Sat. 13 Feb. 2pm
International Short Films
โปรแกรมหนังสั้นคลาสสิคจากต่างประเทศ จัดร่วมกับกลุ่ม Film Virus Organized with Film Virus
Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton/1924/US) 45 mins
Life (Artavazd Peleshyan/1993/Armenia) 7 mins
End (Artavazd Peleshyan/1994/Armenia) 10 mins
Bread and Alley (Abbas Kiarostami/1970/Iran) 10 mins
April (Otar Ioseliani/1962/Georgia) ) 45 mins
Darkness/ Light / Darkness (Jan Svankmajer / 1990/ Chezh) 8 mins
Inextinguishable Fire (Harun Farocki /1969/German) 21 mins
Spring (Yevgeny Yufit /1987 /USSR) 10 mins
Fortitude (Yevgeny Yufit/1988/USSR) 3 mins
Superbia (Ulrike Ottinger/1986/German)16 min
Rocky VI (Aki Kaurismaki /1986/Finland) 9 min
Psy Show (Marina de Van/1999/FR) 22 min
The Skywalk is Gone (Tsai Ming Liang/2002/Taiwan) 25 min
Details of the films in Thai:
http://filmsick.exteen.com/20100209/cinematic-valentine-chinese-new-year
The map to Reading Room:
http://www.readingroombkk.org/map.html
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Monday, February 01, 2010
FILIPINO CLASSIC FILM PROGRAM
FILIPINO CLASSIC FILMS AT THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, TA PRACHAN CAMPUS, ORGANIZED BY DK FILMHOUSE
Feb 7
12.30 น. Manila by Night (1980) กำกับโดย Ishmael Bernal
15.15 น. Himala (1982) กำกับโดย Ishmael Bernal
Feb 14
วันอาทิตย์ ที่ 14 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
12.30 น. Perfumed Nightmare (1977) กำกับโดย Kidlat Tahimik
14.30 น. The Video Diaries of Kidlat Tahimik (19XX) กำกับโดย Kidlat Tahimik
Feb 21
วันอาทิตย์ ที่ 21 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
12.30 น. The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion (1998) กำกับโดย Lav Diaz
14.30 น. Hesus the Revolutionary (2002) กำกับโดย Lav Diaz
Feb 7
12.30 น. Manila by Night (1980) กำกับโดย Ishmael Bernal
15.15 น. Himala (1982) กำกับโดย Ishmael Bernal
Feb 14
วันอาทิตย์ ที่ 14 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
12.30 น. Perfumed Nightmare (1977) กำกับโดย Kidlat Tahimik
14.30 น. The Video Diaries of Kidlat Tahimik (19XX) กำกับโดย Kidlat Tahimik
Feb 21
วันอาทิตย์ ที่ 21 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
12.30 น. The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion (1998) กำกับโดย Lav Diaz
14.30 น. Hesus the Revolutionary (2002) กำกับโดย Lav Diaz
Friday, January 29, 2010
THE CABINET OF MADAME CALIGARI
From comment in Facebook:
I think one should make a film about an asylum of which the patients include Monica Vitti from RED DESERT, Liv Ullmann from PERSONA (1966, Ingmar Bergman), Isabelle Adjani from POSSESSION, Marina de Van from IN MY SKIN, Béatrice Dalle from BETTY BLUE (1986, Jean-Jacques Beineix), Diane Ladd from WILD AT HEART (1990, David Lynch), and Benjawan Boonyagard from MUANG NAI MORK (Permpol Choei-aroon). The film may be titled THE CABINET OF MADAME CALIGARI. The role of Madame Caligari is played by Leena Jung.
I think one should make a film about an asylum of which the patients include Monica Vitti from RED DESERT, Liv Ullmann from PERSONA (1966, Ingmar Bergman), Isabelle Adjani from POSSESSION, Marina de Van from IN MY SKIN, Béatrice Dalle from BETTY BLUE (1986, Jean-Jacques Beineix), Diane Ladd from WILD AT HEART (1990, David Lynch), and Benjawan Boonyagard from MUANG NAI MORK (Permpol Choei-aroon). The film may be titled THE CABINET OF MADAME CALIGARI. The role of Madame Caligari is played by Leena Jung.
COAL MONEY (2008, Wang Bing, A+++++)
Thanks to Matthew Flanagan for telling us about this film.
Very impressed with this documentary, especially the dramatic negotiations for the right price/pay. I think what makes COAL MONEY different from other recent Chinese films I saw is that it deals with a hard life which is not connected with illegal activities, unlike FEAST OF VILLAINS (2008, Pan Jianlin), LITTLE MOTH (2008, Tao Peng), or BLIND SHAFT (2003, Li Yang), though all of these films makes me feel sad about how money rules our lives nowadays.
HARD-WORKING LIFE FILM SET
1.COAL MONEY
2.COMEDIAN STORY (1999, Pawit Mongkonprasit, Thailand, 25 min)
3.EVOLUTION OF A FILIPINO FAMILY (2004, Lav Diaz, Philippines)
4.THE HOUSEWIFE'S FLOWER (1999, Dominik Wessely, Germany, documentary)
5. IMPORT/EXPORT (Ulrich Seidl, Austria)
6.IT'S WINTER (2006, Rafi Pitts, Iran)
7.A LIFE WITH SLATE (2006, Dipesh Kharel, Nepal, documentary)
8.LITTLE MEN (2003, Nariman Turebayev, Kazakhstan)
9. WILL IT SNOW FOR CHRISTMAS? (1996, Sandrine Veysset, France)
Very impressed with this documentary, especially the dramatic negotiations for the right price/pay. I think what makes COAL MONEY different from other recent Chinese films I saw is that it deals with a hard life which is not connected with illegal activities, unlike FEAST OF VILLAINS (2008, Pan Jianlin), LITTLE MOTH (2008, Tao Peng), or BLIND SHAFT (2003, Li Yang), though all of these films makes me feel sad about how money rules our lives nowadays.
HARD-WORKING LIFE FILM SET
1.COAL MONEY
2.COMEDIAN STORY (1999, Pawit Mongkonprasit, Thailand, 25 min)
3.EVOLUTION OF A FILIPINO FAMILY (2004, Lav Diaz, Philippines)
4.THE HOUSEWIFE'S FLOWER (1999, Dominik Wessely, Germany, documentary)
5. IMPORT/EXPORT (Ulrich Seidl, Austria)
6.IT'S WINTER (2006, Rafi Pitts, Iran)
7.A LIFE WITH SLATE (2006, Dipesh Kharel, Nepal, documentary)
8.LITTLE MEN (2003, Nariman Turebayev, Kazakhstan)
9. WILL IT SNOW FOR CHRISTMAS? (1996, Sandrine Veysset, France)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
WHY I WORSHIP THE THAI SHORT FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL
This is my comment in INDIAN AUTEURS' website:
http://www.indianauteur.com/?p=976
There is a Thai magazine called FUSE SHOWCASE which publishes the interviews of a lot of Thai short filmmakers, and the magazine comes together with a DVD of a few Thai short films. However, this magazine is released once every six months or so. There have been only four issues of FUSE SHOWCASE so far.
There was also FUSE magazine, which belonged to same company as FUSE SHOWCASE. FUSE was devoted to Thai short filmmakers. The columns in FUSE are about the interviews of Thai short filmmakers, the reviews on Thai short films, the latest interesting clips on Youtube, how to make films, how to send films to film festivals abroad, which cameras to buy, which notebooks to buy, how to create music using digital technology, how to make fake scars on the actors, how to make sound effects, etc. Unfortunately, this monthly magazine only released 31 issues. It has now ceased to be a print magazine and become an online magazine. Its website is at http://www.fuse.in.th/ .
Both FUSE and FUSE SHOWCASE belongs to the same company as BIOSCOPE magazine, a monthly magazine which has released 98 issues so far. However, BIOSCOPE magazine focuses more on cinephile-readers than filmmaker-readers. The columns in BIOSCOPE are about arthouse films. BIOSCOPE magazine also produces some documentaries.
As a cinéphile who loves seeing Thai short films, I owe the biggest thank to Thai Film Foundation, who has organized the Thai Short Film and Video Festival each year since 1997. The greatest thing about this festival is that it shows every Thai film submitted to it, no matter whether the film is short or long, good or bad. This fact makes this festival very different from most festivals which show only "selected" films, not all submitted films.
By showing all submitted Thai films, the organizers of this festival must be very tired each year, but they still keep on doing it. Last year they showed about 526 submitted Thai films. The screening of these films took place 6 days a week, 3 hours on Tuesday-Friday, 9 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I really respect them for their enormous effort in holding this festival, which I consider a heavenly space for Thai independent filmmakers and Thai cinéphiles.
By showing all submitted Thai films, I think this festival has given a space for Thai cinéphiles who don't like to be dictated which films they should or should not see. This festival also gives a space for Thai filmmakers who don't care for film jury, film awarders, or film selectors. This is a space for filmmakers who don't care for any aesthetic rules, a space for filmmakers want to be true to their vision, true to their feelings, true to what they really want to say, true to what they really want to make. If the film festival shows only selected films, many Thai filmmakers will not dare to make the films they really want to make. They will try to make only the films which will satisfy the film selectors, so that their films will be selected and will be shown. Their vision will be compromised.
This film festival is divided into two parts. The first part is called Marathon, and it's the one which shows all submitted Thai films. The second part is the showing of the selected films for the competitions, foreign films, and some special films. Last year about 70 Thai films from 526 submitted films were selected to enter into the competitions.
I enjoy seeing the submitted films in the Marathon part very much, much more than seeing the selected films in the competition part. There are some bad films in the Marathon part, but most of these bad short films are much more tolerable than bad Thai mainstream films or bad Hollywood films.
In the age of Youtube, one can argue that short filmmakers don't have to rely on film festivals any more. Youtube also gives them freedom to show the films which are true to their vision to the whole wide world. But in my own opinion as a cinéphile, I find that going to see 200-300 short films in the festival in a month is a much more rewarding experience than watching them in Youtube. I just don't have the time to watch Youtube every day or to read some Thai film webboards to find out who has uploaded his/her latest films onto Youtube. This festival is a much more convenient way for me to see these films.
I don't know if there is a film festival like this elsewhere or not, the one which shows all the submitted films, not only the selected ones. If there is a film festival like this elsewhere, I think it will help a lot in encouraging new filmmakers to dare to make films in their own styles, to dare to experiment something new, to dare to make films to please himself/herself first, instead of trying to make films to win the mass audience or the film jury first. And when their films are shown in the festivals, they might get some feedbacks from film bloggers, from commenters in film webboards, or from other directors who have a chance to see their films. They will know how to improve their filmmaking skills, instead of knowing only that their films are not selected. They will know that these or those directors like their films very much, and they will become friends and will help each other in the future.
If you love your grandmother very much, and want to make a film about your grandmother's activities, you can do it, and it will be shown in this kind of film festivals. If you secretly love a friend, you can make a documentary about it, and it will also be shown in the festival. If you are a little bit obsessed with sex, you can also make a film to satisfy this part of yours, and it will also be shown in the festival (in case the film is not against the law). If you hate some political groups very much, you can also make a film about it, and it will be shown. If you want to make a film which pleases your subconscious, you can do it, and it will be shown in the festival. You don't have to care at all whether other people can understand it or appreciate it or not. By having this kind of film festivals, filmmakers will be free from so-called aestheic rules and wont' be too nervous while making films. This kind of film festivals will help them dare to make the first step and let them grow in their own ways.
http://www.indianauteur.com/?p=976
There is a Thai magazine called FUSE SHOWCASE which publishes the interviews of a lot of Thai short filmmakers, and the magazine comes together with a DVD of a few Thai short films. However, this magazine is released once every six months or so. There have been only four issues of FUSE SHOWCASE so far.
There was also FUSE magazine, which belonged to same company as FUSE SHOWCASE. FUSE was devoted to Thai short filmmakers. The columns in FUSE are about the interviews of Thai short filmmakers, the reviews on Thai short films, the latest interesting clips on Youtube, how to make films, how to send films to film festivals abroad, which cameras to buy, which notebooks to buy, how to create music using digital technology, how to make fake scars on the actors, how to make sound effects, etc. Unfortunately, this monthly magazine only released 31 issues. It has now ceased to be a print magazine and become an online magazine. Its website is at http://www.fuse.in.th/ .
Both FUSE and FUSE SHOWCASE belongs to the same company as BIOSCOPE magazine, a monthly magazine which has released 98 issues so far. However, BIOSCOPE magazine focuses more on cinephile-readers than filmmaker-readers. The columns in BIOSCOPE are about arthouse films. BIOSCOPE magazine also produces some documentaries.
As a cinéphile who loves seeing Thai short films, I owe the biggest thank to Thai Film Foundation, who has organized the Thai Short Film and Video Festival each year since 1997. The greatest thing about this festival is that it shows every Thai film submitted to it, no matter whether the film is short or long, good or bad. This fact makes this festival very different from most festivals which show only "selected" films, not all submitted films.
By showing all submitted Thai films, the organizers of this festival must be very tired each year, but they still keep on doing it. Last year they showed about 526 submitted Thai films. The screening of these films took place 6 days a week, 3 hours on Tuesday-Friday, 9 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I really respect them for their enormous effort in holding this festival, which I consider a heavenly space for Thai independent filmmakers and Thai cinéphiles.
By showing all submitted Thai films, I think this festival has given a space for Thai cinéphiles who don't like to be dictated which films they should or should not see. This festival also gives a space for Thai filmmakers who don't care for film jury, film awarders, or film selectors. This is a space for filmmakers who don't care for any aesthetic rules, a space for filmmakers want to be true to their vision, true to their feelings, true to what they really want to say, true to what they really want to make. If the film festival shows only selected films, many Thai filmmakers will not dare to make the films they really want to make. They will try to make only the films which will satisfy the film selectors, so that their films will be selected and will be shown. Their vision will be compromised.
This film festival is divided into two parts. The first part is called Marathon, and it's the one which shows all submitted Thai films. The second part is the showing of the selected films for the competitions, foreign films, and some special films. Last year about 70 Thai films from 526 submitted films were selected to enter into the competitions.
I enjoy seeing the submitted films in the Marathon part very much, much more than seeing the selected films in the competition part. There are some bad films in the Marathon part, but most of these bad short films are much more tolerable than bad Thai mainstream films or bad Hollywood films.
In the age of Youtube, one can argue that short filmmakers don't have to rely on film festivals any more. Youtube also gives them freedom to show the films which are true to their vision to the whole wide world. But in my own opinion as a cinéphile, I find that going to see 200-300 short films in the festival in a month is a much more rewarding experience than watching them in Youtube. I just don't have the time to watch Youtube every day or to read some Thai film webboards to find out who has uploaded his/her latest films onto Youtube. This festival is a much more convenient way for me to see these films.
I don't know if there is a film festival like this elsewhere or not, the one which shows all the submitted films, not only the selected ones. If there is a film festival like this elsewhere, I think it will help a lot in encouraging new filmmakers to dare to make films in their own styles, to dare to experiment something new, to dare to make films to please himself/herself first, instead of trying to make films to win the mass audience or the film jury first. And when their films are shown in the festivals, they might get some feedbacks from film bloggers, from commenters in film webboards, or from other directors who have a chance to see their films. They will know how to improve their filmmaking skills, instead of knowing only that their films are not selected. They will know that these or those directors like their films very much, and they will become friends and will help each other in the future.
If you love your grandmother very much, and want to make a film about your grandmother's activities, you can do it, and it will be shown in this kind of film festivals. If you secretly love a friend, you can make a documentary about it, and it will also be shown in the festival. If you are a little bit obsessed with sex, you can also make a film to satisfy this part of yours, and it will also be shown in the festival (in case the film is not against the law). If you hate some political groups very much, you can also make a film about it, and it will be shown. If you want to make a film which pleases your subconscious, you can do it, and it will be shown in the festival. You don't have to care at all whether other people can understand it or appreciate it or not. By having this kind of film festivals, filmmakers will be free from so-called aestheic rules and wont' be too nervous while making films. This kind of film festivals will help them dare to make the first step and let them grow in their own ways.
32 DEC (2009, Rergchai Puongpetch, A+++++)
I couldn't stop laughing when I was watching Goh Tee near the end of 32 DEC. He only plays one scene in this film, and it's the reason why I give this film A+++++. I think it is very interesting that we laugh at Goh Tee in this film because he seems to speak English "correctly", not "incorrectly". His seemingly-correct pronunciation seems to contrast a lot with his own image, thus it creates a hugh laughter.
I think it is also interesting that Goh Tee gives his best performances (in my point of view) in 32 DEC and in SAB SANIT SIT SAI NAR (2006, Rergchai Puongpetch), but not in Poj Arnon's films.
I also like it very much that the characters in this film do the things I want them to do. When the hero in this film finds out who he really loves, he tells it straightforwardly to the lover of his beloved and to his beloved, instead of hiding his love for silly reasons like in other films. I also like it that the hero tells his girlfriend (Noon) straightforwardly that he may not really love her. I like this kind of frankness very much.
I also love the character Noon very much, because she really wants to have sex with the hero. Hahaha.
This is a photo of Sirut Witayathavornvongs, an actor in 32 DEC:
I think it is also interesting that Goh Tee gives his best performances (in my point of view) in 32 DEC and in SAB SANIT SIT SAI NAR (2006, Rergchai Puongpetch), but not in Poj Arnon's films.
I also like it very much that the characters in this film do the things I want them to do. When the hero in this film finds out who he really loves, he tells it straightforwardly to the lover of his beloved and to his beloved, instead of hiding his love for silly reasons like in other films. I also like it that the hero tells his girlfriend (Noon) straightforwardly that he may not really love her. I like this kind of frankness very much.
I also love the character Noon very much, because she really wants to have sex with the hero. Hahaha.
This is a photo of Sirut Witayathavornvongs, an actor in 32 DEC:
ROCKWAY CAFÉ (2010, Piengdao Jariyapun, A+/A)
I think the direction and the acting in ROCKWAY CAFÉ are great, though its story is not really my style.
I like Piengdao very much as an actress. I like her performances in CRIMES OF THE HEART (2009, Parida Nobthai, A+) and PRASADTAEK (2008, Bhanbassa Dhubtien, A+). The only reason why I don't give ROCKWAY CAFÉ "A+" is because I don't like its happy ending. The reconciliation between the mother and the daughter in this play is something I can't feel involved in.
I like Piengdao very much as an actress. I like her performances in CRIMES OF THE HEART (2009, Parida Nobthai, A+) and PRASADTAEK (2008, Bhanbassa Dhubtien, A+). The only reason why I don't give ROCKWAY CAFÉ "A+" is because I don't like its happy ending. The reconciliation between the mother and the daughter in this play is something I can't feel involved in.
DOMBAIS & FILS (2007, Laurent Jaoui, A++++++++++++++)
DOMBAIS & FILS (2007, Laurent Jaoui, A++++++++++++++) is not a great mini-series, if you judge it artistically or aesthetically. But it is one of my most favorite mini-series of all time, because I worship Edith de Préville (Caroline Bourg), the female character in this mini-series who does not tolerate her tyrannical husband.
Favorite quote from Edith de Préville, saying to her husband: "Too bad for you, whatever my travails, yours will always be much worse. I will play no part in your house, neither tomorrow, nor on any anniversary. I will not be seen as a rebellious slave, bought and tamed by you."
Favorite quote from Edith de Préville, saying to her husband: "Too bad for you, whatever my travails, yours will always be much worse. I will play no part in your house, neither tomorrow, nor on any anniversary. I will not be seen as a rebellious slave, bought and tamed by you."
BLACK FORESTS' TOP TEN FILMS OF THE DECADE
BLACK FORESTS' TOP TEN FILMS OF THE DECADE (2000-2009)
http://blackforests.blogspot.com/2010/01/top-10-favourite-films-of-dacade-2000.html
(in alphabetical order)
01. ANGEL’S FALL (2004, Semih Kaplanoglu)
02. BUNGALOW (2002, Ulrich Kohler)
03. DIVINE INTERVENTION (2002, Elia Suleiman)
04. THE FOREST FOR THE TREES (2003, Maren Ade)
05. IN MY SKIN (2002, Marina de Van)
06. LOVELY RITA (2001, Jessica Hausner)
07. MONDAY MORNING (2002, Otar Iosseliani)
08. THE POLICEWOMAN (2003, Joaquim Sapinho)
09. SCHOOL TRIP (2002, Henner Winckler)
10. THE STATE I AM IN (2000, Christian Petzold)
This is my comment in BLACK FORESTS's blog:
I think your list is the one which is the most similar to my list, in case I have time to make my own decade list in the future. I worship ANGEL'S FALL, DIVINE INTERVENTION, IN MY SKIN, LOVELY RITA, THE POLICEWOMAN, SCHOOL TRIP, and THE STATE I AM IN. All these seven films are in my favorite film lists of the past years at Senses of Cinema.
I haven't seen BUNGALOW, THE FOREST FOR THE TREES and MONDAY MORNING yet. I think I will love them too when I have a chance to see them.
http://blackforests.blogspot.com/2010/01/top-10-favourite-films-of-dacade-2000.html
(in alphabetical order)
01. ANGEL’S FALL (2004, Semih Kaplanoglu)
02. BUNGALOW (2002, Ulrich Kohler)
03. DIVINE INTERVENTION (2002, Elia Suleiman)
04. THE FOREST FOR THE TREES (2003, Maren Ade)
05. IN MY SKIN (2002, Marina de Van)
06. LOVELY RITA (2001, Jessica Hausner)
07. MONDAY MORNING (2002, Otar Iosseliani)
08. THE POLICEWOMAN (2003, Joaquim Sapinho)
09. SCHOOL TRIP (2002, Henner Winckler)
10. THE STATE I AM IN (2000, Christian Petzold)
This is my comment in BLACK FORESTS's blog:
I think your list is the one which is the most similar to my list, in case I have time to make my own decade list in the future. I worship ANGEL'S FALL, DIVINE INTERVENTION, IN MY SKIN, LOVELY RITA, THE POLICEWOMAN, SCHOOL TRIP, and THE STATE I AM IN. All these seven films are in my favorite film lists of the past years at Senses of Cinema.
I haven't seen BUNGALOW, THE FOREST FOR THE TREES and MONDAY MORNING yet. I think I will love them too when I have a chance to see them.
TIBETAN FILM FESTIVAL
Thanks to Nanoguy for telling us about this.
เทศกาลภาพยนต์ธิเบต วันที่ 16 -19 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
ณ ห้องประชุมชั้น 5 หอศิลปวัฒนธรรมแห่งกรุงเทพมหานคร
วันอังคารที่ 16 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
15.10 -17.00 น.
Tibet:Cry of the snow lion (สารคดี1.50 ช.ม.)
17.00 -18.00 น.
วิจารณ์หนังโดย จิระนันท์ พิตรปรีชา
ทวีศักดิ์ พึงลำภู ดำเนินรายการ
18.00-19.45 น.
Himalaya (ภาพยนต์ 1.45 ช.ม.)
วันพุธที่ 17 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
15.00-16.45 น.
Unmistaken Child (สารคดี 1.45 ช.ม.)
17.00 -18.00 น.
วิจารณ์หนังโดย วิจักษณ์ พานิช
ทวีศักดิ์ พึงลำภู ดำเนินรายการ
18.00-20.15 น.
Kundun (ภาพยนต์ 2.15 ช.ม.)
วันพฤหัสที่ 18 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
16.00 -16.50 น.
The Tiibet book of dead (สารคดี 50 นาที )
17.00 -18.00 น.
วิจารณ์หนังโดย ธีรภาพ โลหิตกุล
ทวีศักดิ์ พึงลำภู ดำเนินรายการ
18.00 -19.30 น.
Dreaming Lhasa (ภาพยนต์ 1.30 ช.ม.)
วันศุกร์ที่ 19 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
16.00 -17.00 น.
Tibet’s Stolen child (สารคดี 1 ช.ม.)
17.00 -18.00 น.
วิจารณ์หนังโดย สกุล บุญยทัต
ทวีศักดิ์ พึงลำพู ดำเนินรายการ
18.00 -19.30 น.
The cup (ภาพยนต์ 1.30 ช.ม.)
เทศกาลภาพยนต์ธิเบต วันที่ 16 -19 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
ณ ห้องประชุมชั้น 5 หอศิลปวัฒนธรรมแห่งกรุงเทพมหานคร
วันอังคารที่ 16 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
15.10 -17.00 น.
Tibet:Cry of the snow lion (สารคดี1.50 ช.ม.)
17.00 -18.00 น.
วิจารณ์หนังโดย จิระนันท์ พิตรปรีชา
ทวีศักดิ์ พึงลำภู ดำเนินรายการ
18.00-19.45 น.
Himalaya (ภาพยนต์ 1.45 ช.ม.)
วันพุธที่ 17 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
15.00-16.45 น.
Unmistaken Child (สารคดี 1.45 ช.ม.)
17.00 -18.00 น.
วิจารณ์หนังโดย วิจักษณ์ พานิช
ทวีศักดิ์ พึงลำภู ดำเนินรายการ
18.00-20.15 น.
Kundun (ภาพยนต์ 2.15 ช.ม.)
วันพฤหัสที่ 18 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
16.00 -16.50 น.
The Tiibet book of dead (สารคดี 50 นาที )
17.00 -18.00 น.
วิจารณ์หนังโดย ธีรภาพ โลหิตกุล
ทวีศักดิ์ พึงลำภู ดำเนินรายการ
18.00 -19.30 น.
Dreaming Lhasa (ภาพยนต์ 1.30 ช.ม.)
วันศุกร์ที่ 19 กุมภาพันธ์ 2553
16.00 -17.00 น.
Tibet’s Stolen child (สารคดี 1 ช.ม.)
17.00 -18.00 น.
วิจารณ์หนังโดย สกุล บุญยทัต
ทวีศักดิ์ พึงลำพู ดำเนินรายการ
18.00 -19.30 น.
The cup (ภาพยนต์ 1.30 ช.ม.)
Monday, January 25, 2010
APICHATPONG AND HIS INFLUENCES
These are my comments in INDIAN AUTEUR's website:
http://www.indianauteur.com/?p=976
--Thank you very much for your kind words, Kavita.
As for your questions:
1. Sadly, I think there is no real market for short filmmakers in Thailand right now. Some of these short filmmakers make films because they are film students in universities, and they have to make films as required by the film courses they are taking. But most of the short filmmakers in my list also make films just to satisfy their needs, which I think is a very good thing. I like the fact that they make films not because they want money, good grades, awards, or an entry into the mainstream film business, but they make films just because they want to make them.
It would be great if there is a market for them, but I can't see it happen in Thailand now.
2. I guess most filmmakers in my list use their parents' money. But what is interesting right now is that many short filmmakers in Thailand are funded by various projects, such as a no-smoking project, a promoting-good-people project, an AIDS-awareness project, a don't-drive-drunk project, a supporting-minorities project, or something like that. In these cases, the short filmmakers have to make films to satisfy the project owners, so most of the resulting films are good, but not extremely controversial or extremely experimental.
I also like the fact that filmmaking nowadays seems to cost less and less, so Thai short filmmakers who can fund themselves are not limited to Bangkok bourgeois people any more. Nowadays we can see more and more films made by people from upcountry. I think the digital technology really help democratizing filmmaking in Thailand.
----------------------------------------------------------
--I guess Apichatpong inspire a lot of Thai independent filmmakers during the past ten years. I think there may be more than 50 Thai short filmmakers who are inspired by Apichatpong in one way or another. I guess some of them dare to make experimental films after seeing Apichatpong's films. During the past ten years, there are also a number of Thai short films which are semi-documentary, semi-fiction, semi-experimental. I think some of them are inspired by Apichatpong's films. I think one can even write a whole book about this topic – POST-APICHATPONG THAI FILMS, because there seem to be many Thai short films which remind us of Apichatpong.
Some trivia about this "influence" topic:
1. One of the first Thai films which are influenced by Apichatpong is BLACK-AND-WHITE FILM (2001, Montree Saelo, 6 minutes). This film is inspired by WINDOWS (1999, Apichatpong). I remember that I saw BLACK-AND-WHITE FILM and liked it a lot, but I can't remember any details about this film now.
2.Chaiwat Wiansantia said in his interview in a Thai magazine called FUSE SHOWCASE VOL. 4 that Apichatpong is one of his favorite artists, and I think Chaiwat also make semi-documentary, semi-fiction, semi-experimental, semi-poetic films like Apichatpong. Chaiwat's films also pay attention to nature like Apichatpong's films.
3. Attapon Pamakho said in his interview in FUSE SHOWCASE VOL.3 that the forest scene in his gay film HASAN is inspired by TROPICAL MALADY.
4. In POLITICALLY LAWYER AND NARRATIVE CINEMA (Chaloemkiat Saeyong), the name Apichatpong is mentioned. I guess Chaloemkiat's experimental films may partly be inspired by Apichatpong, too.
5.Sivaroj Kongsakul, an interesting Thai filmmaker, talked about what he learned from Apichatpong in Fuse Magazine vol. 26 (March, 2009). He talked that once Apichatpong told him to observe how the colors of leaves were changed according to the light reflecting on the leaves. That experience makes Sivaroj understand something about Apichatpong's perspective and nature.
6. I guess Thai filmmakers who may be partly inspired by Apichatpong include Chulayarnnon Siriphol, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Tanatchai Bandasak, Wiwat Lertwiwatwongsa, Nok Paksnavin, and Chaisiri Jiwarangsan. Something in SLEEPING BEAUTY (Chulayarnnon) and ENDLESS RHYME (Tanatchai) reminds me of the poetic quality of Apichatpong's films. I'm not sure about Nawapol. Some of his films are very slow and atmospheric, such as SEE and "THERE, THERE" (2005, 28 min), but maybe Nawapol is inspired more by Tsai Ming-liang than by Apichatpong.
7.The Thai censorship on SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY caused a lot of anger for Thai filmmakers, and they made a few short films to protest them.
8. Tossapol Boonsinsukh is an interesting case. After I first saw his films in 2005, I assumed that he might be inspired by Apichatpong or Sasithorn Ariyavicha, because his films are very slow and atmospheric like the films of these two artists. After that, I had a chance to talk to him, and found that he might had never seen a film by Sasithorn. He also said that his favorite filmmakers include Prabda Yoon, Pen-ek, and Takeshi Kitano!?!?!
After knowing about this, I began to see the influence of Pen-ek on some films by Tossapol. It's hard to describe this influence in words. It's a kind of "cute feelings" or "cool feelings" found in the early films of Pen-ek. However, though I like most films by Pen-ek, I prefer Tossapol's films to Pen-ek's films, because I think the feelings in Tossapol's films are not "forced", but some feelings in Pen-ek's films seem "forced".
9.Phaisit Phanphruksachat is also an interesting case. He once worked with Apichatpong in MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON. After that, he made some films which are semi-documentary, semi-fiction, semi-experimental. One might (wrongly) assume that Phaisit may be influenced by Apichatpong. But some of my friends think that this is not the case. My friends also guess that MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON may be partly inspired by Phaisit, instead of the other way around. If Apichatpong is Thai Jean-Luc Godard, Phaisit is Thai Chris Marker.
This comparison does not mean I think Apichatpong's films are like Godard's films. I mean Apichatpong and Phaisit are both great Thai artists who may or may not influence each other. And Phaisit may even come into the scene a bit earlier than Apichatpong. However, I still haven't had a chance to see Phaisit's early films such as MADANG BO SAI (1999) and KLASS AND KIANG TALKING (year unknown), which is six-hour long.
--------------------------------------------------------
--As for my reply to Kavita above, I also want to add that most of the filmmakers in my list might use their parents' money to make films because they are young. I arbitrarily choose only filmmakers whom I assume are not over 30 years old in this "young" director list. As for Thai independent filmmakers who are over 30 years old, there are also a few of them who are sponsored by foreign funds, the ones you often find accompanying many film festivals around the world. But there are also a group of Thai short filmmakers who use their own money to make great films, though their films are very low-budgeted. Some of these short filmmakers work as an office employee or a pharmacist by day (I have heard a rumor that one of them work as a janitor), and make films in their spare time. Manussak Dokmai, one of my most favorite Thai filmmakers, used to make four short films which cost only 2.4 US$ (80 baht) each. He just borrowed a camera from his friend to make them. He also used to live with only 0.3 US$ (13 baht) a day and suffered a lot from hunger at that time. I guess that's one of the reasons why he won't waste too much money making films. Weerasak Suyala, who is a policeman, made a very weird, unique, and funny film called THE PEN (2008), which is 60-minute long, but it costs only 50 US$ to make this cult film. Somehow I can't help feeling very passionate for these low-budgeted filmmakers. :-)
---------------------------------------------------
This is my comment in Filmsick's blog:
http://filmsick.exteen.com/20100116/bodyguards-and-assassins-teddy-chan-2009-hk
ปัจจัยสำคัญที่ทำให้หนังเรื่องนี้สนุกสุดขีดสำหรับเรา ก็คือการที่ตัวละครหลายตัวในเรื่อง "สามารถถูกฆ่าตายได้" มันเลยทำให้เราลุ้นมากๆว่าตัวละครตัวไหนจะตายหรือรอด ซึ่งต่างกับหนังแอคชั่นหลายๆเรื่องที่มีตัวละครสำคัญที่รับบทโดยนักแสดงดังๆ ซึ่งมักจะทำให้เราคาดเดาได้ว่าตัวละครตัวนั้นไม่ถูกฆ่าตายง่ายๆหรอก หนังพวกนั้นก็เลยไม่ทำให้เราลุ้นมากนัก
-----------------------------------------------
This is my comment in Seam-C's blog:
http://seamsee.exteen.com/20100111/l-201-den-et-apr-232-s-aka-eden-and-after
เพิ่มเติมเกร็ดเล็กเกร็ดน้อยจ้ะ หนังเรื่องนี้ถูกอแลง ร็อบ-กรีเยต์นำมาเรียงลำดับเนื้อเรื่องใหม่หมด แล้วกลายเป็นหนังเรื่อง N TOOK THE DICE ด้วยนะ สามารถดู N TOOK THE DICE ได้ที่ลิงค์ข้างล่างนี้ (น่าเสียดายที่ไม่มีซับอังกฤษ) http://www.ubu.com/film/robbe-grillet_dice.html
http://www.indianauteur.com/?p=976
--Thank you very much for your kind words, Kavita.
As for your questions:
1. Sadly, I think there is no real market for short filmmakers in Thailand right now. Some of these short filmmakers make films because they are film students in universities, and they have to make films as required by the film courses they are taking. But most of the short filmmakers in my list also make films just to satisfy their needs, which I think is a very good thing. I like the fact that they make films not because they want money, good grades, awards, or an entry into the mainstream film business, but they make films just because they want to make them.
It would be great if there is a market for them, but I can't see it happen in Thailand now.
2. I guess most filmmakers in my list use their parents' money. But what is interesting right now is that many short filmmakers in Thailand are funded by various projects, such as a no-smoking project, a promoting-good-people project, an AIDS-awareness project, a don't-drive-drunk project, a supporting-minorities project, or something like that. In these cases, the short filmmakers have to make films to satisfy the project owners, so most of the resulting films are good, but not extremely controversial or extremely experimental.
I also like the fact that filmmaking nowadays seems to cost less and less, so Thai short filmmakers who can fund themselves are not limited to Bangkok bourgeois people any more. Nowadays we can see more and more films made by people from upcountry. I think the digital technology really help democratizing filmmaking in Thailand.
----------------------------------------------------------
--I guess Apichatpong inspire a lot of Thai independent filmmakers during the past ten years. I think there may be more than 50 Thai short filmmakers who are inspired by Apichatpong in one way or another. I guess some of them dare to make experimental films after seeing Apichatpong's films. During the past ten years, there are also a number of Thai short films which are semi-documentary, semi-fiction, semi-experimental. I think some of them are inspired by Apichatpong's films. I think one can even write a whole book about this topic – POST-APICHATPONG THAI FILMS, because there seem to be many Thai short films which remind us of Apichatpong.
Some trivia about this "influence" topic:
1. One of the first Thai films which are influenced by Apichatpong is BLACK-AND-WHITE FILM (2001, Montree Saelo, 6 minutes). This film is inspired by WINDOWS (1999, Apichatpong). I remember that I saw BLACK-AND-WHITE FILM and liked it a lot, but I can't remember any details about this film now.
2.Chaiwat Wiansantia said in his interview in a Thai magazine called FUSE SHOWCASE VOL. 4 that Apichatpong is one of his favorite artists, and I think Chaiwat also make semi-documentary, semi-fiction, semi-experimental, semi-poetic films like Apichatpong. Chaiwat's films also pay attention to nature like Apichatpong's films.
3. Attapon Pamakho said in his interview in FUSE SHOWCASE VOL.3 that the forest scene in his gay film HASAN is inspired by TROPICAL MALADY.
4. In POLITICALLY LAWYER AND NARRATIVE CINEMA (Chaloemkiat Saeyong), the name Apichatpong is mentioned. I guess Chaloemkiat's experimental films may partly be inspired by Apichatpong, too.
5.Sivaroj Kongsakul, an interesting Thai filmmaker, talked about what he learned from Apichatpong in Fuse Magazine vol. 26 (March, 2009). He talked that once Apichatpong told him to observe how the colors of leaves were changed according to the light reflecting on the leaves. That experience makes Sivaroj understand something about Apichatpong's perspective and nature.
6. I guess Thai filmmakers who may be partly inspired by Apichatpong include Chulayarnnon Siriphol, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Tanatchai Bandasak, Wiwat Lertwiwatwongsa, Nok Paksnavin, and Chaisiri Jiwarangsan. Something in SLEEPING BEAUTY (Chulayarnnon) and ENDLESS RHYME (Tanatchai) reminds me of the poetic quality of Apichatpong's films. I'm not sure about Nawapol. Some of his films are very slow and atmospheric, such as SEE and "THERE, THERE" (2005, 28 min), but maybe Nawapol is inspired more by Tsai Ming-liang than by Apichatpong.
7.The Thai censorship on SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY caused a lot of anger for Thai filmmakers, and they made a few short films to protest them.
8. Tossapol Boonsinsukh is an interesting case. After I first saw his films in 2005, I assumed that he might be inspired by Apichatpong or Sasithorn Ariyavicha, because his films are very slow and atmospheric like the films of these two artists. After that, I had a chance to talk to him, and found that he might had never seen a film by Sasithorn. He also said that his favorite filmmakers include Prabda Yoon, Pen-ek, and Takeshi Kitano!?!?!
After knowing about this, I began to see the influence of Pen-ek on some films by Tossapol. It's hard to describe this influence in words. It's a kind of "cute feelings" or "cool feelings" found in the early films of Pen-ek. However, though I like most films by Pen-ek, I prefer Tossapol's films to Pen-ek's films, because I think the feelings in Tossapol's films are not "forced", but some feelings in Pen-ek's films seem "forced".
9.Phaisit Phanphruksachat is also an interesting case. He once worked with Apichatpong in MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON. After that, he made some films which are semi-documentary, semi-fiction, semi-experimental. One might (wrongly) assume that Phaisit may be influenced by Apichatpong. But some of my friends think that this is not the case. My friends also guess that MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON may be partly inspired by Phaisit, instead of the other way around. If Apichatpong is Thai Jean-Luc Godard, Phaisit is Thai Chris Marker.
This comparison does not mean I think Apichatpong's films are like Godard's films. I mean Apichatpong and Phaisit are both great Thai artists who may or may not influence each other. And Phaisit may even come into the scene a bit earlier than Apichatpong. However, I still haven't had a chance to see Phaisit's early films such as MADANG BO SAI (1999) and KLASS AND KIANG TALKING (year unknown), which is six-hour long.
--------------------------------------------------------
--As for my reply to Kavita above, I also want to add that most of the filmmakers in my list might use their parents' money to make films because they are young. I arbitrarily choose only filmmakers whom I assume are not over 30 years old in this "young" director list. As for Thai independent filmmakers who are over 30 years old, there are also a few of them who are sponsored by foreign funds, the ones you often find accompanying many film festivals around the world. But there are also a group of Thai short filmmakers who use their own money to make great films, though their films are very low-budgeted. Some of these short filmmakers work as an office employee or a pharmacist by day (I have heard a rumor that one of them work as a janitor), and make films in their spare time. Manussak Dokmai, one of my most favorite Thai filmmakers, used to make four short films which cost only 2.4 US$ (80 baht) each. He just borrowed a camera from his friend to make them. He also used to live with only 0.3 US$ (13 baht) a day and suffered a lot from hunger at that time. I guess that's one of the reasons why he won't waste too much money making films. Weerasak Suyala, who is a policeman, made a very weird, unique, and funny film called THE PEN (2008), which is 60-minute long, but it costs only 50 US$ to make this cult film. Somehow I can't help feeling very passionate for these low-budgeted filmmakers. :-)
---------------------------------------------------
This is my comment in Filmsick's blog:
http://filmsick.exteen.com/20100116/bodyguards-and-assassins-teddy-chan-2009-hk
ปัจจัยสำคัญที่ทำให้หนังเรื่องนี้สนุกสุดขีดสำหรับเรา ก็คือการที่ตัวละครหลายตัวในเรื่อง "สามารถถูกฆ่าตายได้" มันเลยทำให้เราลุ้นมากๆว่าตัวละครตัวไหนจะตายหรือรอด ซึ่งต่างกับหนังแอคชั่นหลายๆเรื่องที่มีตัวละครสำคัญที่รับบทโดยนักแสดงดังๆ ซึ่งมักจะทำให้เราคาดเดาได้ว่าตัวละครตัวนั้นไม่ถูกฆ่าตายง่ายๆหรอก หนังพวกนั้นก็เลยไม่ทำให้เราลุ้นมากนัก
-----------------------------------------------
This is my comment in Seam-C's blog:
http://seamsee.exteen.com/20100111/l-201-den-et-apr-232-s-aka-eden-and-after
เพิ่มเติมเกร็ดเล็กเกร็ดน้อยจ้ะ หนังเรื่องนี้ถูกอแลง ร็อบ-กรีเยต์นำมาเรียงลำดับเนื้อเรื่องใหม่หมด แล้วกลายเป็นหนังเรื่อง N TOOK THE DICE ด้วยนะ สามารถดู N TOOK THE DICE ได้ที่ลิงค์ข้างล่างนี้ (น่าเสียดายที่ไม่มีซับอังกฤษ) http://www.ubu.com/film/robbe-grillet_dice.html
Sunday, January 24, 2010
MY ARTICLE ON 20 YOUNG INDEPENDENT THAI DIRECTORS
I just wrote an article about 20 YOUNG INDEPENDENT THAI DIRECTORS. It is just published on INDIAN AUTEURS website. You can read the article here:
http://www.indianauteur.com/?p=976
You can also read the article in the e-magazine INDIAN AUTEURS: ISSUE NO.8 via the link below
http://issuu.com/nitesh/docs/final_ia8/1
My article is on the pages 45-56. I think the magazine uses a wrong photo on the page 54, though, because that photo is from A SHORT FILM ABOUT THE INDIO NACIONAL (2005, Raya Martin).
I hope you enjoy my article. Thanks a lot to INDIAN AUTEURS for publishing my work.
(Since this article is about "young" directors, I arbitrarily choose only directors whom I assume are not over 30 years old.)
http://www.indianauteur.com/?p=976
You can also read the article in the e-magazine INDIAN AUTEURS: ISSUE NO.8 via the link below
http://issuu.com/nitesh/docs/final_ia8/1
My article is on the pages 45-56. I think the magazine uses a wrong photo on the page 54, though, because that photo is from A SHORT FILM ABOUT THE INDIO NACIONAL (2005, Raya Martin).
I hope you enjoy my article. Thanks a lot to INDIAN AUTEURS for publishing my work.
(Since this article is about "young" directors, I arbitrarily choose only directors whom I assume are not over 30 years old.)
"MAP IS A FAKE THING, BECAUSE IT TELLS YOU THAT TIME STOPS."
Favorite quote from Tilda Swinton in THE INVISIBLE FRAME (2009, Cynthia Beatt, A+++++++++++++++):
"Map is a fake thing, because it tells you that time stops. But in fact it goes on and on, and thus the map is remaking itself all the time."
(I can't remember the exact words, but it is something like this.)
http://www.onlinefilm.info/-/film/33578
"Map is a fake thing, because it tells you that time stops. But in fact it goes on and on, and thus the map is remaking itself all the time."
(I can't remember the exact words, but it is something like this.)
http://www.onlinefilm.info/-/film/33578
Saturday, January 23, 2010
FOR RAUL 2: AS I WAS MOVING AHEAD OCCASIONALLY I SAW BRIEF GLIMPSES OF BEAUTY
This blog entry is inspired by Misterio Abierto's blog:
http://misterioabierto.blogspot.com/2010/01/for-jit-2-eric-rohmer.html
Hi Raúl
I'm not sure if you have finished your letter or not, but I want to reply to you so much that I think I shouldn't wait any more. :-)
I envy you a lot that you have seen OUT 1 (1971, Jacques Rivette). I wonder when this film will be released as a DVD boxset. It's one of the films that I want to see the most before I die.
I love A TALE OF SPRINGTIME (1990, Eric Rohmer), but because of a rather silly reason. The most important reason why I like this film is because it has one thing I want to see in melodrama films – a fight between the heroine and the villainess by debating in philosophy. Of course, A TALE OF SPRINGTIME is not a melodrama film, but I like the philosophical debate between the heroine and the lover of the hero very much. I have never seen things like this before. I love some melodrama films or TV series, but the fight between the heroine and the villainess in most melodramatic TV series are very stupid catfights. I want to see something different, and I want to see the heroine and her female antagonist in some films fight against each other in a philosophical way like in A TALE OF SPRINGTIME. However, I'm not sure I understand what they said in their debate. Hahaha. I have no knowledge in philosophy. I still have a lot to learn about it. I once saw WITTGENSTEIN (1993, Derek Jarman) and understand nothing in this film at all.
I'm glad you adore THE GREEN RAY. It's my most favorite film of Rohmer and one of my most favorite films of all time. Its ending touches my heart very deeply, and I'm not sure why. Maybe the true happiness in life is something so simple such as watching a sunset, watching a sunrise, watching the sunlight, watching a clear blue sky, watching a pond, watching the sea, watching the trees swaying in the wind, or watching life.
Sunset in THE GREEN RAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtlu5_FdoKw
Beautiful sunlight in KITTYPIE (2007, Jennifer MacMillan)
http://invisiblecinema.typepad.com/invisible_cinema/2007/08/kittypie-by-jen.html
Watching a pond in HIGH KUKUS (James Broughton)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9c0qu_james-broughton-high-kukus_shortfilms
Watching the sea in NO ONE AT THE SEA (Tossapol Boonsinsukh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vB7yCQURj8
Watching flowers swaying in the wind in ALL MY LIFE (Bruce Baillie)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xo5mg_bruce-baillie_creation
Watching the wind blow in FRAGRANCE OF THE WIND (2007, Chaiwat Wiansantia)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39YOq11Q_MQ
Watching landscape covered in snow in AI NO UTA (Miki Imai)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dU9IdUoQfE
Watching the love and care between the two monkeys in IMPERFECT FILM (Jonas Mekas)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkcfLP-MvW4
Watching people enjoying themselves in SHE IS READING NEWSPAPER (2005, Tossapol Boonsinsukh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWwOcpknjLA
I also consider THE GREEN RAY one of my most romantic films of all time, because its last part is very romantic for me. It corresponds to my romantic dream.
One of the reasons why I like Rohmer's films is because I like going to beaches and get to know some strangers. Hahaha. That is the reason why I love LA COLLECTIONNEUSE (1967), PAULINE AT THE BEACH (1983), and A SUMMER'S TALE (1996). These films, along with THE GREEN RAY, somehow correspond to the joy, the excitement, or the expectations I have when I go to beaches. Unfortunately, most strangers whom we meet at beaches give us only temporary joy. I still haven't found a stranger who is as interesting as the last guy in THE GREEN RAY. Somehow THE GREEN RAY represents the ultimate happy ending for me, a kind of happy ending I'm not sure I will ever find in my real life. Anyway, I'm happy enough watching this film.
As for CLAIRE'S KNEE, I just talked with a friend about a film which unintentionally reminds me of CLAIRE'S KNEE. It's ABIGAIL'S PARTY (Mike Leigh), because in this film the female characters talk about how sexy male legs can turn them on. This thing reminds me of the hero in CLAIRE'S KNEE who is also obsessed with an organ of the opposite sex.
Hope to talk to you again soon
Jit
P.S. The title of this letter comes from the film of Jonas Mekas which I haven't seen yet.
http://misterioabierto.blogspot.com/2010/01/for-jit-2-eric-rohmer.html
Hi Raúl
I'm not sure if you have finished your letter or not, but I want to reply to you so much that I think I shouldn't wait any more. :-)
I envy you a lot that you have seen OUT 1 (1971, Jacques Rivette). I wonder when this film will be released as a DVD boxset. It's one of the films that I want to see the most before I die.
I love A TALE OF SPRINGTIME (1990, Eric Rohmer), but because of a rather silly reason. The most important reason why I like this film is because it has one thing I want to see in melodrama films – a fight between the heroine and the villainess by debating in philosophy. Of course, A TALE OF SPRINGTIME is not a melodrama film, but I like the philosophical debate between the heroine and the lover of the hero very much. I have never seen things like this before. I love some melodrama films or TV series, but the fight between the heroine and the villainess in most melodramatic TV series are very stupid catfights. I want to see something different, and I want to see the heroine and her female antagonist in some films fight against each other in a philosophical way like in A TALE OF SPRINGTIME. However, I'm not sure I understand what they said in their debate. Hahaha. I have no knowledge in philosophy. I still have a lot to learn about it. I once saw WITTGENSTEIN (1993, Derek Jarman) and understand nothing in this film at all.
I'm glad you adore THE GREEN RAY. It's my most favorite film of Rohmer and one of my most favorite films of all time. Its ending touches my heart very deeply, and I'm not sure why. Maybe the true happiness in life is something so simple such as watching a sunset, watching a sunrise, watching the sunlight, watching a clear blue sky, watching a pond, watching the sea, watching the trees swaying in the wind, or watching life.
Sunset in THE GREEN RAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtlu5_FdoKw
Beautiful sunlight in KITTYPIE (2007, Jennifer MacMillan)
http://invisiblecinema.typepad.com/invisible_cinema/2007/08/kittypie-by-jen.html
Watching a pond in HIGH KUKUS (James Broughton)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9c0qu_james-broughton-high-kukus_shortfilms
Watching the sea in NO ONE AT THE SEA (Tossapol Boonsinsukh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vB7yCQURj8
Watching flowers swaying in the wind in ALL MY LIFE (Bruce Baillie)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xo5mg_bruce-baillie_creation
Watching the wind blow in FRAGRANCE OF THE WIND (2007, Chaiwat Wiansantia)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39YOq11Q_MQ
Watching landscape covered in snow in AI NO UTA (Miki Imai)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dU9IdUoQfE
Watching the love and care between the two monkeys in IMPERFECT FILM (Jonas Mekas)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkcfLP-MvW4
Watching people enjoying themselves in SHE IS READING NEWSPAPER (2005, Tossapol Boonsinsukh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWwOcpknjLA
I also consider THE GREEN RAY one of my most romantic films of all time, because its last part is very romantic for me. It corresponds to my romantic dream.
One of the reasons why I like Rohmer's films is because I like going to beaches and get to know some strangers. Hahaha. That is the reason why I love LA COLLECTIONNEUSE (1967), PAULINE AT THE BEACH (1983), and A SUMMER'S TALE (1996). These films, along with THE GREEN RAY, somehow correspond to the joy, the excitement, or the expectations I have when I go to beaches. Unfortunately, most strangers whom we meet at beaches give us only temporary joy. I still haven't found a stranger who is as interesting as the last guy in THE GREEN RAY. Somehow THE GREEN RAY represents the ultimate happy ending for me, a kind of happy ending I'm not sure I will ever find in my real life. Anyway, I'm happy enough watching this film.
As for CLAIRE'S KNEE, I just talked with a friend about a film which unintentionally reminds me of CLAIRE'S KNEE. It's ABIGAIL'S PARTY (Mike Leigh), because in this film the female characters talk about how sexy male legs can turn them on. This thing reminds me of the hero in CLAIRE'S KNEE who is also obsessed with an organ of the opposite sex.
Hope to talk to you again soon
Jit
P.S. The title of this letter comes from the film of Jonas Mekas which I haven't seen yet.
THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME TO COME ON IN OUT OF THE RAIN
From comment in Facebook:
I think if Wendy and Lisa join forces together and release the single THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME TO COME ON IN OUT OF THE RAIN, their single can go to number one in UK chart. lol
My favorite pop duo artists include:
1.Hue & Cry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONc3OMOb98I
2.Love & Sas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qSCrLjo_UI
3.Uncanny Alliance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRm3qt2snmc
"Uncanny Alliance was an American house music duo. They consisted of the producer, Brinsley Evans, and the female vocalist E.V. Mystique, who were both from New York."
4.Wink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqBMqUbAq0U
5.Zhane
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFAhwS-NeNo
I think if Wendy and Lisa join forces together and release the single THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME TO COME ON IN OUT OF THE RAIN, their single can go to number one in UK chart. lol
My favorite pop duo artists include:
1.Hue & Cry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONc3OMOb98I
2.Love & Sas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qSCrLjo_UI
3.Uncanny Alliance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRm3qt2snmc
"Uncanny Alliance was an American house music duo. They consisted of the producer, Brinsley Evans, and the female vocalist E.V. Mystique, who were both from New York."
4.Wink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqBMqUbAq0U
5.Zhane
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFAhwS-NeNo
ROTTERDAM WISH LIST
ROTTERDAM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WISH LIST
1.LOS CONDENADOS (Isaki Lacuesta)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA_zzzbjXpM
I got to know about Isaki Lacuesta from Misterio Abierto's blog:
http://misterioabierto.blogspot.com/2010/01/best-european-films-of-decade-2000-2010.html
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/los-condenados/
"Intense, atmospheric drama about a Latin American in exile who returns to his homeland where he fought dictatorship thirty years earlier. He helps look for the body of a guerrilla who disappeared back then in the damp jungle. Or does he want to bury the past?
Martin, an ex-guerrilla who has spent 30 years in Spanish exile, returns at the request of his old comrades Raúl to his birthplace to help look for the body of their friend, Ezequiel, who disappeared during a battle with soldiers. In secret, they go digging in the swampy Latin American jungle. Staying as guests near the clandestine digging are Ezequiel's close relatives. Tensions soon build.
Four years ago, the versatile and productive Spanish director Isaki Lacuesta screenedLa leyenda del tiempo in the Tiger competition. Damned, which won a Fipresci Award in San Sebastian, is his first fiction film. The teacher (and former student) of the master's in documentary making at Pompeu Fabra University made an intense moral fable, beautifully acted by a choice selection of Argentine actors."
2. HOTEL ATLANTICO (Suzana Amaral)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6dtv2AlJ7I
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/hotel-atlantico/
"An unemployed actor leaves without travel plans for the countryside, where a series of unexpected encounters and bizarre situations await him. This stylish film version of a book (based on the novel by João Gilberto Nolls) is Suzana Amaral's third film in twenty-three years.
An unemployed actor leaves the city without baggage or clearly defined travel plans. A tour bus takes him to the countryside - the starting point of a series of unexpected, special encounters and bizarre situations, devoid of any logic. The traveller never asks, but listens and observes. Between encounters, he occasionally roams completely deserted streets and lanes, sparingly accompanied by a clarinet solo. While he's a man of few words, his character unfolds through his multitude of emotions and the strange situations that seem to overcome him: he is goaded to the utmost, afraid, horny and pleasantly surprised.
This film version of a book based on the novel by João Gilberto Noll is both exciting and hilarious - and larded with dashes of action, drama and romance. It's the third film by Suzana Amaral in 23 years and is characterised by atmospheric images and a pleasant kind of absurdity."
3.MANILA SKIES (Raymond Red)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYl1tAW800c
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/himpapawid/
"Just before Raymond Red was the first Filipino to be given a Golden Palm in Cannes for his short film Anino (2000), he read a news report about a Filipino who hijacked an aircraft and then jumped out with a home-made parachute. In Manila Skies, Red wonders what drives someone to such an absurd deed and at the same time why his land just doesn't make progress. According to a news item in the film, 80% of the population lives in poverty. So too the protagonist Raul, a country boy who desperately and vainly searches for work in Manila. With his friends, all sharing his fate, he commits a robbery but panics at the high point and flees before finally breaking out of the vicious circle with violence.
A realistic portrait with several magic realistic moments, filmed with the very sharp Red One system, a reaction to the grainy, hand-held style that is now popular in Filipino independent cinema."
4.MARKS (1995, Sai Yoichi)
(recommended by Chuck Stephens)
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/maakusu-no-yama/
"Sai’s adaptation of a novel by Takamura Kaoru has two distinct but converging strands. One centres on Mizusawa, a young man who survived his family’s group suicide on Mount Kitadake 19 years ago and a subsequent incarceration in a mental hospital where he was sexually abused. The other centres on a series of identical but apparently unrelated murders in Tokyo: first a yakuza is found dead in a classy residential district, then the corpse of a Ministry of Justice official turns up in a less classy district, both with small but lethal wounds to the skull. The police investigation, which involves ‘lone wolf’ Aida Yuichiro, is riven by factional disputes and fails to prevent a third murder, although it emerges that the victims all had oblique connections with one lawyer."
5.MOSCOU (Eduardo Coutinho)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G71z7whKyk
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/moscou/
"In Moscow, Eduardo Coutinho follows the Brazilian theatre group Galpão as it prepares for the play Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov. The film is a documentary, but the basis is fictional: Coutinho approached the renowned theatre group with the idea of learning a play in three weeks. On the day that Coutinho started shooting, the actors first heard which text they were going to have to learn in such a short period. The film director was not interested in the end product but, just as in Chekhov's play, in the difficult road leading up to it. This is shown in exciting shots of workshops, improvisations and rehearsals."
6.NEWS FROM THE IDEOLOGICAL ANTIQUITY: MARX – EISENSTEIN – DAS KAPITAL (2008, Alexander Kluge, 9 hours 30 minutes)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1423964/
http://www.wichaar.com/news/295/ARTICLE/11594/2009-01-21.html
7.NUIT BLEUE (Ange Leccia, France)
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/nuit-bleue/
"A young woman, Antonia, returns to her island of birth, Corsica, after one of her relatives has disappeared at sea. She is torn back and forth between her old love Ettore and the dumb Alexander. The quest for Antonia’s place in the masculine environment of armed nationalism is an excuse for all kinds of peregrinations in the spectacular landscape of Cap Corse - a landscape that itself becomes a leading character. The plot of this fascinating film, entirely without dialogue, is told in songs such as Ne dis rien by Serge Gainsbourg. With the songs, the maker reveals the psychology of his characters, who seem to be in the grip of an age-old, atavistic melancholy. "
8. THE OLD SCHOOL OF CAPITALISM (Zelimir Zilnik)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsXmArcRR4U
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/stara-skola-kapitalizma/
"In a playful, often hilarious mixture of documentary and fiction, the film maker Zelimir Zilnik traces sanctifying capitalism, sold to the Serbians after the disappearance of state socialism as the great new god. As a background for his story, Zilnik uses a number of strikes that took place in Belgrade in recent years and introduces us to several people involved who are allowed to 'play' themselves. That leads to explosive situations. Employees dressed in American football kits come to settle up with their employers with gangs of heavies in bullet-proof vests. But the factories have already been emptied. The arrival of a Russian tycoon and the American vice president Joe Biden light the fuse.
Zilnik's intriguing docu-drama observes with x-ray eyes and in a sharp tone what's going on in the new Serbia. No lazy ideological analysis, but a complex and yet lighthearted portrait of the consequences of globalised capitalism for a country that has only just joined in the game.
Zelimir Zilnik is a great Serbian master and he has been developing his own, idiosyncratic style in docu-drama that he uses in his film works since the 1980. The IFFR has regulraly shown his films since 2000: Wanderlust, Fortress Europe, Kenedi Goes Back home and its next sequence Kenedi Is Getting Married. He is a highly innovative and provocative author making films that make you think. In his films, he concentrates on people of the Central and Eastern Europe and their destinies in the middle of the turmoil of socio-economical changes. A very often used tool of this filmmaker is the active angangament of people in his films acting themselves. In this latest work, Zelimir Zilnik conentrates on the status quo of his own country and the lives of the ordinary people that live in it and are actually caged in it. It's a witty, critical and surprising cinema, something that makes you think differently: about the genre the director is using, and about the world around us."
9.PAJU (Park Chan-ok)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CBFdlP6dH8
10.PEPPERMINTA (Pipilotti Rist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDOX7iVEx6A
11. PIGGIES (Robert Glinski)
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/swinki/
12. REFRAINS HAPPEN LIKE REVOLUTIONS IN A SONG (John Torres, Philippines)
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/ang-ninanais/
13. TOTÓ (Peter Schreiner)
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/tot/
14. THE WAY BETWEEN TWO POINTS (Sebastian Diaz Morales)
(Thanks to May Adadol Ingawanij for telling me about this.)
I wish to see the new film of Sebastian Diaz Morales. I just saw his short film called ORACLE and like its poetic, haunting quality. I think ORACLE can be screened together with some films of Tanatchai Bandasak and Phaisit Phanphruksachat because some of their films are also made of seemingly-unconnected scenes. I also heard that other films of Sebastian Diaz Morales deal with socio-political power more than ORACLE.
http://sebastiandiazmorales.net/Index/Sebastian_Diaz_Morales.html
15. YEMEN TRAVELOGUE – DAYS AT SHIBAM AND SEIYUN (Michael Pilz)
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/yemen-travelogue-days-at-shibam-and-seiyun/
1.LOS CONDENADOS (Isaki Lacuesta)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA_zzzbjXpM
I got to know about Isaki Lacuesta from Misterio Abierto's blog:
http://misterioabierto.blogspot.com/2010/01/best-european-films-of-decade-2000-2010.html
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/los-condenados/
"Intense, atmospheric drama about a Latin American in exile who returns to his homeland where he fought dictatorship thirty years earlier. He helps look for the body of a guerrilla who disappeared back then in the damp jungle. Or does he want to bury the past?
Martin, an ex-guerrilla who has spent 30 years in Spanish exile, returns at the request of his old comrades Raúl to his birthplace to help look for the body of their friend, Ezequiel, who disappeared during a battle with soldiers. In secret, they go digging in the swampy Latin American jungle. Staying as guests near the clandestine digging are Ezequiel's close relatives. Tensions soon build.
Four years ago, the versatile and productive Spanish director Isaki Lacuesta screenedLa leyenda del tiempo in the Tiger competition. Damned, which won a Fipresci Award in San Sebastian, is his first fiction film. The teacher (and former student) of the master's in documentary making at Pompeu Fabra University made an intense moral fable, beautifully acted by a choice selection of Argentine actors."
2. HOTEL ATLANTICO (Suzana Amaral)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6dtv2AlJ7I
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/hotel-atlantico/
"An unemployed actor leaves without travel plans for the countryside, where a series of unexpected encounters and bizarre situations await him. This stylish film version of a book (based on the novel by João Gilberto Nolls) is Suzana Amaral's third film in twenty-three years.
An unemployed actor leaves the city without baggage or clearly defined travel plans. A tour bus takes him to the countryside - the starting point of a series of unexpected, special encounters and bizarre situations, devoid of any logic. The traveller never asks, but listens and observes. Between encounters, he occasionally roams completely deserted streets and lanes, sparingly accompanied by a clarinet solo. While he's a man of few words, his character unfolds through his multitude of emotions and the strange situations that seem to overcome him: he is goaded to the utmost, afraid, horny and pleasantly surprised.
This film version of a book based on the novel by João Gilberto Noll is both exciting and hilarious - and larded with dashes of action, drama and romance. It's the third film by Suzana Amaral in 23 years and is characterised by atmospheric images and a pleasant kind of absurdity."
3.MANILA SKIES (Raymond Red)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYl1tAW800c
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/himpapawid/
"Just before Raymond Red was the first Filipino to be given a Golden Palm in Cannes for his short film Anino (2000), he read a news report about a Filipino who hijacked an aircraft and then jumped out with a home-made parachute. In Manila Skies, Red wonders what drives someone to such an absurd deed and at the same time why his land just doesn't make progress. According to a news item in the film, 80% of the population lives in poverty. So too the protagonist Raul, a country boy who desperately and vainly searches for work in Manila. With his friends, all sharing his fate, he commits a robbery but panics at the high point and flees before finally breaking out of the vicious circle with violence.
A realistic portrait with several magic realistic moments, filmed with the very sharp Red One system, a reaction to the grainy, hand-held style that is now popular in Filipino independent cinema."
4.MARKS (1995, Sai Yoichi)
(recommended by Chuck Stephens)
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/maakusu-no-yama/
"Sai’s adaptation of a novel by Takamura Kaoru has two distinct but converging strands. One centres on Mizusawa, a young man who survived his family’s group suicide on Mount Kitadake 19 years ago and a subsequent incarceration in a mental hospital where he was sexually abused. The other centres on a series of identical but apparently unrelated murders in Tokyo: first a yakuza is found dead in a classy residential district, then the corpse of a Ministry of Justice official turns up in a less classy district, both with small but lethal wounds to the skull. The police investigation, which involves ‘lone wolf’ Aida Yuichiro, is riven by factional disputes and fails to prevent a third murder, although it emerges that the victims all had oblique connections with one lawyer."
5.MOSCOU (Eduardo Coutinho)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G71z7whKyk
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/moscou/
"In Moscow, Eduardo Coutinho follows the Brazilian theatre group Galpão as it prepares for the play Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov. The film is a documentary, but the basis is fictional: Coutinho approached the renowned theatre group with the idea of learning a play in three weeks. On the day that Coutinho started shooting, the actors first heard which text they were going to have to learn in such a short period. The film director was not interested in the end product but, just as in Chekhov's play, in the difficult road leading up to it. This is shown in exciting shots of workshops, improvisations and rehearsals."
6.NEWS FROM THE IDEOLOGICAL ANTIQUITY: MARX – EISENSTEIN – DAS KAPITAL (2008, Alexander Kluge, 9 hours 30 minutes)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1423964/
http://www.wichaar.com/news/295/ARTICLE/11594/2009-01-21.html
7.NUIT BLEUE (Ange Leccia, France)
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/nuit-bleue/
"A young woman, Antonia, returns to her island of birth, Corsica, after one of her relatives has disappeared at sea. She is torn back and forth between her old love Ettore and the dumb Alexander. The quest for Antonia’s place in the masculine environment of armed nationalism is an excuse for all kinds of peregrinations in the spectacular landscape of Cap Corse - a landscape that itself becomes a leading character. The plot of this fascinating film, entirely without dialogue, is told in songs such as Ne dis rien by Serge Gainsbourg. With the songs, the maker reveals the psychology of his characters, who seem to be in the grip of an age-old, atavistic melancholy. "
8. THE OLD SCHOOL OF CAPITALISM (Zelimir Zilnik)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsXmArcRR4U
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/stara-skola-kapitalizma/
"In a playful, often hilarious mixture of documentary and fiction, the film maker Zelimir Zilnik traces sanctifying capitalism, sold to the Serbians after the disappearance of state socialism as the great new god. As a background for his story, Zilnik uses a number of strikes that took place in Belgrade in recent years and introduces us to several people involved who are allowed to 'play' themselves. That leads to explosive situations. Employees dressed in American football kits come to settle up with their employers with gangs of heavies in bullet-proof vests. But the factories have already been emptied. The arrival of a Russian tycoon and the American vice president Joe Biden light the fuse.
Zilnik's intriguing docu-drama observes with x-ray eyes and in a sharp tone what's going on in the new Serbia. No lazy ideological analysis, but a complex and yet lighthearted portrait of the consequences of globalised capitalism for a country that has only just joined in the game.
Zelimir Zilnik is a great Serbian master and he has been developing his own, idiosyncratic style in docu-drama that he uses in his film works since the 1980. The IFFR has regulraly shown his films since 2000: Wanderlust, Fortress Europe, Kenedi Goes Back home and its next sequence Kenedi Is Getting Married. He is a highly innovative and provocative author making films that make you think. In his films, he concentrates on people of the Central and Eastern Europe and their destinies in the middle of the turmoil of socio-economical changes. A very often used tool of this filmmaker is the active angangament of people in his films acting themselves. In this latest work, Zelimir Zilnik conentrates on the status quo of his own country and the lives of the ordinary people that live in it and are actually caged in it. It's a witty, critical and surprising cinema, something that makes you think differently: about the genre the director is using, and about the world around us."
9.PAJU (Park Chan-ok)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CBFdlP6dH8
10.PEPPERMINTA (Pipilotti Rist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDOX7iVEx6A
11. PIGGIES (Robert Glinski)
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/swinki/
12. REFRAINS HAPPEN LIKE REVOLUTIONS IN A SONG (John Torres, Philippines)
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/ang-ninanais/
13. TOTÓ (Peter Schreiner)
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/tot/
14. THE WAY BETWEEN TWO POINTS (Sebastian Diaz Morales)
(Thanks to May Adadol Ingawanij for telling me about this.)
I wish to see the new film of Sebastian Diaz Morales. I just saw his short film called ORACLE and like its poetic, haunting quality. I think ORACLE can be screened together with some films of Tanatchai Bandasak and Phaisit Phanphruksachat because some of their films are also made of seemingly-unconnected scenes. I also heard that other films of Sebastian Diaz Morales deal with socio-political power more than ORACLE.
http://sebastiandiazmorales.net/Index/Sebastian_Diaz_Morales.html
15. YEMEN TRAVELOGUE – DAYS AT SHIBAM AND SEIYUN (Michael Pilz)
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/en/films/yemen-travelogue-days-at-shibam-and-seiyun/
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