YCbZZG5NCyI/s320/romance+of+astrea+and+celadon.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; 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margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="ES-AR"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Les amours d'Astrée et de Céladon (Eric Rohmer, 2007) <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Rohmer’s adaptation of <i>L’Astree </i>by Honré d’Urfé may thematically suggest another <i>Perceval le gallois</i>, but the French director’s swan song is stylistically more a return to the combinatorial love games of his great ‘80s period, with some charming gender-swapping and a heightened (or, more accurately, a reconfirmed) sensuality added to his choice elements. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Linklater’s grown-up and considerably darker (albeit paradoxically day-lit) sequel to his relatively naive <i>Before Sunrise </i>functions as a critique of that earlier film’s romantic idealism, using real-time to add an urgent weight to every look, line, and gesture of its now-disillusioned lovers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSvIgXKVl6svLANp9B67Fe7Bpi9px5I7VY_5UAIg06W4-hbkAjzT94K9RrSALwjh22SFW6GkwP3yvQ9-eHP6F2WuXjbmrr9AxRHsoV9dD3pfCqybAjWlqcOHKIcStkVgn3D-u/s1600-h/blissfully+yours.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421284542627797058" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 172px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSvIgXKVl6svLANp9B67Fe7Bpi9px5I7VY_5UAIg06W4-hbkAjzT94K9RrSALwjh22SFW6GkwP3yvQ9-eHP6F2WuXjbmrr9AxRHsoV9dD3pfCqybAjWlqcOHKIcStkVgn3D-u/s320/blissfully+yours.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Blissfully Yours (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In my favorite film by Apichatpong, the sexual exploration of two young lovers within an exotic jungle retreat becomes an opportunity for this always unpredictable Thai filmmaker to rediscover the language of cinema itself, from his experimental use of interposed titles and voiceover to an opening credit sequence that arrives 45 minutes into the film.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Boss of It All (Lars von Trier, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The first ever film to use Automavision (a constraint technique in which every shot’s tilts, pans, and zooms are randomly generated by a computer), von Trier’s satirical comedy about acting and capitalism is both a surrealist conundrum worthy of the Oulipo movement and a multilayered form of expression in which the film’s artificial aesthetic reflects its own thematic premise of an authorless modern world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch, 2005)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Those who have ever used Facebook to reignite past relationships should take note of Jarmusch’s quietly tragic allegory of social dysfunction in the internet age, with Bill Murray’s emotionally-repressed loner using web search engines and MapQuest to make a series of increasingly bleak reconnections with his long-lost ex-lovers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMw7CEsWVuDPtA5TQa82t5aTt00UwiH6bbg2tNPfqQSZUCxiAWb5t3AglKao74qoT9fizfcZzR7Yp8tGa31noz5uZZYtGsylJh8Xnep_0ZI7OLMgPpDdCVaL-tLCR1TmRQgUh/s1600-h/cafe+lumiere.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421284490166376386" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 177px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMw7CEsWVuDPtA5TQa82t5aTt00UwiH6bbg2tNPfqQSZUCxiAWb5t3AglKao74qoT9fizfcZzR7Yp8tGa31noz5uZZYtGsylJh8Xnep_0ZI7OLMgPpDdCVaL-tLCR1TmRQgUh/s320/cafe+lumiere.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="ES-AR"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Café Lumière (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2003)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Hou’s tribute to Yasujiro Ozu—more in theoretical conception than actual execution—confirms the Taiwanese filmmaker’s sensitivity to national history on a more global scale, proving that he is just as adept in dramatically personalizing the histories of other countries (Japan in this case) as his own native region.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Camera (David Cronenberg, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Cronenberg’s career-long examination of the human body’s relationship with various technologies (television in <i>Videodrome</i>, automobiles in <i>Crash</i>, virtual reality in <i>eXistenZ</i>) finally turns its attention to the movie camera itself, thereby self-reflexively making the viewers themselves susceptible to the resulting distortion of identity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbk5Vls984Hof1TacOrcs0ABnltTY2GezDbX2X0buXwxpAw4wG1GQtnbjxx8eEF4qaI-cBaWJqOJsw-69-uFC2NL4msz9RWmJceAtwz9xF07-S1Ci3CpeigwVQl-Q4JxL56LU/s1600-h/the+circle.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421284434449460610" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 208px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbk5Vls984Hof1TacOrcs0ABnltTY2GezDbX2X0buXwxpAw4wG1GQtnbjxx8eEF4qaI-cBaWJqOJsw-69-uFC2NL4msz9RWmJceAtwz9xF07-S1Ci3CpeigwVQl-Q4JxL56LU/s320/the+circle.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Circle (Jafar Panahi, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Iranian director Panahi reconfigures the perpetually plot shifting structure of Luis Bunuel’s <i>The Phantom of Liberty </i>into a truly transgressive cultural protest against his nation’s oppression of its female citizens, where the narrative’s continuous interruptions reflect the cultural restrictions imposed on women. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Code Unknown (Michael Haneke, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Deconstructing multiple narratives in order to comment on social disconnection in a globalized society, the at times condescending Haneke offers a generously puzzling and highly uncharacteristic film that, unlike some of his lesser works, actually works to expand rather than limit our awareness of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqO0wP0pDwSEH6tQ6X5yYkyzDQ2XenO0wtFizl8FdkBdSvsyzk9i0TTan_bNFcQrpu7-GD6zvcImiuh43x3YztZbSsVbPTvoq9tij33IApprWZ-z818CqAu_HYSLekDcRpXYpd/s1600-h/coeurs.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421284362843931026" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 213px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqO0wP0pDwSEH6tQ6X5yYkyzDQ2XenO0wtFizl8FdkBdSvsyzk9i0TTan_bNFcQrpu7-GD6zvcImiuh43x3YztZbSsVbPTvoq9tij33IApprWZ-z818CqAu_HYSLekDcRpXYpd/s320/coeurs.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Cœurs (Alain Resnais, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The 87-year-old French master’s delicate and oftentimes ethereal direction transforms an English stage play by Alan Ayckbourn about repressed desire into a dreamlike tableau of spatial interiors, aided by enthusiastic performances from many Resnais regulars (especially Sabine Azéma and Pierre Arditi) and a beautiful, expressionistic handling of snow. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76PVybAAxE9t3_jgRlDohbKe3d0f5LHLViW8EXsnnFxM_AHWJgufKhx1J7bNCqapjJVKGeskYBycmrO_EC82JcQGgo8C8VUiLPYA8ifsJdrrfa2zTuxVs_uUBT7agCFMEnrRd/s1600-h/coffe+and+cigarettes.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421284303076932194" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 231px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76PVybAAxE9t3_jgRlDohbKe3d0f5LHLViW8EXsnnFxM_AHWJgufKhx1J7bNCqapjJVKGeskYBycmrO_EC82JcQGgo8C8VUiLPYA8ifsJdrrfa2zTuxVs_uUBT7agCFMEnrRd/s320/coffe+and+cigarettes.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Coffee and Cigarettes (Jim Jarmusch, 2003)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Jarmusch’s ensemble piece (featuring particularly nice turns by Steve Coogan, Alfred Molina, and Cate Blanchett) utilizes a tableau of visual and verbal rhymes to reveal how the efforts to maintain a high profile consequently hinders one’s ability to have actual conversations with others—a message that, despite some of these episodes’ age, couldn’t be more contemporary in these narcissistic, Facebook times. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Chats perchés (Chris Marker, 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Although nowhere near Marker’s best work (prime candidates would be <i>The Last Bolshevik </i>or <i>Sans soleil</i>), a faux-documentarian like Michael Moore could still learn a lot from this video essay on contemporary French politics and culture, which remains steadily upfront in its socialistic leanings without regressing to condescending agitprop.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br /></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A Christmas Tale (Arnaud Desplechin, 2008)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The family unit—a complex series of social relationships unified within a common bloodline—happens to be the perfect thematic apparatus for Desplechin’s stylistic approach to filmmaking, which offshoots a seemingly limitless number of narrative strands and experimental techniques (fade-outs, intertitles, split screens, and even shadow puppetry) that nevertheless remain genealogically amalgamated within both the filmmaker’s sensitive direction and his familial acting troupe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Crimson Gold (Jafar Panahi, 2003) <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Sandwiched between his examinations of gender restrictions in Iran (<i>The Circle </i>and <i>Offside</i>), Panahi’s haunting and compassionate drama about a pizza deliveryman—played by real-life schizophrenic Hossain Emadeddin—manages to express the nation’s class anxiety (particularly how poverty perpetuates criminal activity) without ever falling prey to class resentment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJcIfQUe5LvNyP0iu9VCoaDb55t1fdki212WZ7rtiHgJNEpgzLpswf_cS6TgfaAZxHPdpeg7WWQPT4CZ-VmCACznj4u67-H2LI4u-W0Qsjw0ga90L4yZhBNmf6JgKV7gLrsX9/s1600-h/darjeeling+limited.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421284213091642642" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJcIfQUe5LvNyP0iu9VCoaDb55t1fdki212WZ7rtiHgJNEpgzLpswf_cS6TgfaAZxHPdpeg7WWQPT4CZ-VmCACznj4u67-H2LI4u-W0Qsjw0ga90L4yZhBNmf6JgKV7gLrsX9/s320/darjeeling+limited.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Arguably Anderson’s best film, this laid-back voyage is simultaneously more of the same (especially when Anderson resorts to his usual mix-tape of pop songs and fashionable bourgeois disillusionment) and yet incredibly adventurous (primarily in its use of Indian locale and its unfashionably serious treatment of spirituality) while also demonstrating, in its colorful and intricately-designed <i>mise en scène </i>, that Anderson is one of most geometrically-conscious filmmakers since Tati.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiaAPeiaUehxUObKuFsbzJKZhVLLtokXHe3jkNHi8BSyM3Chwc6jQKjjNvmPvTBMX-GdpMJ_sZwOPdPs-0rWkPg8ZgHlVJKjAqble_NSLvD4AnxysaAnNJKaHpCTTIIG7c5lov/s1600/dayibecameawoman.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiaAPeiaUehxUObKuFsbzJKZhVLLtokXHe3jkNHi8BSyM3Chwc6jQKjjNvmPvTBMX-GdpMJ_sZwOPdPs-0rWkPg8ZgHlVJKjAqble_NSLvD4AnxysaAnNJKaHpCTTIIG7c5lov/s320/dayibecameawoman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687874356758589154" border="0" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Day I Became a Woman (Marzieh Makhmalbaf, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Partitioned into three discrete parts that eventually converge in its Fellini-esque final episode, this immersing contemplation by Makhmalbaf—wife of the more famous Iranian filmmaker—on what it means to be a woman in Iran avoids simple political platitudes about gender oppression (although this topic is certainly not ignored) and instead applies its insights to a more universal celebration of living life in the ever-fleeting moment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGp_GwlGc9n6n2PxfF3ZUpA-ultHKrVIiZZ-loVBSoAhb5_wLMNwTktonlxCQoOOObkmRHwRzZG-2lbD1DXskjmRK6lzitq4-3ftvuHjGnb4EGMmDLwhqjT3olJmO1E31juTAr/s1600-h/les+destinees.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421284138518523890" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 180px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGp_GwlGc9n6n2PxfF3ZUpA-ultHKrVIiZZ-loVBSoAhb5_wLMNwTktonlxCQoOOObkmRHwRzZG-2lbD1DXskjmRK6lzitq4-3ftvuHjGnb4EGMmDLwhqjT3olJmO1E31juTAr/s320/les+destinees.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="ES-AR"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Les destinées sentimentales (Olivier Assayas, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The remarkably eclectic Assayas completely shifts gears from his 1996 postmodern masterpiece <i>Irma Vep </i>with this breezy period-piece adaptation of Jacques Chardonne’s novel trilogy (which remains, to my knowledge, still untranslated into English), allowing the former <i>Cahiers</i> critic to defamiliarize the costume drama via his light-as-a-feather camerawork while also drawing out moving performances from Charles Berling and a fully-clothed Emmanuelle Béart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUx_BY0o56A9jIHMeSlGqYCqzepbzoJnWMEI8f4P3N4G7faB4ETcyFFNDqi0W_Q3dM0I9MjaFvKK1Hgp8C7mVPlGLlXjlbdquKzju-iPNVOWX5JW7pQbO6BH8smPm0qIJgRPW/s1600-h/dracula.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421284087489511010" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 219px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUx_BY0o56A9jIHMeSlGqYCqzepbzoJnWMEI8f4P3N4G7faB4ETcyFFNDqi0W_Q3dM0I9MjaFvKK1Hgp8C7mVPlGLlXjlbdquKzju-iPNVOWX5JW7pQbO6BH8smPm0qIJgRPW/s320/dracula.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (Guy Maddin, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This sexy fusion of ballet and silent film, based quite faithfully on Stoker’s novel, is probably Maddin’s least personal film yet and all the better for it: his usual Freudian preoccupations are kept at bay, allowing for a more expansive stylistic playing field where the Canadian filmmaker’s aesthetic talents (particularly an expressive use of color tinting and propagandistic intertitles) are able to soar beyond the thematic limitations that occasionally weigh down his other films.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In the way his sensual, serious attentiveness to the human body leads to a kind of spiritual awareness, Cronenberg proves himself to be the most Bressonian of modern filmmakers in this immaculately executed crime drama, which also has a lot to say about what tattoos and knives can do to alter our sense of identity and damage our fragile tissue, respectively (if not sometimes concurrently).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKo-QlZscVh7VjtaqEGbPdzxgmdhvhR67AbKLZo1vcPZTfUYS5cWhQz0yLy7cNPhh8jk3uNaZatG_QlrvRV2_4luPmzK68xLfjgAO9RozpiO-fL1nv7PM0HkAApf_3oe6W4fdA/s1600-h/in+praise+of+love.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421283996823289666" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 254px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKo-QlZscVh7VjtaqEGbPdzxgmdhvhR67AbKLZo1vcPZTfUYS5cWhQz0yLy7cNPhh8jk3uNaZatG_QlrvRV2_4luPmzK68xLfjgAO9RozpiO-fL1nv7PM0HkAApf_3oe6W4fdA/s320/in+praise+of+love.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Éloge de l'amour (Jean-Luc Godard, 2001)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">As demonstrated in this film’s expressive two-part structure (where the present is portrayed in black-and-white and the past in a beautifully saturated color, in what seems an homage to Otto Preminger’s equally melancholic <i>Bonjour Tristesse</i>), Godard’s political and at times maddeningly inexplicable diatribes are ultimately inseparable from his formalism itself. The filmmaker’s verbalism has thus become an aesthetic object all its own, where charges made against the former’s incomprehensibility are about as purposeful as criticizing light, image, or sound for possessing no direct meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SKsb62M5B55UxOyNKIZmZtg88p3HqCf5wXE_MINRSzSyBKBGbskoraviWsUI1V7_eDk5TTJHLdPosRMzcYUs0AH0fL57ZKWq-x_b6GW5COxqkP5f_zOfd7xTOYOTOmFcCutB/s1600-h/eternalsunshineofthespotlessmind.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421283938382852930" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 210px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SKsb62M5B55UxOyNKIZmZtg88p3HqCf5wXE_MINRSzSyBKBGbskoraviWsUI1V7_eDk5TTJHLdPosRMzcYUs0AH0fL57ZKWq-x_b6GW5COxqkP5f_zOfd7xTOYOTOmFcCutB/s320/eternalsunshineofthespotlessmind.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Gondry’s childish self-indulgence and Charlie Kaufman’s narcissistic melancholia strike me as the two most infuriating extremes of this modern age’s hipster spectrum, but when blended together the cancellation process actually may lead to enlightening results, as is particularly evident in this ambitious and ultimately moving fantasy about the value of memory that also happens to be a clever parody of Freudian psychology.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Haynes’s skills as a conscious imitator of other, better filmmakers remain more provocative when he’s pillaging from only one or two sources, as he did in last decade’s <i>Safe </i>(a disturbing hybrid of Michelangelo Antonioni and Chantal Akerman)<i> </i>and now this explicit yet very moving homage to Douglas Sirk, which largely succeeds thanks to the unapologetic sincerity that everyone (especially actors Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid) bring to the proceedings. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQmnaIr9-pQW3xcMLQ2TFCGroeNHS0yK8CtCgfgh6o8ed2pW-fGlyVi26FTogyOrEaAnit6GFIoU4Ng6sU03VVwMnIfbA1tw9_FPpsbWfLJTyTj9_j0_XoTFbjsIHcWPCTBb5A/s1600-h/girl+cut+in+two.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421283853250244162" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQmnaIr9-pQW3xcMLQ2TFCGroeNHS0yK8CtCgfgh6o8ed2pW-fGlyVi26FTogyOrEaAnit6GFIoU4Ng6sU03VVwMnIfbA1tw9_FPpsbWfLJTyTj9_j0_XoTFbjsIHcWPCTBb5A/s320/girl+cut+in+two.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="ES-AR"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">La fille coupée en deux (Claude Chabrol, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This indirect response to the feeble Chabrol-imitation that was Woody Allen’s overrated <i>Match Point </i>is an almost indecently well-executed crime farce that pushes the French director’s usual bourgeois furnishings into a Bunuel-like surrealism while having a whole lot of fun demolishing—in a critical and finally quite literal sense—the star persona of Ludivine Sagnier, whose self-parodying erotic presence here demonstrates everything Allen got wrong with Scarlett Johansson in <i>Match Point</i> and is perhaps closer to Godard’s deconstruction of Brigitte Bardot in <i>Contempt</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Flight of the Red Balloon (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Hou’s first French-language feature is a simultaneous reflection on and expansion of the Taiwanese filmmaker’s talents, incorporating some familiar thematic and stylistic motifs from his earlier career (particularly through puppet shows and extended one-take shots) while increasing his poetic awareness of the everyday. It’s a film that requires its viewers to mine out deeper meanings from subtle occurrences, thereby functioning, like Agnès Varda’s <i>Les glaneurs et la glaneuse</i>, as a perceptive training manual for observing the little details in life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Les glaneurs et la glaneuse (Agnès Varda, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Varda’s documentary about the act of gleaning—and all the various metaphorical connotations this implies—begins as a socially-conscious analysis on economic resourcefulness in France that gradually develops into an inspiring manifesto on how to see and live in the world as a compassionate artist.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7N4jWRcr_opvGGhmcn9VopWkWgzsZYGzBv4mykmo25-yVEjKUdHWBoBw_MNIjXM8eqqL5RI0P8IqYtH-2ROUqDpcllLZnhueR41WcXcPKxwRV6_8uWuHoWxH5Dlw8s2gVssa/s1600-h/goodbye+dragon+inn.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421283730119035474" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 213px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7N4jWRcr_opvGGhmcn9VopWkWgzsZYGzBv4mykmo25-yVEjKUdHWBoBw_MNIjXM8eqqL5RI0P8IqYtH-2ROUqDpcllLZnhueR41WcXcPKxwRV6_8uWuHoWxH5Dlw8s2gVssa/s320/goodbye+dragon+inn.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang, 2003)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Tsai’s extremely minimalist riff in environmental ambience locates a majority of his thematic and stylistic preoccupations (extended takes, homo- and heterosexual flirtation, lots and lots of water) within the spatial interiors and exteriors of a closing movie theater, thereby functioning as a funereal (albeit at times subtly humorous) lamentation on the death of the communal filmgoing experience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Gosford Park (Robert Altman, 2001)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Altman’s characteristic use of multiple protagonists (or what might be more accurately termed a protagonistless vision) loses none of its expansiveness when situated into a single household and partitioned between servants and the bourgeoisie; such confinements actually serve to organize the various personalities into a clearly defined universe, where conventional plot patterns (including the central murder mystery) evaporate into what is more accurately an unpredictable and ultimately compassionate study on class relationships and the human ego. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGzAT3_A7JRpWprRr6Igt20r1W1Ga7HOqjJrCU0pE1Fm-IJTgQtisyHeW1PoYJ8EADZnEnwfRvga1olSfmadNOJZjkz1vUfn4btO0GhZJ8iBfdlKVXSVbpmnXtj9mKi2XR0LC/s1600-h/happy+go+lucky.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421283665106037778" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 197px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGzAT3_A7JRpWprRr6Igt20r1W1Ga7HOqjJrCU0pE1Fm-IJTgQtisyHeW1PoYJ8EADZnEnwfRvga1olSfmadNOJZjkz1vUfn4btO0GhZJ8iBfdlKVXSVbpmnXtj9mKi2XR0LC/s320/happy+go+lucky.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh, 2008)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In a world where everyone, for one reason or another, is a self-proclaimed victim of society, Sally Hawkins’s resiliently optimistic Poppy comes across as the ultimate nonconformist, not to mention a healthy antidote to the trendy melancholia induced by lazy, scornful films like <i>Ghost World </i>and its ilk.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Heart of the World (Guy Maddin, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Everything you could ever want in a film by Guy Maddin (melodramatic intertitles! phallic imagery! bombastic plot developments!) in the span of a thrilling, orgiastic, and ultimately generous six minutes, proving that less is clearly more for this talented if occasionally self-indulgent Canadian director.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-SA3NnJPAk1Dg5F9Y-uDXIt-u4SqJb7prktDuO3OrPmx3LHd-fcoK844n7Mw0fZRWg3S9awVMgfRzb6BKI6O_rh_sJlchBjf2F4I1WhpT-vAOr-hV0JgFGEhxaC7t6oSxDkLh/s1600-h/histore+de+marie+et+julien.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421283606419944322" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-SA3NnJPAk1Dg5F9Y-uDXIt-u4SqJb7prktDuO3OrPmx3LHd-fcoK844n7Mw0fZRWg3S9awVMgfRzb6BKI6O_rh_sJlchBjf2F4I1WhpT-vAOr-hV0JgFGEhxaC7t6oSxDkLh/s320/histore+de+marie+et+julien.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Histoire de Marie et Julien (Jacques Rivette, 2003)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Delicately shifting identification between its two protagonists (played by Emmanuelle Béart and Jerzy Radziwilowicz) within the course of a swift 150 minutes, Rivette’s time-conscious ghost story is both a fulfillment of the creepiness suggested by his <i>Celine and Julie Go Boating </i>as well as a return to the sensual exploration of identity found in <i>La belle noiseuse</i> via Rivette’s reunion with Béart, who bares a lot more than simply her body this time around.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Fusing the Americanism of Norman Rockwell with Darwinian social theory, Cronenberg’s deceptively straight-forward genre film fashions a troubling and ultimately moving critique on comforting U.S. myths, which consequently heightens the Canadian filmmaker’s tragic, post-Christian meditation on the impossibility of redemptive conversion in a world where our primal instincts remain unknowable and outside our control.<br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBV-dAvIs8Skm_jb-DgKVsiRkoVhdfmIHN-ED3GJfXdOM2C9plVYD_VlhNpvAE-vNCpg6VUF5ZerudyrrvRk6HpSLRNLBjgSr-zQmpL9NWDcVsM0qNM1etJhV6IB24DsPgzB-/s1600/a+Ming-liang+Tsai+-+The+Hole+-+Dong+-+DVD+Review+PDVD_002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBV-dAvIs8Skm_jb-DgKVsiRkoVhdfmIHN-ED3GJfXdOM2C9plVYD_VlhNpvAE-vNCpg6VUF5ZerudyrrvRk6HpSLRNLBjgSr-zQmpL9NWDcVsM0qNM1etJhV6IB24DsPgzB-/s320/a+Ming-liang+Tsai+-+The+Hole+-+Dong+-+DVD+Review+PDVD_002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687874739960194034" border="0" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Hole (Tsai Ming-liang, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Although water has been an ongoing preoccupation for Tsai throughout his career, this is probably the Malaysian filmmaker’s most fetishistic concentration on the substance and perhaps also his most pleasurable work overall: an absurdist love story set in a leaky apartment building, where the sound of perpetual rain is only intermittently interrupted by a Grace Chang musical number. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFdVEU_2YfRrh3DXgWJLOutHzmoooziJBL12AaFq3DfIOIDMtDb4t7qrgdOK9_4N1rn1jPnFITcbrwPSaKpYZ6cQKHpO-9i-4atm5jV8ITJloJ8qxdqirmvIstqBciRlfxla4/s1600-h/howls+moving+castle.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421283551065438194" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 173px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFdVEU_2YfRrh3DXgWJLOutHzmoooziJBL12AaFq3DfIOIDMtDb4t7qrgdOK9_4N1rn1jPnFITcbrwPSaKpYZ6cQKHpO-9i-4atm5jV8ITJloJ8qxdqirmvIstqBciRlfxla4/s320/howls+moving+castle.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Howl’s Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki, 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Miyazaki’s endlessly inventive animated fantasy breaks down so many traditional dichotomies related both to age (i.e., old and young) and identifiable role models (heroes and villains) that the proceedings may come across as innocuous or just plain incomprehensible for those who adhere to society’s rigid binary structures. For me, this is what I imagine heaven, if it exists, will be very much like. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I’m Going Home (Manoel de Oliveira, 2001)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It would be worthwhile enough to see the modern world through the eyes of someone who, as film historian Richard Peña has observed, is nearly as old as cinema itself, yet what makes this tender comedy an especially fine treat is that de Oliveira (who just recently reached his centennial) also demonstrates a refreshingly optimistic view of growing old, as conveyed here in one of Michel Piccoli’s most charming and serene performances.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTug1tAx548NiQ9KIsBRFpmY9fG2uf25iftxc8jTJBTYdYfKMqMBhL58P0N76J9LTd1_lK1Zd6rxp6ceGFnwYvkH53CTo4FAcnvrNVNennULoJOIGRzf14_11K6iXUBnS9px5k/s1600-h/in+the+mood+for+love.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421283460775391858" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 219px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTug1tAx548NiQ9KIsBRFpmY9fG2uf25iftxc8jTJBTYdYfKMqMBhL58P0N76J9LTd1_lK1Zd6rxp6ceGFnwYvkH53CTo4FAcnvrNVNennULoJOIGRzf14_11K6iXUBnS9px5k/s320/in+the+mood+for+love.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In this very uncharacteristic masterpiece by the Hong Kong director, Wong’s stylistic graces, aided by Chris Doyle’s exquisite cinematography and a beautifully orchestrated score, find what may be their most moving and subversive application, primarily because they center their attention on characters (played by the eternal Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung) who are typically cast off to the side in most films. By bathing platonic love in some of the most lovingly formalistic devices imaginable, Wong conceives a new kind of romantic yearning that revitalizes the erotic power of looks and gestures, yet it’s also a yearning infused with a tragic awareness of love’s eventual dilution before it has even been initiated. It’s my favorite film of the decade and, if I may be so brash, a prime contender for the film of the 21st century. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Innocence (Lucile Hadzihalilovic, 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Gaspar Noé could learn a thing or two about the power of understatement from his wife, whose enigmatic feminist allegory—set in an isolated boarding school for young girls—sustains a threatening atmosphere of undetermined, foreboding menace despite (or perhaps, as director Jacques Tourneur once taught us, because of) the complete absence of any explicit violent imagery.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDH89W3wZzkjMW64EdBhyphenhyphenIvbRbZiymk1jGrzz8epksHWBVnWp2lIkQX3mIJStx5mVWV8vVLIvkxjIoAzq4KfwH2yL4ybFmStzr6CakrWr9-i7zuPsLdxhC0noh1hkkYYMf241/s1600-h/iraq+in+fragments.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421283394977307266" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 160px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDH89W3wZzkjMW64EdBhyphenhyphenIvbRbZiymk1jGrzz8epksHWBVnWp2lIkQX3mIJStx5mVWV8vVLIvkxjIoAzq4KfwH2yL4ybFmStzr6CakrWr9-i7zuPsLdxhC0noh1hkkYYMf241/s320/iraq+in+fragments.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Iraq in Fragments (James Longley, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Longley’s remarkable piece of poetic journalism (a genre still undervalued by those who believe art and journalism cannot and/or should not mix) helps to complicate what we mean, and more specifically who and what political ideology we are exactly referring to, when we talk about “Iraq.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudJvU-mkHfXV2Zr47Zjksf3m67WmNmCMOOb3r9N37bpW03JIDqdtMGJ-RPH24euCnCqFZoeHoXNUvWmBrWx6NfpEeOfr2esLJ564MFNiDg_qVdy9c8CgOM_B0unQzzLstr4r-/s1600/jerichow.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 172px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudJvU-mkHfXV2Zr47Zjksf3m67WmNmCMOOb3r9N37bpW03JIDqdtMGJ-RPH24euCnCqFZoeHoXNUvWmBrWx6NfpEeOfr2esLJ564MFNiDg_qVdy9c8CgOM_B0unQzzLstr4r-/s320/jerichow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687874968770953538" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Jerichow (Christian Petzold, 2008)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This German modernization of James M. Cain’s <i>The Postman Always Rings Twice </i>may initially come across as a straightforward genre exercise, but Petzold transcends conventions by maintaining a disquieting, almost Bressonian distance from his actors, thereby heightening—to lingering results—the subtle effects of poverty and xenophobia on his characters’ motivations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br /></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Kings and Queen (Arnaud Desplechin, 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Infinitely generous and unapologetically populist (it’s no surprise that Desplechin cites François Truffaut as an influence), this freewheeling masterwork may at times come across as a grab bag of assorted genres—featuring, among other excursions, hip-hop dance numbers, harrowing flashbacks, ghostly visitations, and botched crime capers—but every digression remains carefully integrated into the consistently startling performances of actors Mathieu Amalric and Emmanuelle Devos, who work to blur the line between comedy and tragedy in unexpected and life-affirming ways.<br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjejBbyO75v1AfVUiqOrD8AupZgC9zjKRPGFtaL35GtJyJNkvJB2D5Djr_D3ePpmmIZ6T7r0ObbAUs7QTNkGjZn8ObDyTvS9k9Z2BKfDByv1zjIFwn1l4Etd7BnllUm2cq6qLS9/s1600/ladyduke.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjejBbyO75v1AfVUiqOrD8AupZgC9zjKRPGFtaL35GtJyJNkvJB2D5Djr_D3ePpmmIZ6T7r0ObbAUs7QTNkGjZn8ObDyTvS9k9Z2BKfDByv1zjIFwn1l4Etd7BnllUm2cq6qLS9/s320/ladyduke.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687875278310970642" border="0" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Lady and the Duke (Eric Rohmer, 2001)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In its marvelous use of digital matte paintings and its identification with an antirevolutionary protagonist (played with fine sensitivity by Lucy Russell), Rohmer’s characteristic naturalism takes on the capabilities of a cinematic time machine, transporting its viewers not only to late-eighteenth-century France but also—as critic Michael Anderson has keenly observed at his blog—to the very political climate of those who opposed the Revolution.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqmdjjbCF2_LoVJ5j6JkZ6aPiDe9AQPd5JrhMZLIH0z9EfG6GHOyyS78UHhVGbC_MLMenDDeI96aCJznCaDGuEOkKDVW_tTyyHBDG20wugTo73uAA6NhJ8uxbukye9j_12qxJ/s1600-h/limits+of+control.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421283217815902114" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 242px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqmdjjbCF2_LoVJ5j6JkZ6aPiDe9AQPd5JrhMZLIH0z9EfG6GHOyyS78UHhVGbC_MLMenDDeI96aCJznCaDGuEOkKDVW_tTyyHBDG20wugTo73uAA6NhJ8uxbukye9j_12qxJ/s320/limits+of+control.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Limits of Control (Jim Jarmusch, 2009)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The widespread critical consensus that Jarmusch’s latest film is a pretentious misstep only goes to show how unfamiliar many critics are with the director’s wide array of European influences. For those attuned to the qualities <i>sans intrigue</i> of Jacques Rivette and Jean-Luc Godard (among countless others, considering Jarmusch’s eclectic tastes), this is a visually expansive and endlessly provocative exercise in style that additionally possesses a knowing, very Jarmusch-oriented sense of humor in regards to its own minimalism. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirympHqT-RHCopeN-8UYsXx4HhW7Z0HW13zkqBvk6t96j6l_QAPBsEcj1NAxq4T2DswkZfv5F7X841j-GGpkhsp2cRlzUtuRAt1xSpSZcPF5cIqnOLMskAGNu86F6GYpfzMAXS/s1600-h/love+song.JPG"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421283129549243234" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 247px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirympHqT-RHCopeN-8UYsXx4HhW7Z0HW13zkqBvk6t96j6l_QAPBsEcj1NAxq4T2DswkZfv5F7X841j-GGpkhsp2cRlzUtuRAt1xSpSZcPF5cIqnOLMskAGNu86F6GYpfzMAXS/s320/love+song.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Love Song (Stan Brakhage, 2001)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Brakhage’s self-described “hand-painted visualization of sex in the mind’s eye” gives his beautiful hand-painted film cells a new kind of expressivity by periodically alternating their rate of image change and occasionally adding light to the wetted surface, thereby bestowing his calligraphic brush strokes with a striking three-dimensional quality that almost seems to protrude right off the screen. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Michelangelo Eye to Eye (Michelangelo Antonioni, 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In this final film by the gifted Italian filmmaker, Antonioni culminates his career-long contemplation on the relationship between the human subject and architecture by centering his focus, for the first time, on a digitally-altered, constructed form of his own self.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApep4Ojk_fms9STcsk-jce-LY2oJM3TU83IHXAoreK4aYmAOevQeFAeEjkSY2BjNAyf8oclMp_bGiRxjsf9nXN5uVEJN0ckrWHglLP3u_fwXGENz7u1DjQy9OBARNxioguGtF/s1600-h/Moolaade.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421281920824601410" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 186px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApep4Ojk_fms9STcsk-jce-LY2oJM3TU83IHXAoreK4aYmAOevQeFAeEjkSY2BjNAyf8oclMp_bGiRxjsf9nXN5uVEJN0ckrWHglLP3u_fwXGENz7u1DjQy9OBARNxioguGtF/s320/Moolaade.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Moolaadé (Ousmane Sembene, 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Skillfully synthesizing drama with social protest, the great African filmmaker’s swan song is a colorful and complex portrait of communal living in all its beauty, humor, and occasional horror.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVq6OBKO_hKMS4YaymvxA3rSljDC3nSIZ-LcDEZ1q2unMIe0-RNCKGLUnWGuHchM_xH3GR7L6glGgCBBSdbLQEnjntN9trg22sDHVCqvxpaY8V5iSrI45DW1uqKH7cV_cBuKfS/s1600-h/mulholland+dr.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421281846081607074" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 212px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVq6OBKO_hKMS4YaymvxA3rSljDC3nSIZ-LcDEZ1q2unMIe0-RNCKGLUnWGuHchM_xH3GR7L6glGgCBBSdbLQEnjntN9trg22sDHVCqvxpaY8V5iSrI45DW1uqKH7cV_cBuKfS/s320/mulholland+dr.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In this astonishing blend of Rivette’s <i>Celine and Julie Go Boating</i>, Bergman’s <i>Persona</i>, and Lynch’s own singular brand of dream logic, the U.S. filmmaker for once sets his nightmarish signifiers on a meaningful (not to mention vastly self-reflexive) signified—namely, the illusory spectacle of acting within the Hollywood star system—and comes up with an enigmatic and surprisingly moving experience that may just stick with you for a lifetime.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Mysterious Object at Noon (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Utilizing the surrealist technique of <i>cadaver exquis </i>(exquisite corpse) to form its narrative structure, </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Apichatpong</span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">’s experimental film lacks the pictorial beauty of his later masterworks (<i>Tropical Malady, Blissfully Yours</i>) but more than makes up for it with the Thai filmmaker’s ambitious approach, which transforms basic storytelling into a celebration of collaboration and community. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property (Charles Burnett, 2003)<br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Burnett’s absorbing one-hour documentary on the legendary slave rebel Nat Turner concerns itself less with the actual facts of the case (which remain varied and problematic, as demonstrated by the film’s occasional dramatizations) than how the case has been interpreted over the past 150 years by authors, historians, and others of various political positions, including Burnett himself—a telling reminder that history often depends more on those who tell it than those who actually were a part of it. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjqr_u6m_-RKYvSVVTvfQnHz7-UQfTXiHFSQCkxsExCTBfBddNfNBCQzWuAS3ywtojYEjmmYsSmP4LwzoTP8LNSkZO2o6LBlnsoaGt4JoaLtEBpUpoHkclHbAuKUNfpM0ZKte/s1600/Notre-Musique-02.jpg.asset_.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjqr_u6m_-RKYvSVVTvfQnHz7-UQfTXiHFSQCkxsExCTBfBddNfNBCQzWuAS3ywtojYEjmmYsSmP4LwzoTP8LNSkZO2o6LBlnsoaGt4JoaLtEBpUpoHkclHbAuKUNfpM0ZKte/s320/Notre-Musique-02.jpg.asset_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687875566883972658" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Notre musique (Jean-Luc Godard, 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Godard’s playful interpretation of hell, purgatory, and heaven is one of his more insightful (or at least more decipherable) commentaries on the interdependent relationship between cinema and history, worth seeing alone for its poetic application of the “shot – reverse shot” to warfare (which harkens back to Godard’s brilliant analysis of imagery in <i>Ici et ailleurs</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Offside (Jafar Panahi, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Drastically different in tone to his somber <i>The Circle</i>, Panahi’s teen comedy, about a group of girls who dress as boys to attend the World Cup qualifying match in Iran, challenges gender restrictions in a manner that neither sentimentalizes its female protagonists nor demonizes the young soldiers who bar them from entering the stadium. Instead, Panahi offers a hopeful plea for mutual understanding and reconciliation between both oppressed and oppressor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br /></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Oliver Twist (Roman Polanski, 2005) <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Although it lacks the playfulness of his most pleasurable features (<i>The Ninth Gate</i>, <i>Pirates</i>, and <i>The Fearless Vampire Killers</i>), Polanski’s adaptation of Dickens’s famous novel is still an example of classical filmmaking at its highest and most refreshingly unfashionable level, directed with a personal sensitivity (perhaps even more so than his explicitly autobiographical <i>The Pianist</i>) by an artist who has unquestionably suffered himself. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Qsks3JS2gSN88JEKBMnCmGHBnrtxntPQNMHCNFxPxnDYgU6oB7i6B4u5walMU148_FokLLWizeF_wVUFkms7JSOlATDMWEcpCMsdXXyRyaWcf5bMHLe64ePLqAD8taDyAAME/s1600-h/opera+jawa.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421281608384107234" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 213px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Qsks3JS2gSN88JEKBMnCmGHBnrtxntPQNMHCNFxPxnDYgU6oB7i6B4u5walMU148_FokLLWizeF_wVUFkms7JSOlATDMWEcpCMsdXXyRyaWcf5bMHLe64ePLqAD8taDyAAME/s320/opera+jawa.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Opera Jawa (Garin Nugroho, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >One may cite Sergei Parajanov’s <i>The Color of Pomegranates </i>or Tony Gatlif’s <i>Latcho drom </i>as notable influences on this stunning Hindu musical from Indonesia, but Nugroho’s film remains ultimately one-of-its-kind in its expressive use of the human body and is, if anything, more indebted to Malian filmmaker Souleymane Cissé’s <i>Yeelen </i>in its poetic use of natural elements to suggest the magical.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjEKzY6kBk6-WlmTGXlvAyXmMLj5UI9y7kbbltYvONNFbRMrnTpcLEoGZSGlO7LvzaVJ1UxoLYTGhmuEwqueV5uzOA2NIxyZnvoVyO105vHTrofYQkpADdkEKdiiY_q90B6Z0/s1600/pas-sur-la-bouche-2003-05-g.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjEKzY6kBk6-WlmTGXlvAyXmMLj5UI9y7kbbltYvONNFbRMrnTpcLEoGZSGlO7LvzaVJ1UxoLYTGhmuEwqueV5uzOA2NIxyZnvoVyO105vHTrofYQkpADdkEKdiiY_q90B6Z0/s320/pas-sur-la-bouche-2003-05-g.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687876001237896722" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><o:p>Pas sur la bouche (Alain Resnais, 2003)</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="left" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >In its ghostly hues and unabashed nostalgia for an archaic genre, Resnais’s musical not only seems to come from another time but also from another world altogether, forming an atmosphere that—through the sincerity of its mise en scène and actors alike—is simultaneously affectionate and eerie.<br /></span></o:p></span></p><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCdB_-tbLA4SQDQOFOwDQg2n_JhoIVpGil2eTNMspmcA_zhThuZyOr3twl9XRFxoLavEGXjMLbAOP22h47e7UIxsEdCnhdrqZ5AuUdKVWI6Jgl-DDKNweRuJvQjF8nV680Pzf/s1600-h/platform.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421281535796940578" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 213px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCdB_-tbLA4SQDQOFOwDQg2n_JhoIVpGil2eTNMspmcA_zhThuZyOr3twl9XRFxoLavEGXjMLbAOP22h47e7UIxsEdCnhdrqZ5AuUdKVWI6Jgl-DDKNweRuJvQjF8nV680Pzf/s320/platform.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Platform (Jia Zhangke, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This living, highly personal document of China’s recent westernization, spanning from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, is remarkable precisely for its refusal to foreground the cultural shift, despite it being the film’s implied subject matter. Rather, Jia focuses almost exclusively on the love lives and social troubles of his young musician protagonists, providing a glimpse into what the nation’s gradual development must have actually felt like for the twenty-somethings who experienced it firsthand. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Return (Andrei Zvyagintsev, 2003)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Although certainly a masterful expression of childhood fears and anxiety (one of the best I’ve seen on this topic), repeated viewings of Zvyagintsev’s troubling Russian family drama actually illuminates its multiple perspectives, where either one of its central three characters may be empathetically identified as the principal protagonist. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGQs4nXS6KNLLqxK6TkdZC03teDPs3tSF-MqbOTmL5FaXH8ZJ9oa2Pk0LAWoSTkLWzyljCaeJ5U6KlaKujr-fFp5HYgdE0MQJisaP8I4wVMNhXUgL8IpE_tentc9jBXWR_gHD/s1600-h/russian+ark.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421281357121035282" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 216px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGQs4nXS6KNLLqxK6TkdZC03teDPs3tSF-MqbOTmL5FaXH8ZJ9oa2Pk0LAWoSTkLWzyljCaeJ5U6KlaKujr-fFp5HYgdE0MQJisaP8I4wVMNhXUgL8IpE_tentc9jBXWR_gHD/s320/russian+ark.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Russian Ark (Alexander Sokurov, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The first feature film to be shot in one single continuous take, Sukorov’s groundbreaking achievement not only proves that Russia is still one of the forerunners in the cinematic arts (even if Sokorov’s complete elimination of editing opposes Eisenstein’s reliance on montage) but also utilizes its technological feat as a means of provoking an increased alertness to the subject matter. As filmed within the country’s marvelous Hermitage Museum, three hundred years of Russian history have never felt so immediate and alive than when contextualized within the breathtaking scope of this 90-minute high-wire act.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Silent Light (Carlos Reygadas, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Mexican filmmaker Reygadas’s tale of infidelity in a Mexican-based Mennonite community updates <i>Ordet </i>for a decidedly more secular age, with the divine intervention suggested by Dreyer’s spatial interiors being replaced by the technological intrusion of the gazing, off-screen camera itself—a fusion between photography and the natural realm that Reygadas particularly emphasizes in his utterly breathtaking opening and closing shots.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Spider (David Cronenberg, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A welcome return to the psychological horror of <i>Dead Ringers</i>, Cronenberg’s bold venture outside his usual sci-fi domain utilizes a Samuel Beckett-inspired <i>mise en scène </i>to<i> </i>defamiliarize Freudian theory, thereby allowing the film to transgressively seek identification with a socially-inept loner (Ralph Fiennes, marvelous) who just may be insane.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p align="center"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf3kmto14jRjtenyZB85gXBTIrzNDYFs9GkAiaI_L3NLkOJBugMC-kTWFwVMl5xSG7AvEHnpL040Y0vB0xeiDtEeRP9QRLWKRN1LDuqj99QowoklbYqxgaPbwpdG_IQpxghvzQ/s1600-h/spirited-away.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421281271490071442" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 225px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf3kmto14jRjtenyZB85gXBTIrzNDYFs9GkAiaI_L3NLkOJBugMC-kTWFwVMl5xSG7AvEHnpL040Y0vB0xeiDtEeRP9QRLWKRN1LDuqj99QowoklbYqxgaPbwpdG_IQpxghvzQ/s320/spirited-away.jpg" border="0" /></span></a> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Miyazaki’s unparalleled ability to tap into his audiences’ most childlike instincts might seem socially irresponsible if not for the fact that his films are always infused with an overwhelmingly generous empathy towards every character, “heroes” and “villains” alike, as is especially the case with this crowning achievement—an escapist fantasy in the best sense of the term that brings out the kid in me like no other work of art, cinematic or otherwise.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8kg8Kji1leFJmIxd9V64qwBSEY4eWIjGAMX9XiCW4Gem9No1KOgjncB_YFV547AP00U_b9CyCYSKbUrFN-bhx7ptPJzEzq6ojeirt9W6jJ6Lg55rtB2FZKcWOgdWtLGRWgIU/s1600/springtimeinasmalltown.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8kg8Kji1leFJmIxd9V64qwBSEY4eWIjGAMX9XiCW4Gem9No1KOgjncB_YFV547AP00U_b9CyCYSKbUrFN-bhx7ptPJzEzq6ojeirt9W6jJ6Lg55rtB2FZKcWOgdWtLGRWgIU/s320/springtimeinasmalltown.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687876273039752226" border="0" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Springtime in a Small Town (Tian Zhuangzhuang, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Tian’s remake of Fei Mu’s 1948 Chinese masterpiece <i>Spring in a Small Town</i> retains the previous film’s moving depiction of repressed love while also suggesting—by way of its very recreation—a poignant verification that China’s state of being before the cultural revolution of 1949 is still very much alive in its citizens’ memory.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Stevie (Steve James, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The precise antithesis of an Errol Morris documentary, this compelling investigation of a criminal and his community integrates the filmmakers themselves as part of the ongoing drama, thereby removing the voyeurism that typically accompanies such ventures and allowing the development of genuine compassion (rather than condescending sympathy) for its remarkable individuals.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: arial;"></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRERkrwZdtZtzAVnWpZlrj_X71O3F8r2RBBSDO26wRkzCJK_TFAOkQ8RKslJb27a_m3ll3-TQddqOn0YzRrVZO_EUJUsrODlJ1NXscQRbgnKQ7Wl3xRiUACygw-U-xiGGyPeM/s1600-h/still+life.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421281142683001906" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 182px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRERkrwZdtZtzAVnWpZlrj_X71O3F8r2RBBSDO26wRkzCJK_TFAOkQ8RKslJb27a_m3ll3-TQddqOn0YzRrVZO_EUJUsrODlJ1NXscQRbgnKQ7Wl3xRiUACygw-U-xiGGyPeM/s320/still+life.jpg" border="0" /></a></span> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; 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margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Still Life (Jia Zhangke, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Like his <i>Platform </i>and <i>The World</i>, this masterpiece—and my personal favorite film—by the Chinese filmmaker incorporates historical spectacle (in this case, the recent construction of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River) as an illuminating backdrop for the dramatic narratives of protagonists who find themselves increasingly threatened and overshadowed by this very spectacle, especially when Jia begins introducing some startling sci-fi elements midway through his introspective film.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas, 2008)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="arial"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >In this drama about the loss of cultural identity due to the technological blurring of national borders, the remarkably eclectic Assayas crafts a effortless, seemingly weightless narrative structure that subtly shifts identification between three separate generations, thus utilizing his medium—like Arnaud Desplechin in <i>A Christmas Tale </i>and Edward Yang in <i>Yi Yi</i>—to formally situate a unifying frame around his complex family unit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkDrkUSVypYbXD9JJLvA3uERCvyHOVPwXewDXLJJcHPVe-ug2WiBG6Z4YXfwLX7eBvTcrFHH38cNSWbHc81OuZXRBaAquQvZbDIzNpMuMm026aUlHxnHWTdDbENMBrMBHw78nt/s1600-h/syndromes+and+a+century.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421281073726148930" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 182px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkDrkUSVypYbXD9JJLvA3uERCvyHOVPwXewDXLJJcHPVe-ug2WiBG6Z4YXfwLX7eBvTcrFHH38cNSWbHc81OuZXRBaAquQvZbDIzNpMuMm026aUlHxnHWTdDbENMBrMBHw78nt/s320/syndromes+and+a+century.jpg" border="0" /></a> </span><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Apichatpong</span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >’s ambitious and disquieting experiment in narrative repetition suggests a contemporary remake of Chantal Akerman’s <i>Jeanne Dielman 23, quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles</i>, with the entire nation of modern Thailand reprising Delphine Seyrig’s routine-following protagonist. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Almodóvar’s subversive character study utilizes a variety of Hollywood techniques and postmodern cinematic devices to popularize content that would seem socially unacceptable on paper; if this Spanish director’s brand of filmmaking oftentimes comes across as critic-proof, it may simply be because his radical empathy is so integrated into the cinematic form that much of its dimension is lost when reduced to mere summaries (like this one).<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Ten (Abbas Kiarostami, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >In its visual confinement to a car’s interior, this is both a radical reexamination of Kiarostami’s <i>mise en scène </i>(with jump cuts and cutaways replacing the director’s usual long shots and tracking shots)<i> </i>and a continuation of his minimalist use of absence, featuring an unapologetic attentiveness to the female experience in Iran that is rare for this filmmaker, at least outside of his scripts for the more socially-conscious Panahi.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlvWNJLsaVPOBKWb83tPyKf1rvWhUmh5Lq_6dkZB07gZjPQVdiPgFrxOEvz4soVrZYutC_PJK0-tKnmDwhAHLv3mntRfYZGGfhreR8lEAw3LhwUZAmC8a_ui4PpNqkPqvbZ1x2/s1600/threetimes3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlvWNJLsaVPOBKWb83tPyKf1rvWhUmh5Lq_6dkZB07gZjPQVdiPgFrxOEvz4soVrZYutC_PJK0-tKnmDwhAHLv3mntRfYZGGfhreR8lEAw3LhwUZAmC8a_ui4PpNqkPqvbZ1x2/s320/threetimes3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687876531067961458" border="0" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Three Times (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2005)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Utilizing the same two actors (Shu Qi and Chang Chen) within three distinctive time periods (1966, 1911, and 2005), Hou culminates his previous examinations of Taiwan’s national history into this relatively accessible and musically conscious elegy on the way historical context changes how we communicate as lovers.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; 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margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Part gay romance (charmingly conveyed with a guilt-free naturalism that remains foreign to U.S.) and part mystical folklore (complete with interposed animation, cutaways to paintings, and talking baboons), the value of </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Apichatpong</span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >’s enigmatic, singular masterpiece lies precisely in its inability to be conveniently summarized—a film that, like most of the Thai director’s other experimental features, actively works to redefine what cinema can and should say. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYZyyqqGkLSsLg2OV39_qoCm6I-F44Gs96Q3RlHGQ-cMERTsEZYzCSs9W8DqXqPjrgtLmzy5YSCZMLZ_5YlwZKH5uR4T3um3OuXeVxV_GmCETOTjQyE5naNj8SlzV1vaqNGS7/s1600-h/2046.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421280882533141522" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 160px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYZyyqqGkLSsLg2OV39_qoCm6I-F44Gs96Q3RlHGQ-cMERTsEZYzCSs9W8DqXqPjrgtLmzy5YSCZMLZ_5YlwZKH5uR4T3um3OuXeVxV_GmCETOTjQyE5naNj8SlzV1vaqNGS7/s320/2046.jpg" border="0" /></a> </span><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >2046 (Wong Kar-wai, 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Wong’s epilogue to <i>In the Mood for Love</i> is a visual and aural expression of his previous masterpiece’s id, conflating past, present, and future into a kaleidoscopic chronotope that is formed less by any kind of traditional narrative structure than by the romantic longings of its characters, all appealingly lit in Christopher Doyle’s breathtaking cinematography.<o:p></o:p></span></p><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > </span><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="font-family: arial;" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTv_jDdeqrg2OjBpV7AFoi6d9kJwlsREBi7_6cqrXuWDjZHh4KKhZ6NryOCtWI3QYoaLHeO4NvjMRlqqzCb-LbCwXMDfbTvbiT-HYJhvpyM5CK5psIoq1NjF-i0ZoIUiTp44KD/s1600/volver2.preview.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTv_jDdeqrg2OjBpV7AFoi6d9kJwlsREBi7_6cqrXuWDjZHh4KKhZ6NryOCtWI3QYoaLHeO4NvjMRlqqzCb-LbCwXMDfbTvbiT-HYJhvpyM5CK5psIoq1NjF-i0ZoIUiTp44KD/s320/volver2.preview.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687876763354328530" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Volver (Pedro Almodóvar, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Despite a fetishistic absorption with Penelope Cruz’s physique that makes me wonder if this film more appropriately belongs in my list of guilty pleasures, Almodóvar’s vibrantly colorful and subtly supernatural family drama nonetheless forges an inviting feminist utopia, where men are done away with not from ill will but rather so that mothers and daughters may eternally bond without unnecessary male distraction.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkN_TwHUs53SeQZLNwXvVxY06ZgzKXO2Qe2DkIQhZDYMNWUQuu69pZqgZpi-XCBFVtybH72tkybg5ja_Vestoru9LJBAQup-AoMg7JFqlFOmf2D_vooFNNYUN90wWyoGSJQtg/s1600-h/waking+life.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421280740846664050" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 182px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkN_TwHUs53SeQZLNwXvVxY06ZgzKXO2Qe2DkIQhZDYMNWUQuu69pZqgZpi-XCBFVtybH72tkybg5ja_Vestoru9LJBAQup-AoMg7JFqlFOmf2D_vooFNNYUN90wWyoGSJQtg/s320/waking+life.jpg" border="0" /></a> </span><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Waking Life (Richard Linklater, 2001)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Rather snobbishly dismissed by some who undervalued the expression of its philosophical ideas by concentrating on the content of these ideas alone (a critical misconduct also commonly applied to Godard), Linklater’s imaginative and groundbreaking use of rotoscoped animation is actually one of the creepier and more lingering examinations of the dream state since <i>Un chien andalou</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The War Tapes (Deborah Scranton, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Documentary filmmaker Scranton solves the ongoing problem of “fair and balanced” journalism on the U.S. military’s occupation of Iraq by giving cameras to the soldiers and letting them report on their lives themselves, proving that admitted subjectivity is always more informative as news than attempted objectivity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxy90vRRtpM2-WkhmhLznOGf2egU4NudYYBUDHRJYZCUiA-nbTpaArMcwbHdSJTydndq8q5po3oFpdGRPnnZG_FqbniiaQMFS46RmXNrEOWR2V-aPr5CpfmL0B5548d3iSxDnm/s1600-h/werckmeister+harmonies.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421280662401069426" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 183px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxy90vRRtpM2-WkhmhLznOGf2egU4NudYYBUDHRJYZCUiA-nbTpaArMcwbHdSJTydndq8q5po3oFpdGRPnnZG_FqbniiaQMFS46RmXNrEOWR2V-aPr5CpfmL0B5548d3iSxDnm/s320/werckmeister+harmonies.jpg" border="0" /></a> </span><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="arial" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Tarr’s first film of the new century is polytheistic on a level that equates cinematic formalism with its own filmed natural environment, essentially creating a divine presence through the camera’s gaze—one that is always on the move and is extended to incredible time durations (this 145-minute film contains only 39 takes).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="arial" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfuelPfDOYikqUjAx9CGzwfr19ypEo_mQvTprsxzgF2f6jmR5C5KGA7hY0KZuDyAnY2tA4Fj5bSvSCwEH_p8SLzdUUxISlwhxciIUpfAG4PRrX8UJBhMl1WUrJ9TPtTwR-S9Wx/s1600/a+Ming-liang+Tsai+What+Time+Is+It+There+Ni+neibian+jidian+DVD+Review+PDVD_003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfuelPfDOYikqUjAx9CGzwfr19ypEo_mQvTprsxzgF2f6jmR5C5KGA7hY0KZuDyAnY2tA4Fj5bSvSCwEH_p8SLzdUUxISlwhxciIUpfAG4PRrX8UJBhMl1WUrJ9TPtTwR-S9Wx/s320/a+Ming-liang+Tsai+What+Time+Is+It+There+Ni+neibian+jidian+DVD+Review+PDVD_003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687877012478183586" border="0" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >What Time Is It There? (Tsai Ming-liang, 2001)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Perhaps the Malaysian filmmaker’s most friendly and accessible film, Tsai’s pre-<i>Visage</i> love letter to France—specifically François Truffaut and Jean-Pierre Léaud (who are referenced in unexpected ways)—also happens to be a very Tati-esque comedy about our emotional dependence on time itself.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="arial" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >When the Levees Broke (Spike Lee, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >This swiftly-paced four-hour documentary on the devastation caused by the U.S. government’s ill-response to Hurricane Katrina is not merely a powerful and convincing political statement (much more effective than most of Lee’s feature films); it’s also an appreciation of New Orleans culture that refuses to look down upon the city (as certain politicians have) but rather upholds its citizens’ rich traditions and musical heritage.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5lKsceafuoidvPNO3wB_SsQiYv_IcHYHx2bJfyvNOP9sUHGixkiHuqcXjKNgsg8dQU4QC0fIA74wDWCZ2w52VOKDb5XiF2ERDAtGxjlFnRlrawbIWyMwaV0aFHAwekuRfXM_/s1600-h/the+world.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421280567779635986" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 213px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5lKsceafuoidvPNO3wB_SsQiYv_IcHYHx2bJfyvNOP9sUHGixkiHuqcXjKNgsg8dQU4QC0fIA74wDWCZ2w52VOKDb5XiF2ERDAtGxjlFnRlrawbIWyMwaV0aFHAwekuRfXM_/s320/the+world.jpg" border="0" /></a> </span><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="arial" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The World (Jia Zhangke, 2004)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Jia transforms China’s popular amusement park—in which famous landmarks from around the world are miniaturized and condensed into one location—into a sensitive, moving allegory of the way that increased global awareness only becomes personalized through technology, thereby sustaining (rather than eliminating) the same old subjective complexities of love and friendship for Jia’s naive, text-sending youth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="arial" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxDGDOg4qeDRUclJerS1tdwcGaOv35TOOKrmGVrIJQngUnzglBFGRElxnqpv4AUQvGHrEoKpJQ7iYPfvEQaJdVHKDZkk2w1BwkFJOEK7KjNvWfIQYCWo0u6TAtLZmtHwaCLMN-/s1600/y_tu_mama3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxDGDOg4qeDRUclJerS1tdwcGaOv35TOOKrmGVrIJQngUnzglBFGRElxnqpv4AUQvGHrEoKpJQ7iYPfvEQaJdVHKDZkk2w1BwkFJOEK7KjNvWfIQYCWo0u6TAtLZmtHwaCLMN-/s320/y_tu_mama3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687877202929496178" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="arial" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" lang="ES-AR" >Y tu mamá también (Alfonso Cuarón, 2001)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >This sexy and multilayered charater study from Mexican filmmaker Cuarón manages to be a great many things at once: sexual fantasy, coming-of-age drama, class-conscious criticism, and, most provocatively, the explosive reactions that result when these disparate elements are mixed together.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="arial" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --></style><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Yang’s endearing drama functions as a kind of multidimensional family portrait, where through a framework of paralleling and intersecting narratives the Taiwanese director gracefully shifts the viewer’s identification among various members of the film’s five-person household, conveying midlife crisis, adolescent anxiety, and childlike wonder (among other aspects) with an astonishing ease and flexibility. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqnVX5fOl5cNValHuHn1pj-oQmTk0qA8S0SUC-olts2p1jO5DGYizd6WdGoFs8ou0joJqZyfPfExr24kUE389w21zmH4OMYQw0QzbzRks8yJyO6PMcS-0M96ULCdVxDHT5d2L/s1600-h/zatoichi.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421280337392651026" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 210px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqnVX5fOl5cNValHuHn1pj-oQmTk0qA8S0SUC-olts2p1jO5DGYizd6WdGoFs8ou0joJqZyfPfExr24kUE389w21zmH4OMYQw0QzbzRks8yJyO6PMcS-0M96ULCdVxDHT5d2L/s320/zatoichi.jpg" border="0" /></a> </span><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="arial" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Zatôichi (Takeshi Kitano, 2003)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Unlike Tarantino’s adolescent <i>Kill Bill </i>series, Takeshi’s irresistibly playful homage to the samurai film mixes comedy and musical interludes into the genre conventions without ever diluting his sources nor pandering to his audience’s baser instincts, despite a rather poetic treatment of violence that even the most ardent pacifist might appreciate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="arial" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >An absorbing and intricately constructed—as well as beautifully cinematographed—response to Fincher’s own <i>Se7en </i>(if not also <i>The Silence of the Lambs, The Cell, </i>and other imitators), providing a critical meditation on society’s morbid fascination with serial killers that actively refuses to give its audience the exploitative payoffs (aside from an unfair treatment of squirrels) typically offered in this genre.<o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: arial;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDCUSmOG2hzTCVrKedEPmrD7hzpxphJDZBgVQoqNd6E8a8D4WgqvKG0CQggLhrX5VARrWdAYavjKSin6fLLvhERU-iV4kaUv7j7CJCuUIuaM4Evjuf1RGa8KSvVw49ZY0VPmke/s1600-h/zodiac.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421280240955913266" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 206px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDCUSmOG2hzTCVrKedEPmrD7hzpxphJDZBgVQoqNd6E8a8D4WgqvKG0CQggLhrX5VARrWdAYavjKSin6fLLvhERU-iV4kaUv7j7CJCuUIuaM4Evjuf1RGa8KSvVw49ZY0VPmke/s320/zodiac.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span></span><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} -</style><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-79534358529902418702009-12-30T21:53:00.000-08:002011-11-18T00:35:55.210-08:00<div style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" >20 Guilty Pleasures (2000-2009)</span><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RjlDd5xt7NESses_nKZTWituwInICW-y9YgjLj6g9bCz1M1JP0JXTz50rW4Y-tpTgjexkztqHs4JNf39M2augdXM70ylXkzzkXMZsP1SWifMl7eppUoniroIj350sU6PzDuQ/s1600-h/amelie+gp.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421276052053912722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 211px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RjlDd5xt7NESses_nKZTWituwInICW-y9YgjLj6g9bCz1M1JP0JXTz50rW4Y-tpTgjexkztqHs4JNf39M2augdXM70ylXkzzkXMZsP1SWifMl7eppUoniroIj350sU6PzDuQ/s320/amelie+gp.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">I admit that I generally dislike the term “guilty pleasure.” It seems to derive from the puritanical belief that one must feel bad about experiencing pleasure, which is something I have spent years attempting to leave behind from my religious past. Yet I cannot think of a more appropriate term for some of the films listed here, which I often find myself admiring for reasons that are not really defensible theoretically but are more associated with my personal life, my sense of humor, or my libido (or perhaps, more accurately, a mix of all three). Of course, being the academic that I am, I will probably attempt to offer some legible justifications for these films’ inclusion, but don’t let that fool you: sometimes it’s just about sex.</span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0dN44SPTD8TLXi9GsUmCYcqvzztJ8fsnkEEa9AepmgXwqIW67nhxWhmLUWHa2y2OAJVAzYdrXJXT5SdGlGI9Lhx6nk8QgpyJk-dzlR0fBtAU-ktdiY3Z9HYMoPXxR6SwDF-E3/s1600-h/angel-a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421275946638335234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 246px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0dN44SPTD8TLXi9GsUmCYcqvzztJ8fsnkEEa9AepmgXwqIW67nhxWhmLUWHa2y2OAJVAzYdrXJXT5SdGlGI9Lhx6nk8QgpyJk-dzlR0fBtAU-ktdiY3Z9HYMoPXxR6SwDF-E3/s320/angel-a.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Angel-A (Luc Besson, 2005)<b><!--?xml:namespace prefix = o /--><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I’m not sure what happened, but for some inexplicable reason Besson’s return to France after making a string of Hollywood action films inspired him to craft this leisurely paced and tenderly executed love story between a loser (the wonderful Jamel Debbouze) and an angel (<i>Femme Fatale</i>’s Rie Rasmussen), which also seems to me—in its supernatural themes and stunning black-and-white cinematography—a bawdy, much-needed parody of Wim Wenders’s <i>Wings of Desire</i>. <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoINuElIrpwIZGPD6BLj-BUhMjy_5VIN7pJyviE1oIy-6uCx_AJTBR8Gvc_rsuw6ymPHLk72Lz7ZBfopX4TxFinr_PbTKNi42IagpLv0ZQj2-f2sDAOz00tDKGcJ_HlgFRw5SW/s1600-h/black+book.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421275516530962786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoINuElIrpwIZGPD6BLj-BUhMjy_5VIN7pJyviE1oIy-6uCx_AJTBR8Gvc_rsuw6ymPHLk72Lz7ZBfopX4TxFinr_PbTKNi42IagpLv0ZQj2-f2sDAOz00tDKGcJ_HlgFRw5SW/s320/black+book.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Black Book (Paul Verhoeven, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In lieu of the historical travesties of Tarantino’s <i>Inglourious Basterds</i>, Verhoeven’s ambiguous treatment of World War II seems a relatively serious-minded and grown-up alternative—even if much of the film’s pleasure owes less to its moral worldview than to the alluring presence of Carice van Houten, who gives one of the sexiest film performances since Carole Lombard was charming Nazis in Ernst Lubitsch’s <i>To Be or Not To Be</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Brothers Grimm (Terry Gilliam, 2005)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Most everyone claims this to be one of Gilliam’s more compromised and muddled efforts, including Gilliam himself, but there is still enough of the filmmaker’s singular vision here to make up for the occasionally awkward pacing, not to mention some fine, energetic performances from Peter Stormare (as a grotesque torturer with a heart of gold) and Heath Ledger (much better, and funnier, than his stint as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s overrated <i>The Dark Knight</i>). <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXS7GVsEKu32kEVkzb4OoIAY1m8WQnAstHmHOlz1J0KjFo0hH6bmxmnobV9csNNlB3V_dWMfcYrYPFKMbcWvDEXCsLBEBMnBvpvvdKUNpF_MF7eOGj4Nl-sHH2zToxQzzPIBE5/s1600-h/burn+after+reading.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421275437513377298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXS7GVsEKu32kEVkzb4OoIAY1m8WQnAstHmHOlz1J0KjFo0hH6bmxmnobV9csNNlB3V_dWMfcYrYPFKMbcWvDEXCsLBEBMnBvpvvdKUNpF_MF7eOGj4Nl-sHH2zToxQzzPIBE5/s320/burn+after+reading.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Burn After Reading (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2008)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >In recent years I’ve become less enthusiastic about the Coen brothers’ formalist brand of filmmaking, which seems to implicitly deny cinema’s relationship to (and consequently its potential to say anything substantial about) reality, but much of what I like about this outrageous character-oriented comedy is the self-awareness it possesses of its own limitations as a meaningful statement about anything, which includes a godlike J.K. Simmons watching over the proceedings in an appropriately clueless stupor.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Click (Frank Coraci, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">As some critics have rightly noted, this Adam Sandler star vehicle veers into much darker terrain than its marketing campaign might suggest, but what I find particularly endearing about Coraci’s film is its apparent obliviousness that its own existence—infantile humor and all—is actually part of the technologically-driven culture it is supposedly critiquing, which is especially evident in the way the DVD’s own menu system is patterned exactly after Sandler’s “life” menu system from the movie. In other words, this may just be the best subconsciously Brechtian film of the decade. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFy9c2eJaBAUVXMwvy_ByfZyvklILysX602-U4Ed-HWvCYOXQnkFlRrI2NWrhte2atjwastt_AujrwtFkUoppv-SbsgKO4r-Xe8beRw_1CJrY-cVmfBKrD-WJfSkJu1BpKkFUu/s1600-h/curious+case+ben+button.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421275371524323906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFy9c2eJaBAUVXMwvy_ByfZyvklILysX602-U4Ed-HWvCYOXQnkFlRrI2NWrhte2atjwastt_AujrwtFkUoppv-SbsgKO4r-Xe8beRw_1CJrY-cVmfBKrD-WJfSkJu1BpKkFUu/s320/curious+case+ben+button.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher, 2008)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Much like the Hollywood auteurs of the 1950s—championed by the critics of <i>Cahiers du cinema—</i>who had to filter their personal visions through the demands of the U.S. studio systems, one may have to look past Fincher’s occasionally weak choices of scripts to realize his status as one of great visual innovators working in the film industry today, as this </span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">ludicrously written yet </span></span></span><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">beautifully composed feature illustrates. Given our tendency to overemphasize narrative within a medium that works primarily through image and sound, the effort made to separate Fincher’s distinctly cinematic talents from his other working materials is itself a rewarding exercise. </span><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%" lang="ES-AR"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Given its status as the token French film cited as a favorite by people who don’t typically watch French films (well, at least until the Oscars introduced the U.S. to <i>La Vie en rose</i>), I should be disqualified from enjoying Jeunet’s charming, imaginative comedy, but I actually find its attentiveness to life’s simple pleasures fairly irresistible. And those who criticize the film for depicting an overly glamorous view of France (or, for that matter, that it fosters a misguided belief that every French girl acts and looks like Audrey Tautou) clearly do not respect viewers’ ability to discern between fantasy and reality. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSbDuETfu_CVaqITOVGv_lV10V0NXOEXLfzNWUHFfBFfshaxcpMSLhwsQ89CQWDE8BpuW5MlxEXn7ll0kYiNv9-i1_jyjNLcvSqx0KcqTAqvTCAJzFfbS2xtFoz185bpWKy4p/s1600-h/far+side+of+the+moon.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421275289519318018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSbDuETfu_CVaqITOVGv_lV10V0NXOEXLfzNWUHFfBFfshaxcpMSLhwsQ89CQWDE8BpuW5MlxEXn7ll0kYiNv9-i1_jyjNLcvSqx0KcqTAqvTCAJzFfbS2xtFoz185bpWKy4p/s320/far+side+of+the+moon.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Far Side of the Moon (Robert Lepage, 2003)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I’ve only recently become acquainted with French-Canadian filmmaker Lepage, but I admit I’m a sucker for his sincere kind of psychoanalytic self-inspection as presented here, especially in its pretentious yet heartfelt connections to Russian space travel, the moon, and extraterrestrial life—topics that a certain good friend has helped me to appreciate in the last year. Lepage is also very funny in a neurotic manner that suggests Woody Allen, but with more visual grace and less lazy intellectualism.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Fay Grim (Hal Hartley, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Hartley’s misunderstood sequel to <i>Henry Fool </i>is a slyly subversive deconstruction of the very concept of “sequel”—where nearly the entire first third of the film consists of characters self-consciously making references to Hartley’s previous feature—before developing into a hilarious, extremely straight-faced parody of the espionage thriller, with some of the better straight faces being contributed by Jeff Goldblum and Parker Posey. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgZF0mqcsSAD3QBRkFR2nuOFrO1iiUXR-m9pZcV7bMK5xuOeM2tHXHjJ4SErpJwf3VAU7WK1RC9HoJvhy2Y8TOLFI7hieCJP8CL7vIBThxVQ9zKSH7zxe7tD5IhgUQaAJqThP/s1600-h/femme+fatale.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421275207611741042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgZF0mqcsSAD3QBRkFR2nuOFrO1iiUXR-m9pZcV7bMK5xuOeM2tHXHjJ4SErpJwf3VAU7WK1RC9HoJvhy2Y8TOLFI7hieCJP8CL7vIBThxVQ9zKSH7zxe7tD5IhgUQaAJqThP/s320/femme+fatale.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Femme Fatale (Brian De Palma, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of De Palma (considering my feelings about a few particular films of his, this is a major understatement), but I find this meta-thriller’s first twenty minutes—which depicts a very sexily executed gold heist at the Cannes Film Festival—to be one of the most exciting expressions of pure cinematic formalism this side of Guy Maddin’s <i>The Heart of the World</i>. Unfortunately, from there the film only regresses into De Palma’s usual bag of misanthropic tricks, but the guilt-free playfulness of the opening sequence is sure fun while it lasts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiUh-1uT4okoxXaPVLccSgFaZX7eOyDEfnRKNE9ZcqT-RcGEnOaKMlLswsZ4q_XaREP0qX68up-b9-TxiAdt0kNCfiKeGHGNlTN-IAd8eFZvxWnLknuKbDLb_tpGFvkMNsub9Q/s1600-h/heaven.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421275142582715794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 237px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiUh-1uT4okoxXaPVLccSgFaZX7eOyDEfnRKNE9ZcqT-RcGEnOaKMlLswsZ4q_XaREP0qX68up-b9-TxiAdt0kNCfiKeGHGNlTN-IAd8eFZvxWnLknuKbDLb_tpGFvkMNsub9Q/s320/heaven.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Heaven (Tom Tykwer, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Like De Palma and the Coen brothers, Tykwer often allows his genuine talents as a filmmaker to be offset by his apparent disregard for his characters, so it’s fascinating to see how his handling of an unfilmed script by Krzysztof Kieslowski—part of a project the late Polish director was working on before his death—draws out true spiritual contemplation from this usually secular director. Indeed, one has to wonder if Kieslowski’s Catholic influence had something to do with Tykwer’s very Bressonian treatment of actors Giovanni Ribisiand and Cate Blanchett, too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Ice Harvest (Harold Ramis, 2005)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Not to harp on the brothers (I actually like <i>The Big Lebowski, </i>admire much of <i>Barton Fink</i>, and kind of adore <i>Miller’s Crossing</i>), but I can’t help but think that Ramis’s darkly comic post-heist film—his most assured feature since <i>Groundhog Day</i>—is something that the Coens would come up with if they toned down their caricatures and were less self-conscious stylistically. It’s a fine, modest example of what critic Manny Farber used to term “termite art” as well as an effective modern <i>film noir </i>that doesn’t simply replay genre conventions but updates them to a contemporary milieu. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (Albert Brooks, 2005)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Brooks’s welcome return to form after losing some of his inspiration in <i>The Muse </i>is also the first time he’s explicitly played himself since <i>Real Life </i>(his debut and arguably best film), which allows Brooks to make humorous reflections on his own career amidst an equally sharp (and timely) critique on international relations between the U.S. and Islamic culture. Sometimes more painful than funny, it at least confirms that Brooks is still one of the sharpest and most self-effacing entertainers working in the film industry today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ72InhiwVgbA5n3TRcLrV8uuLQcL6tDsGJTDPNkVhqvMlknrGNFtXaFzE2eSe91FUZCAly8p4kvGk8HhMVQT5D76lnK8K2bBkhSMUIhWB0WCKg0slZchMi0LfgdDF0Pc_2l7C/s1600-h/my+blueberry+nights.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421275052165662386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ72InhiwVgbA5n3TRcLrV8uuLQcL6tDsGJTDPNkVhqvMlknrGNFtXaFzE2eSe91FUZCAly8p4kvGk8HhMVQT5D76lnK8K2bBkhSMUIhWB0WCKg0slZchMi0LfgdDF0Pc_2l7C/s320/my+blueberry+nights.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar-wai, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Like <i style="FONT-FAMILY: arial">The Darjeeling Limited</i>, Wong’s first English-language feature went largely unappreciated by critics who felt the director was simply treading old ground, yet what I appreciate the most here is this very refusal from Hong Kong’s most romantic filmmaker to alter his vision one bit despite the new cultural terrain. By seasoning the U.S. landscape—particularly its bars and coffee shops—with the same dreamy savor that he has given his own nation, Wong thereby offers this country his most generous, complimentary gesture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyl5llvDqrSrrJLkZlC1CLKAdYv3O1oSBVEHM73EcLyJQVKcd2JJ0WtN8sliT3fWCkkr0U2jkyItZxrovX4V6iK9q_PciW13NM8qYUrA3o7OEJ1_cMlSyreirJQ6G3M4BOm2hn/s1600-h/oss+117.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421274926866518930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyl5llvDqrSrrJLkZlC1CLKAdYv3O1oSBVEHM73EcLyJQVKcd2JJ0WtN8sliT3fWCkkr0U2jkyItZxrovX4V6iK9q_PciW13NM8qYUrA3o7OEJ1_cMlSyreirJQ6G3M4BOm2hn/s320/oss+117.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">OSS 117: Le Caire, nid d'espions (Michel Hazanavicius, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Hazanavicius’s very smart parody of the original series penned by Jean Bruce, as well as French snobbery in general, takes far more risks than the <i>Austin Powers </i>series in critiquing the sexism and xenophobia of its James Bond-like “hero”—a character who, despite the irresistible charisma of Jean Dujardin’s winning performance, never truly rises above his incredulous nature, particularly when he’s offering photos of the French president to every citizen in Egypt or beating up Islamic adhan-callers who interrupt his morning sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Pumpkin (Anthony Abrams and Adam Larson Broder, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It’s not always easy to discern exactly what directors Abrams and Broder are trying to say in this risky, politically-incorrect farce about our culture’s discomfort over individuals with disabilities, but in many ways that’s part of the film’s effectiveness as social agitator—it’s at least a far more daring critique of Hollywood’s sentimental treatment of disability than Ben Stiller’s audience-friendly <i>Tropic Thunder</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig-pXrKfY_A8W1kvpHHruCs75LihrEEGv5GWcSJcEWpALTbeazxZd-Uy9boEu5mzDOXmF8MoodCuDzsbEqrKQnWT2KDYDzAYkRxzl1GvvByGZzBCO5F4jrnTFta8FRK27E1DqI/s1600-h/rumba.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421274814277788978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 186px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig-pXrKfY_A8W1kvpHHruCs75LihrEEGv5GWcSJcEWpALTbeazxZd-Uy9boEu5mzDOXmF8MoodCuDzsbEqrKQnWT2KDYDzAYkRxzl1GvvByGZzBCO5F4jrnTFta8FRK27E1DqI/s320/rumba.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Rumba (Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, and Bruno Romy, 2008) <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Thanks to the recommendation (not to mention generosity) of a good friend in France, I’ve only recently begun to appreciate the visually oriented talents of this filmmaking team, whose quirkability factor may make Wes Anderson look like a neorealist yet nevertheless possesses a universal appreciation of the world that reminds me of Tati, as is particularly evident in this charming ode to music and dance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Southland Tales (Richard Kelly, 2006)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">If the internet is the future, then Kelly’s madcap blend of news media, politics, science fiction, conspiracy theory, and sex jokes may just be an accurate depiction—complete with hyperlinks and irritating pop-up ads—of what the world will look, or at least <i>feel </i>like, in a few more years. Although it’s more descriptive than prescriptive (in this deliberate mess, Kelly’s problems are just as difficult to identify as his solutions), the film possesses a certain kind of chaotic audaciousness that filmdom hasn’t witnessed since William Klein’s schizophrenic 1969 film <i>Mr. Freedom</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsM15rr4q0VyflG89a7Hm3_KokQr1i7NpCAgzzoXAhZ4VBglmijTh47MMP8AJ4tzGEhEEeeGNPEmxz2I_SDUoeSy1aHBIRLAATYjR_1x9yOJU2MkfWYnLO7NaU9t0u3ul7Ipq/s1600-h/sweeney+todd.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421274682230949842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 205px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsM15rr4q0VyflG89a7Hm3_KokQr1i7NpCAgzzoXAhZ4VBglmijTh47MMP8AJ4tzGEhEEeeGNPEmxz2I_SDUoeSy1aHBIRLAATYjR_1x9yOJU2MkfWYnLO7NaU9t0u3ul7Ipq/s320/sweeney+todd.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"><link style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNYHUIS%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Tim Burton, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I admit my longtime fondness for Sondheim’s grand guignol opera (and Sondheim in general) makes my enjoyment of this adaptation a rather nostalgic affair, but I also appreciate how some of Burton’s personal touches—his elimination of chorus numbers, use of unprofessional singers, and confinement to claustrophobic interiors—helps to make this one of the most naturalistic musicals since <i>The Umbrellas of Cherbourg</i> (even if the gloomy atmosphere and drained colors are a complete inversion of Jacques Demy’s vibrancy). <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Undercover Brother (Malcolm D. Lee, 2002)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Unfairly pegged as just another <i>Austin Powers</i> clone, Lee’s satirical comedy is less a parody of James Bond—even less a parody of blaxploitation films—than a timely send-up of racial relations in the U.S., exhibiting a riotous but ultimately compassionate sense of humor that at times reminds me of Richard Pryor’s stand-up routines. In light of recent developments in the political stratosphere, its main premise—about a white conspiracy to stop a black man from running for president—today seems rather prescient.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnRYnohjUVI-0E7fsQQ4Wq70hT-Fv3Kfvp1aoY8go4oy-UMxq8KlxbEEOYIEHXOs-7KNVeTfpHbkeiPxwNpcBcCYbu-XaJ66gSO960ZzLxbbH4LeDXSMaTI3yS4JnAThtlPnG/s1600-h/undercover+brother.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421274569551531586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnRYnohjUVI-0E7fsQQ4Wq70hT-Fv3Kfvp1aoY8go4oy-UMxq8KlxbEEOYIEHXOs-7KNVeTfpHbkeiPxwNpcBcCYbu-XaJ66gSO960ZzLxbbH4LeDXSMaTI3yS4JnAThtlPnG/s320/undercover+brother.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-18742755165666618582009-08-29T14:55:00.000-07:002011-11-18T01:24:41.286-08:00<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:180%;">Departures (2008)</span></strong></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PqbiAYf-oRkCdt3YRQgyqP9hXlAXTYV5MpptKmwWSYCurGEA1rRg1iZ7pL8a-dagpkGWI3w8yjzfqhXtNFp6bEdxDFFu50VoYIi3bqs2FEF2Whgt09t74R4aF0iItvXUIBax/s1600-h/departuresceremony2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375509743709152978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 224px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PqbiAYf-oRkCdt3YRQgyqP9hXlAXTYV5MpptKmwWSYCurGEA1rRg1iZ7pL8a-dagpkGWI3w8yjzfqhXtNFp6bEdxDFFu50VoYIi3bqs2FEF2Whgt09t74R4aF0iItvXUIBax/s320/departuresceremony2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">A recent winner at the 2008 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film, the latest feature by Yôjirô Takita—about a concert cellist (Masahiro Motoki) who gives up his music career to become a <em>nokanshi</em> (a type of Japanese corpse beautifier)—has been faulted by a number of critics for its blatant accessibility and excessive sentimentality. Such traits, which Yôjirô’s film certainly possesses in spades, undoubtedly earned the film its Oscar, but they don’t provide it much credential from Oscar-wary critics like Japanese scholar Tony Rayns, who in his review at <em>Film Comment</em> attributes the film’s success at the Academy Awards to the members’ “feeling their mortality” and dubs the film “a paean to the good-looking corpse.” Although Rayns’s comments are certainly meant to be derogatory, they at least identify a key component to understanding Yôjirô’s film that has been missed by most critics: namely, the implicit relation between the film’s sentimental mechanics and the film’s own subject matter of what is essentially “sentimentalizing” the dead bodies of loved ones.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXOoZdjAqTBoDwqkgePtEXRFMHJwybzcZvA0vmUA6mVM0vAPgD7IFmIu5cOxAFNCdtMqQDzBynkyl0g8DNQG3vRv7Y6A5eylwCBKAjal9Pf5g433Ekt7is7mgw6cORqiIWEOCd/s1600-h/departureschristmas.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375509681045641202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXOoZdjAqTBoDwqkgePtEXRFMHJwybzcZvA0vmUA6mVM0vAPgD7IFmIu5cOxAFNCdtMqQDzBynkyl0g8DNQG3vRv7Y6A5eylwCBKAjal9Pf5g433Ekt7is7mgw6cORqiIWEOCd/s320/departureschristmas.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">One of the reasons why <em>A.I. Artificial Intelligence</em> remains my favorite (and, in a self-reflexive sense, I think the most moving) film by Steven Spielberg is that its theme of “artificial love,” as manifested in the character of the child-robot David (played by Haley Joel Osment), repeatedly calls into question the manufactured emotions that Spielberg himself often attempts to induce from audiences in such manipulative heart-tuggers like <em>Schindler’s List</em>, <em>Saving Private Ryan</em>, and even <em>A.I.</em> itself via its controversial ending. In a similar sense Yôjirô’s film, although no less sentimental than any of Spielberg’s historical pageants, constantly draws attention to its manipulative techniques by repeatedly depicting the painstaking efforts of its protagonist to beautify corpses. The watchful family members at each funeral visitation thus become surrogates for the film viewers themselves, with Yôjirô’s film only working insofar as its audience members, like the mourners depicted in the film, are willing to surrender their disbelief to the illusory spectacle before them. When at one point Masahiro fails to apply the proper makeup to a dead teenage girl, thereby breaking the spell of momentary aliveness that the ritual is supposed to create, it throws the girl’s family members into an uproar—one can’t help but wonder if Yojiro is anticipating the negative reactions by critics who don’t recognize the qualities they wish to see in his staged exhibition. </span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkAQiwEmjltJBTIsEN_YBhiGzAIynZwdpVFZ_5GPPzmjJqDmCfKojqYlOzxJ1RvtdHJ7oW6tbOrIaFa6pZtwWtEMXa0_qyKie2qJEyYqOGulsFFNVnpT32rrAp83HWONR2TUrQ/s1600-h/departuresviolin.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375509619105701330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkAQiwEmjltJBTIsEN_YBhiGzAIynZwdpVFZ_5GPPzmjJqDmCfKojqYlOzxJ1RvtdHJ7oW6tbOrIaFa6pZtwWtEMXa0_qyKie2qJEyYqOGulsFFNVnpT32rrAp83HWONR2TUrQ/s320/departuresviolin.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Much of the film’s emotional manipulation can be attributed to the heartfelt score by Joe Hisaishi, a composer perhaps better known for his enchanting work in the films of Hiyao Miyazaki (<em>Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle</em>) and Takeshi “Beat” Kitano (<em>Kikujiro, Fireworks</em>). Yet even Hisaishi’s score, while undeniably serving to complement its protagonist’s feelings during a few choice montages, retains a certain diegetic quality in its connection to the protagonist’s occasional playing of his cello. Like the onscreen introduction of the film score’s orchestra in Richard Linklater's <em>Waking Life</em>, we are always aware in <em>Departures</em> that the music we hear, however manipulative and sentimental, is ultimately manufactured. To complement Hisaishi’s sentimental score, Yojiro utilizes a number of simple poetic devices in his film’s imagery, most of them involving animals—an octopus floating at the surface of a river, two salmon swimming against the stream, and a flight of birds which serve as a visual rhyme to the flames of a cremator. These scenes, similar to Hisaishi’s music, come across as obvious (yet no less moving) sentimental gestures, explicitly placed in the film to manipulate one’s emotions; they make up, in effect, the “makeup” of Yôjirô’s ceremonial film, decorating its otherwise inconsequential misé en scene so that we, the viewers, may better recognize the universal human emotions lying underneath the effects.<br /></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0LxU31L2qg1twU_fsxr-Ul5-D0LjG1fxYlAu4Pt2BfWFo8Z1zqHpZhZ9x5oRr3cB0ue3ioJukw70ve7TfCM2a9JMY5k7BK_1HhgEd2PpPgt_GB4tKIZRSjyZNfVxab4PAevc/s1600-h/departuresdarkceremony.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375508960124662706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0LxU31L2qg1twU_fsxr-Ul5-D0LjG1fxYlAu4Pt2BfWFo8Z1zqHpZhZ9x5oRr3cB0ue3ioJukw70ve7TfCM2a9JMY5k7BK_1HhgEd2PpPgt_GB4tKIZRSjyZNfVxab4PAevc/s320/departuresdarkceremony.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">What’s finally poignant about Yôjirô’s sentimental techniques is that they make accessible a subject matter—the profession of corpse beautifiers—that remains a taboo topic in Japan, if not also an uncomfortable topic everywhere else. (We in the U.S. are “grown up” enough to treat funerals with offhand, cynical laughter, as perhaps most aptly demonstrated in Alan Ball’s dreary but descriptive <em>Six Feet Under</em>, but this only serves to expose our underlying fears of death.) In other words, by treating the ceremony of death with an accessible type of cinematic formalism (the mix of sweeping melodies and straightforward imagery that indeed earns Oscars), Yôjirô positions his film as a statement of true cultural protest—a plea to receive death with the same kind of universal acknowledgment that movies typically bestow upon other, more "comforting" phases of life, such as birth, coming-of-age, and marriage.</span>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-33865489614981881902009-07-09T21:46:00.000-07:002011-11-18T01:28:49.791-08:00<div align="center"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><strong>Family Destruction and Genre Deconstruction </strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" ><strong>in the Westerns of Anthony Mann</strong></span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6qj8UYGyenYIO68zXzq1MGJyJY8TEDoVprZf2LxeV-8x4E6na0qkWy1suaYn5dSnZsjadhILeOuy2hp8teH1hLh_Zne8qT3L1GoRBerkZ-YDPi7OfW1NZyNXEZOA7gt9s6UGA/s1600-h/Coopa.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356698466508838354" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 257px; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6qj8UYGyenYIO68zXzq1MGJyJY8TEDoVprZf2LxeV-8x4E6na0qkWy1suaYn5dSnZsjadhILeOuy2hp8teH1hLh_Zne8qT3L1GoRBerkZ-YDPi7OfW1NZyNXEZOA7gt9s6UGA/s320/Coopa.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Note: The following is a term paper I wrote last fall for a class on Hollywood films of the 1950s, which is still the only film course I've ever taken. Some of my analysis is a bit sketchy, as I was just becoming familiar with critical theories like poststructuralism at the time. Nevertheless, I think the paper is worth publishing here, if only for the attention it gives to <strong>The Man from Laramie</strong>, <strong>The Last Frontier</strong>, and</em> <em><strong>Man of the West</strong>, which I believe are still rather underrated (if not so much in the Mann canon, then in the Western genre as a whole). This is also the most in-depth analysis I've ever completed on any film and/or filmmaker, so I consider it somewhat of a personal accomplishment.</em></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;">The fears of communist infiltration and inevitable apocalypse that swept America during the 1950s proved to be perfect testing grounds for a filmmaker like Anthony Mann, who sowed his own seeds of destruction in the series of Westerns he made during the decade. Although the U.S. government remained suspect of subversive themes in issue-laden Hollywood films, it mostly overlooked popular film genres like the Western, perhaps believing them to be too formulaic in their termite-like appeal, as film critic and painter Manny Farber might have put it, to pose much of a threat. Within the Westerns that Mann made in the ‘50s, the director was free to explore and critique such American-idealized notions as the family, community, and the idea of tradition in general, using the genre as a safe haven for his oftentimes subversive preoccupations. As demonstrated in three of Mann’s later films of the decade—<em>The Man from Laramie, The Last Frontier</em>, and <em>Man of the West</em>—the disintegration and gradual destruction of the family unit acts as a recurring thematic motif, becoming a metaphor for both the self-conflicting psychological states of Mann’s protagonists as well as the inherent, discordant nature of the Western genre itself. By subversively playing his themes of familial/psychological destruction against the more archetypical mechanics of the Western film (particularly in his evocative <em>mise en scène</em>), Mann deconstructs the genre and reveals the supposedly safe construction of the traditional Western to be, like the family unit itself, unfit for the complexity of the modern world.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHyGiEwdzl6FyVq1CH3BjHd9xWZdWzVmQJ1LdvSGIJH7H1xSJWp-yo6y1j0jVgjIGQz6R9zY8s3W5hl1azJRvUdXsK2vDZAbSmTnB1qyQoFcsTJyaf5P0TQ_6JYuSEz2PNgdJ/s1600-h/steel%2520helmet.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356698347493754930" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 252px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHyGiEwdzl6FyVq1CH3BjHd9xWZdWzVmQJ1LdvSGIJH7H1xSJWp-yo6y1j0jVgjIGQz6R9zY8s3W5hl1azJRvUdXsK2vDZAbSmTnB1qyQoFcsTJyaf5P0TQ_6JYuSEz2PNgdJ/s320/steel%2520helmet.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">How should one characterize America in the 1950s and, more specifically, Hollywood films of the period? The labels “repressive” and “conformist” tend to be applied to this decade, yet such definitions risk misrepresenting much of the decade’s culture, just as America’s current tendency to judge foreign countries solely by their governments (like Iran, for example) misrepresents the voices of those countries’ citizens. Similarly, the government-imposed presence of the House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) during the 1950s, as sparked by Cold War paranoia, may misleadingly suggest that all Hollywood films of the period were conformist and lacked boldness of expression. But the truth of the matter is that many visionary directors thrived within this supposedly repressed period; using popular genre as an unsuspected “safe haven,” filmmakers such as Nicholas Ray and Samuel Fuller often subverted the 1950s status quo beneath the carefully-constructed, traditional surface of genre mechanics, sometimes even using the genre against itself. Fuller’s <em>The Steel Helmet</em> (1950), for example, remains one of the few American films—even to this day—to address WWII Japanese internment camps, despite its patriotic implications of being a “war film.” Ray, on the other hand, often addressed the feeling of being an outsider in a conformist world, perhaps most evident in <em>Bigger Than Life</em> (1956), a film that cleverly disguises its genuine bitterness for masculine standards of patriarchy within the superficial plot device of medication misusage. Because both films fell into easily-identifiable genre categories—war film and family melodrama, respectively—they remained externally conformist to the public’s eye while simultaneously exploring deep, disturbing issues at their core.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiWD8uSMOGkBCXbDsDPT77ZCYhyphenhyphenK8I58-yHiuSozcXiFQFR8-ftI2Y8cNIn1UvBB8j92KRvGBzJNTkda_RaEz0mmDtO-g9GGjrfsDZmH4irxFqDuST6MEfRXwfktNVl9UI6Xf/s1600-h/biggerthanlife.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356697940398255218" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 174px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiWD8uSMOGkBCXbDsDPT77ZCYhyphenhyphenK8I58-yHiuSozcXiFQFR8-ftI2Y8cNIn1UvBB8j92KRvGBzJNTkda_RaEz0mmDtO-g9GGjrfsDZmH4irxFqDuST6MEfRXwfktNVl9UI6Xf/s320/biggerthanlife.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">One film genre that particularly changed beneath its deceptively stable coating was the Western, due in no small part to the films that Anthony Mann directed in the 1950s. By working in the Western, Mann not only tackled an exceedingly popular genre but also one that, according to John H. Lenihan, is more than any other genre “involved with fundamental American beliefs about individualism and social progress” (4). In other words, the Western was not merely a distinct genre—it was a distinctly American genre, one that incorporated its country’s sense of values as an integral part of its thematic, if not also aesthetic, structure. Yet the Westerns of the 1950s, under the guidance of trailblazers like Mann, were becoming more violent, more neurotic, and more psychological; the genre, as Drew Casper stresses, was beginning to undermine “the classical conception of the western hero as a brave, just, courteous medieval knight of the plains, shifting and/or enlarging the story’s concentration from a heroic male as protector of the community to a destabilized male in need of the community’s help” (336). In Mann’s films, however, the community—usually signified by the family unit—is just as destabilized as the central protagonist, oftentimes serving as the source of chaos rather than an escape from it. The traditional dichotomy between the wilderness and civilization in the Western genre, as partitioned by Jim Kitses in his book <em>Horizons West</em> (12), was becoming increasingly blurred; from Mann’s point-of-view, the family/community seemed just as teeming with distrust and betrayal as the wild, open frontier.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Although it is not essential to contextualize Mann in his respective historical milieu in order to appreciate his Westerns, it does provide some enlightenment on the recurring theme of family conflict in his films. In her study <em>Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era</em>, Elaine Tyler May writes of the values that post-WWII Americans placed in the family. Many Americans, May explains, sought “the protective walls of the modern home, [where] worrisome developments like sexual liberation, women’s emancipation, and affluence would lead not to decadence but to a wholesome family life” (19-20). Yet these ‘protective walls’ became less and less stable as America approached the paranoia of the Cold War era, which perpetuated a sense of distrust among Americans, even within the once-trustworthy boundaries of one’s own home. The additional panic of an encroaching nuclear apocalypse situated itself nicely within the fear of family disintegration. As noted in a 1951 article by Harvard physician Charles Water Clarke, an atomic bomb explosion would result in families becoming “separated and lost from each other in confusion,” where “[s]upports of normal family and community life would be broken down…” (May 93). In this sense the self-destruction caused by atomic explosion became a fitting metaphor for the self-destruction of the American family.<br /></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAvH8y7XYtKZwLTrgUvZPf3UJJS_9WE0TXcTakxc31vnVg8lZ_Cw7M3e3e0e-yvgSYUsMuysUwuyRHYqa8zoV5VRkW__z2918DVmuTFgInMHtZUiFdm3JykRBby0qNS8hpKfZ/s1600-h/nuclear-explosion.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356697316965395554" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 256px; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAvH8y7XYtKZwLTrgUvZPf3UJJS_9WE0TXcTakxc31vnVg8lZ_Cw7M3e3e0e-yvgSYUsMuysUwuyRHYqa8zoV5VRkW__z2918DVmuTFgInMHtZUiFdm3JykRBby0qNS8hpKfZ/s320/nuclear-explosion.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">With this fear of family destruction in the national consciousness, the issue naturally made its way into numerous Hollywood films of the 1950s, even giving birth to “rebellious teenager” films like Laslo Benedek’s <em>The Wild One</em> and Ray’s <em>Rebel Without a Cause</em>. Although Mann, too, incorporated the theme of family conflict into his Westerns, it was not likely out of any conscious desire to make a statement about this contemporary issue. In her insightful biography on the director, Jeanne Basinger asserts that Mann “avoided making films which contained overt moral and political significance” (4). Mann’s intentions were rather more expressionistic, using the theme of family destruction to complement the violent, psychological nature of his films’ aesthetic. Westerns, writes Philip French, tend to “coalesce in the memory into one vast, repetitious movie” (7), and this proves particularly true in Mann’s case. Beginning in two of his first films in the genre, <em>Winchester ’73</em> and <em>The Furies</em>, Mann’s thematic motif of family destruction keeps reoccurring, such that each repetition of the theme builds to a kind of Freudian neurosis. This leaves no rest for Mann’s protagonists, for the moment their struggle is over in one film the characters are karmatically inserted into yet another film, experiencing more pain and betrayal than they did in their last incarnation. Mann’s films throughout the ‘50s tend to grow increasingly darker with each release, with the level of familial violence heightening in every subsequent film and finally reaching its climax in <em>Man of the West</em>.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Before exploring the theme of family destruction further, the presence of the screenwriter in Mann’s films should be addressed. Mann worked with a variety of writers during his career, particularly Borden Chase (<em>Winchester ’73, Bend of the River, The Far Country</em>) and Philip Yordan (<em>The Man from Laramie, The Last Frontier</em>). To thereby credit Mann as the sole author of his films’ themes would be to completely ignore the collaborate aspect of his filmmaking. Yet Mann did exhibit some personal influence over his choice of scripts—when he was unhappy with the initial script for <em>Winchester ’73</em>, for example, Mann insisted on having Chase do a rewrite (Basinger 79). Even at this early stage in his career, Mann gained a certain control over his writing material, thus supporting the notion that the persistent theme of family destruction in his Westerns is not merely a coincidence but an intentional motif. (As evident in <em>The Last Frontier</em> and <em>Man of the West</em>, Mann nonetheless still experienced considerable studio interference with some of his original thematic wishes.) Family conflict is so strong and prevalent in Mann’s work that it’s difficult to believe he wasn’t somehow involved in shaping of the theme in film after film; one can only wonder how Andrew Sarris, in his section on Mann in <em>The American Cinema</em>, inexplicably failed to identify this “consistent thematic pattern” (98).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Even if Mann didn’t have influence on his scripts, he would still remain an auteur, if only for his distinct <em>mise en scène</em>. Mann understood that cinema is primarily a visual medium, possessing unique qualities of its own. Rather than making a pointless attempt to “film” the experience of reading a novel or seeing a play, he instead “planned each film as if the story would emerge from the images as clearly as it would from the dialogue” (Basinger 3). Additionally, Mann seemed to have a keen sense of Jane Tompkins’s assertion in her book <em>West of Everything</em> that, in the Western genre, “words are immaterial, only objects are real” (49). In Mann’s Westerns reality is found in objects, in the physical elements of his terrain; indeed, as Manny Farber asserted, “the Mann films use American objects and terrain—guns, cliffs, boulders, an 1865 locomotive, telephone wires—with more cruel intimacy than any other filmmaker” (17). It is this intimacy in Mann’s films that ultimately brings the visual back to the thematic; the image and story are not merely connected, they are one and the same. In Mann’s films, there is no other way to present the primary narrative; the story, as Basinger notes, “is the total image” (14). Like Marshall McLuhan’s oft-quoted assertion that the medium is indistinguishable from its message, Mann’s Westerns communicate their themes of family conflict and destruction within (rather than simply through) his <em>mise en scène</em> —an environment which not only incorporates the filmed physical landscape but also the filmmaking process itself, with its close-ups, long shots, framing, cutting, and other aspects all playing integral roles in Mann’s cinematic environment. These singularly film-related elements work together to bring into existence the violent and psychological themes of Mann’s films; to separate these themes from their cinematic presentation is to completely miss the essence of Mann’s work.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Mann’s portrayal of the family/community in his Westerns has led to various critical interpretations. John H. Lenihan, author of <em>Showdown: Confronting Modern America in the Western Film</em>, simplifies Mann’s vision of the community as “progressive, a source of individual stability and sanity, in contrast with the harsh and violent wilderness where loneliness, physical hardship, and raw emotion overcome the hero” (108). But Lenihan’s analysis fails to consider how often this dichotomy between community (stability) and the wilderness (instability) becomes blurred in Mann’s Westerns. Rather, the family structure (i.e., community) more often than not either contributes to or is the very source of its protagonists’ ‘physical hardship’ and ‘raw emotion.’ More persuasive is Kitses’s argument that, in Mann’s darkest films, he “suggests that the community exiles or destroys its best features, [with] anarchy and evil disguised as order forcing out reason and humanity” (157). From the dysfunctional family units in <em>The Man from Laramie</em> and <em>Man of the West</em> (not to mention <em>The Naked Spur</em>) to the oppressive symbol of the fort in <em>The Last Frontier</em>, Mann again and again implies a communal order gradually unraveling itself, causing its own downfall through brotherly feuds, marital breakdown, and flawed patriarchy.<br /></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPFAN0iI9KxD9E1TGoQWyLoQuK0OYloepz1baRdx__Wpht3X63XhTM6MUAHgXBq9fE11t9pKF1tY3q_xqtgYCq2jd_Yo9HSOpenXzDB9jaXoSXpZ1o3uK_uMMB6TLJVPWWkFc/s1600-h/manofthewest4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356696359163318210" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 144px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPFAN0iI9KxD9E1TGoQWyLoQuK0OYloepz1baRdx__Wpht3X63XhTM6MUAHgXBq9fE11t9pKF1tY3q_xqtgYCq2jd_Yo9HSOpenXzDB9jaXoSXpZ1o3uK_uMMB6TLJVPWWkFc/s320/manofthewest4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The destruction of family in Mann’s Westerns ultimately becomes a metaphor for the destruction of self, with every familial conflict representing a kind of psychological struggle that often ends in acts of personal annihilation. The act of killing for Mann’s protagonists thus takes on a greater resonance and has a considerably personal impact. “Essentially brothers under the skin,” Kitses writes of Mann’s heroes and villains, “we kill at our peril, destroying a part of ourselves, staining our hands with the blood of the victim for ever thereafter” (149). If Westerns, as Tompkins notes, tend to play to a “Wild West of the psyche” (6), then Mann’s films are exemplary models, incorporating the theme of familial/communal disintegration to suggest a similar sense of disorder in their protagonists’ mental states. Indeed, as numerous critics have observed, Mann’s very mise en scène often reflects this disturbed psychological state of its protagonists. “In Mann,” writes author Dennis Bingham, “the wilderness could be said to double for the unconscious; it is the primal scene, the site of the return of the repressed” (56). Having worked in film noir during the 1940s, Mann seemed to incorporate much of the psychological form of that genre into his later films; he brought, as David Boxwell stresses in his biographical article on Mann at <em>Senses of Cinema</em>, “a noir sensibility to the Western unlike any other director.”<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">What translated particularly well in Mann’s Westerns was the film noir genre’s utilization of the physical environment to express a Freudian landscape. In Mann’s Westerns, Basinger asserts, “the physical space becomes the equivalent of psychological space” (71). Even Andrew Sarris, who only accords Mann a “This Far Side of Paradise” ranking in <em>The American Cinema</em>, nonetheless remains fascinated with the director’s handling of landscape, which he likens to the work of Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni (98). Indeed, this proves an apt comparison: like Antonioni’s psychological use of landscapes in such films as <em>L’avventura, Eclipse</em>, and <em>The Passenger</em>, Mann understands how the physical environment in a film—from its rocks and water to buildings and forts—can be a powerful visual evocation of his characters’ inner feelings and emotions. </span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQLVH9mO8myO9ETkSfeVBHZHjwudwv_91po1BC-Iv5aePhrJkYxdcUu_Og2dt93dRCi2zjGOtMVsFN2NRFMnxmE8qaDdGY9uS4-tqd9dNey8WVKs8GsvqcPnIP7LWMLSuVhmG/s1600-h/leclisse.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356695920656640418" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 180px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQLVH9mO8myO9ETkSfeVBHZHjwudwv_91po1BC-Iv5aePhrJkYxdcUu_Og2dt93dRCi2zjGOtMVsFN2NRFMnxmE8qaDdGY9uS4-tqd9dNey8WVKs8GsvqcPnIP7LWMLSuVhmG/s320/leclisse.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">By nesting the themes of family and psychological destruction into his mise en scène, Mann consequently chips away at the mechanics of the Western genre itself. This destruction, or deconstruction, takes many of the traditional myths of the genre—such as Kitses’s aforementioned dichotomy between the wilderness and civilization—and defamiliarizes them. “Mann’s response to the Western,” writes Kitses, “was not a response to history, as with Ford and Peckinpah, but to its archetypal form, the mythic patterns deeply embedded in the plots and characters of the genre that can shape and structure the action” (155). Mann’s deconstruction is thus a purely cinematic one, incorporating the popular mechanics of the Western genre in his films so that he can then pit them against themselves. By introducing elements not normally associated with the Western film—neurotic heroes, sympathetic villains, and an increased sense of violence and psychological struggle—Mann continuously alerts the viewers to and questions the long-accepted myths of the Western tradition. The subversive aspects of Mann’s films serve as a contrast to the more archetypal ones, bringing the latter into the light and revealing them for the myths that they are. His deconstruction of the Western becomes akin to the demythologizing technique outlined by Roland Barthes, where one subverts the unconscious myths of a culture by making them more clear and visible. In his essay "Myth Today" (published in 1956), Barthes claims that “the best weapon against myth is perhaps to mythify it in its turn, and to produce an artificial myth” (123). In his continual revealing of Western myths via the introducing of modern elements in his films, Mann thus suggests the ‘artificiality’ of these myths in a complex, multivalent universe.<br /><br />Any of Mann’s Westerns of the 1950s could be picked apart for how they integrate the theme of family/psychological destruction with the subsequent process of genre deconstruction, but three films that play with this procedure quite provocatively are <em>The Man from Laramie</em> (1955), <em>The Last Frontier</em> (1955), and <em>Man of the West</em> (1958). Although Mann’s earlier Westerns certainly exhibit clear themes of family conflict (<em>Winchester ‘73</em> and <em>The Furies</em>) and psychological drama (<em>The Naked Spur</em>), these later three films convey Mann’s thematic motifs with considerably greater violence and an overall darker sensibility. It’s perhaps not surprising that these three films also uniquely share Mann’s expressive use of Cinemascope, since the widened space serves as a perfect apparatus for Mann’s increasingly widening vision. Cinemascope essentially gave Mann more room to evoke, as mentioned earlier by Farber, his ‘cruel intimacy’ from physical objects; within the extended horizontal frame, Mann’s heroes become increasingly isolated and overpowered by the physical elements that surround them, which heightens the films’ psychological impact. Cinemascope, writes Basinger, also allowed Mann to “increase the complexity of his compositions” and to use “its wider space and potential for greater depth [in strengthening] his theme of duality, or the link between hero and villain” (101). This proves particularly true in <em>The Man from Laramie, The Last Frontier</em>, and <em>Man of the West</em>, three films that often blur the division between protagonist and antagonist, suggesting a universe that ranges beyond simple, black-and-white dichotomies.<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Along with <em>The Naked Spur</em>, Mann’s <em>The Man from Laramie, The Last Frontier</em>, and <em>Man of the West</em> are arguably his most complex and multilayered Westerns. Only <em>The Naked Spur</em>, however, has gained considerable attention from authors and scholars; the other three, outside of Kitses’s and Basinger’s perceptive analyses, remain largely underrated and undervalued. Each of these films are thus worth examining individually and in substantial detail, as the following analyses will attempt to accomplish.<br /></span><br /><div align="center"><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">The Man from Laramie</span></strong><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99-vwZkS-Wbuv7aKBLLeUKPt3P1Qu-v6bKLlaDldDytjsuT1lZI-aum8_h2DuYLRNvVA_tFF9zRAd6gdIk7vinv1i1U20dVks_LMVUdRdJF_ODdzcfffVlGJITXamc5Da0rMo/s1600-h/stewartwithgun.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356693696575135282" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 150px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99-vwZkS-Wbuv7aKBLLeUKPt3P1Qu-v6bKLlaDldDytjsuT1lZI-aum8_h2DuYLRNvVA_tFF9zRAd6gdIk7vinv1i1U20dVks_LMVUdRdJF_ODdzcfffVlGJITXamc5Da0rMo/s320/stewartwithgun.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Made in 1955, just when Cinemascope was a brand new process, <em>The Man from Laramie</em> concerns the efforts of a lone wanderer named Will Lockhart (played by James Stewart) to avenge the death of his brother, the latter of whom was killed by a group of raiding Indians. In an interesting twist to the usual revenge formula, Philip Yordan and Frank Burt’s screenplay has Stewart seek out the unknown individual who sold the Indians rifles rather than the Indians themselves. This theme of “indirect” vengeance could be faulted for its racist assumption that Native Americans are too naïve to be held responsible for murder, yet it tellingly situates the central conflict as one between two members of the same race. Uninterested in finding the Indians who directly caused his brother’s death, Stewart neurotically reasons that the true culprit must be someone of his own skin, someone biologically closer to him than a Native American—a “brother” must be taken for a brother, in other words. Stewart’s visit to a small town, in fact, indirectly causes the fatal breakdown of another family unit: a wealthy cattle baron (Donald Crisp), his unruly son (Alex Nicol), and an “adopted” family member (Arthur Kennedy), who acts as ranch foreman and general caretaker of his vicious “brother.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">From the film’s very first scenes, Mann provides subtle visual hints of Stewart’s presence as a walking act of destruction. When Stewart encounters the remains of an Indian raid, for example, Mann’s camera closes in on Stewart’s distraught expression and then cuts to what seems to be a point-of-view shot. Yet as the camera pans to the left, observing the aftermath of the Indian attack, Stewart again enters the frame, thus revealing the shot as not Stewart’s point-of-view after all. By deceptively causing the viewer to identify with Stewart and then revealing him to be a part of the ruins he is supposedly “seeing,” Mann conveys the psychologically confused state of his character: a man both inside and outside himself, both receiver and giver of destruction. This dual nature of Stewart’s presence complements the film’s blurring of strict hero/villain dichotomies; his performance, as Robert Horton puts it in his article “Mann & Stewart: Two Rode Together,” is one completely “in tune with the film’s multifarious perversity” (46).<br /></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhrcVOP0c_Wlyse15NKqFUndwXdkSLye3wQzL2mG1wHQOuHnM0i1OPFaha4JbEgDeEAz0BcpMVBrFTT2zY4xRy-r3dhQocARR7CzpCdTA7K_Sero0esVhUY8BpFfAVl9yMBfA/s1600-h/manfromlaramie3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356693640977294578" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 144px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhrcVOP0c_Wlyse15NKqFUndwXdkSLye3wQzL2mG1wHQOuHnM0i1OPFaha4JbEgDeEAz0BcpMVBrFTT2zY4xRy-r3dhQocARR7CzpCdTA7K_Sero0esVhUY8BpFfAVl9yMBfA/s320/manfromlaramie3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Granted, Stewart’s acts of destruction are understandably provoked, beginning in his first encounter with Crisp. Set on a barren, white salt field that suggests a wasteland annihilated by nuclear warfare, Crisp and his gang’s sudden attack of Stewart sets in motion a standard of violence and chaos that never seems to leave in Mann’s subsequent films. What makes the scene particularly effective is Mann’s handling of steadily growing intensity: it begins with Crisp’s riders in the distance, nearly as small as salt themselves in the Cinemascope frame and gradually increasing in proximity to Mann’s fixed camera. This is followed by instances of escalating violence, where the gang first ropes Stewart and drags him through the dust, then sets fire to his wagons, and finally—in one of the film’s most shocking moments—shoots his mules. Mann masterfully captures the psychological intensity of the scene by cutting from Stewart’s look of sheer horror to what is this time a true point-of-view shot, one that bases Stewart’s psychotic sense of terror in the physical, fiery imagery that surrounds him. Basinger calls the scene a “widescreen glimpse of hell” (104), yet it seems more akin to a vision of the apocalypse; perhaps Mann is evoking the Cold War paranoia of the time, particularly in the way this paranoia also suggests a fear of family disintegration, as demonstrated in the film’s eventual developments.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHKg0XdtPu58aCvlFIle7_Zj0-i3qNKANb21egOW6Q66B9y43_nLtBg_bXbnH-zR7O6D16M5X4Z9ikWZ7tA137jOu9Ye4GKU6sO8UOSpAZVlFeKjEhwlxBSCzqzdN4vNONAai/s1600-h/manfromlaramie2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356692984910363842" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 144px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHKg0XdtPu58aCvlFIle7_Zj0-i3qNKANb21egOW6Q66B9y43_nLtBg_bXbnH-zR7O6D16M5X4Z9ikWZ7tA137jOu9Ye4GKU6sO8UOSpAZVlFeKjEhwlxBSCzqzdN4vNONAai/s320/manfromlaramie2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In later scenes, Mann uses violence to increase benevolence over his characters’ motivations. On Stewart and Crisp’s second meeting, for instance, it’s uncanny how Mann frames Stewart at a set distance when he first sees Crisp and then has Stewart gradually increase in size as he walks closer to the camera, similar to how Mann filmed Crisp and his riders in the previous encounter. It is Stewart, not Crisp, who is now the act of destruction, suggesting a perpetual shifting of power roles that recurs throughout the film. Stewart’s wrestling with Kennedy, the man who saved Stewart from Crisp’s wrath in the salt field and who here intervenes Stewart’s fight with Crisp, seems even more unprovoked and purposeless; what these men have against each other, at least at this point, is unclear, and Mann’s <em>mise en scène</em> accordingly reflects this ambivalence by blurring the two men in clouds of dust and even losing them for brief seconds when they fall into a cow pen, where cows fill up the foreground and occasionally block the frame. A scene that in a more traditional Western would stand as a key battle between hero and villain becomes, through Mann’s aesthetic, just the tossing and tumbling of two violent figures, indistinguishable from the rest of the physical landscape. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF6uivfFjLzTMLBuqExtSkaD2TTEl0GksY4izF480_oDlo631b5-KpwDMXL82X3_4GS9-8dP63T79EkI-gxrushN7QxvYgL7v3ex3lEP-3gGtKnqeVGL4IhGlY2V9_3yfMCXB9/s1600-h/stewartwalking.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356692822080388754" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 142px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF6uivfFjLzTMLBuqExtSkaD2TTEl0GksY4izF480_oDlo631b5-KpwDMXL82X3_4GS9-8dP63T79EkI-gxrushN7QxvYgL7v3ex3lEP-3gGtKnqeVGL4IhGlY2V9_3yfMCXB9/s320/stewartwalking.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Mann’s deconstruction of the Western genre is perhaps most clear in the complex performance he draws out of Arthur Kennedy. Although Kennedy becomes the archetypal villain in the film when he is eventually revealed to be the man indirectly responsible for the death of Stewart’s brother, he emerges, as Richard Combs notes in his article on <em>Film Comment</em>, “as the greatest victim and the only sympathetic male character in the film” (44). Indeed, when Kennedy is later forced to kill Crisp, the viewers’ sympathies are entirely in Kennedy’s favor; the scene, after all, directly follows Crisp’s brutal close-range shooting of Stewart’s hand (one of the most violent scenes in Mann’s entire oeuvre), which makes Kennedy’s act seem ultimately justifiable while also satisfying the viewers’ desire to see the malicious Crisp dead. Kennedy’s acting in the scene also evokes sympathy: immediately after shooting Crisp, his facial expression indicates a mix of sorrow and disgust, perhaps conveying Kennedy’s frustration for the demands of a genre that must reduce his multilayered character to mere villain. This facial expression, however, ultimately keeps Kennedy from completely inhabiting that archetypal role; even when he nearly kills his surrogate father (Nicol) and faces Stewart in the film’s finale, Kennedy’s look of sorrow-cum-disgust never ceases and thus neither does the audience’s sympathy for him. His death, wherein he is shot by Indians using his own rifles, veers toward Greek tragedy—a man, not unlike anyone else, destroyed by his own hubris.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vli_aS3-vZ6DXh9qxeWC_8kTMxPKLtb4UWlLuJCMTEGG_kk217ekDobuJ6hZ8q5LbA-f2dY5tDyVnZpLbVw83k-8gzTYqqPJKJoZCNjEU2_B4WXYcZcNvpsIK6glmBuEp03V/s1600-h/manfromlaramie.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356692566984885586" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 144px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vli_aS3-vZ6DXh9qxeWC_8kTMxPKLtb4UWlLuJCMTEGG_kk217ekDobuJ6hZ8q5LbA-f2dY5tDyVnZpLbVw83k-8gzTYqqPJKJoZCNjEU2_B4WXYcZcNvpsIK6glmBuEp03V/s320/manfromlaramie.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In light of Mann’s ambivalent handling of the hero (Stewart) and villain (Kennedy) in The Man from Laramie, the traditional ballad that begins and ends the film seems quite ironic:</span></div><div align="center"><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;">The Man from Laramie<br />He was friendly to everyone he met<br />Everyone admired the fearless stranger</span></em></div><div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Who is this “fearless stranger” that “was friendly to everyone he met”? It certainly isn’t Stewart, who spends the majority of the film sparking conflict with just about every character in town (even the local sheriff doesn’t trust him). Considering that Stewart also brings to ruin the family unit that is Kennedy, Crisp, and Nicol, these lyrics seem even more incongruous to his actual character. Yet the ballad, a traditional Western staple, makes Mann’s subversion against the genre all the more clear; its lyrics are a reminder of characteristics usually associated with the archetypal Western hero and how much Mann has subsequently deconstructed these norms. Much of this demythologization must be credited to Stewart, an actor who did some persona deconstructing of his own in his Westerns with Mann (anticipating the dark undertones he would further explore with Alfred Hitchcock). In his study of Stewart and gender identity in Mann’s films, Dennis Bingham emphasizes how Stewart’s restraint in the Westerns only “serves as a contrast to the moments when the character ‘cracks,’ revealing the toughness as a construction” (55). Stewart’s performances in Mann’s films—particularly in <em>The Man from Laramie</em>, his last film with the director—thus complement the similar revealing Mann is making of the Western genre itself: a cinematic construction, forged, if not by gender, then by tradition.<br /></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><div align="center"><br /><strong>The Last Frontier</strong><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNzhiqfuWG7hmCHnQ-jnSTqllP7nM5P_uRBYwAQ9RkWzVJZPGyyicOwK1qCHFimcVySWlS4HiC9jDqapp2PrQqB7wPquWJECA5hmoAsefK34SS9uZal3A2TiZDYwBD1l-NTelp/s1600-h/lastfrontier4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356692113820810466" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 133px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNzhiqfuWG7hmCHnQ-jnSTqllP7nM5P_uRBYwAQ9RkWzVJZPGyyicOwK1qCHFimcVySWlS4HiC9jDqapp2PrQqB7wPquWJECA5hmoAsefK34SS9uZal3A2TiZDYwBD1l-NTelp/s320/lastfrontier4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Like <em>The Man from Laramie</em>, Mann’s <em>The Last Frontier</em> also begins and ends with a ballad. A portion of its problematic lyrics read:</span></div><div align="center"><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;">The last frontier, the last frontier<br />Back when the law was the law of the open spaces<br />The folks out there were fair and square<br />They paid every debt by the sweat of their honest faces </span></em><em><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></em></div><em></em><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">The “open spaces” metaphor may prove an apt description of Mann’s handling of space, but that’s just about where the lyrics’ fidelity to the actual film ends. As will be demonstrated, the film’s sense of civilized law is not always “fair and square” nor governed by those with “honest faces.” In truth, <em>The Last Frontier</em> stands as one of Mann’s most critical indictments of the security and comfort that is supposedly found in civilization (i.e., community and the family unit). By the film’s end, it remains difficult to decide if civilization is any safer than the wilderness.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Mann’s critique of the Western norms associated with community and family is mainly fostered in his use of actor Victor Mature. In the film Mature plays a frontiersman more at home in the wilderness than in the walls of the film’s central fort, the latter of which is governed by an irrational colonel (Robert Preston) and a more humane captain (Guy Madison). After having their supplies stolen by an Indian tribe that is at war with the colonel, Mature and his companions—an old trapper and Indian scout (James Whitmore and Pat Hogan)—seek shelter at the fort, where they are promptly hired as scouts. Within the fort’s walls, Mature develops a romantic entanglement with the colonel’s wife (a young and nearly unrecognizable Anne Bancroft) and becomes increasingly antagonistic with the colonel. Despite his initial reservations, Mature manages to settle down by the film’s end; as will be addressed, however, these final scenes do not reconcile comfortably with the conflicts Mann introduces throughout the film, much less with Mature’s unstable character.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6ox0y74y7JNbZpjo7nKrLyegSPMqUZe9yvILWkLu6vWsxCGHBrpRweDC5AShQOF83di6XglPAH4cRRIPjQip_L5pzskEHuI8k6I4FX-yXR3PVzjNr__OwyR1J0iM47O6K7ar/s1600-h/lastfrontier3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356692034947476146" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 132px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6ox0y74y7JNbZpjo7nKrLyegSPMqUZe9yvILWkLu6vWsxCGHBrpRweDC5AShQOF83di6XglPAH4cRRIPjQip_L5pzskEHuI8k6I4FX-yXR3PVzjNr__OwyR1J0iM47O6K7ar/s320/lastfrontier3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Mature is certainly one of Mann’s wildest, complex protagonists, a man who considerably darkens the traditional notion of a Western “hero” while also allowing Mann to question the value of civilization. Through Mature, writes Lenihan, “Mann took aim at some of the hypocrisies and irrational behavior associated with ‘civilized’ values” (69). This critique is evident in the occasional exchanges between Mature and Madison. When Mature asks how one becomes “civilized,” Madison replies that he “has to belong.” Mature is skeptical. “Belong to what?” he asks. “Other people,” Madison returns, indicating the community and family. Mature then jokingly declares, “I’m gonna find me a woman, make some children, get married, and become civilized!” (Whether Mature means to follow this particular order or not seems wholly irrelevant.) In these scenes, Mann uses Mature as a devil’s advocate to question the accepted notion that having a family is the answer to all one’s problems. This critique further develops later in the film, when Mature and Madison discuss the sadistic nature of the colonel (Preston). Mature wonders how the colonel can have everything that makes a man “civilized”—a high ranking, a wife, etc.—and yet still remain “an animal.” “What the good of being civilized?” he asks Madison. It’s telling that Madison never answers Mature’s question—such a question, Mann implies, has no obvious answer.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4mvHqzn-GDedXkaBXDgoSb63zIZweB7Odd4sE1Y-k0UTb3agfJ8o39W-6ghsBnVsREFBm2Hlm4GeEcEkFlEAvF_xSF3FxF0SFsuvKZxI-OBYk7LfS3OqXrsc6cYjLX1bBGjEZ/s1600-h/lastfrontier2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356691872877628706" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 132px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4mvHqzn-GDedXkaBXDgoSb63zIZweB7Odd4sE1Y-k0UTb3agfJ8o39W-6ghsBnVsREFBm2Hlm4GeEcEkFlEAvF_xSF3FxF0SFsuvKZxI-OBYk7LfS3OqXrsc6cYjLX1bBGjEZ/s320/lastfrontier2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">With the possible exception of Mature, the strongest character in the film is not an actor but the fort itself. As a mythological symbol for civilization and all that it stands for, the fort becomes Mann’s primary visual metaphor for the inherent, self-conflicting nature of the family/community. Mann evokes the fort’s ambivalent nature through his constantly changing camera angles and various depths of field within its walls; the place becomes “a maze of stairs, posts, walkways, porches, levels, interiors, catwalks, corners, windows, and pits,” such that the “viewer is never clear what the topographical layout really is” (Basinger 107). Unlike Howard Hawks’s distinct handling of space in his more traditional Western <em>Rio Bravo</em> (1959), where the viewer grows accustomed to the exact locations of the town’s living arrangements, the environment of the fort in The Last Frontier is continuously defamiliarized. The fort thus reflects Mature’s psychological difficulty in understanding the family and community in general; like the viewers’ inability to grasp a precise handling on the design of the fort, Mature cannot understand how to behave as a family man and community member. Mature’s misunderstanding is evident in his treatment of the colonel’s wife (Bancroft), whom he first attempts to make love with in spite of her being married (a bold departure from what is normally associated with the archetypal Western hero) and then slaps violently when she won’t run away with him after he has disposed of her husband. Through these actions Mature is attempting to become a settled, “civilized” man, but he doesn’t have a clear sense of how one is supposed to go about accomplishing this goal and remains as lost and confused as the abstract, shifting interiors of the fort itself.<br /></span><br /><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjBHl-6_yLah1gBh0hEt1tSfh9xO4qjonIE-gLOdjeyjOzP4fe4iU-jC_ZYhBwdXplgMqIMgy-AhRrbA8waQ5FGTcLZIhlvx2NxfWy52lYtk9nKCRxl8R7yyOLOuoUjZCRg_k/s1600-h/lastfrontier1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356691540156586194" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 133px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjBHl-6_yLah1gBh0hEt1tSfh9xO4qjonIE-gLOdjeyjOzP4fe4iU-jC_ZYhBwdXplgMqIMgy-AhRrbA8waQ5FGTcLZIhlvx2NxfWy52lYtk9nKCRxl8R7yyOLOuoUjZCRg_k/s320/lastfrontier1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">With all that Mann does to present Mature and the community as irreconcilable entities, the film’s happy ending—with Mature in uniform, grinning profusely, now able to pursue the woman of his dreams—cannot be believed without some willful ignorance. This final scene was, in fact, imposed on Mann (Basinger 111), which demonstrates that he was not always in complete control of his material. (He would later deal with studio interference in the finale of <em>Man of the West</em> as well.) Yet like the use of the traditional ballad in this film and <em>The Man from Laramie</em>, the forced ending actually strengthens Mann’s vision—its stark contrast to the rest of the film clarifies the deviations Mann makes from the typical Western genre and actually makes the viewer yearn for an ending that stays faithful to Mann’s vision, no matter how dark this ending may be. In spite of its compromised finale, <em>The Last Frontier</em> stands as one of Mann’s bitterest and most rebellious films, one that perpetually questions the archetypal Western hero and his relation to the community.<br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><strong>Man of the West</strong></span><br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kdqRORA4xtWeqlR1kugZFvZlfuFsR-B7OirTND37brm_ngIzwd7mojpAH6Hc7ygbEcfWORD8kVJYSFwQ3FCzcGmp7flmTtjheAxSDCX-bnGjiXdcRv_fjfUesKcG6SO1WcQP/s1600-h/motw1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356691278613032946" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 220px; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kdqRORA4xtWeqlR1kugZFvZlfuFsR-B7OirTND37brm_ngIzwd7mojpAH6Hc7ygbEcfWORD8kVJYSFwQ3FCzcGmp7flmTtjheAxSDCX-bnGjiXdcRv_fjfUesKcG6SO1WcQP/s320/motw1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Man of the West</em>, one of Mann’s final Westerns, exposes and lays fully bare the subversive themes only implied in his previous films. The destruction of the family unit is, for once, conveyed quite literally, with the film’s hero (Gary Cooper) driven to kill every member of his murderous family of misfits, despite his past connection to them. In his book <em>Westerns</em>, Philip French asserts that in <em>Man of the West</em> “the dialectic of the Western is at work, forming a bond within a society or destroying it, and both themes have their validity (117). Cooper, a man once as ruthless as his adopted family but who now desires to live straight, is suddenly thrust back into the unit’s mold, where he is visibly torn between whether he should again become a part of the family’s communal bond or exterminate it. This struggle essentially becomes a type of psychological purging for the hero. “As if he were the hero of a Greek myth,” writes Basinger, “Cooper makes a symbolic journey into self. He leaves the real world he inhabits and enters the evil underworld to confront the forces which would destroy him, forces which are clearly of and within him” (119). Mann’s film thus blurs the traditional lines between hero and villain, between the security of the family unit and the dangers of the wilderness—neither dichotomy, as <em>Man of the West</em> makes clear, can be easily partitioned.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXt0Rej5BJdEsQ71QM3SNICB9j3lFLp8KFWtppWq1tapv8HBJ52coAgfrfngaFWYFl1khnlXAUIlZVnVBbbuASPhL0z3UqBcE7zIkXUNdaX607Pofo09QtnLwQY2GxqEbtjB9/s1600-h/motw3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356691131255251666" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 238px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXt0Rej5BJdEsQ71QM3SNICB9j3lFLp8KFWtppWq1tapv8HBJ52coAgfrfngaFWYFl1khnlXAUIlZVnVBbbuASPhL0z3UqBcE7zIkXUNdaX607Pofo09QtnLwQY2GxqEbtjB9/s320/motw3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Unlike <em>The Man from Laramie</em> and <em>The Last Frontier</em>, <em>Man of the West</em> does not begin with an ironic ballad, although its introduction is no less deceptive. The opening credits are accompanied by the archetypal image of the hero (Cooper) on his horse, suggesting the film’s allegiance to a more traditional Western mold. This deceptive quality is maintained in the film’s first scenes, which follows an awkward, silent Cooper as he struts into town and boards a train. Basinger notes that these scenes almost act as a comedy in their lighthearted nature, thus making the film’s later sequences all the more grim and troubling (120). Mann does, however, slip in a few subversive touches in this first section, particularly in his use of the train. As Combs observes, the cinematic image of the train moving towards the screen—reproduced masterfully by Mann here—is not only a traditional Western motif but harkens back to the birth of film itself with the premiere of the Lumière brothers’ <em>L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat</em> (1895). In <em>Man of the West</em>, however, Mann counterpoints the train’s mythological signification with more modern touches: the way its steam nearly engulfs Cooper on arrival, the bumpy nature of its seats when traveling, the way its passengers are required to help load wood at occasional stops. These subtle details defamiliarize the viewers’ archetypical perceptions of train travel in the Western film, revealing its more realistic aspects and thus foreshadowing the harsher world to come.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">When Cooper and two other passengers (Julie London and Arthur O’Connell) are left behind after experiencing a botched train robbery, they are forced to take shelter with Cooper’s old “father” Dock (Lee J. Cobb) and his vicious family. Their meeting of the gang consequently changes the mood of the film entirely, transforming its initial pose as a traditional Western film to an intense, psychological journey that recalls Joseph Conrad’s <em>Heart of Darkness</em>, with Mann increasingly utilizing his mise en scène to convey his protagonists’ psychological states. As Cooper approaches the gang’s shelter, for instance, Mann cuts from a close-up of Cooper to an extreme long shot, tracking him at a far distance as he walks toward his old home. This sudden cut has a double effect: it isolates Cooper in the surrounding barren environment, thus conveying his feelings of alienation and danger, while simultaneously distancing the viewer from Cooper’s character. It is at this point, after all, that his past life begins to become revealed and his character considerably darkens. Mann plays with this darkness further within the cramped, claustrophobic interiors of the house, where Dock’s lighting of a lamp merely draws the viewers’ attention to the shadowy, indistinguishable figures that surround Cooper. Yet as uncomfortable as these closed-in interiors are, Mann’s later exterior shots are just as unsettling. The landscape, writes Combs, becomes “almost entirely symbolic, in the progression from lush green valley to a dried-out promised land,” ending at a mountainside with “rock formations so bleached they resemble the bones of a vast skeleton” (42). Indeed, Mann’s evocative use of a ghost town near the film’s finale suggests a post-apocalyptic environment; within the context of such a lifeless landscape, Cooper’s killing of his entire family unit seems wholly appropriate.<br /></span><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvJhc4vQUoQvRXv1fnx1BAzSAFKf15WXoqiz3bdP34s5B21XM-Qrv-e-S6D8CZqfbij6xl-yYrTo6fgnT75mjYNEbkNUIe6ele3aqAy2lK3GhrTQEZaMcySohokgJ8Lvj8GUWk/s1600-h/manofthewest5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356690916691154002" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 144px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvJhc4vQUoQvRXv1fnx1BAzSAFKf15WXoqiz3bdP34s5B21XM-Qrv-e-S6D8CZqfbij6xl-yYrTo6fgnT75mjYNEbkNUIe6ele3aqAy2lK3GhrTQEZaMcySohokgJ8Lvj8GUWk/s320/manofthewest5.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Just as iconoclastic as Mann’s deconstruction of the physical environment is his treatment of the archetypal female character in <em>Man of the West</em>, as portrayed by London. Although women in Mann’s films had always been one of the few elements to stay in the Western tradition, oftentimes signifying the hero’s moral conscious and stability, in <em>Man of the West</em> this archetype begins to, quite literally, strip away. The scene where London is forced to remove her clothes for the gang is disturbing, as Basinger puts it, because of the way “sex and violence are clearly linked with a solemn, almost polite and respectful pace which makes the action all the more horrible to watch” (123). The ‘polite and respectful pace’ of Mann’s direction here—a pace that could be associated with the traditional Western film—subverts itself by the appalling content within its calm borders, like a painting attempting to crack through its own constricting frame. Additionally unnerving is the fact that the imminent threat of rape towards London’s heroine actually becomes fulfilled at the film’s end; in Mann’s world, the hero is powerless to save his woman from harm, perhaps because the traditional notion of “hero” does not really exist at all. Nothing is secure, Mann implies, not the family unit nor certainly the desires of a filmgoing audience that expects its Westerns to follow a traditional, safe pattern as linear as the film’s opening train. </span><br /><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-MYm0MoSedCjpmUWCL-U6TNSdF2ahfs5nbQj1gWClg7DpNr4UViSCcYCgoQSbItKYD_aTrwdjzC-sEG-avIyM1UCoMJJO7TZ9YV6w0Up3MiYmwRattXJVg53awTxeLKGrFW3/s1600-h/londonstrip.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356690350947219378" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 206px; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-MYm0MoSedCjpmUWCL-U6TNSdF2ahfs5nbQj1gWClg7DpNr4UViSCcYCgoQSbItKYD_aTrwdjzC-sEG-avIyM1UCoMJJO7TZ9YV6w0Up3MiYmwRattXJVg53awTxeLKGrFW3/s320/londonstrip.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In what might have been one of Mann’s most subversive acts against the values of family stability and the Western ideal, the director originally wanted Cooper to run off with London at the film’s end, despite his character’s being married to another woman. The studio objected, however, primarily because of the idea of Cooper being “rewarded with blatantly ‘soiled’ [i.e., raped] merchandise” (Tuska 92)—an indication of the sexism in Hollywood at the time that is, in its own way, just as disturbing as anything in Mann’s film. Still, even if Mann’s wishes for the film’s narrative finale were not explicitly met, the sense of familial disintegration remains and lingers as the film comes to a close. With all its acts of violence, stark imagery, and psychological intensity, <em>Man of the West</em> is an exemplary model of Mann’s vision of the Western genre.</span><br /></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYWbIzBZWYwcZrhuYQckn_CK9KI1Q5ynfJCaE0Z1d_gRzFN4xKr3MwQUzSc66oYcR3jkv1l6VgQ-Wm8YCL6ggXkqUGskYnVSrQGS0A0leEIPjccaboe7IIUXCp5Ms4AMkvYJd/s1600-h/motw2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356690083969751218" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 234px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYWbIzBZWYwcZrhuYQckn_CK9KI1Q5ynfJCaE0Z1d_gRzFN4xKr3MwQUzSc66oYcR3jkv1l6VgQ-Wm8YCL6ggXkqUGskYnVSrQGS0A0leEIPjccaboe7IIUXCp5Ms4AMkvYJd/s320/motw2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The 1950s, with its growing sense that the traditional family unit was crumbling apart, proved to be a suitable decade for Mann’s Westerns. As demonstrated in <em>The Man from Laramie, The Last Frontier</em>, and <em>Man of the West</em>, Mann’s films exhibited the family structure, as well as the community in general, as capable of internal disintegration, thus questioning the family unit’s solidarity in the face of a complex reality. With the destruction of the family in Mann’s Westerns also came the destruction, or deconstruction, of the Western genre, with the deceptive façade of the family/community becoming a metaphor for the equally misleading ingredients of the archetypal Western formula. By introducing modern elements into these traditional ingredients through his mise en scene and use of actors, Mann triggered a kind of atomic explosion within the Western genre, clearing a path for future iconoclastic filmmakers like Sam Peckinpah and Clint Eastwood. In this sense Mann was truly his own “Man of the West,” forging a cinematic frontier for others to follow.</span></div><div><div><div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2j2yW3BnBwN69c0y0x9nZcV16-DNdfi3MK6LEXlWsmEXJfHimfuYcHaZ3cCow_6eC1QXpRP4m4Fld4gmkdx8fN4i9kg6R4DhNIMQIf5izmOCT0HWVmaFaUFT5UhZ6EvVeT0Jz/s1600-h/anthonymann.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356689706065782258" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2j2yW3BnBwN69c0y0x9nZcV16-DNdfi3MK6LEXlWsmEXJfHimfuYcHaZ3cCow_6eC1QXpRP4m4Fld4gmkdx8fN4i9kg6R4DhNIMQIf5izmOCT0HWVmaFaUFT5UhZ6EvVeT0Jz/s320/anthonymann.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Works Cited</strong></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><div>Barthes, Roland. “Myth Today.” <em>A Barthes Reader</em>. Ed. Susan Sontag. New York: Hill and Wang, 1982. 93-149.</div><br /><div>Basinger, Jeanine. <em>Anthony Mann</em>. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2007.<br /></div><div></div><div>Bingham, Dennis. <em>Acting Male: Masculinities in the Films of James Stewart, Jack Nicholson, and Clint Eastwood</em>. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1994.<br /><br />Boxwell, David. “Anthony Mann.” <em>Senses of Cinema</em>. 2003. 25 October 2008.<br /><<a href="http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/mann_anthony.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/mann_anthony.html</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">>.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Casper, Drew. <em>Postwar Hollywood: 1946-1962</em>. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2007.<br /><br />Combs, Richard. ”Worlds (Within Worlds): How Anthony Mann Negotiated the Rugged Terrain of Moviemaking in the Twilight of the Studio System.” <em>Film Comment</em> 43.3 (2007): 40-44.<br /></span></div></span><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Farber, Manny. <em>Negative Space: Manny Farber on the Movies</em>. New York: De Capo Press, Inc., 1998.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">French, Philip. <em>Westerns</em>. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Horton, Robert. “Mann & Stewart: Two Rode Together.” <em>Film Comment</em> 26.2 (1990): 40-46.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Kitses, Jim. <em>Horizons West: Directing the Western from John Ford to Clint Eastwood</em>. London: British Film Institute, 2004.<br /><br />Lenihan, John H. <em>Showdown: Confronting Modern America in the Western Film</em>. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1980.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">May, Elaine Tyler. <em>Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era</em>. New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers, 1988.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Sarris, Andrew. <em>The American Cinema</em>. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1968.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Tompkins, Jane. West of Everything: The Inner Life of Westerns. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1992. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Tuska, Jon. <em>The American West in Film: Critical Approaches to the Western</em>. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985. </span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-24341850236512788632009-06-28T15:28:00.000-07:002011-11-17T08:29:31.523-08:00<div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:180%;"><strong>La Cheval d'orgueil </strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:180%;"><strong>(The Horse of Pride) (1980)</strong></span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Im291oCz0le027qogY8nw99txLqefb95alcSsSA8jvoHqdNdBkzTEcGBU9dbiKiOB-9Bfwn1qOlPM0EQQ9dcsegLUrV5R6Mi2l2tknrrE50W35nw_mK6m4J0sb0M5QnPpKHg/s1600-h/1942__copie_de_img.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352509573350934322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 264px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Im291oCz0le027qogY8nw99txLqefb95alcSsSA8jvoHqdNdBkzTEcGBU9dbiKiOB-9Bfwn1qOlPM0EQQ9dcsegLUrV5R6Mi2l2tknrrE50W35nw_mK6m4J0sb0M5QnPpKHg/s320/1942__copie_de_img.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Based on Pierre-Jakez Hélias’s 1975 autobiographical novel of peasant life in early 20th-century Brittany, Claude Chabrol’s very uncharacteristic feature forgoes his usual preoccupation with the contemporary French bourgeoisie for a calm, serene portraiture of a culture now faded in the nation’s memory. Possessing no plot in the traditional sense, the film primarily centers on the childhood of a son (played at different ages by Ronan and Armel Hubert) born to a poor couple (Bernadette Le Saché and a young François Cluzet), occasionally diverging from its casual depiction of Breton communal life into folkloric interludes and tall tales. Chabrol’s controlled and distant aesthetic, previously and subsequently utilized to provide sharp commentary on characters’ relationships in films like <em>La femme infidèle</em> (1969) and <em>La cérémonie</em> (1995), here functions more as a respectful reverence for Breton customs, as if Chabrol is cautious to not contaminate the culture’s singular traditions with his own commentary. In this sense Chabrol’s remoteness differs from that of a period film like <em>Barry Lyndon </em>(1975), where Kubrick’s detached sensibility turns all of his characters into bizarre curiosities rather than the human, if still slightly eccentric, populace observed in Chabrol’s film (Jacques Dufilho, playing the protagonist’s grandfather, is especially memorable).</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGmqzF_vxXFIqmOq805UCt7SBXTY1mXL-2IElWWYGxSRMAw0SjNggneW16cF_fu29fXpIoYJHlx1y_pbzO0NGtKR5H1rYyWFj8VsX1H058b8Ffym2AWOidq5ezFQ-ML42sPtN/s1600-h/200803052649268_1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352509506350631842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 220px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGmqzF_vxXFIqmOq805UCt7SBXTY1mXL-2IElWWYGxSRMAw0SjNggneW16cF_fu29fXpIoYJHlx1y_pbzO0NGtKR5H1rYyWFj8VsX1H058b8Ffym2AWOidq5ezFQ-ML42sPtN/s320/200803052649268_1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Of course, the irony is that by shooting the entire film in French language rather than Hélias’s original Breton, Chabrol automatically contaminates the production with his own culture anyway. Perhaps due to this linguistic anachronism, Chabrol understandably skips over the majority of Hélias’s extensive and fascinating discussion of learning French in his novel—an omission that perhaps is for the best anyway, given the topic’s relation to the literary form over the cinematic. Indeed, Chabrol’s use of French language in his adaptation adds a significant thematic layer to the film, anticipating the manner in which French laws and the economy would eventually force Brittany to discontinue its national language. Chabrol explicitly illustrates the country’s cultural assimilation, both into France and into the world as a whole, near the end of his film, when cinema is introduced to the Breton community in the form a silent gangster serial (causing one woman to pull down the projection blanket out of fright). On a more formal level, Chabrol at one instance evokes Brittany’s gradual global awareness by cutting to black-and-white stock footage of World War I—a startling, interruptive explication of modern technology that contrasts to the antiquary age referenced by Chabrol’s cutaway to Georges de La Tour’s <em>Le Nouveau-né</em> at a much earlier point in the film. Anticipating Jia Zhangke’s similar documentation of cultural shift in <em>Platform</em> (2000), Chabrol’s film humbly admits France’s gradual absorption of Brittany, an act essentially compounded in Chabrol’s literal attempt to capture the reality of a bypassed period through the artificially modern process of filmmaking.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYDOHU4udPkgxBTu-Sw9CeGO8TfAvjjXagZXt4CsBvrGBuYny9x0uLE4nqwbZzhe1SIWc5mrSFLvmoMOt4RYKnYnt2s102eMXsW-ffy_C0R4kFo9RVabi0Dpo3ryZJvf26tHS/s1600-h/cheval-d-orgueil_5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352509296918661682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 222px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYDOHU4udPkgxBTu-Sw9CeGO8TfAvjjXagZXt4CsBvrGBuYny9x0uLE4nqwbZzhe1SIWc5mrSFLvmoMOt4RYKnYnt2s102eMXsW-ffy_C0R4kFo9RVabi0Dpo3ryZJvf26tHS/s320/cheval-d-orgueil_5.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In spite of the national tensions that <em>Le Cheval d’orgueil</em> inevitably alludes to and even intentionally references (catalyzing in an encounter between the protagonist’s grandfather and his employer, which is one of the few scenes that is recognizably Chabrolian in its absurd actorly mannerisms, sparse interior location, and biting critique of class), one shouldn’t dismiss the tranquil, pastoral beauty that Chabrol achieves for the majority of the film. Heightened by Jean Rabier’s lush photography, the film’s painterly <em>mise en scène</em> often resembles the landscape works of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. More than a series of pretty pictures, however, Chabrol also does wonderful things with movement, both within the frame (such as the complementary rhythms of washing and hoeing, not to mention the effects of the wind on fields and strung wooden shoes) as well as through the frame (some of the tracking shots, particularly in the film’s opening wedding ceremony, are marvelously composed). Perhaps most significant of all is Chabrol’s ability to depict the Breton people in a way that does not sentimentalize (and thus condescends) them, thereby steering clear from the bourgeois tendency, as commented on by Hélias in his novel, to view the lives of the lower class as “bad melodrama.” This may not only be Chabrol’s greatest film in terms of visual and aural composition, but it’s also one that reveals, in its deference for an older culture and its Truffaut-like playfulness, a compassionate and tender sensibility beneath the director’s normally cold exterior.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>This short piece was written for Flickhead's ongoing </em></span><a href="http://flickhead.blogspot.com/2009/02/claude-chabrol-blogathon.html"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Claude Chabrol Blogathon</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>.</em></span> </div>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19334941.post-18947508698710901622009-03-09T20:49:00.000-07:002011-12-15T20:53:35.277-08:00<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Recommended Reading: </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><br />Inside Iran</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> (Mark Edward Harris)</span><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GKKnJLYgXqGtYbWmAEV47GVzMVXS507CiMxeccqr-qSBojrYrKuulv10RByx7QIblDFafcfv-mQLBWpfwEwTmrTv5FBx11he24biPFSYi05iRrQHSCbzXHj_UkB9RGXjFdkv/s1600/103020301.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 249px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GKKnJLYgXqGtYbWmAEV47GVzMVXS507CiMxeccqr-qSBojrYrKuulv10RByx7QIblDFafcfv-mQLBWpfwEwTmrTv5FBx11he24biPFSYi05iRrQHSCbzXHj_UkB9RGXjFdkv/s320/103020301.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686584278604933394" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Just published last year, Harris’s exquisite and engaging book of photographs from his trip to Iran may be the best depiction that we in the U.S. are going to have of the country in its contemporary climate for quite some time, at least if the news media has anything to do with it. Paging through it, I find myself struck less by the beauty of the historical structures and landscapes—which are undeniably awe-inspiring, especially the gorgeous Shah-e-Cheragh mausoleum—than Harris’s intimate stills of Iranian citizens. As Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami writes in his lovely foreword to the book, “I know these kids in the photographs; they are the same all around the world”—a helpful point to consider for those in America who believe that Iran should simply be wiped off the face of the earth. Granted, Harris certainly doesn’t downplay the country’s social problems: in his fascinating captions which accompany the photographs, Harris often addresses the females’ struggle to express themselves beneath their chadors and manteaus, with many of the images revealing subtle forms of rebellion (an attractive teenage girl seems to wear a pair of sunglasses on her head as an excuse to pull her scarf back further than usual). Much of Harris’s most pointed observations actually come across in the </span><i style="font-family: arial;">absence</i><span style="font-family: arial;"> of certain photographs, such as in his description of the isolated, male-restricted Women’s Beach Club at the island of Kish, where the area remains surrounded by a seven-foot-high fence and all cameras and phones are confiscated at its dressing room. In another sense, however, Harris’s intimation of Iran’s oppressive environment only makes the humanity that he captures in his photographs all the more moving—lest we forget, Harris’s book reminds us that, in spite of the human rights denied by its government, Iran is still a place called home for a multitude of human beings.</span>Jeremy Nyhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17653775779381302557noreply@blogger.com0