settima

BookAdaptation

Ikarie XB 1 [Icarus XB 1] (Jindřich Polák, 1963)

Jun

26

Ikarie XB 1 (1963)

An astronaut passing a perfectly symmetrical walkway, similar to the ones seen in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). DP: Jan Kališ.

Il vangelo secondo Matteo [The Gospel According to Matthew] (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964)

Jun

22

National Kissing Day

Il vangelo secondo Matteo (1964)

Judas (Otello Sestili) kisses Jesus (Enrique Irazoqui) in intimate closeup. DP: Tonino Delli Colli.

A [favourite] movie kiss for National Kissing Day (USA*), not to be confused with International Kissing Day aka World Kiss Day which falls on July 6.

“I don’t have the inhibitions that a practicing Catholic would in that I’m not paralysed by the sacredness of the text, nor do I have the inhibitions of a lapsed Catholic who would view approaching the story of Jesus as compromising his Marxist beliefs, of sinking back into conformity.”

– PPP, via

An neorealist, straightforward adaptation of the Gospel of Matthew, populated by non-actors (“Jesus” is a 19-year Catalan trade unionist picked for his resemblance to El Greco's Christ), intellectuals, and anachronistic characters based on biblical art through the ages.

 

According to said Gospel, apostle Judas kissed prophet Jesus to signal to the police who of the 13 men present was the one to arrest.

 

Interestingly, the word Matthew chose to describe the kiss is καταφιλέω, the same word used by philosopher Plutarch to describe the kiss between Alexander the Great and his eunuch Bagoas

 

* no one wants to kiss you anymore, America

Ascenseur pour l'échafaud [Elevator to the Gallows] (Louis Malle, 1958)

Jun

18

International Panic Day

Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958)

M Tavernier (Maurice Ronet) seated in an elevator, calmly smoking. Around him several items speak of less calm moments. DP: Henri Decaë.

A character in panic mode on International Panic Day

“Have you seen Mr Tavernier tonight?”

Julien Tavernier has a plan about how to run off with his boss' wife. There's just this one snag. No time to panic, c'est cool c'est cool.

Strategia del ragno [The Spider's Stratagem] (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)

Jun

15

Sat

Strategia del ragno (1970)

A clock face. It's 9:54 on Saturday June 15. DPs: Franco Di Giacomo & Vittorio Storaro.

The two-page story this film is based on – Jorge Luis Borges' Tema del traidor y del héroe [Theme of the Traitor and Hero] (1944) – takes place on January 3 and August 2.

“Instead of leaving this morning, I'm still here. Among friends.”

– Athos Magnani

Morte a Venezia [Death in Venice] (Luchino Visconti, 1971)

Jun

11

Say HI Day

Morte a Venezia (1971)

Von Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde) and Tadzio (Björn Andrésen). DP: Pasqualino De Santis.

Characters say or wave hello on Say HI Day

 

A sickly composer meets and becomes infatuated with a boy during his stay in Venice.

O Menino e o Vento [The Boy and the Wind] (Carlos Hugo Christensen, 1967)

Jun

8

National Best Friends Day

O Menino e o Vento (1967)

The two friends in intimate embrace. DP: Antônio Gonçalves.

[Favourite] best friends in film for National Best Friends Day (USA)

“I'm going with this one”

– Zeca de Curva, running into the storm

The close friendship between two young men raises suspicion when the younger of them disappears..

Лісова пісня. Мавка [Lisova pisnya. Mavka / A Story of the Forest: Mavka] (Yuri Ilyenko, 1981)

Jun

7

National Trails Day

Лісова пісня. Мавка (1981)

Mavka (Lyudmila Efimenko) and the Spirit of the Forest (Boris Khmelnitskiy). DP: Yuri Ilyenko.

A movie that takes place in nature for National Trails Day (USA)

 

Mavka, a forest nymph, falls in love with mortal Lukash, who in his turn is punished by the Spirit of the Forest for marrying another mortal instead. Curse upon curse, Lukash is turned into a wolf, and Mavka into a weeping willow.

 

The colours, mood and impact of the four seasons on mortal and sprite alike is there, not only made visible by Ilyenko's ethereal, spiralling camera, but somewhere blooming deep inside us, observing.

Black Widow (Nunnally Johnson, 1954)

Jun

6

Black Widow (1954)

Carlotta 'Lottie' Mari (Ginger Rogers) reaching out to Nancy 'Nanny' Ordway's (Peggy Ann Garner). DP: Charles G. Clarke.

– Were you drunk when you did these? – A little. – They're very good.

ビリィ★ザ★キッドの新しい夜明け [Birī za kiddo no atarashii yoake / The New Morning of Billy the Kid] (Naoto Yamakawa, 1986)

May

31

National Utah Day

Birī za kiddo no atarashii yoake (1986)

Director Naoto Yamakawa directing Billy the Kid (Hiroshi Mikami) on site in Utah (via) DP: Kenji Takama.

An actor, director or character from Utah – National Utah Day (USA)

 

Billy the Kid steps out of a huge poster of Monument Valley right into a Tokyo bar and becomes its bar keeper. Together with a samurai, a WW2 G.I, Marx-Engels (not a typo), the Japanese weather service number 177 and others, he keeps the tavern safe from various thugs roaming the streets.

吾輩は猫である [Wagahai wa neko de aru / I Am a Cat] (Kon Ichikawa, 1975)

May

30

Hug Your Cat Day

吾輩は猫である (1975)

The cat and his master, teacher Sneaze. DP: Kōzō Okazaki.

A pet for National Hug Your Cat Day (USA) *

“Had I the time to keep a diary, I’d use that time to better effect; sleeping on the veranda”

– The cat

A school teacher's house cat observes and comments his household's going-ons as a microcosm of Japan's paradoxical Meiji period. The second adaptation of Sōseki Natsume's 1900s satirical novel.

 

* The event falls on June 4