“It calls back a time when there were flowers all over the Earth… and there were valleys. And there were plains of tall green grass that you could lie down in – you could go to sleep in. And there were blue skies, and there was fresh air… and there were things growing all over the place, not just in some domed enclosures blasted some millions of miles out in to space.”

– Freeman Lowell

A character pigging out*

“The most revolting film I have ever seen”

– Mary Whitehouse, via

Four hedonistic gourmands throw a party of the flesh, of meat, of lust, and death.

 

* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for July is, for unknown reasons, mostly not date-related and follows some sort of vacation narrative.

Someone complains about costs or prices*

– We'll go to an island and live from fishing and hunting. And the sun will shine and it will never rain. And we'll eat lobster and drink wine. – … – Why not? – Because it's too expensive. – Why too expensive? – It's just too expensive.

 

* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for July is, for unknown reasons, mostly not date-related and follows some sort of vacation narrative.

Someone is hungover*

“Ein Psychogramm zweier ungewöhnlicher, aber auch extrem unterschiedlicher Frauen. Die eine, reich, exzentrisch, ihre Gefühle maskenhaft verbergend, trinkt sich bewusst zu Tode. Sie ist der Fall, der in der Statistik nicht erscheint, weil entweder zu Hause unter Valium gehalten oder unter Verschluss in einer Privatklinik. Die andere ist arm und trinkt sich unbewusst zu Tode. Sie erscheint in der normalen Statistik als Typ der haltlosen Trinkerin”

– U.O., via

An eccentric woman simply named Sie (Tabea Blumenschein), takes a one-way trip to West Berlin. Accompanied by her alter ego, a homeless alcoholic, and commented on by a Greek choir consisting of Soziale Frage (Social Question), Exakte Statistik (Exact Statistics), and Gesunder Menschenverstand (Common Sense), she drinks herself to death.

 

* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for July is, for unknown reasons, mostly not date-related and follows some sort of vacation narrative.

Someone at a theme park or national park*

“Telephones were still working, we are told, and the air-conditioning and refrigerators in many houses were still on.”

– narrator

The highest peak in the Parc national de la Guadeloupe is called La Grande Soufrière. The volcano had erupted before and was bound to do soon again. Hastily, the 76,000 islanders were evacuated with one farmer staying put. For Herzog reason to halt the editing of Herz aus Glas and make his way to the island.

 

* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for July is, for unknown reasons, mostly not date-related and follows some sort of vacation narrative.

 

A passport or ID*

 

* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for July is, for unknown reasons, mostly not date-related and follows some sort of vacation narrative.

A character who is happy on the National Day of Joy (USA)

“Grünes Licht für ehrgeizige, strebsame und arbeitswillige junge Menschen.”

Georg Hauser's life is a drag. He gets up to drive his car to the same office to do the same thing surrounded by the same people everyday, just to make money to do the same thing all over again. Then, his glasses break and the new pair makes him see things a bit differently.

A character wearing pink on National Pink Day (USA), not to be confused with the much more poignant International Day of Pink

“Paris, Paris, Paris C'est sur la Terre un coin de paradis Paris, Paris, Paris, De mes amours c′est lui le favori Mais oui, mais oui, pardi Ce que j'en dis on vous l′a déjà dit Et c'est Paris, qui fait la parisienne Qu′importe, qu'elle vienne du nord ou bien du midi Et c'est aussi le charme et l′élégance Et l′âme de la France Tout cela, mais c'est Paris”

Joséphine Baker, Paris, Paris (Georges Zacharie Tabet)

Cowherd Mory and student Anta journey from Dakar to their new destination, the city of Paris.

Someone surfing or skateboarding for either International Surfing Day or Go Skateboarding Day

 

José Mojica Marins' protégé Ivan Cardoso dabbled in short form horror movies. This one features a young hippie vampire who, after being defeated in beachy black-and-white Prague, hikes a ride to Super 8 Brazil. Can't help but notice a bit of (Charlie) Mansonsploitation going on, but that may be just me.