settima

@settima@zirk.us

News from Home (Chantal Akerman, 1976)

Apr

3

Pony Express Day

News from Home (1976)

New York, a street scene. Superimposed a quote from one Chantal Akerman's mother's letters. DPs: Jim Asbell & Babette Mangolte.

Mail or a mail carrier for Pony Express Day (USA).

“Dear child,   l received your letter and hope you will write often. l hope you won’t stay away too long and that you’ve found a job by now. If you’re doing well, we’re happy. Even though we do miss you. When will you be back? Everything is fine here, but Sylviane is home with the flu. My blood pressure is low. l’m on medication for it. Today is my birthday. l feel sad. lt’s quiet at the shop. Tonight we’re going out to dinner with friends. That’s all. Your birthday is coming up. l wish you all the best. Write to me soon about your work, about New York, about everything. Lots of love from the three of us.

Your loving mother” (quote via)

Chantal Akerman reads out letters that her mother wrote to the former's stay in New York City between 1971 and 1973. The words slowly blend with the city.

みな殺しの霊歌 [Minagoroshi no reika / I, the Executioner] (Tai Katō, 1968)

Apr

3

1968

しの霊歌 (1968)

A newspaper headline for April 3, 1968: “COMPANY DIRECTOR'S WIFE NEWEST VICTIM”. DP: Keiji Maruyama.

“With bar hostesses, there's a type who are likely to be murdered.”

Le moindre geste [The Slightest Gesture] (Jean-Pierre Daniel, Fernand Deligny + Josée Manenti, 1962–1964, 1971)

Apr

2

World Autism Awareness Day

Le moindre geste (1971)

Yves (Yves Guignard), resting. Deligny wrote a lot about the lack of words, and how it stays close to the heart of cinema. Still (and a wonderful essay) via. DP: Josée Manenti.

An autistic actor or character for World Autism Awareness Day

“Celui qui n’a jamais rien dit

a cinquante ans d’âge

et ne dira jamais rien

s’est appris à lire

dans les moindres gestes”

– Fernand Deligny, Essi & Copeaux. Derniers écrits et aphorismes, via

Fernand Deligny was an educator who promoted play and exploration, as opposed to drugs and force, to open up the lives of young nonverbal, autistic people. We follow Yves Guignard, one of Deligny's “patients”, who, in his own wordless rhythm shows us his world.

 

Over time, the film was forgotten and even lost, until it was found in a tree, then completed with a narrative and soundtrack in 1969, selected for the 1971 Cannes Film Festival and praised by Cahiers du Cinéma, lost once more, and eventually – with support of Chris Marker – restored and brought to a wider audience.

Les yeux cernés [Marked Eyes] (Robert Hossein, 1964)

Apr

2

1964

Les yeux cernés (1964)

A typed request on official stationary dated April 2, requesting to show up at the police precinct on April 4, 1964. DP: Jean Boffety.

1. April 2000 [April 1, 2000] (Wolfgang Liebeneiner, 1952)

Apr

1

2000

1. April 2000 (1952)

The President of the Global Union (Hilde Krahl) stepping out of her spaceship. DPs: Sepp Ketterer, Karl Löb & Fritz Arno Wagner.

कालिया मर्दन [Kaliya Mardan / The Childhood of Krishna] (Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, 1919)

Apr

1

April Fools' Day

कालिया मर्दन (1919)

Shri Krishna (Mandakini Phalke, the director's seven-year old daughter), playing his flute with a twinkle in his eye. DP: Dhundiraj Govind Phalke.

A fool or jokester for April Fools' Day

 

As a child, Shri Krishna, the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu, was a prankster. The Lord and his childhood friends would steal makhan and, if there was too much to eat all at once, would share it with the monkeys.

 

Kaliya Mardan is one of the handful films from India's early cinematic output that has survived. Do check your attic

Moment of Impact (Julia Loktev, 1998)

Apr

1

1989

Moment of Impact (1998)

A person holds Leonid Loktev's head from behind, while someone else cups his left eye with one hand. DP: Julia Loktev.

父ありき [Chichi ariki / There Was a Father] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1942)

Mar

31

a father

父ありき (1942)

Father and son fishing in a creek. DP: Yūharu Atsuta.

A father for OP's father's birthday.

 

A father, and proud teacher, raises his son alone. When the boy is an adult and a teacher himself, the elder's traditional concept of societal hierarchy affirms the balance between the generations.

Chac: Dios de la lluvia [Chac: The Rain God] (Rolando Klein, 1975)

Mar

30

mythology

Chac: Dios de la lluvia (1975)

The villagers light torches in preparation of the ritual. Screenshot via. DP: William B. Kaplan + Álex Phillips Jr..

Mythology on the date Wrath of the Titans (2012) was released.

 

With their shaman lost to alcohol, villagers make their way to a diviner in the hope to appease Chac, the rain god.

“This is the account of when all is still silent and placid.   All is silent and calm.   Hushed and empty is the womb of the sky.”

– Popul Vuh, The Primordial World

Filmed in the forests of Tenejapa, Chiapas, Chac is probably the first film completely in Tzotzil, one of several Maya languages, and based on themes found in the Popol Vuh.

野獣死すべし [Yajū shisubeshi / The Beast Shall Die] (Eizō Sugawa, 1959)

Mar

30

7 p.m.

野獣死すべし (1959)

Kunihiko Date (Tatsuya Nakadai) driving along at night. DP: Fukuzō Koizumi.

“He’s not a beast. No, he’s a robot. A machine created by a modern, twisted society.”