The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (Gordon Davidson, 1972)
May
17
1968
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Director Gordon Davidson and the defense attorney (David Spielberg) on set. DP: Haskell Wexler.
“Murder's nothing. It's just a simple experience. Murder and rape? Do you know what beauty there is in evil?”
Compulsion (Richard Fleischer, 1959)
May
16
Straus (Bradford Dillman) with Steiner (Dean Stockwell) behind the wheel. They're beaming. DP: William C. Mellor.
Anayurt Oteli [Motherland Hotel] (Ömer Kavur, 1987)
May
14
Receptionist Day
Receptionist Zebercet. DP: Orhan Oğuz.
A receptionist or secretary for Receptionist Day
The proprietor and receptionist of a small hotel welcomes a new guest. The woman, her name she doesn't tell, stays for only one night with the promise to return the following week. The receptionist waits.
“Subject, Sandy Fremont. The last positive sighting of the child was on her way home from a school orchestra rehearsal. This was on Tuesday May 14th at approximately 6:30 in the evening.”
The Appointment (Lindsey C. Vickers, 1982)
May
14
Tue
A schoolgirl with long brown hair seen from the back. She's taking the popular shortcut through the fields. DP: Brian West.
Παραγγελιά! [Parangelia! / Request for a Song] (Pavlos Tasios, 1980)
May
13
Top Gun Day
A man dances the Zeibekiko, with another close to him. DPs: Sakis Maniatis & Kostas Papagiannakis.
Testosterone! for Top Gun Day (USA)
The Ζεϊμπέκικο (Zeibekiko) is a Greek dance, improvised by one man, alone. It's a dance that shows the performer's manliness, both his pride and his sorrows. Out of respect for the dancer, the others sit down, watch, and relate to him.
When the police enters the establishment – and this is 1973, the colonels ruled the naton – and interrupt the dancer, his older brother steps in.
Yngsjömordet [Woman of Darkness] (Arne Mattsson, 1966)
May
11
Mother's Day
spoiler warning: click to toggle image
Anna Månsdotter (Gunnel Lindblom). DP: Lasse Björne.
A good or bad mother for Mother's Day
Arranged by his widowed mother, Per Nilsson marries the wealthy judge's daughter Hanna. The wedlock remains unfulfilled as son and mother find satisfaction in each other. Hanna suspects something.
Based on the Yngsjö murder case, which at the time was considered more noteworthy for the mother/son relationship than the resulting tragedy.
“Those who came before have passed on. And I'm left behind. A penniless beggar. Not a cowrie to my name. Look, my purse is empty… Lord, the day is done and evening falls. Ferry me across to the other shore…”
পথের পাঁচালী [Pather Panchali / Apu 1: Song of the Little Road] (Satyajit Ray, 1955)
May
10
Stamp Out Hunger
Hands exchange food through a worn-out window. DP: Subrata Mitra.
A film about poverty for the Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive (USA)
– Indir Thakrun, singing
“My Hermès handbag!”
Week-end (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967)
May
9
UN Global Road Safety Week
A terrible, bloody, car crash. There's cars on fire and several injured sprawled around. A lucky survivor exclaims MY HERMÈS HANDBAG! DP: Raoul Coutard.
A traffic accident: UN Global Road Safety Week *
– Corinne
The bourgeois make their way to the countryside, and find themselves in a cacophony of car crashes, primitive urges, and political uprisings.
* This actually takes places from May 12 to May 18, 2025.
“Time will pass. Towns and villages will be rebuilt. Our wounds will heal. But our fierce hatred of war will never diminish.”
Летят журавли [Letyat zhuravli / The Cranes Are Flying] (Mikhail Kalatozov, 1957)
May
8
VE Day
A young woman standing in what was a room in a building, looks out over the ruins of a city. A broken lampshade and a grandfather's clock whisper of other times. DP: Sergey Urusevskiy.
A non-battlefield war movie on VE Day. It had to be a Soviet film, on this date. Thank you, Russia.
– Stepan
When the cranes fly over Moscow, a young couple learns about the war. Now separated, one day, when it is over, if, they'll reunite
The hand-held cinematography, groundbreaking at the time, came from former war cameraman Sergey Urusevskiy.
“What mystery, what beauty.”
Stromboli (Terra di Dio) [Stromboli] (Roberto Rossellini, 1950)
May
8
birthdays
Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman on set on Sardinia. In the background the house Bergman's character moves into with her husband. DP: Otello Martelli.
May 8 is both director Rossellini and Bergman's character Karen's #birthday.
– Karen