Tag: Cinema
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The Rule of Law’s Absence in “The Mandalorian” – Chapters I-III
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…
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Silence (Martin Scorsese, 2016) “The Dark Night of the Soul”
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…
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In Martin Scorsese’s Words: Cinema and Spirituality
When we talk about personal expression I’m often reminded of [Elia] Kazan’s film America America – the story of his uncle’s journey from Anitolia to America; the story of so many immigrants who came to this country from a very, very foreign land. I kind of identified with it and was very moved by it. Actually,…
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5 Films Inspired by the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales (Sleeping Beauty & Snow White)
Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales are now part of our collective imagination (I will not use Jung’s term “collective unconscious” since it is a bit problematic). Isabel dos Santos, the author of the article about Brothers Grimm “Reluctant Romantics”, writes: “Throughout the entire world, fairy tales have for generations played a significant part in children’s upbringing…
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Dionysiac Union with Art in Aronofsky’s “Black Swan”
Aronofsky’s Black Swan follows the ballet dancer Nina, who gets a part in the production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. She is fragile, innocent, fearful and pure, but lacks the feel for playing the Black Swan, while she is a perfect cast for the White Swan. In the performances of Tchaikovsky’s ballet, the same ballerina sometimes…
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Vision of God as a Spider: Bergman’s “Through a Glass Darkly”
In the thirteenth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, St Paul says: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I also am known”. In these St Paul’s words, practically the whole film Through the Glass…
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In Stanley Kubrick’s Words: 3 Most Consistent and Original Contemporary Directors
I believe Ingmar Bergman, Vittorio De Sica, and Federico Fellini are the only three filmmakers in the world who are not just artistic opportunists. By this I mean they don’t just sit and wait for a good story to come along and then make it. They have a point of view which is expressed over…
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In Bruno Ganz’s Words “In Memoriam: An Angel Embodying A Demon”
[On Hitler: Downfall (2004)] What people need is for Hitler to actually represent evil itself. But what is evil itself? That means nothing to me. I have to perform a living human being (…) We know how to judge Hitler. We don’t need another film that condemns him. We already know where we stand on…
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In Akira Kurosawa’s Words: Film Director As A Military Commander
A film director has to convince a great number of people to follow him and work with him. I often say, although I am certainly not a militarist, that if you compare the production unit to an army, the script is the battle flag and the director is the commander in the front line. From…
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In Andrei Tarkovsky’s Words: Struggle Against Censorship and Tyranny of the Spirit
An artist never works under ideal conditions. If they existed, his work wouldn’t exist, for the artist does not live in a vacuum. Some sort of pressure must exist. The artist exists because the world is not perfect. Art would be useless if the world were perfect, as man wouldn’t look for harmony but would…
Vigour of Film Lines 