Hands down. This could be the most touching commercial I have seen lately. This was uploaded by one of my contacts in Facebook, and I'm re-posting it here. I still have goosebumps as of posting this.
...:::j u l i e:::...
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
graffiti and beyond...
Ok. So I got tired of 'scope' and changed it to 'graffiti'. I don't know, but graffiti seems to give a more substantial visual expression to what this blog is for. Plus, it rhymes with my name. Who knows, I might stick with this longer than any of my previous blog names, or I might change it again by next year.
Following is an interesting and in-depth explanation of graffiti.
source: http://www.graffiti.org/faq/graf.def.html
...:::j u l i e:::...
Following is an interesting and in-depth explanation of graffiti.
source: http://www.graffiti.org/faq/graf.def.html
Graffiti. Term applied to an arrangement of institutionally illicit marks in which there has been an attempt to establish some sort of coherent composition: such marks are made by an individual or individuals (not generally professional artists) upon a wall or other surface that is usually visually accessible to the public. The term "graffiti" derives from the Greek graphein ("to write"). Graffiti (s. graffito), meaning a drawing or scribbling on a flat surface, originally referred to those marks found on ancient Roman architecture. Although examples of graffiti have been found at such sites as Pompeii, the Domus Aurea of Emperor Nero (AD 54-68) in Rome, Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli and the Maya site of Tikal in Mesoamerica, they are usually associated with 20th-century urban environments. Graffiti range from simple marks to complex and colorful compositions. Motives for the production of such marks may include a desire for recognition that is public in nature, and/or the need to appropriate public space or someone else's private space for group or individual purposes. Illegitimate counterparts to the paid, legal advertisements on billboards or signs, graffiti utilize the wall of garages, public rest rooms, and jail cells for their clandestine messages. This illegal expression constitutes vandalism to the larger society.
Because of the illicit nature of graffiti, a can of paint and a brush are impractical while spatial considerations may make a pen or pencil ineffective. To accomodate the need for size, visibility, speed, and convenience, the ideal vehicle is the sray-can, which combines medium and applicator into one relatively small parcel that is easily concealed, transportable, easy to use; spray-paint may be applied to most surfaces. Different sized nozzles are used to achieve various effects, for example, a thin line as opposed to a wide band of paint. Where spray paint is not used or available, almost anything may serve as substitute: the aforementioned pen, pencil, paint and brush, as well as chisels, knives, felt-tip markers, blood, or even a finger on a dirty wall or window. Most media used for etching, sketching, painting, marking or writing can be adapted to such a purpose.
Because it is impossible to limit or regulate the resources that are available, graffiti as an art form and expressive medium is expandable, flexible, and difficult to control. The graffiti medium constitutes an open channel for its users to manipulate and mould to suit their needs. It represents a type of discontinuous communicative strategy through which people can engage in a visual dialogue which does not rely on face-to-face interaction or necessary knowledge of the writers' identities.
Individualized or popular graffiti include bathroom wall marking (latrinalia), signatures, proclamations of love, witty comments in response to advertisements, and any number of individual, political, or social commentary (folk epigraphy). In general these graffiti have no affiliation beyond the scope of the individual. It is close to impossible to locate their source.
Communities that produce graffiti (as opposed to the individual "scribbler") may target cryptic messages toward their own closed community, producing a seemingly confusing and unreadable product. The writers may not sign their real names; they instead employ the use of nicknames, codes, and symbols within stylized aesthetic systems. This type of graffiti is geared toward people who already understand the messages and may act to enhance group solidarity. Such graffiti can easily be elevated to the category of "art form" because the symbolic codes, generalized content, and aesthetic features of community-based graffiti usually outlast the duration of an individual's membership within the community. If a community's ideological focus is geared toward the larger society or the politics of the larger state, graffiti messages usually lack cryptic symbolism, make use of the national language, and retain a more straightforward aesthetic style.
An example of this cross-culturally prevalent genre of graffiti, political graffiti may combine with other artistic and expressive forms, such as poster and comic book production, mural painting, newspaper and pamphlet production, and political art exhibitions. The marks may represent the work of unrecognized or underground political groups, radical student movements, or simply dissatisfied individuals. Political graffiti may also arise from sudden emergency situations (e.g. riots) or in response to concurrent political legislation and party politics. Although concerned with state politics, the groups that produce this type of graffiti generally comprise some"subcultural" elements and may make wide use of symbols to further internally relevant quests for power and solidarity.
A second genre of graffiti, gang graffiti are used as markers by gangs usually active in urban areas. The content and form of their graffiti consist of cryptic codes and initials rigidly styled with specialized calligraphies. Gang members use graffiti to indicate group membership, to distinguish enemies and allies and, most generally, to mark boundaries which are both territorial and ideological. In this case, graffiti may merge with other art forms, like tattoo and clothing styles, to create a bounded system the concerns of which may incorporate illegitimate economic and social practices that branch far beyond the reaches of the actual graffiti.
A third genre of graffiti, graffiti art, is commonly called "hip-hop" or "New York style" graffiti and derives from a tradition of subway graffiti that originated in New York during the 1970's. This type of graffiti has spread to large urban centers around the USA and the rest of the world, especially in Europe. Where subway cars like those in New York are unavailable, walls, rocks, road signs, billboards, train carriages, and even motor vehicles are considered suitable canvases. Graffiti artists may or may not belong to "crews," which are groups of artists at differing levels of proficiency. Their work ranges from simple monochrome "tags" (the artist's "name tag," often represented in an exaggerated cursive style) to elaborate, multicoloured works called "pieces" (derived from the word "masterpiece") which are considered in some circles to be of museum quality (see fig.). As graffiti has begun to find its way from its original urban locations to the walls of galleries and museums, the question of vandalism and graffiti as an art form has provoked endless controversy, raising such questions as whether vandalism can be considered art or whether graffiti can be considered graffiti if they are made legally. The simplified imagery of graffiti has also become attractive to certain professional fine artists -- the work of the late Keith Haring in particular became "legitimized" as it moved from New York's subway walls to the walls of galleries and private collectors in the USA. It is in part the rapid movement hip-hop graffiti art and its concomitant controversies which has spurred the development of scholarly interest surrounding people's use of graffiti in all its aspects.
Graffiti are cross-cultural phenomena common to every literate society. Within the variable contexts of their production, graffiti personalize de-personalized space, construct landscapes of identity, make public space into private space, and act as promoters of ethnic unity as well as diversity. Graffiti can be understood as concrete manifestations of personal and communal ideologies which are visually striking, insistent, and provokative; as such, they are worthy of the continued attention of art historians, social scientists, and policy makers alike.
...:::j u l i e:::...
rocky took a lover
What I'm listening to at the moment:
"Rocky took a lover" by Bell X1
He said 'I wanna shine in the eye of Orion
But I drove my soul through the Black Hole!'
She said 'It's a wonderful way to wake me
But you weren't so nice last night
You're such an asshole when you're drunk'
He said 'At least I'm OK in the mornings'
He said 'The three wise men came a long way
Following that pin hole in the sky
Yeah that one right there'
She said 'I don't believe in any old Jesus
If there was a God, then why is my ass
The perfect height of kicking?'
He said 'I'll shine for you, I'll burn for you
He said 'I'll shine for you, that's what I'll do'
He said 'They're like headlights
In the rear view mirror
They're closer that they seem
And from this gutter we're still staring at the stars'
She said 'Would you go away and shine
Last night all you did was curse those stars
You said they sang to you of hope'
He said 'The sun gives life, and it takes it away
But like all the greats, it'll burn out someday'
She said 'I don't mind, I don't want to get bored
I don't want to end up beached on this shore
I want to be that star'
And then I can shine for you, and then I'll burn for you.
I'll shine for you. That's what I'll do.
...beautiful lyrics. makes me love Bell X1 all the more for it.
...:::j u l i e:::...
"Rocky took a lover" by Bell X1
He said 'I wanna shine in the eye of Orion
But I drove my soul through the Black Hole!'
She said 'It's a wonderful way to wake me
But you weren't so nice last night
You're such an asshole when you're drunk'
He said 'At least I'm OK in the mornings'
He said 'The three wise men came a long way
Following that pin hole in the sky
Yeah that one right there'
She said 'I don't believe in any old Jesus
If there was a God, then why is my ass
The perfect height of kicking?'
He said 'I'll shine for you, I'll burn for you
He said 'I'll shine for you, that's what I'll do'
He said 'They're like headlights
In the rear view mirror
They're closer that they seem
And from this gutter we're still staring at the stars'
She said 'Would you go away and shine
Last night all you did was curse those stars
You said they sang to you of hope'
He said 'The sun gives life, and it takes it away
But like all the greats, it'll burn out someday'
She said 'I don't mind, I don't want to get bored
I don't want to end up beached on this shore
I want to be that star'
And then I can shine for you, and then I'll burn for you.
I'll shine for you. That's what I'll do.
...beautiful lyrics. makes me love Bell X1 all the more for it.
...:::j u l i e:::...
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Yes, it's Saturday!
If you're like me who's always waiting for Saturday, you can bookmark this website now:
isitsaturday.net.
...:::j u l i e:::...
isitsaturday.net.
...:::j u l i e:::...
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
sick sad cruel little world
Is there really such vain soul that exists primarily to flirt and hook up? Is there really such vain soul that exists primarily to flirt and hook up with the man I have such deep respect and untarnished fascination for? And he flirts back, multiple times! goddamnit! Such like the rancid stench on a mount dump. Makes me sick to my gut. But really, who the fuck is she? Is it love or just lust, because I at least have both for him.
Is there such a thing as "subtle screwing up"? Hardly a week passed without either a late, half-day, or absence from me. My so-called "tasks" are hardly ever met. I take an extra "unsupervised" break, or two, at times, three. I take one of my early breaks and spend it with a bottle of booze, and go back to work like I only took a bottle of juice. Every morning I wake up analyzing when will my next scheduled "sick" leave will be. Makes me think I'm no better than a zombie. So maybe this screwing up is really not so subtle. But I like to think of it that way. And sooner or later, the radar's going to have it's target on me. But I don't care. It's all damned anyway.
Then, I go back home and it feels like I'm this horrible evil mime in a perfect little world. Ruins a good photo. It's the most unhealthy and ugliest feeling, and it lingers still. I crawl into my own hole and have my momentary distractions, then go to sleep, waking up only to repeat the same shit, the same sickening routine, over and over and goddamn over again.
And the best part? Nobody really ever gives a shit. Everyone's too busy with their own empty existence. Thinking about the not-so-important urgents. And it's a sore to realize that I am guilty of doing that as well. But I doubt anyone's really reading any blogs, let alone this little sick sad blog. And if one soul does, this will most likely be just street graffiti. Utterly useless. Once passed, always forgetten.
What a sick sad cruel litte world. And I live in it every single day. Every. Single. Fucking. Day.
...:::j u l i e:::...
Is there such a thing as "subtle screwing up"? Hardly a week passed without either a late, half-day, or absence from me. My so-called "tasks" are hardly ever met. I take an extra "unsupervised" break, or two, at times, three. I take one of my early breaks and spend it with a bottle of booze, and go back to work like I only took a bottle of juice. Every morning I wake up analyzing when will my next scheduled "sick" leave will be. Makes me think I'm no better than a zombie. So maybe this screwing up is really not so subtle. But I like to think of it that way. And sooner or later, the radar's going to have it's target on me. But I don't care. It's all damned anyway.
Then, I go back home and it feels like I'm this horrible evil mime in a perfect little world. Ruins a good photo. It's the most unhealthy and ugliest feeling, and it lingers still. I crawl into my own hole and have my momentary distractions, then go to sleep, waking up only to repeat the same shit, the same sickening routine, over and over and goddamn over again.
And the best part? Nobody really ever gives a shit. Everyone's too busy with their own empty existence. Thinking about the not-so-important urgents. And it's a sore to realize that I am guilty of doing that as well. But I doubt anyone's really reading any blogs, let alone this little sick sad blog. And if one soul does, this will most likely be just street graffiti. Utterly useless. Once passed, always forgetten.
What a sick sad cruel litte world. And I live in it every single day. Every. Single. Fucking. Day.
...:::j u l i e:::...
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Coraline
Book of the Week:
If you are a fan of Neil Gaiman and Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas", then, the movie "Coraline" will surely become one of your favorites. It is for me. :)
...:::j u l i e:::...
If you are a fan of Neil Gaiman and Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas", then, the movie "Coraline" will surely become one of your favorites. It is for me. :)
...:::j u l i e:::...
treat me like your mother
What I'm listening to (and watching) at the moment:
"Treat Me Like Your Mother" by The Dead Weather
Don't act like you can't act
I know what you think you're doing
You better learn to shake hands
And treat me like your mother
Don't act like you can't act
Stand up like a man
You better learn to shake hands
And treat me like your mother
You came up to late
You came up to late now
You came up to late
To do a thing
Come on look me in the eye
You wanna try to tell a lie?
I bet you can't, you know why?
I'm just like your mother
Look me in the eye now!
You wanna try to tell a lie?
You can't, you know why?
I'm just like your mother
You came up to late
You came up to late now
You came up to late
Play dumb
Play dead
Play straight
Who's got it figured out?
Play dumb
Play dead
Play straight
Who's got it figured out?
Play straight
Try to manipulate
Yeah!
M-a-n-i-p-u-late x4
Am I to
Am I late?
Am I x4
Am I too late?
Who's got it figured out?
Left right left right
Got it figured out
Who's got it figured out?
Play straight
Stand up like a man
You better learn to shake hands
You better look me in the eye now
Treat me like your mother
Come on look me in the eye
You wanna try to tell a lie?
You can't, you know why?
I'm just like your mother
Play dumb
Play dead
Try to manipulate
You blink when you breathe
And you breathe when you lie
You blink when you lie
You blink when you breathe
And you breathe when you lie
You blink when you lie
You blink when you breathe
And you breathe when you lie
You blink when you lie
Who's got it figured out?
Left right left right
Got it figured out?
Who's got it figured out?
Play straight
Try and manipulate
Who's got it figured out?
Left right left right
Who's got it figured out?
Play straight
Try to manipulate
You blink when you breathe
And you breathe when you lie
You blink when you lie
Who's got it figured out?
Play straight
"Treat Me Like Your Mother"
The Dead Weather
Photos taken from http://www.thedeadweather.com/treatmelikeyourmother/
...:::j u l i e:::...
"Treat Me Like Your Mother" by The Dead Weather
Don't act like you can't act
I know what you think you're doing
You better learn to shake hands
And treat me like your mother
Don't act like you can't act
Stand up like a man
You better learn to shake hands
And treat me like your mother
You came up to late
You came up to late now
You came up to late
To do a thing
Come on look me in the eye
You wanna try to tell a lie?
I bet you can't, you know why?
I'm just like your mother
Look me in the eye now!
You wanna try to tell a lie?
You can't, you know why?
I'm just like your mother
You came up to late
You came up to late now
You came up to late
Play dumb
Play dead
Play straight
Who's got it figured out?
Play dumb
Play dead
Play straight
Who's got it figured out?
Play straight
Try to manipulate
Yeah!
M-a-n-i-p-u-late x4
Am I to
Am I late?
Am I x4
Am I too late?
Who's got it figured out?
Left right left right
Got it figured out
Who's got it figured out?
Play straight
Stand up like a man
You better learn to shake hands
You better look me in the eye now
Treat me like your mother
Come on look me in the eye
You wanna try to tell a lie?
You can't, you know why?
I'm just like your mother
Play dumb
Play dead
Try to manipulate
You blink when you breathe
And you breathe when you lie
You blink when you lie
You blink when you breathe
And you breathe when you lie
You blink when you lie
You blink when you breathe
And you breathe when you lie
You blink when you lie
Who's got it figured out?
Left right left right
Got it figured out?
Who's got it figured out?
Play straight
Try and manipulate
Who's got it figured out?
Left right left right
Who's got it figured out?
Play straight
Try to manipulate
You blink when you breathe
And you breathe when you lie
You blink when you lie
Who's got it figured out?
Play straight
"Treat Me Like Your Mother"
The Dead Weather
Photos taken from http://www.thedeadweather.com/treatmelikeyourmother/
...:::j u l i e:::...
Saturday, September 12, 2009
5th Annual Sculpture Review
Here are some of the photos I took at the 5th Annual Sculpture Review showcased at SM Art Center, SM Megamall. The exhibit will run from September 8 - 22, 2009.
"Fusion #6" by Joe Datuin
Stainless Steel, 2009
"Fusion 2" by Joe Datuin
Stainless Steel, 2009
"Magkapitbahay" by Ral Arrogante
Copper, brass, aluminum, 2009
"Twenty-Four-Seven No. 1" by Pete Jimenez
Recycled Steel, 2009
"Twenty-four-seven Nos. 1 - 4" by Pete Jimenez
Recycled Steel, 2009
"I'm just a Rumbling Man" by Lirio Salvador
Assemblage, 2009
"Breaking Point" by Micheal Cacnio"
Brass, 2009
"Google Earth" by Michael Cacnio
Brass, 2009
"Chiffon Dreams" by Anna Varona
Fiber glass, 2009
"Call Center Revolution" by Anna Verona
Ceramic and Stainless Steel mounted on wood, 2009
"Impossible" (Light cyan) by Adeo Sta. Juana
Acrycolor on rubber foam, 2009
"Joy of My Desire III" by Ramon Orlina
Carved green glass, 2009
"Mega-Black" 1 & 2 by Mulawin Abueva
Painted resin, 2009
"National Artist Award 2009" by Junyee
Narra wood and paint, 2009
"Tumba-tumba" by Benji Reyes
Narra wood, 2009
"Kinalabit" by Benji Reyes
Narra Burl, 2009
"Upuan ni Juan" Series 1 & 2 by Joe Geraldo
Terra Cotta, 2009
"Falling Down" (Abortion Series) by Kelly Sonio
Terra Cotta, 2009
"Untitled" by Anton Balao
Clay, 2009
"Flagellant" by Carlito Ortega
Brass, 2009
"Rite of Passage Goddess" by Agnes Arellano
Bronze, 2009
"Cantipla Dos" by Anton Quisumbing
Stainless Steel, 2009
"Cantipla Uno" by Anton Quisumbing
Stainless Steel, 2009
"Bulol" by Hadrian Mendoza
Wood fired, 2009
"Male Study" by Jordan Mendoza
Clay, 2009
"Serenity" by Daniel Dela Cruz
Mixed Metal, 2009
"Contemplation II" by Paul Quiano
Cold cast bronze, 2009
"Posture 1 & 2" by Paul Quiano
Clay with glaze, 2009
"Male Torso"& "Female Torso" by Earl Enriquez
Bronze, 2008
"Aparisyon" by Danny Rayos Del Sol
Ostrich Egg, wood, 2009
"Retablo dela Virgen Maria" by Danny Rayos Del Sol
Ostrich egg, wood, 2009
"Grotto" by Danny Rayos Del Sol
Ostrich egg, wood, 2009
"Homage to the Filipino Soldier" by Aba Dalena
Terra Cotta, 2009
"Three of Knowledge" by Sajid Imao
Brass and stainless steel, 2009
"Diwata Gubat 1" by Maria Magdamit
Stoneware, 2009
"Diwata 2" by Maria Magdamit
Stoneware, 2009
"Diwata Gubat 2" by Maria Magdamit
Stoneware, 2009
"Seacock #1" by Tito Estrada
Mixed Media, 2009
"Siokoi 1" (Neptune's Children) by Tito Estrada
Mixed Media, 2009
"Seacock #2" by Tito Estrada
Mixed Media, 2009
"Into the Light" & "Departure" by Daniel Dela Cruz
Mixed Metal, 2009
...:::j u l i e:::...
"Fusion #6" by Joe DatuinStainless Steel, 2009
"Fusion 2" by Joe DatuinStainless Steel, 2009
"Magkapitbahay" by Ral ArroganteCopper, brass, aluminum, 2009
"Twenty-Four-Seven No. 1" by Pete JimenezRecycled Steel, 2009
"Twenty-four-seven Nos. 1 - 4" by Pete JimenezRecycled Steel, 2009
"I'm just a Rumbling Man" by Lirio SalvadorAssemblage, 2009
"Breaking Point" by Micheal Cacnio"Brass, 2009
"Google Earth" by Michael CacnioBrass, 2009
"Chiffon Dreams" by Anna VaronaFiber glass, 2009
"Call Center Revolution" by Anna VeronaCeramic and Stainless Steel mounted on wood, 2009
"Impossible" (Light cyan) by Adeo Sta. JuanaAcrycolor on rubber foam, 2009
"Joy of My Desire III" by Ramon OrlinaCarved green glass, 2009
"Mega-Black" 1 & 2 by Mulawin AbuevaPainted resin, 2009
"National Artist Award 2009" by JunyeeNarra wood and paint, 2009
"Tumba-tumba" by Benji ReyesNarra wood, 2009
"Kinalabit" by Benji ReyesNarra Burl, 2009
"Upuan ni Juan" Series 1 & 2 by Joe GeraldoTerra Cotta, 2009
"Falling Down" (Abortion Series) by Kelly SonioTerra Cotta, 2009
"Untitled" by Anton BalaoClay, 2009
"Flagellant" by Carlito OrtegaBrass, 2009
"Rite of Passage Goddess" by Agnes ArellanoBronze, 2009
"Cantipla Dos" by Anton QuisumbingStainless Steel, 2009
"Cantipla Uno" by Anton QuisumbingStainless Steel, 2009
"Bulol" by Hadrian MendozaWood fired, 2009
"Male Study" by Jordan MendozaClay, 2009
"Serenity" by Daniel Dela CruzMixed Metal, 2009
"Contemplation II" by Paul QuianoCold cast bronze, 2009
"Posture 1 & 2" by Paul QuianoClay with glaze, 2009
"Male Torso"& "Female Torso" by Earl EnriquezBronze, 2008
"Aparisyon" by Danny Rayos Del SolOstrich Egg, wood, 2009
"Retablo dela Virgen Maria" by Danny Rayos Del SolOstrich egg, wood, 2009
"Grotto" by Danny Rayos Del SolOstrich egg, wood, 2009
"Homage to the Filipino Soldier" by Aba DalenaTerra Cotta, 2009
"Three of Knowledge" by Sajid ImaoBrass and stainless steel, 2009
"Diwata Gubat 1" by Maria MagdamitStoneware, 2009
"Diwata 2" by Maria MagdamitStoneware, 2009
"Diwata Gubat 2" by Maria MagdamitStoneware, 2009
"Seacock #1" by Tito EstradaMixed Media, 2009
"Siokoi 1" (Neptune's Children) by Tito EstradaMixed Media, 2009
"Seacock #2" by Tito EstradaMixed Media, 2009
"Into the Light" & "Departure" by Daniel Dela CruzMixed Metal, 2009
...:::j u l i e:::...
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Cine Europa 12
Here's something to look forward to for the coming week:
source: www.clickthecity.com
_______________________________________________
posted on Wednesday, September 09, 2009 in Festivals, Movies
Once again, Shangri-La Plaza becomes home to a wide variety of European films in the 12th edition of Cine Europa. It’s a big batch of films this year, and choosing what you want to watch can be a chore. So here’s a quick look at all of the films, along with a few recommendations.
If there is one film to catch this year, it’s probably Kærlighed på film (Just Another Love Story, Ole Bomedal, Denmark 2007). The title is a joke, of course, but one might find similarities in premise to 90s romance While You Were Sleeping, with a man who falls in love with a woman who gets into an accident and is mistaken for her boyfriend when he visits the hospital. The similarities end at the premise, though. First of all, our hero is married, and his accepting of this fantasy is definitely adulterous in nature. Second, the new life he’s bringing himself into is a violent one, and things aren’t likely to end with a montage set to a pop song. Kærlighed på film is beautifully dark and twisted, a neo-noir film set to the beat of the Danish psyche, all at once thrilling and exhausting.
Running an extremely close second is È pericoloso sporgersi (Sundays on Leave, Nae Caranfil, Romania 1993). Set in the late in the Ceausescu regime, the movie tells the story of Cristina, a teenage girl who’s being pressured by her boyfriend to have sex with him before he goes off to join the army, and later gets caught up in the complications of a young actor who might be holding a secret. This is director Nae Caranfil’s first feature. He would later direct Filantropica, largely considered one of Romania’s greatest films. Caranfil’s style is already well established here, blending the lives of young people with a heady mix of drama and satire.
The oldest film in this year’s festival is S certy nejsou zerty (Give the Devil His Due, Hynek Bocan, Czech Republic 1984), a delightful little fairytale based loosely on a story by Czech literary icon Bozena Nemcov. It tells the story of a young man named Peter who gets his inheritance stolen by his wicked stepmother. Peter seems out of luck, but everything changes when he befriends the devil in his travels. Perhaps people here aren’t quite ready for a fairytale where the lead character makes friends with the devil, but the movie is actually quite wonderful, with a wicked sense of humor, amazing production design, and really great performances, particularly from Czech film legend Ondrej Vetchy, who plays the devil. I’m sure that this will become an odd favorite among many of the festival’s patrons.
The festival also plays host to a very different Czech film. Tmavomodry svet (Dark Blue World, Jan Sverak, Czech Republic 2001), also starring the great Ondrej Vetchy, follows the lives of two Czech fighter pilots during World War II as they join the RAF in the struggle against the German advance, all the while fighting among themselves for the affections of a beautiful English woman. Think Pearl Harbor if it wasn’t so loud and stupid. Despite a much smaller budget, the aerial sequences of this film rival anything that Michael Bay could ever produce.
Speaking of Nazi Germany, one of the more interesting films this year is Die Welle (The Wave, Dennis Gansel, Germany 2008). The movie is based loosely on the experience of Ron Jones, a teacher who in 1967, having trouble explaining to his students how the German populace could claim ignorance of the holocaust, decides to show them instead through an experiment. He creates a fascistic environment in his classroom, playing an authoritative figure who enforces strict discipline on all the students. It isn’t long before the effects of the experiment are made clear, and it spirals out of control. Die Welle dramatizes these true events and sets them in Germany, where the history provides a very different context to everything that unfolds.
It might be a little early for Christmas, but those who feel like getting a jump on the spirit might want to check out Alles is Liefde (Love is All, Joram Lursen, Netherlands 2007) and Joulutarina (Christmas Story, Juha Wuolijoki, Finland 2007). Alles is Liefde is a romantic comedy in the vein of Richard Curtis’ Love Actually, following a set of very different relationships, attractions and infatuations, with a mysterious Santa Claus figure playing Cupid to the hapless would-be lovebirds. Joulutarina is a reimagining of the story of Santa Claus, following a little orphan boy named Nikolas who finds joy in making toys for other children.
There’s actually a wealth of family fare in this year’s festival, the best of which is Die Blindgänger (The Blind Flyers, Bernd Sahling, Germany 2004), which tells the story of blind best friends who audition for a school band. Low-key and decidedly unsentimental, this is the rare film about the handicapped that actually treats them as normal people. If you’re looking for something a little more high-energy for the kids, you can check out Mein name ist Eugen (Rascals on the Road, Michael Steiner, Switzerland 2005). Set in the 1960s, the movie follows the exploits of a group of mischievous young boys who go on a quest to look for the “King of the Rascals,” a mythical figure whose pranks have become the stuff of legend. Lastly, there’s Zoop in Zuid Amerika (Zoo Rangers in South America, Johan Nijenhuis, Netherlands, 2007). This is the third film in the popular Dutch franchise (which started out as a youth-oriented soap opera), but you don’t need to know much to follow along. A group of young adults who work at a zoo are tasked to go to South America to look for a rare butterfly. Zoop delivers an environmental message, if you want some social responsibility to go along with your family fun.
The festival features two biopics. The first is I demoni di San Pietroburgo (The Demons of St. Petersburg, Giuliano Montaldo, Italy 2008). This loose biopic picks up on a strange episode in the life of Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, beginning as a friend in a sanitarium confesses that he is part of a terrorist group that plans to assassinate members of the royal family. Dostoevsky is tasked to find the leader of this group and convince her to stop her plan, all while struggling to deliver his next novel and bouts of epilepsy. The movie has its flaws, but it’s always good to see Giuliano Montaldo directing, and an Ennio Morricone score makes everything better.
The Duchess (Saul Dibb, England 2008) has Kiera Knightley playing 18th century aristocrat Georgiana Spencer, duchess of Devonshire. Georgiana was a key political figure of her time, a thoroughly modern woman who argued for freedom above all else. But behind all her flair and machinations lay a domestic life where nothing was ever truly free. The Duchess is the kind of crowd pleasing period costume drama that England has become known for, complete with recognizable period stars in Knightley and Ralph Fiennes.
[Rec] (Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, Spain 2007) would later be remade in the United States as Quarantine, but the original remains the superior version. This incredibly taut horror movie follows the host of a late night television reporter and her cameraman as they follow around a firefighting crew and inadvertently get trapped in an apartment building where a mysterious virus appears to have turned some of the residents violent. The found footage aesthetic lends the film an air of authenticity, and it’s used in some very clever ways to build a profound tension that makes everything that much more terrifying. [Rec] was a revelation two years ago, and it remains great viewing today.
De Laatste Zomer (The Last Summer, Joost Wynant, Belgium 2007) is a coming-of-age film featuring four seventeen year old boys on their last summer together, a summer that gets complicated when one of them decides to help hide a girl from her abusive father. The movie mixes mundane teenage concerns like boredom and pimples and sex with a larger story about friendship and what it means to be young in the face of a world where adulthood seems to be a poor option.
And the rest:
Toi et Moi (You and Me, Julie Lopes Curval, France 2006) is a French chick flick starring Marion Cotillard and Julie Depardieu. Director Curval aims for cute and mostly gets it, though it may get cloying for some. Freigesprochen (Free to Leave, Peter Payer, Austria 2007) is gorgeously shot, but largely directionless, with over the top performances steering the movie straight into the realm of empty melodrama. Grabben I Graven Bredvid (The Guy in the Grave Next Door, Kjell Sundvall, Sweden 2002) is a sweet romantic comedy for the middle aged set. Quite a few nice scenes, but there are better movies in this year’s line up.
Orient Express (Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romania 2004) is one of the strangest films I’ve seen from Romania. Director Nicolaescu is kind of like the Bong Revilla of Romania, an actor and senator who only really shows up in films as the big, invincible hero. Orient Express follows in that train of egomania, resulting in a mostly misguided but utterly fascinating film when watched in the proper context.
Cine Europa Schedule:
SEPTEMBER 11
12 NN Freigesprochen
2:30 PM Kærlighed på film
5 PM S certy nejsou zerty
7:30 PM De Laatste Zomer
9:30 PM Joulutarina
SEPTEMBER 12
12 NN Toi et Moi
2 PM Die Welle
4:30 PM I Demoni di San Pietroburgo
7 PM Alles is Liefde
9:30 PM E pericoloso sporgersi
SEPTEMBER 13
12 NN [Rec]
2 PM Mein name ist Eugen
4:30 PM The Duchess
7 PM Freigesprochen
9:30 PM Tmavomodry svet
SEPTEMBER 14
12 NN Kærlighed på film
2:30 PM Joulutarina
4:30 PM Toi et Moi
6:30 PM Die Blindgänger
8:30 PM I Demoni di San Pietroburgo
SEPTEMBER 15
12 NN Zoop in Zuid Amerika
2:15 PM Orient Express
4:45 PM [Rec]
6:30 PM Grabben I graven bredvid
8:30 PM Mein name ist Eugen
SEPTEMBER 16
12 NN The Duchess
2:30 PM Freigesprochen
4:30 PM S certy nejsou zerty
7 PM Kærlighed på film
9:30 PM Joulutarina
SEPTEMBER 17
12 NN Toi et Moi
2 PM Die Welle
4:30 PM I Demoni di San Pietroburgo
7 PM Alles is Liefde
9:30 PM E pericoloso sporgersi
SEPTEMBER 18
12 NN [Rec]
2 PM Grabben I graven bredvid
4 PM Mein name ist Eugen
6:30 PM The Duchess
9 PM Freigesprochen
SEPTEMBER 19
12 NN S certy nejsou zerty
2:30 PM Kærlighed på film
5 PMJoulutarina
7 PM Toi et Moi
9 PM Die Blindgånger
SEPTEMBER 20
12 NN I Demoni di San Pietroburgo
2:30 PM Zoop in Zuid Amerika
4:45 PM Orient Express
7:30 PM [Rec]
9:30 PM Mein name ist Eugen
_________________________________________
source: www.clickthecity.com
_______________________________________________
A Guide To Cine Europa 12
posted on Wednesday, September 09, 2009 in Festivals, Movies
Once again, Shangri-La Plaza becomes home to a wide variety of European films in the 12th edition of Cine Europa. It’s a big batch of films this year, and choosing what you want to watch can be a chore. So here’s a quick look at all of the films, along with a few recommendations.
If there is one film to catch this year, it’s probably Kærlighed på film (Just Another Love Story, Ole Bomedal, Denmark 2007). The title is a joke, of course, but one might find similarities in premise to 90s romance While You Were Sleeping, with a man who falls in love with a woman who gets into an accident and is mistaken for her boyfriend when he visits the hospital. The similarities end at the premise, though. First of all, our hero is married, and his accepting of this fantasy is definitely adulterous in nature. Second, the new life he’s bringing himself into is a violent one, and things aren’t likely to end with a montage set to a pop song. Kærlighed på film is beautifully dark and twisted, a neo-noir film set to the beat of the Danish psyche, all at once thrilling and exhausting.
Running an extremely close second is È pericoloso sporgersi (Sundays on Leave, Nae Caranfil, Romania 1993). Set in the late in the Ceausescu regime, the movie tells the story of Cristina, a teenage girl who’s being pressured by her boyfriend to have sex with him before he goes off to join the army, and later gets caught up in the complications of a young actor who might be holding a secret. This is director Nae Caranfil’s first feature. He would later direct Filantropica, largely considered one of Romania’s greatest films. Caranfil’s style is already well established here, blending the lives of young people with a heady mix of drama and satire.
The oldest film in this year’s festival is S certy nejsou zerty (Give the Devil His Due, Hynek Bocan, Czech Republic 1984), a delightful little fairytale based loosely on a story by Czech literary icon Bozena Nemcov. It tells the story of a young man named Peter who gets his inheritance stolen by his wicked stepmother. Peter seems out of luck, but everything changes when he befriends the devil in his travels. Perhaps people here aren’t quite ready for a fairytale where the lead character makes friends with the devil, but the movie is actually quite wonderful, with a wicked sense of humor, amazing production design, and really great performances, particularly from Czech film legend Ondrej Vetchy, who plays the devil. I’m sure that this will become an odd favorite among many of the festival’s patrons.
The festival also plays host to a very different Czech film. Tmavomodry svet (Dark Blue World, Jan Sverak, Czech Republic 2001), also starring the great Ondrej Vetchy, follows the lives of two Czech fighter pilots during World War II as they join the RAF in the struggle against the German advance, all the while fighting among themselves for the affections of a beautiful English woman. Think Pearl Harbor if it wasn’t so loud and stupid. Despite a much smaller budget, the aerial sequences of this film rival anything that Michael Bay could ever produce.
Speaking of Nazi Germany, one of the more interesting films this year is Die Welle (The Wave, Dennis Gansel, Germany 2008). The movie is based loosely on the experience of Ron Jones, a teacher who in 1967, having trouble explaining to his students how the German populace could claim ignorance of the holocaust, decides to show them instead through an experiment. He creates a fascistic environment in his classroom, playing an authoritative figure who enforces strict discipline on all the students. It isn’t long before the effects of the experiment are made clear, and it spirals out of control. Die Welle dramatizes these true events and sets them in Germany, where the history provides a very different context to everything that unfolds.
It might be a little early for Christmas, but those who feel like getting a jump on the spirit might want to check out Alles is Liefde (Love is All, Joram Lursen, Netherlands 2007) and Joulutarina (Christmas Story, Juha Wuolijoki, Finland 2007). Alles is Liefde is a romantic comedy in the vein of Richard Curtis’ Love Actually, following a set of very different relationships, attractions and infatuations, with a mysterious Santa Claus figure playing Cupid to the hapless would-be lovebirds. Joulutarina is a reimagining of the story of Santa Claus, following a little orphan boy named Nikolas who finds joy in making toys for other children.
There’s actually a wealth of family fare in this year’s festival, the best of which is Die Blindgänger (The Blind Flyers, Bernd Sahling, Germany 2004), which tells the story of blind best friends who audition for a school band. Low-key and decidedly unsentimental, this is the rare film about the handicapped that actually treats them as normal people. If you’re looking for something a little more high-energy for the kids, you can check out Mein name ist Eugen (Rascals on the Road, Michael Steiner, Switzerland 2005). Set in the 1960s, the movie follows the exploits of a group of mischievous young boys who go on a quest to look for the “King of the Rascals,” a mythical figure whose pranks have become the stuff of legend. Lastly, there’s Zoop in Zuid Amerika (Zoo Rangers in South America, Johan Nijenhuis, Netherlands, 2007). This is the third film in the popular Dutch franchise (which started out as a youth-oriented soap opera), but you don’t need to know much to follow along. A group of young adults who work at a zoo are tasked to go to South America to look for a rare butterfly. Zoop delivers an environmental message, if you want some social responsibility to go along with your family fun.
The festival features two biopics. The first is I demoni di San Pietroburgo (The Demons of St. Petersburg, Giuliano Montaldo, Italy 2008). This loose biopic picks up on a strange episode in the life of Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, beginning as a friend in a sanitarium confesses that he is part of a terrorist group that plans to assassinate members of the royal family. Dostoevsky is tasked to find the leader of this group and convince her to stop her plan, all while struggling to deliver his next novel and bouts of epilepsy. The movie has its flaws, but it’s always good to see Giuliano Montaldo directing, and an Ennio Morricone score makes everything better.
The Duchess (Saul Dibb, England 2008) has Kiera Knightley playing 18th century aristocrat Georgiana Spencer, duchess of Devonshire. Georgiana was a key political figure of her time, a thoroughly modern woman who argued for freedom above all else. But behind all her flair and machinations lay a domestic life where nothing was ever truly free. The Duchess is the kind of crowd pleasing period costume drama that England has become known for, complete with recognizable period stars in Knightley and Ralph Fiennes.
[Rec] (Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, Spain 2007) would later be remade in the United States as Quarantine, but the original remains the superior version. This incredibly taut horror movie follows the host of a late night television reporter and her cameraman as they follow around a firefighting crew and inadvertently get trapped in an apartment building where a mysterious virus appears to have turned some of the residents violent. The found footage aesthetic lends the film an air of authenticity, and it’s used in some very clever ways to build a profound tension that makes everything that much more terrifying. [Rec] was a revelation two years ago, and it remains great viewing today.
De Laatste Zomer (The Last Summer, Joost Wynant, Belgium 2007) is a coming-of-age film featuring four seventeen year old boys on their last summer together, a summer that gets complicated when one of them decides to help hide a girl from her abusive father. The movie mixes mundane teenage concerns like boredom and pimples and sex with a larger story about friendship and what it means to be young in the face of a world where adulthood seems to be a poor option.
And the rest:
Toi et Moi (You and Me, Julie Lopes Curval, France 2006) is a French chick flick starring Marion Cotillard and Julie Depardieu. Director Curval aims for cute and mostly gets it, though it may get cloying for some. Freigesprochen (Free to Leave, Peter Payer, Austria 2007) is gorgeously shot, but largely directionless, with over the top performances steering the movie straight into the realm of empty melodrama. Grabben I Graven Bredvid (The Guy in the Grave Next Door, Kjell Sundvall, Sweden 2002) is a sweet romantic comedy for the middle aged set. Quite a few nice scenes, but there are better movies in this year’s line up.
Orient Express (Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romania 2004) is one of the strangest films I’ve seen from Romania. Director Nicolaescu is kind of like the Bong Revilla of Romania, an actor and senator who only really shows up in films as the big, invincible hero. Orient Express follows in that train of egomania, resulting in a mostly misguided but utterly fascinating film when watched in the proper context.
Cine Europa Schedule:
SEPTEMBER 11
12 NN Freigesprochen
2:30 PM Kærlighed på film
5 PM S certy nejsou zerty
7:30 PM De Laatste Zomer
9:30 PM Joulutarina
SEPTEMBER 12
12 NN Toi et Moi
2 PM Die Welle
4:30 PM I Demoni di San Pietroburgo
7 PM Alles is Liefde
9:30 PM E pericoloso sporgersi
SEPTEMBER 13
12 NN [Rec]
2 PM Mein name ist Eugen
4:30 PM The Duchess
7 PM Freigesprochen
9:30 PM Tmavomodry svet
SEPTEMBER 14
12 NN Kærlighed på film
2:30 PM Joulutarina
4:30 PM Toi et Moi
6:30 PM Die Blindgänger
8:30 PM I Demoni di San Pietroburgo
SEPTEMBER 15
12 NN Zoop in Zuid Amerika
2:15 PM Orient Express
4:45 PM [Rec]
6:30 PM Grabben I graven bredvid
8:30 PM Mein name ist Eugen
SEPTEMBER 16
12 NN The Duchess
2:30 PM Freigesprochen
4:30 PM S certy nejsou zerty
7 PM Kærlighed på film
9:30 PM Joulutarina
SEPTEMBER 17
12 NN Toi et Moi
2 PM Die Welle
4:30 PM I Demoni di San Pietroburgo
7 PM Alles is Liefde
9:30 PM E pericoloso sporgersi
SEPTEMBER 18
12 NN [Rec]
2 PM Grabben I graven bredvid
4 PM Mein name ist Eugen
6:30 PM The Duchess
9 PM Freigesprochen
SEPTEMBER 19
12 NN S certy nejsou zerty
2:30 PM Kærlighed på film
5 PMJoulutarina
7 PM Toi et Moi
9 PM Die Blindgånger
SEPTEMBER 20
12 NN I Demoni di San Pietroburgo
2:30 PM Zoop in Zuid Amerika
4:45 PM Orient Express
7:30 PM [Rec]
9:30 PM Mein name ist Eugen
_________________________________________
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