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Grauzone [Zones] (Fredi M. Murer, 1979)
Mar
21
1976
The anonymous, urgent newspaper announcement referencing the oath of secrecy considering a mysterious epidemic, starting March 21, 1976. It lists all the symptoms. DP: Hans Liechti.
Eine mysteriöse EPIDEMIE ist ausgebrochen.
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La Chambre verte [The Green Room / The Vanishing Fiancée] (François Truffaut, 1978)
Mar
17
Julien Davenne (Truffaut). DP: Néstor Almendros.
“Our past doesn't belong to us.”
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De nieuwe ijstijd [The New Ice Age] (Johan van der Keuken, 1974)
Mar
16
Reykjavík Food & Fun Festival
A young female factory worker listlessly fills a long plastic tube with pale ice-cream.. DP: Johan van der Keuken.
“For me it’s important to note that the film’s information is also the only thing you know. That’s the idea of the tip of the iceberg, provided that only the portion above the water exists (in the film), because you know nothing of what’s under water and therefore it’s impossible for you to describe the entire iceberg.
For example, in De nieuwe ijstijd the characters are not described 'in their entirety'. What is shown is only what we’ve encountered when we were filming. It’s always a limited, fragmentary knowledge of everything that exists, and that’s how it’s shown.”
– Johan van der Keuken, via
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Cockfighter (Monte Hellman, 1974)
Mar
15
Frank Mansfield (Warren Oates) holding up a reluctant, wildly flapping white rooster. DP: Néstor Almendros.
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Die große Ekstase des Bildschnitzers Steiner [The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner] (Werner Herzog, 1974)
Mar
13
Walter Steiner, flying. DP: Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein.
“Ich sollte eigentlich ganz allein auf der Welt sein, ich, Steiner, und sonst kein anderes lebendes Wesen. Keine Sonne, keine Kultur, ich nackt auf einem hohen Fels, kein Sturm, kein Schnee, keine Straßen, keine Banken, kein Geld, keine Zeit und kein Atem. Ich würde dann jedenfalls keine Angst mehr haben.”
– Walter Steiner
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Waiting for Fidel (Michael Rubbo, 1974)
Mar
8
International Women's Day
Time flies while waiting for Fidel, and before you know it, it's March 8.
Film du Jour posts does not list holidays on their respective date, unless a film or scene happens to take place on one.
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聖母観音大菩薩 [Seibo Kannon daibosatsu / Eros Eterna] (Kōji Wakamatsu, 1977)
Mar
7
immortality
The yao bikuni (Eiko Matsuda) rises from the ocean. DP: Hideo Itō.
An immortal character on the date Highlander (1986) was released.
– Dont raise your voice! I'll kill you if you make a sound.
– Would you please?
When a woman eats the flesh of a 人魚 (ningyo, litt. “human fish” but in Western context commenly translated as “mermaid”), she may become a 八百比丘尼 [yao bikuni], an 800 year* old Buddhist nun granted youth and longevity.
*The number 8 symbolises growth and prosperity. Larger numbers starting with 8 indicate that the amount is endless, comparable to saying “hundreds/thousands/millions of […]” in English. Therefore, 800 years can be understood as immortal.
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Trash (Paul Morrissey, 1970)
Feb
23
freebie: Paul Morrissey born
Freebie: Paul Morrissey born (1938 – 2024)
“Just because people throw it out and don't have any use for it, doesn't mean it's garbage.”
– Holly
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Laukaus tehtaalla [A Shot in the Factory] (Erkko Kivikoski, 1973)
Feb
21
Nixon goes to China
Workers and bosses negotiate the situation. DP: Esko Nevalainen.
The killing of the factory's boss by one of the workers leads to endless negotiations between the two parties.
Shot in cinéma vérité style, with a mostly amateur cast, Laukaus tehtaalla mirrors the working classes' insecurity caused by the 1973 energy crisis in more ways than one.
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Der große Verhau [The Big Mess] (Alexander Kluge, 1971)
Feb
19
Copernicus born
Space ships made out of all sorts of junk pass a moon. DPs: Thomas Mauch & Alfred Tichawsky.
A film about outer space for Nicolaus Copernicus' birthday (1473).