Some of the most recent films I've seen have been chosen because of their directors ... one new, the others "catching up" on films I'd never seen previously.
I went to see The Science of Sleep (2006) a few weeks ago, a film written and directed by Michel Gondry (the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). I had only seen Eternal Sunshine for the first time a few months ago, and thought it was wonderful - so when I saw the preview for Gondry's latest film (before Little Miss Sunshine) I figured I'd have to go see this one as well. I thought it was a fascinating look at the idea of blurring between sleep and wakefulness, and some of the effects during the dream sequences were neat. Towards the end though, I started feeling a bit frustrated because some of Stéphane's actions just seemed incredibly stupid - I wondered why couldn't he properly sort out what was sleep and what was real. Then I started thinking about Stéphane in the context of mental illness, that is, that he had a distorted perception of reality - and then the film made a lot more sense to me overall. Looking at the reviews on IMDB, it seemed as though it got either 8-10/10 ratings or 0-1/10 ratings (love it or hate it) - for me, it was almost both during the same film (but the frustration was short-lived, so overall I enjoyed it and I was glad I saw it).
I watched Mystery Train (1989) the other day (VHS from the library), the first film I'd seen by director Jim Jarmusch. I had been told about his penchant for panning shots - certainly it was a good way in this film to convey the mood (desolation?) of inner-city Memphis. I liked the technique how 3 intertwining yet never-really-meeting stories were told one after the other - I first thought that it was the next day when it switched from "Far from Yokohama" to "Ghost", until we saw the same hotel, the same song/same time on the radio, and so on, to realize that it was actually taking place at the same time as the first story (and the third story also taking place at the same time).
And while I had several friends who were big Twin Peaks fans when it was originally on TV, while we were undergrad university students, I never actually got around to watching it, nor anything else by David Lynch until now. The other day I watched Blue Velvet (1986) - "disturbingly good". I think disturbing in the sense that if you watch a movie about drugs/gangs/crime you'd expect certain levels of violence - but it seems more out of place with white picket fences and roses, and wholesome kiddies crossing the street in a small town, as in the opening shots of this film.
Today I watched Mulholland Dr. (2001) - wow! I was captivated throughout, at the end I got lost and confused, yet still appreciated the artistry and film-making throughout. Then when I read some "hints" online and realized I'd missed the significance of the opening scenes, it made more sense - overall, amazing!
(Thanks to Chris for the David Lynch and Jim Jarmusch recommendations).
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Blogger beta
So I just upgraded to their new program, which means I can categorize my blog posts ... trying to go back and do so for the previous ones but haven't got to all of them yet. And I've played around with the formatting now that it's easier to do so.
Article about IVF coming to Edmonton Clinic
This article last week in the Journal was interesting, because we'd decided to put any fertility treatments on hold for a while and enjoy life instead, rather than continuing to get all caught up in the stress (such as mentioned in the article). We're planning a trip to France for July to see the Tour de France and do some cycling ... and then we'll re-evaluate the "having kids" thing afterwards. But it's good to know that the IVF Clinic here should be up and running by then...
Edmonton International Film Festival
Ok, so the EIFF was actually over a month ago now, but in the meantime I crashed and burned and then got sick (just recovering now), so here's a few words about the films I saw there.
La Tourneuse de Pages -The Page Turner (2006, France) - quite intriguing to me, having experienced a lot of piano festivals, adjudications, and performances (piano and other). Though I can't say that any negative comments from an adjudicator ever left me so permanently scarred that I had to carry on an obsessive campaign to (psychologically) destroy their life...
El Violin (2005, Mexico) - I picked this because I thought the contrast between the music focus and the guerilla rebellion would be interesting, and it was. Quite graphic and disturbing in parts though.
Ten Canoes (2006, Australia) - This was recommended to me by an Australian friend, I had to skip half of my French class to see it, but I'm glad I did - my favourite of the festival. Mainly in an aboriginal language, with an English narrator/voice-over, it was an interesting look at some of the aboriginal ways and myths, and much different than anything else I've seen. The contrast between the "current" storyline (which was actually far in the past) and the "mythical" storyline, where one was in colour and one in black-and-white, was well-done. And I enjoyed the scenery/landscape shots as well. (though it wasn't quite "terrorists in canoes", which is how Chris advised me to try to sell it to my husband - I went with a friend instead).
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005, China) - This was my friend's pick, and I enjoyed it. I had the advantage of remembering a little Japanese, enough to know just how bad (and amusing) Lingo's Japanese translations and accent really were. The story was touching, but not a happy Hollywood ending - though in a sense, the ending was happy in that many characters learned more about themselves.
La Tourneuse de Pages -The Page Turner (2006, France) - quite intriguing to me, having experienced a lot of piano festivals, adjudications, and performances (piano and other). Though I can't say that any negative comments from an adjudicator ever left me so permanently scarred that I had to carry on an obsessive campaign to (psychologically) destroy their life...
El Violin (2005, Mexico) - I picked this because I thought the contrast between the music focus and the guerilla rebellion would be interesting, and it was. Quite graphic and disturbing in parts though.
Ten Canoes (2006, Australia) - This was recommended to me by an Australian friend, I had to skip half of my French class to see it, but I'm glad I did - my favourite of the festival. Mainly in an aboriginal language, with an English narrator/voice-over, it was an interesting look at some of the aboriginal ways and myths, and much different than anything else I've seen. The contrast between the "current" storyline (which was actually far in the past) and the "mythical" storyline, where one was in colour and one in black-and-white, was well-done. And I enjoyed the scenery/landscape shots as well. (though it wasn't quite "terrorists in canoes", which is how Chris advised me to try to sell it to my husband - I went with a friend instead).
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005, China) - This was my friend's pick, and I enjoyed it. I had the advantage of remembering a little Japanese, enough to know just how bad (and amusing) Lingo's Japanese translations and accent really were. The story was touching, but not a happy Hollywood ending - though in a sense, the ending was happy in that many characters learned more about themselves.
"Oprah Effect" in the US is "Comedy Satire" effect in Canada?
This article in the Journal the other day was interesting, apparently there's a study that those "who watch daytime talk show coverage of election issues and candidates...are more likely to vote for the candidate best aligned with their views than those who didn't". Meaning that even if the talk show seems all fluff and frivolity, somehow the candidate's message is getting through.
However, a pollster in Canada pointed out that that approach wouldn't work well here.
Therefore, the Canadian equivalent would be the comedy satire programs such as Mercer, 22 Minutes, and the Air Farce... (hmm, what does that say about me that I watch those shows each week and not much other TV?)
On a somewhat similar note, I want to know why Shaw Cable doesn't carry LeapTV ;-).
(I should mention that Todd Babiak has been my favourite Journal columnist for some time, I have The Garneau Block, just haven't read it yet but look forward to it).
However, a pollster in Canada pointed out that that approach wouldn't work well here.
"Canadians -- in this more egalitarian, questioning-of-authority culture -- desperately want to get on a show where they can be teased," Adams says. "In Canada, the currency is irony, humour and self-deprecation. It communicates a kind of intelligence and self-confidence."
Therefore, the Canadian equivalent would be the comedy satire programs such as Mercer, 22 Minutes, and the Air Farce... (hmm, what does that say about me that I watch those shows each week and not much other TV?)
On a somewhat similar note, I want to know why Shaw Cable doesn't carry LeapTV ;-).
(I should mention that Todd Babiak has been my favourite Journal columnist for some time, I have The Garneau Block, just haven't read it yet but look forward to it).
