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Привързаният балон [Privarzaniyat balon / The Tied-Up Balloon] (Binka Zhelyazkova, 1967)
Oct
1
Balloons Around The World Day
The balloon sails along as a young woman in white (Janet Miteva) walks with it. DP: Emil Vagenshtain.
One day, a large blimp shows up over a small Bulgarian village. The townspeople, seeing the prosperity in all that beautiful silk and then some, go after it.
“It was fear that created the first gods.”
– Stratius
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Céline et Julie vont en bateau: Phantom Ladies Over Paris [Celine and Julie Go Boating] (Jacques Rivette, 1974)
Sep
17
National Women's Friendship Day
Celine (Juliet Berto) leans into Julie (Dominique Labourier) in the back of a car. DP: Jacques Renard.
“It doesn't hurt to fall off the moon.”
– Julie
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Warum läuft Herr R. Amok [Why Does Herr R. Run Amok] (Michael Fengler, 1970)
Sep
11
National Boss Employee Exchange Day
Der Chef (Franz Maron) berates Herr R. (Kurt Raab). DP: Dietrich Lohmann.
“No, no, geh' nicht vorbei, als wär' nichts gescheh'n,
Es ist zu spät, um zu lügen,
Komm und verzeih, ich werd' mit dir geh'n,
Wohin dein Weg auch führt,
Und die Welt, sie wird schön.”
– Christian Anders, Geh nicht vorbei (1969)
So why does Herr R run amok?
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Stroszek (Werner Herzog, 1977)
Sep
9
German Language Day
A warm Railroad Flats, Wis. “Willcomen” [sic] for (LtR) Scheitz, Eva, and Bruno, with Mr Scheitz's nephew (Clayton Szalpinski) squeezed between his “Onkellein” and Eva. DP: Thomas Mauch.
Bruno Stroszek (Bruno S.), his friends Eva (Eva Mattes) and Scheitz (Clemens Scheitz, responsible for the fairy-tale music you hear in this film) decide to leave dreary #Berlin behind and move to #Wisconsin where the latter's nephew lives. A new life, with dreams of music and animal magnetism, awaits them there.
“Was ist loos? Der Hund is loose.”
– Clayton
As so oft with #Herzog, the story behind Stroszek is as engrossing as the resulting film. Documentary maker Errol Morris and Herzog were fascinated by Wisconsin's own Ed Gein and wondered if Gein had dug up his own mother, as was rumoured at the time. As they would, they decided to open the poor woman's grave. Morris never showed up, and neither did Herzog but only because his car broke down en route to Plainfield, Wisconsin. Trying to get the vehicle fixed, Herzog entered the workshop of a Clayton Szalpinski.
A character in his own right, and a non-actor to boot, Clayton ended up in Stroszek as Scheitz's nephew; a MacGuffin odder than a dancing chicken.
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Stroszek (Werner Herzog, 1977)
Sep
9
turkey
“We're in America now.”
– Bruno S.
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ねこぢる草 [Nekojiru-sō / Cat Soup] (Tatsuo Satō, 2001)
Aug
30
National Grief Awareness Day
Nyāko taken away by Jizō with little brother Nyatta telling Nyāko to come back home. DP: Masaru Takase.
Nyatta is not ready to have Jizō take away his big sister Nyāko to Ne-no-kuni, the land of the dead. The kitten grabs his sister's paw, resulting in her soul being ripped in two and leaving Nyāko in a state of limbo. The cats' mother then sends the two off on a mission to buy fried #tofu. Maybe now Nyatta can find a way to put Nyāko's divided soul back together. But first, there's a circus to visit!
ねこぢる草 is based on works by mangaka Nekojiru / ねこぢる (1967—1998) whose trademark crudely drawn #cats caused a ripple in Japan's underground #manga circuit. Nyatta and Nyāko continued their surreal adventures by way of widower Yamano Hajime after Nekojiru's tragic suicide in 1998.
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Vražda ing. Čerta [The Murder of Mr. Devil / Killing the Devil] (Ester Krumbachová, 1970)
Aug
18
Serendipity Day
Ona (Jiřina Bohdalová) is her wonderful kitchen, smoking two well-deserved cigars. DP: Jiří Macák.
Ester Krumbachová's feminist farce is a delight of many flavours. Ona (Jiřina Bohdalová) is already 40 and in need of a man. She remembers one from her youth, the handsome, slim, and very cultured Eng. Bohouš Čerta (litt. “God the Devil, Engineer”, played by the always great Vladimír Menšík), and knows that the one way to a man's heart is through the stomach.
Her cooking is immaculate. So are her looks and her apartment (all created by one-time director Krumbachová who worked as a costume designer and screenwriter). Unfortunately, her beau has turned boorish and stuffs his face with all but her and the furniture (is that true?). But cooking she can, and wanting she does. So she cooks and cooks and cooks up some more.
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Sedmi kontinent [Sedmý kontinent / The Seventh Continent] (Dušan Vukotić, 1966)
Aug
12
teevee dinner
A little blond boy on a red tricycle driving past his TV-ish dinner in an empty house. DP: Karol Krška.
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His Wife's Mistakes (Roscoe Arbuckle, 1916)
Aug
4
National Water Balloon Day
Janitor Roscoe uses the comedy staple seltzer bottle to fill a balloon with some spritz!
The great Roscoe Arbuckle just can't help himself while at the wonderfully hedonistic Oriental Café in this delightful short slapstick.
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La ragazza con la pistola [The Girl with a Pistol] (Mario Monicelli, 1968)
Jul
28
Assunta Patanè (Monica Vitti) seated between two dinner tables on a long, padded bench. She's clutching her purse and appears to be waiting for something. On the table to her right a sugar bowl and a branded ashtray. DP: Carlo Di Palma.
“Ah, well, if you love somebody, shoot!”
– Dr. Tom Osborne