Le vampire de Düsseldorf [The Vampire of Dusseldorf] (Robert Hossein, 1965)
Sep
5
Robert Hossein as Peter Kuerten [sic]. DP: Alain Levent.
Flic Story [Cop Story] (Jacques Deray, 1975)
Sep
3
1947
A close-up of a man's feet hastily walking along a corridor. Superimposed it reads 3 SEPTEMBRE 1974. DP: Jean-Jacques Tarbès.
Mon oncle (Jacques Tati, 1958)
Aug
29
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Mr Hulot and three women enjoy an outdoor lunch in Villa Arpel's concrete backyard. A woman in furs laughs heartily, head thrown back, with Hulot looking into her open mouth, halting a woman reaching for a carafe mid-movement. The third woman, in an avant-garde Eastmancolor-red poncho, calmly smokes through her cigarette holder. DP: Jean Bourgoin.
– A house like yours must be such a job!
– Oh, a leaf! Ah, yes it's a chore.
– Admit it, you love it.
Mon oncle (Jacques Tati, 1958) / Koolhaas Houselife (Ila Bêka + Louise Lemoine, 2008)
Aug
29
grey
A delivery man in front of the gates of Villa Arpel (via), and custodian Guadalupe Acedo working the lift in Maison à Bordeaux. DP of Mon Oncle: Jean Bourgoin.
[A favourite] colour: grey*
Approaching the 60s, Mr Hulot finally switches from black-and-white to colour. Suddenly, we see that his suit is a beigeish grey and so is the Arpels' house, that modernist masterpiece designed by Tati. The beloved luddite struggles with hypermodern people and their hypermodern constructs, much alike the future Hulot from Playtime (1967).
In similar absurd fashion, Guadalupe Acedo, cleaning lady, works her way through Rem Koolhaas' Maison à Bordeaux (1998) in Bêka and Lemoine's Koolhaas Houselife (2008). Too steep are the stairs, too leaky everything else. Levelheaded, she does her thing; a small beacon of romantic practicality in a world of absurd efficiency.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for August is not date-related but lists, for the most part, the colours of the rainbow.
La horse [Horse] (Pierre Granier-Deferre, 1970)
Aug
28
1923
Francis Grutti's (Armando Francioli) ID, handled by someone wielding a large stamp. His birthday is August 28, 1923. DP: Walter Wottitz.
“Marge, my love, my angel.”
Plein soleil [Purple Noon] (René Clément, 1960)
Aug
20
1959
A contract for Marge, a sailboat, dated August 20, 1959. DP: Henri Decaë.
Fuoco! [Fire!] (Gian Vittorio Baldi, 1968)
Aug
15
Ferragosto
The statue of the Virgin with a bullet hole right through her eye. DP: Ugo Piccone.
Someone opens fire on August 15, the day of Ferragosto and the Virgin's Assumption
“Eh, i sogni a volte insegnano male, Dùnya, perché la verità intera non è mai in un solo sogno, la verità intera è in molti sogni.”
Il fiore delle mille e una notte [Arabian Nights] (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1974)
Aug
13
cerulean
The entrance of the Shah Mosque as seen in the film. The seven colours of the tile work are reflected in the extras' costumes. DP: Giuseppe Ruzzolini.
Cerulean, or blue: a building or structure*
One of the many exotic locations is the مسجد شاه, [Masjed-e Shah, or Shah Mosque] in Iran with its otherworldly blue and blue-adjacent tiles.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for August is not date-related but lists, for the most part, the colours of the rainbow.
“She'd discovered a small beach far from town, with crystal-clear water and pink sand. She loved that spot. The colors of nature were so beautiful, and there was no noise. She'd leave only when the sun did too.”
Il deserto rosso [Red Desert] (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964)
Aug
12
green
Valerio (Valerio Bartoleschi) and his mother Giuliana (Monica Vitti) in an arid industrial landscape. Giuliana wears a brilliant green coat, its shade between pea and moss, depending on the drabness of her surroundings. DP: Carlo Di Palma.
Green, in food or fashion*
– Giuliana
Antonioni's first film in colour beautifully utilises Vitti's brilliance – of her auburn hair, her porcelain teint, her vivid costumes (by Paola Carloni) – against the drab landscape.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for August is not date-related but lists, for the most part, the colours of the rainbow.
Domenica d'agosto [Sunday in August] (Luciano Emmer, 1950)
Aug
7
1949
A little boy runs down a Roman street. Superimposed a calendar page: SUNDAY AUGUST 7 S. GAETANO THE SUN RISES AT 5:15 SUNSET AT 19:42 – CRESCENT MOON. “S. Gaetano” refers to Saint Cajetan, who's feast day is on August 7. DPs: Leonida Barboni, Ubaldo Marelli & Domenico Scala.