Wojna Światów – Następne Stulecie [The War of the Worlds: Next Century] (Piotr Szulkin, 1981)
Dec
18
1999
Reporter Iron Idem (Roman Wilhelmi) bringing the news. DP: Zygmunt Samosiuk.
“A geisha’s lie is not a real lie. It’s a cornerstone of our profession.”
祇園囃子 [Gion bayashi / Gion Festival Music] (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953)
Dec
15
茶
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Studying the tea ceremony, accompanied by director Mizoguchi (via). DP: Kazuo Miyagawa.
Having tea*
– Miyoharu
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for December has a few dateless themes. This is one of them.
“Kneel before her son. I've had a dream. She's the incarnation of the Goddess, Kali.”
দেবী [Devi / The Goddess] (Satyajit Ray, 1960)
Dec
13
Saint Lucy's Day
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Doyamoyee, Kali incarnate (via). DP: Subrata Mitra.
Saint Lucy's Day: wearing a garland. Today's and yesterday's theme are virtually interchangeable.
– Kalikinkar Roy
Doyamoyee's father-in-law, and worshipper of Kali, has a dream. The young woman is the goddess' avatar. Locals come to visit the house, and Doyamoyee too starts believing in her divinity.
Balada o trobenti in oblaku [Ballad About a Trumpet and a Cloud] (France Štiglic, 1961)
Dec
11
International Mountain Day
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A young couple dances among the mountains (via). DP: Rudi Vaupotič.
Set in the mountains for International Mountain Day
1943. With the family preparing for Christmas, old man Temnikar hears the sound of a trumpet. The patriarch sees it as his calling to follow – and kill – the White Guardists who visited his mountain farm looking for wounded Partisans.
“The mattress is soft and there're hangers in the closet and stationary with “Bates' Motel” printed on it in case you want to make your friends back home envious.”
Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
Dec
11
Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) in front of the family motel. DP: John L. Russell.
– Norman Bates
“In Sicily, Italian is not the language of the poor.”
La Terra Trema [The Earth Will Tremble] (Luchino Visconti, 1948)
Dec
8
Féte des Lumiéres
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Night fishing (via). DP: G.R. Aldo.
Lights on water for the final day of Féte des Lumiéres, 2025
– title card
“They sent me out by plane to a boarding school. But I ran away. There's a war on. I can't cram some stupid stuff when it's a war.”
Иваново детство [Ivanovo detstvo / Ivan's Childhood] (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1962)
Dec
7
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
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Ivan (Nikolay Burlyaev) scouting (via). DP: Vadim Yusov.
A special soldier for National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (USA)
– Ivan
A twelve-year old boy works as a scout for the Soviet army. His age and size make him an inoffensive figure in the war-scarred landscape. But inside, he's brooding for revenge.
Le avventure straordinarissime di Saturnino Farandola [The Extraordinary Adventures of Saturnino Farandola] (Marcel Perez + Luigi Maggi, 1913)
Dec
6
hot air balloons
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A fantastic hot air balloon fight, with machine gunners perched on top of one of the buoyant giants (via). DP: Ottavio De Matteis.
A hot air balloon*
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for December has a few dateless themes. This is one of them.
“Now consummate the sacrifice in your throat of flame, o father and mother, o god and goddess, o father and mother, o father and son, o god and goddess! Voracious creator! Roaring ardent hunger…”
Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914)
Dec
5
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The gigantic entrance to the Temple of Moloch in Carthage. Like the entrance to Luna Park Sydney, it's appearance is based on a hellmouth. DPs: Augusto Battagliotti, Eugenio Bava, Natale Chiusano, Segundo de Chomón, Carlo Franzeri & Giovanni Tomatis.
A temple*
The world's first epic film and the debut of – the later hugely popular – strongman Maciste.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for December has a few dateless themes. This is one of them.
“J’ai mal, mais la douleur me rassure. Son souvenir me donne du plaisir.”
Noir et blanc (Claire Devers, 1986)
Dec
1
World AIDS Day
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Dominique (Jacques Martial) and Antoine (Francis Frappat) in the treatment room (via). DPs: Daniel Desbois, Christopher Doyle, Alain Lasfargues & Jean-Paul Rosa da Costa.
World AIDS Day: conquering fear.
An uptight, white accountant in odds with himself, sees a Black masseur at a Turkish bathhouse. Antoine experiences a relieve – an atonement – through the pain, and forms a bond with the man. After an injury, Antoine must learn to come to terms with his fears. Based one Tennessee Williams' Desire and the Black Masseur (One Arm and Other Stories, 1948).