tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81867166338598447112024-03-11T08:15:38.642+02:00The Back RowJared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-45462541231409337502023-01-21T17:11:00.005+02:002023-01-21T17:33:53.611+02:00Bill: My Top Ten Films<div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>In commemoration of the latest decennial poll of the Greatest Movies of All Time from </i><a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/polls/50-best-films-2022" target="_blank">Sight & Sound</a><i><a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/polls/50-best-films-2022" target="_blank"> magazine</a>, I’m posting Top Ten lists on my blog from friends and readers. Feel free to send me yours.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Here’s the list I received from my friend Bill, an accomplished (and award-winning) filmmaker in their own right. Their assorted selections here (reaching from New York to Tokyo) have proven fascinating, and come together into a kaleidoscopic whole. I especially appreciate a Top Ten list that acknowledges a contribution from African cinema, and also my own views on </i>Taxi Driver <i>accord well with those given below.</i></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I struggle with Top Ten lists, because I can think of dozens of movies that equally deserve such recognition. To help myself choose between my favourites, I have given this list a theme: my development as a movie viewer. Here are the eleven films that make up my Top Ten:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMd0OZO11Ie27-M2fKU8gaYlf_fRiBHQbaCKkBV3NGD2Yc2_pvrcGU1w5J9qyDoCXmOAhEl0ZyaUrAqxOIhNQwy1RYHpEtPXs4prfzfzCGpxqMl9VacZhBgzdFo8gQIxh6RwvPG1A6wddihgFuGxNC9ZKzz9WCfwlpYLO6qXgaqaf6GESazUApSWQB5w/s3600/MV5BMzQwNDM1NDY4MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjIwNzIwMjE@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="3600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMd0OZO11Ie27-M2fKU8gaYlf_fRiBHQbaCKkBV3NGD2Yc2_pvrcGU1w5J9qyDoCXmOAhEl0ZyaUrAqxOIhNQwy1RYHpEtPXs4prfzfzCGpxqMl9VacZhBgzdFo8gQIxh6RwvPG1A6wddihgFuGxNC9ZKzz9WCfwlpYLO6qXgaqaf6GESazUApSWQB5w/w400-h266/MV5BMzQwNDM1NDY4MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjIwNzIwMjE@._V1_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)</b> <i>Taxi Driver</i> is a sensory experience. In high school, I expected all good movies to have a clear message. I couldn’t decipher a clear moral or message from <i>Taxi Driver</i>, but as soon as the credits rolled across my laptop screen, I knew I had watched something special. A texturally rich experience, <i>Taxi Driver</i> transformed the way I view movies.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPIgaZuoWp78NtJPeo__p4gcSDOuUWY7NjpiBnkAcCJRI71oAXlN31LEg5y5a2Q__Ks5oMux2JAv2SDcTEDfwcEh087dc4dNSQEqsFjF7NMtBBlb4CWk_bxY1acOtMEw3p4g05q-90i50vyKlTsbMJt6XIqNYxruuZZ1N8yzbXNWeri_BCIpAZsxZjw/s2400/g6jMs6RqbPewB36Q4kGTV927ispdpT_original.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="2400" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPIgaZuoWp78NtJPeo__p4gcSDOuUWY7NjpiBnkAcCJRI71oAXlN31LEg5y5a2Q__Ks5oMux2JAv2SDcTEDfwcEh087dc4dNSQEqsFjF7NMtBBlb4CWk_bxY1acOtMEw3p4g05q-90i50vyKlTsbMJt6XIqNYxruuZZ1N8yzbXNWeri_BCIpAZsxZjw/w400-h225/g6jMs6RqbPewB36Q4kGTV927ispdpT_original.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang, 1991)</b> The rest of the world disappears while you’re watching <i>A Brighter Summer Day</i>. This is a love story, a family drama, a gangster epic, and so much more. I watched this four-hour long film in Nashville’s Belcourt Theatre, and when the credits rolled I wished it were four hours longer. My interest in slow cinema was born that day.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVXaqvsx3nfMw3H6HiUjVqXaZjSde9LtX2umeAoyYNC-rIeCrdu7cUu_TUzIf-FQhHZYs1gjuS7BAIfxnexDVgrdN9KFw9hU1uASDqrsbB-X68YNjpveKnwM9i6u7P_SpmUd97EEUleQHO1ChO-Ng9awcbrrWsXHFtQUPmCXOXuiiozgeEycZ_j-kzA/s678/house-1977-main.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="678" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVXaqvsx3nfMw3H6HiUjVqXaZjSde9LtX2umeAoyYNC-rIeCrdu7cUu_TUzIf-FQhHZYs1gjuS7BAIfxnexDVgrdN9KFw9hU1uASDqrsbB-X68YNjpveKnwM9i6u7P_SpmUd97EEUleQHO1ChO-Ng9awcbrrWsXHFtQUPmCXOXuiiozgeEycZ_j-kzA/w400-h225/house-1977-main.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>House (Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1977)</b> This film is as wild as it gets. During my freshman year of college, I’d walk over to Vanderbilt’s Cohen Memorial Hall to watch movies on Room 103’s great projector screen. Every minute of this film will likely feature something you’ve never seen before; however, its accessible central narrative makes it an easy watch, and its technical innovation and thematic depth make each repeat viewing as rewarding as the last. <i>House</i> opened my eyes to the world of maximalist cinema.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhXGw0USWGBSJFMLZAIzV0knYa2cZBSq84yBCPgDzGI5IqWCJbvpTMtO6SHg_KaJh3nzTzC96zGUfyYuUcQRuP4XmxM0YgxLhrbdh-qnt87d_gCifr_jBe60uWdi_sa8FHUvKk-iaYT538gxZstJX_G9OFzPIF3ce2H_L3d691kPuIn2GVaootyKe0w/s1600/Ali-Fear-Eats-the-Soul-1600x900-c-default.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhXGw0USWGBSJFMLZAIzV0knYa2cZBSq84yBCPgDzGI5IqWCJbvpTMtO6SHg_KaJh3nzTzC96zGUfyYuUcQRuP4XmxM0YgxLhrbdh-qnt87d_gCifr_jBe60uWdi_sa8FHUvKk-iaYT538gxZstJX_G9OFzPIF3ce2H_L3d691kPuIn2GVaootyKe0w/w400-h225/Ali-Fear-Eats-the-Soul-1600x900-c-default.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)</b> Next to <i>House</i>, this is the film I rewatch most. Fassbinder is a master of using simple setups to explore complex emotions with piercing honesty. This film contains a handful of locations and characters, but emotionally and thematically, it contains the world.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcyZZpfnDTsGpWbDlOC3qFWQm8t4YlyWer48WqMshe1642TLj5Q0HNQ2i2LSOM_vKzdtWyrpgIJNTqN4kK9MXiu5ruIdlmg3jQkzzlE6DkWY82_cjKiGC-L3oeeOLP3VjJUvyq1pkeCXv4am6qpAmH7f3EyLfPujNDRZeuSgVW1IPwYNzRQ1J6YOJwnQ/s1280/MV5BMjAwODU1MzE5OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDMxMDMzNA@@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="1280" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcyZZpfnDTsGpWbDlOC3qFWQm8t4YlyWer48WqMshe1642TLj5Q0HNQ2i2LSOM_vKzdtWyrpgIJNTqN4kK9MXiu5ruIdlmg3jQkzzlE6DkWY82_cjKiGC-L3oeeOLP3VjJUvyq1pkeCXv4am6qpAmH7f3EyLfPujNDRZeuSgVW1IPwYNzRQ1J6YOJwnQ/w400-h279/MV5BMjAwODU1MzE5OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDMxMDMzNA@@._V1_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Dogtooth (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2009)</b> On another evening of my freshman year, Cohen 103 was occupied, so I projected this film on a smaller screen upstairs. <i>Dogtooth</i> is disturbing and hilarious. While <i>Taxi Driver</i> changed how I view movies, <i>Dogtooth</i> changed how I view the world.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFSQjUNskmgm5RZkLGYY-lwceEn2dVCGhJN07rG1pvFvYayo2M3gxcPYBDBDr1pIsEj-AoAkeEPv1xNlNnS-yLzMc95jmRAOSeZNjPrU2UnHGZWFJS6uDF7l5MMk-3t3lbCx2PRaJIAtzRYHNNrHrYJ8WE0OHDA-iGwQCUOm1M97H1Tfw2i5HDo-RRg/s1200/tampopo_28880id_043.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFSQjUNskmgm5RZkLGYY-lwceEn2dVCGhJN07rG1pvFvYayo2M3gxcPYBDBDr1pIsEj-AoAkeEPv1xNlNnS-yLzMc95jmRAOSeZNjPrU2UnHGZWFJS6uDF7l5MMk-3t3lbCx2PRaJIAtzRYHNNrHrYJ8WE0OHDA-iGwQCUOm1M97H1Tfw2i5HDo-RRg/w400-h209/tampopo_28880id_043.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Tampopo (Juzo Itami, 1985)</b> <i>Tampopo</i> is responsible for my most joyful Belcourt experience. This is a Spaghetti Western filmed in domestic spaces, and it’s about food and love. More films should be about food and love.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYzqwnYBe6hx688_KRV7Ffn2Y6FMDGBRcPJdcWRACEIUFmaoxy35DMBvJq3Z4vikv4M_krU63i9qidqrz7kRxmyYLaEX12Lgh5k6e1ubB7F8kQML2ZAtiYRD3waz-bAhUPaPRbNn2mUhbm1q3YgAnAfPaVqg-ppI-bNaEXg4l_36FaGfiB1RyaN_6Hw/s651/CaptainAlex_featured.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="651" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYzqwnYBe6hx688_KRV7Ffn2Y6FMDGBRcPJdcWRACEIUFmaoxy35DMBvJq3Z4vikv4M_krU63i9qidqrz7kRxmyYLaEX12Lgh5k6e1ubB7F8kQML2ZAtiYRD3waz-bAhUPaPRbNn2mUhbm1q3YgAnAfPaVqg-ppI-bNaEXg4l_36FaGfiB1RyaN_6Hw/w400-h231/CaptainAlex_featured.png" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Who Killed Captain Alex (Nabwana I.G.G., 2010)</b> My favourite example of low-budget independent filmmaking. Not a moment of this film passes by without laughter. I often feel like African filmmakers are pushed into a corner in which their films need to focus on trauma. This film, on the other hand, is endlessly fun. It is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEoGrbKAyKE" target="_blank">available for free on YouTube</a>, uploaded by the director.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jF5r82t0i1AoZW_eKL-pNGK3h6N_iphRJJ_DJLx7LGStmd1vQci1DWSBs2ii80XLhjB-1BD9noL9CdFi-YHMmBID-CNLiYDU5LzbgxFH6lf75ObtR5fGqxLiF8ZqPFEyXACzMo7F7QKVlEq6ir_9kDIHoPXg8IW90cNCTJKBACUED8P4Ca2aJRCNVg/s2048/merlin_146950422_cdf94069-a72a-4dfb-ae9d-6d4222e39c29-superJumbo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jF5r82t0i1AoZW_eKL-pNGK3h6N_iphRJJ_DJLx7LGStmd1vQci1DWSBs2ii80XLhjB-1BD9noL9CdFi-YHMmBID-CNLiYDU5LzbgxFH6lf75ObtR5fGqxLiF8ZqPFEyXACzMo7F7QKVlEq6ir_9kDIHoPXg8IW90cNCTJKBACUED8P4Ca2aJRCNVg/w400-h266/merlin_146950422_cdf94069-a72a-4dfb-ae9d-6d4222e39c29-superJumbo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Shoplifters (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2018)</b> I fell in love with this film’s tenderness after watching it at Telluride in 2018. This film is surprisingly provocative, yet it oozes with love and warmth. I think this combination is wonderful.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWn-JVHA_YGHxNL22Yp2fCHGo9X7QAm_needfaiohGsN4_B9JVcN5Tpt4IZNOWl40809mR-V0i68iSNAjL7-oyW4kyY5i34RA_v3jnxJl-bvl-GK7J6t47DtWVYIiduIkfUmVoorYl2A-Irbz4dT2NvzsxApbn4aJs76bry2iJ1o-iJ_uT3OKCTTT-Q/s700/1800.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWn-JVHA_YGHxNL22Yp2fCHGo9X7QAm_needfaiohGsN4_B9JVcN5Tpt4IZNOWl40809mR-V0i68iSNAjL7-oyW4kyY5i34RA_v3jnxJl-bvl-GK7J6t47DtWVYIiduIkfUmVoorYl2A-Irbz4dT2NvzsxApbn4aJs76bry2iJ1o-iJ_uT3OKCTTT-Q/w400-h240/1800.webp" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>One Cut of the Dead (Shinichirou Ueda, 2017)</b> The most I’ve ever laughed in a theatre (and I’m sure the same could be said for most of the Belcourt audience who watched it with me). I don’t want to say much about this, because it’s best experienced without prior knowledge.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSSr2YJvF7P3ngpNvXaVrar_wsxmaNb_lv1ogcT8U-tE-PcJh7xX4BYtdXZBwMzgoDXMgXexw-wAq0xBoBFjH_7F9JreQayFyjJH5FbPRHzosESnaKXpOKRORr9pplOLJz5yjwBJE5RgWGthl3ygaBoeddJkhsBa5JgqVE8W-psPh2lhmYdZAaHXeoig/s2560/Brody-Parasite.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1706" data-original-width="2560" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSSr2YJvF7P3ngpNvXaVrar_wsxmaNb_lv1ogcT8U-tE-PcJh7xX4BYtdXZBwMzgoDXMgXexw-wAq0xBoBFjH_7F9JreQayFyjJH5FbPRHzosESnaKXpOKRORr9pplOLJz5yjwBJE5RgWGthl3ygaBoeddJkhsBa5JgqVE8W-psPh2lhmYdZAaHXeoig/w400-h266/Brody-Parasite.webp" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Parasite (Bong Joon-ho, 2019)</b> I was so overwhelmed after watching this at the Belcourt, that I struggled getting out of my seat. I cried at work when this won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. <i>Parasite</i> combines its multiple genre influences so effortlessly that this weird arthouse film still made blockbuster box office numbers. I’m thankful it got the eyes it deserves. It gives me hope the same will happen for other daring films.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibuuhNpw1EhvXpXqnmx8jyCV7ln4dFstzZvW81aMqbEy2BeCHPi__UFqkH3Zzq6LYdAV_jSLzYzG5pWJQS7Nux5qsK9IBgwyFmd3iJkU_xtMj4f99zaLNrH1wMuouL3Xl4CFBSf1FkZYORHO3dwDJoWghQEa67SqPxoM4RVwKFPQCJnj-5y8XOZRBP-Q/s1000/beautravail.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibuuhNpw1EhvXpXqnmx8jyCV7ln4dFstzZvW81aMqbEy2BeCHPi__UFqkH3Zzq6LYdAV_jSLzYzG5pWJQS7Nux5qsK9IBgwyFmd3iJkU_xtMj4f99zaLNrH1wMuouL3Xl4CFBSf1FkZYORHO3dwDJoWghQEa67SqPxoM4RVwKFPQCJnj-5y8XOZRBP-Q/w400-h200/beautravail.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999)</b> I watched this mysterious film, the only one that my list and the <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/polls/50-best-films-2022" target="_blank"><i>Sight & Sound</i> poll</a> have in common, at home on my projector sometime last year. <i>Beau Travail</i> features my favourite scene in all of cinema – one which I rewatched several times in a row immediately after the film ended. The history of cinema is deep with riches; I will continue to find new favourites every year. What an exciting thought.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>You can read other contributions of Top Ten lists <a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/search/label/Top%20Ten%20list" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></span></div>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-18071781613259552872022-11-02T17:14:00.005+02:002022-11-02T17:18:39.654+02:00Jag: Top Ten Films<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>In commemoration of the next decennial poll of the Greatest Movies of All Time from </i>Sight & Sound<i> magazine, I’m posting Top Ten lists on my blog from friends and readers. Feel free to send me yours.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Here’s the list I received from my friend Jag. His eclectic choices highlighted some movies unfamiliar to me, and his persuasive commendations make me want to sit down and watch each of them one by one, even the ones I already know. </i>Cléo from 5 to 7<i> is aptly described as the masterpiece it is, and I heartily join his praise here. I particularly appreciate lists with a broad geographic base (this one stretches from Los Angeles to Tokyo), and enjoy finding any feature or idea that links the selections; here, I notice the interesting predominance of movies from very early in their directors’ careers.<span><a name='more'></a></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWghlSXrqDoKoLrocfpvyvX7imDL6FtHlcx43hBGGNNCCnJLj-kctiGaWIzalk2S8cj_oE1ObkyLcJTCVSqphsxjGs8J1MKwklPhjlQltcHDgzKt5fS1a6_WM3mHi8iiSN9RjWkvfuI7Mj1dKtyMeVNocV6zo1QN9fHgWGCfmwjOUh_W5l-ZtYvXQSvQ/s1920/6a00d8341c03bb53ef01bb099a0ad3970d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWghlSXrqDoKoLrocfpvyvX7imDL6FtHlcx43hBGGNNCCnJLj-kctiGaWIzalk2S8cj_oE1ObkyLcJTCVSqphsxjGs8J1MKwklPhjlQltcHDgzKt5fS1a6_WM3mHi8iiSN9RjWkvfuI7Mj1dKtyMeVNocV6zo1QN9fHgWGCfmwjOUh_W5l-ZtYvXQSvQ/w400-h225/6a00d8341c03bb53ef01bb099a0ad3970d.png" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>1. 12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)</b> A film in its simplest form, this story is the experience of the human bias as set in a single room where time and consequence paint the much larger context of these characters. It’s a monumental achievement in how gripping great dialogue can be, presented in a film where almost nothing else happens.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5FfnUUP2yxjw0gGaRKS8XTP1IGw3wbK4_4jtESrOGg2d1NgVd4FFMdcXnkEYP3JcZF0LKecLk07pzTJ7VzPybZpu5xg7lby0IhU7-I_5cyKUI0prGn95n3Yg4cSn_KNZJjysfAt6D2so-BMZhRZ1QulHyaUh_ykDl7asxMVNZ3EmEaPBmJ10Hom77tw/s1917/Portrait-of-a-Lady-on-Fire-196.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1033" data-original-width="1917" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5FfnUUP2yxjw0gGaRKS8XTP1IGw3wbK4_4jtESrOGg2d1NgVd4FFMdcXnkEYP3JcZF0LKecLk07pzTJ7VzPybZpu5xg7lby0IhU7-I_5cyKUI0prGn95n3Yg4cSn_KNZJjysfAt6D2so-BMZhRZ1QulHyaUh_ykDl7asxMVNZ3EmEaPBmJ10Hom77tw/w400-h215/Portrait-of-a-Lady-on-Fire-196.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>2. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019)</b> The definition of “every frame a painting” when it comes to gorgeous cinematography and the perfect setting. The intense slow-burn of this sapphic romance comes alive like something from the very paintings we see in the film. Céline Sciamma handles her characters with such care and respect.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8i0BDQR3nBYnjyR4eo67826Xd3NDpr6RSbZktJqZ3vP9vOBcqGtNPEVxuvBk1kJWUrvJCbSN_g5h0jPxGmD5zj2O20w1W0GnucJJwXYcwpslpm2psoPmFA49-BEdY9nhUDIQh4TwksfLGGDgPrkOb9XBQlg-SbIThv2CExjzRo1WXyDTvVaH2ktizA/s600/Alien3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="600" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8i0BDQR3nBYnjyR4eo67826Xd3NDpr6RSbZktJqZ3vP9vOBcqGtNPEVxuvBk1kJWUrvJCbSN_g5h0jPxGmD5zj2O20w1W0GnucJJwXYcwpslpm2psoPmFA49-BEdY9nhUDIQh4TwksfLGGDgPrkOb9XBQlg-SbIThv2CExjzRo1WXyDTvVaH2ktizA/w400-h261/Alien3.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>3. Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)</b> The quintessential sci-fi horror experience comes with this fully-realised and moody horror. H. R. Giger’s detailed set design and the film’s use of practical effects and moody lighting marry perfectly with the foreboding score and sound design to create a memorable alien ride.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnx9mk0DbHMIndsU4pgoenrNN9qEsCM5yK3IVjODWPbxiie3K31baGF-LCgcA84uafLwXwi7MBAB48KVHctwErXHemjisn6Poeb629NJPzNxXuw633kexmdSil30PBUVAezfk6I3r9TFYo9Zg0EfSbNY2w9riyVwNKyk1VVHjybki3vnx30ju7nBqZg/s1920/Hiroshima-meu-amor%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnx9mk0DbHMIndsU4pgoenrNN9qEsCM5yK3IVjODWPbxiie3K31baGF-LCgcA84uafLwXwi7MBAB48KVHctwErXHemjisn6Poeb629NJPzNxXuw633kexmdSil30PBUVAezfk6I3r9TFYo9Zg0EfSbNY2w9riyVwNKyk1VVHjybki3vnx30ju7nBqZg/w400-h225/Hiroshima-meu-amor%20(1).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>4. Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alain Resnais, 1959)</b> Alain Resnais presents one of the most visceral takes on love, lust, and loss with this romantic film noir part documentary history drama. This film has one of the most relentlessly intense openings to setting and character that I have ever seen.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdfWlMWKZ9KeaaANYeqJ7taZKNMThBhbOHGkKlMgS7Vail2ByN9xVbwfjSc3TFc4RfgBn-5QjeeUHCGRiGiwaPS3-5kmikMJTn5sfnWwix-C9k0z0wBwVz-mk7CVV1GVdnWLbxfaJbvk7j1M_8BMC54BFAvUfEXycx0kb1IKjBJDWxVH1vGxUz0I6ZDA/s1200/do-the-right-thing-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdfWlMWKZ9KeaaANYeqJ7taZKNMThBhbOHGkKlMgS7Vail2ByN9xVbwfjSc3TFc4RfgBn-5QjeeUHCGRiGiwaPS3-5kmikMJTn5sfnWwix-C9k0z0wBwVz-mk7CVV1GVdnWLbxfaJbvk7j1M_8BMC54BFAvUfEXycx0kb1IKjBJDWxVH1vGxUz0I6ZDA/w400-h225/do-the-right-thing-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>5. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)</b> Spike Lee’s masterpiece is canon to the experience of black lives in America. An auteur piece of work, it shapes authentic images of life, culture, and consequence in the black community while also being a work that is aflush with vibrant colours and memorable expressions of what it is to be black in the US.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wmV7xPGaEDdS_iL3b5EARpAt6MP4tForZS5Oj8jwMVbREfNMaSiebsUHIt0zc9BOKCcEyCJRY9nHAfL-1vp-T4VhBII4v_5e5sagL0G2o03ETZnVIef_5yTbW-0xOR6F3e8KEcJTA9WSP3SSDzjo3FNxqYjGE1HlqdhJfpaOuUx6JTN9MzCQ-Hnd5g/s2400/rZ0xTCM0lgcbtAFpTf6Wyjb6qpC7d9_original.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="2400" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wmV7xPGaEDdS_iL3b5EARpAt6MP4tForZS5Oj8jwMVbREfNMaSiebsUHIt0zc9BOKCcEyCJRY9nHAfL-1vp-T4VhBII4v_5e5sagL0G2o03ETZnVIef_5yTbW-0xOR6F3e8KEcJTA9WSP3SSDzjo3FNxqYjGE1HlqdhJfpaOuUx6JTN9MzCQ-Hnd5g/w400-h225/rZ0xTCM0lgcbtAFpTf6Wyjb6qpC7d9_original.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>6. Cléo from 5 to 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962)</b> Agnès Varda’s portrait of the two hours in the life of this singer is an essential view into the barebones beauty of the French New Wave. Beautiful, creative cinematography, fast-paced editing, and sharp-witted dialogue transform this brief visit into one that sticks with the viewer forever.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJT0opQ1rbt4HWoj1f7EJ3sWX4lQJK2sjsGvy_s82OnMsOjTVo-SVhASSM0t7enEYDcwjt_vdYvrr-l5QYpEKMdePwIxD7NNs9x5DOCNx00NFmNYZQUNhrlyHEJ6WxorpHvYcA9NzPW__8MPT2-bMrRVDbdZ1_XGIpbaU68y31Q0ABuE7Xq3XDaQKZgg/s1200/come-and-see-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJT0opQ1rbt4HWoj1f7EJ3sWX4lQJK2sjsGvy_s82OnMsOjTVo-SVhASSM0t7enEYDcwjt_vdYvrr-l5QYpEKMdePwIxD7NNs9x5DOCNx00NFmNYZQUNhrlyHEJ6WxorpHvYcA9NzPW__8MPT2-bMrRVDbdZ1_XGIpbaU68y31Q0ABuE7Xq3XDaQKZgg/w400-h225/come-and-see-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>7. Come and See (Elem Klimov, 1985)</b> Elem Klimov’s war film might just be the one war film that everyone should see. It paints the most agonisingly open and honest reflection on the ravages of war, rendered only more visceral and biting by it being framed through the experience of the child protagonist. It is trauma abound and features some of the most horrific images set to screen.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1IpoLS1SQdkXFqp1TdVaOvYwYJj0Y7lAS9v2zSXo8ukZnayb-a-tJr7nYEfQcYYUSFzLdo1nWvEub4EQlKrHKAcWtFjmU0ZTfTcgdqriYl4RqgHkwUHDTSX2ThwPsQwlfRcOBIYk6lsQNtB545oEX3rOcwl3NKRQ_TOzWmpeq75Mkk4lljnqeLGFNiw/s1280/image-w1280.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1IpoLS1SQdkXFqp1TdVaOvYwYJj0Y7lAS9v2zSXo8ukZnayb-a-tJr7nYEfQcYYUSFzLdo1nWvEub4EQlKrHKAcWtFjmU0ZTfTcgdqriYl4RqgHkwUHDTSX2ThwPsQwlfRcOBIYk6lsQNtB545oEX3rOcwl3NKRQ_TOzWmpeq75Mkk4lljnqeLGFNiw/w400-h225/image-w1280.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>8. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008) </b>A deeply complex narrative experience that demands attention from the viewer, Charlie Kaufman’s achievement here is one that understands every element of what makes a film. Its text is layered through every line of dialogue, every piece of music, and every shot on screen. A commentary on the human condition and art and cinema itself, it is a film that continues to transform over time.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEECPMEeUlsIRBMBUv8drm8hgS-vrHHsuKkv0_2YZ21dE3rrVqcyRNSfQMbeGdyQHnKMWDkASic0Bcoz2BtQDA42ikb_M-azz_SQbGjvOhhROmKxvQu-AQrf1esOybXitVdQ82PBE3UBuEBCvnhUyHY3wUH46pukZmIMZjF60csqOOdi576A6jTxzbw/s1280/image-w1280%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEECPMEeUlsIRBMBUv8drm8hgS-vrHHsuKkv0_2YZ21dE3rrVqcyRNSfQMbeGdyQHnKMWDkASic0Bcoz2BtQDA42ikb_M-azz_SQbGjvOhhROmKxvQu-AQrf1esOybXitVdQ82PBE3UBuEBCvnhUyHY3wUH46pukZmIMZjF60csqOOdi576A6jTxzbw/w400-h225/image-w1280%20(1).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>9. Perfect Blue (Satoshi Kon, 1997)</b> Satoshi Kon is a master of mature animated film and his 1997 masterpiece is a cerebral look into fame, infatuation, and psychosis. A film that could only exist in an animated space and makes every frame count when it comes to its gorgeous (and horrifying) animated images and thrilling, introspective narrative.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHd-4OyDnUm2lhrRMp3ExraXjt1bRexj1-NPcYzl7MQsSq4NydwdIDzs12B3yHNFoK2D-Gr5V_ZpV5kxXdxVXc5GK26QR9ILDEcLmVeifmoMJ2kigvURsOwVvZ2dPFWeeiyJFD-YyNAsMMIDZeXMeIBd41ow3tJrBch6rSJUF96fN_QcJf0vzOUOMVag/s2000/sound-music-8dda6243202642a287324cb655bd2427.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="2000" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHd-4OyDnUm2lhrRMp3ExraXjt1bRexj1-NPcYzl7MQsSq4NydwdIDzs12B3yHNFoK2D-Gr5V_ZpV5kxXdxVXc5GK26QR9ILDEcLmVeifmoMJ2kigvURsOwVvZ2dPFWeeiyJFD-YyNAsMMIDZeXMeIBd41ow3tJrBch6rSJUF96fN_QcJf0vzOUOMVag/w400-h225/sound-music-8dda6243202642a287324cb655bd2427.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>10. The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965)</b> The perfect musical. The absolute marriage of merriment, melody, character, and breath-taking cinematography. Julie Andrews helped establish the canon when it comes to leading ladies in a musical, and the film’s setting, scope, and runtime allow for the realisation of a fleshed-out world and characters who all manage to leave a memorable impact and a soundtrack with no skips.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>You can see my own Top Ten list <a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-10-greatest-movies-of-all-time.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></span></div>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-61447923113369004622022-10-31T13:54:00.003+02:002022-10-31T13:54:54.250+02:00JPO Spring Symphony Season: Second Week<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Just a few short notes from Thursday's JPO concert, the second in this Spring Symphony Season.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Justus Franz was back to conduct, and the soloist was the Latvian violinist Kristine Balanas. (After our ovation, she let us know she had been to South Africa twice before, and found our audiences warm and generous.) She played the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, with an incredibly sweet, flowing sound (like a light lyric soprano), which was a bit small at times; sometimes, when the orchestra played, I couldn't hear her at all. She also played with a strikingly free rubato, some of the freest tempi that I've heard from a soloist. Her encore was a lovely tango, played with even greater sweetness and sensitive tempo fluctuations.<span><a name='more'></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The orchestral accompaniment was highly disappointing. As unfair as it may be, my impression was that Franz had done nothing at all in the rehearsals with the orchestra; there didn't seem to be any conception at all of the shape of a melody, of phrasing, of musical ideas and feelings, or of building and developing a large structure. It seemed like the orchestra was out on its own, and Franz was just there to (half-successfully) keep time. The tutti restatement of the first movement's main theme at the end of the exposition was as bright and satisfying as you could hope for, but that was thanks to Tchaikovsky (and the instrumentalists), not Thursday's conductor.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The second half of the concert was a completely different performance. Franz began by filling in the audience on the usual programmatic information on Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, explaining the scenes depicted and the use of new instrumentation to paint new pictures. He dwelled on the woodwind cadenza on the second movement, which mimics bird calls, and even asked the flautist, oboist, and clarinetist to demonstrate their parts. The audience seemed to greatly appreciate the whole speech, and gave a warm knowing laugh when the birdsong arrived during the performance. (Something I always appreciate about JPO audiences is that there are many concertgoers who are hearing each piece for the first time.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here, Franz seemed to be <i>full</i> of ideas of what he wanted from the music. From the very opening, the orchestra shaped the melodies beautifully, with sudden changes in dynamics and tempos that gave the wonderful effect of shifting colour and light, like walking through the green-lit lanes and valleys of a wooded countryside (as Beethoven intended). For me, it was like shafts of sunlight were breaking into the Linder Auditorium. Mostly, the sound that came from the orchestra was buoyant and light, bouncing from the stage and sailing right up to us in the balcony. (Franz had said in his speech that, to him, the symphony contrasts strongly with Beethoven's darker and more dramatic symphonic music.) With such a highly pleasurable surprise coming after the interval, the whole affair ended far too soon for me. Even when programmes look unimaginative, there can be great delight in fresh air blowing through the most familiar works.</span></div>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-38744880726975372362022-10-10T20:27:00.008+02:002022-11-02T17:20:29.691+02:00Jurd: The 10 Greatest Movies of All Time<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The British film magazine <i>Sight and Sound</i> conducts a famous decennial poll, among movie critics and directors, for the Greatest Films of All Time. The first poll was in 1952, and the next one will be released later this year. It’s probably the most prestigious and respected of all such lists, and is one of the places that beatified <i>Citizen Kane</i> as the greatest of all movies. (Famously, Alfred Hitchcock’s <i>Vertigo</i> knocked <i>Citizen Kane</i> from its Number One spot in the last poll, in 2012.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">No one asked me for my vote for the Top Ten, but, to observe the 2022 poll, I’m giving my own choices here. The task turned out to be inordinately tricky; there’s a host of inspiring and transformative artists that I would want represented in a list of the best that cinema has to offer – far more than ten little slots can accommodate. For the most part, I’ve resorted to whittling down a list of my top directors, and selecting one movie to represent each; it’s not a perfect system, and I’m just as unhappy about what needs to be left out as what I’m proud to include. But what would be a better number? Would we be happier if we could list twenty movies? We’d still have to cut out a few greats. Would fifty do, or would that start to make the selection a little less special? (Forget about ranking; there’s no idea for grading movies in individual slots that has ever made sense to me.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Do please send me your own Top Ten selections; I’m very interested to see and publish as many individual lists as I can.</span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbSa4j1u1HQId3icIiA2m0h5lSqEk44_WkeijO0ZboaU02BXpzYkXvl51ma7vzF9WP6xPLjV0YuG9BztUIiOcmgU-YsaDbUd7jAGhZkCbs0aZfGauFW3aF0lQzpFw2dmPiP1OtFNDL1K8yZ4tTzh6t8XzYhhhi3rMXl_yZvkBV00qynaxF5Al1P7QOA/s2048/The%20Great%20Dictator.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1273" data-original-width="2048" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbSa4j1u1HQId3icIiA2m0h5lSqEk44_WkeijO0ZboaU02BXpzYkXvl51ma7vzF9WP6xPLjV0YuG9BztUIiOcmgU-YsaDbUd7jAGhZkCbs0aZfGauFW3aF0lQzpFw2dmPiP1OtFNDL1K8yZ4tTzh6t8XzYhhhi3rMXl_yZvkBV00qynaxF5Al1P7QOA/w400-h249/The%20Great%20Dictator.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>The Great Dictator</b> (Charlie Chaplin, 1940). Chaplin is the Mozart of cinema: </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">a name that has come to stand for the artform itself,</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">accessible and delightful to audiences worldwide, a genius innovator of deceptive simplicity, an artist of both tender human emotion and strong political stances, and a grand spirit of supreme grace. All of his feature films make an alternative Top Eleven list in my head. To single out one, in </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">The Great Dictator</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">, at a moment of tremendous historical import, Chaplin steps out from behind any character to deliver his own personal exhortation to courage and decency for the ages.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGB83iw4kElpjgc1elhjKmLovEOweEAViAXxBAgdIKek4-DNBm42TTFI_S-k4Y1QomdFCBx-xhFCIv46qqiR4yuNQxtkH3DoCR_gDp220yafRoui99EjY_cOfTCYr1WdbgVbGTO1Yw6tsbMycSHvX59y9DJW_N9pBeUHBxtLB_qhtf0v6AmJVod12tSA/s1280/Jeanne%20Dielman.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGB83iw4kElpjgc1elhjKmLovEOweEAViAXxBAgdIKek4-DNBm42TTFI_S-k4Y1QomdFCBx-xhFCIv46qqiR4yuNQxtkH3DoCR_gDp220yafRoui99EjY_cOfTCYr1WdbgVbGTO1Yw6tsbMycSHvX59y9DJW_N9pBeUHBxtLB_qhtf0v6AmJVod12tSA/w400-h225/Jeanne%20Dielman.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2018/05/jeanne-dielman-and-why-we-need-more.html" target="_blank"><b>Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles</b></a> (Chantal Akerman, 1975). <i>Jeanne Dielman</i> (released before Akerman was 25 years old) is not only a revelation in form and style, not only a groundbreaking political work, but a shattering declaration of the spirit, a new way of observing and respecting a person and their life. Watching the movie showed me a new way of watching movies, too; it may only run for three hours of viewing, but it resounds for years.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hFBipc9DQVjtXixNUctUJnOJMfpsacvSThk9_Gnr2E2-viKpE3BTg60_dAd-CLifJIh8XKAkbrO_pGeGz5gXdOzIfN6zs9J_MlaDKMGp8_FAKsf1dxPoyNo-MnsBqaxk-MJ7Ll82i0JysHpGhTs3gcADuWdaTyze3FDOH7JC0CWBV2BrlH9TQ2SuaQ/s1280/Tree-of-Life-Stained-Glass.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1280" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hFBipc9DQVjtXixNUctUJnOJMfpsacvSThk9_Gnr2E2-viKpE3BTg60_dAd-CLifJIh8XKAkbrO_pGeGz5gXdOzIfN6zs9J_MlaDKMGp8_FAKsf1dxPoyNo-MnsBqaxk-MJ7Ll82i0JysHpGhTs3gcADuWdaTyze3FDOH7JC0CWBV2BrlH9TQ2SuaQ/w400-h204/Tree-of-Life-Stained-Glass.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>The Tree of Life</b> (Terrence Malick, 2011). Before I saw <i>The Tree of Life</i>, I had no idea of the possibility of passing on deeply subjective and emotional experiences, as well as a distinctive and personal perspective on the world at large, through mere images and sounds. Terrence Malick mines his own rich personal life for movies of such stunning originality and sublime beauty, they have changed the very way I look at the world around me.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikbIEy5AAd4rPBHQE6o4ukH7HniETUvAVu3gAt6OF8gETnb3jyyvwjCuxAk-0YB6Yj4SiNIJZiIEgesNK2IvCNDxcis-BxDkDFLBM6yfh1tMyVQUpfmfy49_1qZxmEtEE4d8g0fsAsYbJIirhFRnXMWtAzb-3w4lI2sPHs3TtM8ZEimWFsNrXJ35pYIw/s921/Yeelen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="921" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikbIEy5AAd4rPBHQE6o4ukH7HniETUvAVu3gAt6OF8gETnb3jyyvwjCuxAk-0YB6Yj4SiNIJZiIEgesNK2IvCNDxcis-BxDkDFLBM6yfh1tMyVQUpfmfy49_1qZxmEtEE4d8g0fsAsYbJIirhFRnXMWtAzb-3w4lI2sPHs3TtM8ZEimWFsNrXJ35pYIw/w400-h248/Yeelen.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Yeelen</b> (Souleyman Cissé, 1987). Cissé conjures astonishing images, to match his story of magic and sorcerers with the magic of his movie-making. The story is taken from ancient legend, where magic takes on political power, and apocalyptic proportions. The plot is circular, as in some African tales, and the movie suggests many of the great possibilities that exist for a world beyond Western cinema.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgnlE3VyoIGtgA0qD3KCdMwX3C_3YwfxuS-pZNb3Z9aNdd5U6Xjv6B4ggsFj_sF-d77UlKGJFGvQyNajp5GOvWQBUcBrqh_h8YvnCaK-mjrwYRPuvB3wid-u-8-UYhHC_yKU5DiWWWWl-V079s9sOI_6gzn5NpOr8jExRKCGJjSpkG4ku_hOveFZ4Q2A/s1300/Breathless.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1300" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgnlE3VyoIGtgA0qD3KCdMwX3C_3YwfxuS-pZNb3Z9aNdd5U6Xjv6B4ggsFj_sF-d77UlKGJFGvQyNajp5GOvWQBUcBrqh_h8YvnCaK-mjrwYRPuvB3wid-u-8-UYhHC_yKU5DiWWWWl-V079s9sOI_6gzn5NpOr8jExRKCGJjSpkG4ku_hOveFZ4Q2A/w400-h225/Breathless.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Breathless</b> (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960). The critics at the magazine <i>Cahiers du Cinéma</i> in the 50s first turned moviegoing on its head, with their strongly political writing about just what was or wasn’t valuable to the cinema, then became the directors of what is called the French New Wave, who turned movie-making on its head by putting their ideas into practice and on the screen. <i>Breathless</i> is among the earliest (and most invigorating) examples of the movement, and has proved more artistically influential than any debut ever since.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_OgBs-LZUwb0A7djSgU-uHtH9uS99iV4KTqtn1MqxPh8OGGCyp8ggoqCXgg1lI1oGAoj_6pGj5Xz3tNkTF31FyrpLaWHHy2YWR1FMxdlo26nDh6k23kumJ7AadN69AMafffi2Et4J-MtZ_k4gMWTphUbMHx6e0u4sCzeBUmxhHCvu0t97iYKvaKeUw/s1280/raginbull.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_OgBs-LZUwb0A7djSgU-uHtH9uS99iV4KTqtn1MqxPh8OGGCyp8ggoqCXgg1lI1oGAoj_6pGj5Xz3tNkTF31FyrpLaWHHy2YWR1FMxdlo26nDh6k23kumJ7AadN69AMafffi2Et4J-MtZ_k4gMWTphUbMHx6e0u4sCzeBUmxhHCvu0t97iYKvaKeUw/w400-h225/raginbull.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Raging Bull</b> (Martin Scorsese, 1980). If Chaplin is Mozart, then Scorsese is Brahms, the perceptive scholar and reverent classicist who transforms the forms of the past with his own radical artistry – an artistry that looks forward to future visions of the artform, and that reaches inward to the fiercest and most intimate of his own emotions. In <i>Raging Bull</i>, the painful, searing, and tragic view that Scorsese takes of his subject feels like a self-flagellation as much as a bio-pic.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAoAkJwOQauEnyFvsr-FRfLvpT8RDH7xzvB8TBJ3W6EGn9_7dIXQivDZhRK1UJcbrA2Mb5wwpNItM9xUDk4WCz0ZE5ZExlcy4pdbaug5mIVybmhzwsrwYfLe8tjyWu4390kdjSmskcQUkFlstYvtPmy16fwVeaupu32dvFdnT4Ue9g5Gba-cGJuVz8ug/s1200/Moolaade.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1200" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAoAkJwOQauEnyFvsr-FRfLvpT8RDH7xzvB8TBJ3W6EGn9_7dIXQivDZhRK1UJcbrA2Mb5wwpNItM9xUDk4WCz0ZE5ZExlcy4pdbaug5mIVybmhzwsrwYfLe8tjyWu4390kdjSmskcQUkFlstYvtPmy16fwVeaupu32dvFdnT4Ue9g5Gba-cGJuVz8ug/w400-h276/Moolaade.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Moolaadé</b> (Ousmane Sembène, 2004). Sembène worked his whole life to build an insightful and assertive culture for West Africa, as it emerged from colonial oppression. The women in <i>Moolaadé</i> face a different oppression, but Sembene deftly evokes the interweaving histories of local tradition, Islamic transformation, and French colonialism in his setting of this Burkinabè masterpiece.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8u8lJdue7vFa0wbiUJMt9q0sKOYtVDN3_RXtLQPZq9ZT5cx4VSxFR_eMH8oiEdBaa7hHSpCmNeWACB6Ybt6RCjCgGwWiLSD9zZcFIAF2n8JLHSYaqAXLkmCN2uH-p2D4XTmD4F6pBzwjdQVutOrpn9YauFEASaJLqQDnTO-yTn47GWmQYWDvKn-YiA/s600/the%20darjeeling%20limited.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="600" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8u8lJdue7vFa0wbiUJMt9q0sKOYtVDN3_RXtLQPZq9ZT5cx4VSxFR_eMH8oiEdBaa7hHSpCmNeWACB6Ybt6RCjCgGwWiLSD9zZcFIAF2n8JLHSYaqAXLkmCN2uH-p2D4XTmD4F6pBzwjdQVutOrpn9YauFEASaJLqQDnTO-yTn47GWmQYWDvKn-YiA/w400-h220/the%20darjeeling%20limited.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2017/10/what-to-see-this-weekend-collision.html" target="_blank"><b>The Darjeeling Limited</b></a> (Wes Anderson, 2007). To me, the subject of Wes Anderson's first handful of movies always seemed to be himself, and the difficulties and dangers of a life lived following adventure and passion, while neglecting relationships and connection. In <i>The Darjeeling Limited</i>, his exquisitely controlled style met with fiercely uncontrollable emotions, and made a grand and unforgettable high-point in this thematic thread.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAJTVCFUhASwuQdZIf7sEQssk6dzRyMZUXmYwXe8hpW4mh-995xD3pRQmINyHYObY4rabV9vKiVUZ5EsNarYAtJu5YsHe3YzPL7PyHKaooCVA9cPWuqahB6AC1kzB4VfmwZH3OuSnYbf-NGr-AX0pQ506ULCDj9xCRHZ8znOiH-tg32PaaO4t5ELhHA/s1920/Sunrise.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1244" data-original-width="1920" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAJTVCFUhASwuQdZIf7sEQssk6dzRyMZUXmYwXe8hpW4mh-995xD3pRQmINyHYObY4rabV9vKiVUZ5EsNarYAtJu5YsHe3YzPL7PyHKaooCVA9cPWuqahB6AC1kzB4VfmwZH3OuSnYbf-NGr-AX0pQ506ULCDj9xCRHZ8znOiH-tg32PaaO4t5ELhHA/w400-h259/Sunrise.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2017/10/what-to-see-this-weekend-unexpected.html" target="_blank"><b>Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans</b></a> (F.W. Murnau, 1927). Is this the most beautiful of all movies? Murnau created images of grandeur and exalted rapture that have remained unsurpassed for 100 years. His justly lauded sequences are not only lyrical and picturesque, but so tenderly, poignantly marked by deep emotion that the images seem to sing out a music all their own.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1D_RHaPrJhiFRbX948OjlSiXDUgOl2Hd17iBz0Byl8qJl_HnWgYF4Qo41W-1IPWD5JfBmHxoJtFLFNXJ1B0myM90Ab3_V_9TwX9VpvcEiw463UtR6p-9LVsVCSR226MNSUakOjGbaJUYzLCRzVBH67MlegyHK0uXvIeUnSRa-VMFTRZbMi0nXVsfbwQ/s800/Othello.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="800" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1D_RHaPrJhiFRbX948OjlSiXDUgOl2Hd17iBz0Byl8qJl_HnWgYF4Qo41W-1IPWD5JfBmHxoJtFLFNXJ1B0myM90Ab3_V_9TwX9VpvcEiw463UtR6p-9LVsVCSR226MNSUakOjGbaJUYzLCRzVBH67MlegyHK0uXvIeUnSRa-VMFTRZbMi0nXVsfbwQ/w400-h290/Othello.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2018/05/what-to-see-this-weekend-othello.html" target="_blank"><b>Othello</b></a> (Orson Welles, 1951). As great as <i>Citizen Kane </i>is, it’s only the beginning of an unparalleled career. <i>Othello</i> was as difficult a production for Welles as any other, and it shows in what would today be considered a very roughshod and sloppy finish. But the heart-piercing essence of Shakespeare is amplified by sublime images and sounds and, above all, the Great Soul of the man born to play tragic heroes.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>You can see others’ Top Ten lists <a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/search/label/Top%20Ten%20list" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></span></div>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-69584356122419527292022-10-01T21:19:00.012+02:002022-10-02T06:50:22.258+02:00“Don’t Worry Darling” is Terrific<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhTeF6iDc-4qnyrlrgKX_noQwmjQDVmkNRrvCDCdYIm6u4Z-oPe-71-XfLZNiVtxpZB478JmL6B4iyiWATNyyTvAPZVgX-N49H156QYvoL7sgHkqQVm9dSg0SbyD7aYJ8xfvfIvHH9Ze1pmeWmuvzMVADQu7ueopPTOaNWriObBoGx867O1XkaZQkfow/s1415/MV5BYmJmNWEyZjktNTI1MC00MzJlLWIwMjMtZGE2MzJmNmUwODc5XkEyXkFqcGdeQWpnYW1i._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1415" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhTeF6iDc-4qnyrlrgKX_noQwmjQDVmkNRrvCDCdYIm6u4Z-oPe-71-XfLZNiVtxpZB478JmL6B4iyiWATNyyTvAPZVgX-N49H156QYvoL7sgHkqQVm9dSg0SbyD7aYJ8xfvfIvHH9Ze1pmeWmuvzMVADQu7ueopPTOaNWriObBoGx867O1XkaZQkfow/w640-h360/MV5BYmJmNWEyZjktNTI1MC00MzJlLWIwMjMtZGE2MzJmNmUwODc5XkEyXkFqcGdeQWpnYW1i._V1_.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I’ve just come back from seeing Olivia Wilde’s new movie, <i>Don’t Worry Darling</i>, and I’m very excited to report that it was a terrific undertaking. I’ve seen many reports from people who found the movie unoriginal, dull, and insubstantial – and they’re entitled to those views – but my own experience was very, very different. From what I had heard, I was expecting a retread of <i>The Stepford Wives</i>, but from the movie’s first moments, it emerges as a keenly observed, deeply emotional, fiercely engaging work. And Wilde is shown to be a strong and distinctive director, one who can focus her assembled cast and crew not only into the absorbing endeavour of finely crafted storytelling, but into a unified artistic vision, a white-hot worldview presented visually.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you’re interested in watching the movie fresh, perhaps you should stop reading here and go see it, because a lot of the thrill comes from the unfolding of the plot (though I won’t give away any details here). The setting of the movie is the microcosm of the wide world that is traditionally seen as the modern man’s lorded realm; namely, the household and the picture-perfect family that resides there. Like Ira Levin before her, Wilde has selected the insular and isolated suburban American neighbourhood of the 1950s as its quintessential representation – it’s the archetype of nuclear families with half-deified heads, as well as of women’s repressed individuality. It’s almost like Wilde has put a visual form of voiceover over her movie, to say, there’s a reason the mid-century feminist movement broke out in places that looked just as idyllic as this.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>Maybe many viewers’ problem with <i>Don’t Worry Darling</i> was their strong recollection of Jordan Peele’s <i>Get Out</i>, with which this movie compares unfavourably (as most movies will). Wilde’s subject is the widespread contemporary reminiscences (however distorted) of the serene and unchallenged control that men enjoyed over these family settings in the past, and how some men, when confronted with what they perceive as the loss of that authority to power-hungry women, will go to brutal lengths to wrest it back. Similarly to <i>Get Out</i>, the horror in this movie doesn’t come from gore and physical disgust, but from how Wilde exposes real-life modern-day horrors as soul-destroying for the women who fall into the wrong man’s psychotic trap.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Wilde delivers a kaleidoscope of gliding, reeling, swinging images – a cavalcade of stylish movements, angles, and cuts that lend the emotions of the movie an alluring energy. She matches this with a swinging soundtrack of jazz and 60s pop, and a keen attention to the stunning and meticulous detail of the period setting built into the sets, sounds, décor, cars, and costumes that makes it feel all the more strange (as do a few gratifying surrealist touches she adds). I felt like I was seeing the movie from inside the action, as if I was grabbed and held within the images themselves. Wilde’s directorial vibrancy is matched by the gestural and verbal precision of the performers – indeed of the very characters, because people in American company towns in the 50s had to watch and control their every word and movement as closely as professional actors. No one who has seen Florence Pugh’s previous movies (like <i>Midsommar</i> and <i>Little Women</i>) will be surprised to hear of her strong mix of fierce emotional expression and lightning-quick intelligence, nor should anyone be unfamiliar with the formidable energy of Olivia Wilde, who plays a major part in her own movie. But I think that Harry Styles has been unjustly derided as vacant and stiff – he brings a smooth charm and breezy romanticism to the early scenes that makes the dramatic reveal of his character all the more ugly a shock. The gossip around a troubled production and soured personal relationships has clouded over the real story: Wilde and Styles join Pugh among today’s inspired artists.</span></div>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-40930615251854015762022-09-03T19:00:00.008+02:002022-09-07T20:52:46.902+02:00Movies to Watch on Netflix<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This post is simply a list of movies that I like, that have been made available on Netflix, and that I hope more people find, watch, and enjoy.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">From the time that I started drafting this post until I got it ready to publish, I saw that a number of my selected movies have been removed from Netflix. I decided to keep them on this list, in case you’d like to seek them out elsewhere.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let me know if there’s anything I’ve missed that should be recommended to other readers.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZ2QKc1lwBVKf2DK3GqcI_GxBgmYQh6ria8zdNcU6C9-Y1hl8ywm5uxxY6J4umL6pT0nOud9f6OurgudK5AnDfJHRmJc-5rvQIJjKs7R0l_rSJl9U5wx3qufIWFmnROaAXP-OMA545R5zyagf5nnLY9Pf9-_f26FjRtrYOBsqTgEikhUez1r_tInQ-A/s727/The%2015-17%20to%20Paris.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="727" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZ2QKc1lwBVKf2DK3GqcI_GxBgmYQh6ria8zdNcU6C9-Y1hl8ywm5uxxY6J4umL6pT0nOud9f6OurgudK5AnDfJHRmJc-5rvQIJjKs7R0l_rSJl9U5wx3qufIWFmnROaAXP-OMA545R5zyagf5nnLY9Pf9-_f26FjRtrYOBsqTgEikhUez1r_tInQ-A/w400-h268/The%2015-17%20to%20Paris.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b></b><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80223080" target="_blank">The 15:17 to Paris</a> (Clint Eastwood, 2018).</b> Three young men (two in the US army, one their schoolfriend) stopped a terrorist attack on a train ride to Paris in 2015. In this spare yet enraptured re-telling, Eastwood casts the men (none of whom are professional actors) as themselves, making for a strange and wholly memorable vision of latter-day heroism.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjckrT_rNAbMTzEITj1cMmKf72u_FGzhKdcoYw4xr3Ty4IEqMKE9PeyIiH513bTIqdlR23EMFqrvz0aJFsBPZPk47jRw_W10GRcJ2TNPKKYv7bAXYWgqrc_vOzajL6D3oOnG0yTQHjjVovQoa8I-kY_NeYAJ55X_ud-L3fJRyBVoeuJp6jCp0_OlY6g/s1800/Ad%20Astra.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjckrT_rNAbMTzEITj1cMmKf72u_FGzhKdcoYw4xr3Ty4IEqMKE9PeyIiH513bTIqdlR23EMFqrvz0aJFsBPZPk47jRw_W10GRcJ2TNPKKYv7bAXYWgqrc_vOzajL6D3oOnG0yTQHjjVovQoa8I-kY_NeYAJ55X_ud-L3fJRyBVoeuJp6jCp0_OlY6g/w400-h225/Ad%20Astra.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81010971">Ad Astra</a> (James Gray, 2019).</b> Brad Pitt plays an astronaut in the late 21st century, searching for his long-lost space-exploring father (Tommy Lee Jones), and averting disaster for Earth. This <i>Heart of Darkness</i> adaptation is especially moving and memorable for the subjective depths it penetrates. (<a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/11/james-grays-sublime-ad-astra.html">Read my blog post about it here</a>.)</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><br /><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4xzrG0vfgI8vXnYPGwARTOHH_dtU0GWbk6PtTj3-9qrIZBkHmsjGlfuYW4XOxBjT30la7SSWRyEWN_btrJsib6jLvHKOx-pKtNZHBbchCPwghfFmjKoKRRqZVOFA0CpidmcCCeSgQ_VtW8r629EgBGKlUjgWMeQn21Z_ZTF9jXdiL-0ELRASGh55Lxw/s1777/American%20Factory.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="1777" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4xzrG0vfgI8vXnYPGwARTOHH_dtU0GWbk6PtTj3-9qrIZBkHmsjGlfuYW4XOxBjT30la7SSWRyEWN_btrJsib6jLvHKOx-pKtNZHBbchCPwghfFmjKoKRRqZVOFA0CpidmcCCeSgQ_VtW8r629EgBGKlUjgWMeQn21Z_ZTF9jXdiL-0ELRASGh55Lxw/w400-h225/American%20Factory.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81090071" target="_blank"></a></b><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81090071" target="_blank">American Factory</a></b> (Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert, 2019). This documentary (Oscar-winning), about a Chinese company opening a factory at an abandoned plant in Ohio, throws surprising cultural and political matters into sharp relief by contrasting Chinese employers and employees with their American counterparts.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO81NDotuT1lROKgwllYCn_R1uyS4EKegYS7uwuAkQHN5Vxvfyh16yvILz5IvfVqYx4czkQpTqSjgBtFxQLxBf_1sixybBfVi8cSIwRjNfEQS7vA4YfkLO9kFPl_kVWTsoWRIh4nFQ5ts0klDilSBLyVKjgyn6yYOyyNSdDlSj0LH4nmFMoRgJwp_h6w/s780/intro-1648789152.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="780" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO81NDotuT1lROKgwllYCn_R1uyS4EKegYS7uwuAkQHN5Vxvfyh16yvILz5IvfVqYx4czkQpTqSjgBtFxQLxBf_1sixybBfVi8cSIwRjNfEQS7vA4YfkLO9kFPl_kVWTsoWRIh4nFQ5ts0klDilSBLyVKjgyn6yYOyyNSdDlSj0LH4nmFMoRgJwp_h6w/w400-h225/intro-1648789152.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81161042" target="_blank"></a></b><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81161042" target="_blank">Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood</a></b> (Richard Linklater, 2022). Linklater’s quasi-autobiographical childhood fantasy about a schoolboy’s lunar mission is nearly overwhelmed by a mass of remembered details from growing up in a Texan suburb in the space age. It’s affectingly nostalgic, gleefully textured, and sensitively darkened by some of the troubling elements of the age.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPHpZCat23AqI76zU5vvqDBL8NhlI7p-8oGz0GRNYoPbgQTyettVnV8TcqpRYtkYMCQnjs6ZNyb1AWzSkob3iHU_AcYcpNt2SDPyfoGb0QtTYA6QovaNnmymuYKTV6mtU90Z7y67vPQPVyGjVAWIP7FdCUCEAEK3eKAlKILN9lNnK4AvaYVuYSzLtT4Q/s1999/Atlantics.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1999" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPHpZCat23AqI76zU5vvqDBL8NhlI7p-8oGz0GRNYoPbgQTyettVnV8TcqpRYtkYMCQnjs6ZNyb1AWzSkob3iHU_AcYcpNt2SDPyfoGb0QtTYA6QovaNnmymuYKTV6mtU90Z7y67vPQPVyGjVAWIP7FdCUCEAEK3eKAlKILN9lNnK4AvaYVuYSzLtT4Q/w400-h240/Atlantics.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81082007" target="_blank"></a></b><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81082007" target="_blank">Atlantics</a></b> (Mati Diop, 2019). This Senegalese romantic drama mixes genres and tells of a young woman who loves a young man, who first leaves for Europe, and then is blamed for a local crime. Diop’s highly expressive and idiosyncratic cinematic style colours the story with strong emotions.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipw_aX8Y1TzjuyH0dig8eGq3A7IHE9BMdIxOERzEIG3z5cpuQCAzY3QgzLocWfM1TK0rLy-ZLJeIH7dZYROyOPSjrOaIVmZYL7U3hkvMi8o4oQurxYHFQ-u1exNXUCzcG2x_ij8YprZwUYwfMJKbXohb_2FsVQBqK_OqnKCnB4roNZ26CTJEZN-ZUbfQ/s1024/The%20Ballad%20of%20Buster%20Scruggs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipw_aX8Y1TzjuyH0dig8eGq3A7IHE9BMdIxOERzEIG3z5cpuQCAzY3QgzLocWfM1TK0rLy-ZLJeIH7dZYROyOPSjrOaIVmZYL7U3hkvMi8o4oQurxYHFQ-u1exNXUCzcG2x_ij8YprZwUYwfMJKbXohb_2FsVQBqK_OqnKCnB4roNZ26CTJEZN-ZUbfQ/w400-h225/The%20Ballad%20of%20Buster%20Scruggs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80200267" target="_blank">The Ballad of Buster Scruggs</a></b> (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2018). This is a six-part anthology movie, made up of varyingly comedic and dramatic short films, all set in the American West of the 19th century, and all touching on a dark legacy of violence and its place in the frontier’s mythologies. (<a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/01/what-to-see-this-holiday-three-netflix.html">Read my blog post about it here</a>.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzch5FIeayMRaLiZGQH4dIAMzrVSs6Y6J1-NuLm0rx5kAkMBUnrHxzyQCEFl_BVFLaG05uF8b9T6KFa-DVIZang-4eNETeWXyVcryjg0ri0N9ALGA3KH9bOf4OJ6SR2xFfYAayxyA2uET6AtS7UbZdKv33cY6Y9cQGcyBvchKlk0R9wOOU6ZGCpMC6dw/s526/Beach%20Rats.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="526" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzch5FIeayMRaLiZGQH4dIAMzrVSs6Y6J1-NuLm0rx5kAkMBUnrHxzyQCEFl_BVFLaG05uF8b9T6KFa-DVIZang-4eNETeWXyVcryjg0ri0N9ALGA3KH9bOf4OJ6SR2xFfYAayxyA2uET6AtS7UbZdKv33cY6Y9cQGcyBvchKlk0R9wOOU6ZGCpMC6dw/w400-h224/Beach%20Rats.png" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b></b><b>Beach Rats</b> (Eliza Hittman, 2017). This drama about a closeted teen, languishing in his summer holiday with drugs and days at the beach, may appear to move slowly in its plot, but the emotional energy flexing beneath the surface is constantly and anxiously in motion. (<a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/01/what-to-see-this-holiday-three-netflix.html">Read my blog post about it here</a>.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9Jds0frGcxVE3fcwPHdSA36Zx0qsNU_mvucDKfYJTwMpBk5nWV7EFanjEg3cTDtqjsuoh0IZjrXyRlACGf5jJgoQ7yLzt03PXG-Er8yUAqksoltA2IAple737YqBfE49DtcZdPG32Kvkf9N4-KjSh4kLbLLExHwzxk9nzzj9o5TsxDeIn8aekzZXRA/s1024/A%20Beautiful%20Day%20in%20the%20Neighborhood.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9Jds0frGcxVE3fcwPHdSA36Zx0qsNU_mvucDKfYJTwMpBk5nWV7EFanjEg3cTDtqjsuoh0IZjrXyRlACGf5jJgoQ7yLzt03PXG-Er8yUAqksoltA2IAple737YqBfE49DtcZdPG32Kvkf9N4-KjSh4kLbLLExHwzxk9nzzj9o5TsxDeIn8aekzZXRA/w400-h266/A%20Beautiful%20Day%20in%20the%20Neighborhood.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81121682" target="_blank"></a></b><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81121682" target="_blank">A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood</a></b> (Marielle Heller, 2019). Heller’s biopic of the children’s television entertainer Mr Rogers is tender and affectionate, and surprisingly melancholy. Her story of a hero of emotional intelligence is deepened with its own emotions.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOVt43Mc9ZnxS24YcfHoIKd4ozmda7esXZxbtU7RP1Vk1eEBUG5kpJnAXxqaLbWR02CbXInTOoxjptdBDo8ByFoTPplvtK5m6uFruiJ9dLdEmrhnLhtV057f_V_CZa6TdLB_SB-KNSnM9ctdk_OboWyv1VwPiSn8nWBadeq7UbKrCRIu-5we-oh0tOw/s1920/Best%20Worst%20Thing%20That%20Ever%20Could%20Have%20Happened.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1920" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOVt43Mc9ZnxS24YcfHoIKd4ozmda7esXZxbtU7RP1Vk1eEBUG5kpJnAXxqaLbWR02CbXInTOoxjptdBDo8ByFoTPplvtK5m6uFruiJ9dLdEmrhnLhtV057f_V_CZa6TdLB_SB-KNSnM9ctdk_OboWyv1VwPiSn8nWBadeq7UbKrCRIu-5we-oh0tOw/w400-h188/Best%20Worst%20Thing%20That%20Ever%20Could%20Have%20Happened.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b></b><b>Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened</b> (Lonny Price, 2016). This documentary tells of the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical <i>Merrily We Roll Along</i>, initially a flop, and now regarded as a classic. The stories of the people who were involved show surprising tangents in the world of show business. (<a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2021/05/a-moving-musical-documentary-on-netflix.html">Read my blog post about it here</a>.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6i5R8usZyZC0UF9a2hBjBBxL-vxdfnCaiFjXZOZYRJXf6BJS6V27PD0cjykkrOrVT5GkKyNKAFHA1aBXRxdh8QhUJVHgez_KnoeJGi2RBCMID2J7jlxYTGHyjpcQpnGj3MZt8lqD6CP5S1jo75uGR_Qx7ztd66sN2nBAqbn_qoIiCsfTo4tNstB2frg/s1200/010b3718d9c52a9f4d95100fbceba5b942650146.jpg__0x1500_q85-1200x675.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6i5R8usZyZC0UF9a2hBjBBxL-vxdfnCaiFjXZOZYRJXf6BJS6V27PD0cjykkrOrVT5GkKyNKAFHA1aBXRxdh8QhUJVHgez_KnoeJGi2RBCMID2J7jlxYTGHyjpcQpnGj3MZt8lqD6CP5S1jo75uGR_Qx7ztd66sN2nBAqbn_qoIiCsfTo4tNstB2frg/w400-h225/010b3718d9c52a9f4d95100fbceba5b942650146.jpg__0x1500_q85-1200x675.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80057298" target="_blank"></a></b><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80057298" target="_blank">By the Sea</a></b> (Angelina Jolie, 2015). Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie play a married couple in turmoil in this psychological melodrama. Jolie proves a particularly imaginative and inventive director, with a wealth of highly evocative and expressive images over a somewhat thin script.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEHKIvEaSp3RhQFsMwB3P3C_fFT3MNsDI-zXsjDFvyOBe2ItPvN28hRG1fC_-fzsBgc46-KvF3NkdfAQIRITQCWO_P5vWEoh8brEEmycSH8I7JCpUqCcVhhSDUrlQnW69lz2q4u7ZJgIPLLCEIoclxNU1dMyyPCXCZ_TKcnDqtbDP05AD1H5bsOeI0Q/s728/A-cop-movie-2.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="728" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEHKIvEaSp3RhQFsMwB3P3C_fFT3MNsDI-zXsjDFvyOBe2ItPvN28hRG1fC_-fzsBgc46-KvF3NkdfAQIRITQCWO_P5vWEoh8brEEmycSH8I7JCpUqCcVhhSDUrlQnW69lz2q4u7ZJgIPLLCEIoclxNU1dMyyPCXCZ_TKcnDqtbDP05AD1H5bsOeI0Q/w400-h173/A-cop-movie-2.webp" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81314321" target="_blank"></a></b><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81314321" target="_blank">A Cop Movie</a></b> (Alonso Ruizpalacios, 2021). This documentary packs surprises of both content and form. The subject is corruption in the Mexican police force, and the method of unpacking a particular instance of it remains particularly memorable.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSOrnqy2jtumQ2tvEQQQETVW7RQ6D1DRNsZfbdyKjngEVqWZrfBG1xbsvBTNdEdEmrU5LMUq9LmD6pokvklo9-NhLgYoDmos386q1mduj7Lz3-3dhPjx59mrLTR16lLZNPZcZid5uhjv6Y16mNZY3WwmR9lCtdy34-Q1Vf0j3TKDUbeBLuoDSje9rZg/s2048/curious-case-of-benjamin-button-henson-pitt.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1374" data-original-width="2048" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSOrnqy2jtumQ2tvEQQQETVW7RQ6D1DRNsZfbdyKjngEVqWZrfBG1xbsvBTNdEdEmrU5LMUq9LmD6pokvklo9-NhLgYoDmos386q1mduj7Lz3-3dhPjx59mrLTR16lLZNPZcZid5uhjv6Y16mNZY3WwmR9lCtdy34-Q1Vf0j3TKDUbeBLuoDSje9rZg/w400-h269/curious-case-of-benjamin-button-henson-pitt.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/70100380" target="_blank"></a></b><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/70100380" target="_blank">The Curious Case of Benjamin Button</a></b> (David Fincher, 2008). This opulent literary adaptation transforms F. Scott Fitzgerald’s comic short story into a moving myth, both that of a tragic love story and of the sheer strangeness of living life itself.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiM4cR0KRHM_a4f0lAWSzysm2ZbgTfo6EdD0TiZF9bOMBRGPkLm8eUCElygFp5KwN6-z1rbeDyQgCtd-BJpMTQLYWdmiNXKArHzoSPPxb8PygSVCRuuVb1zRDkEsp6rOBOMPDhY2YsfbcA83id76sD_wvrUOhAVgwFQ5Y-Eonv8JkhcqZwSqyQV5GHg/s2048/MV5BNjA5NDg1MjA4Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzM5MjAyNDM@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiM4cR0KRHM_a4f0lAWSzysm2ZbgTfo6EdD0TiZF9bOMBRGPkLm8eUCElygFp5KwN6-z1rbeDyQgCtd-BJpMTQLYWdmiNXKArHzoSPPxb8PygSVCRuuVb1zRDkEsp6rOBOMPDhY2YsfbcA83id76sD_wvrUOhAVgwFQ5Y-Eonv8JkhcqZwSqyQV5GHg/s320/MV5BNjA5NDg1MjA4Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzM5MjAyNDM@._V1_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80095699" target="_blank"></a></b><b style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80095699" target="_blank">Easy</a></b><span style="font-family: georgia;"> (Joe Swanberg, 2016-2019). This anthology series of apparently unrelated stories is more like an ample collection of short films. Swanberg has crafted lovingly attentive stories of relationships, projects, art, and sex in the digital age, that are all the more deft in their brevity.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdVngARgtc4FHslDFyBdmOr0LU3qwjZLm9PbvcIhTedUqcAt9hgfbJxL0nFvGPj7ge3_YhnHv5W0RH-YwntsxwUvkql60KspMLFBHHU7QK-k1OXkqZzgTD3K-vJLiGf2TITQndCA0fXEdLwOsxxdCm93vuUm9zT1BSg7XQNmeZ4qtLRXW9cWXHnp9Ngw/s960/b21P45NQHZ9J8C871pNBrK0rJr3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdVngARgtc4FHslDFyBdmOr0LU3qwjZLm9PbvcIhTedUqcAt9hgfbJxL0nFvGPj7ge3_YhnHv5W0RH-YwntsxwUvkql60KspMLFBHHU7QK-k1OXkqZzgTD3K-vJLiGf2TITQndCA0fXEdLwOsxxdCm93vuUm9zT1BSg7XQNmeZ4qtLRXW9cWXHnp9Ngw/w400-h225/b21P45NQHZ9J8C871pNBrK0rJr3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/60000165" target="_blank"></a></b><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/60000165" target="_blank">Erin Brockovich</a></b> (Steven Soderbergh, 2000). Julia Roberts plays this biographical legal drama to the hilt, and the results are both entertaining and affecting. Soderbergh keeps to conventional forms here, but his distinctive style raises the energy of each trope.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHxa8oNtNtsCJP_64y_GYWXKT-sW0YD5mgbIrLB9BIJZpzn3IBPPOmD8G3MWewonOi1WO5IGq1uVNccw1aPkKwil53H06EN3OBJj_iSLwCiyyS3AlJA4gvVBA_1ojtS9Hr318ehaYoMBriEUxJb6Nu0jH5Fhm6j6ikJKb99J4tVby8MxHDUX8FailOCQ/s1911/fmf2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1022" data-original-width="1911" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHxa8oNtNtsCJP_64y_GYWXKT-sW0YD5mgbIrLB9BIJZpzn3IBPPOmD8G3MWewonOi1WO5IGq1uVNccw1aPkKwil53H06EN3OBJj_iSLwCiyyS3AlJA4gvVBA_1ojtS9Hr318ehaYoMBriEUxJb6Nu0jH5Fhm6j6ikJKb99J4tVby8MxHDUX8FailOCQ/w400-h214/fmf2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Fantastic Mr. Fox</b> (Wes Anderson, 2009). One of the greatest of all literary adaptations, and one of the most visually stunning of movies. Anderson expands Roald Dahl’s short story into a fable of animalistic wildness, which must be reigned in for the most imaginative and daring of artists to sustain a real life back in his foxhole.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb5szt0raiaAXZhKIPsByauBehoJWaUKI7uNX-yp3ORmkprsUz8kqyaNwNE1pOxsiiUtRQ4EVA8AGYWB2S2jemLUncLgmULiBH6EY2npqBuOXpCnaEz3-8SwtY3mVhbGAwdmprVHb9cHkHxbQhVMvA2Cxs_U9QTIom4E3GdXncEVdg4iPpP754h1nn-g/s2048/MV5BMjEyODY2Njc1NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzg5MTAyNw@@._V1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1357" data-original-width="2048" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb5szt0raiaAXZhKIPsByauBehoJWaUKI7uNX-yp3ORmkprsUz8kqyaNwNE1pOxsiiUtRQ4EVA8AGYWB2S2jemLUncLgmULiBH6EY2npqBuOXpCnaEz3-8SwtY3mVhbGAwdmprVHb9cHkHxbQhVMvA2Cxs_U9QTIom4E3GdXncEVdg4iPpP754h1nn-g/w400-h265/MV5BMjEyODY2Njc1NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzg5MTAyNw@@._V1_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/70084800" target="_blank"><b>Forgetting Sarah Marshall</b></a> (Nicholas Stoller, 2008). A late-coming-of-age melodrama disguised as a raucous comedy. Jason Segel realises the pathos of a man who has trapped himself in an obsessive and submissive attachment, and his agonising path to self-actualisation, when surrounded by a cast of inspired comics, proves riotous.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZeWHcrtKbnIzdqx0GY5beU0nk_667aaG2pAfY_TKPCvycBLKWJQICGdUx9DE7uvb668Fdv1OOMSsT8eLXMnidbu7Pa7gR55B5Aa8dr9wdmAYgDtG_kUyIr4oI38cyyXW1eYpyN3YlPbZy6ABgjqz1u5BrtiVor77Mc6VvF44G01jTpp89JoopzCNsQ/s1600/Movie-still-Emma-Thompson-Kate-Winslet-Sense-and-Sensibility-1995.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1600" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZeWHcrtKbnIzdqx0GY5beU0nk_667aaG2pAfY_TKPCvycBLKWJQICGdUx9DE7uvb668Fdv1OOMSsT8eLXMnidbu7Pa7gR55B5Aa8dr9wdmAYgDtG_kUyIr4oI38cyyXW1eYpyN3YlPbZy6ABgjqz1u5BrtiVor77Mc6VvF44G01jTpp89JoopzCNsQ/w400-h272/Movie-still-Emma-Thompson-Kate-Winslet-Sense-and-Sensibility-1995.webp" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/948002" target="_blank"></a></b><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/948002" target="_blank">Sense and Sensibility</a></b> (Ang Lee, 1995). This Jane Austen adaptation is charmingly earnest, if somewhat restrained. It’s lifted by the humour of its cast, led by the deft performance of Emma Thompson, who also crafted the script out of the classic novel.</span></div>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-91606229246084283222022-06-18T06:22:00.003+02:002022-06-18T06:30:16.497+02:00Two Joyful Weeks at the JPO<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2022/05/an-all-too-conservative-jpo-symphony.html">Reading a concert programme</a>
can give a concertgoer an advance impression of the kind of experience they
might undergo. A little knowledge on the works programmed, of the soloist, and
of the conductor can go a long way – and previous experience of each can go
much further. But they can only go so far. No concert can be </span><i style="text-align: justify;">heard</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> in advance,
no feelings can be felt before they arise. And the foretold experience of a
concert is a slender mirage that melts away as soon as the first real notes are
played.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Take, for example, the first concert
of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra’s Winter Symphony Season. I read,
first, that the young Venezuelan flautist Joidy Blanco would be the soloist,
playing Mozart’s Second Flute Concerto (K. 314), and that the conductor Robert
Moody would then direct the JPO in Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. The whole endeavour
would be kicked off by Mozart’s overture to <i>Cosi fan tutte</i>. I read,
second, that Blanco would be replaced at the last minute (due to travel complications)
by Liesl Stoltz, the highly accomplished South African soloist whom we have
been fortunate enough to hear at the JPO before, and that Stoltz would be
replacing Blanco’s scheduled encore with a virtuosic showcase of her own
choice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Knowing what I know about Stoltz,
Moody, Mozart, and Beethoven, I quickly drew up some ideas of how the evening
would go. There would be some difficulty in the orchestra (as there invariably
is on opening night) keeping precisely in sync for the Mozart. Stoltz would
play decorously, and would dazzle in her encore. The Beethoven would roll out
with inevitable boisterousness, <a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2022/05/an-all-too-conservative-jpo-symphony.html">just as it has a hundred times before</a>, and
would linger (uninvited) in my head for the rest of the week. (The Beethoven
was last played by the JPO just eighteen short months ago.) I also harboured
the quiet hope that Moody – a cheerful American southerner – would address us
before taking the podium for the Beethoven, as he had done so memorably at his
JPO début in 2019, conducting Brahms’s Third Symphony.</span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I was right about the imprecision
of the Mozart, but didn’t expect the great glee that came from beginning to end
of both the overture and the concerto. <i>Cosi fan tutte</i>’s overture is a rare
masterpiece that packs both eager excitement and tender beauty into four and a
half minutes, and the energy that Moody and the JPO built together served the
rest of the evening marvellously. Stoltz delivered handsomely in the concerto,
and marshalled great and gratifying ostentation for her encore: a Waltz, from a
suite by the French Romantic Benjamin Godard, fired up with scales and
arpeggios and fantastic leaps between her registers, and playful countermelodies
from the other woodwinds. It was exactly what was needed after a polite
performance of Mozart.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I was right, again, to expect
Moody to speak up after the interval. But being right stopped there, and did
not prepare me at all for the experience that followed. Moody’s speech was no
piety, but hearty affection for Beethoven, and a sensitive speculation on the
connection between what he called “the Beethoven growl” – a rumbling half-step
motif that can be found in each of Beethoven’s nine symphonies – and the
composer’s rage over his hearing loss. He pointed out the three moments and
instrumental parts where we would hear it in the symphony, and entreated us to remember
the furious emotion with which Beethoven infused this famous work.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Depending on whom you ask, the
Seventh Symphony is either one of the great accomplishments in human history,
or just irritating nonsense. If it’s played politely and straightforwardly, by
an orchestra that cares about getting the notes right but not the wildness, its
lopsided harmonies and hammering repetitions can sound pretty pointless, which
is exactly what I prepared myself for.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But Moody and the JPO had a different
idea. They began simply enough, with a nice slow introduction and careful
A-major scales passed around the orchestra, but soon unleashed a buzzing, blustering
energy that brought out Beethoven’s full rock-and-roll madness. Beethoven wrote
the symphony in a burst of patriotism during the Napoleonic wars (it was
premiered at a charity concert for wounded soldiers), and Moody highlighted the
kick-stomping triumphalism and severity of the music. So unstoppable was his
energy that the last big-bang chord of the first movement slipped right into
the first (now very loud) chord of the dark second movement, without so much as
stopping for a breath. The brio of the symphony continued right to the final
cadence, which was met with a roaring ovation from the grateful audience. If
this is what being wrong sounds like, I wouldn’t ever want to be right again.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Take, for a second example,
the following week’s concert, at which Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony was programmed.
This is another symphony that’s been heard more times than a regular listener
can count, and yet another that was played relatively recently by the JPO.
Again, I expected a repeat-experience of the last time it was played (enjoyable,
yet forgettable), and, again, I was delightedly disproven.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This symphony was conducted by
Daniel Boico, who is the principal guest conductor at the JPO, and another
rousing energy from America. And what he roused will stay with me for a very
long time hence. I could fill out the next few paragraphs listing the many virtues
of the performance, but I will limit my report to three important ones:
deliberateness, precision, and a blazing big sound.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But also, it would be wrong of
me to go on praising the playing without stopping to mention that the French
horn solo in the second movement was played with heart-stopping tenderness and
warmth by the always-superb principal horn, Shannon Armer. She has played it thus
before, and is a valuable JPO asset that yields consistently high returns.
Deservedly, she received the loudest cheers of the night.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Boico began the piece very,
very slowly – ponderously slowly. Tchaikovsky has given the tempo indication </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Andante</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">,
which means the pace of a moderate walk. Boico gave the pace of a glacial
funeral march, a submission to cold Russian fate that seemed to slip out of
time. As the slow introduction ended and he arrived at Tchaikovsky’s </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Allegro
con anima</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> (lively and with spirit), even that continued at a rather measured
pace. Instead of skipping along, as the melody usually does, it strode, underpinned
by a booming descending bassline in the trombones and tuba. And each phrase –
each bar – was executed with stunning precision and alignment throughout the
whole ensemble. Strings, woodwinds, and brass articulated in sympathy with each
other, and drove one another to greater intensity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The effect of these deliberate
tempi and clear precision was to bring out many of the felicitous musical ideas
that Tchaikovsky has filled his music with, that can get lost in other
performances. I heard enchanting countermelodies in the clarinet, enthusiastic contributions
by the tuba, even loud rumbles in the horns and timpani, and bright punches in
the trumpets, that had never rung out to me so clearly. Tchaikovsky’s score
seemed even richer than before – which is a great feat when playing music
already so well known and well loved. And the greatest pleasure was the immense
sound with which it rang out; the orchestra filled the entire Linder Auditorium
with sound, and then pushed even further and seemed to fill the entire city. I
sat in the very back row in the very top level of the hall – as far away as one
can be from the stage – and the trumpets sounded as if they were playing right in
my ears. By the end of the evening (also met with a resounding roar from the audience),
nothing in the world sounded as if it could stop the irresistible forces of the
JPO brass and their triumph in E major.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">P.S. Let me know if you’d like to hear where you <i>might</i> obtain a bootleg recording of the JPO’s Tchaikovsky.</span></p>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-7141081787006437422022-05-13T12:10:00.003+02:002022-06-18T06:23:21.739+02:00An All-Too Conservative JPO Symphony Season<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, the JPO has released the “new” line-up for its Winter Symphony Season, and it invites concertgoers to a challenging game of spot-the-difference with any previous season. Actually, a more apt challenge would be to put the new programme next to one drawn up by a prudish and dowdy old spinster 100 years ago, and then guess which is which.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Okay, Rachmaninov's Fourth Piano Concerto was written only 96 years ago. The difference is that the spinster – enamoured of Rachmaninov as everyone always has been – would have cheerfully programmed the brand-new piece; the JPO can only love a composer when he himself (rarely she) is entirely de-composed. In my 5 years of attending JPO concerts as a dedicated subscriber, I have only heard about 30 minutes of music written by people still living; that’s about 1% of the music performed by the orchestra.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Of the eight major (multi-movement) works we’re getting this season, half are pieces we’ve already heard at JPO concerts since its 2017 re-launch (pieces by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and Brahms). The other half are Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, Mozart’s Second Flute Concerto, the Rachmaninov, and Dvořák’s Sixth Symphony. Are these by any means a broadening of repertoire? An expansion of discovery, inclusivity, or imagination?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The music of Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, and Brahms make up well over a third all the music I’ve listened to at JPO concerts. This is not only a narrow selection of countries and time periods but of individuals, and even a narrow selection within the output of each individual. Only the best-known and most reliable chestnuts are chosen to placate us listeners.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Don’t misunderstand me: I also think that the music of Beethoven, Mozart et al. is among the greatest of all music, and I don’t want to abandon it by any means. (Brahms’s Third Symphony, programmed for 30 June, is just about the most beautiful of all symphonies.) But I do get tired of entire seasons that rehash the same works and their immediate adjacents. It reinforces a conservative (and somewhat exclusionary) core, while an abundance of exciting and enlightening music lies untouched and unheard by the audience. (How I long for more of even well-known masters like Haydn, Verdi, Handel, Saint-Saëns…)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There have been (very brief) sallies into more modern music, but they represent a dispiritingly small proportion of works programmed, and an even smaller segment of the frontiers that music has crossed in the last century. The JPO doesn’t have to suddenly acquire fringe mixed-media performance art presentations by the anti-establishment avant-garde; but it can return to the occasional thrill of presenting newer classics, as it has with Korngold’s Violin Concerto, Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, Ravel’s Piano Concerto, Prokofiev’s “Classical” Symphony, or even Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto, the first time it was programmed.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I know that the orchestra faces significant constraints; it can’t hire the billions of musicians required to perform each Mahler symphony, and the rights to pieces by living masters like Philip Glass and Thomas Adès may be too expensive (although imagine the large number of younger concertgoers that would be drawn by a Philip Glass piece). But there is a great wealth of modern classics that could both conceivably be performed by the JPO forces and relished by Joburg concertgoers – music like the rest of the symphonic output of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Sibelius, and Korngold as well as the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Amy Beach, Florence Price, Benjamin Britten, Carl Nielsen, and Stravinsky. Can we in the audience be trusted to hear out works that have remained in the margins?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">P.S. I note all of this before even coming to the question of the constant import of European (and a few American) symphonies, and the total neglect of African composers…</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-41169333803093843082021-12-17T12:25:00.005+02:002022-06-18T06:24:28.476+02:00“West Side Story” 2021<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkvHXmSySabq4d9HFREC03PzgnZkW4zJIy-Kk1jSXZ1QHzO65I2qMlrEJh-Vaf3A-PJyLlH4EtvdQgoRDAjBgET2r9DoTZSz5iQGKI-3qV-6A-U5VK92xSkh7OoZ1gAUSrSAqr_FhxDcatdd1O8mMQZN5qpwi5CmBASLZ3zVvo8JDN5ehBLj-YIRne7Q=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkvHXmSySabq4d9HFREC03PzgnZkW4zJIy-Kk1jSXZ1QHzO65I2qMlrEJh-Vaf3A-PJyLlH4EtvdQgoRDAjBgET2r9DoTZSz5iQGKI-3qV-6A-U5VK92xSkh7OoZ1gAUSrSAqr_FhxDcatdd1O8mMQZN5qpwi5CmBASLZ3zVvo8JDN5ehBLj-YIRne7Q=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div>Some brief notes on Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the Broadway musical and remake of the 1961 movie.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I don’t have much to say about the alleged cinematic artistry of Spielberg, nor how I feel about his Disneyfication of </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">West Side Story</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">; the movie is exactly what you’d expect to come from Spielberg in 2021, and for some viewers that will be as pleasurable as it was tedious for me.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I went into the movie – and happily sat through its 156-minute run-time – because of my deep and abiding love for the music of Leonard Bernstein, and, for all of my fellow-admirers, this effort is no disappointment. <i>West Side Story</i> was a music triumph at its premiere, in 1957, and has gelatinised, in the most gratifying way, into a sterling classic, both in the worlds of musical theatre and classical music. I’m glad to hear that I’m <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-12-10/commentary-is-west-side-story-best-as-film-or-opera">not alone</a> in thinking of Bernstein’s music as among the great achievements of American composers in the 20th century, and I was heartened to find that, as much as I didn’t enjoy what Spielberg was bringing to the work, I didn’t mind enduring it, because each time a song began in the movie, I sat with a large literal smile beaming all the way to the end.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>The musical numbers for this movie were recorded by two of the best orchestras in the world, the New York Philharmonic (of which Bernstein was music director for 11 seasons, following the premiere of <i>West Side Story</i>) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and were conducted by the LA Phil’s charismatic and redoubtable Venezuelan music director, Gustavo Dudamel. There’s no question that these recordings are superior to those used in the 1961 movie; the Dudamel-led recordings have a big bright brassiness, gleaming sharp edges, sparkling interludes and vibrant accompaniments. The unfortunate step-down is to the sung performances. It’s pleasing to report that each of the main cast members is a competent singer, and I was especially impressed by the new talent Rachel Zegler, who plays Maria, and can hold very high notes very delicately. But there’s no inflection, no distinctive moments of personal expression or imaginative interpretation, no sense of story or personality evoked in any of the vocal parts, however skillfully they keep Bernstein’s rhythms or navigate his melodies. Whether this is down to the lack of expressive abilities of the actors, or (more likely) a lack of experience in musical performance, or (almost definitely) the effects of direction from a filmmaker interested in only ever expressing one uncomplicated, highly sentimentalised feeling at a time, I can’t say for sure. It didn’t bother me much when I watched the movie, and there were visual aids to the storytelling in the songs. But the blandness of the performances became stark and distracting when I downloaded and listened to the movie soundtrack afterwards.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The flatness of these performances extends to their acting (again, nothing new in a Spielberg movie), but the dancing is a different tale, and was very impressive indeed on the big screen, if not entirely as pleasurable as the original choreography by Jerome Robbins. The choreography in the 2021 movie is more athletic, more virtuosic, and entirely de-eroticised from the 1961 movie; the social dance in the school gym has been cleansed of its steamy-stickiness, and its red-hot decor. The dance scenes, like the rest of the movie, come across as if from a grimy and sanctimonious <i>High School Musical</i> (with better songs and music overall).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And, on the topic of its sanctimony, it’s as difficult now, after seeing the movie, as before, to consider why it was ever thought necessary or worthwhile to do a remake of <i>West Side Story</i>. Spielberg has said that a large justification was the act of re-casting it, so that all Puerto Rican roles were played by Latinx performers. That’s definitely an improvement on the behind-the-scenes processes of the original, but it doesn’t make a better movie, and it shouldn’t be used as a major selling point for a studio product, as it has been in this case. Casting more Latinx performers doesn’t change the fact that the musical was conceived and written by a quartet of white Jewish New Yorkers (Bernstein, Robbins, the playwright and director Arthur Laurents, and the lyricist Stephen Sondheim), who knew nothing about the lives of the Puerto Rican characters they were writing about (and which isn’t helped by the fact that this new movie was directed by Spielberg, and written by Tony Kushner, two more white Jewish Americans with almost as little experience of Puerto Rican lives). It doesn’t change the fact that the white gang and the experiences of the white characters get more care and attention in the story (as well as more back-story in this new movie) than those of the Puerto Ricans – there’s a “Jet Song,” but no “Shark Song,” and a back-story for Tony, but none at all for Maria. Diversity in the movie is a superficial diversity; we see an array of skin tones, but not a deep and colourful diversity of lived experience. How much can we say that we really love a musical when the music itself is a towering achievement, but the drama surrounding it can only let it down?</span></div>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-81176509656391516582021-06-12T22:23:00.001+02:002021-06-12T22:23:13.822+02:00Barbra: My First Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ibFQzzzBkTJoKS3zZnAHToTp8pD-4s8MDA9Tcjr1zFbIp84RFXwRjHhIQaWu2bQvw6elMtauUoBaXnW2BqbLIQakJh9eq7iiWR5Gta7s62BynxkeeL_Xso9VV5C68Bhp5QhBcIAjjKds/s610/dee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="610" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ibFQzzzBkTJoKS3zZnAHToTp8pD-4s8MDA9Tcjr1zFbIp84RFXwRjHhIQaWu2bQvw6elMtauUoBaXnW2BqbLIQakJh9eq7iiWR5Gta7s62BynxkeeL_Xso9VV5C68Bhp5QhBcIAjjKds/w640-h398/dee.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">I don’t know who would believe me if I said that I was a Barbra Streisand virgin until yesterday. It wouldn’t strictly be true; I’ve seen clips of her on <i>The Judy Garland Show</i>, and in <i>Meet the Fockers</i> and <i>Guilt Trip</i>, but I wasn’t exposed to the dazzle of her music making until I turned on <i>The Barbra Streisand Album</i> for my drive home last night.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The album was Streisand’s studio début, and I won’t forget the experience of hearing its opening. After a short meandering solo by a plucked double bass, Barbra’s mezzo voice pierces the open silence above it, with a rhythmic incisiveness and mercurial inflection. She starts with the now-famous six-note falling scale that opens “Cry Me a River,” and that her distinctive tone immediately renders new and unfamiliar.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was surprised to hear the wide range of approaches she takes on in one album, to convey her meanings. She veers from poise and precision – an elegance that may befit a salon in fin-de-siècle Paris – to brassy, growling roars, where she loses (that is, gives up) her control over pitch, pronunciation, and other aspects of making a nice sound. Her broad spectrum of expression covers infinitesimal nuances, subtle gradations in colour and timbre, and always seems to arise from a spontaneous idea or impression – moments become masterpieces, flung out on the wing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Streisand’s distinguished artistry, and the sound of it on my inadequate speakers, made me think of the immediate recognisability of many of my favourite artists – Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, Louis Armstrong, Emily Dickinson, Terrence Malick, Maria Callas, Chantal Akerman, Wes Anderson, Glenn Gould, Clint Eastwood, Nina Simone, or Jean Seberg – and how their style is more than an idiosyncrasy, or a brand. Style (at least, that of a great artist) is an outward expression of an entire personality; it’s the shuddering of a great soul, rendered as a physical experience. It’s why the styles of the artists mentioned above – as highly influential as each of them was – are so inimitable, why any attempt to reproduce them can only come off as the shallowest mimicry, and why coming across it in their work, in each moment-by-moment encounter, can feel like an enlargening of life itself.</p>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-92049784030180722762021-05-29T13:17:00.003+02:002021-05-29T13:21:05.996+02:00A Moving Musical Documentary on Netflix<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkgIiZZE258UmmLz9Tca2okDDfjjYUQ8Phqzec8ObccgzQO453eAT6U6Mqcx1B7GvNX0uMCaIlTVAdeIQtG-S2AstbzZvnDXYxYFvvOYjf0xzl9nNtZZqvwQgJ929tdX1-DGH7GV7eSZO/s1920/Best+Worst+Thing+That+Ever+Could+Have+Happened.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1920" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkgIiZZE258UmmLz9Tca2okDDfjjYUQ8Phqzec8ObccgzQO453eAT6U6Mqcx1B7GvNX0uMCaIlTVAdeIQtG-S2AstbzZvnDXYxYFvvOYjf0xzl9nNtZZqvwQgJ929tdX1-DGH7GV7eSZO/w640-h300/Best+Worst+Thing+That+Ever+Could+Have+Happened.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div>I watched a very moving documentary on Netflix last week: </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">, which tells a story of the highly anticipated original Broadway production of the Stephen Sondheim musical </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Merrily We Roll Along</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">, and its immediate failure. The 2016 documentary was directed by Lonny Price, one of the production’s main cast members, and he interviews Sondheim, the production’s director, Hal Prince, a number of his castmates, and two notable audience members who saw the original run. I watched the movie as someone very interested in the work of Sondheim, and came away from it deeply touched by the experiences and perspectives of the people it features.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">The documentary’s setting is the musical theatre of Broadway in the early 80s, but its subject is the expectations and frustrations – the dreams and subsequent hard reality – of any young person starting out in life. This happens to be a theme of the musical <i>Merrily We Roll Along</i> as well, and the plot, as relayed by Sondheim and Prince, is an apt parallel for the stories told by the once-young-and-aspiring real-life performers that Price interviews.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sondheim and Prince had hired a cast of young performers, in their late teens and early 20s, each of whom was making their debut on Broadway, and who couldn’t have been more thrilled by the entire experience, including that of being a part of the history of their heroes. Price engagingly includes himself in the telling of the story, as well as the story of how the documentary got made, in part.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The show’s failure (closing after just 16 performances) had a devastating impact on all the documentary’s subjects, even Sondheim and Prince. Some of the young performers tell of struggling in a tough and competitive industry, one famous one struck on enviable success, and at least one left the acting profession entirely. More than the details of the production or what came after, the most engaging aspect of the entire movie is the affecting care and attention that Price pays to the people involved. The then-young performers are now all much older, and each carries a wealth of experience that’s instantly evoked in their interviews.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The weight of emotion that comes with that experience is brought poignantly to the movie’s forefront, and the documentary becomes a story that mirrors that of the show: Young people with big dreams transform into baffled, worldly, and keenly emotional older people. The tender observation – call it Love – with which Price shows their stories (including his own) is what enriches those emotions, and turns his documentary into a powerful experience.</span></div>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-66679697856081267362021-01-17T20:09:00.000+02:002021-01-17T20:09:14.809+02:00The Year in Movies – 2020<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Like many, many things in 2020, this blog and any updates gave way to very different priorities, and not only did I watch fewer movies last year, but the way in which I watched them and the aspects that I paid most attention to and appreciated most also shifted, perhaps irreversibly. I found myself responding much more strongly to movies where the filmmakers took conspicuous and considerate care in imagining and conveying characters’ emotional lives, and to stories that seemed informed by lived experiences and hard-won knowledge.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Miranda July’s <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2020/12/kajillionaire.html" target="_blank">Kajillionaire</a> </i>(which could just as easily have been my Number 1 movie of the year), a movie about familial struggles, was born not only out of her prodigious imagination, but also out of her accumulating feelings of frustration, fury, discovery, joy, and a multitude of others that arise from her new experience of being a wife and a mother. <i>Shirley</i> was made by a consummate cinematic creator, Josephine Decker, who herself must have experienced some of the terrors and ecstasies of artistic creation before evoking them in the story of her protagonist, the real-life novelist Shirley Jackson.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>Bringing up these two examples reminds me of another distinction in this year’s list, one that I hope will last in coming lists: 8 of the 11 movies I’ve selected were made by women. I think it’s one of the many examples of the way that moviegoing completely changed in 2020; with tentpole releases being all but cancelled for the year, and independent movies getting a larger platform than ever before, a bottleneck widened a little, and the market opened up to a slightly broader cohort of filmmaking artists than before. The state of American and worldwide film industries is still nowhere near as inclusive as it should be, but more and more people are getting the chances to show off their work, and we’re getting many more opportunities to see movies from not only diverse demographics but from as heterogeneous a variety of perspectives as there has ever been.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are many excellent 2020 movies missing from my list, because I watched so few 2020 movies last year – so few movies at all, in fact. Watching movies from previous years felt no different to watching contemporary ones, as suddenly every story watched had become stranger, more touching or less affecting, and had been altered by being watched in a different world than the one they had been made in. Movies that I saw for the first time last year and greatly enjoyed – and that I had to remind myself did not belong on the list below – include <i>Moir, un noir</i>, <i>Hereafter</i>, <i>A Simple Favor</i>, <i>Pretty Poison</i>, <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2020/05/my-heart-and-melodramas-of-douglas-sirk.html" target="_blank">Imitation of Life</a></i>, <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2020/06/within-our-gates-at-100.html" target="_blank">Within Our Gates</a></i>, <i>Win a Date with Tad Hamilton</i>, <i>Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice</i>, <i>Eve’s Bayou</i>, <i>The Juniper Tree</i>, <i>Just Go With It</i>, and, crucially, a number of classic African works that streaming services have also made so much more widely accessible: <i><a href="https://www.showmax.com/eng/movie/leq969f1-black-girl" target="_blank">Black Girl</a></i>, <i>Yeelen</i>, and <i><a href="https://www.showmax.com/eng/movie/cfi7p1ba-moolade" target="_blank">Moolaadé</a></i>. Some of these titles are still not available in South Africa on any legal platform, and eager viewers still need to work a little harder to get a hold of many of the great movies that are out there to be seen.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A word on the ranking of the movies below: Each year, my rankings feel more and more arbitrary, and just about each of the movies below had some pleasurable part of them that could induce me to put it in the Number 1 spot. Consider them shuffled and randomly placed, and let me know which are the most critical omissions that should be considered when I catch up on 2020 viewing in the future.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Best Movies of 2020</span></h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw4rYJAn9aj-JGoo8wzsTSZXCg0tGryTujoL1l6d2NaxJ_tD0mTPXsBZ4BLDpOcf3l8IBMpVocdlVLGYYEyFV3jT14Z7SNWQoEnpMh4ar0JsRoXK-HHmZOpKvm_aKuQ5StYpsjtcxfI8jR/s1020/Uncut+Gems.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1020" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw4rYJAn9aj-JGoo8wzsTSZXCg0tGryTujoL1l6d2NaxJ_tD0mTPXsBZ4BLDpOcf3l8IBMpVocdlVLGYYEyFV3jT14Z7SNWQoEnpMh4ar0JsRoXK-HHmZOpKvm_aKuQ5StYpsjtcxfI8jR/w400-h235/Uncut+Gems.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />Uncut Gems (Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie) (<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80990663" target="_blank">Available on Netflix</a>)</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyns6Mf-ZCfGxey7_VmP1cpmHp3IgxyNC_QYmVzAP_odhRa1lHQBAcGSPKNENb11p9XTcDckcUJgo6gcw8IsCzaS1p6Lm-PjV6Zg-FfMCSrCSQT_iVG8YSqdolUqXKf38yX8-hAFpuvlSz/s1080/nbcu-T0B4O-Full-Image_GalleryBackground-us-US-1602230501414._SX1080_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1080" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyns6Mf-ZCfGxey7_VmP1cpmHp3IgxyNC_QYmVzAP_odhRa1lHQBAcGSPKNENb11p9XTcDckcUJgo6gcw8IsCzaS1p6Lm-PjV6Zg-FfMCSrCSQT_iVG8YSqdolUqXKf38yX8-hAFpuvlSz/w400-h225/nbcu-T0B4O-Full-Image_GalleryBackground-us-US-1602230501414._SX1080_.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2020/12/kajillionaire.html" target="_blank">Kajillionaire </a>(Miranda July)</span></div></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_8kiN7eHVQRKG2hwhbbZpuHXAnB49066SrPZOwt1vNlQmGAPBLA5J0gua8SMOFzmB4kzt6jz6cgYEaZ1024Whjcl76PUm2J3xNK705ASidAztsBB7DAGeOirpZcaTER_mzxVcchTF_1H/s800/Shirley.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_8kiN7eHVQRKG2hwhbbZpuHXAnB49066SrPZOwt1vNlQmGAPBLA5J0gua8SMOFzmB4kzt6jz6cgYEaZ1024Whjcl76PUm2J3xNK705ASidAztsBB7DAGeOirpZcaTER_mzxVcchTF_1H/w400-h225/Shirley.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Shirley (Josephine Decker)</span></div></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQvnVuiSyflMhqWbhlN79FiJ-QPsVFIta_F8oiCKB9k5vV_Om70VJB136vpTPH-QIUVnavlbHN0QSZ9dcxZ-YwPHE53Teh9A4Fja6tlOUZrPrHWF07ETWvhLqasrLcEyiuQ2QoJ6M_-Lr/s1024/A+Beautiful+Day+in+the+Neighborhood.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQvnVuiSyflMhqWbhlN79FiJ-QPsVFIta_F8oiCKB9k5vV_Om70VJB136vpTPH-QIUVnavlbHN0QSZ9dcxZ-YwPHE53Teh9A4Fja6tlOUZrPrHWF07ETWvhLqasrLcEyiuQ2QoJ6M_-Lr/w400-h266/A+Beautiful+Day+in+the+Neighborhood.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Marielle Heller) (<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81121682" target="_blank">Available on Netflix</a>)</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglVUgP3Y33q57RH0torwCdmfOoTzuvS2lxazLo55ayIG-q5j1G8zAlWh0TRmOfWfm2HZ0O29Mwqd1FOQqOj0P9IELtVkyBtTW9zqRskESFVrvAMbvrqcDqgYUENrGE0QRpbSRDi2_Rugjd/s2048/The+Forty+Year+Old+Version.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglVUgP3Y33q57RH0torwCdmfOoTzuvS2lxazLo55ayIG-q5j1G8zAlWh0TRmOfWfm2HZ0O29Mwqd1FOQqOj0P9IELtVkyBtTW9zqRskESFVrvAMbvrqcDqgYUENrGE0QRpbSRDi2_Rugjd/w400-h266/The+Forty+Year+Old+Version.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Forty-Year Old Version (Radha Blank) (<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80231356" target="_blank">Available on Netflix</a>)</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ijQ31jSAc9XPx6J1ebJGF2ngxMIYvKUlEG0QVrhSJpvIHP-8NRRuPeXJQN0MKhFZ3vEO1gSO57bXfs36B6M3G3tfDO4adjc4UVSBXRe8YaBs76vmAwzP0V2RtuVwOTRAl253t9BfpwVf/s1024/Little+Women.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="1024" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ijQ31jSAc9XPx6J1ebJGF2ngxMIYvKUlEG0QVrhSJpvIHP-8NRRuPeXJQN0MKhFZ3vEO1gSO57bXfs36B6M3G3tfDO4adjc4UVSBXRe8YaBs76vmAwzP0V2RtuVwOTRAl253t9BfpwVf/w400-h220/Little+Women.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Little Women (Greta Gerwig) (<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81140933" target="_blank">Available on Netflix</a>)</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkpaEMolY16k-5A9p-_xxHZjRBLZ-7kWngSFpMtpplA-DIpTMhkI9xomhN4HEJAfFi1twW_0UrIBhyphenhyphenJrb13fP39iXZ_U_Gz2ghuHkJT3BmeSbJ64CuVUy4xr22yRyHlexPl36dByfBxB2r/s1200/Dick+Johnson+is+Dead.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkpaEMolY16k-5A9p-_xxHZjRBLZ-7kWngSFpMtpplA-DIpTMhkI9xomhN4HEJAfFi1twW_0UrIBhyphenhyphenJrb13fP39iXZ_U_Gz2ghuHkJT3BmeSbJ64CuVUy4xr22yRyHlexPl36dByfBxB2r/w400-h209/Dick+Johnson+is+Dead.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Dick Johnson is Dead (Kirsten Johnson) (<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80234465" target="_blank">Available on Netflix</a>)</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNCkVAWFqm2XWmGBWXCJR-vWFNePsKUzF6WqrygCziR9ro9W7gNrB_NR8pfMnzfFMVTLqCceIoJJw9ngFm3EYqXiqc-MtyWpgIYFNRVj-LsfYHvvYhWg_ZzDYT4o79qrb5_p7M19pOOBk/s1999/Atlantics.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1999" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNCkVAWFqm2XWmGBWXCJR-vWFNePsKUzF6WqrygCziR9ro9W7gNrB_NR8pfMnzfFMVTLqCceIoJJw9ngFm3EYqXiqc-MtyWpgIYFNRVj-LsfYHvvYhWg_ZzDYT4o79qrb5_p7M19pOOBk/w400-h240/Atlantics.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Atlantics (Mati Diop) (<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81082007" target="_blank">Available on Netflix</a>)</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5M3PbRCG97kCsUpzl4KY6e3xu8rpCJgYS5oM9qIjafOzkHTa2a8wW6gMXGhdklhZipQN7dF7Ek49rBIaiX0ppYU1ObvvGVBu3tgsvms8VbEt7fSpCDwpGv_coYRJ62k8Eorq2CjqVOw-6/s1000/Yes+God+Yes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="1000" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5M3PbRCG97kCsUpzl4KY6e3xu8rpCJgYS5oM9qIjafOzkHTa2a8wW6gMXGhdklhZipQN7dF7Ek49rBIaiX0ppYU1ObvvGVBu3tgsvms8VbEt7fSpCDwpGv_coYRJ62k8Eorq2CjqVOw-6/w400-h215/Yes+God+Yes.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yes, God, Yes (Karen Maine)</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCzyRMm8otTgjVVSPWtB1J9_Yeov4s1vqVSg6d0Q4I68mvFU4fdUY1UMbcx-cBUAiupKX-BWguydEbMOj09ixCZYjqR-XocEJ9eMMt2EPEm2dohbICSeqImB4e4b6H8N0-uV8Hp1GAhHv/s2048/Richard+Jewell.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCzyRMm8otTgjVVSPWtB1J9_Yeov4s1vqVSg6d0Q4I68mvFU4fdUY1UMbcx-cBUAiupKX-BWguydEbMOj09ixCZYjqR-XocEJ9eMMt2EPEm2dohbICSeqImB4e4b6H8N0-uV8Hp1GAhHv/w400-h266/Richard+Jewell.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Richard Jewell (Clint Eastwood)</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKylBiC0RLaz_Huaci-BllKF-tAncLBcu470RwIK6Tsde-p1TUtD6zFj7iNhvYneULXDahW3I0AdO2MrdkmhtIQMY0BcG1-47WdWr-NE7ttro8wARwBV-wd7OA-lkUGdqC4aUGgsSt2w-n/s1024/Lil+Peep.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKylBiC0RLaz_Huaci-BllKF-tAncLBcu470RwIK6Tsde-p1TUtD6zFj7iNhvYneULXDahW3I0AdO2MrdkmhtIQMY0BcG1-47WdWr-NE7ttro8wARwBV-wd7OA-lkUGdqC4aUGgsSt2w-n/w400-h225/Lil+Peep.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lil Peep: Everybody’s Everything (Sebastian Jones, Ramez Silyan) (<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81132386" target="_blank">Available on Netflix</a>)</span></div></blockquote>
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<h4 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Best Actress</span></h4><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Elisabeth Moss, <i>Shirley</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Odessa Young, <i>Shirley</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Radha Blank, <i>The Forty-Year-Old Version</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Renee Zellweger, <i>Judy</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Evan Rachel Wood, <i>Kajillionaire</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><h4><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></h4><h4><span style="font-family: georgia;">Best Actor</span></h4></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Adam Sandler, <i>Uncut Gems</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Tom Hanks, <i>A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Paul Walter Hauser, <i>Richard Jewell</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><h4><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></h4><h4><span style="font-family: georgia;">Best Supporting Actress</span></h4></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Idina Menzel, <i>Uncut Gems</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Kathy Bates, <i>Richard Jewell</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Debra Winger, <i>Kajillionaire</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Gina Rodriguez, <i>Kajillionaire</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i></i><br /></span><h4><span style="font-family: georgia;">Best Supporting Actor</span></h4></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Eric Bogosian, <i>Uncut Gems</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Michael Stuhlbarg, <i>Shirley</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Oswin Benjamin, <i>The Forty-Year-Old Version</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Richard Jenkins, <i>Kajillionaire</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i></i><br /></span><h4><span style="font-family: georgia;">Best Original Screenplay</span></h4></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, <i>Uncut Gems</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Radha Blank, <i>The Forty-Year-Old Version</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Miranda July, <i>Kajillionaire</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Karen Maine, <i>Yes, God, Yes</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><h4><span style="font-family: georgia;">
Best Adapted Screenplay</span></h4></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sarah Gubbins, <i>Shirley</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, <i>A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Greta Gerwig, <i>Little Women</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><h4><span style="font-family: georgia;">
Best Editing</span></h4></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, <i>Uncut Gems</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">David Barker, <i>Shirley</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Jennifer Vecchiarello, <i>Kajillionaire</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Robert Grigsby Wilson, The <i>Forty-Year-Old Version</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><h4><span style="font-family: georgia;">
Best Cinematography</span></h4></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Darius Khondji, <i>Uncut Gems</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Claire Mathon, <i>Atlantics</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Emile Mosseri, <i>Kajillionaire</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sturla Brandth Grøvlen, <i>Shirley</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Eric Branco, <i>The Forty-Year-Old Version</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><h4><span style="font-family: georgia;">
Best Original Score</span></h4></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Daniel Lopatin, <i>Uncut Gems</i></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Tamar-kali, <i>Shirley</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><i></i></div>
Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-14986367835983400402020-12-14T10:01:00.000+02:002020-12-14T10:01:18.118+02:00Kajillionaire<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpN3pmHEYSIsCGwUqTUzsgcPdiQGQEjWb41o7ibsIfstQCU-z9f4qbjEizvS65tDEkantunIdhyUH6oqXVr_IB6lzc6Lysn0HhsDXHubHlAq9Q4swPvhkNg8b7Ob05k8SKqTwvFYEWkHme/s1080/nbcu-T0B4O-Full-Image_GalleryBackground-us-US-1602230501414._SX1080_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1080" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpN3pmHEYSIsCGwUqTUzsgcPdiQGQEjWb41o7ibsIfstQCU-z9f4qbjEizvS65tDEkantunIdhyUH6oqXVr_IB6lzc6Lysn0HhsDXHubHlAq9Q4swPvhkNg8b7Ob05k8SKqTwvFYEWkHme/w640-h360/nbcu-T0B4O-Full-Image_GalleryBackground-us-US-1602230501414._SX1080_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Miranda July’s new movie – her third feature film – tells of a family of scammers: a father, Robert (Richard Jenkins), mother, Theresa (Debra Winger), and their 26-year-old daughter, Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), whom they’ve brought up outside of the mainstream culture and trained as a partner in crime. The very origin of Old Dolio’s name is an anecdote that exemplifies July’s enormous, distinctive, and highly eloquent imaginative powers. She also works as a short story writer, performance artist, and digital media artist (among a few other positions), and her filmmaking overflows with the creative energy she imparts in every aspect: the performances, the camera angles and movements, the light and shadows, the plot, the dialogue, the soundtrack, the very transitions from each image and sound to the next, all build upon each other to render every moment a stunning creation of imagination and furious expression in itself. Surrealism is combined with idiosyncratic fantasy to evoke vast emotional turmoil; the natural world’s turbulence, seismology, and cosmos map onto the inner world and experiences of both the characters and the artist that imagined them.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The subject of <i>Kajillionaire</i> is family life, and, in particular, the friction and conflict that arises when a family that has isolated itself comes crashing into contact with the outside world. Old Dolio’s parents treat her without affection or due respect, justifying it as an egalitarian attitude – they claim regard her as an equal partner, while casting numerous cruel offhand remarks – and, without knowing it, she harbours an ocean of repressed emotions and desires. Her journey of self-discovery, self-revelation, and emotional eruption begins when the family meets an optician’s assistant, Melanie (Gina Rodriguez). Robert and Theresa lure Melanie into a scheme with feigned warmth and affection (the same false emotions they claim to keep from Old Dolio), and even their faux behaviour arouses jealousy and anguished yearning in Old Dolio. Melanie befriends Old Dolio and guides her through a new realm of emotional expression and nourishing gratification, that not only frees her from the repressive restrictions of her own family, but brings her into contact and connection with the wider world, that awakens her to the might and magic of living a connected life. July comes up with one of her most extraordinary imaginative strokes in rendering this moment, both as a cosmic-scale emotional experience and visual metaphor, of a person emerging from dark nothingness into the light.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A word on availability: <i>Kajillionaire</i> was released theatrically in the US earlier this year, and is available on various streaming services in the US, but nowhere in South Africa. Local viewers will need to devise their own schemes to see it.</span></p>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-31379775232354001252020-06-01T19:02:00.005+02:002020-06-01T19:15:32.947+02:00“Within Our Gates” at 100<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXuqFr3TyCyCkeXdjfixFUhxUgNNthR4ydbuzz6zYMLKDb9_bWUA_ficqLudSLE-ydX9rpuQof-QNYAYkkH_ynqEH6sN-vjbVhmKLwpkddMJ6MiHVK1tG5LHgRW5cYm-dN5py5a8bplFXN/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2223" data-original-width="3000" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXuqFr3TyCyCkeXdjfixFUhxUgNNthR4ydbuzz6zYMLKDb9_bWUA_ficqLudSLE-ydX9rpuQof-QNYAYkkH_ynqEH6sN-vjbVhmKLwpkddMJ6MiHVK1tG5LHgRW5cYm-dN5py5a8bplFXN/w640-h474/Within+Our+Gates.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><font face="trebuchet"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;">I had already planned some weeks ago to watch <i>Within Our Gates</i> for the first time, for its 100th anniversary. As it turned out, the movie, its themes, and the circumstances of its production all make it particularly relevant for consideration in the current moment.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;">Within Our Gates is a silent romantic melodrama, released in 1920, directed by Oscar Micheaux. It’s the earliest known surviving movie made by a black director, and the specific perspective of a black person in America – having to confront harmful ideas and stereotypes that came before – becomes the very subject of the movie.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;"><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><a name='more'></a></span>It follows Syliva Landry (played by Evelyn Preer), a young African-American teacher from the Deep South, whose school is beset by financial troubles – the classes are overcrowded, and the state grant per child is woefully insufficient. Sylvia heads north, ending up in Boston, to raise funds for the school. Micheaux (who also wrote the movie) fills the plot with colourful characters, intersecting paths, digressing sidebars, romantic mishaps and redemptions, and, above all, the political realities faced by black people in the American South, which had been largely ignored by the white public.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;">To place the movie in context, it was made in the wake of Hollywood’s most monumental production to date: D.W. Griffith’s <i>The Birth of a Nation</i>. Unpacking this movie, its cinematic significance, and the effects of its incendiary racist depictions is heavy work that requires a blog post of its own; suffice it to say that it portrayed the KKK as heroic saviours of white southerners from the supposed dangers presented by the newly emancipated black people of the South.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;">Micheaux counters this depiction with the story of black people under threat of financial exploitation and physical violence from the white people who surround them, and who still have full grip on the levers of power. Rather than white people needing protection from blacks, it’s a family of black characters in the movie who are brutally lynched by a white mob who suspect them of a crime. Micheaux exposed the harsh reality of oppression suffered by black people in the South to white audiences in the North, who all too easily accepted Griffith’s portrayals of an unpredictably dangerous black populace.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;">It’s the subject of extra-judicial and unredressed murder of innocent black people that connects the movie most immediately to today. The violence Micheaux depicts is horrifying, as is the footage of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis. Presumably, now, as before, white perpetrators are motivated by false stereotypes of dangerous black men, by a defence of self-protection that’s either paranoid or dishonest, by an opportunism for pathological violence, and by insecurity from the loss of status of white omnipotence and supremacy.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;">The movie remains a romantic melodrama, but with a powerful element of moral horror, that strikes all the more forcefully 100 years later. It’s abundantly clear watching the movie that the issues of the time remain with us today, that the injustices and inequities of the past have not yet been set right, and that the reality of oppression has continued without respite. Micheaux’s brisk and forthright storytelling has a blunt quality to it, that emphasises the reality of the political circumstances he depicts.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;">Micheaux was an entrepreneur who became a successful author and then, under a production company that he founded himself, a producer and director of movies. His father was born a slave in Kentucky, and the family had moved north to Illinois, where Micheaux was born, to get a good education for their children. Micheaux’s interest in social and political progress for black people shows in the movie’s emphasis on the importance of black southerners’ access to education, and the sordid dealings of preachers who offer superstition instead.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;">Micheaux wasn’t the first black director of movies, but he was the first great black director that we know about today, and the earliest whose movies have survived. Although <i>Within Our Gates</i> hardly did survive. It had been thought lost for years, but a print was found and can now be seen for free online from the Library of Congress: click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtwrCto9az0" style="line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">this link</a> to watch.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia" style="line-height: 1.5;">As someone who thoroughly enjoys silent movies, I sat captivated through <i>Within Our Gates</i>. Micheaux’s style is intense and imaginative. He animates his characters with vivid details and with grounded performances from his actors. He takes bold steps in the construction of his narrative, with insertions of subplots, cross-cutting, flashbacks, and even two contradictory re-enactments within an extended flashback. The Library of Congress version has no sound at all (not even any music), and the effect may be unsettling for some viewers, especially those new to silent movies. I would encourage you to sit through the first few minutes until you get used to it, to find the surprising world that opens up the past to you – as well as its harrowing spectre in the present day.</font></div>Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-19888425214216767182020-05-23T12:32:00.000+02:002020-05-23T12:32:27.397+02:00My Heart, and the Melodramas of Douglas Sirk<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWa8G-U2MwhghUAVDki78je_03OIVeVNspdgzQ7RWSijHeMaUId_ldyq8r9gMAMv19-b-mI8iKuEXtebYI13k1azS05JHvOToEWd3u0MJdQ-Wb4vuaN9Q4xIltvkxPulP_hY07SUKgGro/s1600/All+That+Heaven+Allows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWa8G-U2MwhghUAVDki78je_03OIVeVNspdgzQ7RWSijHeMaUId_ldyq8r9gMAMv19-b-mI8iKuEXtebYI13k1azS05JHvOToEWd3u0MJdQ-Wb4vuaN9Q4xIltvkxPulP_hY07SUKgGro/s640/All+That+Heaven+Allows.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For over three years, I have been in a romantic relationship that — deeply fulfilling, passionate, and transformative though it’s been — has not been uniformly accepted and supported by the people around me. My joy has been attended by moments of shuddering anxiety, numbing sadness, and shocks of pain, unpleasant moments that are inextricably linked to the happy memories and circumstances that brought them about. I know from my own experience that no movie gives real solace for these kinds of feelings, and I didn’t turn to movies for solace (I have the good fortune of great friends that I can rely on), but there are some movies that, as enduringly great and insightful works of art, can depict some of our most intense emotions with a force of truth so keen and so powerful that it stops our hearts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">No overtly gay drama or romance ever felt similar to my personal experience, and I wasn’t ever looking for a movie that would. But as I watched the 1955 romantic melodrama <i>All that Heaven Allows</i>, directed by Douglas Sirk, the realisation gradually bloomed that I was watching a dramatic depiction that felt like something I’d lived through myself, that Jane Wyman’s character was burdened by the same tangle of feelings and ideas that I had carried.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the movie, Jane Wyman plays a wealthy widow in a small, suburban New England town, with two college-age children no longer at home, except during the holidays. Her social circle is made up of the members of the town’s country club, which she grudgingly joins under duress from her friends, and one or two eligible bachelors vying for her affection, in whom she has little interest. Rock Hudson plays her new gardener, a calm, quiet, younger man, with a passion for farming trees and living in the great outdoors. After a few interactions, Wyman and Hudson fall deeply in love. He introduces her to his friends, who don’t live in the town but on farms, and who don’t set store by social standing or wealth, but by the free discussion of ideas and the pleasure of one another’s company. (The movie silently makes much of the societal constraints Wyman faces in indoor scenes, at home and the country club, contrasted with the great bursts of desire and carefree delight in scenes that take place on farms, in the woods, or in cosy cabins nearby.) Hudson proposes marriage, and Wyman gladly accepts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The affair exposes Wyman to gossip and scandal in the town, even (or especially) among her friends, and a dismaying disapproval from her own children, who look down on Hudson and his friends and reveal a shocking strain of self-centred snobbishness and more than a little insecurity. It’s in the conflicts that Wyman faces here that I felt keen fellow-feeling: her sudden and unexpected new status as an outsider in her own community, her fear that she’s betrayed her family and their values, her abiding concern for how her whole life will change if she follows her desire. Wyman does what I couldn’t; she breaks the engagement and ends her romance with Hudson. The plot develops in ways that lead to a reconciliation and a rekindling, and I recognised her anguished guilt for caring far too much about what other people will say and do in response to her decisions. Of course it matters what people think, and of course I care what they think, but it doesn’t matter enough to cost us our truth and happiness. (I also identify with the mutual physical desire that is so ardently expressed between the two lovers, and Wyman’s confusion that this could cause such abiding controversy.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Douglas Sirk started as a stage and film director in his home country, Germany, and left for America in 1937, due to his opposition to Hitler and the danger to his Jewish wife. He settled in Hollywood, where he made nearly 30 feature films, including comedies, westerns, and war movies. But he became best known for his lush melodramas of the 1950s, of which <i>All That Heaven Allows</i> is a prime example. Watching one of these movies today may be highly disappointing for viewers with certain expectations, following a diet of contemporary television shows and saturation in today’s media-savvy irony and self-consciousness. Sirk’s dramas may seem awkward, or bland. In his day, they were described deprecatingly by reviewers as soap operas for the big screen. They run the risk of coming across as highly artificial, or absurd, or banal, or all three at the same time, and this artistic risk is one of the things that draws me most deeply to them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Melodramas map larger-than-life emotions onto ordinary settings, and the high tragedy that Sirk draws from mainstream suburban life is what made his movies so popular and successful, and also such easy targets for high-minded critics. Sirk’s images are conspicuously stylised, and defy any expectations of realism or naturalism. The vivid and even garish colour palettes (impossible splashes of deep red and blue across the entire frame) are not only marks of Hollywood affectation, but of feelings as concentrated as the colours that surround them. What Sirk’s critics saw as banal fabrications, or as products synthesised by the industrial system to stoke cheap emotions, have struck me with a force of feeling much truer than that of just about any more “realistic” movie I’ve seen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I’m happy to admit that these emotional melodramas light up my heart; earlier this week, I watched Sirk’s last movie, <i>Imitation of Life</i>, for the first time, and as the final scenes were rolling, I was dabbing my eyes. <i>Imitation of Life</i> is one of the astonishing peaks of a director’s career, and now that I’ve seen it and I know what a success it was at the box office, it’s all the more surprising to know that Sirk never made another movie afterwards, despite living for nearly another 30 years. (He did spend some time later in life teaching at a film school.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Imitation of Life</i> will be especially jarring, over and above its melodramatic aspects, to those sensitive to the racial politics of today. Even when dealing with the disparities of experience between the white and black women in the two main roles (played by Lana Turner and Juanita Moore), it can only discuss them in (what I take as) decidedly unnatural and manufactured terms, those of the very best white woman in the world, and the very best black woman that she could be fortunate enough to employ. Of course, this isn’t Sirk’s doing, but the result of the strictures of the Hollywood studios of the time. No Hollywood producer at the time would dare put up what might be taken as a radical stance against the injustice of racial inequities; any cause taken up would have to be neutered, and delivered in muffled tones, in a strictly mannered way that mirrors many of the social conventions of the time that today seem ridiculous.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sirk’s <i>Imitation of Life</i> is an adaptation of a novel from 25 years earlier, of which I know nothing other than what I read on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imitation_of_Life_(novel)">Wikipedia</a>. In that story, the white woman, struggling to make ends meet by selling her homemade syrup, takes in a black woman to look after her child. The black woman turns out to be a master waffle-maker, and when the white woman capitalises on this resource, she ends up building a prosperous life for all of them. In the 50s, such a story would have been intolerable to black moviegoers, and so Turner’s eventual prosperity in the movie is written to have nothing to do with the arrival of Moore; she would have succeeded in her career as an actress whether she ever employed Moore or not. This leaves Sirk to examine the themes he’s more interested in: the nature and experience of the outsider, and the exertions of people eager to realign their place in society, or their very identity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A large part of the drama arises from the fact that Moore’s daughter, Sarah Jane, is light-skinned, and does her best to pass for white wherever she goes. She hates her mother’s racial identity, and she lives in abject fear of being identified in the same way. The movie presents her story without psychological inspection, which will also disappoint viewers who have come to expect well delineated character studies. Sarah Jane’s story is marked by the emotional violence between herself and her mother, and the violence from the outside world of which black people are known to be in danger (and which the movie depicts in a very limited way), but not by specific factors to which her feelings are straightforwardly ascribed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are plot points that seemed absurd to me: How can someone immediately become best friends with a person they just met on the beach? How can a playwright change his entire conception of a play because of some first-time bit-part actor? Why would this suburban family put on a funeral of such grand proportions? Above all, how can two single mothers living together be so good-natured and friendly at all times, for 10 years? But the absurdities can point to real-world matters: Maybe it’s not that Moore is suddenly and solely devoted to the white woman she meets on the beach, but simply that Turner never images that Moore has a life outside of her employer’s home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sirk was dismissed in his day by the industry and by critics alike as an insignificant artist, because his movies were what were known as “women’s pictures,” the same way the publishing industry relegates certain novels to the shelves of “women’s fiction”. In the 50s, how a mother treated her daughter, how a daughter felt about her mother’s identity and her own, how she might suffer through her own identity-shifting, how an actress might experience degradation from a predatory agent, and how a woman is made to feel conflicted in choosing between a career and a family life were all pigeon-holed as “women’s issues”; in the 2020s, they’re justly recognised as the universal political issues that they are. In setting up his stories as pastel-coloured, synthetically stylised melodramas, Sirk didn’t conceal or subordinate their political substance; the political threads are woven in with the emotional content to make up an essential and indivisible part. In Sirk’s movies, as in the best movies of any time that deal with political matters, the discussion of those matters are shown in their rightful place: as a direct and inseparable part of the personal experiences of people living with their impact.</span><br />
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Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-78224705290735573592020-04-26T18:00:00.000+02:002020-04-26T18:00:24.300+02:00The Obscured Nostalgia of “Verraaiers”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4FdXIdQnoGy5Ne5hyphenhyphenXu5EETQIKEF4GSPEanKzfgo8OMxbecthW6U081gsIfQJPrK9Gk7XpZPaOfXPDXzuB18sTdWj6I0kKnXpWPm2FbYpWDGR-UQx5lg-x2onBSRyCrViiqwb5xWPPjL/s1600/Verraaiers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="620" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4FdXIdQnoGy5Ne5hyphenhyphenXu5EETQIKEF4GSPEanKzfgo8OMxbecthW6U081gsIfQJPrK9Gk7XpZPaOfXPDXzuB18sTdWj6I0kKnXpWPm2FbYpWDGR-UQx5lg-x2onBSRyCrViiqwb5xWPPjL/s640/Verraaiers.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Verraaiers</i> is streaming on <a href="https://www.showmax.com/eng/movie/qdnremqa-verraaiers">Showmax</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Watching <i>Verraaiers</i>, the 2013 drama about supposed traitors to the Boer army during the Anglo-Boer War, left me with the desire to read up on the history of the war, because the experience of watching the movie feels highly inadequate and unenlightening on the historical episodes its takes as its subject. The sense of distortion and omission first arises in the voice-over prologue, when the narrator brings up the British incarceration in concentration camps of Boer women and children, as well as “their black compatriots”. No further details regarding African people are given in the entire movie, nor any qualifications of this faulty language. Knowing that this is a drama about the Afrikaans people and their history, and given the relation of that history to “their black compatriots,” there’s already the feeling of history being papered over or snipped out, and it casts doubt on the authenticity of the details that follow, including those that may seem merely incidental.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The story about Boer soldiers who decide to leave the army to stay with and protect their wives and children on their farms, and their subsequent persecution for this decision, is obviously one that interested the filmmakers, that they found historically important, and that engaged their sense of injustice. But whatever moral or emotional drive pushed this movie through to its final execution unfortunately didn’t appear to me on the screen, either as an imaginative re-creation of the past, as edifying analysis of any political situation, or as engaging and rousing rhetoric. The movie comes across more like an enactment of an encyclopedia article than as drama.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Where it falls flat as drama is with a mechanical plot, with dubious scenes of dialogue that last only long enough to set up the next one, and with woefully thin and simplistic characterisation. There are no idiosyncrasies or surprises that distinguish and colour the characters, least of all the main one, the officer Jacobus van Aswegen. No shadow falls across his flawless figure: he is a devoted Christian, a brave soldier, an honest leader, a gentle husband, a caring father, a tender father-in-law, an extraordinarily liberal employer of black labourers; he never loses his temper; he never doubts his principles or decisions; and, remarkably for any soldier or farmer, he never hesitates for a moment to piece together the unimpeachable and syntactically complex sentences that he speaks through the course of the movie. What history can be told of such a non-real character? What has been covered or cut out here?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The outrage of the commando fighters at what they see as abandonment is invoked often, but the actual rage and fear and their sources are never really imparted. Why not show scenes of Boer War suffering, concentration camp atrocities, and British military scare tactics, rather than just hint at them with stilted dialogue? The performances here elide any sense of surprise, uncertainty, or spontaneity. We today know the major issues and ultimate outcome of the war, and the actors play the characters as though they know exactly what they are about to say and do next. No one pauses to question the next line they’re about to utter; no one backtracks on an action or a gesture they have begun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Research and historical accuracy aren’t the crux of any historical drama, but in this movie I did find myself often distracted by wayward Scottish accents, buildings and settings that seemed too clean and modern for the wartime period, and the conspicuous (and deliberate) absence of any racial conflict or tension in South Africa’s colonial period. Above all, as in pretty much any Afrikaans-language historical movie I watch that is set more than 100 years ago, I was disappointed in the script’s language choices. Characters speak an everyday contemporary form of Afrikaans, the kind that I can hear in any shop in my hometown. Many lines, while not overtly anachronistic, left me wondering whether anyone at the time would ever have said anything of the sort. Maybe most viewers are not as interested as I am in the substance and the textures of life in past times, or are not as disappointed when filmmakers pass up opportunities to illustrate scenes from our history that we have no other memorable images of; I’d be interested to hear others’ thoughts on the matter. The only moment that I could appreciate in this regard was near the end, as part of the sentencing and court martial proceedings, when an official reads from a Dutch Bible to the accused. The distinction and marginal strangeness of the language worked efficiently to sketch in a part of what life a century ago might have sounded like, but it only lasted a moment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Modernism, as a form of artistic representation, has brought an approach of special value to historical storytelling: namely, the self-reflexive awareness and representations of the storytellers themselves. Consider the movies made by political filmmakers as diverse as Charlie Chaplin, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Nanni Moretti, and Jordan Peele. Each of these artists creates a distinctive political vision, whether of historical or contemporary times, that implicates themselves in the stories they’re telling. What I’d like to see when a filmmaker makes a movie about South Africa’s past is what the story means to them, what drove them to make the particular movie they did, what their own lives have to do with the story, and how the story they’re telling connects with us in the present day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This brings up one more point on which I take exception, and this is probably the largest one, and the most important to me with historical dramas: How is the story of this movie connected to the present day, and to the times that came after it? What political points are the filmmakers bringing up, and what is their significance to our times? Just as crucially, what are the unintended messages, the unanticipated effects of the images and narrative that they’ve pieced together? The movie appears to be framed in a flashback, with one of the characters relating the story to his grandson, in 1953, more than 50 years later. No one who knows anything about South African history will need to be told of the major issues of <i>that</i> time, and how they resonate all too strongly today still. The only thing suggested to have come after the events during the War was an irrational prejudice against certain Afrikaans families for the supposed actions of their ancestors during the War, but nothing of import to the governance, the hardships, the disputes, or the major figures of our country. As it is, the movie is painted over with the tranquil glaze of restorative nostalgia, which envisages a return to what the movie frames as the serene days of the 1950s, when Church Square was still green, and further back, to 1899, when Boers could wander across the rolling hills of the Transvaal bushveld without any oversight or interference from big bothersome governments run by the people of some other nation. This final thought suggests certain conservative political fantasies that I won’t indulge or accept unquestioningly from any more dramas made in this country.</span></div>
Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-46530593229616976552020-03-06T16:58:00.002+02:002020-03-06T16:58:32.272+02:00A Night of Dance and Drama at the JPO<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Due to a number of conflicts, I didn’t buy a subscription for the Johannesburg Philharmonic’s Summer Season 2020. But I did decide to go to the last week, conducted by Daniel Boico, as a birthday gift to myself, and for the experience of two works that I love and was keen to hear again. It turned out to be just about the most rewarding decision I’ve made so far this year, and one of the most heartening experiences I’ve ever had at a classical music concert.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The programme began with Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto, in E-flat, the one nicknamed “The Emperor Concerto.” Larger and louder than Beethoven’s four previous piano concerti (or any other concerto that came before), this work often sounds like a piece for two orchestras, one of them played in a reduction by a single, heroic pianist. Last night, that pianist was Jan Jiracek von Arnim, a tall, thin, bespectacled teacher from Vienna, with an air of confidence and comfort that he was equal to the challenge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The concerto begins with grandiose arpeggios in the piano part, in a faux-improvisatory style. Beethoven premiered all his own piano concerti except this one, his last, because his hearing had deteriorated too far. He meant for the opening to sound like a majestic cadenza, which he would probably have improvised in performance; his implicit message to the soloist is: <i>Play as if you’re improvising, but play exactly what I would have played.</i> Von Arnim’s hands raced through this opening with a poised assurance that he would keep up for the entire performance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Von Arnim’s strong, smart playing was well suited to the bright sound of the Linder Auditorium’s Steinway. His bass notes chimed as if they were played on huge, pealing church bells, and his sound rang out across the hall, audible even above the orchestra’s loudest moments, without ever becoming too boisterous. As a performer, he’s great fun to watch: sometimes he lifts his entire body to descend onto a <i>sforzando</i> chord, or bangs his head with the music, and his floppy blond hair waves with the music.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">He expertly changed the mood from moment to moment with just a flick of the wrist. During the development of the first movement, there’s a moment when the pianist plays <i>fortissimo</i> (very loud) minor scales in double octaves up and down the keyboard, with the final scale growing softer as it ascends to a major-key resolution at the high end of the piano. Here, von Arnim thundered through his part — it sounded as if he’d brought a dark, booming storm with him into the hall, with a sudden, unexpected parting of clouds to reveal bright sunlight as it resolved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The quiet, prayerful second movement was begun slowly by the orchestra and conductor, but von Arnim seemed to pick up the tempo with each piano entry. This movement can often sound like an ethereal nocturne, exquisitely tranquil and unrushed. At last night’s performance, it sounded more like a dance, with von Arnim’s triplets waltzing through Beethoven’s score.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The last movement was played at the usual <i>Allegro</i> tempo, with plenty of fluid, dance-like motion from the pianist. He seemed to having a whale of a time as he leapt about the keyboard, and playfully hammered out musical jokes. Even a number of slips and mistakes didn’t deter his fun, or our enthusiasm in the applause we gave. He cheerfully announced his encore as a souvenir from his home town: Schubert’s Impromptu in A-flat, Number 4 from Opus 90. His cascading arpeggios gave way to a song-like left hand melody that sounded as if it were being sung by the happiest Austrian baritone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The evening concluded with Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, in F minor. The combination showed that Tchaikovsky is an ideal counterbalance for Beethoven: less intellectual, but with greater psychological insight; less monumental, but more vividly colourful. Tchaikovsky’s last three, surpassingly great symphonies are each like an epic novel, with both majestic sweep and a disconcerting intimacy, on an emotional journey between bitter despair and exuberant joy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Boico, a frequent guest both in Johannesburg and Durban, is a highly energetic conductor, who brings passion and excitement to the familiar pieces of the traditional repertoire. In these times of digitally engineered high-quality recordings, neatness and precision are not areas where live symphony performances can compete with listeners’ home entertainment, especially not when pressed for rehearsal time. Where live performances win out is in the thrill of unpredictability, the immediacy of the connection with an audience, and the sheer physicality of sound.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Boico and the JPO succeeded in delivering a live performance worth experiencing. From start to finish, his tempos were fast, and I wished he’d taken more time to let some moments breathe, especially in the slow second movement. But, by the time the finale rolled around, the symphony’s headlong dash was so breathlessly exciting, and carried such irresistible momentum, that I couldn’t imagine it being any different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Linder Auditorium has a rather dry acoustic, but, under Boico, the JPO’s sound resonated winningly and resoundingly. The bass registers rumbled, the cymbals crashed gleefully, and the brass fanfares rattled the walls. At the finale’s conclusion, the entire orchestra united in a giant blazing ball of sound, and the hall seemed unable to contain it. One last thrill that’s exclusive to live performances is an audience’s response to such auditory excitement: the surge of 900 people leaping to their feet and roaring their applause is an equally rousing sound that I won’t soon forget.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Last night’s concert will be repeated tomorrow night (Saturday, 7 March), at 19:30, at the Linder Auditorium in Parktown.</span></div>
Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-79449458254749745332020-02-23T12:14:00.001+02:002020-02-23T12:50:45.092+02:00The Metropolitan Opera’s Vital “Porgy and Bess”<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As America was establishing itself as a cultural power, and setting up its institutions to garrison that culture, it conspicuously and contemptibly omitted much of black American culture and history from that sanctum. America’s hallowed depictions of itself in claimants to the Great American Novel and the Hollywood studio classics were not given to portray any African-American perspective, nor to consider the influences drawn from African-American culture or the significance of black history. George Gershwin’s <i>Porgy and Bess</i> is an enduringly great opera for a number of reasons, and one reason brazenly realised in the Metropolitan Opera’s new production is that it takes black history as American history itself, and it depicts the expressive and exuberant aspects of African-American life as the essence of America’s brash, new, singularly energetic place in world culture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The most obvious feature of Gershwin’s musical style is the common attribute of American culture in general: It blends a variety of contrasting styles and origins, from diverse cultural origins, and arrives at something boldly new and flavoursome. Gershwin’s particular brand of the new musical styles was one that overtly paid respect to and acknowledged its roots in African-American culture. Taking a leaf from Dvořák’s bountiful and neatly compiled book, Gershwin saw that the way forward for music in America would come out of black people’s music, and he developed his personal artistic voice founded on that idea.</span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Gershwin studied and developed his musical voice during the 1910s, 20s, and 30s, and his music is amply informed by the European classical tradition that America inherited, the newly developing French, German, and Russian modernism, Jewish religious music, Russian traditional music (Gershwin’s parents were Jewish refugees from Russia), vaudeville, and the popular tunes of Tin Pan Alley. Together with his lyricist brother Ira, he wrote a multitude of showtunes and standalone songs, which grew into more sophisticated and ambitious compositions like his </span><i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">Rhapsody in Blue</i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">, Piano Concerto, and symphonic work </span><i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">An American in Paris</i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. He developed his skills in orchestration, which show the influence of the French impressionist composer Ravel, and produced a number of popular stage works for Broadway. </span><i style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">Porgy and Bess</i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> was one of his last major compositions (alas, since Gershwin died from a brain tumour, at age 38), and it’s the one that shows the widest basis of musical influence and diversity of forms. Gershwin modeled his musical numbers on black spirituals, street songs, work songs, folk tunes, and blues, and combined them with the operatic forms of arias, ensembles, choruses, and recitatives, to create what he called a “folk opera” — a work of operatic dimensions with original composed folk music.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Porgy and Bess</i> premiered in 1935, in musical theatre productions in Boston and on Broadway. Gershwin thought of it as an opera and perhaps would have liked it to play as an one, but companies like the Metropolitan Opera weren’t willing to stage productions that kept to his strict casting requirement — namely, that every cast member be a black singer, and not a white singer in blackface. Theatre producers picked up what the Met had cast down, and the show had a number of successful revivals on Broadway over the decades. However, it was not popular with many black performers who wanted to be taken seriously, especially in the opera world. They feared (rightly) that they would be typecast by a popular show in which they play impoverished, drug addicted, and apparently unsophisticated black characters. But over time, as more and more black singers built successful careers in the mainstream opera world, a larger appetite for Gershwin’s masterpiece developed. Stars like Leontyne Price, Grace Bumbry, Willard White, and William Warfield were already famous for their Verdi and Puccini, and could take on <i>Porgy and Bess</i> without worrying unduly about stereotypes. In 1976, the opera had its first staging by a professional opera company (the Houston Grand Opera), and since then has taken off as a major work in the worldwide operatic repertory. It finally received its Met premiere for its 50th anniversary, in 1985. (The tragedy is that other prominent operas depicting African-American characters haven’t emerged in the time since then. The New York <i>Times</i> gives an enlightening summary of a number of less well-known works <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/arts/music/black-operas-composers.html">on its website</a>.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The new production at the Met is one that was first staged at the English National Opera in 2018. It’s directed by James Robinson and presents a respectably traditional period setting that Met audiences can appreciate. There is one main set on a revolving stage (designed by Michael Yeargan), which gives the mere outlines of the buildings on Catfish Row, rather like the wooden scaffolding used in the Joburg Theatre’s production of <i>The Color Purple</i>. It’s on a revolving stage, and scene changes are indicated by a drop curtain onto which digital effects (like the hurricane) are projected. When the Met took the production over, it hired Camille A. Brown to choreograph the Met Opera’s ballet dancers. Her work is a special stylisation of movement fit for Gershwin’s music and a 2020 audience, fresh for a new appreciation. Her choreography extended to the chorus as well, and many of their simple movements are highly effective; the entire direction of the cast achieves dramatic expression through simple means. There’s a lot to be said for clarity in opera stagings, and Robinson’s staging renders the action of every scene and every relationship abundantly clearly. It also gives plenty of room for individual performers to play with and develop their interpretation of the characters and the music — room that yields thrilling results from those performers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The bass-baritone Eric Owens plays Porgy. Owens is a favourite with Met audiences since <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhy5ahxm1zI">his unforgettable appearance</a> as Alberich the Nibelung in Wagner’s momentous <i>Ring</i> cycle, and was greeted by warm applause before he had sung a note. The Met’s General Manager, Peter Gelb, came on stage before the performance to announce that Owens was fighting a cold on the day of the broadcast, but it didn’t sound that way to me. His immediately recognisable rounded and warm sound makes it sound like he has a resonant oak barrel for an abdomen. He played the disabled Porgy in a tenderly uncomplicated way, singing earnestly with many nuances between pathos and joy. When he started an aria, even one of the omnipresent standards like “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” I felt as though I didn’t know where it would go or how it was going to end. The up-and-coming soprano Angel Blue plays Bess with immense empathy, as someone who doesn’t understand why she does what she does, nor how she came to deserve the bliss she finds with Porgy. Her voice is radiant and rich, especially in the upper registers, and she spun many felicitous moments in Bess’s gorgeous music. In other moments, she spat venom at Bess’s cocaine dealer, Sportin’ Life, played by the young tenor Frederick Ballentine in the slickest performance ever to oil its way across the stage of the Met. Ballentine has played Sportin’ Life in Robinson’s production for close to two years, and takes gleeful liberties to outrageously realise its full serpentine quality. He has a distinctively dark tenor sound, even at the top of his range, and I’m very interested to hear more of his singing in other parts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Perhaps the highlights for every audience member were from two supporting cast members, one an established artist of beauty and talent, and one a grand veteran of the operatic stage. The soprano Latonia Moore plays the religious Serena, who starts off as a finger-wagging spitfire, but later shows her tender side as she prays over a bedridden Bess. Moore was a jazz singer before she trained in opera, and in the part of Serena she fuses the two styles in a show-stopping song of woe, “Man Man’s Gone Now,” sung when Serena’s husband is murdered outside Catfish Row. Moore moves from high notes sung without almost any vibrato to darkly textured low notes, settling on just the right mode of expression on each note in between. It all culminates in a very moving performance, a wonderful surprise even from someone who has given excellent performances in such roles as Aïda and Tosca. (Moore has given her own <a href="https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concert/3386">fantastic performance as Bess</a> as well; click <b>watch trailer</b> to see some highlights.) The part of Catfish Row’s no-nonsense matriarch, Maria, is played by the mezzo Denyce Graves, who made her Met debut 25 years ago as Carmen. She infused her part with verve and colour, and sometimes with hilarious <i>Sprechstimme</i>. Her presence helped evoke the sense of a close-knit and lively community on Catfish Row, one of the greatest merits of this production. The portrayal felt realistic, even in the form of an opera performance, and every moment of communal expression, whether by a nameless solo or a rousing chorus, added to the vitality and ecstasy of the experience. (One solo of particular interest to me was in the small role of Clara, sung by Golda Schulz, a South African soprano, who sings the opening number <i>Summertime</i>.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The production was conducted by David Robertson, an experienced and skilled hand. His direction of the orchestra also had the virtue of clarity, as well as consummate romance and rhythmic buoyancy. He has at his disposal one of the most versatile orchestras in the world, and at all the right moments they whipped up splendid verismo ardour, thrashed out a brassy jazz swing, and warmly caressed and lifted the singers in their parts. I especially enjoyed how Robertson brought out Gershwin’s leitmotivic themes — the melodies that he associated with specific characters or ideas — in places I hadn’t heard them before, and the moments when the superb orchestra soloists took their chance to playfully show off a few of their skills that they don’t get to use in Verdi or Wagner. Every production is only one possible answer to the virtual questions and puzzles posed by composers and librettists, and many productions seem locked into the specific period in which they were devised. This new <i>Porgy and Bess</i> has the potential to open the work up to new generations, and it’s been showing its value by selling out shows in New York; for now, it’s a valuable asset to the Met, to history, and to opera lovers everywhere.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you rush, you can still catch the first of the remaining shows at Cinema Nouveau, today at 14:30. Other shows are on Tuesday, 25 February, at 11:30, Tuesday, 3 March, at 18:00, and Wednesday, 4 March, at 11:30. See the <a href="https://www.sterkinekor.com/details/HO00001802">Ster Kinekor website</a> for details.</span><br />
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Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-49351228227624387242020-02-06T15:08:00.000+02:002020-02-07T13:13:10.507+02:00My Oscar Ballot – 2020<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The best thing about the 92nd Academy Awards is how early in the year everything is happening: from the Golden Globes on 5 January to the Oscars on 10 February, a five-week awards season is the shortest in living memory, and the most gratifying in an age where the Oscars clutch furiously with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_The_Lord_of_the_Rings_film_series">their Gollum-arms</a> at a veneer of prestige and relevance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The worst thing about the Academy Awards is to mistake their importance. They have practical significance, in boosting the careers of certain actors, craftspeople, and other working celebrities, but they no longer reflect what the rest of the world is interested in watching nor any kind of majority consensus in what constitutes the best being made in movies today.</span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Nieteenstaande</i>, the Oscars present the chance of a yearly game: to predict winners and outsmart other prognosticators. You can see my selections of the best that movies had to offer South Africans in 2019 <a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-year-in-movies-2019.html">here</a>; below are my guesses at who will be successful come Sunday night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To offer a disclaimer, I haven’t seen many of the movies nominated, but that hasn’t proven a major hindrance in the past. Watching nominated movies’ trailers, combing the lists of winners at precursor awards, and measuring the popularity of those winners’ viral speeches online are usually all that’s required to make an educated guess.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Picture</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It appears that Best Picture is a two-way race between Sam Mendes’s British World War I movie <i>1917</i> and Bong Joon-ho’s Korean-language quasi-socialist thriller <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-pleasures-and-limits-of-parasite.html">Parasite</a></i>. A number of years this decade have presented a choice between two frontrunners, one a highly admired technical achievement and one a more ardently adored idiosyncracy, usually with some amenable political slant (think <i>Avatar</i> vs <i>The Hurt Locker</i>, <i>The Social Network</i> vs <i>The King’s Speech</i>, <i>Hugo</i> vs <i>The Artist</i>, <i>Life of Pi</i> vs <i>Argo</i>, <i>Gravity</i> vs <i>12 Years a Slave</i>, <i>The Revenant</i> vs <i>Spotlight</i>, and <i>La La Land</i> vs <i>Moonlight</i>). The technical marvel usually gets beaten out, its loss compensated by an armful of technical awards. This year, <i>Parasite</i> has been gaining attention, admiration, and adulation on its way through the awards season, and when it’s won something its winners have been fondly received.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-pleasures-and-limits-of-parasite.html">Parasite</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: <i>Us</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Director</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What the Oscars have tended towards in this decade of a split Best Picture race is to award the Best Picture trophy to the more apparently noble movie, while honouring the director of the more dazzling technical achievement. The Academy awards quantity over quality, and the work of a director on a CGI monolith is a hell of a lot of quantity. Sam Mendes, who directed <i>1917</i>, can also count in his favour the admirable historical subject of his movie, and the Academy’s previous affinity for his work. I haven’t seen <i>1917</i>, but my memory of Mendes’s other work, and my anticipation of his vulgar high-tastefulness applied to a subject of supposed horror and historical gravity makes me think he’s 99% certain to win (and also that I’m 99% certain never to see it). Also, as a significant aside, I really had thought we’d put the days behind us of all-male Best Director races, especially when three of the five have already won Academy Awards and when so many women made so many good movies last year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: Sam Mendes, <i>1917</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: Jordan Peele, <i>Us</i> (or, if Best Director has to go to another movie, James Gray, for <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/11/james-grays-sublime-ad-astra.html">Ad Astra</a></i>)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Actress</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The most-recalled memory of last year’s ceremony is when the certain winner, Glenn Close, lost at the very finishing post, and the last person who expected Olivia Colman to be up on the stage was Olivia Colman herself. I believe this was a symptom of candidate fatigue among voters — people got tired of hearing the same name over and over again, and tired of the certainty of her ordainment, and switched to another candidate for the hell of it. A much shorter awards season benefits this year’s frontrunner, Renée Zellweger. Five excellent actors are nominated in this category, but Zellweger’s win would be particularly gratifying, to draw another neat parallel between her own comeback and that of her beautiful character, Judy Garland.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: Renée Zellweger, <i>Judy</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: Lupita Nyong’o, <i>Us</i> (though I’d be thrilled by Zellweger’s win as well)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Actor</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On a strictly personal note, watching Joaquin Phoenix’s victory lap of awards show speeches has convinced me of his singular asshole-itutde. I haven’t seen <i>Joker</i>, but I’m surprised that not enough people were as exhausted as I was listening to all the controversies surrounding it, not to want to mention his name for another year. This winner seems pre-ordained as well, a typical Oscar choice for most acting rather than best acting, and the particular popularity of his speeches online seems to have cemented that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: Joaquin Phoenix, <i>Joker</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: Brad Pitt, <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/11/james-grays-sublime-ad-astra.html">Ad Astra</a></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Supporting Actress</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I love Laura Dern, and I love the fact that she’s the best bet for this year’s winner. I like to think also that at least some Academy members are fondly remembering her performances in <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/07/whats-good-and-bad-about-big-little-lies.html">Big Little Lies</a></i>, for which they were sadly barred from voting. Her character is a pleasingly surprising component in Noah Baumbach’s <i>Marriage Story</i>, and her particular performance adds layers of suggestions regarding backstory, inner life, and life beyond the movie’s boundaries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: Laura Dern, <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80223779">Marriage Story</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: Laura Dern, <i>Marriage Story</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Supporting Actor</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Four of the five nominated actors have already won Oscars, and so it’s pleasing that the frontrunner here is the one who has never won one before. I haven’t seen <i>Once Upon a Time in Hollywood</i>, but I would have preferred it if Brad Pitt were winning his first Oscar in the leading category for <i>Ad Astra </i>instead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: Brad Pitt, <i>Once Upon a Time in Hollywood</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: Bill Duke, <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80991400">High Flying Bird</a></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Original Screenplay</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Quentin Tarantino has always appeared just slightly too cool for the Oscars, which is why they throw baffled screenwriting awards his way. Bong Joon-ho is also a frontrunner here, and one that seems to bring a little freshness with him. Tarantino already has two Academy Awards, and I’d love to watch him scowl once more the way he did at the Baftas when Bong walked up to accept the award that Tarantino had expected to win.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: Bong Joon-ho, <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-pleasures-and-limits-of-parasite.html">Parasite</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: Tarell Alvin McCraney, <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80991400">High Flying Bird</a></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Adapted Screenplay</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is a category I feel particularly unsure of. I would say the race is between <i>Jojo Rabbit</i> (how the Academy <i>loves</i> to applaud offensives against Nazis, 80 years too late) and <i>Little Women</i> (a handsome consolation prize for Greta Gerwig’s egregious omission from the Best Director category). Having seen neither, I’ll go for the winner that I’m most eager to see onstage. (I also just realised that I saw virtually no movies with adapted screenplays that I particularly admired that were in the 2019 race, so I don’t have a choice of my own.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: Greta Gerwig, <i>Little Women</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Animated Feature Film</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Knowing none of the movies here, I’ll go with Pixar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i>Toy Story 4</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best International Feature Film</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">New category name, same old rules. Don’t bet against a multiple-category nominee.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-pleasures-and-limits-of-parasite.html">Parasite</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81082007">Atlantics</a></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Documentary Feature</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I only know one movie here, and I know that it’s well-liked, and that it comes with a stamp of mutual appreciation between Hollywood and the Obamas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81090071">American Factory</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: <i>American Factory</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Documentary Short Subject</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i>Walk Run Cha-Cha</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Live Action Short Film</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">???</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i>Brotherhood</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Animated Short Film</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I’ve only heard of one of these five.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i>Hair Love</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Original Score</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Gone are the days when this award went to the best Erich Korngold imitation, and so John Williams (with his astonishing 52nd nomination) is out of the running here. Only one composer has been winning each major award for this work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: Hildur Guðnadóttir, <i>Joker</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: Max Richter, <i>Ad Astra</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Original Song</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Randy Newman has been nominated over 20 times, and twice (seemingly randomly) he’s won. However, the Academy could never pass up a chance to bring a certified rock star on stage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: Elton John and Bernie Taupin, “I’m Gonna Love Me Again”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Sound Editing</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This award is for the best sound effects that are added into a movie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i>1917</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: <i>Ad Astra</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Sound Mixing</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This award is for the best overall mix of all sounds on the soundtrack.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i>1917</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Production Design</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i>1917</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: <i>Harriet</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Cinematography</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i>1917</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: <i>Ad Astra</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Makeup and Hairstyling</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i>Bombshell</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: <i>Us</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Costume Design</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i>Joker</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: <i>Harriet</i>. Or maybe <i>Us</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Film Editing</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i>The Irishman</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80991400">High Flying Bird</a></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Best Visual Effects</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My prediction: <i>Avengers: Endgame</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My choice: <i>Ad Astra</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Comment with your predictions and choices.</span></div>
Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-86604560010771738102020-01-22T12:25:00.000+02:002020-01-22T12:25:00.877+02:00The Year in Movies – 2019<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJ5r68o2DOKN-ReEh5r_zIAE3Srsje3ZMGpYwytTheBM9tttosY19LWLbrOXzQ12mub2UjRQmAm140J3hsjoBicU6YzC0whOITwReb4_W8lumd01S8QQmv5IbXI_aw5OIunraH0nnf-59/s1600/Us+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJ5r68o2DOKN-ReEh5r_zIAE3Srsje3ZMGpYwytTheBM9tttosY19LWLbrOXzQ12mub2UjRQmAm140J3hsjoBicU6YzC0whOITwReb4_W8lumd01S8QQmv5IbXI_aw5OIunraH0nnf-59/s640/Us+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The big story in movie distribution over the past decade is how Netflix, Showmax, and other streaming services have made it easier for us to watch, rewatch, discover, and scrutinise many more movies, sooner and more frequently. Not only have they been buying and streaming various independent movies that we would not otherwise have seen in South Africa, but they’re producing their own independent content and showing us that as well, and, as with productions made by any studio or independent house, there’s the chance of great works coming out of this as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Each year, I split my list into movies that were distributed theatrically in South Africa and those that weren’t. Every year, some of the best movies are ones that most moviegoers have never heard of because they weren’t bought by Ster Kinekor or NuMetro and weren’t shown at shopping mall cinema complexes, and South African media outlets focus nearly exclusively — with a few notable exceptions — on movies that are theatrically distributed. This is where Netflix and Showmax (and a few more sources, some of less reliable legitimacy) fill in important gaps. Steven Soderbergh hit the point exactly when he said that he wanted his new film <i>High Flying Bird</i> to be seen by everyone everywhere, at the same time. <i>High Flying Bird</i> — one of the best movies not just of 2019, but of this entire decade — was indeed available to all of South Africa early in the year on Netflix, but most people never heard of it, because no newspaper or major website reviewed it. Movie theatres are already feeling the adverse effects of audiences that stay home to stream movies, and soon media outlets will too, for ignoring or marginalising a growing and vital part of the common moviegoing experience.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For the first time, my list of undistributed movies is longer than my list of distributed movies — a partly dismaying, partly exciting, wholly surprising fact that reflects the thinning of substance at the wealthiest and loudest levels of Hollywood, and an affirmation of the astonishing and inspiring work put out by so many independent artists around the world. Some of these movies aren’t available in South Africa by any legal means that I know of (all the more dismaying), but I suspect that that won’t trouble too many of you...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Each of these movies was a rich pleasure for me to watch. I hope many of you reading this look for the ones you haven’t seen and enjoy them as well. Each has a wealth of delights and insights, and most have withstood repeat viewings by me. I did miss a number of important theatrical releases during the year, which is another explanation for why my first list is so much shorter. I only regret not having written about more of my choices during the year (and not making more of an effort to obtain other movies that were not made available to us through the legal channels). Do comment with your own choices, and your thoughts on mine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Best Movies Distributed Theatrically in South Africa</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-best-of-decade-2010-to-2019.html">Us</a> (Jordan Peele)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7mBF9FAqd5_x7ZCJRQiPSjA0HytxxEjPWC4WTO2VHU1Mwu1yPx_9tqpPtGdGJTlqPLYvZzzjkOM1unWm3MaVzZT-_DtGROBe50Zsck0PwBiqM3_wCoyB0eZqd9nuptCz7eOGKT2qfwH3m/s1600/Ad+Astra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7mBF9FAqd5_x7ZCJRQiPSjA0HytxxEjPWC4WTO2VHU1Mwu1yPx_9tqpPtGdGJTlqPLYvZzzjkOM1unWm3MaVzZT-_DtGROBe50Zsck0PwBiqM3_wCoyB0eZqd9nuptCz7eOGKT2qfwH3m/s400/Ad+Astra.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/11/james-grays-sublime-ad-astra.html" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">Ad Astra</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> (James Gray)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-tzwHrKZIbdghZpd3qAA4voaLM35x8Drrbu5RHNH2a8fSafKCPL5MmeiFs4FYycQTJfunWdqg2LzmdbZgetK2LA7eCkICRJffTNLvyg2VJYRxAopuJXGdXBRsx6SODwgP1CoiNlcgoiz/s1600/The+Mule.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="958" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-tzwHrKZIbdghZpd3qAA4voaLM35x8Drrbu5RHNH2a8fSafKCPL5MmeiFs4FYycQTJfunWdqg2LzmdbZgetK2LA7eCkICRJffTNLvyg2VJYRxAopuJXGdXBRsx6SODwgP1CoiNlcgoiz/s400/The+Mule.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/05/double-bill-country-for-old-men.html" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">The Mule</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> (Clint Eastwood)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_b1zu72egciQ5oonS6vDuVoAQYEItmkvzXWnKmYYRBCSEHBhhhMZYewIO0mljZsHmcnu7SVERIOy9QNabRqSQVa47kkNNB7C3GAbfOW0O0gVW-ecjPbsSP62YU4fT1yDc3gramCE7u7T/s1600/The+Old+Man+and+the+Gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="1365" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_b1zu72egciQ5oonS6vDuVoAQYEItmkvzXWnKmYYRBCSEHBhhhMZYewIO0mljZsHmcnu7SVERIOy9QNabRqSQVa47kkNNB7C3GAbfOW0O0gVW-ecjPbsSP62YU4fT1yDc3gramCE7u7T/s400/The+Old+Man+and+the+Gun.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/05/double-bill-country-for-old-men.html" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">The Old Man and the Gun</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> (David Lowery)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/02/barry-jenkinss-sharp-and-tender-if.html" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">If Beale Street Could Talk</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> (Barry Jenkins)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-uXi_FvRtu0vOdmj_BPrOFzjTZx6f9Iw2U_cw5BoxMEerWQfL_JS9kinTWI5N3Q-jbGlLNsqmzHyzugEFssrNDzvPb7-la8cuNpsi2b2ywgjkegRGkFWwkVHt3IJJ9kDOJY8D3vCgm6L/s1600/18-melissa-can-you-ever-forgive-me.w1200.h630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-uXi_FvRtu0vOdmj_BPrOFzjTZx6f9Iw2U_cw5BoxMEerWQfL_JS9kinTWI5N3Q-jbGlLNsqmzHyzugEFssrNDzvPb7-la8cuNpsi2b2ywgjkegRGkFWwkVHt3IJJ9kDOJY8D3vCgm6L/s400/18-melissa-can-you-ever-forgive-me.w1200.h630.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/04/can-you-ever-forgive-me.html" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">Can You Ever Forgive Me?</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> (Marielle Heller)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Best Movies Not Distributed Theatrically in South Africa</span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12IKdwy3gasahucOUb3yhU_7tlYbwDEshWvrR5RVwMdBWODQpzwG_YreJvkVEpgKDnXFK74IgywRhr8nO156tu56MWFICQtEptfhWrhsWyoBv98sW_WnFuSUxFd7EArvhuVcXsZGskNL9/s1600/High+Flying+Bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12IKdwy3gasahucOUb3yhU_7tlYbwDEshWvrR5RVwMdBWODQpzwG_YreJvkVEpgKDnXFK74IgywRhr8nO156tu56MWFICQtEptfhWrhsWyoBv98sW_WnFuSUxFd7EArvhuVcXsZGskNL9/s400/High+Flying+Bird.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80991400">High Flying Bird</a> (Steven Soderbergh)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTVBa2qFk10d1Jrq8sLeHd4Rn2QzOOSGThZENOIa7ld1yp-J_FMF4yB5dk3jLPScsEML6TDIggY3R98WooYVqeNVCEjLlPec1cCX6Z_-ejZYu0DWjgUSr8aVNq4yw9URrDCpcda4d60Ah/s1600/Marriage+Story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1200" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTVBa2qFk10d1Jrq8sLeHd4Rn2QzOOSGThZENOIa7ld1yp-J_FMF4yB5dk3jLPScsEML6TDIggY3R98WooYVqeNVCEjLlPec1cCX6Z_-ejZYu0DWjgUSr8aVNq4yw9URrDCpcda4d60Ah/s400/Marriage+Story.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80223779" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">Marriage Story</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> (Noah Baumbach)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjKIMzhFdF4S4qTxSZZafDmnvZf3ZELArLVhjfy2_oUVK4ezfPZ8W0ZYS3y57uhiik_ShnIgvyi626xGGFK9UxmZcPcwxjBRXDni1-482PB-NMjWqJpxNpw7VEvwGeCF4XnmnEC5N7SwSR/s1600/Sword+of+Trust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="950" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjKIMzhFdF4S4qTxSZZafDmnvZf3ZELArLVhjfy2_oUVK4ezfPZ8W0ZYS3y57uhiik_ShnIgvyi626xGGFK9UxmZcPcwxjBRXDni1-482PB-NMjWqJpxNpw7VEvwGeCF4XnmnEC5N7SwSR/s400/Sword+of+Trust.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sword of Trust (Lynn Shelton)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigAny9sivrqN8Gk1QMfYlGB4e5uC2TRN_yThBCpIjO7hZ_OdMV3zVZhONtxZskj-qj-zplWRXJ876VtRXJC_ijY_0ne6V0EYKM1XTdwEkQtzjTY7VGl5m-Sw27JBXo3eowR_AHgy3RkZld/s1600/Harriet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1501" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigAny9sivrqN8Gk1QMfYlGB4e5uC2TRN_yThBCpIjO7hZ_OdMV3zVZhONtxZskj-qj-zplWRXJ876VtRXJC_ijY_0ne6V0EYKM1XTdwEkQtzjTY7VGl5m-Sw27JBXo3eowR_AHgy3RkZld/s400/Harriet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Harriet (Kasi Lemmons)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGYJMy54AF7HuKRxTGiskOwzOmuP5AiWRfzQNIy9C_cyjce_cCjHKh9_WPjzBb7QD5ZYPdZg4du2bJ3heirlbBMoAFNU8PFyg2C1BwhT2XZuvZ_vJeG2GbZWylBxV71z3DeaUaLnEGCq0J/s1600/The+Dead+Don%2527t+Die.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGYJMy54AF7HuKRxTGiskOwzOmuP5AiWRfzQNIy9C_cyjce_cCjHKh9_WPjzBb7QD5ZYPdZg4du2bJ3heirlbBMoAFNU8PFyg2C1BwhT2XZuvZ_vJeG2GbZWylBxV71z3DeaUaLnEGCq0J/s400/The+Dead+Don%2527t+Die.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Dead Don’t Die (Jim Jarmusch)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh758i0N-DVmdu128rMoZl6oHPIFhmOgGcnAgkjOzzIVx47TR4z926NX9_daZRI3eNMefQqBRECYG4xfsxB593s32dfvZi4Ws5SdyD6p9-t0LnKokWq-Ea5yPfE2AU8aixW1fQJYCkaBlqR/s1600/Birds+of+Passage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh758i0N-DVmdu128rMoZl6oHPIFhmOgGcnAgkjOzzIVx47TR4z926NX9_daZRI3eNMefQqBRECYG4xfsxB593s32dfvZi4Ws5SdyD6p9-t0LnKokWq-Ea5yPfE2AU8aixW1fQJYCkaBlqR/s400/Birds+of+Passage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Birds of Passage (Ciro Guerra, Cristina Gallego)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQAYJatupVZpWky4pdo0x9cB0gHFBHuHEJAdhz9eTOYf6NNRIpLeoO6oyc6XdBTRFHXCUfBo8wn1OiW47UStKfAMdXjvTDlJ_451VqT6afnRXd_481gfVCPb2WBspChbSco8u8QttJbva4/s1600/Sorry+to+Bother+You.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQAYJatupVZpWky4pdo0x9cB0gHFBHuHEJAdhz9eTOYf6NNRIpLeoO6oyc6XdBTRFHXCUfBo8wn1OiW47UStKfAMdXjvTDlJ_451VqT6afnRXd_481gfVCPb2WBspChbSco8u8QttJbva4/s400/Sorry+to+Bother+You.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sorry to Bother You (Boots Riley)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-ImzI0LPy7LRSNb2S9U34fLOUnxr39TVzCIibwGgZIyEA4gTJPt7PmgY4NoHKAOz38ppoFW8_gbP4LTV-J2t2UwNJqUV3DpORY3R12KmI_uDyOvhoZuPXh3ELwaPlL42YDI7oppwIF0G/s1600/American+Factory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-ImzI0LPy7LRSNb2S9U34fLOUnxr39TVzCIibwGgZIyEA4gTJPt7PmgY4NoHKAOz38ppoFW8_gbP4LTV-J2t2UwNJqUV3DpORY3R12KmI_uDyOvhoZuPXh3ELwaPlL42YDI7oppwIF0G/s400/American+Factory.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81090071" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">American Factory</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> (Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1ZhEmUshC01Iz2F4y1_ay4uZoWJPMWrgG8Mcc9IiM5wIMEovVtue93S9Yg_Ds-a0nTkSiYH2KeepZQF_xykRSZN9kKN9ss1cm7a77n2WWTTNoSOt4DhfKtWCwC6C9sUSEG2myXUejlat/s1600/Ghosts+of+Sugar+Land.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="928" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1ZhEmUshC01Iz2F4y1_ay4uZoWJPMWrgG8Mcc9IiM5wIMEovVtue93S9Yg_Ds-a0nTkSiYH2KeepZQF_xykRSZN9kKN9ss1cm7a77n2WWTTNoSOt4DhfKtWCwC6C9sUSEG2myXUejlat/s400/Ghosts+of+Sugar+Land.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.netflix.com/Title/81081656" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">Ghosts of Sugar Land</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> (Bassam Tariq)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAjRCKgwVcQKOR649LISU8sj5YNqpey4VpTj7DPNyHM85WtwG96S0a0OOuJL0hUe9kpTIn37u47EdqCQZqSAOwnPfUttLEPokzK-ZfxTczXab1NDbAMGvugzQCNyoPQTExERXPL4FfiJa/s1600/The+Laundromat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="927" data-original-width="1600" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAjRCKgwVcQKOR649LISU8sj5YNqpey4VpTj7DPNyHM85WtwG96S0a0OOuJL0hUe9kpTIn37u47EdqCQZqSAOwnPfUttLEPokzK-ZfxTczXab1NDbAMGvugzQCNyoPQTExERXPL4FfiJa/s400/The+Laundromat.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-laundromat-is-lesser-success-by.html" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">The Laundromat</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> (Steven Soderbergh)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUH80bkNlIZimfNRKpGKnGzvH9lmQXq-hHWRPRO6s4uQG3zZu1JpHBHc89a39gP0MMzsQGN1OkHbAlY5VIdLulflKi1i4n2MjkSgOO6Em9Qscqz6wpwt1fqEGw63cqr0uiNrnG4W_Ni6n/s1600/Period+End+of+Sentence.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUH80bkNlIZimfNRKpGKnGzvH9lmQXq-hHWRPRO6s4uQG3zZu1JpHBHc89a39gP0MMzsQGN1OkHbAlY5VIdLulflKi1i4n2MjkSgOO6Em9Qscqz6wpwt1fqEGw63cqr0uiNrnG4W_Ni6n/s400/Period+End+of+Sentence.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81074663" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">Period. End of Sentence.</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> (Rayka Zehtabchi)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Actress:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Melissa McCarthy, <i>Can You Ever Forgive Me?</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Lupita Nyong’o, <i>Us</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Scarlett Johansson, <i>Marriage Story</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cynthia Erivo, <i>Harriet</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Actor:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Brad Pitt, <i>Ad Astra</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Robert Redford, <i>The Old Man and the Gun</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Clint Eastwood, <i>The Mule</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">André Holland, <i>High Flying Bird</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Adam Driver, <i>Marriage Story</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Lakeith Stanfield, <i>Sorry to Bother You</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Supporting Actress:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sissy Spacek, <i>The Old Man and the Gun</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Dianne Wiest, <i>The Mule</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elisabeth Moss, <i>Us</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Tessa Thompson, <i>Sorry to Bother You</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sonja Sohn, <i>High Flying Bird</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Supporting Actor:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Casey Affleck, <i>The Old Man and the Gun</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Bradley Cooper, <i>The Mule</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Richard E. Grant, <i>Can You Ever Forgive Me?</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Adapted Screenplay:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Barry Jenkins, <i>If Beale Street Could Talk</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">David Lowery, <i>The Old Man and the Gun</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty, <i>Can You Ever Forgive Me?</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Nick Schenk, <i>The Mule</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Original Screenplay:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Tarell Alvin McCraney, <i>High Flying Bird</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jordan Peele, <i>Us</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Lynn Shelton, Mike O’Brien, <i>Sword of Trust</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Noah Baumbach, <i>Marriage Story</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Boots Riley, <i>Sorry to Bother You</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jim Jarmusch, <i>The Dead Don’t Die</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Cinematography:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Joe Anderson, <i>The Old Man and the Gun</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hoyte Van Hoytema, <i>Ad Astra</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mike Gioulakis, <i>Us</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">James Laxton, <i>If Beale Street Could Talk</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Steven Soderbergh, <i>High Flying Bird</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yves Bélanger, <i>The Mule</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">David Gallego, <i>Birds of Passage</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Editing:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Lisa Zeno Churgin, <i>The Old Man and the Gun</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">John Axelrad, Lee Haugen, <i>Ad Astra</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Steven Soderbergh, <i>High Flying Bird</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Nicholas Monsour, <i>Us</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Terel Gibson, <i>Sorry to Bother You</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Joel Cox, <i>The Mule</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Miguel Schverdfinger, <i>Birds of Passage</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Best Score:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Nicholas Britell, <i>If Beale Street Could Talk</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Max Richter, <i>Ad Astra</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Michael Abels, <i>Us</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Other end-of-year lists</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.btglifestyle.com/blog/2019/12/28/2019-top-10/">BTG Lifestyle</a> (Stephen Nagel)</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.channel24.co.za/Movies/News/19-movies-we-enjoyed-watching-in-2019-20191219"></a></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.channel24.co.za/Movies/News/19-movies-we-enjoyed-watching-in-2019-20191219">Channel24</a> (Ilan Preskovsky, Gabi Zietsman, Herman Eloff, Alex Isaacs, Leandra Engelbrecht)</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://city-press.news24.com/Special-Report/TrendingAwards/trendingawards2019-the-silver-screens-best-and-worst-20191220"></a></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://city-press.news24.com/Special-Report/TrendingAwards/trendingawards2019-the-silver-screens-best-and-worst-20191220">City Press</a> (Grethe Kemp)</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.litnet.co.za/top-10-flieks-van-2019-floris-groenewald-se-keuse/"></a></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.litnet.co.za/top-10-flieks-van-2019-floris-groenewald-se-keuse/">Litnet</a> (Floris Groenewald)</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.litnet.co.za/toptienfilms-2019-suzette-kotze-myburgh-se-keuses/"></a></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.litnet.co.za/toptienfilms-2019-suzette-kotze-myburgh-se-keuses/">Litnet</a> (Suzette Kotzé-Myburgh)</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.litnet.co.za/2019-reney-warringtons-movie-highlights/"></a></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.litnet.co.za/2019-reney-warringtons-movie-highlights/">Litnet</a> (Reney Warrington)</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.rsg.co.za/fliekrubriek_top.asp?y=2019"></a></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.rsg.co.za/fliekrubriek_top.asp?y=2019">RSG</a> (Leon van Nierop)</span></blockquote>
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Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-67853016221943339322019-12-05T14:20:00.001+02:002019-12-05T20:45:35.373+02:00The Best of the Decade: 2010 to 2019<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To Start Off With</span><b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"> ...</b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Above my Top Ten, I’m listing the entire output of Terrence Malick from 2010 to 2017, which is undoubtedly my favourite cinematic work from this decade. I rewatched each of these movies, trying to settle on one to place at the top of my list, but Malick’s body of work amounts to a greater achievement than the sum of its parts, and the ideas, emotions, images, and stories that flow through each of them form threads that can start in one movie and run through another.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>The Tree of Life</i> is the movie that awakened me to the full possibilities of movies, of how great thought and feeling can be conveyed through sounds and images, and of how deeply and intimately I could be moved by any movie. Malick searches for and devises new ways of looking at every subject (and every object), and each image in his movies packs a concentration of meaning, a focus on the essence and potential of each living thing and the matter that surrounds it, and an abiding sense of the eternal and the cosmic scheme into which it fits. I look at my own world differently now after having seen through Malick’s lens, and it’s a wondrous transformation.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3skyh2wEpATHbDAI6PFVyMgkH-fVpwGtd6iJDWF4OZSwUxPGwyqAAz-tNpy2csEOYRWw2h9OTYPRjFQbmv9C0WM4J5tHksW1c7rZn3P5J8S551tyKfhXTio4VWPXkw5rzY6GP6AcTdlnQ/s1600/Tree-of-Life-Stained-Glass.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1280" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3skyh2wEpATHbDAI6PFVyMgkH-fVpwGtd6iJDWF4OZSwUxPGwyqAAz-tNpy2csEOYRWw2h9OTYPRjFQbmv9C0WM4J5tHksW1c7rZn3P5J8S551tyKfhXTio4VWPXkw5rzY6GP6AcTdlnQ/s400/Tree-of-Life-Stained-Glass.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>The Tree of Life</i> (2011)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2EEwvV9OaDkibzzX1BcJmLtf2SREJslvjbLzlcHKeKkEUlkj4ZaIb0ORNExl2YA7VZ7s2es5iPqJCDe1tNG8AThgXoKvfOiVydiPoSYwCvlJkb4YWT7ZLgk4bOtSHqX73zXL1Ayppzhsx/s1600/to+the+wonder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="630" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2EEwvV9OaDkibzzX1BcJmLtf2SREJslvjbLzlcHKeKkEUlkj4ZaIb0ORNExl2YA7VZ7s2es5iPqJCDe1tNG8AThgXoKvfOiVydiPoSYwCvlJkb4YWT7ZLgk4bOtSHqX73zXL1Ayppzhsx/s400/to+the+wonder.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>To the Wonder</i> (2012)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhlzmhVsXdcK3JqsGMZn1t2C2vxmvxQCs3aUKpEVD8d9QeOTejvdBe9rZjrEvpzcSKbEVj93gFZCLaHNSntcGnmO7GgJPUe81JOiTwcK2v0uBA4h95P6fvb2NGkBQFTklb0U0WzkuCBOqQ/s1600/KOC-PortmanBaleBeach-1440x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1440" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhlzmhVsXdcK3JqsGMZn1t2C2vxmvxQCs3aUKpEVD8d9QeOTejvdBe9rZjrEvpzcSKbEVj93gFZCLaHNSntcGnmO7GgJPUe81JOiTwcK2v0uBA4h95P6fvb2NGkBQFTklb0U0WzkuCBOqQ/s400/KOC-PortmanBaleBeach-1440x600.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2016/03/blog-post_24.html">Knight of Cups</a></i> (2015)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_kdoY07jMXO9ULweBZ0BSe6K3ZXvYrGn5dSk_rQiNvBOgEitRAuyMdFWg-XJofg0PM3E34Nk3SOR8u_p2eLzQD8MhsTqQUROKP0OYJgcGarBiictgItM-uxpR9Pi0DMRATOGk9Zihda5/s1600/Voyage+of+Time+Lifes+Journey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_kdoY07jMXO9ULweBZ0BSe6K3ZXvYrGn5dSk_rQiNvBOgEitRAuyMdFWg-XJofg0PM3E34Nk3SOR8u_p2eLzQD8MhsTqQUROKP0OYJgcGarBiictgItM-uxpR9Pi0DMRATOGk9Zihda5/s400/Voyage+of+Time+Lifes+Journey.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Voyage of Time</i> (2016)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvCz16wE1aRK444pATWt34BAvKW9znlRhDC1qRTpMk2DriTfeyr0IObAyDSdF2VZi8aI437giGYaBnIWwXcD3rm_UWDaoOmYP0hGSrJKCulyVxpdFvl_09drcynBgA_wVq8yJsIYaRKew/s1600/Song+to+Song.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="790" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvCz16wE1aRK444pATWt34BAvKW9znlRhDC1qRTpMk2DriTfeyr0IObAyDSdF2VZi8aI437giGYaBnIWwXcD3rm_UWDaoOmYP0hGSrJKCulyVxpdFvl_09drcynBgA_wVq8yJsIYaRKew/s400/Song+to+Song.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2017/07/their-agonies-and-ecstasy.html">Song to Song</a></i> (2017)</span></blockquote>
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Top Ten</span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Om0Un8pr_EvN2RLI5io7a559RAW8x_7eoNiCAYjuek3qYd4u-94qndhYewfpADZuOahWAOtw1SvNJsRUoJYGwyMo1TBMOCSqBYLuWVlBfAK5gYR03Z-jug-ItlKcuz99_lLbbEDCc-GM/s1600/ff2cf10116dc7461ebbbf49a0235a7ab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1590" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Om0Un8pr_EvN2RLI5io7a559RAW8x_7eoNiCAYjuek3qYd4u-94qndhYewfpADZuOahWAOtw1SvNJsRUoJYGwyMo1TBMOCSqBYLuWVlBfAK5gYR03Z-jug-ItlKcuz99_lLbbEDCc-GM/s400/ff2cf10116dc7461ebbbf49a0235a7ab.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2017/08/twenty-two-films-to-see-by-age-of.html">The Wolf of Wall Street</a></i> (2013, Martin Scorsese). Scorsese is the Brahms of modern filmmaking: he is deeply versed in the cinematic forms of the past, and he reworks them in his own movies, both with the devoted care and consideration of a classicist and the febrile self-awareness of a modernist, in ways that propel the artform forwards. <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i> is the Scorsese film of the decade that most severely implicates its maker (and all the rest of us) in a furious vision of transgression, as well as his most ecstatic outburst of energy and imagination.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpxwzHaxnSALFZ56JSD7F3DTs-V_0a3oAVG8tbkV449skYyxy3iWq1awZ9y4YtXe3fIWZF8viC6D4hiq8vGhltNQCjFLiVYXal_MZ_TGWnx-RG8gZFH3np2LNHiwVG4CXmKWZNxctHRNF/s1600/032-the-grand-budapest-hotel-theredlist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpxwzHaxnSALFZ56JSD7F3DTs-V_0a3oAVG8tbkV449skYyxy3iWq1awZ9y4YtXe3fIWZF8viC6D4hiq8vGhltNQCjFLiVYXal_MZ_TGWnx-RG8gZFH3np2LNHiwVG4CXmKWZNxctHRNF/s400/032-the-grand-budapest-hotel-theredlist.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2. <i>The Grand Budapest Hotel</i> (2014, Wes Anderson). Anderson’s political vision is deepened by the layers of fantasy and stylisation laid on top of his historically-inspired fiction. The exquisite craft, lofty irony, and offbeat humour sharpen the movie’s emotions, rather than cover them up. Finery and beauty are accompanied by acute pain and profound sadness, as well as opening up a world of fleeting joy.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6BRDPlydvySsZ9CJ-9BGH0sQF_2DMyteq5Uo4-5yj5jL5YbI1DrX-lSh9Hv0yDxrICh-fLjx0jq4GA07Xrzgo5UHdwXzfNs1gKqWVXJ3bBvbe4IuKFU4Yx332tnFTsVNd-lWTsdE0cRWP/s1600/trevanterhodespic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="468" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6BRDPlydvySsZ9CJ-9BGH0sQF_2DMyteq5Uo4-5yj5jL5YbI1DrX-lSh9Hv0yDxrICh-fLjx0jq4GA07Xrzgo5UHdwXzfNs1gKqWVXJ3bBvbe4IuKFU4Yx332tnFTsVNd-lWTsdE0cRWP/s400/trevanterhodespic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">3. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2017/03/beauties-and-beasts.html">Moonlight</a></i> (2016, Barry Jenkins). Jenkins’s great sophomoric feature reached and affected everyone who saw it, not merely for its unique representation of a gay black man or of the tense and traumatic experiences of childhood in poor black areas, but because of the deep personal emotion and psychic vision that Jenkins imparted. The movie is more about his own vast and tender inwardness than the characters’, and its power arises from that beauty.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUK3mrQcun3La1p7ZJ1HSkI4BhdgjoUvCR-A362q_npie35GJtB7vDxHwC-7WeIzl4Ncv2T8sF-uMWq8jN8ZWiOnhMWD4U2qC3-6BufognTAWxtBkMI4xvOApVEsl3NwCxcbnmmIb_4CU/s1600/o-GONE-GIRL-facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUK3mrQcun3La1p7ZJ1HSkI4BhdgjoUvCR-A362q_npie35GJtB7vDxHwC-7WeIzl4Ncv2T8sF-uMWq8jN8ZWiOnhMWD4U2qC3-6BufognTAWxtBkMI4xvOApVEsl3NwCxcbnmmIb_4CU/s400/o-GONE-GIRL-facebook.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">4. <i>Gone Girl</i> (2014, David Fincher). Fincher found in Gillian Flynn’s best-seller novel a distressing vision of a modern marriage — where partners vie for power, where sex is a means more than an end, and where public masks only cover private ones. It also plays on the themes common to Fincher’s work, where power is derived from information, where information is distorted and disseminated through mass media, and where lives are spent in pursuit of increasingly unsatisfying objectives.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLeL3yC8EH9u67v6o8mkSu9oiJbcikFLzjRRAY6WqdhFeWnI9eHJRttBxi_XGXNMJ7JLatb3oJx5eEyQCm9ClFdYZ8ZUbfiKqbxVV1JyS5LiOQX8LFyg3u8KjNhPOezUkbjA8gqeiIwDJ/s1600/A+Quiet+Passion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="830" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLeL3yC8EH9u67v6o8mkSu9oiJbcikFLzjRRAY6WqdhFeWnI9eHJRttBxi_XGXNMJ7JLatb3oJx5eEyQCm9ClFdYZ8ZUbfiKqbxVV1JyS5LiOQX8LFyg3u8KjNhPOezUkbjA8gqeiIwDJ/s400/A+Quiet+Passion.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">5. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2018/01/a-quiet-passion-is-great-biopic-emily.html">A Quiet Passion</a></i> (2017, Terence Davies). As with Wes Anderson, Terence Davies’s exquisite stylisation brings heightened emotion and concentrated thought. An important start to making a great biopic is selecting the right subject, and here maybe is the most apt pairing of subject with artist, since both Davies and Emily Dickinson appear to concern themselves with the immediate world around them — family, houses, and relationships — but are keenly aware of the infinite spiritual world that transcends it all.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDsZK4BRFKdPf70QJ2rwT0ueMSHvgYJkf_1JgNwfoCLe3E214apnShJqAGGCNsSvkmLNL6jB5K2pr9HKZghdF_qXKkssVN8nWWl-ze3JtzwTmJbRpxIokXDYq9MomH_ST45w4wL433sNdq/s1600/Us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDsZK4BRFKdPf70QJ2rwT0ueMSHvgYJkf_1JgNwfoCLe3E214apnShJqAGGCNsSvkmLNL6jB5K2pr9HKZghdF_qXKkssVN8nWWl-ze3JtzwTmJbRpxIokXDYq9MomH_ST45w4wL433sNdq/s400/Us.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">6. <i>Us</i> (2019, Jordan Peele). When I started this blog, four years ago, I dreamed of seeing exactly the kind of movie that Jordan Peele released this year: a fantastical drama, with a specific and detailed political framework and an artistic as well as historical consciousness, that turns objects and people onscreen into resonant psychological symbols. I didn’t know that there would be so many other kinds of movies to delight me in the meantime, and I wasn’t expecting the resounding power it would pack when I finally saw it.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-tzwHrKZIbdghZpd3qAA4voaLM35x8Drrbu5RHNH2a8fSafKCPL5MmeiFs4FYycQTJfunWdqg2LzmdbZgetK2LA7eCkICRJffTNLvyg2VJYRxAopuJXGdXBRsx6SODwgP1CoiNlcgoiz/s1600/The+Mule.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="958" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-tzwHrKZIbdghZpd3qAA4voaLM35x8Drrbu5RHNH2a8fSafKCPL5MmeiFs4FYycQTJfunWdqg2LzmdbZgetK2LA7eCkICRJffTNLvyg2VJYRxAopuJXGdXBRsx6SODwgP1CoiNlcgoiz/s400/The+Mule.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">7. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/05/double-bill-country-for-old-men.html">The Mule</a></i> (2018, Clint Eastwood). In the last decade, Clint Eastwood made what I saw as the most searing self-portrait in movies (with <i>Gran Torino</i>), and his <i>The Mule</i> holds the exact same place in this decade. On the surface, Eastwood’s movies seem to enjoy watching figures and customs of traditional macho strength and self-sufficiency; beneath that, they appear to deal with the dark legacy of violent Hollywood entertainments whose effects have spun out of control; but beneath even that, they take a narrow-eyed, self-critical look inwards and, in their calm and assured way, unearth the most intimate and painful parts of his own soul.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQfjwJCcXmWiyvbx8vN3DiUZL-ybA4xa5Nsbp_CKsOdNTeqoSJc1luH72J8JJwKffv8wetu5aeyOd1tniJrHQPM45SxrtHr6oGlWUU8L70nQgHqVk3Xm65X_BJtXrep2tpjLQTfV6z0Y8/s1600/Phantom+Thread+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="774" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQfjwJCcXmWiyvbx8vN3DiUZL-ybA4xa5Nsbp_CKsOdNTeqoSJc1luH72J8JJwKffv8wetu5aeyOd1tniJrHQPM45SxrtHr6oGlWUU8L70nQgHqVk3Xm65X_BJtXrep2tpjLQTfV6z0Y8/s400/Phantom+Thread+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">8. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-excessive-beauty-of-phantom-thread.html">Phantom Thread</a></i> (2017, Paul Thomas Anderson). I haven’t seen <i>The Master</i>, which may be just as well for my own state of being — Philip Seymour Hoffman was a far more terrifying actor than Daniel Day-Lewis — but <i>Phantom Thread</i> offered enough enormous thrills and a highly original vision of an artist’s passions and the fierce drive towards both beauty and love.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHoIKzoeUWcj8sbZPFuIilOeORbkiydCKyXbdvOYxrxdsguWAIUPAPXcAVYSA96zZZbSr6NH8eAE0mH0KPCBQvdZX5HJE2h34T8P8fVOjrcepOFHkicI7-IjAMEplXMWtx-CgUWNEpLZvc/s1600/this-is-40-paul-rudd-leslie-mann1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHoIKzoeUWcj8sbZPFuIilOeORbkiydCKyXbdvOYxrxdsguWAIUPAPXcAVYSA96zZZbSr6NH8eAE0mH0KPCBQvdZX5HJE2h34T8P8fVOjrcepOFHkicI7-IjAMEplXMWtx-CgUWNEpLZvc/s400/this-is-40-paul-rudd-leslie-mann1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">9. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2015/01/this-is-40-movie-review-leslie-mann.html">This is 40</a></i> (2012, Judd Apatow). Apatow transformed comedy in the last decade, and, with only two new features since 2009, turned his stinging wisecracks and gags inwards, with a darkly melodramatic comedy about the disappointments, frustrations, torments, and backbreaking difficulty of modern marriage. In some ways, it’s more optimistic than <i>Gone Girl</i>, but in other ways it’s precisely on par.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiHfsoNuV4A8Y7WDJd1GbDnjOV4uZELimvYe1bQgV-t8mD-HZ0nBAO3NKcFeuorarCDBd_UGBdsRK34odskOW-s_5lDAiZQysAxUgK9ex8SyRJ2YjV6E8TYko2k-ba4eneMHkc2p1XQro/s1600/Good+Time1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="1600" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiHfsoNuV4A8Y7WDJd1GbDnjOV4uZELimvYe1bQgV-t8mD-HZ0nBAO3NKcFeuorarCDBd_UGBdsRK34odskOW-s_5lDAiZQysAxUgK9ex8SyRJ2YjV6E8TYko2k-ba4eneMHkc2p1XQro/s400/Good+Time1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">10. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-revelations-in-safdie-brothers-good.html">Good Time</a></i> (2017, Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie). This decade was remarkable for the new opportunities and methods of production offered to a new generation of independent filmmakers, and some of the best of them happily found their way into the mainstream (as Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, and David Fincher managed to 20 years before them). The Safdie brothers brought an idiosyncratic aesthetic and background that made all other mainstream movies look staid and suburban in comparison.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>And 27 more ...</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZl8LZFRVQSze9k_nikFjN2dbRvapoHDeZTFL5qFvVaz2SuD8CPoFOMBUNTnw6oyn5daBxCzdyBEgSNlJRMgROLUvAV3hxcHC6CoBdD8P5eqCyZrBHxY4HRn1jubrWxVq2eq1kYxEDXSS/s1600/BlacKkKlansman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZl8LZFRVQSze9k_nikFjN2dbRvapoHDeZTFL5qFvVaz2SuD8CPoFOMBUNTnw6oyn5daBxCzdyBEgSNlJRMgROLUvAV3hxcHC6CoBdD8P5eqCyZrBHxY4HRn1jubrWxVq2eq1kYxEDXSS/s400/BlacKkKlansman.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">11. <i>BlacKkKlansman</i> (2018, Spike Lee)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12IKdwy3gasahucOUb3yhU_7tlYbwDEshWvrR5RVwMdBWODQpzwG_YreJvkVEpgKDnXFK74IgywRhr8nO156tu56MWFICQtEptfhWrhsWyoBv98sW_WnFuSUxFd7EArvhuVcXsZGskNL9/s1600/High+Flying+Bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12IKdwy3gasahucOUb3yhU_7tlYbwDEshWvrR5RVwMdBWODQpzwG_YreJvkVEpgKDnXFK74IgywRhr8nO156tu56MWFICQtEptfhWrhsWyoBv98sW_WnFuSUxFd7EArvhuVcXsZGskNL9/s400/High+Flying+Bird.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">12. <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80991400">High Flying Bird</a></i> (2019, Steven Soderbergh)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaIjUF2ey6NMWnElGPskGoeqt5GKUd8htp9BIPbr05vLEffZzjNyzTyzegyK53ceWB1CN-lVsUq_jGxei-IzR4bpjcrolE0VeBUB1qDCpJLSbeYTTSvWhnezhsXQbEE01eXglEEjUcavXA/s1600/black-swan-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaIjUF2ey6NMWnElGPskGoeqt5GKUd8htp9BIPbr05vLEffZzjNyzTyzegyK53ceWB1CN-lVsUq_jGxei-IzR4bpjcrolE0VeBUB1qDCpJLSbeYTTSvWhnezhsXQbEE01eXglEEjUcavXA/s400/black-swan-6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">13. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2017/08/twenty-two-films-to-see-by-age-of.html">Black Swan</a></i> (2010, Darren Aronofsky)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwT4lR9IbmAmjoHcp1kwfCcV1MlqCXZmGP9CIrmo5tVytKTuYJBm4qoVUxjq9BZw8ev1z2kdQDwNe_-t1YeQYRytrUoWe6LrqFSl0AHMOep3D7FT_kKyls3nuNOUV_xZm35X4zLGuP60S/s1600/The+Immigrant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwT4lR9IbmAmjoHcp1kwfCcV1MlqCXZmGP9CIrmo5tVytKTuYJBm4qoVUxjq9BZw8ev1z2kdQDwNe_-t1YeQYRytrUoWe6LrqFSl0AHMOep3D7FT_kKyls3nuNOUV_xZm35X4zLGuP60S/s400/The+Immigrant.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">14. <i>The Immigrant</i> (2014, James Gray)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8fBADrzCd4-ucgbQPCl-j0ZTgSZIL-KqErnD9nn8vFQ5aFZWlS9SVD614Ai3GZtomK6_1sAkYIWVFvTJDIytoQYvtQZ1DOa-99WVErjpedwP_HA4CAQooAj6zu727zpP-NukWFM-W2w7/s1600/selma-group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8fBADrzCd4-ucgbQPCl-j0ZTgSZIL-KqErnD9nn8vFQ5aFZWlS9SVD614Ai3GZtomK6_1sAkYIWVFvTJDIytoQYvtQZ1DOa-99WVErjpedwP_HA4CAQooAj6zu727zpP-NukWFM-W2w7/s400/selma-group.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">15. <i>Selma</i> (2014, Ava DuVernay)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRGoD8WvbV_SFpgfYIWZrHn_ZJ9iCdLzEI2AAirvdItoEAwD6jo-osvx1JFadAoDfRwV292d8pdOag59WuoIbqAWGczlylJqBsUnI-_PvOoVWTETJAdetbTp9j8pWfvI92qRuVKwDQ9o6/s1600/12-Years-A-Slave-011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="460" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRGoD8WvbV_SFpgfYIWZrHn_ZJ9iCdLzEI2AAirvdItoEAwD6jo-osvx1JFadAoDfRwV292d8pdOag59WuoIbqAWGczlylJqBsUnI-_PvOoVWTETJAdetbTp9j8pWfvI92qRuVKwDQ9o6/s400/12-Years-A-Slave-011.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">16. <i>12 Years a Slave</i> (2013, Steve McQueen)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKHzTovcMTjlDjXKp9wVaKonEu1EyDaJa93D-VElafacBM2Lgq9UlhVxsTlfJX0YmL1yQ4EQr-bWnDuak18v7vT83xveeB1BgT4tObQTaHDVEKmNw049LuQSqX6crQ2CUHOFsYOPQYgri/s1600/manchester0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKHzTovcMTjlDjXKp9wVaKonEu1EyDaJa93D-VElafacBM2Lgq9UlhVxsTlfJX0YmL1yQ4EQr-bWnDuak18v7vT83xveeB1BgT4tObQTaHDVEKmNw049LuQSqX6crQ2CUHOFsYOPQYgri/s400/manchester0002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">17. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2017/02/a-winters-tale.html">Manchester by the Sea</a></i> (2016, Kenneth Lonergan)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpD4jVXbuwYBrKHNIxkY1cTwxNdVVOvCrskCa_2Y2TGy_b7ZkrCisdAyOir3Fva80Dhyphenhyphen5K7szIup1EvR-OMPDfzMjJIyXsXBeCm8A0Xw81Aqc5U50_NSF9TkByHZ7tBJ9WAlKzZSxA8rTE/s1600/lady+bird1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1400" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpD4jVXbuwYBrKHNIxkY1cTwxNdVVOvCrskCa_2Y2TGy_b7ZkrCisdAyOir3Fva80Dhyphenhyphen5K7szIup1EvR-OMPDfzMjJIyXsXBeCm8A0Xw81Aqc5U50_NSF9TkByHZ7tBJ9WAlKzZSxA8rTE/s400/lady+bird1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">18. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2018/03/greta-gerwigs-beautiful-lady-bird.html">Lady Bird</a></i> (2017, Greta Gerwig)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiHeYtDWbCdhP-CaVecceCwFyoXxR77Cv6JesLZA0kY7HKg6w4M4PNAO5tegclwBScCsogWDwomV7swoPCgmZ26tcF6K7p4I-1-Ok_ncultOLE5WAmAoU6uJDR9WUjDOuwiebZoUIbYDP/s1600/The+Bling+Ring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="680" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiHeYtDWbCdhP-CaVecceCwFyoXxR77Cv6JesLZA0kY7HKg6w4M4PNAO5tegclwBScCsogWDwomV7swoPCgmZ26tcF6K7p4I-1-Ok_ncultOLE5WAmAoU6uJDR9WUjDOuwiebZoUIbYDP/s400/The+Bling+Ring.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">19. <i>The Bling Ring</i> (2013, Sofia Coppola)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOU5C2EPqM1YsLdgLrC61MhpBdte_gj95jXgafKbMbIzBGbvRHWsMHiQVSFHYIoHz9Lz34KAT7ds9bOn66cpjzWv4QEcnr90fk3EAGUtNfeSJSfsOLvFh02SLRlYP3YFP1sylFwMsmiqh-/s1600/strongisland1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOU5C2EPqM1YsLdgLrC61MhpBdte_gj95jXgafKbMbIzBGbvRHWsMHiQVSFHYIoHz9Lz34KAT7ds9bOn66cpjzWv4QEcnr90fk3EAGUtNfeSJSfsOLvFh02SLRlYP3YFP1sylFwMsmiqh-/s400/strongisland1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">20. <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80168230">Strong Island</a></i> (2017, Yance Ford)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZN9LG2peiRY9mLHv7QGx_9Hr67QDE7TsV1gNrzngnipk-zoTbj5g0f_WI8RK0LOhVip1xGXJ6RvbdCa_S4hYQxtrhoYFxjUWdqqjIIp7uriHp4Xp38oTlU69aQXz1OPizs6Wg5CUsjcl/s1600/love+and+friendship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="670" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZN9LG2peiRY9mLHv7QGx_9Hr67QDE7TsV1gNrzngnipk-zoTbj5g0f_WI8RK0LOhVip1xGXJ6RvbdCa_S4hYQxtrhoYFxjUWdqqjIIp7uriHp4Xp38oTlU69aQXz1OPizs6Wg5CUsjcl/s400/love+and+friendship.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">21. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2017/07/what-to-see-this-weekend-pain-and.html">Love & Friendship</a></i> (2016, Whit Stillman)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-iLNTlLQ2_TVs9SIM8ORHy_fSsKW3MiGTN_aA2Nk096C9LTXF_i8LhQ8BNwTbQ2312aTpk24raOq2bwVkacxU87c20eEriG11qE79OVz9NEWmjK8JRaHeZnBRZxF6yYiU-E-mTeAr4Bu/s1600/joy-gallery2-gallery-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1600" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-iLNTlLQ2_TVs9SIM8ORHy_fSsKW3MiGTN_aA2Nk096C9LTXF_i8LhQ8BNwTbQ2312aTpk24raOq2bwVkacxU87c20eEriG11qE79OVz9NEWmjK8JRaHeZnBRZxF6yYiU-E-mTeAr4Bu/s400/joy-gallery2-gallery-image.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">22. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2016/02/true-tales.html">Joy</a></i> (2015, David O. Russell)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTr4uXsEWE7btGwazl-9_bfH0ZBwrSH0apr3R5PvXn09ap3orLCJj4cto16gWGs1In-D1_3y5Ruk_lg1pKcfv8h728ZXj9-ZO6YHPNiLi-qNE5Qh7cjyM6ziNJxsh5nmyUV8Ab98Qp92h/s1600/thumbnail_24975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTr4uXsEWE7btGwazl-9_bfH0ZBwrSH0apr3R5PvXn09ap3orLCJj4cto16gWGs1In-D1_3y5Ruk_lg1pKcfv8h728ZXj9-ZO6YHPNiLi-qNE5Qh7cjyM6ziNJxsh5nmyUV8Ab98Qp92h/s400/thumbnail_24975.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">23. <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80106504">Little Sister</a></i> (2016, Zach Clark)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW1LS6wLTIkgbLV8Zao7fan2g1fQG42p7-MTEn32bDimLw6qRoHnfmVUSDfU2krVoexs1iDPDXXGTDOG49-FVDTw_AS288OWu1WvtX25liZueTMgVtNIKrsBBNemnL2lSmFJwQqtIRhViO/s1600/00003383-912x608.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="912" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW1LS6wLTIkgbLV8Zao7fan2g1fQG42p7-MTEn32bDimLw6qRoHnfmVUSDfU2krVoexs1iDPDXXGTDOG49-FVDTw_AS288OWu1WvtX25liZueTMgVtNIKrsBBNemnL2lSmFJwQqtIRhViO/s400/00003383-912x608.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">24. <i>Hail, Caesar!</i> (2015, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllOLCloTO3RqUNRRuhTtcJAX2BJrsSdRCCRidk8sOF5ouYmO6dXAOgQG5fVyhAQ14iDtedw4n7zBIK7_lJ0832wyc_shW62UHB1CE45PayF5Ekyug2i2WIMgsof9qi2aped_O2zFfkWNJ/s1600/010b3718d9c52a9f4d95100fbceba5b942650146.jpg__0x1500_q85-1200x675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllOLCloTO3RqUNRRuhTtcJAX2BJrsSdRCCRidk8sOF5ouYmO6dXAOgQG5fVyhAQ14iDtedw4n7zBIK7_lJ0832wyc_shW62UHB1CE45PayF5Ekyug2i2WIMgsof9qi2aped_O2zFfkWNJ/s400/010b3718d9c52a9f4d95100fbceba5b942650146.jpg__0x1500_q85-1200x675.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">25. <i>By the Sea</i> (2015, Angelina Jolie)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlZ2usVL0NSSq32McvMCtN4mamKuuZxctBZ5htDKqvDNV6zEtxBsLQzdoip-XEkTKB6-VKTZgm7DMIZLzy4rCmXugv0X6oDQHqVvJYGQZpYD5sB88gG7wZ-7dPa9S-My7ZQyrfWG41ubN/s1600/The+Old+Man+and+the+Gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="1365" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlZ2usVL0NSSq32McvMCtN4mamKuuZxctBZ5htDKqvDNV6zEtxBsLQzdoip-XEkTKB6-VKTZgm7DMIZLzy4rCmXugv0X6oDQHqVvJYGQZpYD5sB88gG7wZ-7dPa9S-My7ZQyrfWG41ubN/s400/The+Old+Man+and+the+Gun.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">26. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/05/double-bill-country-for-old-men.html">The Old Man and the Gun</a></i> (2018, David Lowery)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL44ZJHJ9cwaaCJ-vx769q0NWvig6XmXRTLy4NESoK_PxKAw0yy1Xp1Xgr1mifzAR3XInmzgOemQshPfvM__KUFsI6Inz39x-QQjB4DmhOI5_Atq137O1abpVcWBB_hKkAM6oat0ZaDjQL/s1600/normal_bridesmaids_still_018-649x350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="649" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL44ZJHJ9cwaaCJ-vx769q0NWvig6XmXRTLy4NESoK_PxKAw0yy1Xp1Xgr1mifzAR3XInmzgOemQshPfvM__KUFsI6Inz39x-QQjB4DmhOI5_Atq137O1abpVcWBB_hKkAM6oat0ZaDjQL/s400/normal_bridesmaids_still_018-649x350.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">27. <i>Bridesmaids</i> (2011, Paul Feig)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-JWBEHxRrwevl07-KBXLQN_rDM01XkjnZDvD0fx2TeQyY5hYW7sLdqmosGyYnnLLMoi25FaBspuv4MFAsoDN10XIxOK6m5KzuDzdq_82KxpQNytHkX_-zcx9ex79jMIm9jDQO7upBri4/s1600/file_543633_gethimtothegreekreview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="610" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-JWBEHxRrwevl07-KBXLQN_rDM01XkjnZDvD0fx2TeQyY5hYW7sLdqmosGyYnnLLMoi25FaBspuv4MFAsoDN10XIxOK6m5KzuDzdq_82KxpQNytHkX_-zcx9ex79jMIm9jDQO7upBri4/s400/file_543633_gethimtothegreekreview.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">28. <i>Get Him to the Greek</i> (2010, Nicholas Stoller)</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCy6BQAzXSs9oKQFvVsSak2swhOT_PEYnO1iQePf9Rhe4EbrC-Qosvl31RVMBJQU2nMdVeSK2zZzG4u7Ey7ayiT5Mcmm0zgDhE5U0eUaF-Wi2rlJziwExojlbwkeWpLC2Dhvaw4YnoToC/s1600/Support+the+Girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1400" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCy6BQAzXSs9oKQFvVsSak2swhOT_PEYnO1iQePf9Rhe4EbrC-Qosvl31RVMBJQU2nMdVeSK2zZzG4u7Ey7ayiT5Mcmm0zgDhE5U0eUaF-Wi2rlJziwExojlbwkeWpLC2Dhvaw4YnoToC/s400/Support+the+Girls.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">29. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2018/12/support-girls.html">Support the Girls</a></i> (2018, Andrew Bujalski)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">30. <i>An Oversimplification of Her Beauty</i> (2013, Terence Nance)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">31. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2016/05/sunlit-gardens.html">Irrational Man</a></i> (2015, Woody Allen)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">32. <i>While We’re Young</i> (2014, Noah Baumbach)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">33. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/04/can-you-ever-forgive-me.html">Can You Ever Forgive Me?</a></i> (2018, Marielle Heller)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">34. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2017/08/twenty-two-films-to-see-by-age-of.html">We Have a Pope</a></i> (2011, Nanni Moretti)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">35. <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2015/07/mirth-at-funeral.html">Bernie</a></i> (2012, Richard Linklater)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">36. <i>Don Verdean</i> (2015, Jared Hess)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">37. <i>Scott Pilgrim vs the World</i> (2010, Edgar Wright)</span></blockquote>
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Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-79765648895570538222019-11-19T18:11:00.002+02:002019-11-19T18:11:22.708+02:00My Wishlist for JPO Programmes<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After being thrilled to see the lineup for this past JPO Spring Season, I have a wishlist of pieces I would still like to see appearing on future JPO programmes. As an ardent supporter of classical music (a term that needs to be retired but can’t be supplanted), I faithfully attend all its concerts with any programmes it puts up. But, ultimately, what I want from an evening with a symphony orchestra is the kind of inimitable experience that draws people to live performances of any kind: sensitive, vibrant, revelatory renditions of classics, as well as exposure to the less familiar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The JPO’s primary function is to provide good performances of works in the orchestral repertory. But there’s an important secondary, curatorial function to any symphonic orchestra; the works that are chosen to be played are the works that are implicitly designated as important to the culture, the ones that are chosen to last. The canon is built by the decisions of what to perform, as well as by what to leave out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For too many people, the “classical” in classical music means definitive, or etched in stone. A great orchestral performance can prove that classical also means radical: the works that have survived the ages can still yield new experiences, new visions, new worlds of feeling, and the works of today that look forward and open up music’s paths into the future yield nothing but the new.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Below are my own personal choices for what works could open up the kind of new, refreshing, eye-opening experiences in the Linder Auditorium that some of us are looking for:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><u>More South African works</u></b><u>.</u> The London Symphony Orchestra (inarguably one of the world’s greatest and most prestigious orchestras) starts each annual season with a world premiere of a British work and another eminent piece of the established British canon. No orchestra in the world is building a canon of South African works; the only ones that can are in this country, and neither the KZN Philharmonic nor the Cape Town Philharmonic seem to be prioritising South African composers. We want to hear some works that are connected to our place and times, works with which we ourselves share some roots, and we want a national culture that supports and uplifts local artists of all orders.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2019/03/wishlist-of-upcoming-programmes-from-jpo.html">The last time</a> I made a post like this one, I proposed programming Clara Schumann’s piano concerto. It’s not one of the great compositions of the Romantic era, but definitely the work of a great musical mind (completed when she was 16 years old, it should be noted), and of immense interest to those of us wishing to trace some of the influences on Robert Schumann and Brahms.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Amy Beach’s Piano Concerto</u></b> is a much more mature, sophisticated work by a brilliant composer, and would make a fine addition to the programme of any symphony orchestra. It would be especially heartening for the JPO, which, since its relaunch in 2017, has only played one work by a female composer. Beach was not only a remarkable woman in music, but an accomplished American composer in her own right, one of the first to succeed without the benefit of European training.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Amy Beach’s “Gaelic” Symphony</u></b> is another superb work that audiences always appreciate whenever it’s heard. Beach responded to Dvořák, whose “New World” Symphony had just premiered, and who advised American composers to turn to their folk music — especially Native American and African-American songs — to develop the arts in their country. A staunch New Englander, Beach drew inspiration from old English, Scottish, and Irish melodies, giving the symphony its title.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Lili Boulanger’s <i>D’un matin de printemps</i>,</u> an instrumental work written by the fine young French composer that also exists in an extraordinary symphonic arrangement as a symphonic poem. Not only would performing it increase the JPO’s number of female composers performed, but it’d be a wonderful addition to the early-20th century repertory.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u><b>More Haydn</b>.</u> As famous as Haydn is, he remains the most underrated and neglected of the repertory’s genius-tier composers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto.</u></b> Apart from being one of the most heart-achingly beautiful works ever written (as well as by one of the most radically progressive composers in history), this would be a thrilling follow-up to one of the most enthralling experiences I’ve ever had at a concert: when Liebrecht Vanbeckevoort played the First Piano Concerto with virtuosic wildness, and I felt the sonic and dramatic intensity of his playing in my body.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Ravel’s <i>Ma mère l’Oye</i>.</u></b> The finale of Ravel’s “Mother Goose” suite has been described by Esa-Pekka Salonen as “the most perfect composition”. It opens into an immense realm of emotional elevation and, finally, transcendence. Nobody who hears it ever wants it to end.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It would be great to hear more modern music from the JPO. So far, just over one-tenth of the pieces programmed have been written in the last 100 years. However, I understand that modern music can be particularly expensive to play, because of the rights that need to be paid, and because of the sometimes bizarre instrumental requirements or outrageous orchestra sizes, not to mention the widespread idea that newer, weirder music scares away more conservative audiences, an important bloc in orchestras’ revenue streams. (I’d like to think that this isn’t the case, but …) The JPO can settle for programming music by late Romantic composers, who wrote a wealth of works in the last 100 years, whose styles are readily accepted by any listeners, and whose works are safely in the public domain. The performance of Korngold’s Violin Concerto at the start of this year was a shining example of exactly the kind of refreshing expansion of the repertory that all can appreciate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To this end, <u style="font-weight: bold;">Carl Nielsen’s Fifth and Sixth Symphonies</u> would be thrilling to hear. JPO audiences react enthusiastically whenever Grieg or Sibelius’s works are performed, and they might receive the Danish equivalent of these composers equally well. Each of these symphonies, written in the last 100 years, is enthralling and a visionary step forward in music history. Listeners would certainly be encountering something new.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Ralph Vaughan Williams’s <i>The Lark Ascending</i>.</u> This concerto-like symphonic poem has borne considerable popularity for nearly a century, and presents the chance for an unforgettable concert hall experience with its rich evocations of English pastoral scenes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One more perennially popular composer of symphonic poems is <u style="font-weight: bold;">Ottorino Respighi</u>, and his two famous works <u style="font-weight: bold;">Fountains of Rome</u> and <u style="font-weight: bold;">Pines of Rome</u> have never failed to delight and entertain the audiences that hear them. Respighi’s particular brand of Italian nationalism has broken its boundaries and connected with listeners across the planet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Some core repertory composers will inevitably show up in next year’s lineup, and I’d like to throw in my own two cents of which of their works should be programmed:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Mozart:</b> The “Haffner,” “Linz,” and “Prague” Symphonies (Nos. 35 in D major, 36 in C major, and 38 in D major). Also Piano Concertos Nos. 19 in F (K. 459), 24 in C minor (K. 491), and 27 in B-flat major (K. 595).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Beethoven:</b> A full cycle of the Symphonies as well as of the Piano Concertos, for Beethoven’s 250th birthday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Tchaikovsky:</b> Selections from the ballets <i>Swan Lake</i> and <i>The Sleeping Beauty</i> (which haven’t been sorted into neat concert suites like <i>The Nutcracker</i>). Also, the return of Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, and 6, which can easily be heard again and again.</span></div>
Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-3252239361121233472019-11-04T16:30:00.000+02:002019-11-04T16:33:58.702+02:00James Gray’s Sublime “Ad Astra”<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I don’t know a contemporary filmmaker who communicates such fervent emotions so immediately across the screen as James Gray. He has already made one of this decade’s most passionate melodramas in <i>The Immigrant</i> (from 2014, starring Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix), and a stirring neo-classical adventure tale about ardent dedication to a noble cause, in <i><a href="https://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-lost-city-of-z-and-mozart-in-jungle.html">The Lost City of Z</a></i>. To briefly describe the experience of watching his new movie, <i>Ad Astra</i>, which is currently in release: I was held in rapt fascination, and profoundly moved. It’s the most beautiful movie I’ve seen this year, and to think about it afterwards, with wonder and appreciation, heartens me, even when some of my friends who saw it with me didn’t seem to enjoy it much at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That Gray makes movies of such deep-seated emotions, that express ideas and feelings with so authentic and idiosyncratic a style, is what makes his cinema beautiful. His images, while richly textured, and shot by Hoyte van Hoytema (who previously shot <i>Interstellar</i>) with purpose, tenderness, and a concentrated focus, are muted; they point to deep wells of emotion, rather than stoking them. The intense experience of a character onscreen is finely sketched with exquisite attention to suggestive and surprising details. The point is to preserve and exalt the purity of the emotions felt, not to gratuitously stimulate them in the audience. Gray eludes the striking and the picturesque, for images of sheer sublimity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The plot follows Roy McBride (played by Brad Pitt), a major in the U.S. Space Command and a highly accomplished astronaut, who nearly dies in an accident when the planet is struck by mysterious power surges. He is approached by Space Command, who have traced the surges’ cause to the outcomes of the “Lima Project,” an exploratory project launched 26 years earlier to find and communicate with other intelligent life, helmed by Roy’s father, the famed astronaut pioneer Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones). Space Command wants Roy to travel to Mars, the last undamaged SpaceCom station, and send a message to his father that is hoped to prevent any further surges, which threaten the very existence of the entire solar system. Failing that, there is a plan to travel further on, past Neptune, and deal with the surges’ causes more directly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Adaptations of <i>Heart of Darkness</i> have become a genre unto themselves, and Gray’s particular approach is to rework and re-purpose the very essence of the story, even as he transports it to a futuristic space setting. As with his other movies, <i>Ad Astra</i> is marked by its physically realistic appearance (if someone saw stills from Gray’s movies, they might mistake him for an abstemious realist), while its actual substance — not just what it’s about, but what its images are made of, what actually appears on the screen — is a deep subjectivity. Roy’s 79-day journey across the solar system, while gruelling, isn’t as meaningful a passage of time as the 60 seconds in an underground sound room, during which he speaks to his dad from the heart.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are some details of the future’s fictitious political situation drawn in as well. The Arctic Circle is suggested to be a harrowing battleground. Private companies offer high-priced private travel to the growing commercialised community on the moon. The moon, for its part, is a disputed war zone, with space-pirates waiting in hiding to grab resources. The projects and systems of finding and communicating with intelligent life are surrounded by the grave political rhetoric of heroism (and it’s revealed that part of the movie’s official history of astronaut heroics was deliberately spun to cover up an interplanetary scandal).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Perhaps the greatest contribution to Gray’s creation of an interior landscape is the performance by Brad Pitt. Pitt grew as an actor in stature and skill over 20 years, and came into his own as a singular artist in his mid-40s. Now, as he approaches 60, he has the first-hand emotional experience, the resources of actorly technique and skill, and the seasoned poise to pull off the artistic purposes set for him. In movies such as <i>The Curious Case of Benjamin Button</i>, <i>The Tree of Life</i>, <i>Moneyball</i>, and <i>By the Sea</i>, he bears down formidably with ruthlessness, with a tense stillness, and with a doleful world-weariness, that make him the best possible fit for the character of Roy, on his journey from an austere solitude to tremulous vulnerability and connection with the people around him. Pitt renders the movie’s worldview vital and complex: If all we have is ourselves, each other, and the stars, could we be any richer?</span></div>
Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-70957045016261737132019-11-01T14:50:00.000+02:002019-11-01T14:50:02.507+02:00“The Laundromat” is a Lesser Success by Steven Soderbergh<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Steven Soderbergh emerged from a short-lived “retirement” with the trio <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2017/11/what-to-see-this-weekend-struggle.html">Logan Lucky</a></i>, <i><a href="http://thebackrowsa.blogspot.com/2018/05/steven-soderberghs-leap-forward-in.html">Unsane</a></i>, and <i>High Flying Bird</i> — a one-two-three of upward leaps for an already formidable filmmaker. That his next movie, <i>The Laundromat</i> (distributed by <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80994011">Netflix</a>), is a lesser work will not seriously blight his career. Nor is it as bad as many reviewers would have you think. (<i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80991400">High Flying Bird</a></i> and <i><a href="https://www.showmax.com/eng/movie/ey622upb-logan-lucky">Logan Lucky</a></i> are also available to stream, as well as his earlier success <i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/70243447">Side Effects</a></i>.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What works is the movie’s core, the main plot and the host of surrounding subplots. What I don’t enjoy is what reviewers have zeroed in on — the unnecessary asides by Gary Oldman and Antonia Banderas, addressing the camera directly with explanations of the financial schemes they employ, à la <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i> and <i>The Big Short</i>. The many strands of the story are like the web of real-life people implicated in the Panama Papers scandal, one of the largest data leaks in history and the true story on which the movie is based. Well, it’s the factual event on which the movie is based. I’m not sure how many of the plot elements are from actual real-life stories; obviously Oldman and Banderas’s characters, Jürgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca, are the real-life partners of the law firm Mossack-Fonseca whose data was leaked. But I haven’t checked up on whether anything else in the movie is based on anything real, and it doesn’t matter either to the movie or to its real-life implications.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Mossack-Fonseca data leak exposed a colossal worldwide sunburst diagram of businessmen, politicians, celebrities, investment holdings, organised criminals, corrupt officials, wayward family men, financial scams, multinational corporations, and anyone else who happened to hold a little more money than they wanted others to know about. Remember some of the high-profile names named when the Papers were released: the brother-in-law of China’s paramount leader Xi Jinping, the son of Margaret Thatcher, the son of Kofi Annan, members of the Spanish royal family, and the nephew of President Zuma, to name only a very few out of hundreds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The pleasure of watching the movie is provided by the sure, professional, skillful hand of Soderbergh and his crew, as well as his sense of fun and playfulness in connecting a few disparate dots in a serious, ongoing global scandal. The point emphasised in <i>The Laundromat</i> is that the practices facilitated by Mossack-Fonseca for its clients are not illegal per se, but they enable many illegal practices, most commonly tax evasion and money laundering. The tragedy of the story — the movie’s final despairing, frustrated gasp, uttered by its star, Meryl Streep — is that bringing those involved to account depended on an anonymous individual who leaked information, not on the people and practices that run our financial and our justice systems. As they currently exist, the systems are run by people who benefit from precisely this kind of clandestine behaviour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The final few minutes move from a scene in the movie to an empty soundstage, a blunt lifting back of the Hollywood Wizard’s curtain. Streep, while delivering her monologue, removes the trappings of her movie costume and wig, to address the camera about the real-life issue of a corrupt and odious financial system, as if leaving her character behind and speaking as herself. But the problem here is the problem of Meryl Streep’s “self”: not her actual self, but per public persona, which is just as carefully controlled and calibrated as any of her movie performances, and which often strikes me as unnatural and strained, particularly when delivering a message of apparent importance. I’m not accusing Streep of disingenuousness; I don’t doubt that she believes in what she preaches, but she always crafts a deliberate performance in which to give it, with meticulous mannerisms and considered inflections to give it a veneer of naturalism. It’s the exact same problem I have with her movie performances (including her performance in this movie), despite my admiration for her immense dedication, craft, and obvious empathy. One day, we may get to finally see that true, inner self. And it won’t be like the lifting of a curtain; it’ll be the terrifying destruction of the Temple.</span></div>
Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8186716633859844711.post-73702796392021551372019-10-31T09:34:00.001+02:002019-10-31T09:34:41.786+02:00The Pleasures and Limits of “Parasite”<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Parasite</i> arrived in South African theatres with a strong reputational backing. It won the <i>Palme d’Or</i>, the highest honour at the Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first Korean film to do so. It’s grossed over $100 million (in comparison, Spike Lee’s <i>BlacKkKlansman</i> made $93 million worldwide last year). And, not insignificantly, Leon van Nierop has been <a href="http://www.rsg.co.za/fliekrubriek_meer.asp?id=3063">advocating passionately</a> for the movie for weeks, encouraging viewers to see it once, and once again while it’s still in theatres.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It’s definitely an entertaining movie, and, if it were in English, there’d be very little about it that would be niche or unappealing to a mass audience. In fact, my friends and I went to see it at the upstairs Ster Kinekor movies at Brooklyn Mall, not at Cinema Nouveau, where it was expected to play. The movie is in Korean throughout, with English subtitles, and is, I think, every bit as enjoyable to an English-speaking audience as to a Korean one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To describe it is far simpler than most reviewers make it sound, and the trick is just not to reveal the particulars of the plot. It’s a class comedy, that turns into a class horror-thriller, that ends more or less as a class tragedy, or tragicomedy. It follows a poor family of four — father, mother, brother, sister — who insinuate themselves as unrelated high-level specialist servants (a chauffeur, a housekeeper, a tutor, and a therapist) into the household of a wealthy family of four, also father, mother, brother, and sister. The rhetorical and behavioural flourishes they employ, their extravagantly fabricated backstories, their very simulation of belonging to the higher echelons of cultured society is one of the movie’s greatest pleasures, and also its subject.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">From the beginning, the writer and director, Bong Joon-ho (who previously made <i>Snowpiercer</i> and <i>Okja</i>), spins the idea through his movie that there is indeed an essential difference between the often-regarded Haves and Have Nots. And that difference isn’t one of divine right or natural ability, or even really moral standing or just rewards; the difference is psychological. The difference is that people already living in the comforts, pleasures, and powers afforded by wealth believe in their ability to achieve, in their chances of getting even more than they already have. To act as though you belong among them to is give the air of believing that you deserve all the luxuries they enjoy. People who live in want, who lack some of those comforts and dignities — and lack a whole lot of that power — are dogged by Fortune and Fate, by the believe that even tenacious hard work can fall short, and that once you’ve moved up in life, chances are the next direction to head is back down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Bong shows it in the unhesitating ruthlessness with which his working-class characters work to undermine and (sometimes literally) beat down their competition. He shows it in the poor father’s fatalist philosophy, expressed quietly one gloomy evening to his son, that there’s no use making any plans to fix a tricky situation: any plan you devise will be dashed to pieces by life’s harsh twists and turns. He shows it in the poor daughter’s brilliance, her assumed air of superiority, that she uses to let the rich family know that they need her more than she will ever need them; she fits into the comforts of high living like a hand in a velvet glove. And he shows it in the rich family’s unquestioning confidence in their success and wealth, their privileged ignorance of any misery or hardship that may exist in some corner of the universe, and their profound shock and horror when something doesn’t work out according to plan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Many elements in the movie brought to mind another 2019 movie of class-based politics, where an underclass creeps its way into the upper class’s comfortable existence, and where a prosperous family of four find themselves targeted by their warped, deprived mirror images. That movie, of course, is Jordan Peele’s <i>Us</i>, a horror and a thriller, with none of <i>Parasite</i>’s comedy, and a whole lot more of its unsettling terrors. The trouble is that Bong’s movie suffers from the comparison, as most movies must when held up against the blazing artistry of the maker of <i>Get Out</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Bong and Peele both depict their upper-class characters ironically, with a scathing view of their obliviousness and blind privilege. They enjoy their luxuries carelessly, as if it cost nothing to attain them, and when they come across someone from life’s lower rungs, they look at them with open contempt and condescension. <i>Parasite</i>’s rich father and mother both literally hold their noses when talking with the chauffeur, and believe strongly in a servant’s ethical duty never to think of himself as the natural equal of his employer. The father calls this “crossing the line”. (Bong takes a few extra pot shots, such as with the rich mother’s easy gullibility, or the absurd belief in her 6-year-old’s artistic genius in his crayon drawings.) And Bong, like Peele, takes the well-advised step of showing the perspective of his underclass; his characters live out human desires with tender or fierce emotions, rather than act as pawns in a chess game of political fantasies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But, where Peele first devises a story in his script along the lines of his political framework, and then conjures it into furious, concentrated philosophy — a bright, living work of art — Bong devises his story in the script, and then merely repeats that step in front of the camera. The pleasures of his movie are all on the page, and are only amplified by the acting and filming of them. It’s not surprising that <i>Parasite</i> connects as immediately with European, American, and South African audiences as with Korean ones, when the performances very straightforwardly and dependably act out the characters’ neatly delineated thoughts and feelings, and nothing more. In the movies of Jordan Peele, each minute gesture, each vocal inflection, each moment of an actor’s movement and speech adds a harrowing psychological resonance. In <i>Parasite</i>, it adds a line to a character study.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">None of this is to discourage readers from seeing <i>Parasite</i>. As I said, it’s thoroughly entertaining and I enjoyed each of its 132 minutes. Bong is an inventive writer and storyteller, with a caustic streak of humour. The surprises held in the plot are worth the price of a ticket, and well-placed for discussion afterwards. I’ve never seen any of his other movies, but <i>Parasite</i> alone makes it abundantly clear that Bong is a skillful director, one with a distinct vision and the means to realise it elegantly — his meanings are always immediately transparent and articulable. And that’s why Jordan Peele is the greater director.</span></div>
Jared Beukeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630746658475436048noreply@blogger.com0