Minio's Ramblings on Cinema

It's so confusing the dude above first mentions Jean Rollin, his vampire movies, and his film Fascination. And then starts advertizing some stuff like a bot.

Anyway:

Nowadays people see movies as boxes to check instead of experiences to have.

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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.

Hehe. Guilty! But it doesn’t diminish any impact of the films, whatsoever, for me.

Yep, it's all about the quality of the story, not the quantity of the story. Story. Story. Story.

It's about the experience which can be produced using the quality of the story or the quality of emotions or the quality of audiovisuals. Films that do things differently, for example deliberately forgo clearly structured plot and fleshed out characters are often seen as movies with bad confusing plot or no character development which are seen as faults even if the auteur meant to do it this way. For example, can we fault Bresson films for bad acting if the very idea of Bresson is to use actors as mere mannequins?

I think that's an interesting point, and of course Bresson would (or at least should) be above criticism in that area because the final artistic product that he creates so clearly lives up to the intention that he had going in. But, then again, I guess it raises the question of whether that was ever even bad acting in the first place? In which case, just how "non-traditional" or whatever really was it?

For me, I think the criterion in cases of avant-garde/unusual technique is less whether the intention of the artist alligns with what is ultimately produced, so much as that final product's ability to express something of genuine interest with the form itself. That's why I, for instance, found Godard's Breathless interesting, but not astounding---unlike Bergman's Persona, where similar formal experimentation is given (I would argue) greater expressive power beyond formal novelty. Maybe the bottom-line way of putting it for me would be that new formal invention is not inherently self-justified, but can be justified in special cases when it is married to new possibilities in the expression of wider meaning beyond itself.

@Balor Whether it works for you is subjective but that it's different and novel and pushes cinema forward is a fact.

Definitely. I'm not sure those are necessarily seperate considerations?

I was watching one of Paul Schrader's commentaries on Persona a few weeks ago, and one of the interesting things that he mentioned was that part of the reason why Persona was so important was because it took up the formal inventions of Godard and them imbued them with meaning in a way that he seemed to imply was lacking in the original Godard---and that in mixing the subjective "meaningfulness" with the objective novelty of the new style Bergman managed to create something arguable more important than Godard did.

Whether that is true or not, is another matter!

"The meaning of religious truth is hope. Philosophy seeks the truth, defining the meaning of human activity, the limits of human reason, the meaning of existence, even when the philosopher reaches the conclusion that existence is senseless, and human effort—futile. The allotted function of art is not, as is often assumed, to put across ideas, to propagate thoughts, to serve as example. The aim of art is to prepare a person for death, to plough and harrow his soul, rendering it capable of turning to good."

- Andrei Tarkovsky, <Sculpting in Time: Reflections on the Cinema>, page 43

The fact somebody watches a lot of movies, even ambitious movies, says almost nothing about them as a person except for the fact they're a cinephile and MAYBE that they're curious in their cinematic adventures. They can still be dimwits of low intelligence and appalling morality who even go as far as ostensibly posturing as cinephiles to make others believe they're smarter/better and giving high ratings to films they didn't really like just to come off as experts in the field.

The only real way to find out more about a cinephile is, then, to have a conversation with them. You'll be surprised how many of them are intelligent and wise. But you'll be even more surprised how many of them are absolute morons.

I've run out of masterpieces to watch!

Hardly a landmark film noir, but one of hundreds of the kind that Americans used to shoot with their eyes closed and now just can’t shoot, no matter how hard they try. A really strong start gives way to a solid if meandering plot with Broderick Crawford's hard-boiled detective spitting retorts like a Thompson gun. The scoffing cop he is, he always seems to escape death by a hair’s breadth. Good, fast fun. They don't make 'em like that anymore.

The last one that I still hadn't seen from what I call the "Handicapped Quadrilogy". The other films, BLIND, DEAF, and MULTI-HANDICAPPED focus on children. But ADJUSTMENT AND WORK is devoted entirely to an adult demographic. It specifically sheds light on those who have recently experienced the loss of their sight and are navigating this life-altering transition. Additionally, it highlights individuals who, despite being either blind or deaf, are actively acquiring new skills to integrate into the workforce. Wiseman's Direct Cinema approach strips the film of any actual or accidental attempts at manipulating emotions. Any sort of response we get from his work is always intrinsically connected to what is shown. This works to a different degree throughout his oeuvre, and I daresay ADJUSTMENT AND WORK is not his best. I thought that BLIND and DEAF showed that deep and empathetic look into the lives of their subjects much better, showcasing Wiseman’s skill in capturing the human experience. That being said, this one is good but hardly salient in Wiseman's extensive filmography.

Shamans of the Blind Country (1981) dir. Michael Oppitz

Disappointed to find out this is director Michael Oppitz's only film, as it's rather exquisite. A 221-minute-long foray into the life and shamanic rituals of the Himalayan Magar tribe. Set amongst the hills of north-western Nepal, the film is an amalgam of then-contemporary religious practices with mystical ancestral fables. It focuses on shamans performing healing rituals and portrays students who undergo initiation into becoming certified healers. Monolithic filmmaking and an edifying, albeit raw, experience. One of my November favorites, no doubt a landmark in the ethnographic film genre.

Still wondering what to watch during my vacation. Thought about my holiday watching and concluded it's best to watch stuff that I wouldn't watch otherwise. For example, very very long movies I'd normally have no time for. Which means a few 8+-hour-long movies and... TV series. *sighs*

But... I can't betray my pure notions of cinephilia. The watchers of TV series are unwashed, uncouth plebeians, and, by extension, most TV series are aimed at such a lamentable crowd. There are some venerable classics I could watch, but I don't want to be associated with the TV show lumpenproletariat by doing so. Besides, you can't rate TV series on RYM, so why bother?

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Yes, my third watch of the orgone-oozing masterpiece Snake Beauty opened my 4th chakra and I can feel the orgone flowing in my veins. But don't worry, I'm not high or crazy. I'm just trying to keep the orgone in my body for as long as possible by melting my brain with orgone-producing content.

So this is what happens when you run out of masterpieces to watch!

Yeah you just rewatch the old ones

One would think that after 1969 other filmmakers would just give up and stop making movies, and yet they're still going.

Not that they can ever conjure up better cinematography, but one has to appreciate their resolve to try to anyway.

Which one is that? I think I'd dig it.

Why, Eros + Massacre (1969). Rewatched the 3.5h Director's Cut today. Not among my favorites from the director, but the cinematography is amazing as always.

Anyway...

Cagney always knew how to handle women!