Wednesday, July 24, 2019

THE SCHOOL OF CHANTAL AKERMAN PART 9: GUS VAN SANT

When we made Last Days in particular, we were inspired by Jeanne Dielman - Gus Van Sant (I Dont Belong Anywhere: The Cinema Of Chantal Akerman)


It's no mystery at this point that between the years 2002 (Gerry) through 2005 (Last Days) Gus Van Sant was heavily influenced by Bela Tarr. He, along with countless other critics & bloggers, said this over & over. If you're not familiar at this point just use google. But what got slightly downplayed was the influence of Chantal Akerman which Van Sant cited just as much as he did Bela Tarr.

Below is a slightly focused look on Akerman's influence on a specific period in Gus Van Sant's career ("the minimalist era")

Enjoy...


I am also a big fan of Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, and when I was planning Last Days, Jeanne Dielman was a figure for what kind of movie I was making since it was all taking place around a home - Gus Van Sant (Filmmaker Magazine)
Jeanne Dielman / Last Days

Harris announced that he cracked the code of Jeanne Dielman. I had never noticed myself that there was one. He had watched the film the night before and noticed that there were set angles for each room - Gus Van Sant (Filmmaker Magazine)

Jeanne Dielman / Last Days

Jeanne Dielman / 
Last Days

Michael Pitt told me that Gus van Sant screened Jeanne Dielman before shooting the film - Chantal Akerman (LolaJournal.com)

Jeanne Dielman / 
Last Days

Jeanne Dielman / 
Last Days


BONUS COMPARISONS...

Gerry, too, was a weird one because we were making it up as we went along. So there wasn't anything preconceived. We would discuss Tarkovsky and Béla Tarr and Chantal Ackerman. We screened Jeanne Dielman as a preparation - Gus Van Sant (The Guardian)
Jeanne Dielman / 
Gerry


I've been impressed by many of her films, as well as incredible installations she has made for museums, but above all it's the discovery of Jeanne Dielman that immeasurably marked me when I was a student. in cinema. I see it often since, at home, and I remain amazed of the borders that it explodes in this film, what it invents in terms of narration, report to the character. When I made films like Gerry, Elephant and Last Days , it was a very important influence for me: there was Bela Tarr and Chantal Akerman for me - Gus Van Sant


Leas Rendezvous D'Anna / 
Elephant

Les Rendezvous D'Anna /
Gerry

Saute Ma Ville / 
Last Days

Saute Ma Ville / 
Last Days

Saute Ma Ville / 
Last Days

Saute Ma Ville / 
Last Days

Jeanne Dielman /
Elephant

Je Tu Il Elle / Last Days

Jeanne Dielman /
Elephant

Friday, July 19, 2019

THE SCHOOL OF TARKOVSKY PART 22: MOVING IMAGERY



Solaris / Moonlight

The Mirror / Moonlight
Andrei Rublev / The Element Of Crime

The Mirror / Mandy

Andrei Rublev / The Revenant

Andrei Rublev / The Revenant

The Mirror / The Matrix

Solaris /
Knight Of Cups

Andrei Rublev / The Life Aquatic...

Solaris /
First Reformed

The Sacrifice / The Untamed

Stalker / Taurus

Stalker /4

The Mirror / Vox Lux

Solaris / Vox Lux

Andrei Rublev / We Need to Talk About Kevin

The Mirror / Star Wars


Friday, July 12, 2019

THE SCHOOL OF CHANTAL AKERMAN PART 8: APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL

I know - there are lots of movies that have unedited long takes of hallways and trees and people looking out of a window aimlessly. I know. But there's something about the (unintentional/coincidental) symmetry between the films of Chantal Akerman & Apichatpong Weerasethakul that just sticks out to me more than anyone else (perhaps this has to do with how much I've watched their movies and the subconscious impression they may have left on my brain). 
The agoraphobia, the lack of dialogue, minimal to no music, and just overall ambiance in their respective works are very similar to me (see below).

Below are some examples that I feel best represent the visual similarities between the two filmmakers. I realize using moving imagery instead of stills is almost redundant in this case as there isn't a lot of "action" or movement in the films of either director, but I used videos & gifs to show how long each scene goes without an edit (it's easy to capture moments between two films within one to two second clips but it's another case when the scenes are 5 to 6 times longer).

Let me know what you think...

Hotel Monterey /
Syndromes And A Century

Les Rendezvous D'Anna /
Syndromes And A Century

Les Rendezvous D'Anna /
Cemetery Of Splendour

Jeanne Dielman.../
Syndromes And A Century

Jeanne Dielman... /
Syndromes And A Century

Je Tu Il Elle
Syndromes And A Century

Les Rendezvous D'Anna /
Syndromes And A Century

Les Rendezvous D'Anna / Uncle Boonmee

La Bas /
Syndromes And A Century

La Bas /
Blissfully Yours


Wednesday, July 3, 2019

ZEBRAS IN AMERICA EPISODE 98: ELANA LEVIN & A SPECIAL FRIEND OF THE SHOW


On this latest episode the Zebras sit down with Podcaster/writer/renaissance woman Elana Levin about comics, gender, movies and more. She also brought along a special guest and fan/friend of the show.

Make sure to check Elana out on GraphicPolicy.com

Enjoy...

Monday, July 1, 2019

THE SCHOOL OF PERSONA PART FIVE

More visual (and thematic) similarities between Bergman's Persona (possibly one of the most influential art films) and the films of Schrader, Refn, Kubrick and the other other regular culprits.

Enjoy...

Persona / Mishima

Persona / Lost Highway

Persona / Wild Side

Persona / Oldboy

Persona / Branded To Kill

Persona /
2001: A Space Odyssey

Persona / Scanners

Persona / Chameleon Street

Persona / Water Lilies

Persona / 
1984

Persona / 
Too Old To Die Young

Persona / 
Zama

Paris, Texas / Persona

Persona /
Bladerunner 2049

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