settima

surrealism

The Bed Sitting Room (Richard Lester, 1969)

Mar

22

National Goof-off Day

The Bed Sitting Room (1969)

The BBC (Frank Thornton) bringing you the news (still via). DP: David Watkin.

A truly silly film for National Goof-off Day (USA)

“I am the BBC as you can see, and here was the last news.”

– The BBC

Even: As You and I (Roger Barlow, Harry Hay + LeRoy Robbins, 1937)

Feb

27

Even: As You and I (1937)

A film editor struggling with a long strip of celluloid. DP: Hy Hirsh.

Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie [The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie] (Luis Buñuel, 1972)

Feb

16

No One Eats Alone Day

Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (1972)

The diners at a long table. DP: Edmond Richard.

People eat dinner together on No One Eats Alone Day*.

“My God. What am I doing in this place?”

– 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.

Egged On (Charles R. Bowers, Harold L. Muller + Ted Sears, 1926)

Jan

17

inventions

Egged On (1926)

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.

“… 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.”

– 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.

Zahrada [The Garden] (Jan Švankmajer, 1968)

Oct

25

Zahrada (1968)

Jiří Hálek and Luděk Kopřiva as Josef and Frank. DP: Svatopluk Malý.

Hägringen [Mirage] (Peter Weiss, 1959)

Feb

12

Hägringen (1959)

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

La perle (1929)

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. 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

ねこぢる草 (2001)

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.

Head (Bob Rafelson, 1968)

Jul

10

Bahamas Independence Day

Head (1968)

After Micky (Micky Dolenz, R) jumps of a bridge, the picture becomes pseudo-solarized and to the sweet tunes of Gerry Goffin and Carole King's Porpoise Song, he meets a siren (actress unknown, L). DP: Michel Hugo.

“Clicks, clacks, riding the backs of giraffes for laughs, S'alright for a while, The ego sings of castles and kings, And things that go with a life of style, Wanting to feel, to know what is real, Living is a, is a lie”

– The Monkees, Porpoise Song (1968)

El ángel exterminador [The Exterminating Angel] (Luis Buñuel, 1962)

Jun

3

National Black Bear Day

El ángel exterminador (1962)

A young brown bear in a luxuriously furnished room. DP: Gabriel Figueroa.

As part of a witty surprise, Lucía Nóbile (Lucy Gallardo) arranged a #bear and three #sheep for the lavish dinner party she's thrown for her fellow #opera-loving guests. However, the joke is not appreciated and in the cause of the evening – and a ruined dinner when the staff decides to go even before serving any of the #food – the company find that they cannot leave the salon.

“I love the spontaneity of this situation. If you'd like to spend the night, we'll make up as many rooms as needed. I'm pleased to see the old spirit of improvisation is alive and well.”

– Edmundo Nobile

While the beasts roam the house, the elite are faced with hunger, primal urges, and no motivation to leave.