The Women Directors Hall of Fame

Yeah, 100%. I get asked by friends and co-workers very regularly why I have such a good relationship with my ex. The ending of this film kind of explains it and makes for an emotional moment for me. There is absolute forgiveness there because we have a connection that can never be completely dissolved. However some things in life can't be undone, and that is just the reality of it.

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Letterboxd

This is exactly my parents. My friends with divorced parents where always so confused about my mum and dad's close relationship. They were never married though.

With the talk of realism in the first ten minutes of Take This Waltz and most of y'all disliking it, I guess I'd just like to say that while not realistic, it felt like early symbolism and a mirror into Williams' character's mind. She's clearly damaged goods, and the dude could have been any vice that grabs you when you are looking for an escape. It almost, to me, felt like it could have been an allegory for alcoholism. It was always around, and she really wanted a taste, but knew better. She knew better, but she flirted with it over and over again. I know the metaphor doesn't hold up when you consider it's her first time doing it, but I was getting those vibes, probably because Sarah Silverman played a literal alcoholic. By the way this is kind of me going stream of consciousness in an attempt to get out how I feel about this film without filtering anything out, so if it's stuffy, repetitive, or nonsensical, that's why. Despite the realism not necessarily being the main focus, a lot of focus was clearly put on the human experience. Seth Rogen's scene where he runs through all the stages of grief in a single montage was a great moment, and I don't think that scene was probably even intended to be edited that way. I think that could have just been Polley asking Rogen to adlib, and then deciding to use more than one of those moments... or maybe she had a really good idea and executed it well. Even better than that, and my favorite moment of the film, was Williams' describing rays of light depressing her for no discernible reason. I think I probably deal with depression, but I don't know if every person deals with depression, I feel like we all do. So that moment to me, was pretty powerful. I was like, holy sh*t, I know that I can relate to that sh*t. It makes sense too, because she is clearly lost in life, she doesn't know what she really wants, and I feel the same way a lot of times. It can be a painful thing to deal with, and sometimes a culmination of life pressing down on you and a seemingly small trigger can really lead to brief (sometimes prolonged) moments of devastation. I also think the conversation on the plane was more symbolic than realistic. She was pretty obviously describing more than just being afraid of terminals, and I don't mind the fact that most people wouldn't open up to strangers like that. I don't think realism is necessary all the time in films, and in this case, it works better that it's not realistic. It starts their relationship off on a blazing path of intensity, and you can really feel that intensity. That's why I likened it to an alcoholic feeling that urge to grab a bottle. It's probably been a week or more since I saw it, so I am already a little hazy on some of the details. My mind is whatever the opposite of a steel trap is.

F*CK I WISH I JOINED THIS

I don’t have every detail fresh in my mind like when I first watched either, but I think there’s stuff I agree with you on and other stuff I disagree with you on. Nevertheless, I had similar overall feelings, and I think that’s the strength of the movie-mixed feelings.

Take This Waltz is pretty too btw

*Hugs* thanks for opening up to us bro.

ahh, it's hard to forget your first love, isn't it?
Completely know that "Some things in life can't be undone." Which is why I couldn't have a friendship with my ex from back in my twenties. Though I think its great when folks CAN be friends afterwards. That's a beautiful thing indeed.
F@ck I wish you joined this too, Swan.

and really enjoyed your thoughts, @jiraffejustin!

If this is all addressed towards my comments on the scene i already said i'm fine with it not being realistic, just think it was awkward and clumsy in a really offputting way.

@Swan, Just out of curiosity, if you had joined this HoF, what movie would you have nominated?

Anyone who thinks you're chicken instead of veal is obviously a slab of Spam.

Sadly, the only thing I got out of Take This Waltz was a couple of crusty tissues thanks to the full-frontal foray by Silverman and Williams.

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I haven't thought that far.

Maybe Lost in Translation?

That was actually the other nom I was considering

The deadline is six weeks from tomorrow so to be on target you should have seen at least five films.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night

This one was pretty good, I like how it feels like it's its own thing. It doesn't seem to tie itself to any other Vampire stories, everything feels distinctly Iranian, which I feel like it makes it a strong film.

The characters are surprisingly well developed and distinct, I think mostly because the cast is so small. And the atmosphere of suburban Iran gives a different sort of contrast from your typical Iran.

My only criticism of the film is that it somewhat fails as a horror film. The great Indie Vampire movies add a little horror into their films while balancing the world building.

In the end I found it inspired, and well made

Kind strange how everyone in this film is notable except for one. Sucks to be Meg huh...

Anyways, good looking movie all four girls get a balanced stories. Christian Bale plays against type as an earnest love interest which is pretty weird. Susan Sarandon nails it as the female patriarchy in Victorian US times. But really I don't find much to say about this one. I don't know if I'm going to remember much about this in a year or two but what I saw I was happy enough with it.

I would have nominated Lost in Translation if I joined if Swan didn't join.

Nothing Bad Can Happen



Not a bad film but not one I am likely to fall in love with either. I think the main character is pretty compelling. Like the other characters in the film it is obvious to us that something is a little off with him but it is hard to put your finger on exactly what. You can see why he would easily get sucked into these situations where he feels the least bit of emotional attachment. There are points where you simply want him to run but the reason he doesn't really endears you to him and and makes you like him all the more.

I love that the structure of the film is based off one of my favorite verses but the portrayal of religion bothered me a bit as well. Not that people like all the ones we see don't exist but it would have been nice to see a Christian with a level head that could be there for our protagonist. Still I don't think the film maker ever judges him for his faith despite his obvious naivete. There is a really nice moment towards the end between him and the daughter involving his faith that I think sums up his character arc quite nicely. I like the way the ending was handled as well.

All in all a memorable film that just doesn't have any great elements for me to hold onto. Glad Cricket nominated it as I hadn't even ever heard of it. Even after everyone else's reviews I was expecting an English language exploitation film. There are a couple moments that are really hard to not get squeamish during but it was very tame compared to what I was expecting.

With that I will be sending in my list. I watched We Need To Talk About Kevin right before this HOF started so I won't be revisiting it. I loved it. Despite not being sure through the first half I ended up loving the story structure. Very effective film that will be high on my HOF list and the list for the upcoming countdown as well.

It wasn't gory or anything it was just how intense i found what's his name and how bad i felt for Tore. Plus that chicken scene is one of the most disgusting things i've ever seen, that won't leave my mind and i've been weird around chicken ever since then haha.