Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009)

DK, 108 min

Riget (Lars Von Trier, 1994 & 1997)

The Kingdom

DK; 4 eps x ~60 min, 4 eps x ~85 min

Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantin, 2009)

USA/DE, 153 min

Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975)

Zerkalo
108 min

imdb

Mr. Brack6 has called Stalker his favorite film on this site, and I must follow suit and call this Tarkovsky mine. I was able to see it in the cinema tonight, and it was one of the most spiritually significant experiences of my life.

I’ve seen it before on dvd, and it’s always been something special and moving, but seeing it projected like this was something else entirely. See it if you can… no guarantees you’ll feel the same way (another viewer overheard walking out of the theater seemed to have only gotten out of it that Tarkovsky is a proponent of patriarchy and russian nationalism[?]) but if you can go into it with an open souleye and you’re a human being who isn’t completely overcome by fashionable ironic amoralism… it might really work.

For me it’s one of the grandest achievements of art, all art… it encapsulates and makes timeless what it is to be a being possessed of consciousness. Breathtaking (or rather breath-holding) moments of sublime stillness, small movements (wind or the breath of god?), tearing tears out of my eyes, all of them earned, all paid for. And if you lost your soul, you can still appreciate it on a purely technical, film school level; in this realm its achievements are vast… and still but a fraction of its riches.

Win.

Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)

This is I think the third time I’ve seen it- I think it’s my favorite movie.  The color palatte, which ranges from monochromatic to luscious greens and blues, is amazing.  The sound is a work of art in its own, like a brilliantly mixed field recording over which the rather heavy dialogue is layed.  The composition of the shots has a great amount of variety and ingenuity- the shots both create the vibrant atmosphere and allow the actors to use a great deal of subtlety in the facial expressions and body language.  The dialogue is complex, and full of mystery- much of which is never fully resolved.  The pacing is marked by moments of stillness and contemplation.  And finally, the concept- the screenplay was written by the authors of the novella Roadside Picnic, the original source of the idea.  The details of the story are different but the overall idea is much the same.

Everything comes together for me perfectly with Stalker, it is easy for me to get lost in its complex fantastic world.

Cronos (Guillermo del Toro, 1993)

MX, 94 min

Stylish, surreal horror/drama about elderly Mexican antique dealer stumbling across magical artifact. A favorite with cult horror connoisseurs, though many will find its combination of disturbing horror, sweet sentimentality jarring.

decent; darker than the devil’s backbone
but i think i’ve had my fill of del toro for the moment
except he’s slated to do the hobbit films
i don’t know about that, ya’ll

the Devil’s Backbone (Guillermo del Toro, 2001)

el Espinazo del diablo
SP/MX, 106 min

A new student at a school for orphans attempts to uncover the killer of the ghost who haunts the orphanage during the final days of the Spanish Civil War.

i’ll give it a “really rather good”. not really sure i understand who the target audience is supposed to be, considering the adult themes present, but it’s certainly more satisfying and less derivative than its “spiritural sequel”, which, in spite of del toro’s clear skill with imagery…

Marianne and Juliane (Margarethe von Trotta, 1981)

Die bleierne Zeit (“the leaden times”)
DE (w.), 106 min

imdb

the Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (Volker Schlöndorff & Margarethe von Trotta, 1975)

der Verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum
DE (w.), 103 min

frau aweh showed this to us in high school
and had us read the damn thing
auf deutsch…
she was awesome.

Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (G. Tornatore, 1988)

IT, 174 min (director’s cut)

this movie is famous
apparently.
perhaps i should get out more
or less….