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Bröllopsbesvär [Wedding: Swedish Style] (Åke Falck, 1964)
Nov
11
Bride and groom, and resentfulness at front. DP: Rune Ericson.
A dysfunctional family*
On a wedding day, and night, a family's dirty secrets are laid bare.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for November is, again, not date-based, but follows a sloppy schmaltzy all-American Thanksgiving-y narrative. Trying to make it work my way.
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有りがたうさん [Arigatō-san / Mr. Thank You] (Hiroshi Shimizu, 1936)
Nov
6
Arigatō-san (Ken Uehara) courteously thanks someone who shares the road for giving way. DP: Isamu Aoki.
A movie that makes you want to travel*
“Arigatō! [Thank you!]”
– Mr Thank You to everyone – poultry included – he passes on his bus
Friendly and helpful, Arigatō-san (Ken Uehara) is there for his passengers and non-bus travellers alike. A sweet roadmovie from a Japan now lost to time.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for November is, again, not date-based, but follows a sloppy schmaltzy all-American Thanksgiving-y narrative. Trying to make it work my way.
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Jules et Jim (François Truffaut, 1962)
Nov
4
sweaters
Catherine (Jeanne Moreau) in a raggedy, moth-eaten sweater and oversized newsboy cap, wears a moustache and smokes a cigar (via). DP: Raoul Coutard.
A movie with gorgeous sweater fashion*
“She's a strange breed.”
– Jim
Throwing in a little Movember for good measure.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for November is, again, not date-based, but follows a sloppy schmaltzy all-American Thanksgiving-y narrative. Trying to make it work my way.
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المخدوعون [Al-makhdu'un / The Dupes] (Tawfiq Saleh, 1972)
Nov
2
النَّكْبَة
Starting over*
“A man with no country, will have no grave in the Earth, I forbid you to leave.”
A few years after the start of the Nakba, three generations hope to make a new life for themselves. In the steel belly of a water truck, the men travel Palestine into Iraq, then crossing the desert towards the promised land, Kuwait.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for November is, again, not date-based, but follows a sloppy schmaltzy all-American Thanksgiving-y narrative. Trying to make it work my way.
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The Thing from Another World (Christian Nyby + Howard Hawks, 1951)
Nov
1
Scientists and crew armed to the teeth. DP: Russell Harlan.
Until November 3.
“No pleasure, no pain… no emotion, no heart. Our superior in every way.”
– Dr. Arthur Carrington
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Night of the Demon (Jacques Tourneur, 1957)
Oct
28
John Holden (Dana Andrews) standing in Stonehenge's inner circle. He's holding a strip of paper with something written on it. DP: Edward Scaife.
“It's in the trees! It's coming!”
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Śledztwo [The Investigation] (Marek Piestrak, 1974)
Oct
28
A person offscreen shoots a handgun. DP: Edward Kłosiński.
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Tajemství hradu v Karpatech [The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians] (Oldřich Lipský, 1981)
Oct
27
1897
– You surely know that my financial support is unlimited.
– Yes. Long live your false cheque factories!
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The Friends of Eddie Coyle (Peter Yates, 1973)
Oct
26
1972
Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum) and Dillon (Peter Boyle) at the Boston Bruins game. DP: Victor J. Kemper.
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Emperor of the North Pole (Robert Aldrich, 1973)
Oct
25
Lobbycard. The blurb reads: “The battle for the title of “Emperor of the North Pole” begins between Shack (ERNEST BORGNINE) and A-No. 1 (LEE MARVIN)“. DP: Joseph F. Biroc.
“Stay off the tracks. Forget it. Its a bum's world for a bum.”
– Shack