Sunday, September 30, 2007

TIME CHANGES FONDNESS OF FILMS

This is my comment in Jesse's blog:
http://memoriesofthefuture.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/last-batch-of-tiff-capsule-reviews/

What you wrote about BEFORE I FORGET (2007, Jacques Nolot) in DVD Verdict makes this film seem very interesting for me. You wrote that
http://www.dvdverdict.com/judgeblog/jataide/post/1541

"A film more fascinating to ponder after the fact than while actually watching, I walked out of the screening not liking it much, but my feelings have become much more favorable in the days that have since passed."


I haven't seen any films by Jacques Nolot, but your description intrigues me. I would like to have this kind of experience—seeing a film for which my fondness keeps growing stronger after watching it.

Talking about the experience of liking the film during or after watching it, I would like to share my own experience.

1.Many times I see a film which excites me very much when I'm watching it, but my excitement fades away very quickly after that. Most of the films in this category are Hollywood thriller films.

2.Sometimes I saw a film which I thought was just ok, but after a few years, I have a chance to see it again, and now think that it is truly great or a masterpiece. I think this kind of films demands that the viewers must have had some kind of life experience before the viewers can truly enjoy it or understand its greatness. I have this kind of feelings with the films of Maurice Pialat and Claude Sautet.

3.Sometimes I see a film which I don't enjoy in the early part, because the film seems to be in a different wavelenght from mine. But after a while it seems as if my wavelength is attuned to the film, and then I start to feel the film is very very great. I had this rare experience when I was watching THE BIRTH OF LOVE (1993, Philippe Garrel, A+). It was the first Garrel's film that I saw.

4.Sometimes I saw a film from a certain director for the first time and didn't enjoy it much because the styles of the film is not what I'm accustomed to. But after a few years, I see another film by the same director and fall in love with it completely. I guess this kind of thing happens to me because now I know what to expect of that director when I see his/her second film, and thus can attune my wavelength to the films of that director. I have this kind of experience with the films of James Lee (from Malaysia) and Youssef Chahine.


5.As for your experience with BEFORE I FORGET, it reminds me of the feelings I have with CALM PREVAILS OVER THE COUNTRY (1976, Peter Lilienthal, West Germany, A+). I saw it the first time in 1996 or 1997, when I hadn't seen many European films yet. I didn't like it at all during the time I was watching it. The film is no entertainment, no-nonsense, without an ounce of sentimentality. I couldn't follow the story. The film is truly uncompromising. I think I gave it C+ after I just finished watching it. But after a while, I found that I couldn't shake this film out of my mind. I think this kind of film makes me truly grow as a filmlover. It really broadens my viewing experience. It really makes me feel that I have experience something "new".

However, I saw DAVID (1979, A+), another film by Peter Lilienthal, and it is a straightforward, though well-done, film. So I don't know if other films by Lilienthal would be like. I hope I can see CALM PREVAILS OVER THE COUNTRY again.

MOVIEHALL'S BLOG

This is my comment in Bioscope webboard:
http://www.bioscopemagazine.com/smf/index.php?topic=71.420


ตอบน้อง merveillesxx

--จากที่คุยกันนอกรอบเกี่ยวกับบล็อกที่พูดถึงหนังไทยของคุณเพิ่มพล เชยอรุณ พี่เข้าไปดูบล็อกนั้นแล้ว น่าสนใจมากๆเลยค่ะ ขอบคุณมากค่ะที่แนะนำบล็อกของคุณ Moviehall มาให้อ่าน

บล็อกนี้อยู่ที่
http://www.oknation.net/blog/moviehall/2007/07/30/entry-1

สนใจรายชื่อผู้กำกับกลุ่มคลื่นลูกใหม่ของไทยในยุคนั้นมากๆ บล็อกของเขาบอกว่าผู้กำกับกลุ่มคลื่นลูกใหม่ในยุคนั้นรวมถึง

1. คุณเพิ่มพล เชยอรุณ
2. คุณเปี๊ยก โปสเตอร์
3. มจ. ชาตรี เฉลิมยุคล
4. ยุทธนา มุกดาสนิท
5. วิจิตร คุณาวุฒิ
6. สุรสีร์ ผาธรรม
7. เชิด ทรงศรี
8. คิด สุวรรณศร
9. วีรประวัติ วงศ์พัวพันธ์
10. ชนะ คราประยูร


--ไม่แน่ใจว่าตอนนี้คุณชนะ คราประยูรกำกับละครโทรทัศน์เรื่องอะไรอยู่ และไม่รู้ว่าละครทีวีเรื่องนี้ออกมาดีน่าดูหรือเปล่า

พูดถึงผู้กำกับภาพยนตร์ไทยที่หันมากำกับละครโทรทัศน์แล้ว ก็จำได้ว่าเมื่อหลายปีก่อนมีละครโทรทัศน์เรื่องนึงทางช่อง 7 ที่กำกับโดยคุณมานพ อุดมเดช ดิฉันเคยดูแว๊บๆเพียงไม่กี่ตอน รู้สึกว่าดูดีใช้ได้เลยทีเดียว ดูมีอะไรบางอย่างน่าสนใจกว่าละครโทรทัศน์เรื่องอื่นๆ แต่ตอนนี้นึกไม่ออกแล้วว่าละครโทรทัศน์เรื่องนั้นคือเรื่องอะไร



ตอบคุณ pc

พูดถึงเรื่องการเซ็นเซอร์แล้ว ก็นึกถึงบทความเกี่ยวกับการเซ็นเซอร์ภาพยนตร์เรื่อง BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925, Sergei M. Eisenstein) ในฝรั่งเศส ดิฉันเพิ่งรู้จากบล็อกของคุณ Mubarak Ali ว่ากว่าหนังเรื่องนี้จะได้ฉายจนจบเรื่องในอัมสเตอร์ดัม ผู้ฉายก็ต้องวิ่งหนีตำรวจไปเรื่อยๆเพื่อหาโอกาสฉายหนังเรื่องนี้ตามโรงต่างๆ และต้องวิ่งไปตามโรงหนังต่างๆถึง 6 โรงกว่าจะได้ฉายเรื่องนี้จนจบ

The information below is copied from SUPPOSED AURA blog:
http://supposedaura.blogspot.com/2007/09/painlev-and-eisenstein.html

"Viewed as Communist propaganda, the film was deemed "subversive" by European officials and censored. Thus, when Painleve and his friend, the documentary filmmaker Joris Ivens, screened it in Amsterdam, they posted sentries at the theater door to watch for police. When the police did arrive, Painleve and Ivens quickly stopped the projection, grabbed the film reels, and with the audience in tow, scurried to another theater. There, too, the screening was interrupted by police. So the group moved again. In the course of one evening, the group moved six times, but in the end Battleship Potemkin was shown in its entirety."


--As for Joris Ivens' film, I found that POWER AND THE LAND (1940, Joris Ivens) is included in a DVD released many years ago, but I haven't seen this DVD in Bangkok yet. However, the DVDs of THE 400 MILLION (1939, Joris Ivens) and THE SPANISH EARTH (1937, Joris Ivens) were once available in Bangkok.
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YN0E6GNQL._SS500_.jpg


--Jean Painleve's films are available as DVDs now.
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/4143Y10VGQL._SS500_.jpg
http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/41SGF7YDPSL._SS500_.jpg


ตอบคุณ grappa

--ต้องขอกราบขอบพระคุณคุณ grappa เป็นอย่างยิ่งค่ะที่แนะนำร้านหนังสือเดินทาง เมื่อวานนี้ดิฉันได้ลองแวะเข้าไปในร้านนี้เป็นครั้งแรกในชีวิต รู้สึกตื่นตะลึงกับการคัดเลือกหนังสือในร้านนี้อย่างมากๆ รู้สึกเหมือนกับว่าร้านนี้เป็นร้านโดเรมีแห่งวงการหนังสือ

--พูดถึงร้านหนังสือแล้ว ก็ทำให้นึกถึงหนังเกี่ยวกับร้านหนังสือ หนังที่ดิฉันชอบที่เกี่ยวกับร้านหนังสือก็คือหนังตูนิเซียเรื่อง EL KOTBIA (2002, Nawfel Saheb-Ettaba) ที่เคยมาฉายในเทศกาลหนังที่เอ็มโพเรียมในปี 2004 ถ้าจำไม่ผิด พระเอกของเรื่องนี้เป็นคนดูแลร้านหนังสือ และหนังพูดถึงชีวิตรักของหนุ่มสาวในตูนิเซียได้อย่างน่าสนใจดี
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378219/

แต่ถ้าหากพูดถึงหนังที่มีฉากเกี่ยวกับร้านหนังสือแล้ว ฉากที่ชอบที่สุดก็คือฉากในภาพยนตร์เพลงเรื่อง JEANNE AND THE PERFECT GUY (1998, Olivier Ducastel + Jacques Martineau, A+) ที่มีฉากพระเอก (Mathieu Demy) ร้องรำทำเพลงกับสาวขายหนังสือในร้าน โดยมีการร้องเพลงโต้ตอบกันเกี่ยวกับหนังสือของ Marguerite Duras ด้วย โดยเนื้อหาในเพลงออกมาในทำนองที่ว่า "หนังสือของ Duras อ่านยากเกินไป เพราะฉะนั้นผมก็เลยไม่ซื้อดีกว่า"







A PETITION TO HELP THE BURMESE PROTESTERS

--Tintin Cooper, an artist whose installation show YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE was held in Bangkok early this year, forwarded me this link to sign a petition to stand with the Burmese protesters. I have to thank Tintin a lot about it. Please sign the petition if you agree with the Burmese protesters.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/

--What happens in Myanmar saddens me very much. I hope its people will win soon.

--What happens in Myanmar also makes me ask myself if my hands are clean from the blood of the Burmese people. It is because of the film THE BANGKOK BOURGEOIS PARTY (2007, Prap Boonpan, A+) which makes me ask myself this question. If I don’t remember it wrongly, this film talks about the fact that Thailand buys some electricity from the Burmese government, thus Thai people who use the electricity indirectly support the Burmese government. I don’t know if what is said in the film is true or not, and I don’t know the current details about the Thai-Burmese electricity projects. But if what the film said is true, I hope the Thai government will stop buying the energy or electricity from this evil Burmese government soon.

--What happens in Myanmar also reminds me of some films. One of them is CEASE! FIRE! (2003, Saw Eh Doh Wah, Scott O’Brien, A+), a documentary about the suffering of some ethnic minorities in Myanmar. I have been told that the democracy struggles and the ethnic struggles in Myanmar are different, but I just hope that all the problems will end soon. I also hope that more and more people can see the film CEASE! FIRE!. This is the kind of film which might not have many aesthetic values, but it was surely made to serve the good purpose of the filmmakers—to show the world the suffering of the ethnic minorities in Myanmar.

More information about the film can be read from the link below:
http://www.wildspaces.foe.org.au/cease.htm

MY FAVORITE CLEO GUYS OF 2007

MY FAVORITE CLEO GUYS OF 2007
http://women.sanook.com/dreammodel/guy/guy_44214.php

1.PHIL
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1154/1458769065_b22e23cbe7_o.jpg

2.FREDDY
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1206/1458769079_5b6b39c827_o.jpg

3.FROYD
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1250/1458769067_38ecb64223_o.jpg

4.TEE
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1403/1458769053_ccc026c3b7_o.jpg

5.KONG
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1175/1458769057_b9bd75ae60_o.jpg















MATERNAL LOVE

This is my comment in Filmsick’s Blog:
http://filmsick.exteen.com/20070918/entry

เป็นหนังที่ซึ้ง แต่ไม่ฟูมฟาย ชอบการบันทึกภาพคุณแม่ในหนังเรื่องนี้ มันเป็นการแสดงออกถึงความรักทึ่ซึ้งมากๆ แต่ไม่เลี่ยน

หนังเรื่องนี้เป็นการนำ FOUND FOOTAGE จากหนังเรื่องอื่นมาใช้ในการบอกเล่าชีวิตของตัวเอง ซึ่งเป็นวิธีการที่แปลกมาก นึกไม่ออกว่ามีหนังเรื่องไหนเคยทำแบบนี้มาก่อนหรือเปล่า

ส่วนการบันทึกภาพคุณแม่ในหนังนั้น รู้สึกว่าจะมีหนังหลายเรื่องที่เคยทำแบบนี้ และแต่ละเรื่องก็มีจุดเด่นหรือข้อดีของตัวเองที่ไม่ซ้ำกัน บางเรื่องก็เป็นเรื่องแต่ง บางเรื่องก็เป็นสารคดี แต่เนื่องจากหนังเหล่านี้ส่วนใหญ่ต้องการบันทึก “ความจริง” เกี่ยวกับคุณแม่ เพราะฉะนั้นถึงหนังแบบนี้จะมีเยอะ แต่ก็ไม่ดูซ้ำซาก เพราะมนุษย์แต่ละคนไม่เหมือนกันอยู่แล้ว เพราะฉะนั้นหนังที่พยายามบันทึกความจริงเกี่ยวกับคุณแม่ จึงออกมาดูไม่เหมือนกันหรือดูไม่ซ้ำซากไปด้วย

FILMS IN WHICH THE DIRECTOR PRESENTS HIS/HER OWN MOTHER

In alphabetical order

1.DREHORT BERLIN (1987, Helga Reidemeister)

2.GERMANY IN AUTUMN (1978, Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

3.GHOSTS (2005, Anocha Suwichakornpong)

4.GOLDEN SAND HOUSE (2005, Chulayarnnon Siriphol)

5.THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW (1964, Pier Paolo Pasolini)

6.HOMEMADE SAKE (2001, Satoshi Ono)

7.IMAGES OF THE ABSENCE (1998, German Kral, Argentina)

8.ITALIANAMERICAN (1974, Martin Scorsese)

9.LITTLE PLANT AT THE OLD HOUSE (2007, Sasikan Suvanasuthi, A+)
The mother in this film is not the biological mother, but she is the one who really deserves the word “mother”.

10.LONELINESS EVERYWHERE (2007, Filmsick)
You can watch this film (in Thai) from the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1gzjluqgvg

11.NEVER CONGREGATE, NEVER DISREGARD (2007, Arin Rungjang)

12.ONE TRUE THING (2007, Vichart Somkaew)

13.OUR FILM (2004, Atthasit Somchob)

14.SHIT HAPPENS (2006, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit)

15.TARNATION (2003, Jonathan Caouette)

--Of all the films above, I think I’m impressed with the presentation of mother in TARNATION the most, because it is the most hurtful. I haven’t seen GERMANY IN AUTUMN, though.


SPECIAL CASES

--NEWS FROM HOME (1977, Chantal Akerman, A+)
The mother never appears in this film, but the voiceover in this film talks about the letters Akerman wrote to her mother.

--NO PLACE TO GO (2000, Oskar Roehler, A+)
The film is about the real mother of Oskar Roehler who committed suicide.

--As for the films in which the female director presents her son, I think the one which impresses me the most is KUNG-FU MASTER (1987, Agnes Varda, A+), because it is very daring.


Images of BLUE BLACK PERMANENT (1992, Margaret Tait), in which the director deals with her own mother:

http://www.luxonline.org.uk/artists/margaret_tait/blue_black_permanent.html
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1029/1458683603_bd65cd3684_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1397/1458683599_cc7529a162_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1235/1458683597_8be2ace272_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1140/1458683595_bee4eeffd6_o.jpg










Wednesday, September 26, 2007

THE VICTIMS OF THE LIVES OF OTHERS

THIS IS MY COMMENT IN BIOSCOPE WEBBOARD
http://www.bioscopemagazine.com/smf/index.php?topic=586.0

--ขอบคุณคุณ ar มากๆค่ะสำหรับคำตอบ

--DVDs I hope will be available in Bangkok soon:

RICA (1972, Ko Nakahira)
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51uQhfh13aL._SS500_.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1236/1442722145_8db3690061_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1192/1442722143_8770ad40ef_o.jpg

From amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Rica-2-Lonely-Wanderer-2-Lonely/dp/B000TZJC6Y/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-2147436-9278405?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1190819618&sr=1-2

“Half-breed Rica was born under a very bad sign. Her mother was raped by American GIs and Rica was the result. Rica herself was raped by one of her mother's johns at an early age. Scarred for life from Day One, Rica was practically raised with a knife in her hand and hate in her heart for all men! Soon Rica is mixed up in a world of trouble, running with gangs, scrapping with hoodlums and excelling in the ways of the underworld. But no matter how many times she ends up in jail or gets manhandled by thugs, nothing can stand in the way of her ultimate goal: Revenge!”


You can read more about this film from
--Cinebeats
http://cinebeats.blogsome.com/2007/08/15/rica-is-coming-pinky-violence-is-here/

--Scifijapan.com
http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2007/05/09/media-blasters-to-release-toho’s-rica-film-series/

------------------------------------------------------------------

--I just learned from Zach Campbell’s blog about another film of Philippe Grandrieux (SOMBRE, LA VIE NOUVELLE). Grandrieux and Thierry Kuntzel directed a film called LA PEINTRE CUBISTE in early 1980’s. You can read more about it from

Zach Campbell’s blog
http://elusivelucidity.blogspot.com/2007/09/la-peinture-cubiste.html

Electronic Arts Intermix
http://eai.org/eai/tape.jsp?itemID=2851


------------------------------------------------------------

--I just learned from Peter Nellhaus’ blog that THE VICTIM (2006, Monthon Arayangkoon) has been released as a DVD in USA.

You can read Peter Nellhaus’ review of THE VICTIM in the link below:
http://www.coffeecoffeeandmorecoffee.com/archives/2007/09/the_victim.html#more


THE VICTIM
http://www.amazon.com/Victim-Monthon-Arayangkoon/dp/B000R7HY32/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-2147436-9278405?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1190820374&sr=1-1

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/5118NtRobzL._SS500_.jpg

--Personally, THE VICTIM is one of my most favorite Thai horror films of all time, and one of my most favorite feature Thai films of 2006. The reason why I love this film so much is just because a scene in this film—the scene when the ghost dances with the amateur actress--keeps on haunting my memory until this day. I mean this scene has so much seductive power over me that I enjoy thinking about it from time to time, replaying it in my head, and feeling great when I think about it.

-------------------------------------------------------------
SPOILERS ALERT

DON’T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN “THE VICTIM” AND “THE HOUSE” (2007, Monthon Arayangkoon, A+++++)

--But don’t ask me to explain anything in THE VICTIM. I have seen this film only once and still feel confused about the second half of the film. If I don’t remember it wrongly, I guess THE VICTIM is about an obsessed fan (whom I’m not sure is a girl or a gay boy), who wants to become a famous actress, but that famous actress is playing in a film in the character of an ambitious amateur actress, who has to play murdered victims, one of which was a traditional Thai dancer, who might be a lesbian and obsessed with plastic surgery (which means she is also trying to “become another person” or not satisfied with herself). To put it another way, THE VICTIM is about the first person who strongly wants to become the second person, who plays the third person, who tries to imitate the fourth person, who is also obsessed with changing herself.

The first person, the third person, and the fourth person seem to be obsessed with “being another”. The second person gets possessed by the ghost of the first person, and the third person gets possessed by the ghost of the fourth person. The second person “performs” the third person, and the third person “performs” the fourth person. Hahaha. I don’t understand what I wrote. For those who can read Thai, you can read Filmsick’s review of THE VICTIM here.
http://www.onopen.com/2006/02/1087

Personally, I think THE VICTIM is also overly ambitious like the first and the third person. I guess it tries to convey the messages about celebrity obsession, obsession with being famous, obsession with improving one looks, or something like that. But what I love about this film is not its messages, but some scenes which are very haunting.

THE HOUSE, which is also directed by Monthon Arayangkoon, shares many things with THE VICTIM. In THE HOUSE, a female journalist is so obsessed with the murder of three women and the ghosts of them that she might be psychologically and mentally changed and “performs” as one of the ghosts. I’m not sure about the messages of THE HOUSE, but what I love the most about this film is not its messages, but some scenes in it which are very haunting.

Images from THE VICTIM
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1013/1442705927_2e35cc0f0a_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1247/1442705925_5d81b9ebb8_o.jpg
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http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1220/1442705915_a6cd5cf21d_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1157/1442705913_1a47c8c8d4_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1075/1442705905_5c4d458302_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1321/1442722135_37bb73eabc_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1203/1442722131_2148041962_o.jpg













Tuesday, September 25, 2007

DVD OF "NATHALIE GRANGER"

This is my comment in Girish Shambu’s blog:
http://www.girishshambu.com/blog/2007/09/toronto-overview.html

Thank you very much, Girish.

Girish, since you wrote in August that Lucia Bose is an arresting presence in STORY OF A LOVE AFFAIR (1950, Michelangelo Antonioni), I would like to tell you that Blaq Out has released a DVD of NATHALIE GRANGER (1972, Marguerite Duras), starring Lucia Bose, Jeanne Moreau, and Gerard Depardieu. I don’t know if you’ve known it already or not. But this news makes me feel very glad. The website of Blaq Out says it has English subtitles, and the special features include the interviews with Benoit Jacquot and Luc Moullet.

-----------------------------------------------------------------


--Vespertine, my friend, told me this news about the DVD of NATHALIE GRANGER. I have to thank him a lot for this news.
http://www.blaqout.com/site2/catalog/profile.php?movie_id=59

--For those who love Lucia Bose, you can read the reviews of her films in the following links:

1.STORY OF A LOVE AFFAIR, reviewed by Jesse Ataide
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/storyloveaffair.php

2.DEATH OF A CYCLIST (1955, Juan Antonio Bardem, Spain), reviewed by Peter Nellhaus
http://www.coffeecoffeeandmorecoffee.com/archives/2007/08/death_of_a_cycl.html

--I also commented on NATHALIE GRANGER in imdb.com in 2000.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068991/usercomments


--For those who have seen NATHALIE GRANGER, and want to read a great review of this film, I recommend you read the book NEW NOVEL, NEW WAVE, NEW POLITICS: FICTION AND THE REPRESENTATION OF HISTORY IN POSTWAR FRANCE (1998), written by Lynn A. Higgins. You can buy the book from amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/New-Novel-Wave-Politics-Representation/dp/0803273096/ref=sr_1_7/104-0496657-8291933?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190733752&sr=1-7

This is an excerpt from the book NEW NOVEL, NEW WAVE, NEW POLITICS. The writer compared the film NATHALIE GRANGER with TOUT VA BIEN (1972, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Gorin). The full article also talks about the aftermath of May 1968 :

“This is where NATHALIE GRANGER comes into the picture. While the two films share the project of constructing counterdiscourses that might prolong the contestation of May without necessarily recounting it, in many ways they move in opposing directions. TOUT VA BIEN and NATHALIE GRANGER can be contrasted according to a distinction between proliferation and erasure. Everywhere that Godard’s contestation takes a dialectical form that brings into play more elements—more discourses, more (and more contradictory) points of view, more color and noise, and a surfeit of meanings—Duras proceeds to reduce, to minimize, to evacuate meaning. The two films contrast as active struggle and passive resistance can both disarm an attack; as direct address and no address at all can both frustrate cinematic voyeurism and specular identification; as noise and silence (or music) both repel the imposition of a dominant language. Both films systematically disorient the spectator by avoiding subjective shots and the spatial logic of shot-countershot alternation, but while Godard achieves this through multiple and split points of view, Duras tries to eliminate points of view entirely; her camera wanders through the house like an anonymous intruder. Both are exquisitely self-conscious filmmakers as well, but where Godard subverts narrative and visual conventions from within, making the evidents of their construction evident, Duras evacuates narrative altogether. Both deny the pleasures afforded by mainstream spectacle, but where Godard conceives of revolution as an act of murder and challenges the identification offered in commercial cinema by showing the reality of class struggle, Duras undermines the pleasure principle by going beyond it, to suicide and extinction of narrative, point of view, and speech itself. In short, where Godard disrupts by means of explosion, Duras proceeds implosively. Or perhaps it is the difference between Mao and Zen.”



--I learned from the website of Blaq Out that this company also released the DVDs of 8 films of Jean-Paul Civeyrac with English subtitles. I hope one day all these DVDs of Jean-Paul Civeyrac will become available in Bangkok.

http://www.blaqout.com/site2/catalog/profile.php?movie_id=46

Some images from the films by Jean-Paul Civeyrac
http://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne_gen_cpersonne=14102.html

Images from THROUGH THE FOREST (2005):
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1245/1437863567_8b2169bdb4_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1182/1437863565_a3ee80c5a2_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1412/1437863563_0022a121c1_o.jpg


Images from NEITHER EVE NOR ADAM (1996):
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1213/1437863557_6459c72cd1_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1145/1437863553_4820d4422a_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1435/1437863547_910b1baeba_o.jpg


















APICHATPONG'S ARTICLE IN BANGKOK POST

Apichatpong Weerasethakul wrote a great article in BANGKOK POST today.

I copied the article from the link below:
http://bangkokpost.net/News/25Sep2007_news17.php

"FOCUS / THAI CINEMA AND THE NEW FILM & VIDEO ACT

A hidden agenda that deems us morons

The folly and future of Thai cinema under military dictatorship


Earlier this month, I took part in a seminar at Government House to discuss the content of the new Film and Video Act, which has been drafted to replace the existing Film Act of 1930 that miraculously continues to be in place today.

Participants at the seminar included representatives from the Ministry of Culture, Committee of Proper Media, Federation of Film Producers Association of Thailand, Thai Film Directors' Association, cineplex operators and industry observers.

Since the proposed draft would soon be submitted to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), the seminar was intended as a last-shot attempt from those who perceive the elements of unfairness and impracticality of the new bill, to convince the government to make corrections.

I had perused the draft of the new Film Act after the censorship board, in April, requested me to cut "just four scenes" from my latest film Syndromes and a Century. That incident convinced me that the fate of Thai cinema would be irrevocably doomed if the power to censor remained with the police, and I was enthusiastic to read the draft of the new law, which was supposed to represent our new hope for freedom of artistic expression.

But my first impression on studying it was that the draft appeared to have been written in a great hurry and had many holes in it.

The Ministry of Culture often cited the fact that filmmakers and producers had walked out from preliminary meetings with state officials, and thus the lawmakers didn't receive necessary input and couldn't properly accommodate their demands in the draft. To me this seemed like crude finger-pointing which failed to consider why there had been a walkout in the first place, and whether the views of filmmakers had been given any due consideration.

There are a number of issues in the new Film Act that disturb me, and which I had brought to the attention of several round-table seminars in the past few months.

Chiefly is the clause that spells out: "Filmmakers must not make films that undermine social order or moral decency, or that might have an impact on the security and pride of the nation."

At first glance this may sound sensible, but what has always caused major conflicts between filmmakers and the authorities is the definition of "moral decency" and "pride of the nation". At the end, what is decent or indecent, or what will disrupt social order, will be decided by government-appointed "arbiters".

Because we are living in a nation that still refuses to believe that prostitution exists in this land _ there's no need to list all the vices that exist everywhere in the world, most of all in this country _ my view is that the new Film Act is not a step forward.

The underlying mentality of the law remains to exert control over our thoughts, the only difference being that this power to decide what is acceptable and what is not will be transferred from the police to a new agency to be set up under the Ministry of Culture.

I'd like to remind you that this is the ministry that never fails to come up with comical campaigns _ from encouraging citizens to dress in traditional Thai costume, to the promotion of Thai-sounding nicknames.

I understand that these campaigns might have had their origin in Unesco's urge to preserve the world's cultural heritage. But what the ministry has been doing is just the icing on the cake and a waste of our national budget, as if they still haven't quite fathomed what the word "culture" really means.

By using our tax money, they propagate empty morality and dispense "national pride" as an excuse, when in fact what they are doing is simply force-feeding what we may call "a facade culture" upon us.

At the seminar this month, participants also discussed Article 26 of the new bill, which stipulates Thailand's first-ever film rating system. As written, a movie will be classified into one of the four categories: fit for all age groups; viewers under 15 must be accompanied by a parent; not allowed for anyone under 18; and not allowed to be screened in the Kingdom at all.

In my view this last category _ which basically reads "banned!" _ is the crux of the problem.

The basis for a ban order concerns our three fundamental institutions: chart, sasana, phra mahakasat_ the nation, the religion, the monarchy.

At the seminar, representatives from the Federation of Film Producers and cineplex operators pledged that they would not permit anything "sensitive" that might harm the the three institutions, and by making that pledge, they accepted the right of the state to ban movies.

I, however, would like to take a different view and oppose the "ban" category. The measure may be effective in some countries, but it will fail here and will betray our claim of being a democratic country.

Thailand has been plagued with double standards and nepotism, and we do not want the government to stick their head in and complicate matters by using the hollow claims of "protection" and "good will".

Naturally, it is unacceptable to do anything that might tarnish the image of the King _ that is out of the question _ and there is already a law to punish people who behave thus. But the readiness of certain parties to swear to the powers-that-be that they won't touch "the nation" and "the religion" is a mark of our utter weakness; it is a testament to our fear and cowardice.

It shocked me that the Federation of Film Producers and theatre owners voluntarily dropped the subject. Instead of questioning the authority and the people who use it, instead of promoting constructive debate for the sake of development, we are so ready to let the state silence us.

Will we ever see a movie about Field Marshal P Pibulsongkram and his dictatorial rule? Perhaps Thai people do not care about "the nation" and "the religion", and we're so willing to look away from them the same way as we look away from the existence of prostitution.

What if I called my new film My Beautiful Life Under Thaksin and the Military Junta? Would they deem it a disruption of social order and ban it? Or should I simply copy one of those films that contain scenes of Buddhist monks running away from ghosts and falling into a toilet, because that's not actually bad publicity for Buddhism? Or maybe one of those movies with a lot of homosexuals shouting dirty expletives, because that's acceptable in our moral standards?

Things cannot be improved if we continue to have state-appointed "arbiters" to judge a movie. I am not a legal expert, but I believe it is possible for the government to allow the film industry to become self-regulated. An independent body can be set up to be run by professionals from the film community. Free from state influence, this agency would be responsible for monitoring and assigning rating, and it would bear direct responsibilities towards the audience, who in turn would monitor the performance of the agency. This way, the film industry will be liberated from the state's shackles and begin to have a dialogue with the public.

As the audience's tastes grow and social values change, this agency will develop accordingly _ I believe this is an index of our society's intellect.

Right now, a writer need not let the police approve what he/she will publish, likewise with painters or performing artists. But movies continue to be controlled by Big Brother (even though the high ticket price automatically limits the exposure). Filmmakers have ethics and moral codes, too, and we are always open to criticism and objection from the audience. In case a movie happens to violate a person's right or integrity, there is already a system of fair trial that will bring us to court. I believe that this is the way we exercise freedom in a democratic society.

An officer from the Office of Cultural Surveillance once quoted research that claimed Thai people as having an average education of Grade 6, and thus they are not ready to be exposed to certain materials. In my view, this claim is an insult to the intelligence of the people and an allusion that most Thais are morons. By deciding for them that they are not "ready", by playing their uncalled-for protectors, the agency is simply denying the chance of young people to grow up and develop their own judgement.

The insistence of this agency to keep the right to ban movies means they do not believe in the age-classification system. They also do not believe in allowing the people to learn from experience, because they are afraid youngsters will be addicted to pornography (which doesn't exist in this country, of course).

In short, the discussion on the rating system is not necessary if the agency still insists on the ban order. Judging from their attitude, I am not sure if this new Film Act is only a sham designed to transfer the power to control from the police to the Culture Cop.

I strongly believe that government intervention must be removed from the activities of filmmaking and screening in Siam. I am ready to be bullied by the "arbiters" picked by the people in the industry, but I refuse to be bullied and raped by the so-called "protectors" appointed by the government.

By the end of the seminar, a Cultural Ministry officer insisted that every party should support the new Film Act for now and corrections could be made later. This sounded like a cover-up, and I feel apprehensive at the state's unusual haste to rush this draft through the NLA, despite the fact that the election date has been set.

Filmmakers have always been invited to round-table seminars hosted by the government, but after a few times I began feeling like I was being used as a Referendum puppet: the invitation was a mere formality and my presence was used to justify the "democratic" process of writing a law.

The new Film Act will remain with us for a long time (the existing one has lasted 77 years and still counting), and although we've been fighting for it for many years, I know I'd rather wait another few decades for a complete, fair and sincere law, than to accept something that promises us nothing but a fake kind of freedom. Despite our protest, the final draft of the new Film Act is likely to be the Ministry of Culture's version. We, the filmmakers, the Federation of National Film Producers, and theatre owners will in this life never see the promised Film Centre or Film Funding. This government will never give freedom to the people. We are making a pact with the devil. If you're reading this, prove me wrong and I'll kiss your feet.

Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's films, "Sud Sanaeha" (Blissfully Yours) and "Sud Pralad"(Tropical Malady), have won awards at the Cannes International Film Festival. "

Monday, September 24, 2007

POLITICAL GHOST FILMS

This is a part of an e-mail I sent to someone:


--I have seen only two feature films by James Lee—THE BEAUTIFUL WASHING MACHINE (B+) and BEFORE WE FALL IN LOVE AGAIN (2006, A+). I’m not sure if he’s a great director or not, but I think he’s a very interesting director, because his films has some distinct styles of his own. In my opinion, BEFORE WE FALL IN LOVE AGAIN seems like an antithesis of romantic Korean films. BEFORE WE FALL IN LOVE AGAIN share many elements with normal romantic films—handsome actor, very good male character, love triangle, some humour—but turns out to convey the opposite feelings of normal romantic films. I think one reason why l love this film very much is because I normally hate romantic films. BEFORE WE FALL IN LOVE AGAIN presents love life as very un-romantic, boring, and fake. And that’s what I like about this film.

Another reason why I like BEFORE WE FALL IN LOVE AGAIN very much is its lack of romantic music soundtracks. After seeing this film, I found that I couldn’t bear the use of mood-buidling soundtracks in many films I saw later. BEFORE WE FALL IN LOVE AGAIN has made me understand the fake feelings created by that kind of soundtracks.

--I have seen DORM (2006, Songyos Sugmakanan, A+), but I haven’t seen THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE. I like DORM very much, because it turns out not to be a horror film. In fact, I like some Thai films which are about ghosts, but the films are not standard horrors.

Some films in this sub-category

1.DORM

2.THE BANGKOK BOURGEOIS PARTY (2007, Prap Boonpan, A+++++)

This film is about some bourgeois people who kill a Thai person who has different political opinions from them. The dead person became a ghost and keeps haunting those bourgeois people. This is not a horror film, but this film makes me feel the most scared in my life, because this film seems to anticipate some civil wars which might happen in Thailand in the near future. In my opinion, the ghost in this film functions as the good conscience of those Thai bourgeois people. Those Thai bourgeois people can live their happy lives only when they can get rid of the good conscience in them. They must forget the suffering of the poor and the oppressed in order to live happily.


3.KHON HEW HUA (2007, Ping Lumpraploeng, A)

This is a story of a man who was beheaded, but refuses to die until he can make his wife and son live happily. It's a comedy, but I think Ping Lumpraploeng makes comedies like no other persons. Many people hate his films, but I like them.


4.COLIC: DEK HEN PEE (2006, Patchanon Thammajira, A+)

This might be a standard horror film, but it dares to talk about an important political event in the past which most Thai films dare not talk about.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

MADMEN AND SUDSAKORN (SONTHAYA SUCHATA, A+++++)

THIS IS MY COMMENT IN SCREENOUT WEBBOARD
http://www.xq28.net/wow/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=192&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=275

ตอบคุณ FRANKENSTEIN

--ต้องขอบคุณคุณแฟรงเกนสไตน์มากเลยค่ะที่แจ้งข่าวเรื่องนิตยสาร FREEFORM ดิฉันไปซื้อมาแล้ว ลองอ่านผ่านๆดูก็ทำให้รู้สึกสงสัยเป็นอย่างมากว่า นักวิจารณ์ภาพยนตร์คนไหนนะที่เป็นคนไปบอกพี่เจ้ยว่าไม่ควรทำหนังอีกต่อไป

--ในเรื่อง “ลูกคุณหลวง” ดิฉันชอบการแสดงของวราพรรณ หงุ่ยตระกูลมากที่สุด ไม่แน่ใจว่าเป็นเพราะแกเล่นเก่ง หรือเป็นเพราะบทของแกเป็นบทของเจ้าแม่กันแน่ พอแกปรากฏตัวออกมา ดิฉันถึงได้รู้สึกว่ารัศมีของแกกลบคนอื่นๆจนหมด

--คุณ NINAMORI ได้นำงานเขียน “โลกหลากสีของมะณอย” ของคุณสุมณฑา สวนผลรัตน์มาลงไว้ใน BLOG ด้วยค่ะ อ่านได้ที่
http://ninamori.blogspot.com/2007/08/blog-post.html

--เมื่อสัปดาห์ที่แล้วได้ดูละครเวทีไป 3 เรื่อง ปรากฏว่าเรื่องที่ชอบที่สุดคือเรื่อง “คนบ้ากับสุดสาคร” ที่กำกับโดยคุณสนธยา สุชฎา เข้าใจว่าละครเรื่องนี้เคยมีการแสดงมาหลายปีหลายรอบแล้ว แต่ดิฉันเพิ่งได้ดูที่โรงละครมะขามป้อมเมื่อวันอาทิตย์ก่อน

ก่อนหน้านี้เคยดูละครเวทีเรื่อง “ตายไม่ว่า...แต่ขอหน้าเด้ง” ของคุณสนธยา สุชฎามาก่อน ซึ่งก็ชอบแค่ในระดับ A- เท่านั้น แต่ปรากฏว่าเรื่อง “คนบ้ากับสุดสาคร” นี้ โดนใจดิฉันสุดๆ ละครเรื่องนี้เป็นละครตลก แต่ดูจบแล้วดิฉันอยากร้องไห้

สิ่งที่ทำให้ทึ่งที่สุดและสะเทือนใจที่สุดในละครเรื่องนี้ก็คือ ละครเรื่องนี้สามารถนำเอาเรื่องราวของสุดสาคร ซึ่งเป็นเรื่องราวที่เรารู้จักกันดีมาตั้งแต่เรียนชั้นประถม มานำเสนอใหม่ได้โดยไม่ทำให้เรารู้สึกเบื่อเลยแม้แต่น้อย ละครเรื่องนี้เล่าเรื่องของขอทานกลุ่มหนึ่งที่พยายามจะเล่นละครเวทีเรื่อง “สุดสาคร” และในที่สุด พอมาถึงช่วงท้ายเรื่อง ดิฉันก็รู้สึกอยากร้องไห้เมื่อตัวละครตัวนึงในเรื่องหยิบบทประพันธ์ขึ้นมาอ่าน แล้วอ่านประโยคที่เราเคยได้ยินมาแล้วหนึ่งล้านครั้ง แต่เราไม่เคยรู้สึกสะเทือนใจกับมันมากเท่ากับการได้ยินมันเป็นครั้งที่หนึ่งล้านหนึ่งในละครเวทีเรื่องนี้

“แล้วสอนว่าอย่าไว้ใจมนุษย์ มันแสนสุดลึกล้ำเหลือกำหนด

ถึงเถาวัลย์พันเกี่ยวที่เลี้ยวลด ก็ไม่คดเหมือนหนึ่งในน้ำใจคน”

พอตัวละครใน “คนบ้ากับสุดสาคร” อ่านประโยคนี้ออกมา ดิฉันแทบลงไปตายอยู่หน้าเวทีตอนนั้นเลย เพราะมันแทงใจและกรีดเฉือนหัวใจอย่างรุนแรงมากๆ ทั้งๆที่เราเคยได้ยินประโยคนี้มาแล้วหนึ่งล้านครั้ง แต่เราไม่เคยรู้สึกอะไรกับมันมาก่อน

ดิฉันคิดว่าการที่ moment นั้นของ “คนบ้ากับสุดสาคร” มันสะเทือนใจดิฉันมากๆคงเป็นเพราะว่า

1.ใน moment นั้น “สุดสาคร” ได้ประจักษ์ถึงสัจธรรมเกี่ยวกับความชั่วช้าของมนุษย์

2.ใน moment นั้น ตัวละครใน “คนบ้ากับสุดสาคร” ได้ประจักษ์ถึงสัจธรรมเกี่ยวกับความชั่วช้าของมนุษย์ เขาเพิ่งตระหนักว่าเขาได้ตกเป็นเหยื่อของขอทานคนอื่นๆ

3. ใน moment นั้น คนดูอย่างดิฉันได้ประจักษ์ถึงสัจธรรมเกี่ยวกับความชั่วช้าของมนุษย์

ดิฉันคิดว่าตัวเองเคยดูหนังทำนองนี้มาเยอะแล้ว หนังทำนองที่พูดถึงกลุ่มนักแสดงละครเวที ที่เนื้อหาในละครเวทีกับชีวิตของนักแสดงละครเวทีมันเป็นกระจกส่องสะท้อนกันไปกันมา รู้สึกว่ายุโรปจะมีหนังแนวนี้ออกมาเยอะมาก แต่ดิฉันคิดว่า “คนบ้ากับสุดสาคร” เหนือชั้นกว่าหนังทำนองนี้หลายเรื่องที่ดิฉันได้ดูมา เพราะมันสามารถสร้าง MOMENT ที่สะเทือนใจตัวละครในบทประพันธ์, ตัวละครในละครเวที และผู้ชมได้พร้อมๆกัน

อีกประการหนึ่งที่ดิฉันชอบ “คนบ้ากับสุดสาคร” อย่างมากๆ ก็เป็นเพราะว่า ละครเวทีเรื่องนี้ทำให้เราหัวเราะงอหายไปกับมันได้ตลอดทั้งเรื่อง แต่พอดูจบแล้ว ดิฉันกลับคิดว่านี่เป็นละครเวทีที่มองโลกในแง่ร้ายมากที่สุดเรื่องนึงเท่าที่เคยดูมา มันเหมือนกับว่าเราไปดูหนังตลกที่แสดงโดยจิม แคร์รีย์ แต่พอดูจบแล้ว เรากลับได้ความรู้สึกเหมือนดูหนังแนว feel-bad มากๆเรื่องนึง

--ดิฉันลองไปค้นดูว่ามีใครแปลบทประพันธ์เรื่องพระอภัยมณีเป็นภาษาอังกฤษแล้วบ้าง ปรากฏว่ามี Prince Prem Burachat ทรงแปลประโยคอมตะดังกล่าวเป็นภาษาอังกฤษไว้แล้วด้วย

“PUT NOT YOUR TRUST IN ANY MORTAL, FOR THEIR WILES ARE IMMEASURABLE. EVEN THE MOST TORTUOUS CREEPERS ROUND THE HOARIEST TREE ARE NOT AS CROOKED AS A MAN’S HEART.”

Saturday, September 22, 2007

A FILM WHICH DARKENS MY HEART

This is a part of an e-mail I sent to someone:

According to my personal taste, current feature Thai films that I like a lot include

1.THE HOUSE (2007, Monthon Arayangkoon)
This looks like just a cliché horror film, but I think there are some interesting aspects in this film, such as the psychological complex of some characters, the question why some women are happy to see the torture of other women (or why some persons are happy to see the torture of other persons), the questions about family values, about the power of love or the futility of love, and about the use of medium, etc. This film might not be as scary as other horror films, but it really succeeds in leaving some shadows in my minds. I don’t know why I feel as if my heart was darker after seeing this film.


2.ASUJAAK (2007, Taweewat Wantha)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0969694/
This is a hilarious cult film.


3.ONE TRUE THING (2007, Vichart Somkaew)
This is a documentary about the director who was coming out of the closet. He told his close friends and his mother that he was gay, and recorded their reactions.


4.THE SPECTRUM (2006, Yanin Pongsuwan)
This is a documentary about students who had to practice very hard in a marching band for the competition.


5.FINAL SCORE (2007, Soraya Nakasuwan)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0975668/
This is a documentary about the lives of some high-school students before they took the entrance exam for university.


6.THE TRUTH BE TOLD (2007, Pimpaka Towira)
This is a documentary about a female activist.


7.KHON FAI BIN (2006, Chalerm Wongpim)
This is an entertaining action film.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963915/


Images from THE HOUSE (2007, Monthon Arayangkoon, A+++++)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1391/1423285075_e4966b29d8_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1102/1423285071_8f816cf034_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1262/1423285067_262675c420_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1433/1423285065_cf4e3de7a9_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1266/1423285061_5a55756b56_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1053/1423285057_60f0f836b0_o.jpg























Thursday, September 20, 2007

STRAUBS' STORIES FEEL FOREVER

This is my comment in bioscope webboard
http://www.bioscopemagazine.com/smf/index.php?topic=71.360

Reply to merveillesxx

I feel very glad that you like EUROPA 2005 – 27 OCTOBRE (2006, Jean-Marie Straub + Daniele Huillet, A+), so I would like to provide you some information.

1.Michael Sicinski wrote a review of this film here:
http://academichack.net/reviewsAugust2007.htm

I know about this review from Girish Shambu’s blog:
http://www.girishshambu.com/blog/2007/09/links.html


2.One thing that surprised me a lot in Sicinski’s review is this sentence—“ Europa 2005 looks at first like an actual repetition of a single two-shot sequence five times. In fact, the exact same camera movements are repeated at five different times of day. Close examination of the shadows and tint of the walls and trees reveals the subtle differences in light quality.”

I have to admit that I didn’t notice anything at all about this light changing. Reading a review like this really “opens my eyes”.


3.From Sicinski’s review, I also got to know that Straub likes Cezanne. In fact, Straub and Huillet once made a film called CEZANNE: CONVERSATION WITH JOAQUIM GASQUET (52 min, 1989). You can read more about this film here:
http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/06/39/straub_holderlin_cezanne.html


4.There’s a barking dog offscreen in EUROPA 2005 – 27 OCTOBRE. I have heard that there is also a barking dog offscreen in THE DEATH OF EMPEDOCLES (1987, Jean-Marie Straub + Daniele Huillet)


5.The film “THESE ENCOUNTERS OF THEIRS” (2006, Jean-Marie Straub + Daniele Huillet) can be watched online, but unfortunately, there is no English subtitle.

You can watch the film here:
http://fromtheclouds.blogspot.com/2007/08/quei-loro-incontri.html


6.I just learned from reading Doug Cummings’ website that you can read the book LANDSCAPE OF RESISTANCE: THE GERMAN FILMS OF DANIELE HUILLET AND JEAN-MARIE STRAUB, written by Barton Byg, for free online!!!!!!

Doug Cummings’ website
http://filmjourney.weblogger.com/discuss/msgReader$3671

LANDSCAPE OF RESISTANCE
http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft4m3nb2jk/

or you can buy this great book from amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Landscapes-Resistance-Danièle-Huillet-Jean-Marie/dp/0520089103/ref=sr_1_1/103-4544025-7933420?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190300012&sr=1-1

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/413S5T5PNDL._SS500_.jpg



7.There is a lot of interesting information about the Straubs in Barton Byg’s book, so I would like to quote some information here.:

Excerpts from the book LANDSCAPE OF RESISTANCE, written by Barton Byg:


7.1 Byg wrote about what he thought of NOT RECONCILED OR ONLY VIOLENCE HELPS WHERE VIOLENCE RULES (1965, Jean-Marie Straub). I think some of his thoughts are similar to what I think about EUROPA 2005 – 27 OCTOBRE.

“Not Reconciled was the first Straub/Huillet film I ever saw, and I remember the shock vividly to this day. The breathtaking frustration the film provoked can only compare to my first reaction to Kafka's German: How can anything so simple be so incomprehensible, so threatening? How can anything so short seem so long? And, like Kafka, the film kept drawing me back with its ability to crystallize the burden of the past and the impulse to resist in just a few seconds of film time.”

“In films that are simple in their visual construction, restrained in their camera movement, and precise in their editing, there are always brief points at which the reality of the world outside the film explodes with a violent, utopian force. In Not Reconciled , for instance, a tragic love affair is summed up in a single two-second shot of a young woman turning her head as she says, "They're going to kill you." An old woman shoots a Nazi sympathizer at the end of the same film, and another avenging woman shoots a gangster at the end of The Bridegroom, the Comedienne, and the Pimp , yet in each case the camera looks away. The "action" is always elsewhere, spilling out of the film.”

“When one begins to think about a Straub/Huillet film, one inevitably confronts subjects outside the film itself—questions of reality and history, of the "look of the world" that has become so vulnerable.”


7.2 I like this quote of Daniele Huillet

“Furthermore, Huillet does not see her work as part of a countercinema that simply destroys the pleasures of the conventional narrative by reversing the system: "I don't believe that one can replace one oppression with another, and I also don't believe that one can fight one system with another, because then a thing becomes simply too rigid."



7.3 Their favorite films

“In 1982 at the most recent U.S. retrospective of their films at the Public Theater in New York, they requested screenings of Glauber Rocha's Antonio das mortes (1969), Carl Dreyer's Day of Wrath (1943), Charlie Chaplin's A King in New York (1957), D. W. Griffith's A Corner in Wheat (1909), Luis Buñuel's Land Without Bread (1982), John Ford's Civil War (from How the West Was Won , 1962), Sergei Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky (1938), Erich von Stroheim's Blind Husbands (1918), Jean Renoir's This Land Is Mine (1943), Kenji Mizoguchi's The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939), and Luc Moulet's formal Western satire A Girl Is a Gun (1970). Straub/Huillet refer to cinematic forerunners in regard to the two areas in which they are the most original, in the treatment of space and the treatment of sound. They have consistently stressed that each of their films begins with a place, a location, and is built from there.”


7.4 Their style

“Straub/Huillet attempt to simplify each shot to the point that it conveys one idea clearly; it becomes an empty frame, devoid of all expression. Only an "empty" frame can capture the invisible textures of the surface of the world that were the essence of cinema for Kracauer and a poetic salvation for Holderlin. Straub refers often to Griffith's statement of 1947: "What the modern movie lacks is beauty—the beauty of moving wind in the trees, the little movement in a beautiful blowing on the blossoms in the trees. That they have forgotten entirely”


7.5 Straub talked about his conflicts with Alexander Kluge

“Kluge always goes on about the film which is created in the minds of the spectators; I don't believe it. Then I react like Rivette and state that film—let's not quibble over the words—is only based on fascination, and that it only touches people, and touches them deeply, when it is based on fascination, i.e., the opposite of distance or participation or some such thing, that the traditional attitudes of people . . . one never invents very much, Renoir said, not like Kluge, with whom I quarreled in Mannheim. He climbed onto the stage and said, well, what we are doing is new. We make films which are going to be created in the minds of the spectators. That is completely new and nobody has done it before. My films are like—and then he saw me down in the audience—my films are like those of Straub, for instance—then I was furious and stood up and said, the things I do are not new at all, they are traditional.”


7.6 Rainer Werner Fassbinder talked about Straub

“What was more significant for me was that Straub directed a play, Krankheit der Jugend (Ferdinand Bruckner) with the Action-Theater, and even though his version was only ten minutes long, we rehearsed it for all of four months, over and over again, for only two hours a day, I admit, it was still really crazy. This experience I had with Straub, who approached his work and the other people with such an air of comic solemnity, fascinated me. He would let us play a scene and then would say to us, "How did they feel at this point?" This was really quite right in this case, because we ourselves had to develop an attitude about what we were doing, so that when we were acting, we developed the technique of looking at ourselves, and the result was that there was a distance between the role and the actor, instead of total identity. The films he's made that I think are very beautiful are the early ones, Machorka-Muff and Not Reconciled , up to and including Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach , though Othon and other films since then have proved to me that what is most important to him is not what interests me in his work.”


7.7 Their ideas about films

“STRAUB: . . . I think the deception comes about when one gives people the impression that something is happening in the moment the film is running, something they call "action." It isn't true; when a film is running which doesn't rest on deception, nothing is happening, absolutely nothing. That can only happen in the spectator, whatever happens. And that can only come about through the combination of the images and sounds . . .

HUILLET: That is, of forms . . .

STRAUB: . . . of forms that go through the ears and the eyes and through the minds of the spectator and into his [sic ] reflections”


7.8 Serge Daney on the Straubs

“With their well-oiled war machine, their sacred egoism, their fine vitality, too, and the clear ideas they have concerning their work, the Straubs are probably the last to create a cinema for loners that can nevertheless be brought into regular theaters. They are squarely in cinema and I would have given up on them long ago with their garbled political ideas, had I not understood that they were the last great film-makers of the history of modern cinema, perhaps of the history of cinema, period. I harbor no illusions about the receptability of their work; they set out to teach people something and people will always hate them for that”


I hope all of you enjoy reading this great book by Barton Byg. Having this great book available for free online makes me believe in the saying “THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE”.



8.I have heard that Yervant Gianikian + Angela Ricci Lucchi, the directors of OH, UOMO (2004), BALKAN INVENTORY (2000), and FROM THE POLE TO THE EQUATOR (1987), sometimes are called “the nice Straubs”. What does this mean about the real Straubs?

In the book WEST GERMAN FILMMAKERS ON FILM: VISIONS AND VOICES (1988, published by Holmes & Meier), there are two interesting letters concerning Straub. So I would like to quote them here:

“Dr. R. F. Goldschmidt, Delegate of the Board of the Export-Union of the German Film Industry, had written Richard Roud, Director of the New York Film Festival, on 9 July 1975, in English:

Thank you for your letter of June 30, 1975, regarding the German participation at the New York Film Festival.

We are sorry to tell you that we are in no position to help you with airfares for Daniele Huillet and J. M. Straub to come to your festival as both are French nationals and therefore the German authorities will not give any funds for such a trip.

The airfare for Werner Herzog will be paid so that there is no problem that he will be present at your festival.”


Then Straub wrote a letter. I love his letter very much

“July 28, 1975

You Fascists, you Ignoramuses, you Hypocrites,

Richard Roud sent me a copy of your letter from July 9, 1975 (DR. G/E1). I wouldn’t think of accepting a penny from you pimps (Roud had written you without my permission), but I want you to know that I am registered as a German film director in the West German Office of Employment, and will—with your letter in hand—make every possible publicity against you.

With hate,

Jean-Marie Straub”


You can buy this book from amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/West-German-Filmmakers-Film-Visions/dp/0841909857/ref=sr_1_1/102-0216469-4276906?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190301720&sr=1-1

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GYM6E5e7L._SS500_.jpg


Paintings by Cezanne
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1407/1413436458_02e7185517_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1242/1413436468_7ed7a8b9ba_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1018/1413436464_521e7e172a_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1368/1413436442_7d8671ecc3_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1214/1413436438_7e785b0e62_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1149/1413436448_44b6bbc204_o.jpg
































A SHADOW ON THE SUN (1988, TONY RICHARDSON, A+)

This is my comment in bioscope webboard
http://www.bioscopemagazine.com/smf/index.php?topic=71.360

ตอบคุณ grappa

เคยดูหนัง OUT OF AFRICA (1985, Sydney Pollak) แล้วชอบมาก แต่สิ่งที่ชอบมากที่สุดในหนังเรื่องนี้คือดนตรีประกอบของ John Barry ส่วน “รูปเงาบนพรมหญ้า” นั้นเคยอ่านฉบับแปลภาษาไทยเมื่อราว 10 กว่าปีก่อน ตอนนี้จำอะไรไม่ค่อยได้แล้ว

ไม่รู้ว่าคุณ GRAPPA เคยดูมินิซีรีส์ทางช่อง 3 เรื่อง A SHADOW ON THE SUN (1988, Tony Richardson, A+) เมื่อราว 10 กว่าปีก่อนหรือเปล่า มินิซีรีส์เรื่องนี้สร้างจากเรื่องจริงของ Beryl Markham (รับบทโดย Stefanie Powers) ซึ่งเป็นนักขับเครื่องบินหญิง แต่สิ่งที่สำคัญก็คือว่า Beryl Markham คนนี้เคยชิงรักหักสวาทกับไอแซค ไดนีเสนมาแล้ว เพราะผู้หญิงทั้งสองคนนี้ต่างก็เป็นคนรักของ Denys Finch Hatton ทั้งคู่ โดยใน OUT OF AFRICA นั้น ผู้ที่รับบทเป็น Denys คือ Robert Redford ส่วนใน A SHADOW ON THE SUN นั้น Trevor Eve คือคนที่รับบทนี้

ชีวิตของ Beryl Markham มีบางจุดที่ค่อนข้างเศร้า เธอเป็นผู้หญิงที่แกร่งมากๆคนนึง ดูมินิซีรีส์เรื่องนี้แล้วรู้สึกสะเทือนใจกับชีวิตของเธอมากกว่าชีวิตของไอแซค ไดนีเสนอีก แต่นั่นไม่ได้หมายความว่ามินิซีรีส์เรื่องนี้ดีกว่าหนังเรื่อง OUT OF AFRICA นะ เพียงแต่รู้สึกสะเทือนใจกับชีวิตนางเอกของมินิซีรีส์เรื่องนี้มากกว่า

A SHADOW ON THE SUN
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0096081/


ตอบน้อง NANOGUY

ในความเห็นส่วนตัวของพี่ พี่คิดว่า “แชมเปญ เอ็กซ์” เธอดูสง่า อารัมภีร์มากที่สุดตอนที่เล่นละครทีวีเรื่อง “ปีกทอง” ทางช่อง 7 ที่หม่อมน้อยกำกับ แล้วมีวรวุฒิ นิยมทรัพย์เล่นเป็นพระเอก เสียดายที่พี่ได้ดูละครเรื่องนี้แค่ไม่กี่ตอน ไม่รู้ว่ามีการผลิตละครทีวีเรื่องนี้ออกมาเป็นวีซีดีชุดให้ซื้อเก็บไว้ได้หรือเปล่า เพราะอยากได้เก็บไว้มากๆ

ละครทีวีที่อยากให้มีการผลิตออกมาเป็นวีซีดีหรือดีวีดีชุดมากที่สุดก็รวมถึง

1.ไฟพ่าย (1976) กำกับโดยภัทราวดี ศรีไตรรัตน์

2.สงครามประสาท (1978)กำกับโดยภัทราวดี ศรีไตรรัตน์ นำแสดงโดยนฤมล นิลวรรณ

3.มายาสีเงิน (1981) กำกับโดยมล.พันธุ์เทวนพ เทวกุล

4.ปีกทอง (เวอร์ชันปี 1982) กำกับโดยวีระประวัติ วงศ์พัวพันธ์ นำแสดงโดยลินดา ค้าธัญเจริญ, เดือนเต็ม สาลิตุล และดวงตา ตุงคะมณี



ตอบคุณ yuttipung

ยังไม่เคยอ่านงานเขียนของมิลาน คุนเดอร่าเลยค่ะ แต่เคยดูหนัง THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING (A) ซึ่งดิฉันเพิ่งประจักษ์ว่าดิฉันได้รับคุณูปการอย่างนึงจากหนังเรื่องนี้ นั่นก็คือการดูหนังเรื่องนี้ช่วยให้เข้าใจมากยิ่งขึ้นว่าเพราะเหตุใดตัวละครชาวเชคกับตัวละครชาวรัสเซียใน THE INVASION (2007, A-) ถึงไม่ค่อยถูกกันเท่าใดนัก ดิฉันเดาว่าสาเหตุนึงอาจจะเป็นเพราะเหตุการณ์ที่โซเวียตเคยบุกเชค ซึ่งเหตุการณ์นี้ได้รับการนำเสนอไว้ใน THE UNBERABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING

อ่านเพิ่มเติมเกี่ยวกับเหตุการณ์ PRAGUE SPRING ได้ที่
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Spring


ตอบคุณ FILMSICK

สิ่งนึงที่ชอบมากใน “บ้านผีสิง” ก็คือการได้รู้เรื่อง “กบฏมักกะสัน” ซึ่งดิฉันคิดว่าดิฉันไม่เคยได้ยินเหตุการณ์นี้มาก่อนในชีวิต จนกระทั่งได้มาดูหนังเรื่อง “บ้านผีสิง” นี่แหละ ถ้าดิฉันจำไม่ผิด เหตุการณ์นี้ไม่ได้ถูกบันทึกไว้ในตำราเรียนวิชาสังคมศึกษาเลยทั้งสมัยประถมและมัธยม

ไม่แน่ใจเหมือนกันว่ามีภาพยนตร์ไทยเรื่องใดเคยพูดถึงเหตุการณ์กบฏมักกะสันมาก่อนหรือเปล่า หรือว่า “บ้านผีสิง” เป็นภาพยนตร์ไทยเรื่องแรกที่พูดถึงเหตุการณ์ในประวัติศาสตร์เหตุการณ์นี้


ตอบน้อง VESPERTINE

สิ่งนึงที่ชอบมากใน 2 DAYS IN PARIS ก็คือหนังเรื่องนี้สามารถทำให้พระเอกที่ดูไม่หล่อเลย กลายเป็นคนน่ารักขึ้นมาได้ ดิฉันคิดว่าผู้กำกับต้องเก่งพอสมควรถึงสามารถทำให้พระเอกหนังเรื่องนี้ดูมีเสน่ห์น่ากอดน่าหยิกได้มากขนาดนี้

หนังอีกเรื่องนึงที่ดิฉันคิดว่าพระเอกไม่หล่อเลย แต่หนังสามารถทำให้พระเอกดูน่ารักขึ้นมาได้ ก็คือหนังเกาหลีเรื่อง MIRACLE ON FIRST STREET

THE HOUSE (2007, MONTHON ARAYANGKOON, A+++++)

This is my comment in Bioscope webboard:
http://www.bioscopemagazine.com/smf/index.php?topic=71.330

ตอบคุณ grappa

คุณ LAUGHABLE LOVES ชอบมิลาน คุนเดอร่าค่ะ คุนเดอร่าเป็นนักเขียนอันดับหนึ่งในดวงใจของเขา แต่ว่าหนังสือรวมเรื่องสั้น LAUGHABLE LOVES กลับเป็นหนังสือของคุนเดอร่าที่เขาชอบน้อยที่สุด ดิฉันก็ไม่แน่ใจเหมือนกันว่าทำไมเขาถึงเลือกชื่อหนังสือเล่มนี้มาเป็นนามแฝงของตัวเอง

อ่านความรู้สึกของคุณ LAUGHABLE LOVES ที่มีต่อหนังสือ LAUGHABLE LOVES ได้ที่ลิงค์นี้ค่ะ

http://laughable-loves.blogspot.com/2007/07/10-4.html

----------------------------------------------------------

--ความเห็นส่วนตัวที่มีต่อ “บ้านผีสิง” (ก็อปปี้มาจากบล็อกของตัวเองที่เขียนตอบคุณแบล็คฟอเรสท์)

ดิฉันกลัวฉากบนสะพานมากๆค่ะ ดิฉันคิดว่าการจัดแสง+เงาในฉากนั้นมันสุดยอดมากๆ คือฉากประเภทนี้จริงๆแล้วถ้าฝีมือคนถ่ายภาพมันทำไม่ถึง ฉากมันจะไม่มีอะไรน่าสนใจเลย แต่พอคนถ่ายภาพ+ผู้กำกับรู้จักจัดแสงเงาและมุมกล้องในฉากนั้นให้ออกมาได้ลงตัว ฉากมันก็เลยดูคลาสสิคมากๆสำหรับดิฉัน

ส่วนเรื่อง “ผีคนเป็น” ของคุณมณฑล อารยางกูรนั้นก็มีฉากคลาสสิคสำหรับดิฉันเหมือนกัน นั่นก็คือฉากรำที่มีผีอาภาศิริ นิติพนมารำคู่กับนางเอก ดนตรีประกอบ+จังหวะของฉากนั้นมันหลอนมากๆ

ดิฉันคิดว่าคุณมณฑล อารยางกูรมีความสามารถด้านการเลือกดนตรีประกอบด้วย เพราะดนตรีประกอบของทั้ง “ผีคนเป็น” และ “บ้านผีสิง” นี่ไม่ธรรมดาทั้งสองเรื่อง

ส่วนด้านฝีมือในการกำกับการแสดงนั้น คุณมณฑลก็เก่งมากๆเหมือนกัน เห็นได้ชัดจากคุณฌัชชา รุจินานนท์ ซึ่งดูสง่ามากๆใน “บ้านผีสิง” แต่ดูไพร่มากๆใน “เพื่อน กูรักมึงว่ะ”

SYLVIE GUILLEM

My friend, Nina, recommended me to watch the following YouTube clips which are mostly about ballet or opera.

One of the best thing about clips like these is that they can let poor people like me watch all the ballet dancers closely. Because if I go to watch ballet performances in Bangkok, I will find that the ticket price for the best seats is too high for me. It costs about 100 US dollars. I can’t afford it. I can afford only some faraway seats which make the ballet dancers look like ants running around on the stage.

It gives much stronger feelings when you can watch them closer. Somehow watching these clips may make me appreciate ballets more than watching them live on the faraway stage.


1.La valse a mille temps – Jacques Brel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsFZ4oNLzq4

2.Alessandra Ferri + Sting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQw7lSKYvDQ

3.Anna Netrebko
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PabinF__lhI

4.Anna Netrebko & Rolando Villazon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLKEdmVu3FY

5.Sylvie Guillem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcT3dDR8QfY

6.Sylvie Guillem dances solo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cexPachsNF8

7.Sylvie Guillem dances Bejart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8d8tZp7fb0

8.Maurice Bejart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh_9leIFl7Y

9.Gisell – Diana Vishneva
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i123oQNMT1U

10.Gisell pdd 3 – Diana Vishneva
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVc-Uy7oVQw

11.Gisell pdd 4 – Diana Vishneva
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbwi3BFkoAM

12.Diana Vishneva + Igor Kolb
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-awXKWc9tZg

13.Revelations – Alvin Ailey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWJzSP7irwM

14.In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHCUpEEqPSU

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Some clips I would like to watch when I have free time

1.Trio A – Yvonne Rainer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LESSB2RlZUU

2.Katherina Sieverding
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRR8aVHD0gs

3.Vanessa Beecroft
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vom9-Nxa4vA

This is a photo of Sylvie Guillem
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1138/1412885258_1c867017b0_o.jpg


Monday, September 17, 2007

PIPOP BUNTOON (2001, UTIS HEMAMUL, A+)

--I just learned from Wise Kwai’s blog about Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s article in The Guardian.

Wise Kwai’s blog
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/journal_view.php?journalid=100000335&entryid=448569&view=public

Apichatpong’s article on film censorship in Thailand
http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,2168589,00.html


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--I just learned from Laughable Loves’ blog that Kittiphol Sarakkhanon, who used to be one of my most favorite Thai film critics, has released a new book of his short stories called TEE EUN (OTHER PLACES). The book is 95 baht and can be purchased from CU Bookstore.

The book is published by Shine Publishing House. Its e-mail is shinepubhouse@yahoo.com .

Laughable Loves’ review of Kittiphol’s book
http://laughable-loves.blogspot.com/2007/09/blog-post_13.html

Some trivia about Kittiphol Sarakkhanon

1.I always feel grateful for him, because when I went to see a German film called LUDWIG – REQUIEM FOR A VIRGIN KING (1972, Hans-Juergen Syberberg, A+), I didn’t understand many things in the film. But Kittiphol helped clarifying many things in this film for me. He has some knowledge about German history and some German famous people in the past. This knowledge is always useful when you see a film by Hans-Juergen Syberberg. I agree with him that in a way Syberberg’s films are more difficult than Jean-Luc Godard’s.

2.Kittiphol used to work in the production team of a film called PIPOP BUNTOON พิภพบรรฑูรย์ (2001, Utis Hemamul, 25 min, A+). Utis is also a film critic and a fiction writer.

3.Kittiphol wrote a great review of THE BIRTH OF LOVE (Philippe Garrel, A+) a few years ago to publish in a now-defunct website. I love this review very very very much.

4.Kittiphol wrote at least three great film articles in THAI FILM QUATERLY magazine.

4.1 In THAI FILM QUATERLY Volume 9, Jan-Mar 2001, he wrote an article about the comparison between BLOW UP (Michelangelo Antonioni), BLOW OUT (Brian de Palma), THE CONVERSATION (Francis Ford Coppola), and THE TERRORIZER (Edward Yang).

4.2 In THAI FILM QUATERLY Volume 10, he wrote an article about film and reality. The article talks about many things, including Jean Vigo, Henri Bergson, Dziga Vertov, Jean Rouch, and Paul Virilio.

4.3 In THAI FILM QUATERLY, Volume 11, he wrote an article about the films THE CRUELTY AND THE SOY-SAUCE MAN (Paisit Panprugschart), MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON (Apichatpong Weerasethakul), and EVERYTHING WILL FLOW (2000, Punlop Horharin).

HARRYTUTTLE REVIEWS "AFTERNOON TIMES"!!!!!

Harrytuttle wrote a review of AFTERNOON TIMES (2005, Tossapol Boonsinsukh) in his blog. You can read his review in the link below:
http://screenville.blogspot.com/2007/09/afternoon-times-2005boonsinsukh.html

This is my comment in Harrytuttle’s blog:

--I think your review on AFTERNOON TIMES is the first English one in the world. Moreover, you have noticed many things I didn’t notice or think about. I didn’t notice that the opening scene can tell so much about what the rest of the film will be like. You are very observant.

--Tossapol also made a short film about a restaurant. It’s called SHE IS READING NEWSPEAPER (2005). The film has three characters. The first one is a girl who is reading a newspaper in a restaurant. She seems to be happy reading by herself. A boy is sitting at the same restaurant, looking at the girl reading a newspaper. He also seems to be very happy just by observing this girl. The third character is a waitress. She seems to be very happy observing the girl and the boy. Then she thinks about a clear blue sky.

I also love SHE IS READING NEWSPAPER very much. One of the reasons is that each of these three characters is “alone”, or seems to make no direct contact with other persons, but each of them is “happy” in his/her own way, and that sets this movie apart from many Asian films which are full of many lonely miserable characters.

--I also like face of the heroine of AFTERNOON TIMES when she is cleaning the window very much. That face seems to be very sad, and it broke my heart when I saw it.

--I think there are many films which are about people just graduating from university, but AFTERNOON TIMES is still very different from many of them. Many films in this sub-group are about problems in adapting to the workplace, problems with selfish bosses, and problems in applying for work. But none of the films I saw can deal with loneliness as intensely as AFTERNOON TIMES.

--As for the ice-breaking scene in which she asks him to take a photo, I admit that I didn’t remember this scene or didn’t think much about this scene when I saw it. But after reading what you wrote, I just realized that I sometimes did something like this myself. Hahaha. When my friends and I are on the beach and meet some interesting strangers, we sometimes ask them to take a photo of us. It’s great that you noticed this scene which I had overlooked.

--I also like the tourist-imitating scene very much. It’s funny, but in a way, it can be very sad. As for me, it reminds me of someone who is so lonely that she has to create an imaginary friend to talk to or to play with. The character here finds a way to amuse herself in her free time, but after that she will find too much free time, and might begin to realize that her ideal customer will never come. Her ideal customer will only exist in her imagination.


-I particularly like this sentence of yours very much

“We realize that life is like a movie production, good times are like afternoon times, they last only a while and then we have to move on and get over them. Memories fit in a box.”

I haven’t thought of this before, but I truly agree with you. I think this kind of theme might be found in many Thai short films in late 1990’s, when many Thai film students were crazy for Wong Kar-wai. But most of the films deal with loneliness, brief happiness, or cherished moments which end too soon, don’t affect me as strongly as AFTERNOON TIMES. I think most of the Thai films which deal with more or less the same issue try to “tell” this theme too straightforwardly, but AFTERNOON TIMES doesn’t “tell” this theme. It “shows” this theme. It lets the sad and lonely feelings gradually creep in. As for my personal feelings, every time Bo pulls out a piece of paper from the wall makes me feel very hurt. It makes me feel as if I saw her cutting herself by a knife—pulling out one piece of paper here is like cutting your skin one time. Some moviemakers might choose to convey this kind of sadness by having the heroine cry incessantly or do something more expressively. Fortunately, Tossapol didn’t choose that way.

--Your comment on the last scene of AFTERNOON TIMES somehow reminds me of a photo I like very much. This photo is called THEY RETURN TOYOU IN SONG (2002) by Darren Sylvester. This photo depicts a moment of remembering a broken relationship, triggered by a pop song on the car radio.


--In conclusion, I think you described AFTERNOON TIMES very very well and make me realize that there are many things in this film which can be found in my everyday life, or very close to my everyday life, or similar to my past experience. I can’t write or talk about this film as good as you do even though I write in Thai. This film is one of the most difficult films to write about, because it has very little story, very little action, no symbols to decipher. It’s just full of feelings. And atmospheric films which deal with feelings like this are very hard to be described by words. But I think you truly succeed in writing about this film and can convey the very essence of this film.

As for me, many months ago one of my friends who hadn’t seen this film asked me to describe this film. So I tried to tell her the plot of this film, but the more I tried to tell, the more I felt I couldn’t convey how great this film is. So I told my friend that it was beyond my ability to describe the beauty of this film. Now I know someone who can do it.

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These are some photos by Darren Sylvester
http://www.johnstongallery.com.au/exhibition13.html

THEY RETURN TO YOU IN SONG (2002)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1207/1396737633_3e2710d7c0_o.jpg

JUST DEATH IS TRUE (2006)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1095/1396737615_c16cbd6665_o.jpg

NO FUN NO MORE (2006)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1215/1396737629_60be84eafc_o.jpg

DON’T CALL IT LOVE IF THEY DON’T LOVE YOU (2006)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1018/1396737611_986c94133a_o.jpg

I WANT TO CARVE A FUTURE, DEVOUR SOMETHING, BECOME SOMETHING (2006)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1167/1396737605_2758811659_o.jpg












Sunday, September 16, 2007

"UNDERSTANDING A FILM COMPLETELY IS CONCEPTUAL IMPERIALISM"

This is my comment in FILMSICK’S BLOG:
http://filmsick.exteen.com/20070913/the-big-mess-alexander-kluge-1971-learning-process-with-dead?page=1


I just found an interesting article written by Alexander Kluge. This article is called THE SPECTATOR AS ENTREPRENEUR, which he wrote in 1979 and is included in the book WEST GERMAN FILMMAKERS ON FILM: VISIONS AND VOICES, published by Holmes & Meier in 1988.

I think I really agree with his article. So I quote what Kluge wrote here:

“The film and television corporations live off the money and the cooperation of the imaginative faculties (unpaid labor) which they extract from the spectator. They designate anyone a mature citizen who is willing to pay. Kant says: “Enlightenment is man’s release (Ausgang) from his self-incurred tutelage.” Leni Pickert says:

“People are mature
when they have their day off…”

In order to cheat the spectators on an entrepreneurial scale, the entrepreneurs have to designate the spectators themselves as entrepreneurs. The spectator must sit in the movie house or in front of the TV set like a commodity owner: like a miser grasping every detail and collecting surplus on everything which has any value. Value per se. So uneasy this spectator-consumer, alienated from his own life so completely like the manager of a supermarket or a department store who—even at the price of death (heart attack)—will not stop accumulating the last scraps of marketable goods in the storeroom so that they may find their buyers. How disturbed he is when people pass by his store; how nervous he gets about objects in the storeroom which do not sell immediately.

In a similar entrepreneurial fashion the spectator-having reached the desired consumer maturity—scans films for their spectacle and exhibition values, for complete intelligibility, just as one is taught to gnaw a bone thoroughly, as the saying goes, so that the sun will shine. The sun, however, “taking its thunderous course”, according to its own habits and unconcerned with human communication, does not care the least whether or not we clean our plates.

Understanding a film completely is conceptual imperialism which colonizes its objects. If I have understood everything then something has been emptied out.

We must make films that thoroughly oppose such imperialism of consciousness. I encounter something in film which still surprises me and which I can perceive without devouring it. I cannot understand a puddle on which the rain is falling—I can only see it; to say that I understand the puddle is meaningless. Relaxation means that I myself become alive for a moment, allowing my senses to run wild: for once not to be on guard with the policelike intention of letting nothing escape me.”

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This is my personal thoughts:

--One thing I like very much about Alexander Kluge’s films is its structure, which seems to have many components which are unrelated to one another. This kind of structure can also be found in some Thai short films, such as:

1.LIFE IS SHORT 2 (2006, Tossapol Boonsinsukh, A+)

2.DON’T PUT AN EGG IN MICROWAVE OR IT WILL EXPLODE (2005, Tossapol Boonsinsukh, A+)

3.DREAM WATCH FOR ANYONE WHO IS BELIEVED TO VIOLATE GOOD MORALITY (2007, Manutsak Dokmai, A+)

4.OUR WAVES (2006, Tulapop Saenjaroen, A+)

5.”___” (2007, Tulapop Saenjaroen, A+)

JOSE LUIS GUERIN IN "FILM COMMENT"

This is my comment in Girish Shambu’s blog:
http://www.girishshambu.com/blog/2007/09/links.html

I want to see Jose Luis Guerin’s films very much, especially after Acquarello wrote about EN CONSTRUCCION (2001) and compared it to Chantal Akerman’s films.

Manuel Yanez Murillo wrote about Jose Luis Guerin in Film Comment, Jan/Feb 2006, in an article about Catalonian cinema. He wrote:

“Guerin had toured the ghostliest corners of cinematic archaeology with SHADOW TRAIN (TREN DE SOMBRAS, 1997) and paid tribute to his masters: John Ford was honored in the documentary INNISFREE (1990), about the repercussions of shooting THE QUIET MAN in the eponymous town; the legacies of Bresson, Dreyer, and Victor Erice were evident in BERTA’S MOTIVES (LOS MOTIVOS DE BERTA, 1985).”

The article in Film Comment seems to imply that Mercedes Alvarez, who directed THE SKY TURNS (2004), was a student of Jose Luis Guerin and Joaquim Jorda at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.

I think now is the time that someone should hold a mini-retrospective of Jose Luis Guerin.

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THIS IS MY COMMENT IN SCREENOUT WEBBOARD
http://www.xq28.net/wow/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=192&p=41169#p41169

ตอบน้อง MATT

ดู LANDSCAPE 101 01 1101 01 แล้ว ทำให้คิดเล่นๆว่าหนังเรื่องนี้อาจนำไปฉายควบกับ BEGOTTEN (1991, E. Elias Merhige, A+) ได้ เพราะบางช่วงของ LANDSCAPE 101 01 1101 01 มันให้ภาพของธรรมชาติบนโลกมนุษย์ที่มันดูดึกดำบรรพ์มากๆ ซึ่งสิ่งนี้คล้ายๆกับอารมณ์บางช่วงของ BEGOTTEN เหมือนกัน

--ชอบบทวิเคราะห์ภาพยนตร์เรื่อง “บ้านผีสิง” ที่คุณมโนธรรม เทียมเทียบรัตน์เขียนลงใน FLICKS ฉบับล่าสุดมากๆ

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IMAGES FROM “IN THE CITY OF SYLVIA” (2007, Jose Luis Guerin)
http://outnow.ch/Media/Img/2007/EnLaCiudadDeSylvia/
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1368/1387022005_81c85139af_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1147/1387022003_230128d064_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1059/1387021999_289cfafe50_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1082/1387021995_85f6080563_b.jpg


Images from THE SKY TURNS (2004, Mercedes Alvarez)
http://www.allocine.fr/personne/galerievignette_gen_cPersonne=128515.html

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1048/1387929882_ee4f5bb34e_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1379/1387929892_a79e0c1b0b_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1163/1387929894_73b6b9c71e_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1237/1387929926_c08f0ffa56_o.jpg


THE QUIET MAN (1952, John Ford)
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QA4AVRNSL._SS500_.jpg