Maléfices [Sorcery / Where the Truth Lies] (Henri Decoin, 1962)
Sep
10
Myriam Heller (Juliette Gréco) sharing a bed with Nyète, her cheetah. DP: Marcel Grignon.
Maléfices [Sorcery / Where the Truth Lies] (Henri Decoin, 1962)
Sep
10
Myriam Heller (Juliette Gréco) sharing a bed with Nyète, her cheetah. DP: Marcel Grignon.
海底から来た女 [Kaitei kara kita onna / Woman from the Sea] (Koreyoshi Kurahara, 1959)
Sep
4
The mysterious sea woman (Hisako Tsukuba, who under the name Chako van Leeuwen went on to produce the Jawsploitation franchise Piranha) and a bewitched Toshio (Tamio Kawachi). Note how the boat's sail resembles a shark's dorsal fin. DP: Yoshihiro Yamazaki.
It's this month's Bales Challenges' dad's VaderJaws' birthday! Celebrating with Vader, or sharks, or churches, or Chvrches. Erm… let's stick to sharks.
A strange woman appears in the life of a young man. He falls in love with her, but the fishermen know. She's the wife of a shark killed years ago. And she's out for revenge.
Doing Hooptober parallel to Bales. Expect some contamination of the September/October posts.
“This film tells a story of rebels (played by real rats) and cops (played by real cats). After a long domination by cats, the rats escape from prison (this is their rebellion) and find refuge in Canada. There, they feed on organic produce from a garden where the grass hasn’t been sprayed with DDT.” Rat Life and Diet in North America (Joyce Wieland, 1968)
Jul
4
Independence Day
Rats – gerbils actually – nibbling on the Stars and Stripes (via). DP: Joyce Wieland.
A movie set in the USA for Independence Day (USA)
– Jonas Mekas, via
French-Canadian patriot Joyce Wieland tells a fable of freedom.
Coincidentally, the Canadian city of Trois-Rivières, scene of the final battle of the American Revolutionary War, also celebrates an Independence Day on the fourth of July.
藪の中の黒猫 [Yabu no naka no kuroneko / A Black Cat in a Bamboo Grove] (Kaneto Shindō, 1968)
Jun
19
Garfield the Cat Day
A young woman in white, strangely resembling a cat, seemingly lapping a drink from a bowl. DP: Kiyomi Kuroda.
A scene with a cat for Garfield the Cat Day (USA)
A mother and daughter who are raped and murdered by a rogue samurai, return as cat-shaped onryō, vengeful spirits.
“In the evenings, the little Hedgehog went to the Bear Cub to count stars. They would sit on the log and sip tea, gazing at the starry sky. It hung on the roof, just behind the chimney. To the right of the chimney were the Bear Cub's stars and the stars to the left were the Hedgehog's”Ёжик в тумане [Yózhik v tumáne / Hedgehog in the Fog] (Yuri Norstein, 1975)
Jun
9
Donald Duck – 1934
Fireflies in the fog. DP: Aleksandr Zhukovskiy.
A [favourite] animated character for Donald Duck Day (USA)
– opening lines
On his way to visit his friend Bear Cub, Hedgehog finds himself in a dense mistbank. Strange sounds, and even stranger creatures, omit from it. And all he wanted was have strawberry jam and tea with his friend.
“Had I the time to keep a diary, I’d use that time to better effect; sleeping on the veranda” 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
The cat and his master, teacher Sneaze. DP: Kōzō Okazaki.
A pet for National Hug Your Cat Day (USA) *
– 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
“Subject, Sandy Fremont. The last positive sighting of the child was on her way home from a school orchestra rehearsal. This was on Tuesday May 14th at approximately 6:30 in the evening.”The Appointment (Lindsey C. Vickers, 1982)
May
14
Tue
A schoolgirl with long brown hair seen from the back. She's taking the popular shortcut through the fields. DP: Brian West.
Cockfighter (Monte Hellman, 1974)
Mar
15
Frank Mansfield (Warren Oates) holding up a reluctant, wildly flapping white rooster. DP: Néstor Almendros.
Le Songe Des Chevaux Sauvages [Dream of the Wild Horses] (Denys Colomb de Daunant, 1960)
Mar
10
ithrah69's birthday
Camargue horses galloping through a haze of water and dreams. DPs: Denys Colomb de Daunant & André Costey.
A film ithrah69 may like for their birthday.
Filmmaker and photographer Colomb de Daunant's spiritual sequel to Crin blanc : le cheval sauvage [White Mane] (1953) and Glamador (1958) follows the same wild Camargue horses in their dreams.
The accompanying music is performed on a Cristal Baschet, a glass instrument key to several avant-garde films. I refer to John Coulthart's writeup about Le Songe, which links through to an article about the Cristal Baschet.
“I like the settings where the lights and desire cross path. The desire to communicate with the invisibles in the darkness, or in memory, or in the future. It's always related to cinema and we as insects that are drawn to lights.”สัตว์วิกาล [Sud Vikal / Vampire] (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2008)
Mar
2
Dr. Seuss' birthday
Applying blood to attract the Nok Phii. It's cold. DP: Chaisiri Jiwarangsan.
Imaginary animals or food for Theodor “Dr.” Seuss Geisel's birthday (1904).
– Apichatpong Weerasethakul, via
Villagers in the north of Thailand reported a rare sighting of a male and female Nok Phii, an elusive species of bird that feeds on animals' blood. It is unknown if the sighting was reliable, and if this vampire does, or ever did, exist.