Category: Movies

Four more movies, over two days. One of which is today.

29th December (a.m.) – Control. This is the story of the life and death of Ian Curtis (the singer from the band Joy Division) who was a big influence on me when I was a teenager, and who I know a fair amount about. I’ve heard everything Ian recorded, would count Unknown Pleasures and Closer as two of my all time favourite records (and Atmosphere as one of the saddest and scariest piece of music I’ve ever heard), and there are also aspects of his biography I can closely relate to. I’ve watched Control before, but it never ceases to thrill me from beginning to end, and it seems to be a very accurate account of the life of an interesting man who died so young but continues to influence people to this day. I only wish someone would do something similar with the life of Nick Drake, who I find similarly fascinating. As an aside (and tapping into one of my interests) Sam Riley (who played Ian Curtis in Control) ended up marrying Alexandra Maria Lara (who played Annik Honoré, who Ian had a strong emotional connection to towards the end of his life). It’s an emotionally intense film, and exactly the sort of connection that so often bleeds through into real life relationships.

29th December (p.m.)  – Stroszek. Following on from Control, but also tapping into the European cinema theme, Stroszek is probably at least as famous as the movie Ian Curtis watched the night he killed himself than as a piece of art in its own right. In some ways that is a shame, because it’s an accomplished piece of cinema that more people should watch, and it’s actually really funny in parts. It’s also quite weird, but I think anyone who is aware of Werner Hetzog’s work will have a fair idea what to expect.

29th December (later p.m.) – American Psycho. I’ve probably had more debates about the book that this is based on than any other book, and I was very much looking forward to this movie when it came out (a very long time ago now). It hasn’t aged well in some ways, but there is still enough here to make me happy to watch it every few years, although I wouldn’t want to see it any more frequently than that. Incidentally, there is a sequel, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you want to see William Shatner in one of his most wooden performances ever.

7th January – The Double Life of Véronique. I don’t really know where to start with this one. It’s another Krzysztof Kieślowski film (which I tracked down after watching and loving the Three Colours Trilogy), and one that largely details the lives of two identical women in different countries, who don’t know each other, but who end up having oddly similar and coincidental lives. It is as if the same person is living in parallel, and can somehow tune into the emotions and emotional reactions of the other person, whilst at the same time being on some level unaware that they are not alone. I think I sometimes seek out connections with people who think and feel in the same way I do about things that matter to me, and this film taps into that idea nicely, as well as appealing to my love of chance encounters and seeming happenstance. Also, it is a very well written and directed film that works on both a narrative and emotional level. Like most of Kieślowski’s work, it’s in French and Polish, but also conveys a great deal through music and colour, and several times I found myself drifting away from the subtitles and just losing myself in the sights and sounds. Probably not one for everyone, but if you have got a spare hour and a half and are willing to try and think and feel at the same time, then this may be just what you need. I’d definitely recommend this, but for anyone new to Krzysztof Kieślowski I would recommend watching the whole Three Colours Trilogy first, as the narrative is slightly clearer, and they are probably a better entrance point.

I’ve actually managed to watch a few movies over the last 3 months. Including ones that people might actually have heard of and/or seen. And as this list is getting quite long, I figured another blog post was in order.

7th October – Passion. Another Godard movie, this time from 1982. It’s not as entertaining as his earlier (or in fact later) work, and I think I need to watch it again before I can say much more than “It’s a movie about making movies”. I also think I should not try and watch things in a foreign language after a particularly tiring day at work.

11th November – Star Wars : A New Hope. Largely because it was on, and because I have not seen it for years. I’ll also be recording and watching the other two parts of the trilogy over the next few weeks.

17th November – Star Wars – The Empire Strikes Back. See above. This is probably my favourite of the three, and is definitely the darkest. I think it takes me back to being a small child, and wanting so much to be Luke Skywalker. I think the only person I wanted to be more was Doctor Who (see below).

23rd November – An Adventure in Space and Time. This is a made for TV film about the early days of Doctor Who, and concentrates on William Hartnell and Verity Lambert. It’s a story I wasn’t too familiar with, but it was entertaining enough, and acted as a nice precursor for The Day of the Doctor, which I loved.

24th November – Star Wars – Return of the Jedi. Not much I can say about this one, other that that is is still probably my least favourite of the trilogy, despite being one of the first films I saw in the cinema as a child.

25th December – The Elephant Man. Another Christmas, another David Lynch box set, including the only thing of his I’ve not already seen. This was made in 1980, although feels much older, and does a good job of capturing the atmosphere of Victorian England. It’s a fairly faithful retelling of a story I already know, and is actually more linear than I expected it to be. All in all, it’s enjoyable enough, and does a good job of exploring themes surrounding how society treats people it perceives as “different”. It is also deeply moving on several levels, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who is prepared to give it some time.

27th December – Inland Empire. I have no idea how to describe this in one paragraph. It’s a very complex movie that explores the blurred line between a performer and the role they play, and which also does a very good job of exploring the emotional complications that people who act or otherwise perform can find themselves in with the people they work with. But that is just scratching the surface, and there is also a lot in there about the conflict between narrative and chronology, (and specifically how narratives are formed when seemingly unrelated scenes are juxtaposed) as well as a whole load of other themes that I don’t really have the words for right now. It’s another of David Lynch’s “movies about making a movie”, which takes some of the themes of Mulholland Drive and twists them even further, but it also taps into the surrealism of Lost Highway, and probably shouldn’t be attempted until both of the aforementioned movies have been watched, and to a certain extent understood. I accept that this may mean many people never watch Inland Empire, but if you do, or you ever have, then I’d love to have a conversation about it one day.

28th December (a.m.) – Weekend. This is a strange one. It starts off as a fairly simple tale of infidelity and greed, but soon tangents into a very strange road movie, that could only be made by Jean Luc Godard, and only in the late 60’s. If you like his other movies from this era then you’ll probably like this, although I certainly wouldn’t start with this one. There are also some fairly disturbing scenes that might not be to everyone’s taste, although these are redeemed by the opening dialogues and the closing monologue which combine words and music to outstanding effect, and which make this a worthwhile viewing experience. I feel I should see it again if I am going to understand all of it, but at the time of writing I don’t want to see it again because it made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

28th December (p.m) – Shame. This one is a recommendation from a while ago (September, perhaps), and was another quite uncomfortable movie to watch, but one that I did really enjoy. It explores the idea of physical intimacy and emotional intimacy being two very distinct things, and ties in nicely with conversations I had around the time this was recommended to me, and also more recently. It’s on Netflix as of now, and is well worth a watch.

I think this project is going to continue throughout next year. I’ve enjoyed cataloguing what I’ve watched, and I think it helps me watch things properly if I know I’m going to write about them afterwards.

Despite being very busy over the last few months, I have still managed to keep track of everything I’ve watched (apart from TV shows, which probably deserve their own post/project).

20th August – Daybreakers. In some ways this is a generic 21st century vampire movie, but I did like some of the science behind it, and found it entertaining enough to watch for a second time (I can’t remember the date of the first viewing, hence including it here). I also re-watched Dune on the same plane journey (London –> Vancouver), but I’ve already mentioned Dune elsewhere.

7th September – Alphaville. During a rare weekend off, I thought it might be nice to dip back into European cinema. I had a vague thought of trying a Jean Luc Godard weekend of movies, which I kicked off with this one. Alphaville is very strange, but also very thought provoking, and it takes aspects of Film Noire and 60’s detective movies and gives them a subtle sci-fi twist. Probably not a movie for everyone, but certainly enjoyable enough, and one that bears repeated watchings (and listenings).

7th September (later) – Made in U.S.A. Another Godard classic, and one I’ve not seen for at least 10 years. It’s worth it just for Anna Karina’s wonderfully 60’s outfits, but it is also another great example of the kind of story that Godard tells very well, as well as being another really thought provoking collection of images and sounds.

9th September – Notre Musique. Part 3 of my Godard spree, and the first one that is from the modern age (well. if 2004 counts as modern). I had read a review of this a while ago, and thought it sounded like something I would enjoy. The first section is very surreal and abstract, but it soon morphs into a more narrative (and longer) middle section that explores war, peace, and the conflicts between people of different nationalities. The third segment acts as a brief peaceful coda, and the whole piece does a good job of portraying the hell, purgatory and heaven of Dante’s Inferno (on which Notre Musique is very loosely based). I really enjoyed this movie, although I totally accept that it is not for everyone.

11th September – Lancelot du Lac. As a break from Godard, I stumbled upon this in the library today. It’s a 70’s retelling of the story of Sir Lancelot, in French, with a very odd style of acting that removes all animation and passion from the story, but is still strangely compelling. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, although there are parts of it that seem very dated now, and it was very odd seeing a quintessentially English story being played out in French.

6th October – On the Road. This is a recent movie adaptation of one of my favourite books, and is fairly faithful to the book (with a lot of passages from the book used as narrative). It has the feeling of a proper road movie, and the jazz soundtrack makes it feel like an authentic period piece, but it also has something to say about life and love in the 21st Century. I was worried I might be disappointed by this movie, but it is actually one of the most enjoyable things I’ve watched for a while, and it makes me want to go back and re-read everything Kerouac ever wrote.