Friday, June 29, 2018

ZEBRAS IN AMERICA EPISODE 60



On the latest episode of Zebras, Scott & I tackle everything from Claire Denis' underseen U.S. Go Home to some additional thoughts on Blackjack.

Enjoy...

WRONG EPISODE 398: WEST WORLD SEASON TWO



PINNLAND EMPIRE contributor Leanna Kubicz & myself joined James on a recent episode of Wrong Reel to tackle season two of West World. Click the image above to go to the episode.

Monday, June 25, 2018

HIGH AND LOW PODCAST EPISODE 42: SNOW TRAIL



The excellent Kurosawa-themed podcast; High And Low was kind enough to invite me on to talk about Snow Trail and much more.
Click the image above to go to the episode. Enjoy...

Friday, June 22, 2018

ZEBRAS IN AMERICA EPISODE 59: BLACKJACK


On the latest episode of Zebras (which also happens to be our first patreon episode courtesy of The Pink Smoke's John Cribbs), Scott & Zebras 3rd mic Saskia tackle The John Woo/Dolph Lundgren collaboration; BlackJack (I wasn't able to record this week so Saskia filled in).

enjoy

Friday, June 15, 2018

THE SCHOOL OF TARKOVSKY PART 17: AMAT ESCALANTE


It was a really important moment for me - Amat Escalante on seeing Tarkovsky's films

I was watching hundreds of movies and being obsessed with Herzog, Robert Bresson, Tarkovsky, Fassbinder, Fritz Lang, all these things. - Amat Escalante

I’m hoping that the combination of the quotes above (direct from the source) combined with the images below should be enough to convince you all that the talented Amat Escalante comes from the school of Andrei Tarkovsky much like his Mexican contemporary/"mentee"; Carlos Reygadas.

Enjoy...


I'd prefer to start things off with this fairly uncanny comparison between Tarkovsky's The Mirror (left) & Escalante's The Untamed. The positioning of the actors, the framing, etc...
The Mirror / The Untamed

Heli / The Mirror / Nostalghia / Sacrifice

Stalker / The Untamed

Ivan's Childhood / Heli

Heli / Sacrifice / Andrei Rublev

Solaris / Heli

Tarkovsky is certainly not the first director to shoot someone from behind for an extended period of time. But I still think it's safe to say that Amat more than likely drew some direct influence from Tarkovsky's films. Note the similar ambiance/settings between The Mirror & The Untamed (directly below) or the way the figures in both The Mirror & The Untamed stop to look back in their respective films (second image from the top)
The Mirror / The Untamed

The Mirror / The Untamed

The Mirror / Sangre

The Mirror / Los Bastardos

Stalker / Amarrados

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

ZEBRAS IN AMERICA EPISODE 58!


On episode 58 Scott & I break down Heredity, the grief horror genre and rappers who don't write their own lyrics...

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

THE SCHOOL OF CHANTAL AKERMAN PART 2: MICHAEL HANEKE

While Michael Haneke hasn't gone on record to mention Chantal Akerman as an influence on his work (he has cited the likes of Bresson, Pasolini, Tarkovsky, etc), the beautifully (sometimes) monotonous tone and overall ice cold ambiance (found in his early Austrian films) do share some similarities to the films of Chantal Akerman.
Below are some of my favorite examples of the (possible) influence that Akerman may have had on Haneke along with a few quotes from various critics connecting both filmmakers.

enjoy...



The film’s basic form—the mechanical repetition of everyday tasks leading to breakdown—is borrowed from Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles - Jason Bellamy on Haneke’s The Seventh Continent  


Though her legacy is inextricably linked to “Jeanne Dielman,” perhaps one of the three or four most important feminist texts ever produced in the medium, it was Akerman’s versatility that seems most impressive in retrospect. Who but a chameleonic, endlessly curious artist would be cited as an influence by the likes of Todd Haynes, Sally Potter, Michael Haneke, Gus Van Sant, and Tsai Ming-liang? - Sam Adams


Chief among such pictures is his first feature, Die Siebente Kontinent (The Seventh Continent, 1989)—one of the purest modernist texts since the height of Resnais and Antonioni, and perhaps the greatest contemporary contribution to what may be termed "the cinema of existentialism": the focus on the actions and morality of individuals in a seemingly empty universe found in the work of film-makers like Chantal Akerman - Adam Bingham


In Haneke's The Seventh Continent (right) we see the same dreary driving moment from Les Rendezvous D'Anna right down to the same empty/depressed look on the faces of the actresses in their respective films (middle panels)...
Les Rendezvous D'Anna / The Seventh Continent

Les Rendezvous D'Anna / The Piano Teacher

News From Home / Code Unknown
Obviously Chantal Akerman didn't invent the long-take tracking shot but given all the coincidences between Akerman's films & Haneke's films, it isn't that much of a reach to think Haneke drew some possible subconscious inspiration...
Les Rendezvous D'Anna
The Castle
Code Unknown
The Piano Teacher
Similar elevator shots...
Je Tu Il Elle /
Cache
The monotonous & lonely dinner routine...
Saute Ma Ville / 71 Fragments...

Saute Ma Ville /
71 Fragments
The monotony of the morning routine...
 La Chambre / The Seventh Continent 

Much like the tracking shot from Les Rendezvous D'Anna, Chantal Akerman was hardly the first to explore the idea of characters communicating through gadgets like ipads, iphones & laptops. But the way people communicate in Haneke's Happy End (2017) reminds me of Akerman's No Home Movie (2015)...
No Home Movie / Happy End

Both characters on the left request their "significant other" (on the right) to preform a task as a way of showing their dominance
Les Rendezvous D'Anna / The Piano Teacher


Tuesday, June 5, 2018

ZEBRAS IN AMERICA EPISODE 57!



This week, Scott & I talk more First Reformed & Personal Problems. We also get in to everyone & everything from Sion Sono to Pusha T & Drake.

Enjoy...

Friday, June 1, 2018

THE SCHOOL OF CHANTAL AKERMAN PART 1


It's easy to just blindly say how influential Chantal Akerman is/was. It's another thing to give concrete examples of her influence. Below are a few examples of her influence on modern film straight from the mouths of the filmmakers who took/borrowed from her.

Enjoy...


Its loose story of a journey seems inspired by (and comes to close to sharing the philosophy of) Chantal Akerman’s Les Rendezvous d’Anna - David Gregory Lawson on Linklater's It's Impossible To Learn To Plow By Reading Books

(Linklater sites Akerman as an influence on his work on the commentary track of the Criterion disc for It's Impossible To Learn To Plow By Reading Books)

Saute Ma Ville / It's Impossible To Learn To Plow...

Les Rendezvous D'Anna / It's Impossible To Learn To Plow...

Je Tu Il Elle / It's Impossible To Learn To Plow...



She made films which meant a lot to me at the time. She was already a heroine in the cinema world - Claire Denis

Les Rendezvous D'Anna/ Chocolat

Toute Une Nuit / U.S. Go Home

Toute Une Nuit / 35 Shots Of Rum
Les Rendezvous D'Anna / 10 minutes older



No doubt Jim Jarmucsh was taking notes - Scott Tobias on Akerman's (possible) influence

Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to. - Jim Jarmusch

Je Tu Il Elle / Stranger Than Paradise

News From Home /
Permanent Vacation

Saute Ma Ville / Stranger Than Paradise



Seeing Jeanne Dielman for the first time was just a formative jolt of inspiration - Todd Haynes

Jeanne Dielman / Safe

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