Now Playing Tracks

Pieta (2012 Kim Ki-Duk) Kim Ki-Duk attemps (and fails) to enter the filmmaking battle that Mother (Madeo, 2009) and Poetry (Shi, 2010) posed for Joon-ho Bong and Chang-dong Lee, Kim re-explores the already mega-exploited revenge leitmotiv that overpopulates Korean cinema. Not much imagination and homages to his own universe: Bad Guy(2001) and Samaritan Girl (2004) remix. We all miss the Kim of The Isle (Seom, 2000), or Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (2003) or 3-Iron (Bin-Jip, 2004). I guess we will have to give him another chance and watch the next film of this prolific director. 4/10
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Pieta (2012 Kim Ki-Duk)

Kim Ki-Duk attemps (and fails) to enter the filmmaking battle that Mother (Madeo, 2009) and Poetry (Shi, 2010) posed for Joon-ho Bong and Chang-dong Lee, Kim re-explores the already mega-exploited revenge leitmotiv that overpopulates Korean cinema. Not much imagination and homages to his own universe: Bad Guy(2001) and Samaritan Girl (2004) remix.

We all miss the Kim of The Isle (Seom, 2000), or Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (2003) or 3-Iron (Bin-Jip, 2004).

I guess we will have to give him another chance and watch the next film of this prolific director.

4/10

Martha Macy May Marlene (2011, Sean Durkin/ Jody Lee Lipes) Sean Durkin intrigued Sundance with his short Mary Last Seen. On a trip by car, Mary’s boyfriend detaches her from society. Breaks her cell phone, dumps her suitcase, and makes them all look like accidents, and covers them up with kisses and sex. At the end of the film, we are dropped with Mary into a farm on the countryside. Some young strange people live there. The boyfriend takes off and Mary’s future is left to our imagination. MMMM starts when one of these girls manages to escape from that society. Through flashbacks she explores with us these past two years spent on that farm. What is most impressive about Sean Durkin’s film is its atmosphere of mystery.  Rationing information and silences, the viewer gets hooked on the character’s understated actions. Their arch through the film is subtle and complex; a progression the casting tackles every step of this journey. It is rare to experience the connection between sisters that Elizabeth Olsen and Sarah Paulson ooze or the sexual tension that lurks behind politeness between Olsen and Hugh Dancy. John Hawkes is the other strong pole of the equation. My favorite scene is his. Hawkes plays a song dedicated to Olsen that sums up her expectations, but also what they see in her. “Just like a picture”. Cinematography accompanies her. The camera (especially at the beginning) follows the protagonist from the back with shallow focus on her. Jody Lee Lipes (known for his hipster vision with Lena Dunham in Girls and Tiny furniture and his off compositions for Afterschool) works here in the darker section of the spectrum, underexposing most of the film to submerge us in her darkness. A very effective tool to give the film a very special and enigmatic look. The danger of underexposing is usually at control except on a couple of scenes in which the blacks look pasted. Also, perhaps I missed a subtle difference between the visual design in the farm and in the sister’s house. This might have helped the story. The ending is just magical. Cannot wait to watch his new movie: a biography of Janis Joplin (?).
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Martha Macy May Marlene (2011, Sean Durkin/ Jody Lee Lipes)

Sean Durkin intrigued Sundance with his short Mary Last Seen. On a trip by car, Mary’s boyfriend detaches her from society. Breaks her cell phone, dumps her suitcase, and makes them all look like accidents, and covers them up with kisses and sex. At the end of the film, we are dropped with Mary into a farm on the countryside. Some young strange people live there. The boyfriend takes off and Mary’s future is left to our imagination.

MMMM starts when one of these girls manages to escape from that society. Through flashbacks she explores with us these past two years spent on that farm.

What is most impressive about Sean Durkin’s film is its atmosphere of mystery.  Rationing information and silences, the viewer gets hooked on the character’s understated actions. Their arch through the film is subtle and complex; a progression the casting tackles every step of this journey. It is rare to experience the connection between sisters that Elizabeth Olsen and Sarah Paulson ooze or the sexual tension that lurks behind politeness between Olsen and Hugh Dancy. John Hawkes is the other strong pole of the equation. My favorite scene is his. Hawkes plays a song dedicated to Olsen that sums up her expectations, but also what they see in her. “Just like a picture”.

Cinematography accompanies her. The camera (especially at the beginning) follows the protagonist from the back with shallow focus on her. Jody Lee Lipes (known for his hipster vision with Lena Dunham in Girls and Tiny furniture and his off compositions for Afterschool) works here in the darker section of the spectrum, underexposing most of the film to submerge us in her darkness. A very effective tool to give the film a very special and enigmatic look. The danger of underexposing is usually at control except on a couple of scenes in which the blacks look pasted. Also, perhaps I missed a subtle difference between the visual design in the farm and in the sister’s house. This might have helped the story.

The ending is just magical.

Cannot wait to watch his new movie: a biography of Janis Joplin (?).

Both heterosexuals and homosexuals view bisexuality with misunderstanding, mistrust, hostility, and alienation. These scenarios do not leave bisexuals in the situation often referred to as ‘‘having the best of both worlds,’’ because ‘both worlds are closets’.

from Attitudes and Self-Images of Male and Female Bisexuals by Carol D. Bronn

“both worlds are closets” Ouch. That one hit home (via loveintheshadowsistheonlykind)

THIS.

(via assassinsofthecaribbean)

La soledad de los números primos (2010, Saverio Costanzo/Fabio Cianchetti) (ENGLISH VERSION) An inconsistent tale of two people  Algunas adaptaciones de novelas resultan muy complejas, en especial las que relatan la diferencia entre introspección y apariencia, el arrepentimiento por algo que no nos atrevimos a hacer; la soledad. Saverio Constanzo no decide claudicar al camino fácil de la voz en over. A través de una estructura fracturada en tiempo, sintetiza la memoria de sus personajes y consigue verdadera profundidad emocional en muchos de los recuerdos. No obstante, no logra atraparnos en los mayores traumas de él y ella, lo que nos distancia del sufrimiento de Alice y Mattia. La música intenta resarcir este fallo con redundancia y dramatismo en escenas que no los tienen, en especial en la infancia. Se agradece que en la adolescencia se acalle y que en la edad adulta se haga diegética (Bette Davis Eyes). El acertado casting de las tres edades no hace sino vincularnos a Los Amantes del Círculo Polar. ¿Quizá una estructura más perspectivista hubiese ayudado? ¿Quizá nunca conocer la visión de Viola hubiera mejorado el film? En cualquier caso, los cambios de vestuario y de look de los actores es encomiable.  En especial el de Alba Rohrwacher y Luca Marinelli en los dos tiempos adultos. La fotografía de Cianchetti también se adapta al tiempo que narra, con la incursión de zooms en la infancia. Quizá sea el PAN el movimiento más característico del film, que en la infancia padece de desmotivación y de estatismo en un punto orbital, pero que cuando madura, esconde algún trávelin maravillosamente sutil. Utiliza, y quizá alguna vez abusa, de flashes y flares para transportarnos a la caverna de la memoria. Mucho más eficaces son sus recursos visuales, reiteración de composiciones en distintos momentos (el más impactante del de la mano que finalmente acaricia a Mattia), o los plano-contraplanos de Alice y Mattia (que saltan el eje) en distancias cortas. El estilo de la película sufre una drástica modificación una vez nos desentendemos del punto de vista de Viola. El tiempo sólo vuelve atrás en un flashback y la cámara se asienta en el MRI. El desánimo de lo que pudo ser. 4/10
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La soledad de los números primos (2010, Saverio Costanzo/Fabio Cianchetti) (ENGLISH VERSION) An inconsistent tale of two people  Algunas adaptaciones de novelas resultan muy complejas, en especial las que relatan la diferencia entre introspección y apariencia, el arrepentimiento por algo que no nos atrevimos a hacer; la soledad. Saverio Constanzo no decide claudicar al camino fácil de la voz en over. A través de una estructura fracturada en tiempo, sintetiza la memoria de sus personajes y consigue verdadera profundidad emocional en muchos de los recuerdos. No obstante, no logra atraparnos en los mayores traumas de él y ella, lo que nos distancia del sufrimiento de Alice y Mattia. La música intenta resarcir este fallo con redundancia y dramatismo en escenas que no los tienen, en especial en la infancia. Se agradece que en la adolescencia se acalle y que en la edad adulta se haga diegética (Bette Davis Eyes). El acertado casting de las tres edades no hace sino vincularnos a Los Amantes del Círculo Polar. ¿Quizá una estructura más perspectivista hubiese ayudado? ¿Quizá nunca conocer la visión de Viola hubiera mejorado el film? En cualquier caso, los cambios de vestuario y de look de los actores es encomiable.  En especial el de Alba Rohrwacher y Luca Marinelli en los dos tiempos adultos. La fotografía de Cianchetti también se adapta al tiempo que narra, con la incursión de zooms en la infancia. Quizá sea el PAN el movimiento más característico del film, que en la infancia padece de desmotivación y de estatismo en un punto orbital, pero que cuando madura, esconde algún trávelin maravillosamente sutil. Utiliza, y quizá alguna vez abusa, de flashes y flares para transportarnos a la caverna de la memoria. Mucho más eficaces son sus recursos visuales, reiteración de composiciones en distintos momentos (el más impactante del de la mano que finalmente acaricia a Mattia), o los plano-contraplanos de Alice y Mattia (que saltan el eje) en distancias cortas. El estilo de la película sufre una drástica modificación una vez nos desentendemos del punto de vista de Viola. El tiempo sólo vuelve atrás en un flashback y la cámara se asienta en el MRI. El desánimo de lo que pudo ser. 4/10
Zoom
La soledad de los números primos (2010, Saverio Costanzo/Fabio Cianchetti) (ENGLISH VERSION) An inconsistent tale of two people  Algunas adaptaciones de novelas resultan muy complejas, en especial las que relatan la diferencia entre introspección y apariencia, el arrepentimiento por algo que no nos atrevimos a hacer; la soledad. Saverio Constanzo no decide claudicar al camino fácil de la voz en over. A través de una estructura fracturada en tiempo, sintetiza la memoria de sus personajes y consigue verdadera profundidad emocional en muchos de los recuerdos. No obstante, no logra atraparnos en los mayores traumas de él y ella, lo que nos distancia del sufrimiento de Alice y Mattia. La música intenta resarcir este fallo con redundancia y dramatismo en escenas que no los tienen, en especial en la infancia. Se agradece que en la adolescencia se acalle y que en la edad adulta se haga diegética (Bette Davis Eyes). El acertado casting de las tres edades no hace sino vincularnos a Los Amantes del Círculo Polar. ¿Quizá una estructura más perspectivista hubiese ayudado? ¿Quizá nunca conocer la visión de Viola hubiera mejorado el film? En cualquier caso, los cambios de vestuario y de look de los actores es encomiable.  En especial el de Alba Rohrwacher y Luca Marinelli en los dos tiempos adultos. La fotografía de Cianchetti también se adapta al tiempo que narra, con la incursión de zooms en la infancia. Quizá sea el PAN el movimiento más característico del film, que en la infancia padece de desmotivación y de estatismo en un punto orbital, pero que cuando madura, esconde algún trávelin maravillosamente sutil. Utiliza, y quizá alguna vez abusa, de flashes y flares para transportarnos a la caverna de la memoria. Mucho más eficaces son sus recursos visuales, reiteración de composiciones en distintos momentos (el más impactante del de la mano que finalmente acaricia a Mattia), o los plano-contraplanos de Alice y Mattia (que saltan el eje) en distancias cortas. El estilo de la película sufre una drástica modificación una vez nos desentendemos del punto de vista de Viola. El tiempo sólo vuelve atrás en un flashback y la cámara se asienta en el MRI. El desánimo de lo que pudo ser. 4/10
Zoom

La soledad de los números primos (2010, Saverio Costanzo/Fabio Cianchetti)

(ENGLISH VERSION)

An inconsistent tale of two people 

Algunas adaptaciones de novelas resultan muy complejas, en especial las que relatan la diferencia entre introspección y apariencia, el arrepentimiento por algo que no nos atrevimos a hacer; la soledad.

Saverio Constanzo no decide claudicar al camino fácil de la voz en over. A través de una estructura fracturada en tiempo, sintetiza la memoria de sus personajes y consigue verdadera profundidad emocional en muchos de los recuerdos. No obstante, no logra atraparnos en los mayores traumas de él y ella, lo que nos distancia del sufrimiento de Alice y Mattia.

La música intenta resarcir este fallo con redundancia y dramatismo en escenas que no los tienen, en especial en la infancia. Se agradece que en la adolescencia se acalle y que en la edad adulta se haga diegética (Bette Davis Eyes).

El acertado casting de las tres edades no hace sino vincularnos a Los Amantes del Círculo Polar. ¿Quizá una estructura más perspectivista hubiese ayudado? ¿Quizá nunca conocer la visión de Viola hubiera mejorado el film? En cualquier caso, los cambios de vestuario y de look de los actores es encomiable.  En especial el de Alba Rohrwacher y Luca Marinelli en los dos tiempos adultos.

La fotografía de Cianchetti también se adapta al tiempo que narra, con la incursión de zooms en la infancia. Quizá sea el PAN el movimiento más característico del film, que en la infancia padece de desmotivación y de estatismo en un punto orbital, pero que cuando madura, esconde algún trávelin maravillosamente sutil.

Utiliza, y quizá alguna vez abusa, de flashes y flares para transportarnos a la caverna de la memoria. Mucho más eficaces son sus recursos visuales, reiteración de composiciones en distintos momentos (el más impactante del de la mano que finalmente acaricia a Mattia), o los plano-contraplanos de Alice y Mattia (que saltan el eje) en distancias cortas.

El estilo de la película sufre una drástica modificación una vez nos desentendemos del punto de vista de Viola. El tiempo sólo vuelve atrás en un flashback y la cámara se asienta en el MRI.

El desánimo de lo que pudo ser.

4/10

They robbed us in Goa!

We were finally enjoying a well-deserved break in Goa.

We recruited a great group of friends, had an adventurous journey by car at night and scored the best AC cottages right at Anjuna beach:

 We spent 5 impossible sunsets:

And divine sunrises after full-power nights:

The morning of the last day, we were ready for a short day at the beach to charge up energy to retake our lives back on earth, in Bombay…

But my friend Álvaro and I dawned Iphoneless, Ipadless and walletless… The room felt as empty as this:

The most frustrating part is that we were sleeping inside when  we got robbed! Our devices were plugged beside the bedhead… the thieves had unplugged the Iphones from right next to our ears! They took my Ipad from the top of the cupboard and they found my wallet inside the pocket of my trousers on the chair.

How could we sleep while it happened? 

We felt really dumb.

After some tear of hopelessness, we remembered: Findmyiphone!

With the help of Another friend´s Iphone we discovered our devices were all off, except my iphone… It was online and it was travelling south!

We went to the police. These kind of robberies are not unusual, in fact two foreign couples were also filing complaints for robbery when we came in…

The police had to scrutinize the app to believe we were able to track the exact location of the missing items. My iphone was traveling on the highway through the capital, Panjim.

The owner of the cottages, who had suffered a similar incident in the same cabin, got his Innova and drove like Fernando Alonso, picking up 3 cops dressed as civilians on the way. 

The point had stopped near the airport.

We assessed the exact spot with difficulty, since apple maps does not work in India, and findmyiphone only works with them. But we managed to narrow the location to three slum houses next to the railway station. A few kids were playing cricket on the field (you can see below) and there was a repair shop on the side of the houses.

The last cop we picked up, the local, called one of the older boys from the cricket game with a kiss (it is used like a whistle in India) and a strong hand move. He rapidly came and the three policemen started covering the area. 

They came back to ask for the exact location in the app. It had to be around there.

We tried searching inside the seats of recently used bikes at the shop, when the teenage informant told us the police had identified a backpack.

We went inside a structure made out of cement grey bricks. We opened the zipper of the bag and I had to take this shaky pic:

There it was, my RED FLAMING IPAD! And we also found our Iphones hidden in the pockets of a pair of trousers! Along with some of the missing things from the couples at the police station.

But that was not all… There were several bags. The police had seized a major Ali Baba’s Cave! A dozen Ipads, over 30 smartphones, and many wallets, but not mine.

We still felt pretty victorious… what are the chances!

The thieves were actually two of the kids playing cricket. When they noticed the police was after them, they ran away and grabbed onto a running local bus, only to get caught by the local police. 

They told me they received a few slaps from the owner of the cottages until they talked.

They were apparently part of a larger gang. According to the police, these gangs sell these items cheap, so they also use the kids for begging. There were several printed sheets which stated they were “dumb” (mute) and told “the” histrionic story of their parents.

We had to share our ride back with these angelic thieves. Anger turned to pity when “the others” became human.

Back in the office the inspector inquired how we managed to find the booty in such short period of time, where they usually take months.

This is the funnily written statement I had to sign:

Two final thoughts, one deep, one random:

1.- We feel so lucky. About recovering our stuff, yeah, but also about our lives.

2.- Apple forever.

perroandaluz: Tropical Malady (2004) Apichatpong Weerasethakul / 3DOPs A movie divided in two simple parts, and a conceptual link to be established by the audience. The romance between an unemployed young man and his friend, who has to go back to the military, and the myth of a shaman who can shift shapes and its hunter. If the hunter kills its prey, the shaman dies and he becomes part of his physical world (logos), if the shaman eats the hunter, he becomes part of him and the mythos he is part of. Likewise, this story suddenly crosses with its tentacles into the memory of the first half, tainting the otherwise innocent gay relationship with more meaning. The cinematography of the piece tends to express itself in wide shots, and is able to capture a sense of realism of the urban and jungle Thai landscape, with minimal access to closer looks.  Nights are overtly lit, and only when it crosses into the surreal of the imaginary, does this approach work, like when tiger and hunter meet. Can’t wait to watch Uncle Boonme.
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perroandaluz: Tropical Malady (2004) Apichatpong Weerasethakul / 3DOPs A movie divided in two simple parts, and a conceptual link to be established by the audience. The romance between an unemployed young man and his friend, who has to go back to the military, and the myth of a shaman who can shift shapes and its hunter. If the hunter kills its prey, the shaman dies and he becomes part of his physical world (logos), if the shaman eats the hunter, he becomes part of him and the mythos he is part of. Likewise, this story suddenly crosses with its tentacles into the memory of the first half, tainting the otherwise innocent gay relationship with more meaning. The cinematography of the piece tends to express itself in wide shots, and is able to capture a sense of realism of the urban and jungle Thai landscape, with minimal access to closer looks.  Nights are overtly lit, and only when it crosses into the surreal of the imaginary, does this approach work, like when tiger and hunter meet. Can’t wait to watch Uncle Boonme.
Zoom
perroandaluz: Tropical Malady (2004) Apichatpong Weerasethakul / 3DOPs A movie divided in two simple parts, and a conceptual link to be established by the audience. The romance between an unemployed young man and his friend, who has to go back to the military, and the myth of a shaman who can shift shapes and its hunter. If the hunter kills its prey, the shaman dies and he becomes part of his physical world (logos), if the shaman eats the hunter, he becomes part of him and the mythos he is part of. Likewise, this story suddenly crosses with its tentacles into the memory of the first half, tainting the otherwise innocent gay relationship with more meaning. The cinematography of the piece tends to express itself in wide shots, and is able to capture a sense of realism of the urban and jungle Thai landscape, with minimal access to closer looks.  Nights are overtly lit, and only when it crosses into the surreal of the imaginary, does this approach work, like when tiger and hunter meet. Can’t wait to watch Uncle Boonme.
Zoom
perroandaluz: Tropical Malady (2004) Apichatpong Weerasethakul / 3DOPs A movie divided in two simple parts, and a conceptual link to be established by the audience. The romance between an unemployed young man and his friend, who has to go back to the military, and the myth of a shaman who can shift shapes and its hunter. If the hunter kills its prey, the shaman dies and he becomes part of his physical world (logos), if the shaman eats the hunter, he becomes part of him and the mythos he is part of. Likewise, this story suddenly crosses with its tentacles into the memory of the first half, tainting the otherwise innocent gay relationship with more meaning. The cinematography of the piece tends to express itself in wide shots, and is able to capture a sense of realism of the urban and jungle Thai landscape, with minimal access to closer looks.  Nights are overtly lit, and only when it crosses into the surreal of the imaginary, does this approach work, like when tiger and hunter meet. Can’t wait to watch Uncle Boonme.
Zoom

perroandaluz:

Tropical Malady (2004) Apichatpong Weerasethakul / 3DOPs


A movie divided in two simple parts, and a conceptual link to be established by the audience.

The romance between an unemployed young man and his friend, who has to go back to the military, and the myth of a shaman who can shift shapes and its hunter.

If the hunter kills its prey, the shaman dies and he becomes part of his physical world (logos), if the shaman eats the hunter, he becomes part of him and the mythos he is part of.

Likewise, this story suddenly crosses with its tentacles into the memory of the first half, tainting the otherwise innocent gay relationship with more meaning.

The cinematography of the piece tends to express itself in wide shots, and is able to capture a sense of realism of the urban and jungle Thai landscape, with minimal access to closer looks. 

Nights are overtly lit, and only when it crosses into the surreal of the imaginary, does this approach work, like when tiger and hunter meet.

Can’t wait to watch Uncle Boonme.

Propaganda (2012)

A sarcastic title serves an apocalyptic analysis on how propaganda has served empires, including highly ironic segments on North Korea, in the last 100 years.

Highlights:

(In Oprah’s show) “Why are these people crying in joy? Have they found god? No, they are gifted sneakers”

20:00“With the use of science we can now diagnose god as a psychopath with extreme narcissistic personality disorder. He is a character created by humans who sought to control others by naming themselves as prophets of god”. 

29:00 A psychoanalysis on Tarantino.

NYMPHOMANIAC // LARS VON TRIER // MANUEL ALBERTO CLARO

Click and push the down key…

Nymphomaniac is the wild and poetic chronicle of a woman’s journey from birth to the age of 50 as told by the main character, the self-diagnosed nymphomaniac, Joe. On a cold winter’s evening Seligman, an old bachelor, finds Joe semi-unconscious and beaten up in an alleyway. After bringing her to his flat he sees to her wounds while trying to understand how things could have gone so wrong for her. He listens intently as she over the next 8 chapters recounts the lushly branched-out and multi faceted story of her life, rich in associations and interjecting incidents.

Uma Thurman is in the cast list!

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