Sunday is the 6th installment (to my knowledge) of "Great Directors," a series at DIVA (Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts), and Tom Blank will be playing three films of Yasujiro Ozu. Late Spring, Tokyo Story, and Floating Weeds are the three slated to play.
On my own I've watched The End of Summer, An Autumn Afternoon, and I Was Born, but... So far all of these films has surprised me in a very good way, and I'm so happy that I'm able to discover these gems by little-known (at least here in the States) directors.
Today I'm finishing up Tokyo Twilight, and its quite a handful. Abortion, abandonment, poor communication, this film conjures up all that is bad in everyday human existence, especially post-war Japan.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A quick reflection
I still feel disappointed about not seeing Milk, but I'd like to quickly reflect upon my happiness at Slumdog Millionaire doing so well. In a world of post-Prop 8 USA, there is no question that gay rights are still something to be fighting for, along with many other minority issues in the United States. These issues are no less important worldwide, and herein lies the crux of why I find (at least the concept of) Slumdog Millionaire more important.
I have this strange concept of a hierarchy, when it comes to ethics and politics, which for as little as I've read in the theories of these throughout history, are informed by Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and now, though I'm not sure how aligned the majority of my values are with his, Peter Singer.
Interestingly enough, I often tell my friends that I'm vegetarian but that it's not my core "stance." I don't think animal rights (of all animals non-human, that is) are nearly as important as human (animal) rights are. In a purely materialistic sense (philosophically, not talking about consumerism or shallow worldviews here), animals will never be given the rights they deserve until humans are. And I'm talking all humans. What does it matter if 6 of 7 continents are treating animals really well, either completely eliminating or drastically reducing their consumption, if just one country on one continent is still mining a rain forest to create grazing land? This is a question of balance and education, which in my eyes is a very human RIGHT. Until the mistakes and successes of each culture that have ever existed are made known to each and every extant culture, we will not know how to properly weigh in these different concepts of life as a human and act accordingly. In other words, first we must educate and address human suffering before the suffering of what the vast majority of humans consider "lesser" animals can ever fully be understood.
I feel that Slumdog Millionaire gives the Western world a very unique perspective on a thoroughly abject version of human living. Despite its vibrance and beauty, so many people should not be starving and living in squallid conditions. I make no claims as to their mode of living, just at how so much of it is done with little access to basic human needs.
Milk, at least as I've come to understand it through reading about it, should be commended for its educating principles, as rights for homosexuals, transgender, and all kinds of other minorities need severely to be addressed. I guess I just fear that if the majority of people aren't made to have concern for minorities in other countries, they surely will have a hard time addressing concerns of minorities in their own countries as well.
"To think out in every implication the ethic of love for all creation -- this is the difficult task which confronts our age." - Albert Schweitzer
I have this strange concept of a hierarchy, when it comes to ethics and politics, which for as little as I've read in the theories of these throughout history, are informed by Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and now, though I'm not sure how aligned the majority of my values are with his, Peter Singer.
Interestingly enough, I often tell my friends that I'm vegetarian but that it's not my core "stance." I don't think animal rights (of all animals non-human, that is) are nearly as important as human (animal) rights are. In a purely materialistic sense (philosophically, not talking about consumerism or shallow worldviews here), animals will never be given the rights they deserve until humans are. And I'm talking all humans. What does it matter if 6 of 7 continents are treating animals really well, either completely eliminating or drastically reducing their consumption, if just one country on one continent is still mining a rain forest to create grazing land? This is a question of balance and education, which in my eyes is a very human RIGHT. Until the mistakes and successes of each culture that have ever existed are made known to each and every extant culture, we will not know how to properly weigh in these different concepts of life as a human and act accordingly. In other words, first we must educate and address human suffering before the suffering of what the vast majority of humans consider "lesser" animals can ever fully be understood.
I feel that Slumdog Millionaire gives the Western world a very unique perspective on a thoroughly abject version of human living. Despite its vibrance and beauty, so many people should not be starving and living in squallid conditions. I make no claims as to their mode of living, just at how so much of it is done with little access to basic human needs.
Milk, at least as I've come to understand it through reading about it, should be commended for its educating principles, as rights for homosexuals, transgender, and all kinds of other minorities need severely to be addressed. I guess I just fear that if the majority of people aren't made to have concern for minorities in other countries, they surely will have a hard time addressing concerns of minorities in their own countries as well.
"To think out in every implication the ethic of love for all creation -- this is the difficult task which confronts our age." - Albert Schweitzer
Friday, February 20, 2009
The time is nigh - 2nd Annual Good/Bads
Just a little over a year go, I saw the movie Bicycle Thieves, in my History of Motion Pictures, pt. II class. It changed my life. I intentionally absorbed all of the special features, and the bits on neorealism and Zavattini (the screenwriter) had me starving for more. Here was a movement where the political ramifications of every day action and a mixture of high and low art came together, offering a unique and all-to-brief glimpse into a world that could be.
Sunday marks the 81st Academy Awards and the Second Annual Cody Must Watch All Available Films to Applaud The Academy For Good Choices and Scold For Poor Ones. I'm just going to call them the Good/Bads. Last year, for instance, it was good that There Will Be Blood was nominated, and bad that No Country For Old Men took the prize. Fine film, but epic like TWBB, I think not. This year I've already unfortunately missed ample opportunity to see Milk, which, from a simple synopsis point-of-view, seemed excellent. I've seen The Wrestler, The Reader, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, Wall-E, The Visitor, Dark Knight, Changeling, Tropic Thunder (are they serious nominating Robert Downey Jr. for this??), Australia, Hellboy II, and Kung-Fu panda.
Being a foreign movie fanatic, I'm saddened that none of them came to Eugene, which seems a pretty internationalized smaller city. Waltz With Bashir looked amazing and will probably be easily available on DVD (us North Americans love our cartoons) and Revanche (Revenge, Austrian) will be coming out on a Criterion disc at some point, whether it wins or not.
I plan on seeing Bolt, Doubt, and Frost/Nixon this weekend.
Some early thoughts:
Last year a nomination for Best Animated Feature, Persepolis, unveiled another facet of what a cartoon can do - namely, make a devastating biography into something transcendant and beautiful - and lost. This year, quite possibly the best cartoon ever made will not suffer the same fate. Kung Fu Panda, which was a great cartoon, will lose to Wall-E, which follows more in the tradition of the darkhorse Persepolis than last year's labelmate and winner, Ratatouille.
The darkness and political illuminations of last year's Best Picture and Best Director nominees comes wrapped in the fluffy innocence of a lifelike robot. A spoonful of sugar indeed.
Atonement really bothered me as a nominee last year. Not only did it personally abhor me that anything around Keira Knightley was nominated for a best picture, but the story itself was sentimental dreck. This year, the sentimentality seems to have taken the backseat to story, which is a great thing. Slumdog Millionaire, Ben Button, and The Reader (the three BP noms I've seen) contain strong themes, and I can't see Milk or Frost/Nixon as any less story-driven. Milk, which may contain more sweetness than the others (more lactose if you will!) still has the message of a minority being subjugated, especially in the wake of the anti-freedom Prop 8 in California.
Although I found the story of Slumdog Millionaire more original and more fun, The Reader was a devastating and brutal take on memory, and with less punch, so was Ben Button. All very good stuff.
Sunday marks the 81st Academy Awards and the Second Annual Cody Must Watch All Available Films to Applaud The Academy For Good Choices and Scold For Poor Ones. I'm just going to call them the Good/Bads. Last year, for instance, it was good that There Will Be Blood was nominated, and bad that No Country For Old Men took the prize. Fine film, but epic like TWBB, I think not. This year I've already unfortunately missed ample opportunity to see Milk, which, from a simple synopsis point-of-view, seemed excellent. I've seen The Wrestler, The Reader, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, Wall-E, The Visitor, Dark Knight, Changeling, Tropic Thunder (are they serious nominating Robert Downey Jr. for this??), Australia, Hellboy II, and Kung-Fu panda.
Being a foreign movie fanatic, I'm saddened that none of them came to Eugene, which seems a pretty internationalized smaller city. Waltz With Bashir looked amazing and will probably be easily available on DVD (us North Americans love our cartoons) and Revanche (Revenge, Austrian) will be coming out on a Criterion disc at some point, whether it wins or not.
I plan on seeing Bolt, Doubt, and Frost/Nixon this weekend.
Some early thoughts:
Last year a nomination for Best Animated Feature, Persepolis, unveiled another facet of what a cartoon can do - namely, make a devastating biography into something transcendant and beautiful - and lost. This year, quite possibly the best cartoon ever made will not suffer the same fate. Kung Fu Panda, which was a great cartoon, will lose to Wall-E, which follows more in the tradition of the darkhorse Persepolis than last year's labelmate and winner, Ratatouille.
The darkness and political illuminations of last year's Best Picture and Best Director nominees comes wrapped in the fluffy innocence of a lifelike robot. A spoonful of sugar indeed.
Atonement really bothered me as a nominee last year. Not only did it personally abhor me that anything around Keira Knightley was nominated for a best picture, but the story itself was sentimental dreck. This year, the sentimentality seems to have taken the backseat to story, which is a great thing. Slumdog Millionaire, Ben Button, and The Reader (the three BP noms I've seen) contain strong themes, and I can't see Milk or Frost/Nixon as any less story-driven. Milk, which may contain more sweetness than the others (more lactose if you will!) still has the message of a minority being subjugated, especially in the wake of the anti-freedom Prop 8 in California.
Although I found the story of Slumdog Millionaire more original and more fun, The Reader was a devastating and brutal take on memory, and with less punch, so was Ben Button. All very good stuff.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Hello Friends of DON~
Seeing all of your email addresses with my own in a group mailing I've received in past messages, and in case you have not yet heard the sad news that our friend Don Davis has left his earth life, I take the liberty to let you know via Don's brother's recent message, below.
With heartfelt respect and many fond memories,
Michael O'HearnThis message came in February 2nd, a Monday. Though nobody reads this, I feel it proper to summarize my dealings with this remarkable man. I worked for Safeway as a pharmacy technician from late May of 2005 to September of 2007, and I poured my heart and soul into the job. I was surrounded with amazing people and I met person after person who came to the pharmacy, one of the longest standing in Eugene, Oregon. Many college professors, writers, doctors, lawyers, and various creme de la creme frequented this place, and at times it took the appearance more of a speakeasy than a place of medication and advice disbursement.
I met Don briefly and at one point was probably helping him at the counter and he told me a joke. "What did Bush suggest we do about Avian Bird Flu?" Knowing it was about Bush gaffes (and in a particularly well-off area I never knew what political leaning I'd get), I cracked a huge grin. "Bomb the Canary Islands." I chuckled a bit. This is the kind of guy Don was.
After many further jokes, Don and I exchanged numbers and wound up hanging out a few times. Every time he saw me, "Did you see Chinatown yet?" The guy was relentless in forcing me to catch up on my classics. Don turned 80 years old last year (2008) and he didn't look or act a day past 50. He used to quip many a Mae West quote, and I got him a magnet for Christmas. It has Mae West on a surfboard being carried carried above the heads of a group of men, with the quote, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful." I never had the chance to give it to him, with the busy schedule of a student and numerous excuses. It will stay with me as a reminder of you forever, friend.
RIP
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Ooh la la
It's February 2009! Time flies when you're.. having fun? Doing crappy in school this quarter, but today I'm going to turn it around. My head has been good the last few days but it's a bit bad right now. I will be graduating after summer quarter and most likely moving north. It should be awesome. I'm excited to live near my mom, dad, grandma, brother, and many of my other relatives/friends.
I am considering Graduate school in film studies, but I'll be taking some time off to figure that one out.
Hope all is well to anybody who is reading this!
I am considering Graduate school in film studies, but I'll be taking some time off to figure that one out.
Hope all is well to anybody who is reading this!
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