An Accessory to Misadventure

Love Letter (1995)

2009-07-07T22:00:00.003-04:00

So different in tone from the other Shunji Iwai films I've seen--this one is quiet and lovely, a lot more soft edges.

All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)

2009-07-06T16:49:00.002-04:00

I started watching this thinking there was no way I would sit through the whole thing at once (I was tired and it was split in three convenient files so I thought I'd make it through like one of them) but then I could not stop watching. The music was amazing, both the Lily stuff and the classical; music and image were so perfectly intertwined. Someday I definitely want to write more about this.

Cure (1997)

2009-07-06T16:35:00.002-04:00

Mamiya was entrancing, which was...kind of the point! I'll definitely watch more from Kiyoshi Kurosawa.

Fried Dragon Fish (1993)

2009-07-06T16:26:00.002-04:00

Silly little movie but god I love Shunji Iwai.

Shoah (1985)

2009-06-27T13:19:00.003-04:00

No words.

Picnic (1996)

2009-03-23T22:25:00.002-04:00

I love how otherworldly this is. It feels almost like an innocent little coming of age story at times, but it's so dark and far from that. It's a beautiful adventure.

Funeral Parade of Roses (1969)

2009-03-19T15:33:00.005-04:00

I am so glad I came into this movie knowing nothing more than the fact that is was about Japanese drag queens. I feel like it happens far too often that I come into a film with a set of expectations about it--like with Safe, I knew a lot and so I was consistently comparing my actual viewing experience with my initial expectations. But with this, I knew nothing, so there were tons of great surprises and discoveries and the ending was completely shocking and amazing. I feel like I can't talk too much about this in case...anyone ever looks at this blog, ha, and I don't want to spoil anything. I will say that this was wonderfully complex and fragmented and layered and it all comes together in the end. This is probably my favourite thing I've watched lately.

Safe (1995)

2009-03-16T23:48:00.005-04:00

Safe is such a scary movie. I liked the insidious hum of the 20th century in the background of every setting, and the slow unraveling of her well-being was pretty chilling. The final segment didn't work as well for me than the rest of it, though, and I'm not sure why. I guess it was effective in a different way, as it was the part where the film sort of...expanded. The change in setting was pretty powerful...the first parts of the film were filled with tiny claustrophobic places in the city and her home, and then the end of the film brings her to this wide open desert but she ends up this tiny safe house anyway where obviously nothing will be solved. She keeps saying she's getting better and things will get better as the exact opposite is happening.

Audition (1999)

2009-03-14T20:36:00.003-04:00

I watched this in an airport at seven in the morning. It was so hard not to squirm when the horrific parts actually happened. I liked the slow slow build up, and the shocks felt pretty genuine when they finally came. There were two sudden moments that made me gasp, and then I was certainly freaking out during the final segment. And it was pretty! Look at these screencaps! I have seen very few horror movies, though, so I have little to compare this to in my mind. I think I would like to see more.

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

2009-01-16T14:20:00.003-05:00

These screencaps still give me chills.

Two for the Road (1967)

2009-01-16T14:16:00.002-05:00

These two screencaps completely represent this movie.

The Earrings of Madame De... (1953)

2009-01-16T14:12:00.003-05:00

Max Ophüls's movies feel so rich.

My Winnipeg (2007)

2008-12-27T02:25:00.005-05:00

This movie feels like sleepwalking (which is a good thing).
It understands what "home" means.

The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)

2008-12-26T03:05:00.004-05:00

Peter Greenaway's films have the most intricately composed shots, they are so great to watch. This movie was such a good time, with the sharp period dialogue and delightful scheming from the womenfolk. I want to write a paper on the costumes.

Suspiria (1977)

2008-12-23T13:58:00.006-05:00

So I haven't watched many horror movies in my life, but this does make me want to watch more. My favourite character was definitely THE SCHOOL. Look at the caps! It's so colourful and creepy, with long hallways and enigmatic rooms. I loved it. The other best part of the film was the music! That's where a lot of the suspense came from, and it was used in unexpected ways at times. There wasn't a lot of gore in the film, but what was there was also pretty interesting and creative, ha. Good stuff.

The Host (2006)

2008-12-19T21:15:00.004-05:00

Scary monster + dysfunctional family x Korea = SO DELIGHTFUL.
This movie kind of does EVERYTHING and it's all jumbled together in one and I love it.

The Conformist (1970)

2008-12-19T21:05:00.004-05:00

Lots of images of huge buildings dwarfing human figures, which ties into the whole fascism thing. It was very nice to look at overall, and I wish I knew more of the historical context.

Persona (1966)

2008-12-15T14:04:00.003-05:00

I'm intimidated by this film.

Sherlock Jr. (1924)

2008-12-14T03:12:00.005-05:00

It was very difficult to get a clear screencap of Sherlock Jr., which makes sense as it's a movie so full of motion. It doesn't rely on like...perfectly composed shots (though there are quite a few!) for its charm, it all comes from Buster Keaton being REALLY AWESOME. It's so funny and clever and charming and is a movie that is so much about the love of movies, with him dreaming and actually jumping into the movie screen and kind of living out his dream of being a great detective. And then taking cues from the moviescreen once he wakes up and is with his girl! It's delightful.

Martin (1977)

2008-12-14T01:03:00.011-05:00

It's very interesting that the first thing I thought to write here was "poor Martin." And that's what's ridiculously effective about this movie--you're on Martin's side, despite the fact that the first scene involves, you know, killing a girl and drinking her blood. But his depiction as a "real life" vampire is contrasted with his crazy religious old man cousin muttering about Nosferatu and threatening to kill him without salvation so it's clear who the protagonist is meant to be. Even if he kills people. SO GOOD.
Also, the setting of the town, which is a real town in Pennsylvania, is so gorgeously grimy and rundown. I wish I took more screencaps of it while I was watching. Everything is old--and so is everyone--and there's so much talk of the old ways and old fears, it fits perfectly.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

2008-12-13T21:16:00.003-05:00

I so badly want someone at Knox to design a set based on this film.
I also read that the sets were made of paper. So cool.

La Jetée (1962)

2008-12-13T21:04:00.007-05:00

I watched La Jetée recently.
Beautiful and creepy--a very good combination. I was reading something about it, I don't remember where, that attributed the fact that it was in still images to the idea that we don't really remember things in moving "video" form--we remember still frames, like this film.
(Also, KAT YOU NEED TO SEE THIS. I still have it on my computer. So you will be able to.)

I don't know what I'm doing

2008-12-13T21:03:00.002-05:00

Well I guess I have a small idea.
I started a tumblr account and decided I wanted to post screencaps of the movies I watched, but you can only put one picture in each post and there are no comments, so...here I am.