Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Querelle, 1982

An attractive sailor named Querelle (Brad Davis) arrives in the port town of Brest. Immediately looking to sell some opium that he has helped smuggle, Querelle ends up entangled in a web of sexuality and sibling rivalry as he spends time in a bar run by Madame Lysiane (Jeanne Moreau), whose lover just happens to be Querelle's brother, Robert (Hanno Poschl). Further complicating things are Querelle's explorations of gay sex with Lysiane's husband, Nono (Gunther Kauffman); Querelle's commanding officer (Franco Nero) being erotically obsessed with him; and two different murders that are committed.

This film is based on a novel by Jean Genet, and boy am I glad that I was familiar with some of his work and themes before watching this film. I have read Our Lady of the Flowers, and have seen Poison, one of the sections of which is based on a novel by Genet.

Genet's world, from what I have seen, is filled with characters who are tremendously flawed (and often literal criminals), amidst a swirl of gay male angst, longing, aggression, and confusion. The sex itself becomes so intertwined with the emotional struggles and the power struggles of the characters, that it is hard to tell the degree to which the characters are finding gratification from the sex and the degree to which they are exorcising some deeper emotions.

I honestly think that putting Genet's particular vibe on screen is a real challenge, and I was frankly impressed with the degree to which Fassbinder was able to capture Genet's heady mix of betrayals, lust, denial, and just all around "off" feeling.

There are a lot of elements in the film that skirt the line between exploring homosexuality and the fears/emotions around it and just coming off as homophobic. Many of the characters are right on the line of caricature, like the older ship captain lusting after his young crew, or the character of Nono who is Querelle's first male sex partner (lover doesn't feel like the right description of what happens between them) who is the archetypal sexually dominant big black man.

What keeps the film from feeling homophobic overall is simply the degree to which the film knows that it is portraying an extreme. Everything from the costuming to the staging is, intentionally, overboard. The costumes are tight and everyone looks they are wearing the slutty Halloween costume version of their real outfits. The colors are intense. The psychological element of it all goes to absurd heights when Querelle takes up with a man who is literally identical in appearance to his brother (the character is played by the same actor). The story, to me, felt increasingly allegorical as it went on--more about the thoughts and fears that might exist in the head of someone who unsure about their sexuality. There is a scene where Querelle, after admitting he likes having sex with men, rushes to clarify that he could NEVER fall in love with a man. Perish the thought. But he will have sex with them because, you know, it's a good time.

I'll say this for the film: I was never bored. Everything was so outlandish and high-drama but winking at the same time. The performances fit the film, which means that they are also kind of too much or at times stilted. But somehow I felt like ultimately it worked?

I'd be interested to hear other opinions if anyone else has seen this one.

A striking film from Kurahara. As good as The Warped Ones, although vastly different. Basically, an anti-war melodrama on the devotion of a Japanese woman to her husband who went to war. It's as anti-war as, say, Red Angel, even though there is not one bullet shot, no battleground shown. The film focuses entirely on the burden of Kiyono played by Ruriko Asaoka* (both as beautiful and photogenic as Mariko Okada in the films of Yoshishige Yoshida). Kiyono meets and subsequently falls in love with a fisherman Takuji. Her tragic life after their encounter as adults (they met before as children) can be separated into two intersecting timespans: 1) that of joy, happiness, but also fear and strong affection when Takuji is with her and 2) that of sadness, longing, melancholy, and finally brink of madness when he's not with her.

As a member of a clan of outcasts, Kiyono was brought up in a traditional way, but also, as her mother points out when Takuji enters their house for the first time, Kiyono is very stubborn and always sticks to what she decided. She's very serious about the idea of tenacity, and when talking with another girl who seems disillusioned and unhappy with her marriage, starts a tirade about tenacity and devotion. It's hard to say how much of her behavior is influenced by her upbringing and how much by her character. One could attempt to interpret the film in a twisted manner, as a condemnation of a traditional, manic tradition that dictates a woman has to be fully devoted to her man, but I think such an interpretation would be too post-modernist, as I believe there is not a hint of critique of that in the entire film. You may disagree.


Although subtly, the film condemns war. We do not see Takuji on the battlefield, and we know practically nothing of his life during those long periods of time when he fights in the war. Even one of the characters points out that they live such a calm life there that it's hard to think that somewhere else there's a raging war and people dying. The only evidence of war is the hospital, packed with moaning, bandaged bodies and the harbinger of doom - a man appointed to deliver draft and death notices, one who's feared by the people and one who fears people as the film's narrator aptly points out. Perhaps the most painful thing about the war is that you cannot escape it, no matter how hard you try to seclude yourself in a cottage in the mountains. The injured, upon recovering, get another draft notice and get sent back to die. As the film progresses, so progresses the war, and while at first people cheer while sending men to war, eventually, when it's clear the war is nearing its end, and Japan is losing, there is no one to cheer. Just falling snow and silent gestures.

The film is full of beautiful moments, including the first kiss inches away from a full-speed train (a moment dearly remembered by Kiyono, a place that reminds her of Takuji) a piggyback ride on her husband's back, and the lovers' hands subtly touching each other while holding an umbrella. It wouldn't be false to say that The Flame of Devotion is a film about waiting. For a husband's return, for war's end, for better days. And about the anxiety, fear, and insanity of waiting. Sure an excellent film. Makes me want to watch more Kurahara (seen 6 films so far).

Nothing to say about them, but I also watched some previously unseen New Hollywood movies:

Vanishing Point (1971) -
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) -
In the Heat of the Night (1967) -
Being There (1979) -
Equus (1977) -
Serpico (1973) -

I'm also continuing my Tora-san binge. Watched 24 movies already, which means I'm almost halfway through!

* Incidentally, Ruriko Asaoka was one of the Madonnas in the Tora-san series.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

I just finished watching Nomadland on Disney+. This is a beautiful, gentle film, empathetic, compassionate and real. Frances McDormand is wonderful and I loved the supporting cast, made up of mostly non-professionals who have never been in a film before. It was like spending time with interesting people and making new friends. The screenplay was great and the cinematography was lovely. Chloé Zhao's direction is flawless and I am confident she will deservedly win best director at the Oscars. Nomadland is a masterpiece and my new pick for the best film of 2020. My rating is a perfect .

Let's just say that Fassbinder's a complicated dude when it comes to romance and sexuality and that really shows through in his work.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

He's the director I'm watching 10 films from for the 2021 Film Challenge and . . . yeah. I'll be interested to see how I feel watching films where he is the writer as opposed to an adaptation. I did really love Ali: Fear Eats the Soul.

What is most interesting to me, frankly, is the amount of male nudity in his films and it's relationship (maybe?) to the perceived vulnerability of his characters. I feel like I definitely need to do some reading on him after I've seen a few more of his films.

EDIT: I shouldn't say that the nudity/vulnerability is the most interesting thing. I really like the way he composes his characters in the frame. And I'm enjoying seeing different variations on that between Querelle and Gods of the Plague. The nudity/sexuality thing is just something that seems to set him apart from other directors and it's the aspect of his films that so far I find the most puzzling.

Fassbinder was absolutely horrible and abusive to his lovers and his films seem to explore that mindset to with such acuity that his understanding and awareness only makes his treatment of the men in his life more terrible.

The Bitter Tears for Petra Von Kant is probably my favorite from the 6 or so films of his that I’ve seen but I’ve at least liked them all. He’s an incredible artist and his sense of composition and manipulation of physical space with his actors is almost unparalleled.

J'accuse (1919)
aka I Accuse

I watched this a couple of days ago but needed a little time to be sure of the rating. It's most likely the best silent film I've seen. It's technically ahead of its time, and despite being an epic, it manages to build proper characters, too. I love the war scenes shot in real locations and the mixing of genres. The ending monologue is near perfection.

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I feel like I am seeing angst on the screen, but in a way that I am having a hard time parsing. I had not realized that he had an abusive past (though it explains why someone in the HoF wanted to know if I was okay watching films by him!).

From what I recall, the words predatory, manipulative, violent and sadistic were used to describe his treatment of his lovers, who were largely black, foreign men. The titular Ali was among his boyfriends and it frames the subtext of that one in an entirely different light. Were he still alive, he’d be prime cancelling material.

But as is, he exists as this self destructive mess of a human whose profound artistry intersects with his inequities in fascinating, if questionable ways.

Have you seen Bitter Tears or the BRG trilogy yet?

I'm just getting started on his films.

I have seen Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Querelle, and I am about halfway through Gods of the Plague.

Hmm, hadn't heard of this before but I'm intrigued. Added it to my watchlist.

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I think Bitter Tears would be a great next one, unless you have a determined order you’re watching that I’m not noticing.

Nope. Criterion Channel has a ton of his films, so I'm just skipping around (though I did watch his last film and now I'm watching his first film). I was going to maybe go roughly in chronological order, since I so enjoyed doing that with Varda last time.

Bitter Tears is definitely one I want to see.

Palm Springs (2020)

Enemy (2013)

3/5

I was just beginning to become interested when it ended, the pace was slow and the message could have been alittle more up front.




Irreversible (2002)

3.5/5

Thought it was pretty good, i couldnt watch the beginning not for the graphic sex or violence but the camera movements were too much for me. I would like to see in edited in reverse i think that would be interesting. In the end i thought it was effective.

Death Wish (1974) 3/5

Straight Time (1978) 3/5

Ransom (1996) 3/5

Black Robe -

This tale about a Jesuit priest's mission to convert Algonquins to Catholicism in 17th century Quebec has some nice things going for it. I like how the cinematography captures both the beauty and the inhospitality of this part of North America. There are also the ways the movie compares the French colonists' culture, beliefs and traditions with those of the natives for how it proves that savage is in the eye of the beholder. The action and suspense aren't half bad either, especially in the scene where the priest and his Algonquin guides are captured, humiliated and tortured by their Iroquois rivals. With all that said, I ultimately found the movie to be very cold and not just because of all the snow. Character development is an issue because except for embattled guide Chomina (August Schellenberg, who is very good), we're told what everyone does much more than who they are. There is an audience surrogate character of sorts in translator Daniel, but he's not utilized terribly well. I did appreciate the history lesson, and again, I found the movie nice to look at. I just wish more actors had chewed the scenery instead of the other way around.

Hillbilly Elegy (2020)

Run (2020)

I'm Your Woman (2020)

Thunder Force (2021)

Jennifer's Body (2009)

What did you think of Run?

I thought it was a good thriller. Some plot conveniences prevented me from ranking it higher. I didn't find it fully satisfying. But definitely worth a watch.

I liked some unexpected twists though. I might re-watch it in the future.