Saturday, July 04, 2009

POLL 60: RUSH RUSH

My poll 60 is inspired by BODILY FLUID IS REVOLUTIONARY, a non-mainstream film which moves very fast in some parts. This kind of fast pacing makes it very different from many arthouse films such as BIRTH OF THE SEANEMA (2004, Sasithorn Ariyavicha, Thailand, A+++++), of which its pace is extremely slow.

The fast-paced scenes in BODILY FLUID IS REVOLUTIONARY include the scene in which Gaze is having an affair with a guy, while Nob is masturbating. The editing in this scene is so fast that I could not understand at first what is happening in the scene. Another fast-paced scene that I like very much is the scene in which Nob and Gaze walk from a lift to their room. They walk past many colorful paintings of lips which are hung on the wall. The editing in this scene is very fast and very powerful.

After I saw BODILY FLUID IS REVOLUTIONARY, I want to make a list of my favorite fast-paced films. But the word "fast-paced" here is used arbitrarily. I do not use any scientific measures to judge which films move fast or slowly. I just use my feelings to judge which films move fast or slowly here. Thus, I won't be surprised if any films which move very fast for me are considered slow films in other people's eyes. The word "fast-paced" here does not necessarily mean the films move very fast. It may actually mean that my brain is too slow to follow the stories in these films in the first viewing.

I LOVE THESE FAST-PACED FILMS. WHICH FILMS DO YOU LIKE?

1.THE ASTHENIC SYNDROME (1990, Kira Muratova, Russia)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww-_JyzNVpY

2.AU HASARD BALTHAZAR (1966, Robert Bresson, France)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbWYzyYb-2M

I think if I fall asleep for five minutes while watching THE BOURNE SUPREMACY or CRANK, I may still be able to follow its storyline or its plot after I wake up. But if I fall asleep for five minutes while watching AU HASARD BALTHAZAR, I may have missed a lot of things.

3.BODILY FLUID IS REVOLUTIONARY (2009, Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, Thailand)
http://celinejulie.blogspot.com/2009/06/transcend-boundaries.html

4.CALM PREVAILS OVER THE COUNTRY (1976, Peter Lilienthal, West Germany)

5.IL DIVO (2008, Paolo Sorrentino, Italy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4GQVse8jyg

6.FEMME PUBLIQUE (1984, Andrzej Zulawski, France)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as6AEVBDWE8

This film seems to move very fast for me because of its aggressive acting and the constant moving of the characters.

7.THE INSECT WOMAN (1963, Shohei Imamura, Japan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XonmaVCy8j0

8.ISLAND OF FLOWERS (1989, Jorge Furtado, Brazil)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfo4Uyf5sgg

9.LOIN (2001, Andre Techine, France)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8w_T_Bi_GM

10.MALINA (1991, Werner Schroeter, Germany)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2q0HQ4ODXk

11.NINJA BUGEI-CHO (1967, Nagisa Oshima, Japan)

12.ODILON REDON OR THE EYE LIKE A STRANGE BALLOON MOUNTS TOWARD INFINITY (1995, Guy Maddin, Canada)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSZYkv4Ad2Q

13.ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (1939, Howard Hawks, USA)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXRyZe-vsJ8

14.A ROOM FOR RENT (1959, Yuzo Kawashima, Japan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2xNkogZfb4

15.SAINT-CYR (2000, Patricia Mazuy, France)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HtkWUCfV8A

This film seems to move at normal pace, but I couldn't follow its storyline in my first viewing. I couldn't understand why Madame de Maintenon (Isabelle Huppert) changes her way of teaching in the middle of the film. I came to understand it in my second viewing of the film.

16.SILENCE…WE'RE ROLLING (2001, Youssef Chahine, Egypt)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr9LorYIvIs

17.TOO MANY WAYS TO BE NUMBER ONE (1997, Wai Ka-fai, Hong Kong)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaW_DumAW8Y

I have to see this film twice before I can follow its complex storyline.

18.TREASURE OF THE BITCH ISLANDS (1990, F.J. Ossang, France/Portugal)
The film tells the background of the story very fast. I could not remember the names of some characters in my first viewing. I felt very confused about the characters in this film. I can distinguish the characters in this film only after my second viewing.

19.A VIRUS KNOWS NO MORALS (1986, Rosa von Praunheim, West Germany)

20.YESTERDAY (2008, Sompot Chidgasornpongse, Thailand)
I feel this film move very fast because of its camera movement.

You can cast multiple votes.

The theme song of this poll is TAKE YOUR TIME (1990) by Mantronix featuring Wondress.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY4q4viufSs

4 comments:

celinejulie said...

My own votes are for AU HASARD BALTHAZAR, BODILY FLUID IS REVOLUTIONARY, CALM PREVAILS OVER THE COUNTRY, LA FEMME PUBLIQUE, ISLAND OF FLOWERS, MALINA, NINJA BUGEI-CHO, TREASURE OF THE BITCH ISLANDS, A VIRUS KNOWS NO MORALS, and YESTERDAY.

celinejulie said...

This is my reply to Peter in my English-only blog:
http://celinejulie.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/poll-60-rush-rush/

Are you translating subtitles of Muratova's films? That's great. I have seen only one of her films, though I have heard that some of her films are available as DVDs with English subtitles. Plalai Faifa, who is a film critic at Bangkok Post newspaper, wrote about some of her DVDs. He likes her films.

I haven't seen MOTHER AND SON and the early films of Bela Tarr (I mean the ones before DAMNATION), but I like THE SUN (Sokurov) and SATANTANGO very much. I also like IDIOTERNE a lot, though I watched it only one time. But I think I need to see THE ELEMENT OF CRIME (1984, Lars von Trier) again, because I couldn't follow its story in my first viewing.

I think the film which changes my whole outlook on life may be L'ARGENT (Robert Bresson). THE DEVIL, PROBABLY doesn't change my outlook on life, but it confirms my outlook on life.

celinejulie said...

This is my reply to Peter in my English-only blog:
http://celinejulie.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/poll-60-rush-rush/

I have seen only five films by Satyajit Ray—PATHER PANCHALI (1955), APARAJITO (1956), TWO DAUGHTERS (1961), CHARULATA(1964), and DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE FOREST (1970). I like DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE FOREST the most. I think it may be because the way of life in this film is not much different from the way of our contemporary urban lives.

As for Sergei Paradjanov, I have seen THE COLOUR OF POMEGRANATES (1969). I like it a lot, but I understand zero percent of this film. I think I might be too young when I watched this video. I need to see it again.

Films which make me feel so good to be alive include FREE RADICALS (2003, Barbara Albert, Austria, A+). A part of this film is about a woman who had survived a plane crash but didn't survive a car crash six years later. It makes me reflect on how our lives can end at any minute. The soundtrack of this film includes WE ARE ALIVE by Paul van Dyk. The song fits the film very well.

Matt said...

I think "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" and also "The Color of Pomegranates" are fantastic.

And of course, I have no idea what's going on in those film.