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.