28 April 2008

A ledcsíbusye seka

Egy austrâ nefésskójon prísonímni gechterdaujet egy larjcéban és terchfani vense ledczíit, renderszég jas. Austrâi dâme pësseksak zkósz és smajdí a rorjchói tailderól ez a sekat.

15 April 2008

Crossing the Line (USA, 2007) ☆☆☆☆

This pictures was taken by the North Korean government back in the 50s in an attempt to entice US soldiers to abandon their posts and desert to North Korea, where women, food and a happy life were promised to them. It sounds implausible, but it did happen. In the picture we see four US soldiers who actually decided to cross the line into Communist North Korea back in those years. Instead of being tortured or murdered, they became citizens a couple of years afterwards. Additionally, they became huge movie stars in that country, playing the roles in propaganda films where they would play of the "evil" Americans who want to destroy North Korean society. In Daniel Gordon's new documentary, we learn about James Dresnok, one of the four soldiers who one day simply walked away and cross the border into Pyongyang, and is still living there. Truly amazing documentary.
The Mist (USA, 2007) ☆☆☆☆

Bad weather sets in in a small US coast town. Mist is all around and people are strangely getting killed by something or someone. We follow the story of a group of people (around 300) trapped in a supermarket. Suspense builds in really good, and although we see a blob-like tentacle monster at the beginning, the real creature is hidden until the very end. As soon as night falls, the mutant monsters start breaking into the glass doors of the supermarket and chaos ensues. As the movie progresses, there seems to be little hope for survival. There is sufficient gore scenes, just as director Frank Darabont likes it. All in all, a scary and entertaining film.

10 April 2008


Borderline (Canada, 2007) ☆☆☆☆

A biographical story adapted to the big screen is what Borderline offers its audience. Director Lyne Charlebois has based the movie in two novels from Montréal writer Marie-Sissi Labrèche, where she tells the story of her troubled years. The plot revolves around Kiki, and 20 year-old aspiring writer who is, by the way, a blackout drunk and sex addict. Kiki must also take care of her elderly grandmother. We soon learn that many of Kiki's problems stem from her mother's behavior, who by now is in a psychiatric hospital. Coping with her troubled family and her love affair with a university professor make her life even more difficult. The movie jumps from past to present and blends characters from Kiki's youth into her everyday life. Actress Isabelle Blais gives an extraordinary performance and makes audiences feel sympathetic to her suffering.

08 April 2008

Inspiration for "Last Year in Marienbad"

After doing some research, I found out the real inspiration for Alain Resnais' film "Last Year in Marienbad". It is interesting to see how an idea from a novel inspires someone to shoot a length feature. The script for this film was based loosely on a novel titled "The Invention of Morel" written by Argentinian writer Adolfo Bioy Casares in 1940. Casares was a contemporary and friend of Jorge Luis Borges, another Argentinian, considered to be one of the most famous Latin American writers of the 20th century.

In the novel, the main character, a runaway, hides in a mysterious island that is filled with strangely dressed people who, according to the novel "'dance, stroll up and down, and swim in the pool.. as though they were in a resort like Los Teques or Marienbad." I believe this simple sentence gave way to the main theme in the film, where ghost-like and nameless characters stroll around the different gardens and hallways of the castle, as if they were playing in front of a theatre audience.
Elektromagnetische Spaziergänge, das klingt gut!

Die Electrical Walks der Klangkünstlerin Christina Kubisch eröffnen einen vollständig überraschenden Blick auf unsere gewohnte Umgebung. Wer die Strassen, Gebäude und Einkaufszentren von Montréal oder Québec mit den von Kubisch entwickelten "Kopfhörern" entdeckt hat, wird nie wieder in die Einfalt des visuellen Stadtbildes zurückfallen. Mit dieser Intervention macht uns die Künstlerin zum Komplizen: Wir hören das unsichtbar Gegenwärtige und wir werden selbst zu Komponisten unserer Umwelt.
Seit 2004 faszinieren die elektromagnetischen Spaziergänge Besucher in verschiedenen Städten Europas und Amerikas, erstmals werden sie nun in Kanada angeboten.

Tauschen Sie Ihre Entdeckungen und Geheimtipps nach dieser Ortsbesichtigung der besonderen Art im Blog zu den Electrical Walks aus. Christina Kubisch aus Berlin wird diese Intervention im September 2008 für Montréal und Québec konzipieren und mit einem Konzert vorstellen. Die Partner des Goethe-Instituts sind die Galerien Complexe Méduse in Québec und Oboro in Montréal.

Quelle: Goethe Institut Montreal Website

05 April 2008


Last Year in Marienbad (L'Année Dernière à Marienbad) France, 1961 ☆☆☆☆☆

Breaking all rules of conventional storytelling, Last Year in Marienbad is the perfect example of a poetic film, where normal narrative structure is decomposed and altered, where the main characters remain nameless, but there is a underlying story. A man and a woman met apparently one year ago in Marienbad, where apparently the movie takes place? This is never revealed either. All we see is luxurious corridors, rooms, galleries and gardens that remind us of the Versailles castle near Paris. Have these two persons met before really? They are not even sure themselves. Everyone in the castle are dressed up very formal, like they are waiting for the wedding to begin. A very visual and esthetic film from director Alain Resnais. Might sound boring, but it's one of the most original movies I have seen so far.