Short essays on cinema
Hiroshima Mon Amour, directed by Alan Resnairs, opens with a close-up of an arm and body amorously entangled. They are in the dark, their bodies are joined and small particles, resembling ashes or sand (as the sands of time), are falling and covering them. They are caressing and soon begin to glow, as they are… Continue reading Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alan Resnais, 1959) “…Nevers Mon Amour”
It is 1979 and in Manhattan the psychoanalyst is on acid, as well as the editorial staff of a comedy show and most likely half of the town Woody Allen is in love with. At the beginning of the film, his character Isaac talks about the decay of his times in regard to “drugs, loud… Continue reading Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979) “Monochromatic Nymph”
Luchino Visconti’s Death In Venice is an adaptation of Thomas Mann’s novel; it follows Gustav von Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde), a composer who, due to ill health, comes to Venice. The film explores the encounter of true beauty amidst the decay – Venice is struck down by a plague toward the end of the film. The… Continue reading Death In Venice (Luchino Visconti, 1971) “Beauty Amidst Decay”
There is a certain sadness that permeates Ozu’s films, of the passing of time and an era; of transience, of a time that will be long gone, but needs to be preserved. This is most particularly true for his so-called “Noriko Trilogy”, which stars Setsuko Hara, Ozu’s muse; Last Spring is a part of the… Continue reading Late Spring (Yasujirō Ozu, 1949) “Tears at A Noh Play”
Three Colors: Blue came out half a year after the Maastricht Treaty was signed, transforming the European Community into the European Union. The film was supported by the Council of Europe, but mostly financed by the French. It celebrates the idea of the European unity and integration, but also the three principles of the French… Continue reading Three Colors: Blue (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1993) “Blue Is the Coldest Color”
Alfred Hitchock’s desire was to make movies in which dream and reality are indistinguishable. In his Vertigo, he creates a nightmarish world in which Scottie (James Stewart) draws the female progatonist into a surreal ordeal, or it is the other way around; at certain moments we cannot really tell. The film is centered around several… Continue reading Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) “Reliving the Memory”
The original title of the film Wings of Desire is Der Himmel über Berlin (Sky Over Berlin); the English title beautifully captures the main antinomy present in the film – the one between spirituality and celestial purity and the carnal, eroticism and sensuality. In Marion’s character, the sensuality and existentalist wondering about being-in-the-world (Heidegger) are… Continue reading Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1987) “Celestial Purity and Carnality”
In 1995 Hayao Miyazaki took a group of artists and animators to the ancient forests of Yakushima, which inspired the landscapes in the film. At the beginning, the narrator says: “In ancient times, the land lay covered in forests, where from ages long past, dwelt the spirits of the gods. Back then, man and beast… Continue reading Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki, 1997) “Fight for the Cursed World”
[This article has been edited on 11.3.2018] Badlands, Terrence Malick's first film is loosely based on real-life events following the murders a couple had commited in 1958, in the United States. In 1993 the United States National Film Registry elected Badlands for preservation since they considered the film to be “culturally, historically and aesthetically significant”. The… Continue reading Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973) “Romantic and Soulless Killing Spree”
It is somewhat ironic that we are commemorating a total solar eclipse which occurred in the United States a week ago, with a film that can be easily interpreted through Marxist lenses. Although, since the Cold War is over, one can afford such leeway. Speaking of the Cold War, L’eclisse was filmed in the aftermath… Continue reading L’Eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962) “Looming Shadows of Modernity”
