DANCER IN THE DARK IS THE WINNER

My poll 46 ended with 11 votes. Thanks very much to everyone who participated in it. Here is the result:

THESE MUSICAL FILMS ARE MADE FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. WHICH ONES DO YOU LIKE?

1.DANCER IN THE DARK (2000, Lars von Trier, Denmark)
It got 7 votes, or 63 %.

2. THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD (2003, Guy Maddin, Canada)
It got 6 votes, or 54 %.

3.THE WAYWARD CLOUD (2005, Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan)
It got 3 votes, or 27 %.

4.AMY (1997, Nadia Tass, Australia)
+THE LINE, THE CROSS & THE CURVE (1994, Kate Bush, UK)
+LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1986, Frank Oz, USA)
+ONE NIGHT ONE LIFE (1999, Oliver Hermann, Germany)
+RED PSALM (1972, Miklos Jancso, Hungary)
+UP DOWN FRAGILE (1995, Jacques Rivette, France)

Each of them got 2 votes, or 18 %.

10.AI TUI (ไอ้ทุย) (1971, Dokdin Gunyamarn, Thailand)
+CHUNHYANG (2000, Im Kwon-taek, South Korea)
+DIXIELAND DAIMYO (1986, Kihachi Okamoto, Japan)
+THE LAST COMMUNIST (2006, Amir Muhammad, Malaysia)
+MOSES AND AARON (1975, Daniele Huillet + Jean-Marie Straub, West Germany)
+U-CARMEN E-KHAYELITSHA (2005, Mark Dornford-May, South Africa)
+WINDOW SHOPPING (1986, Chantal Akerman, Belgium/France)
+YES NURSE! NO NURSE! (2002, Pieter Kramer, Netherlands)

Each of them got 1 vote, or 9 %.

18.KINGDOM AND THE BEAUTY (1959, Li Han Hsiang, Hong Kong) +SAATHIYA (2002, Shaad Ali, India)
+SILENCE, WE'RE ROLLING (2001,Youssef Chahine, Egypt)


Each of them got 0 vote.

--It is a bit surprising for me that KINGDOM AND THE BEAUTY got no vote, because I think this film is famous, and the film is available as copyrighted DVD in Thailand. Maybe most readers of my blog are not fans of old Hong Kong films, but that is not surprising, because I am not a fan of old Hong Kong films, either. I still have a lot to learn about old Hong Kong and Chinese films.

--It is very difficult for me to choose only one French musical film for this poll, because there are many great French musicals, including THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964, Jacques Demy), THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT (1967, Jacques Demy), JEANNE AND THE PERFECT GUY, WATER DROPS ON BURNING ROCKS (2000, Francois Ozon), and LA FRANCE (2007, Serge Bozon). I think many of them are innovative. They are not standard musical films. In the end, I choose UP DOWN FRAGILE, partly because I love the dances of Marianne Denicourt, partly because I love the songs of Enzo Enzo.

--SILENCE, WE’RE ROLLING is the film which I didn’t love instantly while I was watching it. The film was too strange for me at that time. I had never seen anything like it before. It is very different from what I thought “what good arthouse film should be” at that time. But after the screening, I talked with Sonthaya Subyen, who likes it a lot. Talking with him made me realize that if I opened my mind while watching it and didn’t stick to the formulas of arthouse film, I might have enjoyed this film.

--This is my favorite scene from THE LINE, THE CROSS & THE CURVE. The scene is also a music video of the song LILY.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWaqPOnR5wU

I like the magical world in THE LINE, THE CROSS & THE CURVE very much. I would like to merge the magical world of THE LINE, THE CROSS & THE CURVE with the magical world of DUELLE (UNE QUARANTAINE) (1976, Jacques Rivette, A++++++++++). I think it would result in a very fascinating magical world.

This is the lyrics of LILY:

“Oh thou, who givest sustenance to the universe
From whom all things proceed
To whom all things return
Unveil to us the face of the true spiritual sun
Hidden by a disc of golden light
That we may know the truth
And do our whole duty
As we journey to thy sacred feet

Well I said
"Lily, Oh Lily I don't feel safe
I feel that life has blown a great big hole
Through me"
And she said
"Child, you must protect yourself
I'll show you how with fire"

Gabriel before me
Raphael behind me
Michael to my right
Uriel on my left side
In the circle of fire

I said
"Lily, Oh Lily I'm so afraid
I fear I am walking in the Veil of Darkness"
And she said
"Child, take what I say
With a pinch of salt
And protect yourself with fire"

Gabriel before me
Raphael behind me
Michael to my right
Uriel on my left side
In the circle of fire”