
04-08-2012, 05:00 PM
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 | Seasoned Cultist | | Join Date: May 2011 Location: Leeds, UK | |
HOUR OF THE WOLF - Bergman. Hadn't seen it for years until I put it on today. Remarkable atmosphere suffused with isolation and paranoia, existentially windswept as per expectation given the director - this time there's more of a gothic tinge. An artist goes mad on an island. The denizens of a local castle may or may not be out to get him. Much expressionistic fragmentation in the latter half, and features a few unforgetable scenes - 'the bite' for one is truly disturbing. To play for eternity as part of a fantasy triple bill with 'Repulsion' and 'Carnival of Souls'. Now my third fave Bergman after 'Persona' and 'Cries and Whispers'.
TROUBLE EVERY DAY - Rare excursion into the exotic territory of 'arthouse cannibal flick' courtesy of Claire Denis. Slow and moody, it will either envelope or bore you, depending on your circumstances and your stance towards long stretches of meaningful wordlessness. I was quite into it. I found it tonally absorbing and eccentric of concept (it really does play out like a moody late nineties euro-art film about an unravelling relationship but with added erm cannibalism). Relationships, intimacy, touch, flesh, engorgement, engulfment etc entwine against a silent canvas which foregrounds both distance and unbearable proximity. Could've done with a few more piles of steaming entrails though, Claire. Come on, we've all smoked a few Camels and waved our copies of 'La Nausee' around. Nice spare soundtrack by the always excellent Tindersticks.
THE WIZARD OF GORE - Always a pleasure to revisit. This time I got the vibe that Montag may be a forerunner of Brian O'Blivion? Could've made more of its trippy 'is it real?' theme, but remains pretty audacious for its time. I love the way H G Lewis flicks sometimes have really schizophrenic moments - in this case, the brash transit from a red filtered gothic graveyard scene to an 'advert' (come on, we know what it is) for Chicken Shack! Marvellous. And the on-stage murders, where Montag PLAYS with the guts of his victims whilst the whole sequence crashes through like a cubist collage... I'll buy that for a dollar!
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