Gina Telaroli
October 10, 2008 | 8:04 am EST
One more post in honor of Blog Action Day! Earlier I posted a list of 10 films that deal with poverty - they were all American made films. Below is a clip from one of the great foreign films to deal with poverty - Umberto D. In the story an old man can’t find work and also can’t give up his faithful companion - his dog - even though it would make life much easier for him. After the jump an interview with Kelly Reichardt and Michelle Williams about their film Wendy and Lucy, a film I saw at the NYFF - it also addresses poverty and how ones love of a dog can make poverty all the more difficult. (I really recommend watching)
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata
Screens : Thu Oct 9: 6 and Sat Oct 11: 9:15
Tokyo Sonata may not have had me at hello, but it definitely had me at goodbye. It’s hard for me to say more than that the last scene in the film makes a somewhat muddled last third completely worth it. Put briefly, Tokyo Sonata is a story a family and individuals who start to unravel after their father loses his job. The catch, none of them really know that he has lost his job, he keeps it to himself and spends his days lounging in a homeless park in his suit.
The film works as both a character study and a family drama. One where both entities start out with very controlled emotions and slowly let them slip as their lives become too much. This causes some turns that I didn’t so much care for in the last third about the film but overall the film had more moments I likes than disliked. What struck me most about the film was the quiet moments we sit with the characters and simply watch them and wonder what exactly is happening in their head. It’s fascinating.
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I have to admit that as much as I love the NYFF, I usually do not like the trailer/bumper that the show before all of the films. This year though, I find myself consistently moved by the little trailer each time I have seen it (which is actually a lot of times)
I kind of tear up at the end when the Godard/Fraud quote comes up… Sigh.
However, I am again upset at the festival’s lack of diversity, isn’t there one non-white male director that has had a great film quote out there? It’s OK if we don’t know the quote by heart, change it up a little!
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Steven Soderbergh’s Che
Screens : Tue Oct 7: 6
Che screens tomorrow night and I thought I’d finally get some video up on the site from the press conference (although I found this on youtube because I wasn’t sitting super close for the Che Q&A and the sound was pretty bad).
I do think though that this answer by Soderbergh is perfect for the TakePart site - it’s all about how we engage and how we get involved:
And on the note of engagement, sometimes it is just about informing yourself, so in that spirit, go see Che and be sure to takepart today to read up on Bolivia today and to see the complexity of the country. Also go after the jump for some more clips from the Che press conference
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Wong Kar-wai’s Ashes of Time REDUX
and Director’s Dialogue (Sun Oct 5: 4)
If you like Wong Kar-wai than you’ll probably like Ashes of Time (Redux), it’s classic Wong Kar-wai (love gone wrong, longing, unrequited love, hidden identities) except that it is set in the desert and is a martial arts picture. The story, a kind of created prequel to the famous Chinese story The Eagle Shooting Heroes that follows the Lord of the East and the Lord of the West in their earlier days as they lose love, gain love and use their swords.
The film was originally made back in 1994 but didn’t do much, it wasn’t released here at all and slowly the film fell into oblivion. Just recently Wong decided to try and put the movie back together, which meant visiting a bunch of old Chinatown theaters in search of all of the film’s content. And it was worth their effort, the film is a sweeping epic that whisks you away.
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Clint Eastwood’s Changeling
Screens : Sat Oct 4: 9:15 and Sun Oct 5: 11:15am
I’ve been thinking about how exactly to write about my thoughts on Changeling and outside of the adjectives that I have been sharing with friends (heavy handed, long) I think my thoughts can actually best be summed up by reading Spout’s review of the film, here is a tiny excerpt:
The LAPD is corrupt –– so corrupt that the holiest man in town is John Malkovich. So when Angie’s son goes missing, they give her back a fake boy, and the evil detective (Jeffrey Donovan) can’t figure out if the ensuing scandal means he should have an Irish accent or not.
You should really read the rest of the “review” and please try to do so with a sense of humor. I will admit however that I did quite enjoy seeing Mr. Eastwood after the film.
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Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke more of less summed up The Wrestler with this quote he gave at the press conference (about himself, not the film per say).
If I knew it would take me 15 years to get back in the saddle and work again because of the way I handled things, I really would have handled things differently, I just didn’t have the tools. I’m doing things differently this time around, understanding what it is to be a professional, be responsible and be consistent. Those are things that weren’t in my vocabulary back then. Change for me didn’t come easy; I didn’t want to change until I lost everything, until I realized that you better change, or, you know, blow your fucking brains out. Either you change and go on with life, or you’re just a piece of shit.
If that doesn’t have you intrigued, I don’t know what will.
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Steven Soderbergh’s Che
Screens : Tue Oct 7: 6
I tried to come up with some comprehensive thoughts on Che all day long yesterday and kind of failed miserably at it. I think what it comes down to is that while the film is supremely well done and about something that I find extremely compelling, it didn’t leave much of an impact on me. I think this is because in many ways Che is like a history book - that is to say that it simply recalls what happened without the added component of human drama.
As Soderbergh (director) himself explained, this was Che, Che was not an emotional person, he was all about the task at hand. And thus we are left to watch the task at hand in Cuba and Bolivia, where the two halves of Che take place (the film works as two, 2-hour parts). The first half is shot like a classic Hollywood film and in many ways from the moment it starts you can feel success in your gut (outside of the fact that the narrator tells you there will be success).
On that same page the second half is shot in a different aspect ratio (1.85) and is all handheld and likewise you feel the outcome in your gut - this time though it is a feeling of dread. Not only do you have to watch the main character that you saw triumph head towards failure - you are forced to remember that revolution is a very rare thing.
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Steven Soderbergh’s Che
Screens : Tue Oct 7: 6
For now, a list of Che thoughts, a review will follow this afternoon:
Well movie fans I have some exciting news - I’m off to see Che this morning - in it’s 4 hour entirety!! (with an intermission of course). I’m a big fan of Benicio, Steven Soderbergh and revolution, so there is probably a good chance I’ll come out a fan of this film - but we shall see. Check back tomorrow morning for a fresh take from TakePart on Che and in the meantime watch the trailer like video below, along with an interview with Benicio Del Toro after the jump.
