gems of the month, usual business. good month for me! *s = new faves.
Spartan (Mamet, 2004): feel like i’ve seen this sort of thriller set up a billion times now, seems to predict the save-the-children paranoia that manifested into brainrot, HOWEVER it very quickly switches off of those gears and explores something that is likely more truthful and significantly more dour. very well done blackpilled conspiracy material here from a director that i’ve heard mixed things about but i’m interested in trying his other work – the genre stuff being so nice here is also of note.
i.Mirror by China Tracy (Fei, 2007): whenever i watch media dealing with particularly Second Life but also similar sorts of utopian early internet games, i get this fantastic feeling of excitement, not exactly nostalgia but moreso seeing the world as a complex place full of forces you cannot possibly understand. this short experimental documentation of some of that game channels those feelings in such a sad and moving way, i’m surprised that all it really takes to do that to me is putting some footage of SL over sigur ros. definitely will have to see some more of cao fei’s material.
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Jude, 2021): jude is a filmmaker who i like quite a bit yet oen who eludes me in a similar way that bruno dumont does; while i can see some overarching motifs in his filmography (notably his social criticism with romania’s cultural environment, contemporary and past), his material has unexpected experimental flourishes that always surprise me a little. the structure here is quite fun – one third direct cinema dardenne-style, one third godardian musings, one third narrative via comedy. none of them work exceptionally well, it’s the whole rather than the sum which make this compelling for me.
Nancy (Choe, 2018)*: as i continue to mine the film earth for flicks dealing with and navigating through trauma and using tenderness as a solution, i find this gem, a heartfelt and wholly moving piece on loss and the social structures dealing with it. incredible that something this well composed and structured was a debut, but perhaps it’s christina choe’s youthful energy that’s able to keep this grounded at all times. very sad and, on occasion, difficult to watch, and there’s not a hint of malice anywhere. one for the ages.
Yeast (Bronstein, 2008): what, i assume, having roommates in portland is like.
Death Weekend (Fruet, 1976): rough and rowdy rape-and-revenge flick. this one is kind of crazy because it’s so hard on the lead actor for the whole time and makes him out to be this absolute joke of a person, demasculinizing him in the same way a great eastwood or hawks film could, before turning the tables and saying “this is not a film about that, it is a film about the exploitation of women instead.” perhaps nothing revolutionary in the grand scheme of things, yet it’s such a smart structure that i can’t help but be impressed. acerbic writing and kills too, very underseen for something of this caliber.
Tokyo Sonata (Kurosawa, 2008)*: KK is a director that my opinion has changed on over time. at first glance he’s THE j-horror director, but his other late films reveal a more messy and tragic streak as well, often times being a more eastern spin on alienation in its many forms. this film, however, is picture perfect execution, an edward yang-esque family portrait as the pitfalls of modern life close in around our companions. i was surprised to see it morph so suddenly from something i had assumed would be a plot gimmick into a wholly humanistic musing, and it’s got all of the love and tenderness i could ask for in a movie like this, albeit after much bitterness has been shown. didn’t know kiyoshi kurosawa made movies like this.
RRR (Rajamouli, 2022)*: i haven’t seen nearly enough to have this claim be worth anything, but this is the bollywood film that has really clicked for me. insane all the time! breakneck speed and chases and dancing for 190 minutes! hates the brits more than even the most dedicated americans! it’s also interesting how much of this has filmic qualities that i daresay are heavily reminiscent of snyder, though i have no idea how much of this is coincidental. so glad i was able to see something this loud and energetic in a theater, and i would love to see rajamouli’s two-parter as well.
core enforcer 