Yesterday I watched the documentary "Russian Ark", directed by Alexander Sokurov. During 90 minutes he leads in a single shot through the Winterpalais and the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
The journey also includes a walk through through 300 years of Russian history, starting with Peter the Great up to the last Tschar and his family.
However the most fascinating part was the "making of..." of the documentary which was also included on the dvd.
It tells in detail what they had to prepare in advance and all the organizational work to conduct hundreds of actors and extras during the shooting, so that they are one the right place at the right time when the camera passes them. I don't want to imagine what a strain it must have been throughout the whole 90 minutes. Again, it is absolutely amazing.
Tuesday 9 December 2008
Thursday 27 November 2008
Capturing the Friedmans
Did Arnold and his son Jesse do the crimes they were sentenced for?
I guess that is the question you automatically have to ask yourself after watching the documentary. And I am afraid I didn't come to a conclusion by just watching the film.
The story, that Andrew Jarecki told in his film or rather the arrangement and content of the footage that was used in the film does not influence the spectator in any way. I think it is very difficult to create a film about such a topic as child molestation and a family breaking apart by being involved in such a crime without taking party or reveal your own opinion. I guess it was very helpful that he could use a lot of private film material that revealed a lot about the family life of the Friedmans, their thoughts and behaviour.
Those who are more interested in the case can pursuit the latest news on that site.
http://www.freejesse.net/
I guess that is the question you automatically have to ask yourself after watching the documentary. And I am afraid I didn't come to a conclusion by just watching the film.
The story, that Andrew Jarecki told in his film or rather the arrangement and content of the footage that was used in the film does not influence the spectator in any way. I think it is very difficult to create a film about such a topic as child molestation and a family breaking apart by being involved in such a crime without taking party or reveal your own opinion. I guess it was very helpful that he could use a lot of private film material that revealed a lot about the family life of the Friedmans, their thoughts and behaviour.
Those who are more interested in the case can pursuit the latest news on that site.
http://www.freejesse.net/
Friday 21 November 2008
Richard Attenborough
Yesterday was for sure one of the most interesting and fascinating days of my - I think I still can say - short life.
Sir Richard Attembourough was at the RSAMD for an interview. It is one of the unique moments in life when you meet a personality who has experienced so much in life and has seen, communicated and worked with so many outstanding personalities. To be in the same room and - even more - to listen to his experiences in life and the film industry was absolutely amazing and inspiring. I am sure that everybody in the room thought so at least those I spoke with afterwards.
It must be great if your own experiences and actions in life become a source of inspiration and motivation for your contamporaries and also for the younger and following generations. Maybe that is the actual sense and fulfillment of life we are all aiming for...however, I think that it is worth working towards it.
This leads me to the question, what do I actually want to achieve in my future life, hence in my career and if it is possible to make even half of the experience R.A. has made? For sure it is not possible to reach such a level when your are not open and attentive to the things that happen around you. Also when you are not willed or too afraid to embrace risky situations in life.
It was a pity that his attendance was roughly limited to an hour because he is for sure one of the few personalities I could listen to for hours.
Sir Richard Attembourough was at the RSAMD for an interview. It is one of the unique moments in life when you meet a personality who has experienced so much in life and has seen, communicated and worked with so many outstanding personalities. To be in the same room and - even more - to listen to his experiences in life and the film industry was absolutely amazing and inspiring. I am sure that everybody in the room thought so at least those I spoke with afterwards.
It must be great if your own experiences and actions in life become a source of inspiration and motivation for your contamporaries and also for the younger and following generations. Maybe that is the actual sense and fulfillment of life we are all aiming for...however, I think that it is worth working towards it.
This leads me to the question, what do I actually want to achieve in my future life, hence in my career and if it is possible to make even half of the experience R.A. has made? For sure it is not possible to reach such a level when your are not open and attentive to the things that happen around you. Also when you are not willed or too afraid to embrace risky situations in life.
It was a pity that his attendance was roughly limited to an hour because he is for sure one of the few personalities I could listen to for hours.
Friday 14 November 2008
August Rush
After 2 weeks being without a telly I finally have made it and got a new one this week and hallelujah I was able to watch a film yesterday! Yippie!
Evan Taylor is an 11 years old boy who lives in an orphanage. He doesn't know who his parents are, but he thinks that he can correspond with them through music, sound and rhythm he hears around him. Also he is convinced that as long as he believes in music he has a chance to be found by his parents. Thus he declines the possibility to be adopted.
Eventually he runs away from the orphanage and arrives in New York where he meets different people. There is "Wizard" who discovers Evan's musical talent and wants to make money out of him. Fortunately he also meets people who send him to the Juillard School to boost his talent.
However, all of them including Wizard teach him and help him how to handle and how to direct his musical skills.
Well, the end is a happy one and as predictable as you can imagine in a film, in which the protagonist is a young orphan on the search for his parents.
In my opinion the story was a bit strange and difficult to understand. Sometimes the story is unrealistic because the experiences Evan makes in New York are too extraordinary. Also I think to feel and behave like most of the charakters you must either be pathetic or stoned, or both...
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the music in the film (except for the singing of Jonathan Rhys Meyers...). It was astonishing to experience average daily noise and rhythm - e.g. the average noise in busy streets of a city - dissolved and transformed into a piece of music.
Besides I appreciated that they played the Cello Concert of Sir Edward Elgar which is one of my favourites.
Evan Taylor is an 11 years old boy who lives in an orphanage. He doesn't know who his parents are, but he thinks that he can correspond with them through music, sound and rhythm he hears around him. Also he is convinced that as long as he believes in music he has a chance to be found by his parents. Thus he declines the possibility to be adopted.
Eventually he runs away from the orphanage and arrives in New York where he meets different people. There is "Wizard" who discovers Evan's musical talent and wants to make money out of him. Fortunately he also meets people who send him to the Juillard School to boost his talent.
However, all of them including Wizard teach him and help him how to handle and how to direct his musical skills.
Well, the end is a happy one and as predictable as you can imagine in a film, in which the protagonist is a young orphan on the search for his parents.
In my opinion the story was a bit strange and difficult to understand. Sometimes the story is unrealistic because the experiences Evan makes in New York are too extraordinary. Also I think to feel and behave like most of the charakters you must either be pathetic or stoned, or both...
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the music in the film (except for the singing of Jonathan Rhys Meyers...). It was astonishing to experience average daily noise and rhythm - e.g. the average noise in busy streets of a city - dissolved and transformed into a piece of music.
Besides I appreciated that they played the Cello Concert of Sir Edward Elgar which is one of my favourites.
Sunday 2 November 2008
Films I have seen recently
Hi there,
as my telly has been on the fritz for a couple of days now and I haven't had the time to go to cinema, I just can reflect on films I have seen recently in our classes...
Spellbound
“Spellbound” is a very entertaining documentary about children who compete with peers in the finals of the US spelling competition, which is held in Washington DC every year.
I am not entirely sure what the film was actually about. Maybe they wanted to show how essential it is to fight for something important to you even though others might think it ridiculous, or maybe they just wanted to emphasise the importance of grammar and correct spelling?
Or did they just try to take the mickey out of the whole event and its competitors?
As far as I can remember the first sequence was composed of jump-cuts showing the almost spastic grimaces of a young boy trying to remember the spelling of a word in close-ups. Watching the poor guy stuttering and struggling makes the spectator either burst out laughing or feeling absolutely embarrassed I guess.
I admit I experienced the former reaction and I hoped for more entertaining scenes. I can say my expectations were fully met.
When the levees broke – A requiem in four acts
This film is about the hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in New Orleans, Louisiana.
I still remember the news about the hurricane and that it was one of the worst ever. I also still remember that it took a long time for the government to manage the situation. But as you are living almost on the other side of the globe it doesn’t affect you that much. And when it is no longer in the news it doesn’t take long until you forget about the whole thing...like the scandal about beef and BSE. Nobody wastes a thought about this anymore unless it is in the media again.
While I was watching the documentary I was really astonished to see the indecision of the government to handle the problem, and the fact that you could see the people so helpless and waiting for the government to get into action during the aftermath.
I was always convinced that Americans are more autarkic, feel responsible for themselves and self determined to manage their own situations.
But maybe I am just blinded by the American film Industry. Actually, it is astonishing what America pretends to be – considering all the patriotic films like Independence Day or The Day after Tomorrow – and what it really is like. Maybe that gap between reality and fiction was something completely new to the majority of Americans as well…
as my telly has been on the fritz for a couple of days now and I haven't had the time to go to cinema, I just can reflect on films I have seen recently in our classes...
Spellbound
“Spellbound” is a very entertaining documentary about children who compete with peers in the finals of the US spelling competition, which is held in Washington DC every year.
I am not entirely sure what the film was actually about. Maybe they wanted to show how essential it is to fight for something important to you even though others might think it ridiculous, or maybe they just wanted to emphasise the importance of grammar and correct spelling?
Or did they just try to take the mickey out of the whole event and its competitors?
As far as I can remember the first sequence was composed of jump-cuts showing the almost spastic grimaces of a young boy trying to remember the spelling of a word in close-ups. Watching the poor guy stuttering and struggling makes the spectator either burst out laughing or feeling absolutely embarrassed I guess.
I admit I experienced the former reaction and I hoped for more entertaining scenes. I can say my expectations were fully met.
When the levees broke – A requiem in four acts
This film is about the hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in New Orleans, Louisiana.
I still remember the news about the hurricane and that it was one of the worst ever. I also still remember that it took a long time for the government to manage the situation. But as you are living almost on the other side of the globe it doesn’t affect you that much. And when it is no longer in the news it doesn’t take long until you forget about the whole thing...like the scandal about beef and BSE. Nobody wastes a thought about this anymore unless it is in the media again.
While I was watching the documentary I was really astonished to see the indecision of the government to handle the problem, and the fact that you could see the people so helpless and waiting for the government to get into action during the aftermath.
I was always convinced that Americans are more autarkic, feel responsible for themselves and self determined to manage their own situations.
But maybe I am just blinded by the American film Industry. Actually, it is astonishing what America pretends to be – considering all the patriotic films like Independence Day or The Day after Tomorrow – and what it really is like. Maybe that gap between reality and fiction was something completely new to the majority of Americans as well…
Films I like…
Here is a brief list of some films I love watching:
The Others
I am a great fan of ghost stories - and Nicole Kidman as well. I think what makes the film so special in my opinion – beside Nicole Kidman of course – is the twist at the end of the story, when she and her children suddenly have to face ...what they eventually have to face.
Furthermore I appreciated that the story was told without any technical special effects to spice it up.
Moulin Rouge
Although I despise love stories as I generally consider them as dull and sickening, I think that this one - placed in a tacky and overloaded Bollywood-stylish setting in Paris of the late 19th century, singing rock and pop songs of our days - is amazing. It is one of the films you have to watch several times as there are so many tiny details in every scene you absolutely can’t discover by watching that film just once.
And it is not just because of Nicole Kidman...
Drei Haselnuesse fuer Aschenbroedel ("Tři oříšky pro Popelku")
This film is an adaptation of “Cinderella” which was a co-production between the former Czechoslovakia and the former GDR (German Democratic Republic) in the seventies. During that time the Czechoslovakian produced a lot of fantasy films and programmes I think they are outstanding considering also "Arabela", "Pan Tau" or "Der fliegende Ferdinand".
Aschenbroedel is shown on television in Germany every year around Christmas and thus became a kind of cult film. I still love watching it otherwise Christmas wouldn’t be the same.
Hush, hush….sweet Charlotte (“Wiegenlied fuer eine Leiche”)
Years ago I discovered my passion for black and white films. The mere work with light and shadow appears to emphasise the conflict ridden situation of the protagonist – in this case the mental state of Bette Davis – and makes everything look a little bit “more”. So psycho-thrillers look a bit more creepy or dramas look more dramatic like the next film I want to introduce…
To kill a Mockingbird ("Wer die Nachtigall stoert")
I simply like this film - full stop.
The Others
I am a great fan of ghost stories - and Nicole Kidman as well. I think what makes the film so special in my opinion – beside Nicole Kidman of course – is the twist at the end of the story, when she and her children suddenly have to face ...what they eventually have to face.
Furthermore I appreciated that the story was told without any technical special effects to spice it up.
Moulin Rouge
Although I despise love stories as I generally consider them as dull and sickening, I think that this one - placed in a tacky and overloaded Bollywood-stylish setting in Paris of the late 19th century, singing rock and pop songs of our days - is amazing. It is one of the films you have to watch several times as there are so many tiny details in every scene you absolutely can’t discover by watching that film just once.
And it is not just because of Nicole Kidman...
Drei Haselnuesse fuer Aschenbroedel ("Tři oříšky pro Popelku")
This film is an adaptation of “Cinderella” which was a co-production between the former Czechoslovakia and the former GDR (German Democratic Republic) in the seventies. During that time the Czechoslovakian produced a lot of fantasy films and programmes I think they are outstanding considering also "Arabela", "Pan Tau" or "Der fliegende Ferdinand".
Aschenbroedel is shown on television in Germany every year around Christmas and thus became a kind of cult film. I still love watching it otherwise Christmas wouldn’t be the same.
Hush, hush….sweet Charlotte (“Wiegenlied fuer eine Leiche”)
Years ago I discovered my passion for black and white films. The mere work with light and shadow appears to emphasise the conflict ridden situation of the protagonist – in this case the mental state of Bette Davis – and makes everything look a little bit “more”. So psycho-thrillers look a bit more creepy or dramas look more dramatic like the next film I want to introduce…
To kill a Mockingbird ("Wer die Nachtigall stoert")
I simply like this film - full stop.
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