mastodon 4.8.0-nightly.2026-10-06I post short comments about the movies I watch. Occasionally books, quotes, tv shows, music and momentary photos, too.
Header picture: Catherine Deneuve as Séverine in the movie “Belle de Jour” (1967, Luis Buñuel)
📍 London
Continued Kieślowski’s DEKALOG with parts III & IV. It’s like reading a collection of short stories by a novelist you love. As I said last week, textbook Kieślowski: human condition, intricate relationships, challenging decisions, and above all, profound and poignant heartache.
@Tarnport@mastodon.green That was one of the most surprising quotes out of this book about swearing :)
— Two French poetic realism movies —
• CHILDREN OF PARADISE •
(and its “making of” doc)
More poetic than realistic.
• GRAND ILLUSION •
Shows the futility and stupidity of war. Goebbels labeled it as “Cinematic Public Enemy No. 1”. Mussolini prevented its Venice win which triggered French to establish the Cannes Film Festival.
— One “read-the-book-so-lets-watch-the-adaptation” movie —
• ENCHANTED APRIL •
Same as the book, it starts off promising but ends a bit meh.
• MIDNIGHT COWBOY •
Pair this with The Graduate, and you’ve got yourself an acting masterclass from Mr. Hoffman.
• ALICE IN THE CITIES •
First film of Wim Wenders’ Road Movie Trilogy. So, so good. Heartwarming and emotional. Made around the same time as Paper Moon, but original and different in many ways.
• DEKALOG I & II •
After last week’s Spoor, before my first trip to the country, diving further into Poland with these ten one-hour movies. Textbook Kieślowski.
• THE TURIN HORSE •
Béla Tarr’s dramatic jubilee. Watched at home, goes straight to “big screen wishlist”.
• DAMNATION •
Neo-noir in Tarr style: neo-slow-noir.
• LOT IN SODOM •
Experimental queer cinema from… 1933.
THE APU TRILOGY
• Pather Panchali (1955)
• Aparajito (1956)
• Apur Sansar (1959)
Coming-of-age in the style of Bengali neorealism. I liked them all, but the first one, Pather Panchali, the most.
ACCATONE
What a debut! (x2) Both for Pasolini and Citti.
MAMMA ROMA
His second feature, again focused on the outskirts of Rome and sex workers.
OEDIPUS REX
The title says it all, but this is an adaptation with a few twists.
MEDEA
Another Greek tragedy, and this time you get THE Maria Callas.
PIGSTY
(More) provocative Pasolini. At times a bit didactic, but still great.
LA RICOTTA
Pasolini feat. Orson Welles.
OLIVER!
Classic tale, spectacular production design.
• FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER •
Classic, episodic Jim Jarmusch.
• TIME OF THE GYPSIES •
A bit magical, but mostly pure realism accompanied by spectacular songs.
• IL MARE •
1962, the year of MMF love triangles in European cinema. This one’s openly gay, unlike subtexted Jules and Jim.
• DEATH IN VENICE •
Nice adaptation, but yes, the book was better.
• MY CHILD •
Interviews with parents of queer kids from Turkey.
• ABOUT ELLY •
Drama/thriller from Iran. Tense.
Completed the Tarkovsky rewatch run with MIRROR and STALKER.
I enjoyed NO OTHER CHOICE.
TRAIN DREAMS, nice drama with extremely unnecessary voice-over narration.
I’d forgotten how dark ALL THAT JAZZ was, first rewatch in ~20 years.
I’d forgotten how cute Woody Harrelson was with his round glasses in INDECENT PROPOSAL.
THE RED BALLOON rewatch, because why not.
Two period dramas about the last years of the Ottoman Empire, LAST HAREM and ABDULHAMID FALLING.
THE LONG DAY CLOSES
The kind of movie that makes you thankful for the movies.
ROMAN HOLIDAY
A more realistic portrait of a young princess than the first season of The Crown.
LIFE, AND NOTHING MORE...
THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES
Koker Trilogy parts 2&3. Layers of fiction unfolding.
TAXI
Director-as-a-cab-driver in Tehran.
I AM CUBA
Some of the best camera uses ever.
GUGUSSE AND THE AUTOMATON
Classic Méliès.
TERMINAL BAR
Photo documentary of a Times Square bar.
NOSTALGIA
THE SACRIFICE
Last two films of Tarkovsky. Pure cinema. No notes.
THE PIANO ACCIDENT
A broken-arm movie came on while I was sitting with a broken arm, so I kind of had to watch.
THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB
What else to say, really. Movie says it all. Just watch it.
REBUILDING
One of the saddest of those Josh O’Connor’s sad-puppy faces.
THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
Watched in 4K, visually stunning. Otherwise, meh.
PRETTY WOMAN
Hehe
PILLION
Sexy and fun.
Is #Goaturday a thing?
FANNY AND ALEXANDER, the uncut TV version. @ishmaellasting@mastodonapp.uk and @arratoon@beige.party were right, there’s not a single minute to cut.
SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE, the uncut TV version. Majestic. And its sequel, SARABAND, that came 30 years later.
After 700+ minutes in Bergmanland, I wanted to stay for more.
THE VIRGIN SPRING, very pagan.
CRIES AND WHISPERS, very red and tense.
HOUR OF THE WOLF, folksy nightmarish horror.
Aptly, wrapped up the week with BERGMAN ISLAND.
• SPOOR •
As soon as I finished reading Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, my thought was: this can be made into a nice movie. Apparently, that was already done. On this rare occasion, the film adaptation of a great book succeeded in capturing all the book’s elements and emotions on screen, using cinematic language and without too much reliance on voice-over. Brilliant.
• THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING •
4K rewatch.
Alongside reading SCULPTING IN TIME by Tarkovsky, I’m rewatching his filmography chronologically. This week THE STEAMROLLER AND THE VIOLIN, IVAN'S CHILDHOOD, ANDREI RUBLEV and SOLARIS.
WRITTEN ON THE WIND
Extravagant melodrama with gigantic flowers popping up in technicolour.
RIVER
Apparently “2-minute time loop” is this director’s specialty. Well executed, fun flick.
OFFICE SPACE
90s corporate mockery.
HAMNET
Mixed feelings, somewhere between OK and cringeworthy.
RE: @alper@mas.to
We’ve been reading on e-ink for decades, so why not write on it? I use a stylus pen with my Kobo, but this is something else. Really promising.
Shooting drones overhead is a human right.
The British really can’t cope with this heatwave. My next door neighbour is having an outdoor barbecue for the third time(!) this week.
@Tarnport@mastodon.green They can be very strict about what to eat when as well. One morning I went to a bakery in Italy and I was looking for something savoury for breakfast on the shelves. After a while I asked the lady if they have anything savoury, and she was SO offended. She yelled “NO! ONLY SWEET! ONLY SWEET!”
People DO love for their bags to have a seat, don’t they?
@Tarnport@mastodon.green Same for Instagram. Saw an IG timeline recently, and even if there were “real” things in it, they felt fake amongst the abundance of slop.
Sounds like a lot has changed in the London property market since this book was written in 1922.
This novel was written at such a crucial turning point in queer history, and it uncannily has a premonition of the days to come. It’s totally overlooked and underrated. Similar to Larry Mitchell’s other masterpiece, The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions, I’m hoping for a reprint and revival of The Terminal Bar.
If you’re willing to read from a poorly scanned PDF, it’s available to borrow at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/terminalbarnovel00mitc/mode/2up
People old enough possibly remembers. For a few years at the end of the last millenium, April 26 was an anxious date (in addition to being the day of Chernobyl disaster).
A computer virus named CIH or more widely known as Chernobyl was around and your Windows PC had a good chance of crashing if it was infected.
It was believed to have infected 60 million computers, resulting in an estimated ~US$35 million in commercial damages.
Welcome to Poland where you can get a prosecco ice cream. Not just as a flavour, but with actual alcohol.