So I watched more than 30 movies in August, in my defence some were short films so… but tbh I had a blast so I don’t really need to excuse myself. Cinema is one of my biggest passions and from time to time I’ll get completely consumed by it and thats kind of what happened this past month.
Find out what films and books I read in August:
Angst essen Seele auf (Fear eats the soul) is directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and stars Brigitte Mira and El Hedi ben Salem. The film follows Mira as Emmi, an older German woman who is a mother of three adult children and a widow who meets and falls in love with Ali, a much younger migrant worker from Morocco.
This was my first foray into Fassbinder’s filmography, and I must say it’s brilliantly shot. I love all the claustrophobic framing through doors, which reflects the crushing limits society puts upon the protagonists. Likewise, the scene outside amongst the sunshine-yellow tables is a particularly beautiful moment, but it again adds to the idea of isolation as the couple are completely alone; they can have a tender moment in public only because the scene is unpopulated by other prying eyes.
But what’s most shocking and really quite sad is that a film made in the 1970s about racism, ageism and prejudice feels just as relevant now, and while we have progressed slightly, we are nowhere near to where we need to be!
Fear Eats the Soul is a must-watch and a great introduction to a master of German cinema. I’m intrigued to watch more of his films, one for the fact that Fassbinder was a filmmaker that dared to push boundaries and famously proclaimed, ‘I don’t throw bombs, I make films.’ and because Fear was just such a great place to start.
François Ozon's 2003 erotic thriller Swimming Pool follows Sarah Morton (Charlotte Rampling) a successful yet dissatisfied crime novelist as she spends some time away from stuffy England at her publishers home in France.
Spoilers ahead…
From the get-go Morton is uptight and bizarre, her excessive consumption of yoghurt is rather uncanny, her interaction with a fan on the tube and simmering jealousy of a new writer is telling. She’s going to undergo a metamorphosis and become less stoic and boring by the end of the film. But how she gets there is going to be rather interesting.
Morton is also a voyeur, she watches Julie (the daughter of the publisher whose house Sarah is staying at) have sex with a random stranger one night and often finds herself watching her when she swims and also becomes irritated by Julie talking and laughing on the phone. A weird obsession grows. There's also a scene in Sarah’s imagination where the camera tracks the contours of Julie’s body as she sunbathes, it’s almost the male gaze at work but it’s actually Sarah’s gaze, her authorial imagination at work.
I feel like the writer as a voyeur is such an obvious yet intriguing trope in thrillers. I mean writers definitely have to be voyeurs to some extent, people-watching is a socially acceptable form of voyeurism. But a thriller always makes them a little more creepy, and to be honest, Rampling makes this trope work so well that it almost feels fresh again.
However, this is when things start to get complicated, Julie reads Sarah’s book and invites the local waiter Frank (to who Morton has taken a liking) over to make her jealous, they party. The morning after a panicked Sarah sees the pool covered up with a lump in the middle of the tarpaulin. Is Frank dead? No, it’s just the inflatable lilo. This moment was done well, it was predictable but it still makes your skin crawl for the duration of the scene.
Unsurprisingly, Frank does actually turn up dead, the two women bury him and vow to get on with their lives, Sarah even has to seduce the gardener after he starts to inspect the grave they dug the night before.
But this is all a ruse.
The entire plot of the film is put into question when an emboldened Morton returns to London with her finished novel and announces to her publisher that she has signed with someone else to release the book. Upon leaving the office a young girl enters and is addressed as Julie and greets her father. The Julie in France is not the real Julie in fact she never existed at all!
What a brilliant twist. She’s just an over-imaginative and slightly perverse writer. The metamorphosis I mentioned earlier happens because she gets her inspiration back, she blooms again because she has written something that excites her. I love how Ozon weaved this narrative and for a while, I thought it was going to follow an obvious course but I was really pleasantly surprised.
Ozon himself said ‘Charlotte's character kept mixing fantasy and reality. Although in Swimming Pool, everything related to fantasy is part of the act of creation, so it is more channelled and less likely to end up causing madness. In terms of directing, I've treated everything that is imaginary in Swimming Pool in a realistic way so that you see it all – fantasy and reality alike – on the same plane.”
It’s Only the End of the World is a French-language film directed by Xavier Dolan. The film stars Gaspard Ulliel, Nathalie Baye, Marion Cotillard, Léa Seydoux, and Vincent Cassel who are arguably some of the biggest names in French cinema.
Based on the play of the same name by Jean-Luc Lagarce the narrative of the film follows Louis, a playwright on his trip home for the first time in 12 years wherein he plans to tell his family that he is dying.
It’s easy to see that this film is based on a play due to its intimate settings, small core cast and telling dialogue where what isn’t said is just as intriguing and important as what is said. I also love how there is so much ambiguity throughout the film as it’s never revealed why Louis left in the first place only that something triggered it. This for me adds to the realism of the film as the story is essentially about how important communication is and how we often fail to listen to each other which results in awkwardness and resentment especially when it comes to family. In some parts, it did feel a bit over the top, especially when Louis is in the company of his aggressive older brother Antoine, who just can’t help but be a complete prick to everyone around him, but for the most part, it was a compelling family drama.
This is the first film by Xavier Dolan that I have seen and I must say that I’m kind of annoyed that I haven’t watched any of his work sooner as I was really quite taken aback by the cinematography (claustrophobic close-ups, intense colour grading) and the use of soundtrack in the film. Especially the use of O-Zone’s Dragostea Din Tei (yes that so cheesy it’s kind of good song from 2003) and Exotica’s Une miss s’immisce and how they weave into moments from Louis’s memories. These scenes are a world away from the claustrophobia of the family home in the present. Running hopefully over a sun-drenched field as a kid or a sensually lit (oranges, pinks and greens dominate the colour palette here) teenage sexual encounter, these flashbacks are beautifully nostalgic and the music only helps to create the atmosphere for each one.
The film’s ending is also quite visually striking with severe fiery oranges that take over the colour palette due to the sun setting. It is also a fitting symbol for how intense and fraught the whole day has been for Louis and that perhaps like the setting sun signals the end of a day, this sunset is the end of his connection with his family. Bird imagery is also dispersed throughout the film but most notably at the end with a surreal moment where a small cuckoo escapes the cuckoo clock and flies frantically around the house searching for a way out. Almost certainly a metaphor for Louis himself, he flew the coup and should not have returned and as it lies dying on the floor at the close of the film, he too is on his journey towards death, alone.
As I love this season so much I thought I would do this Autumn Tag created by Jennily.
Um, I’m not too sure about this as most of the books I read aren’t exactly comforting! An obvious choice would be Harry Potter but I can’t really choose those books as I’m still making my way through the series for the first time. But I guess maybe something like Pride and Prejudice, who doesn’t love a good romance and a happy ending?
I love writing and taking photos. I also kind of love and hate painting, it’s a strained relationship mainly because my skill is completely lacking. I’m like the artist in Disney’s Hercules
I love the transience of life, so I am always welcoming changes and new beginnings. But perhaps the most recent change was moving to the countryside. I thought I was going to be bored and stuck in the middle of nowhere. I kinda am but because of COVID, I have come to appreciate how lucky I am with all this open space around me and how safe it is here!
Art house films, most people I know think they are boring and super pretentious. And don’t get me started on non-English art house films. I just don’t get peoples aversion to subtitles!
Travelling, I feel so utterly and completely euphoric when I visit a new place or new country. There is just something so beautiful about it. I can’t wait to be able to start doing this again! Other things include watching an amazing film, reading a brilliant book or visiting galleries and museums.
I’ve never read a horror book and I’m not a massive horror film fan. But, I have been trying to get into them recently and I must say that I have rather enjoyed Peter Strickland’s Berberian Sound Studio and In Fabric. But maybe the best horror film I’ve seen is Midsommar (what a ride!).
At the moment it’s all about Apples! Apple cake, apple pie, apple crumble, cinnamon apple porridge.
Knitted Jumpers, tights, boots, blazers, scarves. And maybe a few great books, right now I’m looking forward to reading Under the Jaguar Sun a short story collection by Italo Calvino, The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson and some Dostoevsky by way of Crime and Punishment. Oh, and of course all the books in my Autumn Reading List too.
Could it be anything other than Portrait of a Lady on Fire? And maybe In the Mood for Love. I’m clearly into unfulfilled love affairs. What on earth does that say about me. In terms of books maybe Angela Carter’s writing, she is a magician with words and I love how flowery her prose is.
Korean movies in general. Um, maybe 2001: A Space Odyssey, it could be seen as just a science fiction film but really it’s an epic story of human ambition. Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, it’s a clever and funny character study of a sex addict, but most people think it’s just gratuitous.
I tag everyone!
