“Film is not analysis, it is the agitation of mind; cinema comes from the country fair and the circus, not from art and academicism.“ ̶ Werner Herzog Herzog's understanding of the origins of cinema in the country fair and circus, not the academia, cannot be stressed enough. When he was making his Aguirre, the Wrath … Continue reading In Werner Herzog’s Words: The Origins of Cinema
… and if Adrian had wished, his whole manner of life might have changed from one day to the next on the costly scale of that gem, adorned with which only the four walls of the Abbot chamber ever saw him. He knew it as well as I did. I need not say that he … Continue reading Introduction to An Unwritten Novel
The film title refers to the Philippines' northern province Ilocos Norte, where Diaz's film takes place. In this way, the narrative has a specific locus, it is, at least provisionally, a hint that it is bound to the territory and the nation of the Philippines. In many ways it is, but in many more, it … Continue reading Norte, the End of History (2013): Lav Diaz’s Take on ‘Crime and Punishment’
"And you will shed tears of scarlet." Quote from Cowboy Bebop: “The Real Folk Blues (Part I)" More than half a year has passed since the earthquake and the great damage it has done to my home, and I have changed two abodes. One was in the western part of the city, near the river, … Continue reading Three Colors: Red (Zagreb, Croatia; October 4th, 2020)
For Martin Heidegger, the role of linguistic poetry is in preserving the primordial poetry of language. “Other modes of poetry, such as visual arts and architecture, only occur within the clearing of beings, which is opened by language.”[1] In Heidegger's words: “Building and plastic creation, on the other hand, happen, always and only, in the … Continue reading On the Role and Power of Film Criticism
To keep this blog film-related, I decided that the title of each subsequent post dealing with my experiences after the Zagreb earthquake, and the destruction of my home, will be the film title of a great film I love, with a symbolic undertone. For this post, I chose Yasujirō Ozu's Early Spring. Although it is … Continue reading Early Spring (Zagreb, Croatia; May 1st, 2020)
The concept of “obscenity” is tested when we dare to look at something that we desire to see but have forbidden ourselves to look at. When we feel that everything has been revealed, “obscenity” disappears and there is a certain liberation. When that which one had wanted to see isn’t sufficiently revealed, however, the … Continue reading Transgression of the Sexual Taboo in Nagisa Oshima’s “In the Realm of the Senses”
“What I am trying to do when I use symbols is to awaken in your unconscious some reaction. I am very conscious of what I am using because symbols can be very dangerous. When we use normal language we can defend ourselves because our society is a linguistic society, a semantic society. But when you … Continue reading In Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Words: The Danger of Symbolism in Imagery
The camera is focused on a highway, its yellow stripes are passing by rapidly, and Bowie’s song I'm Deranged is playing; a highly suggestive introduction into the film. In the opening shot, we see a man smoking a cigarette, by carefully following the narrative throughout the film, we can recollect that he is in … Continue reading David Lynch’s “Lost Highway” as the Painting of a Lost Mind
At the beginning of the film, we see a paintress conversing with her students, and in the background, there is a picture they brought, but they should not. The painting portrays a grayish landscape, and a woman with her dress on fire, slowly walking towards it centre, so it seems. The majority of the painting … Continue reading Céline Sciamma’s Study of Eurydice’s Gaze in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
