Tagged: Art house Cinema
Review: Estonian Experimental Indie Film Metáfora
Metáfora (English: “Metaphor“) opens with a gorgeous black and white shot of the moon, fading out to classical music and a narrating voice over. It is hard to summarize the film’s plot, mostly because there isn’t any actual plot in the traditional sense of the word or at least from what we are used to in 99% of the films we watch. Metáfora chooses to be the odd 1% of cinematic experiences that decides to take an alternative narrative approach and subvert the viewer’s expectations. But to what effect? Continue reading
Review: Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone in Love (2012) Shines Through Sheer Simplicity
Akiko (Rin Takanashi) is a sociology student in Tokyo. She’s kind of going through a rough patch with her boyfriend Noriaki (Ryō Kase) who is ridiculously jealous and suspicious of where she hangs out at night. If only he knew that she was a prostitute. One night Akiko is practically forced by her pimp to go to a client a little bit outside of the city. If only Watanabe Takashi (Tadashi Okuno), the old professor requesting Akiko’s services, knew what trouble he’d get in when he let her into his home. Continue reading
Review: Sono Sion’s Experimental Film “I Am Keiko” (1997) is Almost the Opposite of Entertainment
Suzuki Keiko is turning 22. Her father died of cancer and she manage to secretly steal some of the remaining bones from the crematorium. Keiko is alone and thinking a lot. In three weeks she will be 22. She decides to chronicle these three weeks. She decides to chronicle every hour, every minute, possibly every second. Time passes. Time passes as she speaks. She speaks of time passing. She counts the seconds as they pass. Her 22nd birthday is nearing. Time is still going. She can say or do whatever. Time doesn’t care, it just goes on, with the same exact, precise, boring rhythm and pace. Continue reading
Review: Ryu Murakami’s Tokyo Decadence (1992). More Than Sex, S&M and Bondage. But That Too.
*Ookite Kudasai: NSFW*
Ai (Nikaido Miho) is a timid college girl by day and an escort pretty much anytime she’s not in school (which seems to be like… always!). She specializes in satisfying the wealthy business men, which mostly means a lot of S&M or weirder stuff. Deep down Ai just wants to be happy. But she can’t. The man she loves married another woman and now lives in London with his son. Ai goes from one client to another, but the more she sees of this dark world of sexual perversions, the more she feels empty and alone. Continue reading
Forget About Sexting: Nymphomaniac’s Guide to Naughty Eroticons
I’m always a fan of clever marketing and certainly Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac had one of the best executed film marketing campaigns lately. It all started with a the minimalist, yet iconic teaser poster you can see above (Lars’ idea by the way) and then it went on to provide us with some orgasmic character posters, lots of appetizers and great interviews. As the film has now hit VOD and should hopefully be soon available in its intended, uncensored cut, the film’s official Facebook page posted A Guide to Naughty Eroticons. Continue reading
Five Reasons: Catherine Breillat’s Barbe Bleue (2009) & Bonus: My Theory on Why Bluebeard’s Blue Beard is Blue
In 2009 Catherine Breillat decided to film Charles Perrault’s famous French folktale Barbe bleue (that’s Bluebeard en anglais). The classic fable was published by Perrault in Paris in 1697, but was set in 15th Century France. The story is about a wealthy French aristocrat who had a blue beard and a passion for young women, namely slitting their lovely throats. His modus operandi included marrying his innocent victims, live with them for a year or less and then kill them. I never really got this story, because I mean come on, why would you kill a beautiful young woman? Continue reading
My Favorite Quote From Nymphomaniac: Vol. I (2013)
“Perhaps the only difference between me and other people is that I’ve always demanded more from the sunset. More spectacular colors when the sun hit the horizon. That’s perhaps my only sin.”
– Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) in Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 Continue reading
Mini-Review: Dino Risi’s Il Sorpasso (1962) is a Perfect Snapshot of Italy in the Sixties
*Attenzione: Spoilers*
It’s Ferroagosto in Rome. Everyone’s on holiday, except for Roberto (Jean-Louis Trintignant) a law student, already preparing for his exams in September. Hold on, I see a Lancia Aurelia. Yep, that’s Bruno (Vittorio Gassman). Who the hell is Bruno? I don’t know he’s a 40-ish man who wants to use Roberto’s phone. Roberto let’s him in. To thank him for the favor Bruno invites Roberto to breakfast. Driving like crazy across the Italian west coast the two become great friends, but then the film needed an ending. Continue reading
Film Analysis: Sono Sion’s Utsushimi (2000)
Introduction
Utsushimi (2000) is Sono Sion‘s ninth feature film. Before directing his first feature film Man’s Flower Road (Otoko no hanamichi) back in 1986, Sion was a writer and a poet. Only one year later he would gain worldwide popularity with his groundbreaking Suicide Club (Jisatsu sâkuru) which would be quoted by directors like Eli Roth. Utsushimi on the other hand seems to have inspired modern auteurs like Lars von Trier and Pedro Almodóvar. Continue reading
Interview-Review: Luis Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel (1962) – A Discreetly Charming Essay of Bourgeois Critique
First of all I’d like to apologize for my behavior during the last Interview-Review for The Front (1976). I think I was drunk or something.
That’s okay, just try to keep it chill this time.
Yes… I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise anything.
Well, all right that’s good enough for me. Continue reading
black is white 
