tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64222201296212514342024-03-13T00:22:02.846+00:00Night On Planet EarthHey. Could we do that again? I know we haven't met, but I don't want to be an ant. You know?Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.comBlogger243125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-51631581564171639122022-12-19T09:29:00.002+00:002022-12-19T11:20:54.981+00:00What's Sad - A Christmas Monologue <p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhglAtPTm7QhlMJ6tUnLM7Aq8l0RUYaD0xfpx8PeZlmYDwaD-7hcYfkzCFUjNDDe8_5U3opuvxz3-OjaHMuIxLbcOzOiFPKjvVVfZTH8sKamMEzKvOXEGr06BclAIuwpUgvKBF4cjReRK_RZpLBE9rXYyU92ThQ88hr5uHg1c9XukvaRvSMbsGgL2c4qw/s5184/What's%20Sad%20at%20the%20Water%20Rats.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Benjamin Victor performing What's Sad at The Water Rats, December 2019. Photograph by and © Honey McKenna." border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhglAtPTm7QhlMJ6tUnLM7Aq8l0RUYaD0xfpx8PeZlmYDwaD-7hcYfkzCFUjNDDe8_5U3opuvxz3-OjaHMuIxLbcOzOiFPKjvVVfZTH8sKamMEzKvOXEGr06BclAIuwpUgvKBF4cjReRK_RZpLBE9rXYyU92ThQ88hr5uHg1c9XukvaRvSMbsGgL2c4qw/w400-h266/What's%20Sad%20at%20the%20Water%20Rats.jpg" title="Benjamin Victor performing What's Sad at The Water Rats, December 2019. Photograph by and © Honey McKenna." width="400" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p style="text-align: justify;">This short monologue was originally written after I received an invitation from Niall Phillips to contribute to an evening of Christmas-themed pieces he was producing at the Omnibus Clapham on 6th December 2013. It was later performed at The Water Rats, Kings Cross on 2nd December 2019. Around this time every year I think I should post the text on this blog, but never do - well, now I have. Enjoy. </p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>--</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>The lights fade up
to reveal </span></i><span>David
(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mid-twenties</i>)<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> seated on a plain chair, centre-stage. He is wearing a knitted
Christmas jumper, but his facial features betray his Jewish heritage.</i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">David: You know what's sad? I sit here,
like all the other kids, thinking about Christmas, excited about what's under
the tree. Like them, I'm old enough to know better, but I still wander outside
to get lost in the glittering wonderland around me. I see the sparkling lights,
the glowing Santas and the people dressed as elves. I drink their m<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ulled wine</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>and eat their Christmas puddings and I
pull their cardboard crackers and I steal a kiss under the mistletoe. I even
dance along to Noddy Holder, and I wear my knitted jumper with pride.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>But never do I light the candles. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>Short
pause</span></i><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sometimes, Christmas makes me sad for
other reasons. Like when I think of Chinese Paul sitting alone in his one
bedroom flat, eating his roast turkey in silence, bending forwards to pull his
cracker apart by himself. And then I think of orphaned Sally, mourning for her late
mother on Christmas Eve. It's hard for her. The pressure to conform. To be
happy. Maybe that's what gets to me too? </span><i style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Beat)</i><span style="font-family: arial;">
When people ask me if I celebrate Christmas, I laugh. Of course I do, I say.
How could I not? It's not like you can get away from it. But Hanukkah? Hanukkah
passes me by. Sometimes it's almost like it doesn't exist. And sometimes that
makes me feel guilty, like I'm self-perpetuating the condemnation of my own
people. I mean, the closest I've ever gotten to celebrating the festival of
light was asking my parents to buy me a Michael Haneke boxset for Hanukkah.
They did.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>Short
pause</span></i><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hanukkah finished yesterday. And I only
know that because I just Googled it. </span><i style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Beat)
</i><span style="font-family: arial;">But I know when Christmas is. I'm literally counting down the days. </span><i style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Beat) </i><span style="font-family: arial;">It makes you think, doesn't it? I
guess the crass commercialisation of Christmas has served its purpose. Or has
it? I mean, I might enjoy eating the twenty-four pieces of naff, powdery
chocolate hiding behind the doors of my unethically produced advent calendar,
but I've never set foot in a church. Not on Christmas anyway. So maybe the
secret indoctrination has failed. But then, come to think of it, I never go to
the synagogue either. Not even on Yom Kippur. I mean, I don't like smoked
salmon or gefilte fish and my skullcap doesn't fit. It hasn't for years. </span><i style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Beat) </i><span style="font-family: arial;">And yet the image of the menorah
still haunts me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>Short
pause</span></i><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I feel like maybe, somewhere, somehow, I'm
being plagued by images of Ross Gellar dressed as the Holiday Armadillo, so
desperate to teach little Ben about his ancestral roots. </span><i style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Beat) </i><span style="font-family: arial;">And what of my roots? Have they died? Or just been dyed? Are
they disguised, coloured, waiting to grow out and be washed clean? As I think
this, I look at the presents under the tree, and I see the packages bulging out
of the stockings, and I think – what does all this matter to me? I'm Jewish.
But then I notice that one of the presents is small and rectangular and I think:
that might be the new Masters of Cinema DVD. Excitement overcomes me, and then
I think – what does it matter if I'm Jewish? It's Christmas.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Blackout.</span></p><p></p>Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-51057841729414939932021-01-04T11:08:00.003+00:002021-01-04T11:09:01.905+00:00My Top Films (and Books) of 2020<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I may not have made it to the cinema much in 2020, but that didn't stop me watching films, both old and new… As always, I've limited myself to one film per director/one book per author.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-YVGUTs_OvDTRWdbS0QauZQkPt2E6KVrcLR2chMHK0B0TQRX0q-eYgO-vV858U1AK1ADpHJqxOGNxizgDUpC4L7VqGP_7ofVJGL0jfctUh4pnH1Nyke91_pUBlkPrs7_o_DaTkYXjqBG/s1211/Screen-Shot-2020-01-29-at-6.03.10-PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="1211" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-YVGUTs_OvDTRWdbS0QauZQkPt2E6KVrcLR2chMHK0B0TQRX0q-eYgO-vV858U1AK1ADpHJqxOGNxizgDUpC4L7VqGP_7ofVJGL0jfctUh4pnH1Nyke91_pUBlkPrs7_o_DaTkYXjqBG/w400-h233/Screen-Shot-2020-01-29-at-6.03.10-PM.png" width="400" /></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>My Top Films of 2020</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">01) Last and First Men (dir. Jóhann Jóhannsson)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">02) The Assistant (dir. Kitty Green)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">03) 180° Rule (dir. Farnoosh Samadi)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">04) Shadow Country (dir. Bohdan Sláma)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">05) Days (dir. Tsai Ming-liang)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">06) Red, White and Blue (dir. Steve McQueen)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">07) Build the Wall (dir. Joe Swanberg) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">08) The Truth (dir. Hirokazu Koreeda)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">09) Moffie (dir. Oliver Hermanus)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">10) The Reason I Jump (dir. Jerry Rothwell)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">11) Fire Will Come (dir. Oliver Laxe)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">12) Where'd You Go, Bernadette (dir. Richard Linklater) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><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/AVvXsEjF8rVmavBFk0QW8SQw7TrPJtrku_SirTjt9i7K_tMH_xJHhzJrDLRZw2akdmzmFKjM0ob44CDtxmBNL6cdyW0kFZwvgctR7YcgL0bPVJSUwqHu0PaJi4NiEjtD5j4yoiG7lzUMyRTaL0pD/s720/EB20101118REVIEWS08101119963AR.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="720" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8rVmavBFk0QW8SQw7TrPJtrku_SirTjt9i7K_tMH_xJHhzJrDLRZw2akdmzmFKjM0ob44CDtxmBNL6cdyW0kFZwvgctR7YcgL0bPVJSUwqHu0PaJi4NiEjtD5j4yoiG7lzUMyRTaL0pD/w400-h264/EB20101118REVIEWS08101119963AR.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The Best Films from Previous Years that I Saw for the First Time in 2020</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">01) Red Beard (1965, dir. Akira Kurosawa)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">02) Doktor Glas (1968, dir. Mai Zetterling)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">03) Distant Journey (1949, dir. Alfréd Radok)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">04) Transport from Paradise (1962, dir. Zbyněk Brynych)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">05) The Last Stage (1948, dir. Wanda Jakubowska) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">06) Hiroshima (1953, dir. Hideo Sekigawa)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">07) The Heiress (1949, dir. William Wyler)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">08) Black Girl (1966, dir. Ousmane Sembène)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">09) Columbus (2017, dir. Kogonada)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">10) The Cheaters (1930, dir. Paulette McDonagh) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">11) The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929, dirs. Arnold Fanck and G. W. Pabst)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">12) Moontide (1942, dir. Archie Mayo)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">13) The Magician (1926, dir. Rex Ingram)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">14) The Song of Ceylon (1934, dir. Basil Wright)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">15) Chess of the Wind (1976, dir. Mohammad Reza Aslani)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">16) Frieda (1949, dir. Basil Dearden)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">17) The Farewell (2019, dir. Lulu Wang)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">18) Western Approaches (1945, dir. Pat Jackson)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-8TKMGHyz4n9VyHk6mZIsS2XtF551lXmjYadHmZ63nAYlwZKYkX3cOQrayDPbQONTjLQfM8vEeRJRI-6GU7-7jddFA-EjTWgAxx_aPTqiNLsAKh-xT_-jSMQ_7nv2eNUaQYWPubQy3tj/s398/51NmbdPKn0L._SX265_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="267" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-8TKMGHyz4n9VyHk6mZIsS2XtF551lXmjYadHmZ63nAYlwZKYkX3cOQrayDPbQONTjLQfM8vEeRJRI-6GU7-7jddFA-EjTWgAxx_aPTqiNLsAKh-xT_-jSMQ_7nv2eNUaQYWPubQy3tj/w134-h200/51NmbdPKn0L._SX265_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="134" /></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The Best Books I Read for the First Time in 2020</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">01) Mariamne – Pär Lagerkvist</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">02) Unquiet – Linn Ullmann</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">03) The Book of Dads – ed. Ben George</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">04) Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race – Reni Eddo-Lodge </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">05) The Prague Cemetery – Umberto Eco </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">06) Africa's Tarnished Name – Chinua Achebe</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">07) The White Plague – Karel Čapek</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">08) I Should Have Stayed Home – Horace McCoy </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">09) Spring Awakening – Frank Wedekind</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">10) Lysistrata – Aristophanes </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-63045990256993807692020-10-19T15:34:00.005+01:002020-10-19T15:34:57.610+01:00Where to begin with Mai Zetterling<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkisKIkOG4RKSqzdECaBQR2-qyaW2wrSVCQWyxTWZqGHp82uvoQHrUAZ-3qGB4o_AXbZCEGh08iMZ2wrlpNZpdufNp4Sr4g803e_amsfIS7jkBNJi6xgzyxofVv6qq2x0ijLMo0985Se4/s1260/mai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="1260" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkisKIkOG4RKSqzdECaBQR2-qyaW2wrSVCQWyxTWZqGHp82uvoQHrUAZ-3qGB4o_AXbZCEGh08iMZ2wrlpNZpdufNp4Sr4g803e_amsfIS7jkBNJi6xgzyxofVv6qq2x0ijLMo0985Se4/w400-h225/mai.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">I wrote about "Where to begin with Mai Zetterling" for the BFI. Read it <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-mai-zetterling" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></p>Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-68993736404082105752020-10-12T20:05:00.004+01:002020-10-12T20:06:25.297+01:00LFF Review: The Cheaters (1930)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiasnrsnfcv4JTJSsVhIzR2HYXdfIpNSvIrHIO1Vjh29E-YxmaotCHJoG3GYzJgOvmd_99idqhMy9msokBRmhjYKopkxE0ucn4auPHqai5_azP1xUKSgxFLnvC3DTbaGRxxfwR6qsY9k3QE/s1243/Cheaters.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="1243" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiasnrsnfcv4JTJSsVhIzR2HYXdfIpNSvIrHIO1Vjh29E-YxmaotCHJoG3GYzJgOvmd_99idqhMy9msokBRmhjYKopkxE0ucn4auPHqai5_azP1xUKSgxFLnvC3DTbaGRxxfwR6qsY9k3QE/w400-h301/Cheaters.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I reviewed the excellent Australian silent film <i>The Cheaters </i>for Silent London. <a href="https://silentlondon.co.uk/2020/10/12/lff-review-the-cheaters-paulette-mcdonagh-1929/" target="_blank">Read it here</a>. </div></span><p></p>Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-52800987964577750332020-05-13T19:25:00.000+01:002020-05-13T19:25:10.804+01:00Where to Begin with Kurosawa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVD5GWpCx66R7VA3DluLmU9dH3gWGEi_VJ-4GBtYSiEz6xUYJnEMFdH9nkpP52OUtNWnj1BLlXUYbfwj_3kF10ZwN8OH1z38BawhuD4eLccK-SnJIFDsdLYPuIpUCBjekTtrgNsar5StKA/s1600/AkiraKurosawa.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="750" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVD5GWpCx66R7VA3DluLmU9dH3gWGEi_VJ-4GBtYSiEz6xUYJnEMFdH9nkpP52OUtNWnj1BLlXUYbfwj_3kF10ZwN8OH1z38BawhuD4eLccK-SnJIFDsdLYPuIpUCBjekTtrgNsar5StKA/s400/AkiraKurosawa.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wrote a piece on <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/where-begin-akira-kurosawa?utm_content=buffer8e3d5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebookbfi&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR2N-jprxDo2cR_qsW4CNntQ8MEKUarJxspPmx7cp3r8fxhX8zTUh2_tHT0" target="_blank">Where to Begin with Kurosawa</a> for the BFI. Read it <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/where-begin-akira-kurosawa?utm_content=buffer8e3d5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebookbfi&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR2N-jprxDo2cR_qsW4CNntQ8MEKUarJxspPmx7cp3r8fxhX8zTUh2_tHT0" target="_blank">here</a>. </span>Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-50160576737009791482020-03-01T20:40:00.001+00:002020-03-01T20:40:22.564+00:00Caligari at 100<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-k94aH12D-SKsuMLDQd3IH_V5n2tNghIAHfARz5v6GBggj16TdcM0UTuPjTkcSI9DTZnpNFnZsP8H2AZzKE2hnYX8Yx5lH1wl0aOX6Z0j9kMzVfDHmZXcfECwQEt_EN3WfKYxJqvQaXj/s1600/caligari-rogge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="698" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-k94aH12D-SKsuMLDQd3IH_V5n2tNghIAHfARz5v6GBggj16TdcM0UTuPjTkcSI9DTZnpNFnZsP8H2AZzKE2hnYX8Yx5lH1wl0aOX6Z0j9kMzVfDHmZXcfECwQEt_EN3WfKYxJqvQaXj/s400/caligari-rogge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I wrote a piece for the BFI celebrating 100 years of <i>The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari</i>. <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/100-years-cabinet-dr-caligari?utm_content=buffer47206&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebookbfi&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR1_fMo6H3HBdAiicxs_QMDqhz66DFNfrap8EqJjxNeRA5yJTcdLKFQs8Sc" target="_blank">Read it here</a>. </span></div>
Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-49916843503629864382020-01-01T15:40:00.000+00:002020-01-01T15:40:31.654+00:00My Top Films (and Books) of 2019 – And of the Decade<br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There seems to be a consensus that 2019 was a strong year for film and, while that may be the case, I feel like overall it's (once again) the films from the archive which excited me most – thanks, in no small part, to the BFI's double-whammy of a stupendous Weimar Cinema season and a complete Antonioni retrospective. Of course, now that we're heading into the 2020s, it's an appropriate time to be looking back, so I've also included a list of my top films of 2010s below, along with my list of the Best Books I Read for the First Time in 2019.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That's a lot of lists! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As always, I've limited myself to one film per director/one book per author.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My Top Films of 2019<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmiOr0SL4j9jIPDEMzpcT08ATjRU1UDghAEmnYs-2C8y2Q-if70J_QjrrkNNhD1KBUS9-WozV4I3SaCpjD064ZTuHDyhWmfn6r5tQtImbeOrLpLEGS5cSha0nF8Tu1tuFHrGf7Dx-2GGc/s1600/the-irishman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmiOr0SL4j9jIPDEMzpcT08ATjRU1UDghAEmnYs-2C8y2Q-if70J_QjrrkNNhD1KBUS9-WozV4I3SaCpjD064ZTuHDyhWmfn6r5tQtImbeOrLpLEGS5cSha0nF8Tu1tuFHrGf7Dx-2GGc/s400/the-irishman.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">01) The Irishman (dir. Martin Scorsese)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">02) Waiting for the Barbarians (dir. Ciro Guerra)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">03) Ghost Town Anthology (dir. Denis Côté)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">04) Vitalina Varela (dir. Pedro Costa)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">05) mid90s (dir. Jonah Hill)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">06) Venezia (dir. Rodrigo Guerrero)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">07) I, Apostate (dir. Jeremy Moss) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">08) I Lost My Body (dir. Jérémy Clapin)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">09) It Must be Heaven (dir. Elia Suleiman)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">10) The Ghost of Peter Sellers (dir. Peter Medak)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Best Films from Previous Years that I Saw for the First Time in 2019<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMjcaEUDKhqmKO0dVlp-N9kxAyerEYF5cwZ9BY6hnr5-sG5s7j6jVn8X63Yq8bDh6jV7zlppN_20FMX3di9P-EfYEXiteV6YRvAXZeBr444pVJaoD7va06vwAiEucVdtWwgw7hcx3ysQb/s1600/La+signora+senza+camelie.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1195" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMjcaEUDKhqmKO0dVlp-N9kxAyerEYF5cwZ9BY6hnr5-sG5s7j6jVn8X63Yq8bDh6jV7zlppN_20FMX3di9P-EfYEXiteV6YRvAXZeBr444pVJaoD7va06vwAiEucVdtWwgw7hcx3ysQb/s400/La+signora+senza+camelie.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">01) La signora senza camelie (1953, dir. Michelangelo Antonioni)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">02) Hangmen Also Die! (1943, dir. Fritz Lang)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">03) Life Begins Tomorrow (1933, dir. Werner Hochbaum) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">04) The Student of Prague (1926, dir. Henrik Galeen) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">05) All Quiet on the Western Front (1930, dir. Lewis Milestone) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">06) Madagascar Skin (1996, dir. Chris Newby) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">07) Room at the Top (1959, dir. Jack Clayton) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">08) You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet (2012, dir. Alain Resnais) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">09) Mother Krause's Journey to Happiness (1929, dir. Phil Jutzi) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">10) La otra (1946, dir. Roberto Gavaldón) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">11) No Man's Land (1931, dir. Victor Trivas)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">12) The Love of Jeanne Ney (1927, dir. G. W. Pabst) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">13) Her Majesty, Love (1931, dir. William Dieterle)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">14) Man of a Thousand Faces (1957, dir. Joseph Pevney) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">15) Happy End (2017, dir. Michael Haneke) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">16) A Special Day (1977, dir. Ettore Scola) <br />
17) In Vanda's room (2000, dir. Pedro Costa) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">18) Scherben (1921, dir. Lupu Pick) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">19) The Song of Life (1931, dir. Alexis Granowsky) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">20) The Story on Page One (1959, dir. Clifford Odets) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Best Films of the 2010s<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFS6CwEaxExYPVTkpSrS3Wgep58NxteveYwSXESPud5WwofAH1uCEenfxckpptX1HfPI56P9ZlPHf9w_3dBLdYEiPWnRic_CjMLZSt1doLcZulvGTCIYW1mh9-Lj6u2Hkp4CKZ1vSQWeIK/s1600/The+Turin+Horse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="1024" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFS6CwEaxExYPVTkpSrS3Wgep58NxteveYwSXESPud5WwofAH1uCEenfxckpptX1HfPI56P9ZlPHf9w_3dBLdYEiPWnRic_CjMLZSt1doLcZulvGTCIYW1mh9-Lj6u2Hkp4CKZ1vSQWeIK/s400/The+Turin+Horse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">01) The Turin Horse (2011, dir. Béla Tarr)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">02) Ida (2013, dir. Paweł Pawlikowski)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">03) Silence (2016, dir. Martin Scorsese)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">04) Boyhood (2014, dir. Richard Linklater)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">05) Miss Julie (2014, dir. Liv Ullmann)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">06) Blue Valentine (2010, dir. Derek Cianfrance)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">07) Birds of Passage (2018, dirs. Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">08) Museum Hours (2012, dir: Jem Cohen)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">09) La Sapienza (2014, dir. Eugène Green)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">10) 1945 (2017, dir. Ferenc Török)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">11) I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians (2018, dir. Radu Jude)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">12) The Assassin (2015, dir. Hsiao-Hsien Hou)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">13) An Elephant Sitting Still (2018, dir. Bo Hu)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">14) Demain? (2011, dir. Christine Laurent)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">15) The Revenant (2015, dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">16) 36 (2012, dir. Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">17) On Body and Soul (2017, dir. Ildikó Enyedi)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">18) Horse Money (2014, dir. Pedro Costa)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">19) Under the Skin (2013, dir: Jonathan Glazer) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">20) Once upon a Time in Anatolia (2011, dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Best Books I Read for the First Time in 2019<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirEcxRSOpFRk4mSZsg52r1jPDQ6EIDX1BqUyyL5duiueMc-NsTkS9SXDX7yP-dUmLtylvXfHuNl0sTYL-C5au4J_64uPBvKirOh7LS2HbxkIIta3yuT63qWE2RfA2HfWSiSTmU6rsa-mU9/s1600/my_antonioni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="390" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirEcxRSOpFRk4mSZsg52r1jPDQ6EIDX1BqUyyL5duiueMc-NsTkS9SXDX7yP-dUmLtylvXfHuNl0sTYL-C5au4J_64uPBvKirOh7LS2HbxkIIta3yuT63qWE2RfA2HfWSiSTmU6rsa-mU9/s200/my_antonioni.jpg" width="144" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">01) My Antonioni – Carlo di Carlo</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">02) All those Tomorrows – Mai Zetterling <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">03) The Late Mattia Pascal – Luigi Pirandello <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">04) R.U.R. – Karel Čapek<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">05) Mikhail Kaufman: Ukrainian Dilogy <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">06) The Hound of the Baskervilles – Arthur Conan Doyle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">07) Piers of the Homeless Night – Jack Kerouac<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">08) Nosferatu in Love – Jim Shepard<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">09) United States Vs. Murder, Inc. – Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">10) Metropolis – Thea von Harbou<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-54105530706222441712020-01-01T12:00:00.001+00:002020-01-01T12:01:04.405+00:00Where to Begin with Costa and Resnais <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIiB696teVUiJL-Atbcq-WHqISXdng3zkXPqtWS5g4jXJsPEMdyuFnfne3A-pPaHAiRUBrT0eFd-nOjOziZXly90Eq6wIh2ExOk1PDNFzgluhTT_I95c53_FHNKpaBCaSxA5fOKlnKoX-/s1600/pedro-costa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="863" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIiB696teVUiJL-Atbcq-WHqISXdng3zkXPqtWS5g4jXJsPEMdyuFnfne3A-pPaHAiRUBrT0eFd-nOjOziZXly90Eq6wIh2ExOk1PDNFzgluhTT_I95c53_FHNKpaBCaSxA5fOKlnKoX-/s400/pedro-costa.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For the BFI, I wrote a piece on <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/where-begin-pedro-costa" target="_blank">Where to begin with Pedro Costa</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Earlier in the year, I also wrote about <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/where-begin-alain-resnais" target="_blank">Where to begin with Alain Resnais</a>, but for some reason I never posted a link on this blog. You can read it <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/where-begin-alain-resnais" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-76890877225485295962019-10-14T17:41:00.000+01:002019-10-14T17:41:22.379+01:00The Irishman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mrcFTldaJCPjmH6IgMnsjummtJaUMi53m4-iCD-e_ZadQoEOTY5c9vTZwfUK0ZD8Mfzz9IdMjWqS85N62x9baX60YSmh0fnOj4L7RyQV2zhcQ6ayDJGaH4c1FAYooF1FuGus29sVEsYl/s1600/The-Irishman_cCourtesy_of_Netflix_2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mrcFTldaJCPjmH6IgMnsjummtJaUMi53m4-iCD-e_ZadQoEOTY5c9vTZwfUK0ZD8Mfzz9IdMjWqS85N62x9baX60YSmh0fnOj4L7RyQV2zhcQ6ayDJGaH4c1FAYooF1FuGus29sVEsYl/s400/The-Irishman_cCourtesy_of_Netflix_2-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I reviewed THE IRISHMAN for Filmuforia. You can </span><a href="https://filmuforia.co.uk/the-irishman-2019-lff-2019/" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank">read it here</a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">. </span></div>
Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-50950894681608814902019-06-28T17:47:00.000+01:002019-06-28T17:47:03.983+01:00VENEZIA <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KbR8puUEzsHO_IylCqZEipS1R4sMGsfBVUddTKb_dC65C3qRT9SLh9lsPh-S6SBzoZTRKqIC05cHTjPr7no-l_WTqD67YVuZ-V83bH5ywG_rnJ_SQ__FgHAFBWMBCU3gfo2QIFklj721/s1600/7A793A7C-3DC4-47B0-80C7-94381AD1B313.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="620" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KbR8puUEzsHO_IylCqZEipS1R4sMGsfBVUddTKb_dC65C3qRT9SLh9lsPh-S6SBzoZTRKqIC05cHTjPr7no-l_WTqD67YVuZ-V83bH5ywG_rnJ_SQ__FgHAFBWMBCU3gfo2QIFklj721/s400/7A793A7C-3DC4-47B0-80C7-94381AD1B313.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I reviewed the excellent VENEZIA for Filmuforia, <a href="http://filmuforia.co.uk/venezia-2019-edinburgh-film-festival-2019/" target="_blank">here</a>. The post also contains a few words on LOVE TYPE D. </span></div>
Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-50529225810959275152019-05-31T12:25:00.003+01:002019-05-31T12:25:49.075+01:0010 Great shorts that became features<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQeyZwyPbMRYAnNmVbe-01QrE-JNG8ZA9IhnPJt_RqTcjcW_DWUNzpEcdJV-hand_LtqEaHP_Gu4-_tNHOxS8uNNWCMLvFstNanEtyyv3KO_ug43yohGqF4lG0evY4oStT4_mZIYAJNx-/s1600/thunderroad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1440" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQeyZwyPbMRYAnNmVbe-01QrE-JNG8ZA9IhnPJt_RqTcjcW_DWUNzpEcdJV-hand_LtqEaHP_Gu4-_tNHOxS8uNNWCMLvFstNanEtyyv3KO_ug43yohGqF4lG0evY4oStT4_mZIYAJNx-/s400/thunderroad.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To coincide with the release of Thunder Road (which I previously reviewed for The Skinny, <a href="https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/thunder-road" target="_blank">here</a>), I wrote about ten great shorts that became features for the BFI. <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/10-great-shorts-became-features" target="_blank">Read it here</a>. </span></div>
Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-63563541821755051892019-05-16T16:35:00.000+01:002019-05-16T16:35:03.106+01:00How Weimar cinema influenced six modern genres<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDu_9BfF6P0jKVeHMC9OnWFLILKZtRUOXUlFfsxr4sN-1Sgt-MCpQKIsGJBl8BF2v3Nm8HExH0I3hyphenhyphenbVieawkgpdrp8R-wpOtbpSUWjSOBHjeTYzxkAZtgulRzIehfHU5nRp0yfjLNjbtW/s1600/nosferatu-1922-003-max-schreck-00m-kgk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1000" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDu_9BfF6P0jKVeHMC9OnWFLILKZtRUOXUlFfsxr4sN-1Sgt-MCpQKIsGJBl8BF2v3Nm8HExH0I3hyphenhyphenbVieawkgpdrp8R-wpOtbpSUWjSOBHjeTYzxkAZtgulRzIehfHU5nRp0yfjLNjbtW/s400/nosferatu-1922-003-max-schreck-00m-kgk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I wrote </span><a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/six-weimar-genres" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank">a piece for the BFI</a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> looking at how Weimar cinema influenced six modern film genres. Read it </span><a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/six-weimar-genres" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">. </span></div>
Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-37330844045762301342019-03-18T12:26:00.000+00:002019-03-18T12:26:34.129+00:00JANUARY Wraps Filming <br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 2016, I was hired by producer
Vanya Rainova to co-write the feature length screenplay for JANUARY, alongside
the film's director, Andrey Paounov. Inspired by Yordan Radichkov's play of the
same name, JANUARY is a surreal tale of five men stuck in a snowstorm at the
edge of the world, who try to solve a mystery as it slowly devours them. Andrey
and I have described our take on the material as 'WAITING FOR GODOT meets THE SHINING'.
Perhaps that will give you an idea of what to expect, perhaps not…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Either way, I'm pleased to say
that JANUARY has now finished filming. I wasn't on set, but the shoot seems to
have gone well. Some beautiful behind the scenes stills can be found below. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Radichkov has been described
as 'Bulgaria's most distinctly-voiced, locally rooted, yet universal author of
the past century', and in 2001 he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in
Literature. I had a huge amount of fun adapting the play, and I'm extremely
excited to see how the final film turns out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_0q-XiWXehO_Gcf6Dwc9JKEmT1F6V1AKE9ebQpcr69RJ2mlY6uqHpmEgoQMWKmL6w2ZNvCtluFFQuKS6ip8EIUQPYxy-3lE-tpUT4AIIi7r5zyvfb6qI48jSCKlF_NSYyLsshwjEm5lO/s1600/01+Boryana+Pandova+%25289%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1353" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_0q-XiWXehO_Gcf6Dwc9JKEmT1F6V1AKE9ebQpcr69RJ2mlY6uqHpmEgoQMWKmL6w2ZNvCtluFFQuKS6ip8EIUQPYxy-3lE-tpUT4AIIi7r5zyvfb6qI48jSCKlF_NSYyLsshwjEm5lO/s400/01+Boryana+Pandova+%25289%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Boryana Pandova. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSP2bQZio1Nz6jM1j4Ig_rcNiLqYxZguQtCHzOLfeVx4tXJGAzfPMFSVnAcXpNPGTa0C9V6vjaehJXHq3MhGQbIszB1LS0ITKEyc2Jq3PmMqM6lFyybHiDdpWcLMswgGgpOQPjxkm4zMwA/s1600/02+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="1080" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSP2bQZio1Nz6jM1j4Ig_rcNiLqYxZguQtCHzOLfeVx4tXJGAzfPMFSVnAcXpNPGTa0C9V6vjaehJXHq3MhGQbIszB1LS0ITKEyc2Jq3PmMqM6lFyybHiDdpWcLMswgGgpOQPjxkm4zMwA/s400/02+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25283%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos by Svetoslav Stoyanov. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmYv8OUlOfjriitaY_MXFWBEXokcscb3BKZXi6d9cnd2ZfZDKWlRTlU84UC89BHLjsweFJHE3Z6yMUBoXijun9JEjBvCEx6-SPXpQsqFNwokXZuab8Kvxzmmz2cTw2iAc0BdJRKat4ywA/s1600/03+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25287%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="1080" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmYv8OUlOfjriitaY_MXFWBEXokcscb3BKZXi6d9cnd2ZfZDKWlRTlU84UC89BHLjsweFJHE3Z6yMUBoXijun9JEjBvCEx6-SPXpQsqFNwokXZuab8Kvxzmmz2cTw2iAc0BdJRKat4ywA/s400/03+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25287%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos by Svetoslav Stoyanov. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEPElViaQtm1Gar5WXyvctCTG9s0-6gSw4-kfRk7DTwx-8HPy7ek2hLbLg46CC3_MmrztqVQrW2nvh8Z7fJjQslxB7Vl7tvy5Z16ZuQnPK2gJfLKJmJwxc38YjZs3gYXdkWz9iP1eXDkO/s1600/04+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25284%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="1080" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEPElViaQtm1Gar5WXyvctCTG9s0-6gSw4-kfRk7DTwx-8HPy7ek2hLbLg46CC3_MmrztqVQrW2nvh8Z7fJjQslxB7Vl7tvy5Z16ZuQnPK2gJfLKJmJwxc38YjZs3gYXdkWz9iP1eXDkO/s400/04+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25284%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos by Svetoslav Stoyanov. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrMntChWSRYhEbRcRAnJ5LKXMcRsiP3rFRcrG4zwT6ZBGMDBTecZUoVJuii5pLlrszbwbCdGUIIJeAr7BYppIvAsETh9UO1Ze-8VroXbgB6iAsotlirPzEbcUrOiyFwDsg15gZFZtYdtJ/s1600/05+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25286%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1080" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrMntChWSRYhEbRcRAnJ5LKXMcRsiP3rFRcrG4zwT6ZBGMDBTecZUoVJuii5pLlrszbwbCdGUIIJeAr7BYppIvAsETh9UO1Ze-8VroXbgB6iAsotlirPzEbcUrOiyFwDsg15gZFZtYdtJ/s400/05+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25286%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos by Svetoslav Stoyanov. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYf8hNHB949d1MfZnmXTiB-Ovdbe4lhpVEmNDaqo7QPg0LBQRi_fdSSBJQp3KJifEu6eJcAvK2q1oR4VmPeVcNgtSjR2rNLuHuPVHbg-CrBXGf5B_2pvAkrYm6CW8oqjc-MK3iB5FfDUhO/s1600/06+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25289%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="1080" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYf8hNHB949d1MfZnmXTiB-Ovdbe4lhpVEmNDaqo7QPg0LBQRi_fdSSBJQp3KJifEu6eJcAvK2q1oR4VmPeVcNgtSjR2rNLuHuPVHbg-CrBXGf5B_2pvAkrYm6CW8oqjc-MK3iB5FfDUhO/s400/06+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25289%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos by Svetoslav Stoyanov. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3F7DEZXFulmbJ2uSDgXXOz0wCkP9HyhCjLVKiCDMTYbO7fQMWqCn-4bm5jFMQO08pHtkY-pKjcfPd_qeph3R8VjqVXvhixYlgc9Ts_08KqrpO9Xo6N-_8vWZpyCR_HohzZbn2PShyphenhyphenAlDs/s1600/07+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%252812%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="1080" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3F7DEZXFulmbJ2uSDgXXOz0wCkP9HyhCjLVKiCDMTYbO7fQMWqCn-4bm5jFMQO08pHtkY-pKjcfPd_qeph3R8VjqVXvhixYlgc9Ts_08KqrpO9Xo6N-_8vWZpyCR_HohzZbn2PShyphenhyphenAlDs/s400/07+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%252812%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos by Svetoslav Stoyanov. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEr7vBVq2gIh9es_WJaz7Kg3K6EqSs9Cubc3-qe4yOv5ZBQVa9GoSIQBjilT_cAbV8qwjKIsTPJP5rx6omxLbc9-y18oXqq_fEK1aUB6eFgXOI2gJfZMqrUG3smeHMp0N_buTtBei8-29/s1600/08+Boryana+Pandova+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1353" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEr7vBVq2gIh9es_WJaz7Kg3K6EqSs9Cubc3-qe4yOv5ZBQVa9GoSIQBjilT_cAbV8qwjKIsTPJP5rx6omxLbc9-y18oXqq_fEK1aUB6eFgXOI2gJfZMqrUG3smeHMp0N_buTtBei8-29/s400/08+Boryana+Pandova+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Boryana Pandova. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihrG5DnfWtiDrTu7jj1nVfBe8II5L45HHvVo7Kc6q-rZoX9xZGmpsCpJXy_ayMFgLzOfkMm3W00nSreC8N0cJqVsdIHHUd7Y7Ea2sN0lL2vM7pPxb4SvB4t5J_cWKE9vhzoeLj30KOr3XC/s1600/09+Boryana+Pandova+%252817%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="1080" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihrG5DnfWtiDrTu7jj1nVfBe8II5L45HHvVo7Kc6q-rZoX9xZGmpsCpJXy_ayMFgLzOfkMm3W00nSreC8N0cJqVsdIHHUd7Y7Ea2sN0lL2vM7pPxb4SvB4t5J_cWKE9vhzoeLj30KOr3XC/s400/09+Boryana+Pandova+%252817%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Boryana Pandova. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoiEYjDBA4Kw06t24bXWtr5j6LEOWuJutILOsPifk9Z0kUyGoC9zoVy1y_JoXJU9-dNp_ppduqFboXtdJ40Wx3hXXFtjt0WYMEmSgoidLvDLfbwXwgSCQwesGE81uf6LKYkKA_E0aNF7Gy/s1600/10+Boryana+Pandova+%25285%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1353" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoiEYjDBA4Kw06t24bXWtr5j6LEOWuJutILOsPifk9Z0kUyGoC9zoVy1y_JoXJU9-dNp_ppduqFboXtdJ40Wx3hXXFtjt0WYMEmSgoidLvDLfbwXwgSCQwesGE81uf6LKYkKA_E0aNF7Gy/s400/10+Boryana+Pandova+%25285%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Boryana Pandova. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQWlKALL2JzdFxeJ2LLWLktsWvfOP1l3zH1knPselyZ3Y7O56waSXLjEY_hdoAXngIaTHiFwK7Vt1cCTdKHfJs5jjtWlkNLKLip2L24cLqBfclVqstTSFPhba1bDniX9ZvV1wYa9kENfJ/s1600/11+Boryana+Pandova+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1353" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQWlKALL2JzdFxeJ2LLWLktsWvfOP1l3zH1knPselyZ3Y7O56waSXLjEY_hdoAXngIaTHiFwK7Vt1cCTdKHfJs5jjtWlkNLKLip2L24cLqBfclVqstTSFPhba1bDniX9ZvV1wYa9kENfJ/s400/11+Boryana+Pandova+%25283%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Boryana Pandova. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nDsbq6vRAXleoU2vDkwXO7QQxuQE7jp9c5IF03CYwFU8G3uekBe4ovPgnbtvnbTxv5AaxYTzpdgZGzWCxp9jF1mf6dovCmwub7XQpX63jUTvO_OIpctnh54SjEjOpO8GrJ84Ml8V6ZgR/s1600/12+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="1080" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nDsbq6vRAXleoU2vDkwXO7QQxuQE7jp9c5IF03CYwFU8G3uekBe4ovPgnbtvnbTxv5AaxYTzpdgZGzWCxp9jF1mf6dovCmwub7XQpX63jUTvO_OIpctnh54SjEjOpO8GrJ84Ml8V6ZgR/s400/12+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos by Svetoslav Stoyanov. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60ptvetKlFdA0kI-jbt0fRORNoZ-P7klHNotXhsyxUcZYba_xPAlMwUrm3OUFpU7MHDKY7Ow4iysoBTjKMf06FoLNd0U97HVv6uPeGyagYtdQs7I2aM2rygxZzKhOv2g8svecR_O0ruma/s1600/13+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25285%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="1080" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60ptvetKlFdA0kI-jbt0fRORNoZ-P7klHNotXhsyxUcZYba_xPAlMwUrm3OUFpU7MHDKY7Ow4iysoBTjKMf06FoLNd0U97HVv6uPeGyagYtdQs7I2aM2rygxZzKhOv2g8svecR_O0ruma/s400/13+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25285%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos by Svetoslav Stoyanov. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9N-wF4s2mXHPZeyhInonOsdgo4t1s2yhdIO2Vkv9GOutAxZjD4e53UVqFBAC3Zqw_sYmGhyphenhyphenmsa1SwlRbWU4a8ivDGrtfZXYPbzBSd34r9_tz62Wcjw_prZlR5KuN64TXi36DXqjsaoHe/s1600/14+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25288%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="1080" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9N-wF4s2mXHPZeyhInonOsdgo4t1s2yhdIO2Vkv9GOutAxZjD4e53UVqFBAC3Zqw_sYmGhyphenhyphenmsa1SwlRbWU4a8ivDGrtfZXYPbzBSd34r9_tz62Wcjw_prZlR5KuN64TXi36DXqjsaoHe/s400/14+Svetoslav+Stoyanov+%25288%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos by Svetoslav Stoyanov. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMp7X9Q4x83q8lfYiTicHHS4reMwHPdXgkawR_82QTAlumdaCxOUeD7TvL4HWusBwdHMO1jEKo_cy6YIP6mvFPdUG8ghHpSwB9A-W14UibaM5KuZceaaG59zOINvMTbxIto4TSAjy11jNw/s1600/15+Boryana+Pandova+%25287%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1353" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMp7X9Q4x83q8lfYiTicHHS4reMwHPdXgkawR_82QTAlumdaCxOUeD7TvL4HWusBwdHMO1jEKo_cy6YIP6mvFPdUG8ghHpSwB9A-W14UibaM5KuZceaaG59zOINvMTbxIto4TSAjy11jNw/s400/15+Boryana+Pandova+%25287%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Boryana Pandova. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMKCVKBvyNosx16Mat4uv9d2ezuwx2zkkM6kdKudJjBLg5JOexukJ8c3g3ruXCG-d45ISjyabsmgkMs3mikNlcYnRcTFAKVhly2Kg3sqD-_PiSjEN2x3wyAsSlTp7wpMcBSDi5CS9Q68_/s1600/16+Boryana+Pandova+%252814%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1353" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMKCVKBvyNosx16Mat4uv9d2ezuwx2zkkM6kdKudJjBLg5JOexukJ8c3g3ruXCG-d45ISjyabsmgkMs3mikNlcYnRcTFAKVhly2Kg3sqD-_PiSjEN2x3wyAsSlTp7wpMcBSDi5CS9Q68_/s400/16+Boryana+Pandova+%252814%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Boryana Pandova. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVEagZj_GeAr6W8JVAAIuXLM9Myr_eyBKBMLr8Yov7a3yqfc1F9I0Ed2NQFkHj6_wrOiYrYoUYbk9MUO875KfNyW6Grd4zJbksdJ1KHlesTvJxvZM50gIED4GKLBrVG1BPoJ6kPob0C8X/s1600/17+Boryana+Pandova+%25288%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1353" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVEagZj_GeAr6W8JVAAIuXLM9Myr_eyBKBMLr8Yov7a3yqfc1F9I0Ed2NQFkHj6_wrOiYrYoUYbk9MUO875KfNyW6Grd4zJbksdJ1KHlesTvJxvZM50gIED4GKLBrVG1BPoJ6kPob0C8X/s400/17+Boryana+Pandova+%25288%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Boryana Pandova. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioXq45ZKcsVKqfu637RvMufwDYkKx5CjpYPciSDI6iSgme3bSBHHgRTUtzj9dNs6zE01v-0wakaFvVv98Rtub-ZeRsMKw6f3s2Vusw-7Fywa7d4xR5upMkK2Y9meqMWQC-LJCLI85oGCGO/s1600/18+Boryana+Pandova+%252815%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1353" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioXq45ZKcsVKqfu637RvMufwDYkKx5CjpYPciSDI6iSgme3bSBHHgRTUtzj9dNs6zE01v-0wakaFvVv98Rtub-ZeRsMKw6f3s2Vusw-7Fywa7d4xR5upMkK2Y9meqMWQC-LJCLI85oGCGO/s400/18+Boryana+Pandova+%252815%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Boryana Pandova. © Portokal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN03FY2KSi1QqDBgS8qGg8mILYifmizx7ycjbX6S0Fntr6b9c7hupPmh9jblyUgaHLXVGIiHO0lG8VDnvm8bW9f9fqfJkjW7_Kty-iZCQtkstq5zfTllfe5WRKz7nvI-UG68jpXRdJ_BbC/s1600/19+Boryana+Pandova+%252812%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1353" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN03FY2KSi1QqDBgS8qGg8mILYifmizx7ycjbX6S0Fntr6b9c7hupPmh9jblyUgaHLXVGIiHO0lG8VDnvm8bW9f9fqfJkjW7_Kty-iZCQtkstq5zfTllfe5WRKz7nvI-UG68jpXRdJ_BbC/s400/19+Boryana+Pandova+%252812%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Boryana Pandova. © Portokal</td></tr>
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Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-88696560184396239752019-02-24T20:28:00.004+00:002019-02-24T20:28:51.720+00:00Thunder Road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9uKlU2bPdLWek3FaI9CXufi3skGWhpiToxw6-sOSu937JsKYrxTZZlQv7SQeW05T_DFVTcgTbqmhNH0nPTo8if87yhlTs5z2X8CHqLWC27jorxMVhxDi-KDETzotGoFVtwMm2jJdjaioX/s1600/135874_widescreen.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="970" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9uKlU2bPdLWek3FaI9CXufi3skGWhpiToxw6-sOSu937JsKYrxTZZlQv7SQeW05T_DFVTcgTbqmhNH0nPTo8if87yhlTs5z2X8CHqLWC27jorxMVhxDi-KDETzotGoFVtwMm2jJdjaioX/s400/135874_widescreen.1.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I reviewed THUNDER ROAD for The Skinny. <a href="https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/thunder-road" target="_blank">You can read it here</a>. </span></div>
Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-67191689525564157412019-02-24T08:53:00.001+00:002019-02-24T08:53:17.081+00:00Quiz: Name these Antonioni closing shots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXEYvdlQPUVqSZ1Tu_oAsVDbOYA3Pjo8Ke_E3wmZujZzrwVmYqTiyY6cRED45lq7sH6EA0M5qWcuEIhiPxmE29aORj0GoYPk7zTCmiU87a2844cmKHL1MfD1ZQ2iE7Z0rG2Lj_AoL1c8U/s1600/antonioni-quiz-007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="750" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXEYvdlQPUVqSZ1Tu_oAsVDbOYA3Pjo8Ke_E3wmZujZzrwVmYqTiyY6cRED45lq7sH6EA0M5qWcuEIhiPxmE29aORj0GoYPk7zTCmiU87a2844cmKHL1MfD1ZQ2iE7Z0rG2Lj_AoL1c8U/s400/antonioni-quiz-007.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I put together a quiz on Antonioni's closing shots for the BFI. <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/quiz-name-antonioni-closing-shot?fbclid=IwAR1vi4OWmTZGkvEQeD8tdPVz76MMUDhBXQIJVwwxJCRqc-6LaaNhbZxfmY0" target="_blank">Have a go here</a>. </span></div>
Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-52664862967662503662019-01-23T17:42:00.003+00:002019-01-23T17:48:49.372+00:00Bergman: A Year in a Life – An Interview with Jane Magnusson<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="1181" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPXIMudKqEyYVz1dqjn9xo_2TGFplC0ljnKzHtEsOAKjuG3ntE1PwZELsvrj9IUbk1UrwqCAP02ns5DXAEtr04ppKZwzeBidl-CgCIsPeXGz94_pTtoVH2dxNOCsdfnLyy60c_wSj06mK/s400/JaneMagnussonFoto%25C2%25A9DFM-AB.jpg" width="400" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Last year, during LFF, I interviewed Jane Magnusson for the BFI. <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/interviews/ingmar-bergman-year-life-jane-magnusson?utm_content=bufferaca12&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebookbfi&utm_campaign=buffer" style="text-align: justify;">The final piece was published on the BFI website earlier today</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. Our chat, however, was more expansive than the word count I was given, so here's a full transcript of our conversation…</span></i></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Having previously worked on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bergman's Video</i>/<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trespassing Bergman</i> project, what made you want to return to Bergman?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: I really really didn't want to return to Bergman. I was super tired of him. But right at the end of working on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bergman's Video</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trespassing Bergman</i> – and this is because I'm not a Bergman scholar – I saw that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Seventh Seal</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wild Strawberries</i> came out in 1957. I thought someone should do a film about that and I thought, well, it can't be me because I'm super tired of Bergman. Then, when the Centenary came around, I was asked, because of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trespassing Bergman</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bergman's Video</i>, if I would like to make another film about him. I said 'if I can dive into 1957, I would like to do that. I think there's a story there'. And it turned out – you know, I'm full of bad ideas – but that was a good idea. Because as I started researching 1957, it just grew and grew and grew – it wasn't just these two films. It was all that theatre, it was another film, it was this television film, it was all these women, it was his children. Everything just grew, so I kind of cartwheeled to work and then cartwheeled home. People think that Bergman is a horribly serious and awful issue to bring upon oneself, because everyone thinks it's just about death and seriousness, but he was a funny person. He had a super strange life, and in 1957, it kind of culminates. I was really happy to have found that year. And also I love the ending of the film where he's just like 'oh no, how could you think this was anything special?'. I don't think he was ever happy about any work he had done. He likes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Persona</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cries and Whispers</i>. He thinks there's something in those films [and that's it]. And that's ridiculous, I mean… there are 25 films that are amazing. But there are also 25 films which are absolute crap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Beyond looking at his productivity in 1957, I was wondering if there was any kind of thesis that you wanted to explore with the film. I don't know if you would agree with this, but one of the differences between the new film and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trespassing Bergman</i> is the tone – in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trespassing Bergman</i>, you have people like Iñárritu visiting Bergman's home on Fårö and saying 'this is the Mecca of cinema'. But in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Year in a Life</i>, you have a more critical approach – or at least a more even approach. So I was interested in whether this was something that you set out to do – to look at him slightly more critically. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: I didn't set out to look at him critically, but in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trespassing Bergman</i> we had only one person who had met Bergman, and that was Woody Allen. And I found that when I interviewed Woody Allen there was a difference between him and all the others, who came to the island and praised him. So I thought it was interesting to actually talk to people who had met him. And that was the starting point for the interviews for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Year in a Life</i> – only people who had worked with him. Nobody who had seen him from abroad and admired him. So it wasn't that I wanted to be critical, I just thought 'let's see what it was like to work with him'. The films about what a fantastic artist he is – they've already been made. And these films are great, but nobody's talked to the sound technician, nobody's talked to the editor, or whatever, and I think in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Year in a Life</i>, the sound technician, Owe Svensson, is a key figure. He's in there for, you know, thirty seconds, but he was the sound technician on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fanny and Alexander</i>, and he's the one that says 'well, today, we talk about diagnoses and I think there was something kind of wrong with Bergman'. And of course there was something! I'm not a psychologist, but to be able to have a year like 1957…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: One thing I found interesting about the interviews is that the more critical comments tend to come from the younger generation – those that worked with him towards the end of his life. I was wondering whether you think this is because Bergman had changed, or times had changed…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: You need to re-see the film. The critical comments are from Bergman himself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Okay, fair enough but…<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: He's the one who's always saying 'I'm a terrible father, I was unfaithful, I was horribly angry'. You know, that's what I like about Bergman, that he's so super honest. I don't even have to be critical – nobody has to be critical, because he's his own worst critic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Yes, I agree with that, but you also have people like Thorsten Flinck…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Who was crushed by him… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: In Sweden it's interesting: we have these actors that Bergman brought up, and made world famous but, with the exception of Gunnel Lindblom and Max von Sydow, never really did anything great outside of Bergman. So he must have been a fantastic director to bring out the best from these actors. So we have the old school actors, and then we have the younger people who he blocked and crushed. And when he was that old man, he was just… I mean, in Sweden it became kind of a joke in the '90s… He's making all these films about his parents and his childhood and we have all these young filmmakers who are not given any money to make their films. Although I think Swedish film would never have ended up on the map of international film without Bergman, he also stopped it for maybe twenty years, where nothing new came out of Sweden in film. And, like Thorsten Flinck, all the people that were competing with him, that were like the new Bergmans, he just crushed. And it's interesting… when I show this film in Sweden, there are so many people that hate me, whose careers were made by Bergman. And they don't want to admit to sucking up to him. They think the story about Thorsten Flinck is horribly skewed. But it's not. We did an amazing amount of research about that, and all these actors who were there to corroborate his story. There are also actors who were in that room who don't dare tell what happened, because Bergman still has power in Sweden. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Do you think the time that has passed since his death is enabling us to start having these conversations more objectively? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: I don't know. I really don't know. I don't think it's made… Making this film has been quite difficult. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: I feel like, critically, Bergman has been very out of favour in recent years, at least in the UK. Now, with the Centenary, people are re-evaluating his work a little bit. I wonder if that critical distance enables us to look afresh at him. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: That's difficult. You're British, I'm Swedish – though I didn't grow up in Sweden. I went to University in America, and was a horribly pretentious University student who loved cinema. I was trying to get in touch with my Swedish roots. And thought 'I'll join the Bergman Society'. And I learned all my Bergman there, in the US, in the 90s. I came back to Sweden and started working as a journalist and thought 'let's talk about Bergman, a master', and people were like 'What are you talking about? Shut up. Let's talk about Scorsese or Tarantino' or whatever. So I really had to put a lid on my love for Bergman's films. And in Sweden, really, they don't even show his films at the dramatic film school in Stockholm. They think they're bourgeois and outdated. And I think they're wrong. I think they should show his films. I think… to try and answer your question… I think the Bergman Centenary is in some sense a bad idea – in Sweden, everyone is so tired of him by now. The Swedes are tired of him. We are. So maybe there's a comeback here, because you haven't had him down your throat your entire life… I don't know if I'm answering your question. I think it's different being Swedish than British. It's hard being Swedish and admiring Bergman because people think you're an idiot. And I think maybe if you're British or American and like Bergman, you're seen as an intellectual. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Going back to what you were saying about Bergman being his own worst critic… I've always been fascinated by his self-critical streak, and how he exposes this in his work. With <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Faithless</i>, for example, there's the story Liv Ullmann tells about how Bergman refused to give himself any forgiveness. Do you think that his films are an attempt to explore his personal shortcomings, or perhaps even to atone for them? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: I don't think he's looking for atonement, because he keeps repeating these things. I just think he's one of the most honest artists we've ever had. And unless you are as honest as he is, when you're making films about relationships, then your films will be bad. And that's why his films are so great – because he is so honest. 'I did this, I was horrible, I'm going to make a film about how horrible I was'. Because most of us are horrible people. Most of us have flaws, and he makes… It seems like he's asking 'where are my flaws?' and then making a film about it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: In the film, there's a quote from Bergman where he says 'I dealt with my upbringing by lying and pretending', and it seems that this continued throughout his life. For instance, I think it's fair to say that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Magic Lantern</i> has been widely discredited…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: It's a novel, rather than an autobiography. Yeah.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: So do you think he's more honest in his films? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Yes…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Or do you think that he's always playing a role, playing a game and creating a mythology about himself?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: I don't know him. I spoke to him on the phone once, but that's a different story…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think he became a great storyteller by having to lie to his parents all the time and finding out that there was a reward for a good lie. He didn't get abused like his brother. He might have even got given a cookie if he told a good lie. And I think maybe that's the beginning of him becoming a great storyteller – to have to start lying at a young age. And then he's super untruthful in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Magic Lantern</i>… There's a really funny Swedish journalist, Jan Winter, who's in the film, and he's written an article: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Magic Lantern, everything wrong</i>. Which is just all the dates, you know, everything that's wrong in that book. Bergman may have lied with dates and facts, but overall it's a good story and it is somewhat coherent with his life. But, I mean, he didn't have to write about going to Germany and loving Hitler. Most of the people that did that, they tried to erase it out of their history. There are so many artists who pretend like they didn't think Hitler was a good idea, but Bergman says 'I thought so. I'm ashamed of it now. Let's talk about it'. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Going back to this idea of atonement… After having this experience in Germany, he says 'I'm not going to be political at all', which is almost like the response we get in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Persona</i>, where Elisabet withdraws from the world because of its atrocities. But, in a way, I feel like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shame </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Serpent's Egg </i>both come out of his experience with the Nazis. So although he says he's going to back away from politics, I think there's a lot more politics in his films than he's given credit for. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Yeah, I think there's politics. But I think <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Serpent's Egg</i>, I'm sorry, is such a terrible film…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: I agree it's his worst film. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: I can't even talk about it… If that's his attempt to try and… I don't know. What is he doing? He should just not have made it. But atonement is an interesting question. I don't think atonement is… I think in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Faithless</i>, maybe. I think he really has a bad conscience for how he treated Gun Grut. Why else would he write that film? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Do you think his private life was so tumultuous because he needed people for inspiration, and in a way he was using them in order to…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: That makes you think, doesn't it? I mean, these women turn up in his films and you can kind of back track and see 'here's Gun Grut, here's Harriet, here's Bibi, here's Ingrid von Rosen, here's Käbi Laretei…' Either it's atonement or it's just that that's what he was doing. It's 'where am I going to get my next film? Well, from this part of my life, where I treated this woman horribly'. Or these children. Or, later in his life, it's always about how poorly he was treated by his father and his mother. So everything is autobiographical. I sometimes wonder if he was a horrible husband or lover just to have something to write about, but I don't think anyone is that bad. I mean, who would do that? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: But you get this in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Through a Glass Darkly..</i>. There, you have the father figure who is a writer and is observing, and almost sacrificing, his family for his art. I wonder if that is a self-portrait. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Autumn Sonata</i> is, I think, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hour of the Wolf</i>… It's a reoccurring theme – the artist who screws over his family for the sake of art. And maybe that's also a reason why Bergman is so loved by male filmmakers and artists all over the world – because he kind of justifies that behaviour. And for good reason… We wouldn't want every man to be like that, but Bergman was like that and we got all these great films out of it. He also had nine children who were crushed. Or eight, or twelve. We don't know. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: He doesn't know. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: He doesn't know. So who does? And I don't know… was that a good sacrifice? I just love the films. And if he hadn't behaved the way he did, we wouldn't have those films. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Going back to 1957 – as you've explained already, it was an incredibly productive year for Bergman. I'm interested to hear what you think it was that drove him to create in such an obsessive, compulsive manner. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: The year before, in 1956, he was awarded a prize in Cannes for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Smiles of a Summer Night</i>, and suddenly he was given artistic freedom and a little bit of money. Also, I think he knew that he always wanted to become this huge Ingmar Bergman figure, but he wasn't. At the beginning of 1957, he isn't. I think he understands that he has to become this giant filmmaker: "I want to make films for the rest of my life, I want to have nobody involved in my creative process, and this is my year to do that". And it is insane, that year. It would be enough, just the two films. But also his private life during that time. We can maybe apply it to him having some kind of mental disorder. I don't know. I think he just wanted to become Ingmar Bergman. And by the end of the year, he is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: You start the film talking about Bergman's stomach pain, and later on you talk about how he goes into hospital to write <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wild Strawberries</i> – that was something that he did quite a lot. It seems like once a year, he took a scheduled trip to hospital. I was wondering if you think his illness is linked to his productivity, or whether it's the result of his productivity. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: I think maybe he has a lactose intolerance or something, or maybe he was gluten allergic, because the diet he keeps is really weird. But also, he's a grown up and if he wants to have yoghurt and pork every lunch, he's allowed to do that. I do think that check in to Sophiahemmet, where he did check in, you know, every other year, was his way of saying 'I'm out of the office', in a weird kind of guilt-ridden way. Most people can just put on flight mode on their cell phone – obviously he didn't have one, but he could have just gone out to an island in Sweden instead of… But he also wanted to have someone to deliver his food. Obviously if you could check into the most lush spa/hospital for four weeks, with our social welfare system, and just write things… His mother was a nurse, so I think he always really liked having the nurses around him. And his father had been a preacher at Sophiahemmet when he grew up, so he saw his first corpse in their morgue – which is not in the film, but in the TV series you get more about that. I don't really think he was that sick. But it's really funny. In Swedish National Television, our version of the BBC Building, he had his own bathroom. And at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, he also had his own bathroom. And later in life they would have arrows taped on the floor so that he could find his own bathroom, and he would sit there forever. And that's fine – if you have stomach problems, it's really nice to have your own bathroom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: I think we can probably agree that Bergman did suffer from anxiety, that he had genuine anxious feelings. Nowadays, one of the recommended ways to treat anxiety is to live in the present moment, rather than obsessing over the past or worrying about the future. To what extent you think his frantic work schedule was a way to keep his anxiety at bay – whether consciously or unconsciously?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Good question. I don't know if this will answer your question, but I asked Woody Allen… I hate name dropping. John Landis, who was on Fårö [for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trespassing Bergman</i>], said 'Jack Nicholson told me never to name drop', which I think is the best quote I've ever heard… But I think what Woody Allen says about trying not to think about death is… I mean, he's obsessed with death in the same way Bergman is. And if you sit around and think about 'how am I going to change the second act?' or 'are these lines okay?' or 'is this actress right?', that's just a way of not thinking about death or about anxiety. And I think that is a general explanation to any artist, or author or painter or filmmaker's reasons… just not to think about death. And I think it's the same with Bergman. He has this huge anxiety, and I think he had quite low self-esteem… If you were a battered child, which he was, not as battered as his brother, but he was a battered child… how do you get out of that? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: One of the most amazing things in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Year in a Life</i>, for me at least, is the interview with Bergman's brother, Dag. But given that we know there was animosity between those two, to what extent do you think we can take Dag's comments at face value? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Well, that's up to you. The Swedish National Television screen <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fanny and Alexander</i> every Christmas, and we've had all these other films about Bergman's childhood, that he's written – so for me, finding one voice telling about that time, that's not Bergman, was amazing. But it's obvious to me that Dag Bergman, his older brother, is a sadist. I mean, he enjoys telling the story of how he forces his younger brother to eat worms. And you can see in his face after he tells that… 'And then Ingmar ate the worms'. I mean, that's horrible. Can you imagine having an older brother like that? Awful. That interview is made in the 80s, when he's part of the consulate in Hong Kong and Macau, which is also really funny because he's like the worst person on the planet. How can you have this person as a diplomat? But he's a Bergman, so they let it pass. He gets interviewed because our King and Queen are going to Hong Kong. He's being interviewed about their coming visit, and they also ask him about his brother – and it's like he's forcing Bergman to eat worms again. He's so mean. I think he's telling the truth, but in that interview there is nothing nice. He says nothing nice about his brother. And there's a segment which is in the television series, where he says 'you know, when I want to go see a film, I go and see Laurel and Hardy. I love them. I want to have a good time. I don't want to see my brother's crap, because I have enough problems on my own'. Which is… you know, he can walk around and think that, but you don't have to say it. But I think it was interesting to bring up in the film. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: In 1957, the release of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Seventh Seal</i> launches his career. But some people see it as an atypical work, because it's a medieval fantasy rather than a more straight forward autobiographical piece. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Year in a Life</i>, you posit that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Seventh Seal </i>is really about his fear of death. So would you argue that it is still an autobiographical piece? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Absolutely, and he starts it there. And there are lots of films… It doesn't have to be Ingmar Bergman walking around mistreating women. He deals with his own fears and anxieties and makes a film out of it, which becomes great. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Persona</i> is the same thing – you don't have to have a man walking around being a tortured artist. Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson are two versions of himself. And I think this is general of any great artist as well – you stay home and you work around this little area, and try to make art out of it. And then, if you're really super honest, then it becomes great. Bergman leaves that area from time to time, and it's just bad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: And would you agree with my personal opinion that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Seventh Seal</i> is meant to be a comedy? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Portions of it. I mean, it is really funny. But, I'm sorry, it's you and me and a few other nerds who think it's really funny. I watch it with my husband and we're like [laughs], because it is really funny. Bergman says it was super funny – 'we're making this film about Death, and he's walking around with shaved eyebrows'. Portions of it are comedy, definitely. When you do laugh in it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Pretty much all the way through. But I think that opening sequence, especially, when he draws black for the chess game and says 'Very appropriate, don't you think?' It's written like a comedy. That's a comedic line. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: You know, there's a very strange exchange there. 'Are you afraid?' Death says, and Max von Sydow says 'My body is prepared, I am not'. So he doesn't answer the question. It's like, he doesn't hear what Death is saying… He should say 'can you repeat the question?' But this is always lost in translation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: One final question, because we haven't spoken about it all, which perhaps answers the question, in a way… Do you feel like his success on the stage has been overshadowed by his film work? And how do you think his stage work influenced his screen work? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: You know, I'm not a huge fan of theatre. I saw five Bergman productions during the 90s at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. I thought they were bad. But I almost always think theatre is bad. So I think theatre was just a way for Bergman… He made theatre all year round, and then he took these actors which he had worked with, and made a film during the summer. And that was his working mode from the time he became in charge of the Dramatic Theatre in Malmö. He had these actors that he worked with all year, and he could trust them. I don't think he was super confident. During the summers, when the theatres were closed, because everything shuts down in Sweden during the summers, he would make these films. But I don't know how much the theatre influenced his films. I don't think much. But then we have all these people who say 'Oh, Bergman's theatre was better than his films'. They're not recorded. We can't dispute that. I've seen a few of them. I fell asleep during <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hamlet</i>. I really did. I'm a big fan of Shakespeare, but I thought it was a terrible production. Which is strange, because that production started the career of Peter Stormare, who's in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fargo</i>… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">AB: He's also in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In the Presence of a Clown</i>. </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Which is horrible. Do you like that? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: I do. I've only seen it once, but I liked it a lot. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: You're so funny! That's like the worst film ever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: No. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: I thought it was really interesting… <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: You thought so? But Agneta Ekmanner with her funny clown hat! That's great. I'm glad you like it. I also think you're insane. I've never met anyone who liked it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: I only saw it at the beginning of this year. Over here, his TV work is very hard to see – apart from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scenes from a Marriage</i>, or… <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scenes from a Marriage</i>, I'm so surprised that HBO or Netflix hasn't picked that up. Because it's still really good…. But <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In the Presence of a Clown</i>? Alex… I'm worried about you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: I mean, I like pretty much of all of this films. This is the one thing we disagree on slightly, I think. I like a lot of the early work. I don't really like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Serpent's Egg</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Do you like my film? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Yes. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Yes, very much. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Because you seem to adore Bergman. I do too. So you can tell me if you think…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: No, I liked it a lot. I would say I think you're maybe slightly too dismissive of the early work. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: But apart from that… <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Which early ones do you like? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Some of them are patchy, but I think most of them are interesting. And I also think… one of the things that you express in the documentary, which I would disagree with slightly, is that '57 is the year that his films start becoming autobiographical – I think they're autobiographical before that. For instance, if you look at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To Joy</i>… It's not the best film, but the lead character's relationship with Victor Sjöström parallels Bergman's real-life relationship with Sjöström. So I think there are autobiographical elements in that early work… <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Yeah, and in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sawdust and Tinsel</i>… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Which is a masterpiece – one of his best. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Yeah, and that's super autobiographical. I love it. So you're absolutely right. There are elements of that in his early work. But what he writes in his diaries in '57 is… 'All the other stuff, I just have to get rid of it…'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: But he would get rid of so many masterpieces, because he was so displeased with so much of his work. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: I really love his phrase, 'I am both the axe and the tree'. How do you sum up an artist, or your life's work? He does that early in '57, and he's 39. He says 'I've understood I have to be both the tree and the axe'. And that's 1957 that he writes that. So I agree with you that there's lots of autobiographical stuff going on before that, but this is the year he decides to go that way. And then every time he leaves that path, it's awful. Have you seen <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All These Women</i>? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Yes. That was one of my backup questions… I saw an interview with you saying you think that's his worst. I'm not going to sit here and make an impassioned defence of it…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Oh you cannot! If you do that… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: No, no, I'm saying I'm not going to do that! But I find it interesting. You would never expect Bergman to make a slapstick comedy. I think there are parts of it which are successful, but mostly I think it's interesting from an autobiographical level, because you can read it as being about him and all his women… <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Jarl Kulle is him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Right. So I think it's very interesting and I enjoy it… But I don't think it's a great film. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: You're such a geek. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">[We both laugh]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: I won't deny it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: I hated it. I love Bergman, and during the course of making this film I saw everything. Most of the time it was just a joy, but then there are… Have you seen the forbidden film [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This Can't Happen Here</i>]?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: I've seen it on YouTube with the subtitles auto-translated from Russian to English. So I found it slightly hard to follow. But they're showing it here [at London Film Festival], so I'm seeing it on Saturday on the big screen. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: Really? They're showing it here? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Yes, because SF have restored it for the Centenary. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This Can't Happen Here</i>, the forbidden film. They're showing it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Yeah. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: This should be news in Sweden. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: It showed in Helsinki recently too. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: That's interesting, because right after Bergman died in 2007, it was suddenly on Pirate Bay. And I downloaded it right away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: And it's on YouTube at the moment, but only subtitled in Russian. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: But it's horrible. It's the worst. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: I feel like I can't comment properly because, as I said, I watched with auto-translated subtitles – but I kind of enjoyed it. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: That's the thing… I love everything that Bergman does because it's so interesting – but I can't see any redeeming factors in that film. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: Well, I'll have a proper opinion after I see it on the big screen. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JM: But also, it's set in Stockholm, where I live, and there are so many backstories… there's a moment where a criminal is thrown off a very famous Swedish suicide point, Katarinahissen, and you can totally tell it's a dummy. But the horrible thing is, Gûsta Ekman, you saw him in my film, he's the directorial assistant to Bergman in 1957 – he was so unhappy during that time, because Bergman was so mean to him, that he tries to commit suicide. He tries to commit suicide the year after he's finished with Bergman. He cuts his wrists, but I don't think he wants to die. And he meets Bergman when he's bandaged, and Bergman says to him 'well, next time, take Katarinahissen'. And having that in mind when you see the forbidden film is horrible, because how can you say that to a young 22 year old who's just tried to commit suicide? How could you ever say that to someone who's actually failed? And wanted to take their own lives? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">AB: He's a complicated figure, Bergman. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-69704207417745792382019-01-23T17:31:00.001+00:002019-01-23T17:31:38.334+00:00Where to begin with Jean Cocteau<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDot7JBsWPOh-xF-DsLm7UpKDAvxeZMMMYjd4CP2g7KWUbLIiuxTq-yk1LonpysF2Z3_vE4rF_TQVlLcKnYiPq-1YCL60hcam8Lxu_ywpU7iOfMM9kpG1VU1KLr2pLDx-qv7ftL-b1Z4B/s1600/jean-cocteau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="580" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDot7JBsWPOh-xF-DsLm7UpKDAvxeZMMMYjd4CP2g7KWUbLIiuxTq-yk1LonpysF2Z3_vE4rF_TQVlLcKnYiPq-1YCL60hcam8Lxu_ywpU7iOfMM9kpG1VU1KLr2pLDx-qv7ftL-b1Z4B/s400/jean-cocteau.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I </span><a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/where-begin-jean-cocteau" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank">wrote about Jean Cocteau</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">for the BFI. </span>Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-89625343626319332822019-01-02T10:30:00.000+00:002019-01-02T10:30:52.532+00:00My Top Films (and Books) of 2018<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Saw and read more than usual this year, so the lists below are a little longer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In all, I had a great year for watching & reading, both old and new – so I'll keep my comments short and get straight to the lists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As always, directors' names will take you to their IMDb pages, and I've limited myself to one film per director/one book per author – though, as with last year, I've cheated by including a series in the number one spot of my book list.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My Top Films of 2018<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TNE_JbaFTimcPoUfjz-ZhXrFUWK5Gpj_WUY5bUlX3vhRVy-4wLhCVApvqedQc1N2O0iZLKI82bE7DRIyDSKzoMzarW6pkIBf2IRoMeuoa-J6BGqb2ky8uYHREB5Wb5IEWYSuPuDUc3S4/s1600/coldwar_still06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: em; margin-right: em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TNE_JbaFTimcPoUfjz-ZhXrFUWK5Gpj_WUY5bUlX3vhRVy-4wLhCVApvqedQc1N2O0iZLKI82bE7DRIyDSKzoMzarW6pkIBf2IRoMeuoa-J6BGqb2ky8uYHREB5Wb5IEWYSuPuDUc3S4/s400/coldwar_still06.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">01) Cold War (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0667734/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Pawel Pawlikowski</a>)</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">02) Last Flag Flying (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000500/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Richard Linklater</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">03) An Elephant Sitting Still (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9636804/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Bo Hu</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">04) Birds of Passage (dirs. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5305003/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Cristina Gallego</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1458734/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Ciro Guerra</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">05) I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1257492/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Radu Jude</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">06) You Were Never Really Here (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0708903/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Lynne Ramsay</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">07) If Beale Street Could Talk (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1503575/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Barry Jenkins</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">08) Zama (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0551506/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Lucrecia Martel</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">09) The Shape of Water (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0868219/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Guillermo del Toro</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">10) Fake Tattoos (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4317824/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Pascal Plante</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">11) Aquarela (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0467285/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Viktor Kossakovsky</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">12) Lady Bird (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1950086/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Greta Gerwig</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">13) Several Conversations about a Very Tall Girl (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6518715/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Bogdan Theodor Olteanu</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">14) Bisbee '17 (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1914992/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Robert Greene</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">15) BlacKkKlansman (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000490/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Spike Lee</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">16) The Green Fog (dirs. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2829262/?ref_=ttfc_fc_dr1">Evan Johnson</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5244989/?ref_=ttfc_fc_dr2">Galen Johnson</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534665/?ref_=ttfc_fc_dr3">Guy Maddin</a>) <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">17) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (dirs. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2130108/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Bob Persichetti</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0709056/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Peter Ramsey</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0745247/?ref_=ttfc_fc_dr3">Rodney Rothman</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">18) Thunder Road (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3526993/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Jim Cummings</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">19) Non-Fiction (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000801/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Olivier Assayas</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">20) Dovlatov (dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1531700/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Aleksey German</a>) <o:p></o:p></span></div><div 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</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Best Films from Previous Years that I Saw for the First Time in 2018<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBD5acwQFL8pTIGJO-7hU2JaLOrC34q7sUa7ZAwKmd_y4OV6yuhdUCczReSVB_FuHwgDvAHhd4YvFGYnjK_nbItgrDYIWanaPuB_xMN7DiQT-dIXu8C4rYzJ6sg0MNrM2Dr05vCNoln9zO/s1600/PRIVATE-CONFESSIONS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: em; margin-right: em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="995" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBD5acwQFL8pTIGJO-7hU2JaLOrC34q7sUa7ZAwKmd_y4OV6yuhdUCczReSVB_FuHwgDvAHhd4YvFGYnjK_nbItgrDYIWanaPuB_xMN7DiQT-dIXu8C4rYzJ6sg0MNrM2Dr05vCNoln9zO/s400/PRIVATE-CONFESSIONS.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">01) Private Confessions (1996, dir. </span><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0880521/?ref_=tt_ov_dr" style="text-align: justify;">Liv Ullmann</a><span style="text-align: justify;">)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">02) The Girls (1968, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0955195/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Mai Zetterling</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">03) Silence is Golden (1947, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163229/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">René Clair</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">04) In the Presence of a Clown (1997, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000005/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Ingmar Bergman</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">05) Outrage (1950, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526946/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Ida Lupino</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">06) Qâf (1985, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0214964/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Jamil Dehlavi</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">07) Il Bidone (1955, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000019/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Federico Fellini</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">08) Sugar Cane Alley (1983, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0657484/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Euzhan Palcy</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">09) Les Parents Terribles (1948, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0168413/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Jean Cocteau</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">10) L'amore (1948, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0744023/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Roberto Rossellini</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">11) Forbidden Games (1952, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0167496/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">René Clément</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">12) Partition (1987, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573427/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Ken McMullen</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">13) Sunday's Children (1992, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0074757/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Daniel Bergman</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">14) None Shall Escape (1944, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0211964/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">André De Toth</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">15) When Harry Met Sally… (1989, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001661/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Rob Reiner</a>) <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">16) Last Couple Out (1956, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0803549/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Alf Sjöberg</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">17) La Main du diable (1943, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0869665/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Maurice Tourneur</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">18) Fragment of an Empire (1929, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0259611/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Fridrikh Ermler</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">19) Tunes of Glory (1960, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0623768/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Ronald Neame</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">20) The Unloved (2009, dir. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608090/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Samantha Morton</a>) <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Best Books I Read for the First Time in 2018<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qQdUik-l5Bd9lmAV9N6raR6DeiyPzDUewtwmpfShweAWziiUkyqQczQMHqXK16en8_M5MCZaJsMMJoJLzJv_ITuoDKBLIAUtpFAs6uexhWqfXxEcOPFC4RCbEJ7ABZ6-6GEZsy4tWEqm/s1600/Lagerkvist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: em; margin-right: em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="1266" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qQdUik-l5Bd9lmAV9N6raR6DeiyPzDUewtwmpfShweAWziiUkyqQczQMHqXK16en8_M5MCZaJsMMJoJLzJv_ITuoDKBLIAUtpFAs6uexhWqfXxEcOPFC4RCbEJ7ABZ6-6GEZsy4tWEqm/s400/Lagerkvist.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">01) The Sibyl, The Death of Ahasuerus, Pilgrim at Sea and The Holy Land – Pär Lagerkvist</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">02) A Project for the Theatre – Ingmar Bergman<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">03) Animal Farm – George Orwell<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">04) Darkness at Noon – Arthur Koestler<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">05) Liv Ullmann Interviews – Robert Emmet Long (ed.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">06) Behold the Man – Michael Moorcock<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">07) The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner – James Hogg <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">08) The Dialogue of Two Snails – Federico García Lorca<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">09) Brave New World – Aldous Huxley<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">10) Mr. Palomar – Italo Calvino<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-35277543644311951912018-11-08T17:21:00.000+00:002018-11-08T17:23:43.050+00:00Where to begin with Jamil Dehlavi<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQHyO9TS7wr2HlZP694U0MBTFTz_FefTjObAFHHOtc4pda6A-a5mNM_fYU9HiD10bDWbjfsaSSP251mBwCVToR-0j9RQbEbpGm-kB4cJi4NprSoBifL2P5vzltiOH0_krzzoY8Z5vHsT8/s1600/towers-of-silence-1975-001-skull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQHyO9TS7wr2HlZP694U0MBTFTz_FefTjObAFHHOtc4pda6A-a5mNM_fYU9HiD10bDWbjfsaSSP251mBwCVToR-0j9RQbEbpGm-kB4cJi4NprSoBifL2P5vzltiOH0_krzzoY8Z5vHsT8/s1600/towers-of-silence-1975-001-skull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQHyO9TS7wr2HlZP694U0MBTFTz_FefTjObAFHHOtc4pda6A-a5mNM_fYU9HiD10bDWbjfsaSSP251mBwCVToR-0j9RQbEbpGm-kB4cJi4NprSoBifL2P5vzltiOH0_krzzoY8Z5vHsT8/s400/towers-of-silence-1975-001-skull.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wrote about Where to begin with Jamil Dehlavi for the BFI. Read it <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/where-begin-jamil-dehlavi?utm_content=buffer8a08a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebookbfi&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">here</a>.</span>Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-69577373528332582522018-10-26T10:52:00.001+01:002018-10-26T10:52:54.618+01:00BFI London Film Festival 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54GtKVuWr4DOd5lXeEwYu0gIR39wWF4lSnNf3GzAnUxfxdd4nGnKcv_exy391E0zcx_cJ1v1zbLfASGvNmulVWJkeOrffRNTfUi9Vk13wz7XHc1yaEPPRpsbO_7xyhevRS_8vZZC4bMue/s1600/LFFBlog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 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/AVvXsEj54GtKVuWr4DOd5lXeEwYu0gIR39wWF4lSnNf3GzAnUxfxdd4nGnKcv_exy391E0zcx_cJ1v1zbLfASGvNmulVWJkeOrffRNTfUi9Vk13wz7XHc1yaEPPRpsbO_7xyhevRS_8vZZC4bMue/s400/LFFBlog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; text-align: justify;">As my coverage of LFF is spread over four different sites, I thought it might be a good idea to collate all the links in one place:</span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://directorsnotes.com/2018/10/26/lff2018-round-up/" target="_blank">Directors Notes: <i>A Roundup of the 62nd London Film Festival</i></a></span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.filmuforia.co.uk/beautiful-boy-2018-lff-2018/" target="_blank">Filmuforia: <i>Beautiful Boy </i>Review</a></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.filmuforia.co.uk/stan-ollie-2018-lff-2018/" target="_blank">Filmuforia: <i>Stan & Ollie </i>Review</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://silentlondon.co.uk/2018/10/26/lff-review-be-natural-the-untold-story-of-alice-guy-blache/" target="_blank">Silent London: <i>Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché </i>Review</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/peterloo" target="_blank">The Skinny: <i>Peterloo </i>Review</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Two great films I've not written about in any of the above pieces are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Border </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thunder Road</i>. The less you know about the former going in, the better, so I won't comment further – but do try and see it if you can. The latter, meanwhile, is the tale of grieving policeman which is elevated through some masterful long-take cinematography and a commanding lead performance from Jim Cummings, who also wrote and directed. Highly recommended. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-19971556321589723832018-09-23T10:12:00.000+01:002018-11-13T14:33:45.833+00:00Berlin: Symphony of Great City<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px;">I'm pleased to announce that I've recorded a commentary track for the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px;">new Flicker Alley Bluray of BERLIN: SYMPHONY OF A GREAT CITY - the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px;">first commentary I've done for a film I didn't direct. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px;">This is the first time the film has been released on Bluray </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px;">(it's a new 2K scan)</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px;">, which is something well worth celebrating. It's c</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px;">urrently on sale, with 20% off, <a href="https://www.moviezyng.com/810162037246.aspx?microstoreid=44" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpU0KWPjN75SWvIYcLZbiL8-qm5WDWh8mOZNOxEiPzvPdhyphenhyphenJNcDKCUN-nufrSiMAGfc55C1MhA2BbI-3td2Njg1sGvzN_Ns9sD-yOljRIXjByzZ8nH9suIVTqxYb4SR_s1gg7-YQQ6tVZ0/s1600/42200192_10158060845124062_2494541954981822464_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="392" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpU0KWPjN75SWvIYcLZbiL8-qm5WDWh8mOZNOxEiPzvPdhyphenhyphenJNcDKCUN-nufrSiMAGfc55C1MhA2BbI-3td2Njg1sGvzN_Ns9sD-yOljRIXjByzZ8nH9suIVTqxYb4SR_s1gg7-YQQ6tVZ0/s400/42200192_10158060845124062_2494541954981822464_n.jpg" width="301" /></a></div>
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Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-20773438935552078372018-09-23T10:04:00.000+01:002018-09-23T10:05:07.287+01:0015 rare times when a director made great films in five or more different decades<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiISfAc1Mcsj2WiLwCBoxueXCEBgdEJeIUf05WhfxLUmSjwRVc2rWaM6LwS1YcDs4au-tcja7pIBcTlSKAvvI9ZHcr2rDqvxWhbGP9Yqevy9s6hxxAmIjAsEv5QULG75yfb8BEQWSDbYlPE/s1600/Dreyer.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="600" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiISfAc1Mcsj2WiLwCBoxueXCEBgdEJeIUf05WhfxLUmSjwRVc2rWaM6LwS1YcDs4au-tcja7pIBcTlSKAvvI9ZHcr2rDqvxWhbGP9Yqevy9s6hxxAmIjAsEv5QULG75yfb8BEQWSDbYlPE/s400/Dreyer.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I contributed a short piece on Dreyer to <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/15-rare-times-great-films-five-decades?utm_content=buffer1fe80&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebookbfi&utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">this new article</a> on the BFI website. </span></div>
Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-15689000458181068442018-09-23T10:00:00.002+01:002018-09-23T10:00:36.319+01:00Quote for the Week <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8PfhT5nn3ZG4PJ-G-1qpaz6aCp97nF-cggWFjnrzRcityVN1jBo2IjMgWtIwUXSH0qWe6TmbUvTpXfOCpLHca2RQ7Fn3-5u9xz-1i4udAzaG2we6T8SFY9dTsQqQlhFRXBC1v2SE1Oo6A/s1600/Brassa%25C3%25AF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="987" data-original-width="1359" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8PfhT5nn3ZG4PJ-G-1qpaz6aCp97nF-cggWFjnrzRcityVN1jBo2IjMgWtIwUXSH0qWe6TmbUvTpXfOCpLHca2RQ7Fn3-5u9xz-1i4udAzaG2we6T8SFY9dTsQqQlhFRXBC1v2SE1Oo6A/s400/Brassa%25C3%25AF.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My only aim was to express
reality, for there is nothing more surreal than reality itself. If reality
fails to fill us with wonder, it is because we have fallen into the habit of
seeing it as ordinary </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- Brassaï</span></div>
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Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-79836612068492401872018-08-24T17:32:00.001+01:002018-08-24T17:32:34.169+01:00Where to begin with Tim Burton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXkese3TbHuKW7wwH36lDi1-rkRW_UQSjMzWzRElifjAGJjlurWHUpulRaN2ZId08TFSd0HC3NScZgdTnuNf6so7RRTal1S-83C5ZyxTtf4Md4tld26joQG8rKqfy15DpLMYUYUNisHryA/s1600/timburton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 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/AVvXsEiXkese3TbHuKW7wwH36lDi1-rkRW_UQSjMzWzRElifjAGJjlurWHUpulRaN2ZId08TFSd0HC3NScZgdTnuNf6so7RRTal1S-83C5ZyxTtf4Md4tld26joQG8rKqfy15DpLMYUYUNisHryA/s400/timburton.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In my latest piece for the BFI, I look at </span><a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/where-begin-tim-burton" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank">Where to begin with Tim Burton</a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">.</span></div>
Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6422220129621251434.post-16073137244018011202018-07-02T13:16:00.001+01:002018-07-02T13:18:43.307+01:00Edinburgh International Film Festival 2018<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtCX-Ua4pTcqwR9YD9XR9Ytvs5uNPQpJg1e2eMl_2Z0vMO_7UVpW9rPBT2PkA8-uq7ri4_EbS9e9IAWHv4oBxJRNcLSRUCfJIVrjPrpFJVtIb3p-9fOWcIfh6zQBJEVGpY5whldHWcATS/s1600/edin-film-fest-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="561" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtCX-Ua4pTcqwR9YD9XR9Ytvs5uNPQpJg1e2eMl_2Z0vMO_7UVpW9rPBT2PkA8-uq7ri4_EbS9e9IAWHv4oBxJRNcLSRUCfJIVrjPrpFJVtIb3p-9fOWcIfh6zQBJEVGpY5whldHWcATS/s400/edin-film-fest-logo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">After a couple of years off from writing about EIFF, I'm back covering the festival for Directors Notes... You can read my pieces here:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://directorsnotes.com/2018/06/20/eiff-2018-preview/" target="_blank">A Look Ahead to Edinburgh International Film Festival 2018</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://directorsnotes.com/2018/07/02/eiff2018-roundup/" target="_blank">A Roundup of Edinburgh International Film Festival 2018</a></span></div>
Alex Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10095106965783561277noreply@blogger.com0