soggy
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@soggy
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Post by soggy on Nov 13, 2022 15:47:26 GMT
I've noticed a lot of other boards have a page like this, but frankly I'd like to see one here as there's so many gems that people watch that I've never even heard of. Post whatever the last film you've seen that you would classify as "world cinema". Pictures from the film or posters optional (though sometimes quite fun!).
Mine:
Summer with Monika (Ingmar Bergman, 1953)
A film by a much younger Bergman than most I've seen. There aren't really any of the "art-house" touches he's so associated with. Instead this is a simple tale of a young romance. It's a movie that likely appealed greatly to the youth in Sweden. Humorously though due to social differences, in America it was released as an exploitation film because it was the 50s and had, GASP, nudity. Technically well made but not one of my favorites from Bergman. Frankly Monika was too hateful of a character for me (without enough interesting aspects to make up for it) to fully love it. 6/10
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Nov 13, 2022 20:34:15 GMT
I've noticed a lot of other boards have a page like this, but frankly I'd like to see one here as there's so many gems that people watch that I've never even heard of. Post whatever the last film you've seen that you would classify as "world cinema". Pictures from the film or posters optional (though sometimes quite fun!). Mine: Summer with Monika (Ingmar Bergman, 1953)
A film by a much younger Bergman than most I've seen. There aren't really any of the "art-house" touches he's so associated with. Instead this is a simple tale of a young romance. It's a movie that likely appealed greatly to the youth in Sweden. Humorously though due to social differences, in America it was released as an exploitation film because it was the 50s and had, GASP, nudity. Technically well made but not one of my favorites from Bergman. Frankly Monika was too hateful of a character for me (without enough interesting aspects to make up for it) to fully love it. 6/10
Remember quite liking the relaxed pastoral feel of this film, possibly rate it above some of Bergman's bigger films.
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Nov 13, 2022 20:38:49 GMT
Currently rewatching all of Godard's early work. Last I finished was 2 or 3 Things I know About Her. Possibly his most radical up to that point, hinting at the kind of didactic political abstractions he'd experiment with in the 1970s.  |
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 643
Likes: 1,061
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Post by soggy on Nov 13, 2022 22:37:22 GMT
Currently rewatching all of Godard's early work. Last I finished was 2 or 3 Things I know About Her. Possibly his most radical up to that point, hinting at the kind of didactic political abstractions he'd experiment with in the 1970s. I haven't seen this one yet. Goddard is a bit hit or miss for me, but I love his early period (Band of Outsides in particular is continually raising on my top film list), I'll need to check that one out sometime!
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Nov 14, 2022 1:23:19 GMT
Currently rewatching all of Godard's early work. Last I finished was 2 or 3 Things I know About Her. Possibly his most radical up to that point, hinting at the kind of didactic political abstractions he'd experiment with in the 1970s. I haven't seen this one yet. Goddard is a bit hit or miss for me, but I love his early period (Band of Outsides in particular is continually raising on my top film list), I'll need to check that one out sometime! I love Band of Outsiders, as carefree as Breathless, but steeped in wintry melancholia. My personal favorite Godard film is Vivre sa Vie (probably in my all time Top Ten). 2 or 3 Things is quite different to all of those, a lot less narratively driven, but a great gateway to Godard's more difficult post-new wave work.
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 643
Likes: 1,061
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Post by soggy on Nov 14, 2022 5:37:20 GMT
 Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (Shinichi Fukazawa, 1995) This movie is all over the place. It's clearly trying to be the Japanese version of the Evil Dead with possession, over the top violence, and splatstick comedy… but it adds a body builder into it who uses his MUSCLES to fight evil. The special effects alternate from genuinely impressive considering it's microscopic budget to awful. It's a weird movie and one I can only suggest to die hard Japanese horror fans. Personally I was amused by it but will never watch it again. 5/10 |
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 643
Likes: 1,061
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Post by soggy on Nov 16, 2022 2:57:59 GMT
 The Hero (Satyajit Ray, 1966) Ray is another of those directors who I keep feeling like I've been needing to check out his films. This may seem an odd choice for my first view, but something about the concept drew me in. An actor is taking a train to accept an award, but he knows his current film is about to flop. He's getting some bad press for having been involved in a brawl and is starting to feel insecure with his status. On the train he meets a young woman who would like to interview him for a magazine she publishes, at first he refuses, but as he begins to have nightmares on the train, he feels the need to confess. It's a slow drama about fear, about insecurity and about how a celebrity's status can fall so easily if not careful. It's an extremely well constructed film, though many may walk away feeling that not much happened. Personally I loved it and found it enthralling from start to finish. 9/10 |
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Nov 16, 2022 11:46:36 GMT
The Hero (Satyajit Ray, 1966) Ray is another of those directors who I keep feeling like I've been needing to check out his films. This may seem an odd choice for my first view, but something about the concept drew me in. An actor is taking a train to accept an award, but he knows his current film is about to flop. He's getting some bad press for having been involved in a brawl and is starting to feel insecure with his status. On the train he meets a young woman who would like to interview him for a magazine she publishes, at first he refuses, but as he begins to have nightmares on the train, he feels the need to confess. It's a slow drama about fear, about insecurity and about how a celebrity's status can fall so easily if not careful. It's an extremely well constructed film, though many may walk away feeling that not much happened. Personally I loved it and found it enthralling from start to finish. 9/10 I also, until very recently had not seen a Ray film. My first was Devi [The Goddess], a couple of months ago. Beautiful, haunting drama. Look forward to exploring more of his work.
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 643
Likes: 1,061
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Post by soggy on Nov 17, 2022 2:24:24 GMT
The Hero (Satyajit Ray, 1966) Ray is another of those directors who I keep feeling like I've been needing to check out his films. This may seem an odd choice for my first view, but something about the concept drew me in. An actor is taking a train to accept an award, but he knows his current film is about to flop. He's getting some bad press for having been involved in a brawl and is starting to feel insecure with his status. On the train he meets a young woman who would like to interview him for a magazine she publishes, at first he refuses, but as he begins to have nightmares on the train, he feels the need to confess. It's a slow drama about fear, about insecurity and about how a celebrity's status can fall so easily if not careful. It's an extremely well constructed film, though many may walk away feeling that not much happened. Personally I loved it and found it enthralling from start to finish. 9/10 I also, until very recently had not seen a Ray film. My first was Devi [The Goddess], a couple of months ago. Beautiful, haunting drama. Look forward to exploring more of his work. I'll make a note of that one! I just looked it up and it sounds quite interesting. Also some nice images from what I saw.
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 643
Likes: 1,061
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Post by soggy on Nov 17, 2022 2:29:33 GMT
 Cries & Whispers (Ingmar Bergman, 1972) After not caring for Summer with Monika that much, I needed another Bergman (and my spouse was darling enough to buy me the Bergman Box set from Criterion as a late birthday gift so expect to see quite a few of his films here). This one is a movie made of white and red in terms of almost all visuals and it is beautiful. It's a sad movie of a woman dying, and her two sisters and a servant come to care for her. The sisters are disgusted by her and her state and only the servant seems to truly be caring for her. Very sad, but beautiful. 9/10 |
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Nov 18, 2022 23:38:13 GMT
Cries & Whispers (Ingmar Bergman, 1972) After not caring for Summer with Monika that much, I needed another Bergman (and my spouse was darling enough to buy me the Bergman Box set from Criterion as a late birthday gift so expect to see quite a few of his films here). This one is a movie made of white and red in terms of almost all visuals and it is beautiful. It's a sad movie of a woman dying, and her two sisters and a servant come to care for her. The sisters are disgusted by her and her state and only the servant seems to truly be caring for her. Very sad, but beautiful. 9/10 Probably my second favorite Bergman, after Persona. Long overdue a rewatch. I've been very tempted to get that Criterion set, but I already own more than half the films.
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Nov 18, 2022 23:42:02 GMT
La Pointe-Courte (1955, Agnes Varda) Varda's debut film. An interesting experiment, criss-crossing between a stylish Bergman-esque drama about a crumbling marriage and a neo-realist study of a poor seaside community. Beautifully shot. 
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Post by Cat on Nov 19, 2022 21:23:21 GMT
I'm a fan of Satyajit Ray. Awareness of his films is the best gift an irritating friend of my father ever gave me. The first film of his I watched was The Big City. I won't labour the details or the plot, but my strongest observation walking away is it felt like some of the very best, most family oriented and intimate films of Kenji Mizoguchi, except Indian. It had the intimate family plot details, the silence that speaks volumes, and they all seem to tell a story outside the movie as important as what's happening in the movie. Cat translation meaning they all have some big underlying issue in society and what we're seeing is a slice of it.
Pather Panchali is one of my very favourites. It's from... 1955 I think, it and just about astounds me that it's some guy's first movie. Everybody's an amateur if I recall. Ray never did a movie before. Half the cast were new, or not even actors; the script was improvised a lot and Ray did almost everything behind the scenes. It's a beautiful movie. It's part one of a trilogy and the second half, Aparajito, is incredible too. Sad, brutal, real as all fuck. I'm saving part 3, The World of Apu, for Christmas.
I really recommend The Big City, the Apu Trilogy (Pather Panchali, Apparajito and The World of Apu), The Coward (one of his much shorter films) and Charulata. He has a few people who're in many of his films. He found a staple. There's also his 3 Daughters trilogy. Honestly he's an incredible guy. Like I said, he really reminds me of Kenji Mizoguchi. His films are smart and sensitive; human condition movies I call them.
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Post by Cat on Nov 19, 2022 21:29:53 GMT
Terrific idea for a thread.
Yotsuya Kaidan Part II
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Nov 20, 2022 3:17:06 GMT
I'm a fan of Satyajit Ray. Awareness of his films is the best gift an irritating friend of my father ever gave me. The first film of his I watched was The Big City. I won't labour the details or the plot, but my strongest observation walking away is it felt like some of the very best, most family oriented and intimate films of Kenji Mizoguchi, except Indian. It had the intimate family plot details, the silence that speaks volumes, and they all seem to tell a story outside the movie as important as what's happening in the movie. Cat translation meaning they all have some big underlying issue in society and what we're seeing is a slice of it. Pather Panchali is one of my very favourites. It's from... 1955 I think, it and just about astounds me that it's some guy's first movie. Everybody's an amateur if I recall. Ray never did a movie before. Half the cast were new, or not even actors; the script was improvised a lot and Ray did almost everything behind the scenes. It's a beautiful movie. It's part one of a trilogy and the second half, Aparajito, is incredible too. Sad, brutal, real as all fuck. I'm saving part 3, The World of Apu, for Christmas. I really recommend The Big City, the Apu Trilogy (Pather Panchali, Apparajito and The World of Apu), The Coward (one of his much shorter films) and Charulata. He has a few people who're in many of his films. He found a staple. There's also his 3 Daughters trilogy. Honestly he's an incredible guy. Like I said, he really reminds me of Kenji Mizoguchi. His films are smart and sensitive; human condition movies I call them.
I've been aware of Ray and been meaning to sample some of his work for a while. I'm glad I finally did and look forward to watching more of his films. I like the comparison to Mizoguchi. Will keep your recommendations in mind.
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 643
Likes: 1,061
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Post by soggy on Nov 20, 2022 23:08:12 GMT
I'm a fan of Satyajit Ray. Awareness of his films is the best gift an irritating friend of my father ever gave me. The first film of his I watched was The Big City. I won't labour the details or the plot, but my strongest observation walking away is it felt like some of the very best, most family oriented and intimate films of Kenji Mizoguchi, except Indian. It had the intimate family plot details, the silence that speaks volumes, and they all seem to tell a story outside the movie as important as what's happening in the movie. Cat translation meaning they all have some big underlying issue in society and what we're seeing is a slice of it.
Pather Panchali is one of my very favourites. It's from... 1955 I think, it and just about astounds me that it's some guy's first movie. Everybody's an amateur if I recall. Ray never did a movie before. Half the cast were new, or not even actors; the script was improvised a lot and Ray did almost everything behind the scenes. It's a beautiful movie. It's part one of a trilogy and the second half, Aparajito, is incredible too. Sad, brutal, real as all fuck. I'm saving part 3, The World of Apu, for Christmas.
I really recommend The Big City, the Apu Trilogy (Pather Panchali, Apparajito and The World of Apu), The Coward (one of his much shorter films) and Charulata. He has a few people who're in many of his films. He found a staple. There's also his 3 Daughters trilogy. Honestly he's an incredible guy. Like I said, he really reminds me of Kenji Mizoguchi. His films are smart and sensitive; human condition movies I call them.
Thank you so much for this insight! I'll keep these recommendations in mind when I seek out more.
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 643
Likes: 1,061
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Post by soggy on Nov 22, 2022 3:35:07 GMT
 Infernal Affairs (Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, 2002) The origionl film that Scorsese remade as The Departed. I enjoyed this version almost as much as Scorsese's. The only reason I prefer the American remake overall as a film is because, as this one is part of a trilogy, there were a few scenes included that were obviously tied to something we'll see in the prequel film (or maybe the third film which is a sequel? Don't quite know yet). My point is The Departed is a more "complete" film, but this was quite good as well. 8/10 |
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Post by Cat on Nov 29, 2022 4:03:42 GMT
Infernal Affairs (Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, 2002) The origionl film that Scorsese remade as The Departed. I enjoyed this version almost as much as Scorsese's. The only reason I prefer the American remake overall as a film is because, as this one is part of a trilogy, there were a few scenes included that were obviously tied to something we'll see in the prequel film (or maybe the third film which is a sequel? Don't quite know yet). My point is The Departed is a more "complete" film, but this was quite good as well. 8/10 Nice. I've been wanting to see that for a while. Being in my line of sight definitely helps me remember that. I had a great time with The Departed as well.
Happy Together (1997)
I loved it, which is pretty much my review. There are things I like about it that are difficult to justify, or maybe they aren't and the director know me too well. The lighthouse at the end of the world is my imagination's chef's kiss.
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soggy
Sophomore
@soggy
Posts: 643
Likes: 1,061
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Post by soggy on Nov 30, 2022 19:13:01 GMT
 Miracle in Milan (Vittorio De Sica, 1951)
The only one of De Sica's films I've seen prior to this one was Bicycle Thieves. I know he's know as one of the greatest from the Italian Neo-Realism movement, so this film may surprise people as it's very much a comedic fantasy. Yes, early on it has the feel of his other movies, but that takes a very different spin as it moves on. It's not as good of a film as Bicycle Thieves, but it is a far more enjoyable one filled with a good natured sense of humor and charm. 8/10
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Post by Cat on Dec 7, 2022 2:44:56 GMT
Talk to Her (2002)
Incredible, I thought.
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