settima

1990s

重慶森林 [Chung Hing sam lam / Chungking Express] (Wong Kar-Wai, 1994)

Apr

28

8:59

重慶森林 (1994)

A flipclock. It's April 28, a Friday, and 8:59 pm. DPs: Christopher Doyle & Wai Keung Lau.

“We broke up on April's fools day, so I took it as a joke. I'm willing to humor her for a month.”

– He Zhiwu, Cop 223

重慶森林 [Chung Hing sam lam / Chungking Express] (Wong Kar-Wai, 1994)

Apr

28

freebie: April

重慶森林 (1994)

Eating pineapple, expiration date May 1. DPs: Christopher Doyle & Wai Keung Lau.

A film set in April.

“We split up on April Fool's Day. So I decided to let the joke run for a month. Every day I buy a can of pineapple with a sell-by date of May 1. May loves pineapple, and May 1 is my birthday. If May hasn't changed her mind by the time I've bought thirty cans, then our love will also expire.”

– He Zhiwu, Cop 223

Распад [Raspad / Collapse / Decay] (Mikhail Belikov, 1990)

Apr

25

1986

Распад (1990)

A young boy looks over his shoulder into the camera. He's seated at an extended table, set with food for many. A man in the back is on the phone; a woman walks around cradling a newborn child. In the corner of the room a baby cot. DP: Vasiliy Trushkovskiy.

Prigionieri della guerra [Prisoners of War] (Yervant Gianikian + Angela Ricci Lucchi, 1995)

Apr

24

Armenian genocide

Prigionieri della guerra (1995)

Horse-pulled carts arrive at a cross (via). DPs: Yervant Gianikian & Angela Ricci Lucchi.

A World War I film: a day in recognition of the forced deportations and genocide in Armenia, 1915 — 1923.

“Parfois ils disent que nos images sont esthétiques, mais nous disons que les images esthétiques sont des images hautement étiques. Pour nous éthique et esthétique marchent ensemble. Re-filmer signifie re-signifier.”

– Yervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi in conversation with Daniele Dottorini, 2007 (via)

Re-purposed propaganda reels show citizens – displaced, dehumanised – turned into prisoners of war, and finally into corpses.

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.

To Lavoisier, Who Died in the Reign of Terror (Michael Snow, 1991)

Mar

6

chemistry

To Lavoisier, Who Died in the Reign of Terror (1991)

Shot from below through a glass pane, a man pushes a sulphur-yellow substance around.

Chemistry: Dimitri Mendeleev presented his version of the periodic table on this date in 1869. He claimed to have had a dream in which he envisioned a table in which all the chemical elements were arranged according to their atomic weight (via).

Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) was a French chemist who gave the first accurate scientific explanation of the mysteries of fire. He also provided the law of conservation of matter which states that matter can be neither created or destroyed.n His work and this film are situated between modern chemistry and alchemy. The film stages a drama of abstraction and theoretical realism. Everyday life seen photo-chemically and musically. The film is a materialist projected-image conversion of matter.”

– Michael Snow, via

The film stock was chemically altered, giving it an dreamlike quality.

Le tombeau d'Alexandre [The Last Bolshevik] (Chris Marker, 1993)

Feb

25

Warsaw Pact

Le tombeau d'Alexandre (1993)

Still from a Medvedkin film. Silhouettes in light of Lenin and Stalin facing each other are projected above a crowd of people. DP of Le tombeau d'Alexandre: Chris Marker.

Orlando (Sally Potter, 1992)

Jan

24

Billy Zane's birthday

Orlando (1992)

Orlando (Tilda Swinton) and Shelmerdine (Billy Zane) in intimate embrace. DPs: Aleksey Rodionov & Andrew Speller.

A [favourite] Billy Zane film for his birthday (1966).

“This future of yours Shelmerdine, when it's gonna begin? Today? Or, is it always tomorrow?”

– Orlando

As ordered by Queen Elizabeth I (Quentin Crisp), nobleman Orlando remains young and traverses exotic scenery, civilisations, time, and gender.

کلوزآپ ، نمای نزدیک [Klūzāp, nemā-ye nazdīk / Close-Up] (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990)

Jan

19

Nema-ye Nazdik (1990)

Hossain Sabzian on the back of a motorcycle on a busy tree-lined, four lane street. He's holding a large potted rose-red dahlia. DP: Ali Reza Zarrindast.

– Is there anything I can do for you?

– You could make a film about my suffering.

X2000 (François Ozon, 1998)

Jan

1

2000

X2000 (1998)

A young, naked man holding a drink observes two men asleep in a sleeping bag on the floor. On the wall behind them the text “2000” spelled out with tinsel garlands. DP: Pierre Stoeber.