|
Post by Jeremy on Jul 31, 2017 13:51:17 GMT -8
Tomorrow is a very sad day on the Hebrew calendar. I won't go into details, but it's a day when Jews refrain from eating, drinking, and doing anything that could be considered fun or entertaining.
I'm looking for a movie I can watch tomorrow that fits the mood. I need a film that is slow, serious, and somber. No comedies, musicals, action-adventures, or anything that could be considered "fun." (Although it still needs to hold my interest on some level.)
Any recommendations? The default film is Schindler's List (which is on Netflix), but I'd be open to something shorter.
|
|
|
Post by Incandescence 112 on Jul 31, 2017 14:16:58 GMT -8
Tomorrow is a very sad day on the Hebrew calendar. I won't go into details, but it's a day when Jews refrain from eating, drinking, and doing anything that could be considered fun or entertaining. I'm looking for a movie I can watch tomorrow that fits the mood. I need a film that is slow, serious, and somber. No comedies, musicals, action-adventures, or anything that could be considered "fun." (Although it still needs to hold my interest on some level.) Any recommendations? The default film is Schindler's List (which is on Netflix) , but I'd be open to something shorter. The French film Au Revoir Les Enfants is excellent. It shows a different side of the Holocaust as opposed to Schindler's List, but I found it just as effective, even with half the running time. There are some heartwarming moments of kindness, but I certainly don't think it's "fun" (no movie about the Holocaust should be fun). I'd be surprised if you could get a hold of it by tomorrow unfortunately.
|
|
|
Post by ThirdMan on Jul 31, 2017 15:07:22 GMT -8
Fanny and Alexander, by Ingmar Bergman. The TV version. That'll take care of your day.
Or the recent Winter Sleep.
|
|
|
Post by Jeremy on Jul 31, 2017 15:11:45 GMT -8
Yeah, I'd prefer something available on one of the main streaming services. Au Revoir doesn't seem to be.
Edit: Just saw your post, J.C. Wow, Fanny and Alexander is... long.
|
|
Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
|
Post by Quiara on Jul 31, 2017 16:46:54 GMT -8
I saw something quite haunting recently that would fit the bill, with two caveats: it's a short film (half an hour), and it's in French. If you don't mind that, I would highly recommend La jetée. I had the privilege to watch it (subtitled) on the big screen a week ago, and it's really stuck with me. There are several versions of the film available on Vimeo.
Since you're interested in the history of animation, Grave of the Fireflies might be worth a watch if you haven't seen it already. (EDIT: Although, come to think of it, the particulars of its subject matter may be in poor taste, if you're commemorating the Holocaust.)
|
|
|
Post by ThirdMan on Jul 31, 2017 19:40:07 GMT -8
Jeremy, the longer version is basically a miniseries. But, I mean, if you've been able to binge ten-to-twelve-hour shows over a few days in the past, a five-hour one should be a piece of cake.
|
|
|
Post by guttersnipe on Aug 1, 2017 0:53:26 GMT -8
I'm unfamiliar with Netflix so I don't know if these will be hosted there, but my immediate thoughts on the subject are:
No End, an early Kieslowski about a woman picking up on her late husband's final legal case, whose ghost seems to observe the proceedings from a distance. This is one of the most quietly devastating films I've ever seen, and cast a pall over me for a long time after the credits rolled. Speaking of Kieslowski, I'd be interested in your take on the eighth episode of Dekalog here (like Schindler's List, it dares to sow a seed of hope from the Holocaust).
The Seventh Continent I have mentioned a few times, what it being one of my absolute all-time favourites. Haneke is a very detached and methodical director, perfect for a film about parallel misfortunes leading up to a family's unspoken decision to destroy everything about themselves. I genuinely wanted to step into the TV and help these people out.
And Derek Jarman's filmography is nothing if not extremely personal, so his swansong Blue is essentially an invitation to walk with him to the very end, given that he was dying from AIDS. He was nearly blind by that stage, and as such the film is nothing but a blue screen with narration from himself and friends interspersed with music from his usual collaborators. It works rather like a radio play, but gazing into the blue begins to take on its own meaning.
And if you only plump for a short, I think World of Glory is on YouTube; a quiet and almost entirely still film about a man living in a nightmarish urban landscape. Its power lies in what it doesn't show, rather than what it does; a masterclass of sly exposition in only fifteen minutes. It might be worth mentioning/warning that it opens with a pretty stark Holocaust parallel.
|
|
|
Post by Jeremy on Aug 1, 2017 12:07:51 GMT -8
Thanks, everyone.
I've unfortunately got a bit of a head cold today, which, coupled with the no eating/drinking clause, makes it sort of difficult to concentrate on what I'm watching (particularly when it comes to things that need subtitles). So I don't know if foreign films would work.
I watched some of the BBC's Auschwitz documentary on Netflix. I may still try Schindler's List later today, assuming I can tolerate that kind of depression.
|
|
|
Post by guttersnipe on Aug 1, 2017 16:54:27 GMT -8
It feels a bit weird to 'recommend' something Holocaust-related to anyone, but the BFI recently put out a painstakingly-crafted documentary with the catchy title of German Concentration Camps Factual Survey, constructed almost entirely from footage taken by Allied army personnel upon the liberation of various camps. Originally planned for release ASAP, it was shelved because there was thought to be little audience for it in the aftermath of the war. The 'new' documentary is made exactly to those original guidelines (some specified by Hitchcock, no less), even down to retaining factual inaccuracies of the time.
Even at seventy minutes I had to pause it for a substantial break because I was simply finding it a bit too much.
|
|
|
Post by Jeremy on Aug 1, 2017 18:11:52 GMT -8
Truth be told, I used to avoid Holocaust films and documentaries altogether. I've come to pay more attention to them in recent years, though, since - like it or not - it's an important part of my family history.
I watched the first half hour of Schindler's List today. Interesting film so far, if a bit slow. I'll try to finish it when my concentration levels return to normal.
|
|
|
Post by guttersnipe on Aug 2, 2017 12:37:35 GMT -8
I get that. And I have to say, though it's not a recommendation for this particular occasion (it's simply not at all the type of movie you were requesting), I'm really intrigued as to how you (or indeed any Jewish person) would respond to Inglourious Basterds. If you haven't heard of it, it's a Tarantino war film that plays out as a kind of Jewish revenge story - the Basterds are a crack squad of Jewish Nazi hunters who exact quite brutal interrogation and assassination methods on their quarries, factoring in some Native American traits along the way. Aside from the expected filmmaking skill, entertainment value and sly references to period cinema, what makes it really interesting is the moral angle which permits audience participation in its justified (?) violence. For example, the Bear Jew (an allusion to Zishe Breitbart) has a penchant for beating recalcitrant officers with a baseball bat to the whoops and cheers of his fellow soldiers. Now, throughout the film, most of the actually-presented violence is carried out by the Basterds; that of the Nazis is largely expository. So though pretty much any audience member is likely to pick one side (with most war movies, you don't need to see a Nazi do anything before deciding he's gotta die - the uniform alone is proof of guilt), there's a peculiar quality in feeling simultaneously ecstatic about watching Jewish revenge whilst still somewhat queasy at seeing savagery meted out against, well, a human being. Most of Tarantino's audience are likely to be white, male and probably secular, but we/they side enough with the victims to provide a kind of vicarious experience, though that's obviously not quite the same as kinship. By the same token, I don't think there were any black people in the theatre when I saw I Am Not Your Negro a few months ago - if there were, I dare say there'd be a slightly different energy in the room given that understanding an injustice isn't equivalent to actively relating to it. Having said that, if you struggled with Pulp Fiction, I doubt you'd respond much more favourably to this, and I'd feel bad for suggesting you watch something I kinda expected you wouldn't like.
|
|
|
Post by ThirdMan on Aug 2, 2017 13:08:42 GMT -8
Well, the thing about Basterds is, it does have considerably less profanity than Pulp Fiction, and the ostensible lead is really Shoshanna, and not Brad Pitt's character. Like Pulp Fiction, it operates in occasional spurts of quick violence rather than the more continual type featured in Kill Bill (Vol. 1, at least) and Django Unchained. There are certainly long passages of dialogue, but I think the abundance of profanity was the primary sticking point for Jeremy w/r/t PF, aside from, of course, being given few "good" (in the moral sense) characters to root for. I would say most of Shoshanna's actions are pretty justified, in the relative sense. The Basterds, of course, are more caricatured in nature, but they're practically comic relief most of the time, and they're only targeting Nazis.
Not saying it would be Jeremy's cup of tea, but I'd also be curious to see if he could get behind the narrative drive of the film. He may actually enjoy Christoph Waltz's Oscar-winning performance, as well. Tough to say.
|
|
|
Post by Jeremy on Aug 2, 2017 13:48:08 GMT -8
I haven't seen Inglorious Mamzerim (yes, I'm still using that word. Blame Game of Thrones), but I think my brother really likes it. His tastes tend to differ from mine, though - he enjoys big, violent films and isn't quite as bothered by excessive profanity.
It's on Netflix (which may be lacking in the TV department, but still has an abundance of great films), so maybe I'll give it a look.
|
|
|
Post by guttersnipe on Aug 2, 2017 14:43:34 GMT -8
[Using phone so not bothering to grab a load of code]
JC, I would agree with you on the subject of the emotional investment in the Basterds characters given the relative amorality of Pulp Fiction's (a point I was going to make myself), but when you say Shosanna's actions are pretty justified, this begs the question: are they, and to everyone? To the Weinsteins or Golan and Globus, for whom violent movies were pretty much their bread and butter? Probably. To the average Jewish viewer? I'm not so sure. I just finished an excellent book about North Korea in which the author parallels the subsequent behaviour of defectors to Primo Levi's claim that he and his fellow survivors vowed never to see each other after the war because they'd all done something they were ashamed of in the camps. Now, if these same people considered the mere act if trying stay alive in some way disgraceful, it's fair to assume they're unlikely to shriek "vengeance is mine!" when a fictional SS commander is mown down (though they may have experienced some closure when Eichmann was strung up). It's easy for you and I (and indeed, Tarantino) to say, "yeah, Shosanna absolutely deserves Landa's head on a plate"*, but for people who would have been genuine victims in the same instance? Practising or not, I reckon most would feel pretty conflicted.
Jeremy, OK, well, if your brother is fine with it then that kinda gives me my answer. I'm still interested in your take, but tempered by the knowledge that you might find some of the content pretty objectionable even if you couldn't relate.
*SPOILER I confess to getting a huge kick from the cinema scene at the end, capped off with the huge swastika crashing down. END SPOILER
|
|
|
Post by Zarnium on Aug 2, 2017 15:03:50 GMT -8
Maybe a bit too late, but perhaps A Scanner Darkly? One of my favorite movies, it's pretty morose as well as being an incredible animation spectacle.
|
|