Zahrada [The Garden] (Jan Švankmajer, 1968)
Oct
25
Jiří Hálek and Luděk Kopřiva as Josef and Frank. DP: Svatopluk Malý.
Japanicky [Felix the Cat in Japanicky] (Otto Messmer, 1928)
May
03
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A cheeky looking Felix stands in a doorway with a bamboo roller shutter. Inside the room a woman in Japanese dress sits in front of a tea bowl and pot on top of a small platform. From the ceiling hangs a (Chinese) lantern and from the wall a large scroll that reads May 3 in stereotypical Oriental lettering.
and May 4.
Even: As You and I (Roger Barlow, Harry Hay + LeRoy Robbins, 1937)
Feb
27
A film editor struggling with a long strip of celluloid. DP: Hy Hirsh.
“Here lies
Pierre MOLINIER
born on 13 April 1900 died around 1950
he was a man without morals
he was proud of it and gloried in it
No need to pray for him.”
Satan bouche un coin (Jean-Pierre Bouyxou + Raphaël Marongiu, 1968)
Oct
10
In an autoerotic display, Androgyne (Pierre Molinier) fondles a woman (Janine Delannoy) wearing one of his masks that echoes Molinier's deceased sister (via). DPs: Jean-Pierre Bouyxou, Raphaël Marongiu & Loïc Picard.
A [favourite] color [horror] film*
– Pierre Molinier, mock-epitaph (via, NSFW as goes without saying)
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for October is horror-themed as opposed to date-based, and is all about favourites. Expect non-horror and films I believe to be relevant instead.
“I am the BBC as you can see, and here was the last news.”
The Bed Sitting Room (Richard Lester, 1969)
Mar
22
National Goof-off Day
The BBC (Frank Thornton) bringing you the news (via). DP: David Watkin.
A truly silly film for National Goof-off Day (USA)
– The BBC
“My God. What am I doing in this place?”
Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie [The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie] (Luis Buñuel, 1972)
Feb
16
No One Eats Alone Day
The diners at a long table. DP: Edmond Richard.
People eat dinner together on No One Eats Alone Day*
– Henri Sénéchal
The bourgeoisie meet for dinner in various settings, but never consume.
* this event takes place on the Friday of the second full week in February, which makes the 2025 date February 14.
“… as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.”
Egged On (Charles R. Bowers, Harold L. Muller + Ted Sears, 1926)
Jan
17
inventions
Charley working his Rube Goldberger-esque egg-rubberizing contraption.
An invention for Benjamin Franklin's birthday. Inventor Charley (Charles R. Bowers) comes up with an ingenious method to make eggs break-proof for transport by rubberizing them.
– Benjamin Franklin in his autobiography
Bowers was an almost-forgotten silent era comedian, filmmaker, and animator. In more recent years, his groundbreaking stop-motion comedy has found a new, well-deserved, interest.
Hägringen [Mirage] (Peter Weiss, 1959)
Feb
12
An uncomfortably close close-up up of a man's mouth eating something. Tongue and mouth are visible. He's got stubble. DP: Gustaf Mandal.
La perle [The Pearl] (Henri d'Ursel, 1929)
Dec
15
National Wear Your Pearls Day
A giddy Kissa Kouprine as the jewellery salesgirl. A pearl necklace jauntily dangles from her suspender. DP: Marc Bujard.
Pearls worn for National Wear Your Pearls Day (USA). No one said those pearls were to be worn in the obvious place.
ねこぢる草 [Nekojiru-sō / Cat Soup] (Tatsuo Satō, 2001)
Aug
30
National Grief Awareness Day
Nyāko taken away by Jizō with little brother Nyatta telling Nyāko to come back home. DP: Masaru Takase.
Nyatta is not ready to have Jizō take away his big sister Nyāko to Ne-no-kuni, the land of the dead. The kitten grabs his sister's paw, resulting in her soul being ripped in two and leaving Nyāko in a state of limbo. The cats' mother then sends the two off on a mission to buy fried #tofu. Maybe now Nyatta can find a way to put Nyāko's divided soul back together. But first, there's a circus to visit!
ねこぢる草 is based on works by mangaka Nekojiru / ねこぢる (1967—1998) whose trademark crudely drawn #cats caused a ripple in Japan's underground #manga circuit. Nyatta and Nyāko continued their surreal adventures by way of widower Yamano Hajime after Nekojiru's tragic suicide in 1998.