My Week in Film (7/13 - 7/19)

Picnic (1996)
(Directed by Shunji Iwai)

what a weird movie. I think duder is sort of right about it but I also think thor is right about it. I cringed a lot throughout at some of the more ridiculous things (like the dude with the penises? and the ending and the guy falling down), but mostly I was too interested in just looking at the film. I didn't particularly care about the discussions about God (because they were retarded) or about listening to these people. I just cared about watching them walk, preferably with the camera down low, pointing up while the vaguely okayish piano music played in the background. Iwai is so weird. What a weird guy. I'm not sure he knows what the hell is going on sometimes? Oh, the angel with black wings! It's a really silly movie but an arresting one. I really wish he direct someone else's scripts.

★★1/2

Police Beat (2006)
(Directed by Robinson Devor)

Not as seductive and hypnotic as Zoo (maybe because the music isn't as awesome?) but still good in its weirdness. Really enjoyed the way that the dude's inner monologue is juxtaposed with these random situations (drunk is found inside a lawn hedge, guy is knifed, goes insane, something). Just the way the dude imagines his girl going with this one dude to camp, bringing memories of hate and nonsense. The main dude is probably my favorite part of the film, just the way he carries himself, his worries, the way he approaches things, seemed incredibly fascinating to me (I don't know why). It's such a weird mix of form and content, just like Zoo. You'd never think either of these films could be done the way they are, but that's what makes them so special. Maybe that's the guy's schtick. "Oh, I know, I'll make a movie about a bunch of horsefuckers but make it all poetic and Malickian and shit. I'll get the that Arthouse $$$ now!" Let's go Lindy dancing. All he really wants is a house in Federal Way.

★★★

Bitter Victory (1957)
(Directed by Nicholas Ray)

It's just kind of brilliant. I don't really get the love triangle complaints (it's never really a love triangle to me). Anyway, I absolutely love the opening 20 minutes or so of the film as all the relationships are established in the most effective way possible. There's a poetry to it as the camera tracks alongside the wife and the dude as he berates her for only looking at Burton. The performances are excellent. The German dude all inner feeling burrowing (huh, what) and Burton, more expressive, more the hero, but not really at all. Then there's the breathtaking shots of the desert at night, which only really serve as a backdrop to two men's philosophical/moral/military/whatever struggle. It's a rumble in the desert. Then there's scorpions and where the hell are the camels? This war. We ain't different, you or me.

★★★★

Jhon's Movie of the Week is... Bitter Victory