Sight & Sound Challenge: Wanda (1970)

Film: Wanda (231/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

I had the pleasure of seeing this film on the big screen at my local arthouse theater. So many films on this list were hard to hunt down, and some I had to settle for watching on my phone. I always appreciate getting to see them on the big screen, free from distraction, confronting these characters. And what characters they are! Wanda (Barbara Loden, who also wrote and directed the film) is aimless, a little scatterbrained, and frustrating as hell. She stumbles along, seeming to not know or care what happens to her or who she ends up with. She barely speaks up for herself, and there appears to be an undercurrent of self-loathing within her. I wanted to hug her and shake her. And do her hair, honestly. Wanda eventually ends up tagging along with a thief and gets pulled into his crimes. She doesn't object, probably because she doesn't have anything else to do. This film is the opposite of eye candy. The world looks bleak, dirty, pointless. Everyone treats everyone like garbage. In spite of this, I found myself chuckling quite a few times at the (very dark) humor. The thief Norman Dennis (Michel Higgins) is an asshole, self-important and more than a little ridiculous. He deserves to pay for his crimes, and yet why do I pity him? Why is Wanda crying for him? Loden creates such deceivingly complex characters that I wanted to know much more about. What is Wanda thinking? Is she thinking anything? How did she get to this point? Where does she go from here? It's a shame that this was the only feature she ever directed; she had an interesting point of view. 

Sight & Sound Challenge: The Leopard (1963)

Film: The Leopard (230/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

Okay guys, full disclosure. I'm really close to being done with this list, but I likely won't finish. I started over three years ago while I was going through the process to become a foster parent, and I needed a distraction from the anxiety of waiting to become a parent. Well, now I am the parent of a rambunctious (and adorable) toddler who takes up a LOT of my now very precious time. A lot of the remaining films are either unavailable/impossible to find, or 3+ hours long, in some cases 4, 5, 6, 8, or 12 hours long. 12 hours! I'll do my best, but I won't kill myself, and I'm still watching a film almost every night. I just don't have the stamina for the super long ones. So that's the long story of why it took me so long to get to this one, and why I had a few mini-naps peppered throughout my viewing. 

It's not boring, it's just long. I understand why it has the long run-time. It's the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina. He is coming to terms with the end of an era, the end of a way of life, his way of life. It's a story that would feel strange being told in 90 minutes. The scope, the lush colors (seriously, you could frame any still from this movie), it feels epic. I may have nodded off a couple times (lots of loooong conversations) but it's easy enough to follow, and Claudia Cardinale kept me coming back. Seriously, she's so gorgeous in this. Burt Lancaster gives a lovely and restrained performance. You feel his whole life in his eyes and his posture. He's tired, he feels old, and he is melancholy seeing the change in his world, even as he knows it is necessary. He's saying goodbye and good luck to a new Italy, one that he will not be a part of. And we see this new beginning ushered in the most gorgeous ball scene ever. Even if you don't sit through the rest of this, you have to see the ballroom scene. It's too beautiful. Just another example of the visual power of cinema, transporting us as if by magic. 

Sight & Sound Challenge: The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005)

Film: The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (229/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

Mr. Lazarescu is sick. In fact, he is dying, but he doesn't know it. Nobody is taking him very seriously. They shrug off his complaints of pain as simply the grumblings of an old unreliable drunk. And so, knowing the title of the film, we watch him and wait for him to die. This film moves in what feels like real time: his trips to various hospitals, the tests, the doctors reluctantly examining him, the paramedic stubbornly staying by his side. The film is advertised as a black comedy, but I found it overwhelmingly depressing. We know little about this man's previous life, and we have only tuned in for the very end. The film grabs you and makes you confront your own mortality, the reality that when it's your time to go, it could very well be this bleak. But, it's a comedy, right?

Sight & Sound Challenge: Memories of Underdevelopment (1968)

Film: Memories of Underdevelopment (228/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

The nice thing about watching a film without any type of obligations (for me, it's the knowledge that hardly anyone is reading this and I'm not a professional film writer of any kind) is that I can watch it through whatever filter I like and bring whatever I want to that viewing to enhance it for myself. For example, when I watched The Turin Horse, I imagined that the characters were all dead and living in some kind of purgatory, which intrigued the hell out of me. In Memories of Underdevelopment, a story about a wealthy writer who decides to stay in Cuba after his wife and friends flee, I was getting Fellini vibes during my viewing. So, I decided that this character fancied himself a version of Marcello Mastroianni in his own 8 1/2, if only he wasn't stuck in Cuba. So cool, so suave, so aimless. I enjoyed the narrative jumps, the use of stills, and I really enjoyed Daisy Granados as Elena, who reminded me of photographs of my mother as a teenager. I learned a lot about the setting of Cuba at that time, a country in turmoil, and it created an even richer cinematic experience for me. More like this, please!

Sight & Sound Challenge: Tropical Malady (2004)

Film: Tropical Malady (227/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

Tropical Malady isn't one film, it's two. The first half is the story of two men embarking on a romance, and the second is of a man looking for a lost villager in the woods who encounters a tiger spirit and loses himself. The second half is evocative, and works great as a stand-alone short film. I was a little frustrated at leaving the first half so soon...I wanted more time with these characters, I wanted to follow more of their story. They had a charisma and a chemistry that was irresistible, but all too soon we were moving into the darkness of the forest and leaving them behind. It took me time to settle into the second half once I realized what was happening, but it eventually captivated me like it did the poor soldier. The wind rustling through the trees, whispers, it was all so hypnotic. I need to visit it again, as I watched it in the worst way possible (on my phone while on a lunch break). I think being completely free of distractions will help me appreciate it even more. Hell, that goes for any movie.

Sight & Sound Challenge: Greed (1924)

Film: Greed (226/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

There's something kinda magical about silent films. I used to watch them every week back in high school thanks to Turner Classic Movies and their "Silent Sunday Nights". They were my gateway into the world of classic film and they hold a special place in my heart. Having said that, a four hour silent film (cut down from its original 9 hours, good grief!) is a lot for anyone to sit through. Luckily I was a lot more engaged than I expected to be. The plot concerns interwoven tales of greed (obviously) between two different couples, and an elderly couple who is wise enough to not let money be an issue between them. There is backstabbing, violence, murder, and some pretty chilling visuals; the one above in particular haunted me. Greed is a bit of an undertaking to watch, but apparently it was a bigger undertaking to make, and I think director Erich von Stroheim deserves my attention for it. It's important to me to see films from those early days of cinema, when everything was new and filmmakers were exploring new territory. I'm just in awe of their talent, from making little shorts to making epics like this in such a short amount of time. Makes you feel lazy, doesn't it?

Sight & Sound Challenge: Out 1 (1971)

Film: Out 1 (225/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

Okay guys, I don't even know what to say about this one. I sat through 743 minutes of a film (in installments, of course, I have a job and a life, haha) and I felt nothing at the end of it. The story involves two different theater troupes, a young thief and a young man who becomes involved in unraveling a potential secret society. Their paths cross now and again, but really, this barely had a plot. There were looooong rehearsal scenes that were tedious to get through, Jean-Pierre Léaud was weird and creepy, and by the time the film introduced anything that resembled a plotline, I found that I didn't care. Frédérique (Juliet Berto) and Lucie (Françoise Fabian) were probably the most interesting characters for me...great faces and compelling presences, but everyone else was just eye-rollingly pretentious. I probably went into this with the wrong mindset, just trying to cross it off my list, but I think I would've gotten way more out of this if it was two or three hours instead of twelve. But don't listen to my cranky rantings...from the different reviews I've read, it seems this film means a lot to a lot of people, and the mystery is worth unraveling. So watch it for yourself! As of right now the entire thing is streaming on Netflix. Just be ready for long stretches of actors dancing, rolling around on the floor, yelling and screaming, rubbing their feet on each other's faces (no really), and general artiness!

Sight & Sound Challenge: The Turin Horse (2011)

Film: The Turin Horse (224/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

"In Turin on 3rd January, 1889, Friedrich Nietzsche steps out of the doorway of number six, Via Carlo Alberto. Not far from him, the driver of a hansom cab is having trouble with a stubborn horse. Despite all his urging, the horse refuses to move, whereupon the driver loses his patience and takes his whip to it. Nietzsche comes up to the throng and puts an end to the brutal scene, throwing his arms around the horse’s neck, sobbing. His landlord takes him home, he lies motionless and silent for two days on a divan until he mutters the obligatory last words, 'Mutter, ich bin dumm!' and lives for another ten years, silent and demented, cared for by his mother and sisters. We do not know what happened to the horse."

I felt compelled to include the opening narration to set the stage for this film. But it's not about Nietzsche, or the horse. Not really. In fact, by the end of the film, I was convinced that these characters were all dead. The film follows the owners of the horse, a man and his daughter, as they go about their monotonous daily routines. They dress, they tend to the horse, they eat, they go to the well, they try to leave, and then...don't. I'm always intrigued by filmmakers who try to capture something magical in monotony. This film pushes it to the limit. Very long shots, very little dialogue. The added narration made me feel like I was reading about them in a book, almost more action in the added words than in anything I saw onscreen. Their world looks dark and cold, and it feels like it was made very long ago. Like these weren't actors, that I was watching these poor people carry on doing things they've been doing forever and will continue doing forever. Even as I feel I'm there watching them, they look completely alone in the world, hauntingly so. The wind howls, they are stuck in their home, and it feels like there are no other people on the planet. The music was agonizingly repetitive, and conversations went in circles. I truly believed I was watching two souls trapped in some kind of limbo or purgatory. Sisyphus pushing that rock up the hill. It is stark and slow and unnerving, and ultimately unforgettable. 

Sight & Sound Challenge: La Dolce Vita (1960)

Film: La Dolce Vita (223/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: Rewatch

Well, this is the last film on the list that I've already seen. The rest will be entirely new to me. It's exciting, and also a little intimidating. No more coasting! It's the home stretch! 

What is there to say about La Dolce Vita that hasn't already been said? It's legendary, one of director Federico Fellini's masterpieces. This story of celebrity, opulence, restlessness, and tragedy has something for everyone. It's gorgeous to look at, from the chic characters in their chic clothes and sunglasses at their ostentatious parties to the quiet beauty of the beach, the forest, the way the shadows play across the walls and the characters' faces. Marcello Mastroianni is charismatic as hell as a man looking for...what exactly? Something resembling contentment? Amidst all the iconic images from this film (specifically Anita Ekberg frolicking in the fountain...you know the scene), the one that always sticks with me is young Paola calling to Marcello on the beach. After seeing all the glitz and glamour and heavily-made up faces during most of the film, young fresh-faced Paola looks like an angel. She waves to him, speaks to him, and he doesn't hear. And she looks on. And she is unbelievably beautiful standing there, smiling. Who can say what happens to Marcello, but I imagine he carries on making beautiful messes. And she will stay in his memory, trapped in time, forever young. 

Sight & Sound Challenge: Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)

Film: Letter from an Unknown Woman (222/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

Oh, Joan Fontaine. In every role I've seen her in, she is delicate, fragile, emotionally dependent. Naturally, she fits the role of the Unknown Woman perfectly. She isn't unknown, not really...in fact we know her whole story. Her name is Lisa, and she's been in love with the charismatic pianist Stefan (Louis Jourdan) her whole life. She is unknown only to him, who thinks nothing of wooing her, smashing her heart into a million pieces, and then forgetting all about it. This one definitely had me yelling expletives at the TV! It's SO frustrating watching a woman live her life for some man who couldn't care less, and it happens way too often, in cinema and otherwise. Despite my disappointment in Lisa's self-esteem, I really enjoyed this film...the scenes were tied together nicely, and it had the same wistful melancholy feeling as other films by director Max Ophüls (The Earrings of Madame de... (1953) in particular). I was surprised that this film was so hard to track down...I had to watch it on YouTube, of all places. I really recommend giving it a watch if you're able to find it; it's an underrated little gem. 

Sight & Sound Challenge: Earth (1930)

Film: Earth (221/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

I had a hard time getting into this one. From the beginning I was disoriented; a series of closeups gave me no sense of where any of the characters were. Prolonged shots of wailing women left me wondering what they were wailing about before any explanation was offered. The action jumped from working the fields, to dancing, to characters yelling back and forth. This story of farmers confronting collectivization was equal parts aimless and dull. The most exciting part of the movie was a montage of bread being made. Oh, and there was suddenly a naked woman. By the end of the film, things were starting to make a bit of sense, but I found it difficult to care much. I'm writing this immediately after watching it, however, and I haven't let the film settle in my brain. This is the best I can do right now! Not an essential watch.

Sight & Sound Challenge: The World of Apu (Apur Sansar) (1959)

Film: The World of Apu (Apur Sansar) (220/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

Thanks Sight & Sound top 250! I really wanted to feel like I'd been punched in the gut! This is the third film in the critically acclaimed Apu trilogy. We've seen Apu's birth, we know his family, we've seen his humble upbringing in his small village, we've seen his world through his eyes, and we've seen him overcome countless tragedies. Pather Panchali was heartbreaking enough, and in the second film Aparajito (not included in this list), he suffers even more while simultaneously trying to find his place in a new world. Apur Sansar introduces us to the adult Apu. He's optimistic, charming, and adorably earnest, despite his less-than-ideal circumstances and the hardships of his past. Life can only have good things in store for him, right? WRONG. I don't know what he did to deserve all this, but I wanted to jump into the screen, hug him, and urge him not to give up. It was a riveting and satisfying end to the trilogy, and I loved diving into the work of director Satyajit Ray. More, please!

Sight & Sound Challenge: Last Year at Marienbad (1961)

Film: Last Year at Marienbad (219/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

After Hiroshima Mon Amour failed to knock my socks off, I fully expected to feel lukewarm about this one. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself engaged despite having no idea what was going on for a while. Once I realized that it was okay to feel lost, that maybe that was the point, I felt free to really explore this film. Last Year at Marienbad reminded me of countless other films, including Carnival of Souls (that eerie score!) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (the ethereal labyrinth of memory). It gave me a strange sense of déjà vu as I watched, a feeling like I was spying on people's memories, or like I'd been told these stories before in a dream. The sets are beautiful and meticulously arranged; the shot above in particular gave me chills in its austere precision. A haunting, strange, and memorable film, this one gave me and Craig plenty to talk about afterwards. It was hard to track down, but well worth the effort!

Friday Quote: Their Finest

"Why do you think that people like films? It's because stories are structured; have a shape, a purpose, a meaning; and when things gone bad they're still a part of a plan; there's a point to them. Unlike life."

Their Finest (2016)

Sight & Sound Challenge: Killer of Sheep (1978)

Film: Killer of Sheep (218/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

Stan works in a slaughterhouse. His life, and the lives of those around him, is a series of seemingly insignificant interactions. He's living life one day at a time, each day feeling the same as the last. What's the point? Will anything ever change? Will anything make him care? This film feels so genuine. Real people, real lived-in looking houses...I felt like I was spying on real people's lives. The comparisons to the great Italian neorealist films are certainly accurate. What would this film be? Neo-neo-realism? Gritty-looking, with no-name actors in real locations, but with a killer soundtrack. Speaking of music, I think I'm most grateful to this film for introducing me to the work of composer William Grant Still, whose "Afro American Symphony" gives this film an elevated sense of poetic, jazzy beauty in the vein of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." I can only blame my own ignorance for not knowing of this artist, but his music has been floating our house a lot since we watched this. Overall this was a quietly moving experience, a film about nothing that leaves an ache of sadness in your heart. 

Sight & Sound Challenge: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)

Film: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (217/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

Greetings from the laziest blogger/film watcher on earth! There's just something about summer that makes me want to watch Steven Spielberg movies over and over and complete ignore my blogging responsibilities for the five of you who might be reading this (okay, okay, four of you). Needless to say I've been vacationing and doing fun things and generally NOT watching strange films about ghost monkeys and catfish sex. Which brings me to Uncle Boonmee (yes, it has ghost monkeys and catfish sex). This Thai film tells the story of a dying man who is reflecting on his life, communicating with the ghosts of his loved ones, and exploring the origins of some of his past lives. It's a visually compelling film, with some of the most beautiful night photography I've ever seen. And okay, maybe the ghost monkeys with their glowing red eyes remind me a little too much of The Amityville Horror (my first cinema-related trauma), but they're definitely memorable. Aside from the visuals, I'm afraid the film lacked an emotional connection for me. Maybe the bizarre scenarios (again, SEX WITH A CATFISH) held me at a distance. I can definitely appreciate aspects of this film, but overall I was left with lukewarm feelings towards it. Here's hoping I get more out of the next one!

Sight & Sound Challenge: Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

Film: Once Upon a Time in America (216/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

Ugh. You know how to get me to immediately dislike a movie? Show a rape scene (TWO in this case) and then treat it either comically or tragically for the rapist.
This films tells the story of David "Noodles" Aaronson (Robert DeNiro) and his ugly gangster life, starting when he was just a boy. I liked the childhood scenes enough, showing how even children can get drawn into a life of crime. Once Noodles grows up, apparently all he does is rape women and feel sorry for himself. I could talk about the great cinematography, the decent acting, that great score (minus the pan flute, which drove me nuts), but what really stuck with me was it's despicable treatment of women. I have to laugh when I think about how I complained about the treatment of Claudia Cardinale's character in Once Upon a Time in the West, a film I overall really loved. I'd take a lewd comment or two over a brutal rape scene that then follows the rapist while mournful music plays, like I'm supposed to feel sorry for him. The real kicker is that it followed this beautifully romantic scene that really tugs at the heartstrings. And the picture above? That's another woman he raped, and this still captures her bemused expression as they all take their dicks out so she can try and guess WHICH ONE OF THEM RAPED HER. SERIOUSLY. What on earth is this movie?! Many hail it as the greatest gangster film of all time, greater even than the Godfather films (which, no, I'm sorry, it's just not), but I guess I'm missing something. I'll just go watch Once Upon a Time in the West again.

Sight & Sound Challenge: A Matter of Life and Death (1946)

Film: A Matter of Life and Death (215/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

This is another film I was unsure about going in. The films produced by the iconic duo of Powell and Pressburger have been very hit (The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp) or miss (A Canterbury Tale, I Know Where I'm Going!) for me. I'm very happy to say that this film fits into the former category. I was drawn into the story immediately; Peter (David Niven) and June (Kim Hunter) have great chemistry together and their conversation in the opening scene had me instantly invested in them. The sets are beautiful, both the beautiful black and white austerity of "heaven" (and can we talk about that massive escalator?!) and the lush technicolor scenes of earth. At first I was puzzled by the decision to make the heaven scenes black and white and the earth scenes in color, but then it made sense. It's a reverse Wizard of Oz effect. Who would want to go to heaven when home looks like Oz? Where everyone is alive, blood flows through their veins, and love at first sight is a very real possibility? I loved seeing Roger Livesey again (he has such a great voice) and everyone really plays up their roles. Yes it gets sentimental, but I didn't mind. I was taken on a dreamy journey and I loved every minute.

Sight & Sound Challenge: The Thin Red Line (1998)

Film: The Thin Red Line (214/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

First, I'd like to say that I'm back (for now) from a much needed blogging and movie-watching hiatus. I was really starting to feel burnt out and watching the films on this list was becoming a burden, something I had to do that wasn't bringing me much enjoyment. I really wanted to finish what I started, but I didn't want to end on a note of resentment. So I took a little break!

Now, on to this movie. We actually watched this back on Memorial Day, wanting to observe the holiday beyond getting an extra day off and going to barbecues. I wasn't sure what to expect going in. I'd seen a fair amount of war movies and I had seen a few (not enough) Terrence Malick films; I wondered how his take on the subject would be. But I might have guessed how it would be. Yes, it's war, and yes, there's killing. But there are beautiful shots of their surroundings: wind blowing over grassy hills, light shining through tree branches, birds sitting peacefully in the greenery. A reminder of how beautiful this planet is without us fighting like a bunch of angry little insects. I also loved the narration, reminiscent of Malick's film The Tree of Life. Getting into these characters' psyches really cemented the fact that these are people, not just faceless soldiers. Like westerns, war movies were a genre that I'd somewhat dismissed before taking on this challenge. Too gory, too much the same. But I was really moved by this film, and more brokenhearted than ever at the combative nature of man.

Sight & Sound Challenge: Spring in a Small Town (1948)

Film: Spring in a Small Town (213/250) 

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

I don't know, guys. I think I'm getting to the point of this challenge where I just want to reach that finish line. And maybe I'm not paying enough attention to really take these films in....if I'm not doing that, then what's the point? I did a little research about Spring in a Small Town, and I found it hailed as one of the finest Chinese films ever made. When I finished watching, I couldn't help but wonder if I watched the same movie. What cinephiles praised as a delicately restrained and naturally acted film, I found incredibly dull. The actors seemed stiff, the narration excessive...I don't know, I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe I need to rewatch it, or maybe *gasp* I didn't like a beloved film! As Judy Garland sings in In The Good Old Summertime, "I don't caaaaare, I don't caaaaare..." I find this happening more and more. I probably would benefit from a rewatch. The premise of a love quadrangle is definitely interesting on paper, and maybe I need a second viewing to appreciate the subtlety ouf this film. As it stands, however, this film gets a big shrug from me. And future films in this challenge will get much more of my focus so that if I don't like a movie, I'll know without a doubt in my mind that I don't like a movie. Ah well, not every film will appeal to everyone.