What Movies Are You Watching Lately

Philip said:

The one thing I've learnt from bill Cunningham new York is he is probably either scared of dying, or scared of going to hell.

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It's great that somebody finds his work so inherently fulfilling that he's willing for it to become his life, rather than a means to an end (a family, a hobby, etc.), but I felt an overwhelming sadness when he was pressed about his lack of relationships outside of his work. It's a massive trade-off for doing what he does and he seemed resigned to that fact. Or maybe he's concealing some terrible past experience which might explain why he broke down. I think SF'ers would like this documentary.



maplefuturist said:

It's great that somebody finds his work so inherently fulfilling that he's willing for it to become his life, rather than a means to an end (a family, a hobby, etc.), but I felt an overwhelming sadness when he was pressed about his lack of relationships outside of his work. It's a massive trade-off for doing what he does and he seemed resigned to that fact. Or maybe he's concealing some terrible past experience which might explain why he broke down. I think SF'ers would like this documentary.

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I watched it on a flight last year (2011) and really enjoyed it. He seems like a wonderful and gentle man but you are right that his lack of relationships struck me as sad. He obviously loves his work, but I just don't think anyone can live like that and truly be happy, no matter how passionate he or she is about his/her job.

Lord-Barrington said:

He obviously loves his work, but I just don't think anyone can live like that and truly be happy, no matter how passionate he or she is about his/her job.

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I agree. Unfortunately I think this is a big issue for those that make a living doing creative work. It seems marrying an artist is marrying their work. Achieving balance seems impossible. Maybe it's why those in more conventional careers are said to be more satisfied with their lives, or maybe I'm generalizing too much.

Just watched The Ladykillers (original version with Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers) on the back of seeing the new stage production in London. Might catch the more recent Coen version.

In The Mood For Love - Wong Kar Wei
Very impressive; stylish and well acted. Didn't get the ending though. Have to watch again.

He whispers into the hole, burying his secret so he can move on and forget, as was evident in 2046. He not only buries a love affair, but also that part of himself that ever allowed such a thing to happen, a part that genuinely loves because it weakens him. Wong Kar Wai often said that his characters have an attitude towards love, but no aptitude for it. This is a man who is motivated by love, but his shortcoming is his insecurity to fully realise it and sustain it. After all he was once in love with his wife but that didn't last, who is to say that it would have been any different with Mrs Chan? After acknowledging the consequences of love, he removes himself to a life of wandering without long term goals, and hence without any expectations.



Or the ending is really just a lamentation on how he was too meek to have a sordid sex romp, and he buries this secret to protect his manhood, later overcompensating in 2046 so no one will ever know he has no balls. This also explains why Mr Chow has a moustache in 2046.

Watched "Outside the Law" on netflix last night. Very good. It's about the Algerian fight for independence but from the perspective of fighters on French soil.

For a second there, I was thinking, "Hey, isn't that a Steven Seagal movie?". But then I remembers, that's Above the Law.

Anyone seen Postmortem?



StephenHero said:

I don't think I even saw a movie in theaters this year. I'd like to see The Artist, Le Havre, Drive, The Tree of Life, Walking in Paris, and Moneyball, but I'm still way behind from years past. I need to see The Hurt Locker, Toy Story 3, Avatar, Black Swan, and some others first.

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What is this? No IMDB entry.



Britalian said:

What is this? No IMDB entry.

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maybe typo? Midnight in Paris perhaps?



Philip said:

He whispers into the hole, burying his secret so he can move on and forget, as was evident in 2046. He not only buries a love affair, but also that part of himself that ever allowed such a thing to happen, a part that genuinely loves because it weakens him. Wong Kar Wai often said that his characters have an attitude towards love, but no aptitude for it. This is a man who is motivated by love, but his shortcoming is his insecurity to fully realise it and sustain it. After all he was once in love with his wife but that didn't last, who is to say that it would have been any different with Mrs Chan? After acknowledging the consequences of love, he removes himself to a life of wandering without long term goals, and hence without any expectations.
Or the ending is really just a lamentation on how he was too meek to have a sordid sex romp, and he buries this secret to protect his manhood, later overcompensating in 2046 so no one will ever know he has no balls. This also explains why Mr Chow has a moustache in 2046.

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Knowing WKW and having watched the Hong Kong trilogy multiple times (and read many commentaries on it) I think the denouement in 2046 is simply Chow's logical reaction to the impossibility true love with Mrs Chan and his own failed marriage. The arc of the character, from womanizer in "Days of Being Wild" (or so we can assume despite his very brief appearance) to hopeful husband in "In the Mood for Love" to jaded playboy in "2046" should probably be understood as a rather straightforward character arc. What's more interesting to WKW is the subject of memory and time. As such, even though Mr. Chow's development as a character is quite straightforward, his reaction to the memory of Mrs. Chan, both at the end of "In the Mood for Love" where he tries to forget her and in "2046" where he secretly yearns for her (or the memory of her), is what is at the core of WKW's trilogy.

WKW's best work explores the duality or memory and time, both as something that obscures the past but can also make it more vivid. At the end of "In the Mood for Love" we are told:

That era has passed.
Nothing that belonged to it exists any more.

He remembers those vanished years.
As though looking through a dusty window pane,
the past is something he could see, but not touch.
And everything he sees is blurred and indistinct.


The memory of Mrs. Chan is, for Chow, something blurry and indistinct but the memory of the time and the place is not, which is the theme of 2046 where Chow is desperately seeking ways to both rid himself of and, at the same time remember, the past (He claims he has "left" 2046 yet enters into liaisons with three different women who remind him of Mrs. Chan, for instance).



P.S: The relationship between Chow and Chan is consummated in WKW's film so Chow definitely did have the "balls" for a sex romp (be it quite brief)

Just watched Last Year at Marienbad. Holy **** that was strange/great.

Currently watching some Ross McElwee documentaries, notably "Sherman's March" and "Bright Leaves". Wonderful films that are incredibly personal yet always humorous and thoughtful.

I rented "Ceremony" today. Was ok overall. It had a tone that made it seem it all happened in the 70s, mostly because of the clothes, the decoration, etc. I particularly liked the protagonist, Michael Angarano, and also Lee pace´s character, which had the coolest hair ever. The director is Max Winkler, the son of "the fonz". Oh, and Uma thurman is still hittable, but her performance was meh.