Happy End (Oldřich Lipský, 1967)
Sep
1
1889
Butcher Bedřich Frydrych (Oldřich Lipský), born September 1, 1889 in Trumberk. DP: Vladimír Novotný.
– A house like yours must be such a job!
– Oh, a leaf! Ah, yes it's a chore.
– Admit it, you love it.
Mon oncle (Jacques Tati, 1958) / Koolhaas Houselife (Ila Bêka + Louise Lemoine, 2008)
Aug
29
grey
A delivery man in front of the gates of Villa Arpel (via), and custodian Guadalupe Acedo working the lift in Maison à Bordeaux. DP of Mon Oncle: Jean Bourgoin.
[A favourite] colour: grey*
Approaching the 60s, Mr Hulot finally switches from black-and-white to colour. Suddenly, we see that his suit is a beigeish grey and so is the Arpels' house, that modernist masterpiece designed by Tati. The beloved luddite struggles with hypermodern people and their hypermodern constructs, much alike the future Hulot from Playtime (1967).
In similar absurd fashion, Guadalupe Acedo, cleaning lady, works her way through Rem Koolhaas' Maison à Bordeaux (1998) in Bêka and Lemoine's Koolhaas Houselife (2008). Too steep are the stairs, too leaky everything else. Levelheaded, she does her thing; a small beacon of romantic practicality in a world of absurd efficiency.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for August is not date-related but lists, for the most part, the colours of the rainbow.
Domenica d'agosto [Sunday in August] (Luciano Emmer, 1950)
Aug
7
1949
A little boy runs down a Roman street. Superimposed a calendar page: SUNDAY AUGUST 7 S. GAETANO THE SUN RISES AT 5:15 SUNSET AT 19:42 – CRESCENT MOON. “S. Gaetano” refers to Saint Cajetan, who's feast day is on August 7. DPs: Leonida Barboni, Ubaldo Marelli & Domenico Scala.
黒蜥蜴 [Kurotokage / Kuro tokage / Black Lizard] (Kinji Fukasaku, 1968)
Aug
4
The Black Lizard (Akihiro Miwa) in embrace with Detective Akechi (Isao Kimura). DP: Hiroshi Dōwaki.
“Bruno, I've spent the best two days of my life with you… I mean it!”
Il sorpasso [The Easy Life] (Dino Risi, 1962)
Jul
26
a boys' night out
Bruno (Gassman) and Roberto (Trintignant) driving along Italy in their sports car (via). DP: Alfio Contini.
A boys' night out: men having fun on their own*
– Roberto Mariani
Serious law student Roberto (Jean-Louis Trintignant) goes on an accidental road trip with bon vivant Bruno (Vittorio Gassman).
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for July is, for unknown reasons, mostly not date-related and follows some sort of vacation narrative.
Marie II: “But I'm happy.”
Marie I: “I'm so happy, too.”
Sedmikrásky [Daisies] (Věra Chytilová, 1966)
Jul
25
a girls' night out
Marie I and Marie II (Jitka Cerhová and Ivana Karbanová respectively) having a heck of a time. DP: Jaroslav Kučera.
A girls' night out: women having fun on their own[???]*
Two young women called Marie pull destructive, anarchist pranks.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for July is, for unknown reasons, mostly not date-related and follows some sort of vacation narrative.
“There’s something almost poetic about finding a hairpin in the bath. It’s like the sole of my foot has been pierced by poetry.”
簪 [Kanzashi / Ornamental Hairpin] (Hiroshi Shimizu, 1941)
Jul
24
relaxation
Men relaxing at a roten-buro, an outdoor onsen. DP: Suketarō Inokai.
Someone goes to a spa, beach, or retreat*
– Nanmura, via
Relaxing at an onsen, a soldier steps on the titular kanzashi. Now injured with too much time on his hands, he and his fellow nosy patrons go out looking for its owner.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for July is, for unknown reasons, mostly not date-related and follows some sort of vacation narrative.
“Fantastic! You are a first class dilettante!”
Sinong lumikha ng yoyo? Sinong lumikha ng moon buggy? [Who Invented the Yoyo? Who Invented the Moon Buggy?] (Kidlat Tahimik, 1979)
Jul
20
1969
A Bavarian onion dome with the date July 20, 1969 superimposed over it. DP: Kidlat Tahimik.
– Kidlat's proud parents
“I see what I see, and I know what I know. But nobody believes me.”
Ansiktet [The Face / The Magician] (Ingmar Bergman, 1958)
Jul
14
Granny Vogler (Naima Wifstrand) telling a sobbing Sara (Bibi Andersson) that yes, she may indeed be a witch. DP: Gunnar Fischer.
– Granny Vogler
La mort d'un bûcheron [The Death of a Lumberjack] (Gilles Carle, 1973)
Jul
12
1920
Blanche Bellefeuille (Denise Filiatrault) in front of a wall covered in catholic knickknacks. Through a door, nightclub entrepreneur Armand St. Amour (Willie Lamothe) can be seen asleep, his beloved cowboy boots carefully placed next to his improvised bed. DP: René Verzier.