My poll 47 is inspired by CHANTAL AKERMAN PAR CHANTAL AKERMAN, which I just saw last week in the exhibition THE THIRTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OF DK FILMHOUSE (FILMVIRUS). This documentary is stranger than most documentaries about filmmakers, because it doesn’t present its information straightforwardly. At first we listen to Akerman talking about her doubts in making this film. Then we watch many clips from her films. These clips are supposed to tell us something about Akerman. It’s a strange but wholly satisfying experience. This film may not be as weird, challenging, or intellectual as JLG/JLG – SELF-PORTRAIT IN DECEMBER, but watching it makes me feel so great, and I’m not sure why.
If I understand it correctly, some of the most interesting clips in CHANTAL AKERMAN PAR CHANTAL AKERMAN may be from ONE DAY PINA ASKED ME (1983, Chantal Akerman), which is about Pina Bausch, the great choreographer.
I love the first and last scene of CHANTAL AKERMAN PAR CHANTAL AKERMAN very much. We saw her room in the first scene, and we saw Akerman give a conclusion about herself in the last scene.
THESE ARE DOCUMENTARIES AND EXPERIMENTAL FILMS ABOUT FILMMAKERS. WHICH ONES DO YOU LIKE?
1.CHANTAL AKERMAN PAR CHANTAL AKERMAN (1997, Chantal Akerman)
2.CINEMA DREAM, TOKYO DREAM (1995, Kiju Yoshida)
This film is about Gabriel Veyre, one of the pioneer filmmakers. He shot some films in Mexico and Japan in the late 1890’s. He shot 40 films between 1896-1900.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0895515/
3.CLAIRE DENIS LA VAGABONDE (1995, Sebastien Lifshitz)
4.THE COLOUR OF WORDS: INDIA SONG (1984, Jerome Beaujour + Jean Mascolo)
This film is about Marguerite Duras.
5.DEREK (2008, Isaac Julien)
This film is about Derek Jarman.
6.FRIENDLY PERSUASION (2000, Jamsheed Akrami, Iran)
This film is about the political problems of some contemporary Iranian filmmakers.
7.HUNT ANGELS (2006, Alec Morgan, Australia)
This strange documentary is about Rupert Kathner and Alma Brooks, who shot some films in Australia during 1937-1951. At first I thought this film is a fiction.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0441272/
8.INGMAR BERGMAN: THE MAGIC LANTERN (1989, Michael Winterbottom)
9.JACQUES DOILLON: WORDS AND EMOTIONS (1998, Anne Brochet + Francoise Dumas)
10.JEAN COCTEAU: SELF-PORTRAIT OF A STRANGER (1983, Edgardo Cozarinsky)
11.JLG/JLG – SELF-PORTRAIT IN DECEMBER (1995, Jean-Luc Godard)
12.THE LAST BOLSHEVIK (1993, Chris Marker)
This film is about Alexander Medvedkin. I cried a lot at the ending of this film.
13.LIFE AT ANY COST (1998, Stefan Jarl, Sweden)
This film is about Bo Widerberg.
14.LOST IN LA MANCHA (2001, Keith Fulton + Louis Pepe)
This film is about Terry Gilliam.
15.MALADY DIARY (2004, Teekhadet Vucharadhanin, Thailand)
This film is about Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
16.THE NAME OF A RIVER (2001, Anup Singh, India)
This experimental film is about Ritwik Ghatak.
17.A PERSONAL JOURNEY WITH MARTIN SCORSESE THROUGH AMERICAN MOVIES (1995, Martin Scorsese + Michael Henry Wilson)
This film is about many old American directors.
18.PHOENIX TAPES (1999 , Christoph Girardet + Matthias Muller, Germany)
This experimental film is about various motifs found in Alfred Hitchcock’s films.
19.THE SIGNATURE (2008, Chalida Uabumrungjit, Thailand)
This film is about Ratana Pestonji.
20.WHOEVER SAYS THE TRUTH SHALL DIE (1981, Philo Bregstein, Netherlands)
This film is about Pier Paolo Pasolini.
You can cast multiple votes.
--I haven’t seen LIGHTNING OVER WATER (1980, Wim Wenders).
3 comments:
My own vote is for CHANTAL AKERMAN PAR CHANTAL AKERMAN, CINEMA DREAM TOKYO DREAM, THE COLOUR OF WORDS: INDIA SONG, HUNT ANGELS, JLG/JLG -- SELF-PORTRAIT IN DECEMBER, THE LAST BOLSHEVIK, THE NAME OF A RIVER, PHOENIX TAPES, THE SIGNATURE, and WHOEVER SAYS THE TRUTH SHALL DIE.
I've seen MALADY DIARY, THE SIGNATURE and LOST IN LA MANCHA. MALADY DIARY would have made a great supplemental feature on a DVD of TROPICAL MALADY.
--Yes, I agree with you, Wisekwai, and I think THE SIGNATURE and that short film program inspired by Pestonji would make great DVD supplementaries, too.
Talking about MALADY DIARY gives me a strange idea. I think it would be a very weird case if WORLDLY DESIRES (2005, Apichatpong Weerasethakul) is released as a DVD with "behind-the-scenes" footage, because WORLDLY DESIRES itself pretends to be a behind-the-scene footage. I think it would be perfect and unique if WORLDLY DESIRES is released as a DVD, and its supplementary is the complete film in the jungle shot by Pimpaka Towira. This DVD would reverse the formula of most DVDs with supplementaries. :-)
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