settima

bread

Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält [Mark of the Devil] (Michael Armstrong + Adrian Hoven, 1970)

Nov

28

cheese

Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält (1970)

A very young, very pretty Udo Kier seated at a dinner table. There are various fruits on a platter and Udo's eating cheese. His outfit suggests the 18th century. DP: Ernst W. Kalinke.

“I accuse you of having trampled on the cross, of having ridden to the Sabbath, of throwing the Holy Cross of our Saviour into manure so that the skies grew dark, and the rain fell upon the earth!”

– Albino

Requiem for a Village (David Gladwell, 1975)

Sep

29

bread

Requiem for a Village (1975)

Farmers resting, eating bread, after the harvest. DP: Bruce Parsons.

 

E-clip-se (Chris Marker, 1999)

Aug

11

1999

E-clip-se (1999)

A young woman or child at the Jardin des plantes de Paris wears protective glasses while looking up in amazement during the August 11, 1999 solar eclipse, her baguette a vague memory. DP: Chris Marker.

Хлебный день [Khlebnyy den / Bread Day] (Sergei Dvortsevoy, 1998)

Aug

10

green

Хлебный день (1998)

The old folks pushing the cart past the hamlet's name sign. With thick brush strokes, almost too much for the small rectangle, it reads TOWNSHIP NR. 3. DP: Alisher Khamidkhodzhaev.

Green: a building or structure*

“That's all the people we've got now. We'll get there somehow.”

Where the old folks' hands push the cart, the green's worn off. That doesn't change anything about its importance. A lifeline, bread, is delivered once a week and with delivered, it means that the carriage is left on the rails, several kilometers away from Zhikharevo, or Township Nr. 3, which in its turn is about 80 km away from Saint Petersburg. It takes the seniors about two hours to get the wagon to their hamlet. We get to witness ten minutes or so. It lasts a lifetime.

 

As of 2002, only three people lived in Zhikharevo. I wonder how the wain comes home now.

 

Todo modo [One Way or Another] (Elio Petri, 1976)

Feb

13

Eucharist

Todo modo (1976)

Captains of industry, politicians and others of the upper echelons share a meal of bread, water, and wine at a long table. DP: Luigi Kuveiller.

“When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.”

– 1 Corinthians 11:20–21, via

Lonely Are the Brave (David Miller, 1962)

Dec

15

bread

Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

Jerry Bondi (Gena Rowlands) kneads dough. DP: Philip H. Lathrop.

“I don't need a card to figure out who I am. I already know.”

– Jack Burns

La horse [Horse] (Pierre Granier-Deferre, 1970)

Aug

23

baguette

La horse (1970)

Auguste Maroilleur (Jean Gabin) at the head of a long table, covered in Good Things (wine, butter, coffee, and fresh milk). He cuts a baguette with his pocketknife. DP: Walter Wottitz.

Na wylot [Through and Through] (Grzegorz Królikiewicz, 1972)

Jul

15

sandwiches

Na wylot (1972)

Jan (Franciszek Trzeciak) and Maria (Anna Nieborowska) share lunch on a bench. DP: Bogdan Dziworski.

Plein soleil [Purple Noon] (René Clément, 1960)

Jun

15

croissants

Plein soleil (1960)

Tom Ripley (Alain Delon) going though his passport over breakfast. Multiple passport photos, a fountain pen, and a magnifying glass take precedence over his fresh croissants. DP: Henri Decaë.

“Why bother having money when you can spend other people's?”

– Philippe Greenleaf

Slnko v sieti [The Sun in a Net] (Štefan Uher, 1963)

May

9

lunch

Slnko v sieti (1963)

An old man, enclosed in a simple, wooden window frame, eating his lunch. DP: Stanislav Szomolányi.