Pialat'nin Fransiz televizyonu icin Istanbul/Turkiye hakkinda yaptigi kisa belgesellerden
7 Aralık 2008 Pazar
22 Ağustos 2008 Cuma
Notes on FFM 2008 (Montreal)
22-08-2008
Long awaited Montreal's largest film festival FFM's 32nd edition kicked off yesterday by hosting the world premiere of Christophe Barratier's Fauborg 36. Yet, as of today it has gone back to the regular screening schedule with more than 60 shows per day which were scattered into 11 theaters for the next 15 days. This year's program offers lots of enticing choices from all over the world along with special focus on Bavarian cinema and launchs homages to Soviet Musicals, Allan Judd Jr. and Tony Curtis. Also Brian de Palma will be conducting a master class at FFM 2008. First day has left me with mixed reactions. I started off with a wonderfully crafted and slow paced Russian film called Shultes (2008) and moved on to the opening film Fauborg 36's second screening and completed the round with Elioso Subiela's uninspiring and inept last No mires para abajo, and impressively-shot-yet-not-subtle-enough-hence-missing-something Swedish film Varg. Among all these, Shultes ranks at the top of my list for the first day and has remained so until the end of the festival. It sets in modern day Russia with a scrupulous focus on its lead character's Lesha Shultes' day to day petty criminal life. Shultes is a pickpocket and its the only thing he is doing for communicating with the world. He steals, involves in small robbery projects and returns home to look after his sick mom. Shultes' life is portrayed in such a mechanical manner that his emotions or human relationships are carefully kept in distance in order to underline the detachedness he is undergoing. By doing so, the film seems deliberately picking up a very controlled, slowly progressing pace to be in rhyme with the emotional state of its characters. Shultes' clockwork living is disrupted by 3 encounters and leads him to a revelation and self-realization.
Long awaited Montreal's largest film festival FFM's 32nd edition kicked off yesterday by hosting the world premiere of Christophe Barratier's Fauborg 36. Yet, as of today it has gone back to the regular screening schedule with more than 60 shows per day which were scattered into 11 theaters for the next 15 days. This year's program offers lots of enticing choices from all over the world along with special focus on Bavarian cinema and launchs homages to Soviet Musicals, Allan Judd Jr. and Tony Curtis. Also Brian de Palma will be conducting a master class at FFM 2008. First day has left me with mixed reactions. I started off with a wonderfully crafted and slow paced Russian film called Shultes (2008) and moved on to the opening film Fauborg 36's second screening and completed the round with Elioso Subiela's uninspiring and inept last No mires para abajo, and impressively-shot-yet-not-subtle-enough-hence-missing-something Swedish film Varg. Among all these, Shultes ranks at the top of my list for the first day and has remained so until the end of the festival. It sets in modern day Russia with a scrupulous focus on its lead character's Lesha Shultes' day to day petty criminal life. Shultes is a pickpocket and its the only thing he is doing for communicating with the world. He steals, involves in small robbery projects and returns home to look after his sick mom. Shultes' life is portrayed in such a mechanical manner that his emotions or human relationships are carefully kept in distance in order to underline the detachedness he is undergoing. By doing so, the film seems deliberately picking up a very controlled, slowly progressing pace to be in rhyme with the emotional state of its characters. Shultes' clockwork living is disrupted by 3 encounters and leads him to a revelation and self-realization.
Edit (1 month later)
I haven't had a chance to update my daily round-ups for individual films during the festival time but among the 30-35 films I have seen my list and ratings followed as such:
1) Shultes (Bakur Bakuradze, 2008, Russia) 9/10
Masterful conception and very moderate execution of its subject matter.
2) Sonbahar (Ozcan Alper, 2008, Turkey) 8.5/10
One of the most impressive debut of Turkish cinema in recent memory. Mostly composed of static long takes which eventually allows the camera to capture of an aftermath of a political turmoil worn through its character's meanderless meandering at Hopa's ravishing lanscape -a small town at the north-east border town of Turkey- upon his release from the prison due to the diagnosis in his lungs. The film by no means strikes and engrosses at every shot it progresses evoking a very personal touch on the issues regarding political alienation, homecoming and a parantheses of time in Turkish history.
3) Diorthosi (Thanos Anastopoulos, 2007, Greece) 8/10
Similar to Sonbahar, Diorthosi follows its character after his release from the prison. Almost clinical in its approach, Diorthosi successfully manages to devise examining the racist tensions, ethnical plummets and by masterfully focussing the character's daily routines and struggle to return what he left in contemporary Greece with a very refined and pondering cinematic examination. Thanos Anastopoulos has revealed a great deal of potential with his first film.
4) Der Rote Punkt (Marie Miyayama, 2008, Japan-Germany) 7/10
With a subject can easily be trapped into lots of indie gimmicks (such as the quest of identity, past), the film manages to hold up in a delicate balance between stylistic insights and solemn pace.
5) To Verdener (Niels Arden Oplev, 2008, Denmark) 7.5/10
6) Tatil Kitabi (Seyfi Teoman, 2008, Turkey) 7/10
7) Ping-pongkingen (Jens Jonsson, 2008, Sweden) 7/10
8) Golge (Mehmet Gureli, 2008, Turkey) 7/10
9) Parking (Chung Mong-Hong, 2008, Taiwan) 7.5/10
10) Nick of Time (Old Fish) (Gao Qunshu, 2008, China) 7.5/10
11) My Magic (Erik Khoo, 2008, Singapore) 6.5/10
12) Back Soon (Sólveig Anspach, 2008, Iceland) 6/10
13) Bitter&Twisted (Christopher Weekes, 2008, Australia) 5/10
14) 9 to 5- Days in Porn (Jens Hoffmann, 2008, Germany) 5/10
15) Cactus ( Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan, 2008, Ausralia) 7.5/10
16) La Extranjera (Fernando Diaz, 2008, Argentina) 6/10
17) Absurdistan (Veit Helmer, 2008, Germany-Khazakistan) ?/10
18) La Rabia (Albertina Carri, 2008, Argentina) 4.5/10
19) Satellites&Meteorites (Rick Larking, 2008, Ireland) ?/10
20) Die Welle (Dennis Gansel, 2008, Germany) 6/10
21) Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen, 2008, USA) 7/10
22) Varg (Daniel Aldredson, 2008, Sweden-Norway-Finland) 6.5/10
23) No Mires Para Abajo (Eliseo Subiela, 2008, Argentina) ?/10
24) Fauborg 36 (Christophe Barratier, 2008, France) 6/10
25) Home (Ursula Meier, 2008, France) 7/10
26) Don't Think About the Monkeys (Yuri Mamin, 2008, Russia) ?/10
27) Nokta (Dervis Zaim, 2008, Turkey) 5.5/10
28) Died Young, Stayed Pretty (Eileen Yaghoobian, 2008, Canada) 6/10
29) Rusalka (Anna Melikyan, 2007, Russia) 5.5/10
30) I Epistrofi (Vassilis Douvlis, 2007, Greece) 6/10
31) Your Name Here (Matthew Wilder, 2008, USA) ?/10
32) Altromondo (Fabiomassimo Lozzi, 2008, Italy) ?/10
33) Maradona by Kustirica (Emir Kustirica, 2008, France-Spain) 5.5/10
21 Ağustos 2008 Perşembe
tact and contact
"The "thinking thing" of modernity conceals a past still to be uncovered, in which the relations between cogitation and perception, thought and feeling, were not what they became, and in which sensation, the primary power of the tactile being, held the keys to the life of all beasts, no less the two-legged one who would raise himself above those around him." (p. 40-41 The Inner Touch, Daniel Heller-Roazen)
13 Nisan 2008 Pazar
3 Nisan 2008 Perşembe
I'm not arthur rimbaud
"Seven simple rules of going into hiding: one, never trust a cop in a raincoat. Two, beware of enthusiasm and of love, both are temporary and quick to sway. Three, if asked if you care about the world's problems, look deep into the eyes of he who asks, he will never ask you again. Four, never give your real name. Five, if ever asked to look at yourself, dont. Six, never do anything the person standing in front of you cannot understand. And finally seven, never create anything, it will be misinterpreted, it will chain you and follow you for the rest of your life. " - I'm Not There
8 Mart 2008 Cumartesi
Un Lac (Philippe Grandrieux, 2008)
I am immensely curious how Grandriux will come up with this new project. I haven't been able to find out much information about it yet, but I grabbed the only available portion through Grandrieux' own web site which seems a little frustrating with all those jumping pop up windows. Hence, I am putting all the information up here...
«UN LAC »
Feature film
Shooting: November, December 2007 and February 2008 / Screenplay Philippe Grandrieux
With Dmitry Alexandrovitch Kubasov, Natalie Rehorova, Alexei Nikolaevitch Solonchev, Vitali Eduardovitch Kishchenko,
Simona Hülsemann, Arthur Semay
Production Mandrake Films / Coproduction Arte France Cinéma / Rhône-Alpes Cinéma
With the participation of Centre National de la Cinématographie / Canal + / Distribution Shellac
SCREENPLAY (extract)
…
The next day.
Alexis is alone with the horse in the forest.
He chops away with his axe, attacking the base of a tree.
He knows his job.
His face is without shadows. Of pure heart.
The camera is near him.
He stops an instant.
He looks around, then raises his eyes.
The treetops and sky stretched out over a canvas of a grey light.
The wind rustles the foliage.
Now Alexis looks at his horse.
Alexis starts chopping again.
With the same fervour, a force that naught can diminish.
His sister stands before him. Her great face before him.
She watches him cutting down a tree.
She observes her brother's powerful, muscular body.
He is happy that she is there.
He stops, puts down the axe and approaches his sister.
She gives to him cool water to drink.
He drinks with joy.
It's good drinking when you are thirsty.
Yes.
She watches him drink.
His head thrown back, gazing up at the sky, trees and light.
She holds out to him bread and cheese.
He eats, without speaking, smiling at her, watching her, smiling at her.
You were hungry.
He nods.
Hege nears the horse.
She puts a hand on the stiff hairs of its mane.
Alexis approaches his sister and lifts her like a feather.
He puts his sister astride the horse.
She laughs.
He laughs too.
He takes the horse by the bit and leads it off.
Alexis runs and the horse quickens its pace.
The horse is heavy. A draught animal.
Alexis looks at his sister, at the good face of his sister against the light, against the sky, and he laughs, and we hear his laughter echo throughout the forest and she laughs as well.
Alexis still runs, we hear his ever-faster breathing mixing in with the panting of the horse.
They emerge from the forest. They are in the high grass.
…
NOTES
The story takes place in a country about which we know nothing. In the north.
The light is devoid of strength.
The sun never climbs high in the sky. It remains on the horizon.
Everything happens with great suddenness.
Nothing prepares it.
It just happens.
The scenes are somehow connected underground, by deep currents invisible on the surface.
Few dialogues.
Lines delivered rapidly.
The film is a tragedy.
The power of cinema is that it enables to us live within a world, as the dreamer lives within his dream.
Thus, we walk in the image.
here is a peek from scouting:
http://www.grandrieux.com/content/lac_rep_video_01.php?lang=en
the music video he made for Marylin Manson:
http://www.grandrieux.com/content/news_summer07_video_01.php?lang=en
«UN LAC »
Feature film
Shooting: November, December 2007 and February 2008 / Screenplay Philippe Grandrieux
With Dmitry Alexandrovitch Kubasov, Natalie Rehorova, Alexei Nikolaevitch Solonchev, Vitali Eduardovitch Kishchenko,
Simona Hülsemann, Arthur Semay
Production Mandrake Films / Coproduction Arte France Cinéma / Rhône-Alpes Cinéma
With the participation of Centre National de la Cinématographie / Canal + / Distribution Shellac
SCREENPLAY (extract)
…
The next day.
Alexis is alone with the horse in the forest.
He chops away with his axe, attacking the base of a tree.
He knows his job.
His face is without shadows. Of pure heart.
The camera is near him.
He stops an instant.
He looks around, then raises his eyes.
The treetops and sky stretched out over a canvas of a grey light.
The wind rustles the foliage.
Now Alexis looks at his horse.
Alexis starts chopping again.
With the same fervour, a force that naught can diminish.
His sister stands before him. Her great face before him.
She watches him cutting down a tree.
She observes her brother's powerful, muscular body.
He is happy that she is there.
He stops, puts down the axe and approaches his sister.
She gives to him cool water to drink.
He drinks with joy.
It's good drinking when you are thirsty.
Yes.
She watches him drink.
His head thrown back, gazing up at the sky, trees and light.
She holds out to him bread and cheese.
He eats, without speaking, smiling at her, watching her, smiling at her.
You were hungry.
He nods.
Hege nears the horse.
She puts a hand on the stiff hairs of its mane.
Alexis approaches his sister and lifts her like a feather.
He puts his sister astride the horse.
She laughs.
He laughs too.
He takes the horse by the bit and leads it off.
Alexis runs and the horse quickens its pace.
The horse is heavy. A draught animal.
Alexis looks at his sister, at the good face of his sister against the light, against the sky, and he laughs, and we hear his laughter echo throughout the forest and she laughs as well.
Alexis still runs, we hear his ever-faster breathing mixing in with the panting of the horse.
They emerge from the forest. They are in the high grass.
…
NOTES
The story takes place in a country about which we know nothing. In the north.
The light is devoid of strength.
The sun never climbs high in the sky. It remains on the horizon.
Everything happens with great suddenness.
Nothing prepares it.
It just happens.
The scenes are somehow connected underground, by deep currents invisible on the surface.
Few dialogues.
Lines delivered rapidly.
The film is a tragedy.
The power of cinema is that it enables to us live within a world, as the dreamer lives within his dream.
Thus, we walk in the image.
here is a peek from scouting:
http://www.grandrieux.com/content/lac_rep_video_01.php?lang=en
the music video he made for Marylin Manson:
http://www.grandrieux.com/content/news_summer07_video_01.php?lang=en
1 Mart 2008 Cumartesi
Arthur Cravan
Oscar Wilde'in yegeni olmayi iddia etmesini bir kenara birakirsak; Arthur Cravan'in kaybolan, kaybolmayi tercih eden dadaistlerden yalnizca birisi oldugunu farketmemiz gecikmeyecektir. Marcel Duchamp ve Francis Picabia'nin davetlisi olarak (Pierre Cabanne'in meshur o uzun soluklu Duchamp roportajindan ogrendigimize gore, Cravan her surrealist gibi yaklasan savastan ve onun getirecegi askerlik yukumlulugunden kacmakta ya da daha sonra gorebilecegimiz gibi bir nevi kaybolma provasi yapmaktadir) cagrildigi New York'taki bir sergiye boksla ilgilenen her surrealist (Julio Cortazar da boksla ilgilenirdi, yazarken sadece bir bardak soda icerdi ama bilinen anlamda surrealist degildi, ama yazdiklari en baba surrealiste tas cikarirdi tabi ki) gibi sarhos gidince soyunup Alfred Jarry'nin meshur kahramanlarindan birisi gibi 'cikik kiclik' oynamaya kalkisinca apar topar yakalanip hapse atilmis bildigimiz kadariyla. Kurtaricisi tabi ki Shakespeare'in butun oyunlarini Francis Bacon'in yazdigina olan inancini uzun bir sure korumus ve omrunun buyuk bir bolumunu bunu ispatlamaya adamis, Duchamp resimlerinin azimli ve adanmis koleksiyoncularindan Arensberg olmustu -herhalde Cravan'in kaybolmadan once meydan okudugu o yillarin agir siklet boks sampiyonu Jack Johnson olacak degildi...
O kadar bahsetmisken, Cravan'dan bir kuple vermeden olmaz, Enis Batur'un hazirladigi Kara Mizah Antolojisi'nden:
"-tanrım! otuz yaşımda olduğumu düşününce yırtıcı bir hayvana
dönüyorum- yatağı severim, çünkü yatak bir kedi gibi hem soluyup yaşayabileceğim hem ölü gibi görünebileceğim tek yerdir- delice eğlendiğim zaman sözlüklerin sesini duyarım...-
dünyanın bütün lokomotifleri hep birden düdük çalsalar çaresizliğimi dile getiremezler- belki hiçbir şey olmamışların kralıyım, çünkü herhangi bir şeyin kralı olduğumdan eminim"
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