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À propos de Nice – point de vue documenté [À propos de Nice] (Boris Kaufman + Jean Vigo, 1930)
Jan
1
New Year's Day
Exuberant prostitutes, Jean Vigo (5th from the left), and some who appear to be men in drag, dance on a landing with confetti all around them. In the moving footage they can be seen high-kicking with increased vulgarity, the camera posed below them. DP: Boris Kaufman.
Confetti for New Year's Day.
“In this film, by showing certain basic aspects of a city, a way of life is put on trial… the last gasps of a society so lost in its escapism that it sickens you and makes you sympathetic to a revolutionary solution.”
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The Clock (Christian Marclay, 2010)
Dec
31
Hogmanay
Prof. Charles Rankin (Orson Welles) during the climax in The Stranger (1946). The clocktower strikes midnight. DP: Russell Metty.
Midnight: it's Hogmanay in Scotland.
“There's no clue to the identify of Franz Kindler; except one little thing. He has a hobby that almost amounts to a mania: clocks.”
– Mr. Wilson
The Clock takes place over – and lasts – 24 hours, with each moment either being shown in a film still or mentioned by characters during a scene. In total, there are over 12 000 scenes edited into Marclay's tour de force.
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Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen [Even Dwarfs Started Small] (Werner Herzog, 1970)
Dec
30
National Short Person Day
Some of the main cast members, with three women in focus. They're outdoors and several animals, including a kneeling dromedary, can be spotted in the background. DP: Thomas Mauch.
A short main character for National Short Person Day (USA).
“When we behave nobody cares. But when we are bad nobody forgets.”
– Hombré
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Teorema [Theorem] (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1968)
Dec
29
Independence Day of Mongolia
The visitor (Terence Stamp) in intimate closeup. DP: Giuseppe Ruzzolini.
Someone finds their independence: Independence Day of Mongolia (Үндэсний эрх чөлөө, тусгаар тогтнолоо сэргээсний баярын өдөр).
“I no longer even recognize myself. What made me like the others has been destroyed. I was like everyone else, with many faults, perhaps, mine and those of the world around me. You made me different by taking me out of the natural order of things.”
– Pietro, the son
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Couro de Gato [Cat Skin] (Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, 1962)
Dec
27
Junkanoo
A man plays a small hand drum, the tamborim, with a cat skin head. DP: Mário Carneiro.
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Cali: de película (Luis Ospina, 1973)
Dec
26
Feria de Cali
A child hands a man in indigenous garb a small liquor bottle during the cabalgata, the parade of horseback riders. The man's horse is painted to resemble a zebra. DP: Carlos Mayolo.
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Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari [The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari] (Robert Wiene, 1920)
Dec
25
Hanukkah + Christmas
Cesare (Conrad Veidt) escapes with Jane (Lil Dagover) in his arms. Composition and distribution of light and shadow – much of which was painted directly on the set pieces – strike a strong resemblance with the oldest known survived photograph by Nicéphore Niépce from ca. 1822 – 1827. DP: Willy Hameister.
A favourite scene featuring light for Hanukkah and Christmas.
Alan “How long will I live?”
Cesare “Till the break of dawn.”
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Мъжки времена [Mazhki vremena / Manly Times] (Eduard Sachariev, 1977)
Dec
23
Festivus
The men with a kidnapped woman, as was a custom in the region. DP: Radoslav Spassov .
A really silly tradition for Festivus.
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Valkoinen peura [The White Reindeer] (Erik Blomberg, 1952)
Dec
21
Yule
Pirita (Mirjami Kuosmanen) in Gákti in front of a prism-like structure with a reindeer skull on top. Antlers stick out in the snow around her. DP: Erik Blomberg.
Pagans for Yule. The reindeer plays an important part in Sámi #animism (1/2).
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St. Louis Blues (Dudley Murphy, 1929)
Dec
20
Walter “Wolfman” Washington – 1943
Bessie “the Empress of Blues” Smith, singing her blues away. DP: Walter Strenge .
Featuring rhythm and blues, funk or blues, for Walter “Wolfman” Washington's birthday (1943)
“I hate to see the evening' sun go down
I hate to see the evening' sun go down
It makes me think I'm on my last go 'round
Feeling' tomorrow like I feel today
Feeling' tomorrow like I feel today
I'll pack my grip and make my getaway”
Saint Louis woman with her diamond rings
Pulls that man around by her apron strings
Wasn't for powder and the store-bought hair
The man I love wouldn't go nowhere, nowhere
I got them Saint Louis Blues; just as blue as I can be
He's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me”
– Bessie Smith, St. Louis Blues (W. C. Handy)
