Detailed and thoughtful film analysis, unique film lists, original approach to world cinema's greatest auteurs
Valuska, a dreamy, and intellectually “slow” postman, with a poetic understanding of his surroundings, stages a little scene with a bunch of weary drunkards, in a bar, at the very beginning of the film. He arranges the drunkards to act the roles of the the Moon and the Earth, as they revolve around the Sun. … Continue reading Decay of a Mortal God: Béla Tarr’s “Werckmeister Harmonies”
“At the beginning of my career, I had a lot of social anger. I just wanted to tell you how fucked up the society is. This was the beginning. Afterwards, I began to understand that the problems were not only social; they are deeper. I thought they were only ontological and when I understood more … Continue reading In Béla Tarr’s Words: Evolution in Understanding of Art, Life and Cinema
I wish you a very merry Christmas and hope you are spending a joyous and peaceful day!
Satoshi Kon's wonderful anime depicts the Christmas Eve of three homeless bums (self-proclaimed) who listen to a public sermon and watch a play celebrating the birth of Christ, so they can eat afterwards. One of them, Gin, says: “Joy to the world, food has come”. Soon, they find a baby in the trash, and the … Continue reading Reunions on Christmas Eve in Satoshi Kon’s “Tokyo Godfathers”
“The idea tells you everything. Lots of times I get ideas, I fall in love with them. Those ones you fall in love with are really special ideas. And, in some ways, I always say, when something's abstract, the abstractions are hard to put into words unless you're a poet. These ideas you somehow know. … Continue reading In David Lynch’s Words: The Idea Tells You Everything
Before reading this essay, you can read the previous one: The Political Rise of Chancellor Palpatine. Auctoritas, non veritas facit legem [Authority, not truth creates the law] Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Chapter 24 Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker heroically rescue Chancellor Palpatine from Count Dooku's pre-ordained “grip”; Dooku is beheaded by Anakin who defeats him in … Continue reading Emperor Palpatine’s Political Rise: Star Wars: Episode III
I will start the exposition of Chancellor Palpatine's sinister political genius which resulted in the overthrow of the Galactic Republic by writing about the events which took place in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. I will use Carl Schmitt's writings on dictatorship, sovereignty and the state of exception, which are extremely fruitful … Continue reading Chancellor Palpatine’s Political Rise: Star Wars: Episodes I & II
In a 1951 letter to his editor, while explaining his Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien writes: “As far as all this has symbolical or allegorical significance, Light is such a primeval symbol in the nature of the Universe, that it can hardly be analysed. The Light of Valinor (derived from light before any fall) is the light … Continue reading 5 Japanese Movies Filmed in the Spirit of Junichirō Tanizaki’s Beautiful Essay “In Praise of Shadows”
The Mandalorian takes place some time after the fall of the Empire, in the outer reaches of the galaxy, which evades the authority of the New Republic. As we witness the beginning of the show, we see the setting similar to that of a western movie. A bar with thugs, and the hero, the Mandalorian … Continue reading The Rule of Law’s Absence in “The Mandalorian” – Chapters I-III
Earlier this year, I wrote an article about this very film, “Last Breaths of Christendom in the Land of the Rising Son”, emphasizing the role of the Japanese state (Tokugawa Shogunate) and the Hobbesian reading which implies that the state proscribes the teachings and religions practiced by the populace; in this case the state religion … Continue reading Silence (Martin Scorsese, 2016) “The Dark Night of the Soul”
