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कालिया मर्दन [Kaliya Mardan / The Childhood of Krishna] (Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, 1919)
Apr
1
April Fools' Day
Shri Krishna (Mandakini Phalke, the director's seven-year old daughter), playing his flute with a twinkle in his eye. DP: Dhundiraj Govind Phalke.
Kaliya Mardan is one of the handful films from India's early cinematic output that has survived. Do check your attic
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父ありき [Chichi ariki / There Was a Father] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1942)
Mar
31
a father
Father and son fishing in a creek. DP: Yūharu Atsuta.
A father for OP's father's birthday.
A father, and proud teacher, raises his son alone. When the boy is an adult and a teacher himself, the elder's traditional concept of societal hierarchy affirms the balance between the generations.
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Chac: Dios de la lluvia [Chac: The Rain God] (Rolando Klein, 1975)
Mar
30
mythology
Mythology on the date Wrath of the Titans (2012) was released.
With their shaman lost to alcohol, villagers make their way to a diviner in the hope to appease Chac, the rain god.
“This is the account
of when
all is still silent
and placid.
All is silent
and calm.
Hushed
and empty is the womb of the sky.”
– Popul Vuh, The Primordial World
Filmed in the forests of Tenejapa, Chiapas, Chac is probably the first film completely in Tzotzil, one of several Maya languages, and based on themes found in the Popol Vuh.
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Supermarkt [Die Stadt, Jane Love / Supermarket] (Roland Klick, 1974)
Mar
30
Willi Hansen (Charly Wierzejewski) in a phone booth. Filmed from the outside in, his face is partially obscured by neon lights. DP: Jost Vacano.
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Die Patriotin [The Patriotic Woman] (Alexander Kluge, 1979)
Mar
29
秦始皇兵马俑
Teacher Gabi Teichert (Hannelore Hoger), knee-deep in a puddle with a shovel, inspecting a find. DPs: Guenter Hoermann, Werner Lüring, Thomas Mauch & Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein.
A German history teacher, unhappy with the standardised history textbooks she has to work with, literally digs up her nation's past and sees how it is reflected in modern society.
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Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984)
Mar
27
94th Academy Awards
Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) wandering the desert. DP: Robby Müller.
“The Dust has come to stay. You may stay or pass on through or whatever.”
– gas station sign
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Ludwig (Luchino Visconti, 1973)
Mar
25
Elton John – 1947
Elisabeth “Sissi” of Austria (Romy Schneider) and King Ludwig II of Bavaria (Helmut Berger) in his beloved Venus Grotto below Schloss Linderhoff. Ludwig wanted blue light in reference to the Grotta Azzurra in #Capri, and had electricity installed in the grotto, which was the first usage of electricity in Austria. DP: Armando Nannuzzi.
A flamboyant character for Elton John’s birthday (1947).
“I want to remain an enigma forever. To others, and also to myself.”
– Ludwig II
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The Moon Over the Alley (Joseph Despins, 1976)
Mar
21
End Racism Day
Ronnie Gusset (Patrick Murray), Sherry (Bill Williams), and Belinda (Sharon Forester) at a kitchen table, chatting and laughing. DP: Peter Hannan.
Today marks the anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre (1960), when police butchered dozens of people gathered to protest the pass law, one of Apartheid's many cruel segregation measurements.
“In a short while you'll see that the moon won't be so bright as it is. Clouds will cover it… it'll get broken up there. I hope it won't break us.”
– Sybil
The multicultural residents of a Notting Hill boarding house go about their day – listening to the radio, humming, singing – with the local council's imminent demolition of their home looming over them.
A kitchen sink drama, yes. But also a catchy musical, written by no other than Galt MacDermot, who brought the world the musical Hair (1967) and the blaxploitation neo-noir Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970).
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Grauzone [Zones] (Fredi M. Murer, 1979)
Mar
21
1976
The anonymous, urgent newspaper announcement referencing the oath of secrecy considering a mysterious epidemic, starting March 21, 1976. It lists all the symptoms. DP: Hans Liechti.
Eine mysteriöse EPIDEMIE ist ausgebrochen.
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L'eclisse [The Eclipse] (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)
Mar
20
natural phenomena
Vitti's blond hair shifts in front of Delon's dark coupe, quietly mimicking the eclipse. DP: Gianni Di Venanzo.
“There was a silence different from all other silences, an ashen light, and then darkness – total stillness. I thought that during an eclipse even our feelings stop. Out of this came part of the idea for L'eclisse.”
During several moments in the film, the main characters' mannerisms foreshadow the looming solar eclipse.