Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Monday, March 14, 2005
Film recommendation: "At Five in the Afternoon"
Off the top of my head, two movie recommendations. One is “City of God”. Make sure to watch the documentary after you’re done with the movie, it’s really good, probably better than the movie itself. Then when it comes out (if it ever comes out) watch “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”, about the coup that took place in Venezuela. Really good stuff. The filmmakers were in the middle of it all. I can’t believe I almost didn’t go see it. I remember brushing it off the first time I was gonna go see it and saying “eh, I know what happened”...and then I got a swift kick in the ass after I saw it. These movies aren’t new, but they’re really good. Hey, anyone seen “Sacco and Vanzetti”? I wanna know how good that movie is. Peace.
Posted by Ruben on from Riverside, CA 03/14 at 04:13 PMDefinately go see UHF starring “Weird Al” Yankovic. One of my all time favorites.
Posted by Bradley Barr on from Arlington, VA 03/14 at 07:11 PMA new wave of filmmakers?
http://207.44.245.159/article8258.htmPosted by Mickey Z. on from 03/14 at 07:30 PMI ended up seeing ‘Der Untergang’ (The Downfall) purely fortuitously yesterday because I was late for another movie. I hadn’t even heard of it, but 10 minutes into the movie, I knew this was a unique experience not to be missed even if I had to forego all theatergoing for a year…
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0363163Posted by sk on from 03/14 at 11:04 PMThe link didn’t work, SK...but I’ll track it down anyway. I’m a bit of a neophyte in the realm of foreigh films (I’m better versed in old Hollywood) so getting suggestions here will be an education of sorts.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 03/15 at 06:27 AMJust to add on to Ruben’s suggestion. The Revolution will Not be Televised was made by filmmakers from Ireland, Kim Bartley and Donnacha O’Briain.
Considering the upcoming holiday, I’ll suggest a few others with Irish links..
The Magdeline Sisters is a powerful film about a group of girls abused by Irish nuns. An incredible true story, and astonishing that so many kept quiet about it. I know it showed in small theatres in the States, I’d imagine you can rent it at certain places now.
Berlusconi’s Mousetrap is a great video of the Genoa protests, produced by people in Ireland. Very well done, and I know it was available on some file sharing networks, but I’m not exactly sure where you’d find them.
There’s also a film by Bernie Dwyer (and others I believe), on the Cuban Five, I think it’s called “Mission Against Terror”. I haven’t seen it, it hasn’t made it over here yet. here’s a link
http://www.freethefive.org/Also, a very good documentary filmmaker in Ireland is Des Bell, if you can ever come across any of his stuff. Not sure if it would make it to the States, but he has looked at class issues and immigration in the past.
Posted by mike on from dublin 03/15 at 06:36 AMYou’re the second person to recommend Magdeline Sisters, Mike, My buddy, Rich (who I’ll trying to lure over here into the discussions) did too.
Btw, you can of course do what you wish...but it might be best to not feed the trolls here. Thanks.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 03/15 at 06:46 AMWho? Ruben?
Just kidding, I understand your point, and will remember it for the future.Magdeline Sisters has an excellent opening scene, partly because I enjoy how it captures some of the manic element found in older Irish music.
It’s amazing that so many people said nothing about these women for so many years. After watching the movie, you’ll probably find yourself being very angry.
Posted by mike on from dublin 03/15 at 07:08 AMMickey,
‘The Downfall’ is also playing at the Film Forum.
The downfall referred to is that of the Third Reich as seen by Hitler’s secretary during it’s last 2 weeks. Hope this link works:
http://www.filmforum.com/films/downfall.html
Posted by sk on from 03/15 at 07:45 AMThanks, SK. Not sure if I can make it any time soon...but I’ll add it to the list. Speaking of Nazi-related flicks, I got to see the original “To Be or Not to Be” at the AMMI a while back. The place was jammed. Great experience.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 03/15 at 09:02 AMMy recommendations: the short films of Francois Ozon (available on DVD), especially ‘Summer Dress’ (Une Robe D’Ete) which is just tender and heartwarming and as far removed from the abstinence-only madness of the US as possible and really has a marvellously uncomplicated attitude towards sex - gay and straight; and ‘Under the Sand’ by the same director and starring Charlotte Rampling.
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Melbourne, Australia 03/18 at 05:10 PMThanks, Helga. This has been exciting and frustrating. It’s great to get all these suggestions...but when the hell will find time to see them all?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 03/18 at 05:32 PMWell I finally registered.
About movies, it’s funny how people who are cut from a similar bolt of cloth gravitate toward the same flicks. I have been suggesting to people to check out “City of God” for months now. My wife and I, just a couple of weeks ago saw “Magdelena Sisters.” Brought me back to my Catholic school days and teachers telling you with a high level of certainty the conditions and pain threshold one requires in Hell. Obviously none of us were up to snuff, yet at the time it didn’t occur to me to ask “how the f*** to you know what hell is like you maniac?”
Anyway, has anyone ever seen “Waking Life?” It’s quite a cerebral flick (being that it is just people talking, and a cartoon no less) but some great one liners.
Also, is anyone a fan of Jacob’s Ladder? It’s from the late 80s but doesn’t seem dated at all. It’s the kind of movie you have to watch a few times and there are so many fine details in it. I can go on and on about cool movies ... but I won’t.
Posted by richardjoseph on from Astoria Queens 03/19 at 09:24 AMI went to the video store yesterday and held in my hand two movies Rich and Lisa recommended: “City of God” and “Maria Full of Grace.” But I ultimately opted for an American flick because it would be harder to find available (while the foreign films are “in” more often). Michele and I watched “I Heart Huckabees” last night. I’m still digesting it and wondering if I missed something...but it was clearly more than typical Hollywood fare. The rants about suburban sprawl, consumerism, oil dependency, and U.S. military intervention were worth it alone. I’d recommend it.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 03/19 at 09:35 AMMickey,
I’ve been out of commision for a while. Now that I’m back in the world of the living, I thought I would come down here and recommend a few classic Non-Hollywood films. I too love mostly old films. I just don’t have the time or inclination to keep up with the new ones. Plus there really are not a lot of places in Atlanta to see good, alternative films on the big screen.
I would assume most of your readers have already seen these great films but in case they have not, here are a few of my favorites:
1. Luis Bunuel’s “Obsure Object of Desire”
2. Jean-Luc Godard’s “Alphaville”
3. Henri-Georges Clouzot’s “Le Corbeau”
4. Roman Polanski’s “Knife in the Water”
5. Jacque Rivette’s “Celine & Julie Go Boating”
The first 4 are available on DVD, as part of the excellent Criterion series. I’m not sure about the Rivette film.
Happy viewing.
Posted by Glen Thrasher on from Atlanta, GA 03/21 at 12:32 PM
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