settima

history

Le tombeau d'Alexandre [The Last Bolshevik] (Chris Marker, 1993)

Feb

25

Warsaw Pact

Le tombeau d'Alexandre (1993)

Still from a Medvedkin film. Silhouettes in light of Lenin and Stalin facing each other are projected above a crowd of people. DP of Le tombeau d'Alexandre: Chris Marker.

Sebastiane (Paul Humfress + Derek Jarman, 1976)

Feb

18

Pluto Day

Sebastiane (1976)

Sebastian (Leonardo Treviglio) sits on a rock in a barren landscape. Two men in the distance, and a sheep, all have their backs turned to him. DP: Peter Middleton.

Someone is snubbed or rejected on Pluto [Discovery] Day*.

“His body is golden like molten gold. This hand of his… will smooth away these wounds. Justin, he is as beautiful as the sun. This sun which caresses me… is his burning desire. He is Phoebus Apollo. The sun… is his… burning kiss.”

– Sebastian

Sebastian, member of the Emperor's personal guard, is exiled after an incident. He finds himself on a rocky outpost, and the object of the other men's lust. One of them – a centurion rejected by the Christian boy – subjects Sebastian to torture and eventually lifts him up martyrdom.

 

* Pluto Demoted Day is on August 24

儀式 [Gishiki / The Ceremony] (Nagisa Ōshima, 1971)

Jan

1

儀式 (1971)

A boy in school uniform has his ear pressed against the ground. DP: Tōichirō Narushima.

Roj [The Swarm] (Miodrag 'Mića' Popović, 1966)

Dec

12

International Day of Neutrality

Roj (1966)

The judge and the woman. DP: Milorad Marković.

Trying to stay out of conflict on the International Day of Neutrality.

Touche pas à la femme blanche [Don't Touch the White Woman!] (Marco Ferreri, 1974)

Nov

23

potato chips

Touche pas à la femme blanche (1974)

Two white Frenchmen – in a University of Columbia and a CIA sweatshirt respectively – comment on the “period piece” they're in. CIA man (Paolo Villaggio) stuffs his face with potato chips. DP: Étienne Becker.

“Whoever dies for the country hasn't lived in vain. I, on the contrary, will live for the country because I'm not that stupid.”

– George A. Custer

Grands soirs & petits matins [May Days] (William Klein, 1978)

May

24

1968

Grands soirs & petits matins (1978)

Sorbonne students discussing the political situation with an elderly Parisian man. DPs: William Klein & Bernard Lutic.

“Soyez réalistes, demandez l'impossible”

– May 68 slogan

Culloden (Peter Watkins, 1964)

Apr

16

1746

Culloden (1964)

One of the clansman. The look in his eyes foreshadows the Vietnam War this films comments on. DP: Dick Bush.

“Sir Thomas Sheridan, Jacobite military secretary. Suffering advanced debility and loss of memory. Former military engagement, 56 years ago. Sir John MacDonald, Jacobite captain of cavalry. Aged, frequently intoxicated, described as 'a man of the most limited capacities.' John William O'Sullivan, Jacobite quartermaster general. Described as 'an Irishman whose vanity is superseded only by his lack of wisdom.' Prince Charles Edward Stuart, Jacobite commander in chief. Former military experience: 10 days at a siege at the age of 13.”

– narrator

شكاوى الفلاح الفصيح [El-Fallâh el-fasîh / The Eloquent Peasant] (Chadi Abdel Salam, 1970)

Dec

23

National Farmers Day – India

El-Fallâh el-fasîh (1970)

The peasant (Ahmed Marei) in a stone temple, flanked by scribes. DP: Mustafa Imam.

Farmers for Kisan Divas [National Farmers Day], India.
4000 years ago, Egypt, Middle Kingdom. A peasant, leading his mules past a stream of water, is tricked. With his animals gone, he pleads to the Pharaoh to restore Maʽat, harmony.

“He's a peasant. Without looking into his situation, words are all he has.”

Chadi Abdel Salam is not only this film's director, but also a trained architect, later set and costume designer. His eye wordlessly speaks the passing of time in the smallest of details. The withering of ferns, desert sand staining linen, the Sun merging with skin. At once, the universal presence of the gods becomes visible.

儀式 [Gishiki / The Ceremony] (Nagisa Ōshima, 1971)

Nov

11

World Origami Day

儀式 (1971)

A man kneeled in front of a Shintō altar. Ceremonial origami, known as origata or girei origami can be seen hanging from the altar. This is 幣帛 [heihaku], an offering made of cloth or paper. DP: Tōichirō Narushima.

Cleopatra (Joseph L. Mankiewicz + Rouben Mamoulian, 1963)

Aug

26

National Spark The World Day

Cleopatra (1963)

Cleopatra's – Elizabeth Taylor, anachronistically dressed as the goddess Nekhbet – grande entrée in Rome. She sits on top of a black, basalt-like sphinx, pulled by numerous slaves and greeted by a cast of thousands. There are 20 000 Italian extras; there's no CGI. DPs: Leon Shamroy & Jack Hildyard.

Like Rome, Cleopatra wasn't built in a day. Joseph L. Mankiewicz's epic studio breaker took six years to make and, despite it being the highest-grossing film of 1963, didn't break even until 1973. Was it a #flop? A classic flop but a flop nevertheless?

“There are never enough hours in the days of a queen, and her nights have too many.”

– Cleopatra

 

Is it all bad? Cleopatra is one of those movies that so many – and that includes obsessive cinephiles – will get around to watch. Eventually. All four hours of it. I'm still holding out, but ooh, the spectacle!