view
کلوزآپ ، نمای نزدیک [Klūzāp, nemā-ye nazdīk / Close-Up] (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990)
Nov
8
Hossain Sabzian as himself. He sits behind a low table holding various refreshments, presented by his host. DP: Ali Reza Zarrindast.
view
Seconds (John Frankenheimer, 1966)
Nov
7
International Merlot Day
Nora (Salome Jens), seen from the back with her dress half unzipped, holds up a glass of red wine while kissing a reluctant Antiochus (Rock Hudson) during the ecstatic Bacchanal scene. DP: James Wong Howe.
At a bacchanalia, Rock Hudson's Antiochus Wilson finally strips down his hesitancy and realises he has a second chance at life, as a member of the new generation. To the Queen of wine! To Bacchus! To Pan!
“Bacchus gives us his blood so we may be born again.”
Director of photography James Wong Howe's very controlled framing of the (initially censored) pre-Woodstock #Bacchanalian scene beautifully frames this pinnacle moment and proved almost too much for American censors.
view
Matinée (Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, 1977)
Nov
4
National Easy Bake Oven Day
Friends Aarón (Rodolfo Chávez Martínez) and Jorge (Armando Martín) having a grownup discussion about the situation. DP: Jorge Stahl Jr..
Two boys skip class to catch a movie – Alexander Mackendrick's thematically similar A High Wind in Jamaica (1965) – and end up as members of a violent gang instead. While Matinée has elements of a typical 70s #ComingOfAge movie, the more fascinating element is the role reversal of the two children and the robbers. As the kids are forced to grow up, fast, the criminals live out their childhood fantasy of never having to listen to anyone ever again. And bicker over comics.
Robert Rodriguez stated that the fearsome criminals in his El Mariachi (1992) never outgrew their childhood nicknames. I start to suspect that once upon a time, a little boy named Robertiño skipped class and went to the matinee.
view
O něčem jiném [Something Different] (Věra Chytilová, 1963)
Nov
3
Housewife Day
Věra (Věra Chytilová) looks out of a window. Everything is grey. DP: Jan Čuřík.
In Věra Chytilová's O něčem jiném, parallel storylines, one filmed as a documentary the other as a fictional drama, of two women are shown.
“So where do we go from here?”
– Eva
Olympic gymnast Eva (Eva Bosáková) undergoes a gruelling training regime. Housewife Věra (Věra Uzelacová) feels neglected by her husband. Both ruminate on a different life.
view
瘋癲老人日記 [Fūten rōjin nikki / Diary of a Mad Old Man] (Keigo Kimura, 1962)
Oct
29
World Stroke Day
Utsugi (Sō Yamamura) lusting after his daughter-in-law Sachiko's (Ayako Wakao) feet while she takes a shower. DP: Nobuo Munekawa.
view
The Leather Boys (Sidney J. Furie, 1964)
Oct
17
National Motorcycle Ride Day
Pete (Dudley Sutton) in his black leather tiger jacket waiting for Reggie (Colin Campbell). He leans against a window pane while Reggie drives up. It's raining and Reg is merely a blur. DP: Gerald Gibbs.
view
Maciste all'inferno [Maciste in Hell] (Guido Brignone, 1925)
Oct
17
sinners
view
I pugni in tasca [Fists in the Pocket] (Marco Bellocchio, 1965)
Oct
15
soup
A smirking Alessandro (Lou Castel) pours soup with a ladle with his tired-looking mother (Liliana Gerace) observing. DP: Alberto Marrama.
“I'm a volcano of ideas.”
– Alessandro
view
心中天網島 [Shinjū: Ten no Amijima / Double Suicide] (Masahiro Shinoda, 1969)
Oct
10
International Stage Management Day
Jihei (Kichiemon Nakamura ) and his children with a stagehand visible between them. DP: Tōichirō Narushima.
心中天網島 is based on a 1721 文楽 [#bunraku] puppet theatre play]. As traditional in this style of theatre, the puppeteers are in full view of the audience wearing all-black cloaks. 心中天網島 does the same, but substitutes the puppets with flesh and blood actors.
view
Yawar Mallku [Blood of the Condor] (Jorge Sanjinés, 1969)
Oct
9
Indigenous Peoples Day
Three Quechua men in ponchos and chullas seen from the back look out over the Anti (Andes). One of them stands on top of a large boulder. DP: Antonio Eguino.
